2 Chronicles · Chapter 3

V. 1. Moriah-It was the belief of the ancient Jews, that the temple was built on that very place, where Abraham offered up Issac.

Verse 1. In Mount Moriah] Supposed to be the same place where Abraham was about to offer his son Isaac; so the Targum: “Solomon began to build the house of the sanctuary of the Lord at Jerusalem, in the place where Abraham had prayed and worshipped in the name of the Lord. This is the place of the earth where all generations shall worship the Lord. Here Abraham was about to offer his son Isaac for a burnt-offering; but he was snatched away by the WORD of the Lord, and a ram placed in his stead. Here Jacob prayed when he fled from the face of Esau his brother; and here the angel of the Lord appeared to David, at which time David built an altar unto the Lord in the threshing-floor which he bought from Araunah the Jebusite.”

Verse 1. In mount Moriah — Part of this mountain was in the tribe of Judah, and part of it in the tribe of Benjamin: so that the temple is ascribed to them both. To Judah, Psalm 77:68, 69, and to Benjamin, Deuteronomy 33:12. For the greatest part of the courts were in the tribe of Judah; but the altar, the porch, the most holy part of the temple, where the ark and the cherubim were, in the tribe of Benjamin. It was the belief of the ancient Jews, that the temple was built on the very spot where Abraham offered up Isaac. So the Jewish Targum (a paraphrase on the books of Moses, in the Chaldee language) says expressly, adding, But he (Isaac) was delivered by the word of the Lord, and a ram provided in his place. That offering of Isaac was typical of Christ’s sacrifice of himself: therefore fitly was the temple built there, which was also a type of him. Where the Lord appeared unto David — That is, which place the Lord had consecrated by his gracious appearance there, 1 Chronicles 21:26. The place that David had prepared — Which he had not only purchased with his money, but which he had pitched upon by divine direction, and made ready for the purpose by pulling down the buildings that were upon it or near it, by levelling the ground, and possibly by marking it out for the temple and courts, the dimensions whereof he probably very particularly and exactly understood by the Spirit of God. In the thrashing-floor of Ornan — In that place where the thrashing-floor formerly was.

Verse 1. Mount Moriah, or the land of vision; the place which the rabbins generally allow to be the same where Abraham offered up his son Isaac.

Verse 2. He began to build in the second day, &c. — Concerning the contents of this verse, and the rest of the chapter, see notes on 1 Kings 6.

Ver. 2. Began to build. See the chronology at the end of Ruth, and 2 Kings 6:1. According to archbishop Usher the temple was finished in November, and exactly a thousand years before the birth of Christ. This differs eleven or twelve years from the chronology of our bibles, and of Royamont’s chronology. The temple was finished in seven years and a half: this was expeditious. York minster was built during the session of four archbishops.

V. 3. Instructed-By David, and by the Spirit of God. The measure-According to the measure which was first fixed.

Verse 3. The length-after the first measure was threescore cubits] It is supposed that the first measure means the cubit used in the time of Moses, contradistinguished from that used in Babylon, and which the Israelites used after their return from captivity; and, as the books of Chronicles were written after the captivity, it was necessary for the writer to make this remark, lest it should be thought that the measurement was by the Babylonish cubit, which was a palm or one-sixth shorter than the cubit of Moses. See the same distinction observed by Ezekiel, Ezekiel 40:5; 43:13.

Verses 3-5. These are the things wherein Solomon was instructed — By David his father, and by the Spirit of God. After the first measure threescore cubits — According to the measure which was first fixed. The porch, the height was a hundred and twenty — This being a kind of turret to the building. How this may be reconciled with 1 Kings 6:3, see the notes there. The breadth of it, here omitted, is there said to be ten cubits. The greater house he ceiled with fir-tree — Namely, the holy place, which was twice as large as the lesser house, or the holy of holies, which is called the most holy house, verse 8. The outward part of the former was of fir-tree, to bear the weather better; but the inside was lined with cedar, overlaid with gold, and figures, or sculptures, of palm-trees, chains, and other ornaments.

V. 4. The height-This being a kind of turret to the building.

Verse 4. The height was a hundred and twenty] Some think this should be twenty only; but if the same building is spoken of as in 1 Kings 6:2, the height was only thirty cubits. Twenty is the reading of the Syriac, the Arabic, and the Septuagint in the Codex Alexandrinus. The MSS. give us no help. There is probably a mistake here, which, from the similarity of the letters, might easily occur. The words, as they now stand in the Hebrew text, are µyrcaw ham meah veesrim, one hundred and twenty. But probably the letters in ham mead, a hundred, are transposed for hma ammah, a cubit, if, therefore, the a aleph be placed after the m mem, then the word will be ham meah one hundred; if before it the word will be hma ammah, a cubit; therefore µyrc[ hma ammah esrim will be twenty cubits; and thus the Syriac, Arabic, and Septuagint appear to have read. This will bring it within the proportion of the other measures, but a hundred and twenty seems too great a height.

Verses 3-5. These are the things wherein Solomon was instructed — By David his father, and by the Spirit of God. After the first measure threescore cubits — According to the measure which was first fixed. The porch, the height was a hundred and twenty — This being a kind of turret to the building. How this may be reconciled with 1 Kings 6:3, see the notes there. The breadth of it, here omitted, is there said to be ten cubits. The greater house he ceiled with fir-tree — Namely, the holy place, which was twice as large as the lesser house, or the holy of holies, which is called the most holy house, verse 8. The outward part of the former was of fir-tree, to bear the weather better; but the inside was lined with cedar, overlaid with gold, and figures, or sculptures, of palm-trees, chains, and other ornaments.

Ver. 4. The height was a hundred and twenty cubits. The LXX, and most of the ancient versions, read twenty cubits. 1 Kings 6:2.

V. 5. Greater house-The holy place, which was thrice as large as the holy of holies.

Verses 3-5. These are the things wherein Solomon was instructed — By David his father, and by the Spirit of God. After the first measure threescore cubits — According to the measure which was first fixed. The porch, the height was a hundred and twenty — This being a kind of turret to the building. How this may be reconciled with 1 Kings 6:3, see the notes there. The breadth of it, here omitted, is there said to be ten cubits. The greater house he ceiled with fir-tree — Namely, the holy place, which was twice as large as the lesser house, or the holy of holies, which is called the most holy house, verse 8. The outward part of the former was of fir-tree, to bear the weather better; but the inside was lined with cedar, overlaid with gold, and figures, or sculptures, of palm-trees, chains, and other ornaments.

Verse 6. Gold of Parvaim.] We know not what this place was; some think it is the same as Sepharvaim, a place in Armenia or Media, conquered by the king of Assyria, 2 Kings 17:24, &c. Others, that it is Taprobane, now the island of Ceylon, which Bochart derives from taph, signifying the border, and Parvan, i.e., the coast of Parvan. The rabbins say that it was gold of a blood-red colour, and had its name from פרים parim, heifers, being like to bullocks’ blood.

The Vulgate translates the passage thus: Stravit quoque pavimentum templi pretiosissimo marmore, decore multo; porro aurum erat probatissimum; “And he made the pavement of the temple of the most precious marble; and moreover the gold was of the best quality,” &c.

Verses 6, 7. He garnished the house with precious stones for beauty — A great many precious stones were dedicated to God 1 Chronicles 29:2, 8, and these were set here and there where they would show to the best advantage. And the gold was gold of Parvaim — That is, of Taprobana, or Ceylon, as Bochart hath satisfactorily proved. See note on 1 Kings 9:28. With this gold, which was deemed the best, Solomon overlaid even the beams, the posts, the walls, and the doors, graving also cherubim on the walls — The finest houses now pretend to no better garnishing than good paint on the doors, posts, and walls: but the ornaments of the temple were more substantially rich. For it was to be a type of the New Jerusalem, which has therefore no temple in it, because it is all temple, and the walls, gates, and foundations of it are said to be precious stones and pearls.

