2 Chronicles 3:8

DIMENSIONS, &C., OF THE MOST HOLY HOUSE. (Ch2 3:8-13)

the most holy house--It was a perfect cube (compare Kg1 6:20).

overlaid it with . . . gold, amounting to six hundred talents--at £4 per ounce, equal to £3,600,000.

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

(c) THE HOLY OF HOLIES, OR CHANCEL, WITH THE CHERUBIM AND THE VAIL (2Ch_3:8-14).

(8) The most holy house.—The chamber of the Holy of holies, or chancel, called also the oracle (Dĕbîr), 1Ki_6:5. (So 2Ch_3:10.)

The length whereof was according to the breadth of the house, twenty cubits.—Its length before the breadth of the house was twenty cubits. (See Note on 2Ch_3:4.)

And the breadth thereof twenty cubits.—1Ki_6:20 adds that the height also was twenty cubits, so that the chamber formed a perfect cube.

Six hundred talents.—The weight of gold thus expended on the plating of the walls of the inner shrine is not given in Kings. Solomon’s whole yearly revenue was 666 talents (1Ki_10:14).

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

2Ch 3:8 And 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.

Ver. 8. Six hundred talents.] Which is, as we count it, two millions and two hundred and fifty thousand pound.

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.

2Ch 3:8-10. Fine gold amounting to six hundred talents — That is, upward of three millions forty-five thousand pounds sterling. This vast sum was expended on the holy of holies alone, a room only ten yards square. The weight of the nails — That is, of each of the nails, screws, or pins, by which the golden plates were fastened to the walls that were overlaid with them, was fifty shekels of gold — The meaning seems to be, that each weighed or was worth that sum, workmanship and all. Two cherubims of image-work — Or, sculpture-work. And overlaid them with gold — For they were made of olive-wood, and were not, like those of Moses, of beaten gold. Nor were they fixed, as his were, to the mercy-seat, but appeared in a moving posture.

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

3:8 A special area was constructed at the extreme interior of the hall known as the Most Holy Place (the divine throne room). It might have been a sacred throne space within the long hall, or it might have been a secondary room within the main hall. The dimensions of the Most Holy Place were equally 30 feet (20 cubits) in all directions. It might have rested on an elevated platform, as did the shrines of other temples, and a space might have existed between the room and the roof. The Most Holy Place was prepared as a repository for the Ark, which contained the terms of the covenant.

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

8, 9. The Holy of Holies

8. the most holy house] Called the oracle in 1Ki_6:16; 1Ki_6:19 etc., Hebrew dìbîr, which means rather the hinder part. The Lord “dwells” in the inmost recess of the house.

amounting to six hundred talents] This detail is not found elsewhere. But cp. 1Ch_29:4.

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.

The most holy house - i. e., the sanctuary, or holy of holies. On the probable value of the gold, see 1Ki 10:14 note.

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

Amounting to about, is not in Hebrew. (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).

The most holy house. The writer proceeds from speaking of "the greater house" (ver. 5), or holy place, to the "holy of holies." The parallel (1Ki_6:20) adds the height, as also 20 cubits. Six hundred talents. It is impossible to assert with any accuracy the money value intended here. Six hundred talents of gold is an amazing proportion of the yearly revenue of 666 talents of gold, spoken of in 1Ki_10:14. This latter amount is worth, in Keil"s estimate, about three million and three quarters of our money, but in Peele"s estimate nearer double that! The Hebrew, Phoenician, and Assyrian unit of weight is the same, and one quite different from the Egyptian. The silver talent (Hebrew, ciccar, rKKi) contained 60 manehs, each maneh being equal to 50 shekels, and a shekel being worth 220 grains; i.e. there were 3000 shekels, or 660, 000 grains, in such talent. But the gold talent con-rained 100 manehs, the maneh 100 shekels, and the shekel 132 grains, making this gold talent the equivalent of 10, 000 shekels, or 1, 320, 000 grains. The "holy shekel," or "shekel of the sanctuary," could be either of gold or silver. (Exo_38:4, Exo_38:5) (For some treatment of this still unsatisfactory subject, see Dr. Smith"s. Bible Dictionary," 3:1727-1736; and Conder"s "Handbook to the Bible," 2nd edit., pp. 64-78, 81.)

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

The most holy place, with the figures of the cherubim and the veil; cf. Kg1 6:19-28. - The length of the most holy place in front of the breadth of the house, twenty cubits, consequently measured in the same way as the porch (Ch2 3:4); the breadth, i.e., the depth of it, also twenty cubits. The height, which was the same (Kg1 6:20), is not stated; but instead of that we have the weight of the gold which was used for the gilding, which is omitted in 1 Kings 6, viz., 600 talents for the overlaying of the walls, and 50 shekels for the nails to fasten the sheet gold on the wainscotting. He covered the upper chambers of the most holy place also with gold; see Ch1 28:11. This is not noticed in 1 Kings 6.

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.)

He built ... He overlaid

The readers should understand that Solomon probably commanded other people to do the actual work. AT: "Solomon's workers built ... They overlaid" (See: Metonymy)

twenty cubits

A cubit is 46 centimeters. AT: "9.2 meters" (See: Biblical Distance)

six hundred talents

"600 talents." A talent is 33 kilograms. AT: "about 20 metric tons" (See: Numbers and Biblical Money)

fifty shekels

"50 shekels." A shekel is 11 grams. AT: ".55 kilograms" or "about a half a kilogram"(See: Numbers and Biblical Money)

translationWords

holy place

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

And he made the House of, etc. This is what he should have said: “And he made the house of the Holy of Holies twenty by twenty,” [since neither side was longer] but because he said above (verse 4): “And the vestibule, etc. opposite the breadth of the House, was twenty cubits, etc.,” he words it similarly here.

and he overlaid it with fine gold Also in the Holy of Holies, he first built walls of wood, and upon it he overlaid gold, and the reason he does not mention any wood here in the Holy of Holies is due to the greatness of the Temple; i.e., all the walls of the House of the Ark were of gold, and there was no wood in them, and that was honor for the Holy of Holies, and this is proven in Kings (ad loc.). The proof that because of the honor of the House he does not mention any wood is that it is written (verse 6): “And he overlaid the House with precious stone,” whereas in Kings, it is not written: “precious stone.” Why not? Because in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah he lets you know that Solomon’s intention was for the honor of the House.

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.