| Back to Home Page | Back to Book Index
|
1
Chronicles Chapter Twenty-two
New King James Version (NKJV)
INTRODUCTION TO 1 CHRONICLES 22
In
this chapter we read of the place David pitched upon by divine direction for
building the temple on, 1 Chronicles 22:1,
the preparation he made of artificers to build it, and of matter to build it
of, as iron, brass, and wood, 1 Chronicles 22:2,
the charge and instructions he gave to Solomon to set about it, 1 Chronicles 22:6
and to the princes of Israel to assist him in it, 1 Chronicles 22:7.
1 Chronicles
22:1 Then David
said, “This is the house of the Lord God, and this is
the altar of burnt offering for Israel.”
YLT
21:31And David saith, `This is
the house of Jehovah God, and this the altar for burnt-offering for Israel.'
Then David said,.... Within himself, or to some principal
persons about him:
this is the house of the Lord God; the place where the
temple was to be built, hinted at in Deuteronomy 12:5
and elsewhere; the meaning is, here, or in "this" place, shall be the
house of God, so NoldiusF15Ebr. Concord. Part. p. 352. No. 1257. ,
for as yet there were none; but it was now made known to David that here it
should be built, and so the words in 2 Chronicles 3:1
should be rendered:
then Solomon began to build the house of the Lord in Jerusalem,
which was shown to David his father, which he prepared in the place of David,
that which he bought in the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite: and this is
the altar for the burnt offering for Israel; not which he had built
here; but this is the place where one should be built for the people of Israel
to bring their offerings to, and to be here offered for them by the priests:
this he said by a divine impulse upon his mind, or which he concluded from the
acceptance of his sacrifice here, signified by fire that came down from heaven
and consumed it; and this being in the threshingfloor of the Jebusites, might
prefigure the church of God to be built up among the Gentiles.
1 Chronicles
22:2 2 So
David commanded to gather the aliens who were in the land of Israel; and
he appointed masons to cut hewn stones to build the house of God.
YLT
1And David saith to gather
the sojourners who [are] in the land of Israel, and appointeth hewers to hew
hewn-stones to build a house of God.
And David commanded to gather together the strangers that were in
the land of Israel,.... The proselytes, as the Septuagint and Vulgate Latin
versions; that is, proselytes of the gate, who submitted to the seven precepts
of Noah, were admitted to dwell in the Cities of Israel, see Genesis 9:4 and
these were ordered to be got together to be employed in building the temple,
and making preparations for it; and that partly because they were better
artificers than the Israelites, who were chiefly employed in husbandry and
cattle, and partly that the Israelites, who were freemen, might not be put to
hard service; but chiefly this was for the sake of a mystery in it, denoting that
the Gentiles would be concerned in building the spiritual house and church of
God, the temple was a type and figure of, see Zechariah 6:15.
and he set masons to hew wrought stones to build the house of God; to dig them
out of the quarries, and fit them for the building.
1 Chronicles
22:3 3 And
David prepared iron in abundance for the nails of the doors of the gates and
for the joints, and bronze in abundance beyond measure,
YLT
2And iron in abundance for
nails for leaves of the gates, and for couplings, hath David prepared, and
brass in abundance -- there is no weighing.
And David prepared iron in abundance for the nails for the doors
of the gates, and for the joinings,.... Great plenty of iron
to make nails of for joining the boards together, of which the doors and gates
were to be made, and for the fastening of the hinges of them:
and brass in abundance without weight; for making
the altar of brass, and the laver of brass, and other vessels. Brass was much
used by the Heathens in sacred things, as MacrobiusF16Saturnal. l.
5. c. 19. observes.
1 Chronicles
22:4 4 and
cedar trees in abundance; for the Sidonians and those from Tyre brought much
cedar wood to David.
YLT
3And cedar-trees even
without number, for the Zidonians and the Tyrians brought in cedar-trees in
abundance to David.
Also cedar trees in abundance,.... To be sawed into
boards and planks for the cieling, wainscotting, and flooring of the temple,
and other things:
for the Zidonians, and they of Tyre, brought much cedar wood to
David; from Mount Lebanon, which was chiefly in their possession; and
which they did either of themselves as a free gift and present to him, or at
his request, for which he paid them; and this is another thing prefiguring the
help of the Gentiles in building up the church of Christ in Gospel times.
1 Chronicles 22:5 5 Now David said, “Solomon
my son is young and inexperienced, and the house to be built for the Lord must be
exceedingly magnificent, famous and glorious throughout all countries. I will
now make preparation for it.” So David made abundant preparations before his
death.
YLT
4And David saith, `Solomon
my son [is] a youth and tender, and the house to be built to Jehovah [is] to be
made exceedingly great, for name and for beauty to all the lands; let me
prepare, I pray Thee, for it;' and David prepareth in abundance before his
death.
