Discovery Box2 Chronicles 2:1--4:22
Context2:1 (1:18) 1 Solomon ordered a temple to be built to honor the Lord, as well as a royal palace for himself. 2 2:2 (2:1) Solomon had 3 70,000 common laborers 4 and 80,000 stonecutters 5 in the hills, in addition to 3,600 supervisors. 6
2:3 Solomon sent a message to King Huram 7 of Tyre: 8 “Help me 9 as you did my father David, when you sent him cedar logs 10 for the construction of his palace. 11 2:4 Look, I am ready to build a temple to honor 12 the Lord my God and to dedicate it to him in order to burn fragrant incense before him, to set out the bread that is regularly displayed, 13 and to offer burnt sacrifices each morning and evening, and on Sabbaths, new moon festivals, and at other times appointed by the Lord our God. This is something Israel must do on a permanent basis. 14 2:5 I will build a great temple, for our God is greater than all gods. 2:6 Of course, who can really build a temple for him, since the sky 15 and the highest heavens cannot contain him? Who am I that I should build him a temple! It will really be only a place to offer sacrifices before him. 16
2:7 “Now send me a man who is skilled in working with gold, silver, bronze, and iron, as well as purple, crimson, and violet colored fabrics, and who knows how to engrave. He will work with my skilled craftsmen here in Jerusalem 17 and Judah, whom my father David provided. 2:8 Send me cedars, evergreens, and algum 18 trees from Lebanon, for I know your servants are adept 19 at cutting down trees in Lebanon. My servants will work with your servants 2:9 to supply me with large quantities of timber, for I am building a great, magnificent temple. 2:10 Look, I will pay your servants who cut the timber 20,000 kors 20 of ground wheat, 20,000 kors of barley, 120,000 gallons 21 of wine, and 120,000 gallons of olive oil.”
2:11 King Huram 22 of Tyre sent this letter to Solomon: “Because the Lord loves his people, he has made you their king.” 2:12 Huram also said, “Worthy of praise is the Lord God of Israel, who made the sky and the earth! He has given David a wise son who has discernment and insight and will build a temple for the Lord, as well as a royal palace for himself. 23 2:13 Now I am sending you Huram Abi, 24 a skilled and capable man, 2:14 whose mother is a Danite and whose father is a Tyrian. 25 He knows how to work with gold, silver, bronze, iron, stones, and wood, as well as purple, violet, white, and crimson fabrics. He knows how to do all kinds of engraving and understands any design given to him. He will work with your skilled craftsmen and the skilled craftsmen of my lord David your father. 2:15 Now let my lord send to his servants the wheat, barley, olive oil, and wine he has promised; 2:16 we will get all the timber you need from Lebanon 26 and bring it 27 in raft-like bundles 28 by sea to Joppa. You can then haul it on up to Jerusalem.”
2:17 Solomon took a census 29 of all the male resident foreigners in the land of Israel, after the census his father David had taken. There were 153,600 in all. 2:18 He designated 30 70,000 as common laborers, 31 80,000 as stonecutters 32 in the hills, and 3,600 as supervisors to make sure the people completed the work. 33
3:1 Solomon began building the Lord’s temple in Jerusalem 34 on Mount Moriah, where the Lord had appeared to his father David. This was the place that David prepared at the threshing floor of Ornan 35 the Jebusite. 3:2 He began building on the second day of the second month of the fourth year of his reign. 36
3:3 Solomon laid the foundation for God’s temple; 37 its length (determined according to the old standard of measure) was 90 feet, and its width 30 feet. 38 3:4 The porch in front of the main hall was 30 feet long, corresponding to the width of the temple, 39 and its height was 30 feet. 40 He plated the inside with pure gold. 3:5 He paneled 41 the main hall 42 with boards made from evergreen trees 43 and plated it with fine gold, decorated with palm trees and chains. 44 3:6 He decorated the temple with precious stones; the gold he used came from Parvaim. 45 3:7 He overlaid the temple’s rafters, thresholds, walls and doors with gold; he carved decorative cherubim on the walls.
3:8 He made the most holy place; 46 its length was 30 feet, 47 corresponding to the width of the temple, and its width 30 feet. 48 He plated it with 600 talents 49 of fine gold. 3:9 The gold nails weighed 50 shekels; he also plated the upper areas with gold. 3:10 In the most holy place he made two images of cherubim and plated them with gold. 3:11 The combined wing span of the cherubs was 30 feet. 50 One of the first cherub’s wings was seven and one-half feet long and touched one wall of the temple; its other wing was also seven and one-half feet long and touched one of the second cherub’s wings. 51 3:12 Likewise one of the second cherub’s wings was seven and one-half feet long and touched the other wall of the temple; its other wing was also seven and one-half feet long and touched one of the first cherub’s wings. 52 3:13 The combined wingspan of these cherubim was 30 feet. 53 They stood upright, facing inward. 54 3:14 He made the curtain out of violet, purple, crimson, and white fabrics, and embroidered on it decorative cherubim.
3:15 In front of the temple he made two pillars which had a combined length 55 of 52½ feet, 56 with each having a plated capital seven and one-half feet high. 57 3:16 He made ornamental chains 58 and put them on top of the pillars. He also made one hundred pomegranate-shaped ornaments and arranged them within the chains. 3:17 He set up the pillars in front of the temple, one on the right side and the other on the left. 59 He named the one on the right Jachin, 60 and the one on the left Boaz. 61
4:1 He made a bronze altar, 30 feet 62 long, 30 feet 63 wide, and 15 feet 64 high. 4:2 He also made the big bronze basin called “The Sea.” 65 It measured 15 feet 66 from rim to rim, was circular in shape, and stood seven and one-half feet 67 high. Its circumference was 45 feet. 68 4:3 Images of bulls were under it all the way around, ten every eighteen inches 69 all the way around. The bulls were in two rows and had been cast with “The Sea.” 4:4 “The Sea” stood on top of twelve bulls. Three faced northward, three westward, three southward, and three eastward. “The Sea” was placed on top of them, and they all faced outward. 70 4:5 It was four fingers thick and its rim was like that of a cup shaped like a lily blossom. It could hold 18,000 gallons. 71 4:6 He made ten washing basins; he put five on the south side and five on the north side. In them they rinsed the items used for burnt sacrifices; the priests washed in “The Sea.”
4:7 He made ten gold lampstands according to specifications and put them in the temple, five on the right and five on the left. 4:8 He made ten tables and set them in the temple, five on the right and five on the left. He also made one hundred gold bowls. 4:9 He made the courtyard of the priests and the large enclosure and its doors; 72 he plated their doors with bronze. 4:10 He put “The Sea” on the south side, in the southeast corner.
4:11 Huram Abi 73 made the pots, shovels, and bowls. He finished all the work on God’s temple he had been assigned by King Solomon. 74 4:12 He made 75 the two pillars, the two bowl-shaped tops of the pillars, the latticework for the bowl-shaped tops of the two pillars, 4:13 the four hundred pomegranate-shaped ornaments for the latticework of the two pillars (each latticework had two rows of these ornaments at the bowl-shaped top of the pillar), 4:14 the ten 76 movable stands with their ten 77 basins, 4:15 the big bronze basin called “The Sea” with its twelve bulls underneath, 4:16 and the pots, shovels, and meat forks. 78 All the items King Solomon assigned Huram Abi to make for the Lord’s temple 79 were made from polished bronze. 4:17 The king had them cast in earthen foundries 80 in the region of the Jordan between Succoth and Zarethan. 4:18 Solomon made so many of these items they did not weigh the bronze. 81
4:19 Solomon also made these items for God’s temple: the gold altar, the tables on which the Bread of the Presence 82 was kept, 4:20 the pure gold lampstands and their lamps which burned as specified at the entrance to the inner sanctuary, 4:21 the pure gold flower-shaped ornaments, lamps, and tongs, 4:22 the pure gold trimming shears, basins, pans, and censers, and the gold door sockets for the inner sanctuary (the most holy place) and for the doors of the main hall of the temple.
