At the end of twenty years, in which Solomon had built Yahweh’s house and his own house,
Parallel Translations
-
At the end of twenty years, in which Solomon had built Yahweh’s house and his own house,
-
And it came to pass at the end of twenty years, wherein Solomon had built the house of the LORD, and his own house,
-
And it came to pass at the end of twenty years, wherein Solomon had built the house of the LORD, and his own house,
Cross-references (1)
Passages linked to 2 Chronicles 8:1 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- 1 Kings 9:10-28 At the end of twenty years, in which Solomon had built the two houses, Yahweh’s house and the king’s house (now Hiram the king of Tyre had furnished Solomon with cedar trees and cypress trees, and with gold, according to all his desire), King Solomon gave Hiram twenty cities in the land of Galilee. Hiram came out of Tyre to see the cities which Solomon had given him; and they didn’t please him. He said, “What cities are these which you have given me, my brother?” He called them the land of Cabul to this day. Hiram sent to the king one hundred twenty talents of gold. This is the reason of the levy which king Solomon raised, to build Yahweh’s house, his own house, Millo, Jerusalem’s wall, Hazor, Megiddo, and Gezer. Pharaoh king of Egypt had gone up, taken Gezer, burned it with fire, killed the Canaanites who lived in the city, and given it for a wedding gift to his daughter, Solomon’s wife. Solomon built in the land Gezer, Beth Horon the lower, Baalath, Tamar in the wilderness, all the storage cities that Solomon had, the cities for his chariots, the cities for his horsemen, and that which Solomon desired to build for his pleasure in Jerusalem, and in Lebanon, and in all the land of his dominion. As for all the people who were left of the Amorites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, who were not of the children of Israel; their children who were left after them in the land, whom the children of Israel were not able utterly to destroy, of them Solomon raised a levy of bondservants to this day. But of the children of Israel Solomon made no bondservants; but they were the men of war, his servants, his princes, his captains, and rulers of his chariots and of his horsemen. These were the five hundred fifty chief officers who were over Solomon’s work, who ruled over the people who labored in the work. But Pharaoh’s daughter came up out of David’s city to her house which Solomon had built for her. Then he built Millo. Solomon offered burnt offerings and peace offerings on the altar which he built to Yahweh three times per year, burning incense with them, on the altar that was before Yahweh. So he finished the house. King Solomon made a fleet of ships in Ezion Geber, which is beside Eloth, on the shore of the Red Sea, in the land of Edom. Hiram sent in the fleet his servants, sailors who had knowledge of the sea, with the servants of Solomon. They came to Ophir, and fetched from there gold, four hundred and twenty talents, and brought it to king Solomon.
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (19 sources)
Historical commentary, presented as a primary source — not an endorsement.
Private notes
Saved on this device only — never synced or sent anywhere.
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain Signifying that he was twenty years in building them.
Signifying that he was twenty years in building them.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain 2Ch 8:1 And it came to pass at the…
2Ch 8:1 And it came to pass at the end of twenty years, wherein Solomon had built the house of the LORD, and his own house,
Ver. 1. At the end of twenty years.] See 1Ki 9:19.
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 Henry 1710 · Public Domain This we had Kg1 9:10-24, and therefore shall only…
This we had Kg1 9:10-24, and therefore shall only observe here,
I. Though Solomon was a man of great learning and knowledge, yet he spent his days, not in contemplation, but in action, not in his study, but in his country, in building cities and fortifying them, in a time of peace preparing for a time of war, which is as much a man's business as it is in summer to provide food for winter.
Read full note →
II. As he was a man of business himself, and did not consult his own ease, so he employed a great many hands, kept abundance of people to work. It is the interest of a state by all means possible to promote and encourage industry, and to keep its subjects from idleness. A great many strangers there were in Israel, many that remained of the Canaanites; and they were welcome to live there, but not to live and do nothing. The men of Laish, who had no business, were an easy prey to the invaders, Jdg 18:7.
III. When Solomon had begun with building the house of God, and made good work and quick work of that, he prospered in all his undertakings, so that he built all that he desired to build, Ch2 8:6. Those who have a genius for building find that one project draws on another, and the latter must amend and improve the former. Now observe, 1. How the divine providence gratified even Solomon's humour, and gave him success, not only in all that he needed to build and that it was for his advantage to build, but in all that he had a mind to build. So indulgent a Father God is sometimes to the innocent desires of his children that serve him. Thus he pleased Jacob with that promise, Joseph shall put his hand on thy eyes. 2. Solomon knew how to set bounds to his desires. He was not one of those that enlarge them endlessly, and can never be satisfied, but knew when to draw in; for he finished all he desired, and then he desired no more. He did not sit down and fret that he had not more cities to build, as Alexander did that he had not more worlds to conquer, Hab 2:5.
IV. That one reason why Solomon built a palace on purpose for the queen, and removed her and her court to it, was because he thought it by no means proper that she should dwell in the house of David (Ch2 8:11), considering that that had been a place of great piety, and perhaps her house was a place of great vanity. She was proselyted, it is likely, to the Jewish religion; but it is a question whether all her servants were. Perhaps they had among them the idols of Egypt, and a great deal of profaneness and debauchery. Now, though Solomon had not zeal and courage enough to suppress and punish what was amiss there, yet he so far consulted the honour of his father's memory that he would not suffer that place to be thus profaned where the ark of God had been and where holy David had prayed many a good prayer and sung many a sweet psalm. Not that all the places where the ark had been were so holy as never to be put to a common use; for then the houses of Abinadab and Obed-edom must have been so. But the place where it had been so long, and had been so publicly attended on, was so venerable that it was not fit to be the place of so much gaiety, not to say iniquity, as was to be found, I fear, in the court that Pharaoh's daughter kept. Note, Between things sacred and things common the ancient landmarks ought to be kept up. It was an outer-court of the temple that was the court of the women.
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 And it came to pass at the end of…
And it came to pass at the end of twenty years,.... See Gill on Kg1 9:10.
.
Read full note →
2 Chronicles 8:2
ch2 8:2
ch2 8:2
ch2 8:2That the cities which Huram had restored to Solomon,.... Which Solomon first gave to him, but he not liking them, returned them to him, Kg1 9:12,
Solomon built them; or rebuilt them, being very much out of repair, which might be one reason of Huram's not accepting them:
and caused the children of Israel to dwell there; they being inhabited by others, the remains of the Canaanitcs perhaps; see Ch2 8:7.
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 Solomon's buildings, ver. 1-6. His workmen and officers, ver.…
Solomon's buildings, ver. 1-6. His workmen and officers, ver. 7-10. He settles his wife, ver. 11. Fixes the method of the temple service, ver. 12-16. His trade, ver. 17, 18.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Solomon's buildings, conquests, and officers, 1-10.
CHAPTER VIII
Solomon's buildings, conquests, and officers, 1-10.
Read full note →
He brings Pharaoh's daughter to his new-built palace, 11.
His various sacrifices, and arrangement of the priests,
Levites, and porters, 12-16.
He sends a fleet to Ophir, 17, 18.
NOTES ON CHAP. VIII
Verse 1. At the end of twenty years] He employed seven years and a half in building the temple, and twelve and a half, or thirteen, in building his own house. - Compare this with 1Kg 7:1.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain Solomon’s buildings, 2Ch 8:1-6. His workmen and officers, 2Ch…
A.M. 3012. — B.C. 992.
Solomon’s buildings, 2Ch 8:1-6. His workmen and officers, 2Ch 8:7-10. He settles his wife, 2Ch 8:11. Fixes the method of the temple-service, 2Ch 8:12-16. His trade, 2Ch 8:17, 2Ch 8:18.
Read full note →
2Ch 8:2. The cities which Huram had restored — Which Solomon gave to Hiram, but which, not being pleased with them, he restored to him again, 1Ki 9:12. Solomon built them — That is, rebuilt them, and placed his own subjects in them.
2Ch 8:4. He built Tadmor — For the explanation of this and the following verses, see notes on 1Ki 9:17-18, &c.
2Ch 8:11. Unto the house which he had built — This house he had built for her, because the ark was now in the house of David, which therefore ought to be kept pure and free from every danger and appearance of pollution. For though Pharaoh’s daughter was proselyted to the Jewish religion, and had renounced idolatry, it is not likely that both she and all her servants had embraced the whole law of Moses; and therefore they might many ways defile a place made sacred by that symbol of the divine presence.
2Ch 8:14. So had David the man of God commanded — David is here called the man of God, as Moses had been, because he was a prophet divinely inspired, and was both instructed and authorized of God to make these establishments. Hence his commands are represented as being the commands of God. And Solomon, though a wise and great man, and the builder of the temple, did not attempt to amend, alter, or add to, what the man of God had commanded in God’s name, but closely adhered to it, and used his authority to have it duly observed.
2Ch 8:15-16. They departed not from the commandment of the king — He obeyed God’s commands enjoined by David, in God’s name, and by inspiration of God’s Spirit, and therefore all obeyed his orders. Now all the work of Solomon was prepared — All the materials were procured, and in all points fitted and completed beforehand. So the house of God was perfected — This is now said, because the service of the temple was now put into this good order. The work was the main matter, not the place: the temple was unfinished till all this was done.
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 Compare the references to 1 Kings.
Compare the references to 1 Kings.
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 After. Septuagint, "in which."
After. Septuagint, "in which."
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).
Lange's Commentary on the Holy Scriptures 1864 · Public Domain c. The External Glory of Solomon’s Kingdom, and his…
c. The External Glory of Solomon’s Kingdom, and his End.—Ch. 8, 9
α. Solomon’s Building, serfs, Divine Worship, and Navigation: 2 Chronicles 8
Read full note →
2Ch_8:1 And after the course of twenty years, in which Solomon built the house 2of the Lord, and his own house. The cities which Huram had given to Solomon, Solomon built, and caused the sons of Israel to dwell in them.
3And Solomon went to Hamath-zobah, and subdued it. 4And he built Tadmor in the wilderness, and all the cities of stores which he had built in 5Hamath. And he built Beth-horon the upper, and Beth-horon the nether, fenced cities, with walls, gates, and bars. 6And Baalath, and all the cities of stores that Solomon had, and all the chariot-cities and cities of the riders, and all the desire of Solomon which he desired to build in Jerusalem, and in Lebanon, and in all the land of his dominion.
7All the people that were left of the Hittites, and the Amorites, and the8Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites, who were not of Israel. Of their sons who were left after them in the land, whom the sons of Israel had not consumed, these Solomon levied for serfs unto this day. 9But of the sons of Israel1 Solomon made none to be servants for his work; but they were soldiers, and captains of his knights,2 and captains of his chariots and riders. 10And these were the chiefs of King Solomon’s officers,3 even two hundred and fifty, that bare rule over the people.
