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1. Directions to Solomon concerning the building of the Temple: 1 Chronicles 28
11And David gave Solomon his son the pattern of the porch, and of its buildings and its treasuries, and its upper rooms, and its inner parlours, and the house of the mercy-seat. 12And the pattern of all that his spirit had in thought for the courts of the house of the Lord, and for all the chambers around for the treasures of the house of God, and for the treasures of the 13holy things. And for the courses of the priests and the Levites, and for all the work of the service of the house of the Lord, and for all the vessels of 14the service of the house of the Lord. For gold by weight, for gold for all instruments of every service; and for all instruments of silver by weight, for 15all instruments of every service. And the weight for the golden candlesticks, and their lamps of gold; by the weight of every candlestick and its lamps; and for the silver candlesticks, by weight for the candlestick and its lamps, 16according to the use of each candlestick. And the gold by weight for the 17tables of shew-bread for every table; and silver for the tables of silver. And the forks, and the sprinkling bowls, and the cans of pure gold; and for the golden tankards by weight for every tankard, and for the silver tankards by weight for every tankard. 18And for the altar of incense, refined gold by weight; and for the pattern of the chariot; the cherubim of gold that spread out (their wings) and cover the ark of the covenant of the Lord. 19“All this has He taught me in writing from the hand of the Lord upon me, even all the works of the pattern.”
20And David said to Solomon his son, Be strong and active, and do it: fear not, nor be dismayed, for the Lord God, my God, is with thee, He will not fail thee, nor forsake thee, till all the work of the service of the house of the Lord is completed. 21And, behold, the courses of the priests and the Levites for all the service of the house of God; and with thee is in every work every willing man of wisdom for all service; and the princes and all the people for all thy matters.
6And the princes of the houses, and the princes of the tribes of Israel, and the captains of thousands and of hundreds, with the rulers of the king’s work, 7showed themselves willing. And gave, for the service of the house of God, of gold, five thousand talents and ten thousand darics; and of silver, ten thousand talents; and of brass, eighteen thousand talents; and of iron, a hundred thousand talents. 8And they with whom stones were found gave them for the treasure of the house of the Lord, by the hand of Jehiel the 9Gershonite. And the people were glad, because they were willing, because with a perfect heart they offered willingly to the Lord; and David the king also was exceedingly glad.
1Ch_28:2. And David the king stood up on his feet, in order to speak; for before he was sitting from the weakness of age (not reclining, as the Rabbinical expositors would infer from 1 Kings 1). For the kindly humble address, “my brethren,” in the king’s mouth, comp. 1Sa_30:23; 2Sa_19:13.—I had it in my heart to build, literally, “I, in my heart it was to build;” comp. 1Ch_22:7.—A house of rest, a house where the ark might abide at rest. Along with the ark, on account of its special holiness, is mentioned the mercy-seat (1Ch_28:11), and, indeed, described in a figurative way as “the footstool of our God,” as Jehovah is regarded as sitting on the cherubim of the capporeth.—And I made ready for the building, I prepared workmen and materials for it; comp. 22:2 ff., 14 ff.; as for the following verse 1Ch_22:8, and for 1Ch_28:4, 1Ch_11:2; 1Ch_5:2.
1Ch_28:5.To sit upon the throne of the kingdom of the Lord over Israel, the theocratic kingdom; comp. the equivalent briefer phrase: “to sit on Jehovah’s throne,” 1Ch_29:23 and Psa_45:7, where the correctly interpreted ëִּñְàֲêָ àֱìֹäִéí “thy God’s throne,” yields practically the same notion (see Moll, Der Psalter, p. 237). God is the proper king of Israel; but David, Solomon, etc., are only the earthly representatives of His royalty.
1Ch_28:7. And I will establish His kingdom. Comp. in general 1Ch_22:10 and 1Ch_17:11 f., and for the condition: “if he be strong,” etc., the quite similar conditions which God, 1Ki_3:14; 1Ki_9:4, imposes on Solomon; also 1Ki_8:61 (where also the ëַּéּåֹí äַæֶּä ).
1Ch_28:8. Keep and seek all the commandments, keep them earnestly, seek to keep them with zeal.—That ye may possess the good land. Comp. Deu_4:21; Lev_25:46; Jer_3:18.
1Ch_28:9. And thou, Solomon my son, know the God of thy father, the God who so truly helped me, thy father, in all troubles; comp. the emphatic “my God,” 1Ch_28:20 and Psa_18:3, and similar passages.—And serve Him with a whole heart, with an undivided mind, without äéøõ÷ßá ; comp. 1Ch_29:9; also 1Ch_29:19 and 1Ki_8:61.—Understandeth all the imagination of the thoughts. The phrase: “imagination of the thoughts,” as in Gen_6:5; the reference to the omniscience of God, as in 1 Samuel 16, 7; Psa_7:10; Psa_139:1 ff.—If thou seek Him, He will be found of thee; comp. Deu_4:29; Isa_4:6; Jer_29:13 f. On the following strong expression: “He will cast thee off” ( éæðéçêָ ), comp. 2Ch_6:14; 2Ch_29:19, and Lam_3:17.
