1 Chronicles 22:3

1Ch 22:3 And David prepared iron in abundance for the nails for the doors of the gates, and for the joinings; and brass in abundance without weight;

Ver. 3. And David prepared iron in abundance, &c.] Many parents prepare guilt in abundance, hoards and heaps of evil gotten goods - and there with God’s curse - to spend on their lusts, &c. As for pious and charitable uses, they cry out, with Judas, Whereto is this waste?

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

1Ch_22:3

And David prepared iron in abundance.

Builders

It sometimes becomes difficult to say who really did build the temple, so little was left for Solomon to do. Is it not so with all the temples of civilisation? Who built the temple of literature? Who erected the temple of science? Who is the architect, and who the builder of the temple of discovery? The last man is so immediately behind us, that we dare not take credit to ourselves for aught we do; so much has been done in preparation that when we speak of the temple we say it was built by the age, or the generation, or the spirit of the times. (J. Parker, D. D.)

The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

To wit, which weighed fifty shekels of gold, 2 Chron. 3:9.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

Verse 3. Irons - for the nails, &c.] Iron for bolts, bars, hinges, &c., &c.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

(3) For the nails.—Mismĕrîm happens to occur only in the later books of the Old Testament, but may well be an ancient word. (Comp. the Assyrian asmarê “spears,” which derives from the same root.)

For the doors of the gates.—he doors were to be what we call folding-doors (1Ki_6:34-35).

For the joinings.—Literally, things that couple, or connect (feminine participle): i.e., iron clamps and hinges. In 2Ch_34:11 the same term is used of wooden clamps or braces.

And brass.—Bronze, which was much used in the ornamental work of ancient buildings. Comp. the plates of bronze which once adorned the doors of the temple of Shalmaneser II. (B.C. 854), at Balawât, and are now in the British Museum. Sennacherib, in a later age (B.C. 700), describes the doors of his palace at Nineveh as “overlaid with shining bronze.”

Without weight.—A natural hyperbole. The actual amounts would, of course, be known to the royal treasurers. (Comp. the common use of the phrases la niba, la mani “without number,” “without measure,” in Assyrian accounts of spoils and captives.)

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

3. the joinings] R.V. the couplings.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And David prepared iron in abundance for the nails for the doors of the gates, and for the joinings,.... Great plenty of iron to make nails of for joining the boards together, of which the doors and gates were to be made, and for the fastening of the hinges of them:

and brass in abundance without weight; for making the altar of brass, and the laver of brass, and other vessels. Brass was much used by the Heathens in sacred things, as Macrobius (p) observes.

(p) Saturnal. l. 5. c. 19.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

For the joinings - i. e., the girders, or cramps - pieces of iron to be used in joining beams or stones together.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Prepared. Syriac and Arabic, "appointed blacksmiths from among the proselytes, to forge tools for cutting and dressing stone, &c." But most follow the Vulgate. (Calmet) --- Closures is explained by the following word, which alone occurs in Hebrew, &c. --- Immense. Hebrew and Septuagint, "abundance, it was not weighed." (Haydock)

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

For the joinings; to be used, together with melted lead, for the joining of those great and square stones together.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

3. Nails for the doors of the gates — “That is, for the folding doors of the gates; partly for the pivots on which the folding doors turned, partly to strengthen the boards of which the doors were made.” — Keil.

For the joinings — For cramps, or iron holders to fasten and hold beams and stones together.

Without weight — The bulk and amount was so great as not to be easily weighed. As we sometimes familiarly say, “There was no weighing it.”

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Iron the joinings; and brass. The very first Bible mention of metals (Gen_4:22) places these two together. Whence Solomon got his "abundance" of the latter we have read in 1Ch_18:8; for the "abundance" of the former he would not necessarily go further than his own land. Although the expression, "the land whose stones are iron", (Deu_8:9) is possibly enough a poetical figure where it stands, yet some of the force of the figure may have sprung from its nearness to fact. The abundant use of iron in a great variety of tools, implements, weapons, and the knowledge of it in bar and sheet, might be illustrated from a large number of quotations from Scripture (Deu_19:5 Deu_27:5; 2Sa_12:31; 2Ki_6:5; Isa_10:34 Amo_1:3; and many others) The "joinings" were the clamps and plates of various size and shape, which held strongly together, whether beams of wood or blocks of stone.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And David prepared iron in abundance for the nails for the doors of the gates, and for the joinings,.... Great plenty of iron to make nails of for joining the boards together, of which the doors and gates were to be made, and for the fastening of the hinges of them:

and brass in abundance without weight; for making the altar of brass, and the laver of brass, and other vessels. Brass was much used by the Heathens in sacred things, as Macrobius (p) observes.

(p) Saturnal. l. 5. c. 19.

Keil & Delitzsch — Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament (1861–1891) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API. (Old Testament only.)

braces

items that connect two things together. "clamps" or "hinges"

more bronze than could be weighed

This is an exaggeration to show that there was a very large quantity of bronze. This can be stated in active form. AT: "so much bronze that no one could weigh it" (See: Active or Passive and Hyperbole and Generalization)

more cedar trees than could be counted

This is an exaggeration to show that there was a very large number of cedar trees. This can be stated in active form. AT: "so many cedar trees that no one could count them" (See: Active or Passive and Hyperbole and Generalization)

The Sidonians and the Tyrians brought too many cedar logs to David to count

This is background information to explain who provided so many logs. (See: Background Information)

the house that is to be built for Yahweh

This can be stated in active form. AT: "the house that he will build for Yahweh" (See: Active or Passive)

so that it will be famous and glorious in all other lands

Here the word "lands" refers to the people who lived there. AT: "so that people in every other land will know about it and think that it is glorious" (See: Metonymy)

prepare for its building

"prepare to build it"

translationWords

gate

bronze

cedar

Sidon

Tyre

Solomon

house of God

glory

die

unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.

for the nails, for the doors of the gates in German, negel, nails.

And David prepared... for the couplings the iron [implements] with which they join and reinforce the doors and the gates.

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.