I Chronicles · Chapter 29

My son Solomon is alone, etc. And even if he were a hundred [people], he would not be able to build it, and furthermore, he is young and tender. and the work is great And if you say that the work should be lessened, that is impossible... for the palace is not for man but for the Lord God Who is great and awesome, Whom the heavens and the heavens of the heavens cannot contain, but nevertheless, do not fear to build a great house like this, because “with all my strength I prepared for the House of God (sic), the gold for the gold and the silver for the silver, etc.” Therefore, you do not have so much toil.

for the palace is not for man — That is, this tower and this wondrous structure in the Temple is not built for man, that he might treat it lightly, but it is built for Hashem God; and for this reason it is fitting to adorn it very greatly, for the honor of Hashem, blessed be He, seeing also that the form of all its details ought to be fixed so as to point to the secrets of the divine and to the wisdom [manifest] in [His] creations. From this it follows that there would be much gold in this work, since part of the building and its vessels were required to be of gold, for the reason we mentioned in our commentary on the words of the Torah.

‘alone’ — as if to say: and how could anyone else gather so much wealth to build a house for Hashem? ‘God has chosen’ — He also chose him to reign over Israel, and he will be greatly occupied with the affairs of the kingdom. ‘young and tender’ — he is young in years and exceedingly delicate, and has not experienced much toil. ‘for [the palace] is not for man’ — the house is not built for man's need, but for Hashem, and therefore it must be greatly adorned.

The palace (habirah) - [Meaning] the citadel; and it is said [here] with reference to the Temple.

'Solomon my son, whom alone God has chosen' — beyond its plain meaning, that he told them that since Solomon is alone and tender for so great a task — a task as great as the greatness of the God for whose honor it is done — they need to help him in this, there is bound up in it a second intent as well: so that they should not say that such a task is beyond the power of the people, and that it is impossible for them to build so great a king's sanctuary, he demonstrated to them that the essential building would be accomplished by Hashem and by His help — just as [the Sages] homiletically applied to it what is written (I Kings 6:7), 'and the house, when it was being built,' [reading it to mean] that it was built of itself. And he made this clear to them: for in matters of nature, Hashem always chooses means that are fitting and sufficient for the desired end; and had it been Hashem's will that the building be accomplished by human power alone, He would not have chosen for this Solomon, who is a tender youth — or at least, He would have chosen additional helpers to join him in the work, as in the work of the Tabernacle, for which He appointed Bezalel and Ahisamakh (i.e., Oholiab, son of Ahisamakh). But Solomon my son is alone, with no one to help him, and he is a tender youth, and the work is beyond his strength — and nonetheless God chose him to build this building. From this it is clear that 'the palace is not for man' — meaning, that the work of the palace is not to be attributed to man. 'but for Hashem God' — for He will send His help from His sanctuary to this building, beyond the natural order; and in a work attributed to God, He always chooses instruments that are weak in physical substance but perfect in form, so that His help may rest upon them according to the greatness of their souls in holiness.

onyx stones and filling stones on the model of the Tabernacle (Ex. 25:7): “Onyx stones and filling stones, etc.” carbuncle stones and embroidery, and all precious stones to put onto the golden walls and into the silver vessels. and marble stones for the pillars, for the tables, and for the floor.

glistering stones, and of divers colors — It seems that there were perforated stones there, which the embroiderer would set into the garments he made, and these are called stones of embroidery.

‘with all my might’ — as if to say: behold, I have done what was incumbent upon me, and with all my strength I have prepared, etc. ‘the gold for the things of gold’ — I prepared the gold for the gold vessels, and so for all the rest. ‘and stones to be set’ — precious stones are called this because they fill the hollow made in the settings, in which the stone is placed.

Glistering stones (avnei fuch) - Precious stones whose appearance is like "fuch" (kohl), which is blue-black. And of divers colors (verikmah) - [Meaning] cloths embroidered with various colors. Precious (yekarah) - [Meaning] valuable; that is, a valuable type of stone used for building.