1Ch_28:10. Be strong, and do it. In essentially the same words, 1Ch_28:20, David again addresses Solomon, after the interruption, 1Ch_28:11-19, occasioned by delivering the draft and plan of the holy buildings.
1Ch_28:11-19. The Details of the Outline and Plan for the Temple, as David laid it before his Son in the public Assembly. We may imagine the architects and other craftsmen, by whose help he had this outline and plan drawn out, present in the assembly, and explaining it at the king’s order.—And David gave . . . the pattern of the court. úַּáְðִéú , pattern, model, as Exo_25:40; äָàåּìָí , the porch before the sanctuary, 2Ch_3:4; 1Ki_6:3.—And of its buildings, those of the temple. The suffix must refer, not to the àåּìָí , but only to äáéú , “the temple, the house,” to be supplied from the context. The buildings of the house are the holy place and the most holy.—And its treasuries ( âַּðְæַëִּéï , cognate with âְּðָæִéï , Ezr_7:20, Est_3:9; Est_4:7, occurs only here), and its upper rooms (above the most holy place, 2Ch_3:9), and its inner parlours, namely, the porch and the holy place; for only to these can the phrase refer, as immediately after follows the special mention of the most holy place, designated as the “house of the mercy-seat” or “abode of the capporeth.”
1Ch_28:12. And the pattern of all that his spirit had in thought (or what was before his mind) for the courts . . . and all the chambers around, the cells or rooms on the four sides of the court, that served to keep “the treasures of the house of God,” that is, the treasure of the temple and the “treasures of holy things,” the stores of dedicated things collected from the spoils of war (the same distinction as in 1Ch_26:20).
1Ch_28:13 continues the statement of that for which the chambers or cells of the court were designed.—And for the courses of the priests and the Levites, for their sojourn during their service, likewise for the works belonging to this service (cooking of flesh, preparing of shew-bread, etc.), and for the keeping of the requisite utensils, which last are enumerated in detail from 1Ch_28:14 on.
1Ch_28:14. For gold. The ìְ in ìַæָּäָá corresponds to that in ìְëָìÎäַìְּùָׁëåֹú , 1Ch_28:12; the sentence begun in 1Ch_28:11 thus extends to the close of this verse. A new construction begins first in 1Ch_28:15, which may be regarded as a continuation of that begun in 1Ch_28:11. As to the object åּîִùְׁ÷ָì , a åַéִּúֵּï must be supplied from 1Ch_28:11, but not certainly in the same sense of giving, but in that of stating or defining. Thus: “And (he stated) the weight for the golden candlesticks and their lamps of gold;” æäá is freely subordinated to åְðֵøåֹúֵéäֶí (comp. 2Ch_4:15). For the golden candlesticks of the sanctuary, comp. Exo_25:31 f.; 2Ch_4:7.—According to the use of each candlestick, according to its set service, its import for the holy service. for the var.: “for the service of every one” ( ëַּֽòֲáåֹãַú ) see Crit. Note.
1Ch_28:16. And the gold by weight; îִùְׁ÷ָì , accus. of free subordination.—For the tables of shew-bread for every table; and silver for the tables of silver. Whereas elsewhere (Exo_25:23 ff.; 1Ki_7:48; and 2Ch_29:18) only one table of shew-bread is spoken of, here several tables of this kind are mentioned. As also, 2Ch_4:8, a greater number of golden tables, namely, ten, destined as it appears for the ten golden candlesticks, is spoken of, so in our passage (as in 2Ch_4:19) a synecdoche appears to be used, and the one golden table of shew-bread to be included with the tables for the golden candlesticks. Silver tables (as silver candlesticks, 1Ch_28:15) are only here expressly mentioned: such may be understood as included among the silver articles mentioned on the occasion of the repair of the temple by Joash (2Ch_24:14; comp. also 2Ki_25:15). The statements of the Rabbis, that the silver tables stood in the court, and the silver candlesticks in the chambers of the priests, may rest on an old tradition.
