2Ch 2:1 And
Solomon determined to build an house for the name of the LORD, and an house for
his kingdom.
A house for the
name of the Lord – For the worship and service of God, and for His honor
and glory, being directed, enjoined, and encouraged to it by his father David:
A house for his
kingdom - A royal palace for his own use as king of Israel.
Solomon determined
to build — The temple is the grand subject of this narrative, while the
palace here and in other parts of this book is only incidentally noticed. The
duty of building the temple was reserved for Solomon before his birth. As soon
as he became king, he addressed himself to the work, and the historian, in
proceeding to give an account of the edifice, begins with relating the
preliminary arrangements.
2Ch 2:2 And
Solomon told out threescore and ten thousand men to bear burdens, and fourscore
thousand to hew in the mountain, and three thousand and six hundred to oversee
them.
2Ch 2:3 And
Solomon sent to Huram the king of Tyre, saying, As thou didst deal with David
my father, and didst send him cedars to build him an house to dwell therein,
even so deal with me.
Solomon sent to
Huram king of Tyre - The same with Hiram, 1Ki_5:1 and from whence it
appears, that Huram first sent a letter to Solomon to congratulate him on his
accession to the throne, which is not taken notice of here: Huram is the form
used throughout Chronicles (except 1Ch_14:1) for the name both of the king and
of the artisan whom he lent to Solomon.
Solomon sent to
Huram king of Tyre - Solomon grounded his request for Tyrian aid on two
reasons: 1. The temple he proposed to build must be a solid and permanent
building because the worship was to be continued in perpetuity; and therefore
the building materials must be of the most durable quality. 2. It must be a
magnificent structure because it was to be dedicated to the God who was greater
than all gods; and, therefore, as it might seem a presumptuous idea to erect an
edifice for a Being “whom the heaven and the heaven of heavens do not contain,”
it was explained that Solomon’s object was not to build a house for Him to
dwell in, but a temple in which His worshippers might offer sacrifices to His
honor.
Solomon sent to
Huram king of Tyre - According to the account in 1 Kings 5, Solomon asked
cedar wood from Lebanon from Hiram; according to this 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, that
David could not carry out the building of the proposed temple on account of his
wars, but that the Lord had given Solomon rest and peace, so that he now, in
accordance with the divine promise to David, desired to carry on the building
(1Ki_5:3-5). In 2Ch_2:2-5, 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.
2Ch 2:4 Behold, I
build an house to the name of the LORD my God, to dedicate it to him, and to
burn before him sweet incense, and for the continual shewbread, and for the
burnt offerings morning and evening, on the sabbaths, and on the new moons, and
on the solemn feasts of the LORD our God. This is an ordinance for ever to
Israel.
The solemn feasts
- The three great annnual festivals, the Passover, the Feast of Weeks
(Pentecost), and the Feast of tabernacles Lev. 23:4-44; Deut. 16:1-17.
to burn before him
sweet incense - on the altar of incense: The symbolic meaning of “burning
incense” is indicated in Rev_8:3-4 And another angel came and stood at the altar, having a
golden censer; and there was given unto him much incense, that he should offer
it with the prayers of all saints upon the golden altar which was before the
throne. And the smoke of the incense, which came with the prayers of the
saints, ascended up before God out of the angel's hand.
the burnt
offerings morning and evening; the daily sacrifice: on the sabbaths, and on the
new moons, and on the solemn feasts of the Lord our God - at which seasons,
besides the daily sacrifice, additional burnt offerings were offered, and all
on the brazen altar in the court: this is an ordinance
for ever unto
Israel - to offer the above sacrifices, even for a long time to come, until
the Messiah comes.
2Ch 2:5 And the
house which I build is great: for great is our God above all gods.
Great is our God -
This may seem inappropriate as addressed to a pagan king. But it appears
2Ch_2:11-12 that Hiram acknowledged the Lord as the supreme deity. 2Ch_2:11-12 Then
Huram the king of Tyre answered in writing, which he sent to Solomon, Because
the LORD hath loved his people, he hath made thee king over them. Huram said
moreover, Blessed be the LORD God of Israel, that made heaven and earth, who
hath given to David the king a wise son, endued with prudence and
understanding, that might build an house for the LORD, and an house for his
kingdom.
Great is our God
above all other gods - and therefore ought to have a temple to exceed all
others, as the temple at Jerusalem did.
2Ch 2:6 But who is
able to build him an house, seeing the heaven and heaven of heavens cannot
contain him? who am I then, that I should build him an house, save only to burn
sacrifice before him?
