Now in the eighteenth year of his reign, when he had purged the land and the house, he sent Shaphan the son of Azaliah, and Maaseiah the governor of the city, and Joah the son of Joahaz the recorder, to repair Yahweh his God’s house. They came to Hilkiah the high priest, and delivered the money that was brought into God’s house, which the Levites, the keepers of the threshold, had gathered from the hands of Manasseh, Ephraim, of all the remnant of Israel, of all Judah and Benjamin, and of the inhabitants of Jerusalem. They delivered it into the hands of the workmen who had the oversight of Yahweh’s house; and the workmen who labored in Yahweh’s house gave it to mend and repair the house. They gave it to the carpenters and to the builders, to buy cut stone and timber for couplings, and to make beams for the houses which the kings of Judah had destroyed. The men did the work faithfully. Their overseers were Jahath and Obadiah, the Levites, of the sons of Merari; and Zechariah and Meshullam, of the sons of the Kohathites, to give direction; and others of the Levites, who were all skillful with musical instruments. Also they were over the bearers of burdens, and directed all who did the work in every kind of service. Of the Levites, there were scribes, officials, and gatekeepers.
Parallel Translations
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Now in the eighteenth year of his reign, when he had purged the land and the house, he sent Shaphan the son of Azaliah, and Maaseiah the governor of the city, and Joah the son of Joahaz the recorder, to repair Yahweh his God’s house.
They came to Hilkiah the high priest, and delivered the money that was brought into God’s house, which the Levites, the keepers of the threshold, had gathered from the hands of Manasseh, Ephraim, of all the remnant of Israel, of all Judah and Benjamin, and of the inhabitants of Jerusalem.
They delivered it into the hands of the workmen who had the oversight of Yahweh’s house; and the workmen who labored in Yahweh’s house gave it to mend and repair the house.
They gave it to the carpenters and to the builders, to buy cut stone and timber for couplings, and to make beams for the houses which the kings of Judah had destroyed.
The men did the work faithfully. Their overseers were Jahath and Obadiah, the Levites, of the sons of Merari; and Zechariah and Meshullam, of the sons of the Kohathites, to give direction; and others of the Levites, who were all skillful with musical instruments.
Also they were over the bearers of burdens, and directed all who did the work in every kind of service. Of the Levites, there were scribes, officials, and gatekeepers.
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Now in the eighteenth year of his reign, when he had purged the land, and the house, he sent Shaphan the son of Azaliah, and Maaseiah the governor of the city, and Joah the son of Joahaz the recorder, to repair the house of the LORD his God.
And when they came to Hilkiah the high priest, they delivered the money that was brought into the house of God, which the Levites that kept the doors had gathered of the hand of Manasseh and Ephraim, and of all the remnant of Israel, and of all Judah and Benjamin; and they returned to Jerusalem.
And they put it in the hand of the workmen that had the oversight of the house of the LORD, and they gave it to the workmen that wrought in the house of the LORD, to repair and amend the house:
Even to the artificers and builders gave they it, to buy hewn stone, and timber for couplings, and to floor the houses which the kings of Judah had destroyed.
And the men did the work faithfully: and the overseers of them were Jahath and Obadiah, the Levites, of the sons of Merari; and Zechariah and Meshullam, of the sons of the Kohathites, to set it forward; and other of the Levites, all that could skill of instruments of musick.
Also they were over the bearers of burdens, and were overseers of all that wrought the work in any manner of service: and of the Levites there were scribes, and officers, and porters.
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Now in the eighteenth year of his reign, when he had purged the land, and the house, he sent Shaphan the son of Azaliah, and Maaseiah the governor of the city, and Joah the son of Joahaz the recorder, to repair the house of the LORD his God.
And they came to Hilkiah the high priest, and delivered the money that was brought into the house of God, which the Levites, the keepers of the door, had gathered of the hand of Manasseh and Ephraim, and of all the remnant of Israel, and of all Judah and Benjamin, and they returned to Jerusalem.
And they delivered it into the hand of the workmen that had the oversight of the house of the LORD; and the workmen that wrought in the house of the LORD gave it to mend and repair the house;
even to the carpenters and to the builders gave they it, to buy hewn stone, and timber for couplings, and to make beams for the houses which the kings of Judah had destroyed.
And the men did the work faithfully; and the overseers of them were Jahath and Obadiah, the Levites, of the sons of Merari; and Zechariah and Meshullam, of the sons of the Kohathites, to preside over it; and other of the Levites, all that had skill with instruments of music.
