The Altar of Brass. (15) Also he made before the house two pillars of thirty and five cubits high, and the chapiter that was on the top of each of them was five cubits. (16) And he made chains, as in the oracle, and put them on the heads of the pillars; and made an hundred pomegranates, and put them on the chains. (17) And he reared up the pillars before the temple, one on the right hand, and the other on the left; and called the name of that on the right hand Jachin, and the name of that on the left 5Boaz. CHAPTER 5 That is, In it is made an altar strength. twenty cubits wide. Of this breadth each cherub covered half, or ten cubits, with his wings, which were five cubits apiece in length. Obviously the inner wing of each cherub met the inner wing of the other in the middle of the wall. One wing... other cherub.-The wing of the one, extending to five cubits, was touching the wall of the chamber, and the other wing-five cubits-was touching the wing of the other cherub. (12) Literally, And the wing of the one cherub—five cubits was touching the wall of the chamber, and the other wing-five cubits-was cleaving to the wing of the other cherub. (13) The wings of these cherubims.-Or, These wings of the cherubim. Spread themselves forth.-Were outspreading (participle), 1 Chron. xxviii. 18. And they stood.-Were standing. They were ten cubits high (1 Kings vi. 26). Inward. See margin. Translate, toward the chamber. The cherubs did not face each other like the cherubim on the mercy seat (Exod. xxv. 20). (14) The vail.- The Pārōkheth, or curtain, which divided the holy place from the holy of holies, is not mentioned in the existing text of 1 Kings vi. 21, which passage, however, speaks of the chains of gold by which the vail was probably suspended. Blue, and purple, and crimson, and fine linen. See Notes on chap. ii. 7, 14. Wrought.-See Note on "set," verse 5. Here raised figures in tapestry or broidered work are meant. (See Exod. xxvi. 31, which gives an identical description of the vail of the tabernacle.) (d) THE TWO BRONZE PILLARS IN THE PORCH (verses 15-17). Comp. 1 Kings vii. 15–22. (15) Before the house.-Before the holy place, in the porch. Two pillars of thirty and five cubits high.— Two pillars thirty and five cubits in length. 1 Kings vii. 15 says "eighteen cubits," so also 2 Kings xxv. 17; Jer. lii. 21; and no doubt correctly. Of the versions, the LXX. and Vulg. have "thirty-five;" the Syriac and Arabic, eighteen." 66 The chapiter-i.e., the capital. French, chapitre. Literally, the ornament. 1 Kings vii. 16 has "the crown; so 2 Chron. iv. 12. (16) And he made chains, as in the oracle.Heb., And he made chainwork in the oracle, or chancel, 4 IV. (1) Moreover he of brass, twenty cubits which is clearly corrupt. But if we read kad-debîr for bad-debîr, an infinitesimal change in Hebrew writing, we get the sense which our version suggests: And he made chainwork as in the chancel. It is true that the sacred writer has not told us that the walls of the Holy of Holies were so ornamented, but in verse 5 he states it of the great hall or holy place, and 1 Kings vi. 29 declares that the whole house was adorned with mural carvings. It was quite natural to write, "and he made chainwork as in the oracle," assuming that such decorations really existed in the inner chamber. There seems therefore to be no need to alter debîr into rabid, ("collar ") as most commentators have done, although the change is very slight in Hebrew writing. LXX. had the present Hebrew text, but, apparently, not understanding it transliterated the Hebrew words: "He made serserôth in the dabîr." So Vulg., “as it were chainlets in the oracle." The Syriac and Arabic have "and he made chains of fifty cubits." The An hundred pomegranates. So Jer. lii. 23. (See 1 Kings vii. 20, 42, from which it appears that there were altogether four hundred pomegranates, viz., an upper and lower row of one hundred each upon the chainwork of each pillar. So chap. iv. 13.) (17) Before the temple.-Vulg., in vestibulo templi. So 1 Kings vii. 21 has, "at the porch of the temple." 1 Kings vii. 22 adds, and upon the top of the pillars was lily-work." 66 "The Jachin Boaz.