2 Chronicles 2

2 Chronicles 2:1

B. Solomon’s Preparation, Construction, and Dedication of the Temple (Chaps. 27) 2:1, 2 In preparation for construction of the temple, Solomon selected seventy thousand men to carry the materials, plus eighty thousand stonecutters and three thousand six hundred supervisors. 2:3-10 Then he sent for help to Hiram, king of Tyre, who had supplied cedars for David’s royal palace. After describing the spiritual significance of the project, Solomon asked specifically for a skilled craftsman to work with the artisan whom David had hired, and also for the necessary timber. Solomon promised to pay handsomely for any help given. There seems to be a discrepancy as to the actual amount.

APPARENT DISCREPANCIESIn commenting on 2 Chronicles, we must note that there are some seeming discrepancies between this book and the parallel accounts in 1 and 2 Kings. If we overlook these differences, we do a disservice to our readers. On the other hand, if we overemphasize the differences, we run the risk of undermining confidence in the Word, and we certainly do not want to do this. Our solution is this: We have decided to bring the principal differences out into the open, even if we can’t solve them all. At the same time we want to make it clear that they in no way affect the inspiration of the Scriptures. We believe that the Bible, as originally given, is inspired by God, inerrant, and infallible. We have handled the problems in the Endnotes. In this way the technical discussions of apparently contradictory details will not break up the flow of the commentary. On the other hand, it gives us opportunity to investigate the problems briefly but freely. Many of the discrepancies are copyists’ errors. We should not be surprised if scribes made minor mistakes in copying and recopying the Bible over the course of many centuries. Even today it is almost impossible to publish a book without some typographical errors creeping in. Someone might ask, “If God could guide the original writers of Scripture to be free from error, why couldn’t He cause the scribes to produce error-free copies?” The answer, of course, is that He could have, but in His wisdom He didn’t choose to do so. The important point is that, in spite of minor scribal or copyists’ errors (mostly in the spelling of names and in numbers), the Bible as we have it today is the Word of God. Any problems have to do with minor details and not with any Bible doctrine. It is reassuring to remember that when the Lord Jesus was on earth, He used an edition of the OT (not the original manuscripts) and He quoted this text as the Word of God. We can use reputable versions of the Bible today with the same confidence that they are the Word of God.

2:11-16 Hiram’s reply in writing, which he sent to Solomon, seemed to indicate a genuine, spiritual recognition that the undertaking was historic. He said he was sending Huram, a craftsman with impeccable qualifications. He also promised to send wood from Lebanon in exchange for wheat, barley, oil, and . . . wine. The timber would be floated on rafts down the Mediterranean Sea to Joppa, then transported overland to Jerusalem. 2:17, 18 The 153,000 aliens or strangers were Canaanites whom the Israelites had failed to destroy. Now they were used as forced laborers.