III. HISTORY OF SOLOMON'S KINGSHIP. CH. 1-9.
The kingship of Solomon centres in the building of the temple of the Lord, and the account of that begins in ch. 2 with a statement of the preparations which Solomon made for the accomplishment of this great work, so much pressed upon him by his father, and concludes in ch. 7 with the answer which the Lord gave to his consecrating prayer in a vision. In ch. 1, before the history of the temple building, we have an account of the sacrifice at Gibeon by which Solomon inaugurated his reign (v. 1-13), with some short notices of his power and riches (vv. 14-17); and in ch. 8 and 9, after the temple building, we have summary statements about the palaces and cities which he built (2 Chron 8:1-11), the arrangement of the regular religious service (vv. 12-16), the voyage to Ophir (vv. 17 and 18), the visit of the queen of Sheba (9:1-12), his riches and his royal magnificence and glory (vv. 13-28), with the concluding notices of the duration of his reign, and of his death (vv. 29, 30).
If we compare with this the description of Solomon's reign in 1 Kings 1-11, we find that in the Chronicle not only are the narratives of his accession to the throne in consequence of Adonijah's attempted usurpation, and his confirming his kingdom by punishing the revolter (1 Kings ch. 1 and 2), of his marriage to the Egyptian princess (1 Kings 3:1 and 2), his wise judgment (3:16-28), his public officers, his official men, his royal magnificence and glory (1 Kings 4:1-5:14), omitted, but also the accounts of the building of his palace (1 Kings 7:1-12), of his idolatry, and of the adversaries who rose against him (1 Kings 11:1-40). On the other hand, the description of the building and consecration of the temple is supplemented by various important details which are omitted from the first book of Kings. Hence it is clear that the author of the Chronicle purposed only to portray more exactly the building of the house of God, and has only shortly touched upon all the other undertakings of this wise and fortunate king.
CH. 1:1-17. SOLOMON'S SACRIFICE, AND THE THEOPHANY AT GIBEON. CHARIOTS, HORSES, AND RICHES OF SOLOMON. 2 CHRONICLES 1:1-13 And Solomon the son of David was strengthened in his kingdom, and the LORD his God was with him, and magnified him exceedingly.
Verse 1-6. The sacrifice at Gibeon, and the theophany.-Vv. 1-6. When Solomon had established himself upon his throne, he went with the princes and representatives of the congregation of Israel to Gibeon, to seek for the divine blessing upon his reign by a solemn sacrifice to be offered there before the tabernacle. V. 1 forms, as it were, the superscription of the account of Solomon's reign which follows. In wgw' wayit|chazeeq = Solomon established himself in his kingdom, i.e., he became strong and mighty in his kingdom, the older commentators saw a reference to the defeat of Adonijah, the pretender to the crown, and his followers (1 Kings 2). But this view of the words is too narrow; we find the same remark made of other kings whose succession to the throne had not been questioned (cf. 2 Chron 12:13; 13:21; 17:1, and 21:4), and the remark refers to the whole reign-to all that Solomon undertook in order to establish a firm dominion, not merely to his entry upon it. With this view of the words, the second clause, "his God was with him, and made him very great," coincides. God gave His blessing to all that Solomon did for this end. With the last words cf. 1 Chron 29:25.
We have an account of the sacrifice at Gibeon (vv. 7-13) in 1 Kings 3:4-15 also. The two narratives agree in all the main points, but, in so far as their form is concerned, it is at once discernible that they are two independent descriptions of the same thing, but derived from the same sources. In Kings 3 the theophany-in our text, on the contrary, that aspect of the sacrifice which connected it with the public worship-is more circumstantially narrated. While in 1 Kings 3:4 it is briefly said the king went to Gibeon to sacrifice there, our historian records that Solomon summoned the princes and representatives of the people to this solemn act, and accompanied by them went to Gibeon. This sacrifice was no mere private sacrifice-it was the religious consecration of the opening of his reign, at which the estates of the kingdom were present as a matter of course. "All Israel" is defined by "the princes over the thousands..., the judges, and all the honourable;" then l|kaal-yis|raa'eel is again taken up and explained by the apposition haa'aabowt raa'sheey : to all Israel, viz., the heads of the fathers'-houses. l| is to be repeated before raa'sheey .
What Solomon said to all Israel through its representatives, is not communicated; but it may be gathered from what succeeds, that he summoned them to accompany him to Gibeon to offer the sacrifice. The reason why he offered his sacrifice at the baamaah , i.e., place of sacrifice, is given in v. 3f. There the Mosaic tabernacle stood, yet without the ark, which David had caused to be brought up from Kirjath-jearim to Jerusalem (1 Chron 13 and 15f.). In low () baheekiyn the article in ba represents the relative 'asher = baa'asher or low () heekiyn 'asher bim|qowm ; cf. Judg 5:27; Ruth 1:16; 1 Kings 21:19; see on 1 Chron 26:28. Although the ark was separated from the tabernacle, yet by the latter at Gibeon was the Mosaic altar of burnt-offering, and on that account the sanctuary at Gibeon was Jahve's dwelling, and the legal place of worship for burnt-offerings of national-theocratic import. "As our historian here brings forward emphatically the fact that Solomon offered his burnt-offering at the legal place of worship, so he points out in 1 Chron 21:28-30:1, how David was only brought by extraordinary events, and special signs from God, to sacrifice on the altar of burntoffering erected by him on the threshing-floor of Ornan, and also states how he was prevented from offering his burnt-offering in Gibeon" (Berth.). As to Bezaleel, the maker of the brazen altar, cf. Ex 31:2 and 37:1. Instead of saam , which most manuscripts and many editions have before lip|neey , and which the Targ. and Syr. also express, there is found in most editions of the 16th century, and also in manuscripts, shaam , which the LXX and Vulgate also read. The reading shaam is unquestionably better and more correct, and the Masoretic pointing saam , posuit, has arisen by an undue assimilation of it to Ex 40:29. The suffix in yid|r|sheehuw does not refer to the altar, but to the preceding word yhwh ; cf. 'elohiym daarash , 1 Chron 21:30; 15:13, etc.
