2 Chronicles 2 Footnotes

2:6 The temple was never the “house” where God had his being, unlike the temples of the surrounding nations. Rather, Israel’s temple was a place to meet the Lord in worship. See also Jesus’s statement to the Samaritan woman at the well, that true worshipers of God must do so in spirit and truth, not in a physical location (Jn 4:17-24).

2:17 There is some question as to whether Solomon imposed forced labor on Israelites in addition to the Canaanite “resident alien men” mentioned here. In the parallel passage, 1Kg 5:13, Solomon raised his forced labor out of “all Israel.” This could mean that Solomon used Israelites as forced labor, something forbidden by the law (Lv 25:43,46,53). Second Ch 8:9 and 1Kg 9:22 explicitly deny that Solomon did this.

Nevertheless, there is strong evidence that Solomon, while not starting out enslaving Israelites, ended up doing so. The northern tribes begged Rehoboam, Solomon’s son and successor, to lighten their heavy burdens (1Kg 12:4). Further, why would Rehoboam send the officer in charge of forced labor to negotiate with Israelites (Canaanite forced laborers would not be in a position to negotiate)? And why would the Israelites stone Adoram to death (1Kg 12:18), if they did not view him as the source of their suffering?