2 Chronicles 2:16

2Ch 2:16 And we will cut wood out of Lebanon, as much as thou shalt need: and we will bring it to thee in floats by sea to Joppa; and thou shalt carry it up to Jerusalem.

Ver. 16. And we will cut wood.] See the benefit of a good neighbour, ready to every good office, as Hesiod describeth him.

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.

Or, ships.

Or, Joppa.

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

Verse 16. In floats by sea to Joppa] 1Kg 5:9, and on the parallel places, for other matters contained in this chapter.

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

(16) And we will cut wood.—The we is emphatic, and we, on our part, the pronoun being expressed in the Hebrew.

Wood (= “timber,” 2Ch_2:8-10; 2Ch_2:14).—Properly trees.

As much as thou shalt need.—See margin. “Need” (çôrek) occurs here only in the Old Testament. The word is common in the Targums, and in Rabbinic writings; 1Ki_5:8 has the classical phrase, “all thy desire.”

In flotes.—Heb., raphsôdôth. Another isolated expression. Rendered “rafts” by the LXX. and Vulgate, but omitted by Syriac and Arabic. 1Ki_5:9 has dôbĕrôth, “rafts,” which settles the meaning.

To Joppa.—1Ki_5:9 has the less definite “unto the place that thou shalt appoint me.” Joppa (modern Jaffa) was the harbour nearest Jerusalem.

And thou shalt carry it up to Jerusalem.—This interprets the curt phrase of 1Ki_5:9, “and thou shalt take (them) away.”

A comparison of this and the parallel account of Huram’s letter makes it clear (1) that the chronicler has not written without knowledge of the older text; (2; that neither text has preserved the exact form of the original documents. From Josephus (Ant. viii. 2, 8) it would appear that some record of the negotiations between Huram and Solomon was still extant at Tyre in his day, if only we might trust his authority.

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

16. Joppa] Hebrew, Japho, modern Jaffa (Yâfâ).

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 he set threescore and ten thousand of them,.... Which is repeated from Ch2 2:2, to show how the above number of strangers were disposed of; 70,000 of them bearers of burdens, 80,000 of them hewers of wood, and 3,600 overseers of the workmen, in all 153,600; an emblem of the Gentiles employed in building the spiritual temple, the church, Zac 6:15.

Next: 2 Chronicles Chapter 3

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

CHAPTER II.

Floats. So the Septuagint well express the Hebrew raphsodoth, which seems to be borrowed from the Greek Rapsodia, which denotes a collection of verses (Calmet) and was applied to Homer’s poems, before they were collected. (Ælian xiii. 14.) Joppe was a port much used, (Calmet) though dangerous. (Josephus, Jewish Wars iii. 15.)

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).

Joppa, This was one of the most ancient of towns, and is referred to by Pliny ("Hist. Nat.," 5:13), as "Joppa Phoenicum, antiquior terrarum inundatione, ut ferunt." Its name (wOpy "beauty") is said to have been justified by the beautiful groves in its neighbourhood. It is mentioned Jos_19:46 as Japho, where also we learn the circumstances under which the Dan tribe were possessed of it. It is remarkable that it is not mentioned again till our present verse, not even in the parallel. (1Ki_5:9) But it appears again in Ezr_3:7; Jon_1:3, and in several places in the Acts of the Apostles. The modern name of it is Joffa, and it is not reputed as a good port now. It was distant from Jerusalem some thirty-four miles. The carriage of the tim-bet this road-journey is nowhere described in detail, nor is the exact spot of the coast west of Lebanon mentioned where the flotes were made, and thence despatched.

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

And Solomon counted all the strangers who were in the land of Israel - Heb. הַגֵּירִים. This is written with the plene spelling, two yuds. In the beginning, when David counted them (I Chron 22:2), they were called הַגֵּרִים with one yud, but Solomon counted them at the time of the deed, when he built; therefore, it is written with the plene spelling. A similar instance: “then you shall bring up my bones from this place.” “With you” is missing in the portion of וַיְחִי (Gen. 50:25), but at the time of the deed (in the portion of בְּשַׁלַּח, Ex. 13:19), when he took them, it is written: “with you.”

And Solomon counted, etc., after the census above (I Chron. 22:2), as it is written: “And David ordered to gather the strangers.”

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.