On the panels … were lions, oxen, and cherubim: On the outer, visible sides of the panels were drawings or engravings of lions, oxen, and cherubim. For cherubim see the comments on 1 Kgs 6.23.

Upon the frames, both above and below the lions and oxen, there were wreaths of beveled work: The narrow sides of the frames that held the panels had figures in the shape of wreaths or spirals on them. The Hebrew noun rendered wreaths refers to a circling pattern.

The Hebrew noun translated beveled often refers to the slope of a mountain or hill. Here it is a technical term whose exact meaning is not certain. It is usually considered to mean that the wreaths were in some sense sloping, that is, they were beveled, cut “in relief” (Good News Translation), or “projecting.”

Some interpreters, however, regard the Hebrew word to be a participle from a root meaning “to hammer out.” This verb is used of hammering out gold leaf in 1 Kgs 6.32, where Revised Standard Version translates it “spread.” Following this interpretation, Gray translates wreaths of beveled work as “plated work” and De Vries says “wreaths in hammered work.” Anchor Bible similarly says “spirals of hammered work,” while Revised English Bible has “fillets of hammered work of spiral design.”

Either interpretation is possible. Translators may wish to add a footnote, stating that the meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain. Because the sense is not clear, New Jerusalem Bible leaves the end of this verse untranslated as follows: “under the lions and oxen there were scrolls in the style of….”

Quoted with permission from Omanson, Roger L. and Ellington, John E. A Handbook on 1-2 Kings, Volume 1. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2008. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .