1 Then Solomon began to build the house of the LORD at Jerusalem in mount Moriah, where the Lord appeared unto David his father, in the place that David had prepared in the threshingfloor of Ornan the Jebusite.
2 And he began to build in the second day of the second month, in the fourth year of his reign.
3 Now these are the things wherein Solomon was instructed for the building of the house of God. The length by cubits after the first measure was threescore cubits, and the breadth twenty cubits.
4 And the porch that was in the front of the house, the length of it was according to the breadth of the house, twenty cubits, and the height was an hundred and twenty: and he overlaid it within with pure gold.
5 And the greater house he cieled with fir tree, which he overlaid with fine gold, and set thereon palm trees and chains.
6 And he garnished the house with precious stones for beauty: and the gold was gold of Parvaim.
7 He overlaid also the house, the beams, the posts, and the walls thereof, and the doors thereof, with gold; and graved cherubim on the walls.
8 And he made the most holy house, the length whereof was according to the breadth of the house, twenty cubits, and the breadth thereof twenty cubits: and he overlaid it with fine gold, amounting to six hundred talents.
9 And the weight of the nails was fifty shekels of gold. And he overlaid the upper chambers with gold.
10 And in the most holy house he made two cherubim of image work, and overlaid them with gold.
11 And the wings of the cherubim were twenty cubits long: one wing of the one cherub was five cubits, reaching to the wall of the house: and the other wing was likewise five cubits, reaching to the wing of the other cherub.
12 And one wing of the other cherub was five cubits, reaching to the wall of the house: and the other wing was five cubits also, joining to the wing of the other cherub.
13 The wings of these cherubim spread themselves forth twenty cubits: and they stood on their feet, and their faces were inward.
14 And he made the vail of blue, and purple, and crimson, and fine linen, and wrought cherubim thereon.
15 Also he made before the house two pillars of thirty and five cubits high, and the chapiter that was on the top of each of them was five cubits.
16 And he made chains, as in the oracle, and put them on the heads of the pillars; and made an hundred pomegranates, and put them on the chains.
17 And he reared up the pillars before the temple, one on the right hand, and the other on the left; and called the name of that on the right hand Jachin, and the name of that on the left Boaz.
1 Then Solomon H8010 began H2490 to build H1129 the house H1004 of the LORD H3068 at Jerusalem H3389 in mount H2022 Moriah, H4179 where the LORD appeared H7200 unto David H1732 his father, H1 in the place H4725 that David H1732 had prepared H3559 in the threshingfloor H1637 of Ornan H771 the Jebusite. H2983
2 And he began H2490 to build H1129 in the second H8145 day of the second H8145 month, H2320 in the fourth H702 year H8141 of his reign. H4438
3 Now these are the things wherein Solomon H8010 was instructed H3245 for the building H1129 of the house H1004 of God. H430 The length H753 by cubits H520 after the first H7223 measure H4060 was threescore H8346 cubits, H520 and the breadth H7341 twenty H6242 cubits. H520
4 And the porch H197 that was in the front H6440 of the house, the length H753 of it was according to the breadth H7341 of the house, H1004 twenty H6242 cubits, H520 and the height H1363 was an hundred H3967 and twenty: H6242 and he overlaid H6823 it within H6441 with pure H2889 gold. H2091
5 And the greater H1419 house H1004 he cieled H2645 with fir H1265 tree, H6086 which he overlaid H2645 with fine H2896 gold, H2091 and set H5927 thereon palm trees H8561 and chains. H8333
6 And he garnished H6823 the house H1004 with precious H3368 stones H68 for beauty: H8597 and the gold H2091 was gold H2091 of Parvaim. H6516
7 He overlaid H2645 also the house, H1004 the beams, H6982 the posts, H5592 and the walls H7023 thereof, and the doors H1817 thereof, with gold; H2091 and graved H6605 cherubims H3742 on the walls. H7023
