Discovery Box2 Chronicles 8:12
Context8:12 Then Solomon offered burnt sacrifices to the Lord on the altar of the Lord which he had built in front of the temple’s porch. 1
2 Chronicles 8:17--11:4
Context8:17 Then Solomon went to Ezion Geber and to Elat on the coast in the land of Edom. 8:18 Huram sent him ships and some of his sailors, men who were well acquainted with the sea. They sailed with Solomon’s men to Ophir, 2 and took from there 450 talents 3 of gold, which they brought back to King Solomon.
9:1 When the queen of Sheba heard about Solomon, 4 she came to challenge 5 him 6 with difficult questions. 7 She arrived in Jerusalem 8 with a great display of pomp, 9 bringing with her camels carrying spices, 10 a very large quantity of gold, and precious gems. She visited Solomon and discussed with him everything that was on her mind. 9:2 Solomon answered all her questions; there was no question too complex for the king. 11 9:3 When the queen of Sheba saw for herself Solomon’s extensive wisdom, 12 the palace 13 he had built, 9:4 the food in his banquet hall, 14 his servants and attendants 15 in their robes, his cupbearers in their robes, and his burnt sacrifices which he presented in the Lord’s temple, 16 she was amazed. 17 9:5 She said to the king, “The report I heard in my own country about your wise sayings and insight 18 was true! 9:6 I did not believe these things until I came and saw them with my own eyes. Indeed, I didn’t hear even half the story! 19 Your wisdom surpasses what was reported to me. 9:7 Your attendants, who stand before you at all times and hear your wise sayings, are truly happy! 20 9:8 May the Lord your God be praised because he favored 21 you by placing you on his throne as the one ruling on his behalf! 22 Because of your God’s love for Israel and his lasting commitment to them, 23 he made you king over them so you could make just and right decisions.” 24 9:9 She gave the king 120 talents 25 of gold and a very large quantity of spices and precious gems. The quantity of spices the queen of Sheba gave King Solomon has never been matched. 26 9:10 (Huram’s 27 servants, aided by Solomon’s servants, brought gold from Ophir, as well as 28 fine 29 timber and precious gems. 9:11 With the timber the king made steps 30 for the Lord’s temple and royal palace as well as stringed instruments 31 for the musicians. No one had seen anything like them in the land of Judah prior to that. 32 ) 9:12 King Solomon gave the queen of Sheba everything she requested, more than what she had brought him. 33 Then she left and returned 34 to her homeland with her attendants.
9:13 Solomon received 666 talents 35 of gold per year, 36 9:14 besides what he collected from the merchants 37 and traders. All the Arabian kings and the governors of the land also brought gold and silver to Solomon. 9:15 King Solomon made two hundred large shields of hammered gold; 600 measures 38 of hammered gold were used for each shield. 9:16 He also made three hundred small shields of hammered gold; 300 measures 39 of gold were used for each of those shields. The king placed them in the Palace of the Lebanon Forest. 40
9:17 The king made a large throne decorated with ivory and overlaid it with pure gold. 9:18 There were six steps leading up to the throne, and a gold footstool was attached to the throne. 41 The throne had two armrests with a statue of a lion standing on each side. 42 9:19 There were twelve statues of lions on the six steps, one lion at each end of each step. There was nothing like it in any other kingdom. 43
9:20 All of King Solomon’s cups were made of gold, and all the household items in the Palace of the Lebanon Forest were made of pure gold. There were no silver items, for silver was not considered very valuable in Solomon’s time. 44 9:21 The king had a fleet of large merchant ships 45 manned by Huram’s men 46 that sailed the sea. Once every three years the fleet 47 came into port with cargoes of 48 gold, silver, ivory, apes, and peacocks. 49
9:22 King Solomon was wealthier and wiser than any of the kings of the earth. 50 9:23 All the kings of the earth wanted to visit Solomon to see him display his God-given wisdom. 51 9:24 Year after year visitors brought their gifts, which included items of silver, items of gold, clothes, perfume, spices, horses, and mules. 52
9:25 Solomon had 4,000 stalls for his chariot horses 53 and 12,000 horses. He kept them in assigned cities and in Jerusalem. 54 9:26 He ruled all the kingdoms from the Euphrates River 55 to the land of the Philistines as far as the border of Egypt. 9:27 The king made silver as plentiful 56 in Jerusalem as stones; cedar was 57 as plentiful as sycamore fig trees are in the lowlands 58 . 9:28 Solomon acquired horses from Egypt and from all the lands.
