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.
Solomon counted out seventy thousand men to bear burdens, and eighty thousand men who were stone cutters in the mountains, and three thousand and six hundred to oversee them.
Solomon sent to Huram the king of Tyre, saying, “As you dealt with David my father, and sent him cedars to build him a house in which to dwell, so deal with me.
Behold, I am about to build a house for the name of the LORD my God, to dedicate it to him, and to burn before him incense of sweet spices, and for the continual show bread, and for the burnt offerings morning and evening, on the Sabbaths, and on the new moons, and on the set feasts of the LORD our God. This is an ordinance forever to Israel.
But who is able to build him a house, since heaven and the heaven of heavens can’t contain him? who am I then, that I should build him a house, except just to burn incense before him?
“Now therefore send me a man skillful to work in gold, and in silver, and in brass, and in iron, and in purple, and crimson, and blue, and who knows how to engrave engravings, to be with the skillful men who are with me in Judah and in Jerusalem, whom David my father provided.
“Send me also cedar trees, fir trees, and algum trees, out of Lebanon; for I know that your servants know how to cut timber in Lebanon: and behold, my servants shall be with your servants,
Behold, I will give to your servants, the cutters who cut timber, twenty thousand measures of beaten wheat, and twenty thousand measures of barley, and twenty thousand baths of wine, and twenty thousand baths of oil.”
Huram continued, “Blessed be the LORD, the God of Israel, that made heaven and earth, who has given to David the king a wise son, endowed with discretion and understanding, that should build a house for the LORD, and a house for his kingdom.
the son of a woman of the daughters of Dan; and his father was a man of Tyre, skillful to work in gold, and in silver, in brass, in iron, in stone, and in timber, in purple, in blue, and in fine linen, and in crimson, also to engrave any kind of engraving, and to devise any device; that there may be a place appointed to him with your skillful men, and with the skillful men of my lord David your father.
and we will cut wood out of Lebanon, as much as you shall need; and we will bring it to you in floats by sea to Joppa; and you shall carry it up to Jerusalem.”
Solomon numbered all the foreigners who were in Eretz-Israel, after the numbering with which David his father had numbered them; and they were found one hundred fifty-three thousand six hundred.
He set seventy thousand of them to bear burdens, and eighty thousand who were stone cutters in the mountains, and three thousand six hundred overseers to set the people at work.
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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