11And Solomon brought up the daughter of Pharaoh from the city of David unto the house that he had built for her: for he said, My wife shall not dwell in the house of David king of Israel; for the places are holy into which the ark of God hath come.
12Then Solomon offered burnt-offerings unto the Lord on the altar of the13Lord, which he had built before the porch. And by a daily rule, each day he offered according to the command of Moses, on the sabbaths, and on the new moons, and on the solemn feasts, three times a year, in the feast of unleavened bread, and in the feast of weeks, and in the feast of tabernacles. 14And he appointed, after the order of David his father, the courses of the priests for their service, and the Levites for their charges, to praise and to minister before the priests by a daily rule each day, and the porters in their courses at every gate: for so was the command of David the man of God. 15And they departed not from the command4 of the king to the priests and 16Levites for all things and for the treasures. And all the work of Solomon was prepared unto the day of the foundation of the house of the Lord, and until it was finished: the house of the Lord was complete.
17Then went Solomon to Eziongeber, and to Eloth, on the sea-side in theland of Edom. 18And Huram sent him by the hand of his servants, ships and servants knowing the sea; and they went with Solomon’s servants to Ophir, and fetched thence four hundred and fifty talents of gold, and brought them to King Solomon.
EXEGETICAL
Preliminary Remark.—Here brief notes and aphoristic accounts, mostly referring to the external occasions and events of the reign of Solomon, are put together, as in the parallel 1Ki_9:10-28, in such a way that they form as it were a gleaning to the report of the chief work of his reign, the building of the temple. The order is in both places the same: 1. The building or finishing of several cities; 2. The arrangement of the service for these buildings; 3. The report of the dwelling assigned to the daughter of the Egyptian king; 4. Regulations concerning sacrifice; 5. Navigation to Ophir. But the contents of these five paragraphs differ much from one another in the two narratives, especially the first relating to the building of the cities (2Ch_8:1-6; comp. 1Ki_9:10-19), where it is clear that we have extracts, not merely differing in the mode of selection from the same sources, and aiding to complete each other, but (with respect to one point at least) actually contradicting one another; see on 2Ch_8:1-2.
1. Solomon’s building of Cities: 2Ch_8:1-6.—And after the course of twenty years, seven years during which the temple was built, and thirteen years during which the royal palace was built, 1Ki_6:38; 1Ki_7:1. With the same date the statement in 1Ki_9:10 opens.
2Ch_8:2. The cities which Huram had given to Solomon, Solomon built, completed and fortified (comp. 2Ch_8:4-5, and 1Ki_19:13).—And earned the sons of Israel to dwell in them, transplanted Israelites as colonists into them; comp. 2Ki_17:6. 1Ki_9:10-13, deviating from the present statement, speaks rather of twenty Israelitish cities not far from Tyre (in “ Galil ”) which Solomon ceded or pledged to the Phœnician king, to indemnify him for the building materials and moneys received from him. These obviously contradictory statements it has been attempted to harmonize in two ways—1. By the assumption that Solomon first ceded the twenty cities to Huram, who, however, because they were in bad condition, or were little worth to him (comp. 1Ki_9:12 : “and they pleased him not;” and 2Ch_8:13 : “he called them—contemptuously—the land of Cabul”), restored them to him, whereupon Solomon built them up (Josephus, Antiq. viii. 5. 3; Seb. Schmidt, Starke, recently Keil); 2. By the assumption that Solomon gave Huram twenty Israelitish cities, for which the latter gave him twenty Phœnician cities; and the author of 1 Kings speaks exclusively of the former gift, but the Chronist only of the latter (Kimchi and other Rabbis). The former of these two suppositions, for which there is some ground in 1Ki_9:12 f., is decidedly preferable. Yet there is much to say for the assumption of modern critics, that our passage contains a remodelling of the old statement in Kings in favour of Solomon; see Bähr on 1 Kings 9.
2Ch_8:3. And Solomon went to Hamath-zobah, and subdued it, “prevailed over it” (חָזַק עַל), as 2Ch_27:5; Dan_11:5). By Hamath-zobah is to be understood, not a city Hamath in the land of Zobah, but rather the land of Hamath not far from Zobah, the Syrian kingdom of Hamath bordering on Zobah; comp. 2Ch_8:4, from which it is clear that a district or kingdom, not a city, is meant, as in 1Ch_18:3, where (in the designation of Hadadezer as “ king of Zobah towards Hamath”) inversely the situation of Zobah is determined by that of the neighbouring Hamath. For the designation of bordering, or being in the immediate neighbourhood, by the status constr., comp. the connection often occurring in Numbers and Joshua: “the Jordan of Jericho” for “the Jordan by Jericho,” Num_22:1; Num_26:3; Num_26:63; Num_31:12; Num_33:48; Num_35:1; Num_36:13, Jos_13:32, etc., and above, 1Ch_6:63 (which see). Moreover, the account of the subjugation of Hamath by Solomon is peculiar to our book. The fact, indeed, is presupposed in 2Ki_14:28, but is not directly mentioned by the author of the books of Kings.—And he built Tadmor in the wilderness, and all the cities . . . in Hamath, the latter obviously to protect the borders of this newly-conquered country against the hostile King Rezon of Zobah (and more lately of Damascus); see 1Ki_11:23 ff. Tadmor or Palmyra, for only this celebrated old city of the wilderness can be meant by the expressed addition בַּמִּדְבָּר, appears here connected with the kingdom of Hamath, or bordering on it, and made by Solomon to be a border fortress of it. This notice also, so far at least as Tadmor is concerned, is wanting in 1 Kings 9; for the Tammor named there, among other cities fortified by Solomon, 2Ch_8:18 (for which the Keri puts תַּדְמֹר), appears rather to be a place in South Palestine, perhaps identical with the Tamar mentioned Eze_47:19; Eze_48:28, the Θαμαρά of the Onomasticon of Eusebius, and the present Kurnub; comp. Movers, Chron. p. 210; Hitzig, Gesch. p. 160; and Bähr on 1Ki_9:18. There is no sufficient reason to doubt the truth of the present statement of the Chronist regarding Palmyra; the whole old Oriental tradition (even the Arabic legends in Schultens, Index (geogr, s.v.תַּדְמֹר) testifies to it.
2Ch_8:5. And he built Upper and Nether Beth-horon; comp. on 1Ch_7:24, and for the second accusative of the object עָרֵי מָצוֹר, “fenced cities,” 2Ch_11:10; 2Ch_14:6.
2Ch_8:6. And Baalath, and all the cities of stores, cities for the collection of provisions, magazine-cities, as in 2Ch_8:4; comp. 2Ch_17:12; 2Ch_32:28, and Bähr on 1Ki_9:19. Moreover, of the places here mentioned, Upper Beth-horon is not named in 1Ki_9:15-18, but, on the contrary, the here wanting Hazor, Megiddo, and Gezer (2Ch_8:15).
2. Arrangement of the Serfs: 2Ch_8:7-10; comp. 1Ki_9:20-23, where, however, as the superscription, 2Ch_8:15 : “and this is the mode of the levy,” shows, a closer connection of this section with the previous statements regarding the buildings (2Ch_8:15-18) subsists, whereas here the section appears to follow the preceding one, without any connecting link.
2Ch_8:8. Of their sons who were left after them in the land. מִן be fore בְּנֵיהֶם must apparently be taken as the partitive מִן (some of their sons); but a hyperbaton may also be assumed: מִן־בְּנֵיהֶם אֲשֶׁר for אֲשֶׁר מִן־בְּ׳ (Keil).The מִן is by no means to be expunged because it is wanting in 1Ki_9:21 (against Berth.).
2Ch_8:9. But of the sons of Israel Solomon made none. On the probable spuriousness of the אֲשֶׁר before לֹא נָתן, and on the perhaps necessary alteration of the שׂרי שׁלישׁיו “captains of his knights,” into “his captains and his knights,” see Crit. Notes.
2Ch_8:10. And these were the chiefs of King Solomon’s officers. So according to the Keri, coinciding with 1Ki_9:23; the Kethibשָׂרֵי הַנֻּציבִים would give the sense: “chiefs of the overseers.” The number 250 is confirmed by the Sept. and Vulg. in our passage, whereas the same translators and Josephus, in the parallel 1Ki_9:23, present the higher number 550. The explanation of this difference see on 2Ch_2:17; in our passage only the Israelitish overseers or taskmasters, in 1Ki_9:23 the Canaanitish also, are counted.
3. The Change of the Dwelling-place of the Daughter of Pharaoh: 2Ch_8:11.—The daughter of Pharaoh. This is most probably the daughter of Psusennes, the last king of the twenty-first (Tanitic) dynasty. In 1Ki_9:24 this notice is more easily introduced, as it is preceded by an account of the marriage of Solomon with this daughter of Pharaoh, 1Ki_3:1 f., which is wholly wanting in Chronicles.—For he said, My wife shall not dwell. This reason for the removal of his wife is not found in 1Ki_9:24, yet, by its allusion to the special sanctifying of the house of David by the presence of the ark, it corresponds with the mode of thought characteristic of the Chronist.—Are holy, the places into which the ark of the Lord came; הֵמָּה has here in some sort a neuter significance; comp. Ew. § 318, b. The statement, 1Ki_9:24 b, that at the time of this transference of the daughter of Pharaoh Solomon built Millo, is wholly wanting in our passage, as not sufficiently important for the tendency of our author.
4. Regulations concerning Sacrifice: 2Ch_8:12-16; comp. 1Ki_9:25, where the corresponding report appears in a considerably shorter form.—Then Solomon offered burnt-offerings unto the Lord. “Then,” namely, after the building of the temple was completed, and the dedication finished.—On the altar of the Lord, which he had built, on that which had been erected by him in the new sanctuary, no longer on that before the tabernacle in Gibeon, as formerly in the beginning of his reign, 2Ch_3:1.
2Ch_8:13. And by daily rule each day he offered, “and in the matter of a day in the day to offer;” the ו before בִּדְבַר is explicative, “namely,” and the ב before דְּבַר is the so-called בessentiœ: “consisting, namely, in the daily, in that which is appointed for every day,” according to the law Lev_23:37. The infinitive לְהַֽעֲלוֹת stands in the later usage for the infin. absol. (Ew. § 280, d); comp. for example, 1Ch_9:25; 1Ch_13:4; 1Ch_15:2.—And on the solemn feasts, three times a year, on the three great festivals, which are then named in order.
2Ch_8:14. And he appointed, after the order of David his father, the courses of the priests; comp. 1Ch_24:25-26, and for the designation of David as “the man of God,” Neh_12:24.