9:29 The rest of the events of Solomon’s reign, from start to finish, are recorded 59 in the Annals of Nathan the Prophet, the Prophecy of Ahijah the Shilonite, and the Vision of Iddo the Seer pertaining to Jeroboam son of Nebat. 9:30 Solomon ruled over all Israel from Jerusalem 60 for forty years. 9:31 Then Solomon passed away 61 and was buried in the city of his father David. His son Rehoboam replaced him as king.
10:1 Rehoboam traveled to Shechem, for all Israel had gathered in 62 Shechem to make Rehoboam 63 king. 10:2 When Jeroboam son of Nebat heard the news, he was still in Egypt, where he had fled from King Solomon. Jeroboam returned from Egypt. 10:3 They sent for him 64 and Jeroboam and all Israel came and spoke to Rehoboam, saying, 10:4 “Your father made us work too hard! 65 Now if you lighten the demands he made and don’t make us work as hard, we will serve you.” 66 10:5 He said to them, “Go away for three days, then return to me.” So the people went away.
10:6 King Rehoboam consulted with the older advisers who had served 67 his father Solomon when he had been alive. He asked them, 68 “How do you advise me to answer these people?” 10:7 They said to him, “If you are fair to these people, grant their request, and are cordial to them, they will be your servants from this time forward.” 69 10:8 But Rehoboam rejected their advice and consulted the young advisers who served him, with whom he had grown up. 70 10:9 He asked them, “How do you advise me to respond to these people who said to me, ‘Lessen the demands your father placed on us’?” 71 10:10 The young advisers with whom Rehoboam 72 had grown up said to him, “Say this to these people who have said to you, ‘Your father made us work hard, but now lighten our burden’ 73 – say this to them: ‘I am a lot harsher than my father! 74 10:11 My father imposed heavy demands on you; I will make them even heavier. 75 My father punished you with ordinary whips; I will punish you with whips that really sting your flesh.’” 76
10:12 Jeroboam and all the people reported to Rehoboam on the third day, just as the king had ordered when he said, “Return to me on the third day.” 10:13 The king responded to the people harshly. He 77 rejected the advice of the older men 10:14 and followed the advice of the younger ones. He said, “My father imposed heavy demands on you; 78 I will make them even heavier. 79 My father punished you with ordinary whips; I will punish you with whips that really sting your flesh.” 80 10:15 The king refused to listen to the people, because God was instigating this turn of events 81 so that he might bring to pass the prophetic announcement he had made 82 through Ahijah the Shilonite to Jeroboam son of Nebat.
10:16 When all Israel saw that the king refused to listen to them, the people answered the king, “We have no portion in David – no share in the son of Jesse! 83 Return to your homes, O Israel! 84 Now, look after your own dynasty, O David!” 85 So all Israel returned to their homes. 86 10:17 (Rehoboam continued to rule over the Israelites who lived in the cities of Judah.) 10:18 King Rehoboam sent Hadoram, 87 the supervisor of the work crews, out after them, but the Israelites stoned him to death. King Rehoboam managed to jump into his chariot and escape to Jerusalem. 88 10:19 So Israel has been in rebellion against the Davidic dynasty to this very day.
11:1 When Rehoboam arrived in Jerusalem, he summoned 180,000 skilled warriors from Judah and Benjamin 89 to attack Israel and restore the kingdom to Rehoboam. 11:2 But the Lord told Shemaiah the prophet, 90 11:3 “Say this to King Rehoboam son of Solomon of Judah and to all the Israelites in Judah and Benjamin, 11:4 ‘The Lord says this: “Do not attack and make war with your brothers. Each of you go home, for I have caused this to happen.”’” 91 They obeyed the Lord and called off the attack against Jeroboam. 92
[8:18] 2 tn Heb “and Huram sent to him by the hand of his servants, ships, and servants [who] know the sea, and they came with the servants of Solomon to Ophir.”