Also they were over the bearers of burdens, and presided over all that did the work in every manner of service; and of the Levites there were scribes, and officers, and porters.
Cross-references (61)
- 2 Kings 12:15 (v12) Moreover they didn’t demand an accounting from the men into whose hand they delivered the money to give to those who did the work; for they…
- 2 Chronicles 33:4-7 (v11) He built altars in Yahweh’s house, of which Yahweh said, “My name shall be in Jerusalem forever.” He built altars for all the army of the…
- Nehemiah 4:10 (v13) Judah said, “The strength of the bearers of burdens is fading, and there is much rubble; so that we are not able to build the wall.”
- 2 Samuel 8:16 (v8) Joab the son of Zeruiah was over the army, Jehoshaphat the son of Ahilud was recorder,
- 1 Chronicles 23:5 (v12) four thousand were doorkeepers, and four thousand praised Yahweh with the instruments which I made for giving praise.”
Show all 61 cross-references
- 2 Chronicles 2:18 (v13) He set seventy thousand of them to bear burdens, eighty thousand who were stone cutters in the mountains, and three thousand six hundred…
- 2 Chronicles 30:10 (v9) So the couriers passed from city to city through the country of Ephraim and Manasseh, even to Zebulun, but people ridiculed them and mocked…
- 2 Chronicles 30:18 (v9) For a multitude of the people, even many of Ephraim, Manasseh, Issachar, and Zebulun, had not cleansed themselves, yet they ate the…
- 2 Chronicles 35:8 (v9) His princes gave for a free will offering to the people, to the priests, and to the Levites. Hilkiah, Zechariah, and Jehiel, the rulers of…
- 2 Samuel 20:24 (v8) Adoram was over the men subject to forced labor, Jehoshaphat the son of Ahilud was the recorder,
- 2 Kings 12:11-12 (v10) They gave the money that was weighed out into the hands of those who did the work, who had the oversight of Yahweh’s house; and they paid…
- 2 Kings 12:14 (v10) for they gave that to those who did the work, and repaired Yahweh’s house with it.
- 2 Kings 22:3-20 (v8) In the eighteenth year of king Josiah, the king sent Shaphan, the son of Azaliah the son of Meshullam, the scribe, to Yahweh’s house,…
- 2 Kings 22:4-7 (v9) “Go up to Hilkiah the high priest, that he may count the money which is brought into Yahweh’s house, which the keepers of the threshold…
- 2 Kings 22:5-6 (v10) Let them deliver it into the hand of the workmen who have the oversight of Yahweh’s house; and let them give it to the workmen who are in…
- 2 Kings 22:7 (v12) However there was no accounting made with them of the money that was delivered into their hand; for they dealt faithfully.”
- 2 Kings 23:4 (v9) The king commanded Hilkiah the high priest, and the priests of the second order, and the keepers of the threshold, to bring out of Yahweh’s…
- 1 Chronicles 6:31-48 (v12) These are they whom David set over the service of song in Yahweh’s house, after the ark came to rest there. They ministered with song…
- 1 Chronicles 9:17 (v13) The gatekeepers: Shallum, Akkub, Talmon, Ahiman, and their brothers (Shallum was the chief),
- 1 Chronicles 15:16-22 (v12) David spoke to the chief of the Levites to appoint their brothers as singers with instruments of music, stringed instruments, harps, and…
- 1 Chronicles 15:18 (v13) and with them their brothers of the second rank, Zechariah, Ben, Jaaziel, Shemiramoth, Jehiel, Unni, Eliab, Benaiah, Maaseiah, Mattithiah,…
- 1 Chronicles 16:4-5 (v12) He appointed some of the Levites to minister before Yahweh’s ark, and to commemorate, to thank, and to praise Yahweh, the God of Israel:…
- 1 Chronicles 16:38 (v13) and Obed-Edom with their brothers, sixty-eight; Obed-Edom also the son of Jeduthun and Hosah to be doorkeepers;
- 1 Chronicles 16:41 (v12) and with them Heman and Jeduthun, and the rest who were chosen, who were mentioned by name, to give thanks to Yahweh, because his loving…
- 1 Chronicles 16:42 (v13) and with them Heman and Jeduthun with trumpets and cymbals for those that should sound aloud, and with instruments for the songs of God;…
- 1 Chronicles 18:15 (v8) Joab the son of Zeruiah was over the army; Jehoshaphat the son of Ahilud was recorder;
- 1 Chronicles 23:4-5 (v13) David said, “Of these, twenty-four thousand were to oversee the work of Yahweh’s house, six thousand were officers and judges, four…
- 1 Chronicles 25:1-31 (v12) Moreover, David and the captains of the army set apart for the service certain of the sons of Asaph, and of Heman, and of Jeduthun, who…
- 1 Chronicles 26:1-19 (v13) For the divisions of the doorkeepers: of the Korahites, Meshelemiah the son of Kore, of the sons of Asaph. Meshelemiah had sons: Zechariah…
- 1 Chronicles 26:29-30 (v13) Of the Izharites, Chenaniah and his sons were for the outward business over Israel, for officers and judges. Of the Hebronites, Hashabiah…
- 2 Chronicles 2:10 (v13) Behold, I will give to your servants, the cutters who cut timber, twenty thousand cors of beaten wheat, twenty thousand baths of barley,…
- 2 Chronicles 8:10 (v13) These were the chief officers of king Solomon, even two-hundred fifty, who ruled over the people.
