1 Kings 7:24

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.

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 The tops of the pillars were shaped like lilies. So the work on the pillars was finished.

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.