2 Chronicles — Chapter 3
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1Then Solomon began to build the house of the LORD in Jerusalem on Mount Moriah, where the LORD had appeared to his father David. This was the place that David had prepared on the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite.
2Solomon began construction on the second day of the second month in the fourth year of his reign.
3The foundation that Solomon laid for the house of God was sixty cubits long and twenty cubits wide, according to the old standard.
4The portico at the front, extending across the width of the temple, was twenty cubits long and twenty cubits high. He overlaid the inside with pure gold.
5He paneled the main room with cypress, which he overlaid with fine gold and decorated with palm trees and chains.
6He adorned the temple with precious stones for beauty, and its gold was from Parvaim.
7He overlaid its beams, thresholds, walls, and doors with gold, and he carved cherubim on the walls.
8Then he made the Most Holy Place; its length corresponded to the width of the temple—twenty cubits long and twenty cubits wide. And he overlaid the inside with six hundred talents of fine gold.
9The weight of the nails was fifty shekels of gold. He also overlaid the upper rooms with gold.
10In the Most Holy Place he made two cherubim of sculptured work, and he overlaid them with gold.
11The total wingspan of the cherubim was twenty cubits. One wing of the first cherub was five cubits long and touched the wall of the temple, and its other wing was five cubits long and touched the wing of the other cherub.
12The wing of the second cherub also measured five cubits and touched the wall of the temple, while its other wing measured five cubits and touched the wing of the first cherub.
13So the total wingspan of these cherubim was twenty cubits. They stood on their feet, facing the main room.
14He made the veil of blue, purple, and crimson yarn and fine linen, with cherubim woven into it.
15In front of the temple he made two pillars, which together were thirty-five cubits high, each with a capital on top measuring five cubits.
16He made interwoven chains and put them on top of the pillars. He made a hundred pomegranates and fastened them into the chainwork.
17Then he set up the pillars in front of the temple, one on the south and one on the north. The pillar on the south he named Jachin, and the pillar on the north he named Boaz.
1Then 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.
2And he began to build in the second day of the second month, in the fourth year of his reign.
3Now 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.
4And 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.
5And the greater house he cieled with fir tree, which he overlaid with fine gold, and set thereon palm trees and chains.
6And he garnished the house with precious stones for beauty: and the gold was gold of Parvaim.
7He overlaid also the house, the beams, the posts, and the walls thereof, and the doors thereof, with gold; and graved cherubims on the walls.
8And 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.
9And the weight of the nails was fifty shekels of gold. And he overlaid the upper chambers with gold.
10And in the most holy house he made two cherubims of image work, and overlaid them with gold.
11And 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.
12And 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.
13The wings of these cherubims spread themselves forth twenty cubits: and they stood on their feet, and their faces were inward.
14And he made the vail of blue, and purple, and crimson, and fine linen, and wrought cherubims thereon.
15Also 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.
16And 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.
17And 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.
1Then Solomon began to build the house of Jehovah at Jerusalem on mount Moriah, where [Jehovah] appeared unto David his father, which he made ready in the place that David had appointed, in the threshing-floor of Ornan the Jebusite.
2And he began to build in the second [day] of the second month, in the fourth year of his reign.
3Now these are the foundations which Solomon laid for the building of the house of God. The length by cubits after the first measure was threescore cubits, and the breadth twenty cubits.
4And the porch that was before [the house], the length of it, according to the breadth of the house, was twenty cubits, and the height a hundred and twenty; and he overlaid it within with pure gold.
5And the greater house he ceiled with fir-wood, which he overlaid with fine gold, and wrought thereon palm-trees and chains.
6And he garnished the house with precious stones for beauty: and the gold was gold of Parvaim.
7He overlaid also the house, the beams, the thresholds, and the walls thereof, and the doors thereof, with gold; and graved cherubim on the walls.
8And he made the most holy house: the length thereof, according to the breadth of the house, was twenty cubits, and the breadth thereof twenty cubits; and he overlaid it with fine gold, amounting to six hundred talents.
9And the weight of the nails was fifty shekels of gold. And he overlaid the upper chambers with gold.
