Bible Commentaries

Contributions of the collected princes for the building of the temple. - David then turns to the assembled princes to press upon them thefurthering of the building of the temple. After referring to the youth of hisson, and to the greatness of the work to be accomplished (1 Chronicles 29:1), hementions what materials he has prepared for the building of the temple (1 Chronicles 29:2); then further states what he has resolved to give in addition from hisprivate resources (1 Chronicles 29:4); and finally, after this introduction, calls uponthose present to make a voluntary collection for this great work (1 Chronicles 29:5). Thewords, “as only one hath God chosen him,” form a parenthesis, which isto be translated as a relative sentence for “my son, whom alone God hathchosen.” ורך נער as in 1 Chronicles 22:5. The work isgreat, because not for man the palace, scil. is intended, i.e., shall be built,but for Jahve God. הבּירה, the citadel, the palace; a later word,generally used of the residence of the Persian king (Esther 1:2, Esther 1:5; Esther 2:3; Nehemiah 1:1), only in Nehemiah 2:8 of the citadel by the temple; here transferred to thetemple as the glorious palace of Jahve, the God-king of Israel. With 1 Chronicles 29:2 ,cf. 1 Chronicles 22:14. וגו לזּהב הזּהב, the gold forthe golden, etc., i.e., for the vessels and ornaments of gold, cf. 1 Chronicles 28:14. וּמלּוּאים שׁהם אבני as in Exodus 25:7; Exodus 35:9, precious stones for the ephod and choshen. שׁהם, probably beryl. מּלּוּאים אבני, stones of filling, that is, precious stones which are put in settings. פּוּך אבני, stones of pigment, i.e., ornament, conjecturally precious stones which, from their black colour, were in appearance like פּוּך, stibium, a common eye pigment (see 2 Kings 9:30). רקמה אבני, stones of variegated colour, i.e., with veins of different colours. יקרה אבן, precious stones, according to 2 Chronicles 3:6, for ornamenting the walls. שׁישׁ אבני, white marble stones.

“And moreover, because I have pleasure in the house of my God, there isto me a treasure of gold and silver; it have I appointed for the house of myGod over and above all that … ” הכינותי with כּל without the relative, cf. 1 Chronicles 15:12.

Gold 3000 talents, i.e., about 13 1/2, or, reckoning according to the royalshekel, 6 3/4 millions of pounds; 7000 talents of silver, circa 2 1/2 or 1 1/4millions of pounds: see on 1 Chronicles 22:14. Gold of Ophir, i.e., the finest,best gold, corresponding to the pure silver. לטוּח, to overlaythe inner walls of the houses with gold and silver leaf. הבּתים asin 1 Chronicles 28:11, the different buildings of the temple. The walls of the holy placeand of the most holy, of the porch and of the upper chambers, wereoverlaid with gold (cf. 2 Chronicles 3:4-6, 2 Chronicles 3:8-9), and probably only the innerwalls of the side buildings.

לזּהב לזּהב, for every golden thing, etc., cf. 1 Chronicles 29:2. וּלכל־מלאכה, and in general for every work to be wrought by the hands of the artificer. וּמי, who then is willing (uw expressing it as the consequence). To fill one's hand to the Lord, means to provide oneself with something which one brings to the Lord; see on Exodus 32:29. The infinitive מלּאות occurs also in Exodus 31:5 and Daniel 9:4, and along with מלּא, 2 Chronicles 13:9.

The princes follow the example, and willingly respond to David's call. האבות שׂרי = האבות ראשׁי, 1 Chronicles 24:31; 1 Chronicles 27:1, etc. הם מלאכת ולשׂרי, and as regards the princes of the work of the king. The למּלך וּמקנה רכוּשׁ שׂרי, 1 Chronicles 28:1, the officials enumerated in 1 Chronicles 27:25-31 are meant; on ל see on 1 Chronicles 28:21. They gave 5000 talents of gold (22 1/2 or 11 1/2 millions of pounds), and 1000 darics = 11 1/2 millions of pounds. אדרכּון, with א prosth. here and in Ezra 8:27, and דּרכּמון, Ezra 2:69; Nehemiah 7:70., does not correspond to the Greek δραχμή , Arab. (dirhem), but to the Greek δαρεικός , as the Syrian translation (derîkônā'), Ezra 8:27, shows; a Persian gold coin worth about 22s. 6d. See the description of these coins, of which several specimens still exist, in Cavedoni bibl. Numismatik, übers. von A. Werlhof, S. 84ff.; J. Brandis, das Münz-Mass und Gewishtssystem in Vorderasien (1866), S. 244; and my bibl. Archäol. §127, 3. “Our historian uses the words used in his time to designate the current gold coins, without intending to assume that there were darics in use in the time of David, to state in a way intelligible to his readers the amount of the sum contributed by the princes” (Bertheau). This perfectly correct remark does not, however, explain why the author of the Chronicle has stated the contribution in gold and that in silver in different values, in talents and in darics, since the second cannot be an explanation of the first, the two sums being different. Probably the sum in darics is the amount which they contributed in gold pieces received as coins; the talents, on the other hand, probably represent the weight of the vessels and other articles of gold which they brought as offerings for the building. The amount contributed in silver is not large when compared with that in gold: 10,000 talents = £3,500,000, or one half that amount. The contribution in copper also, 18,000 talents, is not very large. Besides these, those who had stones, i.e., precious stones, also brought them. אתּו הנּמצא, that was found with him, for: that which he (each one) had of stones they gave. The sing. אתּו is to be taken distributively, and is consequently carried on in the plural, נתנוּ; cf. Ew. §319, a. אבנים is accus. of subordination. יד על נתן, to give over for administration (Ew. §282, b). יחיאל, the Levite family of this name which had the oversight of the treasures of the house of God (1 Chronicles 26:21.).

