John Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible.

John Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible.

John Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible.

1 Chronicles 26:1



INTRODUCTION TO 1 CHRONICLES 26



In this chapter we have a further account of the disposition and distribution of the Levites, to serve in other offices, as of porters at the several gates of the temple, for which they cast lots, 1Ch 26:1 of others, as over the treasures of the house of the Lord, 1Ch 26:20, and of others that were appointed judges in the land, to administer justice to the people, 1Ch 26:29.



Ver. 1. Concerning the divisions of the porters,.... Or doorkeepers, whose business it was to open and shut the doors of the temple, to keep all impure and improper persons from entering into it, or any of the vessels being carried out of it, and to prevent tumults and riots about it; these, as it seems, David divided into a like number of classes, as the singers, to take their turns in waiting:



of the Korhites was Meshelemiah the son of Kore, of the sons of Asaph; not Asaph the singer, who was a Gershonite, but the same with Eliasaph, 1Ch 6:23 a Korhite.





1 Chronicles 26:2



Ver. 2,3. And the sons of Meshelemiah were, Zechariah the firstborn,.... And six more, who are mentioned in their order:



Jediael, Zebadiah, and Jathniel, Elam, Jehohanan, and Elioenai.





1 Chronicles 26:3



Ver. 3. See Gill on "1Ch 26:3"





1 Chronicles 26:4



Ver. 4,5. Moreover, the sons of Obededom,.... The same at whose house the ark was, before it was brought by David to Zion; his sons were porters also, as himself, 1Ch 15:24, mention is made of eight sons of his, according to their birth:



Shemaiah, Jehozabad, Joah, Sacar, Nethaneel, Ammiel, Issachar, Peulthai; for God blessed him; as with wealth and riches, so with a numerous offspring, and that because of his entertainment of the ark at his house; the great increase of his family is aggravated by the Jews {q} beyond all credit, that all in his family brought eight at a birth; the Targum here makes them eighty two in all.



{q} Hieron. Trad. Heb. in 2. Reg. fol. 77. M.





1 Chronicles 26:5



Ver. 5. See Gill on "1Ch 26:4".





1 Chronicles 26:6



Ver. 6. Also unto Shemaiah his son,.... His firstborn, 1Ch 26:4



were sons born, that ruled throughout the house of their father; were heads of families, eminent and principal men:



for they were mighty men of valour; which their office sometimes required them to be, to guard the temple at night as well as day from thieves and robbers, and to hinder resolute men entering in, unfit for it, and seize on rioters, and quell tumults raised.





1 Chronicles 26:7



Ver. 7. The sons of Shemaiah,.... The same before mentioned, the firstborn of Obededom:



Othni, and Rephael, and Obed, and Elzabad, whose brethren were strong men; Elihu and Semachiah; which may rather denote their valour and courage, as before, though strength of body was needful, particularly to open and shut the doors of the temple, which, Josephus {r} says, required the assistance of twenty men.



{r} Contr. Apion. l. 2. sect. 9.





1 Chronicles 26:8



Ver. 8. All these of the sons of Obededom,.... And grandsons:



they and their sons and their brethren, able men for strength for the service; men of fortitude of mind and strength of body, as before observed: were



sixty two of Obededom: that sprung from him, which the Jews {s} account for in an extravagant manner, as the effect of miraculous births.



{s} T. Bab. Beracot, fol. 63. 2. & 64. 1.





1 Chronicles 26:9



Ver. 9. And Meshelemiah had sons and brethren, strong men, eighteen,.... He had seven sons, 1Ch 26:1 and therefore must have eleven brethren or kinsmen.





1 Chronicles 26:10



Ver. 10. Also Hosah, of the children of Merari, had sons,.... Who was a fellow porter of Obededom's at the ark, 1Ch 16:38.



Simri the chief (for though he was not the firstborn, yet his father made him the chief); the firstborn being unfit for service, either through want of an intellectual capacity, or of strength of body, or through some defect or another; according to the Syriac version, he was dead; so some understand the words, he, the father, had no firstborn remaining or living.





1 Chronicles 26:11



Ver. 11. Hilkiah the second, Tebaliah the third, Zechariah the fourth; all the sons and brethren of Hosah were thirteen. Four sons, and nine brethren or kinsmen.





1 Chronicles 26:12



Ver. 12. Among these were the divisions of the porters, even among the chief men,.... These before named were the principal men of the porters, among which was a division or distribution of them into classes or courses, in which they served weekly in turn:



having wards one against another, to minister in the house of the Lord; meaning either to watch in, as on the north against the south, and the east against the west, and "vice versa". The Jews say {t}, the priests kept ward in three places in the house of the sanctuary; in the house of Abtines, in the house of Nitzotz, and in the house of Moked; and the Levites in twenty one places, five at the five gates of the mountain of the house, four at the four corners of it within, five at the five gates of the court, four at the four corners of it without, one at the chamber of the offering, one at the chamber of the vail, and another behind the house of atonement, the holy of holies; but rather the sense is, that they had wards or courses answerable to those of the priests, and the other Levites, the singers, and were distributed into twenty four classes or courses as they, which are thus reckoned by Kimchi; at the east six, at the north four, at the south four, at Asuppim two and two, which were four, at the west four, and at Parbar two; lo, twenty four; see 1Ch 26:17.



{t} Misn. Middot, c. 1. sect. 1.





1 Chronicles 26:13



Ver. 13. And they cast lots,.... To determine at which gate each should stand, who at this gate, and who at the other, &c.



as well the small as the great, according to the house of their fathers, for every gate; meaning, not little ones and grown persons in a family, but the smaller and poorer families, and the larger and richer ones, had their places assigned them at the several gates, as the lot directed; they did not go according to the dignity and precedence of their families, but according to lot.





1 Chronicles 26:14



Ver. 14. And the lot eastward fell to Shelemiah,.... The same with Meshelemiah, 1Ch 26:1 he by lot was placed at the eastern gate, called afterwards the gate Shushan, the city Shushan being portrayed upon it {u}:



then for Zechariah his son (a wise counsellor); and who was his firstborn, 1Ch 26:2 a man of great parts and learning: for they were not mean persons that were employed in this office, nor was the office a mean one, like that of our porters; but men of considerable rank and figure, and of knowledge and learning, were in it; some of them were judges, 1Ch 26:29 and their places were places of great trust, they had much treasure committed to them, as appears by 1Ch 26:20,



they cast lots, and his lot came out northward; where was a gate in later times, called Teri or Tedi, which differed from other gates in this, that it had no threshold, only one stone was laid upon another, and was not commonly used {w}.



{u} Ib. (Misn. Middot, c. 1.), sect. 3. {w} Misn. Middot, ib. (c. 1. sect. 3.) & c. 2. sect. 3.





1 Chronicles 26:15



Ver. 15. To Obededom southward,.... Where were two gates in later times, called the gates of Huldah {x}:



and to his sons, the house of Asuppim; the word has the signification of gathering, hence some take it to be a council house, where the sanhedrim or elders gathered together, and sat; and others, rather a treasure house, where things of value were collected and laid up, since Obededom had the charge of gold and silver, and the vessels of the house, 2Ch 25:24, but Dr. Lightfoot {y} is of opinion, that



"Asuppim were two gates in the western wall, which stood most south, or nearest to Jerusalem; "and the house of Asuppim" was a large piece of building that ran between them, which was a treasury, or various rooms for treasuring or laying up something for the use of the temple;''



though L'Empereur thinks {z} it was the chamber Korban, which is not so probable.



{x} Ib. (Misn. Middot), c. 1. sect. 3. {y} Prospect of the Temple, ch. 5. sect. 3. {z} Not. in Middot, c. 1. sect. 1. No. 5.





1 Chronicles 26:16



Ver. 16. To Shuppim and Hosah the lot came forth westward,.... Of Shuppim no mention is before made; of Hosah, see 1Ch 26:10 their lot was to be placed at the gates on the western wall, where were four; the two more southward being assigned to the sons of Obededom, whose lot also was southward, are taken notice of under the division in the preceding verse; Parbar was another, 1Ch 26:18, and another follows here:



with the gate Shallecheth, by the causeway of the going up; this gate was in later times called Coponius, from the name of a Roman commander, in the times of Herod, who might give it this name on his account; it might have the name of Shallecheth either from "sending out", or carrying out the filth of the temple through it; or rather from "casting up the causeway", as here expressed, which was the going up, or ascent, Solomon made, by which he went up to the temple, 1Ki 20:5 and which agrees with the description Josephus {a} gives of one of the gates on the western wall, that it led to the royal palace, the valley between being filled up for the passage; on each side of which causeway, it is said, grew oaks and teil trees, see Isa 6:13 which served both to keep up the causeway, and to make a fine, pleasant, shady walk for the king to pass through to the temple; all which are observed by Dr. Lightfoot {b}:



ward against ward; for as the gates answered one another, so the wards or watches at them.



{a} Antiqu. l. 15. c. 11. sect. 5. {b} Ut supra, (Prospect of the Temple), c. 5. sect. 1.





1 Chronicles 26:17



Ver. 17. Eastward were six Levites,.... The eastern gate, being the way of entrance into the temple, required more porters:



northward four a day; in the daytime, or every day, where was the gate Teri or Tedi, 1Ch 26:14, southward four a day: at the two gates of Huldah, 1Ch 26:15 and toward Asuppim two and two; which were two gates, two at each gate, 1Ch 26:15.





1 Chronicles 26:18



Ver. 18. At Parbar westward,.... A gate at the western wall; the Jewish writers generally interpret it an outward place, but Dr. Lightfoot {c} thinks it is the same with Parvar, which signifies suburbs, 2Ki 23:11, and which agrees with the description Josephus {d} gives of one of the western gates, that it led to the suburbs:



four at the causeway; by which was the gate Shallecheth, 1Ch 26:16



and two at Parbar; the gate before mentioned.



{c} Ib. (Prospect of the Temple, ch. 5.) sect. 2. {d} Ut supra. (Antiqu. l. 15. c. 11. sect. 5.)





1 Chronicles 26:19



Ver. 19. These are the divisions of the porters among the sons of Kore, and among the sons of Merari. For among those Levites which descended from Kore, a grandson of Kohath, and which sprung from Merar, a brother of Kohath, the porters only wore; see 1Ch 26:1.





1 Chronicles 26:20



Ver. 20. And of the Levites,.... The rest of the Levites, as the Gershonites, Amramites, Izharites, and Hebronites, 1Ch 26:21.



Ahijah was over the treasures of the house of God; as the tithes, vessels, vestments, wine, and oil, and other things; such an one was Phinehas at the time of the destruction of Jerusalem by Vespasian, who being taken, showed and delivered the priests' garments, and many other precious things and sacred ornaments under his care {e}: and over the treasures of the dedicated things; voluntarily devoted for sacrifices and repairs of the temple; and this Ahijah had the care of each of those at first, which afterwards were divided, and put under the care of different persons.



{e} Joseph. de Bell. Jud. l. 6. c. 8. sect. 3.





1 Chronicles 26:21



Ver. 21. As concerning the sons of Laadan,.... The same with Libni, see 1Ch 23:7



the sons of the Gershonite Laadan; so called, to distinguish him from another Laadan, as Kimchi thinks:



chief fathers, even of Laadan the Gershonite; that sprung from him: were Jehieli; and his sons next mentioned.





1 Chronicles 26:22



Ver. 22. The sons of Jehieli: Zetham, and Joel his brother,.... Both sons of Jehieli: which were



over the treasures of the house of the Lord; that part of the trust which before was committed to Ahijah, which concerned provisions for sacred uses, before observed.





1 Chronicles 26:23



Ver. 23. Of the Amramites and the Izharites, the Hebronites, and the Uzzielites. Who sprang from the four sons of Kohath, Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel, Ex 6:18 with respect to the concerns they severally had in the trust of the treasures, the account follows, all but the Uzzielites, who are not after mentioned.