Verse 7-10. The theophany, cf. 1 Kings 3:5-15. In that night, i.e., on the night succeeding the day of the sacrifice. The appearance of God by night points to a dream, and in 1 Kings 35:15 we are expressly informed that He appeared in a vision. Solomon's address to God, vv. 8-10, is in 1 Kings 5:6-10 given more at length. The mode of expression brings to mind Chron 17:23, and recurs in 2 Chron 6:17; 1 Kings 8:26. mada` , with Pathach in the second syllable, elsewhere madaa` (vv. 11, 12), occurs elsewhere only in Dan 1:4,17; Eccl 10:20.
Verse 11-13. The divine promise. Here `osher is strengthened by the addition n|kaaciym , treasures (Josh 22:8; Eccl 5:18; 6:2). tish|pot 'asher , ut judicare possis. In general, the mode of expression is briefer than in 1 Kings 3:11-13, and the conditional promise, "long life" (1 Kings 3:14), is omitted, because Solomon did not fulfil the condition, and the promise was not fulfilled. In v. 13 labaamaah is unintelligible, and has probably come into our text only by a backward glance at v. 3, instead of meehabaamaah , which the contents demand, and as the LXX and Vulgate have rightly translated it. The addition, "from before the tabernacle," which seems superfluous after the preceding "from the Bamah at Gibeon," is inserted in order again to point to the place of sacrifice at Gibeon, and to the legal validity of the sacrifices offered there (Berth.). According to 1 Kings 3:15, Solomon, on his return to Jerusalem, offered before the ark still other burnt-offerings and thankofferings, and prepared a meal for his servants.
This is omitted by the author of the Chronicle, because these sacrifices had no ultimate import for Solomon's reign, and not, as Then, supposes, because in his view only the sacrifices offered on the ancient brazen altar of burnt-offering belonging to the temple had legal validity. For he narrates at length in 1 Chron 21:18,26ff. how God Himself directed David to sacrifice in Jerusalem, and how the sacrifice offered there was graciously accepted by fire from heaven, and the threshing-floor of Araunah thereby consecrated as a place of sacrifice; and it is only with the purpose of explaining to his readers why Solomon offered the solemn burnt-offering in Gibeon, and not, as we should have expected from 1 Chron 21, in Jerusalem, that he is so circumstantial in his statements as to the tabernacle. The last clause of v. 13, "and he was king over Israel," does not belong to the section treating of the sacrifice at Gibeon, but corresponds to the remark in 1 Kings 4:1, and forms the transition to what follows. 2 CHRONICLES 1:14-17 And Solomon gathered chariots and horsemen: and he had a thousand and four hundred chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen, which he placed in the chariot cities, and with the king at Jerusalem.
Solomon's chariots, horses, and riches.-In order to prove by facts the fulfilment of the divine promise which Solomon received in answer to his prayer at Gibeon, we have in 1 Kings 3:16-28 a narrative of Solomon's wise judgment, then in ch. 4 an account of his public officers; and in Chron 5 the royal magnificence, glory, and wisdom of his reign is further portrayed. In our Chronicle, on the contrary, we have in vv. 14-17 only a short statement as to his chariots and horses, and the wealth in silver and gold to be found in the land, merely for the purpose of showing how God had given him riches and possessions. This statement recurs verbally in Kings 10:26-29, in the concluding remarks on the riches and splendour of Solomon's reign; while in the parallel passage, 2 Chron 9:13-28, it is repeated in an abridged form, and interwoven with other statements. From this we see in how free and peculiar a manner the author of the Chronicle has made use of his authorities, and how he has arranged the material derived from them according to his own special plan. (Note: The assertion of Thenius on 1 Kings 10:26ff., that he found this section in his authorities in two different places and in different connections, copied them mechanically, and only towards the end of the second passage remarked the repetition and then abridged the statement, is at once refuted by observing, that in the supposed repetition the first half (2 Chron 9:25-26) does not at all agree with Kings 10:26, but coincides with the statement in 1 Kings 5:6-7.)
For the commentary on this section, see on 1 Kings 10:26-28.
Verse 14-15. Vv. 14, 15, with the exception of one divergence in form and one in matter, correspond word for word to 1 Kings 10:26 and 27. Instead of wayan|cheem , he led them (Kings), there stands in v. 15, as in 2 Chron 9:25, the more expressive word wayaniyheem, "he laid them" in the chariot cities; and in v. 15 w|'et-hazaahaab is added to 'et-hakecep, while it is omitted from both 1 Kings 10:27 and also 2 Chron 9:27. It is, however, very suitable in this connection, since the comparison "like stones" has reference to quantity, and Solomon had collected not only silver, but also gold, in quantity.
Verse 16-17. Vv. 16, 17 coincide with 1 Kings 10:28-29, except that miq|ree' is used for miq|weeh , and wateetsee' wata`aleh is altered into wayowtsiy'uw waya`aluw . For the commentary on these verses, see 1 Kings 10:28f.
CH. 1:18-2:17. SOLOMON'S PREPARATIONS FOR THE BUILDING OF THE TEMPLE. (CF. 1 KINGS 5:15-32.) 2 CHRONICLES 2:1-2 (1:18; 2:1) And Solomon determined to build an house for the name of the LORD, and an house for his kingdom. 1:18. The account of these is introduced by 1:18: "Solomon thought to build." 'aamar with an infinitive following does not signify here to command one to do anything, as e.g., in 1 Chron 21:17, but to purpose to do something, as e.g., in 1 Kings 5:19. For yhwh l|sheem , see on 1 Kings 5:17. l|mal|kuwtow bayit , house for his kingdom, i.e., the royal palace. The building of this palace is indeed shortly spoken of in 2 Chron 2:11; 7:11, and 8:1, but is not in the Chronicle described in detail as in 1 Kings 7:1-12.