8 And he made H6213 the most H6944 holy H6944 house, H1004 the length H753 whereof was according to H6440 the breadth H7341 of the house, H1004 twenty H6242 cubits, H520 and the breadth H7341 thereof twenty H6242 cubits: H520 and he overlaid H2645 it with fine H2896 gold, H2091 amounting to six H8337 hundred H3967 talents. H3603
9 And the weight H4948 of the nails H4548 was fifty H2572 shekels H8255 of gold. H2091 And he overlaid H2645 the upper chambers H5944 with gold. H2091
10 And in the most H6944 holy H6944 house H1004 he made H6213 two H8147 cherubims H3742 of image H6816 work, H4639 and overlaid H6823 them with gold. H2091
11 And the wings H3671 of the cherubims H3742 were twenty H6242 cubits H520 long: H753 one H259 wing H3671 of the one cherub was five H2568 cubits, H520 reaching H5060 to the wall H7023 of the house: H1004 and the other H312 wing H3671 was likewise five H2568 cubits, H520 reaching H5060 to the wing H3671 of the other H312 cherub. H3742
12 And one wing H3671 of the other H259 cherub H3742 was five H2568 cubits, H520 reaching H5060 to the wall H7023 of the house: H1004 and the other H312 wing H3671 was five H2568 cubits H520 also, joining H1695 to the wing H3671 of the other H312 cherub. H3742
13 The wings H3671 of these cherubims H3742 spread themselves forth H6566 twenty H6242 cubits: H520 and they stood H5975 on their feet, H7272 and their faces H6440 were inward. H1004
14 And he made H6213 the vail H6532 of blue, H8504 and purple, H713 and crimson, H3758 and fine linen, H948 and wrought H5927 cherubims H3742 thereon.
15 Also he made H6213 before H6440 the house H1004 two H8147 pillars H5982 of thirty H7970 and five H2568 cubits H520 high, H753 and the chapiter H6858 that was on the top H7218 of each of them was five H2568 cubits. H520
16 And he made H6213 chains, H8333 as in the oracle, H1687 and put H5414 them on the heads H7218 of the pillars; H5982 and made H6213 an hundred H3967 pomegranates, H7416 and put H5414 them on the chains. H8333
17 And he reared up H6965 the pillars H5982 before H6440 the temple, H1964 one H259 on the right hand, H3225 and the other H259 on the left; H8040 and called H7121 the name H8034 of that on the right hand H3233 H3227 Jachin, H3199 and the name H8034 of that on the left H8042 Boaz. H1162
1 Then Solomon began to build the house of Jehovah at Jerusalem on mount Moriah, where `Jehovah' appeared unto David his father, which he made ready in the place that David had appointed, in the threshing-floor of Ornan the Jebusite.
2 And he began to build in the second `day' of the second month, in the fourth year of his reign.
3 Now these are the foundations which Solomon laid for the building of the house of God. The length by cubits after the first measure was threescore cubits, and the breadth twenty cubits.
4 And the porch that was before `the house', the length of it, according to the breadth of the house, was twenty cubits, and the height a hundred and twenty; and he overlaid it within with pure gold.
5 And the greater house he ceiled with fir-wood, which he overlaid with fine gold, and wrought thereon palm-trees and chains.
6 And he garnished the house with precious stones for beauty: and the gold was gold of Parvaim.
7 He overlaid also the house, the beams, the thresholds, and the walls thereof, and the doors thereof, with gold; and graved cherubim on the walls.
8 And he made the most holy house: the length thereof, according to the breadth of the house, was twenty cubits, and the breadth thereof twenty cubits; and he overlaid it with fine gold, amounting to six hundred talents.
9 And the weight of the nails was fifty shekels of gold. And he overlaid the upper chambers with gold.
10 And in the most holy house he made two cherubim of image work; and they overlaid them with gold.
11 And the wings of the cherubim were twenty cubits long: the wing of the one `cherub' was five cubits, reaching to the wall of the house; and the other wing was `likewise' five cubits, reaching to the wing of the other cherub.
12 And the wing of the other cherub was five cubits, reaching to the wall of the house; and the other wing was five cubits `also', joining to the wing of the other cherub.
13 The wings of these cherubim spread themselves forth twenty cubits: and they stood on their feet, and their faces were toward the house.