'Now I have prepared with all my might' — although I have prepared for the house of my God, with all my might, all the kinds of materials that are needed and required for the work, nevertheless, further, out of my devotion to the house of my God — in that I wished to adorn and glorify it all the more, since it is the house of God, whose splendor and glory have no limit — I have an additional treasure of my own, by which I will glorify it even more than what I had originally intended. And this treasure of mine I have given to the house of my God, over and above all that I prepared for the Temple: it goes beyond the preparation I made at first, which would have sufficed to build the holy house; for through this treasure of mine — this gold with which they will overlay the walls of the house in gold and refined silver — the house will be raised up to a greater height than what I had prepared at first. It is as though at first I prepared for 'the holy house,' and now I have given to 'the house of my God' — for insofar as it is the holy house, it too must be built with splendor and honor, and it would have been enough to have a grand house built of hewn stones; but insofar as it is the house of my God, it must be overlaid with gold and silver.

And moreover, since I desired the House of my God The meaning is: because of my great desire, that I desired the House of my God. I have a treasure I amassed for myself an accumulation of gold and silver, as he explains further.

‘because I have set my affection [on the house of my God]’ — since I am pleased with and desire the house of Hashem, behold, I have a special treasure of my own of gold and silver, and I have given that too to the house of Hashem. ‘over and above all,’ etc. — meaning, in addition to everything I had already prepared beforehand for the Temple.

A treasure (segulah) - An expression of a hoard, as in "and the treasure of kings" (Ecclesiastes 2).

refined very white. to overlay the walls of the houses and no one can overlay anything, either with silver or with gold, unless it is refined.

with which to overlay the walls of the houses — I think that when it says “to overlay the walls of the houses,” this refers back to what was said, “three thousand talents of gold,” since the houses — namely the Sanctuary and the Holy of Holies — were entirely overlaid with gold, and there were no walls there overlaid with silver.

‘three thousand [talents]’ — meaning, this is the sum of that treasure of mine: three thousand [talents], etc. ‘with which to overlay,’ etc. — this refers back to the gold, for they did not overlay with the silver; and our Sages, of blessed memory, said that the 'silver' spoken of here actually means a fine gold that outshines all other golds.

To overlay (latuach) - An expression of plastering and coating, as in "and he shall plaster (vetach) the house" (Leviticus 14:42); but here it is used figuratively, for they covered the house with sheets [of gold], and not by plastering and coating as craftsmen do, and the abundance of the gold proves it. Walls (kirot) - [Meaning] its walls.

The gold for the gold and the silver for the silver and for all the work (and I gave it) into the hands of the craftsmen the artisans, and this is what I prepared for the Temple, and although I amassed all this... and whoever of you... volunteers to consecrate himself today for the Lord to bring gold, silver, or anything for the building, on the model of (Ex. 35:22): “... all moved by their hearts: they brought brooches and nose-rings.” to consecrate lit., to fill his hand; on the model of (ibid. 29:9): “... and you shall fill the hand... of Aaron and the hand of his sons,” which the Targum renders: “and you shall offer up the sacrifice of Aaron.”

‘of gold for the things of gold’ — the gold for the gold vessels, etc. ‘and for all manner of work,’ etc. — and everything needed for the work, behold, it is placed in the hands of the craftsmen. ‘Who then offers willingly’ — he said to those standing before him: who among you offers willingly to dedicate his hand this day, by giving a donation to Hashem? As if to say: from now on, begin contributing toward the building of the house.

Artificers (charashim) - [Meaning] craftsmen. To consecrate (lemalot) - An expression of inauguration, as in "and you shall consecrate (umileta) the hand of Aaron" (Exodus 29:9).

'of gold for the things of gold' — that is to say: although I have prepared everything needed for the external aspect of the building, both in the materials required — so that whatever is needed in gold is [prepared] in gold, and whatever is needed by way of labor for every kind of work is [ready] in the hands of craftsmen, all of it prepared — nevertheless, for the sanctuary to attain the condition upon which holiness will rest, one thing more is still needed: the willing generosity of the people's heart and their readiness, for it is upon this that holiness rests, as it says (Exodus 25:2), 'from every man whose heart makes him willing shall you take My offering' — for the essence of an offering to Hashem is the generosity of the heart, and it is upon this that holiness and the favor of Hashem rest. So, then, 'who offers willingly to consecrate himself this day to Hashem' — that by the generosity of his heart he consecrates himself to Hashem, for this is what is desired in His eyes.