1 Chronicles 26:24



Ver. 24. And Shebuel the son of Gershom, the son of Moses, was ruler of the treasures. This is the first time that any of the posterity of Moses are taken notice of, as being in any office of honour, authority, and trust; by the Targum he is said to be Jonathan, spoken of in

Jud 18:30 but very wrongly; this man, according to Jarchi and Kimchi, had all the treasures and treasurers under him.





1 Chronicles 26:25



Ver. 25. And his brethren by Eliezer,.... His kinsmen that descended from Eliezer, the brother of Gershom, the ancestor of Shebuel, whose descent from him in succession were



Rehabiah, Jeshaiah, Joram, Zichri, and Shelomith.





1 Chronicles 26:26



Ver. 26. Which Shelomith,.... The last mentioned in the lineage from Eliezer, the younger son of Moses:



and his brethren; or kinsmen:



were over all the treasures of the dedicated things; which had been devoted for the service of God, and of the temple particularly:



which David the king had dedicated; out of the spoils he took in war, see 2Sa 8:11,



the chief fathers; princes of tribes, and heads of families:



the captains over thousands and hundreds; in the several tribes of the kingdom, and were concerned in the administration of justice to the people:



and the captains of the host, had dedicated; of the army, out of the spoils in victory that came to their share, see Nu 31:48 as follows.





1 Chronicles 26:27



Ver. 27. Out of the spoils won in battle did they dedicate to maintain the house of the Lord. When it should be built; for as yet it was not; both to repair it when necessary, and to provide sacrifices for it; or to confirm, strengthen, and animate the heart of the king to build it, so some, and put it into the power of his hands to do it; so the Romans dedicated the best of their spoil, and laid it up in the temple of Jupiter Feretrius, after the example of Romulus, their first king {f}; yea, sometimes out of the spoil they erected temples, as Tarquinius Superbus {g} did; or repaired and ornamented them, as the temple at Delphos, and others {h}.



{f} Vid. Valtrinum de re militar. Roman. l. 7. c. 21. {g} Flori Hist. l. 1. c. 7. {h} Vid. Strabo, Geograph. l. 6. p. 190. Liv. Hist. l. 10. c. 46.





1 Chronicles 26:28



Ver. 28. And all that Samuel the seer,.... Or prophet, won in battle with the Philistines:



and Saul the son of Kish; in his wars with the Moabites, Edomites, Amalekites, and Philistines:



and Abner the son of Ner: the general of his army, who as such had his share in the spoils:



and Joab the son of Zeruiah; the general of David's army, who fought with the Ammonites, Syrians, and others; all of whom



had dedicated more or less towards the building of the temple, and the support of it, it being known by them all that God would have a place to put his name in:



[and] whosoever had dedicated anything, it was under the hand of Shelomith, and of his brethren: this man had a great trust committed to him, with his brethren; some, before mentioned, are said to be over the treasures, some over one part, and some over another; but this man was over all of them, he had the superintendency of the whole.





1 Chronicles 26:29



Ver. 29. Of the Izharites, Chenaniah and his sons were



for the outward business over Israel,.... Which was done out of the temple, and out of Jerusalem, in the several parts of the country:



for officers and judges; to administer justice and judgment, and to take care that the laws of God were observed, both with respect to things civil and religious, and delinquents punished; which is a better sense than what Jarchi and Kimchi put upon this,



outward business, as if it lay in taking care to have timber cut down in the forest, and stones dug and hewed in the mountains, for the building of the temple; and that the lands were ploughed, and the vineyards, gardens, and orchards, dressed, which were devoted to sacred uses.





1 Chronicles 26:30



Ver. 30. And of the Hebronites, Hashabiah and his brethren, men of valour, a thousand and seven hundred,.... And supposing the Izharites in the preceding verse to be 1600, these, with those on the other side Jordan, 2700, 1Ch 26:32 make up just the 6000 officers and judges, 1Ch 23:4 these



were officers among them of Israel on this side Jordan westward: in those parts of the land which were on this side Jordan, to the west of it, yet nearer to it than those meant by Israel in the preceding verse; it may respect those that dwelt more remote from Jordan, though on this side also, towards the Mediterranean sea:



in all business of the Lord, and in the service of the king; in things divine and civil, what appertained to the worship of God, and the support of civil government, and to take care that all the laws were observed, moral, ceremonial, and judicial, and that both the Lord was feared, and the king honoured, and both had what was due unto them.





1 Chronicles 26:31



Ver. 31. Among the Hebronites was Jerijah the chief, even among the Hebronites,.... The posterity of Hebron, the son of Kohath:



according to the generations of his fathers; a principal man in the families that descended from his ancestors:



in the fortieth year of the reign of David; which was the last year of his reign, in which year all the above things were done; the distribution of the priests into their classes and courses, and so of the Levites, singers, and porters; as well as the appointment of those several judges and officers employed in divers parts of the land: and particularly in this year those



Hebronites were sought for, and there were found among them mighty men of valour, at Jazer of Gilead; a city on the other side Jordan, which belonged to the tribe of Gad, see Nu 21:32.





1 Chronicles 26:32



Ver. 32. And his brethren, men of valour, were two thousand and seven hundred chief fathers,.... That is, the brethren or kinsmen of Jerijah the Hebronite were so many principal men in their families, and men of fortitude and courage:



whom King David made rulers over the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half tribe of Manasseh; all which lay on the other side Jordan; and being so remote from the seat of civil government, and of the worship of God, they were in greater danger of revolting, both from their obedience to their king, and duty to their God; land therefore so large a number was appointed over them, to instruct them and keep them in their duty to both, as follows:



for every matter pertaining to God, and affairs of the king; to see that they kept close to the pure worship and service of God; and were faithful and loyal subjects of the king.

 

John Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible.

1 Chronicles 27:1



INTRODUCTION TO 1 CHRONICLES 27



In this chapter we have an account of twelve military courses, or twelve legions of soldiers, with the captains of them, that served David monthly in their turns, 1Ch 27:1 and of the princes of the several tribes, 1Ch 27:16 and of his economical rulers, 1Ch 27:25, and of his counsellors and general, 1Ch 27:32.



Ver. 1. Now the children of Israel after their number,.... Not the whole body of the people, but the militia of the nation; for after the account of the division of the priests and Levites into courses, follows an account of the militia of the nation, being divided also into monthly courses; which, though done in the beginning of David's reign, as Kimchi and Jarchi observe, yet is here related; and that it was so soon is clear from the instance of Asahel, who was killed while David was king in Hebron, 1Ch 27:7 to wit,



the chief fathers; the chief men in the tribes, the princes of them, not the natural fathers of the soldiers in each course, as a learned man suggests {i}: since it can never be thought that such a number sprung from those as made a course of 24,000; for they are distinct from the captains and officers after mentioned, under which the soldiers were; besides, why should they be called "chief fathers?" these, no doubt, were the general officers or princes, under which the captains and inferior officers were:



and captains of thousands and hundreds; in the several tribes:



and their officers; that were under them:



that served the king in any matter of the courses, which came in and went out month by month, throughout all the months of the year; by which it appears that the militia of the kingdom was divided into twelve courses, which served each month by turns; when one went out another came in; by which means the king was well supported and guarded, and had an army at once at command upon any insurrection or war that might arise; and each course serving but one month in a year, it was no great burden upon them, even if they maintained themselves, since they were at leisure, the other eleven months, to attend to their business; and especially if it was, as Jarchi observes, that not the poor but the rich were selected for this service:



of every course were twenty and four thousand; so that the twelve courses amounted to 288,000 men.



{i} Delaney's Life of King David, vol. 1. p. 319.





1 Chronicles 27:2



Ver. 2-15. Over the first course for the first month,.... The month Nisan, sometimes called Abib, which was March:



was Jashobeam the son of Zabdiel; the first and chief of David's worthies, 1Ch 11:11



and in his course were twenty and four; and so in all the following ones; this man was of the posterity of Perez, or Pharez, a son of Judah, and so had the preference and command of all the captains of the army for that month:



Dodai an Ahohite; the same with Dodo, 1Ch 11:12 was over the course of the second month, the month Ziv, sometimes called Jiar, or April; and his lieutenant or successor was Mikloth:



Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, a chief priest; or rather a prince, a principal officer, was general of the army for the third month, Sivan, or May; the same was mighty among the thirty, and even above them, for he was among the three mighty, 1Ch 11:22 and Ammizabad his son succeeded him, or was his deputy, when other ways employed: though led by our version here, and following the Jewish writers, I have called Benaiah a priest, See Gill on "1Ki 2:31", yet I am now rather of opinion that he was not one; for though priests might bear arms on some occasions, yet it is not likely that one should be in a constant military office, and especially general of an army; and besides, this man was of Kabzeel, a city in the tribe of Judah, which is not mentioned among the Levitical cities, see 2Sa 23:20. Asahel the brother of Joab was over the course for the fourth month, Tammuz, or June, and who being slain by Abner, his son Zebadiah succeeded him: Shamhuth, the same with Shammah, 2Sa 23:11 and Shammoth, 1Ch 11:27 was captain for the fifth month, Ab, or July: Ira the son of Ikkesh, the Tekoite, was over the course of the sixth month, Elul, or August, see 1Ch 11:28. Helez the Pelonite was captain for the seventh month, Tisri, or September, see 1Ch 11:27, the captain for the eighth month, Marchesvan, sometimes called Bul, or October, was Sibbecai the Hushathite, of the Zarbites, of the posterity of Zerah, a son of Judah in the line of Hushah, 1Ch 4:4, the captain of the course for the ninth month, Cisleu, or November was Abiezer, of Anethoth, in the tribe of Benjamin, see 1Ch 11:28, Maharai, of Netophah, in the tribe of Judah, and of the posterity of Zerah, was over the course for the tenth month, Tebet, or December, see

1Ch 11:30 and the captain for the eleventh month, Sheber, or January, was Benaiah, of Pirathon, in the tribe of Ephraim, see

1Ch 11:31 and over the course for the twelfth month, Adar, or February, was Heldai the Netophathite, the same with Heled, 1Ch 11:30 and who was of the posterity of Othniel, the first judge in Israel, Jud 1:13.





1 Chronicles 27:3



Ver. 3. See Gill on "1Ch 27:2"





1 Chronicles 27:4



Ver. 4. See Gill on "1Ch 27:2"





1 Chronicles 27:5



Ver. 5. See Gill on "1Ch 27:2"





1 Chronicles 27:6



Ver. 6. See Gill on "1Ch 27:2"





1 Chronicles 27:7



Ver. 7. See Gill on "1Ch 27:2"





1 Chronicles 27:8



Ver. 8. See Gill on "1Ch 27:2"





1 Chronicles 27:9



Ver. 9. See Gill on "1Ch 27:2"





1 Chronicles 27:10



Ver. 10. See Gill on "1Ch 27:2"





1 Chronicles 27:11



Ver. 11. See Gill on "1Ch 27:2"





1 Chronicles 27:12



Ver. 12. See Gill on "1Ch 27:2"





1 Chronicles 27:13



Ver. 13. See Gill on "1Ch 27:2"





1 Chronicles 27:14



Ver. 14. See Gill on "1Ch 27:2"





1 Chronicles 27:15



Ver. 15. See Gill on "1Ch 27:2"





1 Chronicles 27:16



Ver. 16-22. Furthermore, over the cities of Israel,.... Were the following rulers or princes; the captains over the militia before named were of David's appointment; but these ruled over their respective tribes in their own right, or by the choice of their tribes: the ruler of the tribe of Reuben was Eliezer, the son of Zichri: of the tribe of Simeon, Shephatiah the son of Maachah; whether this was his father's or mother's name is not certain, it being the name both of a man and woman: of the tribe of Levi, Hashabiah the son of Kemuel: of the Aaronites, who were of the same tribe, but, being priests, are thus distinguished from the Levites, Zadok, who was made high priest in the times of Solomon: of the tribe of Judah, Elihu, a brother of David's, the same with Eliab, 1Sa 16:6, of the tribe of Issachar, Omri the son of Michael: of the tribe of Zebulun, Ishmaiah the son of Obadiah: of the tribe of Naphtali, Jerimoth the son of Azriel: of the tribe of Ephraim, Hoshea the son of Azaziah: of the half tribe of Manasseh, on this side Jordan westward, Joel the son of Pedaiah: of the half tribe of Manasseh, in Gilead, on the other side Jordan eastward, Iddo the son of Zechariah: of the tribe of Benjamin, Jaasiel the son of Abner, the famous general on the side of Ishbosheth; of the tribe of Dan, Azareel the son of Jeroham:



these were the princes of the tribes of Israel; of all excepting Gad and Asher, who are omitted; perhaps he that was prince of the tribe of Reuben, or else of the half tribe of Manasseh beyond Jordan, was ruler of Gad and Asher; these lying between Zebulun and Naphtali, might be under the prince of one of them.





