1
tn (1:1) Heb "was old, coming into the days" (i.e., advancing in years).
2tn (1:1) Or "garments."
3tn (1:2) Heb "said to."
4tn (1:2) Heb "let them seek for my master, the king, a young girl, a virgin." The third person plural subject of the verb is indefinite (see GKC §144.f). The appositional expression, "a young girl, a virgin," is idiomatic; the second term specifically defines the more general first term (see IBHS 230).
5tn (1:2) Heb "and she will stand before the king." The Hebrew phrase "stand before" can mean "to attend; to serve" (see BDB 764).
6tn (1:2) Heb "and she will lie down in your bosom." The expression might imply sexual intimacy (see 2 Sam 12:3 [where the lamb symbolizes Bathsheba] and Mic 7:5), though v. 4b indicates that David did not actually have sex with the young woman.
7tn (1:2) Heb "and my master, the king, will be warm."
8tn (1:3) Heb "through all the territory of Israel."
9tn (1:4) Heb "did not know her."
10sn (1:5) Haggith was one of David's wives (2 Sam 3:4; 2 Chr 3:2).
11tn (1:5) Heb "lifting himself up."
12tn (1:5) Heb "saying."
13tn (1:5) Or "he acquired for himself."
14tn (1:5) Heb "to run ahead of him."
15tn (1:6) Or "disciplined."
16tn (1:6) Heb "did not correct him from his days." The phrase "from his days" means "from his earliest days," or "ever in his life." See GKC §119.w, n. 2.
17tn (1:6) Heb "and she gave birth to him after Absalom." This does not imply they had the same mother; Absalom's mother was Maacah, not Haggith (2 Sam 3:4).
18tn (1:7) Heb "his words were."
19tn (1:7) Heb "helped after" (i.e., stood by).
20tn (1:7) Heb "Adonijah." The proper name has been replaced by the pronoun ("him") in the translation for stylistic reasons.
21tn (1:8) Or "bodyguard" (Heb "mighty men").
22tn (1:8) Heb "were not."
23tc (1:9) The ancient Greek version omits this appositional phrase.
24tn (1:10) Or "bodyguard" (Heb "mighty men").
25tn (1:11) Heb "Have you not heard?"
26tn (1:11) Heb "and our master David does not know."
27tn (1:12) Heb "now, come." The imperative of Elh is here used as an introductory interjection. See BDB 234.
28tn (1:12) Or "so that."
29tn (1:13) Heb "come, go to." The imperative of Elh is here used as an introductory interjection. See BDB 234.
30tn (1:13) Or "swear an oath to."
31tn (1:14) In the Hebrew text the sentence is introduced by the particle hnh ("look"), which here draws attention to Nathan's concluding word of assurance and support. For this use of the word, see KBL 252.
32tc (1:14) The Hebrew text reads, "I will come after you."
33tn (1:14) Heb "fill up [i.e., confirm] your words."
34tn (1:15) Or "bedroom."
35tn (1:16) Heb "bowed low and bowed down to."
36tc (1:18) Instead of htu ("now") many Hebrew MSS, along with the Old Greek, Syriac Peshitta, and Latin Vulgate, have the similar sounding independent pronoun hta ("you"). This reading is followed in the translation.
37tn (1:18) Heb "you do not know [about it]."
38tc (1:20) Many Hebrew MSS have htu ("now") rather than the similar sounding independent pronoun hta ("you").
39tn (1:20) Heb "the eyes of all Israel are upon you to declare to them who will sit on the throne of my master the king after him."
40tn (1:21) The words "if a decision is not made" are added for clarification.
41tn (1:21) Heb "lies down with his fathers."
42tn (1:21) Heb "I and my son Solomon." The order has been reversed in the translation for stylistic reasons.
43tn (1:21) Heb "will be guilty."
44tn (1:22) Heb "look." The particle hnh here draws attention to Nathan's arrival and invites the audience to view the scene through the eyes of the participants.
45tn (1:23) Heb "ground." Since this was indoors, "floor" is more appropriate than "ground."
46tn (1:25) Heb "look."
47tn (1:25) Heb "eating and drinking."
48tn (1:25) Heb "let the king, Adonijah, live!"
49tc (1:27) Many Hebrew MSS and ancient textual witnesses agree with the Qere in reading this as singular, "your servant."
50tn (1:27) Heb "From my master the king is this thing done, and you did not make known to your servants who will sit on the throne of my master the king after him?"
51tn (1:28) Heb "answered and said."
52sn (1:28) Summon Bathsheba. Bathsheba must have left the room when Nathan arrived (see 1:22).
53tn (1:28) Heb "she came before the king and stood before the king."
54tn (1:29) Or "ransomed my life."
55tn (1:30) Or "carry out, perform."
56tn (1:31) Heb "bowed low, face [to] the ground, and bowed down to the king."
57sn (1:32) Summon...Nathan. Nathan must have left the room when Bathsheba reentered.
58tn (1:33) Heb "the king."
59tn (1:33) The plural form is used in the Hebrew text to indicate honor and authority.
60tn (1:33) Heb "mount Solomon my son on the mule that belongs to me and take him down to Gihon."
61tn (1:34) Or "designate" (i.e., by anointing with oil).
62tn (1:35) Or "commanded."
63tn (1:36) Heb "answered and said."
64tn (1:36) Or "Amen."
65tn (1:36) Heb "So may the LORD God of my master the king say."
66tn (1:37) Heb "and may he make his throne greater than the throne of my master King David."
67sn (1:38) The Kerethites and Pelethites were members of David's royal guard (see 2 Sam 8:18). The Kerethites may have been descendants of an ethnic group originating in Crete.
68tn (1:39) Heb "the horn of oil."
sn (1:39) A horn filled with oil. An animal's horn was used as an oil flask in the anointing ceremony.
69tn (1:39) Or "anointed."
70tn (1:40) Heb "and all the people went up after him, and the people were playing flutes and rejoicing with great joy and the ground split open at the sound of them." The verb uqb ("to split open"), which elsewhere describes the effects of an earthquake, is obviously here an exaggeration for the sake of emphasis.
71tn (1:41) Heb "And Adonijah and all the guests who were with him heard, now they had finished eating."
72tn (1:41) Heb "Why is the city's sound noisy?"
73tn (1:42) The Hebrew text has "look" at this point. The particle hnh here draws attention to Jonathan's arrival and invites the audience to view the scene through the eyes of the participants.
74tn (1:42) Or "surely."
75tn (1:42) Heb "you are a man of strength [or, "ability"] and you bring a message [that is] good." Another option is to understand the phrase lyj vya in the sense of "a worthy man," that is "loyal." See also 1 Kgs 1:52 and KBL 311.
76tn (1:43) Heb "answered and said."
77tn (1:43) For a similar use of lba, see Gen 17:19, where God rejects Abraham's proposal and offers an alternative.
78tn (1:43) The plural form is used in the Hebrew text to indicate honor and authority.
79tn (1:45) I.e., designated by anointing with oil.
80tn (1:46) Heb "And also Solomon sits on the throne of the kingdom."
81tn (1:47) Heb "to bless."
82tn (1:47) The plural form is used in the Hebrew text to indicate honor and authority.
83tc (1:47) Many Hebrew MSS agree with the Qere in reading simply "God."
84tn (1:47) Heb "make the name of Solomon better than your name, and make his throne greater than your throne." The term <v ("name") is used here of one's fame and reputation.
85tn (1:47) Or "bowed down; worshiped."
86tn (1:48) The Hebrew text reads, "and the king said."
87tn (1:48) Or "Blessed be the LORD God of Israel, who...." In this blessing formula rva ("who; because") introduces the reason why the one being blessed deserves the honor.
88tn (1:48) Heb "and my eyes are seeing."
89tn (1:49) Or "were afraid, trembled."
90sn (1:50) Grabbed hold of the horns of the altar. The "horns" of the altar were the horn-shaped projections on the four corners of the altar (see Exod 27:2). By going to the holy place and grabbing hold of the horns of the altar, Adonijah was seeking asylum from Solomon.
91tn (1:51) Heb "King Solomon." The name and title have been replaced by the pronoun ("you") in the translation for stylistic reasons.
92tn (1:51) Or "swear an oath to."
93tn (1:52) Heb "if he is a man of strength [or, ability]." In this context, where Adonijah calls himself a "servant," implying allegiance to the new king, the phrase lyj vya probably carries the sense of "a worthy man," that is, "loyal" (see KBL 311).
94tn (1:52) Heb "but if evil is found in him."
95tn (1:53) Heb "sent and they brought him down."
96tn (1:53) Heb "Go to your house."
1tn (2:1) Heb "and the days of David approached to die."
2tn (2:1) Or "commanded."
3tn (2:2) Heb "going the way of the all the earth."
4tn (2:3) Heb "keep the charge of the LORD your God."
5tn (2:3) Heb "by walking in his ways."
6tn (2:3) Or "keeping."
7tn (2:3) Heb "then you will cause to succeed all which you do and all which you turn there."
8tn (2:4) Heb "then the LORD will establish his word which he spoke to me, saying."
9tn (2:4) Heb "guard their way."
10tn (2:4) Heb "by walking before me in faithfulness."
11tn (2:4) Or "soul."
12tn (2:4) Heb "saying."
13tn (2:4) Heb "there will not be cut off from you a man from upon the throne of Israel."
14tn (2:5) Heb "what he did to the two commanders...and he killed them."
15tn (2:5) Heb "he shed the blood of battle in peace."
16tn (2:5) Heb "and he shed the blood of battle when he killed which is on his waist and on his sandal[s] which are on his feet." That is, he covered himself with guilt and his guilt was obvious to all who saw him.
17tn (2:6) Heb "according to your wisdom."
18tn (2:6) Heb "and do not bring down his grey hair in peace [to] Sheol."
19tn (2:7) Heb "do loyalty with"; or "act faithfully towards."
20tn (2:7) Heb "and let them be among the ones who eat [at] your table."
21tn (2:7) Heb "drew near to."
22tn (2:8) Heb "Look, with you is Shimei...."
23tn (2:8) Heb "and he cursed me with a horrible curse on the day I went to Mahanaim."
24tn (2:8) Or "swore an oath to."
25tn (2:8) Heb "kill you."
26tc (2:9) The Lucianic recension of the Old Greek and the Vulgate have here "you" rather than "now." The two words are homonyms in Hebrew.
27tn (2:9) Heb "what you should do to him"
28tn (2:9) Heb "bring his grey hair down in blood [to] Sheol."
29tn (2:10) Heb "and David lay down with his fathers."
30sn (2:10) The phrase the city of David refers here to the fortress of Zion in Jerusalem, not to Bethlehem. See 2 Sam 5:7.
31tn (2:12) Or "kingship."
32tn (2:13) Heb "[in] peace."
33tn (2:14) Heb "and he said."
34tn (2:15) Or "kingship."
35tn (2:15) Heb "set their face to me to be king."
36tn (2:15) Heb "and the kingdom turned about and became my brother's, for from the LORD it became his."
37tn (2:16) Heb "Do not turn back my face."
38tn (2:16) Heb "She said, `Speak!'"
39tn (2:17) Heb "Say to Solomon the king, for he will not turn back your face, that he might give to me Abishag the Shunammite for a wife."
40tn (2:18) Heb "[It is] good!"
41tn (2:19) Or "meet."
42tn (2:19) Heb "he set up a throne for the mother of the king."
43tn (2:20) Or "I'd like to make just one request of you."
44tn (2:20) Heb "Do not turn back my face."
45tn (2:20) Heb "and the king said to her."
46tn (2:22) Heb "for Adonijah."
47tn (2:23) Heb "So may God do to me, and so may he add."
48tn (2:23) Heb "if with his life Adonijah has not spoken this word."
49tn (2:24) Heb "house."
50tn (2:25) The Hebrew text adds, "by the hand of."
51tn (2:25) Heb "and he struck him and he died."
52tn (2:26) Or "field."
53tn (2:26) Heb "you are a man of death."
54tn (2:26) Heb "and because you suffered through all which my father suffered."
55tn (2:27) Heb "Solomon drove out Abiathar from being a priest to the LORD."
56tn (2:27) Heb "fulfilling the word of the LORD which he spoke against the house of Eli in Shiloh."
57tn (2:28) Heb "turned after" (also later in this verse).
58tn (2:28) Heb "Joab." The proper name has been replaced by the pronoun ("he") in the translation for stylistic reasons.
59sn (2:28) Grabbed hold of the horns of the altar. The "horns" of the altar were the horn-shaped projections on the four corners of the altar (see Exod 27:2). By going to the holy place and grabbing hold of the horns of the altar, Joab was seeking asylum from Solomon.
60tn (2:29) Heb "and it was related to King Solomon."
61tn (2:29) Heb "so Solomon sent Benaiah son of Jehoiada, saying."
62tn (2:30) Heb "saying, "In this way Joab spoke and in this way he answered me."
63tn (2:31) Heb "house."
64tn (2:31) Heb "take away the undeserved bloodshed which Joab spilled from upon me and from upon the house of my father."
65tn (2:32) Heb "The LORD will cause his blood to return upon his head."
66tn (2:32) Heb "because he struck down two men more innocent and better than he and he killed them with the sword, and my father David did not know."
67tn (2:33) Heb "house."
68tn (2:33) Heb "his throne."
69tn (2:34) Heb "struck him and killed him." The referent (Joab) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
70tn (2:35) Heb "over."
71tc (2:35) The Old Greek translation includes after v. 35 some fourteen verses that are absent from the MT.
72tn (2:36) Heb "sent and summoned."
73tn (2:36) Heb "and you may not go out from there here or there."
74tn (2:37) Heb "your blood will be upon your head."
75tn (2:38) Heb "Good is the word, as my master the king has spoken."
76tn (2:38) Heb "so your servant will do."
77tn (2:38) Heb "many days."
78tn (2:42) Heb "sent and summoned."
79tn (2:42) Heb "Is it not [true]...?" In the Hebrew text the statement is interrogative; the rhetorical question expects the answer, "Of course it is."
80tn (2:42) Heb "here or there."
81tn (2:42) Heb "good is the word; I have heard."
82tn (2:43) Heb "Why have you not kept the oath [to] the LORD and the commandment I commanded you?"
83tn (2:44) Heb "You know all the evil, for your heart knows, which you did to David my father."
84tn (2:44) Heb "The LORD will cause your evil to return upon your head."
85tn (2:45) Or "blessed."
86tn (2:45) Heb "throne."
87tn (2:46) "The king commanded Benaiah son of Jehoiada and he went out and struck him down and he died."
88tn (2:46) "And the kingdom was established in the hand of Solomon."
1sn (3:1) The phrase City of David refers here to the fortress of Zion in Jerusalem, not to Bethlehem. See 2 Sam 5:7.
