2 Chronicles 7 Footnotes

7:5 These very large numbers have caused much comment. For the fifteen days of the celebration, it has been calculated that it would require twenty sacrifices per minute for ten hours per day. Some resolve this by interpreting the numbers as hyperbole (intentional exaggeration). Others suggest “sacrifice” meant Solomon gave the animals to the priests, but that they were not all necessarily sacrificed at once during the celebration.

7:12 The Lord’s statement to Solomon (vv. 12-22) summarizes the events that occur in chaps. 10–36.

7:18 See Mic 5:2. This was a reaffirmation of God’s promise to David spoken by Nathan (2Sm 7:12-16). This centered the hope of Israel on the dynasty of David for succeeding generations. In the exilic and postexilic ages, the expectation of a coming messiah came into sharper focus, commencing with Jeremiah’s and Ezekiel’s vision of a messiah who would combine the traits of a king and a priest (Jr 33:14-18; Ezk 46:1-8; Zch 4:1-14; 6:13).

7:19 The Hebrew uses the plural form of “you” throughout the verse. The Lord is not referring just to Solomon or even to his generation, but to their descendants.