1 Chronicles 27:17



Ver. 17. See Gill on "1Ch 27:16".





1 Chronicles 27:18



Ver. 18. See Gill on "1Ch 27:16".





1 Chronicles 27:19



Ver. 19. See Gill on "1Ch 27:16".





1 Chronicles 27:20



Ver. 20. See Gill on "1Ch 27:16".





1 Chronicles 27:21



Ver. 21. See Gill on "1Ch 27:16".





1 Chronicles 27:22



Ver. 22. See Gill on "1Ch 27:16".





1 Chronicles 27:23



Ver. 23. But David took not the number of them from twenty years old and under,.... Only those that were twenty years and upwards; but, according to Cornelius Bertram {k}, he numbered them that were under twenty, though but sixteen, seventeen, eighteen, or nineteen years of age, provided they were of robust bodies, and of a tall stature, and able to bear arms; which he takes to be the sin of David, in numbering the people, being contrary to the law of God; yet though he had ordered them to be numbered, and they were, yet he would not take them and put them into the account of his chronicles, as in the next verse, that his sin might not be known, see 2Sa 24:9



because the Lord had said, he would increase Israel like to the stars in the heavens; which are not to be numbered, and therefore David sinned in attempting to number the people.



{k} Lucubrat. Franktall, c. 2.





1 Chronicles 27:24



Ver. 24. Joab the son of Zeruiah began to number,.... By the order of David, but entirely against his own will, see 1Ch 21:2,



but he finished not; the two tribes of Benjamin and Levi not being counted by him, 1Ch 21:6



because there fell wrath for it against Israel; the plague being broke forth before he had done numbering, which put a stop to it, 1Ch 21:14



neither was the number put in the account of the chronicles of David; that which was brought in by Joab, though imperfect, was not entered into the diary, journal, or annals which David ordered to be written of all memorable events and transactions in his reign; and which were afterwards carried on by the kings of Judah, often referred to in the preceding books; and this was done, not because of the imperfection of the account, but because David did not choose this sin of his should be transmitted to posterity, though it has been, notwithstanding this precaution of his.





1 Chronicles 27:25



Ver. 25-32. And over the king's treasures was Azmaveth the son of Adiel,.... The historian here proceeds to relate who were employed in the economical and civil affairs of David; and the first mentioned is the lord of his treasury, who had the care of his gold and silver brought into his exchequer, either by a levy on his own people, or by the tribute of others: Jehonathan the son of Uzziah had the care of the storehouses, in which were laid up what the fields, cities, villages, and castles that belonged to the king produced, whether by fruits gathered in, or by rents collected: Ezri the son of Chelub looked after his workmen in the fields, employed in the tillage of the ground: Shimei of Ramath, in the tribe of Benjamin, had the care of the vineyards, to see that they were dressed and pruned, and kept in good order: Zabdi of Shepham, Nu 34:10 had the charge of the wine squeezed out of the grapes, both in the presses and in the cellars: Baalhanan of Gedor, in the tribe of Judah, Jos 15:36 was over the olive and sycamore trees, to see that they were well taken care of: and Joash was entrusted with the cellars where the oil was deposited: Shitrai the Sharonite had the herds of cattle fed in Sharon committed to his trust; whether in Sharon beyond Jordan, or that about Lydda and Joppa, near the Mediterranean sea, both affording fruitful pastures for herds; and this man, being of Sharon, was a fit man to be employed in such service: and Shaphat the son of Adlai was over those herds that were in the valleys, where were good pastures for them; such officers Pharaoh king of Egypt had, Ge 47:6 and as early as the times of Ninus king of Assyria, one named Simma was master of the king's cattle {l}, as Faustulus was to Amulius king of the Latines {m}; and so Tyrrhus in Virgil {n} had the command of all the king's cattle; and Cicero mentions another in the same office {o}: Obil the Ishmaelite (an Arab, as the Targum) had the care of the camels; and a very proper person he was, who must know the nature of them, and how to manage them, Arabia, or the land of the Ishmaelites, abounding with them. This man was so called, either because he was an Ishmaelite by birth, and was proselyted to the Jewish religion; or he was an Israelite that had dwelt some time in the land of Ishmael, and therefore so called. Bochart {p} thinks he had his name of Obil from his office, the word in the Arabic language signifying a keeper of camels. Jehdeiah the Meronothite was over the asses, which were employed in ploughing and carrying burdens; and Jaziz the Hagarite was over the flocks of sheep, the chief shepherd, who had the command of all the under shepherds, and a very proper person, being an Hagarite, or Arab; for such dwelt in tents for the sake of pasturage for their flocks, as Jarchi notes: these were the principal men that had the care of David's personal substance; so, in later times, the Roman Caesars {q} had such sort of servants to take care of their farms, fields, fruit, cattle, &c. the rest that follow were David's courtiers. Jonathan, or to whom David was uncle, the son of Shimea, his brother being a wise and learned man, was his counsellor, see 2Sa 21:21 and Jehiel the Hachmonite was preceptor, or tutor to the king's sons, that brought them up, and took care of their education; Ahithophel was his counsellor until the conspiracy and rebellion of Absalom; and Hushai the Archite was his companion, friend, and favourite, with whom he conversed at leisure hours. After the death of Ahithophel, Jehoiada the son of Benaiah, and Abiathar, were his counsellors, and Joab the general of his army.



{l} Diodor. Sicul. l. 2. p. 93. {m} Liv. Hist. Decad. 1. l. 1. p. 5. {n} Aeneid. l. 7. Tyrrhusque pater, &c. ver. 485. {o} Apud Servium, in ib. {p} Hierozoic. par. 1. l. 2. c. col. 77. {q} Vid. Pignorium de Servis, p. 548.





1 Chronicles 27:26



Ver. 26. See Gill on "1Ch 27:25".





1 Chronicles 27:27



Ver. 27. See Gill on "1Ch 27:25".





1 Chronicles 27:28



Ver. 28. See Gill on "1Ch 27:25".





1 Chronicles 27:29



Ver. 29. See Gill on "1Ch 27:25".





1 Chronicles 27:30



Ver. 30. See Gill on "1Ch 27:25".





1 Chronicles 27:31



Ver. 31. See Gill on "1Ch 27:25".





1 Chronicles 27:32



Ver. 32. See Gill on "1Ch 27:25".





1 Chronicles 27:33



Ver. 33. See Gill on "1Ch 27:25".





1 Chronicles 27:34



Ver. 34. See Gill on "1Ch 27:25".

 

John Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible.

1 Chronicles 28:1



INTRODUCTION TO 1 CHRONICLES 28



David, having convened the principal men of the nation, declared Solomon his successor, whom God had chosen both to be king, and to build the temple, 1Ch 28:1, and exhorted both them and him to serve the Lord, and build an house for him, 1Ch 28:8, then gave Solomon the pattern of it, and an account of the materials he had prepared for it, 1Ch 28:11, and encouraged him to go about the work with alacrity and intrepidity, 1Ch 28:20.



Ver. 1. And David assembled all the princes of Israel, the princes of the tribes,.... Whose names are given in 1Ch 27:16



and the captains of the companies that ministered to the king by course; monthly, each having 24,000 men under him, whose names are expressed, 1Ch 27:2



and the captains over the thousands; of which there were twenty four in a course, at the head of each 1000, under the chief captain:



and captains over the hundreds: centurions under the second captains:



and the stewards over all the substance and possession of the king, and of his sons; whose names may be read in 1Ch 27:25



with the officers: the courtiers:



and with the mighty men, and with all the valiant men; both men of valour, and of wealth and riches: these David



assembled unto Jerusalem; the metropolis of the kingdoms and where his court and palace were.





1 Chronicles 28:2



Ver. 2. Then David the king stood up upon his feet,.... Rose from the bed or couch on which he lay, as Kimchi thinks, being somewhat recovered of his paralytic disorder, and being willing to exert himself on this occasion; or he rose up from the seat or throne, on which he before sat, in honour to this august assembly before him, and that he might be the more easily heard; for which reason we are told {r} it was a custom with the ancients even for kings to stand up when they had a number of people about them they spoke to; and if anyone sat it was reckoned a new and strange thing; so Agamemnon, when wounded, did not speak sitting, until he had made an excuse for it:



and said, hear me, my brethren, and my people; having something of moment and importance to say unto them, and which required their diligent attention; and though they were his subjects, he calls them his brethren, being of the same nation and religion, and to show his modesty and humility; in which he was a type of Christ, the King of kings, see Heb 2:11



as for me, I had it in my heart to build an house of rest for the ark of the covenant of the Lord; where it might abide, and not be removed from place to place; the same he had told Solomon, 1Ch 22:7



and for the footstool of our God; or "even for it", for the ark is meant, which is so called, Ps 99:5 for as the Lord sat between the cherubim over the mercy seat, the lid of the ark, it was, speaking after the manner of men, a footstool to him:



and had made ready for the building; prepared materials for it; see 1Ch 22:4.



{r} Eustathius in Homer. Iliald. 1. p. 46. Vid, Iliad. 19. ver. 77, 79.





1 Chronicles 28:3



Ver. 3. But God said unto me, thou shalt not build an house for my name,.... This he said by Nathan the prophet, 2Sa 7:5



because thou hast been a man of war, and hast shed blood: see

1Ch 22:8.





1 Chronicles 28:4



Ver. 4. Howbeit, the Lord God of Israel chose me before all the house of my father to be king over Israel for ever,.... Passing by all his brethren who were elder than he, he pitched upon him, and ordered him to be anointed king of Israel, see 1Sa 16:10, and that for ever, for a long time, as long as he lived; or rather in his posterity for many years to come, and best of all in his antitype Christ, the son of David, see Lu 1:32



for he hath chosen Judah to be the ruler; the tribe of Judah to be the seat of government, and one out of that tribe to be the chief ruler, see 1Ch 5:2



and of the house of Judah, the house of my father; out of that tribe he chose his father's family, to take from thence one to be king of Israel:



and among the sons of my father he liked me to make me king over all Israel; though the youngest of them, 1Sa 16:11, this was his will and pleasure.





1 Chronicles 28:5



Ver. 5. And of all my sons, for the Lord hath given me many sons,.... Whose names, and the order of their birth, may be read in 1Ch 3:1



he hath chosen Solomon my son to sit upon the throne of the kingdom of the Lord over Israel; to be his successor in it: this he says to observe to them, that this was not merely his own will and choice, nor the fruit and effect of a fond affection to Solomon; nor was it barely in pursuance of a promise made to Bathsheba, she had obtained of him; but it was according to the will and appointment of God, and therefore to be the more regarded.





1 Chronicles 28:6



Ver. 6. And he said unto me, Solomon that son, he shall build my house,.... See 2Sa 7:13



and my courts; in the house or temple:



for I have chosen him to be my son; predestinated him to the adoption of children, Eph 1:5



and I will be his father; see 2Sa 7:14.