2Ch_8:15. And they departed not from the command of the king. See the Crit. Note, and comp. for the second member, 1Ch_26:20-28.
2Ch_8:16. And all the work of Solomon was prepared. וַתִּכֹּן, as in 2Ch_29:25, 2Ch_35:10; 2Ch_35:16. What is meant here by מלֶאכֶת is shown by the following מוּסַד וגו׳, which may be taken either (with Kamph.) as genitive depending on הַיּוֹם, or (with Berth., Keil, etc.) as apposition to מְלֶאכֶת, “unto this day, namely, the founding,” etc. In the former case, which appears to us preferable, for the construction with עַד perhaps Ezr_8:29 might be compared.—The house of the Lord was complete, set up in all its parts, finished as a house of God. The notice, which is found literally the same in 1Ki_9:25, is meant to denote, not perhaps the building, but rather the fitting up and arrangement of the temple for divine worship, as brought to final completion. It cannot therefore be regarded (with Berth.) as the subscription to all that precedes from 1Ki_1:18, but closes only the present paragraph referring to worship, which forms a sort of appendix to the account of the temple building.
5. The Navigation to Ophir: 2Ch_8:17-18.—Then went Solomon. Comp. 1Ki_9:26, where the reference to this trade with Ophir, otherwise agreeing pretty closely with our passage (26–28), begins with the words: “And Solomon made ships” (ואני עשׂה instead of the present אז הלך). By “then” our author transfers these nautical undertakings in general to the second half of the reign of Solomon, or the time after the building of the temple and the palace. For Ezion-geber and Eloth on the sea (1 Kings more exactly; “Ezion-geber beside Eloth,” and then, “ on the shore of the sea ”), comp. the expositors on 1 Kings 9.
2Ch_8:18. And Huram sent him . . . ships. It is no more necessary to suppose a transport of ships ready made across the isthmus of Suez than a circumnavigation of Africa. The assumption of a supply of timber for ships, and of mariners, by the Phœnician king, is quite sufficient; and with this (which is defended by Keil, Bahr, etc.) our passage appears to be not contradictory to 1Ki_9:27.—And fetched thence four hundred and fifty talents of gold. According to 1Ki_9:28, the profit amounted only to 420 talents, a difference which may be explained either by assuming a change of the numeral כ into נ, or a fault of memory on the part of one of the two reporters (perhaps a round number chosen by the Chronist). Moreover, it appears to be not a single gain, but the sum total of the gold gained in the repeated voyages to Ophir that is here spoken of; comp. 2Ch_9:13.
Appendix.—It is necessary to go somewhat fully into the question of the situation of Ophir, on account of the many scientific memoirs recently published on it, especially in geographical literature and travels (comp. our former brief remarks on Job_22:24, and those of Bähr on 1Ki_10:22).
1. As Ezion-geber on the Red Sea is quite definitely given, both in 2Ch_8:17 f. and 1Ki_9:26-28, as the starting-point of the voyages under Solomon to Ophir, and as Jehoshaphat’s later attempt to renew this trade, 1Ki_22:49, 2Ch_20:35, was made from the same port, all those conjectures concerning the site of Ophir are to be accounted null that place it anywhere west of Phœnicia and Palestine, whether near the coast of the Mediterranean or any of its bays, or beyond the Mediterranean, in the region of the new world. This includes—a. the opinions of Hardt, Calmet, Oldermann, of whom the first sought Ophir in Phœnicia, the second in Armenia, and the third in Iberia; b. the different hypotheses referring to certain coasts, islands, or lands of America or Oceanica, as the opinion of Columbus that the Ophir of Solomon was rediscovered in the country of Haiti; that of the Spanish navigator Mendana, under Philip 2, who in 1567 designated a group of islands, abounding in gold, and inhabited by cannibals, east of New Guinea, which he took for Ophir by the name of Solomon’s Archipelago; that of Arias Montanus, Vatablus, Osiander, P. Fr. Pfeffelius, etc., who identified the gold regions of Peru and Mexico first with Parvaim (2Ch_3:6, Parvaim = Peruaim, double Peru, the two Perus), and then also with Ophir; that of the French engineer Ouffroy de Thoron (in an article in the Genevan journal Le Globe, 1869), who thinks that the name Ophir is rather to be found in the Japura, a branch of the Amazon, and in accordance with this, transfers Parvaim and Tarshish (2Ch_9:21) to Brazil; and the partly still more extravagant and uncritical fancies of Abbé Brasseur de Bourbourg, George Brown, in his Paläorama (German edit. Erl. 1867), etc. Comp. Ritter, Erdkunde, xiv. 353 ff.; Ausland 1872, No. 23, p. 532; Globus, vol. xvii. p. 382 f., and vol. xxi. p. 244; and Pressel, Art. “Ophir” in Herzog’s Meal-Encycl. x. 656. From the notices of Parvaim (2Ch_3:6) and Tarshish (2Ch_9:21) in our book, not the least hint can be drawn in favour of a western Ophir, or of a western direction of the Ophir trade. For, with regard to Parvaim, the single and quite incidental mention of the gold of Parvaim leaves room for all possible conjectures concerning the import of the name,5 while yet an eastern situation for this gold country is in itself the most probable (see on 2Ch_3:6); and of all the conjectures regarding it, that of Knobel, in which he combines the name with Sepharvaim = Sephar, Gen_10:30, and places it in the Joktanide South Arabia, or Oman (Völkertaf. p. 161), has most in its favour; see No. 5. “With regard to the ships of Solomon sailing to Tarshish, as 2Ch_9:21 seems to affirm, this rests most probably on a misunderstanding of the phrase: “ships of Tarshish ” (see on the passage); and, accordingly, the various hypotheses on the relation of Tarshish to Ophir which have been invented (as that of Michaelis, Spicileg. geogr. Hebr, i. 98 if.): that Hiram’s and Solomon’s fleets sailed beyond Tarshish, that is, beyond Spain, round Africa, as the Phœnicians did 400 years later under Pharaoh Necho, but in the opposite direction, to Ophir in the East Indies; that of Weston in the Classic. Journ. 1821, Sept., p. 17 f., and of Keil in the Dorpat Contributions, 1833, ii. 240, and in his earlier Comm. on the Books of Kings, 1846, p. 311, according to which the Ophir voyages proceeded from Ezion-geber, and the Tarshish or Spanish voyages from Joppa; that of Seetzen, “ Ueber Ophir” in Von Zach’s Monatlicher Korrespondenz, xix. p. 331 ff., who, in 2Ch_9:21, finds a promontory Tarsis on the Karamanian coast of the Persian Gulf, which is mentioned in the old accounts concerning the Periplus of Nearchus, and endeavours to render probable his removal of Ophir to South Arabia),—are wholly superfluous and groundless.
2. If the eastern situation of Ophir stand, we may take the name first as a general designation of all possible gold-yielding lands east of Palestine, and therefore as an equally indefinite and vague geographical notion with that of Kush in Hebrew antiquity, Scythia among the Greeks, India in the Middle Ages, or Tartary, the Levant, etc., in modern times. But it is against this indefinite and therefore very convenient assumption of Jos. Acosta, Heeren, Hartmann, Tychsen, and Zeune, that, according to all the notices in history of the voyages to Ophir, this must have been a definite country, or, in other words, that the end of this voyage should, no more than Ezion-geber its starting-point, be robbed of its concrete import, and generalized into the indefinite.
3. Among the gold-producing coasts east of Palestine, East India, in particular some province, coast, or island of East India, appears to have a specially high claim to identification with Ophir; for—1. The name Ophir finds its most convenient meaning in Indian words or local names, whether we combine the form usual in the Sept. Σωφιρά or Σουφίρ (also Σωφηρά, Σωφαρά), as well as the Coptic designation: Sophir, for India, with the Sanscr. Supâra, “fair coast” (Lassen, Ind. Alterthumskunde, i. 107), and with Σουπάρα. of Ptolemy = Οὔππαρα in the Peripl., or refer to the pastoral tribe of the Abhira, between the mouths of the Indus and the Gulf of Cambay. 2. Several of the commodities brought to Palestine from Ophir, namely, the peacocks, apes, and the almuggim or sandal-wood (see 2Ch_9:10; 2Ch_9:21, and comp. 1Ki_10:12; 1Ki_10:22), are specifically Indian products, that seem to have been brought only thence, and whose export from any non-Indian emporium is scarcely conceivable. 3. The names also of those imports seem capable of a specially easy explanation from the Indian language; comp. with קֹפִים, “apes,” the Sanscr. Kapi, with תֻּכִּיִּים peacocks, the Sanscr. Cikhi., Malabar. toghei, with אַלְמֻגִּים or אַלְגֻּמִּים the Sanscr. valgu (valgum). 4. The length of the voyage, which, according to 2Ch_9:21 (1Ki_9:22), required so much time, that only once in three years the fleet of Tarshish came and brought gold and other costly wares of Ophir, appears to indicate a country that was at least as far as East India from the northern point of the Red Sea. For these reasons, and partly also on account of some old traditions pointing to India, for instance, in Josephus, Antiq. viii. 6. 4, a number of eminent scholars since Bochart (Phaleg, ii. 27 ff.), W. Ouseley and Hadr. Reland (Dissert. miscel. No. IV., de Ophir), of the moderns, especially Lassen (Ind. Alterthumskunde), Ritter (Erdkunde, xiv. 346–431), and Kiepert (in the Nationalzeitung 1872, No. xlvi.), have declared themselves for some coast of India as corresponding to the ancient Ophir.—But several objections may be made to these arguments: To 1. That suitable coincidences of names or accordances with Ophir are presented in East Africa and Arabia as well as in those localities of India (see below); besides, neither the region of Sufara or Supara (near Goa), nor that of Abhira, south-east of the Delta of Indus, is gold-producing, or even specially near any gold district. To 2. That almug-wood, apes, and peacocks, if really exclusive products of India (what may be doubted with regard to the almug-wood from 2Ch_2:7, and cannot be asserted respecting the apes), might very well be brought, not directly from India, but from a port of Arabia, or even East-Africa, whither Indian or other ships had carried them. To 3. That the etyma of the names almuggim, kophim, and tukkiim are Indian, as above quoted, is by no means indubitably certain; for in “almuggim,” which does not much resemble the Sanscr. valgu, the Arabic article al- seems rather to be present. That תֻּכִּיִּים is = the Malabar tôghai may be doubted on strong philological grounds (see Rödiger in Gesen. Thes. p. 1502); and apes might be called, קֹפִים, from the Greek κῆπος, κῆβος, which, according to Aristot. Hist, animal, ii. 8, Strabo, Plin., etc., designates an Æthiopian species of ape. Moreover, the latest Egyptology has found the latter name (in the form kap, kaph, kafi) also on the primeval Egyptian monuments, which renders its Sanscrit origin altogether doubtful (see Dümichen, Die Flotte einer egyptischen Königin, 1868; and comp. R. Rösler in the Ausland, 1872, p. 648). To 4. That no weight is to be attached to the length of the voyage, when we consider the slow method of the ancients, especially of the ancient sea voyages (comp. Odyss. xv. 454 ff.); and this argument might be urged as well in favour of the southern East Africa; even the defenders of the hypotheses implying still farther regions (see No. 1) might avail themselves of it.
4. If from all this the determination of the site of Ophir in East India seems doubtful and precarious, it fares little better with that which has been further urged in favour of the East African coast, especially Sofala, on the channel of Mozambique (about 20° south lat.). Following the steps of the Portuguese travellers of the 16th and 17th centuries, as de Barros, Juan dos Santos, Th. Lopez, Montesquieu, d’Anville, J. Bruce, Robertson in the last century, and recently Quatremère (Mémoire sur le pays d’Ophir in the Mén . de l’Instit. roy. 1845, torn, xv.ii. p. 350 sq.), Movers (Die Phönizier, ii. 3, 58 ff.), the British geographers R. Murchison and J. Crawfurd, and recently the eminent African traveller Karl Mauch, the geographer Petermann partly approving his views (see his Mittheilungen, etc., 1872, p. 4, p. 121 ff.), also the director of missions, Wangemann (Kreuzzeitung of 30th Jan. 1872), and an anonymous reporter in Ausland (1872, No. 10), have endeavoured to render probable the identity of Sofala or some neighbouring South African coast with Ophir. The chief grounds for this view are: 1.To the name Ophir appears to correspond, if not that of Sofala (which seems rather to lead to שְׁפֵלה, “lowland”), yet that of a mountain Fura or Afura, with ancient, probably Phœnician, ruins, of which the Portuguese were cognisant in the 16th and 17th centuries (see dos Santos, Æthiopia orientalis, Evora 1609), and which have been lately rediscovered by K. Mauch, and have been with great probability identified with the Zembabye or Zimbaoe of the Portuguese, the Agysymba of Ptolemy. 2. The wealth of East Africa in gold excels that of East India, especially the East Indian coast; and with regard, to the coast of Sofala and the ancient Agysymba or Zimbaoe, its wealth in gold dust and minerals is celebrated by antiquity. The situation of the mountain Fura with the ruins mentioned, dos Santos defines briefly as “in the gold land ” (tracto do ouro). 3. The wealth also of East Africa in ivory (שֶׁנְהַבִּים, 2Ch_9:21; 1Ki_10:22) was much greater than that of India; apes also and precious stones the East African emporia could certainly furnish in great abundance. 4. The report of Herodotus iv. 42 concerning the circumnavigation of Africa by Necho, proves that the Phœnicians were wont to extend their voyages from the Red Sea far southward along the east coast of Africa. 5. The ruins lately discovered again by Mauch of the ancient Zimbaoe on the Fura or Afura mountains, with their rough cyclopean stone walls built without mortar, on an average fifteen feet thick and thirty feet high (see the particulars in Mauch’s letters to the missionaries Grützner and Merensky in Petermann as quoted, and in a recent letter of Mauch to the African traveller Ed. Mohr, published in the Weserzeitung, Dec. 1872), bear a very ancient stamp; the ornaments wrought on them point at least to a time before the Portuguese and the Arabs, and could apparently be derived only from the Phœnicians or Jews, because numerous cedar beams, employed apparently for ceilings, are found in them, and also because one of the two discovered buildings presents, as Mauch asserts, “an imitation of Solomon’s temple, a fortress and house of God at the same time” (?). But none of these reasons is decisive; for in regard to—1. The etymology Ophir = Afura, Fura, has about the same precarious value as the combination with the Sanscr. Abhira; Ofir or Ofar (Ofra; see No. 5) of South Arabia has at leas as good a claim to be taken for the biblical Ophir as that region of inner Africa first named by recent writers, which lies, moreover, 200 leagues landward from the coast of Sofala. To 2. Clear traces that the golden wealth of the region in question was known to the Phœnicians or to the people before the Christian era are still wanting. To 3. Along with ivory, apes, etc., the often quoted classical passages of the Old Testament name also quite distinctly the non-African products, peacocks and (probably) sandal-wood, as imported by the traders of Solomon. To 4. The circumnavigation of Africa under Necho proves nothing for a much earlier period; it is described by Herodotus quite distinctly as something unheard of, quite new and isolated; and from Ptolemy and the old geographers it is evident that the east coast of Africa was known and accessible to the ancients only as far as Prasum promont., the present Cape Delgado, 10–11° south lat., and not farther south. To 5. The existence of the ruins of Zimbaoe before the Portuguese and Arabs, the presence of cedar-wood (?), the supposed partial resemblance to the construction of Solomon’s temple, by no means prove its Phœnician or ancient Israelitish origin; to establish this would require much more exact and extensive investigations than those carried on by Mauch in his flying visit of last year (comp. also Petermann as quoted, p. 125).
5. The greatest abundance of probabilities, but certainly nothing more definite or decisive than probabilities, lies with those learned investigators who seek Ophir somewhere in South Arabia, as the Arabian geographers Edrisi and Abulfeda, partly also Bochart, further Niebuhr, Seetzen (in 5. Zach as quoted), Volney, Gosselin, Vincent, Rosenmüller, Gesenius, Ewald, Knobel (Völkertafel, p. 190 f.), Hitzig (Gesch. Israels, p. 156 f.), Bähr, and Keil (on 1Ki_10:22), the English geographer C. Beke, the French traveller Jos. Halévy, Pressel also (Art. “Ophir” in Herzog as quoted), and Albr. Roscher (Ptolemäus und die Handelsstrassen in Centralafrika, Gotha 1857), the latter two with the peculiar modification that they take an island near the coast of South Arabia, perhaps Dahlak in the Red Sea (so especially Roscher), or Socotora (so Pressel), for the proper Ophir, whence Solomon’s traders fetched the various products mentioned. If now the latter assumption, which rests on the report by Eupolemus, in Euseb. Prœp. evang. ix. 30, of an “island Urphe or Uphre” (Οὐφήρ?) situated in the Erythræan Sea, rich in gold mines, and already found by David, appears very precarious on account of the doubtful character of its voucher, yet the following arguments, that are scarcely to be invalidated, speak for South Arabia in general: 1. In Gen_10:29 occurs the name Ophir among the Joktanite tribes of South Arabia, and significantly indeed along with another tribe, that likewise bears the name of a gold land, Havilah (Gen_2:11). 2. The Arabian geographer Edrisi knew in the present Oman in the south-east of Arabia no less than three places whose names accord with Ophir—are, indeed, essentially like in sound, namely—a. Ofar, two days’ journey landwards from Sohar, the present Sur; b. Afir or Ghafir in El Ahsa; c. A Mount Ofir in Bahrein (see Edrisi in Jaubert, i. 147, 152 ff.). 3. Many biblical passages attest the great wealth in gold of South Arabia, with special reference to Saba, situated in the south-west, as the account of the queen of Sheba in 2 Chronicles 9. (1 Kings 10); Psa_72:15; Isa_60:6; Eze_27:22; likewise more generally, without special reference to the south-west, several classical authors, as Strabo,16. pp. 777, 784; Diodorus, 2:50, 3:44, etc. (comp. Bochart, Phaleg, ii. 27). 4. The passages of Scripture testify in part that Arabia was rich also in precious stones, especially Isaiah 60. and Ezekiel 27; and Strabo, as quoted, attests that it produced silver, at least in the country of the Nabatæans. 5. The remaining products named in 2Ch_9:10; 2Ch_9:21, and 1Ki_10:12; 1Ki_10:22, which might come only from India, or only from Africa, as ivory, apes, peacocks, sandalwood, must be brought by Arabian and Indian traders to the marts of Arabia Felix, as well to the eastern (Oman, Ophir) as the western (Sheba) part of the south coast, and thence again exchanged into the Phœnician and Hebrew fleets. The high antiquity, reaching far beyond the time of Solomon, of such a trade through South Arabia of Hither Asia, at least with India (therefore also with Africa, especially with Æthiopia and Upper Egypt), is attested in the surest and fullest manner; see Lassen, Ind. Alterthumskunde, ii. 593–596; Movers, Phöniz. ii. 3, pp. 247, 256. If accordingly we are to seek Ophir with the greatest probability in south-eastern Arabia, the present Oman, there is still much that is obscure in reference to its situation, its mines and metals, its ports, its relation to the neighbouring Sabæa. More exact investigations into the situation of the regions in question, which Moslem fanaticism has almost secluded from Europeans, and for the scientific exploration of which important contributions have been made only in recent times, by 5. Wrede, W. Munzinger, Joseph Halévy, and H. v. Maltzan, will alone yield authentic disclosures in this direction. Whether we are warranted in making so sharp a separation of the Ophir of Gen_10:29 as a country belonging to Arabia, and of that of the books of Kings and Chronicles as a region possibly far removed from Arabia, as the French Vivien de St. Martin declared to be necessary, against Jos. Halévy in a session of the Paris Geographical Society (comp. also F. v. Hellwald in the Ausland, 1872, No. 23, p. 536), appears doubtful. It is difficult to produce exegetical grounds for such a separation of the two Ophirs; the juxtaposition of that of Genesis besides a neighbouring Havilah, without doubt also a gold-producing district, appears to favour the opposite conclusion (see above, 1 [and Introd. § 6]).
[To the note at the end of § 6, Introd., may be added the following considerations: 1. It is obvious that the voyage to Ophir, 1Ki_9:28; 1Ki_10:11, 2Ch_8:18; 2Ch_9:10, in quest of gold, almug-trees, and precious stones, was distinct from that to Tarshish, 1Ki_10:22, 2Ch_9:21, for gold, silver, ivory, apes, and peacocks, which was made in three years. 2. It is certain that the former, and most probable that the latter, voyage proceeded from Ezion-geber or Elath on the eastern gulf of the Red Sea, 1Ki_9:26; 1Ki_22:48; 2Ch_8:17; 2Ch_20:36. In this way the trade of Solomon did not interfere with that of Hiram his ally, which proceeded directly from the seaboard of Phœnicia. 3. Ships going to Tarshish, which was the longer voyage, might visit Ophir by the way, 1Ki_22:48; 2Ch_20:36. As Tarshish was of the line of Javan, and belonged to the west, his country could only be reached from the Red Sea by doubling the Cape of Good Hope. This would account for the three years spent on the voyage. It would also favour the probability that Ophir was to be found on the coast of the Bed Sea, either in Arabia or Africa, or both. 4. There are traces in Scripture of the name of a country, especially if it be also the name of the tribe, travelling with the tribe. Thus Asshur, Havilah, Cush, Tarshish, and Ophir may have changed their centre in the course of ages. In particular, Ophir may have had settlements on the east and west of the Red Sea; and Tarshish may have ranged over the south as well as the north of the Straits of Gibraltar. Hence Solomon’s traders may have met with Tarshish even on the gold coast of Africa, especially as the coast of this country was particularly inviting to ancient mariners from its slight indentations. As all this is possible, if not probable, we are not warranted in assuming a contradiction, or even an inaccuracy, in the report of the writer of Chronicles.—J. G. M.]
Footnotes:
[1] אֲשֶׁר after וּמִן־בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל must apparently be erased, as it is wanting in some mss., and likewise in 1Ki_9:22.
[2]For שָׂרֵי שָׁלִישָׁיו is perhaps to be read, as 1 Kings 9, וְשָׂרָיו וְשָׁלִישָׁיו, “and his captains and his knights.”
[3] Kethib; הַנְּצִיבִים (comp 1Ch_18:13; 2Ch_17:2); Keri: הַנִּצָּבִים (so 1Ki_9:23).
[4]For מִצְוַת some mss. have מִמִּצְוַת, though the construction with סוּר by no means requires this change; comp. Ew. §282, a. As little is it necessary, on account of the sept. and Vulg., which have the plur. (ἐντολάς, mandatis regis), to point מִצְוֹת.
[5]It has been attempted to identify Parvaim with Barbatia, or Parbatia, a town standing, according to Plin. H. N. iv. 32, on the Tigris (Castell. Lex. heptagl. 3062); to affirm it=Sepharvaim, 2Ki_17:24, on the one hand, and=Siphron, Num_34:8, on the other, and accordingly to refer it to the gold-bearing Chrysorrhoas in Syria (Harenberg, Brem., and Verd. Bibl. iv. 44); to explain the name as the same with Ophir, and identify the Parvaim-Ophir either wit Peru (Arias Mont., etc.; see above) or with Taprobane, now Ceylon (Bochart, Phaleg, ii. 2 Chronicles 27 : Hall. Allg. Welthistorie, iii. 413; and Starke, Synops. on 2Ch_3:6); or lastly, to explain the name from the Indian, and so compare either the Sanscr. pûrva, “before eastern” (Wilford in Asiat. Researches, viii. 2Ch 276: Gesen. Th. ii. 1125), or paru, “mountain” (Parvaim = δίδυμα ὄρη), as Hitzig on Dan_10:5, who, however, transfers this double mountain to South Arabia. Comp. also Leyrer’s (Art. “Parvaim” in Herzog’s Real.-Encycl.) reference to the Paryadros range on the gold-bearing Phasis in Colchis, as well as the combination of Knobel preferred in the text.
Lange's Commentary on the Holy Scriptures (Critical, Doctrinal, and Homiletical), ed. John Peter Lange, English translation edited by Philip Schaff (1864–1880) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain Ch. 2Ch_8:1-6 (cp. 1Ki_9:10-11; 1Ki_9:17-19). Solomon’s Cities
Ch. 2Ch_8:1-6 (cp. 1Ki_9:10-11; 1Ki_9:17-19). Solomon’s Cities
1. twenty years] Cp. 1Ki_6:38; 1Ki_7:1.
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 (1) And it came to pass.—The verb is identical…
(1) And it came to pass.—The verb is identical with 1Ki_9:10, slightly abbreviated.
Wherein.—When. The “twenty years” are reckoned from the fourth year of the reign (1Ki_6:6), and include seven years during which the Temple was building, and thirteen during which the palace was built (1Ki_6:38; 1Ki_7:1).
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 This interesting historical chapter may very well be described…
This interesting historical chapter may very well be described as by Professor Dr. James G. Murphy, in his "Bible-Class Handbook," "The Acts of Solomon," or at any rate, some of the miscellaneous acts, for which time was found now that the "two houses" were out of hand.
(parallel,. Twenty (1Ki_9:10) years, wherein Solomon had built the house of the Lord, and his own house. The description is intended to be, what it is, chronologically exact. Four years of Solomon had passed when he began the Lord"s house, seven were spent in building it, thirteen in finishing and furnishing it, and in building, finishing, and furnishing the king"s house in all twenty-four years.
Read full note →
Vers. 1-18.
The formative influence of the Church.
In the exceeding abundance of suggestion of homiletic matter that characterizes Scripture, and even its historic books, there is naturally so much the less temptation to strain its sacred contents (which at all times serve their own purposes) by laying them under forced contributions to this particular service. It may be, therefore, perhaps best to say at once that this chapter does not proffer anything specially suitable for homiletics proper.
None the less is it true that the chapter does exhibit certain points which look this way, and worthy of notice as, e.g. , once the central religious institution of the Church and nation has found its settled place and established form, many other things seem even predisposed to seek and to find their settlement too, their order, and their abiding strength. The building of cities regained or restored, and the rebuilding, repair, and fortification of others store cities and chariot cities and horsemen"s cities (vers. 1-6, the language of the last of these verses reading, it will be noticed, specially emphatically); the assigning of the payment of tribute to the descendants of the original inhabitants (who, contrary to Divine direction, had not been thoroughly outrooted from the land) whose privileges there, as resident in and amid Israel, were cheaply bought by that tribute; the assigning of independence and posts of authority to others, of the people and officers of Israel itself (vers. 7-10); the apparently growing spiritual perception of Solomon, in what might presumably be regarded as a somewhat critical step, the removing of his wife, Pharaoh"s daughter, from an abode that was "sacred," to one that was a palace indeed of palaces, but not sacred (ver. 11); the full observance and reviving from Moses" time and standpoint of all religious ritual and ceremony (but supremely of all which concerned the altar) for daily service and sacrifice, and sabbath and new moon service and sacrifice, and for those of the triple solemn feasts, to wit, of Unleavened Bread, of Weeks, and of Tabernacles, with the necessary courses of priests, Levites, musicians, and porters; all this came of the "perfecting of the house of the Lord" (vers. 12-16), as though it were actually complementary to it. Does it not read, when all taken together, for the unsophisticated and devout mind, like some forecast of these two things, which we now, in the modern Church, so often say or hear said:
1. That the welfare of the diocese follows its bishop and its cathedralservice, taking its tone and deriving no little of its health from them? This is abundantly conspicuous in the history of a newly carved out diocese.
2. And that, one thousand to fifteen hundred years ago, the formativeinfluence of the Church over the nation was indisputable; that the Church made the nation far more than the nation the Church, conspicuously lending to it, nay, giving to it a strength of foundation, variety of elements, and those in especial that make for durableness? Nineteen centuries ago a theocracy, which may with most reverent intention be called comparatively mechanical, passed away. Let us hope, pray, and work that the centuries from then to the present hour may be but superseding it, with that founded on the new and better covenant.
HOMILIES BY W. CLARKSON Vers. 1-6.
Wise work.
David had done excellent work for his country by uniting all the tribes of Israel in a strong band of attachment to himself, and thus to one another; also in defeating and subjecting the neighbouring powers, and thus giving peace and tranquillity to the nation. Solomon, coming after him, seconded and sustained him, not by acting on the same lines, but by "a new departure." We very often show the truest regard to those who have been before us by illustrating their spirit in a very different method from that which they adopted. Solomon, like the wise man he was, set about building. He "built the house of the Lord and his own house" (ver. 1), taking time and building well. He then built cities, which were either strongholds or emporiums, serving useful purposes in war or in peace. He seems to have accomplished much by so doing.
I WHAT SOLOMON ACHIEVED BY BUILDING.
1. He increased the security of his dominions. Those "fenced cities, withwalls, gates, and bars," must have added considerably to the defensive power of Israel.
2. He took effectual means for the enrichment of the country. The "storecities " would do much to promote communication and trade with other states, would increase his imports and exports.
3. He immortalized himself. He caused his name to be associated withmany places that for long centuries remembered him as their founder, and with one city (Tadmar) that will never be forgotten.
4. He made a deep mark on the future. Some of these cities have absolutelyperished; the ruins of one of them still remain. It is impossible to say how much his enterprise had to do, but it certainly had much, with the brilliance, the power, and the political and moral influence of Palmyra. The effects of this building went far beyond the satisfaction of the desire of his heart (ver. 6); they reached to remote centuries, and told upon people that were afar off.
II WHAT IS OPEN TO US TO ACCOMPLISH.
1. The structure it is possible we may raise. This may be a house in the sense of a family (see; (2Sa_7:11) or it may be a house in the sense of a business establishment; or it may be a church, wherein God shall be worshipped and his Son exalted for many generations; or it may be a society which shall receive dud sustain many hundreds of human hearts. One thing there is we may all he building, and are indeed all bound to build with utmost care a human character; a character which shall be fair in its proportions, rich in its equipments, and strong in its defence against all assault.
2. The moral and spiritual materials with which, or of which, we should build. These are uprightness, truth, patience, courage, persistency.
3. The spirit in which we should work. This is the spirit of obedience, of resignation, of devotedness; so that we are not seeking our own personal aggrandizement, hut the honour of our Divine Lord. C.
HOMILIES BY T. WHITELAW Vers. 1-6.
Solomon"s building operations.
I PALACE-BUILDING. Like Seti I, Rameses II, and other Pharaohs (Brugsch, "Egypt," etc., 2:14), like Uruk, Kham-murabi, and other early Chaldean kings ("Records of the Past," 1:8; 3:9), like ancient Oriental monarchs generally, Solomon was a great builder. The first twenty years of his reign were occupied in erecting "palaces," or royal residences.
1. A house for J ehovah, the King of kings, i.e. the temple on Moriah, which required seven years for erection. (1Ki_6:37, 1Ki_6:38) In according precedence to the temple, Solomon acted both becomingly and rightly. In all undertakings, national, political, social, commercial, as well as individual and religious, not only should God"s glory be the governing. (1Co_10:31) but God"s claims should receive the earliest recognition. God first and self second (not vice versa) is the true order, whatever the business in which man engages. "Honour the Lord with the firstfruits of thine increase"; (Pro_3:9) "Seek first the kingdom of God and-his righteousness". (Mat_6:33) A recently published memoir furnishes the following illustration: we began business." writes a Christian merchant of his deceased partner, "we had naturally to arrange articles of partnership. I remember with what earnestness he proposed that we should set aside a certain percentage of our profits for religious and benevolent purposes before any division was made among the partners. His wish was cordially assented to, but the generous purpose originated with him" ("Alexander Balfour: a Memoir," by R. H. Lundie, M.A., pp. 37, 38).