14 And he made the veil of blue, and purple, and crimson, and fine linen, and wrought cherubim thereon.
15 Also he made before the house two pillars of thirty and five cubits high, and the capital that was on the top of each of them was five cubits.
16 And he made chains in the oracle, and put `them' on the tops of the pillars; and he made a hundred pomegranates, and put them on the chains.
17 And he set up the pillars before the temple, one on the right hand, and the other on the left; and called the name of that on the right hand Jachin, and the name of that on the left Boaz.
1 And Solomon beginneth to build the house of Jehovah, in Jerusalem, in the mount of Moriah, where He appeared to David his father, in the place that David had prepared, in the threshing-floor of Ornan the Jebusite,
2 and he beginneth to build in the second `day', in the second month, in the fourth year of his reign.
3 And `in' these hath Solomon been instructed to build the house of God: The length `in' cubits by the former measure `is' sixty cubits, and the breadth twenty cubits.
4 As to the porch that `is' on the front, the length `is' by the front of the breadth of the house, twenty cubits, and the height a hundred and twenty, and he overlayeth it within with pure gold.
5 And the large house he hath covered with fir-trees, and he doth cover it with good gold, and causeth to ascend on it palms and chains,
6 and he overlayeth the house with precious stone for beauty, and the gold `is' gold of Parvaim,
7 and he covereth the house, the beams, the thresholds, and its walls, and its doors, with gold, and hath graved cherubs on the walls.
8 And he maketh the most holy house: its length `is' by the front of the breadth of the house twenty cubits, and its breadth twenty cubits, and he covereth it with good gold, to six hundred talents;
9 and the weight of the nails `is' fifty shekels of gold, and the upper chambers he hath covered with gold.
10 And he maketh in the most holy house two cherubs, image work, and he overlayeth them with gold;
11 as to the wings of the cherubs, their length `is' twenty cubits, the wing of the one `is' five cubits, touching the wall of the house, and the other wing `is' five cubits, touching the wing of the other cherub.
12 And the wing of the other cherub `is' five cubits touching the wall of the house, and the other wing `is' five cubits, adhering to the wing of the other cherub.
13 The wings of these cherubs are spreading forth twenty cubits, and they are standing on their feet and their faces `are' inward.
14 And he maketh the vail of blue, and purple, and crimson, and fine linen, and causeth cherubs to go up on it.
15 And he maketh at the front of the house two pillars, thirty and five cubits in length, and the ornament that `is' on their heads five cubits.
16 And he maketh chains in the oracle, and putteth on the heads of the pillars, and maketh a hundred pomegranates, and putteth on the chains.
17 And he raiseth up the pillars on the front of the temple, one on the right, and one on the left, and calleth the name of that on the right Jachin, and the name of that on the left Boaz.
1 And Solomon began to build the house of Jehovah at Jerusalem on mount Moriah, where he appeared to David his father, in the place that David had prepared in the threshing-floor of Ornan the Jebusite.
2 And he began to build on the second of the second month, in the fourth year of his reign.
3 And this was Solomon's foundation for the construction of the house of God. The length by cubits after the first measure was sixty cubits, and the breadth twenty cubits.
4 And the porch which was in front was twenty cubits in length, in front of the house broadways, and the height was a hundred and twenty; and he overlaid it within with pure gold.
5 And the greater house he boarded with cypress-wood, which he overlaid with fine gold, and set on it palm-trees and chains.
6 And he overlaid the house with precious stones for beauty; and the gold was gold of Parvaim.
7 And he covered the house, the beams, the threshold, and its walls, and its doors with gold, and engraved cherubim on the walls.
8 And he made the house of the most holy place, the length of which was according to the breadth of the house, twenty cubits, and its breadth twenty cubits; and he covered it with fine gold, amounting to six hundred talents.
9 And the weight of the nails was fifty shekels of gold. And he covered the upper chambers with gold.
10 And in the house of the most holy place he made two cherubim of image work, and they overlaid them with gold.
11 And the wings of the cherubim were twenty cubits long: one wing of five cubits touched the wall of the house; and the other wing of five cubits touched the wing of the other cherub.
12 And the wing of the other cherub of five cubits touched the wall of the house; and the other wing was five cubits joining the wing of the other cherub.