2sn (3:2) Offering sacrifices at the high places. The "high places" were places of worship that were naturally or artificially elevated.
3tn (3:2) Heb "for the name of the LORD." The word "name" sometimes refers to one's reputation or honor (thus the translation here, "to honor the LORD"). The "name" of the LORD sometimes designates the LORD himself, being indistinguishable from the proper name.
4tn (3:3) Heb "Solomon loved the LORD by walking in."
5tn (3:3) Or "policies, rules."
6tn (3:4) Heb "for it was the great high place."
7tn (3:4) The verb form is an imperfect, which is probably used here in a customary sense to indicate continued or repeated action in past time. See GKC §107.b.
8tn (3:5) Or "revealed himself."
9tn (3:5) Heb "ask."
10tn (3:6) Heb "did."
11tn (3:6) Heb "walked before."
12tn (3:6) Heb "in faithfulness and in innocence and in uprightness of heart with you."
13tn (3:6) Heb "and you have kept to him this great loyalty and you gave to him a son [who] sits on his throne as this day."
14tn (3:7) Heb "and I do not know going out or coming in."
15tn (3:8) There is no verb expressed in the Hebrew text; "stands" is supplied in the translation for clarification.
16tn (3:8) Heb "your people whom you have chosen."
17tn (3:9) Heb "a hearing heart." (The Hebrew term translated "heart" often refers to the mental faculties.)
18tn (3:9) Heb "to judge."
19tn (3:9) Heb "to understand between good and evil."
20tn (3:9) Heb "for;" the word "otherwise" is used to reflect the logical sense of the statement.
21tn (3:9) Heb "who is able?" The rhetorical question anticipates the answer, "no one."
22tn (3:9) Heb "to judge."
23tn (3:9) Heb "your numerous people."
24tn (3:10) The Hebrew term translated "Lord" here and in v.15 is yn´d)a& (a&d{n´y).
25tn (3:10) Heb "And the thing was good in the eyes of the Lord, for Solomon asked for this thing."
26tn (3:11) Heb "because you asked for this thing, and did not ask for yourself many days and did not ask for yourself riches and did not ask for the life of your enemies, but you asked for yourself understanding to hear judgment."
27tn (3:12) This statement is introduced in the Hebrew text by the particle hnh ("look") which draws attention to and emphasizes what follows.
28tn (3:12) Heb "I am doing according to your words." The perfect tense is sometimes used of actions occurring at the same time a statement is made.
29tn (3:12) This statement is introduced by the particle hnh ("look") which draws attention to and emphasizes what follows. The translation assumes that the perfect tense here indicates that the action occurs as the statement is made (i.e., "right now I give you").
30tn (3:12) Heb "heart." (The Hebrew term translated "heart" often refers to the mental faculties.)
31tn (3:12) Heb "so that there has not been one like you prior to you, and after you one will not arise like you."
32tn (3:13) The translation assumes that the perfect tense here indicates that the action occurs as the statement is made.
33tn (3:13) Heb "so that there is not one among the kings like you all your days." The LXX lacks the words "all your days."
34tn (3:14) Heb "walk in my ways."
35tn (3:14) Or "keeping."
36tn (3:14) Heb "walked."
37tn (3:14) Heb "I will lengthen your days."
38tn (3:15) Heb "and look, a dream."
39tn (3:15) Or "peace offerings."
40sn (3:18) There was no one else in the house except the two of us. In other words, there were no other witnesses to the births who could identify which child belonged to which mother.
41tn (3:19) Heb "died."
42tn (3:19) Heb "lay, slept."
43tn (3:21) Heb "look."
44tn (3:21) Heb "look, it was not my son to whom I had given birth."
45tn (3:22) Heb "they spoke before the king." Another option is to translate, "they argued before the king."
46tn (3:26) Heb "the woman whose son was alive."
47tn (3:26) Heb "for her compassions grew warm for her son."
48tn (3:26) The infinitive absolute before the negated jussive emphasizes the main verb.
49tn (3:28) Heb "feared," perhaps in the sense, "stood in awe of."
50tn (3:28) Heb "saw."
51tn (3:28) Heb "the wisdom of God within him."
1tn (4:4) Heb "was over."
2tn (4:5) Heb "was over."
3tn (4:5) Heb "close associate of."
4tn (4:6) Heb "over the house."
5tn (4:6) Heb "was over."
6sn (4:6) The work crews. This Hebrew word (m^s) refers to a group of laborers conscripted for royal or public service.
7sn (5:1) Beginning with 4:21, the verse numbers through 5:18 in the English Bible differ from the verse numbers in the Hebrew text (BHS), with 4:21 ET = 5:1 HT, 4:22 ET = 5:2 HT, etc., through 5:18 ET = 5:32 HT. Beginning with 6:1 the numbering of verses in the English Bible and the Hebrew text is again the same.
8tn (5:1) Heb "the River" (also in v. 24). This is the standard designation for the Euphrates River in biblical Hebrew.
9tn (5:1) Heb "[They] were bringing tribute and were serving Solomon all the days of his life."
10tn (4:22) Heb "the food of Solomon for each day was."
11tn (4:22) As a unit of dry measure a cor was roughly equivalent to six bushels.
12tn (4:23) The words "in the stall" are added for clarification; note the immediately following reference to cattle from the pasture.
13tn (4:24) Heb "because." The words "his royal court was so large" are added to facilitate the logical connection with the preceding verse.
14sn (4:24) Tiphsah. This was located on the Euphrates River.
15tn (4:24) Heb "for he was ruling over all [the region] beyond the River, from Tiphsah to Gaza, over all the kingdoms beyond the River, and he had peace on every side all around."
16tn (4:25) Heb "Judah and Israel lived securely, each one under his vine and under his fig tree, from Dan to Beersheba, all the days of Solomon."
17tn (4:26) The Hebrew text has "forty thousand," but this is probably an inflated number. Some Greek MSS of the OT and the parallel in 2 Chr 9:25 read "four thousand."
18tn (4:27) Heb "everyone who drew near to the table of King Solomon."
19tn (4:28) Heb "barley and straw for the horses and the steeds they brought to the place which was there, each according to his measure."
20tn (4:29) Heb "heart," i.e., mind. (The Hebrew term translated "heart" often refers to the mental faculties.)
21tn (4:30) Heb "the wisdom of Solomon was greater than the wisdom of all the sons of the east and all the wisdom of Egypt."
22tn (4:31) Heb "his name was in all the surrounding nations."
23tn (4:32) Heb "spoke."
24tn (4:33) Heb "he spoke about plants."
25tn (4:33) Heb "he spoke about."
26tn (4:34) Heb "the wisdom of Solomon."
1sn (5:15) The verse numbers in the English Bible differ from those in the Hebrew text (BHS) here; 5:1-18 in the English Bible corresponds to 5:15-32 in the Hebrew text. See the note at 4:21.
2tn (5:15) Heb "his servants."
3tn (5:3) Heb "a house for the name of the LORD." The word "name" sometimes refers to one's reputation or honor. The "name" of the LORD sometimes designates the LORD himself, being indistinguishable from the proper name.
4tn (5:3) Heb "because of the battles which surrounded him until the LORD placed them under the soles of his feet."
5tn (5:5) Heb "Look, I am saying."
6tn (5:5) Heb "a house for the name of the LORD." The word "name" sometimes refers to one's reputation or honor. The "name" of the LORD sometimes designates the LORD himself, being indistinguishable from the proper name.
7tn (5:5) Heb "a house for my name." The word "name" sometimes refers to one's reputation or honor. The "name" of the LORD sometimes designates the LORD himself, being indistinguishable from the proper name.
8tn (5:7) Or "Blessed be the LORD today, who...."
9tn (5:8) Heb "heard."
10tn (5:8) Heb "I will satisfy all your desire with respect to cedar wood and with respect to the wood of evergreens."
11tn (5:9) Heb "I will place them [on? as?] rafts in the sea to the place where you designate to me." This may mean he would send them by raft, or that he would tie them in raft-like bundles, and have ships tow them down to an Israelite port.
12tn (5:9) Heb "smash them," i.e., untie the bundles.
13tn (5:9) Heb "as for you, you will satisfy my desire by giving food for my house."
14tn (5:10) Heb "and Hiram gave to Solomon cedar wood and the wood of evergreens, all his desire."
15sn (5:11) As a unit of dry measure a cor was roughly equivalent to six bushels.
16tn (5:11) Heb "his house."
17tc (5:11) The Hebrew text has "twenty cors," but the ancient Greek version and the parallel text in 2 Chr 2:10 read "twenty thousand baths."
sn (5:11) A bath was a liquid measure equivalent to almost six gallons.
18tn (5:11) Or "pressed."
19tn (5:11) Heb "and Solomon supplied Hiram with twenty thousand cors of wheat...pure olive oil. So Solomon would give to Hiram year by year."
20tn (5:12) Heb "a covenant," referring to a formal peace treaty or alliance.
21tn (5:13) Heb "raised up."
22sn (5:13) Work crews. This Hebrew word (m^s) refers to a group of laborers conscripted for royal or public service.
23tn (5:14) Heb "was over."
24tn (5:15) Heb "carriers of loads."
25tn (5:15) Heb "cutters" (probably of stones).
26tc (5:16) Some Greek MSS of the OT read "thirty-six hundred"; cf. 2 Chr 2:2, 18.
27tn (5:16) Heb "besides thirty-three hundred from the officials of Solomon's governors who were over the work, the ones ruling over the people, the ones doing the work."
28tn (5:17) Heb "and the king commanded."
29tn (5:18) Heb "builders."
30tn (5:18) Heb "the Gebalites." The reading is problematic and some emend to a verb form meaning, "set the borders."
31tc (5:18) The LXX includes the words "for three years."
1sn (6:1) During the month Ziv. This would be April-May, 966 B.C. by modern reckoning.
2tn (6:2) Heb "sixty cubits." A cubit was a unit of measure roughly equivalent to 18 inches or 45 cm. Measurements in vv. 2-10 have been converted to feet in the translation for clarity.
3tn (6:2) Heb "twenty cubits."
4tn (6:2) Heb "thirty cubits."
5tn (6:3) Heb "twenty cubits."
6tn (6:3) Heb "ten cubits."
7tn (6:5) Heb "and he built on the wall of the temple an extension all around, the walls of the temple all around, for the main hall and for the holy place, and he made siderooms all around."
8tn (6:6) Heb "five cubits."
9tn (6:6) Heb "six cubits."
10tn (6:6) Heb "seven cubits."
11tn (6:6) Or "ledges."
12tn (6:6) Heb "so that [the beams] would not have a hold in the walls of the temple."
13tn (6:7) Heb "finished stone of the quarry," i.e., stones chiseled and shaped at the time they were taken out of the quarry.
14tc (6:8) The Hebrew text has "middle," but the remainder of the verse suggests this is an error.
15tn (6:8) Heb "by stairs they went up." The word translated "stairs" occurs only here. Other options are "trapdoors" or "ladders."
16tc (6:8) The translation reads with a few medieval Hebrew MSS, the Syriac Peshitta, and Vulgate tyvlvh ("the third") rather than MT myvlvh ("the thirty").
17tn (6:9) Heb " built the house and completed it."
18tn (6:9) Heb "the house."
19tn (6:9) The word occurs only here; the precise meaning is uncertain.
20tn (6:9) Heb "and rows with cedar wood."
21tn (6:10) Heb "five cubits." This must refer to the height of each floor or room.
22tc (6:11) The LXX lacks vv. 11-14.
23tn (6:11) Heb "the word of the LORD was."
24tn (6:12) Heb "walk in."
25tn (6:12) Heb "do."
26tn (6:12) Heb "and keep all my commandments by walking in them."
27tn (6:12) Heb "I will establish my word with you which I spoke to David your father."
28tn (6:14) Heb " built the house and completed it."
29tc (6:15) The MT reads twryq ("walls"), but this should be emended to twrwq ("rafters"). See BDB 900.
30tn (6:16) Heb "He built twenty cubits from the rear areas of the temple with cedar planks from the floor to the walls, and he built it on the inside for an inner sanctuary, for a holy place of holy places."
31tc (6:16) The MT reads twryq ("walls"), but this should be emended to twrwq ("rafters"). See BDB 900.
32tn (6:17) Heb "and the house was forty cubits, that is, the main hall before it."
33tn (6:18) Heb "Cedar was inside the temple, carvings of gourds (i.e., gourd-shaped ornaments) and opened flowers; the whole was cedar, no stone was seen."
34tn (6:20) Heb "twenty cubits" (this measurement occurs three times in this verse).
35tn (6:20) Heb "with plated gold" (or perhaps, "with pure gold").
36tn (6:20) Heb "he plated [the] altar of cedar."
37tn (6:21) Heb "with plated gold" (or perhaps, "with pure gold").
38tn (6:21) Heb "it."
39tn (6:22) Heb "all the temple he plated with gold until all the temple was finished; and the whole altar which was in the inner sanctuary he plated with gold."
40tn (6:23) Heb "ten cubits" (a cubit was a unit of measure roughly equivalent to 18 inches or 45 cm).
41tn (6:24) Heb "The first wing of the [one] cherub was five cubits, and the second wing of the cherub was five cubits, ten cubits from the tips of his wings to the tips of his wings."
42tn (6:25) Heb "and the second cherub was ten cubits, the two cherubs had one measurement and one shape."
43tn (6:26) Heb "the height of the first cherub was ten cubits; and so was the second cherub."
44tn (6:27) Heb "in the midst of the inner house," i.e., in the inner sanctuary.
45tn (6:27) Heb "and their wings were in the middle of the room, touching wing to wing."
46sn (6:29) Inside and out probably refers to the inner and outer rooms within the building.
47tn (6:29) Heb "carved engravings of carvings."
48sn (6:30) Inside and out probably refers to the inner and outer rooms within the building.
49tn (6:31) Heb "the pillar, doorposts, a fifth part" (the precise meaning of this description is uncertain).
50tn (6:32) Heb "carved carvings of."
51tn (6:32) Heb "he plated [with] gold" (the precise object is not stated).
52tn (6:32) Heb "and he hammered out the gold on the cherubs and the palm trees."
53tn (6:33) Heb "and so he did at the entrance of the main hall, doorposts of olive wood, from a fourth."
54tn (6:34) The words "he also made" are added for stylistic reasons.
55tc (6:34) Heb "two of the leaves of the first door were folding, and two of the leaves of the second door were folding." In the second half of the description, the MT has <yulq ("curtains"), but this is surely a corruption of <yulx ("leaves") which appears in the first half of the statement.
56sn (6:37) In the month Ziv. This would be April-May, 966 B.C. by modern reckoning.
57tn (6:37) The words "of Solomon's reign" are added for clarification. See v. 1.
