2 Chronicles — Chapter 8
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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.
1And it came to pass at the end of twenty years, wherein Solomon had built the house of Jehovah, and his own house,
2that the cities which Huram had given 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, fortified cities, with walls, gates, and bars;
6and Baalath, and all the store-cities that Solomon had, and all the cities for his chariots, and the cities for his horsemen, and all that Solomon desired to build for his pleasure in Jerusalem, and in Lebanon, and in 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, that were not of Israel;
8of their children that were left after them in the land, whom the children of Israel consumed not, of them did Solomon raise a levy [of bondservants] unto 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 rulers of his chariots and of his horsemen.
10And these were the chief officers of king Solomon, 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 Jehovah hath come.
12Then Solomon offered burnt-offerings unto Jehovah on the altar of Jehovah, which he had built before the porch,
13even as the duty of every day required, offering according to the commandment of Moses, on the sabbaths, and on the new moons, and on the set 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 ordinance of David his father, the courses of the priests to their service, and the Levites to their offices, to praise, and to minister before the priests, as the duty of every day required; the doorkeepers 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 Jehovah, and until it was finished. [So] the house of Jehovah was completed.
17Then went Solomon to Ezion-geber, and to Eloth, on the seashore 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 came with the servants of Solomon to Ophir, and fetched from thence four hundred and fifty talents of gold, and brought them to king Solomon.
1After twenty years, during which Solomon built the Lord’s temple and his royal palace,
2Solomon rebuilt the cities that Huram had given him and settled Israelites there.
3Solomon went to Hamath Zobah and seized it.
4He built up Tadmor in the wilderness and all the storage cities he had built in Hamath.
5He made upper Beth Horon and lower Beth Horon fortified cities with walls and barred gates,
6and built up Baalath, all the storage cities that belonged to him, and all the cities where chariots and horses were kept. He built whatever he wanted in Jerusalem, Lebanon, and throughout his entire kingdom.
7Now several non-Israelite peoples were left in the land after the conquest of Joshua, including the Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites.
8Their descendants remained in the land (the Israelites were unable to wipe them out). Solomon conscripted them for his work crews, and they continue in that role to this very day.
9Solomon did not assign Israelites to these work crews; the Israelites served as his soldiers, officers, charioteers, and commanders of his chariot forces.
10These men worked for King Solomon as supervisors; there were a total of 250 of them who were in charge of the people.
11Solomon moved Pharaoh’s daughter up from the City of David to the palace he had built for her, for he said, “My wife must not live in the palace of King David of Israel, for the places where the ark of the Lord has entered are holy.”
12Then Solomon offered burnt sacrifices to the Lord on the altar of the Lord which he had built in front of the temple’s porch.
13He observed the daily requirements for sacrifices that Moses had specified for Sabbaths, new moon festivals, and the three annual celebrations—the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the Feast of Weeks, and the Feast of Shelters.
14As his father David had decreed, Solomon appointed the divisions of the priests to do their assigned tasks, the Levitical orders to lead worship and help the priests with their daily tasks, and the divisions of the gatekeepers to serve at their assigned gates. This was what David the man of God had ordered.
15They did not neglect any detail of the king’s orders pertaining to the priests, Levites, and treasuries.
16All the work ordered by Solomon was completed, from the day the foundation of the Lord’s temple was laid until it was finished; the Lord’s temple was completed.
17Then Solomon went to Ezion Geber and to Elat on the coast in the land of Edom.
18Huram sent him ships and some of his sailors, men who were well acquainted with the sea. They sailed with Solomon’s men to Ophir and took from there 450 talents of gold, which they brought back to King Solomon.
1At the end of twenty years, in which Solomon had built Yahweh’s house and his own house,
2Solomon built the cities which Huram had given to Solomon, and caused the children of Israel to dwell there.
3Solomon went to Hamath Zobah, and prevailed against it.
4He built Tadmor in the wilderness, and all the storage cities, which he built in Hamath.