1Ch_28:17. And (gave him in pattern: the same supplement as in 1Ch_28:15) the forks, namely, the flesh-forks used in cooking the pieces of the sacrifices; comp. Exo_27:3; 1Ki_7:50. for the sprinkling-bowls ( îִæְøָ÷åֹú ) comp. also 2Ch_4:11; 2Ch_4:22; for the “cans” or “cups” ( ÷ְùָׂåֹú , óðïíäåῖá ) that were used in libations, Exo_25:29; Exo_37:16; Num_4:7—Of pure gold; accus. of free subordination, as in 1Ch_28:15-16.—And for the golden tankards. ëְּôåֹøִéí , from ëָּôַø cover, are covered vessels, and so tankards (not cups); comp. Ezr_1:10; Ezr_8:27, the only other passages in which it occurs.
1Ch_28:18. The pattern of the chariot, the cherubim of gold, The term pattern, úַּáְðִéú , recurs here, near the close of the whole enumeration, from 1Ch_28:11-12, but with ìְ as nota accusat. The mercy-seat with its cherubim appears here symbolized as the chariot on which Jehovah sits or moves (comp. Exo_25:22; Psa_18:11; Psa_99:1),—a very important passage for the, right understanding of Eze_1:15 ff. The cherubim themselves, though only two in number, according to the present description, which represents the older and simpler, idea, exhibit as it were a chariot (observe that äַëְּøåּáִéí is not subordinate to îֶøְëָּáָä as a genitive, but co-ordinate with it, as in apposition); of a wheel-work connected with it, an external exhibition of the chariot idea, as Ezekiel depicts it, nothing is indicated in the passage; the Sept. and Vulg. only, by taking äַëְּøåּáִéí as a genitive ( ἅñìá ôῶí ×åñïõâßì : quadriga cherubim), have introduced this foreign element.—That spread out (their wings) and cover the ark of the covenant of the Lord, literally, “for spreading and covering,” that is, they are represented spreading and covering with their wings. Comp. for this use of ìְ in the sense of becoming something, or appearing as somewhat, 22:33 ìְîֶìֶêְ , “as king”), also Gen_9:5, Job_39:16, and other passages, in Ew. § 217, d (p. 553). The change of ìְôֹøְùִׂéí åְñֹëְëִéí , into äַôֹּøְùִׂéí åְäַñֹּëְëִéí (Sept., Vulg., and recent expositors, as Berth., Kamph., etc.) is therefore unnecessary. J. H. Mich, correctly: ut essent expandentes, etc To ìְôֹøְùִׂéí it is easy to supply äַëְּðָôַéִí , “the wings,” as object; comp. Exo_25:20, and 1Ki_8:7; 2Ch_5:8.
1Ch_28:19 contains again words of David, as the òָìַé “upon me,” and the whole sense and contents teach.—All this has He taught me in writing from the hand of the Lord upon me. So it seems the difficult and perhaps corrupt words äַëֹּì áִּëְúָá îִéַּã éְäåָֹä òָìַé äִùְׂëִּéì must be taken. To äִùְׂëִּéì we are to understand éäåä as subject, and “me”(or perhaps “us”) as object. Possibly also òָìַé might be connected with äִùְׂëִּéì (comp. Pro_22:11); but it is easier, on account of the collocation, to connect it either with îéã éäåä or with áּëúá . Now, as the grammatically (Psa_40:8 : ëָּúåּá òָìַé ) admissible connection of the words áִּëְúָá — òָìַé into one notion, “by a writing from the hand of Jehovah given me as a rule” (Berth.), yields a very harsh and obscure sense, and as, moreover, the position of îéã éäåä between áëúá and òìé renders this connection extremely difficult, nothing remains but the connection of îִéַּã éְäåָֹä òָìַé “a writing from the hand of Jehovah being or coming upon me,” by which is designated a writing springing from divine revelation, an immediate effect of divine inspiration (comp. the known phrase: “the hand of Jehovah came upon me,” 2Ki_3:15; Eze_1:3; Eze_3:14, etc.). This naturally refers, not to the law of Moses, as the Rabbinical expositors think, but to the proposed building plan, draft, etc., which David refers to divine teaching, in so far as he did not conceive it arbitrarily, but designed it under the influence of the Divine Spirit (which, however, must have been effected in this case not directly by vision, as with Moses on Sinai). Comp. moreover, on the transition into the address without an introductory formula, 1Ch_22:18 f., 1Ch_23:4 f.