And David said, Solomon my son is young and tender,.... Jarchi
supposes he was about twelve years of age, though he observes that the same
word is used of Joshua when forty two years of age; it is probable Solomon
might be now about twenty:
and the house that is to be builded for the Lord must be exceeding
magnificent, of fame and of glory throughout all countries: and such was
the temple built by Solomon; it was renowned throughout the whole earth; never
was there a temple equal to it, no, not the famous temple of Diana at Ephesus,
built by the assistance of many kings, and at the expense of all Asia, and was
two hundred years in building:
I will therefore now, make preparation for it; seeing his
son was so young, and this building to be so magnificent, though he himself was
not admitted to build it:
so David prepared abundantly before his death; of which we
have an after account in this chapter, and more largely in 1 Chronicles 28:1.
1 Chronicles 22:6 6 Then he called for his son
Solomon, and charged him to build a house for the Lord God of Israel.
YLT
5And he calleth for Solomon
his son, and chargeth him to build a house to Jehovah, God of Israel,
Then he called for Solomon his son,.... To be brought before
him:
and charged him to build an house for the Lord God of Israel; which charge
was given a little before his death, after he had made great preparations for
this work, as appears from 1 Chronicles 22:5.
1 Chronicles 22:7 7 And David said to Solomon:
“My son, as for me, it was in my mind to build a house to the name of the Lord my God;
YLT
6and David saith to Solomon
his son, `As for me, it hath been with my heart to build a house to the name of
Jehovah my God,
And David said to Solomon,.... When brought into
his presence:
my son, as for me, it was in my mind to build an house unto the
name of the Lord my God; he was disposed and inclined to it, and was once determined upon
it, see 2 Samuel 7:2.
1 Chronicles 22:8 8 but the word of the Lord came to me,
saying, ‘You have shed much blood and have made great wars; you shall not build
a house for My name, because you have shed much blood on the earth in My sight.
YLT
7and the word of Jehovah
[is] against me, saying, Blood in abundance thou hast shed, and great wars thou
hast made: thou dost not build a house to My name, for much blood thou hast
shed to the earth before Me.
But the word of the Lord came to me,.... The word of
prophecy, as the Targum, by the mouth of Nathan the prophet:
saying; as follows, which though not expressed in the book of Samuel
before referred to, is here recorded by divine inspiration:
thou hast shed blood abundantly; Kimchi thinks this
refers to the blood of Uriah, and those gallant men that were slain with him,
and to the priests slain by the order of Saul, which David was the occasion of,
or accidental cause of, 1 Samuel 22:22 and
to many good men among the Gentiles; though it was the intention of the Lord to
consume the wicked among them, that they might not prevail over Israel:
and hast made great wars: with the Philistines,
Moabites, &c.
thou shall not build an house unto my name, because thou hast shed
much blood upon the earth in my sight; an intimation this, that
the church of God, of which this house was a type, was to be built by Christ,
the Prince of peace, and to be supported and maintained not by force of arms,
and by spilling of blood, as the religion of Mahomet, but by the preaching of
the Gospel of peace.
1 Chronicles 22:9 9 Behold, a son shall be
born to you, who shall be a man of rest; and I will give him rest from all his
enemies all around. His name shall be Solomon,[a] for I will
give peace and quietness to Israel in his days.
YLT
8`Lo, a son is born to thee;
he is a man of rest, and I have given rest to him from all his enemies round
about, for Solomon is his name, and peace and quietness I give unto Israel in
his days;
Behold, a son shall be born to thee,.... For this was said to
David before the birth of Solomon, see 2 Samuel 7:12.
who shall be a man of rest, and I will give him rest from all his
enemies round about: and so should be at leisure for such a work, and his people
enjoy great prosperity and riches, and so be capable of contributing largely
and liberally to it:
for his name shall be Solomon; which signifies peace,
and is one of the six persons that had their names given them before they were
born, as the Jews observeF17Pirke Eliezer, c. 32. :
and I will give peace and quietness unto Israel in his days; and so a
proper time to begin and carry on such a work; of the fulfilment of this
prophecy, see 1 Kings 4:24.
1 Chronicles 22:10 10 He shall build a house for
My name, and he shall be My son, and I will be his Father; and I will
establish the throne of his kingdom over Israel forever.’
YLT
9he doth build a house to My
name, and he is to Me for a son, and I [am] to him for a father, and I have
established the throne of his kingdom over Israel unto the age.