-See 1 Kings vii. 21. description of the two brazen pillars," says Reuss, much more detailed in 1 Kings vii. 15 ff., has become almost unintelligible, under the pen of the abbreviator." This is a strong exaggeration. He also pronounces the word bad-debîr in verse 16" absolutely unintelligible,” and to be accounted "foreign to the text." How little we agree with this hasty decision will be evident from our Note on that verse. IV. (a) The principal vessels of the Temple (verses 1-10). (b) Huram's works in brass (verses 11-18). (c) Catalogue of golden objects, and conclusion verse 19-chap. v. 1). a) THE PRINCIPAL VESSELS OF THE TEMPLE (verses 1-10). THE BRAZEN ALTAR (verse 1). (1) An altar of brass.-The brazen altar, or altar of burnt offering, made by Solomon, is not noticed in the The Molten Sea. II. CHRONICLES, IV. The Ten Lavers. the length thereof, and twenty cubits a1 Kings 7. 23, &c. three looking toward the north, and the breadth thereof, and ten cubits the height thereof. (2) a Also he made a molten sea of ten cubits from brim to brim, round in compass, and five cubits the height thereof; and a line of thirty cubits did compass it round about. (3) And under 1 Heb., from his it was the similitude of oxen, which did b 1 Kings 7. 24. three looking toward the west, and three looking toward the south, and three looking toward the east: and the sea was set above upon them, and all their hinder parts were inward. (5) And the thickness of it was an handbreadth, and the brim of it like the work of the brim of a cup, with flowers of lilies; and it received and held three thousand baths. (6) He made also ten lavers, and put 2 like a lily five on the right hand, and five on the flower. parallel chapters of Kings (1 Kings vi., vii.) which describe the construction of the temple and its vessels of service, but it is incidentally mentioned in another passage of the older work (1 Kings ix. 25), and its existence seems to be implied in 1 Kings viii. 22, 64. This altar stood in the inner court of the temple. It rose from a terraced platform. (Comp. Ezek. xliii. 13-17.) The Hebrew of this verse is such as to suggest that it must have existed in the original document. The style is the same. (Comp. the construction of the numerals with the noun, and note the word qomah, "height," now used for the first time by the chronicler.) It would appear, therefore, that the verse has been accidentally omitted from the text of Kings. THE BRAZEN SEA (verses 2-5). (Comp. 1 Kings vii. 23-26.) (2) Also he made a molten sea.-And he made the sea (i.e., the great basin) molten-i.e., of cast metal. Of ten cubits .. thereof.-Ten in the cubit from its lip to its lip, circular all round; and five in the cubit was its height. Word for word as in 1 Kings vii. 23, save that Kings has one different preposition (ad, "unto," instead of 'el, "to"). 'Lip.' Comp. "lip of the sea," Gen. xxii. 17; "lip of the Jordan,' 2 Kings ii. 13; a metaphor which is also used in Greek. And a line of thirty cubits. -Line, i.e., measuring-line, as in Ezek. xlvii. 3. The Hebrew is qaw. In Kings we read a rare form, qaweh. The rest of the clause is the same in both texts. Did compass.-Would compass, or go round it. (3) And under it was the similitude of oxen. -Literally, And a likeness of oxen (figured oxen) under it around surrounding it, ten in the cubit encompassing the sea around: two rows were the oxen, smelted in the smelting of it. In the parallel passage (1 Kings vii. 24) we read: And wild gourds underneath its lip around surrounding it," &c., as here; two of rows were the gourds, smelted in the smelting thereof. The Hebrew words for "oxen" and "gourds" might easily be confused by a transcriber, and accordingly it is assumed by most commentators that the text of the chronicler has suffered corruption, and should be restored from that of Kings. But there seems no reason-unless we suppose that each writer has given an exhaustive description, which is clearly not the case-why the ornamental rows which ran round the great basin should not have included both features, small figures of oxen, as well as wild gourds. Reuss objects on the ground of the diminutive size of the oxen (“ten in a cubit"); but such work was by no means beyond the resources of ancient art. (Comp. the reliefs on the bronze doors of Shalmaneser II. (859-825 B.C.); 1 Kings vii. 29 actually gives an analogous instance.) The word pega‘îm, "wild gourds," only occurs in one other place of Kings, viz., 1 Kings vi. 18. (Comp. paqqu'oth, 2 Kings iv. 39.) A copyist of Kings might have inadvertently repeated the word from the former passage in 1 Kings vii. 24. In any case it is sheer dogmatism to assert that "the copyists (in the Chronicle) have absurdly changed the gourds into oxen" (Reuss). The Syriac and Arabic omit this verse; but the LXX. and Vulg. have it. (4) It stood.-The whole verse coincides verbally with 1 Kings vii. 25, with one slight exception: the common form of the numeral "twelve," shném ‘āsār, is substituted for the rare shnê 'āsār. (5) And the thickness with 1 Kings vii. 26. a cup.-Identical 66 With flowers of lilies. See margin. "Lily" here is shoshannah; in Kings, shoshan. LXX., graven with lily buds." Syriac and Arabic, "and it was very beautiful." Vulg., "like the lip of a cup, or of an open lily." 66 And it received and held three thousand baths.-Literally, holding (whole) baths: three thousand would it contain. The bath was the largest of Hebrew liquid measures. Perhaps the true reading is, holding three thousand baths," the last verb being a gloss borrowed from Kings. So Vulg. Syriac and Arabic omit the clause. The LXX. had the present reading. 1 Kings vii. 26 reads, two thousand baths would it contain. Most critics assume this to be correct. Some scribe may have read 'alaphim, "thousands," instead of 'alpayim," two thousand," and then have added" three " (shelōsheth) under the influence of the last verse. But it is more likely that the numeral three" having been inadvertently omitted from the text of Kings, the indefinite word "thousands" was made definite by turning it into the dual "two thousand." Either mistake would be possible, because in the unpointed text 'alaphîm and 'alpayim are written alike. The Syriac has the curious addition, "And he made ten poles, and put five on the right and five on the left, and bare with them the altar of burnt, offerings." Similarly the Arabic version. 66 THE TEN LAVERS: THEIR USE, AND THAT OF THE SEA (verse 6). (Comp. 1 Kings vii. 27–39.) (6) The chronicler now returns to his abbreviating style, and omits altogether the description of the ten bases, or stands, upon which the lavers were placed, and which are described in full and curious detail in Candlesticks and Tables. 1 II. CHRONICLES, IV. burnt offering. 2 Or, bowls. left, to wash in them: such things as 1 Heb., the work of 3 Or, bowls. The Instruments of Brass. (9) Furthermore he made the court of the priests, and the great court, and doors for the court, and overlaid the doors of them with brass. (10) And he set the sea on the right side of the east end, over against the south. (11) And Huram made the pots, and the shovels, and the 3 basons. And Huram finished the work that he was to make for king Solomon for the house Heb., Anished to of God; (12) to wit, the two pillars, and make. 1 Kings vii. 27-39. The unusual difficulty of the passage may have determined the omission, but it seems more likely that the sacred writer thought the bases of less importance than the objects described in verses 7— 9, the account of which he has interpolated between the first and second half of 1 Kings vii. 39. He made also ten lavers.-And he made ten pans. The word kiyor is used in 1 Sam. ii. 14 as a pan for cooking, and in Zech. xii. 6 as a pan holding fire. Its meaning here and in the parallel place is a pan for washing. (Comp. Exod. xxx. 18, 28.) The LXX. renders Aournpas," baths; " the Syriac, laqné, "flagons" (lagenae, λάγηνοι). To wash in them.-This statement, and, indeed, the rest of the verse is peculiar to the chronicler. On the other hand, 1 Kings vii. 38 specifies the size and capacity of the lavers here omitted. Such things as they offered for the burnt offering they washed in them.-This gives the meaning. Literally, the work (comp. Exod. xxix. 36, "to do" being equivalent to "to offer") of the burnt offering they used to rinse (strictly, thrust, plunge) in them. But the sea was for the priests to wash in. -The Hebrew words have been transposed apparently. The same infinitive (lĕrohçah) occurs in Exod. xxx. 18; xl. 30, in a similar context. Instead of all this, the Syriac and Arabic versions read: "put them five on the right hand and five on the left, that the priests might wash in them their hands and their feet," which appears to be derived from Exod. xxx. 19; xl. 31. THE TEN GOLDEN CANDLESTICKS, THE ΤΕΝ TABLES, THE HUNDRED GOLDEN Bowls, and THE COURTS (verses 7-9). This section is peculiar to Chronicles. (7) And he made ten candlesticks of gold according to their form. And he made the golden lampstands ten, according to their rule, or, prescribed manner. (Comp. 1 Kings vii. 49; and Exod. xxv. 31 -40, where their type is described.) So the Vulg., "secundum speciem quâ jussa erant fieri." Syriac and Arabic, "according to their laws." Others explain "as their use required," which is less likely. In the temple.