10And in the most holy house he made two cherubim of image work; and they overlaid them with gold.
11And the wings of the cherubim were twenty cubits long: the 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.
12And the 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.
13The wings of these cherubim spread themselves forth twenty cubits: and they stood on their feet, and their faces were toward the house.
14And he made the veil of blue, and purple, and crimson, and fine linen, and wrought cherubim thereon.
15Also he made before the house two pillars of thirty and five cubits high, and the capital that was on the top of each of them was five cubits.
16And he made chains in the oracle, and put [them] on the tops of the pillars; and he made a hundred pomegranates, and put them on the chains.
17And he set 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.
1Solomon began building the Lord’s temple in Jerusalem on Mount Moriah, where the Lord had appeared to his father David. This was the place that David prepared at the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite.
2He began building on the second day of the second month of the fourth year of his reign.
3Solomon laid the foundation for God’s temple; its length (determined according to the old standard of measure) was 90 feet, and its width 30 feet.
4The porch in front of the main hall was 30 feet long, corresponding to the width of the temple, and its height was 30 feet. He plated the inside with pure gold.
5He paneled the main hall with boards made from evergreen trees and plated it with fine gold, decorated with palm trees and chains.
6He decorated the temple with precious stones; the gold he used came from Parvaim.
7He overlaid the temple’s rafters, thresholds, walls and doors with gold; he carved decorative cherubim on the walls.
8He made the Most Holy Place; its length was 30 feet, corresponding to the width of the temple, and its width 30 feet. He plated it with 600 talents of fine gold.
9The gold nails weighed 50 shekels; he also plated the upper areas with gold.
10In the Most Holy Place he made two images of cherubim and plated them with gold.
11The combined wing span of the cherubim was 30 feet. One of the first cherub’s wings was 7½ feet long and touched one wall of the temple; its other wing was also 7½ feet long and touched one of the second cherub’s wings.
12Likewise one of the second cherub’s wings was 7½ feet long and touched the other wall of the temple; its other wing was also 7½ feet long and touched one of the first cherub’s wings.
13The combined wingspan of these cherubim was 30 feet. They stood upright, facing inward.
14He made the curtain out of blue, purple, crimson, and white fabrics, and embroidered on it decorative cherubim.
15In front of the temple he made two pillars which had a combined length of 52½ feet, with each having a plated capital 7½ feet high.
16He made ornamental chains and put them on top of the pillars. He also made 100 pomegranate-shaped ornaments and arranged them within the chains.
17He set up the pillars in front of the temple, one on the right side and the other on the left. He named the one on the right Yakin and the one on the left Boaz.
1Then Solomon began to build Yahweh’s house at Jerusalem on Mount Moriah, where Yahweh appeared to David his father, which he prepared in the place that David had appointed, on the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite.
2He began to build in the second day of the second month, in the fourth year of his reign.
3Now these are the foundations which Solomon laid for the building of God’s house. The length by cubits after the first measure was sixty cubits, and the width twenty cubits.
4The porch that was in front, its length, according to the width of the house, was twenty cubits, and the height one hundred twenty; and he overlaid it within with pure gold.
5He made the larger room with a ceiling of cypress wood, which he overlaid with fine gold, and ornamented it with palm trees and chains.
6He decorated the house with precious stones for beauty. The gold was gold from Parvaim.
7He also overlaid the house, the beams, the thresholds, its walls, and its doors with gold; and engraved cherubim on the walls.
8He made the most holy place. Its length, according to the width of the house, was twenty cubits, and its width twenty cubits; and he overlaid it with fine gold, amounting to six hundred talents.
9The weight of the nails was fifty shekels of gold. He overlaid the upper rooms with gold.
10In the most holy place he made two cherubim by carving; and they overlaid them with gold.
11The wings of the cherubim were twenty cubits long: the wing of the one was five cubits, reaching to the wall of the house; and the other wing was five cubits, reaching to the wing of the other cherub.
12The wing of the other cherub was five cubits, reaching to the wall of the house; and the other wing was five cubits, joining to the wing of the other cherub.
13The wings of these cherubim spread themselves out twenty cubits. They stood on their feet, and their faces were toward the house.