2. A house for himself, Solomon, the King of Israel, the vicegerent and representative of Jehovah in the midst of the theocratic nation. (1Ki_7:1, 1Ki_7:2) Though kings as well as other men may be sinfully prodigal in personal expenditure, in the mansions they dwell in, the luxury they revel in, and the pageantry they appear in, it is nevertheless not demanded by religion either that all should stand upon a level of equality in respect of" manner of life," or that any should practise asceticism. Each station in society has a corresponding "fitness of living," which Christianity allows, and prudence should attempt to discover and maintain. If beggars cannot live in palaces, kings are not expected to dwell in hovels.
3. A house for the daughter of Pharaoh, whom Solomon had espoused in the beginning of his reign, (1Ki_7:8) and had hitherto lodged in the city of David (1Ki_3:1) until a permanent abode for her should be erected. This Pharaoh is supposed to have been Pashebensba II, the last of the Tanitic or twenty-first dynasty (Lenormant, Winer, Kleinert in Riehm"s "Handworterbuch"), though a claim has been advanced for an earlier potentate of that line, either Pashebensha I or Pinetem II (Rawlinson, "Egypt and Babylon," p. 331). That he should have given his daughter to Solomon is not surprising when the weakness of the Tanitic dynasty is remembered, and receives confirmation from the fact that an earlier Pharaoh married his daughter Bithia to an ordinary Israelite. (1Ch_4:18) As a dowry for his daughter, Gezer, (Jos_12:22) an old Canaanitish town whose king, Horam, was slain by Joshua, (Jos_10:33) without being itself destroyed, and whose inhabitants were not expelled, but only made tributary, (Jos_16:10) was conquered by the Egyptian monarch and presented to Solomon. Sargon (of Assyria) tells us in one of his inscriptions that, having conquered the country of Cilicia with some difficulty, on account of its great natural strength, he made it over to Ambris, King of Tubal, who had married one of his daughters, as the princess"s dowry. (Rawlinson, " Egypt and Babylon," p. 331). On first marrying the princess, Solomon lodged her in a separate house in the city of David, until this residence was ready for her reception in connection with his own palace (see homily on ver. 11).
II CITY-BUILDING. The subsequent years of Solomon"s reign were so employed.
1. Old cities repaired. (Ver. 2.) In the north-west of Galilee, not far from Tyre. Either they were those Solomon offered to Hiram in payment for the building material, timber and gold, received from him, (1Ki_9:10-14) and Hiram declined to accept (Keil), as either an insufficient recompense, being in his estimation mean and contemptible, whence he called them Cabul (Josephus, 8:5. 3), or as being unsuitable to the commercial habits of his subjects (Jamieson); or they were towns Hiram gave to Solomon in exchange for those he had obtained from Solomon (Jewish interpreters). That the Chronicler has transformed the statement in Kings, because it seemed to him inconceivable that Solomon should have parted with twenty cities standing on Israelitish soil (Bertheau), while a possible hypothesis, is not demonstrable. These towns Solomon, having first wrested them from the Canaanites, repaired and peopled with the children of Israel, to whom, in virtue of God"s promise, they really belonged.
2. New cities founded.
(1) Tadmor, or Tamar, "a palm tree". (1Ki_9:18) in the wilderness, identified with the rich and flourishing city of Palmyra, "the city of palms," in the Syrian desert (Bertheau, Keil, Jamieson), distant "two days" journey from the Upper Syria, and one day"s journey from Euphrates, and six long days" journey from Babylon" (Josephus "Ant." 8. 6. 1), and still called by the Damascenes Tadmor (Conder, "Handbook to the Bible," p, 281); though Tamar, mentioned in (Eze_47:19 Eze_48:28) as forming part of the southern boundary of Palestine, has been claimed as the Tadmor here alluded to (Thenius, Bahr, Schrader), on the ground that in 1Ki_9:17, 18 the building of Tamar is associated with the building of Gezer, Beth-heron, and Baalath, and that Tamar is stated to have been in the wilderness in the land. But the first of these arguments is not conclusive, while the second has force only if Palestine, and not Hamath, is the land meant. (For a description of Tadmor or Palmyra, see Biblical Cyclopsedias.)
3. Existing cities fortified.
(1) Beth-heron, or "the house of the narrow way," an old double town of Ephraim, said to have been built by Sheerah, a daughter or descendant of Ephraim; (1Ch_7:24) but as the two Beth-herons, the present Beit-ur-el-Foka and Taehta (Robinson), the upper and the lower, situated in the tribe of Ephraim on the borders of Benjamin, existed in the days of, (Jos_9:2-8) it is probable that Sheerah was "an heiress who had received these places as her inheritance, and caused them to be enlarged by her family" (Keil). Solomon transformed them into garrison cities, with walls, gates, and bars.
(2) Baalah, a town in the tribe of Dan, (Jos_19:44) not far from Beth-heron and Gezer (Josephus), perhaps the modern village Bel"ain (Conder). Though mentioned along with Tadmor, there is no ground for identifying it with Baal-bec or Heliopolis (Ritter and others). This also the king fortified to protect his kingdom against the Philistines.
4. Store cities, etc., erected.
(1) In Hamath-zobah, which Solomon conquered (ver. 3). This territory comprised the well-known town Hamath on the Orontes, ruled over by Ton, and the adjoining state of Zobah, whose king, Hadar-ezer, David smote when he went to establish his dominion by the river Euphrates. (1Ch_18:3) Both kings appear to have been rendered tributary to the Israelitish throne as the result of that expedition, and their territories practically annexed to the Israel-itish dominions under the composite name employed by the Chronicler.
(2) In Palestine proper (ver. 6). These "store cities "were not so much deists of merchandise (Ewald, Jamieson) as magazines for victuals, laid up for the convenience of travellers and their beasts (Bertheau), perhaps also for materials of war to aid in the protection of the empire (Bahr). Along with these were chariot cities, (cf. 2Ch_1:14) and cities for the horsemen, probably not different from the former. (1Ki_10:26)
Learn:
1. Kings should be patterns to their subjects of religion andindustry.
2. It is legitimate for princes to look well to the safety of theirdominions.
3. The best defences for kingdoms are not muniments, but men. W.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain That the cities.
2Ch_8:1-6
That the cities.
Read full note →
Solomons military enterprises
Chiefly in acquiring cities rebuilt and taken from the enemy.
I. Cities for stores (1Ki_9:19).
II. Cities for colonisation.
III. Cities for pleasure.
IV. Cities for defence. Lessons:
1. That those who attend to the spiritual will not neglect the temporal interests of a nation.
2. That amidst the temporal interests of a nation great risks exist. Hence--
(1) Lessons of prudence.
(2) The danger of prosperity. (J. Wolfendale.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary 1892 · Public Domain CRITICAL NOTES.] Solomon’s buildings (2Ch_8:1-6); the tributaries (2Ch_8:7-11); the…
CRITICAL NOTES.] Solomon’s buildings (2Ch_8:1-6); the tributaries (2Ch_8:7-11); the festival worship (2Ch_8:12-16); and the fleet of Solomon (2Ch_8:17-18) (1Ki_9:10-28).
Solomon’s buildings.—2Ch_8:1-6. Twenty years (cf. 1Ki_6:38; 1Ki_7:1; 1Ki_9:10). Cities north-west of Galilee, the occupation of which was granted to Huram, who seems, after consideration, to have refused them as unsuitable to the commercial habits of his people and returned them to Solomon, who built (Heb. repaired) and filled them with a colony of Hebrews. Ham., a territory bordering on Zobah, identified in Jewish tradition with Helbon (Aleppo). Tadmor, the famous Palmyra (palm city), which became capital of a province (sent 80,000 men to join the Assyrian army), the splendid ruins of which remain to this day (a wall 11 miles in circumference). Store cities for provisions, situated on great trade roads to relieve travellers and beasts of burden. 2Ch_8:5. Beth-horons, two cities in Ephraim, very ancient (Jos_16:3-5; 1Ki_9:27; 1Ch_7:24). 2Ch_8:6. Baal. belonged to Dan (1Ki_9:18-19).
Read full note →
Solomon’s tributaries.—2Ch_8:7-10. Left, descendants of Canaanites in the country treated as war-prisoners, employed in vast building operations, and had to pay tribute. 2Ch_8:9. Sons of Israelites not serfs, but soldiers and officers. 2Ch_8:10. Chiefs of Israelites only given, 250 in number. 2Ch_8:11. Daughter, writer assumes points of narrative in 1Ki_3:1; 1Ki_3:7-8, and further assigns motive for change of residence. Holy, sanctified by presence of the ark, and as she was an idolator, therefore could not permanently dwell in the city.
Solomon’s regulations of worship.—2Ch_8:12-16. An expansion and amplification of 1Ki_9:23. They add several important particulars. No departure from the ordinances established by Divine authority by Moses or David in offering of sacrifices—arrangements of priests and Levites (1Ch_24:26)—and in provision and management of all sacred things. 2Ch_8:16. This verse sums up in brief the whole previous narrative on the subject of the temple, which began with ch. 2. Solomon’s work “unto the day of foundation” was the subject of that chapter; his work subsequently has been related in chapters 3–8. [Speak. Com.].
Solomon’s fleet and gold.—2Ch_8:17-18. Eloth (Elath) Œland of Greeks, north-east of the Gulf of Akaba. “The writer of Kings tells us that the fleet of Solomon was built at Ezion-geber (the giant’s backbone, Num_33:35-36), “which is beside Eloth” (1Ki_9:26); and Ebon-geber alone is mentioned as the place where Jehoshaphat built his ships (2Ch_20:36). Solomon, it appears by the present passage, visited both ports before determining at which he should establish his docks [Speak. Com.]. 2Ch_8:18. Solomon made his navy by receiving ships as models, materials for building, carpenters, and seamen from Huram, who probably had ships lying in the ports of the Red Sea. His own servants went with the Phœnicians on the voyage. Ophir, son of Jokton (Gen_10:29), gave name to the land of Ophir, which was at least originally in the south of Arabia, though some look for it in India or Ceylon. The 450 talents of gold (in Kings, 420) may have been the result of many voyages to this land [Murphy].
HOMILETICS
SOLOMON’S MILITARY ENTERPRISES.—2Ch_8:1-6
Chiefly in acquiring cities rebuilt and taken from the enemy. Solomon not satisfied to build God’s house, ambitious to gain cities and enlarge his kingdom. Lawful ambition desirable—all interested in the welfare of the Christian Church will scheme for the good of the country.
