1 Chronicleschapter 29
30 verses · Ezra, by tradition · 450 to 400 BC · History
Yours, O LORD, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the splendor and the majesty, for everything in heaven and on earth belongs to You. Yours, O LORD, is the kingdom, and You are exalted as head over all.
Introduction
Ezra, by tradition, History, 1 Chronicles Overview.
This chapter was written for a congregation bringing offerings to a house far poorer than the one it describes. It closes the account of David's life with an offering, a prayer, a coronation and a death. The king gives from his own treasure first and then invites the leaders to do the same. The first hearers counted their own gifts in Persian coins, and one word in the list of gifts shows it. Listen to the prayer, which is among the best known in the Old Testament and is still said at offerings. Then notice how the book ends.
Context
- Who
- A congregation bringing offerings to a far poorer house
- What
- A narrative of the freewill offering for the temple, David's prayer of praise, the second anointing of Solomon and the close of David's reign.
- Where
- The assembly in Jerusalem, with the treasure for the temple laid out before the people.
- When
- The last year of David's reign, about 970 BC, with the reign summed up at forty years.
- Why
- To teach that every gift to God comes first from His hand, and to show the kingdom passing to Solomon in good order.
Historical context
The chapter is David's last, and it closes a reign the text itself sums up as forty years, seven in Hebron and thirty-three in Jerusalem.
Show the rest of the historical context, 5 more paragraphs
The place is the assembly in Jerusalem, with the gathered materials laid out in front of the people.
The occasion is a freewill offering. David gives from his own treasure first and then asks who will volunteer to consecrate himself to the LORD that day. The leaders of the households, the officers of the tribes and the commanders answer. The writer lists what came in, gold, silver, bronze, iron and precious stones, handed to Jehiel the Gershonite who kept the treasury.
One unit in that list is a window into the writer's own day, and a first hearer would have read it without pausing. Beside the ancient talents the text names darics, a Persian gold coin struck centuries after David. The old weights meant little to a farmer in Persian Judah, so the amounts appear in the money in his own pocket. An old sum is quoted in the currency a reader actually handles.
The gold of Ophir at verse 4 names a real source. Ophir was a trading destination reached by sea from the Gulf of Aqaba, most likely on the Arabian or East African coast. A shipping label found at an Israelite site records a consignment of gold of Ophir, so the phrase worked as a grade.
Solomon is then designated a second time and anointed before the LORD as ruler, with Zadok anointed as priest. The first anointing, and the palace crisis that forced it, belongs to the account in Kings. Here the writer shows the public and orderly ceremony in which all Israel obeyed and the officials and David's own sons pledged their allegiance.
Significance
David's prayer is the theology of every offering the first hearers ever brought, that everything comes from God and that from His own hand they had given to Him. Their gifts were small and the sentence still fitted exactly.
Show the rest of the significance, 1 more paragraph
The next line fitted as well, that they were foreigners and strangers in His presence, as all their forefathers had been, and that their days on earth were like a shadow. A people who had been literal strangers in Babylon heard the greatest king in their history describe himself the same way.
This chapter in Jewish lifeWhat this chapter is in Jewish life and reading.
What is done
1 Chronicles carries no weekly portion and no Haftarah, and no part of it is read in the synagogue service on any Sabbath of the year. In the Hebrew Bible Chronicles stands among the Writings, and the Haftarah is drawn from the Prophets, so the yearly cycle passes this book over entirely. This site's own table of synagogue readings records the same absence. It holds no portion, no Haftarah use and no festival reading for any of the twenty-nine chapters of the book. The Hebrew order gives this chapter a weight the English order hides. In the Leningrad Codex Chronicles stands last among the Writings, so the book that ends here is the book that closes the Hebrew canon. The Aleppo Codex sets Chronicles first among the Writings instead. The division into 1 and 2 Chronicles comes from the Greek rather than the Hebrew, so in a Hebrew Bible this chapter is the middle of one book and not the end of one.
What the chapter records of practice is the giving itself, and Rashi reads it against the one earlier occasion of the same kind. The call for a freewill offering at the fifth verse he sets beside the giving for the tabernacle in Exodus. There the people brought brooches and nose rings as their hearts moved them (Rashi on I Chronicles 29:5:1). The materials of the second verse he matches to the onyx stones and setting stones of the tabernacle's own list (Rashi on I Chronicles 29:2:1). At the eighth he says where the gifts went, to the treasury of the house of the LORD under Jehiel, the man the earlier chapter set over the treasuries (Rashi on I Chronicles 29:8:1). At the twenty-first he explains why the sacrifices were offered the next day. The assembly had no time left, and spent what remained of the day buying the animals (Rashi on I Chronicles 29:21:1).