1Ch_28:20-21. Closing Admonition and Promise to Solomon.—Be strong and active; comp. 1Ch_28:10 and 1Ch_22:13.—For the Lord God, my God, is with thee; comp. on 1Ch_28:9. For the following promise: “He will not fail thee (properly, ’ withdraw from thee,’ namely, His hand) nor forsake thee,” comp. Deu_31:6; Deu_31:8; Psa_138:8; Jos_1:5; Heb_13:5.—And behold the courses of the priests. Personal attendance of the priests and Levites, or only of a majority of representatives of their order in the public assembly, can scarcely be inferred from this åְäִðֵּä åâå× , just as the åְòִîְּêָ “and with thee,” does not necessitate the assumption that the willing craftsmen stood by Solomon, or were assembled around him.—Every willing man of wisdom for all service, properly, “with regard to every willing man.” The ìְ here is not nota accus. (as 1Ch_28:1; 1Ch_26:26; 1Ch_24:6), but yet serves to give emphasis to ëָּìÎðָãִéá (Ew. § 310, a), which, though it cannot be translated, is yet not to be erased (against Berth.). For the notion of free-will ( ðְãִéá ìֵá = ðָãִéá , 2Ch_29:31), to designate the higher wisdom and skill of a craftsman, comp. Exo_35:5; Exo_35:22, and Latin phrases, as artes ingenuœ, liberates. “We are to think, moreover, of the same craftsmen as those named, 1Ch_22:15; 2Ch_2:6.—For all thy matters: ìְëָìÎãְּáָøֶéêָ to be explained according to 1Ch_26:32 (concerns, matters), scarcely: “for all thy words or commands” (as J. H. Mich., Starke, Keil, etc., think).
2. Contributions of the assembled Princes for building the Temple: 1Ch_29:1-9.—Unto all the congregation, which consisted, 1Ch_28:1, merely of the “princes” or more eminent representatives (notables) of the people.—Solomon, my son, whom alone God hath chosen, properly a parenthesis: “as the one ( àֶçָã ) hath God chosen him.” For “young and tender,” comp. 1Ch_22:5.—For the palace is not for man. Only here and 1Ch_29:19 stands the later word äַáִּéøָä , to denote the temple (with regard to its fort-like size and strength); elsewhere either of the Persian royal castle (Est_1:2; Est_1:5; Est_2:3; Neh_1:1) or of the castle in the temple at Jerusalem.
1Ch_29:2. On a, comp. 1Ch_23:15.—Onyx-stones and set stones. For ùֹׁäָí onyx (sardonyx, etc.), or perhaps beryl, comp. Gen_2:12; Exo_28:9; Exo_28:20; Job_28:16; on àַáְðֵé îִìּåּàִéí , “stones of settings,” Exo_25:7; Exo_35:9, where also onyx-stones, designed for the high priest’s ephod and hoshen, are mentioned.—Rubies and mottled stones, and all kinds of precious stones, and marble stones in abundance. àַáְðֵéÎôåּêְ , properly stones of paint or lead-glance (comp. 2Ki_9:35; Isa_54:11), perhaps precious stones of very dark glancing colour, of dark purple, as carbuncle or ruby ( ðֹôֶêְ , perhaps radically connected with ôּåּêְ ). The àַáְðֵé øִ÷ְîָä , stones of various colours, striped with veins (agate?), as àֶáֶï éְ÷ָãָä “precious costly stones,” in general, à× ùַׁéִùׁ , white marble (the Sept. and Vulg. explain it by an anachronism of Parian marble); comp. the contracted form ùֵׁùׁ , Son_5:15; Est_1:6.
1Ch_29:3. Over and above all that I have prepared for the holy house, literally, “upwards of all, out above all.” On äֲëִéðåֹúִé , without a relative particle connecting it with the foregoing ëָּì , comp. 1Ch_15:12.
1Ch_29:4. Three thousand talents of gold of the gold of Ophir, of the finest and. best gold; comp. the excursus after 2 Chronicles 9. Three thousand talents of gold, reckoned after the holy or Mosaic shekel, would amount to ninety million thalers (about £13,500,000), reckoned after the royal shekel to half as much; and the 7000 talents of silver would amount in the first case to fifteen million thalers (about £2,250,000), in the second case to half that sum. The greatness of this sum shows, at all events, that this includes the whole of David’s private property; comp. on 1Ch_22:14 f.—To overlay the walls of the houses, the proper temple buildings ( áָּúִּéí as in 1Ch_28:11), the holy place and the most holy, with the court and the upper chambers, the inner walls of which, 2Ch_3:4-9, were all hung with gold.
1Ch_29:5. The gold for golden, or literally, “for the gold, for the gold,” etc.; comp. 1Ch_29:2.—And for all work by the hand of artificers, for all works to be made by the hand of craftsmen.—And who is willing ( äִúְðַãֵּá show oneself willing, as 1Ch_29:6; Ezr_2:68) to fill his hand this day unto the Lord, to provide himself with free-will offerings for Him ; comp. Exo_28:41; Exo_32:29, and 2Ch_13:9.The infinitive îַìְּàåֹú (along with îַìֵּà , 2Ch_13:9), also Dan_9:2; Exo_31:5.