And the leaders of the fathers’ [houses], etc., gave willingly those about whom it is written above (27:16): “And over the tribes of Israel,” and so it is written above (verse 1): “And the Children of Israel to their number: the heads of the fathers’ [houses], etc.” and with the leaders of the work of the king And also the leaders of the work of the soil of the king, (verse 27): “... and over what was in the vineyards of the king, etc.”

‘the princes of the fathers' houses’ — these are the heads of the ancestral houses mentioned above. ‘with the rulers’ — the officers appointed over the king's work; these are the officers of the property mentioned above.

and ten thousand darics - quinons or quinens in Old French, drachmas.

and ten thousand darics — This was a known unit of weight among them, and they were like gold denars, according to what I think.

‘and darics’ — the name of a coin well known among them. ‘ten thousand’ — that is, ten thousand [darics], which had not yet been converted into the weight of a talent.

And darics (ve'adarchonim) - The name of a coin known to them [in that era], as in "a thousand darics" (Ezra 8).

gave [them] to the treasury of the House of the Lord by the hand of Jehiel the Gershonite who was the ruler over the treasuries, as above (26:22): “The sons of Jehieli: Zetham and Joel his brother, over the treasuries of the House of the Lord.”

‘And they with whom [precious stones] were found’ — meaning, whoever had stones in his possession gave them to the treasury for the building. ‘under the hand of Jehiel’ — through his hand the stones were handed over, and he brought them into the treasury.

for... wholeheartedly With one heart they gave, with the desire of their soul, and not with two hearts, for there is a person who gives against his will and not with an eager soul or because he is ashamed of others, and that is called two hearts, but all these gave with the desire of their soul. and King David also rejoiced a great rejoicing And lest you say that [he rejoiced] like them but no more, Scripture therefore states: “... and King David also rejoiced, etc.,” more than all of them, because he was the performer of the deed. A similar case (Jud. 5:5): “The mountains melted at the presence of the Lord; this was Sinai”: more than all of them, (Ex. 19:18): “... because the Lord had descended upon it in fire.”

‘for that they offered willingly’ — they rejoiced over the donation, because it came from a whole heart; for one who gives a donation without his heart being fully in it feels pained over the money he has lost.

'for that they offered willingly' — for the essential intent was that they should offer willingly with a whole heart, and so it says, 'because with a whole heart they offered willingly'; and over this David rejoiced, for this is what helps to bring about the favor of Hashem, as I wrote in Artzot HaShalom, Discourse 2.

And David blessed the Lord before the eyes of the entire assembly that he had assembled, as is stated (above 28:1): “And David assembled,” and he blessed them for their willing donations. and David said, “Blessed are You, the God of Israel our Father For this reason he mentions Israel more than Abraham and Isaac because Jacob also vowed, as it is written (Gen. 28:20): “And Jacob made a vow.” Israel our Father Israel the Patriarch, and also in Genesis Rabbah is (70:2) it is explained in that manner. I, David, and my people, have vowed like Israel the Patriarch, and whoever makes a vow must mention Israel in his vow. And likewise (Ps. 132:2): “vowed to the mighty God of Jacob.” from everlasting to everlasting David said: Jethro was one proselyte among six hundred thousand, and he said (Ex. 18:10): “Blessed is the Lord who saved you.” This was a great disgrace for all Israel, but I shall bless the Holy One, blessed be He, more than Jethro.

for ever and ever — This indicates the eternity of Israel, and this was the form of the blessing in the Temple, as we mentioned in the Book of Ezra.

‘the God of Israel our father’ — the word ‘our father’ refers back to Israel [that is, to Jacob]; and since Jacob was the first to make vows [of this kind], and David was here speaking his own words on account of this donation, he therefore invoked the name of Hashem together with Israel. ‘for ever and ever’ — from this world until the World to Come.

