Albert Barnes Commentary 1 Chronicles 29
Albert Barnes Commentary
1 Chronicles 29
Albert Barnes Commentary
1 Chronicles 29
"And David the king said unto all the assembly, Solomon my son, whom alone God hath chosen, is yet young and tender, and the work is great; for the palace is not for man, but for Jehovah God." — 1 Chronicles 29:1 (ASV)
The palace - The original word used here is the Hebrew form of a Persian word, and it generally designates the residence of the Persian monarch (Esther 1:2, 5; 2:3, 8; Nehemiah 1:1; Daniel 8:2). It is only here and in 1 Chronicles 29:19 that it is applied to the temple.
"Now I have prepared with all my might for the house of my God the gold for the [things of] gold, and the silver for the [things of] silver, and the brass for the [things of] brass, the iron for the [things of] iron, and wood for the [things of] wood; onyx stones, and [stones] to be set, stones for inlaid work, and of divers colors, and all manner of precious stones, and marble stones in abundance." — 1 Chronicles 29:2 (ASV)
Glistering stones - Rather, “colored stones” or “dark stones”—stones with a hue like that of the antimony with which women painted their eyes.
Marble stones - Or, “white stones”—perhaps “alabaster,” which is found near Damascus. On the use of the stones in building the temple, see the note on 2 Chronicles 3:6.
"Moreover also, because I have set my affection on the house of my God, seeing that I have a treasure of mine own of gold and silver, I give it unto the house of my God, over and above all that I have prepared for the holy house," — 1 Chronicles 29:3 (ASV)
Of mine own proper good - that is, from his own private estate. He makes the offering publicly in order to motivate others by his example (1 Chronicles 29:5).
"even three thousand talents of gold, of the gold of Ophir, and seven thousand talents of refined silver, wherewith to overlay the walls of the houses;" — 1 Chronicles 29:4 (ASV)
The numbers here have also suffered to some extent from the carelessness of copyists (compare the note on 1 Chronicles 22:14). The amount of silver is not improbable, since its value would not exceed three million of our money; but as the gold would probably exceed thirty million in value, we may suspect an error in the words “three thousand.”
"of gold for the [things of] gold, and of silver for the [things of] silver, and for all manner of work [to be made] by the hands of artificers. Who then offereth willingly to consecrate himself this day unto Jehovah?" — 1 Chronicles 29:5 (ASV)
To consecrate his service - This phrase literally means, as noted in the margin, “to fill his hand,” that is, “to come with full hands to Yahweh.” The words contain an appeal to the assembly for voluntary offerings.
Jump to: