Solomon Gathers Building Materials for the Temple
2 (1:18)[a] Solomon ordered a temple to be built to honor the Lord, as well as a royal palace for himself.[b] 2 (2:1) Solomon had[c] 70,000 common laborers[d] and 80,000 stonecutters[e] in the hills, in addition to 3,600 supervisors.[f]
3 Solomon sent a message to King Huram[g] of Tyre: “Help me[h] as you did my father David, when you sent him cedar logs[i] for the construction of his palace.[j] 4 Look, I am ready to build a temple to honor[k] the Lord my God and to dedicate it to him in order to burn fragrant incense before him, to set out the bread that is regularly displayed,[l] and to offer burnt sacrifices each morning and evening, and on Sabbaths, new moon festivals, and at other times appointed by the Lord our God. This is something Israel must do on a permanent basis.[m] 5 I will build a great temple, for our God is greater than all gods. 6 Of course, who can really build a temple for him, since the sky[n] and the highest heavens cannot contain him? Who am I that I should build him a temple! It will really be only a place to offer sacrifices before him.[o]
7 “Now send me a man who is skilled in working with gold, silver, bronze, and iron, as well as purple-, crimson-, and blue-colored fabrics, and who knows how to engrave. He will work with my skilled craftsmen here in Jerusalem and Judah, whom my father David provided. 8 Send me cedars, evergreens, and algum[p] trees from Lebanon, for I know your servants are adept[q] at cutting down trees in Lebanon. My servants will work with your servants 9 to supply me with large quantities of timber, for I am building a great, magnificent temple. 10 Look, I will pay your servants who cut the timber 20,000 cors[r] of ground wheat, 20,000 cors of barley, 120,000 gallons[s] of wine, and 120,000 gallons of olive oil.”
11 King Huram[t] of Tyre sent this letter to Solomon: “Because the Lord loves his people, he has made you their king.” 12 Huram also said, “Worthy of praise is the Lord God of Israel, who made the sky and the earth! He has given King David a wise son who has discernment and insight and will build a temple for the Lord, as well as a royal palace for himself.[u] 13 Now I am sending you Huram Abi,[v] a skilled and capable man, 14 whose mother is a Danite and whose father is a Tyrian.[w] He knows how to work with gold, silver, bronze, iron, stones, and wood, as well as purple, blue, white, and crimson fabrics. He knows how to do all kinds of engraving and understands any design given to him. He will work with your skilled craftsmen and the skilled craftsmen of my lord David your father. 15 Now let my lord send to his servants the wheat, barley, olive oil, and wine he has promised; 16 we will get all the timber you need from Lebanon[x] and bring it[y] in raft-like bundles[z] by sea to Joppa. You can then haul it on up to Jerusalem.”
17 Solomon took a census of[aa] all the male resident foreigners[ab] in the land of Israel, after the census his father David had taken. There were 153,600 in all. 18 He designated[ac] 70,000 as common laborers,[ad] 80,000 as stonecutters[ae] in the hills, and 3,600 as supervisors to make sure the people completed the work.[af]
Footnotes
- 2 Chronicles 2:1 sn Beginning with 2:1, the verse numbers through 2:18 in the English Bible differ from the verse numbers in the Hebrew text (BHS), with 2:1 ET = 1:18 HT, 2:2 ET = 2:1 HT, 2:3 ET = 2:2 HT, etc., through 2:18 ET = 2:17 HT. Beginning with 3:1 the verse numbers in the ET and HT are again the same.
- 2 Chronicles 2:1 tn Heb “and Solomon said to build a house for the name of the Lord and house for his kingship.”
- 2 Chronicles 2:2 tn Heb “counted,” perhaps “conscripted” (so NAB, NIV, NRSV).
- 2 Chronicles 2:2 tn Heb “men, carriers of loads.”
- 2 Chronicles 2:2 tn Or “quarry workers”; Heb “cutters” (probably referring to stonecutters).