Save only to burn
sacrifice before him - Solomon seems to mean that to build the temple can
only be justified on the human - not on the divine - side. God is not confined in
temples made with hands; He does not need them. The sole reason for building a
temple lies in the needs of man: His worship must be local; the sacrifices
commanded in the Law had of necessity to be offered somewhere.
Save only to burn
sacrifice - It is not under the hope that the house shall be able to
contain him, but merely for the purpose of burning incense to him, and offering
him sacrifice, that I have erected it.
Seeing the heaven
and heaven of heavens - Heaven is the throne of his glory, the earth his
footstool; the deep, and the whole world, are sustained by the spirit of his
Word,
2Ch 2:7 Send me
now therefore a man cunning to work in gold, and in silver, and in brass, and
in iron, and in purple, and crimson, and blue, and that can skill to grave with
the cunning men that are with me in Judah and in Jerusalem, whom David my
father did provide.
Purple, crimson,
and blue - would be needed for the hangings of the temple, which was
conformed to the pattern of the tabernacle. Hiram probably had a knowledge of
the best modes of dyeing cloth these colors. The Phoenicians, off whose coast
the murex was commonly taken, were famous as purple dyers from a very remote
period.
Crimson - the
word here and elsewhere translated “crimson,” is unique to Chronicles and possibly
of Persian origin. The famous red dye of Persia and India is obtained from an
insect. Whether the “scarlet” of Exodus (Exo_25:4,
etc.) is the same or a different red, cannot be certainly determined.
Send me now
therefore a man cunning to work — Masons and carpenters were not asked for.
Those whom David had obtained (1Ch_14:1) were probably still remaining in
Jerusalem, and had instructed others. But he required a master of works; a
person capable, like Bezaleel (Exo_35:31), of superintending and directing
every department; for, as the division of labor was at that time little known
or observed, an overseer had to be possessed of very versatile talents and
experience. The things specified, in which he was to be skilled, relate not to
the building, but the furniture of the temple. Iron, which could not be
obtained in the wilderness when the tabernacle was built, was now, through
intercourse with the coast, plentiful and much used. The cloths intended for
curtains were, from the crimson or scarlet-red and hyacinth colors named,
evidently those stuffs, for the manufacture and dyeing of which the Tyrians
were so famous. “The graving,” probably, included embroidery of figures like
cherubim in needlework, as well as wood carving of pomegranates and other ornaments.
2Ch 2:8 Send me
also cedar trees, fir trees, and algum trees, out of Lebanon: for I know that
thy servants can skill to cut timber in Lebanon; and, behold, my servants shall
be with thy servants,
Send me also cedar
trees, fir trees, and algum trees - Of the two first of these, and which
Hiram sent, see 1Ki_5:10. The algum trees are the same with the almug trees. The
cedar and cypress were valued as being both rare and durable; the algum or
almug trees (likewise a foreign wood), though not found on Lebanon, are
mentioned as being procured through Huram.
2Ch 2:9 Even to
prepare me timber in abundance: for the house which I am about to build shall
be wonderful great.
Even to prepare me
timber in abundance - Since he would want a large quantity for raftering,
cieling, wainscoting, and flooring the temple:
2Ch 2:10 And,
behold, I will give to thy servants, the hewers that cut timber, twenty
thousand measures of beaten wheat, and twenty thousand measures of barley, and
twenty thousand baths of wine, and twenty thousand baths of oil.
Behold, I will
give to thy servants - The barley and the wine are omitted in Kings. The
author of Chronicles probably filled out the statement which the writer of
Kings has given in brief; the barley, wine, and ordinary oil, would be applied
to the sustenance of the foreign laborers.
measures of beaten
wheat - Meaning, not what was beaten out of the husk with the flail, as
some; nor bruised or half broke for pottage, as others; but ground into flour or
rather, perhaps, it should be rendered "food" that is, for his
household, as in 1Ki_5:11, and the hire of these servants is proposed to be
given in this way, perhaps because wheat was scarce with the Tyrians, and they
were obliged to have it from the Jews as it was in Act_12:20 And Herod was highly displeased
with them of Tyre and Sidon: but they came with one accord to him, and, having
made Blastus the king's chamberlain their friend, desired peace; because their
country was nourished by the king's country.
twenty thousand baths
- which measure was the tenth part of a "cor".
I will give to thy
servants — There is no discrepancy between 1Ki_5:11 And Solomon gave Hiram twenty thousand measures of wheat
for food to his household, and twenty measures of pure oil: thus gave Solomon
to Hiram year by year. and this.
The yearly supplies of wine and oil, mentioned in the former, were intended for
Huram’s court in return for the cedars sent him; while the articles of meat and
drink specified here were for the workmen on Lebanon.