With 2 Chron 2:1 begins the account of the preparations which Solomon made for the erection of these buildings, especially of the temple building, accompanied by a statement that the king caused all the workmen of the necessary sort in his kingdom to be numbered. There follows thereafter an account of the negotiations with King Hiram of Tyre in regard to the sending of a skilful architect, and of the necessary materials, such as cedar wood and hewn stones, from Lebanon (vv. 2-15); and, in conclusion, the statements as to the levying of the statute labourers of Israel (v. 1) are repeated and rendered more complete (vv. 16, 17). If we compare the parallel account in 1 Kings 5:15-32, we find that Solomon's negotiation with Hiram about the proposed buildings is preceded (v. 15) by a notice, that Hiram, after he had heard of Solomon's accession, had sent him an embassy to congratulate him. This notice is omitted in the Chronicle, because it was of no importance in the negotiations which succeeded. In the account of Solomon's negotiation with Hiram, both narratives (Chr. vv. 2-15 and 1 Kings 5:16-26) agree in the main, but differ in form so considerably, that it is manifest that they are free adaptations of one common original document, quite independent of each other, as has been already remarked on 1 Kings 5:15. On v. 1 see further on v. 16f. 2 CHRONICLES 2:3-10 (2:2-9) Solomon, through his ambassadors, addressed himself to Huram king of Tyre, with the request that he would send him an architect and building wood for the temple. On the Tyrian king Huram or Hiram, the contemporary of David and Solomon, see the discussion on 2 Sam 5:11.
According to the account in 1 Kings 5, Solomon asked cedar wood from Lebanon from Hiram; according to our account, which is more exact, he desired an architect, and cedar, cypress, and other wood. In 1 Kings 5 the motive of Solomon's request is given in the communication to Hiram, viz., that David could not carry out the building of the proposed temple on account of his wars, but that Jahve had given him (Solomon) rest and peace, so that he now, in accordance with the divine promise to David, desired to carry on the building (vv. 17-19). In the Chr. vv. 2-5, on the contrary, Solomon reminds the Tyrian king of the friendliness with which he had supplied his father David with cedar wood for his palace, and then announces to him his purpose to build a temple to the Lord, at the same time stating that it was designed for the worship of God, whom the heavens and the earth cannot contain. It is clear, therefore, that both authors have expanded the fundamental thoughts of their authority in somewhat freer fashion. The apodosis of the clause beginning with ka'asher is wanting, and the sentence is an anacolouthon. The apodosis should be: "do so also for me, and send me cedars." This latter clause follows in vv. 6, 7, while the first can easily be supplied, as is done e.g., in the Vulg., by sic fac mecum.
Verse 3. "Behold, I will build." hineeh with a participle of that which is imminent, what one intends to do. low () l|haq|diysh , to sanctify (the house) to Him. The infinitive clause which follows (wgw' l|haq|Tiyr ) defines more clearly the design of the temple. The temple is to be consecrated by worshipping Him there in the manner prescribed, by burning incense, etc. camiym q|Toret , incense of odours, Ex 25:6, which was burnt every morning and evening on the altar of incense, Ex 30:7f. The clauses which follow are to be connected by zeugma with l|haq|Tiyr , i.e., the verbs corresponding to the objects are to be supplied from hqTyr: "and to spread the continual spreading of bread" (Ex 25:30), and to offer burnt-offerings, as is prescribed in Num and 29. wgw' zo't l|`owlaam , for ever is this enjoined upon Israel, cf. 1 Chron 23:31.
Verse 4. In order properly to worship Jahve by these sacrifices, the temple must be large, because Jahve is greater than all gods; cf. Ex 18:11; Deut 10:17.
Verse 5-6. No one is able (kowach `aatsar as in 1 Chron 29:14) to build a house in which this God could dwell, for the heaven of heavens cannot contain Him. These words are a reminiscence of Solomon's prayer (1 Kings 8:27; 2 Chron 6:18). How should I (Solomon) be able to build Him a house, scil. that He should dwell therein? In connection with this, there then comes the thought: and that is not my purpose, but only to offer incense before Him will I build a temple. haq|Tiyr is used as pars pro toto, to designate the whole worship of the Lord. After this declaration of the purpose, there follows in v. 6 the request that he would send him for this end a skilful chief workman, and the necessary material, viz., costly woods. The chief workman was to be a man wise to work in gold, silver, etc. According to 2 Chron 4:11-16 and 1 Kings 7:13ff., he prepared the brazen and metal work, and the vessels of the temple; here, on the contrary, and in v. 13 also, he is described as a man who was skilful also in purple weaving, and in stone and wood work, to denote that he was an artificer who could take charge of all the artistic work connected with the building of the temple.
To indicate this, all the costly materials which were to be employed for the temple and its vessels are enumerated. 'ar|g|waan , the later form of 'ar|gaamaan , deep-red purple, see on Ex 25:4. kar|miyl , occurring only here, vv. 6, 13, and in 2 Chron 3:14, in the signification of the Heb. shaaniy towla`at , crimson or scarlet purple, see on Ex 25:4. It is not originally a Hebrew word, but is probably derived from the Old-Persian, and has been imported, along with the thing itself, from Persia by the Hebrews. t|keelet , deep-blue purple, hyacinth purple, see on Ex 25:4. pituwchiym pateeach , to make engraved work, and Ex 28:9,11,36, and 39:6, of engraving precious stones, but used here, as kaal-pituwach, v. 13, shows, in the general signification of engraved work in metal or carved work in wood; cf. 1 Kings 6:29. `imhachakaamiym depends upon la`asowt : to work in gold..., together with the wise (skilful) men which are with me in Judah. heekiyn 'asher , quos comparavit, cf. 1 Chron 28:21; 22:15.