58sn (6:38) In the month Bul. This would be October-November 559 B.C. in modern reckoning.
59tn (6:38) Heb "he built it in seven years."
1tn (7:1) Heb "His house Solomon built in thirteen years and he completed all his house."
2tn (7:2) Heb "he built."
3sn (7:2) The Palace of the Lebanon Forest. This name was appropriate because of the large amount of cedar, undoubtedly brought from Lebanon, used in its construction. The cedar pillars in the palace must have given it the appearance of a forest.
4tn (7:2) Heb "one hundred cubits."
5tn (7:2) Heb "fifty cubits."
6tn (7:2) Heb "thirty cubits."
7tn (7:4) Heb "and framed [windows in] three rows, and opening to opening three times." The precise meaning of this description is uncertain. Another option might be, "overhung [in] three rows." This might mean they were positioned high on the walls.
8tn (7:5) Heb "all of the doors and doorposts."
9sn (7:5) Rectangular in shape. That is, rather than arched.
10tn (7:5) Heb "and all the entrances and the doorposts [had] four frames, and in front of opening to opening three times" (the precise meaning of the description is uncertain).
11tn (7:6) Heb "a porch of pillars."
12tn (7:6) Heb "fifty cubits."
13tn (7:6) Heb "thirty cubits."
14tn (7:6) Heb "and a porch was in front of them (i.e., the aforementioned pillars) and pillars and a roof in front of them (i.e., the aforementioned pillars and porch)." The precise meaning of the term translated "roof" is uncertain; it occurs only here and in Ezek 41:25-26.
15tn (7:7) Heb "and a porch for the throne, where he was making judicial decisions, the Porch of Judgment, he made."
16tc (7:7) The Hebrew text reads, "from the floor to the floor." The second occurrence of the term uqrqh ("the floor") is probably an error; one should emend to twrwqh ("the rafters"). See 6:16.
17tn (7:8) Heb "and his house where he lived, the other court [i.e., as opposed to the great court], separated from the house belonging to the hall, was like this work [i.e., this style of architecture]."
18tn (7:8) Heb "and a house he was making for the daughter of Pharaoh, whom Solomon had taken, like this porch."
19tn (7:9) Or "valuable" (see 5:17).
20tn (7:9) Heb "according to the measurement of chiseled [stone]."
21tn (7:9) Heb "inside and out."
22tn (7:9) The precise meaning of the Hebrew word twjpf is uncertain, but it is clear that the referent stands in opposition to the foundation.
23tn (7:10) Heb "stones of ten cubits and stones of eight cubits" (it is unclear exactly what dimension is being measured).
24tn (7:11) Heb "on top," or "above."
25tn (7:11) Or "valuable" (see 5:17).
26tn (7:11) Heb "according to the measurement of chiseled [stone]."
27tn (7:12) Or "the porch of the temple."
28tn (7:13) Heb "King Solomon sent and took Hiram from Tyre." In 2 Chr 2:13 (Heb. v. 12) and 4:11, 16 his name is spelled "Huram."
29tn (7:14) 2 Chr 2:14 (13 HT) says "from the daughters of Dan."
30tn (7:14) Heb "he was filled with the skill, understanding and knowledge."
31tn (7:15) Heb "eighteen cubits."
32tn (7:15) Heb "twelve cubits."
33tn (7:16) Heb "two capitals he made to place on the tops of the pillars, cast in bronze; five cubits was the height of the first capital, and five cubits was the height of the second capital."
34tn (7:17) Heb "there were seven for the first capital, and seven for the second capital."
35tn (7:18) Heb "he made the pillars, and two rows surrounding one latticework to cover the capitals which were on top of the pomegranates, and so he did for the second latticework." The translation supplies "pomegranates" after "two rows," and understands "pillars," rather than "pomegranates," to be the correct reading after "on top of." The latter change finds support from many Hebrew MSS and the ancient Greek version.
36tn (7:19) Heb "the capitals which were on the top of the pillars were the work of lilies, in the porch, four cubits." It is unclear exactly what dimension is being measured.
37tn (7:20) Heb "and the capitals on the two pillars, also above, close beside the bulge which was beside the latticework, two hundred pomegranates in rows around , on the second capital." The precise meaning of the word translated "bulge" is uncertain.
38tn (7:21) Or "south."
39sn (7:21) The name Jakin appears to be a verbal form and probably means, "he establishes."
40tn (7:21) Or "north."
41sn (7:21) The meaning of the name Boaz is uncertain. For various proposals, see BDB 126-27. One attractive option is to revocalize the name as zu)B= ("in strength") and to understand it as completing the verbal form on the first pillar. Taking the words together and reading from right to left, one can translate the sentence, "he establishes [it] in strength."
42tn (7:23) Heb "He made the sea, cast."
sn (7:23) This large basin that was mounted on twelve bronze bulls and contained water for the priests to bathe themselves [2 Chr 4:6; cf. Exod 30:17-21].
43tn (7:23) Heb "ten cubits."
44tn (7:23) Heb "five cubits."
45tn (7:23) Heb "and a measuring line went around it thirty cubits all around."
46tn (7:24) Heb "The Sea." The proper noun has been replaced by the pronoun ("it") in the translation for stylistic reasons.
47tn (7:24) Or "gourd-shaped ornaments."
48tn (7:24) Heb "ten cubits surrounding the sea all around." The precise meaning of this description is uncertain.
49tn (7:24) Heb "the gourd-shaped ornaments were in two rows, cast in its casting."
50tn (7:25) Heb "all their hindquarters were toward the inside."
51tn (7:26) Heb "two thousand baths" (a bath was a liquid measure roughly equivalent to six gallons).
52tn (7:27) Heb "four cubits."
53tn (7:27) Heb "four cubits."
54tn (7:27) Heb "three cubits."
55tn (7:29) The precise meaning of these final words is uncertain. A possible literal translation would be, "wreaths, the work of descent."
56tn (7:30) The precise meaning of this last word, translated "wreaths," is uncertain.
57tn (7:31) Heb "And its opening from the inside to the top and upwards [was] a cubit, and its opening was round, the work of a stand, a cubit-and-a-half." The precise meaning of this description is uncertain.
58tn (7:31) Heb "also over its opening were carvings and their frames [were] squared, not round."
59tn (7:32) Heb "a cubit-and-a-half" (a cubit was a unit of measure roughly equivalent to 18 inches or 45 cm).
60tn (7:34) Heb "four shoulders to the four sides of each stand, from the stand its shoulders." The precise meaning of the description is uncertain.
61tn (7:35) Heb "and on top of the stand, a half cubit [in] height, round all around" (the meaning of this description is uncertain).
62tn (7:36) Heb "according to the space of each."
63tn (7:36) The precise meaning of this last word, translated "wreaths," is uncertain.
64tn (7:38) Heb "forty baths" (a bath was a liquid measure roughly equivalent to six gallons).
65tn (7:38) Heb "four cubits, each basin." It is unclear which dimension is being measured.
66tn (7:40) Heb "Hiram." The proper name has been replaced by the pronoun ("he") in the translation for stylistic reasons.
67tn (7:40) Heb "Hiram finished doing all the work which he did for King Solomon [on] the house of the LORD."
68tn (7:41) The words "he made" are added for stylistic reasons.
69tn (7:44) Heb "underneath `The Sea.'"
70tn (7:45) Heb "which Hiram made for King Solomon [for] the house of the LORD."
71tn (7:46) Or perhaps, "molds."
72tn (7:47) Heb "Solomon left all the items, due to their very great abundance; the weight of the bronze was not sought."
73tn (7:48) Heb "the bread of the face [or, presence]." Many recent translations employ "bread of the Presence," but this does not convey much to the modern reader.
sn (7:48) The bread offered to God. This bread was viewed as a perpetual offering to God. See Lev 24:5-9.
74tn (7:51) Heb "Solomon." The proper name has been replaced by the pronoun ("he") in the translation for stylistic reasons.
1tc (8:1) The Old Greek translation includes the following words at the beginning of ch. 8: "It so happened that when Solomon finished building the Lord's temple and his own house, after twenty years."
2tn (8:1) Heb "Then Solomon convened the elders of Israel, the heads of the tribes, the chiefs of the fathers belonging to the sons of Israel to King Solomon [in] Jerusalem to bring up the ark of the covenant of the LORD from the city of David (it is Zion)."
3sn (8:2) The festival. This was the Feast of Tabernacles, see Lev 23:34.
4sn (8:2) The month Ethanim. This would be September-October in modern reckoning.
5tn (8:4) Heb "the tent of assembly."
sn (8:4) The tent of meeting. See Exod 33:7-11.
6tn (8:4) Heb "and they carried the ark of the LORD.... The priests and the Levites carried them."
7tn (8:5) Heb "And King Solomon and all the assembly of Israel, those who had been gathered to him, [were] before the ark, sacrificing sheep and cattle which could not be counted or numbered because of the abundance."
8tn (8:6) The word "assigned" is supplied in the translation for clarification.
9sn (8:7) And its poles. These poles were used to carry the ark. See Exod 25:13-15.
10tn (8:8) Heb "they could not be seen outside."
11sn (8:9) Horeb is another name for Mount Sinai.
12tn (8:9) Heb "in Horeb where."
13tn (8:11) Heb "were not able to stand to serve."
14tn (8:11) Heb "the house of the LORD."
15tn (8:13) The words "O LORD" do not appear in the original text, but they are supplied for clarification; Solomon addresses the Lord in prayer at this point.
16tn (8:14) Heb "turned his face."
17tn (8:14) Heb "and he blessed all the assembly of Israel, and all the assembly of Israel was standing."
18tn (8:15) The Hebrew text reads, "by his hand."
19tn (8:15) The Hebrew text reads, "by his mouth."
20tn (8:16) Heb "saying."
21tn (8:16) Heb "to build a house for my name to be there."
sn (8:16) To build a temple in which to live (Heb "to build a house for my name to be there"). In the OT, the word "name" sometimes refers to one's reputation or honor. The "name" of the LORD sometimes designates the LORD himself, being indistinguishable from the proper name.
22tn (8:17) Heb "and it was with the heart of David my father."
23tn (8:17) Heb "to build a house for the name of the LORD God of Israel." The word "name" in the OT sometimes refers to one's reputation or honor. The "name" of the LORD sometimes designates the LORD himself, being indistinguishable from the proper name.
24tn (8:18) Heb "Because it was with your heart to build a house for my name, you did well that it was with your heart."
25tn (8:19) Heb "your son, the one who came out of your body, he will build the temple for my name."
26tn (8:20) Heb "his word that he spoke."
27tn (8:20) Heb "name."
28tn (8:21) Heb "fathers" (also in vv. 34, 40, 48, 53, 57, 58).
29tn (8:22) Or "heaven."
30tn (8:23) Heb "said."
31tn (8:23) Heb "one who keeps the covenant and the loyal love." The expression is a hendiadys.
32tn (8:23) Heb "who walk before you with all their heart."
33tn (8:24) Heb "[you] who kept to your servant David my father that which you spoke to him."
34tn (8:24) Heb "you spoke by your mouth and by your hand you fulfilled, as this day."
35tn (8:25) Heb "there will not be cut off from you a man from before me sitting on the throne of Israel."
36tn (8:25) Heb "guard their way by walking before me as you have walked before me."
37tn (8:26) Heb "the words that you spoke."
38tn (8:26) Or "prove to be reliable."
39tn (8:27) Heb "Indeed, can God really live on the earth?" The rhetorical question expects the answer, "Of course not," the force of which the translation above seeks to reflect.
40tn (8:28) Heb "turn to."
41tn (8:28) Heb "by listening to."
42tn (8:28) Heb "the loud cry and the prayer."
43tn (8:28) Heb "praying before you."
44tn (8:29) Heb "so your eyes might be open toward this house night and day, toward the place about which you said, `My name will be there.'"
45tn (8:29) Heb "by listening to the prayer which your servant is praying concerning this place."
46tn (8:30) Heb "listen to the request of your servant and your people Israel which they are praying concerning this place."
47tn (8:30) Heb "and you, hear inside your dwelling place, inside heaven." The precise nuance of the preposition la, used here with the verb "hear," is unclear. One expects the preposition "from," which appears in the parallel text in 2 Chr 6:21. The nuance "inside; among" is attested for la (see Gen 23:19; 1 Sam 10:22; Jer 4:3), but in each case a verb of motion is employed with the preposition, unlike 1 Kgs 8:30. The translation above ("from inside") is based on the demands of the immediate context rather than attested usage elsewhere.
48tn (8:30) Heb "hear and forgive."
49tn (8:31) Heb "and forgive the man who sins against his neighbor when one takes up against him a curse to curse him and the curse comes before your altar in this house." In the Hebrew text the words "and forgive" conclude v. 30, but the accusative sign at the beginning of v. 31 suggests the verb actually goes with what follows in v. 31. The parallel text in 2 Chr 6:22 begins with "and if," rather than the accusative sign. In this case "forgive" must be taken with what precedes, and v. 31 must be taken as the protasis ("if" clause) of a conditional sentence, with v. 32 being the apodosis ("then" clause) that completes the sentence.
sn (8:31) Be willing to forgive the accused if the accusation is false. At first it appears that Solomon is asking God to forgive the guilty party. But in v. 32 Solomon asks the LORD to discern who is guilty and innocent, so v. 31 must refer to a situation where an accusation has been made, but not yet proven. The very periphrastic translation reflects this interpretation.
50tn (8:32) Heb "and you, hear [from] heaven and act and judge your servants by declaring the guilty to be guilty, to give his way on his head, and to declare the innocent to be innocent, to give to him according to his innocence."
51tn (8:33) Heb "when." In the Hebrew text vv. 33-34 actually contain one lengthy conditional sentence, which the translation has divided into two sentences for stylistic reasons.
52tn (8:33) Or "are struck down before an enemy."
53tn (8:33) Heb "confess [or perhaps, "praise"] your name."
54tn (8:33) Heb "and they pray and ask for help."
55tn (8:35) Heb "when." In the Hebrew text vv. 35-36a actually contain one lengthy conditional sentence, which the translation has divided into two sentences for stylistic reasons.
56tn (8:35) Heb "they"; the referent (your people) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
57tn (8:35) Heb "confess [or perhaps, "praise"] your name."
58tn (8:35) The Hebrew text has "because you answer them," as if the verb is from hnu ("to answer"). However, this reference to a divine answer is premature, since the next verse asks for God to intervene in mercy. It is better to revocalize the consonantal text as <N}u^t= ("you afflict them"), a Piel verb form from the homonym hnu ("to afflict").
59tn (8:36) The translation understands yk in an emphatic or asseverative sense.
60tn (8:36) Heb "the good way in which they should walk."
61tn (8:36) Or "for an inheritance."
62tn (8:37) Actually two Hebrew terms appear here, both of which are usually taken as referring to locusts. Perhaps different stages of growth or different varieties are in view.
63tn (8:37) Heb "in the land, his gates."
64tn (8:38) Heb "every prayer, every request for help which will be to all the people, to all your people Israel."
65tn (8:38) Heb "which they know, each the pain of his heart."
66tn (8:39) The words "their sin" are added for clarification.
67tn (8:39) Heb "and act and give to each one according to all his ways because you know his heart." In the Hebrew text vv. 37-39a actually contain one lengthy conditional sentence, which the translation has divided up for stylistic reasons.
68tn (8:39) Heb "Indeed you know, you alone, the heart of all the sons of mankind."
69tn (8:40) Heb "fear."
70tn (8:40) Heb "all the days [in] which."
71tn (8:41) Heb "your name." In the OT the word "name" sometimes refers to one's reputation or honor. The "name" of the LORD sometimes designates the LORD himself, being indistinguishable from the proper name.
72tn (8:42) Heb "your great name." See the note on the word "reputation" in the previous verse.
73tn (8:42) Heb "and your strong hand and your outstretched arm."
74tn (8:43) Heb "and do all which the foreigner calls to [i.e, "requests of"] you."
75tn (8:43) Heb "your name." See the note on the word "reputation" in v. 41.
76tn (8:43) Heb "fear."
77tn (8:43) Heb "that your name is called over this house which I built." The Hebrew idiom "to call the name over" indicates ownership. See 2 Sam 12:28.
78tn (8:44) Heb "When your people go out for battle against their enemies in the way which you send them."
79tn (8:44) Or perhaps "to you, O LORD." See 2 Chr 6:34.
80tn (8:44) Heb "your name." See the note on the word "reputation" in v. 41.
81tn (8:45) Heb "their prayer and their request for help."
82tn (8:45) Heb "and accomplish their justice."
83tn (8:46) Heb "they;" the referent (your people) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
84tn (8:46) Heb "the land of the enemy."
85tn (8:47) Heb "they;" the referent (your people) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
86tn (8:47) Or "stop and reflect"; Heb "bring back to their heart."
87tn (8:47) Or "done wrong."
88tn (8:48) Or "soul."
89tn (8:48) Heb "in the land of their enemies."
90tn (8:48) Heb "your name." See the note on the word "reputation" in v. 41.
91tn (8:49) Heb "their prayer and their request for help."
92tn (8:49) Heb "and accomplish their justice."
93tn (8:50) Heb "and forgive your people who have sinned against you, [forgive] all their rebellious acts by which they rebelled against you, and grant them mercy before their captors so they will show them mercy."
94tn (8:51) Or "for."
95tn (8:51) Heb "inheritance."
96tn (8:51) The Hebrew term rWK (KWr, "furnace," cf. Akkadian ku,,ru) is a metaphor for the intense heat of purification. A rWK was not a source of heat but a crucible ("iron-smelting furnace") in which precious metals were melted down and their impurities burned away (see I. Cornelius, NIDOTTE 2:618-19). Thus Egypt served not as a place of punishment for the Israelites, but as a place of refinement to bring Israel to a place of submission to divine sovereignty.
sn (8:51) From the middle of the iron-smelting furnace. The metaphor of a furnace suggests fire and heat and is an apt image to remind the people of the suffering they endured while slaves in Egypt.
97tn (8:52) Heb "May your eyes be open."
98tn (8:52) Heb "to listen to them in all their calling out to you."
99tn (8:53) Or "For."
100tn (8:53) Heb "your inheritance."
101tn (8:54) Or "toward heaven."
102tn (8:56) Heb "he has given a resting place to his people Israel."
103tn (8:56) Heb "not one word from his entire good word he spoke by Moses his servant has fallen."
104tn (8:58) Heb "to bend our hearts toward him." The infinitive is subordinate to the initial prayer, "may the LORD our God be with us." The Hebrew term bbl ("heart") here refers to the people's volition and will.
105tn (8:58) Heb "to walk in all his ways."
106tn (8:58) Heb "keep."
107tn (8:59) Heb "May these words of mine, which I have requested before the LORD, be near the LORD our God day and night."
108tn (8:59) Heb "accomplish the justice of."
109tn (8:60) Heb "so that."
110tn (8:60) Heb "the LORD, he is the God, there is no other."
111tn (8:61) Heb "may your hearts be complete with the LORD our God."
112tn (8:61) Heb "walking in."
113tn (8:61) Heb "keeping."
114tn (8:61) Heb "as this day."
115tn (8:63) Or "peace offerings."
116tn (8:64) Heb "to hold the burnt sacrifices, grain offerings, and the fat of the peace offerings."
117tn (8:65) Heb "Solomon held at that time the festival, and all Israel was with with him, a great assembly from Lebo Hamath to the Stream of Egypt, before the LORD our God for seven days and seven days, fourteen days."
118tn (8:66) Heb "on the eighth day" (that is, the day after the second seven-day sequence).
119tn (8:66) Heb "they blessed the king."
120tn (8:66) Heb "good of heart."
1tn (9:1) Heb "and all the desire of Solomon which he wanted to do."
2sn (9:2) In the same way he had appeared to him at Gibeon. See 1 Kgs 3:5.
3tn (9:3) Heb "I have heard."
4tn (9:3) Heb "by placing my name there perpetually" (or perhaps, "forever").
5tn (9:3) Heb "and my eyes and my heart will be there all the days."
6tn (9:4) Heb "As for you, if you walk before me, as David your father walked, in integrity of heart and in uprightness, by doing all which I commanded you, [and] you keep my rules and my regulations." Verse 4 is actually a lengthy protasis ("if" section) of a conditional sentence, the apodosis ("then" section) of which appears in v. 5.
7tn (9:5) Heb "I will establish the throne of your kingdom over Israel forever."
8tn (9:5) Heb "there will not be cut off from you a man from upon the throne of Israel."
9tn (9:6) Heb "which I placed before you."
10tn (9:6) Heb "and walk and serve other gods and bow down to them."
11tn (9:7) Heb "I will cut off Israel from upon the surface of the land."
12tn (9:7) Heb "and the temple which I consecrated for my name I will send away from before my face."
sn (9:7) Instead of "I will send away," the parallel text in 2 Chr 7:20 has "I will throw away." The two verbs sound very similar in Hebrew, so the discrepancy is likely due to an oral transmissional error.
13tn (9:7) Heb "will become a proverb and a taunt," that is, a proverbial example of destruction and an object of reproach.
14tn (9:8) Heb "and this house will be high [or, elevated]." The statement makes little sense in this context, which predicts the desolation that judgment will bring. Some treat the clause as concessive, "Even though this temple is lofty [now]." Others, following the lead of several ancient versions, emend the text to, "this temple will become a heap of ruins."
15tn (9:8) Heb "hiss," or perhaps "whistle." This refers to a derisive sound one would make when taunting an object of ridicule.
16tn (9:9) Heb "and they will say."
17tn (9:9) Heb "fathers."
18tn (9:9) Heb "and they took hold of other gods and bowed down to them and served them."
19tn (9:10) Heb "the two houses, the house of the LORD and the house of the king."
20tn (9:12) Heb "they were not agreeable in his eyes."
21tn (9:13) Heb "and he said."
22tn (9:13) Heb "my brother." Kings allied through a parity treaty would sometimes address each other as "my brother." See 1 Kgs 20:32-33.
23tn (9:13) Heb "he called them the land of Cabul to this day." The significance of the name is unclear, though it appears to be disparaging. The name may be derived from a root, attested in Akkadian and Arabic, meaning "bound" or "restricted." Some propose a wordplay, pointing out that the name "Cabul" sounds like a Hebrew phrase meaning, "like not," or "as good as nothing."
24sn (9:14) Units. The Hebrew term rkk ("circle") refers generally to something that is round. When used of metals it can refer to a disk-shaped weight made of the metal or to a standard unit of weight.
25sn (9:15) The work crews. This Hebrew word (m^s) refers to a group of laborers conscripted for royal or public service.
26tn (9:15) Heb "raised up."
27tn (9:15) The words "the cities of" are supplied in the translation for clarification.
28tn (9:18) The Hebrew text has "in the wilderness, in the land."
29tn (9:19) Heb "to Solomon." The proper name has been replaced by the pronoun ("him") in the translation for stylistic reasons.
30tn (9:19) Heb "the cities of the chariots and the cities of the horses."
31tn (9:19) Heb "and the desire of Solomon which he desired to build in Jerusalem and in Lebanon and in all the land of his kingdom."
32tn (9:20) Heb "all the people who were left from the Amorites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, who were not from the sons of Israel."
33tn (9:21) Heb "their sons who were left after them in the land, whom the sons of Israel were unable to wipe out, and Solomon raised them up for a crew of labor to this day."
34sn (9:22) These work crews. The work crews referred to here must be different than the temporary crews described in 5:13-16.
35tn (9:22) Heb "officers of his chariots and his horses."
36tn (9:23) Heb "these [were] the officials of the governors who were over the work belonging to Solomon, five hundred fifty, the ones ruling over the people, the ones doing the work."
37sn (9:24) The phrase city of David refers here to the fortress of Zion in Jerusalem, not to Bethlehem. See 2 Sam 5:7.
38tn (9:24) Heb "As soon as Pharaoh's daughter went up from the city of David to her house which he built for her, then he built the terrace."
39tn (9:25) Heb "and he made complete the house."
40tn (9:27) Heb "and Hiram sent with the fleet his servants, men of ships, [who] know the sea, [to be] with the servants of Solomon."
41tn (9:28) Heb "went."
42sn (9:28) Units. The Hebrew term rkk ("circle") refers generally to something that is round. When used of metals it can refer to a disk-shaped weight made of the metal or to a standard unit of weight.
1tn (10:1) Heb "the report about Solomon." The Hebrew text also has, "to the name of the LORD," which fits very awkwardly in the sentence. If retained, perhaps it should be translated, "because of the reputation of the LORD." The phrase, which is omitted in the parallel passage in 2 Chr 9:1, may be an addition based on the queen's declaration of praise to the LORD in v. 9.
2tn (10:1) Or "test."
3tn (10:1) Or "riddles."
4tn (10:2) Heb "with very great strength." The Hebrew term lyj ("strength") may refer here to the size of her retinue or to the great wealth she brought with her.
5tn (10:2) Or "balsam oil."
6tn (10:3) Heb "Solomon declared to her all her words; there was not a word hidden from the king which he did not declare to her." If riddles are specifically in view (see v. 1), then one might translate, "Solomon explained to her all her riddles; there was no riddle too complex for the king."
7tn (10:4) Heb "all the wisdom of Solomon."
8tn (10:4) Heb "house."
9tn (10:5) Heb "the food on his table."
10tn (10:5) Heb "the seating of his servants and the standing of his attendants."
11tn (10:5) Heb "there was no breath still in her."
12tn (10:6) Heb "in my land."
13tn (10:6) Heb "about your words [or perhaps, "deeds"] and your wisdom."
14tn (10:7) Heb "the half was not told to me."
15tn (10:7) Heb "good."
16tn (10:8) Heb "How happy are your men! How happy are these servants of yours, who stand before you continually, who hear your wisdom!"
17tn (10:9) Or "delighted in."
18tn (10:9) Heb "to do justice and righteousness."
19sn (10:10) Units. The Hebrew term rkk ("circle") refers generally to something that is round. When used of metals it can refer to a disk-shaped weight made of the metal or to a standard unit of weight.
20tn (10:10) Heb "there has not come like those spices yet for quantity which the queen of Sheba gave to King Solomon."
21tn (10:12) This Hebrew architectural term occurs only here. The meaning is uncertain; some have suggested "banisters" or "parapets." The parallel passage in 2 Chr 9:11 has a different word, meaning "tracks," or perhaps "steps."
22tn (10:12) Two types of stringed instruments are specifically mentioned, the rwnk ("zither" [?]), and lbn ("harp").
23tn (10:12) Heb "there has not come thus, the fine timber, and there has not been seen to this day."
24tn (10:13) Heb "besides what he had given her according to the hand of King Solomon."
25tn (10:13) Heb "turned and went."
26sn (10:14) Units. The Hebrew term rkk ("circle") refers generally to something that is round. When used of metals it can refer to a disk-shaped weight made of the metal or to a standard unit of weight.
27tn (10:14) Heb "the weight of the gold which came to Solomon in one year was six hundred sixty-six units of gold."
28tn (10:15) Heb "traveling men."
29tn (10:16) The Hebrew text has simply "six hundred," with no unit of measure given.
30sn (10:17) Three minas. The mina was a unit of measure for weight.
31sn (10:17) The Palace of the Lebanon Forest. This name was appropriate because of the large amount of cedar, undoubtedly brought from Lebanon, used in its construction. The cedar pillars in the palace must have given it the appearance of a forest.
32tn (10:19) Heb "[There were] armrests on each side of the place of the seat, and two lions standing beside the armrests."
33tn (10:20) Heb "nothing like it had been made for all the kingdoms."
34tn (10:21) Heb "there was no silver, it was not regarded as anything in the days of Solomon."
35tn (10:22) Heb "a fleet of Tarshish [ships]." This probably refers to large ships either made in or capable of traveling to the distant western port of Tarshish.
36tn (10:22) Heb "the fleet of Tarshish [ships]."
37tn (10:22) Heb "came carrying."
38tn (10:22) The meaning of this word is unclear. Some suggest "baboons."
39tn (10:23) Heb "King Solomon was greater than all the kings of the earth with respect to wealth and with respect to wisdom."
40tc (10:24) The Old Greek translation and Syriac Peshitta have "all the kings of the earth." See 2 Chr 9:23.
41tn (10:24) Heb "and all the earth was seeking the face of Solomon to hear his wisdom which God had placed in his heart."
42tn (10:25) Heb "and they were bringing each one his gift, items of silver...and mules, the matter of a year in a year."
43tn (10:26) Or "gathered."
44tn (10:26) Heb "he placed them in the chariot cities and with the king in Jerusalem."
45tn (10:27) The words "as plentiful" are added for clarification.
46tn (10:27) Heb "he made."
47tn (10:27) Heb "as the sycamore fig trees which are in the Shephelah."
48sn (10:28) From Egypt. Because Que is also mentioned, some prefer to see in vv. 28-29 a reference to Mutsur. Que and Mutsur were located in Cilicia/Cappadocia (in modern southern Turkey). See HALOT 625.
49tn (10:29) Heb "and a chariot went up and came out of Egypt for six hundred silver [pieces], and a horse for one hundred fifty, and in the same way to all the kings of the Hittites and to the kings of Aram by their hand they brought out."
1tn (11:2) Heb "you must not go into them, and they must not go into you."