- 2 Chronicles 8:14 (v13) He appointed, according to the ordinance of David his father, the divisions of the priests to their service, and the Levites to their…
- 2 Chronicles 18:25 (v8) The king of Israel said, “Take Micaiah, and carry him back to Amon the governor of the city, and to Joash the king’s son;
- 2 Chronicles 19:11 (v13) Behold, Amariah the chief priest is over you in all matters of Yahweh; and Zebadiah the son of Ishmael, the ruler of the house of Judah, in…
- 2 Chronicles 24:11-14 (v9) Whenever the chest was brought to the king’s officers by the hand of the Levites, and when they saw that there was much money, the king’s…
- 2 Chronicles 31:1 (v9) Now when all this was finished, all Israel who were present went out to the cities of Judah, and broke the pillars in pieces, cut down the…
- 2 Chronicles 31:12 (v12) They brought in the offerings, the tithes, and the dedicated things faithfully. Conaniah the Levite was ruler over them, and Shimei his…
- 2 Chronicles 33:22 (v11) He did that which was evil in Yahweh’s sight, as did Manasseh his father; and Amon sacrificed to all the engraved images which Manasseh his…
- 2 Chronicles 34:14-15 (v9) When they brought out the money that was brought into Yahweh’s house, Hilkiah the priest found the book of Yahweh’s law given by Moses.…
- 2 Chronicles 34:18 (v9) Shaphan the scribe told the king, saying, “Hilkiah the priest has delivered me a book.” Shaphan read from it to the king.
- 2 Chronicles 34:20 (v9) The king commanded Hilkiah, Ahikam the son of Shaphan, Abdon the son of Micah, Shaphan the scribe, and Asaiah the king’s servant, saying,
- 2 Chronicles 34:22 (v9) So Hilkiah, and they whom the king had commanded, went to Huldah the prophetess, the wife of Shallum the son of Tokhath, the son of Hasrah,…
- Ezra 3:7 (v10) They also gave money to the masons, and to the carpenters. They also gave food, drink, and oil to the people of Sidon and Tyre, to bring…
- Ezra 7:6-7 (v13) this Ezra went up from Babylon. He was a skilled scribe in the law of Moses, which Yahweh, the God of Israel, had given; and the king…
- Nehemiah 7:2 (v12) I put my brother Hanani, and Hananiah the governor of the fortress, in charge of Jerusalem; for he was a faithful man, and feared God above…
- Proverbs 28:20 (v12) A faithful man is rich with blessings; but one who is eager to be rich will not go unpunished.
- Jeremiah 1:2-3 (v8) Yahweh’s word came to him in the days of Josiah the son of Amon, king of Judah, in the thirteenth year of his reign. It came also in the…
- Jeremiah 8:8 (v13) “ ‘How do you say, “We are wise, and Yahweh’s law is with us?” But, behold, the false pen of the scribes has made that a lie.
- Jeremiah 21:1 (v8) The word which came to Jeremiah from Yahweh, when king Zedekiah sent to him Pashhur the son of Malchijah, and Zephaniah the son of…
- Jeremiah 26:24 (v8) But the hand of Ahikam the son of Shaphan was with Jeremiah, so that they didn’t give him into the hand of the people to put him to death.