Ver. 6. Gold of Parvaim. Leaves richly gilt, for overlaying the inner walls of the house; and as we find no patriarch of the name of Parvaim, it may mean highly-coloured gold, receiving a superior tint from the matrices in which it was formed.

Verses 6, 7. He garnished the house with precious stones for beauty — A great many precious stones were dedicated to God 1 Chronicles 29:2, 8, and these were set here and there where they would show to the best advantage. And the gold was gold of Parvaim — That is, of Taprobana, or Ceylon, as Bochart hath satisfactorily proved. See note on 1 Kings 9:28. With this gold, which was deemed the best, Solomon overlaid even the beams, the posts, the walls, and the doors, graving also cherubim on the walls — The finest houses now pretend to no better garnishing than good paint on the doors, posts, and walls: but the ornaments of the temple were more substantially rich. For it was to be a type of the New Jerusalem, which has therefore no temple in it, because it is all temple, and the walls, gates, and foundations of it are said to be precious stones and pearls.

Verses 8-10. Fine gold amounting to six hundred talents — That is, upward of three millions forty-five thousand pounds sterling. This vast sum was expended on the holy of holies alone, a room only ten yards square. The weight of the nails — That is, of each of the nails, screws, or pins, by which the golden plates were fastened to the walls that were overlaid with them, was fifty shekels of gold — The meaning seems to be, that each weighed or was worth that sum, workmanship and all. Two cherubims of image-work — Or, sculpture-work. And overlaid them with gold — For they were made of olive-wood, and were not, like those of Moses, of beaten gold. Nor were they fixed, as his were, to the mercy-seat, but appeared in a moving posture.

V. 9. Nails-Each of the nails, screws, or pins, by which the golden plates were fastened to the walls, weighed, or rather was worth, fifty shekels, workmanship and all. Upper chambers-Rather, the roof.

Verse 9. The weight of the nails was fifty shekels] Bolts must be here intended, as it should be preposterous to suppose nails of nearly two pounds’ weight.

The supper chambers] Probably the ceiling is meant.

Verses 8-10. Fine gold amounting to six hundred talents — That is, upward of three millions forty-five thousand pounds sterling. This vast sum was expended on the holy of holies alone, a room only ten yards square. The weight of the nails — That is, of each of the nails, screws, or pins, by which the golden plates were fastened to the walls that were overlaid with them, was fifty shekels of gold — The meaning seems to be, that each weighed or was worth that sum, workmanship and all. Two cherubims of image-work — Or, sculpture-work. And overlaid them with gold — For they were made of olive-wood, and were not, like those of Moses, of beaten gold. Nor were they fixed, as his were, to the mercy-seat, but appeared in a moving posture.

V. 10. Image work-Or, of moveable work, not fixed to the mercy-seat, as the Mosaical cherubim, but in a moving posture. It seems, they were designed to represent the angels, who attend the Divine Majesty.

Verses 8-10. Fine gold amounting to six hundred talents — That is, upward of three millions forty-five thousand pounds sterling. This vast sum was expended on the holy of holies alone, a room only ten yards square. The weight of the nails — That is, of each of the nails, screws, or pins, by which the golden plates were fastened to the walls that were overlaid with them, was fifty shekels of gold — The meaning seems to be, that each weighed or was worth that sum, workmanship and all. Two cherubims of image-work — Or, sculpture-work. And overlaid them with gold — For they were made of olive-wood, and were not, like those of Moses, of beaten gold. Nor were they fixed, as his were, to the mercy-seat, but appeared in a moving posture.

