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The Histories · Old Testament

2 Chronicles 8

2 Chronicles 8: Solomon's cities, labour, worship and ships

General context

At the end of twenty years spent building the house of the Lord and his own house, Solomon builds the cities Huram had restored to him and settles Israelites there. He goes to Hamath-zobah and prevails against it, builds Tadmor in the wilderness and store cities in Hamath, fortifies upper and nether Beth-horon with walls, gates and bars, and builds Baalath, store cities, chariot cities and cities for horsemen, and whatever he desires in Jerusalem, Lebanon and his dominion. The remaining Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites, the children of those Israel did not consume, he makes to pay tribute, which the narrator says continues unto this day. Of Israel he makes no servants for the work; they are men of war and captains, with two hundred and fifty chief officers ruling the people. He brings Pharaoh's daughter up from the city of David to the house he built for her, saying his wife will not live in David's house because the places where the ark has come are holy. He offers burnt offerings on the altar before the porch by a daily rate according to Moses' commandment, on sabbaths, new moons and the three yearly feasts, and appoints the priests' courses, the Levites' charges and the porters at every gate according to David's order. The narrator says the house of the Lord was perfected. Solomon then goes to Ezion-geber and Eloth in Edom; Huram sends ships and seamen, who go with Solomon's servants to Ophir and bring back four hundred and fifty talents of gold.

Cited passages: 2 Chronicles 8:1, 2 Chronicles 8:2, 2 Chronicles 8:3, 2 Chronicles 8:4, 2 Chronicles 8:5, 2 Chronicles 8:6, 2 Chronicles 8:7, 2 Chronicles 8:8, 2 Chronicles 8:9, 2 Chronicles 8:10, 2 Chronicles 8:11, 2 Chronicles 8:12, 2 Chronicles 8:13, 2 Chronicles 8:14, 2 Chronicles 8:16, 2 Chronicles 8:17, 2 Chronicles 8:18

2 Chronicles 8 (KJV)

1And it came to pass at the end of twenty years, wherein Solomon had built the house of the Lord, and his own house,

2That the cities which Huram had restored to Solomon, Solomon built them, and caused the children of Israel to dwell there.

3And Solomon went to Hamath-zobah, and prevailed against it.

4And he built Tadmor in the wilderness, and all the store cities, which he built in Hamath.

5Also he built Beth-horon the upper, and Beth-horon the nether, fenced cities, with walls, gates, and bars;

6And Baalath, and all the store cities that Solomon had, and all the chariot cities, and the cities of the horsemen, and all that Solomon desired to build in Jerusalem, and in Lebanon, and throughout all the land of his dominion.

7As for all the people that were left of the Hittites, and the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites, which were not of Israel,

8But of their children, who were left after them in the land, whom the children of Israel consumed not, them did Solomon make to pay tribute until this day.

9But of the children of Israel did Solomon make no servants for his work; but they were men of war, and chief of his captains, and captains of his chariots and horsemen.

10And these were the chief of king Solomon’s officers, even two hundred and fifty, that bare rule over the people.

11And Solomon brought up the daughter of Pharaoh out of the city of David unto the house that he had built for her: for he said, My wife shall not dwell in the house of David king of Israel, because the places are holy, whereunto the ark of the Lord hath come.

12Then Solomon offered burnt offerings unto the Lord on the altar of the Lord, which he had built before the porch,

13Even after a certain rate every day, offering according to the commandment of Moses, on the sabbaths, and on the new moons, and on the solemn feasts, three times in the year, even in the feast of unleavened bread, and in the feast of weeks, and in the feast of tabernacles.

14And he appointed, according to the order of David his father, the courses of the priests to their service, and the Levites to their charges, to praise and minister before the priests, as the duty of every day required: the porters also by their courses at every gate: for so had David the man of God commanded.

15And they departed not from the commandment of the king unto the priests and Levites concerning any matter, or concerning the treasures.

16Now all the work of Solomon was prepared unto the day of the foundation of the house of the Lord, and until it was finished. So the house of the Lord was perfected.

