2 Chronicles 3:10
in 2 Chronicles 3In the Most Holy Place he made two cherubim of sculptured work, and he overlaid them with gold.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And in the most holy house he made two cherubim of image work; and they overlaid them with gold.
KJV
And in the most holy house he made two cherubims of image work, and overlaid them with gold.
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This verse in 2 Chronicles 3
Commentary
4 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
The word translated “image work,” or, in the margin, “moveable work,” occurs only in this passage, and has not even a Hebrew derivation. Modern Hebraists find an Arabic derivation, and explain the word to mean “carved work.”
This site's exposition
two cherubims of image work
on 2 Chronicles 3:10-13
Verse ten's phrase for how the cherubim were made, image work, occurs nowhere else in the Hebrew Bible, and its sense is worked out from an Arabic cognate rather than known usage. Their wings match the twenty cubit span Kings already gives, filling the width of the house wall to wall. Their faces were inward, looking out from the sanctuary into the great chamber rather than bowed toward each other over the mercy seat as Moses' cherubim do in Exodus, so this pair stand less like the ark's own cover and more like two sentinels guarding what is behind them.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
), designed, it is likely, to represent the angels who attend the divine Majesty. Each wing extended five cubits, so that the whole was twenty cubits (
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
two cherubims--These figures in the tabernacle were of pure gold (Ex 25:1-40) and overshadowed the mercy seat. The two placed in the temple were made of olive wood, overlaid with gold.
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How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
And the wings of the cherubim - their length was twenty cubits How so?
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
11 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיַּ֜עַשׂ | vaiyaas | and he made | H6213 → | 2628 times |
| בְּבֵֽית־ | beveit- | in [the] house of | H1004 → | 2046 times |
| קֹ֤דֶשׁ | kodesh | [the] holy place of | H6944 → | 469 times |
| הַקֳּדָשִׁים֙ | hakodashim | the holy places | H6944 → | 469 times |
| כְּרוּבִ֣ים | keruvim | cherubim | H3742 → | 91 times |
| שְׁנַ֔יִם | shenayim | two | H8147 → | 768 times |
| מַעֲשֵׂ֖ה | maaseh | a work of | H4639 → | 236 times |
| צַעֲצֻעִ֑ים | tzaatzuim | castings | H6816 → | |
| וַיְצַפּ֥וּ | vaytzapu | and they overlaid | H6823 → | 47 times |
| אֹתָ֖ם | ʾotam | <obj.> them | H853 → | 10935 times |
| זָהָֽב׃ | zahav | gold | H2091 → | 389 times |
וַיַּ֜עַשׂand he made
vaiyaasH6213 →2628 times
בְּבֵֽית־in [the] house of
beveit-H1004 →2046 times
קֹ֤דֶשׁ[the] holy place of
kodeshH6944 →469 times
הַקֳּדָשִׁים֙the holy places
hakodashimH6944 →469 times
כְּרוּבִ֣יםcherubim
keruvimH3742 →91 times
שְׁנַ֔יִםtwo
shenayimH8147 →768 times
מַעֲשֵׂ֖הa work of
maasehH4639 →236 times
צַעֲצֻעִ֑יםcastings
tzaatzuimH6816 →
וַיְצַפּ֥וּand they overlaid
vaytzapuH6823 →47 times
אֹתָ֖ם<obj.> them
ʾotamH853 →10935 times
זָהָֽב׃gold
zahavH2091 →389 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
5 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 25:18Make two cherubim of hammered gold at the ends of the mercy seat,
it leads to
- Hebrews 9:5
Above the ark were the cherubim of glory, overshadowing the mercy seat. But we cannot discuss these things in detail now.
- Ezekiel 10:20
These were the living creatures I had seen beneath the God of Israel by the River Kebar, and I knew that they were cherubim.
- 1 Kings 8:6–7
Then the priests brought the ark of the covenant of the LORD to its place in the inner sanctuary of the temple, the Most Holy Place, beneath the wings of the cherubim.
- 1 Chronicles 28:18
the weight of the refined gold for the altar of incense; and the plans for the chariot of the gold cherubim that spread their wings and overshadowed the ark of the covenant of the…
- Ezekiel 10:2
And the LORD said to the man clothed in linen, “Go inside the wheelwork beneath the cherubim. Fill your hands with burning coals from among the cherubim and scatter them over the city.” And…
- Hebrews 9:5
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies2
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About 2 Chronicles
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.