Lexical Summary
agol: Round
Original Word:עָגֹל
Part of Speech:Adjective
Transliteration:`agol
Pronunciation:ah-GOHL
Phonetic Spelling:(aw-gole')
KJV: round
NASB:circular, round
Word Origin:[from an unused root meaning to revolve,]
1. circular
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance
round
Or magowl {aw-gole'}; from an unused root meaning to revolve, circular -- round.
NAS Exhaustive Concordance
Word Originfrom the same as
egelDefinitionround
NASB Translationcircular (3), round (3).
Brown-Driver-Briggs
, ; — absolute
1 Kings 7:23 2t., 1Kings 10:19; 2 Chronicles 4:2; feminine plural
1 Kings 7:31; —
round1 Kings 7:31 (twice in verse) (opposed to ),
1 Kings 10:19;
round in circuit (perimeter)
1 Kings 7:23 2Chronicles 4:2;
1 Kings 7:35.
Topical Lexicon
Biblical Occurrences1 Kings 7:23; 7:31 (two occurrences); 7:35; 10:19;2 Chronicles 4:2
Architectural Usage in the Temple
The word describes the circular contours of three principal features in Solomon’s complex:
• The molten “Sea” (1 Kings 7:23;2 Chronicles 4:2). Its perfectly round shape, thirty cubits in circumference, proclaimed symmetry and completeness in the great basin that provided water for priestly purification.
• The wheeled water carts (1 Kings 7:31, twice; 7:35). Their rounded orifices and trim were designed to complement the basin they served, displaying flawless craftsmanship in service to holiness.
• The throne of Solomon (1 Kings 10:19). The curved backrest formed the visual summit of royal authority housed near the temple precincts.
Symbolic Significance of Circular Form
Scripture often associates the circle with perfection, fullness, and unbroken fellowship. The round Sea held water for continual cleansing—an ongoing invitation to purity (compareHebrews 10:22). Its geometry silently taught that the LORD’s provision for holiness is complete. The throne’s rounded top reinforced that lesson: righteous rule rests on the wholeness of divine order (Psalm 89:14).
Historical Context
Archaeology shows no parallel in the ancient Near East matching the scale and precision of the ten-cubit Sea. The text emphasizes that Hiram of Tyre “cast” (1 Kings 7:23) the basin in one piece—evidence of Israel’s God-given technological advance. The same vocabulary is used for the throne’s curvature, linking sacred and royal spheres under covenantal blessing.
Ministry Implications
1. Worship facilities today benefit from thoughtful design that points to theological truth. The ancients preached silently through architecture; modern ministries can do likewise.
2. Circular imagery urges the church toward spiritual completeness (Colossians 2:10). Just as the priests washed continually, believers practice ongoing confession and cleansing (1 John 1:9).
3. Leadership patterned after Solomon’s rounded throne reminds pastors that authority must be exercised within the whole counsel of God, not on partial understanding.
Christological Reflection
The perfect circle anticipates the flawless atonement of Jesus Christ. The molten Sea prefigures the blood “that cleanses us from all sin” (1 John 1:7). Its vast capacity pictures the sufficiency of Christ’s sacrifice for “a multitude that no one could count” (Revelation 7:9). The rounded throne foreshadows the exalted seat of the Son of David, whose kingdom will never end (Luke 1:32-33).
Eschatological Outlook
Ezekiel’s future temple widens the motif of perfect measurements (Ezekiel 42:15-20), and Revelation culminates with the New Jerusalem fashioned as a flawless cube (Revelation 21:16), the three-dimensional counterpart to the circle. Both shapes convey the final, eternal completeness toward which every rounded surface in Solomon’s day was pointing.
Summary
Strong’s Hebrew 5696 consistently marks objects set apart for cleansing, order, and rule. Its Spirit-breathed placement in the text invites God’s people to marvel at His design, pursue wholeness, and look ahead to the day when perfection becomes permanent in the new heaven and new earth.
Forms and Transliterations
עֲגֻלּֽוֹת׃ עָג֣וֹל ׀ עָגֹ֣ל עָגֹ֣ל ׀ עָגֹ֤ל עגול עגל עגלות׃ ‘ā·ḡō·wl ‘ā·ḡōl ‘ă·ḡul·lō·wṯ ‘āḡōl ‘āḡōwl ‘ăḡullōwṯ aGol agulLot
Links
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