2 Chronicles 3:1
in 2 Chronicles 3Then Solomon began to build the house of the LORD in Jerusalem on Mount Moriah, where the LORD had appeared to his father David. This was the place that David had prepared on the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Then Solomon began to build the house of Jehovah at Jerusalem on mount Moriah, where Jehovah appeared unto David his father, which he made ready in the place that David had appointed, in the threshing-floor of Ornan the Jebusite.
KJV
Then Solomon began to build the house of the Lord at Jerusalem in mount Moriah, where the Lord appeared unto David his father, in the place that David had prepared in the threshingfloor of Ornan the Jebusite.
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This verse in 2 Chronicles 3
Commentary
3 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
Where the Lord appeared unto David - The marginal rendering, or “which was shown to David,” is preferred by some; and the expression is understood to point out to David the proper site for the temple by the appearance of the Angels and the command to build an altar 2Sa 24:17-25; 1Ch 21:16-26. In the place that David had prepared - This seems to be the true meaning of the passage, though the order of the words in the original has been accidentally deranged.
This site's exposition
in mount Moriah, where the Lord appeared
Chronicles alone names the ground: mount Moriah, the only Old Testament verse joining the temple site to the mountain of Genesis 22, to David's altar at Ornan's threshingfloor in 1 Chronicles 21, and to the place where the Lord appeared to him. Kings never gives the temple a place name at all, so this verse is this book's own contribution to the geography of worship. The bench reads Abraham's mountain and David's altar as one range prepared across centuries for one house.
The record, by era
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
"That the temple was situated somewhere within the oblong enclosure on Mount Moriah, all topographers are agreed, although there is not the slightest vestige of the sacred fane now remaining; and the greatest diversity of sentiment prevails as to its exact position within that large area, whether in the center of the haram, or in its southwest corner" [BARCLAY].
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
on Mount Moriah because the Holy One, blessed be He, appeared to David in the threshing floor of Ornan when the plague stopped, and that is Mount Moriah, David’s place.
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. 3 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
20 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיָּ֣חֶל | vaiyachel | and he began | H2490 → | 143 times |
| שְׁלֹמֹ֗ה | shelomoh | Solomon | H8010 → | 291 times |
| לִבְנ֤וֹת | livnot | to build | H1129 → | 376 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| בֵּית־ | beit- | [the] house of | H1004 → | 2046 times |
| יְהוָה֙ | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| בִּיר֣וּשָׁלִַ֔ם | birushalim | in Jerusalem | H3389 → | 643 times |
| בְּהַר֙ | behar | on [the] mountain of | H2022 → | 546 times |
| הַמּ֣וֹרִיָּ֔ה | hamoriyah | <the> Moriah | H4179 → | |
| אֲשֶׁ֥ר | ʾasher | where | H834 → | 5497 times |
| נִרְאָ֖ה | nirah | he had appeared | H7200 → | 1300 times |
| לְדָוִ֣יד | ledavid | to David | H1732 → | 999 times |
| אָבִ֑יהוּ | ʾavihu | father his | H1 → | 1212 times |
| אֲשֶׁ֤ר | ʾasher | which | H834 → | 5497 times |
| הֵכִין֙ | hekhin | he had prepared | H3559 → | 217 times |
| בִּמְק֣וֹם | bimkom | in [the] place of | H4725 → | 401 times |
| דָּוִ֔יד | david | David | H1732 → | 999 times |
| בְּגֹ֖רֶן | begoren | on [the] threshing floor of | H1637 → | |
| אָרְנָ֥ן | ʾarenan | Ornan | H771 → | |
| הַיְבוּסִֽי׃ | hayvusi | the Jebusite | H2983 → |
וַיָּ֣חֶלand he began
vaiyachelH2490 →143 times
שְׁלֹמֹ֗הSolomon
shelomohH8010 →291 times
לִבְנ֤וֹתto build
livnotH1129 →376 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
בֵּית־[the] house of
beit-H1004 →2046 times
יְהוָה֙Yahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
בִּיר֣וּשָׁלִַ֔םin Jerusalem
birushalimH3389 →643 times
בְּהַר֙on [the] mountain of
beharH2022 →546 times
הַמּ֣וֹרִיָּ֔ה<the> Moriah
hamoriyahH4179 →
אֲשֶׁ֥רwhere
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
נִרְאָ֖הhe had appeared
nirahH7200 →1300 times
לְדָוִ֣ידto David
ledavidH1732 →999 times
אָבִ֑יהוּfather his
ʾavihuH1 →1212 times
אֲשֶׁ֤רwhich
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
הֵכִין֙he had prepared
hekhinH3559 →217 times
בִּמְק֣וֹםin [the] place of
bimkomH4725 →401 times
דָּוִ֔ידDavid
davidH1732 →999 times
בְּגֹ֖רֶןon [the] threshing floor of
begorenH1637 →
אָרְנָ֥ןOrnan
ʾarenanH771 →
הַיְבוּסִֽי׃the Jebusite
hayvusiH2983 →
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
Genesis 22:2“Take your son,” God said, “your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah. Offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains, which I will…
it leads to
- John 3:16
For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that everyone who believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.
- Romans 8:32
He who did not spare His own Son but gave Him up for us all, how will He not also, along with Him, freely give us all things?
- Hebrews 11:17
By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac on the altar. He who had received the promises was ready to offer his one and only son,
- John 3:16
Through
Genesis 22:14And Abraham called that place The LORD Will Provide. So to this day it is said, “On the mountain of the LORD it will be provided.”
it leads to
- Genesis 22:13
Then Abraham looked up and saw behind him a ram in a thicket, caught by its horns. So he went and took the ram and offered it as a burnt offering in place of…
- Exodus 17:15
And Moses built an altar and named it The LORD Is My Banner.
- Judges 6:24
So Gideon built an altar to the LORD there and called it The LORD Is Peace. To this day it stands in Ophrah of the Abiezrites.
- Genesis 22:8
Abraham answered, “God Himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son.” And the two walked on together.
- Genesis 16:13–14
So Hagar gave this name to the LORD who had spoken to her: “You are the God who sees me,” for she said, “Here I have seen the One who sees me!”
- Genesis 22:13
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About 2 Chronicles

Who and where
4 names in this verse with a page on the site.
- PersonUnited MonarchyDavidSecond king of united Israel, shepherd-turned-monarch, ancestor of the Messiah, and traditional author of many Psalms.
- PersonSolomonDavid's son and the third king of Israel; the temple-builder and wisdom-king, to whom Psalms 72 and 127 are ascribed.
- PlaceJerusalemMoriahThe mountain where Abraham bound Isaac and God provided the ram, where David bought Ornan’s threshing floor as the plague was halt…
- PlaceJerusalemJerusalemThe city David took from the Jebusites and made his capital, where Solomon built the temple, where Christ was crucified and rose,…
This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.