How it is read
The corpus carries twenty-four kept notes of Rashi for this chapter in The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg, under CC-BY, more than for any other chapter of 16 to 29, and it carries no commentator on this chapter who has to be cited without text.
The whole heart runs through the chapter, and Rashi treats it as its subject. At the ninth verse he explains what wholehearted giving means by describing its opposite. A man who gives against his will or out of shame before others gives with two hearts. These gave with the desire of their soul (Rashi on I Chronicles 29:9:1). At the seventeenth he reads the testing of the heart the same way, that God tests who has two hearts, one for good and one for evil (Rashi on I Chronicles 29:17:1). At the nineteenth he takes David's prayer for a perfect heart for Solomon as a prayer for the very thing Solomon later asks for himself in Kings (Rashi on I Chronicles 29:19:1). At the eighteenth he reads the request that God keep this for ever as a request that the donation be remembered as a righteous act (Rashi on I Chronicles 29:18:1).
David's blessing is read as thanksgiving for the means rather than for the building. Rashi says that David praises God for having given him the strength to amass so great a fortune for the temple. He connects the greatness of the prayer to the greatness the earlier oracle spoke of, and to the house that was to be magnified on high (Rashi on I Chronicles 29:11:1). At the twelfth he shows that honour in this verse means wealth, from the wording of Nahum and of Jacob's sons about Laban. He reads the whole line as saying that everything David gathered came from God's hand (Rashi on I Chronicles 29:12:1). At the thirteenth and fourteenth he keeps the same argument going. The thanks are for what God imparted, and the strength to give was itself a gift (Rashi on I Chronicles 29:13:1 and 29:14:1). At the fifteenth he reads the confession that the people are strangers through the law of the land in Leviticus. There Israel holds the land as strangers and sojourners with God (Rashi on I Chronicles 29:15:1). Shorter notes gloss the opening claim that Solomon is young and the work great (Rashi on I Chronicles 29:1:1), and the force of David's own desire for the house (Rashi on I Chronicles 29:3:1). Others gloss the refined gold (Rashi on I Chronicles 29:4:1), the Old French word for the darics (Rashi on I Chronicles 29:7:1), and the leaders who gave (Rashi on I Chronicles 29:6:1). One glosses the wording of the sixteenth verse (Rashi on I Chronicles 29:16:1). Two refer the assembly addressed at the tenth and twentieth back to the gathering called at the start of the chapter before (Rashi on I Chronicles 29:10:1 and 29:20:1).
Two notes near the end are about how the text is arranged rather than what it says. At the twenty-second Rashi explains why the peace offerings and the burnt offerings are reported at a distance from each other. The writer avoided interrupting between them with other matters, and held the notice back to the end of the sentence (Rashi on I Chronicles 29:22:1). At the twenty-fourth he reads the submission of the leaders and the mighty men against the earlier attempt on the throne. David's mighty men had refused to go with Adonijah (Rashi on I Chronicles 29:24:1).
The longest note in the chapter is on Solomon sitting on the throne of the LORD. Rashi first gives the plain sense, that the throne is God's to seat on it whom he chooses. Then he brings the Midrash from Pesikta deRav Kahana, which counts fifteen generations from Abraham to Solomon. It compares the throne to the moon at the middle of the month, full at Solomon and waning through the kings after him until the last king of Judah was blinded. Rashi names all fifteen generations in order (Rashi on I Chronicles 29:23:1). A Christian reader should notice how the reading works. A number in a genealogy is turned into a figure for the rise and fall of a dynasty, and the figure is drawn from the calendar the festivals are kept by.
What the rabbis say
The corpus carries forty rabbinic locators for this chapter and the text of none, so each is cited and linked here rather than quoted. They are spread more evenly than in any other chapter of this lane, with no verse carrying more than three.
The prayer draws the largest share. On the tenth verse, where David blesses the LORD the God of Israel our father, the corpus carries Bereshit Rabbah 70:2, Midrash Lekach Tov, Genesis 28:20:2, and Midrash Shmuel 2:2. On the eleventh, the greatness and the power and the glory, it carries Bamidbar Rabbah 1:9, Bava Batra 91b:2, and Berakhot 58a:14. On the twelfth, riches and honour coming from God, it carries Mekhilta DeRabbi Shimon Ben Yochai 15:11, Mekhilta DeRabbi Yishmael, Tractate Shirah 8:13, and Midrash Sekhel Tov, Shemot 15:21:6. On the fourteenth, the question who am I and who are my people, it carries Bereshit Rabbati, Parashat Toldot 10, Midrash Aggadah on Exodus 35:5:1, and Midrash Lekach Tov on Exodus 35:5:1. On the fifteenth, the days on the earth like a shadow, it carries Aggadat Bereshit 58:4, Bereshit Rabbah 96:2, and Mekhilta DeRabbi Yishmael, Tractate Nezikin 18:7.