-And before the chancel (1 Kings vii. 49; verse 20, infra). (8) He made also ten tables.-Perhaps the golden candelabra stood upon them. (Comp. 1 Chron. xxviii. 16; and verse 19, infra.) Side. Not in the Hebrew. An hundred basons.-Bowls for pouring libations (Amos vi. 6; same word, mizrāqîm). The Syriac and Arabic make the number of these vessels a hundred and twenty. The ten tables are not mentioned in the parallel narrative, which speaks of one table only, viz., the table of shewbread (1 Kings vii. 48). "Basons," or bowls, are spoken of in 1 Kings vii. 45, 50 (mizrāqôth), but their number is not given. (9) The court of the priests.-See 1 Kings vi. 36; vii. 12," the inner court;" Jer. xxxvi. 10, "the higher court." And the great court.-'Azārāh, "court," a late word, common in the Targums for the classical hāçēr, which has just occurred. The ‘azārāh was the outer court of the temple. It is not mentioned at all in the parallel narrative. The LXX. calls it "the great court;" the Vulg., "the great basilica." The Syriac renders the whole verse: "And he made one great court for the priests and Levites, and covered the doors and bolts with bronze." (Comp. Note on verse 3 for this plating of the doors with bronze.) The bronzeplated doors of Shalmaneser's palace at Balawat were twenty-two feet high, and each leaf was six feet wide. (10) And he set the sea. . .-Literally, And he set the sea on the right shoulder, eastward, in front of the southward; i.e., on the south-east side of the house (1 Kings vii. 39, b.). The LXX. and some MSS. add "of the house," which appears to have fallen out of the text. (b) HURAM'S WORKS IN BRASS (verses 11—18). Comp. 1 Kings vii. 40—47. Throughout this section the narrative almost textually coincides with the parallel account. (11) And Huram made the pots.-1 Kings vii. 40 has "lavers' (pans). Our reading, "pots," appears correct, supported as it is by many MSS. and the LXX. and Vulg. of Kings. A single stroke makes the difference between the two words in Hebrew writing. These "pots" were scuttles for carrying away the ashes of the altar. Basons." Bowls" (mizrāqoth). Probably the same as the mizrāqîm of verse 8. So kîyôrôth (Kings) and kiyorim (Chron.). Huram.-Hebrew text, Hiram, as in Kings. The LXX. renders: "And Hiram made the fleshhooks (Kpedypas) and the firepans (Tupêta), and the hearth of the altar and all its vessels." The work.-Kings, "all the work," and so some MSS., LXX., and Vulg. of Chron. The Syriac and Arabic omit verses 11-17 and 19-22. He was to make.-Rather, he made. For the house.-In the house. Chronicles supplies the preposition in, which is not required according to ancient usage. (12) And the pommels, and the chapiters-i.e., the globes and the capitals. Kings, Authorised Version, B.C. 1012. 1 Heb., upon the the pommels, and the chapiters which made he bright, or, scoured. of the ground. has bowls, but in Hebrew the word is the same (gulloth, globes). "The globes of the capitals " (Kings) is plainly incorrect. Which were on the top of the two pillars. -Heb. (and the globes and the capitals), on the top of the pillars, two; i.e., two globes and capitals. The word "two (shtayim) is feminine, agreeing with globes and capitals," which are also feminine; whereas "pillars" is a masculine term. 66 66 Wreaths.-Heb., sebākhôth, lattices. (Comp. 2 Kings i. 2.) The Authorised version of 1 Kings vii. 41 gives "network," but the Hebrew word is the same as here. (13) Two rows.-See 1 Kings vii. 42. (14) He made also bases.-And the bases he made; and the lavers he made upon the bases. This repetition of the verb is suspicious; and the parallel text shows the right reading to be and the bases ten (in number), and the lavers ten upon the bases. "Ten" in Hebrew writing closely resembles "he made." The LXX. renders, "And the bases he made ten, and the lavers he made upon the bases;" which shows that the corruption of the text is ancient. (15) One sea.