2 Chronicles 1:1--9:31
solidified <02388> [was strengthened.]
Lord <03068> [the Lord.]
magnified <01431> [magnified.]
Solomon <08010> [Then Solomon.]
This seems to have taken place a short time after David's decease, and, according to some, in the second year of Solomon's reign; when being established in his kingdom, he convened his chief men, and spake to them concerning the solemn sacrifice which he purposed to offer to God.
those who commanded units <08269> [to the captains.]
heads <07218> [the chief.]
Gibeon <01391> [Gibeon.]
tent <0168> [the tabernacle.]
servant <05650> [the servant.]
ark <0727> [the ark.]
The tabernacle and the brazen altar still remained at Gibeon; but David had brought away the ark out of the tabernacle, and placed it in a tent at Jerusalem.
pitched <05186> [for he had pitched.]
bronze <05178> [the brasen.]
Bezalel <01212> [Bezaleel.]
<07760> [he put. or, was there. sought unto it. went to seek the]
Lord there.
thousand <0505> [a thousand.]
night <03915> [In that night.]
This was the night following the sacrifice which Solomon had offered.
Tell me <07592> [Ask.]
[Thou has shewed.]
king <04427> [to reign.]
promise <01697> [let thy promise.]
king <04427> [for thou hast.]
dust <06083> [like the dust. Heb. much as the dust.]
give ... wisdom <05414 02451> [Give me.]
<03318> [go out.]
judicial decisions <08199> [for who can.]
desire <03824> [Because.]
This does not occur in Kings: and it implies that the request of Solomon, as arising from a spiritual judgment and heart, was peculiarly acceptable to that God who searches, regards, and demands the heart. God promised Solomon all the things which he had not asked, except the life of his enemies; for he was to be a peaceable king, a type of the Prince of peace.
desire <03824> [this was.]
decisions <08199> [that thou mayest.]
giving <05414> [I will give.]
king <04428> [such as none.]
Gibeon <01391> [at Gibeon.]
reigned <04427> [reigned.]
Solomon <08010> [Solomon.]
chariots ....... chariots .......... cities <05892 07393> [the chariot cities.]
Cities where the chariots, and horses belonging to them, were kept.
king <04428> [the king.]
He destroyed its value by making it so exceedingly plentiful.
made ............ was <05414> [made. Heb. gave. sycamore trees.]
Solomon <08010> [Solomon. Heb. the going forth of the horses which was]
Solomon's.
Que ........ Que <04723> [linen yarn.]
The word [miqvˆ <\\See definition 04723\\>,] or [miqvˆh <\\See definition 04723\\>,] {mikweh,} is regarded by the ancient translators as a proper name: the LXX. have [ek Thekoue,] "from Tekoa," the Vulgate, {de Coa,} "from Koa," which is adopted by Dr. Geddes; the Syriac, "from the city Aphelia;" and the Arabic, "{ex urbe Australium.}" Bochart thinks it signifies a tribute; others suppose that it signifies a string or drove of horses, or as Jarchi says, what the Germans call {Stutte,} a stud; but Houbigant supposes it to be a corruption for {mercavah,} "chariots." Our English translation, however, which regards it as synonymous with {tikwah,} seems by far the best. According to Norden, linen yarn is still one of the principal articles of commerce in Egypt, and is exported in very large quantities, together with unmanufactured flax and spun cotton; and Sanutus, 400 years ago, remarked that though Christian countries abounded in flax, yet the goodness of the Egyptian was such, that it was dispersed even to the west.
kings ........ kings <04428> [the kings.]
sold <03027> [means. Heb. hand.]
ordered <0559> [determined.]
honor <08034> [for the name.]
temple .............. palace <01004> [an house.]
had 70,000 <05608 07657> [told out threescore.]
Huram <02361> [Huram.]
[Hiram.]
As thou didst.
build <01129> [build.]
dedicate <06942> [to dedicate.]
burn <06999> [to burn.]
fragrant incense <07004 05561> [sweet incense. Heb. incense of spices. the continual.]
burnt sacrifices <05930> [the burnt.]
festivals <04150> [the solemn feasts.]
great ....... greater <01419> [great.]
great ..... God ... greater .... gods <0430 01419> [great is our God.]
can <06113> [But who.]
can <06113> [is able. Heb. hath returned, or obtained strength. who am I then.]
only <0518> [save only.]
skilled .............................. skilled craftsmen <02450> [cunning.]
engrave <06605> [to grave. Heb. to grave gravings. whom David.]