[2:1] 1 sn Beginning with 2:1, the verse numbers through 2:18 in the English Bible differ from the verse numbers in the Hebrew text (BHS), with 2:1 ET = 1:18 HT, 2:2 ET = 2:1 HT, 2:3 ET = 2:2 HT, etc., through 2:18 ET = 2:17 HT. Beginning with 3:1 the verse numbers in the ET and HT are again the same.
[2:1] 2 tn Heb “and Solomon said to build a house for the name of the
[2:2] 3 tn Heb “counted,” perhaps “conscripted” (so NAB, NIV, NRSV).
[2:2] 4 tn Heb “carriers of loads.”
[2:2] 5 tn Or “quarry workers”; Heb “cutters” (probably referring to stonecutters).
[2:2] 6 tc The parallel text of MT in 1 Kgs 5:16 has “thirty-six hundred,” but some Greek
[2:3] 7 tn Heb “Huram.” Some medieval Hebrew
[2:3] 8 map For location see Map1 A2; Map2 G2; Map4 A1; JP3 F3; JP4 F3.
[2:3] 9 tn The words “help me” are supplied in the translation for clarification and stylistic reasons.
[2:3] 10 tn Heb “cedars.” The word “logs” has been supplied in the translation for clarity.
[2:3] 11 tn Heb “to build for him a house to live in it.”
[2:4] 12 tn Heb “for the name of.”
[2:4] 13 tn Heb “and the regular display.”
[2:4] 14 tn Heb “permanently [is] this upon Israel.”
[2:6] 15 tn Or “heavens” (also in v. 12). The Hebrew term שָׁמַיִם (shamayim) may be translated “heaven(s)” or “sky” depending on the context.
[2:6] 16 tn Heb “Who retains strength to build for him a house, for the heavens and the heavens of heavens do not contain him? And who am I that I should build for him a house, except to sacrifice before him?”
[2:7] 17 map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
[2:8] 18 tn This is probably a variant name for almug trees; see 9:10-11 and the parallel passage in 1 Kgs 10:11-12; cf. NLT. One or the other probably arose through metathesis of letters.
[2:10] 20 sn As a unit of dry measure a kor was roughly equivalent to six bushels (about 220 liters).
[2:10] 21 tn Heb “20,000 baths” (also a second time later in this verse). A bath was a liquid measure roughly equivalent to six gallons (about 22 liters), so this was a quantity of about 120,000 gallons (440,000 liters).
[2:11] 22 tn Heb “Huram” (also in v. 12). Some medieval Hebrew
[2:12] 23 tn Heb “who has given to David a wise son [who] knows discernment and insight, who will build a house for the
[2:13] 24 sn The name Huram Abi means “Huram [is] my father.”
[2:14] 25 tn Heb “a son of a woman from the daughters of Dan, and his father a man of Tyre.”
[2:16] 26 tn Heb “and we will cut down trees from Lebanon according to all your need.”
[2:16] 27 tn Heb “to you,” but this phrase has not been translated for stylistic reasons – it is somewhat redundant.
[2:16] 28 tn Or “on rafts.” See the note at 1 Kgs 5:9.
[2:18] 31 tn Heb “carriers of loads.”
[2:18] 32 tn Or “quarry workers”; Heb “cutters” (probably referring to stonecutters).
[2:18] 33 tn Heb “and thirty-six hundred [as] supervisors to compel the people to work.”
[3:1] 34 map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
[3:1] 35 tn In 2 Sam 24:16 this individual is called אֲרַוְנָא (“Aravna”; traditionally “Araunah”). The form of the name found here also occurs in 1 Chr 21:15; 18-28.
