1 Chronicles 29:4

4 three thousand talents of gold from 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 So I have provided for the house of my God according to all my strength, the gold for the things of gold, the silver for the things of silver, the bronze for the things of bronze, the iron for the things of iron, and the wood for the things of wood, [along with] an abundance of onyx stones, stones for settings, stones of turquoise, and variegated stones, and all [kinds of] precious stones and alabaster stones.

3 And moreover, with respect to my provisions for the house of my God I have a treasure of gold and silver that I have given to the house of my God above all that I have provided for the holy house:

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

5 gold for the golden things and silver for the silver things, for all the work by the hand of skilled craftsmen. Now who will offer willingly, {consecrating himself} today to Yahweh?"

6 Then the commanders of the {families}, the commanders of the tribes of Israel, and the commanders of thousands and hundreds, and the commanders of the work of the king offered themselves willingly.