Send ... cedars <07971 0730> [Send me also.]
algum <0418> [algum trees. or, algummim.]
Called in the parallel passage, by a transposition of letters, {almuggim,} or "almug-trees;" which is rendered by the Vulgate, {ligna thyina,} the thya or lignum vit‘ wood. Theophrastus say that "the thyon of thya tree grows near the temple of Jupiter Ammon (in Africa), and in the Cyrenaica; that it resembles the cypress in its boughs, leaves, stalk, and fruit; and that its wood (from its close texture) never rots." The LXX. render here [peukina;] and Josephus calls it [xyla peukina,] torch or pine-trees; but cautions us against supposing that the wood was like what was known in his time by that name; for these "were to the sight like the wood of the fig-tree, but more white and shining." The Syriac version has {kaiso dekee-sotho,} probably cypress wood; and Dr. Shaw supposes it denotes the cypress. Several critics understand it to mean gummy wood; and Celsius queries whether it may not be the sandal-tree, as the Rabbins and Dr. Geddes suppose.
[almug-trees.]
great magnificent <01419 06381> [wonderful great. Heb. great and wonderful.]
pay <05414> [I will give.]
gallons ... wine .... gallons <01324 03196> [baths of wine.]
Lord <03068> [Because.]
Huram <02361> [Huram.]
made ... sky <06213 08064> [that made heaven.]
<03045> [endued, etc. Heb. knowing prudence and understanding.]
temple .......... palace <01004> [an house.]
Huram <02361> [of Huram.]
<01121> [The son.]
knows <03045> [skilful.]
lord <0113> [which my lord.]
get <03772> [we will cut.]
need <06878> [as much as thou shalt need. Heb. according to all thy need.]
Joppa. Heb. Japho.
census .................... taken <05608> [numbered.]
<0582> [the strangers. Heb. the men the strangers. after the numbering.]
70,000 <07657> [threescore.]
"As it is ver. 2."
Solomon <08010> [A.M. 2993. B.C. 1011. An. Ex. Is. 480. Solomon.]
Mount Moriah <02022 04179> [in mount Moriah.]
appeared ..... David ....... David <07200 01732> [where the Lord appeared unto David. or, which was seen of]
David. Ornan.
[Araunah.]
second ..... second <08145> [in the second.]
Solomon <08010> [A.M. 2993-3000. B.C. 1011-1004. Solomon.]
foundation <03245> [instructed. Heb. founded. The length.]
old standard ... measure <04060 07223> [the first measure.]
It is supposed, with much probability, that the first measure means the cubit used in the time of Moses, contradistinguished from that used in Babylon, and which the Israelites used after their return from captivity: and, as these Books were written after the captivity, it was necessary for the writer to make this remark, lest it should be thought that the measurement was by the Babylonish cubit, which was a palm or one-sixth shorter than the cubit of Moses; which may serve to reconcile some variations in the historical books, with respect to numbers when applied to measures.
porch <0197> [the porch.]
30 feet .............. 30 feet <06242 03967> [an hundred and twenty.]
As the height of the temple was only thirty cubits, 120 seems too great a height for the porch; but the Syriac, Arabic, and the LXX. in the codex Alexandrinus, have only twenty, probably reading, instead of {maiah weesrim,} "one hundred and twenty," {ammoth esrim,} "twenty cubits;" which brings it within the proportion of the other measures.
boards <01419> [the greater.]
decorated <06823> [garnished. Heb. covered. precious.]
Parvaim <06516> [Parvaim.]
Parvaim is supposed by Calmet to be the same as Sepharvaim in Armenia or Media; Bochart is of opinion that it is Taprobanes, now the island of Ceylon, which he drives from {taph,} a border, and Parvan, i.e., "the coast of Parvan;" but the late Editor of Calmet thinks it the same as the Parvatoi mountains of Ptolemy, at the head of the Indus.
overlaid <02645> [overlaid.]
decorative cherubim <03742 06605> [graved cherubims.]
most holy place <06944> [the most holy.]
two .... cherubim <08147 03742> [two cherubims.]
made ... images <04639 06816> [image work. or, as some think, of movable work.]
inward <01004> [inward. or, toward the house.]
curtain <06532> [the vail.]
embroidered <05927> [wrought. Heb. caused to ascend.]
two pillars <08147 05982> [two pillars.]