I. Cities for stores (cf. 1Ki_9:19). Centres, i.e., cities in which provisions for beasts, travellers, and troops (2Ch_32:28). Chiefly north, in Hamath (2Ch_8:4), and Naphtali (ch. 2Ch_16:4). Solomon prudent in action and kind in planning for the necessities of his people.
II. Cities for colonisation. “Solomon built (rebuilt) them, and caused the children of Israel to dwell there” (2Ch_8:2). Cities out of repair, quitted by population, or never occupied by Israelites. Anxious to locate trade, promote industry, and for all to dwell in right place.
III. Cities for pleasure. “Cities for his chariots, and cities for his horsemen;” dwellings for pleasure as distinguished from fortresses and store-cities. “I said in mine heart, Go to now, I will prove thee with mirth, therefore enjoy pleasure.” But pleasure is expensive, and demands costly sacrifices. “He that loveth pleasure shall be a poor man.”
IV. Cities for defence. The cities of Bethhoron and Baalath were fortified. His kingdom exposed required defence. Surrounding enemies dangerous, especially in north; strong garrisons required, and a levy of men and money to support a gigantic military system. Hence danger from wars, taxation, and oppression. Suggested Lessons from Solomon’s Military Enterprises.—
1. That those who attend to the spiritual will not neglect the temporal interests of a nation. Solomon built the temple, but patriotic enough to build cities. True religion ends not in ceremony, but in philanthropy. Those who build churches build hospitals. A libel to say that Christians who support missionary agencies neglect home.
2. That amidst the temporal enterprises of a nation great risks exist. Fortified cities needful, but indicate evils to be checked; incursions, insurrections, and subjugation. Hence—
(1) Lessons of Prudence. Why “fenced cities with walls, gates, and bars?” “Silent witnesses against the honesty of the society in which we live. Every bolt upon the door is a moral accusation; every time we turn the lock we mean that there is an enemy outside who may endeavour to violate the sanctity of the house” [Dr. Parker].
(2) The Danger of Prosperity. “Commercial intercourse with foreign nations, the assimilation of the Israelitish monarchy to corresponding institutions of surrounding kingdoms, though indispensable to certain elements of the Church and State of Judea, yet was fraught with danger to a people whose chief safeguard had hitherto been their exclusiveness, and whose highest mission was to keep their faith and manners distinct from the contagion of the world around them. The gigantic experiment of Solomon, though partially and prospectively successful, yet in a greater part and for the moment failed. As he is the representative of the splendours of the monarchy, so is he also the type and cause of its ruin” [Stanley].
SOLOMON’S STATESMANSHIP.—2Ch_8:7-10
Civil government a divine institution. Cannot exist without laws and adjustments. These require wisdom to express and enforce. The people have instinct to obey, but lack power to govern. Hence need of statesmen and rulers. Solomon a wise ruler.
I. In the tributary services rendered by the people.
1. Foreigners non-Israelites employed as serfs. Treated as prisoners of war, compelled to drudgery, hard labour, and to pay tribute (2Ch_8:8). This a matter of policy and borrowed from Egyptian customs of employing lowest caste on public works.
2. Native Jews employed in superior labour. “Not bondmen, but men of war, servants, princes, captains, rulers of chariots and of horsemen” (1Ki_9:22). Positions of honour and influence.
II. In the choice of officers to rule the people. Officers divided into two bodies. The lesser consisted of twelve chiefs corresponding to the twelve princes of the twelve tribes, who administered the kingdom under David. Hence their wisdom and experience would be profitable to direct. The larger body were officers chosen from Israelites to control task work, exacted from Canaanites. No way of accounting for discrepancies in number (cf. 1Ki_5:16; 2Ch_2:18, and 2Ch_8:10 of this ch.) except by error of copyist, or to imagine with many, that 250 were on duty at once. Solomon desired the ablest men for the best work. Some fitted, born to rule, and others to serve.
III. In the appointment of all classes of the people to their proper sphere. Work for all and every one at work for which best adapted. Some to labour, others to think and direct. Not great men to do small work and weak men to fail in responsible work. Canaanites and Israelites all useful. This law of adaptation essential to success in family circles, church government, and national legislation. “Thou shalt teach them ordinances and laws, and show them the way wherein they must walk, and the work that they must do.”
SOLOMON’S MARRIAGE.—2Ch_8:1
At beginning of his reign he married an Egyptian princess, assigned her a temporary abode in Jerusalem until a suitable place could be found.
I. As a matter of worldly policy. A startling act, for since Exodus no intercourse between two countries. Sprang from desire to counteract influence of Hadad, who was received with royal honours and formed alliances with king of Egypt (1Ki_11:14-20); from wish to obtain support for his new dynasty and recognition from one of older fame and greater power; from anxiety to strengthen himself by foreign alliances. Besides the new queen brought with her a frontier city as a dowry. Gezer still possessed by remnant of Canaanites. Pharaoh had led his armies against it, and tranquillity of Israel threatened. But this worldly policy. Many marriages for inferior motives. Better look to bonds that unite families and thrones to God.
II. As a source of moral perplexity. What must be done with her? If she conformed with the Hebrew faith, yet as a foreigner she must dwell in a separate place, not near the ark, the symbol of Divine presence. The house of God, holy, must be free from personal and official pollution. This a matter of conscience to Solomon, who felt that God’s presence sanctified all localities; that a broad distinction must be made between Judaism and heathenism, between idolatry and the worship of Jehovah. When this distinction is ignored and worldly policy adopted, men plunge into temptations and find it difficult to rectify errors by punctilious morality and zealous care about trifles.
III. As the beginning of trouble. The policy advantageous at first, but ultimately proved hollow and impolitic. A revolution in Egypt changed its dynasty or its policy, and the court welcomed the fugitive Jeroboam in his efforts to secure kingly power. By seeking fresh alliances, giving way to lust for “strange women,” Solomon involved in worship of strange gods, &c. The reign which began so gloriously ended in gross darkness and fetish worship.
SOLOMON’S RELIGIOUS SERVICE.—2Ch_8:12
Solomon not only built the temple, but worshipped in it. What use a temple without worship? The duty of high and low to meet for worship.
I. Remarkable for its conformity to Divine Law. “According to the command of Moses.” God the supreme object and his revealed will the rule of worship.
1. In its appointed seasons. Daily sacrifices. “A certain rate every day.” “Every day will I bless thee.” “On the sabbaths.” Weekly sacrifices; monthly “on the new moons;” and yearly at the three solemn feasts. “Three times in a year shall all thy males appear before the Lord thy God in the place which he shall choose.”
2. In its customary method. As Moses commanded and David observed (2Ch_8:14), care should be taken to observe divine order, but custom should never fetter spirit. Daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly, we should be free, thankful, and devout. “The heart will observe its own order.”
II. Remarkable for its systematic arrangements. “Order is heaven’s first law.”
1. Arrangements divinely appointed. Priests in their courses; Levites in their charges; porters at the gates, and persons to manage the treasures (cf. 1Ch_26:20-23).
2. Arrangements scrupulously observed. By every person and in every particular. “They departed not from the command of the king concerning any matter” (2Ch_8:15).
3. Arrangements completing the work. “So the house of the Lord was perfected.” This the finishing touch to erection and consecration. Something incomplete without real worship, reverent order and self-surrender. Sacrifice the essence and result of worship. “I will freely sacrifice to thee.”
“One act that from a thankful heart proceeds,
Excels ten thousand mercenary deeds” [Cowper].
SOLOMON’S GREATEST WORK.—2Ch_8:16
This verse a brief summary, describing method and completion of Solomon’s greatest work. Temple work was prepared, i.e., contemplated and fixed, before built and completed.
I. It was wisely planned. Prudence displayed in collection and preparation of materials. The cost counted—
1. Suggesting wise forethought. Every part of an undertaking should be well considered and weighed. “Prepare thy work without and make it fit for thyself.”
2. Providing against failure. What wrecks in all departments of human labour through want of forethought and preparation! “This man began to build and was not able to finish.”
II. It was nicely furnished. Not half done, nor slovenly done. Finished in furniture, style, and ceremonies. Perfected in harmony with God’s will. “A thing of beauty and a joy for ever.” Choose your life’s work. Collect materials and build for God. Begin well and in God’s strength finish. Never be
“Like one who draws a model of a house,
Beyond his power to build it; who, half through,
Gives o’er, and leaves his part-created cost
A naked subject to the weeping clouds,
And waste for churlish winter’s tyranny.”
SOLOMON’S FLEET.—2Ch_8:17-18
I. The method of its construction. Huram sent, supplied him, i.e., built him ships, viz., in docks at Eloth (cf. 1Ki_9:26-27) [Jamieson]. Or Solomon made his fleet, by receiving model ships, materials, and carpenters from Huram. “The probability is either that the Tyrians maintained at this period a fleet in the Red Sea, or that Hiram’s shipwrights constructed, at their master’s expense, some ships on that sea, and then presented them to the Jewish monarch” [Speak. Com.].
II. The voyages it undertook. Solomon monarch and merchant. Egyptians might have been rivals in southern maritime traffic, but their religion and exclusive principles unfavourable to sea voyages. They probably abstained from sending their own people abroad for commerce. Solomon’s fleet opened the Mediterranean, the Red Sea, and the Indian Ocean, the far east and the far west. The extraordinary influence of these voyages on their own and on all future times was remarkable [see Stanley’s Jew. Ch., vol. ii., p. 155].
III. The cargo it brought. Articles of commerce most abundant; almug, ivory, aloes, cassia, cinnamon, apes and peacocks, strange plants and animals, fragrant woods and brilliant metals, silver and gold. “Gold of Ophir” the most famous in the world. Men more precious than gold; wisdom more precious “than the merchandise of silver.” “I will make a man more precious than fine gold; even a man than the golden wedge of Ophir.”
IV. The sailors who manned it. Hebrews had none capable of performing distant expeditions; were only fishermen, whose boats coasted on the shores of the Mediterranean, or plied on inward lakes. Tyrians manned the navy of Solomon, who excelled in nautical science (cf. 1Ki_5:6; 1Ki_9:27) “When we consider that in the case of Solomon the commercial wealth of the entire community was concentrated in the hands of the government, that much of the trade was a monopoly, and that all was assisted or directed by the experience and energy of the Tyrians, the overwhelming riches of this eminent merchant-sovereign are, perhaps, not surprising.”
HOMILETIC HINTS AND SUGGESTIONS
2Ch_8:2. Caused Israel to dwell there. Principles of colonisation—
1. A matter of necessity often. To provide for employment, surplus population; and
2. Should always be in the interests of humanity. Not for national glory, material prosperity, or destruction of uncivilised races. What remains of the colonies founded by ancient nations? Prosperity and duration only when God plants a people (America and the Pilgrim Fathers).