-Heb., the sea one. Kings, and the one sea. And twelve oxen under it.-And the oxen, twelve, under it. Kings, And the oxen, twelve, under the sea. The chronicler has abridged the expression. (16) The pots also, and the shovels, and the fleshhooks.-" Fleshhooks" (mizlāgoth) should apparently be "bowls" (mizrāqôth). (Comp. verse 1, and 1 Kings vii. 45.) But in Exod. xxvii. 3, pots and shovels and bowls and fleshhooks are mentioned in succession as utensils of the altar. Perhaps, therefore, both words should be read here and in Kings. LXX., καὶ τοὺς πολιστήρας καὶ τοὺς ἀναλημπτῆρας καὶ τοὺς λέβητας Kai Tàs Kрeάypas. The Vulg. merely repeats verse 11 (et lebetes et creagras et phialas). A stop should follow the last; "And all their instruments," &c., being a new sentence. And all their instruments.-1 Kings vii. 45, and all these instruments, which appears correct, though the LXX. supports our present reading (TávTA TÀ OKÉVN AUTŵv). “Their instruments" could hardly mean the moulds in which they were cast, as Zöckler suggests. The moulds would not be made in "polished brass." Huram his father.-See Note on chap. ii. 13. Bright.-Polished. Jer. xlvi. 4 (mārûq). Kings has the synonym měmōrāt. (Comp. Isa. xviii. 2.) (17) In the clay ground.-Heb., in the thickness of the ground-i.e., in the stiff or clayey soil. Vulg., Gold Instruments "in argillosa terra.” For ‘abî, “thickness,” see Job xv. 26. Kings has ma‘abeh, which occurs nowhere else. Zeredathah.-Kings, Zārĕthān (Josh. iii. 16). Zērēdāthāh means towards Zerēdāh (1 Kings xi. 26). The two names denote the same place. (18) Thus Solomon made all these vessels in great abundance.-1 Kings vii. 47, And Solomon left all the vessels (unweighed) from very great abundance. Our text may be due to a copyist, whose eye wandered to the beginning of the next verse; but it is possible that the chronicler missed the significance of the verb used in Kings, and therefore substituted an easier term. The further changes-" unto great abundance," "for the weight," &c.-suggest this account of the matter. Could not be found out.-Was not ascertained. (c) CataloguE OF OBJECTS IN GOLD-ConcluSION (verse 19-chap. v. 1). 1 Kings vii. 48-50. The narrative still coincides in the main with that of Kings, allowing for one or two remarkable alterations. (19) For the house.-In the houses (without preposition, comp. verse 11). The golden altar also.-Literally, both the golden altar and the tables, and upon them the Presence bread. So LXX. and Vulg. The parallel passage, 1 Kings vii. 48, says, and the table on which (was) the Presence bread (in) gold. (See Note on verse 8, supr., and 1 Chron. xxviii. 16.) On the one hand, the chronicler in these three passages consistently speaks of tables, although the book of Kings mentions one table only; and, on the other hand, elsewhere he actually speaks himself of "the Pure Table," and "the Table of the Pile," as if there were only one such table (2 Chron. xiii. 11; xxix. 18). The difficulty cannot be solved with certainty; but it seems likely that, finding mention of a number of tables in one of his sources, the chronicler has grouped them all together with the Table of Shewbread, thus gaining brevity at the cost of accuracy. In Ezek. xl. 39 eight tables of hewn stone are mentioned, whereon they slew the sacrificial victims. (20) With (and) their lamps, that they should burn after the manner (according to the legal rule-verse 7). This is added by the chronicler, who omits "five on the right and five on the left" (Kings). The rest is as in Kings. b Induction of the Ark. (2) Then Solomon assembled the elders of Israel, and all the heads of the tribes, the chief of the fathers of the children of Israel, unto Jerusalem, to bring up the ark of the covenant of the LORD out of the city of David, which is Zion. (3) Wherefore all the men of Israel assembled themselves unto the king in the feast which was in the seventh month. And all the elders of Israel came; and the Levites took up the ark. (5) And they brought up the ark, and the tabernacle of the congregation, and all the holy vessels that were in the tabernacle, these did the priests and the among the treasures of the house of God. b 1 Kings 8. 1, &c. Levites bring up. (6) Also king Solomon, 66 66 And that perfect gold.