1 Chronicles 28:7



Ver. 7. Moreover, I will establish his kingdom for ever,.... The same is said in 2Sa 7:13



if he be constant to do my commandments, and my judgments, as at this day; if he continued in the observance of them, as he had begun, and went on in until that day; this is added here, and was not spoken by Nathan, when what goes before was; for Solomon was not then born, but must be suggested to David since, and as it should seem at this time.





1 Chronicles 28:8



Ver. 8. Now therefore, in the sight of all Israel, the congregation of the Lord,.... Whom this assembly represented:



and in the audience of our God; before him, as Jarchi, in whose presence they were, and who heard and saw all that passed, and to whom David appeals as a witness; the Targum is,



"before the Word of the Lord.''



before whom all things are naked and open, Heb 4:12



keep and seek for all the commandments of the Lord your God; seek to know them, search for them in the word of God, and endeavour to keep them:



that ye may possess this good land; continue in the possession of it, for by their obedience they held it, Isa 1:19



and leave it for an inheritance for your children after you for ever; that so they might not be removed from it, and carried captive into other lands, as they were for their disobedience.





1 Chronicles 28:9



Ver. 9. And thou, Solomon my son,.... Who was present in this assembly, and presented to them by David as his successor, and their future king: and having addressed them, he turns himself to him, and exhorts him, saying,



know thou the God of thy father; who was his Father and covenant God, and whom he served and worshipped, and who had bestowed upon him many favours, both temporal and spiritual; and having had such an experience of his goodness, he exhorts his son to seek to know more and more of him, and to own and acknowledge him as his God, and to love and fear him:



serve him with a perfect heart, and with a willing mind; cordially and sincerely, cheerfully and freely, neither in an hypocritical manner, nor through force and constraint, nor with loathing and weariness:



for the Lord searcheth all hearts; the hearts of all men, even of kings, and knows from what principles and with what views and in what manor they serve him:



and understandeth all the imaginations of the thought; not only the thoughts of the heart, when regularly formed and ranged in order, hut even the very beginning of them, the first motions of the mind, and before they are well formed, see Ge 6:5



if thou seek him; by prayer and supplication in his house and ordinances:



he will be found of thee; grant his presence and bestow his favours, see Isa 4:6



but if thou forsake him: his word, his ways, his worship:



he will cast thee off for ever; from being king, or enjoying that peace, prosperity, and happiness, which otherwise would be enjoyed.





1 Chronicles 28:10



Ver. 10. Take heed now,.... Of offending God by forsaking him; or see, consider, and observe now what he was further about to say to him, concerning the building of the temple, as follows:



for the Lord hath chosen thee to build an house for the sanctuary; a temple for the ark, called the sanctuary, Nu 7:9 the Targum is, the Word of the Lord hath chosen thee, &c.



be strong, and do it, be of a good heart and courage, and set about it with vigour and resolution.





1 Chronicles 28:11



Ver. 11. Then David gave to Solomon his son the pattern of the porch,.... The breadth, and length, and height of it, which was to be placed at the east end of the temple, and was the entrance into it:



and, of the houses thereof; the holy place, and the most holy, which latter is called the greater house, 2Ch 3:5,



and of the treasures; where things belonging to the temple were laid up, the priests' vestments, and other things:



and of the upper chambers; where the priests lay or met for conversation, Jer 35:2.



and of the inner parlours thereof; where the priests ate of the holy things; all these seem to he buildings against the wall of the temple round about, 1Ki 6:5



and of the place of the mercy seat: the holy of holies, where that, with the cherubim over it, and the ark under it, were placed.





1 Chronicles 28:12



Ver. 12 And the pattern of all that he had by the Spirit,.... By the Spirit of God, who gave him the whole form of the temple, and all things relative to it; just as God showed to Moses the pattern of the tabernacle in the mount; the Targum is, by the spirit of prophecy that was with him. The Jews suppose that Samuel the prophet was first made acquainted with it, and he made it known to David:



of the courts of the house of the Lord: the outward court, the court of the priests, &c.



and of all the chambers round about: see 1Ki 6:5



of the treasuries of the house of God, and of the treasuries of the dedicated things; of the difference of which, see 1Ch 26:20.





1 Chronicles 28:13



Ver. 13. And also for the courses of the priests and Levites,.... Where they should serve, of which, as fixed and ordered by David, see

1Ch 24:1



and for all the work of the service of the house of the Lord; they should be employed in:



and for all the vessels of service in the house of the Lord; which they should use therein.





1 Chronicles 28:14



Ver. 14. He gave of gold by weight for things of gold, for all instruments of all manner of service,.... Whatever was to be made of gold, David was directed by the Spirit of God what weight or quantity of gold should be made use of in making it, as appears from some following instances: silver also



for all instruments of silver by weight, for all instruments of every kind of service; so likewise whatever instruments or vessels, for the service of the temple, were to be made of silver, he had a direction from the Spirit of God what weight each was to be of, or what quantity of silver was to be used in it, and this he gave; according to Jacob Jehudah Leon {s}, the vessels of gold were 340,000, the vessels of silver 470,000, in all 810,000.



{s} Relation of Memorable Things in the Tabernacle and Temple, ch. 4. p. 19.





1 Chronicles 28:15



Ver. 15. Even the weight for the candlesticks of gold, and for their lamps of gold, by weight for every candlestick, and for the lamps thereof,.... These candlesticks were ten, and each had seven lamps, and were placed five on one side the Mosaic candlestick, and five on the other, as say the Jews, see 1Ki 7:49, and the weight of gold for each candlestick, according to the above writer {t}, was one hundred pounds; and for both candlesticks and lamps, David, by the Spirit of God, was directed to give:



and for the candlesticks of silver, by weight, both for the candlestick, and also for the lamps thereof, according to the use of every candlestick; the weight of silver for them was fixed; of these nowhere else read. Kimchi thinks these were for the chambers of the priests, to give them light when they ate and lay there.



{t} Ibid. (Relation of Memorial Things in the Tabernacle and the Temple, ch. 4.) p. 20.





1 Chronicles 28:16



Ver. 16. And by weight he gave gold for the tables of shewbread, for every table,.... For though there were but one table for the shewbread in the tabernacle of Moses, there were ten in the temple of Solomon, 2Ch 4:8 and each of them contained one hundred pounds in weight {u}:



and likewise silver for the tables of silver; these were placed in the court, as Jarchi thinks, on which they flayed the sacrifices; or, as Kimchi, on which they slew them, and laid the flesh of the burnt offerings on them, which he gathers from Eze 40:39.



{u} Jacob Leon, ibid. (Relation of Memorable Things in the Tabernacle and Temple, ch. 4. p. 20.)





1 Chronicles 28:17



Ver. 17. Also pure gold for the flesh hooks,.... To take the pieces of flesh out of the pots, in which they were boiled:



and the bowls and the cups; and for the golden basins he gave gold by weight for every basin; which were vessels made use of for the receiving and sprinkling the blood of the sacrifices: likewise silver



by weight for every basin of silver; for it seems some of them were of silver, as others were of gold.





1 Chronicles 28:18



Ver. 18. And for the altar of incense refined gold by weight,.... This was also one hundred pounds weight in gold, with which it was to be overlaid {w}:



and gold for the pattern of the chariot of the cherubim; which were two large ones, besides those which Moses made; and these were not made of gold, as they were, but overlaid with it, see 1Ki 6:23 which with them made four; and to which the four living creatures in Ezekiel's vision allude, and make the "mercavah", or chariot, the Jews so much speak of, perhaps from this and other like phrases; and the Lord sitting here as in a chariot, not only denotes the glory and splendour of the Shechinah, or divine Majesty; but, as some observe, his readiness to ride off and depart, when displeased and provoked, see

Eze 10:18,



that spread out their wings, and covered the ark of the covenant of the Lord; not that spread their wings over the ark, and covered it, that the Mosaic cherubim did; but these spread their wings before it from wall to wall, so that it could not be seen by any that turned aside the vail, and even by the high priest when he entered into the holy of holies: the ark, with the cherubim, which were on that, weighed two hundred pounds of pure gold, according to the Jacob Leon {x}.



{w} Ibid. (Relation of Memorable Things in the Tabernacle and Temple, ch. 4. p. 20.) {x} Ibid.





1 Chronicles 28:19



Ver. 19. All this, said David, the Lord made me understand in writing by his hand upon me,.... Either by an impulse of his Spirit on him, whereby it was as it were written on his mind, and as clearly represented to him, as if he had it in writing before him; though the Jews think that all was first made known to Samuel, or some other prophet, who delivered it to David in writing, as from the Lord: but I see not why it may not be understood that David had the pattern of the temple, and all things relative to it, by an handwriting from the Lord himself, through the ministry of angels, as Moses received the two tables, the handwriting of the Lord, from himself; for the words, as they lie in order in the Hebrew text, are, the whole of this "in writing from the hand of the Lord, unto me, he made me to understand: even all the works of this pattern"; the particulars of which are given before.





1 Chronicles 28:20



Ver. 20. And David said to Solomon his son, be strong, and of good courage, and do it,.... See Gill on "1Ch 28:10"



fear not, nor be dismayed; that thou shalt meet with any opposition in the work, or not be able to finish it for want of materials and workmen, or money to pay them:



for the Lord God, [even] my God, will be with thee; to guide and direct, prosper and succeed; the Targum is,



"the Word of the Lord God, my God, will be thy help:''



he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee; a promise made to Joshua, and is applicable to every good man in whatsoever good work he is concerned, Jos 1:5,



until thou hast finished all the work for the service of the house of the Lord; built the temple, and all the apartments of it, and courts belonging to it, and made and provided all the utensils and vessels necessary for the service and worship of God.





1 Chronicles 28:21



Ver. 21. And, behold, all the courses of the priests and the Levites,.... Which David had lately fixed to take their turns in the temple, when built: even they shall be with thee



for all the service of the house of God; to advise and assist him in everything relating to the service of the sanctuary, which they might be supposed best to understand:



and there shall be with thee, for all manner of workmanship, every willing skilful man for any manner of service; men that were not only well skilled in all manner of curious work that was necessary for the service of the house, but were willing to employ their skill to the uttermost for it, and such David had provided, 1Ch 22:15,



also the princes and all the people will be wholly at thy commandment: to do whatever he should order, whether to overlook the workmen, or to contribute to the expenses of the work.

 

John Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible.

1 Chronicles 29:1



INTRODUCTION TO 1 CHRONICLES 29



This chapter relates how largely and liberally David, besides what he had before done, and his princes, offered towards defraying the expenses of building the temple, 1Ch 29:1 and the joy and thankfulness that he and his people expressed on that account, attended with prayers for Solomon, and offering sacrifices unto the Lord, 1Ch 29:9 and the chapter is closed, and so the book, with an account of the second unction of Solomon, the placing him on the throne, and the submission of all ranks of men unto him, and of the death of David, 1Ch 29:22.



Ver. 1. Furthermore, David the king said unto all the congregation,.... Having finished what he had to say to Solomon, he addressed the congregation again:



Solomon my son, whom alone God hath chosen; both to be king, and to build the temple



is yet young and tender; see 1Ch 22:5



and the work is great; both of governing so great a people, and of building so magnificent a temple, especially the latter is meant:



for the palace is not for man; for any mortal king, though ever so great:



but for the Lord God; the Targum is,



"but for the Word of the Lord God,''



who is the King of kings, and Lord of lords; and therefore is to be built as with the greatest exactness, according to the pattern he himself has given, so with the greatest splendour and magnificence.





