2 Chronicles 3
3
Solomon Builds the Temple
1So Solomon began to build the Temple of the Lord in Jerusalem on Mount Moriah, where the Lord had appeared to David, his father. The Temple was built on the threshing floor of Araunah#3:1 Hebrew reads Ornan, a variant spelling of Araunah; compare 2 Sam 24:16. the Jebusite, the site that David had selected. 2The construction began in midspring,#3:2 Hebrew on the second [day] of the second month. This day of the ancient Hebrew lunar calendar occurred in April or May. during the fourth year of Solomon’s reign.
3These are the dimensions Solomon used for the foundation of the Temple of God (using the old standard of measurement).#3:3a The “old standard of measurement” was a cubit equal to 18 inches [46 centimeters]. The new standard was a cubit of approximately 21 inches [53 centimeters]. It was 90 feet long and 30 feet wide.#3:3b Hebrew 60 cubits [27.6 meters] long and 20 cubits [9.2 meters] wide. 4The entry room at the front of the Temple was 30 feet#3:4a Hebrew 20 cubits [9.2 meters]; also in 3:8, 11, 13. wide, running across the entire width of the Temple, and 30 feet#3:4b As in some Greek and Syriac manuscripts, which read 20 cubits [9.2 meters]; Hebrew reads 120 [cubits], which is 180 feet or 55 meters. high. He overlaid the inside with pure gold.
5He paneled the main room of the Temple with cypress wood, overlaid it with fine gold, and decorated it with carvings of palm trees and chains. 6He decorated the walls of the Temple with beautiful jewels and with gold from the land of Parvaim. 7He overlaid the beams, thresholds, walls, and doors throughout the Temple with gold, and he carved figures of cherubim on the walls.
8He made the Most Holy Place 30 feet wide, corresponding to the width of the Temple, and 30 feet deep. He overlaid its interior with 23 tons#3:8 Hebrew 600 talents [20.4 metric tons]. of fine gold. 9The gold nails that were used weighed 20 ounces#3:9 Hebrew 50 shekels [570 grams]. each. He also overlaid the walls of the upper rooms with gold.
10He made two figures shaped like cherubim, overlaid them with gold, and placed them in the Most Holy Place. 11The total wingspan of the two cherubim standing side by side was 30 feet. One wing of the first figure was 7-1/2 feet#3:11 Hebrew 5 cubits [2.3 meters]; also in 3:11b, 12, 15. long, and it touched the Temple wall. The other wing, also 7-1/2 feet long, touched one of the wings of the second figure. 12In the same way, the second figure had one wing 7-1/2 feet long that touched the opposite wall. The other wing, also 7-1/2 feet long, touched the wing of the first figure. 13So the wingspan of the two cherubim side by side was 30 feet. They stood on their feet and faced out toward the main room of the Temple.
14Across the entrance of the Most Holy Place he hung a curtain made of fine linen, decorated with blue, purple, and scarlet thread and embroidered with figures of cherubim.
15For the front of the Temple, he made two pillars that were 27 feet#3:15 As in Syriac version (see also 1 Kgs 7:15; 2 Kgs 25:17; Jer 52:21), which reads 18 cubits [8.3 meters]; Hebrew reads 35 cubits, which is 52.5 feet or 16.5 meters. tall, each topped by a capital extending upward another 7-1/2 feet. 16He made a network of interwoven chains#3:16 Hebrew He made chains in the inner sanctuary. The meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain. and used them to decorate the tops of the pillars. He also made 100 decorative pomegranates and attached them to the chains. 17Then he set up the two pillars at the entrance of the Temple, one to the south of the entrance and the other to the north. He named the one on the south Jakin, and the one on the north Boaz.#3:17 Jakin probably means “he establishes”; Boaz probably means “in him is strength.”
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2 Chronicles 3
3
Building the Temple
1Then Solomon began # 3:1–4 1Kg 6:1–3 to build the Lord’s temple in Jerusalem on Mount Moriah # 3:1 Gn 22:2 where the Lord # 3:1 LXX; Tg reads the angel of the Lord ; MT reads he had appeared to his father David, at the site David had prepared on the threshing floor of Ornan # 3:1 = Araunah in 2Sm 24:16–24 the Jebusite. 2He began to build on the second day of the second month in the fourth year of his reign. 3These are Solomon’s foundations # 3:3 Tg reads The measurements which Solomon decreed for building God’s temple: the length # 3:3 Lit length — cubits in the former measure— was ninety feet, # 3:3 Lit 60 cubits and the width thirty feet. # 3:3 Lit 20 cubits, also in vv. 4, 8, 11, 13 4The portico, which was across the front extending across the width of the temple, was thirty feet wide; its height was thirty feet; # 3:4 LXX, Syr; MT reads 120 cubits he overlaid its inner surface with pure gold. 5The larger room # 3:5 Lit The house he paneled with cypress wood, overlaid with fine gold, and decorated with palm trees and chains. 6He adorned the temple with precious stones for beauty, and the gold was the gold of Parvaim. 7He overlaid the temple — the beams, the thresholds, its walls and doors — with gold, # 3:7 1Kg 6:20–22 and he carved cherubim on the walls. # 3:7 1Kg 6:29–35
The Most Holy Place
8Then he made the most holy place; its length corresponded to the width of the temple, 30 feet, and its width was 30 feet. # 3:8 1Kg 6:16 He overlaid it with forty-five thousand pounds # 3:8 Lit 600 talents of fine gold. 9The weight of the nails was twenty ounces # 3:9 Lit 50 shekels of gold, and he overlaid the ceiling with gold.
10He made # 3:10–13 1Kg 6:23–28 two cherubim of sculptured work, for the most holy place, and he overlaid them with gold. 11The overall length of the wings of the cherubim was 30 feet: the wing of one was 7 1/2 feet, # 3:11 Lit five cubits, also in vv. 12,15 touching the wall of the room; its other wing was 7 1/2 feet, touching the wing of the other cherub. 12The wing of the other # 3:12 Syr, Vg; MT reads the one cherub was 7 1/2 feet, touching the wall of the room; its other wing was 7 1/2 feet, reaching the wing of the other cherub. 13The wingspan of these cherubim was 30 feet. They stood on their feet and faced the larger room. # 3:13 Lit the house
14He made the curtain of blue, purple, and crimson yarn and fine linen, and he wove cherubim into it. # 3:14 Ex 26:31
The Bronze Pillars
15In front of the temple # 3:15–17 1Kg 7:15–22; 2Kg 25:17; Jr 52:21–23 he made two pillars, each 27 feet # 3:15 Syr reads 18 cubits (27 feet); Hb reads 35 cubits (52 1/2 feet) high. The capital on top of each was 7 1/2 feet high. 16He had made chainwork in the inner sanctuary and also put it on top of the pillars. # 3:16 1Kg 6:21; 7:17 He made a hundred pomegranates and fastened them into the chainwork. 17Then he set up the pillars in front of the sanctuary, one on the right and one on the left. He named the one on the right Jachin # 3:17 = He Will Establish and the one on the left Boaz. # 3:17 = Strength Is in Him
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