[3:2] 36 sn This would be April-May, 966
[3:3] 37 tn Heb “and these are the founding of Solomon to build the house of God.”
[3:3] 38 tn Heb “the length [in] cubits by the former measure was sixty cubits, and a width of twenty cubits.” Assuming a length of 18 inches (45 cm) for the standard cubit, the length of the foundation would be 90 feet (27 m) and its width 30 feet (9 m).
[3:4] 39 tc Heb “and the porch which was in front of the length corresponding to the width of the house, twenty cubits.” The phrase הֵיכַל הַבַּיִת (heykhal habbayit, “the main hall of the temple,” which appears in the parallel account in 1 Kgs 6:3) has been accidentally omitted by homoioarcton after עַל־פְּנֵי (’al-pÿney, “in front of”). Note that the following form, הָאֹרֶךְ (ha’orekh, “the length”), also begins with the Hebrew letter he (ה). A scribe’s eye probably jumped from the initial he on הֵיכַל to the initial he on הָאֹרֶךְ, leaving out the intervening letters in the process.
[3:4] 40 tc The Hebrew text has “one hundred and twenty cubits,” i.e. (assuming a cubit of 18 inches) 180 feet (54 m). An ancient Greek witness and the Syriac version read “twenty cubits,” i.e., 30 feet (9 m). It is likely that מֵאָה (me’ah, “a hundred”), is a corruption of an original אַמּוֹת (’ammot, “cubits”).
[3:5] 42 tn Heb “the large house.”
[3:5] 43 tn Heb “wood of evergreens.”
[3:5] 44 tn Heb “and he put up on it palm trees and chains.”
[3:6] 45 tn Heb “and he plated the house [with] precious stone for beauty, and the gold was the gold of Parvaim.”
[3:8] 46 tn Heb “the house of the holy place of holy places.”
[3:8] 47 tn Heb “twenty cubits.” Assuming a cubit of 18 inches (45 cm), this would give a length of 30 feet (9 m).
[3:8] 48 tc Heb “twenty cubits.” Some suggest adding, “and its height twenty cubits” (see 1 Kgs 6:20). The phrase could have been omitted by homoioteleuton.
[3:8] 49 tn The Hebrew word כִּכַּר (kikar, “circle”) refers generally to something that is round. When used of metals it can refer to a disk-shaped weight made of the metal or, by extension, to a standard unit of weight. According to the older (Babylonian) standard the “talent” weighed 130 lbs. (58.9 kg), but later this was lowered to 108.3 lbs. (49.1 kg). More recent research suggests the “light” standard talent was 67.3 lbs. (30.6 kg). Using this as the standard for calculation, the weight of the gold plating was 40,380 lbs. (18,360 kg).
[3:11] 50 tn Heb “and the wings of the cherubs, their length was twenty cubits.” Assuming a cubit of 18 inches (45 cm), the wingspan of the cherubs would have been 30 feet (9 m).
[3:11] 51 tn Heb “the wing of the one was five cubits from the touching of the wall of the house, and the other wing was five cubits from the touching of the wing of the other cherub.” Assuming a cubit of 18 inches (45 cm), each wing would have been 7.5 feet (2.25 m) long.
[3:12] 52 tn Heb “and the wing of the one (הָאֶחָד, ha’ekhad, “the one”; this should probably be emended to הָאַחֵר, ha’akher, “the other”) cherub was five cubits, touching the wall of the house, and the other wing was five cubits, clinging to the wing of the other cherub.”
[3:13] 53 tn Heb “the wings of these cherubs were spreading twenty cubits.”
[3:13] 54 tn Heb “and they were standing on their feet, with their faces to the house.” An alternative translation of the last clause would be, “with their faces to the main hall.”
[3:15] 55 sn The figure given here appears to refer to the combined length of both pillars (perhaps when laid end-to-end on the ground prior to being set up; cf. v. 17); the figure given for the height of the pillars in 1 Kgs 7:15, 2 Kgs 25:17, and Jer 52:21 is half this (i.e., eighteen cubits).
