King James Version · The united kingdom
1 Chronicles 28
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And assembled all the princes of Israel, the princes of the tribes, and the captains of the companies that ministered to the king by course, and the captains over the thousands, and captains over the hundreds, and the stewards over all the substance and possession of the king, and of his sons, with the officers, and with the , and with all the valiant men, unto . Then the king stood up upon his feet, and said, Hear me, my brethren, and my people: As for me, I had in mine to build an house of rest for the of , and for the of our , and had made ready for the building: But said unto me, Thou shalt not build an house for my name, because thou hast been a man of war, and hast shed . Howbeit of Israel chose me before all the house of to be king over Israel for ever: for he hath chosen Judah to be the ruler; and of the house of Judah, the house of ; and among the sons of he liked me to make me king over all Israel: And of all my sons, (for hath given me many sons,) he hath chosen my son to sit upon of of over Israel. And he said unto me, thy son, he shall build my house and my courts: for I have chosen him to be my son, and I will be his . Moreover I will establish for ever, if he be constant to do my and my judgments, as at this day. Now therefore in the sight of all Israel of , and in the audience of our , keep and seek for all of your : that ye may possess this good land, and leave it for an for your children after you for ever. And thou, my son, know thou the of thy , and him with a perfect and with a willing : for searcheth all , and understandeth all the imaginations of the : if thou seek him, he will be found of thee; but if thou forsake him, he will cast thee off for ever. Take heed now; for hath chosen thee to build an house for : be strong, and do it. Then gave to his son the pattern of the porch, and of the houses thereof, and of the treasuries thereof, and of the upper chambers thereof, and of the inner parlours thereof, and of the place of the , And the pattern of all that he had by , of the courts of the , and of all the chambers round about, of the treasuries of the house of , and of the treasuries of the dedicated things: Also for the courses of the priests and the , and for all the work of the of the , and for all the vessels of in the . 14He gave of gold by weight for things of gold, for all instruments of all manner of ; silver also for all instruments of silver by weight, for all instruments of every kind of : Even the weight for the candlesticks of gold, and for their lamps of gold, by weight for every candlestick, and for the lamps thereof: and for the candlesticks of silver by weight, both for the candlestick, and also for the lamps thereof, according to the use of every candlestick. And by weight he gave gold for the tables of , for every table; and likewise silver for the tables of silver: Also pure gold for the fleshhooks, and the bowls, and the : and for the golden basons he gave gold by weight for every bason; and likewise silver by weight for every bason of silver: And for the refined gold by weight; and gold for the pattern of the chariot of the cherubims, that spread out their , and covered the of . All this, said , made me understand in writing by his hand upon me, even all the works of this pattern. And said to his son, Be strong and of good courage, and do it: fear not, nor be dismayed: for , even my , will be with thee; he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee, until thou hast finished all the work for the of the . And, behold, the courses of the priests and the , even they shall be with thee for all the of the house of : and there shall be with thee for all manner of workmanship every willing skilful man, for any manner of : also the princes and all the people will be wholly at thy .
The 1611 translation, public domain. Its original printing included the Apocrypha, which is why the deuterocanonical books can be read here. Notes and cards are EKLI’s own.
The world at this moment · The united kingdom, 1050 BC to 931 BC ›
Saul, David, and Solomon. A rare window when both Egypt and Mesopotamia are weak, which is how a small kingdom in the corridor between them could briefly become a regional power.
- The power vacuum
- This is the whole political explanation for the united kingdom. Egypt is fragmented, Assyria is recovering but still local, the Hittites are gone, and nobody is in a position to object to a strong state in the corridor. It lasts about a century, and Israel's golden age fits exactly inside it.
- Phoenicia
- Tyre under Hiram is the commercial power of the coast, and supplies the cedar, the craftsmen, and the shipping for Solomon's building programme. The alliance is trade, not charity: Israel had grain and a land route, Tyre had timber and ships.
- Egypt
- Weak enough that a pharaoh gives a daughter in marriage to an Israelite king, which is the opposite of Egyptian practice in stronger centuries. Late in the era it recovers under a new house, and Shishak will invade within five years of Solomon's death.
- Further afield
- Greece is still in its dark age but beginning to recover, and will adopt the Phoenician alphabet within a century or two. Carthage is founded by settlers from Tyre by tradition in 814 BC. In the Americas the Olmec centre shifts to La Venta.