The giving and the gold carry three each. On the fourth verse, the gold of Ophir and the refined silver, the corpus carries Bamidbar Rabbah 12:4, Jerusalem Talmud Yoma 4:4:8, and Shemot Rabbah 35:1. On the ninth, the people rejoicing because they had offered willingly, it carries Shemot Rabbah 19:1 and Yalkut Shimoni on Torah 122:1 and 740:1. Jerusalem Talmud Berakhot 1:5:13 is carried across the first nine verses together.
The prayer for Solomon and the enthronement carry the rest. On the nineteenth verse the corpus carries Ein Yaakov, Yoma 1:2, Jerusalem Talmud Pesachim 7:8:4, and Pesikta Rabbati 14:1. On the eighteenth it carries Aggadat Bereshit 80:2 and Ruth Rabbah (Lerner) 2:2:1, with Devarim Rabbah 7:10 across the eighteenth and nineteenth together. On the twenty-first, the sacrifices of the next day, it carries Jerusalem Talmud Beitzah 2:4:4 and Jerusalem Talmud Chagigah 2:3:4. On the twenty-second, the second anointing of Solomon and of Zadok, it carries Ein Yaakov, Sanhedrin 2:10 and Sanhedrin 21a:1. On the twenty-third, the throne of the LORD, it carries Aggadat Bereshit 50:3 and Bamidbar Rabbah 13:14. On the twenty-fifth, the royal majesty given to Solomon, it carries Aggadat Bereshit 64:2 and Midrash Tehillim 104:4. On the twenty-eighth, David dying in a good old age full of days and riches and honour, it carries Avot DeRabbi Natan, Recension B 43:27 and Bereshit Rabbah 44:20. Two single locators remain, Esther Rabbah 2:7 on the second verse and Midrash Tanchuma, Yitro 10:2 on the twentieth. What each of them teaches is a saying of the rabbis, and is reported as theirs wherever this site quotes one. The quotations wait on a fetch that carries the text.
Sources: Rashi, Rashi on I Chronicles 29:1:1 to 29:24:1, twenty-four kept notes in The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg, CC-BY; The Sefaria corpus, scripts/data/sources/sefaria/1-chronicles/29.json, the 40 Talmud and Midrash locators of this chapter; The dossier's manuscripts section, src/components/book/dossier-content/1-chronicles.ts, the Masoretic Text entry on the place of Chronicles in the Hebrew order and on the Greek origin of the division into two books; This site's table of synagogue readings, src/lib/hebraic/readings.ts, which records no portion, no Haftarah use and no festival reading for 1 Chronicles.
The heads below are this chapter's scenes. The numbered points under each are its verses.
The people offer willingly, and rejoice to see it
1 Chronicles 29:1-2
is young and inexperienced: David tells the assembly what he had told Solomon alone at 22:5, that Solomon “is young and inexperienced” and “The task is great”. The burden is now spoken before the nation. This palace is “not for man, but for the LORD God”, the claim chapters 22 through 28 have built.
1 Chronicles 29:1
“The palace - The original word here used is the Hebrew form of a Persian word, and generally designates the residence of the Persian monarch Est 1:2, Est 1:5; Est 2:3, Est 2:8; Neh 1:1; Dan 8:2. It is only here and in 1Ch 29:19 that it is applied to the temple.”
made provision for the house: David lists what he had gathered: gold, silver, bronze, iron, wood, onyx, turquoise, precious stones and slabs of marble. Adam Clarke notes that the Vulgate renders the marble as Parian marble, the whitest, from the island of Paros. He cites Josephus for a temple of white marble blocks.
1 Chronicles 29:2
“And marble stones - אבני שיש abney shayish, which the Vulgate translates marmor Parium, Parian marble. Paros was one of the Cyclade islands, and produced the whitest and finest marble, that of which most of the finest works of antiquity have been made. That the word shaish means marble is probable from the Chaldee, which has אבני מרמורייה abney marmoraiyah, marble stones. Josephus says that the temple was built of large blocks of white marble, beautifully polished, so as to produce a most splendid appearance. - Jos., De Bell. Jud., lib. v., c. 5, s. 2.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
1 Chronicles 29:3-5
my personal treasures of gold and silver: Beyond the provision already listed, David gives his “personal treasures of gold and silver”. He gives them, he says, “because of my delight in the house of my God”. The question follows, “who will volunteer to consecrate himself to the LORD today”, and that appeal opens the freewill offering.
