1 Kings 7:24

24 Under its rim, three hundred gourds encircled it in two rows; they were cast when the Sea was cast.

1 Kings 7:24 Meaning and Commentary

1 Kings 7:24

And under the brim of it round about there were knops
compassing it
Of an oval form, and therefore the Targum calls them figures of eggs; in ( 2 Chronicles 4:3 ) they are said to have the similitude of oxen, being like the heads of oxen, and the other parts oval; or these were in the form of gourds, as sometimes the word is rendered, ( 2 Kings 4:39 ) which had on them the figures of the heads of oxen, and might serve as cocks to let out the water:

ten in a cubit, compassing the sea round about it;
and as the circumference was thirty cubits, there must be three hundred of these in the circuit:

the knops were cast in two rows when it was cast;
for these were cast together with the sea, and being in two rows, there must be in all six hundred of them.

1 Kings 7:24 In-Context

22 On the tops of the columns were shapes like lilies; thus the work of the columns was finished.

23 He made the cast metal "Sea" circular, seventeen-and-a-half feet from rim to rim, eight-and-three quarter feet high and fifty-two-and-a-half feet in circumference.

24 Under its rim, three hundred gourds encircled it in two rows; they were cast when the Sea was cast.

25 It rested on twelve oxen, three looking north, three looking west, three looking south and three looking east, all with their hindquarters toward the center. The Sea was set on top of them.

26 It was a handbreadth thick, its rim was made like the rim of a cup, like the flower of a lily; and its capacity was 11,000 gallons.