2 Chronicles 4:3

2 Chronicles 4:3 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And under it was the similitude of oxen, which did compass it round about: ten in a cubit, compassing the sea round about. Two rows of oxen were cast, when it was cast.
• New International Version (NIV)Below the rim, figures of bulls encircled it—ten to a cubit. The bulls were cast in two rows in one piece with the Sea.
• English Standard Version (ESV)Under it were figures of gourds, for ten cubits, compassing the sea all around. The gourds were in two rows, cast with it when it was cast.
• New King James Version (NKJV)And under it was the likeness of oxen encircling it all around, ten to a cubit, all the way around the Sea. The oxen were cast in two rows, when it was cast.

Context of 2 Chronicles 4:3

1Solomon also made a bronze altar 30 feet long, 30 feet wide, and 15 feet high. 2Then he cast a great round basin, 15 feet across from rim to rim, called the Sea. It was 7-1/2 feet deep and about 45 feet in circumference. It was encircled just below its rim by two rows of figures that resembled oxen. There were about six oxen per foot all the way around, and they were cast as part of the basin. 4The Sea was placed on a base of twelve bronze oxen, all facing outward. Three faced north, three faced west, three faced south, and three faced east, and the Sea rested on them. 5The walls of the Sea were about three inches thick, and its rim flared out like a cup and resembled a water lily blossom. It could hold about 16,500 gallons of water.

2 Chronicles 4:3 word by word

וּדְמ֣וּת בְּקָרִים֩ תַּ֨חַת ל֜וֹ סָבִ֤יב׀ סָבִיב֙ סוֹבְבִ֣ים אֹת֔וֹ עֶ֚שֶׂר בָּֽאַמָּ֔ה מַקִּיפִ֥ים אֶת־הַיָּ֖ם סָבִ֑יב שְׁנַ֤יִם טוּרִים֙ הַבָּקָ֔ר יְצוּקִ֖ים בְּמֻֽצַקְתּֽוֹ׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• the similitudeדְּמוּתdemûth · likenessH1823
• of oxenבָּקָרbâqâr · cattleH1241
• which did compassסָבַבsâbab · to turn: surroundH5437
• it round aboutסָבִיבsâbîyb sebîybâh · aroundH5439
• tenעֶשֶׂר‛eώer ‛ăώârâh · tenH6235
• in a cubitאַמָּה'ammâh · cubitH520
• compassingנָקַףnâqaph · to surroundH5362
• the seaיָםyâm · seaH3220
• Twoשְׁנַ֫יִםshenayim shettayim · twoH8147
• rowsטוּרţûr · rowH2905
• castיָצַקyâtsaq · to pour: cast metalH3332
• when it was castמוּצֶ֫קֶתmûtsâqâh mûtsâqâh · castingH4166

Cross-references for 2 Chronicles 4:3

• 1 Kings 7:24It was encircled just below its rim by two rows of decorative gourds. There were about six gourds per foot all the way around, and they were cast as part of the basin.
• Ezekiel 1:10Each had a human face in the front, the face of a lion on the right side, the face of an ox on the left side, and the face of an eagle at the back.
• Ezekiel 10:14Each of the four cherubim had four faces: the first was the face of an ox, the second was a human face, the third was the face of a lion, and the fourth was the face of an eagle.
• 1 Corinthians 9:9For the law of Moses says, “You must not muzzle an ox to keep it from eating as it treads out the grain.” Was God thinking only about oxen when he said this?
• Revelation 4:7The first of these living beings was like a lion; the second was like an ox; the third had a human face; and the fourth was like an eagle in flight.
• 1 Kings 6:18Cedar paneling completely covered the stone walls throughout the Temple, and the paneling was decorated with carvings of gourds and open flowers.
• 2 Kings 4:39One of the young men went out into the field to gather herbs and came back with a pocketful of wild gourds. He shredded them and put them into the pot without realizing they were poisonous.

Commentaries on 2 Chronicles 4:3

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 3Under it was the similitude of oxen - In 1 Kings 7:24, instead of oxen, בקרים bekarim, we have knops, פקעים pekaim ; and this last is supposed by able critics to be the reading which ought to be received here. What we call knops may signify grapes, mushrooms, apples, or some such ornaments placed round about under the turned over lip or brim of this caldron. It is possible that בקרים bekarim, oxen, may be a corruption of פקעים pekaim, grapes, as the פ pe…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 3For “oxen” we find in 1 Kings 7:24, “knops” or “gourds.” An early copyist, not comprehending the comparatively rare word here used for “gourd,” and expecting to hear of oxen, as soon as the molten sea was mentioned, changed the reading.Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 2-5The temple, God's house, symbolized Eden, God's garden (see Isaiah 51:3). The large sea, supported by twelve bronze oxen, represented either the waters before creation or the life-giving waters from the Garden of Eden. Divine forces control the chaotic waters (Genesis 1:2) so they nourish plants, animals, and humans (see Revelation 21:1, where the sea is gone forever).Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 33. Two rows of oxen were cast, when it was cast--The meaning is, that the circular basin and the brazen oxen which supported it were all of one piece, being cast in one and the same mould. There is a difference in the accounts given of the capacity of this basin, for while in 1Ki 7:26 it is said that two thousand baths of water could be contained in it, in this passage no less than three thousand are stated. It has been suggested that there is here a…Read the comment

Topics related to 2 Chronicles 4:3

• Temple

In the dictionaries

• the sea, the Great Sea, the western sea
• Sea
• Sea, The molten
• Solomon
• Genealogy
• Laver
• Sea, the Molten; Sea, the Brazen
• Similitude
• Temple

Commentaries on 2 Chronicles 4

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings