Chapter Twenty-Two

1–4. Preparation for the building of the Temple. 6–16. Testament to Solomon. 17–19. Testament to the elders.

1 Chronicles 22:1. And David said: “Here shall be the house of the Lord God, and here shall be the altar for the burnt offerings of Israel. Ornan’s threshing floor, marked by the appearance of the angel and the acceptance of the sacrifices (2 Sam 21:16) and following, became in David’s eyes the dwelling place of God Himself — “here shall be the house of the Lord God” (cf. Gen 28:17). In this same circumstance he saw the highest permission for the establishment here of a permanent temple in honor of Jehovah.

1 Chronicles 22:2. And David commanded to gather the foreigners who were in the land of Israel, and he set stonecutters to cut down stones for building the house of God. 1 Chronicles 22:3. And David prepared great quantities of iron for the nails of the doors of the gates and for clamps, and David prepared a great amount of bronze, exceeding measure, 1 Chronicles 22:4. and cedar logs without number, because the Sidonians and Tyrians brought great quantities of cedar wood to David. 1 Chronicles 22:5. And David said: “Solomon my son is young and inexperienced, but the house that is to be built for the Lord must be exceedingly magnificent, renowned and honored throughout all lands. I will make preparations for it.” And David made extensive preparations before his death. The choice of a place for the Temple is accompanied on David’s part by preparation of building materials. The motive for this is the consideration that the builder of the future Temple, Solomon, is young (he was born during the Ammonite war — (2 Sam 12:24), and was now in his twenties) and therefore inexperienced, while the Temple must be exceedingly magnificent (verse 5). For the work of preparing materials, David appointed “foreigners” — descendants of those natives of Canaan who had not been destroyed at its conquest (Judg 1:27) and following. Under Solomon they numbered 153,600 (2 Chr 2:17).

1 Chronicles 22:7. And David said to Solomon: “My son, my heart was set on building a house for the name of the Lord, my God, 1 Chronicles 22:8. but the word of the Lord came to me, and said: ‘You have shed much blood and fought great wars; you shall not build a house for my name, because you have shed much blood before me on the earth. As he prepared materials, David, having shed much blood, was not able to carry out his longstanding (1 Chr 17:1), cherished thought of building the Temple. Its construction required a large number of workers, and in David’s reign they were not available, since the entire adult population capable of labor was needed for constant wars. Of course, one could have halted the wars and turned soldiers into workers, but this threatened danger: David’s enemies could have taken advantage of the weakening of the military forces of the Israelites.

1 Chronicles 22:9. Behold, a son shall be born to you; he shall be a man of peace. I will give him peace from all his enemies round about, for his name shall be Solomon. And I will give peace and quiet to Israel in his days. 1 Chronicles 22:10. He shall build a house for my name, and he shall be my son, and I will be his father, and I will establish his royal throne over Israel forever.’ 1 Chronicles 22:11. Now, my son, may the Lord be with you, so that you may be successful and build the house of the Lord your God, as he spoke about you. Unable to build the Temple, David entrusts the fulfillment of this task to his son Solomon, since he refers to him the divine promise given through the prophet Nathan (1 Chr 17:11-13).

1 Chronicles 22:12. May the Lord give you discretion and understanding, and may he put you in charge of Israel and help you to keep the law of the Lord your God. 1 Chronicles 22:13. Then you will prosper, if you are careful to observe the statutes and the rules which the Lord commanded Moses to give to Israel. Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or discouraged. Upon Solomon, as the son of God, rests divine favor, which ensures the successful completion of a great work. But in order to keep it with him, he must remain faithful to the commandments of the law of Moses: their observance attracts divine mercy upon a person (Deut 7:12).

1 Chronicles 22:14. Now behold, in my poverty I have made provision for the house of the Lord a hundred thousand talents of gold and a million talents of silver, and bronze and iron beyond weighing, for it is so abundant. Moreover I have prepared timber and stone, and you may add to them. Solomon should not be troubled by the thought of the difficulty of the task before him: it is to some extent made easier by David, who has gathered an enormous quantity of building materials, including gold and silver. Of the former a hundred thousand talents were prepared, which on our weight system amounts to about 150,000 puds, or on the money side more than two billion rubles; of silver — a thousand thousand talents, more than one and a half million puds, about one and a half billion rubles. Such an enormous quantity of gold and silver has caused some to doubt the accuracy of the author of Chronicles. But current knowledge about the wealth of ancient peoples makes his testimony close to the truth. Thus Cyrus on conquering Athens received as plunder 500,000 talents of silver; Alexander the Great on taking Susa — 40,000 talents of gold, Persepolis — 120,000.

1 Chronicles 22:17. And David commanded all the leaders of Israel to help Solomon his son, 1 Chronicles 22:18. saying: “Is not the Lord your God with you? And has he not given you peace on every side? For he has delivered all the inhabitants of the land into my hand, and the land is subdued before the Lord and before his people. 1 Chronicles 22:19. Now set your heart and soul to seek the Lord your God. Arise and build the sanctuary of the Lord God, so that the ark of the covenant of the Lord and the holy vessels of God may be brought into the house that is to be built for the name of the Lord. Solomon’s youth and inexperience impels David to invite the elders of Israel to participate in the building work as advisers and helpers. By their assistance they will repay God for the peace granted to their country.