19 And Solomon made all the vessels that were [in] the house of God: the golden altar; and the tables whereon was the shewbread;
But when he became strong his heart was lifted up to [his] downfall; and he transgressed against Jehovah his God, and went into the temple of Jehovah to burn incense upon the altar of incense. And Azariah the priest went in after him, and with him priests of Jehovah, eighty valiant men; and they withstood Uzziah the king, and said to him, It is not for thee, Uzziah, to burn incense to Jehovah, but for the priests the sons of Aaron, that are consecrated to burn incense. Go out of the sanctuary; for thou hast transgressed; neither shall it be for thine honour from Jehovah Elohim.
And the sixth angel sounded [his] trumpet: and I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar which [is] before God,
but hast lifted up thyself against the Lord of the heavens; and they have brought the vessels of his house before thee, and thou and thy nobles, thy wives and thy concubines, have drunk wine in them; and thou hast praised the gods of silver and gold, of brass, iron, wood, and stone, which see not, nor hear, nor know; and the God in whose hand thy breath is, and whose are all thy ways, hast thou not glorified:
Belshazzar, while he tasted the wine, commanded to bring the golden and silver vessels that Nebuchadnezzar his father had taken out of the temple which was in Jerusalem; that the king and his nobles, his wives and his concubines, might drink in them. Then they brought the golden vessels that were taken out of the temple of the house of God which was at Jerusalem; and the king and his nobles, his wives and his concubines, drank in them.
The pots also, and the shovels, and the knives, and the bowls, and the cups, and all the vessels of brass wherewith they ministered, they took away. And the basons and the censers, and the bowls, and the pots, and the candlesticks, and the cups, and the goblets, that which was of gold in gold, and that which was of silver in silver, the captain of the body-guard took away.
Within two full years will I bring again into this place all the vessels of Jehovah's house, that Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon took away from this place, and carried to Babylon;
And king Cyrus brought forth the vessels of the house of Jehovah, which Nebuchadnezzar had brought forth out of Jerusalem and had put in the house of his god. And Cyrus king of Persia brought them forth by the hand of Mithredath the treasurer, who counted them out to Sheshbazzar the prince of Judah. And this is the number of them: thirty chargers of gold, a thousand chargers of silver, nine-and-twenty knives, thirty basons of gold, silver basons of a second [sort] four hundred and ten, [and] other vessels a thousand. All the vessels of gold and of silver were five thousand four hundred. The whole did Sheshbazzar bring up, when they of the captivity were brought up from Babylon to Jerusalem.
And at the turn of the year king Nebuchadnezzar sent and had him brought to Babylon, with the precious vessels of the house of Jehovah; and he made Zedekiah his brother king over Judah and Jerusalem.
And thou shalt make a table of acacia-wood, two cubits the length thereof, and a cubit the breadth thereof, and a cubit and a half the height thereof. And thou shalt overlay it with pure gold, and make upon it a border of gold round about. And thou shalt make for it a margin of a handbreadth round about, and shalt make a border of gold for the margin thereof round about. And thou shalt make for it four rings of gold, and put the rings at the four corners that are on the four feet thereof. Close to the margin shall the rings be, as receptacles of the staves to carry the table. And thou shalt make the staves of acacia-wood, and overlay them with gold; and the table shall be carried upon them. And thou shalt make the dishes thereof, and cups thereof, and goblets thereof, and bowls thereof, with which to pour out: of pure gold shalt thou make them. And thou shalt set upon the table shewbread before me continually.
and gold by weight for the tables of the [loaves] to be set in rows, for every table; and silver for the tables of silver;
And the brazen pillars that were in the house of Jehovah, and the bases, and the brazen sea that was in the house of Jehovah, the Chaldeans broke in pieces, and carried the brass thereof to Babylon. The cauldrons also and the shovels and the knives and the cups, and all the vessels of copper wherewith they ministered, they took away. And the censers and the bowls, that which was of gold in gold, and that which was of silver in silver, the captain of the body-guard took away.
