2 Chronicles 8:13-18

8:13 He observed the daily requirements for sacrifices that Moses had specified for Sabbaths, new moon festivals, and the three annual celebrations – the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the Feast of Weeks, and the Feast of Temporary Shelters. ¹  8:14 As his father David had decreed, Solomon ²  appointed the divisions of the priests to do their assigned tasks, the Levitical orders to lead worship and help the priests with their daily tasks, ³  and the divisions of the gatekeepers to serve at their assigned gates. ⁴  This was what David the man of God had ordered. ⁵  8:15 They did not neglect any detail of the king’s orders pertaining to the priests, Levites, and treasuries. ⁶ 

8:16 All the work ordered by Solomon was completed, from the day the foundation of the Lord’s temple was laid until it was finished; the Lord’s temple was completed.

8:17 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, ⁷  and took from there 450 talents ⁸  of gold, which they brought back to King Solomon.

[8:13]  ¹ tn The Hebrew phrase הַסֻּכּוֹת[חַג] (khag hassukot, “[festival of] huts” [or “shelters”]) is traditionally known as the Feast of Tabernacles. The rendering “booths” (cf. NAB, NASB, NRSV) is probably better than the traditional “tabernacles” in light of the meaning of the term סֻכָּה (sukkah, “hut; booth”), but “booths” are frequently associated with trade shows and craft fairs in contemporary American English. The nature of the celebration during this feast as a commemoration of the wanderings of the Israelites after they left Egypt suggests that a translation like “temporary shelters” is more appropriate.

[8:14]  ² tn Heb “he”; the referent (Solomon) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[8:14]  ³ tn Heb “and the Levites, according to their posts, to praise and to serve opposite the priests according to the matter of a day in its day.”

[8:14]  ⁴ tn Heb “and the gatekeepers by their divisions for a gate and a gate.”

[8:14]  ⁵ tn Heb “for so [was] the command of David the man of God.”

[8:15]  ⁶ tn Heb “and they did not turn aside from the command of the king concerning the priests and the Levites with regard to any matter and with regard to the treasuries.”

[8:18]  ⁷ 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]  ⁸ 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).