'Blessed be You, O Hashem, the God of Israel our father' — since Jacob, on Mount Moriah, saw the vision of the ladder and said (Genesis 28:17), 'This is none other than the house of God,' David therefore blessed Hashem specifically as 'the God of Israel the Elder' [Jacob] — for it was there that He was revealed to him and showed him this house and the gate of heaven.

Yours, O Lord, are the greatness He gave praise to the Holy One, blessed be He, that He gave him so much strength to amass such a fortune for the building of the Temple, as it is written (above 17: 12): “He will build Me a House,” and near this [is written]: “O Lord, for the sake of Your servant and according to Your own heart, You have brought about all this greatness.” Now the expression of greatness can also refer to the building of the Temple, as it is written (above 22:5): “... and the House to build for the Lord, to magnify it on high.” Yours, O Lord, are the greatness Although I have amassed all this fortune for the building of the Temple, which is called greatness, You have given me all this greatness. the might for You gave me might to wage war with Israel’s enemies and to plunder their spoils before You, to build the House, as above. After he had waged war with all his enemies and defeated them, it is written (above 18:11): “Those also King David dedicated to the Lord, etc.” the glory All these praises he praised him because the Holy One, blessed be He, had given him strength to amass a fortune for the building of the Temple, which is called glory (פְּאֵר), as it is written (Isa. 60: 13): “to glorify (לְפָאֵר) the place of My sanctuary,” and also above (22:5): “for fame and for glory (וּלְתִפְאֶרֶת).” the victory that the Holy One, blessed be He, gave him victory to plunder the spoils of the heathens for the purpose of the construction. for all that is in the heavens is Yours. You rule over even that which is above the heavens, surely over that which is on the earth. Therefore, You can give greatness to whomever You wish. and on the earth - Heb. וּבָאָרֶץ. This is intoned with an אֶתְנַחְתָּא a hiatus, for the verse ends here, and it refers to that which is above it, as I have explained. Yours is the kingdom and [You are He] Who is exalted over everything as the Leader The meaning is: If a flesh and blood king gives a position or a ruling power in the kingdom to one of his servants after the prince, he is his servant wherever he is, but the kingdom does not belong to the king, and the one to whom the kingdom belongs does not have the servant, but as for the Holy One, blessed be He - the servant appointed to rule is His, and also the kingdom is His (cotre in Old French, kingdom) and therefore, it is written: “Yours is the kingdom, and You are He Who is exalted” over them, for even the superintendent of the well is appointed from heaven (Baba Bathra 91b). They explained further: “... and [You are He] Who is exalted over everything at the beginning.” When we think that we have praised You with all the thanksgivings, and You have no more praise, it is still nothing, for the praised One stands at the beginning of the praises. And so when David concludes all his praises in Psalms, he commences with the final psalm (149:1): “Sing to the Lord a new song,” i.e., all the praises are new, as though we had never praised Him. In this manner Rabbi Eleazar the son of Rabbi Meir the son of Rabbi Isaac of Orleans explained, and it seems to me that it is so in Hagigah Yerushalmi.

Yours, O Hashem, is the greatness — over all that exists, for You are greater than they, beyond all comparison. And Yours is the power, to do whatever You desire, which is not so for anything else, since the actions of other things are limited, and they cannot depart from their function. Yours is the glory — That is to say, even if a person accomplishes something great and defeats his adversary though they be far, far more numerous than he, that person does not [truly] possess the glory, the victory, and the majesty; rather, they are Yours, for all of this comes to be through You, since all that is in the heaven and in the earth is Yours, Hashem; the kingdom is over them, and You are the One exalted above whoever among them attains headship. That is, whoever among them is granted any position of headship — You are exalted above him. Or the meaning may be that the kingship that belongs to a person is [in truth] Yours, for it is from You alone that his establishment [in power] comes; and likewise, whoever is exalted over anything, to be head over it, the authority, the dominion, and the headship come to him from You. According to this interpretation, the meaning of the words “for all that is in heaven and earth” is that all that is in heaven and earth is Yours. And according to this interpretation, it is possible that the meaning of “Yours, Hashem, is the greatness and the power” is that all greatness and power that come to a person come to him from You; and this whole verse then revolves around a single intent — that all successes that come to a person come to him from Hashem, blessed be He.