And Solomon made all the vessels that were [in] the house of Jehovah: the golden altar; and the table of gold, whereon was the shewbread; and the candlesticks of pure gold, five on the right, and five on the left, before the oracle; and the flowers, and the lamps, and the tongs of gold, and the basons, and the knives, and the bowls, and the cups, and the censers of pure gold; and the hinges of gold, for the folding-doors of the inner house, the most holy place, [and] for the doors of the house, of the temple.
And thou shalt take fine wheaten flour, and bake twelve cakes thereof; each cake shall be of two tenths. And thou shalt set them in two rows, six in a row, upon the pure table before Jehovah. And thou shalt put pure frankincense upon each row; and it shall be a bread of remembrance, an offering by fire to Jehovah. Every sabbath day he shall arrange it before Jehovah continually, on the part of the children of Israel: [it is] an everlasting covenant.
And he made the altar of incense of acacia-wood; a cubit the length thereof, and a cubit the breadth thereof, square, and two cubits the height thereof: its horns were of itself. And he overlaid it with pure gold, the top thereof, and the sides thereof round about, and the horns thereof; and made upon it a border of gold round about. And he made two rings of gold for it under its border, by its two corners, on the two sides thereof, as receptacles for the staves with which to carry it. And he made the staves of acacia-wood, and overlaid them with gold. And he made the holy anointing oil, and the pure incense of fragrant drugs, according to the work of the perfumer.
And thou shalt make an altar for the burning of incense: of acacia-wood shalt thou make it; a cubit the length thereof, and a cubit the breadth thereof -- square shall it be; and two cubits its height; of itself shall be its horns. And thou shalt overlay it with pure gold, the top thereof, and the sides thereof round about, and the horns thereof; and thou shalt make upon it a border of gold round about. And two rings of gold shalt thou make for it under its border; by its two corners shalt thou make [them], on the two sides thereof; and they shall be for receptacles for the staves, with which to carry it. And thou shalt make the staves of acacia-wood, and overlay them with gold. And thou shalt put it in front of the veil which is before the ark of the testimony in front of the mercy-seat which is over the testimony, where I will meet with thee. And Aaron shall burn thereon fragrant incense: every morning, when he dresseth the lamps, he shall burn the incense. And when Aaron lighteth the lamps between the two evenings, he shall burn the incense -- a continual incense before Jehovah throughout your generations. Ye shall offer up no strange incense thereon, nor burnt-offering, nor oblation; neither shall ye pour drink-offering thereon. And Aaron shall make atonement for its horns once in the year: with the blood of the sin-offering of atonement shall he make atonement for it, once in the year, throughout your generations: it is most holy to Jehovah.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Keil & Delitzsch Commentary » Commentary on 2 Chronicles 4
Commentary on 2 Chronicles 4 Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
2 Chronicles 4:1-6. The copper furniture of the court. 2 Chronicles 4:1. The altar of burnt-offering . Its preparation is passed over in 1 Kings 6 and 7, so that there it is only mentioned incidentally in connection with the consecration of the temple, 1 Kings 8:22, 1 Kings 8:54, and 1 Kings 9:25. It was twenty cubits square (long and broad) and ten cubits high, and constructed on the model of the Mosaic altar of burnt- offering, and probably of brass plates, which enclosed the inner core, consisting of earth and unhewn stones; and if we may judge from Ezekiel's description, Ezekiel 43:13-17, it rose in steps, as it were, so that at each step its extent was smaller; and the measurement of twenty cubits refers only to the lowest scale, while the space at the top, with the hearth, was only twelve cubits square; cf. my Bibl. Archaeol . i. S. 127, with the figure, plate iii. fig. 2.
The brazen sea described as in 1 Kings 7:23-26. See the commentary on that passage, and the sketch in my Archaeol . i. plate iii. fig. 1. The differences in substance, such as the occurrence of בּקרים and הבּקר , 2 Chronicles 4:3, instead of פּקעים and הפּקים , and 3000 baths instead of 2000, are probably the result of orthographical errors in the Chronicle. יכיל in 2 Chronicles 4:5 appears superfluous after the preceding מחזיק , and Berth. considers it a gloss which has come from 1 Kings into our text by mistake. But the expression is only pleonastic: “receiving baths, 3000 it held;” and there is no sufficient reason to strike out the words.