52½ feet <07970> [thirty.]
The Syriac and Arabic have, agreeably to the parallel passage, "eighteen cubits high;" but the Septuagint, Chaldee, and Vulgate have "thirty and five cubits high." See the Note on 1 Ki 7:15.
length <0753> [high. Heb. long.]
ornamental chains ...................... chains <08333> [chains.]
one hundred <03967> [an hundred.]
set up <06965> [reared up.]
Jachin <03199> [Jachin. that is, He shall establish. Boaz. that is, In it is strength.]
altar <04196> [an altar.]
big ... basin .... Sea <03332 03220> [a molten sea.]
rim ... rim <08193> [brim to brim. Heb. his brim to his brim.]
Images <01823> [And under.]
bulls .................. bulls <01241> [oxen.]
In the parallel passage of Kings, instead of {bekarim,} "oxen," we have {peka‹m,} "knops," in the form of colocynths. (See on 1 Ki 6:18, and 2 Ki 4:39;) which last is supposed by able critics to be the reading which ought to received be here; {bekarim,} "oxen," being a mistake for {peka‹m,} "knops." Houbigant, however, contends that the words in both places are right; but that {bakar} does not signify an ox here, but a large kind of grape, according to its meaning in Arabic. But Dr. A. Clarke states that {bakar,} or {bakarat,} has no such meaning in Arabic, though the phrase {aino 'lbikri,} or "ox-eye," signifies a species of black grape, very large, and of incredible sweetness; that consequently the criticism of this great man is not solid; and that the likeliest method of reconciling the two places is to suppose a change in the letters as above.
stood <05975> [It stood.]
Three .... three ... three .... three <07969> [three.]
lily blossom <06525 07799> [with flowers of lilies. or, like a lily flower. three thousand baths.]
In the parallel passage, it is said to hold only two thousand baths; which some think may be reconciled by supposing that the quantity of water which was commonly in it was 2,000 baths, but that, if filled up to the top, it would hold 3,000. But, as we have already seen that the Babylonish cubit was less than that of the ancient Hebrews, it might be the same with measures of capacity; so that 2,000 of the ancient Jewish baths might have been equal to 3,000 of those used after the captivity. The Targum cuts the knot: "It received 3,000 baths of dry measure, and held 2,000 of liquid measure." See 1 Ki 7:26.
ten ... basins <03595 06235> [ten lavers.]
items .... burnt sacrifices <05930 04639> [such things as they offered for the burnt offering. Heb. the work of burnt offering.]
Sea <03220> [but the sea.]
ten ... lampstands <06235 04501> [ten candlesticks.]
according ... specifications <04941> [according to.]
ten tables <07979 06235> [ten tables.]
bowls <04219> [basons. or, bowls.]
courtyard ........ enclosure .... doors <02691 05835> [the court.]
pots <05518> [the pots.]
bowls <04219> [basons. or, bowls. finished. Heb. finished to make.]
two .... two <08147> [To wit.]
bowl-shaped .......... bowl-shaped <01543> [the pommels.]
four hundred <03967 0702> [four hundred.]
pillar <05982> [pillars. Heb. face of the pillars.]
movable stands <04350> [bases.]
basins <03595> [lavers. or, caldrons.]
pots shovels <05518 03257> [pots also.]
forks <04207> [flesh-hooks.]
Huram <02361> [Huram.]
[Hiram. his father.]
polished <04838> [bright. Heb. made bright, or scoured.]
earthen foundries <0127 05645> [clay ground. Heb. thicknesses of the ground. Zeredathah.]
[Zarthan.]
weigh <04948> [the weight.]
items <03627> [all the vessels.]
gold <02091> [the golden.]
tables <07979> [the tables.]
lampstands <04501> [the candlesticks.]
burned ... specified <01197 04941> [burn after.]
inner sanctuary <01687> [the oracle.]
flower-shaped <06525> [the flowers.]