2tn (11:2) Heb "Surely they will bend your heart after their gods." The words "if you do" are supplied in the translation for clarification.
3tn (11:2) Heb "Solomon clung to them for love." The pronominal suffix, translated "them," is masculine here, even though it appears the foreign women are in view. Perhaps this is due to attraction to the masculine forms used of the nations earlier in the verse.
4tn (11:3) Heb "wives, princesses."
5sn (11:3) Concubines were slave women in ancient Near Eastern societies who were the legal property of their master, but who could have legitimate sexual relations with their master. A concubine's status was more elevated than a mere servant, but she was not free and did not have the legal rights of a free wife. The children of a concubine could, in some instances, become equal heirs with the children of the free wife. The usage in the present passage suggests that after the period of the Judges concubines may have become more of a royal prerogative (cf. also 2 Sam 21:10-14).
6tn (11:3) Heb "his wives bent his heart."
7tn (11:4) Heb "bent his heart after."
8tn (11:4) Heb "his heart was not complete with the LORD his God, like the heart of David his father."
9tn (11:5) Heb "walked after."
10tn (11:5) Heb "Milcom, the detestable thing of the Ammonites."
11tn (11:6) Heb "in the eyes of."
12tn (11:6) The idiomatic statement reads in Hebrew, "he did not fill up after."
13tn (11:7) Heb "then."
14sn (11:7) The hill east of Jerusalem refers to the Mount of Olives.
15sn (11:7) A high place. The "high places" were places of worship that were naturally or artificially elevated (see 1 Kgs 3:2).
16tn (11:7) Heb "Chemosh, the detestable thing of Moab."
17tc (11:7) The MT reads "Molech," but Milcom must be intended (see vv. 5, 33).
18tn (11:8) Heb "and the same thing he did for all his foreign wives, [who] were burning incense and sacrificing to their gods."
19tn (11:9) Heb "bent his heart."
20sn (11:9) These two occasions are mentioned in 1 Kgs 3:5 and 9:2.
21tn (11:10) Heb "and had commanded him concerning this thing not to walk after other gods."
22tn (11:10) Or "keep."
23tn (11:11) Heb "Because this is with you, and you have not kept my covenant and my rules which I commanded you."
24tn (11:13) Heb "give."
25tn (11:14) Or "raised up."
26tn (11:15) Heb "when David was [fighting (?)] with Edom."
27tn (11:16) Heb "and all Israel."
28tn (11:16) Heb "until he had cut off every male in Edom."
29tn (11:17) The MT reads "Adad," an alternate form of the name Hadad.
30tn (11:17) Heb "and Adad fled, he and Edomite men from the servants of his father, to go to Egypt, and Hadad was a small boy."
31tn (11:18) Heb "and they arose from Midian and went to Paran and they took men with them from Paran and went to Egypt to Pharaoh king of Egypt and he gave to him a house and food and he said to him, and a land he gave to him." Something seems to be accidentally omitted after "and he said to him."
32tn (11:19) Heb "and Hadad found great favor in the eyes of Pharaoh."
33tn (11:19) Heb "and he gave to him a wife, the sister of his wife, the sister of Tahpenes the queen."
34tn (11:20) Heb "bore."
35tc (11:20) The Hebrew text reads whlmgtw ("weaned him") but a slight alteration of the consonantal text yields whldgtw ("raised him"), which seems to make better sense.
36tn (11:21) Heb "lay down with his fathers."
37tn (11:21) Heb "send me away."
38tn (11:22) Heb "Indeed what do you lack with me, that now you are seeking to go to your land?"
39tn (11:22) Heb "and he said."
40sn (11:22) So Hadad asked Pharaoh... This lengthy description of Hadad's exile in Egypt explains why Hadad wanted to oppose Solomon and supports the author's thesis that his hostility to Solomon found its ultimate source in divine providence. Though Hadad enjoyed a comfortable life in Egypt, when the LORD raised him up (apparently stirring up his desire for vengeance) he decided to leave the comforts of Egypt and return to Edom.
41tn (11:23) Heb "him"; the referent (Solomon) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
42tn (11:24) Heb "and he was the officer of a raiding band."
43tn (11:24) The Hebrew text reads "when David killed them." This phrase is traditionally joined with what precedes. The ancient Greek version does not reflect the phrase and some suggest that it has been misplaced from the end of v. 23.
44tn (11:25) The construction (Qal of Jwq + b [bet] preposition) is rare, but not without parallel (see Lev 20:23).
45tn (11:26) Heb "raised a hand against."
46tn (11:26) Heb "Ephrathite," which here refers to an Ephraimite (see HALOT 81).
47tn (11:27) Heb "this is the matter concerning which he raised a hand against the king."
48sn (11:27) The city of his father David. The phrase refers here to the fortress of Zion in Jerusalem, not to Bethlehem. See 2 Sam 5:7.
49tn (11:28) Heb "man of strength."
50tn (11:28) Heb "house."
51tn (11:29) The Hebrew text has simply "he," making it a bit unclear whether Jeroboam or Ahijah is the subject, but in the Hebrew word order Ahijah is the nearer antecedent, and this is followed by the present translation.
52tn (11:30) Heb "and Ahijah grabbed the new robe that was on him."
53tn (11:33) The words "I am taking the kingdom from him" are supplied in the translation for clarification.
54tc (11:33) This is the reading of the MT; the LXX, Syriac, and Vulgate read "he has."
55tn (11:33) Heb "walked in my ways."
56tn (11:33) Heb "by doing what is right in my eyes, my rules and my regulations, like David his father."
57tn (11:35) Heb "and I will give it to you, ten tribes."
58tn (11:36) Heb "give."
59tn (11:36) Heb "so there might be a lamp for David my servant all the days before me in Jerusalem." The metaphorical "lamp" symbolizes the Davidic dynasty. Because this imagery is unfamiliar to the modern reader, the translation "so my servant David's dynasty may continue to serve me" has been used.
60tn (11:36) Heb "so there might be a lamp for David my servant all the days before me in Jerusalem, the city which I have chosen for myself to put my name there."
61tn (11:37) Heb "take."
62tn (11:38) Heb "If you obey." In the Hebrew text v. 38 is actually one long conditional sentence, which has been broken into two parts in the translation for stylistic purposes.
63tn (11:38) Heb "walk in my ways."
64tn (11:38) Heb "do what is right in my eyes."
65tn (11:38) Heb "I will build for you a permanent house, like I built for David."
66sn (11:39) Because of this. Reference is made to the idolatry mentioned earlier.
67tn (11:39) Heb "but not all the days."
68tn (11:40) Heb "but Jeroboam arose and ran away to Egypt, to Shishak king of Egypt."
69tn (11:41) Heb "As for the rest of the events of Solomon, and all which he did, and his wisdom, are they not written on the scroll of the events of Solomon?"
70tn (11:43) Heb "lay down with his fathers."
71sn (11:43) The city of his father David. The phrase refers here to the fortress of Zion in Jerusalem, not to Bethlehem. See 2 Sam 5:7.
72tc (11:43) Before this sentence the Old Greek translation includes the following words: "And it so happened that when Jeroboam son of Nebat heard--now he was in Egypt where he had fled from before Solomon and was residing in Egypt--he came straight to his city in the land of Sarira which is on mount Ephraim. And king Solomon slept with his fathers."
1tn (12:1) Heb "come [to]."
2tn (12:1) Heb "him"; the referent (Rehoboam) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
3tc (12:2) Verse 2 is not included in the Old Greek translation. See the note on 11:43.
4tn (12:2) Heb "and Jeroboam lived in Egypt." The parallel text in 2 Chr 10:2 reads, "and Jeroboam returned from Egypt." In a purely consonantal text the forms "and he lived" and "and he returned" are identical (bvyw).
5tn (12:3) Heb "They sent and called for him."
6tn (12:4) Heb "made our yoke burdensome."
7tn (12:4) Heb "but you, now, lighten the burdensome work of your father and the heavy yoke which he placed on us, and we will serve you." In the Hebrew text the prefixed verbal form with vav (idbunw, "and we will serve you") following the imperative (lqh, "lighten") indicates purpose (or result). The conditional sentence used in the translation above is an attempt to bring out the logical relationship between these forms.
8tn (12:6) Heb "stood before."
9tn (12:6) Heb "saying."
10tn (12:7) Heb "If today you are a servant to these people and you serve them and answer them and speak to them good words, they will be your servants all the days."
11tn (12:8) Heb "He rejected the advice of the elders which they advised and he consulted the young men with whom he had grown up, who stood before him." The referent (Rehoboam) of the initial pronoun ("he") has been specified in the translation for clarity.
12tn (12:9) In the Hebrew text the verb "we will respond" is plural, although it can be understood as an editorial "we." The ancient versions have the singular here.
13tn (12:9) Heb "Lighten the yoke which your father placed on us."
14tn (12:10) Heb "he"; the referent (Rehoboam) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
15tn (12:10) Heb "Your father made our yoke heavy, but make it lighter upon us."
16tn (12:10) Heb "My little one is thicker than my father's hips." The referent of "my little one" is not clear. The traditional view is that it refers to the little finger. As the following statement makes clear, Rehoboam's point is that he is more harsh and demanding than his father.
17tn (12:11) Heb "and now my father placed upon you a heavy yoke, but I will add to your yoke."
18tn (12:11) Heb "My father punished you with whips, but I will punish you with scorpions." "Scorpions" might allude to some type of torture using poisonous insects, but more likely it refers to a type of whip that inflicts an especially biting, painful wound.
19tn (12:12) Heb "came."
20tn (12:14) Heb "and spoke to them according to."
21tn (12:14) Heb "My father made your yoke heavy, but I will add to your yoke."
22tn (12:14) Heb "My father punished you with whips, but I will punish you with scorpions." See the note on the same phrase in v. 11.
23tn (12:15) Heb "because this turn of events was from the LORD."
24tn (12:15) Heb "so that he might bring to pass his word which the LORD spoke."
25sn (12:16) We have no portion in David; no share in the son of Jesse. Their point seems to be that they have no familial relationship with David that brings them any benefits or places upon them any obligations. They are being treated like outsiders.
26tn (12:16) Heb "to your tents, Israel." The word "return" is supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
27tn (12:16) Heb "Now see your house, David."
28tn (12:16) Heb "went to their tents."
29tc (12:18) The MT has "Adoram" here, but the Old Greek translation and Syriac Peshitta have "Adoniram." Cf. 1 Kgs 4:6.
30sn (12:18) The work crews. See the note on this expression in 4:6.
31tn (12:20) Heb "there was no one [following] after the house of David except the tribe of Judah, it alone."
32tn (12:21) Heb "he summoned all the house of Judah and the tribe of Benjamin, one hundred eighty thousand chosen men, accomplished in war."
33tn (12:22) Heb "and the word of God came to Shemaiah the man of God, saying."
34tn (12:24) Heb "for his thing is from me."
35tn (12:24) Heb "and they heard the word of the LORD and returned to go according to the word of the LORD."
36tc (12:25) The Old Greek translation has here a lengthy section consisting of twenty-three verses that are not found in the MT.
37tn (12:26) Heb "said in his heart."
38tn (12:26) Heb "Now the kingdom could return to the house of David." The imperfect verbal form translated "could return" is understood as having a potential force here. Perhaps this is not strong enough; another option is "will return."
39tn (12:27) Heb "the heart of these people could return to their master."
40tn (12:28) The words "with his advisers" are supplied in the translation for clarification.
41tn (12:28) Heb "to them," although this may be a corruption of "to the people." Cf. the Old Greek translation.
42tn (12:30) Heb "and this thing became a sin."
43tc (12:30) The MT reads "and the people went before the one to Dan." It is likely that some words have been accidentally omitted and that the text originally said, "and the people went before the one at Bethel and before the one at Dan."
44tn (12:31) The Hebrew text has the singular, but the plural is preferable here (see 1 Kgs 13:32). The Old Greek translation and the Vulgate have the plural.
45sn (12:32) The eighth month would correspond to October-November in modern reckoning.
46sn (12:32) The festival he celebrated in Judah probably refers to the Feast of Tabernacles (i.e., Booths or Temporary Shelters), held in the seventh month (September-October). See also 1 Kgs 8:2.
47tn (12:32) Heb "and he offered up [sacrifices] on the altar; he did this in Bethel, sacrificing to the calves which he had made."
1tn (12:33) Heb "which he had chosen by himself."
2tn (13:1) Heb "Look." The Hebrew particle hnh is a rhetorical device by which the author invites the reader to visualize the scene for dramatic effect.
3tn (13:1) Heb "the man of God."
4tn (13:1) Heb "came by the word of the LORD to Bethel."
5tn (13:2) Heb "by the word of the LORD."
6sn (13:2) `Look...you.' For the fulfillment of this prophecy see 2 Kgs 23:15-20.
7tn (13:3) Heb "gave."
8tn (13:3) Heb "spoken."
9tn (13:3) Heb "the fat." Reference is made to burnt wood mixed with fat. See HALOT 234.
10tn (13:3) Heb "will be poured out."
11tn (13:4) Heb "the man of God."
12tn (13:4) Heb "Jeroboam extended his hand from the altar."
13tn (13:4) Heb "saying."
14tn (13:4) Heb "dried up" or "withered." The NLT interprets this as "became paralyzed."
15tn (13:5) Heb "the fat." Reference is made to burnt wood mixed with fat. See HALOT 234.
16tn (13:5) Heb "were poured out from the altar."
17tn (13:5) Heb "according to the sign which the man of God had given by the word of the LORD."
18tn (13:6) Heb "The king answered and said to."
19tn (13:6) Heb "the man of God" (a second time later in this verse, and once in v. 7 and v. 8).
20tn (13:6) Heb "appease the face of."
21tn (13:6) Heb "appeased the face of the LORD."
22tn (13:6) Heb "and it was as in the beginning."
23tn (13:8) Heb "house."
24tn (13:8) Heb "eat food and drink water."
25tn (13:9) Heb "for this he commanded me by the word of the LORD, saying."
26tn (13:9) Heb "eat food and drink water."
27tn (13:11) Heb "and his son came and told him." The MT has the singular here, but several other textual witnesses have the plural, which is more consistent with the second half of the verse and with vv. 12-13.
28tn (13:11) Heb "the man of God."
29tn (13:11) Heb "all the actions which the man of God performed that day in Bethel, the words which he spoke to the king, and they told them to their father."
30tn (13:12) The Hebrew text has "and his sons saw" (War+Y]w~, a Qal form of the verb har). In this case the verbal construction (vav consecutive + prefixed verbal form) would have to be understood as pluperfect, "his sons had seen." Such uses of this construction are rare at best. Consequently many, following the lead of the ancient versions, prefer to emend the verbal form to a Hiphil with pronominal suffix (Wha%r+Y~w~, "and they showed him").