5Also he built Beth Horon the upper and Beth Horon the lower, fortified cities, with walls, gates, and bars;
6and Baalath, and all the storage cities that Solomon had, and all the cities for his chariots, the cities for his horsemen, and all that Solomon desired to build for his pleasure in Jerusalem, in Lebanon, and in all the land of his dominion.
7As for all the people who were left of the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, who were not of Israel;
8of their children who were left after them in the land, whom the children of Israel didn’t consume, of them Solomon conscripted forced labor to this day.
9But of the children of Israel, Solomon made no servants for his work; but they were men of war, and chief of his captains, and rulers of his chariots and of his horsemen.
10These were the chief officers of king Solomon, even two-hundred fifty, who ruled over the people.
11Solomon brought up Pharaoh’s daughter out of David’s city to 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 where Yahweh’s ark has come are holy.”
12Then Solomon offered burnt offerings to Yahweh on Yahweh’s altar, which he had built before the porch,
13even as the duty of every day required, offering according to the commandment of Moses, on the Sabbaths, on the new moons, and on the set feasts, three times per year, during the feast of unleavened bread, during the feast of weeks, and during the feast of tents.
14He appointed, according to the ordinance of David his father, the divisions of the priests to their service, and the Levites to their offices, to praise and to minister before the priests, as the duty of every day required; the doorkeepers also by their divisions at every gate, for David the man of God had so commanded.
15They didn’t depart from the commandment of the king to the priests and Levites concerning any matter, or concerning the treasures.
16Now all the work of Solomon was prepared from the day of the foundation of Yahweh’s house until it was finished. So Yahweh’s house was completed.
17Then Solomon went to Ezion Geber and to Eloth, on the seashore in the land of Edom.
18Huram sent him ships and servants who had knowledge of the sea by the hands of his servants; and they came with the servants of Solomon to Ophir, and brought from there four hundred fifty talents of gold, and brought them to king Solomon.
Summary
Solomon's building projects, cities, and administrative organization are summarized, including his refusal to let Pharaoh's daughter dwell in David's palace because of the ark's holiness. He establishes regular worship according to Moses' command.
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.
Commentary
- Enduring Word (David Guzik): enduringword.com Guzik notes that the Chronicler presents Solomon's reign as a model of comprehensive prosperity flowing from faithful worship. The chapter demonstrates the principle: when worship is properly ordered, all other dimensions of national life flourish.
- Charles Spurgeon: "Solomon separated his Egyptian wife from the holy places — a right instinct, though a better instinct would have prevented the marriage altogether. Yet mark the principle: that which is holy must be guarded from that which is profane. The places where God's ark has come must not become common ground. Christian, guard your heart as Solomon guarded the city of David. Let not the world's influence dwell where God's presence has made holy ground. Your heart is a temple; keep it consecrated."
Reflection
- 1. Faithful completion of God's work brings "perfection" (v.16). Solomon finished everything God called him to do — and the result was "perfected." God's purposes, faithfully pursued to completion, achieve their intended excellence. Don't abandon what God has called you to do partway through. Press through to completion and experience the satisfaction of finished faithfulness.
- 2. Holiness requires boundaries (v.11). Solomon recognized that some things cannot coexist in the same space. Holy places need protection from contaminating influences. What in your life needs separation from God's sacred space in your heart? Not every relationship, influence, or activity belongs in proximity to your worship life.
- 3. Order serves worship (v.14). Solomon's administrative genius was directed toward facilitating worship — every priest, Levite, musician, and gatekeeper in the right place at the right time. Good administration is not unspiritual — it enables spiritual activity to function. Serve your church by being organized, prepared, and reliable.
- 4. Prosperity follows faithfulness (vv.1-18). Solomon's wealth, military strength, and international influence flow from his faithful worship. The Chronicler consistently teaches: seek God's purposes first, and worldly success follows. Reverse the order — seek success first — and both worship and success collapse.
- 5. Follow established patterns of faithfulness (vv.13-14). Solomon followed both "the commandment of Moses" (Torah) and "the order of David" (worship tradition). He did not innovate beyond what was given. In your worship and service, honor both Scripture's commands and the faithful traditions of those who came before. Innovation is not always improvement; sometimes the ancient path is the best path.