- 2 Chronicles 2:2 tc The parallel text of MT in 1 Kgs 5:16 has “thirty-three hundred,” but some Greek mss there read “thirty-six hundred” in agreement with 2 Chr 2:2, 18.tn Heb “and 3,600 supervisors over them.”
- 2 Chronicles 2:3 tn Heb “Huram.” Some medieval Hebrew mss, along with the LXX, Syriac, and Vulgate spell the name “Hiram,” agreeing with 1 Chr 14:1. “Huram” is a variant spelling referring to the same individual.
- 2 Chronicles 2:3 tn The words “help me” are supplied in the translation for clarification and stylistic reasons.
- 2 Chronicles 2:3 tn Heb “cedars.” The word “logs” has been supplied in the translation for clarity.
- 2 Chronicles 2:3 tn Heb “to build for him a house to live in it.”
- 2 Chronicles 2:4 tn Heb “for the name of.”
- 2 Chronicles 2:4 tn Heb “and the regular display.”
- 2 Chronicles 2:4 tn Heb “permanently [is] this upon Israel.”
- 2 Chronicles 2:6 tn Or “heavens” (also in v. 12). The Hebrew term שָׁמַיִם (shamayim) may be translated “heaven(s)” or “sky” depending on the context.
- 2 Chronicles 2:6 tn Heb “Who retains strength to build for him a house, for the heavens and the heavens of heavens do not contain him? And who am I that I should build for him a house, except to sacrifice before him?”
- 2 Chronicles 2:8 tn This is probably a variant name for almug trees; see 9:10-11 and the parallel passage in 1 Kgs 10:11-12; cf. NLT. One or the other probably arose through metathesis of letters.
- 2 Chronicles 2:8 tn Heb “know.”
- 2 Chronicles 2:10 sn As a unit of dry measure a cor was roughly equivalent to six bushels (about 220 liters).
- 2 Chronicles 2:10 tn Heb “20,000 baths” (also a second time later in this verse). A bath was a liquid measure roughly equivalent to six gallons (about 22 liters), so this was a quantity of about 120,000 gallons (440,000 liters).
- 2 Chronicles 2:11 tn Heb “Huram” (also in v. 12). Some medieval Hebrew mss, along with the LXX, Syriac, and Vulgate spell the name “Hiram,” agreeing with 1 Chr 14:1. “Huram” is a variant spelling referring to the same individual.
- 2 Chronicles 2:12 tn Heb “who has given to King David a wise son knowing discernment and insight, who will build a house for the Lord and house for his kingship.”
- 2 Chronicles 2:13 sn The name Huram Abi means “Huram [is] my father.”
- 2 Chronicles 2:14 tn Heb “a son of a woman from the daughters of Dan, and his father a man of Tyre.”
- 2 Chronicles 2:16 tn Heb “and we will cut down trees from Lebanon according to all your need.”
- 2 Chronicles 2:16 tn Heb “to you,” but this phrase has not been translated for stylistic reasons—it is somewhat redundant.
- 2 Chronicles 2:16 tn Or “on rafts.” See the note at 1 Kgs 5:9.
- 2 Chronicles 2:17 tn Heb “Solomon counted.”
- 2 Chronicles 2:17 sn The term גֵּר (ger) refers to a foreign resident, but with different social implications in different settings. In Mosaic Law the resident foreigner was essentially a naturalized citizen and convert to worshiping the God of Israel (see Exod 12:19, 48; Deut 29:10-13).
- 2 Chronicles 2:18 tn Heb “appointed from them.”
- 2 Chronicles 2:18 tn Heb “carriers of loads.”
- 2 Chronicles 2:18 tn Or “quarry workers”; Heb “cutters” (probably referring to stonecutters).
- 2 Chronicles 2:18 tn Heb “and thirty-six hundred [as] supervisors to compel the people to work.”