Albert Barnes Commentary 2 Chronicles 2
Albert Barnes Commentary
2 Chronicles 2
Albert Barnes Commentary
2 Chronicles 2
"And Solomon sent to Huram the king of Tyre, saying, As thou didst deal with David my father, and didst send him cedars to build him a house to dwell therein, [even so deal with me]." — 2 Chronicles 2:3 (ASV)
Huram, the form used throughout Chronicles (except in 1 Chronicles 14:1) for the name of both the king and the artisan whom he lent to Solomon (2 Chronicles 2:13; 4:11, 16), is a late corruption of the true native word, Hiram (see marginal note and reference).
"Behold, I am about to build a house for the name of Jehovah my God, to dedicate it to him, and to burn before him incense of sweet spices, and for the continual showbread, and for the burnt-offerings morning and evening, on the sabbaths, and on the new moons, and on the set feasts of Jehovah our God. This is [an ordinance] for ever to Israel." — 2 Chronicles 2:4 (ASV)
The symbolic meaning of “burning incense” is indicated in Revelation 8:3–4. Consulting cross-references for these verses is also helpful.
The solemn feasts were the three great annual festivals: the Passover, the Feast of Weeks (Pentecost), and the Feast of Tabernacles (Deuteronomy 16:1–17).
"And the house which I build is great; for great is our God above all gods." — 2 Chronicles 2:5 (ASV)
See the note on 1 Kings 6:2. In Jewish eyes, at the time the temple was built, it may have been "great"; that is to say, it may have exceeded the dimensions of any single building in Palestine before its construction.
Great is our God... — This may seem inappropriate when addressed to a pagan king. But it appears from 2 Chronicles 2:11–12 that Hiram acknowledged Yahweh as the supreme deity, probably identifying Him with his own god, Melkarth.
"But who is able to build him a house, seeing heaven and the heaven of heavens cannot contain him? who am I then, that I should build him a house, save only to burn incense before him?" — 2 Chronicles 2:6 (ASV)
Only to burn sacrifice before him - Solomon seems to mean that building the temple can be justified only from the human side—not the divine. God dwelleth not in temples made with hands; He cannot be confined to them, and He does not need them at all. The sole reason for building a temple lies in the needs of man: his worship must be local, and the sacrifices commanded in the Law had to be offered somewhere.
"Now therefore send me a man skilful to work in gold, and in silver, and in brass, and in iron, and in purple, and crimson, and blue, and that knoweth how to grave [all manner of] gravings, [to be] with the skilful men that are with me in Judah and in Jerusalem, whom David my father did provide." — 2 Chronicles 2:7 (ASV)
See the notes on 1 Kings 5:6 and 1 Kings 7:13.
Purple... — Purple, crimson, and blue were needed for the temple hangings, which, in this and other respects, were made according to the pattern of the tabernacle (Exodus 26:1, and following). Hiram's skill in working with these materials was likely his knowledge of the best methods for dyeing cloth. The Phoenicians, off whose coast the murex snail was commonly taken, were famous as purple dyers from a very ancient time.
Crimson — The word translated "crimson," כרמיל (karmı̂yl), is unique to the books of Chronicles and is probably of Persian origin. The famous red dye of Persia and India, known to the Greeks as kokkos and to the Romans as coccum, is obtained from an insect. Whether the "scarlet" (שׁני, shânı̂y) of Exodus (see Exodus 25:4 and following) is the same or a different red cannot be determined with certainty.
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