1 Chronicles 29:3
“Of mine own proper good - i. e., from his own private estate. He makes the offering publicly in order to provoke others by his example 1Ch 29:5.”
three thousand talents of gold: David gave 3,000 talents of Ophir gold and 7,000 talents of refined silver for the walls. Albert Barnes accepts the silver as likely. He suspects a copyist's error in the gold, which he valued at over thirty million pounds of his day.
1 Chronicles 29:4
The numbers here have also suffered to some extent from the carelessness of copyists (compare the 1Ch 22:14 note). The amount of silver is not indeed improbable, since its value would not exceed three millions of our money; but as the gold would probably exceed in value thirty millions, we may suspect an error in the words “three thousand.”
Now who will volunteer to consecrate: The gold and silver were for the work of the craftsmen. David then calls for volunteers to consecrate themselves to the LORD that day. Albert Barnes gives the Hebrew as to fill his hand, meaning to come to the LORD with full hands.
1 Chronicles 29:5
“To consecrate his service - literally, as in the margin, “to fill his hand,” i. e., “to come with full hands to Yahweh.” The words contain an appeal to the assembly for voluntary offerings.”
1 Chronicles 29:6-9
the leaders of the households: , the officers of the tribes, the commanders and the officials over the king's work answer first. Verse 9 names the measure Chronicles applies to every offering, that they gave “freely and wholeheartedly”. The people's rejoicing and David's own great joy answer each other.
1 Chronicles 29:6
“Then the chief of the fathers and princes of the tribes of Israel,.... The princes of the twelve tribes: and the captains of thousands, and of hundreds, with the rulers over the king's work; who were now assembled, 1Ch 28:1. offered willingly; and cheerfully; needed no more arguments to press them to it, but at once readily communicated.”
Toward the service of God’s house: The gold of the leaders came to 5,000 talents and 10,000 darics. Albert Barnes calls the daric a Persian gold coin, a term from the writer's own day. Jamieson, Fausset and Brown note that the 100,000 talents of iron fit a metal Scripture treats as cheap and common.
1 Chronicles 29:7
“It is estimated as equal in value to 25s. of British currency. of brass eighteen thousand talents, and one hundred thousand talents of iron--In Scripture, iron is always referred to as an article of comparatively low value, and of greater abundance and cheaper than bronze [NAPIER].”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
1 more voice on this verse
1 Chronicles 29:7
“The word here translated “dram” is regarded by most critics as the Hebrew equivalent of the Persian “daric,” or ordinary gold coin, worth about 22 shillings of British money (circa 1880’s). Not, however, that the Jews possessed darics in David’s time: the writer wished to express, in language that would be intelligible to his readers, the value of the gold subscribed, and therefore he translated the terms employed in his documents, whatever they were, into terms that were in use in his own day.”
Whoever had precious stones gave them: Jehiel the Gershonite received the precious stones. John Gill links these stones to those listed in verse 2 and notes that Jehiel and his sons kept that treasury. Albert Barnes compares Exodus 35:27 and finds the same spirit as at the setting up of the tabernacle.
1 Chronicles 29:8
“And they with whom precious stones were found,.... Such as are mentioned 1Ch 29:2. gave them to the treasure of the house of the Lord; to be laid up there: by the hand of Jehiel the Gershonite; who, and his sons, had the care of that treasury, 1Ch 27:21.”
the people rejoiced at the willing: gifts of their leaders, given to the LORD freely and with a whole heart. King David rejoiced greatly as well. Matthew Henry counts the power to give willingly as a work of God's grace, the theme of David's prayer in verses 13 and 14.
1 Chronicles 29:9
“The people rejoiced for that they offered willingly - i. e., the munificence of the princes and officers 1Ch 29:6 caused general joy among the people.”
All things come of Thee: David blesses the LORD aloud
1 Chronicles 29:10-13
David blesses the LORD, and the doxology opens, “Yours, O LORD, is the greatness and the power and the glory”. Adam Clarke notes the Targum widens it into a recital of the Exodus and Sinai. Verse 12 turns to thanks, since “Both riches and honor come from You”.
1 Chronicles 29:10
“Wherefore David blessed the Lord--This beautiful thanksgiving prayer was the effusion overflowing with gratitude and delight at seeing the warm and widespread interest that was now taken in forwarding the favorite project of his life.”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
Yours, O LORD, is the greatness: David ascribes greatness, power, glory, splendor and majesty to the LORD, with the kingdom and headship over all. Matthew Henry hears the close of the Lord's Prayer here. Adam Clarke cites the Targum, which expands the verse into a recital of creation, the Exodus, the Red Sea and Sinai.
1 Chronicles 29:11
“The nearer we come to the world of everlasting praise the more we should speak the language and do the work of that world. He adores God, and ascribes glory to him as the God of Israel, blessed for ever and ever. Our Lord's prayer ends with a doxology much like this which David here begins with-- for thine is the kingdom, the power, and the glory.”
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
1 more voice on this verse
1 Chronicles 29:11
“Thine, O Lord, is the greatness - This verse is thus paraphrased by the Targum: “Thine, O Lord, is the magnificence; for thou hast created the world by thy great power, and by thy might hast led our fathers out of Egypt, and with great signs hast caused them to pass through the Red Sea. Thou hast appeared gloriously on Mount Sinai, with troops of angels, in giving law to thy people. Thou hast gained the victory over Amalek; over Sihon and Og, kings of Canaan.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
Both riches and honor come: David names the LORD as the source of riches and honor and the ruler over all. Power and might rest in His hands. Matthew Henry, on the verse before, says all the power of every creature is drawn from God and depends on Him.
praise Your glorious name: David now gives thanks and praises God's glorious name. Matthew Henry reads the next verse as teaching that the power to give willingly is itself the gift of God. He adds that all the glory of any good done belongs to God.
1 Chronicles 29:14-15
But who am I: David's question turns the offering to its source, “from Your own hand we have given to You”. Verse 15 states it, “we are foreigners and strangers in Your presence, as were all our forefathers”. Adam Clarke reads the shadow as the ordinary word for something always declining and passing.
1 Chronicles 29:14
“Of thine own have we given thee - “For from thy presence all good comes, and of the blessings of thy hands have we given thee.” - Targum.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
we are foreigners and strangers: David calls his people foreigners and strangers before God, as all their forefathers were. Adam Clarke reads the sojourner as one lodging for a night in the house of another. He takes the shadow as days ever declining and passing away.
1 Chronicles 29:15
“For we are strangers - We have here neither right nor property. And sojourners - Lodging as it were for a night, in the mansion of another. As were all our fathers - These were, as we are supported by thy bounty, and tenants at will to thee. Our days on the earth are as a shadow - They are continually declining, fading, and passing away. This is the place of our sojourning, and here we have no substantial, permanent residence.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
1 Chronicles 29:16-19
all this abundance that we have provided: David says that the abundance gathered for the temple is “from Your hand”, as verse 14 confessed. Verse 17 names the ground of giving, “You test the heart and delight in uprightness”. The prayer closes by asking for Solomon “a whole heart”, what verse 9 found in the people.
1 Chronicles 29:16
"We have it from thee as a free gift, and therefore are bound to use it for thee; and what we present to thee is but rent or interest from thy own." "In like manner" (says bishop Patrick) "we ought to acknowledge God in all spiritual things, referring every good thought, good purpose, good work, to his grace, from whom we receive it." Let him that glories therefore glory in the Lord.
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
1 more voice on this verse
1 Chronicles 29:16
“Omitting the brass and iron, and precious stones, which, though specified partly (1Ch 29:7), are represented in other portions as "without weight" (1Ch 22:3, 14), we shall give in this table only the amount of gold and silver; and taking the talent of gold as worth £5475 (the talent being 125 pounds in weight), the value of the gold will be about 73s. per ounce.”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
You test the heart: David says God tests the heart and delights in uprightness. He claims an upright heart for his own gifts, and he has seen the people give with joy. Matthew Henry reads the prayer as asking that the grace which kept the fathers upright would keep this people too.
1 Chronicles 29:17
“In this prayer he addresses God as the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, a God in covenant with them and with us for their sakes. Lord, give us grace to make good our part of the covenant, that we may not forfeit the benefit of it. Or thus: they were kept in their integrity by the grace of God establishing their way; let the same grace that was sufficient for them be so for us.”
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
God of our fathers Abraham: David calls on the LORD, God of the fathers Abraham, Isaac and Israel, to keep this desire in the hearts of His people forever. Adam Clarke reads the prayer as asking God to sustain the good will He had first given. Matthew Henry sees God in covenant with these fathers.
1 Chronicles 29:18
“Keep this for ever - All the good dispositions which myself and my people have, came from thee; continue to support and strengthen them by the same grace by which they have been inspired!”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
Solomon a whole heart: David asks for Solomon a whole heart for the commandments of God and for building His palace. Matthew Henry notes that the building would show Solomon's heart whole only if he also kept the commandments. The palace is the temple David had prepared for.