1Ch_29:6. The princes of the houses, properly, “of the fathers;” äָàָáåֹú for áֵּéú äָàָáåֹú ; comp. 1Ch_24:31, 1Ch_27:1, etc.—With the rulers of the king’s work, literally, “and with regard to the rulers;” before ùָׂøֵé îְìֶàëֶú äî× the same superfluous untranslatable ìְ as in 1Ch_28:21. These are “the stewards of all the property and cattle of the king,” 1Ch_28:1, the officers of the royal domains.
1Ch_29:7. And gave, for the service of the house of God, of gold five thousand talents. We must suppose a partial “signing” or guaranteeing of the sums named, not an immediate bare paying down, especially as the bulky contributions in the baser metals, the 18,000 talents of brass and the 100,000 talents of iron, could not possibly be present in natura. Even David’s gifts of 3000 talents of gold of Ophir and 7000 talents of silver may be regarded as not a proper direct delivery of these large quantities of metals. Moreover, what the princes, according to our passage, contributed was about a half more than that given by David from his private means, namely—1.5000 talents of gold = 150 million thalers (about £22,500,000), or by the other mode of reckoning, half that sum; 2.10,000 darics=75,000 thalers (about £11,250); 3.10,000 talents of silver = twenty -four million thalers (about £3,600,000); 4:18,000 talents of brass (copper), and 100,000 talents of iron; 5. Precious stones amounting to an indefinite sum. àַãַøְëּåֹï , with à prosthetic here and Ezr_8:27, along with ãַּøְëְּîåֹï Ezr_2:69, Neh_7:70 ff., is not a Hebrew designation of the drachma (as Ew. Gesch. i. 254 still thinks), but of the daric, a Persian coin, containing 1½ ducats, or 7½ thalers (about 22s. 6d.); comp. Eckhell, Doctr. numm. i. Vol. 3. p. 551; J. Brandis, Das Münz-, Maass-, and Gewichtssystem in Vorderasien (1866), p. 244; see also Introd. § 3, a. In darics, the gold coin most current in his time (it is not meant by our author that it existed in David’s time), the Chronist states a smaller part of the sum contributed by the princes, and indeed that part which they gave in coined pieces, while he expresses the amount of uncoined gold that was offered in talents.
1Ch_29:8. With whom stones were found, the present possessors of precious stones. Against Bertheau’s rendering: “and what was found therewith in precious stones,” is the fact that the sing. àִúּåֹ , that is certainly to be taken distributively (comp. Ew. § 319, a), cannot possibly refer to the sums or quantities in 1Ch_29:6-7. For the Gershonite Jehiel, comp. 1Ch_26:21 f., where the name is Jehieli.
1Ch_29:9. Was exceedingly glad, literally, “was glad with a great gladness;” comp. Zec_1:14.
3. David’s Thanksgiving; 1Ch_29:10-19.—Blessed be Thou, Lord God of Israel our father. Among the partriarchs, as whose well-tried tutelary God and heavenly fountain of blessing Jehovah had now again proved Himself to David (by the operation of so highly joyful an act of faith as the free-will offering of the princes of the people), Israel is here specially set forth, because his life most resembled that of David, especially in this, that the cry, “Lord, I am not worthy of the least of all the mercies,” etc. (Gen_32:10), might and must for him also (see 1Ch_29:14) be the fundamental note of his prayer at the close of his fight of faith. At the end of his confession, where the expression is still more solemn, the address is more full: “Lord God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, our fathers.”—For ever and ever; comp. Psa_103:17.
1Ch_29:11. Thine, O Lord, is the greatness; comp. Psa_144:8; and on “power” (here and 1Ch_29:12), Ps. 21:14; on “beauty” (here and 1Ch_29:13), Psa_94:6; on “lustre” ( ðֵöַç , less suitably rendered “victory” by Luther), 1Sa_15:29; on “majesty” ( äåֹã by Luther, against the text: “thanks”), 1sa 16:27, Psa_21:6. The whole doxology belongs to the apocalyptic in its main figures, as Rev_4:11; Rev_5:12; Rev_7:12, etc.—Thine, O Lord, is the kingdom, and Thou art exalted as head over all. îַîְìָëָä , “kingdom, sovereignty,” as Psa_47:8 f.; comp. Mat_6:13. îִúְðַùֵּׂä is not the participle, before which àַúָּä , “Thou art,” should be supplied (Berth.), but an infinitive noun, “the being exalted;” comp. 2Ki_2:21; Ew. § 160, e. On “head over all,” comp. êåöáëὴí ὑðὲñ ðÜíôá , Eph_1:22.
1Ch_29:12. And the riches and the glory; the same connection, Pro_3:16; comp. also 1Ch_29:28; 2Ch_17:5; 1Ki_3:13.
1Ch_29:13. And now, our God, we thank Thee, properly, “now are we thanking and praising Thy name:” the participles express the constancy of the work; comp. 1Ch_23:5.—Thy glorious name, literally, “the name of Thy glory,” as Luther here renders, while he has, 1Ch_29:3, put “holy house” for “house of holiness.”
