Table of Contents
2 Chronicles 2
2 Chronicles 2
1 And Solomon determined to build an house for the name of the Lord, and an house for his kingdom.
2 And Solomon told out threescore and ten thousand men to bear burdens, and fourscore thousand to hew in the mountain, and three thousand and six hundred to oversee them.
3 And Solomon sent to Huram the king of Tyre, saying, As thou didst deal with David my father, and didst send him cedars to build him an house to dwell therein, even so deal with me.
4 Behold, I build an house to the name of the Lord my God, to dedicate it to him, and to burn before him sweet incense, and for the continual shewbread, and for the burnt offerings morning and evening, on the sabbaths, and on the new moons, and on the solemn feasts of the Lord our God. This is an ordinance for ever to Israel.
5 And the house which I build is great: for great is our God above all gods.
6 But who is able to build him an house, seeing the heaven and heaven of heavens cannot contain him? who am I then, that I should build him an house, save only to burn sacrifice before him?
7 Send me now therefore a man cunning to work in gold, and in silver, and in brass, and in iron, and in purple, and crimson, and blue, and that can skill to grave with the cunning men that are with me in Judah and in Jerusalem, whom David my father did provide.
8 Send me also cedar trees, fir trees, and algum trees, out of Lebanon: for I know that thy servants can skill to cut timber in Lebanon; and, behold, my servants shall be with thy servants,
9 Even to prepare me timber in abundance: for the house which I am about to build shall be wonderful great.
10 And, behold, I will give to thy servants, the hewers that cut timber, twenty thousand measures of beaten wheat, and twenty thousand measures of barley, and twenty thousand baths of wine, and twenty thousand baths of oil.
11 Then Huram the king of Tyre answered in writing, which he sent to Solomon, Because the Lord hath loved his people, he hath made thee king over them.
12 Huram said moreover, Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, that made heaven and earth, who hath given to David the king a wise son, endued with prudence and understanding, that might build an house for the Lord, and an house for his kingdom.
13 And now I have sent a cunning man, endued with understanding, of Huram my father's,
14 The son of a woman of the daughters of Dan, and his father was a man of Tyre, skilful to work in gold, and in silver, in brass, in iron, in stone, and in timber, in purple, in blue, and in fine linen, and in crimson; also to grave any manner of graving, and to find out every device which shall be put to him, with thy cunning men, and with the cunning men of my lord David thy father.
15 Now therefore the wheat, and the barley, the oil, and the wine, which my lord hath spoken of, let him send unto his servants:
16 And we will cut wood out of Lebanon, as much as thou shalt need: and we will bring it to thee in floats by sea to Joppa; and thou shalt carry it up to Jerusalem.
17 And Solomon numbered all the strangers that were in the land of Israel, after the numbering wherewith David his father had numbered them; and they were found an hundred and fifty thousand and three thousand and six hundred.
18 And he set threescore and ten thousand of them to be bearers of burdens, and fourscore thousand to be hewers in the mountain, and three thousand and six hundred overseers to set the people a work.
Notes
Cross Reference
Concordance
Commentary
Rashi
Verse 3
<html><b>to devote to Him</b> for some purpose. <b>to burn before Him incense</b> which is a way of honor[ing Him], and this is repeated further (verse 5): “but to burn incense before Him.” <b>making this permanent over Israel</b> Therefore, I request of you to send to me [material] for a good and strong House, because it is required perpetually for Israel to offer up their sacrifice(s) in this House, which I am building.</html>
Verse 4
<html><b>And the House, which I am building, is great</b> Therefore, I require of you to send me of your buildings. Now if you say, “Make the House smaller, so that you will not need other people,” I cannot do so, because our God is greater than all Gods; therefore, I cannot diminish it or make it smaller.</html>
Verse 5
