SUMMARY
Solomon’s other building activities are briefly recounted and presented as blessings that accrued from the completion of the 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 construction.
ANALYSIS
Much more than the temple is completed in this miscellany of Solomon’s other activity. Verses 1-11 recount his other achievements and building projects. Contrary to 1 Kings 9:10-14, Huram (Hiram 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 David, 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, Israel reaches its greatest 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).