17Then went Solomon to Ezion-geber, and to Eloth, at the sea side in the land of Edom.

18And Huram sent him by the hands of his servants ships, and servants that had knowledge of the sea; and they went with the servants of Solomon to Ophir, and took thence four hundred and fifty talents of gold, and brought them to king Solomon.

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Historical context

The chapter opens with a span, twenty years for the two houses together, and gives no other dates. It says Huram had restored cities to Solomon without saying when, why, or which cities. Pharaoh's daughter is called my wife only in Solomon's own words; the chapter does not name her or narrate the marriage, and the reason for her separate house is given as Solomon's speech, not as the narrator's judgment. The tribute is laid on the children of the peoples left in the land, listed by five names, and the phrase until this day is the narrator's. The statement that Solomon made no servants of the Israelites sits beside the earlier count, where the labour force was drawn from the strangers in the land. The sacrifice schedule is tied to the commandment of Moses and names the three feasts; the courses of priests, Levites and porters are tied to the order of David, whom the narrator calls the man of God. The ships are Huram's, sent by his servants, and the destination Ophir is named but not located; the return is four hundred and fifty talents of gold. Hamath-zobah is said to have been prevailed against, with no account of the fighting.

Cited passages: 2 Chronicles 8:1, 2 Chronicles 8:2, 2 Chronicles 8:11, 2 Chronicles 8:7, 2 Chronicles 8:8, 2 Chronicles 8:9, 2 Chronicles 2:17, 2 Chronicles 8:13, 2 Chronicles 8:14, 2 Chronicles 8:18, 2 Chronicles 8:3

Literary context

The chapter has no single story; it is a set of summaries in sequence: building, labour, the queen's house, worship, and trade by sea. The verb built runs through the first six verses. Huram appears at the opening, restoring cities, and at the close, sending ships, so the chapter is enclosed by the same partner who supplied the temple. Two authorities are set side by side for the worship: Moses for the offerings and David for the courses, and the narrator adds that they did not depart from the king's commandment. The line So the house of the Lord was perfected closes the temple account that began when Solomon determined to build an house for the name of the Lord, after which the narrative turns outward to Edom and Ophir. Israelites as men of war are contrasted with the remnant peoples as tribute payers. Solomon's one speech in the chapter gives a reason of holiness, tied to the ark, for a domestic arrangement, which carries the concern of the ark chapters into the king's household.

Cited passages: 2 Chronicles 8:2, 2 Chronicles 8:4, 2 Chronicles 8:5, 2 Chronicles 8:18, 2 Chronicles 8:13, 2 Chronicles 8:14, 2 Chronicles 8:15, 2 Chronicles 8:16, 2 Chronicles 2:1, 2 Chronicles 8:9, 2 Chronicles 8:8, 2 Chronicles 8:11

Key moments

  1. Twenty years of building (2 Chronicles 8:1). The narrator marks the end of twenty years spent on the Lord's house and the king's house.
  2. Tadmor and the store cities (2 Chronicles 8:4). Solomon builds Tadmor in the wilderness and store cities in Hamath.
  3. Tribute from the remnant peoples (2 Chronicles 8:8). Solomon makes the descendants of the peoples left in the land pay tribute.
  4. Pharaoh's daughter moved (2 Chronicles 8:11). Solomon brings his wife to her own house because David's house is holy.
  5. Offerings by Moses' commandment (2 Chronicles 8:13). Solomon offers on the altar at the set times, including the three yearly feasts.
  6. Courses after David's order (2 Chronicles 8:14). Solomon appoints priests, Levites and porters as David had commanded.
  7. Gold from Ophir (2 Chronicles 8:18). Huram's ships sail with Solomon's servants to Ophir and bring back four hundred and fifty talents of gold.

For reflection

Solomon says his wife may not live in David's house because the places are holy, whereunto the ark of the Lord hath come. What does that single sentence allow a reader to conclude about the marriage, and what does it leave unsaid?

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