13 The wings of these cherubim spread forth were twenty cubits; and they stood on their feet, and their faces were toward the house.
14 And he made the veil of blue, and purple, and crimson, and byssus, and made cherubim upon it.
15 And before the house he made two pillars thirty-five cubits long; and the capital that was on the top of each of them was five cubits.
16 And he made chains [as] in the oracle, and he put them on the top of the pillars; and he made a hundred pomegranates, and put them on the chains.
17 And he set up the pillars in front of the temple, one on the right hand and the other on the left; and he called the name of that on the right Jachin, and the name of that on the left Boaz.
1 Then Solomon began to build the house of Yahweh at Jerusalem on Mount Moriah, where [Yahweh] appeared to David his father, which he made ready in the place that David had appointed, in the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite.
2 He began to build in the second [day] of the second month, in the fourth year of his reign.
3 Now these are the foundations which Solomon laid for the building of the house of God. The length by cubits after the first measure was sixty cubits, and the breadth twenty cubits.
4 The porch that was before [the house], the length of it, according to the breadth of the house, was twenty cubits, and the height one hundred twenty; and he overlaid it within with pure gold.
5 The greater house he made a ceiling with fir-wood, which he overlaid with fine gold, and worked thereon palm trees and chains.
6 He garnished the house with precious stones for beauty: and the gold was gold of Parvaim.
7 He overlaid also the house, the beams, the thresholds, and the walls of it, and the doors of it, with gold; and engraved cherubim on the walls.
8 He made the most holy house: the length of it, according to the breadth of the house, was twenty cubits, and the breadth of it twenty cubits; and he overlaid it with fine gold, amounting to six hundred talents.
9 The weight of the nails was fifty shekels of gold. He overlaid the upper chambers with gold.
10 In the most holy house he made two cherubim of image work; and they overlaid them with gold.
11 The wings of the cherubim were twenty cubits long: the wing of the one [cherub] was five cubits, reaching to the wall of the house; and the other wing was [likewise] five cubits, reaching to the wing of the other cherub.
12 The wing of the other cherub was five cubits, reaching to the wall of the house; and the other wing was five cubits [also], joining to the wing of the other cherub.
13 The wings of these cherubim spread themselves forth twenty cubits: and they stood on their feet, and their faces were toward the house.
14 He made the veil of blue, and purple, and crimson, and fine linen, and worked cherubim thereon.
15 Also he made before the house two pillars of thirty-five cubits high, and the capital that was on the top of each of them was five cubits.
16 He made chains in the oracle, and put [them] on the tops of the pillars; and he made one hundred pomegranates, and put them on the chains.
17 He set up the pillars before the temple, one on the right hand, and the other on the left; and called the name of that on the right hand Jachin, and the name of that on the left Boaz.
1 Then Solomon made a start at building the house of the Lord on Mount Moriah in Jerusalem, where the Lord had been seen by his father David, in the place which David had made ready in the grain-floor of Ornan the Jebusite.
2 The building was started in the second month in the fourth year of his rule.
3 And Solomon put the base of the house of God in position; by the older measure it was sixty cubits long and twenty cubits wide.
4 And the covered way in front of the house was twenty cubits long, as wide as the house, and a hundred and twenty cubits high, all plated inside with the best gold.
5 And the greater house was roofed with cypress-wood, plated with the best gold and ornamented with designs of palm-trees and chains.
6 And the house was made beautiful with stones of great value, and the gold was gold of Parvaim.
7 All the house was plated with gold, the supports, the steps, the walls and the doors; and the walls were ornamented with designs of winged ones.
8 And he made the most holy place; it was twenty cubits long, and twenty cubits wide, like the greater house, and was plated all over with the best gold; six hundred talents were used for it.
9 And fifty shekels weight of gold was used for the nails. He had all the higher rooms plated with gold.
10 And in the most holy place he made images of two winged beings, covering them with gold.
11 Their outstretched wings were twenty cubits across; one wing, five cubits long, touching the wall of the house, and the other, of the same size, meeting the wing of the other winged one.
12 And in the same way, the wings of the other, five cubits long, were stretched out, one touching the wall and the other meeting the wing of the first winged one.