1Ch_29:14. For (literally, “and for;” åְëִé , as Jdg_10:10) who am, I, and what is my people, that we should be able? òָöַø ëֹּçַ , properly, “to hold or retain strength,” then valere, be able; comp, 2Ch_13:20; Dan_10:8; Dan_10:16; Dan_11:6.—In this way, as our just completed collection of free will offerings for the temple (1Ch_29:3-8) has proved. On ëַּæּàֹú , comp. 2Ch_32:15.
1Ch_29:15. For we are strangers before Thee, and sojourners; comp. Psa_39:13; Heb_11:13; Heb_13:14. Even in this strong assertion of the vanity and uncertainty of earthly life (on b, comp. Job_8:9; Psa_90:9 f., Psa_102:12; and Jer_14:8) appears, as in the foregoing verse, which recalls Gen_32:10, an allusion to that which Jacob confessed at the end of his earthly career; comp. Gen_47:9.
1Ch_29:16. All this store, äָîåֹï heap of money, wealth, as Ecc_5:9. For the var. “it” (referring to “the heap”) for “her,” see Crit. Note.
1Ch_29:17. In the integrity of my heart. éùֶׁø ìֵáָá as Deu_9:5; comp. the foregoing îֵéùָׁøִéí , “uprightness,” Psa_17:2.—Thy people who are present, “have found themselves here.” On äַ for àֲùֶׁø , comp. 1Ch_26:28 and 1Ch_29:8; on finding oneself=being present, comp. 1Ch_28:1; 2Ch_5:11.
1Ch_29:18. Keep this, the spirit of willingness, which expresses itself in these gifts.—Imagination of the thoughts, as 1Ch_28:9.—Stablish their heart (or “prepare”), as 1Sa_7:3.
1Ch_29:19. On a, comp. 1Ch_29:9; on b ( äַáִּéøָä ), 1Ch_29:1.
4. Close of the public Assembly. Solomon’s Elevation to the Throne: 1Ch_29:20-25.—And all the congregation blessed; áøêְ with ìְ , as 1Ch_29:13 : äãä , and äìì with ìְ . And they …bowed down to the Lord, they did obeisance before God and the king as His earthly type and representative. For the combination of ÷ãã and äùׁúçåä , denoting now divine, now human, respect, comp. Gen_24:26, Exo_12:27; Exo_34:8; 1Ki_1:16; 1Ki_1:31; and Psa_95:6, etc.
1Ch_29:21. And they killed sacrifices unto the Lord, and offered burnt-offerings. The same phrases are united, only in inverse order, 1Sa_6:15. æְáָçִéí denotes here animal sacrifices in general, but in b it signifies, in contrast with the before-mentioned burnt-offerings, peace-offerings ( ùְׁìָîִéí , Exo_25:5) in connection with the proper joyful feasts.—On the morrow of that day; comp. Lev_23:11; Jon_4:7.
1Ch_29:22. And they ate and drank. This describes the joyful feast, as 1Ch_12:39; 1Ki_4:20; Deu_12:7; Deu_26:10.—And the second time made . . . king. ùֵׁðִéú , distinct from 1Ch_23:1, where a first solemn elevation (proclamation) of Solomon to be the successor of his father was reported, with which, however, the ceremony of anointing was not connected. To the present second elevation corresponds that reported 1Ki_1:32 ff., as the mention there of Zadok as taking part in this solemn act of anointing shows.—Anointed him unto the Lord (according to the will of the Lord) to be ruler, ìְðָâִéã ; this is here for the sharper contrast with the following ìְëֹäֵï ; comp. moreover, 1Ch_28:4; 1Ki_1:35.—And Zadok to be priest. “With this notice, peculiar to the Chronist, began the degradation of the other high priest, Abiathar, of the line of Ithamar, as Solomon formally completed it after his father’s death (1Ki_2:26 ff.), already in the lifetime of David: it was prepared by Zadok alone being anointed in the presence of the states along with the young king.
1Ch_29:23. And Solomon sat on the throne of the Lord as king. For the anticipatory nature of this notice, comp. on 1Ch_23:1; for “the throne of the Lord,” on 1Ch_28:5.—And he prospered; and all Israel obeyed him, according to the hope of David expressed before, 1Ch_22:13, regarding him. For ùָׁîַò àֶì = obeyed, comp. Deu_34:9.
1Ch_29:24. Also all the sons of King David submitted to Solomon the king, literally, “gave hand under” (comp. 2Ch_30:8; Lam_5:6). We may observe the slight allusion to the soon suppressed attempt of Adonijah (1Ki_1:5 ff.) which is contained in this statement, quite after the manner of the Chronist (see Principles of History and Ethics, No. 1).
