2 Chronicles 2:5
in 2 Chronicles 2The house that I am building will be great, for our God is greater than all gods.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And the house which I build is great; for great is our God above all gods.
KJV
And the house which I build is great: for great is our God above all gods.
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This verse in 2 Chronicles 2
Commentary
4 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
See 1Ki 6:2 note. In Jewish eyes, at the time that the temple was built, it may have been “great,” that is to say, it may have exceeded the dimensions of any single separate building existing in Palestine up to the time of its erection. Great is our God ... - This may seem inappropriate as addressed to a pagan king. But it appears 2Ch 2:11-12 that Hiram acknowledged Yahweh as the supreme deity, probably identifying Him with his own Melkarth.
This site's exposition
As thou didst deal with David my father
on 2 Chronicles 2:3-6
Solomon's letter to Huram opens on precedent, as thou didst deal with David my father, then states what the house is for: incense, shewbread, the morning and evening burnt offerings, sabbaths, new moons and the solemn feasts, an ordinance for ever to Israel. Then comes v6, the confession that the heaven and heaven of heavens cannot contain him, so the house is only a place to burn sacrifice before him and not a residence in the pagan sense. Kings keeps that theology for Solomon's dedication prayer at the temple's completion (1 Ki 8:27); Chronicles moves it forward into the building request itself, so the king writing for cedar already says plainly what the cedar cannot hold.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
And the house which I build is great,.... Not so very large, though that, with all apartments and courts belonging to it, he intended to build, was so; but because magnificent in its structure and decorations: for great is our God above all gods; and therefore ought to have a temple to exceed all others, as the temple at Jerusalem did.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
In opening the business, Solomon grounded his request for Tyrian aid on two reasons: 1. The temple he proposed to build must be a solid and permanent building because the worship was to be continued in perpetuity; and therefore the building materials must be of the most durable quality.
The words behind it
10 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְהַבַּ֛יִת | vehabayit | and the house | H1004 → | 2046 times |
| אֲשֶׁר־ | ʾasher- | which | H834 → | 5497 times |
| אֲנִ֥י | ʾani | I | H589 → | 874 times |
| בוֹנֶ֖ה | voneh | [am] about to build | H1129 → | 376 times |
| גָּד֑וֹל | gadol | [will be] great | H1419 → | 526 times |
| כִּֽי־ | ki- | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| גָד֥וֹל | gadol | [is] great | H1419 → | 526 times |
| אֱלֹהֵ֖ינוּ | ʾeloheinu | God our | H430 → | 2601 times |
| מִכָּל־ | mikol | more than all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| הָאֱלֹהִֽים׃ | haelohim | the gods | H430 → | 2601 times |
וְהַבַּ֛יִתand the house
vehabayitH1004 →2046 times
אֲשֶׁר־which
ʾasher-H834 →5497 times
אֲנִ֥יI
ʾaniH589 →874 times
בוֹנֶ֖ה[am] about to build
vonehH1129 →376 times
גָּד֑וֹל[will be] great
gadolH1419 →526 times
כִּֽי־for
ki-H3588 →4482 times
גָד֥וֹל[is] great
gadolH1419 →526 times
אֱלֹהֵ֖ינוּGod our
ʾeloheinuH430 →2601 times
מִכָּל־more than all
mikolH3605 →5413 times
הָאֱלֹהִֽים׃the gods
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
Exodus 15:11Who among the gods is like You, O LORD? Who is like You—majestic in holiness, revered with praises, performing wonders?
it leads to
- 1 Kings 8:23
and said: “O LORD, God of Israel, there is no God like You in heaven above or on earth below, keeping Your covenant of loving devotion with Your servants who walk before You with…
- Psalms 89:5–8
The heavens praise Your wonders, O LORD— Your faithfulness as well— in the assembly of the holy ones.
- 1 Samuel 2:2
There is no one holy like the LORD. Indeed, there is no one besides You! And there is no Rock like our God.
- 2 Samuel 7:22
How great You are, O Lord GOD! For there is none like You, and there is no God but You, according to everything we have heard with our own ears.
- Revelation 4:8
And each of the four living creatures had six wings and was covered with eyes all around and within. Day and night they never stop saying: “Holy, Holy, Holy, is the Lord God Almighty,…
- 1 Kings 8:23
Through
Jeremiah 10:6There is none like You, O LORD. You are great, and Your name is mighty in power.
it leads to
- Exodus 15:11
Who among the gods is like You, O LORD? Who is like You—majestic in holiness, revered with praises, performing wonders?
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Psalms 48:1
Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised in the city of our God, His holy mountain.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Psalms 96:4
For great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised; He is to be feared above all gods.
- Exodus 15:11
About 2 Chronicles
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 & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament.