Now I have prepared. — And with all might have I prepared (1 Chronicles 22:14; comp. also Deuteronomy 6:5; Deuteronomy 28:9).
The gold for things to be made of gold. — Literally, the gold for the gold, and the silver for the silver, &c. (Comp. 1 Chronicles 28:14.)
Onyx (shôham). — So Vulg. The LXX. keeps the Hebrew word Σοάμ. (See Gen. ii 12; Exodus 25:7; Exodus 28:9; Exodus 28:20; Job 28:16.) The uncertainty of meaning is illustrated by the fact that the LXX. in various passages translates shôham by onyx, beryl, sardius, emerald, and sapphire.
Stones to be set (’abnê millû’îm). — Stones of settings; strictly, fillings; LXX., πληρώσεως (Exodus 25:7; Exodus 35:9).
Glistering stones, and of divers colours. — Literally, stones of pûk and riqmâh. Pûk is the pigment used by Eastern ladies for darkening the eyebrows and lashes (kohl: 2 Kings 9:30). It here seems to denote the colour of the stones in question. Perhaps some kind of decorative marble is intended (comp. Isaiah 54:11). Riqmâh stones are veined or variegated marbles, or, perhaps, tesselated work (comp. Ezekiel 17:3; Judges 5:30). The LXX. renders the phrase “costly and variegated stones.”
All manner of precious stones. — 2 Chronicles 3:6.
Marble stones. — Stones of shàyish, a word only read here. It means white marble. The LXX. and Vulg. have Parian marble, but the Targum simply marmora, “marbles.” (Comp. Esther 1:6; Song of Solomon 5:15, where shêsh is equivalent to the present form.)