1Ch_29:25. Magnified . . . exceedingly; comp. 1Ch_22:5.—And bestowed upon him the majesty of the kingdom. ðָúַï òַì , as Psa_8:2; äåֹø , as 1Ch_29:11.—Which had not been on any king over Israel before him. The construction is as partly in Ecc_1:16, partly in 1Ki_3:12. The phrase is somewhat hyperbolical, as there were only two kings of Israel before him (Ishbosheth our author is wont to ignore, as 1Ch_29:27 shows).
5. Close of the History of David: 1Ch_29:26-30.—And the time that he reigned over all Israel, inclusive of the seven years of his residence in Hebron (which is more exactly fixed, 2Sa_5:5, at seven and a half years).
1Ch_29:28. In a good old age; comp. Gen_15:15; Gen_25:8.—Full (“satisfied”; comp. Job_42:17) of days, riches, and glory. For the combination òùֶׁø åְëָáåֹã , see on 1Ch_29:12.
1Ch_29:29. And the acts . . . first and last. The author here indicates the simple order which he laid down for his now finished representation of the life of David; see Evangelical and Ethical Reflections, No. 2.—Behold, they are written in, properly “on”; comp. 1Ch_9:1. For the sources now named, see Introd. § 5, II.
1Ch_29:30. With all his reign and his might; âְּáåּøָúåֹ , here his “display of might,” the power shown by him, his brave deeds; comp. 1Ki_16:5.—And the times that went over him, the events that befell him. äָòִúִּéí , as Job_24:1; Psa_31:16.—And over all the kingdoms of the countries, with which David came into friendly or hostile contact, as Phœnicia, Philistia, Edom, Moab, etc. For the phrase, comp. 2Ch_12:8; 2Ch_17:10; 2Ch_20:29.
evangelical and ethical reflections, apologetic and homiletic notes on. 1 Chronicles 10-29
1. On the historical and practical point of view under which the Chronist regards the brief account of the downfall of Saul and his house, with which he opens his full description of the history of David, he explains himself very clearly in the two closing verses of 1 Chronicles 10 : Saul’s kingdom must, after a brief existence, make way for that of David, on the simple ground that it was not erected on the foundation of right faith in Jehovah the God of the covenant, and willing submission to Him; that its possessor had not once only, but constantly, cast to the winds that earnest warning voice of the prophet, “Obedience is better than sacrifice,” 1Sa_25:22, and neglected even in the last hour to return to such a course, which was alone pleasing to God. Comp. Bengel’s appropriate note on those two verses (p. 16 of the “Beiträge zu J. A. Bengel’s Schrifterklärung, aus handschriftl. Aufzeichnun gen mitgetheilt von Dr. Osk. Wächter,” Leipz. 1865): “It is worthy of remark that Saul is not expressly charged, when he died in his sin, with his long hate of David, but rather with the unbelief in which he kept not the word of God, and sought counsel at Endor. David indeed is out of the country a considerable time before Saul’s death.… Even at the last Saul might have obtained pardon, if he had earnestly returned to God, and entreated Him. But he lost all.”—Comp. also Schlier, “König Saul” (Bibelstunden, Nördlingen 1867), towards the end, and the homiletic notes of Erdmann on 1 Samuel 31 (Bibelwerk, vi. 337).
