Bible Commentaries

Solomon, and the chiefs of the congregation, go to Gibeon, where was the tabernacle of the Lord, and the brazen altar; and there he offers a thousand sacrifices, 2 Chronicles 1:1-6. The Lord appears to him in a dream, and gives him permission to ask any gift, 2 Chronicles 1:7. He asks wisdom, 2 Chronicles 1:8-10, which is granted; and riches, wealth, and honor besides, 2 Chronicles 1:11, 2 Chronicles 1:12. His kingdom is established, 2 Chronicles 1:13. His chariots, horsemen, and horses, 2 Chronicles 1:14. His abundant riches, 2 Chronicles 1:15. He brings horses, linen yarn, and chariots, at a fixed price, out of Egypt, 2 Chronicles 1:16, 2 Chronicles 1:17.

And Solomon the son of David - The very beginning of this book shows that it is a continuation of the preceding, and should not be thus formally separated from it. See the preface to the first book.

The Lord his God was with him - "The Word of the Lord was his support." - Targum.

Then Solomon spake - This is supposed to have taken place in the second year of his reign.

But the ark - The tabernacle and the brazen altar remained still at Gibeon; but David had brought away the ark out of the tabernacle, and placed it in a tent at Jerusalem; 2 Samuel 6:2, 2 Samuel 6:17.

Sought unto it - Went to seek the Lord there.

In that night - The night following the sacrifice. On Solomon's choice, see the notes on 1 Kings 3:5-15; (note).

Let thy promise - דברך debarcha, thy word; פתגמך pithgamach, Targum. It is very remarkable that when either God or man is represented as having spoken a word then the noun פתגם pithgam is used by the Targumist; but when word is used personally, then he employs the noun מימרא meymera, which appears to answer to the Λογος of St. John, John 1:1, etc.

He had a thousand and four hundred chariots - For these numbers, see the notes on 1 Kings 4:26.

Made silver and gold - See on 1 Kings 10:27; (note), 1 Kings 10:28; (note).

Linen yarn - See the note on 1 Kings 10:28, where this subject is particularly examined.

A horse for a hundred and fifty - Suppose we take the shekel at the utmost value at which it has been rated, three shillings; then the price of a horse was about twenty-two pounds ten shillings.

On Solomon's multiplying horses, Bishop Warburton has made some judicious remarks: -

"Moses had expressly prohibited the multiplying of horses, Deuteronomy 17:16, by which the future king was forbidden to establish a body of cavalry, because this could not be effected without sending into Egypt, with which people God had forbidden any communication, as this would be dangerous to religion. When Solomon had violated this law, and multiplied horses to excess, 1 Kings 4:26, it was soon attended with those fatal consequences that the law foretold: for this wisest of kings having likewise, in violation of another law, married Pharaoh's daughter, (the early fruits of this commerce), and then, by a repetition of the same crime, but a transgression of another law, having espoused more strange women, 1 Kings 11:1; they first, in defiance of a fourth law, persuaded him to build them idol temples for their use, and afterwards, against a fifth law, brought him to erect other temples for his own. Now the original of all this mischief was the forbidden traffic with Egypt for horses; for thither were the agents of Solomon sent to mount his cavalry. Nay, this great king even turned factor for the neighboring monarchs, 2 Chronicles 1:17, and this opprobrious commerce was kept up by his successors and attended with the same pernicious consequences. Isaiah denounces the mischiefs of this traffic; and foretells that one of the good effects of leaving it would be the forsaking of their idolatries, Isaiah 31:1, Isaiah 31:4, Isaiah 31:6, Isaiah 31:7." - See Divine Legation, vol. iii., p. 289 and Dr. Dodd's Notes.