1 Chronicles 29:19
"Lord, give him a perfect heart, not only in general to keep thy commandments, but in particular to build the palace, that he may do that service with a single eye." Yet his building the house would not prove him to have a perfect heart unless he made conscience of keeping God's commandments.
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
Solomon anointed and magnified before all Israel
David calls the assembly to bless the LORD, and they bow and pay homage “to the LORD and to the king” in the same clause. Albert Barnes calls the pairing unusual, the only place in Scripture where one verb of worship covers both God and a human ruler.
1 Chronicles 29:20
“Worshipped the Lord, and the king - The same outward signs of reverence were accorded by the customs of the Jews (as of the Oriental nations generally) to God and to their monarchs (see 1Ki 1:31). But the application of the terms to both in the same passage, which occurs nowhere in Scripture but here, is thought to indicate a time when a long servitude under despotic lords had orientalized men’s mode of speech.”
1 Chronicles 29:21-22
a thousand bulls, a thousand rams: The sacrifices, “a thousand bulls, a thousand rams, and a thousand lambs, along with their drink offerings”, are made “for all Israel” at once. Solomon is designated king “for a second time”, which Adam Clarke ties to the hurried anointing during Adonijah's attempt in 1 Kings 1.
1 Chronicles 29:21
“With their drink offerings - i. e., with the drink-offerings appropriate to each kind of burnt-offering, and required by the Law to accompany them (see Num 15:5, Num 15:7,Num 15:10, etc.). Sacrifices - or, “thank-offerings,” as the same word is translated in 2Ch 29:31; 2Ch 33:16. Of “peace-offerings for thanksgivings” only a small part was the priest’s; the sacrificer and his friends feasted on the remainder Lev 7:15, Lev 7:29, Lev 7:34.”
ate and drank with great joy: The assembly ate and drank with great joy before the LORD. They made Solomon king for a second time, and Zadok was anointed as priest. Adam Clarke explains the first anointing as the hurried one of 1 Kings 1, done when Adonijah reached for the throne.
Solomon sat on the throne of the LORD: Solomon sits “on the throne of the LORD as king”, the sentence Chronicles has built toward since 28:5 named the throne of the LORD. After the exile, when no son of David sat on any throne, the naming kept the promise with the LORD who gave the throne.
1 Chronicles 29:23
“Then Solomon sat on the throne of the Lord,.... Who had given it to him, and established him on it, and whose vicegerent he was, and over whose people he ruled: as king instead of David; he was viceroy to him in his life time, and succeeded him at his death, when he had the full power of government: and prospered; his reign was happy and peaceable: and all Israel obeyed him; at once; whereas it was some time, even years, before all Israel obeyed David.”
2 more voices on this verse
1 Chronicles 29:23
“The throne of David is called here “the throne of the Lord,” as in 1Ch 28:5 it is called “the throne of the kingdom of the Lord,” because God had set it up and had promised to establish it.”
1 Chronicles 29:23
“The municipal laws of their kingdom were divine. Urim and prophets were the privy counsellors of their princes; therefore is their throne called the throne of the Lord. Solomon's kingdom typified the kingdom of the Messiah, and his is indeed the throne of the Lord; for the Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment to him; hence he calls him his King, Ps. ii.”
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
1 Chronicles 29:24-25
pledged their allegiance to King Solomon: The officials, the mighty men and David's own sons “pledged their allegiance to King Solomon”. The Hebrew says they gave the hand under him, the gesture of an oath. The LORD “highly exalted Solomon in the sight of all Israel”, with royal majesty beyond any king before him.
1 Chronicles 29:24
“Submitted themselves - נתנו יד תחת שלמה nathenu yad tachath Shelomoh. “They gave the hand under Solomon;” they swore fealty to him. We have already seen that putting the hand under the thigh (super sectionem circumcisionis) was the form of taking an oath. See the note on Gen 24:9.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
The LORD highly exalted Solomon: The LORD exalted Solomon before all Israel and gave him royal majesty beyond every king before him. John Gill names the two kings surpassed, Saul and even David. Matthew Henry notes that he outshone every judge and king of Israel before him in splendor.
1 Chronicles 29:25
“And the Lord magnified Solomon exceedingly before all Israel,.... By giving him such a large share of wisdom and understanding in government: and bestowed upon him such royal majesty; not only such wealth and riches, but such honour and reverence: as had not been on any king before him in Israel; not on Saul, nor even on David.”
1 more voice on this verse
1 Chronicles 29:25
“All he said and all he did commanded respect. None of all the judges or kings of Israel, his predecessors, made such a figure as he did nor lived in such splendour. Here is David's setting, that great man going off the stage.”