13 Their outstretched wings were twenty cubits across; they were placed upright on their feet, facing the inner part of the house.
14 And he made the veil of blue and purple and red, of the best linen, worked with winged ones.
15 And in front of the house he made two pillars, thirty-five cubits high, with crowns on the tops of them, five cubits high.
16 And he made chains, like neck ornaments, and put them on the tops of the pillars, and a hundred apples on the chains.
17 He put up the pillars in front of the Temple, one on the right side and one on the left, naming the one on the right Jachin and that on the left Boaz.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Keil & Delitzsch Commentary » Commentary on 2 Chronicles 3
Commentary on 2 Chronicles 3 Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
The Building of the Temple - 2 Chronicles 3-5:1 (Cf. 1 Kings 6; 7:13-51.)
The description of the building begins with a statement of the place where and of the time when the temple was built (2 Chronicles 3:1-2). Then follows an account of the proportions of the building, a description of the individual parts, commencing on the outside and advancing inwards. First we have the porch (2 Chronicles 3:3, 2 Chronicles 3:4), then the house, i.e., the interior apartment or the holy place (2 Chronicles 3:5-7), then the holiest of all, and cherubim therein (2 Chronicles 3:8-13), and the veil of partition between the holy place and the most holy (2 Chronicles 3:14). After that we have the furniture of the court, the pillars of the porch (2 Chronicles 3:15-17), the brazen altar (2 Chronicles 4:1), the brazen sea (2 Chronicles 4:2-5), the ten lavers (2 Chronicles 4:6), the furniture of the holy place, candlesticks and tables (2 Chronicles 4:7, 2 Chronicles 4:8), and of the two courts (2 Chronicles 4:9, 2 Chronicles 4:10), and finally a summary enumeration of the brazen and golden utensils of the temple (2 Chronicles 4:11, 2 Chronicles 4:12). The description in 1 Kings 6 and 7 is differently arranged; the divine promise which Solomon received while the building was in progress, and a description of the building of the palace, being inserted: see on 1 Kings 6 and 7.
The building of the temple . - 2 Chronicles 3:1-3. The statements as to the place where the temple was built (2 Chronicles 3:1) are found here only. Mount Moriah is manifestly the mountain in the land of Moriah where Abraham was to have sacrificed his son Isaac (Genesis 22:2), which had received the name המּוריּה , i.e., “the appearance of Jahve,” from that event. It is the mountain which lies to the north-east of Zion, now called Haram after the most sacred mosque of the Mohammedans, which is built there; cf. Rosen, das Haram von Jerusalem , Gotha 1866. לד נראה אשׁר is usually translated: “which was pointed out to David his father.” But ראה has not in Niphal the signification “to be pointed out,” which is peculiar to the Hophal (cf. Exodus 25:40; Exodus 26:30; Deuteronomy 4:35, etc.); it means only “to be seen,” “to let oneself be seen,” to appear, especially used of appearances of God. It cannot be shown to be anywhere used of a place which lets itself be seen, or appears to one. We must therefore translate: “on mount Moriah, where He had appeared to David his father.” The unexpressed subject יהוה is easily supplied from the context; and with אשׁר בּהר , “on the mountain where,” cf. אשׁר בּמּקום , Genesis 35:13., and Ew. §331, c , 3. הכין אשׁר is separated from what precedes, and connected with what follows, by the Athnach under אביהוּ , and is translated, after the lxx, Vulg., and Syr., as a hyperbaton thus: “in the place where David had prepared,” scil. the building of the temple by the laying up of the materials there (1 Chronicles 22:5; 1 Chronicles 29:2). But there are no proper analogies to such a hyperbaton, since Jeremiah 14:1 and Jeremiah 46:1 are differently constituted. Berth. therefore is of opinion that our text can only signify, “which temple he prepared on the place of David,” and that this reading cannot be the original, because הכין occurs elsewhere only of David's activity in preparing for the building of the temple, and “place of David” cannot, without further ceremony, mean the place which David had chosen. He would therefore transpose the words thus: דויד הכין אשׁר בּמקום . But this conjecture is by no means certain. In the first place, the mere transposition of the words is not sufficient; we must also alter בּמקום into בּמּקום , to get the