Verse 7. The materials Hiram was to send were cedar, cypress, and algummim wood from Lebanon. 'al|guwmiym , v. 7 and 2 Chron 9:10, instead of 'al|mugiym , 1 Kings 10:11, probably means sandal wood, which was employed in the temple, according to 1 Kings 10:12, for stairs and musical instruments, and is therefore mentioned here, although it did not grow in Lebanon, but, according to 9:10 and 1 Kings 10:11, was procured at Ophir. Here, in our enumeration, it is inexactly grouped along with the cedars and cypresses brought from Lebanon.
Verse 8-9. The infinitive uwl|haakiyn cannot be regarded as the continuation of lik|rowt , nor is it a continuation of the imperat. liy () sh|lach (v. 7), with the signification, "and let there be prepared for me" (Berth.). It is subordinated to the preceding clauses: send me cedars, which thy people who are skilful in the matter hew, and in that my servants will assist, in order, viz., to prepare me building timber in plenty (the w is explic). On v. 8b cf. v. 4. The infin. abs. hap|lee' is used adverbially: "wonderfully" (Ew. §280, c). In return, Solomon promises to supply the Tyrian workmen with grain, wine, and oil for their maintenance-a circumstance which is omitted in 1 Kings 5:10; see on v. 14. lachoT|biym is more closely defined by haa`eetsiym l|kor|teey , and l| is the introductory l|: "and behold, as to the hewers, the fellers of trees." chaaTab, to hew (wood), and to dress it (Deut 29:10; Josh 9:21,23), would seem to have been supplanted by chaatsab, which in vv. 1, 17 is used for it, and it is therefore explained by haa`eetsiym kaarat . "I will give wheat makowt to thy servants" (the hewers of wood). The word makowt gives no suitable sense; for "wheat of the strokes," for threshed wheat, would be a very extraordinary expression, even apart from the facts that wheat, which is always reckoned by measure, is as a matter of course supposed to be threshed, and that no such addition is made use of with the barley. makowt is probably only an orthographical error for makolet , food, as may be seen from 1 Kings 5:25. 2 CHRONICLES 2:11-16 (2:10-15) The answer of King Hiram; cf. 1 Kings 5:21-25.-Hiram answered bik|taab , in a writing, a letter, which he sent to Solomon. In 1 Kings 5:21 Hiram first expresses his joy at Solomon's request, because it was of importance to him to be on a friendly footing with the king of Israel. In the Chronicle his writing begins with the congratulation: because Jahve loveth His people, hath He made thee king over them. Cf. for the expression, Chron 9:8 and 1 Kings 10:9. He then, according to both narratives, praises God that He has given David so wise a son. wayo'mer , v. 11, means: then he said further. The praise of God is heightened in the Chronicle by Hiram's entering into Solomon's religious ideas, calling Jahve the Creator of heaven and earth. Then, further, chaakaam been is strengthened by uwbiynaah seekel yowdeea` , having understanding and discernment; and this predicate is specially referred to Solomon's resolve to build a temple to the Lord. Then in v. 12f. he promises to send Solomon the artificer Huram-Abi. On the title 'aabiy , my father, i.e., minister, counsellor, and the descent of this man, cf. the commentary on 1 Kings 7:13-14.
In v. 13 of the Chronicle his artistic skill is described in terms coinciding with Solomon's wish in v. 6, only heightened by small additions. To the metals as materials in which he could work, there are added stone and wood work, and to the woven fabrics buwts (byssus), the later word for sheesh ; and finally, to exhaust the whole, he is said to be able kaal-mch' w|lach|shob, to devise all manner of devices which shall be put to him, as in Ex 31:4, he being thus raised to the level of Bezaleel, the chief artificer of the tabernacle. `im-chakaameykaa is dependent upon la`asowt , as in v. 6. The promise to send cedars and cypresses is for the sake of brevity here omitted, and only indirectly indicated in v. 15.
In v. 14, however, it is mentioned that Hiram accepted the promised supply of grain, wine, and oil for the labourers; and v. 15 closes with the promise to fell the wood required in Lebanon, and to cause it to be sent in floats to Joppa (Jaffa), whence Solomon could take it up to Jerusalem.
The word tsorek| , "need," is a ha'pax leg . in the Old Testament, but is very common in Aramaic writings. rap|codowt , "floats," too, occurs only here instead of dob|rowt , 1 Kings 5:23, and its etymology is unknown.
If we compare vv. 12-15 with the parallel account in 1 Kings 5:22-25, we find that, besides Hiram's somewhat verbose promise to fell the desired quantity of cedars and cypresses on Lebanon, and to send them in floats by sea to the place appointed by Solomon, the latter contains a request from Hiram that Solomon would give him lechem , maintenance for his house, and a concluding remark that Hiram sent Solomon cedar wood, while Solomon gave Hiram, year by year, 20,000 kor of wheat as food for his house, i.e., the royal household, and twenty kor beaten oil, that is, of the finest oil. In the book of Kings, therefore, the promised wages of grain, wine, and oil, which were sent to the Tyrian woodcutters, is passed over, and only the quantity of wheat and finest oil which Solomon gave to the Tyrian king for his household, year by year, in return for the timber sent, is mentioned. In the Chronicle, on the contrary, only the wages or payment to the woodcutters is mentioned, and the return made for the building timber is not spoken of; but there is no reason for bringing these two passages, which treat of different things, into harmony by alterations of the text. For further discussion of this and of the measures, see on Kings 5:22. 2 CHRONICLES 2:17-18 (2:16-17) In vv. 16 and 17 the short statement in v. 1 as to Solomon's statute labourers is again taken up and expanded. Solomon caused all the men to be numbered who dwelt in the land of Israel as strangers, viz., the descendants of the Canaanites who were not exterminated, "according to the numbering (c|paar occurs only here) as his father David had numbered them." This remark refers to 1 Chron 22:2, where, however, it is only said that David commanded the strangers to be assembled. But as he caused them to be assembled in order to secure labourers for the building of the temple, he doubtless caused them to be numbered; and to this reference is here made. The numbering gave a total of 153,000 men, of whom 70,000 were made bearers of burdens, 80,000 chotseeb , i.e., probably hewers of stone and wood baahaar , i.e., on Lebanon, and 3600 foremen or overseers over the workmen, 'et-haa`aam l|ha`abiyd, to cause the people to work, that is, to hold them to their task.