Verses 11-13. The wings of the cherubims were twenty cubits long — Which was just the breadth of the most holy place. And they stood on their feet — As servants, being designed, it seems, to represent the angels, those ministers of God who do his pleasure, Psalm 103:21, and who always attend the Divine Majesty. And their faces were inward — Toward the ark, that it might appear they were not set there to be adored, for then they would have been formed as sitting on a throne, and their faces would have been toward their worshippers.

Verses 11-13. The wings of the cherubims were twenty cubits long — Which was just the breadth of the most holy place. And they stood on their feet — As servants, being designed, it seems, to represent the angels, those ministers of God who do his pleasure, Psalm 103:21, and who always attend the Divine Majesty. And their faces were inward — Toward the ark, that it might appear they were not set there to be adored, for then they would have been formed as sitting on a throne, and their faces would have been toward their worshippers.

V. 13. Inward-Heb. towards the house, that is, the most holy house.

Verses 11-13. The wings of the cherubims were twenty cubits long — Which was just the breadth of the most holy place. And they stood on their feet — As servants, being designed, it seems, to represent the angels, those ministers of God who do his pleasure, Psalm 103:21, and who always attend the Divine Majesty. And their faces were inward — Toward the ark, that it might appear they were not set there to be adored, for then they would have been formed as sitting on a throne, and their faces would have been toward their worshippers.

Ver. 13. They stood on their feet. Parkhurst, from whomsoever he took his plate of the cherubim, committed an obvious mistake, for he makes the cherub to stand on one foot, and the head to consist of four living creatures. See Ezekiel 1:10. Revelation 4:6.

V. 14. The veil-The inner veil before the most holy place. This denoted the darkness of that dispensation and the distance at which the worshippers were kept. But at the death of Christ this veil was rent; for thro’ him we are brought nigh, and have boldness, or liberty, not only to look, but to enter into the holiest.

Verse 14. And he made the veil, &c. — The inner veil, which parted between the holy and the most holy place. This denoted the darkness of that dispensation, and the distance at which the worshippers were kept. But at the death of Christ this veil was rent; for through him we are brought nigh, and have boldness, or parrhsia, liberty, Hebrews 10:19, not only to look, but to enter into the holiest. And wrought cherubims thereon — Hebrew, l[yw, vajagnal, he caused to ascend; that is, they were made in raised work, embossed, and appeared probably on the wing, in an ascending posture, to remind the worshippers to raise their thoughts and affections to God, and to soar upward in their devotions.

Verses 15, 16. He also made before the house — That is, before the holy house, or temple, as it is explained verse 17; two pillars of thirty and five cubits high — Namely, both taken together, being each near eighteen cubits, 1 Kings 7:15. He made chains as in the oracle — Like unto those which he made in the oracle, of which see 1 Kings 6:21. And made a hundred pomegranates — In each row, or two hundred in all, as it is said 1 Kings 7:20. These pillars, according to the signification of their names, Jachin and Boaz, mean establishment and strength. See the margin.

Verses 15, 16. He also made before the house — That is, before the holy house, or temple, as it is explained verse 17; two pillars of thirty and five cubits high — Namely, both taken together, being each near eighteen cubits, 1 Kings 7:15. He made chains as in the oracle — Like unto those which he made in the oracle, of which see 1 Kings 6:21. And made a hundred pomegranates — In each row, or two hundred in all, as it is said 1 Kings 7:20. These pillars, according to the signification of their names, Jachin and Boaz, mean establishment and strength. See the margin.

V. 17. Jachin-That is, He shall establish. Boaz-That is, In it is strength.

Verse 17. He reared up the pillars] “The name of that on the right hand was Jachin, because the kingdom of the house of David was established; and the name of the left was Boaz, from the name of Boaz the patriarch of the family of Judah, from whom all the kings of the house of Judah have descended.”-Targum. See on 1 Kings 7:21; and see the parallel places for other matters contained in this chapter.

II CHRONICLES

Ver. 17. He reared up the pillars, Jachin and Boaz, names importing stability and strength. They gave a grand and imposing aspect at the entrance of the temple.