1 Kings 7:25

25 The huge bowl stood on 12 bulls. Three of them faced north. Three faced west. Three faced south. And three faced east. The bowl rested on top of them. Their rear ends were toward the center.

1 Kings 7:25 Meaning and Commentary

1 Kings 7:25

It stood upon twelve oxen
Figures of them in brass, of full proportion:

three looking toward the north, and three looking toward the west, and
three looking toward the south, and three looking toward the east;
and so turned to the four quarters of the world:

and the sea was set above upon them;
as it were on the backs of them, and their mouths served as spouts or cocks, to let water out of it on all sides:

and all their hinder parts were inward;
that they might not be seen, and which met in a centre; they that were north came against those that were south, and they in the east met with those to the west. The brass of the sea, according to Jacob Leon ^F18, weighed 1,800 arobas, and, with twelve oxen under, 33,500; each aroba being twenty five pounds weight.

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FOOTNOTES:

F18 Relation of Memorable Things in the Temple, ch. 4. p. 21.

1 Kings 7:25 In-Context

23 Huram made a huge metal bowl for washing. Its shape was round. It measured 15 feet from rim to rim. It was seven and a half feet high. And it was 45 feet around.

24 Below the rim there was a circle of gourds around the bowl. In every 18 inches around the bowl there were ten gourds. The gourds were arranged in two rows. They were made as part of the bowl itself.

25 The huge bowl stood on 12 bulls. Three of them faced north. Three faced west. Three faced south. And three faced east. The bowl rested on top of them. Their rear ends were toward the center.

26 The bowl was three inches thick. Its rim was like the rim of a cup. The rim was shaped like the bloom of a lily. The bowl held 11,500 gallons of water.

27 Huram also made ten stands out of bronze. They could be moved around. Each stand was six feet long. It was six feet wide. And it was four and a half feet high.