1 Chronicles 22:14

14 `And lo, in mine affliction, I have prepared for the house of Jehovah of gold talents a hundred thousand, and of silver a thousand thousand talents; and of brass and of iron there is no weighing, for in abundance it hath been, and wood and stones I have prepared, and to them thou dost add.

1 Chronicles 22:14 Meaning and Commentary

1 Chronicles 22:14

Now, behold, in my trouble
Or affliction, which had attended him, through the greater part of his reign, partly through wars abroad, and partly through rebellions and insurrections at home: or,

in my poverty
^F1; living in a frugal way, as if he had been a poor man, in order to lay up money for this purpose:

I have prepared for the house of the Lord;
for the building of it, and for things to be used in it:

an hundred thousand talents of gold, and a thousand thousand talents of
silver;
a prodigious sum, be it reckoned as it will; the gold, according to Scheuchzer ^F2 was answerable to 1,222,000,000 ducats of gold; according to Waserus ^F3 the talents of gold made six hundred millions of Hungarian pieces of gold, or 6000 tons of gold; our Brerewood ^F4 makes them to amount to 450,000,000 pounds; but this being a sum so excessive large as what exceeds the riches of any monarch read of in history, he thinks ^F5 the word "kikkar" signifies a mass or cake of gold of an uncertain value; or that this talent was of a lesser value than the Mosaic one, as there were small talents in the times of Homer ^F6, as he observes, and some of different worth in various countries. The silver, taking gold to be in proportion to silver as ten to one, as it formerly was, is just of the same value with the gold; but Brerewood, who takes it to be as twelve to one, computes it at 375,000,000 pounds; but the proportion of gold to silver is now grown, as Bishop Cumberland observes ^F7, to above fourteen to one. According to Scheuchzer the silver talents amounted to 4,500,000,000 imperials or rix dollars; according to Witsius ^F8 the gold and silver both amounted to 3000 and nine hundred millions of pieces of gold; but Josephus ^F9 has reduced these sums very much, making them to be 10,000 talents of gold, and 100,000 of silver. Dr. Prideaux ^F11 says that what is said to be given by David here, and in ( 1 Chronicles 29:3-5 ) and by his princes, ( 1 Chronicles 29:6-8 ) if valued by the Mosaic talent, exceeded the value of eight hundred million of our money, which was enough to have built the whole temple of solid silver:

and of brass and iron without weight, for it is in abundance;
there was so much of both, that it was too much trouble to take the weight and value of them:

timber also and stone have I prepared;
see ( 1 Chronicles 22:2-4 )

and thou mayest add thereunto;
which might easily be obtained, there being not a sufficiency of either of them prepared for the work.

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FOOTNOTES:

F1 (yyneb) "in paupertate mea", V. L.
F2 Physica Sacra, vol. 4. p. 631.
F3 De Antiqu. Num. Heb. l. 2. c. 13.
F4 De Pond. & Pret. Vet. Num. c. 5.
F5 De Pond. & Pret. Vet. Num. c. 6.
F6 Vid. Suidam in voce (talanton) .
F7 Scripture Weights and Measures, ch. 4. p. 121.
F8 Miscell. Sacr. 2. Exercit. 10. sect. 17.
F9 Antiqu. l. 7. c. 14. sect. 2.
F11 Connection, part 1. p. 6.

1 Chronicles 22:14 In-Context

12 Only, Jehovah give to thee wisdom and understanding, and charge thee concerning Israel, even to keep the law of Jehovah thy God;

13 then thou dost prosper, if thou dost observe to do the statutes and the judgments that Jehovah charged Moses with concerning Israel; be strong and courageous; do not fear, nor be cast down.

14 `And lo, in mine affliction, I have prepared for the house of Jehovah of gold talents a hundred thousand, and of silver a thousand thousand talents; and of brass and of iron there is no weighing, for in abundance it hath been, and wood and stones I have prepared, and to them thou dost add.

15 `And with thee in abundance [are] workmen, hewers and artificers of stone and of wood, and every skilful man for every work.

16 To the gold, to the silver, and to the brass, and to the iron, there is no number; arise and do, and Jehovah is with thee.'