1 Chronicles 22 - Clarke's commentary and critical notes on the Bible

Bible Comments
  • 1 Chronicles 22:1 open_in_new

    Then David said, This is the house of the LORD God, and this is the altar of the burnt offering for Israel. David said, This is the house of the Lord - Till a temple is built for his name, this place shall be considered the temple of God; and on this altar, and not on that at Gibeon, shall the burnt-offerings of Israel be made. David probably thought that this was the place on which God designed that his house should be built; and perhaps it was this that induced him to buy, not only the threshing-floor, but probably some adjacent ground also, as Calmet supposes, that there might be sufficient room for such a building.

  • 1 Chronicles 22:2 open_in_new

    And David commanded to gather together the strangers that were in the land of Israel; and he set masons to hew wrought stones to build the house of God. The strangers that were in the land - Those who had become proselytes to the Jewish religion, at least so far as to renounce idolatry, and keep what were called the seven Noahic precepts. These were to be employed in the more servile and difficult parts of the work: see on 1 Kings 9:21 (note). For the account of building the temple, see 1 Kings 5 (note), and the notes there.

  • 1 Chronicles 22:3 open_in_new

    And David prepared iron in abundance for the nails for the doors of the gates, and for the joinings; and brass in abundance without weight; Irons - for the nails, etc. - Iron for bolts, bars, hinges, etc., etc.

  • 1 Chronicles 22:5 open_in_new

    And David said, Solomon my son is young and tender, and the house that is to be builded for the LORD must be exceeding magnifical, of fame and of glory throughout all countries: I will therefore now make preparation for it. So David prepared abundantly before his death.

  • 1 Chronicles 22:6 open_in_new

    Then he called for Solomon his son, and charged him to build an house for the LORD God of Israel. Solomon - is young and tender - He is as yet without complete knowledge and due experience; and it is necessary that I should make as much preparation for the work as I possibly can; especially as the house is to be exceedingly magnificent.

  • 1 Chronicles 22:8 open_in_new

    But the word of the LORD came to me, saying, Thou hast shed blood abundantly, and hast made great wars: thou shalt not build an house unto my name, because thou hast shed much blood upon the earth in my sight. Thou hast shed blood abundantly - Heathens, Jews, and Christians, have all agreed that soldiers of any kind should have nothing to do with Divine offices. Shedding of human blood but ill comports with the benevolence of God or the spirit of the Gospel.

    Aeneas, overpowered by his enemies, while fighting for his parents, his family, and his country, finding farther resistance hopeless, endeavors to carry off his aged father, his wife, young son, and his household gods; but as he was just come from slaughter, he would not even handle these objects of superstition, but confided them to his father, whom he took on his shoulders, and carried out of the burning of Troy.

    Tu, genitor, cape sacra manu, patriosque penates:

    Me bello tanto digressum, et caede recenti,

    Attrectare nefas; donec me flumine vivo Abluero.

    Aen. ii., ver. 717.

    "Our country gods, our relics, and the bands,

    Hold you, my father, in your guiltless hands:

    In me 'tis impious holy things to bear,

    Red as I am with slaughter, new from war;

    Till, in some living stream, I cleanse the guilt

    Of dire debate, and blood in battle spilt."

    Dryden.

    See the note at the end of 2 Samuel 7:25 (note).

  • 1 Chronicles 22:9 open_in_new

    Behold, a son shall be born to thee, who shall be a man of rest; and I will give him rest from all his enemies round about: for his name shall be Solomon, and I will give peace and quietness unto Israel in his days. His name shall be Solomon - שלמה Shelomoh, from שלם shalam, he was peaceable; and therefore, says the Lord, alluding to the name, I will give Peace, שלום Shalom, in his days.

  • 1 Chronicles 22:10 open_in_new

    He shall build an house for my name; and he shall be my son, and I will be his father; and I will establish the throne of his kingdom over Israel for ever.

  • 1 Chronicles 22:12 open_in_new

    Only the LORD give thee wisdom and understanding, and give thee charge concerning Israel, that thou mayest keep the law of the LORD thy God.

  • 1 Chronicles 22:13 open_in_new

    Then shalt thou prosper, if thou takest heed to fulfil the statutes and judgments which the LORD charged Moses with concerning Israel: be strong, and of good courage; dread not, nor be dismayed.

  • 1 Chronicles 22:14 open_in_new

    Now, behold, in my trouble I have prepared for the house of the LORD an hundred thousand talents of gold, and a thousand thousand talents of silver; and of brass and iron without weight; for it is in abundance: timber also and stone have I prepared; and thou mayest add thereto. In my trouble I have prepared - Notwithstanding ail the wars in which I have been engaged, all the treacheries with which I have been surrounded, all the domestic troubles with which I have been overwhelmed, I never lost sight of this great object, the building of a house for God, that his worship might be established in the land. I have curtailed my expenses, and have lived in comparative poverty that I might save all I possibly could for this building.

    A hundred thousand talents of gold - A talent of gold weighed three thousand shekels, and was worth five thousand and seventy-five pounds, fifteen shillings, and seven pence half-penny. One hundred thousand such talents would therefore amount to five hundred and seven millions, five hundred and seventy-eight thousand, one hundred and twenty-five pounds sterling. These sums are variously computed by several writers.

    A thousand thousand talents of silver - A talent of silver weighed three thousand shekels, and was worth three hundred and fifty-three pounds, eleven shillings, and ten pence. A thousand thousand, or a million, of such talents would amount to the immense sum of three hundred and fifty-three millions, five hundred and ninety-one thousand, six hundred and sixty-six pounds, thirteen shillings, and four pence, sterling; both sums amounting to eight hundred and sixty-one millions, one hundred and sixty-nine thousand, seven hundred and ninety-one pounds, thirteen shillings, and four pence.

    Thou mayest add thereto - Save as I have saved, out of the revenues of the state, and thou mayest also add something for the erection and splendor of this house. This was a gentle though pointed hint, which was not lost on Solomon.

  • 1 Chronicles 22:15 open_in_new

    Moreover there are workmen with thee in abundance, hewers and workers of stone and timber, and all manner of cunning men for every manner of work.

  • 1 Chronicles 22:16 open_in_new

    Of the gold, the silver, and the brass, and the iron, there is no number. Arise therefore, and be doing, and the LORD be with thee.

  • 1 Chronicles 22:18 open_in_new

    Is not the LORD your God with you? and hath he not given you rest on every side? for he hath given the inhabitants of the land into mine hand; and the land is subdued before the LORD, and before his people. Is not the Lord your God with you? - "Is not the Word of the Lord your God your assistant?" - T.

    Hath he not given you rest on every side? - David at this time was not only king of Judea, but had also subdued most of the surrounding nations.

    Thus Solomon came to the Jewish throne with every possible advantage. Had he made a proper use of his state and of his talents, he would have been the greatest as well as the wisest of sovereigns. But alas! how soon did this pure gold become dim! He began with an unlawful matrimonial connection; this led him to a commerce that was positively forbidden by the law of God: he then multiplied his matrimonial connections with heathen women; they turned his heart away from God, and the once wise and holy Solomon died a fool and an idolater.

  • 1 Chronicles 22:19 open_in_new

    Now set your heart and your soul to seek the LORD your God; arise therefore, and build ye the sanctuary of the LORD God, to bring the ark of the covenant of the LORD, and the holy vessels of God, into the house that is to be built to the name of the LORD. Commentary on the Bible, by Adam Clarke [1831].