<html><b>And who can gather up strength to build Him a house</b> Since he said, “And the House which I am building is great,” perhaps [you may think that] this will mean “great enough for His needs,” but this is not so, for “who can gather strength?” For who can compress and gather his strength enough to build a house fit for Him? An example of this appears above (I Chron. 29:14): “that we should gather up strength to donate.” <b>for the heavens and the heavens of the heavens cannot contain Him</b> Therefore, he says, “and who am I, to build Him a House?” And that which I am building Him is nothing more than to burn incense therein before Him.</html>
Verse 6
<html><b>and with purple</b> אַרְגְּוָן. This is synonymous with אַרְגָּמָן. <b>and crimson</b> כַּרְמִיל. This is תוֹלַעַת שָׁנִי. The proof is that תוֹלַעַת שָׁנִי is not mentioned here. <b>and who knows how to make engravings</b> Heb. לְפַתֵּחַ פִּתּוּחִים. An example is (Ex. 28:36) פִּתּוּחֵי חֹתָם, the engravings of a signet; someone who knows how to cut and make forms in stones, <i>graber</i> or <i>greber</i> in Middle German.</html>
Verse 9
<html><b>Abundant wheat</b> - Heb. מַכּוֹת, in Middle High German <i>vollauff</i>, in abundance, and some say that מַכּוֹת means crushed to extract the wheat kernels from the ear. <b>and wine twenty thousand baths</b> The expression of bath refers to a liquid measure, and kor is a dry measure.</html>
Verse 12
<html><b>endowed with understanding, of my father Huram</b> He was my father’s ingenious craftsman, and he is also mine.</html>
Verse 13
<html><b>the son of a woman</b> She was a widow. <b>of the daughters of Dan</b> of the tribe of Dan. <b>and his father was a Tyrian man</b> He was a Jew who lived in Tyre, on the model of (II Sam. 6:10): “Obed-Edom the Gittite,” who lived in Gath, and who was a Levite. In I Kings (7:14), it is written: “He was a widow’s son, of the tribe of Naphtali, and his father was a Tyrian man.” His mother was from Dan, and his father was from Naphtali. Now why was it necessary to trace his genealogy, from which tribe his father and mother were? This is what is written (Gen. 30:6): “God judged me,” and also (ibid. 8): “I have fought a divine struggle, etc.” Rachel said, “I twisted cords; I went through contortions until I was able to compare to my sister Leah. If Leah will boast of her descendant Bezalel, who will make the Tabernacle, he will require one of the sons of Dan to participate in his work, as it is written (38: 23): ‘And with him was Oholiab the son of Ahisamach of the tribe of Dan.’ Now if Solomon, the descendant of my sister, will build the Temple, some of the sons of Dan and Naphtali will have to participate with him.” <b>and his father was a Tyrian man</b> [This comes] to teach you that even if his mother is a widow, a person must adopt his father’s trade and sustain his mother. (So I heard from Rabbi Solomon the son of Levi of Monteuille, the son of Rabbi Moshe Hadarshan’s sister.)</html>
Verse 15
<html><b>as rafts</b> - Heb. רַפְסדוֹת, and in I Kings (5:23) it is written: דבְרוֹת, in Middle High German <i>vloeze</i>, rafts, (in modern German <i>flusse</i>). <b>on the sea of Joppa</b> meaning on the seacoast, like (Jonah 1:3): “and he went down to Joppa.”</html>
Verse 16
<html><b>And Solomon counted all the strangers who were in the land of Israel</b> - Heb. הַגֵּירִים. This is written with the plene spelling, two yuds. In the beginning, when David counted them (I Chron 22:2), they were called הַגֵּרִים with one yud, but Solomon counted them at the time of the deed, when he built; therefore, it is written with the plene spelling. A similar instance: “then you shall bring up my bones from this place.” “With you” is missing in the portion of וַיְחִי (Gen. 50:25), but at the time of the deed (in the portion of בְּשַׁלַּח, Ex. 13:19), when he took them, it is written: “with you.” <b>And Solomon counted, etc., after the census</b> above (I Chron. 22:2), as it is written: “And David ordered to gather the strangers.”</html>
Verse 17
<html><b>And he made of them seventy thousand, etc.</b> The reason he mentions them again and mentions the number is that he interrupted the topic; therefore, he had to repeat it again now. And he did not stop until he finished the entire [account of the] building, and he says immediately (3:1): “And Solomon commenced to build, etc.” Now, even with one verse, it is customary to interrupt the topic and [then] to begin [again] with the previous statement, e.g., (Num. 16:6): “Do this: take yourself, etc.” And the morrow, it says (ibid. 16f.): “And Moses said to Korah: You and all your band, etc.,” and he repeats and says, “and let each man take his censer and place, etc.” Since he interrupted with many verses, it was necessary to rewrite it, and how much more so here.</html>