The Expositor's Bible: The First Book of KingsFarrar, F. W. (Frederic William)
Religion
The Expositor's Bible: The First Book of Kings
Farrar, F. W. (Frederic William)
Bible. Kings, 1st -- Commentaries
[265] Some suppose that the words imply "He will establish" (Jachin)
"in strength" (Boaz). "After some favourite persons of the time,
perhaps young sons of Solomon," says Ewald, very improbably. LXX. (2
Chron. iii. 17), Κατόρθωσις and Ἰσχύς. See a description of these
pillars in Jer. lii. 21-23.
[266] Some writers have supplied the Temple with a porch 180 feet
high, misled by the astounding method of the chronicler of adding the
four sides into the total. Thus, he tells us that the wings of the
cherubim were 30 feet long, meaning that each single wing was 7-1/2
feet long (2 Chron. iii. 11). Josephus does the same in telling us
the height of the Temple wall.
[267] The ground plans of most ancient temples were alike.
[268] 2 Sam. viii. 7; 1 Chron. xviii. 7.
[269] So 2 Chron. iv. 8. But it would seem from 1 Kings vii. 48; 2
Chron. xiii. 11, xxix. 18 that only one table and one candlestick
were ordinarily used.
[270] St. Jerome rendered _debir_ by _oraculum_, but some derive it
from the Arabic root _dabar_, "to be behind," not from דָבָר, "to
speak" (Munk, p. 290).
[271] In Zerubbabel's and Herod's Temples there was a curtain
(_Parocheth_) before the Holiest; but we read of no such curtain
in Solomon's, except in 2 Chron. iii. 14. The fact that the staves
of the Ark were _visible_ seems to show that there was not one.
The chronicler speaks of "_the_ vail" (2 Chron. iii. 14), showing,
apparently, that there was only one; and does not mention the
_Māsak_, which hung between the Porch and the Holy Place. Except in 2
Chron. iii. 14, the only mention of either is in the "Priestly Code."
Since the Oracle had a door, one hardly sees why there should also
have been a curtain. But the whole subject is obscure, and perhaps
the chronicler is sometimes thinking of the second Temple.
[272] We read nothing, however, of any observance of the Day of
Atonement till centuries later.
[273] 2 Sam. xxiv. 25 (LXX.); 1 Chron. xxii. 1; 2 Chron. iii. 1;
Josephus, _Antt._, I. xiii. 1, VII. xiii. 4; Targum of Onkelos on
Gen. xii.
[274] "The Ark of the Lord," or "of the Testimony," or "of the
Covenant," was an oblong chest of acacia wood, overlaid with gold,
surmounted by a border of gold, and resting on four feet, to which
(A. V. corners) were attached golden rings.
[275] 1 Kings viii. 9. The pot of manna and the budded rod of Aaron
were placed before it (Exod. xvi. 34; Numb. xvii. 10), and the Book
of the Law beside it (Deut. xxxi. 26). The Mercy-seat above was
more sacred than the Ark itself (Lev. xvi. 2). It was the cover
(_Kapporeth_, ἐπίθεμα) of the Ark, and was partly formed of two
winged cherubim which gazed down upon it and faced each other.
[276] Stanley, ii. 203.
[277] The Tyrian adornments; the steps to the altar; the ten
candlesticks, and tables; the lions and oxen.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account