1 Chronicles 29:4

4 three thousand talents of gold, of the gold of Ophir, and seven thousand talents of refined silver, to overlay the walls of the houses;

1 Chronicles 29:4 Meaning and Commentary

1 Chronicles 29:4

Even three thousand talents of gold
Which, according to Scheuchzer ^F3, amount to 36,660,000 ducats of gold; and, according to Brerewood ^F4, to 13,500,000 pounds of our money:

of the gold of Ophir;
which was reckoned the best gold; not Ophir in India, which was not known till Solomon's time, but in Arabia, as Bochart ^F5 has shown; so Eupolemus ^F6, an Heathen writer, says, that David having built ships at Achan, a city of Arabia, sent miners to Urphe (supposed to be the same with Ophir) in the island of the Red sea,(See Gill on :) and that he was able to give so great a sum out of his own substance, Dr. Prideaux ^F7 thinks, can only be accounted for by his great returns from this traffic; since these 3000 talents, according to him, amounted to 21,600,000 pounds sterling:

and seven thousand talents of refined silver;
amounting, according to Scheuchzer ^F8, to 31,500,000 imperials, or rix dollars; and, according to Brerewood ^F9, to 2,625,000 pounds of our money:

to overlay the walls of the houses withal;
the gold was to overlay the walls of the holy and most holy place, the silver to overlay the walls of the chambers built around the temple.

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FOOTNOTES:

F3 Physica Sacra, vol. 4. p. 631.
F4 De Ponder. & Pret. Vet. Num. c. 5.
F5 Phaleg. l. 2. c. 27. col. 140.
F6 Apud Euseb. Evangel. Praepar. l. 9. c. 30. p. 447.
F7 Connection, par. 1. p. 5, 6.
F8 Ut supra. (Physica Sacra, vol. 4. p. 631.)
F9 Ut supra. (De Ponder. & Pret. Vet. Num. c. 5.)

1 Chronicles 29:4 In-Context

2 Now I have prepared with all my might for the house of my God, gold for the things of gold, and silver for the things of silver, and brass for the things of brass, and iron for the things of iron, and wood for the things of wood; onyx stones, and stones to be set, black stones and of different colours, and all manner of precious stones, and marble stones in abundance.

3 Moreover, because I have my delight in the house of my God, I have in my own treasury, gold and silver, which I have given to the house of my God, over and above all that I have prepared for the house of the sanctuary:

4 three thousand talents of gold, of the gold of Ophir, and seven thousand talents of refined silver, to overlay the walls of the houses;

5 the gold for things of gold, and the silver for things of silver, and for all manner of work to be made by the hands of the workmen. And who then is willing to consecrate the offering of his hands today unto the LORD?

6 Then the princes of the fathers and princes of the tribes of Israel, and the princes of thousands and of hundreds, with the rulers of the king’s work, offered willingly