The ten lavers which, according to 1 Kings 7:38, stood upon ten brazen stands, i.e., chests provided with carriage wheels. These stands, the artistic work on which is circumstantially described in 1 Kings 7:27-37, are omitted in the Chronicle, because they are merely subordinate parts of the lavers. The size or capacity of the lavers is not stated, only their position on both sides of the temple porch, and the purpose for which they were designed, “to wash therein, viz., the work of the burnt-offering (the flesh of the burnt-offering which was to be burnt upon the altar) they rinsed therein,” being mentioned. For details, see in 1 Kings 7:38. and the figure in my Archaol . i. plate iii. fig. 4. Occasion is here taken to mention in a supplementary way the use of the brazen sea.
The golden furniture of the holy place and the courts . These three verses are not found in the parallel narrative 1 Kings 7, where in 1 Kings 7:39 the statement as to the position of the brazen sea (2 Chronicles 4:10) follows immediately the statement of the position of the stands with the lavers. The candlesticks and the table of the shew-bread are indeed mentioned in the summary enumeration of the temple furniture, 1 Kings 7:48 and 1 Kings 7:49, as in the corresponding passage of the Chronicle ( 2 Chronicles 4:19, 2 Chronicles 4:20) they again occur; and in 1 Kings 6:36 and 1 Kings 7:12, in the description of the temple building, the inner court is spoken of, but the outer court is not expressly mentioned. No reason can be given for the omission of these verses in 1 Kings 7; but that they have been omitted or have dropped out, may be concluded from the fact that not only do the whole contents of our fourth chapter correspond to the section 1 Kings 7:23-50, but both passages are rounded off by the same concluding verse (2 Chronicles 5:1 and 1 Kings 7:51).
2 Chronicles 4:7
He made ten golden candlesticks כּמשׁפּטם , according to their right, i.e., as they should be according to the prescript, or corresponding to the prescript as to the golden candlesticks in the Mosaic sanctuary (Exodus 25:31.). משׁפּט is the law established by the Mosaic legislation.
2 Chronicles 4:8
Ten golden tables, corresponding to the ten candlesticks, and, like these, placed five on the right and five on the left side of the holy place. The tables were not intended to bear the candlesticks (Berth.), but for the shew-bread; cf. on 2 Chronicles 4:19 and 1 Chronicles 28:16. And a hundred golden basins, not for the catching and sprinkling of the blood (Berth.), but, as their connection with the tables for the shew-bread shows, wine flagons, or sacrificial vessels for wine libations, probably corresponding to the מנקּיּות on the table of shew-bread in the tabernacle (Exodus 25:29). The signification, wine flagons, for מזרקים , is placed beyond a doubt by Amos 6:6.
The two courts are not further described. For the court of the priests, see on 1 Kings 6:36 and 1 Kings 7:12. As to the great or outer court, the only remark made is that it had doors, and its doors, i.e., the folds or leaves of the doors, were overlaid with copper. In 2 Chronicles 4:10 we have a supplementary statement as to the position of the brazen sea, which coincides with 1 Kings 7:39; see on the passage. In 2 Chronicles 4:11 the heavier brazen (copper) utensils, belonging to the altar of burnt-offering, are mentioned: סידות , pots for the removal of the ashes; יעים , shovels, to take the ashes out from the altar; and מזרקות , basins to catch and sprinkle the sacrificial blood. This half verse belongs to the preceding, notwithstanding that Huram is mentioned as the maker. This is clear beyond doubt, from the fact that the same utensils are again introduced in the summary catalogue which follows (2 Chronicles 4:16).
Summary catalogue of the temple utensils and furniture . - 2 Chronicles 4:11-18. The brass work wrought by Huram.
