2 Chronicles 8:17
in 2 Chronicles 8Then Solomon went to Ezion-geber and to Eloth on the coast of Edom.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Then went Solomon to Ezion-geber, and to Eloth, on the sea-shore in the land of Edom.
KJV
Then went Solomon to Ezion–geber, and to Eloth, at the sea side in the land of Edom.
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This verse in 2 Chronicles 8
Commentary
6 notes on this verseA commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
Solomon, determined to cultivate the arts of peace, was sagacious enough to perceive that his kingdom could become great and glorious only by encouraging a spirit of commercial enterprise among his subjects; and, accordingly, with that in mind he made a contract with Huram for ships and seamen to instruct his people in navigation.
This site's exposition
at the sea side in the land of Edom
on 2 Chronicles 8:17-18
Solomon goes down to Ezion-geber and Eloth on the shore of Edom, ports that give Israel access to the Red Sea trade. Huram sends ships and sailors who know the sea, since the Tyrians had the maritime skill Israel never developed, and Israelite crews sail out under Tyrian direction. The voyage to Ophir returns four hundred and fifty talents of gold to Solomon, a fortune the text records without further comment. Chronicles closes its account where 1 Kings 9:26-28 closes its own telling of the same voyage, the wealth flowing from a partnership rather than from any skill of Israel's own at sea.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
Then went Solomon to Eziongeber,.... Being now at leisure to look after his navy, to carry on merchandise; and of this, and the following verse, and the reconciliation of them with 1Ki 9:26; see Gill on 1Ki 9:26, 1Ki 9:27, 1Ki 9:28.
10-24 , and therefore shall only observe here, I. Though Solomon was a man of great learning and knowledge, yet he spent his days, not in contemplation, but in action, not in his study, but in his country, in building cities and fortifying them, in a time of peace preparing for a time of war, which is as much a man's business as it is in summer to provide food for winter.
Canaan was a rich country, and yet must send to Ophir for gold; the Israelites were a wise and understanding people, and yet must be beholden to the king of Tyre for men that had knowledge of the seas,
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
Then went Solomon to Ezion-geber - See the notes on 1Ki 9:26-28 (note), for conjectures concerning Ezion-geber and Ophir.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
until this day [from] the founding of the House of the Lord From the day of its founding until its completion.
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
12 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| אָז֩ | ʾaz | then | H227 → | 141 times |
| הָלַ֨ךְ | halakh | he went | H1980 → | 1546 times |
| שְׁלֹמֹ֜ה | shelomoh | Solomon | H8010 → | 291 times |
| לְעֶצְיֽוֹן־ | leetzyon- | to Ezion | H6100 → | 14 times |
| גֶּ֧בֶר | gever | Geber | H6100 → | 14 times |
| וְאֶל־ | veel- | and to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| אֵיל֛וֹת | ʾeilot | Elath | H359 → | |
| עַל־ | ʾal- | on | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| שְׂפַ֥ת | sefat | [the] shore of | H8193 → | 176 times |
| הַיָּ֖ם | haiyam | the sea | H3220 → | 396 times |
| בְּאֶ֥רֶץ | beeretz | in [the] land of | H776 → | 2504 times |
| אֱדֽוֹם׃ | ʾedom | Edom | H123 → | 99 times |
אָז֩then
ʾazH227 →141 times
הָלַ֨ךְhe went
halakhH1980 →1546 times
שְׁלֹמֹ֜הSolomon
shelomohH8010 →291 times
לְעֶצְיֽוֹן־to Ezion
leetzyon-H6100 →14 times
גֶּ֧בֶרGeber
geverH6100 →14 times
וְאֶל־and to
veel-H413 →5510 times
אֵיל֛וֹתElath
ʾeilotH359 →
עַל־on
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
שְׂפַ֥ת[the] shore of
sefatH8193 →176 times
הַיָּ֖םthe sea
haiyamH3220 →396 times
בְּאֶ֥רֶץin [the] land of
beeretzH776 →2504 times
אֱדֽוֹם׃Edom
ʾedomH123 →99 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
1 Kings 22:48Jehoshaphat built ships of Tarshish to go to Ophir for gold, but they never set sail, because they were wrecked at Ezion-geber.
it leads to
- 1 Kings 9:26
King Solomon also assembled a fleet of ships at Ezion-geber, which is near Eloth in Edom, on the shore of the Red Sea.
Reached by 5 separate paths from here.
- 1 Kings 10:22
For the king had the ships of Tarshish at sea with Hiram’s fleet, and once every three years the ships of Tarshish would arrive bearing gold, silver, ivory, apes, and peacocks.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- 1 Kings 9:28
They sailed to Ophir and imported gold from there—420 talents—and delivered it to Solomon.
- 1 Kings 9:26
Through
2 Kings 14:22Azariah was the one who rebuilt Elath and restored it to Judah after King Amaziah rested with his fathers.
it leads to
- 2 Kings 16:6
At that time Rezin king of Aram recovered Elath for Aram, drove out the men of Judah, and sent the Edomites into Elath, where they live to this day.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- 2 Kings 16:6
Through
Numbers 33:35They set out from Abronah and camped at Ezion-geber.
it leads to
- Deuteronomy 2:8
So we passed by our brothers, the descendants of Esau, who live in Seir. We turned away from the Arabah road, which comes up from Elath and Ezion-geber, and traveled along the road of…
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- 1 Kings 22:48
Jehoshaphat built ships of Tarshish to go to Ophir for gold, but they never set sail, because they were wrecked at Ezion-geber.
- Deuteronomy 2:8
Through
2 Chronicles 20:36They agreed to make ships to go to Tarshish, and these were built in Ezion-geber.
it leads to
- 2 Chronicles 9:21
For the king had the ships of Tarshish that went with Hiram’s servants, and once every three years the ships of Tarshish would arrive bearing gold, silver, ivory, apes, and peacocks.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- 2 Chronicles 9:21
Through
Deuteronomy 2:8So we passed by our brothers, the descendants of Esau, who live in Seir. We turned away from the Arabah road, which comes up from Elath and Ezion-geber, and traveled along the road of…
it leads to
- Judges 11:18
Then Israel traveled through the wilderness and bypassed the lands of Edom and Moab. They came to the east side of the land of Moab and camped on the other side of the Arnon.…
- Judges 11:18
About 2 Chronicles
Who and where
2 names in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; 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.