And under it was the similitude of oxen, which did compass it round about: ten in a cubit, compassing the sea round about. Two rows of oxen were cast, when it was cast.
Two rows of oxen were cast, when it was cast - the meaning of which is, that the circular basin and the brasen oxen which supported it were all of one piece, being cast in one and the same mould. There is a difference in the accounts given of the capacity of this basin, for while in 1 Kings 7:26 it is said that 2,000 baths of water could be contained in it, in this passage no less than 3,000 are stated. It has been suggested that there is here a statement, not merely of the quantity of water which the basin held, but that also which was necessary to work it, to keep it flowing as a fountain; that which was required to fill both it and its accompaniments. In support of this view, it may be remarked that different words are employed: the one in 1 Kings 7:26, rendered "contained;" the two here rendered, "received and held." There was a difference between receiving and holding. When the basin played as a fountain, and all its parts were filled for that purpose, the latter, together with the sea itself, received 3,000 baths; but the sea exclusively held only 2,000 baths, when its contents were restricted to those of the circular basin. It received and held 3,000 baths (Calmet's 'Fragments').