1 Kings 7 · a question people ask
Why do Kings and Chronicles describe the pillars and the sea differently?
Some of the numbers and details differ. The pillars: 1 Kings has "eighteen cubits high apiece" (7:15), and so does Jeremiah, "the height of the one pillar was eighteen cubits" (Jeremiah 52:21); 2 Chronicles has "two pillars thirty-five cubits high" (2 Chronicles 3:15). The capitals: "five cubits" in 1 Kings (7:16), 2 Chronicles (2 Chronicles 3:15) and Jeremiah (Jeremiah 52:22), and "three cubits" in 2 Kings (2 Kings 25:17). The sea: "It held two thousand baths" (7:26); "It received and held three thousand baths" (2 Chronicles 4:5). Under its brim, 1 Kings has "buds which encircled it" (7:24), and 2 Chronicles has "the likeness of oxen, which encircled it" (2 Chronicles 4:3). The casting place is "between Succoth and Zarethan" (7:46) in 1 Kings and "between Succoth and Zeredah" (2 Chronicles 4:17) in 2 Chronicles. Much else is the same: the twelve oxen facing the four directions (7:25; 2 Chronicles 4:4), the brim "like the flower of a lily" (7:26; 2 Chronicles 4:5), the names Jachin and Boaz (7:21; 2 Chronicles 3:17). The Bible doesn't explain the differences, and these notes set them side by side without joining them.
The verses
“For he fashioned the two pillars of bronze, eighteen cubits high apiece; and a line of twelve cubits encircled either of them. He made two capitals of molten bronze to set on the tops of the pillars. The height of the one capital was five cubits, and the height of the other capital was five cubits.”
“As for the pillars, the height of the one pillar was eighteen cubits; and a line of twelve cubits encircled it; and its thickness was four fingers. It was hollow. A capital of bronze was on it; and the height of the one capital was five cubits, with network and pomegranates on the capital all around, all of bronze. The second pillar also had the same, with pomegranates.”
“Also he made before the house two pillars thirty-five cubits high, and the capital that was on the top of each of them was five cubits.”
“The height of the one pillar was eighteen cubits, and a capital of bronze was on it. The height of the capital was three cubits, with network and pomegranates on the capital around it, all of bronze; and the second pillar with its network was like these.”