[8:18] 3 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 was 30,285 lbs. (13,770 kg).
[9:1] 4 tn Heb “the report about Solomon.”
[9:1] 6 tn Heb “Solomon.” The recurrence of the proper name here is redundant in terms of contemporary English style, so the pronoun has been used in the translation instead.
[9:1] 8 map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
[9:1] 9 tn Heb “with very great strength.” The Hebrew word חַיִל (khayil, “strength”) may refer here to the size of her retinue or to the great wealth she brought with her.
[9:2] 11 tn Heb “Solomon declared to her all her words; there was not a word hidden from the king which he did not declare to her.” If riddles are specifically in view (see v. 1), then one might translate, “Solomon explained to her all her riddles; there was no riddle too complex for the king.”
[9:3] 12 tn Heb “all the wisdom of Solomon.”
[9:4] 14 tn Heb “the food on his table.”
[9:4] 15 tn Heb “the seating of his servants and the standing of his attendants.”
[9:4] 16 tc The Hebrew text has here, “and his upper room [by] which he was going up to the house of the
[9:4] 17 tn Or “it took her breath away”; Heb “there was no breath still in her.”
[9:5] 18 tn Heb “about your words [or perhaps, “deeds”] and your wisdom.”
[9:6] 19 tn Heb “the half was not told to me.”
[9:7] 20 tn Heb “How happy are your men! How happy are these servants of yours, who stand before you continually, who hear your wisdom!”
[9:8] 21 tn Or “delighted in.”
[9:8] 22 tn Heb “as king for the
[9:8] 23 tn Heb “to make him stand permanently.”
[9:8] 24 tn Heb “to do justice and righteousness.”
[9:9] 25 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 was 8,076 lbs. (3,672 kg).
[9:9] 26 tn Heb “there has not been like those spices which the queen of Sheba gave to King Solomon.”
[9:10] 27 tn Heb “Huram’s” (also in v. 21). Some medieval Hebrew
[9:10] 28 tn Heb “who brought gold from Ophir, brought.”
[9:11] 30 tn Heb “tracks.” The parallel text in 1 Kgs 10:12 has a different term whose meaning is uncertain: “supports,” perhaps “banisters” or “parapets.”
[9:11] 31 tn Two types of stringed instruments are specifically mentioned in the Hebrew text, the כִּנּוֹר (kinnor, “zither”) and נֶבֶל (nevel, “harp”).
[9:11] 32 tn Heb “there was not seen like these formerly in the land of Judah.”
[9:12] 33 tn Heb “besides what she brought to the king.”
[9:12] 34 tn Heb “turned and went.”
[9:13] 35 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 Solomon received annually was 44,822 lbs. (20,380 kg).
[9:13] 36 tn Heb “the weight of the gold which came to Solomon in one year was 666 units of gold.”
[9:14] 37 tn Heb “traveling men.”
[9:15] 38 tn The Hebrew text has simply “600,” with no unit of measure given.
[9:16] 39 tn The Hebrew text has simply “300,” with no unit of measure given.
[9:16] 40 sn This name was appropriate because of the large amount of cedar, undoubtedly brought from Lebanon, used in its construction. The cedar pillars in the palace must have given it the appearance of a forest. See 1 Kgs 7:2.
[9:18] 41 tc The parallel text of 1 Kgs 10:19 has instead “and the back of it was rounded on top.”
[9:18] 42 tn Heb “[There were] armrests on each side of the place of the seat, and two lions standing beside the armrests.”
[9:19] 43 tn Heb “nothing like it had been made for any kingdom.”
[9:20] 44 tn Heb “there was no silver, it was not regarded as anything in the days of Solomon.”
[9:21] 45 tn Heb “for ships belonging to the king were going [to] Tarshish with the servants of Huram.” This probably refers to large ships either made in or capable of traveling to the distant western port of Tarshish.
[9:21] 47 tn Heb “the fleet of Tarshish [ships].”
[9:21] 48 tn Heb “the ships of Tarshish came carrying.”
[9:21] 49 tn The meaning of this word is unclear; some suggest it refers to “baboons.” NEB has “monkeys,” NASB, NRSV “peacocks,” and NIV “baboons.”
