14 And he establisheth, according to the ordinance of David his father, the courses of the priests over their service, and of the Levites over their charges, to praise and to minister over-against the priests, according to the matter of a day in its day, and the gatekeepers in their courses at gate and gate, for so `is' the command of David the man of God.
And the gatekeepers `are' Shallum, and Akkub, and Talmon, and Ahiman, and their brethren -- Shallum `is' the head;
and his brethren Shemaiah, and Azarael, Milalai, Gilalai, Maai, Nethaneel, and Judah, Hanani, with instruments of song of David the man of God, and Ezra the scribe `is' before them;
`This `is' the thing that ye do: The third of you, going in on the sabbath, of the priests, and of the Levites, `are' for gatekeepers of the thresholds,
for David, indeed, his own generation having served by the will of God, did fall asleep, and was added unto his fathers, and saw corruption,
And it came to pass, in his acting as priest, in the order of his course before God,
There was in the days of Herod, the king of Judea, a certain priest, by name Zacharias, of the course of Abijah, and his wife of the daughters of Aaron, and her name Elisabeth;
And the service is prepared, and the priests stand on their station, and the Levites on their courses, according to the command of the king,
And Hezekiah appointeth the courses of the priests, and of the Levites, by their courses, each according to his service, of the priests and of the Levites, for burnt-offering, and for peace-offerings, to minister, and to give thanks, and to give praise in the gates of the camps of Jehovah.
And it cometh to pass, in the going out of the priests from the sanctuary -- for all the priests who are present have sanctified themselves, there is none to watch by courses,
The whole `is' in writing from the hand of Jehovah, `He caused me to understand all the work of the pattern,' `said David.'
And he putteth before the ark of Jehovah, of the Levites, ministers, even to make mention of, and to thank, and to give praise to Jehovah, God of Israel, Asaph the head, and his second Zechariah; Jeiel, and Shemiramoth, and Jehiel, and Mattithiah, and Eliab, and Benaiah, and Obed-Edom, and Jeiel, with instruments of psalteries, and with harps; and Asaph with cymbals is sounding; and Benaiah and Jahaziel the priests `are' with trumpets continually before the ark of the covenant of God.
And David saith to the heads of the Levites to appoint their brethren the singers, with instruments of song, psalteries, and harps, and cymbals, sounding, to lift up with the voice for joy. And the Levites appoint Heman son of Joel, and of his brethren, Asaph son of Berechiah, and of the sons of Merari their brethren, Ethan son of Kushaiah; and with them their brethren, the seconds `in rank', Zechariah, Ben, and Jaaziel, and Shemiramoth, and Jehiel, and Unni, Eliab, and Benaiah, and Maaseiah, and Mattithiah, and Elipheleh, and Mikneiah; and Obed-Edom and Jeiel the gatekeepers; and the singers, Heman, Asaph, and Ethan, with cymbals of brass to sound, and Zechariah, and Aziel, and Shemiramoth, and Jeheil, and Unni, and Eliab, and Maaseiah, and Benaiah, with psalteries besides virgins, and Mattithiah, and Elipheleh, and Mikneiah, and Obed-Edom, and Jeiel, and Azaziah, with harps, on the octave, to oversee. And Chenaniah, head of the Levites, `is' over the burden; he instructeth about the burden, for he `is' intelligent.
And these `are' they whom David stationed over the parts of the song of the house of Jehovah, from the resting of the ark, and they are ministering before the tabernacle of the tent of meeting, in song, till the building by Solomon of the house of Jehovah in Jerusalem; and they stand according to their ordinance over their service. And these `are' those standing, and their sons: of the sons of the Kohathite: Heman the singer, son of Joel, son of Shemuel, son of Elkanah, son of Jeroham, son of Eliel, son of Toah, son of Zuph, son of Elkanah, son of Mahath, son of Amasai, son of Elkanah, son of Joel, son of Azariah, son of Zephaniah, son of Tahath, son of Assir, son of Ebiasaph, son of Korah, son of Izhar, son of Kohath, son of Levi, son of Israel. And his brother Asaph, who is standing on his right -- Asaph, son of Berachiah, son of Shimea, son of Michael, son of Baaseiah, son of Malchiah, son of Ethni, son of Zerah, son of Adaiah, son of Ethan, son of Zimmah, son of Shimei, son of Jahath, son of Gershom, son of Levi. And sons of Merari, their brethren, `are' on the left. Ethan son of Kishi, son of Abdi, son of Malluch, son of Hashabiah, son of Amaziah, son of Hilkiah, son of Amzi, son of Bani, son of Shamer, son of Mahli, son of Mushi, son of Merari, son of Levi. And their brethren the Levites are put to all the service of the tabernacle of the house of God.
And lo, a man of God hath come from Judah, by the word of Jehovah, unto Beth-El, and Jeroboam is standing by the altar -- to make perfume;
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.