[3:15] 56 tc The Syriac reads “eighteen cubits” (twenty-seven feet). This apparently reflects an attempt at harmonization with 1 Kgs 7:15, 2 Kgs 25:17, and Jer 52:21.
[3:15] 57 tn Heb “and he made before the house two pillars, thirty-five cubits [in] length, and the plated capital which was on its top [was] five cubits.” The significance of the measure “thirty-five cubits” (52.5 feet or 15.75 m, assuming a cubit of 18 inches) for the “length” of the pillars is uncertain. According to 1 Kgs 7:15, each pillar was eighteen cubits (27 feet or 8.1 m) high. Perhaps the measurement given here was taken with the pillars lying end-to-end on the ground before they were set up.
[3:16] 58 tn The Hebrew text adds here, “in the inner sanctuary,” but the description at this point is of the pillars, not the inner sanctuary.
[3:17] 59 tn Or “one on the south and the other on the north.”
[3:17] 60 tn The name “Jachin” appears to be a verbal form and probably means, “he establishes.”
[3:17] 61 tn The meaning of the name “Boaz” is uncertain. For various proposals, see BDB 126-27 s.v. בֹּעַז. One attractive option is to revocalize the name asבְּעֹז (bÿ’oz, “in strength”) and to understand it as completing the verbal form on the first pillar. Taking the words together and reading from right to left, one can translate the sentence, “he establishes [it] in strength.”
[4:1] 62 tn Heb “twenty cubits.” Assuming a cubit of 18 inches (45 cm), the length would have been 30 feet (9 m).
[4:1] 63 tn Heb “twenty cubits.”
[4:1] 64 tn Heb “ten cubits.” Assuming a cubit of 18 inches (45 cm), the height would have been 15 feet (4.5 m).
[4:2] 65 tn Heb “He made the sea, cast.”
[4:2] 66 tn Heb “ten cubits.” Assuming a cubit of 18 inches (45 cm), the diameter would have been 15 feet (4.5 m).
[4:2] 67 tn Heb “five cubits.” Assuming a cubit of 18 inches (45 cm), the height would have been 7.5 feet (2.25 m).
[4:2] 68 tn Heb “and a measuring line went around it thirty cubits all around.”
[4:3] 69 tn Heb “ten every cubit.”
[4:4] 70 tn Heb “all their hindquarters were toward the inside.”
[4:5] 71 tn Heb “3,000 baths” (note that the capacity is given in 1 Kings 7:26 as “2,000 baths”). A bath was a liquid measure roughly equivalent to six gallons (about 22 liters), so 3,000 baths was a quantity of about 18,000 gallons (66,000 liters).
[4:9] 72 tn Heb “and the doors for the enclosure.”
[4:11] 73 tn Heb “Huram,” but here this refers to Huram Abi (2 Chr 2:13). The complete name has been used in the translation to avoid possible confusion with King Huram of Tyre.
[4:11] 74 tn Heb “Huram finished doing all the work which he did for King Solomon [on] the house of God.”
[4:12] 75 tn The words “he made” are added for stylistic reasons.
[4:14] 76 tc The Hebrew text has עָשָׂה (’asah, “he made”), which is probably a corruption of עֶשֶׂר (’eser, “ten”; see 1 Kgs 7:43).
[4:14] 77 tc The Hebrew text has עָשָׂה (’asah, “he made”), which is probably a corruption of עֲשָׂרָה (’asarah, “ten”; see 1 Kgs 7:43).
[4:16] 78 tc Some prefer to read here “bowls,” see v. 11 and 1 Kgs 7:45.
[4:16] 79 tn Heb “Huram Abi made for King Solomon [for] the house of the
[4:17] 80 tn Or perhaps, “molds.”
[4:18] 81 tn Heb “Solomon made all these items in great abundance; the weight of the bronze was not sought.”