31tn (13:12) Heb "the man of God."
32tn (13:14) Heb "the man of God."
33tn (13:14) Heb "the man of God."
34tn (13:16) Heb "I am unable to return with you or to go with you."
35tn (13:16) Heb "eat food and drink water."
36tn (13:17) Heb "for a word to me by the word of the LORD."
37tn (13:17) Heb "eat food and drink water."
38tn (13:18) Heb "and he said to him."
39tn (13:18) Heb "by the word of the LORD."
40tn (13:18) Heb "eat food and drink water."
41tn (13:18) Or "deceiving him."
sn (13:18) He was lying to him. The motives and actions of the old prophet are difficult to understand. The old man's response to the prophet's death (see vv. 26-32) suggests he did not trick him with malicious intent. The old prophet probably wanted the honor of entertaining such a celebrity, or perhaps simply desired some social interaction with a fellow prophet.
42tn (13:19) Heb "and he returned with him and ate food in his house and drank water."
43tn (13:20) Heb "and the word of the LORD came to the prophet who had brought him back."
44tn (13:21) The Hebrew text has "because" at the beginning of the sentence. In the Hebrew text vv. 21-22 are one long sentence comprised of a causal clause giving the reason for divine punishment (vv. 21-22a) and the main clause announcing the punishment (v. 22b). The translation divides this lengthy sentence for stylistic reasons.
45tn (13:21) Heb "the mouth [i.e. command] of the LORD."
46tn (13:22) Heb "and you returned and ate food and drank water in the place about which he said to you, `do not eat food and do not drink water.'"
47tn (13:22) "Therefore" is added for stylistic reasons. See the note at 1 Kgs 13:21 pertaining to the grammatical structure of vv. 21-22.
48tn (13:22) Heb "will not go to the tomb of your fathers."
49tn (13:23) Heb "and after he had eaten food and after he had drunk."
50tn (13:23) Heb "and he saddled for him the donkey, for the prophet whom he had brought back."
51tn (13:24) Heb "and he went and a lion met him in the road and killed him."
52tn (13:24) Heb "and his corpse fell on the road, and the donkey was standing beside it, and the lion was standing beside the corpse."
53tn (13:25) Heb "Look, men were passing by."
54tn (13:25) Heb "the corpse." The noun has been replaced by the pronoun ("it") in the translation for stylistic reasons.
55tn (13:25) The words "what they had seen" are supplied in the translation for clarification.
56tn (13:26) Heb "and the prophet who had brought him back from the road heard."
57tn (13:26) Heb "the man of God."
58tn (13:26) Heb "the mouth of the LORD."
59tn (13:26) Heb "broke him," or "crushed him."
60tn (13:26) Heb "according to the word of the LORD which he spoke to him."
61tn (13:27) Heb "and they saddled [it]."
62tn (13:28) Heb "the corpse." The noun has been replaced by the pronoun ("it") in the translation for stylistic reasons.
63tn (13:29) Heb "the prophet." The word "old" has been supplied in the translation to distinguish this individual from the other prophet.
64tn (13:29) Heb "the man of God."
65tn (13:30) "They" is the reading of the Hebrew text here; perhaps this is meant to include not only the old prophet but his sons (cf. v. 31).
66tn (13:31) Heb "the man of God."
67tn (13:32) Heb "for the word which he cried out by the word of the LORD"
68tn (13:32) Heb "Samaria." The name of Israel's capital city here stands for the northern kingdom as a whole. Actually Samaria was not built and named until several years after this (see 1 Kgs 16:24), so it is likely that the author of Kings, writing at a later time, is here adapting the old prophet's original statement.
69tn (13:33) Heb "did not turn from his evil way."
70sn (13:33) The expression common people refers to people who were not Levites. See 1 Kgs 12:31.
71tn (13:33) Heb "and one who had the desire he was filling his hand so that he became [one of] the priests of the high places."
72tn (13:34) Heb "house."
1tc (14:1) Some MSS of the Old Greek lack vv. 1-20.
2tn (14:2) Heb "Get up, change yourself."
3tn (14:2) Heb "look, Ahijah the prophet is there, he told me [I would be] king over this nation."
4tn (14:3) Heb "take in your hand."
5tn (14:4) Heb "and the wife of Jeroboam did so; she arose and went to Shiloh and entered the house of Ahijah."
6tn (14:4) Heb "his eyes were set because of his old age."
7sn (14:5) Tell her so-and-so. Certainly the LORD gave Ahijah a specific message to give to Jeroboam's wife (see vv. 6-16), but the author of Kings here condenses the LORD's message with the words "so-and-so." For dramatic effect he prefers to have us hear the message from Ahijah's lips as he speaks to the king's wife.
8tn (14:6) Heb "I am sent to you [with] a hard [message]."
9tn (14:7) The Hebrew text has "because" at the beginning of the sentence. In the Hebrew text vv. 7-11 are one long sentence comprised of a causal clause giving the reason for divine punishment (vv. 7-9) and the main clause announcing the punishment (vv. 10-11). The translation divides this lengthy sentence for stylistic reasons.
10tn (14:8) Heb "what was right in my eyes."
11tn (14:9) Heb "you went and you made for yourself other gods, metal [ones], angering me, and you threw me behind your back."
12sn (14:10) Disaster. There is a wordplay in the Hebrew text. The word translated "disaster" (hur) is from the same root as the expression "you have sinned" in v. 9 (urtw, from uur). Jeroboam's sins would receive an appropriate punishment.
13tn (14:10) Heb "house."
14tn (14:10) Heb "and I will cut off from Jeroboam those who urinate against a wall (including both those who are) restrained and let free (or "abandoned") in Israel." The precise meaning of the idiomatic phrase bwzuw rwxu is uncertain. For various options see HALOT 871 and Cogan and Tadmor, II Kings, 107. The two terms are usually taken as polar opposites ("slaves and freemen" or "minors and adults"), but Cogan and Tadmor, on the basis of contextual considerations (note the usage with spa, "nothing but") in Deut 32:36 and 2 Kgs 14:26, argue convincingly that the terms are synonyms, meaning "restrained and abandoned," and refer to incapable or incapacitated individuals.
15tn (14:10) The traditional view understands the verb rub to mean "burn." Manure was sometimes used as fuel (see Ezek 4:12, 15). However, an alternate view takes rub as a homonym meaning "sweep away" (HALOT 146). In this case one might translate, "I will sweep away the dynasty of Jeroboam, just as one sweeps away manure it is gone." Either metaphor emphasizes the thorough and destructive nature of the coming judgment.
16tn (14:11) The Hebrew text has "belonging to Jeroboam" here.
17tn (14:13) Heb "house."
18tn (14:14) Heb "house."
19tn (14:14) Heb "This is the day. What also now?" The precise meaning of the second half of the statement is uncertain.
20tn (14:15) The elliptical Hebrew text reads literally "and the LORD will strike Israel as a reed sways in the water."
21tn (14:15) Heb "fathers" (also in vv. 22, 31).
22tn (14:15) Heb "the River." In biblical Hebrew this is a typical reference to the Euphrates River. The name "Euphrates" has been supplied in the translation for clarity.
23tn (14:15) Heb "because they made their Asherah poles that anger the LORD."
24tn (14:16) Heb "and he will give [up] Israel."
25tn (14:17) Heb "went and entered."
26tn (14:18) Heb "according to the word of the LORD which he spoke."
27tn (14:19) Heb "As for the rest of the events of Jeroboam, how he fought and how he ruled, are they not written on the scroll of the events of the days of the kings of Israel?"
28tn (14:20) Heb "lay down with his fathers."
29tn (14:21) Heb "Rehoboam." The proper name has been replaced by the pronoun ("he") in the translation for stylistic reasons.
30tn (14:21) Heb "the city where the LORD chose to place his name from all the tribes of Israel."
31tn (14:22) Heb "in the eyes of."
32tn (14:22) Heb "and they made him jealous more than all which their fathers had done by their sins which they sinned."
33tc (14:24) The Old Greek translation has "a conspiracy" rather than "male cultic prostitutes."
34tn (14:24) Heb "they did according to all the abominable acts of the nations."
35tn (14:27) Heb "runners."
36tn (14:29) Heb "As for the rest of the events of Rehoboam, and all which he did, are they not written on the scroll of the events of the days of the kings of Judah?"
37tn (14:31) Heb "lay down with his fathers."
38tn (14:31) In the Hebrew text the name is spelled "Abijam" here and in 1 Kgs 15:1-8.
1tc (15:1) The Old Greek also has the phrase "the son of Rehoboam."
2sn (15:2) Abishalom (also in v. 10) is a variant of the name Absalom (cf. 2 Chr 11:20).
3tn (15:3) Heb "his heart was not complete with the LORD his God, like the heart of David his father."
4tn (15:4) Heb "gave him a lamp."
5tc (15:4) The Old Greek has the plural "his sons."
6tn (15:4) Heb "by raising up his son after him."
7tn (15:4) Heb "and by causing Jerusalem to stand firm."
8tn (15:5) The words "he did this" are added for stylistic reasons.
9tn (15:5) Heb "what was right in the eyes of the LORD."
10tn (15:5) Heb"and had not turned aside from all which he commanded him."
11tc (15:6) Most Hebrew MSS read "Rehoboam"; a few Hebrew MSS and the Syriac read "Abijam" (a variant of Abijah).
12tn (15:6) Heb "his"; the referent (Abijah) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
13tn (15:7) Heb "As for the rest of the events of Abijah, and all which he did, are they not written on the scroll of the events of the days of the kings of Judah?"
14tn (15:8) Heb "lay down with his fathers." The Old Greek also has these words: "in the twenty-eighth year of Jeroboam."
15tn (15:8) Heb "and they buried him."
16tn (15:10) Heb "mother," but Hebrew often uses the terms "father" and "mother" for grandparents and more remote ancestors.
17tn (15:11) Heb "what was right in the eyes of the LORD."
18tn (15:11) Heb "father," but Hebrew often uses the terms "father" and "mother" for grandparents and more remote ancestors.
19tn (15:12) The word used here, <yl!WLg], is always used as a disdainful reference to idols. It is generally thought to have originally referred to "dung pellets" (cf. KBL s.v. <yl!WLg], 183). It is only one of several terms used in this way, such as "worthless things" (<yl!yl!a$), "vanities" or "empty winds" (<yl!b*h&).
20tn (15:12) Heb "fathers" (also in v. 24).
21tn (15:13) Heb "mother," but Hebrew often uses the terms "father" and "mother" for grandparents and more remote ancestors.
22tn (15:14) Heb "yet the heart of Asa was complete with the LORD all his days."
23tn (15:15) Heb "and he brought the holy things of his father and his holy things (into) the house of the LORD, silver, gold, and items." Instead of "his holy things," a marginal reading (Qere) in the Hebrew text has "the holy things of [the house of the LORD]."
24tn (15:16) Heb "There was war between Asa and Baasha king of Israel all their days."
25tn (15:17) Heb "and he built up Ramah so as to not permit going out or coming in to Asa king of Judah."
26tn (15:18) Heb "King Asa sent it."
27tn (15:19) Heb "[May there be] a covenant between me and you [as there was] between my father and your father."
28tn (15:19) Heb "so he will go up from upon me."
29tn (15:20) Heb "and Ben Hadad listened to King Asa and sent the commanders of the armies which belonged to him against the cities of Israel."
30tn (15:20) Heb "he struck down."
31tn (15:20) Heb "and all Kinnereth together with all the land of Naphtali."
32tn (15:21) Heb "building."
33tn (15:22) Heb "and King Asa made a proclamation to all Judah, there was no one exempt, and they carried away the stones of Ramah and its wood which Baasha had built."
34tn (15:22) Heb "and King Asa built with them."
35tn (15:23) Heb "As for the rest of all the events of Asa, and all his strength and all which he did and the cities which he built, are they not written on the scroll of the events of the days of the kings of Judah?"
36tn (15:23) Heb "Yet in the time of his old age he became sick in his feet."
37tn (15:24) Heb "lay down with his fathers."
38tn (15:26) Heb "in the eyes of."
39tn (15:26) Heb "and he walked in the way of his father and in his sin which he made Israel sin."
40tn (15:27) Heb "against him"; the referent (Nadab) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
41tn (15:29) Heb "and when he became king, he struck down all the house of Jeroboam; he did not leave any breath to Jeroboam until he destroyed him."
42tn (15:29) Heb "according to the word of the LORD which he spoke."
43tn (15:30) Heb "because of Jeroboam which he committed and which he made Israel commit, by his provocation by which he made the LORD God of Israel angry."
44tn (15:31) Heb "As for the rest of the events of Nadab, and all which he did, are they not written on the scroll of the events of the days of the kings of Israel?"
45tn (15:34) Heb "in the eyes of."
46tn (15:34) Heb "and he walked in the way of Jeroboam and in his sin which he made Israel sin."
1tn (16:1) Heb "and the word of the LORD came to Jehu son of Hanani concerning [or, "against"] Baasha, saying."
2tn (16:2) The Hebrew text has "because" at the beginning of the sentence. In the Hebrew text vv. 2-3 are one sentence comprised of a causal clause giving the reason for divine punishment (v. 2) and the main clause announcing the punishment (v. 3). The translation divides this sentence for stylistic reasons.
3tn (16:2) Heb "walked in the way of Jeroboam."
4tn (16:2) Heb "angering me by their sins."
5tn (16:3) The traditional view understands the verb rub to mean "burn." However, an alternate view takes rub as a homonym meaning "sweep away" (HALOT 146). In this case one might translate, "I am ready to sweep away Baasha and his family." Either metaphor emphasizes the thorough and destructive nature of the coming judgment.
6tc (16:3) The Old Greek, Syriac Peshitta, and some MSS of the Targum have here "his house."
7tn (16:4) The Hebrew text also has "belonging to Baasha" here.
8tn (16:5) Heb "As for the rest of the events of Baasha, and that which he did and his strength, are they not written on the scroll of the events of the days of the kings of Israel?"
9tn (16:6) Heb "lay down with his fathers."
10tn (16:7) Heb "and also through Jehu son of Hanani the word of the LORD came concerning [or, "against"] Baasha and his house, and because of all the evil which he did in the eyes of the LORD."
11tn (16:7) Heb "angering him by the work of his hands, so that he was like the house of Jeroboam, and because of how he struck it down."
12tn (16:9) Heb "while he was drinking and drunken."
13tn (16:10) Heb "and he became king in his place."
14tn (16:11) Heb "and he did not spare any belonging to him who urinate against a wall, [including] his kinsmen redeemers and his friends."
15tn (16:12) Heb "according to the word of the LORD which he spoke concerning [or, "spoke against"])."