Probably each branch of the chandelier was made like a plant in flower; and the opening of the flower was either the lamp, or served to support it.
pure gold <02091 04357> [perfect gold. Heb. perfections of gold.]
That is, the purest and best gold.
trimming <04212> [snuffers.]
basins <04219> [basons. or, bowls. the entry.]
Capellus and others suppose we should read, agreeably to 1 Ki 7:50, "The hinges also of the doors of the inner house," etc.; the word {pothoth,} "hinges," being mistaken for {paithach,} "an entry" or "door-way."
put ... holy <0935 06944> [A.M. 3000. B.C. 1004. brought in all.]
Solomon <08010> [Then Solomon.]
leaders <05387> [the chief.]
ark <0727> [the ark.]
City <05892> [out.]
City <05892> [the city.]
Zion <06726> [which is Zion.]
men <0376> [Wherefore.]
festival <02282> [in the feast.]
That is, as the Targumist observes, in the feast of tabernacles, which was held in the seventh month of the ecclesiastical year, which was called Ethanim.
Levites <03881> [the Levites.]
Probably the Levites, of the family of Kohath, carried the ark into the courts of the temple; and then the priests conveyed it into its proper place.
tent ............... tent <0168> [the tabernacle.]
priests <03548> [the priests.]
inner sanctuary <01687> [to the oracle.]
poles <0905> [the staves.]
long <0748> [they drew.]
As the ark was no longer to be carried about, the staves were unnecessary.
ends <07218> [the ends.]
[there it is, or, they are there: as 1 Ki 8:8.]
day <03117> [unto this day.]
That is, the day when these events were recorded; not the day when these extracts were made, after the captivity, and consequently, long after the destruction of the temple.
ark <0727> [There was nothing.]
In the parallel passage in the Epistle to the Hebrews, it is expressly stated that in the ark were "the golden pot that had manna, and Aaron's rod that budded, and the tables of the covenant;" but it is evident that the apostle speaks there of the tabernacle erected by Moses, and of the state and contents of that tabernacle in the time of Moses; and in the temple there were several things added, and several left out.
two <08147> [save.]
Lord ............ out <03068 03318> [when. or, where. the Lord.]
participated had <04672> [present. Heb. found. sanctified.]
who ......... division ... represented <04256 08104> [wait by course.]
Levites <03881> [the Levites.]
Asaph <0623> [Asaph.]
wore <03847> [arrayed.]
cymbals <04700> [cymbals.]
[and hundred.]
trumpeters <0259> [as one.]
trumpets <02689> [with the trumpets.]
good <02896> [he is good.]
temple <01004> [then the house.]
priests <03548> [the priests.]
splendor <03519> [the glory.]
Lord <03068> [The Lord.]
built <01129> [I have built.]
turned around <05437 06440> [turned his face.]
blessing <01288> [blessed.]
assembly <06951> [all the congregation.]
worthy <01288> [Blessed.]
<03027> [who hath with.]
day <03117> [Since the day.]
live <08034> [my name.]
chosen ..................... choose <0977> [neither chose.]
The judges and Saul were chosen by God, for a season, to be rulers of Israel; but not to establish a permanent and hereditary authority over that people, as was the case with David. This clause is wanting in the parallel passage of Kings; but it helps to clear the sense.
chosen Jerusalem .......... chosen <0977 03389> [But I have chosen Jerusalem.]
This clause is also not found in Kings. Jerusalem was expressly marked out, by the building of the temple, to be the centre of the worship of Israel; as Jehovah had before spoken by Moses: see the parallel passages.
chosen ........... chosen David <01732 0977> [chosen David.]
is right <02895> [thou didst well.]
son <01121> [thy son.]
kept ... promise <01697 06965> [performed his word.]
kept <06965> [I am risen.]
Lord ........................ Lord ............. Lord <03068> [as the Lord.]
set ......... ark <0727 07760> [I put the ark.]
covenant <01285> [the covenant.]
As "there was nothing in the ark but the two tables of stone," consequently they are called the covenant, i.e., a sign of the covenant.
stood <05975> [he stood.]
spread <06566> [spread forth.]
platform <03595> [scaffold.]
long <0753> [long. Heb. the length thereof, etc. the court.]
got down <01288> [kneeled down.]