2Ch 2:11 Then
Huram the king of Tyre answered in writing, which he sent to Solomon, Because
the LORD hath loved his people, he hath made thee king over them.
because the Lord
hath loved his people - he hath made thee king over them; which are much
the same words the queen of Sheba said to Solomon.
2Ch 2:12 Huram
said moreover, Blessed be the LORD God of Israel, that made heaven and earth,
who hath given to David the king a wise son, endued with prudence and
understanding, that might build an house for the LORD, and an house for his
kingdom.
2Ch 2:13 And now I
have sent a cunning man, endued with understanding, of Huram my father's,
of Huram my
father's - a workman of his, whom he employed, and so might be depended
upon as a good artificer; though rather Huram is the artificer's name:
Of Huram my
father’s - Huram here is the workman sent by the king of Tyre. The words in
the original are Huram Abi, and the latter word is now commonly thought to be
either a proper name or an epithet of honor, e. g., my master-workman.
2Ch 2:14 The son
of a woman of the daughters of Dan, and his father was a man of Tyre, skilful
to work in gold, and in silver, in brass, in iron, in stone, and in timber, in
purple, in blue, and in fine linen, and in crimson; also to grave any manner of
graving, and to find out every device which shall be put to him, with thy
cunning men, and with the cunning men of my lord David thy father.
To find out every
device - The “devices” intended are plans or designs connected with art,
which Huram could invent on any subject that was “put to him.”
The son of a woman
of the daughters of Dan - 1Ki 7:14 He was a widow's son of the tribe of Naphtali, and his
father was a man of Tyre, a worker in brass: and he was filled with wisdom, and
understanding, and cunning to work all works in brass. And he came to king
Solomon, and wrought all his work. In 1Ki 7:14, Hiram is said to be
of the tribe of Naphtali. Here his mother is a daughter of Dan. One commentator
states that both statements may easily be united thus: she was a Danite by
birth, and married into the tribe of Naphtali. When her husband died, she was
married again as the widow of a Naphtalite, and became the wife of a Tyrian, to
whom she bore a son, Hiram.
2Ch 2:15 Now
therefore the wheat, and the barley, the oil, and the wine, which my lord hath
spoken of, let him send unto his servants:
let him send unto
his servants - Hiram accepted thereof as a proper reward for the work of
his servants.
2Ch 2:16 And we
will cut wood out of Lebanon, as much as thou shalt need: and we will bring it
to thee in floats by sea to Joppa; and thou shalt carry it up to Jerusalem.
2Ch 2:17 And
Solomon numbered all the strangers that were in the land of Israel, after the
numbering wherewith David his father had numbered them; and they were found an
hundred and fifty thousand and three thousand and six hundred.
the strangers that
were in the land of Israel - The strangers are the non-Israelite population
of the holy land, chiefly the descendants of those Canaanites whom the children
of Israel did not drive out. The reimposition of the bond-service imposed on
the Canaanites at the time of the conquest Jdg_1:28, Jdg_1:30, Jdg_1:33,
Jdg_1:35, but discontinued in the period between Joshua and Saul, was due to
David, whom Solomon merely imitated in the arrangements described in these
verses.
after the
numbering wherewith David his father had numbered them - not at the time
Israel was numbered by him, but in order to provide workmen for the building of
the temple, 1Ch_22:2,
2Ch 2:18 And he
set threescore and ten thousand of them to be bearers of burdens, and fourscore
thousand to be hewers in the mountain, and three thousand and six hundred
overseers to set the people a work.
And he set
threescore and ten thousand of them - Which is repeated from 2Ch_2:2, to
show how the above number of strangers were disposed of; This is a symbol of
the Gentiles employed in building the spiritual temple, the church, Zec 6:15 And
they that are far off shall come and build in the temple of the LORD, and ye
shall know that the LORD of hosts hath sent me unto you. And this shall come to
pass, if ye will diligently obey the voice of the LORD your God.
three thousand and
six hundred overseers - 3600 foremen or overseers over the workmen. In 1Ki_5:15
the number of the overseers is stated at 33001Ki 5:16 Beside the chief of Solomon's
officers which were over the work, three thousand and three hundred, which
ruled over the people that wrought in the work. 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), - 1Ki 9:23 These
were the chief of the officers that were over Solomon's work, five hundred and
fifty, which bare rule over the people that wrought in the work. and of these, 250 were Israelites, who alone are
mentioned in 2Ch 8:10 And these were the chief of king Solomon's officers, even
two hundred and fifty, that bare rule over the people. 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 3600 Canaanite and
250 Israelite, in the book of Kings into 3300 lower and 550 higher overseers.