The golden furniture of the holy place and the gilded doors of the temple. This section is found also in 1 Kings 7:40-50. The enumeration of the things wrought in brass coincides to a word, with the exception of trifling linguistic differences and some defects in the text, with 1 Kings 7:40-47. In 2 Chronicles 4:12 והכּתרות הגּלּות is the true reading, and we should so read in 1 Kings 7:41 also, since the גּלּות , circumvolutions, are to be distinguished from the כּתרות , crowns; see on 2 Chronicles 3:16. In 2 Chronicles 4:14 the first עשׂה is a mistake for עשׂר , the second for עשׂרה , 1 Kings 7:43; for the verb עשׂה is not required nor expected, as the accusative depends upon לעשׂות , 2 Chronicles 4:11, while the number cannot be omitted, since it is always given with the other things. In 2 Chronicles 4:16 מזלנות is an orthographic error for מזרקות ; cf. 2 Chronicles 4:11 and 1 Kings 7:44. ואת־כּל־כּליחם is surprising, for there is no meaning in speaking of the utensils of the utensils enumerated in 2 Chronicles 4:12-16 . According to 1 Kings 7:45, we should read האלּה כּל־הכּלים את . As to אביו , see on 2 Chronicles 2:12. מרוּק נחשׁת is accusative of the material, of polished brass; and so also ממרט נח , 1 Kings 7:45, with a similar signification. In reference to the rest, see the commentary on 1 Kings 7:40.
2 Chronicles 4:19-21
In the enumeration of the golden furniture of the holy place, our text diverges somewhat more from 1 Kings 7:48-50. On the difference in respect to the tables of the shew-bread, see on 1 Kings 7:48. In 2 Chronicles 4:20 the number and position of the candlesticks in the holy place are not stated as they are in 1 Kings 7:49, both having been already given in 2 Chronicles 4:7. Instead of that, their use is emphasized: to light them, according to the right, before the most holy place ( כּמּשׁפּט as in 2 Chronicles 4:7). As to the decorations and subordinate utensils of the candlesticks, see on 1 Kings 7:49. To זהב , 2 Chronicles 4:21 (accus. of the material), is added זהב מכלות הוּא , “that is perfect gold.” מכלה , which occurs only here, is synonymous with מכלל , perfection. This addition seems superfluous, because before and afterwards it is remarked of these vessels that they were of precious gold ( סגוּר זהב ), and it is consequently omitted by the lxx, perhaps also because מכלות was not intelligible to them. The words, probably, are meant to indicate that even the decorations and the subordinate utensils of the candlesticks (lamps, snuffers, etc.) were of solid gold, and not merely gilded.
2 Chronicles 4:22
מזמּרות , knives, probably used along with the snuffers for the cleansing and trimming of the candlesticks and lamps, are not met with among the utensils of the tabernacle, but are here mentioned (Chr. and Kings), and in 2 Kings 12:14 and Jeremiah 52:18, among the temple utensils. Along with the מזרקות , sacrificial vessels (see on 2 Chronicles 4:8), in 1 Chronicles 28:17 מזלנות , forks of gold, are also mentioned, which are not elsewhere spoken of. Among the utensils of the tabernacle we find only מזלגות of brass, flesh-forks, as an appurtenance of the altar of burnt-offering (Exodus 27:3; Exodus 38:3; Numbers 4:14; cf. 1 Samuel 2:13.), which, however, cannot be intended here, because all the utensils here enumerated belonged to the holy place. What purpose the golden forks served cannot be determined, but the mention of golden knives might lead us to presuppose that there would be golden forks as well. That the forks are not mentioned in our verse does not render their existence doubtful, for the enumeration is not complete: e.g., the ספּות , 1 Kings 7:50, are also omitted. כּפּות , vessels for the incense, and מחתּות , extinguishers, as in 1 Kings 7:50. Instead of דּלתותיו הבּית וּפּתח הבּית , “and as regards the opening (door) of the house, its door-leaves,” in 1 Kings 7:50 we have הבּית לדלתות והפּתת , “and the hinges of the door-leaves of the house.” This suggests that פתח is only an orthographical error for פּתת ; but then if we take it to be so, we must alter דּלתותיו into לדלתותיו . And, moreover, the expression הבּית פּתת , door-hinges of the house, is strange, as פּות properly denotes a recess or space between, and which renders the above-mentioned conjecture improbable. The author of the Chronicle seems rather himself to have generalized the expression, and emphasizes merely the fact that even the leaves of the doors in the most holy place and on the holy place were of gold; - of course not of solid gold; but they were, as we learn from 2 Chronicles 3:7, overlaid with gold. This interpretation is favoured by the simple זהב being used without the predicate סגוּר . To the sing. פּתח no objection can be made, for the word in its fundamental signification, “opening,” may easily be taken collectively.