16tn (16:13) Heb "angering the LORD God of Israel with their empty things."
17tn (16:14) Heb "As for the rest of the events of Elah, and all which he did, are they not written on the scroll of the events of the days of the kings of Israel?"
18tn (16:15) Heb "Now the people were encamped.
19tn (16:16) Heb "and the people who were encamped heard."
20tn (16:16) Heb "has conspired against and also has struck down the king."
21tn (16:18) Heb "and he burned the house of the king over him with fire and he died."
22tn (16:19) Heb "in the eyes of."
23tn (16:19) Heb "walking in the way of Jeroboam and in his sin which he did to make Israel sin."
24tn (16:20) Heb "As for the rest of the events of Zimri, and his conspiracy which he conspired, are they not written on the scroll of the events of the days of the kings of Israel?"
25sn (16:24) Units. The Hebrew term rkk ("circle") refers generally to something that is round. When used of metals it can refer to a disk-shaped weight made of the metal or to a standard unit of weight.
26tn (16:24) Heb "he built up the hill."
27tn (16:25) Heb "in the eyes of."
28tn (16:26) Heb "walked in all the way of Jeroboam son of Nebat and in his sin which he made Israel sin."
29tn (16:26) Heb "angering the LORD God of Israel with their empty things."
30tn (16:27) Heb "As for the rest of the acts of Omri which he did, and his strength which he demonstrated, are they not written on the scroll of the events of the days of the kings of Israel?"
31tn (16:28) Heb "lay down with his fathers."
32tc (16:28) The Old Greek has eight additional verses here. Cf. 1 Kgs 22:41-44.
33tn (16:30) Heb "in the eyes of."
34tn (16:31) Heb "and he went and served Baal and bowed down to him."
sn (16:31) The Canaanites worshiped Baal as a storm and fertility god.
35tn (16:33) Heb "Ahab"; the proper name has been replaced by the pronoun ("he") in the translation for stylistic reasons.
36tn (16:34) Heb "in his days."
37tn (16:34) Heb "with Abiram, his firstborn, he founded it."
38tn (16:34) Heb "with Segub, his youngest, he set up its gates."
39tn (16:34) Heb "according to the word of the LORD which he spoke."
40sn (16:34) Warned through Joshua son of Nun. For the background to this statement, see Josh 6:26, where Joshua pronounces a curse on the one who dares to rebuild Jericho. Here that curse is viewed as a prophecy spoken by God through Joshua.
1tn (17:1) Heb "before whom I stand."
2tn (17:1) Heb "except at the command of my word."
3tn (17:2) Heb "and the word of the LORD came to him, saying."
4tn (17:4) Heb "commanded."
5tn (17:4) Heb "to provide for you."
6tn (17:5) Heb "So he went and did."
7tn (17:7) Heb "And it came about at the end of days."
8tn (17:8) Heb "And the word of the LORD came to him, saying."
9tn (17:9) Heb "Look, I have commanded."
10tn (17:10) Heb "a little."
11tn (17:11) The Hebrew text also includes the phrase "in your hand."
12tn (17:12) Heb "Look, I am gathering two sticks and then I will go and make it for me and my son and we will eat it and we will die."
13tn (17:13) Heb "according to your word."
14tn (17:15) Heb "and she ate, she and he and her house [for] days."
15tn (17:16) Heb "out, according to the word of the LORD which he spoke."
16tn (17:17) Heb "after these things."
17tn (17:18) Heb "What to me and to you, man of God, that you have come."
18tn (17:18) Heb "to make me remember."
19tn (17:24) Heb "you are a man of God and the word of the LORD is truly in your mouth."
sn (17:24) This episode is especially significant in light of Ahab's decision to promote Baal worship in Israel. In Canaanite mythology the drought that swept over the region (v. 1) would signal that Baal, a fertility god responsible for providing food for his subjects, had been defeated by the god of death and was imprisoned in the underworld. While Baal was overcome by death and unable to function like a king, Israel's God demonstrated his sovereignty and superiority to death by providing food for a widow and restoring life to her son. And he did it all in Sidonian territory, Baal's back yard, as it were. The episode demonstrates that Israel's God, not Baal, is the true king who provides food and controls life and death. This polemic against Baalism reaches its climax in the next chapter, when the LORD proves that he, not Baal, controls the elements of the storm and determines when the rains will fall.
1tn (18:1) Heb "the word of the LORD came to Elijah."
2tn (18:3) Heb "now Obadiah greatly feared the LORD." "Fear" refers here to obedience and allegiance, the products of healthy respect for the LORD's authority.
3tn (18:4) Heb "cutting off."
4tn (18:5) Heb "grass."
5tn (18:5) Heb "to cut off."
6tn (18:6) The Hebrew text has "alone" here and again in reference to Obadiah toward the end of the verse.
7tn (18:7) Heb "look, Elijah [came] to meet him."
8tn (18:8) Heb "[It is] I."
9tn (18:8) Heb "Look, Elijah;" or, "Elijah is here."
10tn (18:9) Heb "he;" the referent (Obadiah) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
11tn (18:9) Heb "to kill me."
12tn (18:10) Heb "he makes the kingdom or the nation swear an oath."
13tn (18:11) Heb "Look, Elijah;" or, "Elijah is here."
14tn (18:12) Heb "to [a place] which I do not know."
15tn (18:12) Heb "and I will go to inform Ahab and he will not find you and he will kill me."
16tn (18:12) The words "that would not be fair" are added to clarify the logic of Obadiah's argument.
17tn (18:12) Heb "has feared the LORD" (also see the note at 1 Kgs 18:3).
18tn (18:13) Heb "Has it not been told to my master what I did...?" The rhetorical question expects an answer, "Of course it has!"
19tn (18:14) Heb "Look, Elijah"; or "Elijah is here."
20tn (18:15) Traditionally, "the LORD of Hosts."
21tn (18:15) Heb "(before whom I stand)."
22tn (18:16) Heb "Obadiah went to meet Ahab and told him, and Ahab went to meet Elijah."
23tn (18:17) Heb "Ahab."
24tn (18:17) Or "trouble."
25tn (18:18) Heb "he;" the referent (Elijah) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
26tn (18:18) Or "trouble."
27tn (18:19) The word "messengers" is supplied in the translation both here and in v. 20 for clarification.
28tn (18:19) Heb "who eat at the table of Jezebel."
29tn (18:21) Heb "How long are you going to limp around on two crutches?" (see HALOT 762). In context this idiomatic expression refers to indecision rather than physical disability.
30tn (18:21) Heb "the God."
31tn (18:22) Heb "to the people."
32tn (18:24) Elijah now directly addresses the prophets.
33tn (18:24) Heb "the God."
34tn (18:24) Heb "The matter [i.e., proposal] is good [i.e., acceptable]."
35tc (18:25) The last sentence of v. 25 is absent in the Syriac Peshitta.
36tn (18:26) Heb "and they took the bull which he allowed them."
37tn (18:26) Heb "limped" (the same verb is used in v. 21).
38tc (18:26) The MT has "which he made," but some medieval Hebrew MSS and the ancient versions have the plural form of the verb.
39sn (18:27) Elijah's sarcastic proposals would have been especially offensive and irritating to Baal's prophets, for they believed Baal was imprisoned in the underworld as death's captive during this time of drought. Elijah's apparent ignorance of their theology is probably designed for dramatic effect; indeed the suggestion that Baal is away on a trip or deep in sleep comes precariously close to the truth as viewed by the prophets.
40tn (18:28) Or "as was their custom."
41tn (18:28) Heb "until blood poured out on them."
sn (18:28) mutilated...covered with blood. This self-mutilation was a mourning rite designed to facilitate Baal's return from the underworld.
42tn (18:29) Heb "when noon passed they prophesied until the offering up of the offering."
43tc (18:29) The Old Greek translation and Syriac Peshitta include the following words here: "When it was time to offer the sacrifice, Elijah the Tishbite spoke to the prophets of the abominations: `Stand aside for the time being, and I will offer my burnt offering.' So they stood aside and departed."
sn (18:29) In 2 Kgs 4:31 the words "there was no sound and there was no response" are used to describe a dead boy. Similar words are used here to describe the god Baal as dead and therefore unresponsive.
44sn (18:30) Torn down. The condition of the altar symbolizes the spiritual state of the people.
45tn (18:31) The word "new" is implied but not actually present in the Hebrew text.
46sn (18:31) Israel will be your new name. See Gen 32:28; 35:10.
47tn (18:32) Heb "and he built the stones into an altar in the name of the LORD."
48tn (18:32) A seah was a dry measure equivalent to about seven quarts.
49tn (18:34) The words "when they had done so" are supplied in the translation for clarification.
50tn (18:36) Heb "at the offering up of the offering."
51tn (18:36) The words "the altar" are supplied in the translation for clarification.
52tn (18:36) Heb "let it be known."
53tn (18:37) Heb "the God."
54tn (18:37) Heb "that you are turning their heart[s] back."
55tn (18:38) The words "from the sky" are added for stylistic reasons.
56tn (18:39) Heb "the God" (the phrase occurs twice in this verse).
57tn (18:40) Or "slaughtered."
58tn (18:41) Heb "for [there is] the sound of the roar of the rain."
59sn (18:43) So he went on up, looked, and reported, "There is nothing." Several times in this chapter those addressed by Elijah obey his orders. In vv. 20 and 42 Ahab does as instructed, in vv. 26 and 28 the prophets follow Elijah's advice, and in vv. 30, 34, 40 and 43 the people and servants do as they are told. By juxtaposing Elijah's commands with accounts of those commands being obeyed, the narrator emphasizes the authority of the LORD's prophet.
60tn (18:43) Heb "He said, `Return,' seven times."
61tn (18:44) Heb "he;" the referent (the servant) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
62tn (18:44) Heb "he;" the referent (Elijah) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
63tn (18:44) Heb "so that the rain won't restrain you."
64tn (18:45) Heb "rode and went to."
65tn (18:46) Heb "and the hand of the LORD was on Elijah."
66tn (18:46) Heb "and girded up his loins." The idea is that of gathering up the robes and tucking them into the sash or belt so that they do not get in the way of the legs when running (or working or fighting).
1tn (19:2) Heb "saying."
2tn (19:2) Heb "So may the gods do to me, and so may they add."
3tn (19:2) Heb "I do not make your life like the life of one of them."
4tc (19:3) The MT has "and he saw," but some medieval Hebrew MSS as well as several ancient versions support the reading "he was afraid." The consonantal text (aryw) is ambiguous and can be vocalized ar+Y~w~ (from har, "to see") or ar´Y]w~ (from ary, "to fear").
5tn (19:4) Or "broom tree" (also in v. 5).
6tn (19:4) Heb "and asked with respect to his life to die."
7tn (19:4) Heb "fathers."
8tn (19:5) Or "lay down."
9tn (19:5) Heb "Look, a messenger."
10tn (19:6) Heb "and again lay down"
11tn (19:7) Heb "for the journey is too great for you."
12tn (19:10) Or "very zealous." The infinitive absolute preceding the finite verb emphasizes the degree of his zeal and allegiance.
13tn (19:10) Traditionally, "the God of hosts."
14tn (19:10) Heb "abandoned your covenant."
15tn (19:10) Heb "and they are seeking my life to take it."
16tn (19:11) Heb "he;" the referent (the LORD) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
17tn (19:11) Heb "tearing away the mountains and breaking the cliffs" (or perhaps, "breaking the stones").
18tn (19:12) Heb "a voice, calm, soft."
19tn (19:13) Heb "look."
20tn (19:14) Or "very zealous." The infinitive absolute preceding the finite verb emphasizes the degree of his zeal and allegiance.
21tn (19:14) Traditionally, "the God of hosts."
22tn (19:14) Heb "abandoned your covenant."
23tn (19:14) Heb "and they are seeking my life to take it."
24tn (19:18) Heb "I have kept in Israel seven thousand, all the knees that have not bowed to Baal, and all the mouths that have not kissed him."
25tn (19:20) Heb "he"; the referent (Elijah) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
26tn (19:21) Heb "he"; the referent (Elijah) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
27tn (19:21) Heb "and with the equipment of the oxen he cooked them, the flesh."
1tn (20:1) Heb "and he went up and besieged Samaria and fought against it."
2tn (20:2) Heb "to the city."
3tn (20:6) Heb "all that is desirable to your eyes they will put in their hand and take."
4tn (20:7) Heb "elders."
5tn (20:7) Heb "Know and see that this [man] is seeking trouble."
6tn (20:8) Heb "Do not listen and do not be willing."
7tn (20:9) Heb "all which you sent to your servant in the beginning I will do, but this thing I am unable to do."
8tn (20:10) Heb "So may the gods do to me, and so may they add."
9tn (20:10) Heb "if the dirt of Samaria suffices for the handfuls of all the people who are at my feet."
10sn (20:11) The point of the saying is that someone who is still preparing for a battle should not boast as if he has already won the battle. A modern parallel would be, "Don't count your chickens before they're hatched."
11tn (20:12) Heb "When he heard this word."
12tn (20:12) Heb "in the temporary shelters." This is probably referring to tents.
13tn (20:13) Heb "this great horde."
14tn (20:14) The words "will this be accomplished" are supplied in the translation for clarification.
15tn (20:14) Heb "he"; the referent (Ahab) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
16tn (20:15) Heb "he"; the referent (Ahab) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
17tn (20:15) Heb "after them he assembled all the people, all the sons of Israel, seven thousand."
18tn (20:16) Heb "drinking and drunken."
19tn (20:16) Heb "in the temporary shelters." This is probably referring to tents.
20tn (20:18) Heb "if they come in peace, take them alive; if they come for battle, take them alive."
21tn (20:20) Heb "each struck down his man."
22tn (20:21) Heb "struck down Aram with a great striking down."
23tn (20:22) The definite article indicates previous reference, that is, "the prophet mentioned earlier" (see v. 13).
24tn (20:22) Heb "strengthen yourself."
25tn (20:22) Heb "know and see."
26tn (20:22) Heb "at the turning of the year."
27tn (20:22) Heb "go up against."
28tn (20:23) Or "servants."
29tn (20:25) Heb "And you, you muster an army like the one that fell from you, horse like horse and chariot like chariot."
30tn (20:25) Heb "he listened to their voice and did so."
31tn (20:26) Heb "at the turning of the year."
32tn (20:26) Heb "mustered Aram."
33tn (20:26) Heb "and went up to Aphek for battle with Israel."
34tn (20:27) The noun translated "small flocks" occurs only here. The common interpretation derives the word from the verbal root [cj, "to strip off; to make bare." In this case the noun refers to something "stripped off" or "made bare." HALOT 359 derives the noun from a proposed homonymic verbal root (which occurs only in Ps 29:9) meaning "cause a premature birth." In this case the derived noun could refer to goats that are undersized because they are born prematurely.
