Discovery Box1 Chronicles 29:2-10
Context29:2 So I have made every effort 1 to provide what is needed for the temple of my God, including the gold, silver, bronze, iron, wood, 2 as well as a large amount of onyx, settings of antimony and other stones, all kinds of precious stones, and alabaster. 29:3 Now, to show my commitment to the temple of my God, I donate my personal treasure of gold and silver to the temple of my God, in addition to all that I have already supplied for this holy temple. 29:4 This includes 3,000 talents 3 of gold from Ophir and 7,000 talents of refined silver for overlaying the walls of the buildings, 29:5 for gold and silver items, and for all the work of the craftsmen. Who else wants to contribute to the Lord today?”
29:6 The leaders of the families, the leaders of the Israelite tribes, the commanders of units of a thousand and a hundred, and the supervisors of the king’s work contributed willingly. 29:7 They donated for the service of God’s temple 5,000 talents 4 and ten thousand darics 5 of gold, 10,000 talents of silver, 18,000 talents of bronze, and 100,000 talents of iron. 29:8 All who possessed precious 6 stones donated them to the treasury of the Lord’s temple, which was under the supervision of Jehiel the Gershonite. 29:9 The people were delighted with their donations, for they contributed to the Lord with a willing attitude; 7 King David was also very happy. 8
29:10 David praised the Lord before the entire assembly: 9
“O Lord God of our father Israel, you deserve praise forevermore!
[29:2] 1 tn Heb “and according to all my strength.”
[29:2] 2 tn Heb “the gold for the gold, and the silver for the silver, and the bronze for the bronze, and the iron for the iron, and the wood for the wood.”
[29:4] 3 tn See the note on the word “talents” in 19:6. Using the “light” standard talent of 67.3 lbs. (30.6 kg) as the standard for calculation, David had supplied 101 tons (91,800 kg) of gold and 235.5 tons (214,200 kg) of silver.
[29:7] 4 tn See the note on the word “talents” in 19:6. Using the “light” standard talent of 67.3 lbs. (30.6 kg) as the standard for calculation, the people donated 168.3 tons (153,000 kg) of gold, 336.5 tons (306,000 kg) of silver, 605.7 tons (550,800 kg) of bronze, and 3,365 tons (3,060,000 kg) of iron.
[29:7] 5 tn On the “daric” as a unit of measure, see BDB 204 s.v. דַּרְכְּמוֹן. Some have regarded the daric as a minted coin, perhaps even referring to the Greek drachma, but this is less likely.
[29:8] 6 tn The word “precious” is supplied in the translation for clarification.
[29:9] 7 tn Heb “with a complete heart.”
[29:9] 8 tn Heb “was rejoiced with great joy.”
[29:10] 9 tn Heb “assembly, and David said.” The words “and David said” are redundant according to contemporary English style and have not been included in the translation.