Lord God ....... god <03068 0430> [O Lord God.]
God ....... god <0430> [no God.]
maintain covenantal ...... who obey <01285 08104> [keepest covenant.]
loyalty <02617> [mercy.]
have ..... promised <01696> [and spakest.]
fulfilled <04390> [hast fulfilled.]
keep ................................... watch <08104> [keep.]
said <0559> [saying.]
fail ..... successor <03772 0376> [There shall not fail thee a man. Heb. There shall not a man be cut off. to walk.]
Lord <03068> [O Lord.]
promise <01697> [let thy.]
God <0430> [But will.]
sky .... highest heaven <08064> [heaven.]
{Hashshamayim ooshemey hashshamayim} "the heavens and the heavens of heavens;" which words seem to imply that there are systems and systems of systems, each possessing its sun, its primary and secondary planets; all extending beyond each other in unlimited space, in the same regular and graduated order which we find to prevail in our solar system; which, probably, in its thousands of millions of miles in diameter, is, to some others, no more than the area of the lunar orbit to that of Georgium Sidus.
temple <01004> [how much.]
to <06437> [Have respect.]
<08085> [to hearken.]
watch <05869> [thine eyes.]
live <08034 07760> [put thy name.]
place ................ place <04725> [toward this place. or, in this place.]
<06419> [make. Heb. pray. thy dwelling place.]
forgive <05545> [forgive.]
sinning <02398> [sin.]
alleged offender <0423> [and an oath, etc. Heb. and he require an oath of him.]
alleged offender <0423> [the oath.]
heaven <08064> [from heaven.]
claims <07725> [requiting.]
<06663> [justifying.]
defeated <05062> [put to the worse. or, be smitten.]
sinned <02398> [because.]
back <07725> [shall return.]
pray <06419> [pray.]
temple <01004> [in. or, toward.]
forgive ... sin <02403 05545> [forgive the sin.]
gave <05414> [which thou.]
skies <08064> [the heaven.]
rain <04306> [there is no rain.]
prayers <06419> [if they pray.]
turn <07725> [turn.]
punish <06031> [thou dost.]
teach <03384> [when thou hast.]
right way <01870 02896> [good way.]
rain ........ given <04306 05414> [send rain.]
famine <07458> [if there be dearth.]
"Persia," says Chardin, "is subject to have its harvest spoiled by hail, by drought, or by insects; either locusts, or small insects, which they call {sim,} which are small white lice;" probably the caterpillars of the text.
locust <0697> [locusts.]
enemy <0341> [their enemies.]
land ....................... cities .... land <0776 08179> [cities of their land. Heb. land of their gates. whatsoever.]
pray <08605> [what prayer.]
acknowledge <03045> [know.]
spread out <06566> [spread forth.]
temple <01004> [in. or, toward.]
act <05414> [render.]
evaluation .............. evaluate <03045> [thou only.]
obeying <03372 03212> [fear thee.]
lifetimes <03117> [so long, etc. Heb. all the days which they live upon the face of the land.]
Foreigners <05237> [the stranger.]
come .................... come <0935> [is come.]
ability to accomplish mighty deeds <02389> [thy mighty.]
come .................... come <0935> [if they come.]
nations ............. people <05971> [that all people.]
nations ......... obey ..... people <03372 05971> [fear thee.]
temple <01004> [this house, etc. Heb. they name is called upon this house.]
people <05971> [thy people.]
toward <01870> [by the way.]
direct <06419> [they pray.]
toward <01870> [toward.]
listen ... heaven <08085 08064> [hear thou.]
vindicate <06213> [maintain.]
vindicate <04941> [cause. or, right.]
sin ........... sinless <02398> [they sin.]
one <0120> [for there is no man.]
angry <0599> [thou be angry.]
[they carry them away captives. Heb. they that take them captives carry them away.]
come ............... repent <07725> [Yet if.]
come ....... land ......... repent ......... land <07725 0776> [bethink themselves. Heb. bring back to their heart. We have sinned.]
return <07725> [return.]
direct ... prayers toward <01870 06419> [pray toward.]
city <05892> [the city.]
vindicate <04941> [cause. or, right.]
forgive <05545> [forgive.]