1 Chronicles 29:2



Ver. 2. Now I have prepared with all my might for the house of my God,.... According to the utmost of his ability for the building and decorating of it:



the gold for the things to be made of gold; as the candlesticks, shewbread tables, &c.



and the silver for [things] of silver; as for basins, &c.



and the brass for [things] of brass; as the brasen altar, brasen laver,



and iron for [things] of iron; for nails, hinges, &c.



and wood for [things] of wood; for rafters, ceilings, floors, &c.



onyx stones; the Targum, stones of beryl: and stones to be set; other precious stones to be set in gold and silver:



glistering stones; the Targum, emeralds; the word is used for stibium, or black lead, with which women painted their eyes; and so may signify black stones, like black lead; as white marble is after mentioned, perhaps black is here meant, or such stones Solomon paved the ways with leading to Jerusalem {y}: but as such stones are not very glistering, there seems to be no reason for such an epithet; unless the stone "phengites" should be meant, which was a clear bright stone, and served for looking glasses. Domitian the Roman emperor, when under suspicion of being murdered by persons he had offended, garnished the porticos of his palace with this stone, which was of such brightness, that by the images formed in it he could see what was behind him {z}; and so Lucian speaks {a} of Astarte having a splendid stone about her, called lucniv, which in the night gave much light to the temple, but shone weakly in the day time, and looked like fire:



and of divers colours; that is, stones of various colours, as jaspers, amethysts, &c. Kimchi interprets it of embroidered clothes, and garments of needlework, and in these precious stones were sometimes inserted:



and all manner of precious stones; as pearls, diamonds, &c. it is hard to say what all these precious stones were for; Jarchi and Kimchi think they were to decorate the walls overlaid with gold, in which they were set; it is certain they were for garnishing and beautifying the house, see 2Ch 3:6



and marble stones in abundance; for pillars, tables, and pavement, as Jarchi; this was Parian marble, according to the Septuagint and Vulgate Latin versions; the whitest of marble {b}, found the island of Paros, and which agrees with the word here used.



{y} Joseph. Antiqu. l. 8. c. 7. sect. 4. {z} Sueton. Vit. Domitian. c. 14. Vid. Plin. Nat. Hist. l. 36. c. 22. Isidor. Origin. l. 16. c. 4. {a} De Dea Syria. {b} "----Pario marmore purius." Horat. Carmin. l. 1. ode 19.





1 Chronicles 29:3



Ver. 3. Moreover, because I have set my affection to the house of my God,.... Had a good will to it, and was earnestly desirous of having it built, and that in a grand manner:



I have of my own proper good; which he had treasured up for his own use:



of gold and silver, [even that] I have given to the house of my God; to build or ornament it, or make vessels for it:



over and above all that I have prepared for the holy house; for the building of the temple, which is made mention of in the preceding chapter.





1 Chronicles 29:4



Ver. 4. Even three thousand talents of gold,.... Which, according to Scheuchzer {c}, amount to 36,660,000 ducats of gold; and, according to Brerewood {d}, to 13,500,000 pounds of our money:



of the gold of Ophir; which was reckoned the best gold; not Ophir in India, which was not known till Solomon's time, but in Arabia, as Bochart {e} has shown; so Eupolemus {f}, an Heathen writer, says, that David having built ships at Achan, a city of Arabia, sent miners to Urphe (supposed to be the same with Ophir) in the island of the Red sea, abounding with gold, and from thence fetched it, See Gill on 1Ki 9:28, and that he was able to give so great a sum out of his own substance, Dr. Prideaux {g} thinks, can only be accounted for by his great returns from this traffic; since these 3000 talents, according to him, amounted to 21,600,000 pounds sterling:



and seven thousand talents of refined silver; amounting, according to Scheuchzer {h}, to 31,500,000 imperials, or rix dollars; and, according to Brerewood {i}, to 2,625,000 pounds of our money:



to overlay the walls of the houses withal; the gold was to overlay the walls of the holy and most holy place, the silver to overlay the walls of the chambers built around the temple.



{c} Physica Sacra, vol. 4. p. 631. {d} De Ponder. & Pret. Vet. Num. c. 5. {e} Phaleg. l. 2. c. 27. col. 140. {f} Apud Euseb. Evangel. Praepar. l. 9. c. 30. p. 447. {g} Connection, par. 1. p. 5, 6. {h} Ut supra. (Physica Sacra, vol. 4. p. 631.) {i} Ut supra. (De Ponder. & Pret. Vet. Num. c. 5.)





1 Chronicles 29:5



Ver. 5. The gold for things of gold, the silver for things of silver,.... The one for what was to be overlaid with gold, the other for what was to be overlaid with silver:



and for all manner of work to be made by the hands of artificers; what remained was to be made use of in employing artificers in making vessels for the temple that were needful:



and who then is willing to consecrate his service this day unto the Lord; or fill his hand? {k} and give largely and liberally towards building an house for the service and worship, honour and glory, of God; and David, having set so good an example, could with the better grace recommend the good work to his nobles and people, and which had its desired effect, as follows.



{k} wdy twalml "impleat manum suam", V. L. "ut impleat manum suam", Vatablus, Piscator.





1 Chronicles 29:6



Ver. 6. Then the chief of the fathers and princes of the tribes of Israel,.... The princes of the twelve tribes:



and the captains of thousands, and of hundreds, with the rulers over the king's work; who were now assembled, 1Ch 28:1



offered willingly; and cheerfully; needed no more arguments to press them to it, but at once readily communicated.





1 Chronicles 29:7



Ver. 7. And gave for the service of the house of God,.... For building and adorning it, and providing proper utensils for it:



of gold five thousand talents; which, according to Scheuchzer {l}, came to 61,100,000 ducats of gold: and these, with "the 10,000 drachms"; make of our money, according to Brerewood {m}, 22,507,500 pounds; some reckon a drachm at two ducats and a half, and somewhat more {n}:



and of silver ten thousand talents; which, according to the former writer, amounted to 450,000,000 imperials, or rix dollars; and, according to the latter, they made of our money 3,750,000 pounds:



and of brass eighteen thousand talents, and one hundred thousand talents of iron; the weight of each of which were so much.



{l} Ut supra. (Physica Sacra, vol. 4. p. 631.) {m} Ut supra. (Physica Sacra, vol. 4. p. 631.) {n} Eisenschmidius apud Scheuchzer. ib. p. 635.





1 Chronicles 29:8



Ver. 8. And they with whom precious stones were found,.... Such as are mentioned 1Ch 29:2



gave them to the treasure of the house of the Lord; to be laid up there:



by the hand of Jehiel the Gershonite; who, and his sons, had the care of that treasury, 1Ch 27:21.





1 Chronicles 29:9



Ver. 9. Then the people rejoiced, for that they offered willingly,.... They were not only glad that they had it to offer, but that they had hearts to do it; they found themselves quite free to do the work, and saw it was so with others, which gave them extreme pleasure:



because with perfect heart they offered willingly to the Lord; not grudgingly, but cheerfully; not pressed and urged to it; not by constraint, but freely, and that with a pure view to the honour and glory of God:



and David the king also rejoiced with great joy; it made his heart glad exceedingly, now he was old, and just going out of the world, to see this good work in such forwardness, on which his heart had been so much set; it gave him reason to believe it would be set about in good earnest, be carried on with vigour, and brought to perfection.





1 Chronicles 29:10



Ver. 10. Wherefore David blessed the Lord before all the congregation,.... To whose goodness he ascribed both the ability and willingness of him, and his people, to offer after such a manner; he knew it was God that wrought in them both to will and to do, and therefore gave him the glory of it:



and David said, blessed be thou, Lord God of Israel our Father, for ever and ever; the phrase, "our father", does not belong to the God of Israel, their father by covenant and adoption, but to Israel, or Jacob, the ancestor of the Jewish nation; who is made mention of on this occasion, he being the first that spoke of building an house for God, as some Jewish writers, Jarchi and Kimchi, observe, see Ge 28:22.





1 Chronicles 29:11



Ver. 11. Thine, O Lord, is the greatness, and the power, and the glory, and the victory, and the majesty,.... That is, either God is possessed of all greatness and immensity, of dignity of nature, and of all perfections; of almighty power, of excellent glory, of superiority to all beings and of honour, and majesty, and all that grandeur, might, and honour in men, and victory over others; the majestic appearance they make, and exaltation above others they have, are all of God:



for all that is in the heaven and in the earth [is thine]; they are both made by him, and all that is in them, and therefore he has the sole right unto them:



thine is the kingdom, O Lord; of nature and Providence; he has the sole dominion over all creatures, and the sovereign disposal of all things:



and thou art exalted as head above all; men on earth, and angels in heaven.





1 Chronicles 29:12



Ver. 12. Both riches and honour come of thee,.... Whatever of either the children of men have is not owing to their merits, nor to their diligence and industry, and wise conduct, but to the providence of God, Ec 9:11 so the gods with the Heathens are said {o} to be givers of riches:



and thou reignest over all; govern the world by wisdom, and dispose all things in it for the best:



in thine hand is power and might; to do whatsoever he pleaseth:



and in thine hand it is to make great; in worldly things, and so in spiritual:



and to give strength unto all; against their enemies, and to do the will and work of God; of all which David had had an experience.



{o} ploutodotai, Hesiod. Opera, ver. 124. see ver. 316.





1 Chronicles 29:13



Ver. 13. Now therefore, our God, we thank thee, and praise thy glorious name. That he that was so great, and so much above them, should take notice of them, and bestow so many great and good things on them.





1 Chronicles 29:14



Ver. 14. But who am I,.... Originally dust and ashes, a sinful creature, unworthy to receive anything from God, and of having the honour of doing anything for him:



and what is my people: subject to him, the least of all people, separated from the nations round about them, and despised by them:



that we should be able to offer so willingly after this sort? that they, who were a poor people, some years ago brought out of Egyptian bondage, should now be possessed of such an affluence, and have such a generous heart and liberal spirit given them, as to contribute in so large and liberal a manner as they had done; all was owing to the goodness of God to them, and the efficacy of his grace upon them:



for all things come of thee; all good things, temporal and spiritual; the Lord is the fountain of goodness, and Father of mercies:



and of thine own have we given thee; for there is nothing a man has but he has received from the Lord, and therefore can give nothing to him but his own, see Ro 11:35.





1 Chronicles 29:15



Ver. 15. For we are strangers before thee, and sojourners, as were all our fathers,.... For though they were in possession of the land of Canaan, yet they held it not in their own right, but as the Lord's,



who said, the land is mine, Le 25:23, they were but tenants in it, and were not to abide long here; they belonged to another city and country; the consideration of which might tend to set them loose to worldly things, and the more easily to part with them for the service of God, and the honour of his name:



our days on the earth are as a shadow; man's life is expressed by days, not months and years, being so short; and by days on earth, in distinction from the days of heaven, or eternity; and these said to be as a shadow, of a short continuance, empty, mutable, and uncertain, dark and obscure, quickly gone, like the shadow of the sun; and not only like that, or of a mountain, tree or wall; but, as the Targum, of a bird that is flying, which passes away at once:



and [there is] none abiding; not long, much less always, being but sojourners as before; so Cato in Cicero {p} is represented as saying,



"I depart out of this life as from an inn, and not an house; for nature has given us an inn to sojourn, not a place to dwell in:''



or "there is no hope or expectation" {q}; of living long, of recalling time, and of avoiding death.



{p} De Senectute, c. 23. {q} hwqm Nya "non est expectatio sive spes", Pagninus, Montanus, Vatablus, Michaelis.





1 Chronicles 29:16



Ver. 16. O Lord our God, all this store that we have prepared,.... Of gold, silver, &c. that he and his people had provided and contributed: the gold, according to Jacob Leon {r}, amounted to 59,766 tons of gold, and 46,123 gilders, each ton to be reckoned at least 1000 pounds sterling; the silver, reduced to the value of gold, made 46,337 tons, and two hundred and fifty gilders; but both, according to Witsius {s}, amounted to 20,585 tons of gold; and if the talents were talents of the sanctuary, and they double the common talents, as some say they were, it was as much more, and may well be expressed by



all this store, besides the brass, iron, &c.



to build thee an house for thine holy name; to perform holy and religious worship in it, for the glory of his name: cometh of



thine hand, and [is] all thine own: this he repeats, that God might have all the glory of all they had and did.