The people and the king rejoiced over this willingness to give. שׁלם בּלב, as in 1 Chronicles 28:9.

David's thanksgiving prayer. - David gives fitting expression to his joy onthe success of the deepest wish of his heart, in a prayer with which hecloses the last parliament of his reign. Since according to the divine decree,not he, the man of war, but his son, the peace-king Solomon, was to builda temple to the Lord, David had taken it upon himself to prepare as far aspossible for the carrying out of the work. He had also found the princesand chiefs of the people willing to further it, and to assist his son Solomonin it. In this the pious and grey-haired servant of the Lord saw a specialproof of the divine favour, for which he must thank God the Lord beforethe whole congregation. He praises Jahve, “the God of Israel our father,” 1 Chronicles 29:10, or, as it is in 1 Chronicles 29:18, “the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob, ourfathers.” Jahve had clearly revealed himself to David and his people as theGod of Israel and of the patriarchs, by fulfilling in so glorious a manner tothe people of Israel, by David, the promises made to the patriarchs. God the Lord had not only by David made His people great and powerful, and secured to them the peaceful possession of the good land, by humbling all their enemies round about, but He had also awakened in the heart of the people such love to and trust in their God, that the assembled dignitaries of the kingdom showed themselves perfectly willing to assist in furthering the building of the house of God. In this God had revealed His greatness, power, glory, etc., as David (in 1 Chronicles 29:11, 1 Chronicles 29:12) acknowledges with praise: “Thine, Jahve, is the greatness,” etc. הנּצח, according to the Aramaic usage, gloria, splendour, honour. כל כּי, yea all, still dependent on לך at the commencement of the sentence, so that we do not need to supply לך after כּי. “Thine is the dominion, and the raising of oneself to be head over all.” In His ממלכה God reveals His greatness, might, glory, etc. ממנשּׂא is not a participle requiring אתּה, “thou art,” to be supplied (Berth.), but an appellative, an Aramaic infinitive, - the raising oneself (Ew. §160, e).

“From Thee came the riches and the glory … , and in Thy hand is it (it lies)to make all things great and strong.”

For this we must thank God, and sing praise to His holy name. By thepartic. מודים, from הודה, confess, praise, thepraising of God is characterized as an enduring praise, always rising anew.

For man of himself can give nothing: “What am I, and what is my people,that we should be able to show ourselves so liberal?” כּוח עצר כּוח, to hold strength together; both to have power to doanything (here and 2 Chronicles 2:5; 2 Chronicles 22:9), and also to retain strength (2 Chronicles 13:20; Daniel 10:8, Daniel 10:16; Daniel 11:6), only found in Daniel and in the Chronicle. התנדּב, to show oneself willing, especially in giving. כּזאת refers to the contribution to the building of the temple (1 Chronicles 29:3-8). From Thy hand, i.e., that which is received from Thee, have we given.

For we are strangers (as Psalm 39:13), i.e., in this connection we have noproperty, no enduring possession, since God had only given them theusufruct of the land; and as of the land, so also of all the property of man,it is only a gift committed to us by God in usufruct. The truth that our lifeis a pilgrimage (Hebrews 11:12-14), is presented to us by the brevity of life. Asa shadow, so swiftly passing away, are our days upon the earth (cf. Job 8:9; Psalm 90:9., Psalm 102:12; Psalm 144:4). מקוה ואין, andthere is no trust, scil. in the continuance of life (cf. Jeremiah 14:8).

All the riches which we have prepared for the building of the temple comefrom the hand of God. The Keth. הוּא is neuter, the Keriהוּא corresponds to ההמון.

Before God, who searches the heart and loves uprightness, David candeclare that he has willingly given in uprightness of heart, and that thepeople also have, to his joy, shown equal willingness. כּל־אלּה, all thetreasures enumerated (1 Chronicles 29:3-8). The plural הנּמצאוּ refers toעמּך, and the demonstrative ה stands for אשׁר as in 1 Chronicles 26:28.