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
David dies full of days, riches, and honor
1 Chronicles 29:26-28
David son of Jesse was king: The summary gives David's reign as forty years, the figures of 2 Samuel 5:4-5. The account in 1 Kings 2 closes David's life with a deathbed charge. Chronicles leaves that scene out and says only that he died “at a ripe old age, full of years, riches, and honor”.
The length of David’s reign: David reigned over Israel for forty years. Seven were in Hebron and thirty-three in Jerusalem. John Gill, on the next verse, gives his age at death as seventy years, so David began to reign at thirty.
1 Chronicles 29:27
“And the time that he reigned over Israel was forty years,.... See 1Ki 2:11.”
died at a ripe old: David died old, full of years, riches and honor. John Gill gives his age at death as seventy, with Solomon reigning in full power after him. Matthew Henry notes that the man of war from his youth died in peace in his bed.
1 Chronicles 29:28
“And he died in a good old age,.... Being seventy years of age: full of days, riches, and honour; had as much of either of them as he could wish for; and having enough, he sought after, and was taken to the possession of, eternal life, durable riches, and honours, and glory, that fade not away: and Solomon his son reigned in his stead; in full power and authority.”
2 more voices on this verse
1 Chronicles 29:28
“And he died - David, at his death, had every thing that his heart could wish. 1. A good old age, having lived as long as living could be desirable, and having in the main enjoyed good health. 2. Full of days; having lived till he saw every thing that he lived for either accomplished or in a state of forwardness. 3. Full of riches; witness the immense sums left for the temple.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
1 Chronicles 29:28
“He was very old, and very rich, and very much honoured both of God and man. He had been a man of war from his youth, and, as such, had his soul continually in his hand; yet he was not cut off in the midst of his days, but was preserved through all dangers of a military life, lived to a good old age, and died in peace, died in his bed, and yet in the bed of honour.”
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
1 Chronicles 29:29-30
the Chronicles of Samuel the Seer: The book closes by naming its sources. The Chronicler cites these prophetic records, as 2 Chronicles 20:34 will cite the Chronicles of Jehu son of Hanani. Matthew Henry notes that these registers were still in being when Chronicles was written and are now lost.
1 Chronicles 29:29
“The book - In the chronicles of the kingdom, which were written by Nathan and Gad, who were not only prophets, but historiographers out of which either they or some other prophets took by the direction of God's spirit such passages, as were most important and useful for the church in succeeding ages.”
John Wesley · Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament (1765)evangelical
1 more voice on this verse
1 Chronicles 29:29
“These registers were then in being, but are now lost. Note, Good use may be made of those histories of the church which are authentic though not sacred or of divine inspiration.”
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
all the details of his reign: The records of the prophets covered the whole reign of David, his might and the events that came on Israel and the kingdoms around. John Gill names those kingdoms as Moab, Ammon, Syria and Philistia. Matthew Henry notes that these registers have since been lost.
1 Chronicles 29:30
“With all his reign and his might,.... The whole of it, and the mighty valiant acts done by him, the battles he fought, and the victories he obtained: and the times that went over him, and over Israel, and all the kingdoms of the countries; things that were done in his time in Israel, and in the nations round about subdued by him, as Moab, Ammon, Syria, and Philistia.”
How this psalm is built
The form: Narrative with a public prayer, the freewill offering, David's doxology and the second anointing of Solomon, as Henry classes it.
The patterns in this chapter
| Device | What it does | Where to see it |
|---|---|---|
| Willingly, said of the king, the leaders and the people | The chapter grades the offering by one word rather than by its size. Willing or willingly stands four times, counted in the Berean text in the store. It falls at verse 5 of David's appeal, at verse 6 of the leaders, at verse 9 of the people and at verse 17 of David's own heart. The root is nadab at Strong's h5090, which the book page carries as a keynote and reads as the answer to the forced census of chapter 21.John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament, 1748 to 1763, on 1 Chronicles 29:6. | 1 Chronicles 29:5, 1 Chronicles 29:6, 1 Chronicles 29:9, 1 Chronicles 29:17 |
| Yours, O LORD | Verse 11 runs five nouns in a single line, the greatness and the power and the glory and the splendor and the majesty. It then repeats the opening claim with a sixth, Yours, O LORD, is the kingdom. The phrase Yours, O LORD stands twice in the verse, counted in the Berean text in the store, so the doxology says the same thing at both ends of the line.Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible, 1832, on 1 Chronicles 29:11. | 1 Chronicles 29:11 |
| From Your own hand we have given to You | Verse 14 says that everything comes from God and that the gift was made out of His own hand. Verse 16 says it again of the store gathered for the house, that it comes from His hand and all of it belongs to Him. The prayer's central claim is made, then the reasons are given, then the claim is made once more.Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible, 1710, on 1 Chronicles 29:14. | 1 Chronicles 29:14, 1 Chronicles 29:16 |
| A whole heart, asked for and already found | Verse 9 records that the people gave to the LORD freely and wholeheartedly. Verse 17 records that David gave with an upright heart and saw the people do the same. Verse 19 then asks God to give Solomon a whole heart to keep His commandments. The son is asked for exactly what his father has just watched the nation give.John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament, 1748 to 1763, on 1 Chronicles 29:19. | 1 Chronicles 29:9, 1 Chronicles 29:17, 1 Chronicles 29:19 |
The historical value
12 more paragraphs on the patterns
The regnal summary at verses 26 to 28 gives forty years, seven in Hebron and thirty-three in Jerusalem, the same figures 2 Samuel 5:4 and 5:5 already record. The two books agree on the length of the reign.
