Limitless Word
one Sea, and twelve oxen under the Sea;
1 Kings 7:44 · New King James Version
Parallel translations
  • WEB the one sea; the twelve oxen under the sea;
  • KJV And one sea, and twelve oxen under the sea;
  • BSB the Sea; the twelve oxen underneath the Sea;
  • NASB and the one Sea and the twelve oxen under the Sea;
  • NLT the Sea and the twelve oxen under it;

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org

Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Quick answer

The list includes the one great sea and the twelve oxen supporting it. The chief washbasin and its base are recounted.

Overview

The molten sea, with its twelve oxen representing the tribes of Israel, is named among Hiram's completed works. This great vessel for priestly cleansing stood at the heart of the temple's provision for purity. Its place in the inventory underscores the centrality of cleansing in approaching the holy God, fulfilled at last in Christ.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 2

  • 1 Kgs 7:25It stood on 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 on them above, and all their hindquarters were inward.
  • 1 Kgs 7:23He made the molten sea of ten cubits from brim to brim, round in shape. Its height was five cubits; and a line of thirty cubits encircled it.

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (7)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — 1 Kings videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on 1 Kings 7:44YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on 1 KingsMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.

Christ at the center

Solomon's glory, wisdom, and temple where God's presence dwells are a shadow of the greater Son of David — 'one greater than Solomon is here' — and of the true Temple, Christ himself.

How 1 Kings 7:44 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.

Original language

Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.