{r} Relation of Memorable Things in the Tabernacle and Temple, ch. 3. p. 14, 15. {s} Miscellan. tom. 2. p. 258.





1 Chronicles 29:17



Ver. 17. I know also, my God, that thou triest the heart,.... Searchest it, and knowest it perfectly, whether what is done is from it:



and hast pleasure in uprightness; in what is done in sincerity and uprightness of heart:



as for me, in the uprightness of my heart I have willingly offered all these things; for the truth of which he could appeal to the heart searching God:



and now have I seen with joy thy people, which are present here, to offer willingly unto thee; he judged by what they did, and their manner of doing it, that it was done in the uprightness of their hearts also, as his were, which gave him sensible joy and pleasure.





1 Chronicles 29:18



Ver. 18. O Lord God of Abraham, Isaac, and of Israel, our fathers, &c:] The ancestors of the Jewish nation, whose covenant God the Lord was, and who had ever been mindful of his promise to them, with respect to them their seed:



keep this for ever in the imagination of the thoughts of the heart of thy people; let the same disposition of mind always continue in them to serve the Lord their God:



and prepare their heart unto thee; incline and dispose their minds always to fear the Lord, and obey his will.





1 Chronicles 29:19



Ver. 19. And give unto Solomon my son a perfect heart to keep thy commandments, thy testimonies, and thy statutes,.... All the laws of God, moral, ceremonial, and judicial, even to observe them cordially and sincerely:



and to do all those things; he had suggested to him particularly:



and to build the palace for the which I have made provision; as before declared.





1 Chronicles 29:20



Ver. 20. And David said to all the congregation,.... Consisting of princes, captains, and officers, 1Ch 28:1



now bless the Lord your God; as he had done, for putting it into the power of their hands, and into their hearts, to do what they had:



and all the congregation blessed the Lord God of their fathers; some one as the mouth of the rest put up a thanksgiving to God, as David directed, to which they all assented, and in which they all joined:



and bowed down their heads, and worshipped the Lord and the king; the one with religious worship, the other with civil; the Syriac and Arabic versions more plainly distinguish, "they worshipped the Lord, and blessed David the king"; though some think Solomon, now made king, is meant.





1 Chronicles 29:21



Ver. 21. And they sacrificed sacrifices unto the Lord,.... David and the congregation:



and offered burnt offerings unto the Lord on the morrow after that day; not having time enough on that day to perform, at least not all of them; and these they offered on the altar David had erected in the threshingfloor of Araunah, by the order of God, where afterwards the temple was built:



[even] a thousand bullocks, a thousand rams, and a thousand lambs, with their burnt offerings; and meat offerings also, both which always went along with them:



and sacrifices in abundance for all Israel; whom they represented; these last were peace offerings, part of which the offerers had for themselves and friends to feast on, as these did, as follows.





1 Chronicles 29:22



Ver. 22. And they did eat and drink before the Lord on that day with great gladness,.... Before the ark of the Lord, which was in the tabernacle David had pitched for it:



and they made Solomon the son of David king the second time; the first was upon Adonijah's rebellion, and was done in the presence only of the inhabitants of Jerusalem; but this was done by and in the presence of all the great personages in the land:



and anointed him unto the Lord to be the chief governor; under his father during his lifetime, and then to reign in his own right:



and Zadok to be priest; high priest; which office yet he did not exercise till after the death of David, when Abiathar was thrust out by Solomon.





1 Chronicles 29:23



Ver. 23. Then Solomon sat on the throne of the Lord,.... Who had given it to him, and established him on it, and whose vicegerent he was, and over whose people he ruled:



as king instead of David; he was viceroy to him in his life time, and succeeded him at his death, when he had the full power of government:



and prospered; his reign was happy and peaceable:



and all Israel obeyed him; at once; whereas it was some time, even years, before all Israel obeyed David.





1 Chronicles 29:24



Ver. 24. And all the princes and the mighty men,.... The princes of the tribes, and the officers of the army:



and all the sons likewise of King David; as many as were living: and though they were elder than Solomon,



[they] submitted to Solomon the king; or "gave the hand under" {t} him, promised obedience, and swore allegiance to him, see Ge 24:2.



{t} txt dy Mvyw "dederunt manum sub Selomoh", Pagninus, Montanus, Michaelis.





1 Chronicles 29:25



Ver. 25. And the Lord magnified Solomon exceedingly before all Israel,.... By giving him such a large share of wisdom and understanding in government:



and bestowed upon him such royal majesty; not only such wealth and riches, but such honour and reverence,



as had not been on any king before him in Israel; not on Saul, nor even on David.





1 Chronicles 29:26



Ver. 26. Thus David the son of Jesse reigned over all Israel. As before related in this book, and in the second book of Samuel; his reign being long and glorious.





1 Chronicles 29:27



Ver. 27. And the time that he reigned over Israel was forty years,.... See 1Ki 2:11.





1 Chronicles 29:28



Ver. 28. And he died in a good old age,.... Being seventy years of age:



full of days, riches, and honour; had as much of either of them as he could wish for; and having enough, he sought after, and was taken to the possession of, eternal life, durable riches, and honours, and glory, that fade not away:



and Solomon his son reigned in his stead; in full power and authority.





1 Chronicles 29:29



Ver. 29. Now the acts of David the king, first and last,.... All that he did that was memorable, both before he was king, and when king in Hebron, and then in Jerusalem:



behold, they are written in the book of Samuel the seer, and in the book of Nathan the prophet, and in the book of Gad the seer; which were journals of his life and actions, begun by Samuel, and carried on by Nathan and Gad; out of which what is recorded in canonical Scripture was taken by divine direction, and preserved, while other writings are lost; or rather the book of Samuel designs the first book of Samuel, and the books of Nathan and Gad the second book of Samuel, by whom it was written.





1 Chronicles 29:30



Ver. 30. With all his reign and his might,.... The whole of it, and the mighty valiant acts done by him, the battles he fought, and the victories he obtained:



and the times that went over him, and over Israel, and all the kingdoms of the countries; things that were done in his time in Israel, and in the nations round about subdued by him, as Moab, Ammon, Syria, and Philistia.

 

John Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible.

2 Chronicles 1:1



INTRODUCTION TO SECOND CHRONICLES



This, and the preceding, were but one book originally, but divided into two because of the size of it, so that this is only a continuation of the former history; that ends at the death of David; this begins with the reign of Solomon, goes through that, and the reigns of all the kings of the house of David; of the kings of Judah only, after the separation of the ten tribes, quite down to the captivity of Judah in Babylon, and reaches to the deliverance of the Jews from thence by Cyrus, and contains an history of four hundred and seventy nine years. It treats not at all of the kings of Israel, after the separation, only of the kings of Judah, through whom the line of the Messiah was drawn; and though it omits several things recorded of them in the book of Kings, yet it gives abundance of anecdotes not to be met with there, which are of great use and advantage in history to know.



INTRODUCTION TO 2 CHRONICLES 1



This chapter relates, how that Solomon being confirmed in his kingdom, went to Gibeon to sacrifice 2Ch 1:1, that the Lord appeared there to him, and what passed between them, 2Ch 1:7 and that when he returned from thence to Jerusalem, he increased in splendour, wealth, and riches, 2Ch 1:13.



Ver. 1. And Solomon the son of David was strengthened in his kingdom,.... Well settled and established on the throne of his father, after the death of some persons, from whom he might expect trouble, see 1Ki 2:46



and the Lord God was with him; directing and instructing him, prospering and succeeding him: the Targum is,



"the Word of the Lord was his help:''



and magnified him exceedingly; see 1Ch 29:25.





2 Chronicles 1:2



Ver. 2. Then Solomon spake unto all Israel,.... To their representatives about going to Gibeon to sacrifice, as the next words show: so Jarchi and Kimchi observe:



to the captains of thousands, and of hundreds, to the judges, and to every governor in all Israel, the chief of the fathers; whom he had convened on this occasion; though some think this is the same congregation gathered by his father, by whom he was anointed and made king, and that he spoke of this to them before they broke up, 1Ch 28:1 which seems not so probable, since it was after the death of his father, after he had been king some time, and even after his marriage with Pharaoh's daughter, that what follows was done, see 1Ki 3:1.





2 Chronicles 1:3



Ver. 3. So Solomon, and all the congregation with him, went to the high place that was at Gibeon,.... They agreed to his motion, and went with him thither, see 1Ki 3:4



for there was the tabernacle of the congregation of God, which Moses the servant of the Lord had made in the wilderness: by the Lord's direction; where was also the altar of the Lord, and so most proper to offer sacrifice on, which was what Solomon went thither to do; see

1Ch 21:29.





2 Chronicles 1:4



Ver. 4. But the ark of God had David brought up from Kirjathjearim,.... See 2Sa 6:2.





2 Chronicles 1:5



Ver. 5. Moreover, the brasen altar that Bezaleel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, had made,.... According to the pattern given by Moses, at the direction of God, Ex 38:1,



he put before the tabernacle of the congregation; either David, or rather Solomon; though it seems best to read the words as in the Septuagint and Vulgate Latin versions, "and there it was before the tabernacle"; for it was always there:



and Solomon and the congregation sought unto it; to sacrifice unto it; or rather sought "unto him", the Lord, before whose tabernacle the altar was, so Gussetins {a}.



{a} Comment. Ebr. p. 197.





2 Chronicles 1:6



Ver. 6. And Solomon went up thither,.... To the high place at Gibeon:



to the brasen altar before the lord; where he used to be, and accept the sacrifices of his people, though the ark, the symbol of his presence, was not there:



which was at the tabernacle of the congregation; that is, which altar was there; or rather "who", that is, God, was there, as Osiander, hearing the prayers of his people, and accepting their offerings:



and offered a thousand offerings upon it; by the priests, see 1Ki 3:4.





2 Chronicles 1:7



Ver. 7. In that night did God appear unto Solomon,.... From hence to the end of 2Ch 1:12 it is the same with 1Ki 3:5.

See Gill on "1Ki 3:5" See Gill on "1Ki 3:6" See Gill on "1Ki 3:7" See Gill on "1Ki 3:8" See Gill on "1Ki 3:9" See Gill on "1Ki 3:10" See Gill on "1Ki 3:11" See Gill on "1Ki 3:12" See Gill on "1Ki 3:13" See Gill on "1Ki 3:14" See Gill on "1Ki 3:15"





2 Chronicles 1:8



Ver. 8. See Gill on "2Ch 1:7"





2 Chronicles 1:9



Ver. 9. See Gill on "2Ch 1:7"





2 Chronicles 1:10



Ver. 10. See Gill on "2Ch 1:7"





2 Chronicles 1:11



Ver. 11. See Gill on "2Ch 1:7"





2 Chronicles 1:12



Ver. 12. See Gill on "2Ch 1:7"





2 Chronicles 1:13



Ver. 13. Then Solomon came from his journey to the high place that was at Gibeon,.... Or rather without the supplement, the words may be read as in the Septuagint and Vulgate Latin versions,



Solomon came from the high places; having sacrificed there, so Vatablus; l being put for m, as R. Jonah observes {b}; but the Targum agrees with us, he



"came to the high place which is in Gibeon, and from thence to Jerusalem;''



and to the same purpose Kimchi; having been there, he came to Jerusalem:



from before the tabernacle of the congregation; which was at Gibeon, where he had been sacrificing:



and reigned over Israel in great splendour and prosperity. From hence, to the end of the chapter, the same things are said as in

1Ki 10:26.

See Gill on "1Ki 10:26" See Gill on "1Ki 10:27" See Gill on "1Ki 10:28" See Gill on "1Ki 10:29"



{b} Apud Kimchium. in loc.





