The Pulpit Commentary — 2 Chronicles — Section 33

for, then, the plan of the temple is pie.in. (beside the stone) there was e.n inner 1'he house is 60 cubits long, i.e. 20 for the stratum, both to walls o.nd .floor of cedar holy of holies (i•'.?~ or D'l!';rp.1 Ill'.)~); 40 for (rea.eon for which would be easy' of conjec- the holy place (',~•,:1); and for bree.dth 20 ture). But another tranelatirm obviates the cubits. The poroh was in length the ea.me necessity of this inner stratum supposition &e the breadth of the house, viz. 20 cnbite, rendering "from the floor to the top of th~ but in breadth it wo.s 10 cubits (I Kings vi. wall." According to this, while the over- 3) only, while its height wee 20 cubits, laying gold was on cedar for walls and o.ge.inst a. height of 30 cubits for the" house" ceiling (1 Kings vi. 9), it was on fir for the (I Kings vi. 2). Overlaid it within with floor, which does not seem what owr present pure gold; i.e. covered tho planks with gold verse purports, unless, according to the Iee.f, or sometimes with plates of gold (Ovid., suggestion of some, "fir " be interpreted to • I. Epp. ex. Pont,' i. 37, 38, 41, 42; Herod., i. include oeda.r. Set thereon palm trees and 98 ; Polyb., x. 27. § 10). The appreciation, cha.ins, These were, of course, carvings. The a.a well as bare know ledge, of gold belonged chainB, not mentioned in the parallel (1 to a. very early date (Gen. ii. 12), The days Kings vi. 29; ~ut see_ vii. 17), were probably when it was used in ring or lump (though wreaths of ohe.m design or pattern. Easier not in coin) for sign of wealth and for modern English would read "put thereon." purposes of exchange, and also for ornament Ver. 6.-He garnished. The verb em- (Gen. xiii. 2; xxiv. 22; xiii. 21), indicate how ployed is (c) of ver. 4, supra (Rev. xxi. 19). early were the beginnings of metallurgy a.a Precious stones. The exa.ot manner in ~egards it, though much more developed which these were applied or fixed is not o.fterwards ( J udg. xvii. 4 ; Prov. xvi i. 3 ; Isa.. stated. What the precious stones were, how- xl. 19; xlvi. 9) ; a.nd show it in the time of ever, need not be doubtful (1 Chron. xxix. David a.nd Solomon no re.re a.rt, even though 2; th~ obvious references for which passage, foreign workmen, for obvious reasons, were Isa.. hv. 11, 12 and Rev. xxi. 18-21, oe.n- the moat skilful workers with it. There a.re not be forgotten. See also Ezek. xxvii. four verbs used to express the idea. of over- 16; Cant. v. 14; Lam. iv. 7). For beauty; laying, viz. (a) n1;1~, in hiph. This occurs i.e. to e.dd beauty to the house. Pa.rvaim. What this word designates, or, if a. place, only in this chapter, ver3. 5, 7, 8, 9 ; but in where tbe place was, is not known. Gesenius niph. Ps. lxviii. 13 may be compo.red. (' Lexicon,' sub 11oc.) would derive it from (b) n73? in hiph. This ooours in the present a. Sanskrit word, piirva, meaning "oriental." sense, though not neoe3sa.rily staying very Hitzig suggests another Sanskrit word, parn, closely by it; in eh. ix. 15, 16, and its meaning "hill," and indicating the "twin parallel (I Kings x. 16, 17) ; a.nd perhaps in hills" of Arabia (Ptol, vi. 7. § 11) as the 2 Sa.m. i. 24. The meaning of the word, derivation. And Knobel suggests that it however, is evidently so generic that it is e. form of SephaNJaim, the Syriac and sca.roely postulates the rendering "overlay." Jone.than Targum version of Sephar (Gen. (o) nQ~ in pie!. This occurs in our present x. 30). The word does not occur in any verse, as also in a multitude of other places other Bible passage (see Dr. Smith's 'Bible in Chronicles, Kings, Samuel, a.nd Exodus. Dictionary,' vol. ii. p. 711). Tho radical idea. of the verb (kal) is "to be Ver. 7.-And graved ob.erubim. In the bright." (d) 7'J? in hiph. This occurs only p~ra.llel this statement is placed in company once (1 Kings vi. 32). No one of these verbs with that respecting the " pa.Ima and in itself bespeaks certainly of which or what flowers." Laye.rd tells us that all the kind the overlaying might be, unless it be present description of decoration bears th~ last, the analogy of which certainly strong resemble.nee to the Assyrian. There po!Ilts to the sense of a. thin Bpreading. oa.n be no difficulty in imagining this, both Ver, 5.-The greater house; i.e. the holy in other respects, and iu connection with place. He celled. This rendering is wrong. the fa.et that foreigners, headed by the chief The verb is (a), given above (ver. 4). It is designer Hiram, had so large a. aha.re in repeated in the next clause of this very planning the details of temple workmanship. ~~rse as" overlaid," 119 also in vers. 7, 8, 9. Ver. 8.-The most holy house. The writer I he generio word "covered " would serve proceeds from speaking of " the greater e.11 the occasions on which the word ooours house" (ver. 5), or holy place, to the " holy here. From e. oompa.rieon of the parallel it of holies." The parallel (l Kings vi. 20) becomes plain that the meaning is that the adds the height, as also 20 cubits. Six hundxed stone structure of floor and we.Ila was talents. It is impossible to assert with any covered over with wood (1 Kings vi. 7 15 e.ocura.cy the money value intended hero, 18). Th1.1t wood for the floor was ft~ ( i Six hundred talents of gold is an amazing K1~~s vi. 15), probably also for the tt•alls, proportion of the yearly revenue of 666 which must depend partly on the translation falente of gold, spoken ot-in 1 Kiuge x. 14,, of this ver. 15. It would seem to say that This la.tternmountisworth, in Keil's estimate, IT. OHRONICLES, 11  TIIE SECOND BOOK 01<~ THE CHRONICLES. [oH, m. 1-17.