35tn (20:28) Heb "the man of God."
36tn (20:28) Heb "I will place all this great horde in your hand."
37tn (20:30) Heb "and the remaining ones fled to Aphek to the city and the wall fell on twenty-seven thousand men, the ones who remained."
38tn (20:30) Heb "and Ben Hadad fled and went into the city, [into] an inner room in an inner room."
39tn (20:31) Or "servants."
40tn (20:31) Or "merciful." The word used here often means "devoted" or "loyal." Perhaps the idea is that the Israelite kings are willing to make treaties with other kings.
41sn (20:31) Sackcloth was worn as a sign of sorrow and repentance. The precise significance of the ropes on the head is uncertain, but it probably was a sign of submission. These actions were comparable to raising a white flag on the battlefield or throwing in the towel in a boxing match.
42tn (20:31) Heb "go out."
43sn (20:32) Your servant. By referring to Ben Hadad as Ahab's servant, they are suggesting that Ahab make him a subject in a vassal treaty arrangement.
44tn (20:32) Heb "he"; the referent (Ahab) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
45sn (20:32) He is my brother. Ahab's response indicates that he wants to make a parity treaty and treat Ben Hadad as an equal partner.
46tn (20:33) Heb "he"; the referent (Ahab) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
47tn (20:34) Heb "he"; the referent (Ben Hadad) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
48tn (20:34) Heb "streets," but this must refer to streets set up with stalls for merchants to sell their goods. See HALOT 299.
49tn (20:34) Heb "I will send you away with a treaty." The words "Ahab then said" are supplied in the translation. There is nothing in the Hebrew text to indicate that the speaker has changed from Ben Hadad to Ahab. Some suggest adding "and he said" before "I will send you away." Others prefer to maintain Ben Hadad as the speaker and change the statement to, "Please send me away with a treaty."
50tn (20:35) Heb "Now a man from the sons of the prophets said to his companion by the word of the LORD, `Wound me.'"
51tn (20:36) Heb "he"; the referent (the prophet) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
52tn (20:37) Heb "and the man wounded him, wounding and bruising."
53tn (20:39) Heb "middle."
54tn (20:39) Heb "man" (also a second time later in this verse).
55tn (20:39) Heb "if being missed, he is missed." The emphatic infinitive absolute before the finite verbal form lends solemnity to the warning.
56sn (20:39) Unit. The Hebrew term rkk ("circle") refers generally to something that is round. When used of metals it can refer to a disk-shaped weight made of the metal or to a standard unit of weight.
57tn (20:39) Heb "your life will be in place of his life, or a unit of silver you will pay."
58tn (20:40) Heb "so [i.e., in accordance with his testimony] is your judgment, you have determined [it]."
59tn (20:41) Heb "he"; the referent (the prophet) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
60tn (20:42) Heb "he"; the referent (the prophet) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
61tn (20:42) Heb "Because you sent away the man of my destruction [i.e., that I determined should be destroyed] from [my/your?] hand, your life will be in place of his life, and your people in place of his people."
1tn (21:1) Heb "after these things." The words "the following episode took place" are added for stylistic reasons.
2sn (21:1) King Ahab of Samaria. Samaria, as the capital of the northern kingdom, here stands for the nation of Israel.
3tn (21:2) Heb "if it is good in your eyes."
4tc (21:2) The Old Greek translation includes the following words: "And it will be mine as a garden of herbs."
5tn (21:3) Heb "Far be it from me, by the LORD, that I should give the inheritance of my fathers to you."
6tn (21:4) Heb "on account of the word that Naboth the Jezreelite spoke to him."
7tn (21:4) Heb "I will not give to you the inheritance of my fathers."
8tn (21:4) Heb "turned away his face."
9tn (21:6) Heb "While I was talking..., I said..., he said...." Ahab's explanation is one lengthy sentence in the Hebrew text, which is divided in the translation for stylistic reasons.
10tn (21:7) Heb "You, now, you are exercising kingship over Israel."
11tn (21:7) Heb "so your heart [i.e., disposition] might be well."
12tn (21:8) Heb "scrolls."
13tn (21:8) Heb "in the name of Ahab."
14tn (21:8) Heb "scrolls."
15tn (21:8) Heb "elders."
16tn (21:8) Heb "to the nobles who were in his city, the ones who lived with Naboth."
17tn (21:9) Heb "she wrote on the scrolls, saying."
18tn (21:11) Heb "his."
19tn (21:11) Heb "elders."
20tn (21:11) Heb "and the nobles who were living in his city."
21tn (21:11) Heb "did as Jezebel sent to them, just as was written in the scrolls which she sent to them."
22tn (21:13) Heb "led him."
23tn (21:13) Heb "and they stoned him with stones and he died."
24tn (21:14) Heb "Naboth was stoned and he died." So also in v. 15.
25tn (21:15) Heb "Jezebel"; the proper name has been replaced by the pronoun ("she") in the translation for stylistic reasons.
26tc (21:16) The Old Greek translation includes the following words here: "he tore his garments and put on sackcloth. After these things."
27tn (21:17) Heb "the word of the LORD came to Elijah the Tishbite."
28tn (21:20) Heb "and Ahab said to Elijah." The narrative is elliptical and streamlined. The words "when Elijah arrived" are supplied in the translation for clarification.
29tn (21:20) Heb "he"; the referent (Elijah) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
30tn (21:20) Heb "you have sold yourself."
31tn (21:20) Heb "in the eyes of."
32tn (21:21) The introductory formula "the LORD says" is omitted in the Hebrew text, but supplied in the translation for clarification.
33sn (21:21) Disaster. There is a wordplay in the Hebrew text. The word translated "disaster" (hur) is similar to the word translated "evil" (v. 20, urt). Ahab's's sins would receive an appropriate punishment.
34tn (21:21) Heb "I will burn after you." Some take the verb rub to mean here "sweep away." See the discussion of this verb in the notes at 14:10 and 16:3.
35tn (21:21) Heb "and I will cut off from Ahab those who urinate against a wall, [including both those who are] restrained and let free [or, "abandoned"] in Israel." The precise meaning of the idiomatic phrase bwzuw rwxu (translated here "weak and incapacitated") is uncertain. For various options see HALOT 871 and Cogan and Tadmor, II Kings, 107. The two terms are usually taken as polar opposites ("slaves and freemen" or "minors and adults"), but Cogan and Tadmor, on the basis of contextual considerations (note the usage with spa, "nothing but") in Deut 32:36 and 2 Kgs 14:26, argue convincingly that the terms are synonyms, meaning "restrained and abandoned," and refer to incapable or incapacitated individuals.
36tn (21:22) Heb "house."
37tn (21:22) Heb "because of the provocation by which you angered [me], and you caused Israel to sin."
38tc (21:23) A few Hebrew MSS and some ancient versions agree with 2 Kgs 9:10, 36, which reads, "the plot [of ground] at Jezreel." The Hebrew words translated "outer wall" (lj, defectively written here!) and "plot [of ground]" (qlj) are spelled similarly.
39tn (21:24) "Dogs will eat the ones who belonging to Ahab who die in the city."
40tn (21:25) Heb "who sold himself."
41tn (21:25) Heb "in the eyes of."
42tn (21:25) Heb "like Ahab...whom his wife Jezebel incited."
43tn (21:26) The Hebrew word used here, <yl!WLg], is always used as a disdainful reference to idols. It is generally thought to have originally referred to "dung pellets" (cf. KBL s.v. <yl!WLg], 183). It is only one of several terms used in this way, such as <yl!yl!a$ ("worthless things") and <yl!b*h& ("vanities" or "empty winds").
44tn (21:26) Heb "He acted very abominably by walking after the disgusting idols, according to all which the Amorites had done."
45tn (21:28) Heb "the word of the LORD came to Elijah the Tishbite."
46tn (21:29) Or "humbles himself." The expression occurs a second time later in this verse.
47tn (21:29) Heb "I will not bring the disaster during his days, [but] in the days of his son I will bring the disaster on his house."
1tn (22:1) Heb "and they lived three years without war between Aram and Israel."
2tn (22:2) The word "visit" is supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
3tn (22:3) Heb "Do you know that Ramoth Gilead belongs to us, and we hesitate to take it from the hand of the king of Aram?" The rhetorical question expects the answer, "Of course, you must know!"
4tn (22:4) Heb "Like me, like you; like my people, like your people; like my horses; like your horses."
5tn (22:5) Heb "and Jehoshaphat said to the king of Israel."
6tn (22:5) Heb "the word of the LORD." Jehoshaphat is requesting a prophetic oracle revealing the Lord's will in the matter and their prospects for success. For examples of such oracles, see 2 Sam 5:19, 23-24.
7tn (22:6) Heb "Should I go against Ramoth Gilead for war or should I refrain?"
8tn (22:6) Though Jehoshaphat requested an oracle from "the LORD" (Yahweh, hwhy), they stop short of actually using this name and substitute the title ynda ("lord; master"). This ambiguity may explain in part Jehoshaphat's hesitancy and caution (vv. 7-8). He seems to doubt that the four hundred are genuine prophets of the LORD.
9tn (22:8) Heb "to seek the LORD from him."
10tn (22:8) Or "hate."
11tn (22:8) The words "his name is" are supplied for stylistic reasons.
12tn (22:10) Heb "were sitting, a man on his throne."
13tn (22:13) Heb "the words of the prophets are [with] one mouth good for the king."
14tn (22:13) Heb "let your words be like the word of each of them and speak good."
15sn (22:15) "Attack! You will succeed; the LORD will hand it over to the king." One does not expect Micaiah, having just vowed to speak only what the Lord tells him, to agree with the other prophets and give the king an inaccurate prophecy. Micaiah's actions became understandable later, when it is revealed that the LORD desires to deceive the king and lead him to his demise. The LORD even dispatches a lying spirit to deceive Ahab's prophets. Micaiah can lie to the king because he realizes this lie is from the LORD. It is important to note that in v. 14 Micaiah only vows to speak the word of the LORD; he does not necessarily say he will tell the truth. In this case the LORD's word itself is deceptive. Only when the king adjures him to tell the truth (v. 16), does Micaiah do so.
16tn (22:16) Or "swear an oath by."
17tn (22:17) Heb "he;" the referent (Micaiah) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
18tn (22:19) Heb "he;" the referent (Micaiah) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
19tn (22:20) Heb "and fall."
20tn (22:21) Heb "the spirit." The significance of the article prefixed to j^Wr is uncertain, but it could contain a clue as to this spirit's identity, especially when interpreted in light of v. 24. It is certainly possible, and probably even likely, that the article is used in a generic or dramatic sense and should be translated, "a spirit." In the latter case it would show that this spirit was vivid and definite in the mind of Micaiah the storyteller. However, if one insists that the article indicates a well-known or universally known spirit, the following context provides a likely referent. Verse 24 tells how Zedekiah slapped Micaiah in the face and then asked sarcastically, "Which way did the spirit from the LORD (hwhy-j^Wr, Heb "the spirit of the LORD") go when he went from me to speak to you?" When the phrase "the spirit of the LORD" refers to the divine spirit (rather than the divine breath or mind, Isa. 40:7, 13) elsewhere, the spirit energizes an individual or group for special tasks or moves one to prophesy. This raises the possibility that the deceiving spirit of vv. 20-23 is the same as the divine spirit mentioned by Zedekiah in v. 24. This would explain why the article is used on j^Wr; he can be called "the spirit" because he is the well-known spirit who energizes the prophets.
21tn (22:22) Heb "he"; the referent (the LORD) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
22tn (22:22) The Hebrew text has two imperfects connected by <g~w+. These verbs could be translated as specific futures, "you will deceive and also you will prevail," in which case the LORD is assuring the spirit of success on his mission. However, in a commissioning context (note the following imperatives) such as this, it is more likely that the imperfects are injunctive, in which case one could translate, "Deceive, and also overpower."
23tn (22:27) Heb "the bread of affliction and the water of affliction."
24tn (22:27) Heb "come in peace." So also in v. 28.
25tn (22:28) Heb "Listen."
26tn (22:30) The Hebrew verbal forms could be imperatives ("Disguise yourself and enter"), but this would make no sense in light of the immediately following context. The forms are better interpreted as infinitives absolute functioning as cohortatives. See IBHS 594. Some prefer to emend the forms to imperfects.
27tn (22:31) Heb "small or great."
28tn (22:34) Heb "now a man drew a bow in his innocence" (i.e., with no specific target in mind, or at least without realizing his target was the king of Israel).
29tn (22:34) Heb "he"; the referent (the king) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
30tn (22:34) Heb "camp."
31tn (22:37) Heb "and the king died and he came to Samaria, and they buried the king in Samaria."
32tn (22:38) Heb "now the prostitutes bathed."
33tn (22:38) Heb "according to the word of the LORD which he spoke."
34tn (22:39) Heb "As for the rest of the acts of Ahab and all that he did, and the house of ivory which he built and all the cities which he built, are they not written on the scroll of the events of the days of the kings of Israel?"
35tn (22:40) Heb "lay down with his fathers."
36tn (22:43) Heb "he walked in all the way of Asa his father and did not turn from it, doing what is right in the eyes of the LORD."
37sn (22:44) Beginning with 22:43b, the verse numbers through 22:53 in the English Bible differ from the verse numbers in the Hebrew text (BHS), because 22:43b in the English Bible = 22:44 in the Hebrew text. The remaining verses in the chapter differ by one, with 22:44-53 ET = 22:45-54 HT.
38tn (22:45) Heb "As for the rest of the events of Jehoshaphat, and his strength that he demonstrated and how he fought, are they not written on the scroll of the events of the days of the kings of Judah?"
39tn (22:46) Heb "and the rest of the male cultic prostitutes who were left in the days of Asa his father, he burned from the land." Some understand the verb rub to mean "sweep away" here rather than "burn." See the note at 1 Kgs 14:10.
sn (22:46) Despite Asa's opposition to these male cultic prostitutes (see 1 Kgs 15:12) some of them had managed to remain in the land. Jehoshaphat finished what his father had started.
40tn (22:48) Heb "a fleet of Tarshish [ships]." This probably refers to large ships either made in or capable of traveling to the distant western port of Tarshish.
41tn (22:49) Heb "Let my servants go with your servants in the fleet."
42tn (22:50) Heb "lay down with his fathers."
43tn (22:50) Heb "with his fathers in the city of his father."
44tn (22:52) Heb "in the eyes of."
45tn (22:52) Or "way."
46tn (22:52) Heb "and walked in the way of his father and in the way of his mother and in the way of Jeroboam son of Nebat who made Israel sin."
47tn (22:53) Heb "he served Baal and bowed down to him."
48tn (22:53) Heb "according to all which his father had done."