He shall build an house for my name,.... For the worship of
God, and for his honour and glory:
and he shall be my son, and I will be his father; see 2 Samuel 7:13 and
which is applied to Christ, Hebrews 1:5.
and I will establish the throne of his kingdom over Israel forever; that is, for
a long time in his posterity; and which will have its fulfilment in Christ, his
antitype, in the utmost sense of the expression, whose kingdom is an
everlasting kingdom, and his throne for ever and ever, Luke 1:32.
1 Chronicles 22:11 11 Now, my son, may the Lord be with you;
and may you prosper, and build the house of the Lord your God, as
He has said to you.
YLT
10`Now, my son, Jehovah is
with thee, and thou hast prospered, and hast built the house of Jehovah thy
God, as He spake concerning thee.
Now, my son, the Lord be with thee, &c. Or "shall
be with thee"F18יהי "erit",
Pagninus, Montanus; "futurus est", Junius & Tremellius, Piscator.
, as some; and if it be as a prayer, it was no doubt a prayer of faith; the
Targum is,"may the Word of the Lord be thine help:"
and prosper thee; may success attend thee:
and build the house of the Lord thy God, as he hath said of thee; foretold he
should, and therefore would assist him to do it, which was an encouragement to
go about it.
1 Chronicles 22:12 12 Only may the Lord give you
wisdom and understanding, and give you charge concerning Israel, that you may
keep the law of the Lord
your God.
YLT
11Only, Jehovah give to thee
wisdom and understanding, and charge thee concerning Israel, even to keep the
law of Jehovah thy God;
Only the Lord give thee wisdom and understanding,.... To manage
and conduct an affair of such importance, as well as to govern the people, as
follows:
and give thee charge concerning Israel; or, when he gives, commits the
charge of them to thee, sets thee king over them:
that thou mayest keep the law of the Lord thy God; have wisdom
and understanding to do that, and make that the rule of all thine actions,
private and public, in thine own house, in the house of God, and in all things
relative to that, and in the government of the nation.
1 Chronicles 22:13 13 Then you will prosper, if
you take care to fulfill the statutes and judgments with which the Lord charged Moses
concerning Israel. Be strong and of good courage; do not fear nor be dismayed.
YLT
12then thou dost prosper, if
thou dost observe to do the statutes and the judgments that Jehovah charged
Moses with concerning Israel; be strong and courageous; do not fear, nor be
cast down.
Then shall thou prosper, if thou takest heed to fulfil the
statutes,.... See 1 Kings 2:2 where
the same things are said as here: which shows that this was spoken by David a
little before his death.
1 Chronicles 22:14 14 Indeed I have taken much
trouble to prepare for the house of the Lord one hundred thousand
talents of gold and one million talents of silver, and bronze and iron beyond
measure, for it is so abundant. I have prepared timber and stone also, and you
may add to them.
YLT
13`And lo, in mine affliction,
I have prepared for the house of Jehovah of gold talents a hundred thousand,
and of silver a thousand thousand talents; and of brass and of iron there is no
weighing, for in abundance it hath been, and wood and stones I have prepared,
and to them thou dost add.
Now, behold, in my trouble,.... Or affliction, which
had attended him, through the greater part of his reign, partly through wars
abroad, and partly through rebellions and insurrections at home: or:
in my povertyF1בעניי "in
paupertate mea", V. L. ; living in a frugal way, as if he had been a poor
man, in order to lay up money for this purpose:
I have prepared for the house of the Lord; for the
building of it, and for things to be used in it:
an hundred thousand talents of gold, and a thousand thousand
talents of silver; a prodigious sum, be it reckoned as it will; the gold, according
to ScheuchzerF2Physica Sacra, vol. 4. p. 631. was answerable to
1,222,000,000 ducats of gold; according to WaserusF3De Antiqu. Num.
Heb. l. 2. c. 13. the talents of gold made six hundred millions of Hungarian
pieces of gold, or 6000 tons of gold; our BrerewoodF4De Pond. &
Pret. Vet. Num. c. 5. makes them to amount to 450,000,000 pounds; but this
being a sum so excessive large as what exceeds the riches of any monarch read
of in history, he thinksF5De Pond. & Pret. Vet. Num. c. 6. the
word "kikkar" signifies a mass or cake of gold of an uncertain value;
or that this talent was of a lesser value than the Mosaic one, as there were
small talents in the times of HomerF6Vid. Suidam in voce ταλαντον. , as he observes, and some of different worth in various
countries. The silver, taking gold to be in proportion to silver as ten to one,
as it formerly was, is just of the same value with the gold; but Brerewood, who
takes it to be as twelve to one, computes it at 375,000,000 pounds; but the
proportion of gold to silver is now grown, as Bishop Cumberland observesF7Scripture
Weights and Measures, ch. 4. p. 121. , to above fourteen to one. According to
Scheuchzer the silver talents amounted to 4,500,000,000 imperials or rix
dollars; according to WitsiusF8Miscell. Sacr. 2. Exercit. 10. sect.