2Ch_8:4-6. If some of the public works had the plea of utility, the fortifications of some cities for purposes of defence (Millo the suburb of Jerusalem, Hazor, Megiddo, the two Beth-horons); the foundation of others (Tadmor and Tiphsah) for purposes of commerce. These were simply the pomps of a selfish luxury; and the people, after the first dazzle was over, felt that they were so. Forty thousand horsemen made up the measure of his magnificence (1Ki_4:26). As the treasury became empty taxes multiplied, and monopolies became more irksome. If, on the one hand, the division of the kingdom came as a penalty for Solomon’s apostasy from Jehovah, on the other, it was the Nemesis of a selfish passion for glory, itself the most terrible of all idolatries [Bib. Dict.].
2Ch_8:14. David the man of God. A wonderful title. Only applied to Moses and a nameless prophet, besides David.
1. How gained;
2. What it implies in character and life.
2Ch_8:12-18. Here we find—
1. Solomon “diligent in busines.” Building and fortifying cities; engaging ships and trading to Ophir. Thus occupied usefully for his country, and employed many that would, perhaps, have otherwise been idle.
2. Solomon “fervent in spirit, serving the Lord.” Carefully guarding the sanctity of God’s house, duly offering sacrifices at all appointed times, and seeing that priests and Levites performed the sacred duties devolving upon them. Here Solomon exhibited religion as it should be; the concerns of life not unfitting him for religion, nor religion unfitting him for the concerns of life [Ingram Cobbin’s Com.].
ILLUSTRATIONS TO CHAPTER 8
2Ch_8:2. Cities. Some of these fortified places may have been necessary to keep in check the Canaanitish population, who were likely to fret under the forced labour which he exacted from them [Tuck]. Dwell there. The increase of a great number of citizens in prosperity is a necessary element to the security and even to the existence of a civilised people [Buret].
2Ch_8:7-8. Pay tribute. A mercantile democracy may govern long and widely; a mercantile aristocracy cannot stand [Landor].
“Curs’d merchandise! where life is sold,
And avarice consents to starve for gold”
[Rowe].
2Ch_8:12-15. Burnt offerings. Before we ask what a man worships, we have to ask whether he worships at all [Ruskin]. Solomon was great in burnt offerings. Do not men sometimes make up in burnt offerings what they lack in moral consistency? Is not an ostentatious religion sometimes the best proof of internal decay? It ought not to be so. The hand and the heart should be one, the outward and the inward should correspond, the action should be the incarnation of the thought. We are not always to look upon the ceremonial action of the church as indicative of its real spirituality. Sometimes men make a great noise in order to conceal a courage that is giving way [Dr. Parker].
2Ch_8:16. Prepared. When Bishop Heber read his beautiful poem, “Palestine,” in manuscript to Sir Walter Scott, his friend remarked that in speaking of the temple of Solomon he had forgotten to refer to the silence which prevailed during its erection. The poet immediately retired for a few minutes, and introduced the following beautiful lines:—
“No workman’s steel, no ponderous axes wrung;
Like some tall palm the noiseless fabric sprung.”
This circumstance is remarkable as an indication of the method of preparation and of the deep sense which Solomon had of the sacredness of his work.
2Ch_8:17-18. Ships. I am wonderfully delighted to see a body of men thriving in their own fortunes, and at the same time promoting the public stock; or, in other words, raising estates for their own families, by bringing into their country whatever is wanting, and carrying out of it whatever is superfluous. Nature seems to have taken a particular care to disseminate her blessings among the different regions of the world, with an eye to their mutual intercourse and traffic among mankind, that the nations of the several parts of the globe might have a kind of dependence upon one another, and be united together by their common interest [Addison].
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary (gen. ed. Joseph S. Exell; Funk & Wagnalls, c. 1892) — public domain (pre-1929). A full-Bible homiletical/sermon-outline anthology covering 65 of 66 books (2 John is absent from the source module). Text from a community e-Sword module.
J. R. Dummelow 1909 · Public Domain Solomon's Buildings. His Trade with Ophir
Solomon's Buildings. His Trade with Ophir
This chapter reproduces the substance of 1Ki_9:10, 1Ki_9:28 but describes some additional buildings.
Read full note →
2. Had restored] If the reference is to the cities which Solomon gave to Hiram, it seems best to assume that they had been merely pledged as security for money which Solomon borrowed and afterwards repaid: 1Ki_9:14.
3. Hamath-zobah] Perhaps a Hamath in Zobah (a country E. of the Sea of G-alilee, in the region of the modern Haurân).
4. Tadmor] the later Palmyra, a city 150 m. NE. of Damascus in the Syrian desert.
8. Them did Solomon, etc.] RV 'of them did Solomon raise a levy of bondservants.'
13. After a certain rate, etc.] RV 'as the duty of every day required': cp. 2Ch_8:14.
16. Unto the day] LXX has 'from the day.'
18. In 1Ki_9:26-28 it is stated that Solomon 'made' a navy of ships at Eziongeber, and that Hiram sent him skilled mariners.
J. R. Dummelow, A Commentary on the Holy Bible (Macmillan, 1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Arno C. Gaebelein 1922 · Public Domain 5. Solomon’s Prosperity and Activities
5. Solomon’s Prosperity and Activities
CHAPTER 8
Read full note →
1. The fortifications of cities (2Ch 8:1-6)
2. The subjection of the strangers (2Ch 8:7-10)
3. The removal of the daughter of Pharaoh (2Ch 8:11)
4. The perfected service (2Ch 8:12-16)
5. The expedition to Ophir (2Ch 8:17-18)
The activities of the King included the fortification of certain cities. (See 1 Kings 9.) First the cities are mentioned which Huram restored to Solomon. These are the cities which Solomon had previously given to him for security. 1Ki 9:10-14 explains this statement which otherwise would be obscure. All the strangers, the Canaanites, dwelling in the land were put into subjection and had to pay tribute to Solomon. They were the servants. “But of the children of Israel did Solomon make no servants for his work; but they were men of war, and chief of his captains and captains of his horsemen and chariots.” it foreshadows the age in which all will be put in subjection under Him who will be King to rule in righteousness (Isa 32:1; Heb 2:8). Then His own people will serve Him, for they “shall be willing in the day of His power” (Psa 110:3). The only mention made of the daughter of Pharaoh in Chronicles is in this chapter (verse 11). He married her in the beginning of the reign. Her removal to the house Solomon had built for her now took place. On the typical meaning of Pharaoh’s daughter see 1Ki 3:1. The worship in the house was then carried on in a perfect way. At the appointed times all was done and all David, the man of God, had commanded was carried out (verse 14). There was no departure from the commandment of the king, so the house of the Lord was perfected. It foreshadows a perfect obedience and worship which the earth will see when the true King has come. Then, as it was in Solomon’s day, the King’s commandment will be the absolute rule for everything (verse 15).
Arno C. Gaebelein, The Annotated Bible (1913–1922) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Paul E. Kretzmann 1924 · Public Domain Solomon’s Public Buildings and Serfs
Solomon’s Public Buildings and Serfs
v. 1. And it came to pass at the end of twenty years, wherein Solomon had built the house of the Lord, the building of the Temple taking seven years, and his own house, whose erection took thirteen years,
Read full note →
v. 2. that the cities which Huram had restored to Solomon, those in Northwestern Galilee, which had been granted to Huram by Solomon, but refused by the Phenician king as unsuitable for the purposes of his chief industries, 1Ki 9:11, Solomon built them, and caused the children of Israel to dwell there, he colonized these cities with people of his own nation.
v. 3. And Solomon went to Hamath-zobah, probably a confederacy of two Syrian kingdoms on, and east of, the Orontes, and prevailed against it, he overcame the forces of the confederacy whose rulers had in some way provoked his resentment.
v. 4. And he built Tadmor in the wilderness, later the famous Palmyra of Queen Zenobia, and all the store cities, which he built in Hamath, the fortified towns along the northern frontier, either to further his commercial enterprises or to secure himself against an attack from the north.
v. 5. Also he built Beth-horon the Upper and Beth-horon the Nether, on the Philistine frontier, fenced cities, with walls, gates, and bars;
v. 6. and Baalath, in the same territory, and all the store cities that Solomon had, and all the chariot cities, some of which were situated in the rich grazing lands in the south, and the cities of the horsemen, where his cavalry was stationed, and all that Solomon desired to build in Jerusalem and in Lebanon, where he is believed to have had a summer home, and throughout all the land of his dominion.
v. 7. As for all the people that were left of the Hittites, and the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites, which were not of Israel, descendants of the Canaanite nations that occupied the land before the conquest,
v. 8. but of their children, who were left after them in the land, whom the children of Israel, contrary to the original command of the Lord, consumed not, whom the Lord, therefore, left in the country as a perpetual snare to Israel, Jdg 2:1-3, them did Solomon make to pay tribute until this day, reduced them to the condition of serfs.
v. 9. But of the children of Israel did Solomon make no servants for his work, they were not forced to perform menial tasks; but they were men of war and chief of his captains and captains of his chariots and horsemen, they held positions of honor in the army.
v. 10. And these were the chief of King Solomon’s officers, the overseers belonging to Israel only, even two hundred and fifty, that bare rule over the people. So Solomon showed himself a wise administrator in all the affairs of his kingdom, interested in the welfare and security of his people. His kingdom is a type of the kingdom of Christ with its spiritual, heavenly, eternal blessings.
Paul E. Kretzmann, Popular Commentary of the Bible (1921–1924) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 It came about
It came about
This phrase is used here to mark the beginning of a new part of the story. If your language has a way of doing this, you could consider using it here.
Read full note →
at the end of twenty years
"after 20 years" (See: Numbers)
Solomon had built the house of Yahweh and his own house
The author writes of Solomon commanding the people to build the temple and palace and telling them how to do it as if he himself had built them. AT: "Solomon caused the house of Yahweh and his own house to be built" or "Solomon directed the building of the temple and his house" (See: Metonymy)
Hiram
Hiram was the king of Tyre. See how you translated his name in 2 Chronicles 2:11. AT: "Hiram, the king of Tyre" or "King Hiram" (See: How to Translate Names)
Solomon rebuilt the towns that Hiram had given to him
The author speaks of Solomon commanding the people to rebuild the towns as if he himself had rebuilt them. AT: "Solomon caused the towns that Hiram had given to him to be rebuilt" or "Solomon commanded and the people rebuilt the towns that Hiram had given to him" (See: Metonymy)
translationWords
Solomon
Yahweh
Israel
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.