SUMMARY
SolomonThird king of Israel who was known for wisdom and building the first Temple. More engages in various building projects, expanding Israel’s territory, and offers sacrifices at the completed TempleThe Jerusalem temple, unlike the tabernacle, was a permanent structure, although (like the tabernacle) it was a place of worship and religious activity. On one occasion Jesus felt such activity was unacceptable and, as reported in all four Gospels, drove from the temple those engaged... More.
ANALYSIS
Though both the Mosaic tabernacleThe tabernacle, a word meaning "tent," was a portable worship place for the Hebrew people after they left Egypt. It was said to contain the ark of the covenant. The plans for the tabernacle are dictated by God in Exodus 26. More and the Jerusalem Temple were places of worship and religious activity, only the Temple was a permanent structure. The Chronicler presents the Temple as the locus of divine engagement, both as a place of God’s locative presence, referred to as the “glory of the Lord” (1 Chronicles 7:2) and as a place of communal prayer and sacrificeSacrifice is commonly understood as the practice of offering or giving up something as a sign of worship, commitment, or obedience. In the Old Testament grain, wine, or animals are used as sacrifice. In some New Testament writings Jesus' death on the cross as the... More to which God responds (7:12).
Yet, much more than the Temple is completed in the course of Solomon’s building projects. 1 Chronicles 8:1-11 recounts his other achievements and architectural accomplishments. Contrary to 1 Kings 9:10-14, Huram (HiramKing of Tyre who provided materials for Solomon's Temple. More in Kings) cedes twenty cities to Solomon as a testimony to Solomon’s greatness (vv. 1-2). Verse 3 is the only military activity attributed to Solomon by the Chronicler. It both harkens back to DavidSecond king of Israel, David united the northern and southern kingdoms. More, who also defeated Zobah (1 Chronicles 18), and reflects the Chronicler’s own time, since Hamath-Zobah is the name of the town in the Persian period. Despite the historical probability that Solomon lost territory during his reign, the Chronicler presents the land of Israel reaching its greatest geographical extent in verses 4-6. By adding references to the “sabbaths” and the “new moons” to 1 Kings 9:25, the complete round of Mosaic sacrifices is instituted (see also Leviticus 23; Numbers 28-29). The appointment of the priests and Levites in vv. 14-15 brings David’s work to completion (1 Chronicles 23-27). Once again (see 2 Chronicles 5:1), the passage closes with the simple observation that “the house of the LORD was finished completely“; the last word (shalem) is a clever pun upon Solomon’s name (shlomo, v. 16).
