Commentaria in I Paralipomenon
Chapter 29
The expenses prepared by David for the building of the temple are enumerated; likewise what the princes and people added to them. Soon, verse 22, Solomon is anointed king a second time publicly, and David, full of days and merits, dies.
1. And king David said to all the assembly: Solomon my son, whom alone God hath chosen, is as yet a child and tender, and the work is great, for a house is prepared not for man, but for God. 2. And I with all my ability have prepared the charges for the house of my God. Gold for the vessels of gold, and silver for those of silver, brass for those of brass, iron for those of iron, wood for those of wood: and onyx stones, and stones like stibium, and of divers colours, and every precious stone, and marble of Paros in great abundance: 3. and besides, what I have offered into the house of my God, of my own private store I give gold and silver to the temple of my God, besides what I have prepared for the holy house. 4. Three thousand talents of gold of the gold of Ophir: and seven thousand talents of most pure silver, to overlay the walls of the temple. 5. And wheresoever there is need of gold, let the work be of gold, and wheresoever there is need of silver, of silver, and let the works be done by the hands of the artificers: and if any man will offer of his own accord, let him fill his hand today, and offer what he will to the Lord. 6. Then the chiefs of the families, and the princes of the tribes of Israel, the captains also of thousands and of hundreds, and the stewards of the king’s possessions promised. 7. And they gave for the works of the house of God five thousand talents of gold, and ten thousand solids: ten thousand talents of silver, and eighteen thousand talents of brass: and a hundred thousand talents of iron. 8. And whosoever had stones gave them into the treasury of the house of the Lord, by the hand of Jahiel the Gersonite. 9. And the people rejoiced when they promised their offerings of their own accord, because they offered them to the Lord with all their heart: and king David also rejoiced with great joy.
10. And he blessed the Lord before all the multitude, and said: Blessed art thou, O Lord the God of Israel our father, from eternity to eternity. 11. Thine, O Lord, is magnificence, and power, and glory, and victory: and to thee is praise: for all that is in heaven and in earth is thine: thine, O Lord, is the kingdom, and thou art above all princes. 12. Thine are riches, and thine is glory: thou hast dominion over all things, in thy hand is power and might: in thy hand is greatness, and the empire of all things. 13. Now therefore, O our God, we give thanks to thee, and we praise thy glorious name. 14. Who am I, and what is my people, that we should be able to promise thee all these things? all things are thine: and what we have received of thy hand, we have given thee. 15. For we are strangers before thee, and sojourners, as were all our fathers. Our days upon earth are as a shadow, and there is no stay. 16. O Lord our God, all this store that we have prepared to build a house to thy holy name, is from thy hand, and all is thine. 17. I know, my God, that thou provest hearts, and lovest simplicity: wherefore I also in the simplicity of my heart have joyfully offered all these things; and I have seen with great joy thy people, which are here present, offer thee their offerings. 18. O Lord God of Abraham, and Isaac, and Israel, our fathers, keep for ever this will of their heart, and let this mind always remain for the worship of thee. 19. Give also to my son Solomon a perfect heart, that he may keep thy commandments, thy testimonies, and thy ceremonies, and do all things: and build the house, for which I have prepared the charges. 20. And David commanded all the assembly: Bless ye the Lord our God. And all the assembly blessed the Lord the God of their fathers: and they bowed themselves, and worshipped God, and then the king. 21. And they sacrificed victims to the Lord: and offered holocausts the day following, a thousand bullocks, a thousand rams, a thousand lambs, with their libations, and all the rite most abundantly for all Israel. 22. And they ate and drank before the Lord that day with great joy. And they anointed a second time Solomon the son of David. And they anointed him to be prince for the Lord, and Sadoc to be high priest. 23. And Solomon sat on the throne of the Lord as king instead of David his father, and he pleased all, and all Israel obeyed him. 24. And all the princes, and the mighty men, and all the sons of king David gave their hand, and were subject to king Solomon. 25. And the Lord magnified Solomon over all Israel: and gave him glory of kingdom, such as no king of Israel had before him. 26. So David the son of Isai reigned over all Israel. 27. And the days that he reigned over Israel were forty years: in Hebron he reigned seven years, and in Jerusalem thirty-three years. 28. And he died in a good old age, full of days, and riches, and glory, and Solomon his son reigned in his stead. 29. Now the acts of king David first and last, are written in the book of Samuel the seer, and in the book of Nathan the prophet, and in the volume of Gad the seer: 30. and of all his reign, and his valour, and the times that passed under him, either in Israel, or in all the kingdoms of the countries.
“Parian” is not in the Hebrew, but in the Septuagint and in our Vulgate, because this marble, prepared by David for the temple of God, was choice and best, such as Parian is.
2. Like stibium,—that is, like stibium, with which women apply paint to the face, that they may seem to be more beautiful than they are. Hence in Hebrew it is stones of paint, which, namely, would put a false colour on the beholders, so that in them there appear wonderfully elegant forms of various things, which yet were not really in them, such as are those they call Agates, in which the likenesses of trees, birds, floating islands, and of any things appear as if painted, which deceive even the sharpest eyed, so that they truly think those things are there; these therefore are the stibine stones or stones of paint, which put a false colour before the eyes, and mock them with the images which they represent.
And marble of Paros,—from Paros one of the Cyclades, which is white and most excellent;
Besides what I have prepared for the holy house,—as if to say: Besides those things which I have prepared and gathered for the building of the temple out of the spoils of enemies and subdued kingdoms, which make the sum of a hundred thousand talents of gold, and a thousand thousand talents of silver, as was said in chapter 22, verse 14, in addition for the same building of the house of my God I give from my own private store what I have long since offered and promised, namely three thousand talents of gold brought from Ophir, and therefore most excellent, etc.
5. Let him fill his hand,—with gold and gifts which he is willing to offer freely to God for the building of the temple.
6. The stewards of the king’s possessions,—namely the overseers of David’s vineyards, fields, herds, sheep and other wealth.
17. In the simplicity of my heart I have joyfully offered.—In the uprightness of heart. The Septuagint, in justice, as if to say: I have offered these with a simple, that is, sincere, upright and candid heart, and with the purest intention, looking or aiming at nothing else than the honour and glory of God. For this is altogether worthy and just.
21. And they sacrificed victims,—both holocausts, and peace offerings, of which the laity could eat and feast; hence from these all feasted. For he adds.
Most abundantly for all Israel,—as if to say: So many victims abundantly sufficed that all the Israelites then present feasted sumptuously on them.
And they anointed a second time Solomon,—for before he had been anointed privately before a few, 3 Kings chapter 1, verse 39; here therefore he is anointed a second time publicly, that all may know that he is king of Israel, and may reverence and honour him as such. For this reason David called together the whole people, that Solomon might be anointed again in the presence and with the approval of all Israel.
And Sadoc to be high priest,—Because Sadoc had been designated High Priest by Saul, whereas Abiathar, succeeding the pontiffs Achitob and Heli, had held the pontificate with David; hence some enemies of Saul and followers of David were unwilling to receive Sadoc as High Priest: wherefore David commands him to be anointed as High Priest, that all may accept and honour him as such. For David was unwilling to deprive Sadoc of his rank, which he had held with Saul for so many years, and which was due to him by right, because he was of the descendants of Eleazar, who was the firstborn of Aaron, and therefore his successor in the pontificate.