XXII. (1) THEN. — _And._ THIS IS THE HOUSE. — Better, _This is a house of Jehovah, the_ (true) _God, and this_ (is) _an altar of burnt offering for Israel._ The verse resumes the narrative suspended at 1 Chronicles 21:28. The place of the apparition is called “a house of God,” as in Genesis 28:17.... [ Continue Reading ]
AND DAVID COMMANDED TO GATHER TOGETHER THE STRANGERS. — The word rendered “to gather together” (_kânas_) is different from the terms used in 1 Chronicles 15:3; 1 Chronicles 19:7, and is late in this sense. THE STRANGERS (_gêrîm_)_. — _Sojourners, or resident foreigners, such as Israel had been in Eg... [ Continue Reading ]
(2-5) David gathers craftsmen, and accumulates materials for building the house of God.... [ Continue Reading ]
FOR THE NAILS. — _Mismĕrîm_ happens to occur only in the later books of the Old Testament, but may well be an ancient word. (Comp. the Assyrian _asmarê_ “spears,” which derives from the same root.) FOR THE DOORS OF THE GATES. — he doors were to be what we call folding-doors (1 Kings 6:34). FOR THE... [ Continue Reading ]
ALSO CEDAR TREES IN ABUNDANCE. — Literally, _and beams or logs of cedars without number._ A rhetorical exaggeration, like that which we have just noted. (See also 1 Chronicles 14:1.) THE ZIDONIANS AND THEY OF TYRA (_i.e.,_ the Phoenicians) BROUGHT MUCH CEDAR WOOD — i.e., in the way of ordinary comm... [ Continue Reading ]
SOLOMON MY SON IS YOUNG AND TENDER — _i.e.,_ an inexperienced young man. David repeats the expression (1 Chronicles 29:1); and it is applied to Rehoboam (2 Chronicles 13:7) at the age of forty-one. The word here rendered “young,” literally, “youth” (_na’ar_)_,_ is even more vague than the Latin _ado... [ Continue Reading ]
THEN HE CALLED. — _And he called Solomon._ When? After completing his preparations, and shortly before his death (1 Chronicles 22:5). (Comp. 1 Kings 2:1, especially 1 Chronicles 22:3, of which we seem to hear echoes in the present speech.) Upon grounds of internal evidence we may pronounce this dyin... [ Continue Reading ]
(6-16) David gives formal charge to Solomon to build the Temple.... [ Continue Reading ]
MY SON. — So some MSS., the Hebrew margin, and LXX., Vulg., Targ. rightly. The Hebrew text reads, “His son,” which is probably an oversight, due t_o_ “Solomon his son” in 1 Chronicles 22:6. AS FOR ME, IT WAS IN MY MIND. — Literally, _I_ — _it became with_ (_near_ or _in_)_ my heart, i.e.,_ it came i... [ Continue Reading ]
BUT THE WORD OF THE LORD CAME TO ME (upon me). — Literally, _And a word of Jehovah became upon me._ There is a partial correspondence between this “word of the Lord” and that which Nathan is represented as delivering (1 Chronicles 17:4). There, however, David is promised success in war, without any... [ Continue Reading ]
SHALL BE BORN. — _Is about to be born_ (participle). WHO SHALL BE. — _He_ (emphatic) _shall become a man of rest,_ opposed to “a man of war,” such as was David (2 Samuel 17:8; 1 Chronicles 28:3). The phrase is further explained by what follows. AND I WILL GIVE HIM REST FROM ALL HIS ENEMIES ROUND AB... [ Continue Reading ]
HE SHALL BUILD AN HOUSE. — Comp. 1 Chronicles 17; parts of 1 Chronicles 22:11 are here repeated. (See the Notes there.)... [ Continue Reading ]
THE LORD BE WITH THEE. — See 1 Chronicles 9:20. (1 Samuel 3:19; 2 Kings 18:7 : “The Lord was with him.”) The phrase is the origin of the familiar liturgical formula, “The Lord be with you.” AND PROSPER THOU, AND BUILD THE HOUSE. — Not a command, but a wish, _i.e.,_ mayest thou prosper and build. Th... [ Continue Reading ]
ONLY THE LORD GIVE THEE WISDOM. — Better, _at least may the Lord give, &c._; restricting the wish to one supremely important point. (For Solomon’s wisdom, comp. 1 Kings 3:9.) AND GIVE THEE CHARGE CONCERNING ISRAEL. — Rather, _and appoint thee over Israel_ (2 Samuel 7:11). Solomon had been indicated... [ Continue Reading ]
THEN SHALT THOU PROSPER. — The verse makes it quite clear that obedience was an indispensable condition to the full realisation of the promise. (Comp. 1 Chronicles 22:10 with the actual after-course of history.) Yet the word of the Lord does not return unto Him void; and if the earthly dynasty of Da... [ Continue Reading ]
IN MY TROUBLE. — Rather, _by my toil_ or _pains._ (Comp. 1 Chronicles 29:2 : “I have prepared _with all my might._”) In Genesis 31:42 the same expression is equated with “the labour of my hands.” The LXX. and Vulg. wrongly render “in” or “according to my poverty.” AN HUNDRED THOUSAND TALENTS OF GOLD... [ Continue Reading ]
ARISE THEREFORE, AND BE DOING. — A phrase which recurs at Ezra 10:4.... [ Continue Reading ]
SAYING. — The absence of this word from the Hebrew text may be compared with the like omission in 1 Chronicles 16:7; 1 Chronicles 23:4; 1 Chronicles 28:19.... [ Continue Reading ]
(17-19) David invites the cooperation of the chieftains of Israel.... [ Continue Reading ]
IS NOT THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH YOU? — The proof appears in what follows. AND HATH HE NOT? — Rather, _and he hath given you rest_ (1 Chronicles 22:9). HE HATH GIVEN THE INHABITANTS OF THE LAND INTO MINE HAND. — The surrounding people, whose reduction is described in 1 Chronicles 18-20 (Comp. for the... [ Continue Reading ]
TO SEEK THE LORD. — Hebrew, “to seek _unto the_ Lord,” as in 2 Chronicles 17:4; Ezra 4:2. The older construction, with a simple accusative, occurred in 1 Chronicles 16:12; 1 Chronicles 21:30. ARISE THEREFORE, AND BUILD. — Rather, _And arise ye, and build._ The second clause explains how the first wa... [ Continue Reading ]