With this cf. 1 Kings 5:29f., where the number of the overseers is stated at 3300. This difference is explained by the fact that in the Chronicle the total number of overseers, of higher and lower rank, is given, while in the book of Kings only the number of overseers of the lower rank is given without the higher overseers. Solomon had in all 550 higher overseers of the builders (Israelite and Canaanite)-cf. 1 Kings 9:23; and of these, were Israelites, who alone are mentioned in 2 Chron 8:10, while the remaining 300 were Canaanites. The total number of overseers is the same in both accounts-3850; who are divided in the Chronicle into Canaanitish and 250 Israelitish, in the book of Kings into 3300 lower and 550 higher overseers (see on 1 Kings 5:30). It is, moreover, stated in Kings 5:27f. that Solomon had levied a force of 30,000 statute labourers from among the people of Israel, with the design that a third part of them, that is, 10,000 men, should labour alternately for a month at a time in Lebanon, looking after their own affairs at home during the two following months. This levy of workmen from among the people of Israel is not mentioned in the Chronicle.
CH. 3-5:1. THE BUILDING OF THE TEMPLE. (CF. 1 KINGS 6; 7:13-51.)
The description of the building begins with a statement of the place where and of the time when the temple was built (2 Chron 3:1-2). Then follows an account of the proportions of the building, a description of the individual parts, commencing on the outside and advancing inwards. First we have the porch (vv. 3, 4), then the house, i.e., the interior apartment or the holy place (vv. 5-7), then the holiest of all, and cherubim therein (vv. 8-13), and the veil of partition between the holy place and the most holy (v. 14). After that we have the furniture of the court, the pillars of the porch (vv. 15-17), the brazen altar (4:1), the brazen sea (4:2-5), the ten lavers (v. 6), the furniture of the holy place, candlesticks and tables (vv. 7, 8), and of the two courts (vv. 9, 10), and finally a summary enumeration of the brazen and golden utensils of the temple (vv. 11, 12). The description in 1 Kings 6 and 7 is differently arranged; the divine promise which Solomon received while the building was in progress, and a description of the building of the palace, being inserted: see on 1 Kings and 7. 2 CHRONICLES 3:1-2 Then Solomon began to build the house of the LORD at Jerusalem in mount Moriah, where the LORD appeared unto David his father, in the place that David had prepared in the threshingfloor of Ornan the Jebusite.
Verse 1-2. The building of the temple.-Vv. 1-3. The statements as to the place where the temple was built (v. 1) are found here only. Mount Moriah is manifestly the mountain in the land of Moriah where Abraham was to have sacrificed his son Isaac (Gen 22:2), which had received the name hamowriyaah , i.e., "the appearance of Jahve," from that event. It is the mountain which lies to the north-east of Zion, now called Haram after the most sacred mosque of the Mohammedans, which is built there; cf. Rosen, das Haram von Jerusalem, Gotha 1866. ld' nir|'aah 'asher is usually translated: "which was pointed out to David his father." But raa'aah has not in Niphal the signification "to be pointed out," which is peculiar to the Hophal (cf. Ex 25:40; 26:30; Deut 4:35, etc.); it means only "to be seen," "to let oneself be seen," to appear, especially used of appearances of God. It cannot be shown to be anywhere used of a place which lets itself be seen, or appears to one.
We must therefore translate: "on mount Moriah, where He had appeared to David his father." The unexpressed subject yhwh is easily supplied from the context; and with 'asher baahaar , "on the mountain where," cf. 'asher bamaaqowm , Gen 35:13f., and Ew. §331, c, 3. heekiyn 'asher is separated from what precedes, and connected with what follows, by the Athnach under 'aabiyhuw , and is translated, after the LXX, Vulg., and Syr., as a hyperbaton thus: "in the place where David had prepared," scil. the building of the temple by the laying up of the materials there (1 Chron 22:5; 29:2). But there are no proper analogies to such a hyperbaton, since Jer 14:1 and 46:1 are differently constituted. Berth. therefore is of opinion that our text can only signify, "which temple he prepared on the place of David," and that this reading cannot be the original, because heekiyn occurs elsewhere only of David's activity in preparing for the building of the temple, and "place of David" cannot, without further ceremony, mean the place which David had chosen.
He would therefore transpose the words thus: daawiyd heekiyn 'asher bim|qowm . But this conjecture is by no means certain. In the first place, the mere transposition of the words is not sufficient; we must also alter bim|qowm into bamaaqowm , to get the required sense; and, further, Bertheau's reasons are not conclusive. heekiyn means not merely to make ready for (zurüsten), to prepare, but also to make ready, make (bereiten), found e.g., 1 Kings 6:19; Ezra 3:3; and the frequent use of this word in reference to David's action in preparing for the building of the temple does not prove that it has this signification here also. The clause may be quite well translated, with J. J. Rambach: "quam domum praeparavit (Salomo) in loco Davidis." The expression "David's place," for "place which David had fixed upon," cannot in this connection be misunderstood, but yet it cannot be denied that the clause is stiff and constrained if we refer it to yhwh 'etbeeyt.
We would therefore prefer to give up the Masoretic punctuation, and construe the words otherwise, connecting heekiyn 'asher with the preceding thus: where Jahve had appeared to his father David, who had prepared (the house, i.e., the building of it), and make d' bim|qowm , with the following designation of the place, to depend upon lib|nowt as a further explanation of the hm' b|har , viz., in the place of David, i.e., on the place fixed by David on the threshingfloor of the Jebusite Ornan; cf. 1 Chron 21:18.-In v. 2 lib|nowt wayaachel is repeated in order to fix the time of the building. In 1 Kings 6:1 the time is fixed by its relation to the exodus of the Israelites from Egypt. basheeniy , which the older commentators always understood of the second day of the month, is strange. Elsewhere the day of the month is always designated by the cardinal number with the addition of lachodeesh or yowm , the month having been previously given. Berth. therefore considers basheeniy to be a gloss which has come into the text by a repetition of hasheeniy , since the LXX and Vulg. have not expressed it. 2 CHRONICLES 3:3 Now these are the things wherein Solomon was instructed for the building of the house of God. The length by cubits after the first measure was threescore cubits, and the breadth twenty cubits. "And this is Solomon's founding, to build the house of God;" i.e., this is the foundation which Solomon laid for the building of the house of God.
