Page:The Books of Chronicles (1916).djvu/397

Rh had gathered of the hand of Manasseh and Ephraim, and of all the remnant of Israel, and of all Judah and Benjamin, and of the inhabitants of Jerusalem. And they delivered it into the hand of the workmen that had the oversight of the house of the ; and the workmen that wrought in the house of the gave it to amend and repair the house; even to the carpenters and to the builders gave they it, to buy hewn stone, and timber for couplings, and to make beams for the houses which the kings of Judah had destroyed. And the men did the work faithfully: and the overseers of them were Jahath and Obadiah, the Levites, of the sons of Merari; and Zechariah and Meshullam, of the sons of the Kohathites, to set it forward: and other of the Levites, all that could skill of instruments of music. Also they were over the bearers of burdens, and set forward all that did the work in every

of the hand of Manasseh, etc.] In 2 Kin. simply "of the people": i.e. Kings thinks only of the Southern Kingdom; the Chronicler includes the remnant of the northern tribes. But see also the note on xv. 9.

and of the inhabitants of Jerusalem] So one reading of the Heb. (the Kethīb), in agreement with the LXX. The mg. and they returned to Jerusalem follows the other reading (the Ḳerī).

10. and the workmen that wrought in the house of the gave it] The "workmen" are distinguished from the "carpenters and builders" (ver. 11); overseers of some kind are meant. To oversee the work and to do the work may be synonymous phrases here as in 1 Chr. xxiii. 4 and ibid. ver. 24. On the other hand 2 Kin. xxii. 5 favours the rendering "And they (i.e. Shaphan, etc., and Hilkiah, vv. 8, 9) delivered it into the hand of the workmen that had the oversight and they (i.e. these overseers) gave it to the workmen that wrought" (Cp. the mg.)

11. the houses] Cp. 1 Chr. xxviii. 11.

12. the overseers] There is no parallel in 2 Kin. for the rest of this verse and for ver. 13. The addition is characteristic of the Chronicler, exemplifying (1) his habit of inserting proper names, (2) his interest in the Levites, particularly the musical class.

to set it forward] The same Heb. word is used in 1 Chr. xxiii. 4, and is there rendered "to oversee the work." (Cp. the mg.)

could skill] "Skill" is used as a verb also in ii. 7, 8. Skill of instruments = "play skilfully upon instruments."