Page:The Books of Chronicles (1916).djvu/198

134 And David commanded to gather together the strangers that were in the land of Israel; and he set masons to hew wrought stones to build the house of God. And David prepared iron in abundance for the nails for the doors of the gates, and for the couplings; and brass in abundance without weight; and cedar trees without number: for the Zidonians and they of Tyre brought cedar trees in abundance to David. And David said, Solomon my son is young and tender, and the house that is to be builded for the must be exceeding magnifical, of fame and of glory throughout all countries: I will therefore make preparation for it. So David prepared abundantly before his death. Then he called for Solomon his son, and charged him to build an house for the, the God of Israel. And David said to Solomon his son, As for me, it was in my heart to build an house unto the name of the my God. But the word of the came to me, saying, Thou hast shed

outcome of the Chronicler's zealous but uncritical mind working in the belief that, not Solomon, but the pious David was the "moving spirit in the great enterprise." As Moses led Israel to Jordan's brink, so David (he thought) must stop short only at the actual building of the Temple.

2. the strangers] Cp. 2 Chr. ii. 17; viii. 7—9. Hewing of stone was regarded as task-work unfit for free men. This verse is simply an anticipation of the preparations recorded in Solomon's reign: see 2 Chr. ii. 1, 17.

wrought stones] All the stone used for the building of the Temple was previously cut to the right size; cp. 1 Kin. vi. 7.

4. Zidonians and they of Tyre] Cp. 1 Kin. v. 1—6 (15—20, Heb.).

5. exceeding magnifical] The Temple took seven years in building, and it was richly overlaid with gold, but its proportions were small, viz., about 90 ft. × 45 ft. × 30 ft. These small proportions, are not surprising, for the Temple itself required only to be big enough to hold its furniture. The courts, however, were of large extent, that they might afford room for worshippers at the times of the great feasts.

Note the archaic magnifical = splendid, stately (magnificent). It is found of course in the A.V. (1611), and also in the Geneva Bible (1560); cp. Starkey, England, ii. i. 176 (1538), "Gudly cytes and townys wyth magnyfycal and gudly housys."

7. said to Solomon his son] So Kethīb; the mg., said to Solomon, My son, follows the Ḳerī.

unto the name] Cp. Deut. xii. 5; 2 Sam. vii. 13.

8. Thou hast shed blood abundantly] Cp. xxviii. 3; in 1 Kin. v. 3