2. That our author aimed at no exhaustive treatment of the history of David in its external and internal course—that he rather laboured as partly an excerptor, partly a supplementer, of earlier writers, and so wished to furnish something regarding the history of David contained in the present books of Samuel and Kings, similar in many respects to that which John the Evangelist did for the evangelical history presented by the synoptics,—this he himself indicates in the closing words just considered, when, 1Ch_29:29-30, he points for that which he may have omitted to the historical works of the prophets Samuel, Nathan, and Gad as his chief sources. But even before he repeatedly indicates his acquaintance with essential elements of the history of David, which, according to his plan, he does not report. Thus, in the notice prefixed as preface or introduction, concerning the downfall of Saul and his house, where he certainly alludes to the incident of the necromancer of Endor, but does not report it (1Ch_10:13 f.), and 1Ch_20:5, where he names Goliath, but presumes the history of the slaughter by the youthful shepherd David as known; likewise 1Ch_12:1, where he mentions the times of the exile and proscription of David under Saul, without entering into the particulars at least of its well-known catastrophes and vicissitudes; 1Ch_11:1 and 1Ch_12:23, where he likewise points to the rival kingdom of Saul and Abner during the residence of David at Hebron; 1Ch_20:1, where the proceedings at Jerusalem during the siege of Rabbath Ammon by Joab are slightly indicated; 1Ch_27:23-24, where, by the mention of Ahithophel and Hushai, a similar reference is made to the rebellion of Absalom; and 1Ch_29:24, where the attempt of Adonijah is in like manner touched upon. The omitted parts are, as must have been often manifest, almost always of such a nature as would have served, if brought into the field, to disturb and in some points obscure the lustre of the picture, and throw many a shadow on the otherwise almost uniform light. It is the first growing and youthful but arduously soaring aloft, further, the suffering and persecuted David, not less the despised and derided by all bystanders far and near (but comp. 1Ch_15:29); lastly, the deeply guilty and penitent one, whose picture the Chronist avoids to draw, while all the more earnestly he collects all that appears fitted to represent the hero king in his greatness, and the activity of his reign as an uninterrupted chain of splendid theocratic events. To finish a picture that presents David in the meridian height of his glory and mighty achievements is the obvious aim of all that our author adds in the way of supplement on the ground of his sources to the life-picture of the great king as given in the books of Samuel. Such are the whole contents of 1 Chronicles 17 : (the brave men who stood by David even during the reign of Saul, and the number of the warriors out of all the tribes who made him king in Hebron); those of 1 Chronicles 15, 16 (the full delineation of the preparatory, accompanying, and concluding solemnities in the introduction of the ark into its new abode on Zion); finally, those of the closing 1 Chronicles 22-29, on the internal history of the kingdom and the preparations for the building of the temple, which coincide only in subordinate points with the much more summary parallel sections of Samuel and 1 Kings, but on the whole exhibit the peculiarity and special tendency of our author in full force, and in so far, notwithstanding their dry statistical character and tedious lists of names and numbers, are of special interest (comp. No. 2). The preference of our author for the exhibition of all the brilliant traits of the history of David, or, if you will, his panegyristic idealizing tendency and method, is shown also in the short remarks of a reflective kind at the close of the several sections, which almost always issue in the exhibition of some brilliant aspect of the reign of David, or of the state of the people and the theocracy under him; for example, passages such as these: “And David became greater and greater, and Jehovah Zebaoth was with him,” 1Ch_9:9; “Day by day they came to David to help him, until the camp was great, like a camp of God,” 1Ch_12:22; “His kingdom was lift up on high, because of His people Israel,” 1Ch_14:2; “And David’s fame went out into all lands; and the Lord brought his fear upon all nations,” 1Ch_14:17; “And David reigned over all Israel,: and executed judgment and justice for all his people,” 1Ch_18:14; “Is not the Lord your God with you, and hath He not given you rest on “every side? For He hath given the inhabitants of the land into my hand, and the land is subdued before the Lord and His people,” 1Ch_22:18; But David took not . . . because the Lord had promised to increase as the stars of heaven,” 1Ch_27:23; “And he died in a good old age,; full of days, riches, and glory,” 1Ch_29:28; And the Lord magnified Solomon exceedingly in the eyes of all Israel, and bestowed on him the majesty of the kingdom, which had not been on any king over Israel before him,” 1Ch_29:25. And the enumerations and arrangements of the names of David’s heroes, servants, spiritual and temporal officers (princes), counsellors, etc., subserve the same optimistic and idealizing tendency as presented by the author; and the ever-recurring preference in these enumerations for symbolic numbers, especially for three and thirty (see 1 Chronicles 12 :), seven (the supreme officers of the kingdom and the crown, 1Ch_19:14 ff., and the counsellors of the king, 1Ch_27:32 ff.), and twelve or twenty-four, which latter numbers appear as the principle regulating the whole spiritual (Levitical-priestly) and temporal hierarchy of officers in the kingdom of David (see especially 1 Chronicles 23-27).
3. Next to the selection of material, the arrangement of it, the order followed in the history of David, is characteristic for the author’s conception of this brilliant period of the history of salvation before the exile. This order, however, is, as the same closing remark, 1Ch_29:29, to which we owe the above explanation of the choice of material by the author indicates, an extremely simple and elementary one. The author distinguishes “the first and last acts of David;” he divides his material between the two great heads of the earlier and later events of the reign of David (or of the entrance and exit of David). But among the first acts he does not understand David’s youth, with his persecutions by Saul, etc. (so that the last acts would embrace the period of his reign, as in the present division of the books of Samuel, the second of which treats of his reign), but the course of events till shortly before the end of his life, that is, until he took measures for the building of the temple, and the regular transference of the kingdom to his successor, which latter the author regards as the last acts. The point of division separating the last acts from the first is to be sought neither in 1Ch_10:13 f., for the narrative of the downfall of Saul closing with these verses is merely the preface or introduction to the acts of David; nor in 1Ch_12:40 or 1Ch_13:1, for here, where the accounts of the elevation of David to the throne of all Israel, and the close of the seven years’ reign at Hebron, come to an