Verse 10. Verse 11.

Verse 10. He made the pillars thereof, &c.] And after that he had finished it, he put in the midst of it the ark of the testimony, which is the pillar of the world; and in it the two tables of stone, which Moses placed there in Horeb, which are more precious than silver purified, and more beautiful than the best gold; and he spread and covered over it {l} the veil of blue and purple, and between the cherubims which are over the mercy-seat the shechinah of the Lord abode, whose name dwelleth in Jerusalem, above all the cities of the land of Israel.

Verse 11. Go forth, O ye daughters of Zion, &c.] When King Solomon came to make the dedication of the house of the sanctuary, a crier went forth in strength; and thus he said, Go forth and see, ye inhabitants of the provinces of the land of Israel, and ye people of Zion, the crown and diadem wherewith the people of the house of Israel crowned King Solomon in the {m} day of the dedication of the house of the sanctuary, when he rejoiced with the joy of the feast of tabernacles; for king Solomon kept at that time the feast of tabernacles {n} fourteen days. ENDNOTES — CHAPTER 3.

{a} The same is mentioned in the Targums of Jon. and Jerus. in Exodus 32:25. By this holy crown seems to be meant the shechinah or presence of God, and so it is explained in Shirhashirim Rabba in chap. 4:12; or else the law, which is very frequently called so, Bemidbar Rabba, Parash. 4. Midrash Kohelet in c. 7, 1. Pirk. Aboth. c. 4, s. 13.

{b} These are also supposed to be intended by the watchmen in Shirhashirim Rabba, and by Jarchi and R. Aben Ezra in loc. {c} It was a common practice with the Jewish doctors to teach, dispute, and converse about religion in chambers or upper rooms. See Mishna Tract. Shabbath. c. 1, s. 4.

{d} The Hittites, the Girgashites, the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, Deuteronomy 7:1. {e} The same is mentioned in Shirhashirim Rabba in loc., and in Bemidbar Rabba, Parash. 11. There being just this number of letters in the forms of blessings with which the priests were to bless the people of Israel, in Numbers 6:24-26.

{f} The law is likewise compared to a sword, in Bereshith Rabba, Parash.

21. See Ephesians 6:17. Hebrews 4:12.

{g} The apostle Paul calls circumcision shmeion peritomhv, sfragida thv dikaiosunhv thv pistewv, “the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of faith,” Romans 4:11.

{h} So this “fear in the night” is interpreted by some of the rabbins in Shirhashirim Rabba in loc., and in Bemidbar Rabba, Parash. 11. Though others of them in the said places explain it of the fear of hell, which is like to the night; as they do also in Gemara Rab. Tract. Sanhedrin, c. 1, fol. 7, col. 1.

{i} By this chariot R. Aben Ezra also understands the house of the Lord; and in Shirhashirim Rabba, and by Jarchi in loc., it is interpreted of the tabernacle, as it is by some of the Jews, in Bemidbar Rabba, Parash. 12, though others think the ark is intended; and others in the same place would have the world meant, which way they explain it in Zohar in Genesis fol. 2,

1. The word ˆwyrpa very properly signifies “the marriage bed,” so called from hrp which signifies “to fructify,” or “to be fruitful.” Hence ˆwyrpa twnbl is a very usual phrase with the rabbins to express the celebration of marriage. Vide Buxtorf, epist. Hebrews lib. 2, ep. 7.

{k} Elias Levita, in his Methurgeman on this word, says that this is cinnabar. He seems to mean a kind of red wood, which dyers use; but observes, that some say it is the spice we call ginger. So David de Pomis renders it in his Lex. Hebrews fol. 54, 4; and indeed it is joined with pepper in Maimon. Tract. Shebitat Asur, c. 2, s. 6. Biath. Hamikdash, c. 7, s. 13, and Beracoth, c. 8, s. 7. It is most likely to be a kind of cedar. {l} Vide Bemidbar Rabba, Parash. 12, Shirhashirim Rabba, and Jarchi in loc.

{m} Most of the Jewish writers refer this to the time of the giving of the law on Mount Sinai, and the setting up of the tabernacle by Moses, so Jarchi and Shirhashirim Rabba in loc. Shemoth Rabba, Parash. 52. Vajikra Rabba, Parash. 20, Bemidbar Rabba, Parash. 2 and 12. Praefat. Echa Rabbati. fol. 21, 2.

{n} In 1 Kings 8:65, it is said that “Solomon held a feast seven days and seven days, even fourteen days;” the reason of which distinction is because the first seven days were kept for the dedication of the altar, and the other for the feast of tabernacles; see 2 Chronicles 7:8, 9: whereas our Targumist would have the feast of tabernacles kept the whole fourteen days, contrary to the command in Leviticus 23:34. Vide R. Levi Ben Gerson, and R. David Kimchi in 1 Reg. 8:65.