God <0430> [my God.]
<05869> [thine eyes.]
<0241> [thine ears.]
place <04725> [that is made in this place. Heb. of this place.]
ascend <06965> [arise.]
resting place <05118> [thy resting.]
ark <0727> [the ark.]
priests <03548> [thy priests.]
loyal followers <02623> [thy saints.]
reject <07725> [turn not.]
That is, "reject not thine anointed;" or, "repulse him not," agreeably to the interpretation of this phrase in the Syriac and Arabic versions.
[See]
chosen ones <04899> [thine anointed.]
Remember <02142> [remember.]
faithful <02617> [the mercies.]
Or, as Dr. Geddes renders, "the pious deeds of thy servant David." The Syriac has, "the good actions of thy servant."
Solomon <08010> [when Solomon.]
fire <0784> [the fire.]
splendor <03519> [the glory.]
priests <03548> [the priests.]
knees <03766> [they bowed.]
good <02896> [For he is.]
king <04428> [Then the king.]
They presented the victims to the priests, and they and the Levites slew them, and sprinkled the blood; or, perhaps, the people themselves slew them, and having caught the blood, collected the fat, etc., presented them to the priests to be offered as the law required.
<02077> [a sacrifice.]
22,000 .... 120,000 <08147 06242> [twenty and two.]
The number of sheep and oxen here mentioned has to some appeared incredibly large; but it must be considered that a prodigious number of persons was now at Jerusalem, and that this was the amount of all the victims that had been offered during the seven days of the feast of tabernacles, as well as the time the feast of the dedication lasted.
dedicated <02596> [dedicated.]
priests ...................................................... priests <03548> [the priests.]
Levites <03881> [the Levites.]
David .............. David <01732> [which David.]
loyal love <02617> [because his mercy.]
<03027> [ministry. Heb. hand.]
priests ...................................................... priests <03548> [the priests.]
consecrated <06942> [hallowed.]
[the brazen.]
celebrated <06213> [kept.]
great ... included <01419 03966> [a very great.]
<0935> [from the entering.]
That is, from one extremity of the land to another; Hamath being situated on the north, and the river of Egypt on the south.
assembly <06116> [solemn assembly. Heb. restraint.]
On .... day ............. seven days ....... seven ... days <07651 03117> [seven days.]
twenty-third <06242 07969> [three and twentieth.]
happy <08056> [glad.]
contented ..... good <02896> [goodness.]
Solomon .............. his <08010> [Solomon.]
plans <0935> [all that came.]
Lord <03068> [the Lord.]
have answered <08085> [I have heard.]
chosen <0977> [have chosen.]
temple ... sacrifices <02077 01004> [an house of sacrifice.]
I close .... sky ..... doesn't <02005 06113 08064> [If I shut up heaven.]
command <06680> [I command.]
send <07971> [I send.]
people <05971> [my people.]
me <07121 08034> [which are called by my name. Heb. upon whom my name is called. humble.]
pray <06419> [and pray.]
seek .... me <06440 01245> [seek my face.]
repudiate ... sinful practices <07725 07451> [turn from.]
respond <08085> [will I hear.]
heal ... land <0776 07495> [heal their land.]
<05869> [mine eyes.]
place <04725> [that is made in this place. Heb. of this place.]
chosen <0977> [have I chosen.]
<08034> [my name.]
<05869> [eyes.]
<03212> [if thou wilt.]
obey <08104> [observe.]
establish <06965> [stablish.]
promised ........ fail <03772> [as I have.]
promised ........ fail <03772> [shall not.]
promised ........ fail ..... successor <03772 0376> [fail thee. Heb. be cut off to thee.]
turn away <07725> [if ye turn away.]
decide <01980> [shall go.]
remove <05428> [I pluck.]
mockery <04912> [a proverb.]
temple ........................... temple <01004> [this house.]
shocked <08074> [astonishment.]
Lord <03068> [Why.]
abandoned <05800> [Because they forsook.]
brought <0935> [therefore.]
After <07093> [at the end.]
cities <05892> [the cities.]
Hamath Zobah <02578> [Hamath-zobah.]
built .............. built <01129> [he built.]
