2 Chronicles 8:1-6

Building Projects and Commercial Efforts

8:1 After twenty years, during which Solomon built the Lord’s temple and his royal palace, 8:2 Solomon rebuilt the cities that Huram ¹  had given him and settled Israelites there. 8:3 Solomon went to Hamath Zobah and seized it. 8:4 He built up Tadmor in the wilderness and all the storage cities he had built in Hamath. 8:5 He made upper Beth Horon and lower Beth Horon fortified cities with walls and barred gates, ²  8:6 and built up Baalath, all the storage cities that belonged to him, ³  and all the cities where chariots and horses were kept. ⁴  He built whatever he wanted in Jerusalem, ⁵  Lebanon, and throughout his entire kingdom. ⁶ 

Ecclesiastes 2:4

Futility of Materialism

2:4 I increased my possessions: ⁷ 

I built houses for myself; ⁸ 

I planted vineyards for myself.

[8:2]  ¹ tn Heb “Huram” (also in v. 18). Some medieval Hebrew mss, along with the LXX, Syriac, and Vulgate spell the name “Hiram,” agreeing with 1 Chr 14:1. “Huram” is a variant spelling referring to the same individual.

[8:5]  ² tn Heb “and he built…[as] cities of fortification, [with] walls, doors, and a bar.”

[8:6]  ³ tn Heb “Solomon.” The recurrence of the proper name is unexpected in terms of contemporary English style, so the pronoun has been used in the translation instead.

[8:6]  ⁴ tn Heb “the cities of the chariots and the cities of the horses.”

[8:6]  ⁵ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[8:6]  ⁶ tn Heb “and all the desire of Solomon which he desired to build in Jerusalem and in Lebanon and in all the land of his kingdom.”

[2:4]  ⁷ tn Or “my works”; or “my accomplishments.” The term מַעֲשָׂי (ma’asay, “my works”) has been handled in two basic ways: (1) great works or projects, and (2) possessions. The latter assumes a metonymy, one’s effort standing for the possessions it produces. Both interpretations are reflected in the major English translations: “works” (KJV, NEB, NAB, ASV, NASB, MLB, RSV, Douay, Moffatt), “projects” (NIV), and “possessions” (NJPS).

[2:4]  ⁸ sn The expression for myself is repeated eight times in 2:4-8 to emphasize that Qoheleth did not deny himself any acquisition. He indulged himself in acquiring everything he desired. His vast resources as king allowed him the unlimited opportunity to indulge himself. He could have anything his heart desired, and he did.