2 Chronicles 3:9

2Ch 3:9 And the weight of the nails [was] fifty shekels of gold. And he overlaid the upper chambers with gold.

Ver. 9. And he overlaid the upper chambers.] These were, saith Diodate, certain principal rooms of the building of the porticoes, appointed for the holy ministers to make their meals in, like unto refectories; or else for places of meetings and counsel. See 1Ch 28:11.

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.

Verse 9. The weight of the nails was fifty shekels] Bolts must be here intended, as it should be preposterous to suppose nails of nearly two pounds' weight.

The supper chambers] Probably the ceiling is meant.

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

(9) And the weight of the nails was fifty shekels of gold.—Literally, And a weight for nails for shekels—fifty in gold. The LXX. and Vulg. take this to mean that the weight of each nail was fifty shekels; and this is probably right, for fifty shekels as a total would be a trifling sum to record along with six hundred talents. The nails were used to fasten the golden plates to the wooden wainscoting of the edifice.

Whatever may be thought of the apparently incredible quantities of gold and silver stated to have been amassed by David for the Temple (1Ch_22:14; 1Ch_29:4; 1Ch_29:7), it is clear that no inconsiderable amount of the former metal would be required for the plating of the chambers as described in this chapter. And it is well known, from their own monuments, that the Babylonian sovereigns of a later age were in the habit of thus adorning the houses of their gods. Nebuchadnezzar, for instance, who restored the great temple of Borsippa, says: “E-zida, the strong house, in the midst thereof I caused to make, with silver, gold, alabaster, bronze . . . cedar I caused to adorn (or, completed) its sibir. The cedar of the roof (?) of the shrines of Nebo with gold I caused to clothe.” In another inscription we read: “The shrine of Nebo, which is amid E-Sagili, its threshold, its bolt, and its babnaku, with gold I caused to clothe.” And again: “The cedar roof of the oracle I caused to clothe with bright silver.” The Assyrian Esarhaddon, a century earlier, boasts that he built ten castles in Assyria and Accad, and “made them shine like day with silver and gold.”

And he overlaid.—And the upper chambers he covered with gold. The chambers over the Holy of holies are mentioned in 1Ch_28:11. The two statements of this verse are peculiar to the chronicle. The Syriac and Arabic omit the verse.

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

The upper chambers - Compare 1Ch 28:11. Their position is uncertain. Some place them above the holy of holies, which was ten cubits, or fifteen feet lower than the main building (compare 1Ki 6:2, 1Ki 6:20); others, accepting the height of the porch 120 cubits 2Ch 3:4, regard the “upper chambers” or “chamber” ὑπερῷον huperōon, Septuagint), as having been a lofty building erected over the entrance to the temple; others suggest that the chambers intended are simply the uppermost of the three sets of chambers which on three sides surrounded the temple (see 1Ki 6:5-10). This would seem to be the simplest and best explanation, though we cannot see any reason for the rich ornamentation of these apartments, or for David’s special directions concerning them.

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

Sicles. This weight seems enormous for each nail. Mariana supposes every nail weighed one sicle. But who will believe that only fifty were used? Hebrew, "And the weight of the nails was fifty," &c. The Syriac and Arabic omit this verse entirely. --- Chambers, or rather "the ceiling."

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).

Of the nails, i.e. of each of the nails or heads of those nails whereby the plates were fastened to the boards.

The upper chambers; of which See Poole "1Ch 28:11".

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

The weight of the nails, fifty shekels of gold. According to the above scale, therefore, this weight would be a twelve-thousandth part for the nails of all the weight of the overlaying plates of gold. The upper chambers. This is the first mention of these "chambers" in the present description, but they have been alluded to by the Chronicle writer before, 1Ch_28:11. What or where they were is as yet not certainly ascertained. Presumably they were the highest tier of those chambers which surrounded three sides of the main building. But some think they were a superstructure to the holy of holies; others, high chambers in the supposed very lofty superstructure of the porch. Both of these suppositions seem to us of the unlikeliest. It would, however, be much more satisfactory, considering that all the subject before and after treats of the most holy place, to be able to connect this expression in some way with it, nor is there any reason evident for overlaying richly with gold the aforesaid chambers (2Ch_9:4 compared with 2Ch_22:11) of the third tier.

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

Nails - Each of the nails, screws, or pins, by which the golden plates were fastened to the walls, weighed, or rather was worth, fifty shekels, workmanship and all. Upper chambers - Rather, the roof.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

And the weight of the nails to reinforce with them the gold on the wooden walls.

in shekels in the weight of shekels, fifty shekels of gold.

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.