Tadmor <08412> [Tadmor.]
Tadmor, the Palmyra of the Greeks, as we learn from Josephus, a celebrated city of Syria, situated in an oasis, or fertile spot of land, surrounded on all sides by a vast sandy desert, like an island in the midst of the ocean; according to Pliny, 337 miles from Seleucia and Tigrim, 203 from the nearest part of the Mediterranean, and 176 from Damascus; according to Josephus, one day's journey west of the Euphrates, and six from Babylon; and according to Ptolemy, in lat. 34 degrees north, or that of Tripoli, and about 4 degrees more easterly; and it is described by Mr. Wood as "situated under a barren ridge of hills to the west, and open on the other sides to the desert:" "about six days' journey from Aleppo, and as much from Damascus, and about twenty leagues west of the Euphrates." Palmyra attained the height of its splendour when the royal city of Zenobia was conquered by the emperor Aurelian; became a Roman colony after the victories of Trajan; and was probably reduced to its present miserable state in the wars of the Saracens. Its magnificent ruins, however, scattered over an extent of several miles, sufficiently attest its former splendour and riches.
Beth Horon .... Beth Horon <01032> [Beth-horon.]
Baalath <01191> [Baalath.]
storage cities ......... cities <05892 04543> [the store cities.]
cities ......... cities ... chariots <05892 07393> [chariot cities.]
him ............ He built .... wanted <08010 02836 01129> [all that Solomon desired to build. Heb. all the desire of]
Solomon which he desired to build.
Lebanon <03844> [and in Lebanon.]
peoples <05971> [As for all.]
Hittites <02850> [the Hittites.]
descendants ....... Israelites <01121> [whom the children.]
conscripted <05927> [to pay.]
Israelites <01121> [But of the.]
soldiers <0582> [they were men.]
250 <03967> [two hundred.]
up <05927> [brought up.]
holy <06944> [holy. Heb. holiness.]
altar <04196> [on the altar.]
front ..... porch <06440 0197> [before the porch.]
daily <03117> [every day.]
three ... celebrations <07969 06471> [three times.]
divisions .......................... divisions <04256> [the courses.]
Levitical <03881> [the Levites.]
gatekeepers <07778> [the porters.]
David ............................................. David ... man ... God ... ordered <0376 0430 04687 01732> [so had David the man of God commanded. Heb. so was the commandment of David the man of God.]
detail <05493> [they departed.]
treasuries <0214> [the treasures.]
Ezion Geber <06100> [Ezion-geber.]
Elat <0359> [Eloth.]
[Elath.]
Huram <02361> [Huram.]
[See on]
[Hiram. Ophir.]
Conjectures respecting the situation of Ophir are endless. Grotius conjectures it to be a part of Arabia called Aphar by Arrian; while Bochart and others have placed it in the island of Ceylon. Calmet supposes it to have been situated in Armenia; but his late editor places it at the head of the Indus. Josephus says that Ophir is the Indies, called the Gold country; by which he is supposed to mean Chersonesus Aurea, now Malacca, opposite Sumatra; and Le Poivre observes that the inhabitants of these places call their gold mines {ophirs.}
took .... 450 <03947 0702> [took thence.]
1 The queen of Sheba admires the wisdom of Solomon. 13 Solomon's revenue in gold. 15 His targets and shields. 17 The throne of ivory. 20 His vessels. 23 His presents. 25 His chariots and horse. 26 His tributes. 29 His reign and death.
queen ........ came .................................. visited <04436 0935> [A.M. 3014. B.C. 990. And when. See on]
Sheba <07614> [Sheba.]
<08088> [fame.]
difficult questions <02420> [questions.]
camels <01581> [camels.]
spices <01314> [spices.]
discussed <01696> [communed.]
questions ..... question <01697> [all.]
complex <05956> [there.]
When ...... saw ...... wisdom <02451 07200> [seen the wisdom.]
palace <01004> [the house.]
food <03978> [the meat.]
<04186> [the sitting.]
<08248> [cup-bearers. or, butlers.]
<05944> [ascent.]
amazed <07307> [there was.]
report ........... sayings <01697> [report. Heb. word.]
report ........... sayings <01697> [acts. or, sayings.]
believe <0539> [I believed.]
half <02677> [the one half.]
surpasses <03254> [exceedest.]
praised <01288> [Blessed.]
favored <02654> [which delighted.]
