2 Chronicles 34:18
in 2 Chronicles 34Moreover, Shaphan the scribe told the king, “Hilkiah the priest has given me a book.” And Shaphan read it in the presence of the king.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And Shaphan the scribe told the king, saying, Hilkiah the priest hath delivered me a book. And Shaphan read therein before the king.
KJV
Then Shaphan the scribe told the king, saying, Hilkiah the priest hath given me a book. And Shaphan read it before the king.
⋯
This verse in 2 Chronicles 34
Commentary
3 notes on this verseThis site's exposition
carried the book to the king
on 2 Chronicles 34:16-18
Shaphan reports the money and the repairs first and only then adds that Hilkiah has given him a book, reading it before the king almost as an afterthought inside his own account. The order says something about how ordinary the discovery seemed to the men who found it, set against how the king receives it in the very next verse. Chronicles and Kings run near word for word through this stretch, and the fuller unpacking of what Josiah heard belongs to the Kings exposition of the same scene.
The record, by era
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Charles Spurgeon1834–1892
The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Sermon No. 3303: “A Very Early Bible Society” (lightly modernized text, CCEL edition) · Written before 1892.
proposed
HILKIAH had found THE BOOK and it was a more important find than if he had discovered a mine of diamonds, or perpetual motion, or a new world! Oh, that Book, that wonderful Book! Was there ever anything like it under Heaven? Well may it be a power when we come to think of what it is—the Book of the Law of the living God! How reverently did he lift it from its hiding place, remove its dust and commence to read its title and contents!
A commentator
Charles Spurgeon1834–1892
The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Sermon No. 3303: “A Very Early Bible Society” (lightly modernized text, CCEL edition) · Written before 1892.
proposed
HILKIAH had found THE BOOK and it was a more important find than if he had discovered a mine of diamonds, or perpetual motion, or a new world! Oh, that Book, that wonderful Book! Was there ever anything like it under Heaven? Well may it be a power when we come to think of what it is—the Book of the Law of the living God! How reverently did he lift it from its hiding place, remove its dust and commence to read its title and contents! This particular Book of the Law was probably the first five Books of Moses, commonly called the Pentateuch. Some have thought that it was only the Book of Deuteronomy, but it is too late in the day for us to decide with confidence its exact form. We know that it was "a Book of the Law of the Lord given by Moses" (2 Chron 34:14), probably an autographed copy by Moses. Of that we cannot be sure, but whatever hand may have written the letters, what a Book the Law of the Lord is! The Old Testament is a Divine light which has led multitudes of saints to the Lord's right hand—and its luster is not dimmed by the New Testament, but increased thereby. Not one tittle of it has failed, or shall fail—it lives and abides forever! Taking an enlarged view of the Law of the Lord today and holding in our hands two Testaments, both the Old and the New, what a marvelous Book the Bible is! Earth does not contain an equal wonder! It is a Book which has God for its Author, for though there are many authors and the Book is divided into many treatises, yet it is all of one as to its innermost authorship, since holy men of old spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit. A Divine originality runs through it all—marks of the Divine Mind abound in every portion and the Holy Spirit still inspires it all and breathes it into the hearts of believing readers.
The words behind it
15 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיַּגֵּ֞ד | vaiyaged | and he told | H5046 → | 370 times |
| שָׁפָ֤ן | shafan | Shaphan | H8227 → | 34 times |
| הַסּוֹפֵר֙ | hasofer | the scribe | H5608 → | 159 times |
| לַמֶּ֣לֶךְ | lamelekh | to the king | H4428 → | 2525 times |
| לֵאמֹ֔ר | lemor | <to> saying | H559 → | 5305 times |
| סֵ֚פֶר | sefer | a scroll | H5612 → | 186 times |
| נָ֣תַן | natan | he has given | H5414 → | 2011 times |
| לִ֔י | li | to me | ||
| חִלְקִיָּ֖הוּ | chilkiyahu | Hilkiah | H2518 → | 34 times |
| הַכֹּהֵ֑ן | hakohen | the priest | H3548 → | 750 times |
| וַיִּקְרָא־ | vaiyikra'- | and he read aloud | H7121 → | 733 times |
| ב֥וֹ | vo | in it | ||
| שָׁפָ֖ן | shafan | Shaphan | H8227 → | 34 times |
| לִפְנֵ֥י | lifnei | <to> before | H6440 → | 2123 times |
| הַמֶּֽלֶךְ׃ | hamelekh | the king | H4428 → | 2525 times |
וַיַּגֵּ֞דand he told
vaiyagedH5046 →370 times
שָׁפָ֤ןShaphan
shafanH8227 →34 times
הַסּוֹפֵר֙the scribe
hasoferH5608 →159 times
לַמֶּ֣לֶךְto the king
lamelekhH4428 →2525 times
לֵאמֹ֔ר<to> saying
lemorH559 →5305 times
סֵ֚פֶרa scroll
seferH5612 →186 times
נָ֣תַןhe has given
natanH5414 →2011 times
לִ֔יto me
li
חִלְקִיָּ֖הוּHilkiah
chilkiyahuH2518 →34 times
הַכֹּהֵ֑ןthe priest
hakohenH3548 →750 times
וַיִּקְרָא־and he read aloud
vaiyikra'-H7121 →733 times
ב֥וֹin it
vo
שָׁפָ֖ןShaphan
shafanH8227 →34 times
לִפְנֵ֥י<to> before
lifneiH6440 →2123 times
הַמֶּֽלֶךְ׃the king
hamelekhH4428 →2525 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
Joshua 1:8This Book of the Law must not depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. For then you will prosper…
it leads to
- Psalms 119:15
I will meditate on Your precepts and regard Your ways.
- Psalms 19:14
May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in Your sight, O LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer.
- Colossians 3:16
Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to…
- Proverbs 3:1
My son, do not forget my teaching, but let your heart keep my commandments;
- Deuteronomy 29:9
So keep and follow the words of this covenant, that you may prosper in all you do.
- Psalms 119:15
Through
Deuteronomy 17:19It is to remain with him, and he is to read from it all the days of his life, so that he may learn to fear the LORD his God by carefully observing all…
it leads to
- Joshua 1:8
This Book of the Law must not depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. For then you will prosper…
- Psalms 119:97–100
Oh, how I love Your law! All day long it is my meditation.
- Psalms 1:2
But his delight is in the Law of the LORD, and on His law he meditates day and night.
- Joshua 1:8
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About 2 Chronicles
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Charles Spurgeon, The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Sermon No. 3303: “A Very Early Bible Society” (lightly modernized text, CCEL edition) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.