2 Chronicles 1:14



Ver. 14. See Gill on "2Ch 1:13"





2 Chronicles 1:15



Ver. 15. See Gill on "2Ch 1:13"





2 Chronicles 1:16



Ver. 16. See Gill on "2Ch 1:13"





2 Chronicles 1:17



Ver. 17. See Gill on "2Ch 1:13"

 

John Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible.

2 Chronicles 2:1



INTRODUCTION TO 2 CHRONICLES 2



Solomon intending to build a temple for God, and a palace for himself, sent to Hiram, king of Tyre, to furnish him with materials and workmen, 2Ch 2:1, to which Hiram returned an agreeable answer, 2Ch 2:11, and for this service Solomon numbered all the strangers in Israel, 2Ch 2:17.



Ver. 1. And Solomon determined to build an house for the name of the Lord,.... For the worship and service of God, and for his honour and glory, being directed, enjoined, and encouraged to it by his father David:



and an house for his kingdom; for a royal palace for him, and his successors, first the one, and then the other; and in this order they were built.





2 Chronicles 2:2



Ver. 2. And Solomon told out threescore and ten thousand men,.... Of whom, and the difference of the last number in this text from 1Ki 5:15, see the notes there.

See Gill on "1Ki 5:15".

See Gill on "1Ki 5:16".





2 Chronicles 2:3



Ver. 3. And 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:



as thou didst deal with my father, and didst send him cedars to build him an house to dwell therein; see 1Ch 14:1, even so deal with me; which words are a supplement.





2 Chronicles 2:4



Ver. 4. Behold, I build an house to the name of the Lord my God,.... Am about to do it, and determined upon it, see 2Ch 2:1,



to dedicate it to him; to set it apart for sacred service to him:



and to burn before him sweet incense; on the altar of incense:



and for the continual shewbread; the loaves of shewbread, which were continually on the shewbread table; which, and the altar of incense, both were set in the holy place in the tabernacle, and so to be in the temple:



and for 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 brasen 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; and therefore Solomon suggests, as Jarchi and Kimchi think, that a good strong house ought to be built.





2 Chronicles 2:5



Ver. 5. And the house which I build is great,.... Not so very large, though that, with all apartments and courts belonging to it, he intended to build, was so; but because magnificent in its structure and decorations:



for great is our God above all gods; and therefore ought to have a temple to exceed all others, as the temple at Jerusalem did.





2 Chronicles 2:6



Ver. 6. But who is able to build him an house,.... Suitable to the greatness of his majesty, especially as he dwells not in temples made with hands:



seeing the heaven, and heaven of heavens, cannot contain him? see 1Ki 8:27,



who am I then, that I should build him an house, save only to burn sacrifice before him? since God was an immense and infinite Being, be would have Hiram to understand that he had no thought of building an house, in which he could be circumscribed and contained, only a place in which he might be worshipped, and sacrifices offered to him.





2 Chronicles 2:7



Ver. 7. Send now therefore a man cunning to work in gold, and in silver, and in brass, and in iron,.... There being many things relating to the temple about to be built, and vessels to be put into it, which were to be made of those metals:



and in purple, and crimson, and blue; used in making the vails for it, hung up in different places:



and that can skill to grave; in wood or stone:



with the cunning men that are with me in Judah and Jerusalem, whom my father David did provide; see 1Ch 22:15.





2 Chronicles 2:8



Ver. 8. Send me also cedar trees, fir trees, and algum trees, out of Lebanon,.... Of the two first of these, and which Hiram sent, see 1Ki 5:10. The algum trees are the same with the almug trees, 1Ki 10:11 by a transposition of letters; these could not be coral, as some Jewish writers think, which grows in the sea, for these were in Lebanon; nor Brazil, as Kimchi, so called from a place of this name, which at this time was not known; though there were trees of almug afterwards brought from Ophir in India, as appears from the above quoted place, as well as from Arabia; and it seems, as Beckius {c} observes, to be an Arabic word, by the article "al" prefixed to it:



for I know that thy servants can skill to cut timber in Lebanon; better than his:



and, behold, my servants shall be with thy servants; to help and assist them in what they can, and to learn of them, see 1Ki 5:6.



{c} In Targum in loc.





2 Chronicles 2:9



Ver. 9. Even to prepare me timber in abundance,.... Since he would want a large quantity for raftering, cieling, wainscoting, and flooring the temple:



for the house which I am about to build shall be wonderful great; as to its structure and ornaments.





2 Chronicles 2:10



Ver. 10. Behold, I will give to thy servants, the hewers that cut timber, twenty thousand 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, as R. Jonah {d} interprets it; or rather, perhaps, it should be rendered "food" {e} that is, for his household, as in 1Ki 5:11, and the hire of these servants is proposed to be given in this way, because wheat was scarce with the Tyrians, and they were obliged to have it from the Jews, Ac 12:20,



and twenty thousand measures of barley; the measures of both these were the cor, of which see 1Ki 5:11,



and twenty thousand baths of wine, and twenty thousand baths of oil; which measure was the tenth part of a "cor". According to the Ethiopians, a man might consume four of these measures in the space of a month {f}.



{d} Apud Kimchium in loc. {e} So Kimchi, tkm "pro" tlkm "ineuria librariorum", Schindler, Lex. Pentaglott. col. 73. {f} Ludolf. Lexic. Ethiop. p. 197.





2 Chronicles 2:11



Ver. 11. Then Huram the king of Tyre answered in writing, which he sent to Solomon,.... In which letter he told him he had considered the contents of his, and would grant him all that he desired, see 1Ki 5:8



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,

See Gill on "1Ki 10:9".





2 Chronicles 2:12



Ver. 12. Huram said, moreover, blessed be the Lord God of Israel, that made heaven and earth,.... Huram seems to have had some good notions of the divine Being, not only as the God of the people of Israel, in a peculiar sense, but as the Former and Maker of all things:



who hath given to David the king a wise son, endued with prudence and understanding; see 1Ki 5:7



that might build an house for the Lord, and for his kingdom; as in 2Ch 2:1.





2 Chronicles 2:13



Ver. 13. And now I have sent a cunning man, endued with understanding,.... In such things as Solomon required he should, 2Ch 2:7



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,



and Abi, we render "my father", his surname, that is, "Huram Abi"; and this is the opinion of several learned men {g}, and is very probable; for certain it is, that his name was Huram or Hiram, 1Ki 7:13, and so he is called "Huram his father, or Huram Abif", 2Ch 4:16.



{g} Luther. Emanuel Sa, Piscator, Schmidt, Beckius in Targum in loc.





2 Chronicles 2:14



Ver. 14. The son of a woman of the daughters of Dan,.... Here follows an account of the descent of the artificer, and of his skill in working; of what seeming disagreement there may be in this account, with that in 1Ki 7:14,

See Gill on "1Ki 7:14".





2 Chronicles 2:15



Ver. 15. Now therefore, the wheat, and the barley, the oil, and the wine, which my lord hath spoken of,.... In his letter to him, 2Ch 2:10 as for the phrase "my lord", which some think is used, because Hiram was tributary to Solomon, it may only be a respectful way of speaking:



let him send unto his servants; Hiram accepted thereof as a proper reward for the work of his servants.





2 Chronicles 2:16



Ver. 16. And we will cut wood out of Lebanon, as much as thou shall need,.... Both cedar and fir, 1Ki 5:8,



and we will bring it to thee in floats by sea to Joppa; a port in the Mediterranean sea, the same that Jonah went down to,

See Gill on "1Ki 5:9",



and thou shalt carry it up to Jerusalem; in land carriages, about forty miles off.





2 Chronicles 2:17



Ver. 17. And Solomon numbered all the strangers that were in the land of Israel,.... Which, according to Kimchi, were the remains of the Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, and Jebusites, see 2Ch 8:8, yet not idolaters, or they would not have been suffered by David and Solomon to have dwelt in the land, but were such as were become proselytes of the gate:



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,



and they were found an hundred and fifty thousand and six hundred; men able to bear burdens, and hew timber.





2 Chronicles 2:18



Ver. 18. 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; 70,000 of them bearers of burdens, 80,000 of them hewers of wood, and 3,600 overseers of the workmen, in all 153,600; an emblem of the Gentiles employed in building the spiritual temple, the church, Zec 6:15.

 

John Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible.

2 Chronicles 3:1



INTRODUCTION TO 2 CHRONICLES 3 & 4



These two chapters give an account of the building of the temple, of the materials, parts, and form of it, and of things belonging to it, and which agrees with 1Ki 6:1 see the notes there; only here, 1Ch 3:1, mention is made of the particular place where it was built, Mount Moriah; of which see the notes on Ge 22:2. The dimensions of the house, as the Targum rightly explains, 2Ch 3:3, are said to be after the first measure, either of that of the tabernacle by Moses, or rather of that of the pattern David gave to Solomon, 1Ch 28:11, though some understand it of the greater cubit: the holy place is called the greater house, 2Ch 3:5, being twice as long as the holy of holies; in 2Ch 3:6, we are informed what the precious stones were for, which David and his princes gave for the temple, 1Ch 29:2, that they were to decorate the house; and also what sort of gold was used in overlaying it, gold of Parvaim, which some interpret of Peru {h}, in America; but it is a question whether that was then known, or, if it was, must go by another name, since Peru is a late name given by the Spaniards, at their conquest of it. Bochart {i} takes it to be Taprobane, an island in the Indian sea, as if it was Taph Parvan or Provan, the shore of Parvan. Kircher {k} is of opinion it is the same with Javaim, the isles of Java in the same sea, from whence was gold, which is not very likely. Waserus {l} thinks Parvaim is the name of a town which is by Pliny {m} corruptly called Parbacia, which was in the land of Havilah, or the kingdom of the Charazenes, where was the best gold, Ge 2:11 though others suppose it to be the same with Ophir, by removing the first letter of the word, to which Pfeiffer {n} inclines, and is as probable as any; and much more probable than what the Jews {o} say, that this gold was so called, because it was red like the blood of "parim", oxen: in 2Ch 3:8, the quantity of gold, with which the most holy place was overlaid, is given, six hundred talents: of which See Gill on "1Ki 6:21", In 2Ch 3:9 we read of the nails with which the plates of gold were fastened to the boards, nowhere else mentioned, except in the Vulgate Latin version of 1Ki 6:21, "he fastened the plates with golden nails"; which version perhaps is most correct; the weight of which were fifty shekels of gold; that is, according to the Septuagint and Vulgate Latin versions, each nail weighed so much, which amounted to seventy five pounds of our money {p}. Eupolemus, an Heathen writer {q} speaks of these nails, which he makes to be silver ones; and says they were of the weight of a talent, in the form of a woman's breast, and in number four, with which the plates of gold were fastened, which were of five cubits; I suppose he means there were four of these nails in every plate of five cubits: in 2Ch 4:1 an account is given of an "altar of brass", made by Solomon, we have not elsewhere, only referred to 1Ki 8:64 whether this was only covered with brass, as that made by Moses was, as some {r} think; or whether of massy brass, as Dr. Lightfoot {s} because not to be removed as that was, is not certain; the altar of the second temple was of stones unpolished, according to the Misnah {t}, with which agrees



"46 And laid up the stones in the mountain of the temple in a convenient place, until there should come a prophet to shew what should be done with them. 47 Then they took whole stones according to the law, and built a new altar according to the former;'' (1 Maccabees 4)



and so Philo {u}: "twenty cubits was the length thereof, and twenty cubits the breadth thereof, and ten cubits the height thereof"; it was four times as big in its square as that of Moses, and three times higher, and a cubit over, See Gill on "Ex 27:1". Hecataeus {w}, an Heathen writer, speaks of this altar as four square, and made of whole and unpolished stones, each side of which was twenty cubits, but the height of it he makes to be twelve cubits, in which he mistakes. It weighed, according to Jacob Leon {x} 7000 arobas of brass, each aroba containing twenty five pounds. The rest of the chapter agrees with the account in the book of Kings.