Verses 29 and 30 name three records the Chronicler cites, the Chronicles of Samuel the Seer, of Nathan the Prophet and of Gad the Seer. Matthew Henry notes that these registers were still in being when Chronicles was written and are lost to every later reader. The same practice returns at 2 Chronicles 20:34 with the book of Jehu son of Hanani.
Verse 22 records a second anointing for Solomon. Adam Clarke ties the phrase back to the hurried and contested anointing during Adonijah's attempt at 1 Kings 1, which is here replaced by an anointing made in the open before the assembled nation. Zadok is anointed priest in the same ceremony.
The debated concept
This chapter is the clearest case of the question the book page carries about the portrait of David in Chronicles. The succession here is uncontested, the leaders and David's own sons pledge allegiance, and Adonijah's rival bid from 1 Kings 1 is left out entirely. The critical charge reads Chronicles as a retelling that suppresses the family catastrophe in order to build an uncomplicated founding hero. The response at its strongest holds that the Chronicler keeps the census and plague in full and states Saul's condemnation outright. He writes for a community without a king, which needs its founder shown as the model worshipper and preparer. The book page's flag states that the response argues a difference of emphasis and genre, and that readers who hold the critical charge weigh the omissions as more than that. The page states both and gives no verdict.
The size of the offering at verses 4 and 7 belongs to the wider question the dossier carries about the numbers in Chronicles. Three positions stand there with their holders. C. F. Keil and Franz Delitzsch read the divergences as copying damage in the Hebrew numeral notation, in Biblical Commentary on the Books of Chronicles, 1872. John Wenham reads the Hebrew eleph as a unit or a clan, in Large Numbers in the Old Testament, Tyndale Bulletin 18, 1967. A third reading takes the totals as deliberate scale in the ancient way of stating magnitude.
The divine connection
Verse 14 states the book's whole theology of giving in one question and one answer. David asks who he and his people are that they should be able to give like this, and answers that everything comes from God and that the gift was made from God's own hand. The book page names this as one of the six themes of 1 Chronicles under the heading of stewardship, reading the line as worship-giving that returns to God what was always His.
Verse 15 sets the confession in its plainest terms, that the givers are foreigners and strangers whose days on earth are like a shadow. Adam Clarke reads the shadow as the ordinary word for something continually declining and passing. The assembly that has just given gold by the thousand talents owns in the same breath that it holds nothing of its own.
Verse 23 carries the title Chronicles has been building toward since 28:5. Solomon sits on the throne of the LORD. Albert Barnes and John Gill both read the phrase as stating what kind of kingdom Israel's monarchy always was, a throne held in trust. Read after the exile, when no son of David sat on any throne, the wording keeps the promise located in the God who gave the throne.
The New Testament and the later church
The doxology of verse 11 has the same shape of words the church has prayed at the close of the Lord's Prayer since the earliest liturgies. Later generations gave the verse that use. Adam Clarke notes that the Targum's paraphrase widens the doxology into a recital of the exodus and Sinai. The confession of verse 15, that the fathers were strangers and sojourners, is the reading Hebrews 11:13 gives of the patriarchs, and the two texts state the same thing about the same people.
Keep studying
Studies7
Sources for this chapter
The summary
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory; John Wesley, Notes on the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Complete Commentary.
The form and classifications
Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible, 1832, on 1 Chronicles 29:28; Matthew Henry and The book page for 1 Chronicles, src/components/book/guides/1-chronicles/Book1ChroniclesGuide.tsx, the keystoneChapters set.
The exposition
Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill; John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament; Keil, The Books of the Chronicles and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.