17. the gold and silver both amounted to 3000 and nine hundred millions of
pieces of gold; but JosephusF9Antiqu. l. 7. c. 14. sect. 2. has
reduced these sums very much, making them to be 10,000 talents of gold, and
100,000 of silver. Dr. PrideauxF11Connection, part 1. p. 6. says
that what is said to be given by David here, and in 1 Chronicles 29:3
and by his princes, 1 Chronicles 29:6
if valued by the Mosaic talent, exceeded the value of eight hundred million of
our money, which was enough to have built the whole temple of solid silver:
and of brass and iron without weight, for it is in abundance; there was so
much of both, that it was too much trouble to take the weight and value of
them:
timber also and stone have I prepared; see 1 Chronicles 22:2.
and thou mayest add thereunto; which might easily be
obtained, there being not a sufficiency of either of them prepared for the
work.
1 Chronicles 22:15 15 Moreover there are
workmen with you in abundance: woodsmen and stonecutters, and all types of
skillful men for every kind of work.
YLT
14`And with thee in abundance
[are] workmen, hewers and artificers of stone and of wood, and every skilful
man for every work.
Moreover, there are workmen with thee in abundance,.... All the
strangers in the land being gathered by the order of David, 1 Chronicles 22:2
who were skilled in all manner of work, as follows:
hewers and workers of stone and timber; masons and
carpenters:
and all manner of cunning men for every manner of work; joiners,
carvers, &c.
1 Chronicles 22:16 16 Of gold and silver and
bronze and iron there is no limit. Arise and begin working, and the Lord be with you.”
YLT
15To the gold, to the silver,
and to the brass, and to the iron, there is no number; arise and do, and
Jehovah is with thee.'
Of the gold, the silver, and the brass, and the iron,.... That is,
the cunning artificers were skilful to work in each of these, some in gold and
silver, others in brass and iron:
there is no number; either of the workmen, or of these
materials; which yet must be restrained to the brass and iron, for the gold and
silver are numbered, but not the brass and iron, 1 Chronicles 22:14,
arise therefore, and be doing: not that he should set
about and begin the building the temple directly; but as soon as he could after
he came to the throne, and not neglect and delay it:
and the Lord be with thee; as in 1 Chronicles 22:11
and here, as there, the Targum is,"may the Word of the Lord be thy help.'
1 Chronicles 22:17 17 David also commanded all
the leaders of Israel to help Solomon his son, saying,
YLT
16And David giveth charge to
all heads of Israel to give help to Solomon his son,
David also commanded all the princes of Israel,.... His
courtiers and nobles that were about him:
to help Solomon his son; by their advice, and
with their purses, should he need them, and by overlooking the workmen,
directing and encouraging them:
saying; as follows.
1 Chronicles 22:18 18 “Is not the Lord your God with
you? And has He not given you rest on every side? For He has given the
inhabitants of the land into my hand, and the land is subdued before the Lord and before His
people.
YLT
17`Is not Jehovah your God
with you? yea, He hath given rest to you round about, for He hath given into my
hand the inhabitants of the land, and subdued hath been the land before His
people.
Is not the Lord your God with you?.... Blessing them with
wealth and riches:
and hath he not given you rest on every side? from all
enemies within and without; so that they had peace and quietness, and leisure
to attend the service he recommended to them:
for he hath given the inhabitants of the land into my hand; meaning the
rest of the Canaanites, who before were unsubdued, as even the Jebusites in
Jerusalem:
and the land is subdued before the Lord, and before his people; and the
extent of it carried to its utmost bounds, as God had promised.
1 Chronicles 22:19 19 Now set your heart and
your soul to seek the Lord
your God. Therefore arise and build the sanctuary of the Lord God, to bring
the ark of the covenant of the Lord and the holy articles of
God into the house that is to be built for the name of the Lord.”
YLT
18`Now, give your heart and
your soul to seek to Jehovah your God, and rise and build the sanctuary of
Jehovah God, to bring in the ark of the covenant of Jehovah, and the holy
vessels of God, to the house that is built to the name of Jehovah.'
Now set your heart and your soul to seek the Lord your God,.... His
honour and glory, most sincerely and cordially, and to the utmost of their
power:
arise ye, and build ye the sanctuary of the Lord God; assist
therein, and encourage the work as much as they were able, without delay:
to bring the ark of the covenant of the Lord; which was now
in a tent of David's erecting and pitching:
and the holy vessels of God: which were in the
tabernacle at Gibeon: into the house that is to be built to the name of the
Lord: that so they might be together, and made use of; which in times past had
been separated, and much neglected.
──《John Gill’s
Exposition of the Bible》
New King James
Version (NKJV)