The infin. Hoph. huwcad is used here and in Ezra 3:11 substantively. The measurements only of the length and breadth of the building are given; the height, which is stated in 1 Kings 6:2, is omitted here. The former, i.e., the ancient measurement, is the Mosaic or sacred cubit, which, according to Ezek 40:5 and 43:13, was a handbreadth longer than the civil cubit of the earlier time; see on 1 Kings 6:2. 2 CHRONICLES 3:4-7 And the porch that was in the front of the house, the length of it was according to the breadth of the house, twenty cubits, and the height was an hundred and twenty: and he overlaid it within with pure gold.
The porch and the interior of the holy place.-V. 4. The porch which was before (i.e., in front of) the length (of the house), was twenty cubits before the breadth of the house, i.e., was as broad as the house. So understood, the words give an intelligible sense. haa'orek| with the article refers back to haa'orek| in v. 3 (the length of the house), and `al-p|neey in the two defining clauses means "in front;" but in the first clause it is "lying in front of the house," i.e., built in front; in the second it is "measured across the front of the breadth of the house." (Note: There is consequently no need to alter the text according to Kings 6:3, from which passage Berth. would interpolate the words paanaayw `al raach|bow baa'amaah `eeser habayit between `al-p|neey and haa'orek| , and thereby get the signification: "and the porch which is before the house, ten cubits is its breadth before the same, and the length which is before the breadth twenty cubits." But this conjecture is neither necessary nor probable. It is not necessary, for (1) the present text gives an intelligible sense; (2) the assertion that the length and breadth of the porch must be stated cannot be justified, if for no other reason, for this, that even of the main buildings all three dimensions are not given, only two being stated, and that it was not the purpose of the author of the Chronicle to give an architecturally complete statement, his main anxiety being to supply a general idea of the splendour of the temple. It is not probable; because the chronicler, if he had followed 1 Kings 6:3, would not have written `al-paanaayw, but habayit `al-p|neey, and instead of haa'orek| would have written w|'aar|kow , to correspond with raach|bow .)
There is certainly either a corruption of the text, or a wrong number in the statement of the height of the porch, 120 cubits; for a front 120 cubits high to a house only thirty cubits high could not be called 'uwlaam ; it would have been a mig|daal , a tower. It cannot with certainty be determined whether we should read twenty or thirty cubits; see in 1 Kings 6:3. He overlaid it (the porch) with pure gold; cf. 1 Kings 6:21.
Verse 5-7. The interior of the holy place.-V. 5. The "great house," i.e., the large apartment of the house, the holy place, he wainscotted with cypresses, and overlaid it with good gold, and carved thereon palms and garlands. chipaah from chaapaah, to cover, cover over, alternates with the synonymous tsipaah in the signification to coat or overlay with wood and gold. timoriym as in Ezek 41:18, for timorowt, Kings 6:29,35, are artificial palms as wall ornaments. shar|sh|rowt are in Ex 28:14 small scroll-formed chains of gold wire, here spiral chainlike decorations on the walls, garlands of flowers carved on the wainscot, as we learn from 1 Kings 6:18.
Verse 6-7. And he garnished the house with precious stones for ornament (of the inner sides of the walls); cf. 1 Chron 29:2, on which Bähr on Kings 6:7 appositely remarks, that the ornamenting of the walls with precious stones is very easily credible, since among the things which Solomon brought in quantity from Ophir they are expressly mentioned (1 Kings 10:11), and it was a common custom in the East so to employ them in buildings and in vessels; cf. Symbolik des mos. Cult. i. S. 280, 294, 297.
The gold was from par|wayim . This, the name of a place rich in gold, does not elsewhere occur, and has not as yet been satisfactorily explained. Gesen. with Wilson compares the Sanscrit parvam, the first, foremost, and takes it to be the name of the foremost, i.e., eastern regions; others hold the word to be the name of some city in southern or eastern Arabia, whence Indian gold was brought to Palestine.-In v. 7 the garnishing of the house with gold is more exactly and completely described. He garnished the house, the beams (of the roof), the thresholds (of the doors), and its walls and its doors with gold, and carved cherubs on the walls. For details as to the internal garnishing, decoration, and gilding of the house, see 1 Kings 6:18,29, and 30, and for the doors, vv. 32-35. 2 CHRONICLES 3:8-9 And he made the most holy house, the length whereof was according to the breadth of the house, twenty cubits, and the breadth thereof twenty cubits: and he overlaid it with fine gold, amounting to six hundred talents.
The most holy place, with the figures of the cherubim and the veil; cf. Kings 6:19-28.-The length of the most holy place in front of the breadth of the house, twenty cubits, consequently measured in the same way as the porch (v. 4); the breadth, i.e., the depth of it, also twenty cubits. The height, which was the same (1 Kings 6:20), is not stated; but instead of that we have the weight of the gold which was used for the gilding, which is omitted in 1 Kings 6, viz., 600 talents for the overlaying of the walls, and 50 shekels for the nails to fasten the sheet gold on the wainscotting.
He covered the upper chambers of the most holy place also with gold; see 1 Chron 28:11. This is not noticed in 1 Kings 6. 2 CHRONICLES 3:10-13 And in the most holy house he made two cherubims of image work, and overlaid them with gold.
The figures of the cherubim are called tsa`atsu`iym ma`aseeh , sculpture work. The hap leg. ts`ts`ym comes from tsuwa`, Arab. tsâg', formavit, finxit, and signifies sculptures. The plur. y|tsapuw , "they overlaid them," is indefinite. The length of the wings was five cubits, and the four outspread wings extended across the whole width of the most holy place from one wall to the other. The repetition of the clauses haa'acheer hak|ruwb ...haa'echaad k|nap (vv. 11, 12) has a distributive force: the top of one wing of each cherub reached the wall of the house, that of the other wing reached the wing of the other cherub standing by. In the repetition the masc. magiya` alternates with the fem. maga`at , being construed in a freer way as the principal gender with the fem. kaanaap , and also with d|beeqaah , adhaerebat, in the last clause.-In v. 12 Bertheau would strike out the word kan|peey because it does not suit por|siym , which occurs in 1 Chron 28:17; 2 Chron 5:8; 1 Kings 8:7, in the transitive signification, "to stretch out the wings." But nothing is gained by that, for we must then supply the erased word after por|siym again. And, moreover, the succeeding clause is introduced by w|heem , just because in the first clause the wings, and not the cherubim, were the subject. We hold the text to be correct, and translate: "the wings of these cherubim were, for they stretched them out, twenty cubits." w|heem refers to hak|ruwbiym . They stood upon their feet, consequently upright, and were, according to 1 Kings 6:26, ten cubits high. "And their faces towards the house," i.e., turned towards the holy place, not having their faces turned towards each other, as was the case with the cherubim upon the Capporeth (Ex 25:20). 2 CHRONICLES 3:14 And he made the vail of blue, and purple, and crimson, and fine linen, and wrought cherubims thereon.
The veil between the holy place and the most holy, not mentioned in Kings 6:21, was made of the same materials and colours as the veil on the tabernacle, and was inwoven with similar cherub figures; cf. Ex 26:31. uwbuwts kar|miyl as in 2 Chron 2:13. `al `aalaah , to bring upon; an indefinite expression for: to weave into the material. 2 CHRONICLES 3:15-17 Also he made before the house two pillars of thirty and five cubits high, and the chapiter that was on the top of each of them was five cubits.
The two brazen pillars before the house, i.e., before the porch, whose form is more accurately described in 1 Kings 7:15-22. The height of it is here given at thirty-five cubits, while, according to 1 Kings 7:15; 2 Kings 25:17; Jer 52:21, it was only eighteen cubits. The number thirty-five has arisen by confounding ych = 18 with lh = 35; see on 1 Kings 7:16. hatsepet (hap leg.) from tsaapaah , overlay, cover, is the hood of the pillar, i.e., the capital, called in 1 Kings 7:16ff. koteret , crown, capital, five cubits high, as in 1 Kings 7:16.
Verse 16. "And he made little chains on the collar (Halsreife), and put it on the top of the pillars, and made 100 pomegranates, and put them on the chains." In the first clause of this verse, bad|biyr , "in (on) the most holy place," has no meaning, for the most holy place is not here being discussed, but the pillars before the porch, or rather an ornament on the capital of these pillars. We must not therefore think of chains in the most holy place, which extended thence out to the pillars, as the Syriac and Arabic seem to have done, paraphrasing as they do: chains of fifty cubits (i.e., the length of the holy place and the porch). According to 1 Kings 7:17-20 and v. 41f., compared with 2 Chron 4:12-13, each capital consisted of two parts. The lower part was a circumvolution (Wulst) covered with chain-like net-work, one cubit high, with a setting of carved pomegranates one row above and one row below.
The upper part, or that which formed the crown of the capital, was four cubits high, and carved in the form of an open lily-calyx. In our verse it is the lower part of the capital, the circumvolution, with the chain net-work and the pomegranates, which is spoken of. From this, Bertheau concludes that d|biyr must signify the same as the more usual s|baakaah , viz., "the lattice-work which was set about the top of the pillars, and served to fasten the pomegranates," and that bdbyr has arisen out of b|raabiyd by a transposition of the letters. b|raabiyd (chains) should be read here. This conjecture so decidedly commends itself, that we regard it as certainly correct, since raabiyd denotes in Gen 41:42; Ezek 16:11, a necklace, and so may easily denote also a ring or hoop; but we cannot adopt the translation "chains on a ring," nor the idea that the s|baakaah , since it surrounded the head of the pillars as a girdle or broad ring, is called the ring of the pillars.
For this idea does not agree with the translation "chains in a ring," even when they are conceived of as "chain-like ornaments, which could scarcely otherwise be made visible on the ring than by open work." Then the chainlike decorations were not, as Bertheau thinks, on the upper and under border of the ring, but formed a net-work which surrounded the lower part of the capital of the pillar like a ring, as though a necklace had been drawn round it. raabiyd consequently is not the same as s|baakaah , but rather corresponds to that part of the capital which is called gulaah (gulowt ) in 1 Kings 7:14; for the s|baakowt served to cover the gulowt , and were consequently placed on or over the gulowt , as the pomegranates were on the chains or woven work. hagulaah denotes the curve, the circumvolution, which is in 1 Kings 7:20 called habeTen , a broad-arched band, bulging towards the middle, which formed the lower part of the capital. This arched part of the capital the author of the Chronicle calls raabiyd , ring or collar, because it may be regarded as the neck ornament of the head of the pillar, in contrast to the upper part of the capital, that consisted in lily-work, i.e., the ball wrought into the form of an open lily-calyx (koteret ).