-It was perfection of gold. The word mikloth, perfections" (intensive plural) occurs nowhere else. It is derived from kālāh, to be finished," not kālal (Bishop Wordsworth). The LXX. omits the clause; not so the Vulg., which renders "all were made of purest gold." This little touch, added to heighten the effect, is quite in the manner of the chronicler, and is certainly not to be suspected, as Zöckler asserts. Perhaps we should read miklôl, “perfection" (Ezek. xxiii. 12), instead of the isolated miklôth. And the snuffers.-Before this expression, and the basons (1 Kings vii. 50) has probably fallen out. Snuffers.- Shears or scissors, for trimming the lamps. The spoons, and the censers.-Or, trays and snuff-dishes.-See 1 Kings vii. 50; Exod. xxv. 38. And the entry of the house.-Including both the doors of the nave or holy place, and those of the chancel or holiest. The words are explained by those which follow: "viz., its inner doors to the holy of holies and the doors of the house-viz., to the nave (hêkal, great hall)." In 1 Kings vii. 50 we read, "And the hinges to the doors of the inner house -viz., the holy of holies, (and) to the doors of the house-viz., to the nave, were of gold." The word rendered hinges (pôthôth) resembles that rendered entry (pethah); and some have supposed that the latter is a corruption of the former, and would alter our text accordingly. Two reasons seem to be decisive against such a change. (1) Pôthôth, “hinges," occurs nowhere else in the Bible; and may not be genuine. It is likely enough that the doors of the Temple were plated with gold (1 Kings vi. 32, 35), but hardly that their hinges were made of gold. (2) Even if pothoth be correct in Kings, the chronicler might have understood the word to mean openings, rather than hinges, and so have substituted the common word pethah, which has that sense. The resemblance of the one word to the other would be a further consideration in its favour, according to ancient notions of interpretation. V. (1) Thus.-And. This verse is identical with 1 Kings vii. 51. (The chronicler has made three slight corrections of the older text.) Brought in all the things. . . dedicated.Brought in the holy (or hallowed) things of David his father. (Comp. 1 Chron. xviii. 11; xxvi. 26-28.) The implements.-Or, vessels. The word all is omitted by some MSS., and by the LXX., Syriac, and Arabic." The holy things of David" are identical with "the silver and the gold and the vessels." THE DEDICATION OF THE TEMPLE (chaps. v. 2vii. 22). 1. Chap. v. 2-14. NATIONAL CEREMONY OF THE TRANSFER OF THE ARK INTO THE TEMPLE. (Comp. 1 Kings viii. 1—11.) The chapter is an almost literal duplicate of the parallel text. The desire to explain and abridge accounts for such variations as are not due to the transcribers. (2) The chief of the fathers.-Rather, the chiefs of the clans (father-houses). Vulg., "capita familiarum;” LXX., τοὺς ἡγουμένους πατριῶν. Elders... heads.-Or, sheikhs . . . ameers. In the feast which was in the seventh month.—Heb., in the feast; that (is) the seventh month. The words "in the month of Ethanim" (Kings) have been accidentally omitted before the expression rendered "in the feast." The Authorised version suggests another mode of emending the text. (Comp. Neh. viii. 14.) Syr., "in the month of the fruits ('ebbo) of the feast of Tabernacles; that is the seventh month.” The LXX. had the present faulty Hebrew. (4) The Levites.-Kings has the priests; and so Syr. and Arab. here; but LXX. and Vulg., Levites. The latter term, as the tribal name, may of course be used to include the priests or Aaronites, as well as their inferior brethren. Verse 7 shows that the priests are intended here. (5) These did the priests and the Levites bring up.-Heb., the priests the Levites (which some explain the Levitical priests,' as in Josh. iii. 3) brought them up. But some Hebrew MSS., LXX., and Syriac, read "the priests and the Levites;" Arab., "the Levites and the priests;" and Vulg., "the priests with the Levites." Above all, 1 Kings viii. 4 has, "And the priests and the Levites brought them up.' It appears, therefore, that the conjunction is rightly supplied by the Authorised Version. (6) Assembled.-(Nō'ad, to meet at an appointed time and place, Exod. xxv. 22). Not the same word as in verses 2 and 3 (qahal), of which the root meaning is probably to call together. |