required sense; and, further, Bertheau's reasons are not conclusive. הכין means not merely to make ready for (zurüsten ), to prepare, but also to make ready, make (bereiten ), found e.g., 1 Kings 6:19; Ezra 3:3; and the frequent use of this word in reference to David's action in preparing for the building of the temple does not prove that it has this signification here also. The clause may be quite well translated, with J. J. Rambach: “ quam domum praeparavit (Salomo) in loco Davidis .” The expression “David's place,” for “place which David had fixed upon,” cannot in this connection be misunderstood, but yet it cannot be denied that the clause is stiff and constrained if we refer it to יהוה את־בּית . We would therefore prefer to give up the Masoretic punctuation, and construe the words otherwise, connecting הכין אשׁר with the preceding thus: where Jahve had appeared to his father David, who had prepared (the house, i.e., the building of it), and make בּמקום ד , with the following designation of the place, to depend upon לבנות as a further explanation of the הם בּהר , viz., in the place of David, i.e., on the place fixed by David on the threshing-floor of the Jebusite Ornan; cf. 1 Chronicles 21:18. - In 2 Chronicles 3:2 לבנות ויּחל is repeated in order to fix the time of the building. In 1 Kings 6:1 the time is fixed by its relation to the exodus of the Israelites from Egypt. בּשּׁני , which the older commentators always understood of the second day of the month, is strange. Elsewhere the day of the month is always designated by the cardinal number with the addition of לחרשׁ or יום , the month having been previously given. Berth. therefore considers בּשּׁני to be a gloss which has come into the text by a repetition of השּׁני , since the lxx and Vulg. have not expressed it.
“And this is Solomon's founding, to build the house of God;” i.e., this is the foundation which Solomon laid for the building of the house of God. The infin. Hoph. הוּסד is used here and in Ezra 3:11 substantively. The measurements only of the length and breadth of the building are given; the height, which is stated in 1 Kings 6:2, is omitted here. The former, i.e., the ancient measurement, is the Mosaic or sacred cubit, which, according to Ezekiel 40:5 and Ezekiel 43:13, was a handbreadth longer than the civil cubit of the earlier time; see on 1 Kings 6:2.
The porch and the interior of the holy place . - 2 Chronicles 3:4. The porch which was before (i.e., in front of) the length (of the house), was twenty cubits before the breadth of the house, i.e., was as broad as the house. So understood, the words give an intelligible sense. הארך with the article refers back to הארך in 2 Chronicles 3:3 (the length of the house), and על־פּני in the two defining clauses means “in front;” but in the first clause it is “lying in front of the house,” i.e., built in front; in the second it is “measured across the front of the breadth of the house.”
(Note: There is consequently no need to alter the text according to 1 Kings 6:3, from which passage Berth. would interpolate the words פּניו על רחבּו בּאמּה ר עשׂר הבּית between על־פּני and הארך , and thereby get the signification: “ and the porch which is before the house, ten cubits is its breadth before the same, and the length which is before the breadth twenty cubits. ” But this conjecture is neither necessary nor probable. It is not necessary, for (1) the present text gives an intelligible sense; (2) the assertion that the length and breadth of the porch must be stated cannot be justified, if for no other reason, for this, that even of the main buildings all three dimensions are not given, only two being stated, and that it was not the purpose of the author of the Chronicle to give an architecturally complete statement, his main anxiety being to supply a general idea of the splendour of the temple. It is not probable; because the chronicler, if he had followed 1 Kings 6:3, would not have written על־פּניו , but הבּית על־פּני , and instead of הארך would have written וערכּי , to correspond with רחבּו .)
There is certainly either a corruption of the text, or a wrong number in the statement of the height of the porch, 120 cubits; for a front 120 cubits high to a house only thirty cubits high could not be called אוּלם ; it would have been a מגדּל , a tower. It cannot with certainty be determined whether we should read twenty or thirty cubits; see in 1 Kings 6:3. He overlaid it (the porch) with pure gold; cf. 1 Kings 6:21.