‘Yours,’ etc. — meaning, the greatness that is mine, the power and glory that are within me, the victory I have achieved, and the majesty that is mine — all of these come from Your hand. ‘for all,’ etc. — this refers back to ‘Yours,’ as if to say: all that is in the heavens and on earth is Yours. ‘Yours,’ etc. [Yours is the kingdom] — You are the One who makes kings reign, and You are the One who raises up anyone who has been set up to be a head [ruler].

And the glory (vehatiferet) - An expression related to "pe'er" (splendor). And the victory (vehanetzach) - An expression of triumph. And the majesty (vehahod) - An expression of grandeur and beauty.

Yours, O Hashem, is the greatness - I have already explained elsewhere that Hashem is called by the name "Gadol" (Great) because He is the first of all causes and the last of all effects, and He is the One who directs everything that nature brings about, from beginning to end. He is called by the name "Gibor" (Mighty) at the time He overturns the causes of nature and performs deeds against nature. And He is called by the name "Nora" (Awesome) at the time He conducts a particular, providential governance according to His will, in keeping with reward and punishment, so that the entire governance takes on a Divine character, and then He is glorified in His world, as it says (Isaiah 63:14), "So did You lead Your people, to make for Yourself a glorious name." Accordingly he means that these three modes of governance - the governance of nature, the occasional overturning of nature, and the governance of glory whereby everything is conducted according to individual providence - all belong to You; and all of this concerns the governance of the tangible, physical world. And also Yours are the "netzach" (victory) and the "hod" (majesty), which is the governance of the spiritual world, which is above time and place - for we have already explained (Isaiah ch. 57 and elsewhere) that the term "netzach" is distinguished from the term "olam" (world/eternity) in that it indicates the eternal time of spiritual beings, which is above the time known to us; and likewise "hod" is distinguished from "hadar" (a related term meaning splendor), which indicates an inner, spiritual matter (as explained in his Sefer HaTorah VeHaMitzvah, Kedoshim). for all that is in the heaven and in the earth is Yours - meaning, Yours is all of it - the greatness, etc., and the victory - whether found in heaven or found on earth: all strength and might found on earth belongs to the physical world of bodies, and all victory and majesty found in heaven belongs to the spiritual world (for the term "heaven" also includes the spiritual world, as explained elsewhere) - all of it is attributed to You, for everything flows from You, and You are the root and source of it all. Yours is the kingdom, O Hashem - (the term "mamlachah," kingdom, is distinct from the term "melucha," reign: "mamlachah" denotes the people as a whole over whom a king reigns) - meaning, all spiritual and physical existence, all the worlds that make up the general kingdom, belong to You, Hashem, for You reign over them and direct them as the soul directs the body. In this respect Hashem is called "the Life of the world" and "the King of the world," and we picture Him, may He be blessed, in this respect as a soul that is within the body, so that His flow and light fill all the worlds and give life to them all. And in another respect we picture Him as elevated above the worlds and separate from them, standing at the head of them all and encompassing them all - as the masters of Divine wisdom have put it, He "fills all worlds" and "surrounds all worlds." In the respect that He fills them all, it says, "Yours, Hashem, is the kingdom"; and in the respect that He surrounds them all and stands at the top of the ladder, separate from the world, it says, "and You are exalted as head above all" - He is raised above all and stands at the head of them all.

And wealth and honor are from before you from Your hand. “Honor” applies to wealth, as it is written (Nahum 2:10): “Plunder silver! Plunder gold! etc.” And like (Gen 31:1): “... and from what belonged to our father he amassed all this wealth (הַכָּבוֹד).” That is to say that all the wealth that I have amassed is from You, for “You rule over all, and in Your hand is strength and might, etc.”

Behold, riches and honor all come to a person from You, and You rule over all people, and in Your hand is power and strength to give greatness and strength to whomever You wish among them.

