2 Chronicles 2:1–18

2:2 Before seeking help from outside Israel, Solomon first “assigned” (or “counted,” the same Hb. as in v. 17) a large number of workers and overseers. As was common in the ancient Near East, foreigners resident in the land were conscripted (cf. comment on 2:17–18).

2:3–10 Tyre was the major Phoenician port and trading center, around 50 miles (80 km) north of Jerusalem. The main center was on an island and thus easily protected; Tyre had its own fleet (cf. 8:18). The movement of goods through the port to and from the Mediterranean coasts and inland saw Tyre’s prosperity and influence grow under Hiram. (Four hundred years after Solomon, Ezekiel 27 describes her prosperous trade and false security; a similar description is used of “Babylon” in Rev. 18:9–20.)

Solomon’s initiative is expressed tentatively, opening with “As you dealt with David . . . ,” with the Hebrew text delaying his actual request until 2 Chronicles 2:7, “so now send me . . .” (in v. 3, “so deal with me” is inserted by the translators). He provides two reasons to support his request: Hiram’s past relationship with David (a parity treaty) and, more importantly, the greatness of God and the diversity of offerings to be presented to him. The Chronicler is quite brief in mentioning the past (v. 3; contrast 1 Kings 5:1–5), providing his own emphasis upon God and his worship as the major basis for help (2 Chron. 2:4–6). The physical temple is to facilitate and enhance its function as the place for the comprehensive listing of diverse offerings and feasts for the transcendent God that are to continue after the exile “forever.”⁴ How can a human build a “house” for the great God? Yet a place is needed for offerings, and that place should be such that God is honored.

David had provided “skilled workers,” but Solomon requested the key “skilled” person (cf. comments on 1 Chron. 22:11–16; 2 Chron. 1:2–6; khakam and khokmah are, respectively, adjective and noun). This person (to be named in 2:13) does not appear until later in the narrative of 1 Kings (7:14), where he is a “worker in bronze.” By bringing forward the request and expanding the skills to be similar to those of Bezalel and Oholiab in the tabernacle construction (2 Chron. 2:7; Ex. 35:30–36:1), the association between tabernacle and temple is made clear. The use of contemporary vocabulary for “purple” and “crimson” speaks to postexilic hearers.

A range of quality timber is requested, with experienced lumberjacks. While “cedar” and “cyprus” are known, “algum” is not readily identified but may come from northern Syria. The temple is to be “great and wonderful”; the joining together of these words is not common in the OT, but wide use of the Psalms in Chronicles suggests that the description is reminiscent of Psalm 106:21–22a: “They forgot God, their Savior, who had done great things in Egypt, wondrous works in the land of Ham.” The temple is to be appropriate for God and his deeds, leading to the people’s remembering, and Solomon is willing to pay for what is needed.⁵

2:11–12 The correspondence is between two kings, but the Chronicler turns hearers’ attention to God’s overarching relationship with his people. In the space of just two verses Hiram, a foreign ruler, affirms that (1) Solomon reigns because “the Lord loves his people”; (2) this “Lord God of Israel” is the One “who made heaven and earth” (cf. Solomon’s words; v. 6); (3) God “has given” David a successor; (4) Solomon is “wise” with “discretion and understanding” (the wording links with God’s promise [1:12] and David’s prayer [1 Chron. 22:12]); and (5) the purpose is the building of the temple and palace.⁶

The word “love” (Hb. ʼahab) is common in ancient Near Eastern diplomacy, used of mutual commitment in alliances and treaties (“Hiram always loved David”; 1 Kings 5:1). It would be natural for hearers to think mainly of the treaty between Solomon and Hiram (as in 1 Kings 5:12), but their attention is also turned to the prior and enduring covenant relationship between the Lord and Israel.⁷ For hearers, the agreement between Solomon and Hiram may be in the past, but the Lord still loves his people, and he is still the Maker of heaven and earth, countering the all-embracing ideology of the Persian Empire that Ahura Mazda was the supreme deity who had appointed the emperor to be ruler above all.⁸ There is still in Jerusalem a temple where the true God is worshiped, and mention of the Lord’s giving David a successor hints at hope that God will again give a king.

2:13–16 Association between tabernacle and temple continues. Hiram repeats the list of skills from verse 7 but adds “stone,” “wood,” and “fine linen” and elaborates on skills in “engraving” (also in Ex. 35:33, 35). The full name “Huram-abi” (cf. “Hiram”; 1 Kings 7:13)⁹ suggests a parallel with Oholiab, the Chronicler stating that both are of “Dan” (cf. Ex. 35:34), linking with the suggested parallel between Solomon and Bezalel as “wise” (cf. comment on 2 Chron. 1:2–6).¹⁰ The reminder of the “craftsmen” provided by David continues the link between two periods: the past Mosaic period, with the tabernacle, and the present combined reigns of David and Solomon.

In commending Huram-abi, Hiram’s reference to “a skilled [Hb. khakam] man, who has understanding [yodeaʻ binah]” matches that of Solomon, “a wise [khakam] son, who has discretion and understanding [yodeaʻ sekel ubina]” (2:12). Further, the Chronicler changes the word order of 1 Kings 7:14; this description now comes before Huram-abi’s background, drawing attention to the comparison between the two men. Two “wise/skilled” (khakam) sons are to be involved in temple building. They have different social and ethnic backgrounds, varied abilities and responsibilities, and in turn work with many “craftsmen” (also khakam)—but all are essential for the task.

For the Chronicler’s hearers, the reference to bringing timber “in rafts by sea to Joppa,” the nearest seaport to Jerusalem (a reference not in Kings), serves to associate the building of the first and second temples. After the exile Sidonians and Tyrians were paid to bring “cedar trees from Lebanon to the sea, to Joppa” (Ezra 3:7); however, payment was at that point from what “Cyrus king of Persia” granted rather than from an Israelite king.

2:17–18 The Chronicler’s account of Solomon’s preparations, supplementing those made by David, concludes by repeating with more details the opening numbers of foreign workers (v. 2), following the pattern set by David (1 Chron. 22:2). The details summarize 1 Kings 5:13–16, but the Chronicler omits the “30,000” who appear to be Israelites who worked in three shifts to help in Lebanon and mentions only “all the resident aliens who were in the land of Israel” (cf. 2 Chron. 8:9 = 1 Kings 9:22); “153,600” is his own total of the three figures matched in Kings (70,000 + 80,000 + 3,600).¹¹

Workers and resources, from within Israel and paid for from outside, some arranged by David and the rest by Solomon, are now organized and at hand. Work can begin on the temple that is “for the name of the Lord” (2 Chron. 2:1).