[9:22] 50 tn Heb “King Solomon was greater than all the kings of the earth with respect to wealth and wisdom.”
[9:23] 51 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.”
[9:24] 52 tn Heb “and they were bringing each one his gift, items of silver…and mules, the matter of a year in a year.”
[9:25] 53 tc The parallel text of 1 Kgs 10:26 reads “fourteen hundred chariots.”
[9:25] 54 tn Heb “he placed them in the chariot cities and with the king in Jerusalem.”
[9:26] 55 tn Heb “the River.” In biblical Hebrew the Euphrates River was typically referred to simply as “the River.”
[9:27] 56 tn The words “as plentiful” are supplied for clarification.
[9:27] 57 tn Heb “he made cedar.”
[9:27] 58 tn Heb “as the sycamore fig trees which are in the Shephelah.”
[9:29] 59 tn Heb “As for the rest of the events of Solomon, the former and the latter, are they not written?”
[9:30] 60 map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
[9:31] 61 tn Heb “lay down with his fathers.”
[10:1] 63 tn Heb “him”; the referent (Rehoboam) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[10:3] 64 tn Heb “They sent and called for him.”
[10:4] 65 tn Heb “made our yoke burdensome.”
[10:4] 66 tn Heb “but you, now, lighten the burdensome work of your father and the heavy yoke which he placed on us, and we will serve you.” In the Hebrew text the prefixed verbal form with vav (וְנַעַבְדֶךָ, vÿna’avdekha, “and we will serve you”) following the imperative (הָקֵל, haqel, “lighten”) indicates purpose/result. The conditional sentence used in the present translation is an attempt to bring out the logical relationship between these forms.
[10:6] 67 tn Heb “stood before.”
[10:7] 69 tn Heb “If today you are for good to these people and you are favorable to them and speak to them good words, they will be your servants all the days.”
[10:8] 70 tn Heb “Rehoboam rejected the advice of the elders which they advised and he consulted the young men with whom he had grown up, who stood before him.”
[10:9] 71 tn Heb “Lighten the yoke which your father placed on us.”
[10:10] 72 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Rehoboam) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[10:10] 73 tn Heb “Your father made our yoke heavy, but make it lighter upon us.”
[10:10] 74 tn Heb “My little one is thicker than my father’s hips.” The referent of “my little one” is not clear. The traditional view is that it refers to the little finger (so NEB, NASB, NIV, NRSV, NLT). As the following statement makes clear, Rehoboam’s point is that he is more harsh and demanding than his father.
[10:11] 75 tn Heb “and now my father placed upon you a heavy yoke, but I will add to your yoke.”
[10:11] 76 tn Heb “My father punished you with whips, but I [will punish you] with scorpions.” “Scorpions” might allude to some type of torture, but more likely it refers to a type of whip that inflicts an especially biting, painful wound.
[10:13] 77 tn Heb “Rehoboam.” The pronoun “he” has been used in the translation in place of the proper name in keeping with contemporary English style.
[10:14] 78 tc The Hebrew text reads, “I will make heavy your yoke,” but many medieval Hebrew
[10:14] 79 tn Heb “but I will add to your yoke.”
[10:14] 80 tn Heb “My father punished you with whips, but I [will punish you] with scorpions.” “Scorpions” might allude to some type of torture, but more likely it refers to a type of whip that inflicts an especially biting, painful wound.
[10:15] 81 tn Heb “because this turn of events was from God.”
[10:15] 82 tn Heb “so that the
[10:16] 83 sn The people’s point seems to be that they have no familial relationship with David that brings them any benefits or places upon them any obligations. They are being treated like outsiders.
[10:16] 84 tn Heb “each one to your tents, Israel.” The word “return” is supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[10:16] 85 tn Heb “Now see your house, David.”
[10:16] 86 tn Heb “went to their tents.”
[10:18] 87 sn In the parallel account in 1 Kgs 12:18 this name appears as “Adoniram.”
[10:18] 88 map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
[11:1] 89 tn Heb “he summoned the house of Judah and Benjamin, 180,000 chosen men, accomplished in war.”
[11:2] 90 tn Heb “and the word of the
[11:4] 91 tn Heb “for his thing is from me.”
[11:4] 92 tn Heb “and they heard the words of the
