3:8 He made the most holy place; 18 its length was 30 feet, 19 corresponding to the width of the temple, and its width 30 feet. 20 He plated it with 600 talents 21 of fine gold.
1 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.
2 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 tc Heb “do not turn away the face of your anointed ones.” Many medieval Hebrew
5 tn Or “distress.”
6 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Manasseh) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
7 tn Heb “appeased the face of the
8 tn Or “greatly.”
9 tn Heb “fathers.”
7 tn Or “one on the south and the other on the north.”
8 tn The name “Jachin” appears to be a verbal form and probably means, “he establishes.”
9 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.”
9 tn Heb “they could not be seen outside.”
11 tn Heb “fear.”
12 tn Heb “by walking in your ways.”
13 tn Heb “all the days [in] which.”
13 tn Heb “and all the kings of the earth were seeking the face of Solomon to hear his wisdom which God had placed in his heart.”
15 tn Heb “look.”
17 tn Heb “the house of the holy place of holy places.”
18 tn Heb “twenty cubits.” Assuming a cubit of 18 inches (45 cm), this would give a length of 30 feet (9 m).
19 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.
20 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).
19 tn Heb “over whom my name is called.” The Hebrew idiom “call the name over” indicates ownership. See 2 Sam 12:28.
20 tn Heb “seek my face,” where “my face” is figurative for God’s presence and acceptance.
21 tn Heb “and turn from their sinful ways.”
22 tn Heb “hear.”
23 sn Here the phrase heal their land means restore the damage done by the drought, locusts and plague mentioned in v. 13.
21 tn Heb “them.” The switch from the second to the third person pronoun is rhetorically effective, for it mirrors God’s rejection of his people – he has stopped addressing them as “you” and begun addressing them as “them.” However, the switch is awkward and confusing in English, so the translation maintains the direct address style.
22 tn Heb “them.” See the note on “you” earlier in this verse.
23 tc Instead of “I will throw away,” the parallel text in 1 Kgs 9:7 has “I will send away.” The two verbs sound very similar in Hebrew, so the discrepancy is likely due to an oral transmissional error.
24 tn Heb “him,” which appears in context to refer to Israel (i.e., “you” in direct address). Many translations understand the direct object of the verb “make” to be the temple (NEB, NASB, NIV, NRSV “it”).
25 tn Heb “and I will make him [i.e., Israel] a proverb and a taunt,” that is, a proverbial example of destruction and an object of reproach.
23 tn Heb “and they tore down before him the altars of the Baals.”