‘come of You’ — they are given from You. ‘to all’ — to all that You desire [to grant it to].

riches - all the riches and honor in the world come from before You, for it is You who gives it to whoever finds favor in Your eyes. And You are not like an ordinary giver, for whom, once he has given, the thing is no longer in his possession; rather, You continue to rule over everything, for it remains in the hand of the one it was given to only as long as You wish and continue to bestow it upon him, while the power and might always remain in Your hand - so that it is in Your power to make anyone great and strong, at whatever time You wish, as it says (Shekalim, end of ch. 3), "The Holy One, blessed be He, makes ladders in the firmament: He impoverishes one and enriches another."

And now, our God, we give thanks to you for what You have imparted to us of Your good.

Now therefore, our God, we thank You — For You have given us greatness, and strengthened us over the nations, our enemies, and for this we praise Your glorious name.

‘we thank,’ etc. — for all the abundant wealth that You have given us.

We thank (modim) - An expression of thanksgiving.

Now therefore - since all this wealth that we have donated is from Your hand and in Your hand, we therefore thank You for the goodness You showed us in giving us such wealth. and praise Your glorious name - for this wealth is not ours but Yours, and we receive its continued existence from You every moment.

Now who am I and who are my people that we should gather up strength to donate that we exerted ourselves to donate so much with this donation, and it is not ours, but all is from You, and You imparted a little to us. and from Your hand we have given it to You - Heb. נָתַנּוּ. And what You have given us from Your hand, we have given You part. The “nun” punctuated by the “dagesh” substituted for the second “nun” נָתַנְנוּ לְךָ.

‘But who am I,’ etc. — meaning, is the strength of our own hand truly so great that we could rally the power on our own to amass wealth, to offer so great a donation as this? ‘for [all things] come of You’ — all this wealth came from You, and what came from Your own hand we have merely returned and given back to You.

That we should be able (na'atzor koach) - [Meaning] that we should hold the strength within us, as in "let us detain you" (Judges 13:15).

But who am I - he explains the matter: it is surely impossible that by our own power we could have amassed such extraordinary wealth that we could make so willing an offering. This is not by my power, nor by the power of my people; rather, everything is from You - all this wealth we received from You. And even now it is not ours, such that we could say we gave it to You from our own hand; rather, it is from Your hand that we have given it to You, for it is still in Your hand and in Your possession and is Yours, so that in giving it we have merely given You what is Yours - that which is already in Your hand.

For we are strangers before You and we have no share or inheritance in the land and not a possession, only to live in it. An example is (Lev. 25:23): “...for you are only strangers and inhabitants with Me.” like all our forefathers A man who has sons and estates and has sold all the estates, if his sons come to live in that estate days and years later, they are called strangers and inhabitants, but our forefathers were guests. And so did David say: We are not so, but both we and our forefathers are all strangers and inhabitants in the world, as it is written (Ps. 89:12): “The heaven is Yours, even the earth is Yours; the inhabited earth and the fullness thereof, You founded them.” as a shadow are our days on the earth It is explained in Midrash Koheleth (Ecc. Rabbah 1:2): “Not like the shadow of a tree and not like a flying bird, which casts a shadow for days or years or casts a shadow for one hour, but like the shadow of the wings of a bee, which has wings but has no shadow.” and there is no hope No one has hope that he will not die.

and sojourners, as all our fathers were — That is to say, even though we are settled in the land, still, like all our fathers, we are but sojourners: our stay in the land is brief, for our days on earth are like a shadow, and no one can hope to escape death.

‘For we are strangers’ — measured against Your years, the days of our years are few, like the days of a stranger in a foreign land; and so it would be impossible to gather so great a fortune in so short a time by our own strength, were it not for Hashem, who was with us. ‘and sojourners’ — meaning, whatever share we hold as residents in this world, we are residents only in the way that all our fathers were, who departed and died; and so we too are to be reckoned as mere strangers. ‘as a shadow’ — just as a shadow keeps shifting with the movement of the sun, so do our days on earth constantly shift and pass on from the number of days allotted to us. ‘and there is no abiding’ — and man has no hope of prolonging his days beyond what has been allotted to him.

And sojourners (vetoshavim) - One who dwells a long time in one place is called a "toshav" (resident); the word relates to "yashav" (to dwell).

For we are strangers - it is impossible that we have any true possession here on earth, since we are strangers here. Just as a stranger comes from another land and is not a native of that land, so too we come into this world and are not among its original, ancient inhabitants; rather, we were only recently born, and the soul within us is rooted in another world. And even while we do dwell here, we dwell as sojourners, like all our fathers, who lived in the land only for a limited time and afterward journeyed on from here. So too our days on earth are like a shadow: just as a shadow, the longer and larger it grows, is a sign that it is close to vanishing into nothing, so too the more our days increase, the closer we come to death. and there is no abiding - that we should live long here. And so the possessions we have are only temporary, and are not truly ours.

that we have prepared - Heb. הֲכִינוֹנוּ, after the pattern of אֲשֶׁר הֲבִיאוֹנוּ.

‘all this store’ — the abundance of this wealth. ‘comes of Your hand’ — it came to us from Your hand, and it is all Yours.

This store (hehamon) - An expression of an abundance of wealth (hon), as in "nor he who loves abundance (behamon)" (Ecclesiastes 5:9).

O Hashem our God - accordingly he concludes his words, saying that all this abundance of silver and gold that we have prepared is from Your hand; it is not from us, but from You. and is all Your own - we did not give our own silver, but Your silver; not from our hand, but from Your hand.

And I know, my God, that You test the heart You test who has two hearts, one for good and one for evil. and You desire equity And You desire a good and straight heart, and so I know that with the straightness of my heart, for I have straightened my heart to one heart when I willingly gave all these, and from Your people, who gave willingly. The meaning is: With mine I am familiar and I know it well, but that of others I do not know, but I saw that they donated joyously, I say... and now, Your people, who are present here, offer willingly to You That is to say, I saw that they rejoiced in their donation, but I do not know whether it was from the willingness of their heart, as it is written: (above verse 9): “... and the people rejoiced over their donation.” who are present The ones found here are those mentioned above (28:1): “And David assembled all the leaders of Israel, etc.,” but all the wealthy of Israel who were in all the cities were not found here. Therefore, Lord of the universe, the donation was diminished, for had all the remaining Israelites been there, then the donation would have increased.

‘I know also’ — You, my God, indeed I know that You examine the heart of man to know his thoughts, and that You desire uprightness of heart; therefore I have offered this donation in uprightness of heart. ‘I have seen with joy’ — I have seen that they vowed with joy to offer willingly to You; so they too gave willingly, in uprightness of heart, just as I did.

Try (bochen) - An expression of examination and testing. Who are present (hanimtze'u) - [Meaning] "who are found"; the letter heh stands in place of "asher" (who), and so too, "that which Samuel had consecrated" (above, ch. 26).

I know also, my God - yet even so, although the gold and silver we gave is not truly ours, still You do not look at the gold and silver themselves; rather, You examine the heart, and what matters most to You is the intent of the heart. You do not desire gold and silver, but only uprightness, and You know that I offered all these things willingly, in the uprightness of my heart. Therefore You will accept the offering of my heart, and it will be pleasing to You, since You have examined and known that I offered willingly, with no ulterior motive at all, but only in uprightness of heart. and now I have seen with joy Your people, who are present here - even though I do not know the hidden depths of their hearts, I nonetheless saw them offer willingly to You with joy; through the joy they showed at the time of the offering, I saw and understood that their heart was set on offering willingly to You, and that they too gave willingly with uprightness of heart, without any external ulterior motive. And this is what matters most in Your eyes, since You have no need for the silver itself, but only for a pure heart and generosity.

keep this forever Remember for us this donation as a great deed and as a righteous act. even the creation of the thoughts of Your people for the creation of their two hearts and their thoughts are for good, and this refers back to “for You test the heart, etc.” and prepare their hearts to You Their two hearts are made perfect to be one heart to You, and so you shall explain...

keep this for ever — That is to say: this goodwill that Your people showed in these donations made for Your honor — keep it for them forever, so that they may have a good reward from You for it, namely, that their heart be directed toward You always and that they be guided to Your service. This will indeed come about when You rebuke them as soon as they sin, sending them Your servants the prophets to rebuke them — and it is in this manner that it will be preserved forever.

