1 Chronicles 22:2
in 1 Chronicles 22So David gave orders to gather the foreigners in the land of Israel, from whom he appointed stonecutters to prepare finished stones for building the house of God.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And David commanded to gather together the sojourners that were in the land of Israel; and he set masons to hew wrought stones to build the house of God.
KJV
And David commanded to gather together the strangers that were in the land of Israel; and he set masons to hew wrought stones to build the house of God.
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This verse in 1 Chronicles 22
Commentary
6 notes on this verseThe strangers that were in the land - Those who had become proselytes to the Jewish religion, at least so far as to renounce idolatry, and keep what were called the seven Noahic precepts. These were to be employed in the more servile and difficult parts of the work: see on 1Ki 9:21 (note). For the account of building the temple, see 1 Kings 5-9 (note), and the notes there.
This site's exposition
gather together the strangers
on 1 Chronicles 22:2-4
David gathers the foreigners in the land to hew stone and sets iron, brass and cedar in abundance before he ever hands Solomon a charge. Kings has no equivalent scene; there the temple's materials appear only after Solomon writes to Hiram in 1 Ki 5. The strangers here are the Canaanite remnant and captives Chronicles elsewhere calls bond servants, the same labor force 2 Chr 2:17-18 will number under Solomon.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
7 And David said to Solomon, My son, as for me, it was in my mind to build a house unto the name of the L ORD my God: 8 But the word of the L ORD came to me, saying, Thou hast shed blood abundantly, and hast made great wars: thou shalt not build a house unto my name, because thou hast shed much blood upon the earth in my sight.
quarantine:scripture (2026-07-29) — scripture-overlap:94%@v7-9
And David commanded to gather together the strangers that were in the land of Israel,....
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
David commanded to gather together the strangers--partly the descendants of the old Canaanites (2Ch 8:7-10), from whom was exacted a tribute of bond service, and partly war captives (2Ch 2:7), reserved for the great work he contemplated.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
The strangers - i. e., the aliens the non-Israelite population of the land. Compare 2Ch 2:17.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
to gather the strangers who had converted, because he did not wish to make Israelites perform rigorous labor. And so we find with Solomon below (II Chron.:1): “And Solomon counted, etc.”; (ibid. verse 17): “And he made of them seventy thousand who bear burdens.
2 more on this passage, in their own words ▾
And David said, etc. from now on, anyone seeking the Lord to offer a sacrifice to Him shall go forth and sacrifice on that altar.
for the nails, for the doors of the gates in German, negel, nails.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 4 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
16 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיֹּ֣אמֶר | vaiyomer | and he said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| דָּוִ֔יד | david | David | H1732 → | 999 times |
| לִכְנוֹס֙ | likhnos | to gather | H3664 → | |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| הַגֵּרִ֔ים | hagerim | the sojourners | H1616 → | |
| אֲשֶׁ֖ר | ʾasher | who | H834 → | 5497 times |
| בְּאֶ֣רֶץ | beeretz | [were] in [the] land of | H776 → | 2504 times |
| יִשְׂרָאֵ֑ל | yisrael | Israel | H3478 → | 2507 times |
| וַיַּעֲמֵ֣ד | vaiyaamed | and he appointed | H5975 → | 521 times |
| חֹֽצְבִ֗ים | chotzevim | stone cutters | H2672 → | 25 times |
| לַחְצוֹב֙ | lachtzov | to cut | H2672 → | 25 times |
| אַבְנֵ֣י | ʾavnei | stones of | H68 → | 273 times |
| גָזִ֔ית | gazit | hewn [stone] | H1496 → | |
| לִבְנ֖וֹת | livnot | to build | H1129 → | 376 times |
| בֵּ֥ית | beit | [the] house of | H1004 → | 2046 times |
| הָאֱלֹהִֽים׃ | haelohim | <the> God | H430 → | 2601 times |
וַיֹּ֣אמֶרand he said
vaiyomerH559 →5305 times
דָּוִ֔ידDavid
davidH1732 →999 times
לִכְנוֹס֙to gather
likhnosH3664 →
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
הַגֵּרִ֔יםthe sojourners
hagerimH1616 →
אֲשֶׁ֖רwho
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
בְּאֶ֣רֶץ[were] in [the] land of
beeretzH776 →2504 times
יִשְׂרָאֵ֑לIsrael
yisraelH3478 →2507 times
וַיַּעֲמֵ֣דand he appointed
vaiyaamedH5975 →521 times
חֹֽצְבִ֗יםstone cutters
chotzevimH2672 →25 times
לַחְצוֹב֙to cut
lachtzovH2672 →25 times
אַבְנֵ֣יstones of
ʾavneiH68 →273 times
גָזִ֔יתhewn [stone]
gazitH1496 →
לִבְנ֖וֹתto build
livnotH1129 →376 times
בֵּ֥ית[the] house of
beitH1004 →2046 times
הָאֱלֹהִֽים׃<the> God
haelohimH430 →2601 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
2 Samuel 5:11Now Hiram king of Tyre sent envoys to David, along with cedar logs, carpenters, and stonemasons, and they built a palace for David.
it leads to
- 1 Chronicles 14:1
Now Hiram king of Tyre sent envoys to David, along with cedar logs, stonemasons, and carpenters, to build a palace for him.
- 1 Kings 5:1–2
Now when Hiram king of Tyre heard that Solomon had been anointed king in his father’s place, he sent envoys to Solomon; for Hiram had always been a friend of David.
- 1 Kings 5:18
So Solomon’s and Hiram’s builders, along with the Gebalites, quarried the stone and prepared the timber and stone for the construction of the temple.
- 1 Kings 7:1–12
Solomon, however, took thirteen years to complete the construction of his entire palace.
- Jeremiah 22:14–16
who says, ‘I will build myself a great palace, with spacious upper rooms.’ So he cuts windows in it, panels it with cedar, and paints it with vermilion.
- 1 Chronicles 14:1
Through
2 Chronicles 2:17Solomon 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.
it leads to
- 1 Kings 5:13–16
Then King Solomon conscripted a labor force of 30,000 men from all Israel.
- 2 Chronicles 2:2
So he conscripted 70,000 porters, 80,000 stonecutters in the mountains, and 3,600 supervisors.
- 1 Kings 9:20–21
As for all the people who remained of the Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites (the people who were not Israelites)—
- 1 Kings 5:13–16
About 1 Chronicles
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Jamieson Fausset and Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.