Albert Barnes Commentary 2 Chronicles 4:3

"And under it was the likeness of oxen, which did compass it round about, for ten cubits, compassing the sea round about. The oxen were in two rows, cast when it was cast." — 2 Chronicles 4:3 (ASV)

Instead of “oxen,” we find “knops” or “gourds” in 1 Kings 7:24. An early copyist, not comprehending the comparatively rare word used here for “gourd” and expecting to hear of oxen as soon as the molten sea was mentioned, changed the reading.