[See on]
God ........................ God's <0430> [because thy God.]
make just and right <04941 06213> [to do judgment.]
gave .......................... gave <05414> [she gave.]
spices ........ spices <01314> [of spices.]
Sheba <07614> [Sheba.]
This queen is called Balkis by the Arabians, who say she came from the city of Sheba, also called Mareb, in Yemen or Arabia Felix; but the Ethiopians call her Maqueda, claim her as their sovereign, and say that her posterity reigned there for a long time. Mr. Bruce has given us the history of her and her descendants from Abyssinian records; and Josephus says that Sheba was the ancient name of the city of Mero‰, (south of Egypt, and sometimes comprehended in Ethiopia,) and that this princess came from thence. Those who think the princess came from Arabia, rely chiefly on the fact that gold, silver, spices, and precious stones, which were the presents she made to Solomon, are the natural products of that country; and that it may well be placed at the uttermost part of the earth, as it borders on the southern ocean, and formerly they knew no land beyond it.
brought gold <02091 0935> [brought gold.]
fine timber <0418 06086> [algum trees.]
[almug-trees.]
steps <04546> [terraces. or, stairs. Heb. highways. harps.]
<02656> [all her desire.]
<04948> [the weight.]
governors <06346> [governors. or, captains.]
hundred ....... 600 <03967> [two.]
Palace <01004> [in the house.]
side <03027> [stays. Heb. hands. two lions.]
lions <0738 08147> [twelve lions.]
cups <04945> [drinking.]
pure <05462> [pure. Heb. shut up. none were of silver. or, there was no silver in them. it was.]
large merchant ships .................. port <08659> [Tarshish.]
Bochart thinks this Tarshish was probably the promontory Cory, on the north of the island of Ceylon, which, according to him, was the land of Ophir. That it was name of a place in the East Indies, seems probable from the articles brought thence, and also from the ships sent thither being built at Ezion-geber, on the Red Sea; though Michaelis supposes that the fleet coasted along the shore of Africa, doubling the Cape of Good Hope, and came to Tartessus, in Spain, and thence back again the same way; that this accounts for their three years' voyage out and home; and that Spain and the coasts of Africa furnish all the commodities which they brought back.
[See on]
[Tharshish. ivory. or, elephants' teeth. peacocks.]
{Tukkeeyim} is rendered {taysin} in the Targum, [taonon,] in the Alexandrian MS. of the LXX., and {pavos,} "peacocks," in the Vulgate; with which the Syriac, Arabic, and Rabbins agree. This derives confirmation from the fact, that the peacock is called in Malabaric, {Togei.}
King ........... kings <01431 04428> [passed all the kings.]
wanted <01245> [sought.]
God-given <0430> [God.]
<0376> [every man.]
ruled .... kingdoms <04910 04428> [reigned over.]
Euphrates <05104> [river.]
"That is, Euphrates."
king <04428> [the king.]
made .......... was <05414> [made. Heb. gave. the sycamore.]
acquired <03318> [brought.]
"Moses," says Bp. Warburton, "had expressly prohibited the multiplying of horses, (De 17:16;) by which the future king was forbidden to establish a body of calvary, because this could not be effected without sending into Egypt, with which people God had forbidden any communication, as this would be dangerous to religion. When Solomon had violated this law, and multiplied horses to excess, (1 Ki 4:26,) it was soon attended with those fatal consequences that the law foretold: for this wisest of kings having likewise, in violation of another law, married Pharaoh's daughter, (the early fruits of this commerce,) and then, by a repetition of the same crime, but a transgression of another law, had espoused more strange women, (1 Ki 4:26; 11:1,) they first,in defiance of a fourth law, persuaded him to build them idol temples for their use; and afterwards, against a fifth law, brought him to erect other temples for his own."
rest <07605> [the rest.]
events ............. Annals <01697> [book. Heb. words. Nathan.]
Ahijah <0281> [Ahijah.]
Iddo <03260> [Iddo.]
Solomon <08010> [Solomon.]
passed away <07901> [A.M. 3029. B.C. 975. slept.]
