of God, to serve the Lord with devoted heart, and to build Him a house for a sanctuary (1Ch 28:1-10). He then committed to Solomon the sketches and plans for the sacred buildings and sacred objects of various sorts, with the confident promise that he, by the help of God, and with the co-operation of the priests and of the people, would complete the work (1Ch 28:11-21). Finally, he announced, in the presence of the whole assembly, that he gave over his treasures of gold and silver to this building, and called upon the chiefs of the people and kingdom for a voluntary contribution for the same purpose; and on their freely answering this call, concluded with a solemn prayer of thanks, to which the whole assembly responded, bowing low before God and the king (29:1-20). This reverence they confirmed by numerous burnt-offerings and thank-offerings, and by the repeated anointing of Solomon to be king (1Ch 29:21 and 1Ch 29:22).
David summoned the estates of the kingdom, and presented Solomon to them as his divinely chosen successor on the throne.
Chap. 28
Verse 1
1Ch 28:1 “All the princes of Israel” is the general designation, which is then specialized. In it are included the princes of the tribes who are enumerated in 1Ch 27:16-22, and the princes of the divisions which served the king, who are enumerated in 1Ch 27:1-15; the princes of thousands and hundreds are the chiefs and captains of the twelve army corps (1Ch 27:1), who are subordinate to the princes of the host: the princes of all the substance and possessions of the king are the managers of the domains enumerated in 1Ch 27:25-31. וּלבניו is added to למּלך, “of the king and of his sons,” because the possession of the king as a property belonging to the house (domanium) belonged also to his sons. The Vulg. incorrectly translates לבניו filiosque suos, for in this connection ל cannot be nota accus. הסּריסים עם, with (together with) the court officials. סריסים are not eunuchs, but royal chamberlains, as in 1Sa 8:15; see on Gen 37:36. הגּבּורים has been well translated by the lxx τοὺς δυνάστας, for here the word does not denote properly or merely war heroes, but powerful influential men in general, who did not occupy any special public or court office. In חיל וּלכל־גּבּור all the others who were present in the assembly are comprehended.
Verse 2
The king rose to his feet, in order to speak to the assembly standing; till then he had, on account of his age and feebleness, sat, not lain in bed, as Kimchi and others infer from 1 Kings 1.
Verses 3-7
The address, “My brethren and
