2 That the cities H5892 which Huram H2361 had restored H5414 to Solomon, H8010 Solomon H8010 built H1129 them, and caused the children H1121 of Israel H3478 to dwell H3427 there.
(Now Hiram H2438 the king H4428 of Tyre H6865 had furnished H5375 Solomon H8010 with cedar H730 trees H6086 and fir H1265 trees, H6086 and with gold, H2091 according to all his desire,) H2656 that then H227 king H4428 Solomon H8010 gave H5414 Hiram H2438 twenty H6242 cities H5892 in the land H776 of Galilee. H1551 And Hiram H2438 came out H3318 from Tyre H6865 to see H7200 the cities H5892 which Solomon H8010 had given H5414 him; and they pleased H3474 H5869 him not. And he said, H559 What cities H5892 are these which thou hast given H5414 me, my brother? H251 And he called H7121 them the land H776 of Cabul H3521 unto this day. H3117 And Hiram H2438 sent H7971 to the king H4428 sixscore H3967 H6242 talents H3603 of gold. H2091 And this is the reason H1697 of the levy H4522 which king H4428 Solomon H8010 raised; H5927 for to build H1129 the house H1004 of the LORD, H3068 and his own house, H1004 and Millo, H4407 and the wall H2346 of Jerusalem, H3389 and Hazor, H2674 and Megiddo, H4023 and Gezer. H1507 For Pharaoh H6547 king H4428 of Egypt H4714 had gone up, H5927 and taken H3920 Gezer, H1507 and burnt H8313 it with fire, H784 and slain H2026 the Canaanites H3669 that dwelt H3427 in the city, H5892 and given H5414 it for a present H7964 unto his daughter, H1323 Solomon's H8010 wife. H802 And Solomon H8010 built H1129 Gezer, H1507 and Bethhoron H1032 the nether, H8481 And Baalath, H1191 and Tadmor H8412 in the wilderness, H4057 in the land, H776
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible » Commentary on 2 Chronicles 8
Commentary on 2 Chronicles 8 Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
CHAPTER 8
2Ch 8:1-6. Solomon's Buildings.
2. cities which Huram had restored … Solomon built them, &c.—These cities lay in the northwest of Galilee. Though included within the limits of the promised land, they had never been conquered. The right of occupying them Solomon granted to Huram, who, after consideration, refused them as unsuitable to the commercial habits of his subjects (see on 1Ki 9:11). Solomon, having wrested them from the possession of the Canaanite inhabitants, repaired them and filled them with a colony of Hebrews.
3-6. And Solomon went to Hamath-zobah—Hamath was on the Orontes, in Cœle-Syria. Its king, Toi, had been the ally of David; but from the combination, Hamath and Zobah, it would appear that some revolution had taken place which led to the union of these two petty kingdoms of Syria into one. For what cause the resentment of Solomon was provoked against it, we are not informed, but he sent an armed force which reduced it. He made himself master also of Tadmor, the famous Palmyra in the same region. Various other cities along the frontiers of his extended dominions he repaired and fitted up, either to serve as store-places for the furtherance of his commercial enterprises, or to secure his kingdom from foreign invasion (see on 2Ch 1:14; 1Ki 9:15).
2Ch 8:7-11. The Canaanites Made Tributaries.
7. all the people that were left, &c.—The descendants of the Canaanites who remained in the country were treated as war prisoners, being obliged to "pay tribute or to serve as galley slaves" (2Ch 2:18), while the Israelites were employed in no works but such as were of an honorable character.
10. two hundred and fifty that bare rule—(Compare 1Ki 9:23). It is generally agreed that the text of one of these passages is corrupt.
11. Solomon brought up the daughter of Pharaoh out of the city of David unto the house that he had built for her—On his marriage with the Egyptian princess at the beginning of his reign, he assigned her a temporary abode in the city of David, that is, Jerusalem, until a suitable palace for his wife had been erected. While that palace was in progress, he himself lodged in the palace of David, but he did not allow her to occupy it, because he felt that she being a heathen proselyte, and having brought from her own country an establishment of heathen maid-servants, there would have been an impropriety in her being domiciled in a mansion which was or had been hallowed by the reception of the ark. It seems she was received on her arrival into his mother's abode (So 3:4; 8:2).
2Ch 8:15-18. Solomon's Festival Sacrifices.
15. they departed not from the commandment of the king—that is, David, in any of his ordinances, which by divine authority he established.
unto the priests and Levites concerning any matter, or concerning the treasures—either in regulating the courses of the priests and Levites, or in the destination of his accumulated treasures to the construction and adornment of the temple.
17. Then went Solomon to Ezion-geber, and to Eloth—These two maritime ports were situated at the eastern gulf of the Red Sea, now called the Gulf of Akaba. Eloth is seen in the modern Akaba, Ezion-geber in El Gudyan [Robinson]. Solomon, determined to cultivate the arts of peace, was sagacious enough to perceive that his kingdom could become great and glorious only by encouraging a spirit of commercial enterprise among his subjects; and, accordingly, with that in mind he made a contract with Huram for ships and seamen to instruct his people in navigation.
18. Huram sent him … ships—either sent him ship-men, able seamen, overland; or, taking the word "sent" in a looser sense, supplied him, that is, built him ships—namely, in docks at Eloth (compare 1Ki 9:26, 27). This navy of Solomon was manned by Tyrians, for Solomon had no seamen capable of performing distant expeditions. The Hebrew fishermen, whose boats plied on the Sea of Tiberias or coasted the shores of the Mediterranean, were not equal to the conducting of large vessels laden with valuable cargoes on long voyages and through the wide and unfrequented ocean.
four hundred and fifty talents of gold—(Compare 1Ki 9:28). The text in one of these passages is corrupt.