He prays that God may enable the people ever to retain this frame ofheart. זאת is more closely defined by מח ליצר, viz., theframe of the thoughts of the heart of Thy people. “And direct their heart(the people's heart) to Thee,” cf. 1 Samuel 7:3.

And to Solomon may God give a whole (undivided) heart, that he maykeep all the divine commands and do them, and build the temple. שׁלם לב as in 1 Chronicles 29:9. הכּל לעשׂות, that he may doall, scil. that the commands, testimonies, and statutes require. Forהבּירה, see 1 Chronicles 29:1.

Close of the public assembly. - 1 Chronicles 29:20. At the conclusion of the prayer,David calls upon the whole assembly to praise God; which they do,bowing before God and the king, and worshipping. וישׁתּחווּ יקּדוּ, connected as in Exodus 4:31; Genesis 43:28, etc.

1 Chronicles 29:21

To seal their confession, thus made in word and deed, theassembled dignitaries prepared a great sacrificial feast to the Lord on thefollowing day. They sacrificed to the Lord sacrifices, viz., 1000 bullocks,1000 rams, and 1000 lambs as burnt-offering, with drink-offerings tocorrespond, and sacrifices, i.e., thank-offerings (שׁלמים), inmultitude for all Israel, i.e., so that all those present could take part in thesacrificial meal prepared from these sacrifices. While זבהים inthe first clause is the general designation of the bloody offerings asdistinguished from the meat-offerings, in the last clause it is restricted bythe contrast with עלות and the שׁלמים, from whichjoyous sacrificial meals were prepared.

1 Chronicles 29:22

On this day they made Solomon king a second time, anointinghim king to the Lord, and Zadok to be priest, i.e., high priest. The שׁנית refers back to 1 Chronicles 23:1, and the first anointing of Solomonnarrated in 1 Kings 1:32. ליהיה, not: before Jahve, which ל cannotsignify, but: “to Jahve,” in accordance with His will expressed in Hischoice of Solomon (1 Chronicles 28:4). The ל before צדוק is nota accus., as in לשׁלמה. From the last words we learn that Zadokreceived the high-priesthood with the consent of the estates of thekingdom.

Solomon's accession and David's death, with a statement as to the length of his reign and the sources of the history. - 1 Chronicles 29:23-25. The remarks on Solomon's accession and reign contained in these verses are necessary to the complete conclusion of a history of David's reign, for they show how David's wishes for his son Solomon, whom Jahve chose to be his successor, were fulfilled. On יהוה על־כּסּא see the commentary on 1 Chronicles 28:5. ויּצלח, he was prosperous, corresponds to the hope expressed by David (1 Chronicles 22:13), which was also fulfilled by the submission of all princes and heroes, and also of all the king's sons, to King Solomon (1 Chronicles 29:24). There can hardly, however, be in these last words a reference to the frustrating of Adonijah's attempted usurpation of the throne (cf. 1 Kings 1:15.). תּחת יד נתן = to submit. But this meaning is not derived (Rashi) from the custom of taking oaths of fidelity by clasping of hands, for this custom cannot be certainly proved to have existed among the Israelites; still less can it have arisen from the ancient custom mentioned in Genesis 24:2, Genesis 24:9; Genesis 47:29, of laying the hand under the thigh of the person to whom one swore in making promises with oath. The hand, as the instrument of all activity, is here simply a symbol of power.

Jahve made Solomon very great, by giving him the glory of the kingdom, asno king before him had had it. כּל is to be taken along with לא, nullus, and does not presuppose a number of kings beforeSolomon; it involves only more than one. Before him, Saul, Ishbosheth,and David had been kings, and the kingship of the latter had been coveredwith glory.

כּל־ישׂראל על (as in 1 Chronicles 11:1; 1 Chronicles 12:38), referring to the fact that David had been for a time king only over Judah, but had been recognised at a later time by all the tribes of Israel as king. The length of his reign as in 1 Kings 2:11. In Hebron seven years; according to 2 Samuel 5:5, more exactly seven years and six months.

On וכבוד עשׁר cf. 1 Kings 3:13; 2 Chronicles 17:5.

On the authorities cited see the Introduction. וגו כּל־מלכוּתו עם goes with כּתוּבים הנּם: the acts ofDavid … are written … together with his whole reign and his power, and thetimes which went over him. העתּים, the times, with their joysand sorrows, as in Psalm 31:16; Job 24:1. The kingdoms of the lands (cf. 2 Chronicles 12:8; 2 Chronicles 17:10; 2 Chronicles 20:29) are the kingdoms with which the Israelites underDavid came into contact-Philistia, Edom, Moab, Ammon, Aram.