Verse 17. As to the position of the pillars, and their names, see on 1 Kings 7:21. 2 CHRONICLES 4:1 Moreover he made an altar of brass, twenty cubits the length thereof, and twenty cubits the breadth thereof, and ten cubits the height thereof. 1-11a. The sacred furniture and the courts of the temple.-Vv. 1-6. The copper furniture of the court. V. 1. The altar of burnt-offering. Its preparation is passed over in 1 Kings 6 and 7, so that there it is only mentioned incidentally in connection with the consecration of the temple, 8:22,54, and 9:25. It was twenty cubits square (long and broad) and ten cubits high, and constructed on the model of the Mosaic altar of burnt- offering, and probably of brass plates, which enclosed the inner core, consisting of earth and unhewn stones; and if we may judge from Ezekiel's description, 2 Chr 43:13-17, it rose in steps, as it were, so that at each step its extent was smaller; and the measurement of twenty cubits refers only to the lowest scale, while the space at the top, with the hearth, was only twelve cubits square; cf. my Bibl. Archaeol. i. S. 127, with the figure, plate iii. fig. 2. 2 CHRONICLES 4:2-5 Also he made a molten sea of ten cubits from brim to brim, round in compass, and five cubits the height thereof; and a line of thirty cubits did compass it round about.
The brazen sea described as in 1 Kings 7:23-26. See the commentary on that passage, and the sketch in my Archaeol. i. plate iii. fig. 1. The differences in substance, such as the occurrence of b|qaariym and habaaqaar , v. 3, instead of p|qaa`iym and hap|qaa`iym , and 3000 baths instead of 2000, are probably the result of orthographical errors in the Chronicle. yaakiyl in v. 5 appears superfluous after the preceding machaziyq , and Berth. considers it a gloss which has come from 1 Kings into our text by mistake. But the expression is only pleonastic: "receiving baths, 3000 it held;" and there is no sufficient reason to strike out the words. 2 CHRONICLES 4:6 He made also ten lavers, and put five on the right hand, and five on the left, to wash in them: such things as they offered for the burnt offering they washed in them; but the sea was for the priests to wash in.
The ten lavers which, according to 1 Kings 7:38, stood upon ten brazen stands, i.e., chests provided with carriage wheels. These stands, the artistic work on which is circumstantially described in 1 Kings 7:27-37, are omitted in the Chronicle, because they are merely subordinate parts of the lavers. The size or capacity of the lavers is not stated, only their position on both sides of the temple porch, and the purpose for which they were designed, "to wash therein, viz., the work of the burnt-offering (the flesh of the burnt-offering which was to be burnt upon the altar) they rinsed therein," being mentioned. For details, see in 1 Kings 7:38f. and the figure in my Archaol. i. plate iii. fig. 4. Occasion is here taken to mention in a supplementary way the use of the brazen sea. 2 CHRONICLES 4:7-8 And he made ten candlesticks of gold according to their form, and set them in the temple, five on the right hand, and five on the left.
The golden furniture of the holy place and the courts. These three verses are not found in the parallel narrative 1 Kings 7, where in v. 39b the statement as to the position of the brazen sea (v. 10 of Chron.) follows immediately the statement of the position of the stands with the lavers.
The candlesticks and the table of the shew-bread are indeed mentioned in the summary enumeration of the temple furniture, 1 Kings 7:48 and 49, as in the corresponding passage of the Chronicle (vv. 19 and 20) they again occur; and in 1 Kings 6:36 and 7:12, in the description of the temple building, the inner court is spoken of, but the outer court is not expressly mentioned. No reason can be given for the omission of these verses in Kings 7; but that they have been omitted or have dropped out, may be concluded from the fact that not only do the whole contents of our fourth chapter correspond to the section 1 Kings 7:23-50, but both passages are rounded off by the same concluding verse (Chr. 2 Chron 5:1 and 1 Kings 51).
Verse 7. He made ten golden candlesticks k|mish|paaTaam , according to their right, i.e., as they should be according to the prescript, or corresponding to the prescript as to the golden candlesticks in the Mosaic sanctuary (Ex 25:31ff.). mish|paaT is the law established by the Mosaic legislation.
Verse 8. Ten golden tables, corresponding to the ten candlesticks, and, like these, placed five on the right and five on the left side of the holy place.
The tables were not intended to bear the candlesticks (Berth.), but for the shew-bread; cf. on v. 19 and 1 Chron 28:16. And a hundred golden basins, not for the catching and sprinkling of the blood (Berth.), but, as their connection with the tables for the shew-bread shows, wine flagons, or sacrificial vessels for wine libations, probably corresponding to the m|naqiyowt on the table of shew-bread in the tabernacle (Ex 25:29). The signification, wine flagons, for miz|raaqiym, is placed beyond a doubt by Amos 6:6. 2 CHRONICLES 4:9-10 Furthermore he made the court of the priests, and the great court, and doors for the court, and overlaid the doors of them with brass.
The two courts are not further described. For the court of the priests, see on 1 Kings 6:36 and 7:12. As to the great or outer court, the only remark made is that it had doors, and its doors, i.e., the folds or leaves of the doors, were overlaid with copper. In v. 10 we have a supplementary statement as to the position of the brazen sea, which coincides with Kings 7:39; see on the passage. In v. 11a the heavier brazen (copper) utensils, belonging to the altar of burnt-offering, are mentioned: ciydowt , pots for the removal of the ashes; yaa`iym , shovels, to take the ashes out from the altar; and miz|raaqowt , basins to catch and sprinkle the sacrificial blood. This half verse belongs to the preceding, notwithstanding that Huram is mentioned as the maker. This is clear beyond doubt, from the fact that the same utensils are again introduced in the summary catalogue which follows (v. 16). 2 CHRONICLES 4:11-22 And Solomon made all the vessels that were for the house of God, the golden altar also, and the tables whereon the shewbread was set; 11b-22. Summary catalogue of the temple utensils and furniture.-Vv. 11b- 18. The brass work wrought by Huram.
The golden furniture of the holy place and the gilded doors of the temple.
This section is found also in 1 Kings 7:40b-50. The enumeration of the things wrought in brass coincides to a word, with the exception of trifling linguistic differences and some defects in the text, with 1 Kings 7:40b-47.
In v. 12 w|hakotaarowt hagulowt is the true reading, and we should so read in 1 Kings 7:41 also, since the gulowt , circumvolutions, are to be distinguished from the kotaarowt , crowns; see on 3:16. In v. 14 the first `aasaah is a mistake for `eser , the second for `asaaraah , Kings v. 43; for the verb `aasaah