- Jeremiah 29:3 (v8) by the hand of Elasah the son of Shaphan, and Gemariah the son of Hilkiah, (whom Zedekiah king of Judah sent to Babylon to Nebuchadnezzar…
- Jeremiah 29:21 (v8) Yahweh of Armies, the God of Israel, says concerning Ahab the son of Kolaiah, and concerning Zedekiah the son of Maaseiah, who prophesy a…
- Jeremiah 29:25 (v8) “Yahweh of Armies, the God of Israel, says, ‘Because you have sent letters in your own name to all the people who are at Jerusalem, and to…
- Jeremiah 36:10 (v8) Then Baruch read the words of Jeremiah from the book in Yahweh’s house, in the room of Gemariah the son of Shaphan, the scribe, in the…
- Jeremiah 39:14 (v8) they sent, and took Jeremiah out of the court of the guard, and committed him to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, that he…
- Jeremiah 40:11 (v8) Likewise when all the Jews who were in Moab, and among the children of Ammon, and in Edom, and who were in all the countries, heard that…
- Ezekiel 8:11 (v8) Seventy men of the elders of the house of Israel stood before them. In the middle of them Jaazaniah the son of Shaphan stood, every man…
- Matthew 26:3 (v13) Then the chief priests, the scribes, and the elders of the people were gathered together in the court of the high priest, who was called…
- 1 Corinthians 4:2 (v12) Here, moreover, it is required of stewards that they be found faithful.
- Philippians 4:8 (v9) Finally, brothers, whatever things are true, whatever things are honorable, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever…
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this passage (17 sources)
Historical commentary, presented as a primary source — not an endorsement.
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Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain On vv8–12 2 Kings 33:5
2 Kings 33:5
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv8–13 2Ch 34:8 Now in the eighteenth year of his…
2Ch 34:8 Now in the eighteenth year of his reign, when he had purged the land, and the house, he sent Shaphan the son of Azaliah, and Maaseiah the governor of the city, and Joah the son of Joahaz the recorder, to repair the house of the LORD his God.
Ver. 8. Now in the eighteenth year.] See on 2Ki 22:3.
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To repair the house of the Lord.] This had been done before by Joash, {2Ki 12:5} but that was two hundred and thirty-four years since: so that now there was need of new reparations. Tempus edax rerum.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain On vv8, 9, 11, 12 The land and the house; the house of God,…
The land and the house; the house of God, called the house by way of eminency.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Matthew Henry 1710 · Public Domain On v8 Here, 1. Orders are given by the king for…
Here, 1. Orders are given by the king for the repair of the temple, Ch2 34:8. When he had purged the house of the corruptions of it he began to fit it up for the services that were to be performed in it. Thus we must do by the spiritual temple of the heart, get it cleansed from the pollutions of sin, and then renewed, so as to be transformed into the image of God. Josiah, in this order, calls God the Lord his God. Those that truly love God will love the habitation of his house. 2. Care is taken about it, effectual care. The Levites went about the country and gathered money towards it, which was returned to the three trustees mentioned, Ch2 34:8. They brought it to Hilkiah the high priest (Ch2 34:9), and he and they put it into the hands of workmen, both overseers and labourers, who undertook to do it by the great, as we say, or in the gross, Ch2 34:10, Ch2 34:11. It is observed that the workmen were industrious and honest: They did the work faithfully (Ch2 34:12); and workmen are not completely faithful if they are not both careful and diligent, for a confidence is reposed in them that they will be so. It is also intimated that the overseers were ingenious; for it is said that all those were employed to inspect this work who were skilful in instruments of music; not that their skill in music could be of any use in architecture, but it was an evidence that they were men of sense and ingenuity, and particularly that their genius lay towards the mathematics, which qualified them very much for this trust. Witty men are then wise men when they employ their wit in doing good, in helping their friends, and, as they have opportunity, in serving the public. Observe, in this work, how God dispenses his gifts variously; here were some that were bearers of burdens, cut out for bodily labour and fit to work. Here were others (made meliori luto - of finer materials) that had skill in music, and they were overseers of those that laboured, and scribes and officers. The former were the hands: these were the heads. They had need of one another, and the work needed both. Let not the overseers of the work despise the bearers of burdens, nor let those that work in the service grudge at those whose office it is to direct; but let each esteem and serve the other in love, and let God have the glory and the church the benefit of the different gifts and dispositions of both.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible (1708–1710) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain On vv8–13 And when they came to Hilkiah the high priest,....…
And when they came to Hilkiah the high priest,.... To whom they were sent to advise with about the repair of the temple:
they delivered the money that was brought into the house of God; that is, the high priest, and the Levites the doorkeepers, gave it to the king's ministers; which money was either brought to the temple voluntarily, as the free gifts of the people, for the repairs; or rather what was collected by the Levites, sent throughout the land for that purpose, or it may be both:
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which the Levites that kept the doors; of the temple; and received the money as the people brought it:
and also had gathered of the hand of Manasseh and Ephraim, and of all the remnant of Israel, and of all Judah, and Benjamin; they went throughout all the land of Israel and Judah, and collected money for the above purpose:
and they returned to Jerusalem; with it, which the high priest took the sum of, see Kg2 22:4 of whom the king's ministers now received it.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain On vv8, 11, 12 The house - The house of God, called the…
The house - The house of God, called the house by way of eminency.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On vv9, 12 Verse 9. And they returned to Jerusalem.] Instead of…
Verse 9. And they returned to Jerusalem.] Instead of וישבו vaiyashubu, "they returned," we should read יושבי yoshebey, "the inhabitants;" a reading which is supported by many MSS., printed editions, and all the versions, as well as by necessity and common sense. 2Ch 19:8, where a similar mistake is rectified.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain On vv8, 12 2Ch 34:8-11. When he had purged the land and…
2Ch 34:8-11. When he had purged the land and the house — The house of God, called the house, by way of eminence. And they returned to Jerusalem — That is, the Levites, who had gone abroad through all Josiah’s kingdom to gather money for this use, and now came with it to Jerusalem to lodge it in the treasuries of the Lord’s house. To floor the houses which the kings of Judah had destroyed — The chambers adjoining to the temple, or within the courts.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain On vv11, 13 The “houses” intended are either the “chambers” which surrounded…
The “houses” intended are either the “chambers” which surrounded the temple on three sides 1Ki 6:5, or out-buildings attached to the courts. The “kings of Judah” intended are, no doubt, Manasseh and Amon.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain On vv8, 11, 12, 13 Eselias, or Assia. This man is alone mentioned, 4…
Eselias, or Assia. This man is alone mentioned, 4 K. xxii. 3. C.
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain On v8 HE REPAIRS THE TEMPLE. (Ch2 34:8-18)
HE REPAIRS THE TEMPLE. (Ch2 34:8-18)
in the eighteenth year of his reign . . . he sent Shaphan--(See on Kg2 22:3-9).
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain On vv11–13 11. To floor — Margin, to rafter. Gesenius, to…
11. To floor — Margin, to rafter. Gesenius, to furnish with beams. Furst, to build up. Our version, to floor, probably expresses the sense as nearly as any. The houses which the kings of Judah (Amon and Manasseh) had destroyed are to be understood of the houses and chambers of the priests in the temple and its courts.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain On vv8–13 8–28 (= 2Ki_22:3-20). Repair of the Temple. Discovery of…
8–28 (= 2Ki_22:3-20). Repair of the Temple. Discovery of the Book of the Law
8. Shaphan] According to 2 Kin. he was Scribe. See 1Ch_18:16 (note).
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the governor of the city] Render, a ruler of the city; cp. 2Ch_29:20.
the recorder] R.V. mg. the chronicler; cp. 1Ch_18:15 (note). Neither Maaseiah nor Joah is mentioned in 2 Kin.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain On vv8–13 (8-13) The cleansing and repair of the Temple. (Comp.…
(8-13) The cleansing and repair of the Temple. (Comp. 2Ki_22:3-7; and the similar account of the restoration by Joash in 2Ch_24:11-13).
When he had purged.—Omit had. (Lĕtahçr is apparently co-ordinate with lĕmolkû, “in the eighteenth year to his reigning, to purging the land “; as if the work of purification had been co-extensive with the reign. The LXX., however, has, “in order to purge the land,” which may be right.)
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He sent Shaphan.—Who was secretary of state (2Ki_22:3, “the scribe”).
Maaseiah . . . Joah.—Kings mentions Shaphan only.
The governor of the city.—Sar ha’îr; praefectus urois. (Conp. 1Ch_11:6.)
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain On vv8–13 It is in some sense as though the work…
It is in some sense as though the work of purification, atoning, penitence, must precede that of practical repentance, of repairing, restoring, rebuilding. The original, however, does not warrant the laying of any stress on the when, found again in the Authorized Version. Shaphau. In the parallel (2Ki_22:3) Shaphan is designated "the scribe." His descendants, to the second generation, at all events, did him honor. (Jer_26:24 Jer_29:3 Jer_36:10, Jer_36:12, Jer_36:25; Eze_8:11; see also 2Ki_25:22) The names of Masseiah (Jer_35:4) and Joah (2Ki_18:18) are known, but not marking the present persons.
Vers. 8-13.
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The repairing of the temple by Josiah.
I THE COMMISSIONERS.
1. Their names. Shaphan the son of Azaliah, the king"s secretary (ver. 15); Maaseiah the governor of the city; and Josh the son of Joahaz, the recorder or chronicler.
2. Their business. To repair the house of the Lord. This had been done two centuries before by Joash, (2Ch_24:12) and nearly one century before by Hezekiah. (2Ch_29:12-19) During the reigns of Manasseh and Amon it had fallen into such disorder that it a third time demanded renovation. In this respect the temple was a melancholy symbol of all human institutions not excepting such as are religious which constantly exhibit a tendency as they grow old to become degenerate, and, as a consequence stand in need of periodic reformation and rejuvenescence.
3. Their procedure. Along with Hilkiah the priest as Joash had acted in concert with Jehoiada, and the king"s scribe had co-operated with the high priest"s officer (2Ch_24:11, 2Ch_24:12) they received the money which the Levites that kept the temple doors had collected from the people of Manasseh and Ephraim, and of all the remnant of Israel, and from the inhabitants of all Judah and Benjamin, who, following the plan in vogue since the days of Joash and Jehoiada, cast in their free-will offerings into a box placed in the temple court for the purpose of receiving the voluntary contributions of the faithful towards the good end the king had in view, the repairing of the temple. Having received this money, the three commissioners, along with the high priest, paid it over to the superintendents who had the oversight of the house of the Lord.
II THE OVERSEERS.
1. Their names.
(1) Jahath and Obadiah, two Levites of the family of Merari;
(2) Zechariah and Meshullam, two Levites of the house of Kohath: and
(3) others unnamed, but specified as "Levites, all that could skill of instruments of music" (ver. 12).
2. Their duties.
(1) To exercise supervision over the workmen, over the bearers of burdens, and all that wrought in any manner of service (ver. 13), over the carpenters, builders, and other artisans engaged in the undertaking (ver. 11).
(2) To set forward the work (ver. 12), or "to preside over it" (margin).
(3) Perhaps also to do both, i.e. incite and cheer the workmen, and so prosper the work, by music and song (Bertheau). "Orpheus and Amphion, by their music, moved the workmen to diligence and activity, and lessened and alleviated their toil. May we not suppose, then, that skilful musicians among the Levites did exercise their art among the workmen who were employed in the repairs of the house of the Lord? "(Adam Clarke).
(4) To distribute the moneys received from the commissioners to the different tradesmen that these might procure the necessary materials for the building (vers. 10, 11).
III THE ARTISANS.
1. Carpenters, or workers in wood, whose business was to prepare timber for couplings and to make beams for the houses, i.e. for the temple and its courts, which the kings of Judah had permitted to fall into decay.
2. Masons, or workers in stone; not to hew, since the stones were already hewn when purchased, but to build in this perhaps designedly following the example given in the building of the temple. (1Ki_6:7)
IV THE ASSISTANTS.
1. Scribes, who kept a record of the progress of, as well as the necessary accounts connected with, the work.
2. Officers, who served in different capacities under superiors.
3. Porters, who watched at the several gates of the temple while the work was going on.
LESSONS.
1. The beauty of order,
2. The efficiency secured by division of labour.
3. The value of co-operation. W.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv8, 10, 12 the eighteenth year
the eighteenth year
"year 18" (See: Ordinal Numbers)
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Josiah had cleansed the land and the temple
This speaks of Josiah causing Judah and Jerusalem to be acceptable to Yahweh as if he made them physically clean. AT: "Josiah had caused the land and the temple to become acceptable again to Yahweh" (See: Metaphor)
Shaphan son of Azaliah, Maaseiah ... Joah son of Joahaz ... Hilkiah
These are the names of men. (See: How to Translate Names)
entrusted to him
"gave to him the responsibility of using the money"
that had been brought into the house of God, that the Levites, the guards of the doors, had gathered
This can be stated in active form. AT: "that the Levites who guarded the doors had brought into the house of God all that they had gathered" (See: Active or Passive)
translationWords
Josiah
temple
high priest
house of God
Levi
remnant
kingdom of Judah
Benjamin
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On v12 34:12-13 That musicians supervised the construction shows how important…
34:12-13 That musicians supervised the construction shows how important it was for Levites to be in charge of this work. Other ancient texts note that music was a common element of construction projects.
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.