See Gill on "1Ki 6:1" See Gill on "1Ki 6:2" See Gill on "1Ki 6:3" See Gill on "1Ki 6:4" See Gill on "1Ki 6:5" See Gill on "1Ki 6:6" See Gill on "1Ki 6:7" See Gill on "1Ki 6:8" See Gill on "1Ki 6:9" See Gill on "1Ki 6:10" See Gill on "1Ki 6:11" See Gill on "1Ki 6:12" See Gill on "1Ki 6:13" See Gill on "1Ki 6:14" See Gill on "1Ki 6:15" See Gill on "1Ki 6:16" See Gill on "1Ki 6:17" See Gill on "1Ki 6:18" See Gill on "1Ki 6:19" See Gill on "1Ki 6:20" See Gill on "1Ki 6:21" See Gill on "1Ki 6:22" See Gill on "1Ki 6:23" See Gill on "1Ki 6:24" See Gill on "1Ki 6:25" See Gill on "1Ki 6:26" See Gill on "1Ki 6:27" See Gill on "1Ki 6:28" See Gill on "1Ki 6:29" See Gill on "1Ki 6:30" See Gill on "1Ki 6:31" See Gill on "1Ki 6:32" See Gill on "1Ki 6:33" See Gill on "1Ki 6:34" See Gill on "1Ki 6:35" See Gill on "1Ki 6:36" See Gill on "1Ki 6:37" See Gill on "1Ki 6:38" See Gill on "1Ki 7:1" See Gill on "1Ki 7:2" See Gill on "1Ki 7:3" See Gill on "1Ki 7:4" See Gill on "1Ki 7:5" See Gill on "1Ki 7:6" See Gill on "1Ki 7:7" See Gill on "1Ki 7:8" See Gill on "1Ki 7:9" See Gill on "1Ki 7:10" See Gill on "1Ki 7:11" See Gill on "1Ki 7:12" See Gill on "1Ki 7:13" See Gill on "1Ki 7:14" See Gill on "1Ki 7:15" See Gill on "1Ki 7:16" See Gill on "1Ki 7:17" See Gill on "1Ki 7:18" See Gill on "1Ki 7:19" See Gill on "1Ki 7:20" See Gill on "1Ki 7:21" See Gill on "1Ki 7:22" See Gill on "1Ki 7:23" See Gill on "1Ki 7:24" See Gill on "1Ki 7:25" See Gill on "1Ki 7:26" See Gill on "1Ki 7:27" See Gill on "1Ki 7:28" See Gill on "1Ki 7:29" See Gill on "1Ki 7:30" See Gill on "1Ki 7:31" See Gill on "1Ki 7:32" See Gill on "1Ki 7:33" See Gill on "1Ki 7:34" See Gill on "1Ki 7:35" See Gill on "1Ki 7:36" See Gill on "1Ki 7:37" See Gill on "1Ki 7:38" See Gill on "1Ki 7:39" See Gill on "1Ki 7:40" See Gill on "1Ki 7:41" See Gill on "1Ki 7:42" See Gill on "1Ki 7:43" See Gill on "1Ki 7:44" See Gill on "1Ki 7:45" See Gill on "1Ki 7:46" See Gill on "1Ki 7:47" See Gill on "1Ki 7:48" See Gill on "1Ki 7:49" See Gill on "1Ki 7:50" See Gill on "1Ki 7:51"



{h} Erasm. Schmid. de America Orat. ad Calc. Pindar. p. 261. Montani Phaleg. in Calc. Jac. Capellus in loc. {i} Phaleg. l. 2. c. 27. & Canaan, l. 1. c. 46. col. 692. Braunius de Vest. Sacred. Heb. p. 221. {k} Prodrom. Copt. c. 4. p. 119. {l} De Antiqu. Num. Heb. l. 1. c. 6. {m} Nat. Hist l. 6. c. 28. {n} Difficil. Script. Sacr. cent. 3. loc. 16. p. 247. {o} T. Bab. Yoma, fol. 45. 1. Hieros. Yoma, fol. 41. 4. Shemot Rabba, sect. 39. fol. 136. 4. {p} Brerewood de Ponder. &c. c. 5. {q} Apud Euseb. Praepar. Evangel. l. 9. c. 34. p. 450. {r} Cunaeus de Rep. Heb. l. 2. c. 5. {s} Prospect of the Temple, ch. 34. p. 2029. So Villalpandus. {t} Middot, c. 3. sect. 4. {u} De Victimis, p. 850. {w} Apud Euseb. Evangel. Praepar. l. 9. c. 4. p. 408. {x} Relation of Memorable Things in the Temple, ch. 4. p. 20.





2 Chronicles 3:2



Ver. 2. See Gill on "2Ch 3:1".





2 Chronicles 3:3



Ver. 3. See Gill on "2Ch 3:1".





2 Chronicles 3:4



Ver. 4. See Gill on "2Ch 3:1".





2 Chronicles 3:5



Ver. 5. See Gill on "2Ch 3:1".





2 Chronicles 3:6



Ver. 6. See Gill on "2Ch 3:1".





2 Chronicles 3:7



Ver. 7. See Gill on "2Ch 3:1".





2 Chronicles 3:8



Ver. 8. See Gill on "2Ch 3:1".





2 Chronicles 3:9



Ver. 9. See Gill on "2Ch 3:1".





2 Chronicles 3:10



Ver. 10. See Gill on "2Ch 3:1".





2 Chronicles 3:11



Ver. 11. See Gill on "2Ch 3:1".





2 Chronicles 3:12



Ver. 12. See Gill on "2Ch 3:1".





2 Chronicles 3:13



Ver. 13. See Gill on "2Ch 3:1".





2 Chronicles 3:14



Ver. 14. See Gill on "2Ch 3:1".





2 Chronicles 3:15



Ver. 15. See Gill on "2Ch 3:1".





2 Chronicles 3:16



Ver. 16. See Gill on "2Ch 3:1".





2 Chronicles 3:17



Ver. 17. See Gill on "2Ch 3:1".

 

John Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible.

2 Chronicles 4:1



Ver. 1. See Gill on "2Ch 3:1".





2 Chronicles 4:2



Ver. 2. See Gill on "2Ch 3:1".





2 Chronicles 4:3



Ver. 3. See Gill on "2Ch 3:1".





2 Chronicles 4:4



Ver. 4. See Gill on "2Ch 3:1".





2 Chronicles 4:5



Ver. 5. See Gill on "2Ch 3:1".





2 Chronicles 4:6



Ver. 6. See Gill on "2Ch 3:1".





2 Chronicles 4:7



Ver. 7. See Gill on "2Ch 3:1".





2 Chronicles 4:8



Ver. 8. See Gill on "2Ch 3:1".





2 Chronicles 4:9



Ver. 9. See Gill on "2Ch 3:1".





2 Chronicles 4:10



Ver. 10. See Gill on "2Ch 3:1".





2 Chronicles 4:11



Ver. 11. See Gill on "2Ch 3:1".





2 Chronicles 4:12



Ver. 12. See Gill on "2Ch 3:1".





2 Chronicles 4:13



Ver. 13. See Gill on "2Ch 3:1".





2 Chronicles 4:14



Ver. 14. See Gill on "2Ch 3:1".





2 Chronicles 4:15



Ver. 15. See Gill on "2Ch 3:1".





2 Chronicles 4:16



Ver. 16. See Gill on "2Ch 3:1".





2 Chronicles 4:17



Ver. 17. See Gill on "2Ch 3:1".





2 Chronicles 4:18



Ver. 18. See Gill on "2Ch 3:1".





2 Chronicles 4:19



Ver. 19. See Gill on "2Ch 3:1".





2 Chronicles 4:20



Ver. 20. See Gill on "2Ch 3:1".





2 Chronicles 4:21



Ver. 21. See Gill on "2Ch 3:1".





2 Chronicles 4:22



Ver. 22 See Gill on "2Ch 3:1".

 

John Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible.

2 Chronicles 5:1



INTRODUCTION TO 2 CHRONICLES 5 & 6



The words with which chapter five begins are the same with 1Ki 7:51, and what is contained in that and chapter six is much the same with 1Ki 8:1 on which see the notes; the blessing of Solomon on the people of Israel, which is there, is here omitted, and two verses are here added, much the same with Ps 132:8.



See Gill on "1Ki 8:1".

See Gill on "1Ki 8:2".

See Gill on "1Ki 8:3".

See Gill on "1Ki 8:4".

See Gill on "1Ki 8:5".

See Gill on "1Ki 8:6".

See Gill on "1Ki 8:7".

See Gill on "1Ki 8:8".

See Gill on "1Ki 8:9".

See Gill on "1Ki 8:10".

See Gill on "1Ki 8:11".

See Gill on "1Ki 8:12".

See Gill on "1Ki 8:13".

See Gill on "1Ki 8:14".

See Gill on "1Ki 8:15".

See Gill on "1Ki 8:16".

See Gill on "1Ki 8:17".

See Gill on "1Ki 8:18".

See Gill on "1Ki 8:19".

See Gill on "1Ki 8:20".

See Gill on "1Ki 8:21".

See Gill on "1Ki 8:22".

See Gill on "1Ki 8:23".

See Gill on "1Ki 8:24".

See Gill on "1Ki 8:25".

See Gill on "1Ki 8:26".

See Gill on "1Ki 8:27".

See Gill on "1Ki 8:28".

See Gill on "1Ki 8:29".

See Gill on "1Ki 8:30".

See Gill on "1Ki 8:31".

See Gill on "1Ki 8:32".

See Gill on "1Ki 8:33".

See Gill on "1Ki 8:34".

See Gill on "1Ki 8:35".

See Gill on "1Ki 8:36".

See Gill on "1Ki 8:37".

See Gill on "1Ki 8:38".

See Gill on "1Ki 8:39".

See Gill on "1Ki 8:40".

See Gill on "1Ki 8:41".

See Gill on "1Ki 8:42".

See Gill on "1Ki 8:43".

See Gill on "1Ki 8:44".

See Gill on "1Ki 8:45".

See Gill on "1Ki 8:46".

See Gill on "1Ki 8:47".

See Gill on "1Ki 8:48".

See Gill on "1Ki 8:49".

See Gill on "1Ki 8:50".

See Gill on "1Ki 8:51".

See Gill on "1Ki 8:52".

See Gill on "1Ki 8:53".

See Gill on "1Ki 8:54".

See Gill on "1Ki 8:55".

See Gill on "1Ki 8:56".

See Gill on "1Ki 8:57".

See Gill on "1Ki 8:58".

See Gill on "1Ki 8:59".

See Gill on "1Ki 8:60".

See Gill on "1Ki 8:61".

See Gill on "Ps 132:8" See Gill on "Ps 132:9".

See Gill on "Ps 132:10".





2 Chronicles 5:2



Ver. 2. See Gill on "2Ch 5:1".





2 Chronicles 5:3



Ver. 3. See Gill on "2Ch 5:1".





2 Chronicles 5:4



Ver. 4. See Gill on "2Ch 5:1".





2 Chronicles 5:5



Ver. 5. See Gill on "2Ch 5:1".





2 Chronicles 5:6



Ver. 6. See Gill on "2Ch 5:1".





2 Chronicles 5:7



Ver. 7. See Gill on "2Ch 5:1".





2 Chronicles 5:8



Ver. 8. See Gill on "2Ch 5:1".





2 Chronicles 5:9



Ver. 9. See Gill on "2Ch 5:1".





2 Chronicles 5:10



Ver. 10. See Gill on "2Ch 5:1".





2 Chronicles 5:11



Ver. 11. See Gill on "2Ch 5:1".





2 Chronicles 5:12



Ver. 12. See Gill on "2Ch 5:1".





2 Chronicles 5:13



Ver. 13. See Gill on "2Ch 5:1".





2 Chronicles 5:14



Ver. 14. See Gill on "2Ch 5:1".

 

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