BibleWord.ai› Bible› 2 Chronicles› Chapter 4› Verse 2

2 Chronicles 4:2

Old Testament Historical ASV (1901)

What does 2 Chronicles 4:2 say?

The American Standard Version records this verse as: “Also he made the molten sea of ten cubits from brim to brim, round in compass; and the height thereof was five cubits; and a line of thirty cubits compassed it round about.” Read the surrounding verses and the named sources below before drawing broader conclusions.

The verse

Also he made the molten sea of ten cubits from brim to brim, round in compass; and the height thereof was five cubits; and a line of thirty cubits compassed it round about.
2 Chronicles 4:2 — American Standard Version

Context — 2 Chronicles 4

American Standard Version (1901) — public domain. Click any verse for its study page.
1Moreover he made an altar of brass, twenty cubits the length thereof, and twenty cubits the breadth thereof, and ten cubits the height thereof.
2Also he made the molten sea of ten cubits from brim to brim, round in compass; and the height thereof was five cubits; and a line of thirty cubits compassed it round about.
3And under it was the likeness of oxen, which did compass it round about, for ten cubits, compassing the sea round about. The oxen were in two rows, cast when it was cast.
4It stood upon twelve oxen, three looking toward the north, and three looking toward the west, and three looking toward the south, and three looking toward the east: and the sea was set upon them above, and all their hinder parts were inward.
5And it was a handbreadth thick; and the brim thereof was wrought like the brim of a cup, like the flower of a lily: it received and held three thousand baths.
← 2 Chronicles 4:12 Chronicles 4:3 →
← Full Chapter 4 2 Chronicles Overview

What do historical commentaries say?

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible · 19th-century historical commentary
“MOLTEN SEA. (Ch2 4:2-5) he made a molten sea--(See on Kg1 7:23), as in that passage "knops" occur instead of "oxen." It is generally supposed that the rows of ornamental knops were in the form of ox heads.”
Read attributed excerpt →
Tyndale Open Study Notes
Tyndale House Publishers · Tyndale Open Study Notes · Modern study notes
“4:2-5 The Temple, the house of God, depicted Eden, the garden of God (cp. Isa 51:3). The massive Sea that rested on the backs of the twelve bronze oxen represented either cosmic pre-creation waters or the waters of life that emanated from the Garden of Eden. Divine forces subdue the waters of chaos (Gen 1:2) so that they provide life-giving nourishment for plant, animal, and human life (see Rev 21:1, where the sea is removed forever).”
Read attributed excerpt →
Treasury of Scriptural Knowledge
R. A. Torrey and contributors · The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge · Cross-reference reference work
“a molten sea: Exo 30:18-21; Kg1 7:23; Zac 13:1; Tit 3:5; Rev 7:14 brim to brim: Heb. his brim to his brim 2 Chronicles 4:3”
Read attributed excerpt →
Keil & Delitzsch
C. F. Keil & F. Delitzsch · Commentary on the Old Testament · 19th-century historical commentary
“The brazen sea described as in Kg1 7:23-26. See the commentary on that passage, and the sketch in my Archaeol. i. plate iii. fig. 1. The differences in substance, such as the occurrence of בּקרים and הבּקר, Ch2 4:3, instead of פּקעים and הפּקים, and 3000 baths instead of 2000, are probably the result of orthographical errors in the Chronicle. יכיל in Ch2 4:5 appears superfluous after the preceding מחזיק, and Berth. considers it a gloss which has come from 1 Kings into our text by mistake. But the expression is only pleonastic: "receiving baths, 3000 it held;" and there is no sufficient reason to strike out the words. 2 Chronicles 4:6”
Read attributed excerpt →

Related study paths

Read 2 Chronicles 4 in contextBrowse Hebrew word studiesOpen this verse in the study reader

Sources and verification