14He made the veil of blue, purple, crimson, and fine linen, and ornamented it with cherubim.
15Also he made before the house two pillars of thirty-five cubits height, and the capital that was on the top of each of them was five cubits.
16He made chains in the inner sanctuary, and put them on the tops of the pillars; and he made one hundred pomegranates, and put them on the chains.
17He set 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.
Summary
Solomon begins construction on Mount Moriah, at the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite, in the second month of his fourth year as king (vv. 1-2). The main hall measures sixty cubits by twenty, with a gold-covered porch towering above it (vv. 3-4). The interior is paneled and overlaid with fine gold, decorated with palm trees, chains, and precious stones, and cherubim are carved into the gold-covered walls (vv. 5-7). The Most Holy Place, a perfect twenty-cubit cube, is covered in six hundred talents of gold and holds two golden cherubim whose wings stretch the full width of the room (vv. 8-13). A blue, purple, and crimson veil embroidered with cherubim separates the space, and two great bronze pillars, decorated with chains and a hundred pomegranates, are set up at the entrance and named Jachin and Boaz (vv. 14-17).
Authorship & Background
Map & Geography
- Parallels 1-2 Kings but focuses exclusively on Judah (the southern kingdom). Jerusalem and the Temple are the theological center throughout.
- Key locations include various battle sites, reform locations, and high places destroyed or rebuilt by successive kings.
- The book ends with exile to Babylon (586 BC) and Cyrus's decree permitting return — the geographic arc moves from Jerusalem to Babylon and back.
Places on this map
- JerusalemJerusalemA hill town about 2,500 feet up in the central spine of Judah, roughly 35 miles inland from the Mediterranean and 15 miles west of the Jordan. It sits on no trade route and has no river, which is why it mattered as a fortress and a sanctuary rather than as a market. Wikipedia
- Babylonnear Hillah, IraqOn the Euphrates about 55 miles south of modern Baghdad. Judah's exiles were marched roughly 900 miles to get here, the long way round the Arabian desert, which is why the journey took months and the return was a genuine undertaking rather than a short trip home. Wikipedia
Towns sit on their excavated or traditional site. Regions, rivers and seas are ringed rather than dotted, because for those a single point is only an anchor. Coastlines from Natural Earth.
Commentary
- Enduring Word (David Guzik): enduringword.com Guzik emphasizes the significance of Mount Moriah as the location connecting Abraham's sacrifice, David's altar, and Solomon's Temple — creating a continuous narrative of substitutionary atonement on a single site. He also notes that the gold-covered interior represented God's glory and holiness permeating every detail.
- Jamieson-Fausset-Brown (1871): blueletterbible.org A critical and explanatory commentary on the whole Bible, more concise than Matthew Henry and closer to the Hebrew and Greek, with attention to historical and geographical detail. Public domain.
- Matthew Henry's Exposition (1710): blueletterbible.org A devotional verse-by-verse commentary in the Puritan tradition, still among the most widely read three centuries on. Public domain.
Videos
Articles
- GotQuestions.org: gotquestions.org On the whole book: an overview of the book of 2 Chronicles -- who wrote it, when, why, and how it fits the rest of Scripture.
Links open on the publisher's own site. Nothing here is reproduced on this page.
Reflection
- A Site With a History (v.1) — Solomon builds on Mount Moriah, the same mountain associated with Abraham's offering of Isaac and David's altar that ended a plague. Do you notice how God has used the difficult places in your own history to prepare the ground for something new?
- Careful Attention to Every Detail (vv.5-9) — Gold covered the beams, walls, doors, and even the nails of the Temple, down to details no worshiper would likely notice. Does your service to God reflect that kind of care, even in the parts no one else will see?
- A Veil That Marks Limited Access (v.14) — The ornate curtain separating the Holy Place from the Most Holy Place was beautiful, but it also declared that no one could go further. How does remembering what it once cost to approach God shape your gratitude for the access you have now?
- Names That Preach a Message (v.17) — Solomon named the two great pillars at the Temple entrance "He establishes" and "In Him is strength." Whose strength are you actually relying on when you face something that requires more than you have?