2 Chronicles 3:5-7
The interior of the holy place. - 2 Chronicles 3:5. The “great house,” i.e., the large apartment of the house, the holy place, he wainscotted with cypresses, and overlaid it with good gold, and carved thereon palms and garlands. חפּה from חפה , to cover, cover over, alternates with the synonymous צפּה in the signification to coat or overlay with wood and gold. תּמּרים .dlo as in Ezekiel 41:18, for תּמּרות , 1 Kings 6:29, 1 Kings 6:35, are artificial palms as wall ornaments. שׁרשׁרות are in Exodus 28:14 small scroll-formed chains of gold wire, here spiral chain-like decorations on the walls, garlands of flowers carved on the wainscot, as we learn from 1 Kings 6:18.
2 Chronicles 3:6-7
And he garnished the house with precious stones for ornament (of the inner sides of the walls); cf. 1 Chronicles 29:2, on which Bähr on 1 Kings 6:7 appositely remarks, that the ornamenting of the walls with precious stones is very easily credible, since among the things which Solomon brought in quantity from Ophir they are expressly mentioned (1 Kings 10:11), and it was a common custom in the East so to employ them in buildings and in vessels; cf. Symbolik des mos. Cult. i. S. 280, 294, 297. The gold was from פּרוים . This, the name of a place rich in gold, does not elsewhere occur, and has not as yet been satisfactorily explained. Gesen. with Wilson compares the Sanscrit parvam , the first, foremost, and takes it to be the name of the foremost, i.e., eastern regions; others hold the word to be the name of some city in southern or eastern Arabia, whence Indian gold was brought to Palestine. - In 2 Chronicles 3:7 the garnishing of the house with gold is more exactly and completely described. He garnished the house, the beams (of the roof), the thresholds (of the doors), and its walls and its doors with gold, and carved cherubs on the walls. For details as to the internal garnishing, decoration, and gilding of the house, see 1 Kings 6:18, 1 Kings 6:29, and 1 Kings 6:30, and for the doors, 1 Kings 6:32-35.
The most holy place, with the figures of the cherubim and the veil; cf. 1 Kings 6:19-28. - The length of the most holy place in front of the breadth of the house, twenty cubits, consequently measured in the same way as the porch (2 Chronicles 3:4); the breadth, i.e., the depth of it, also twenty cubits. The height, which was the same (1 Kings 6:20), is not stated; but instead of that we have the weight of the gold which was used for the gilding, which is omitted in 1 Kings 6, viz., 600 talents for the overlaying of the walls, and 50 shekels for the nails to fasten the sheet gold on the wainscotting. He covered the upper chambers of the most holy place also with gold; see 1 Chronicles 28:11. This is not noticed in 1 Kings 6.
The figures of the cherubim are called צעצעים מעשׂה , sculpture work. The ἁπ. λεγ. . צעצעים comes from צוּע , Arab. ṣâǵ , formavit , finxit , and signifies sculptures. The plur. יצפּוּ , “they overlaid them,” is indefinite. The length of the wings was five cubits, and the four outspread wings extended across the whole width of the most holy place from one wall to the other. The repetition of the clauses האהר הכּרוּב ... האהד כּנף (2 Chronicles 3:11, 2 Chronicles 3:12) has a distributive force: the top of one wing of each cherub reached the wall of the house, that of the other wing reached the wing of the other cherub standing by. In the repetition the masc. מגּיע alternates with the fem. מגּעת , being construed in a freer way as the principal gender with the fem. כּנף , and also with דּבקה , adhaerebat , in the last clause. - In 2 Chronicles 3:12 Bertheau would strike out the word כּנפי because it does not suit פּרשׂים , which occurs in 1 Chronicles 28:17; 2 Chronicles 5:8; 1 Kings 8:7, in the transitive signification, “to stretch out the wings.” But nothing is gained by that, for we must then supply the erased word after פּרשׂים again. And, moreover, the succeeding clause is introduced by והם , just because in the first clause the wings, and not the cherubim, were the subject. We hold the text to be correct, and translate: “the wings of these cherubim were, for they stretched them out, twenty cubits.” והם refers to הכּרוּבים . They stood upon their feet, consequently upright, and were, according to 1 Kings 6:26, ten cubits high. “And their faces towards the house,” i.e., turned towards the holy place, not having their faces turned towards each other, as was the case with the cherubim upon the Capporeth (Exodus 25:20).
The veil between the holy place and the most holy, not mentioned in 1 Kings 6:21, was made of the same materials and colours as the veil on the tabernacle, and was inwoven with similar cherub figures; cf. Exodus 26:31. וּבוּץ כּרמיל as in 2 Chronicles 2:13. עלה על , to bring upon; an indefinite expression for: to weave into the material.
The two brazen pillars before the house, i.e., before the porch, whose form is more accurately described in 1 Kings 7:15-22. The height of it is here given at thirty-five cubits, while, according to 1 Kings 7:15; 2 Kings 25:17; Jeremiah 52:21, it was only eighteen cubits. The number thirty-five has arisen by confounding יח = 18 with לה = 35; see on 1 Kings 7:16. הצּפת ( ἁπ. λεγ. ) from צפה , overlay, cover, is the hood of the pillar, i.e., the capital, called in 1 Kings 7:16. כּתרת , crown, capital, five cubits high, as in 1 Kings 7:16.
2 Chronicles 3:16
“And he made little chains on the collar (Halsreife), and put it on the top of the pillars, and made 100 pomegranates, and put them on the chains.” In the first clause of this verse, בּדּביר , “in (on) the most holy place,” has no meaning, for the most holy place is not here being discussed, but the pillars before the porch, or rather an ornament on the capital of these pillars. We must not therefore think of chains in the most holy place, which extended thence out to the pillars, as the Syriac and Arabic seem to have done, paraphrasing as they do: chains of fifty cubits (i.e., the length of the holy place and the porch). According to 1 Kings 7:17-20 and 1 Kings 7:41., compared with 2 Chronicles 4:12-13, each capital consisted of two parts. The lower part was a circumvolution (Wulst) covered with chain-like net-work, one cubit high, with a setting of carved pomegranates one row above and one row below. The upper part, or that which formed the crown of the capital, was four cubits high, and carved in the form of an open lily-calyx. In our verse it is the lower part of the capital, the circumvolution, with the chain net-work and the pomegranates, which is spoken of. From this, Bertheau concludes that דּביר must signify the same as the more usual שׂבכה , viz., “the lattice-work which was set about the top of the pillars, and served to fasten the pomegranates,” and that bdbyr has arisen out of בּרביד by a transposition of the letters. בּרביד (chains) should be read here. This conjecture so decidedly commends itself, that we regard it as certainly correct, since רביד denotes in Genesis 41:42; Ezekiel 16:11, a necklace, and so may easily denote also a ring or hoop; but we cannot adopt the translation “chains on a ring,” nor the idea that the שׂבכה , since it surrounded the head of the pillars as a girdle or broad ring, is called the ring of the pillars. For this idea does not agree with the translation “chains in a ring,” even when they are conceived of as “chain-like ornaments, which could scarcely otherwise be made visible on the ring than by open work.” Then the chain-like decorations were not, as Bertheau thinks, on the upper and under border of the ring, but formed a net-work which surrounded the lower part of the capital of the pillar like a ring, as though a necklace had been drawn round it. רביד consequently is not the same as שׂבכה , but rather corresponds to that part of the capital which is called גּלּה ( גּלּות ) in 1 Kings 7:14; for the שׂבכות served to cover the גּלּות , and were consequently placed on or over the גּלּות , as the pomegranates were on the chains or woven work. הגּלּה denotes the curve, the circumvolution, which is in 1 Kings 7:20 called הבּטן , a broad-arched band, bulging towards the middle, which formed the lower part of the capital. This arched part of the capital the author of the Chronicle calls רביד , ring or collar, because it may be regarded as the neck ornament of the head of the pillar, in contrast to the upper part of the capital, that consisted in lily-work, i.e., the ball wrought into the form of an open lily-calyx ( כּתרת( xylac- ).
2 Chronicles 3:17
As to the position of the pillars, and their names, see on 1 Kings 7:21.