King Solomon resolves to construct a magnificent temple for the LORD and a house for his kingdom. He enlists a vast workforce and sends a request to King Huram of Tyre for skilled laborers and timber, offering provisions in return. Huram agrees, praising the LORD and sending a master craftsman, while Solomon organizes the foreign residents for the building project.
Then Solomon sent word to Hiram king of Tyre: “Do for me as you did for my father David when you sent him cedars to build himself a house to live in.
Behold, I am about to build a house for the Name of the LORD my God to dedicate to Him for burning fragrant incense before Him, for displaying the showbread continuously, and for making burnt offerings every morning and evening as well as on the Sabbaths, New Moons, and appointed feasts of the LORD our God. This is ordained for Israel forever.
But who is able to build a house for Him, since the heavens, even the highest heavens, cannot contain Him? Who then am I, that I should build a house for Him, except as a place to burn sacrifices before Him?
Send me, therefore, a craftsman skilled in engraving to work with gold and silver, with bronze and iron, and with purple, crimson, and blue yarn. He will work with my craftsmen in Judah and Jerusalem, whom my father David provided.
Send me also cedar, cypress, and algum logs from Lebanon, for I know that your servants have skill to cut timber there. And indeed, my servants will work with yours
And Hiram added: “Blessed be the LORD, the God of Israel, who made the heavens and the earth! He has given King David a wise son with insight and understanding, who will build a temple for the LORD and a royal palace for himself.
He is the son of a woman from the daughters of Dan, and his father is a man of Tyre. He is skilled in work with gold and silver, bronze and iron, stone and wood, purple, blue, and crimson yarn, and fine linen. He is experienced in every kind of engraving and can execute any design that is given him. He will work with your craftsmen and with those of my lord, your father David.
We will cut logs from Lebanon, as many as you need, and we will float them to you as rafts by sea down to Joppa. Then you can take them up to Jerusalem.”
Solomon numbered all the foreign men in the land of Israel following the census his father David had conducted, and there were found to be 153,600 in all.
Solomon made 70,000 of them porters, 80,000 stonecutters in the mountains, and 3,600 supervisors.
Study Notes for 2 Chronicles 2
Verse 1
Solomon commits to the construction project, emphasizing the dual nature of his building program: a house for the LORD (the Temple) and a house for his own administration (the Palace).
Verse 2
This verse details the massive workforce mobilized, totaling 153,600 laborers and overseers, demonstrating the immense scale and organizational effort required for the Temple project.
Verse 3
Solomon initiates diplomatic relations with Huram (Hiram in 1 Kings), king of Phoenicia. This alliance was crucial for securing the high-quality Lebanese cedar wood and skilled artisans needed for construction.
Verse 4
Solomon defines the Temple’s purpose as perpetual worship—a place to offer incense, maintain the shewbread, and conduct daily and festival burnt offerings according to Mosaic law.
Verse 6
This is a key theological statement (the 'Solomonic paradox'), recognizing God’s absolute transcendence. The Temple is not a dwelling place for God, but a designated location for humanity to worship Him.
Verse 7
Solomon requests specific skilled laborers knowledgeable in metallurgy and dyeing. The specified colors (purple, crimson, and blue) were expensive Phoenician dyes used for sacred textiles, including the veil and priestly garments.
Verse 10
The massive payment of staple goods (wheat, barley, wine, and oil) highlights the economic exchange necessary for accessing Lebanon’s timber and Phoenician expertise, as Israel lacked these resources.
Verse 11
Huram’s response is highly diplomatic and theological, acknowledging that Solomon’s reign and wisdom are gifts from Yahweh, the God of Israel, given out of love for His people.
Verse 12
Huram, a Gentile king, praises Yahweh, the Creator God. The Chronicler includes this detail to emphasize the universal recognition of God’s sovereignty and Solomon’s divinely granted wisdom.
Verse 14
The master craftsman (Huram-abi) had mixed heritage (Tyrian father, Israelite mother from Dan), symbolizing the necessary fusion of Phoenician technical skill and Israelite religious purpose in the Temple design.
Verse 16
Timber was prepared in Lebanon and transported by sea to Joppa (modern Jaffa), the closest port to Jerusalem. From Joppa, the wood had to be hauled overland up to the central mountain ridge.
Verse 17
Solomon re-counts the resident aliens ('strangers') in the land. This massive non-Israelite population formed the core of the forced labor (corvée) utilized for the most strenuous tasks, continuing David's earlier census.
Verse 18
This verse confirms the distribution of the 153,600 workers, matching the numbers given in verse 2, emphasizing the thoroughness of the administration.
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