Two Chronicles Three

by Dr. Henry M. Morris

(taken from the Defender's Study Bible)

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2 Chronicles 3:1 Then Solomon began to build the house of the LORD at Jerusalem in mount Moriah, where the LORD appeared unto David his father, in the place that David had prepared in the threshingfloor of Ornan the Jebusite.

mount Moriah. This is the mountain on which God instructed Abraham to sacrifice Isaac (Genesis 22:1-10). The Muslim Dome of the Rock is now occupying that site.

2 Chronicles 3:2 And he began to build in the second day of the second month, in the fourth year of his reign.

the fourth year. Solomon's first three years (possibly including two years of co-regency with David) may have been spent in acquiring materials and preparing the site.

2 Chronicles 3:3 Now these are the things wherein Solomon was instructed for the building of the house of God. The length by cubits after the first measure was threescore cubits, and the breadth twenty cubits.

length by cubits. The plan of the temple was about ninety feet by thirty feet, making its linear dimensions essentially twice those of the Mosaic tabernacle.

2 Chronicles 3:4 And the porch that was in the front of the house, the length of it was according to the breadth of the house, twenty cubits, and the height was an hundred and twenty: and he overlaid it within with pure gold.

hundred and twenty. This number should perhaps be “twenty” cubits. It is likely that the “hundred” was inadvertently added in transmission. The building itself was only thirty cubits high (1 Kings 6:2), so it seems impossible that Solomon would make its porch a hundred-and-twenty cubits high. It should be remembered that the doctrine of verbal inerrancy applies specifically only to the original autographs, not to copies thereof, and the original autographs have long vanished. Although the Hebrew scribes were meticulous in their attempts to make accurate copies, they could hardly avoid a few mistakes in such lengthy documents, all of which had to be transmitted by hand copying. It is significant that most mistakes in copying had to do with numbers, which were notoriously subject to misreading. It may be possible, however, that the very high “porch” was intended as a sort of steeple.

2 Chronicles 3:5 And the greater house he ceiled with fir tree, which he overlaid with fine gold, and set thereon palm trees and chains.

2 Chronicles 3:6 And he garnished the house with precious stones for beauty: and the gold was gold of Parvaim.

2 Chronicles 3:7 He overlaid also the house, the beams, the posts, and the walls thereof, and the doors thereof, with gold; and graved cherubims on the walls.

2 Chronicles 3:8 And he made the most holy house, the length whereof was according to the breadth of the house, twenty cubits, and the breadth thereof twenty cubits: and he overlaid it with fine gold, amounting to six hundred talents.

2 Chronicles 3:9 And the weight of the nails was fifty shekels of gold. And he overlaid the upper chambers with gold.

2 Chronicles 3:10 And in the most holy house he made two cherubims of image work, and overlaid them with gold.

2 Chronicles 3:11 And the wings of the cherubims were twenty cubits long: one wing of the one cherub was five cubits, reaching to the wall of the house: and the other wing was likewise five cubits, reaching to the wing of the other cherub.

2 Chronicles 3:12 And one wing of the other cherub was five cubits, reaching to the wall of the house: and the other wing was five cubits also, joining to the wing of the other cherub.

2 Chronicles 3:13 The wings of these cherubims spread themselves forth twenty cubits: and they stood on their feet, and their faces were inward.

2 Chronicles 3:14 And he made the veil of blue, and purple, and crimson, and fine linen, and wrought cherubims thereon.

2 Chronicles 3:15 Also he made before the house two pillars of thirty and five cubits high, and the chapiter that was on the top of each of them was five cubits.

thirty and five cubits high. See note on 1 Kings 7:15 in connection with the apparent disagreement of the height of these pillars.

2 Chronicles 3:16 And he made chains, as in the oracle, and put them on the heads of the pillars; and made an hundred pomegranates, and put them on the chains.

2 Chronicles 3:17 And he reared up the pillars before the temple, one on the right hand, and the other on the left; and called the name of that on the right hand Jachin, and the name of that on the left Boaz.

on the left Boaz. These two free-standing pillars were about thirty-five feet high. Their impressive appearance fitted their names, Jachin, meaning “Established” and Boaz, meaning “Strong.” For an apparent contradiction with respect to their height in the parallel account in 1 Kings 7:15-21, see footnote on 1 Kings 7:15.