‘keep this for ever’ — preserve forever the merit of this donation. ‘even the imagination of the thoughts’ — the product of the thoughts of Your people's heart, which was formed in a good and desirable frame of mind. ‘and direct’ — strengthen their heart to turn toward You.

The imagination (leyetzer) - This is an expression of forming, as in "who has formed a god" (Isaiah 44:10); and similarly, "and every imagination of the thoughts of his heart" (Genesis 7). And direct (vehachen) - An expression of preparation.

'O Hashem, the God of Abraham... keep this for ever' — that is: this generosity of theirs and this uprightness of their heart — keep it forever, and remember this merit on behalf of the imagination of the thoughts of the heart of Your people, so that the images formed in the thoughts of their heart will always be such that the images which the spirit raises upon the heart are always good images, inclined toward charity and the fear of Hashem. And so too, direct their heart to You, so that even if some evil image should arise in their spirit, the heart will prevail through the ruling power within it, subduing the evil image, overcoming it, and powerfully ruling through the fear of Hashem (this fits with what was stated above (28:9), where this same doubling — 'heart' and 'imagination of thoughts' — also appears; see there).

And to Solomon, my son, give a perfect heart to prepare his heart to be perfect with his God, to keep His commandments, etc., and so did Solomon request (I Kings 8:57-61): “May the Lord our God be with us... Let your heart, [therefore] be perfect.” and to build the palace that I have prepared aprestai in Old French, I have prepared. And now, because I have prepared and made everything ready, it is easy for Solomon to build, provided that Your Hand helps him.

So too: give Solomon a whole heart to serve You, and to build the palace that I have made ready.

‘and to do all these things’ — meaning, all the words of the Torah; and he repeats his words for emphasis. ‘for which I have made provision’ — meaning, every item needed for the building.

'and give to Solomon my son a whole heart' — meaning, that no inclination toward evil and no ulterior motive be found in his heart, but only [the desire] 'to keep Your commandments' — that he keep the commandments, the testimonies, and the statutes alike, and not transgress any prohibitive commandment. 'and to do all these things' — that he fulfill the positive commandments among them (for 'keeping' is accomplished by refraining from action, while 'doing' is accomplished by active performance; and the distinction between commandments, testimonies, and statutes has been explained in several places, particularly in Psalms, chapter 119).

And David said to the entire assembly This refers back to (above 28:1): “And David assembled all the leaders of, etc.” Now bless the Lord your God It does not say, “The God of your fathers,” but “your God,” which implies: but not the God of your fathers. Therefore, it says, “Now bless the Lord your God,” but they said, “Our God and the God of our fathers,” and therefore, [it says:] “... and the assembly blessed the Lord, the God of their fathers,” out of appeasement to God and because of His holiness.

Bless (barchu) - [Meaning] praise and laud. And bowed down their heads (vayikdu) - [Meaning] they bent the crown of the head [in a bow].

'Now bless Hashem your God' — David told them that all this [good] was through their own merit, [in that] Hashem rested [His presence] upon them; but they, [in response], said that it was through the merit of their fathers [and so answered by blessing 'Hashem, the God of their fathers'].

on the morrow of that day the day of this assembly, when David spoke all his words, for on that day they had no time, because when they left the assembly, they were busy until night buying sacrificial animals, and on the morrow, “they slaughtered sacrifices, etc.” a thousand bulls, a thousand rams, a thousand lambs, and their libations On the pattern of (Num. 7:17): “five rams, five he-goats, etc.,” one quantity for them all. and numerous sacrifices It is customary for Scripture to speak in this manner; when it speaks of two or three things, it leaves the first one until the end and explains the last one immediately, and so (Gen. 31:33): “And Laban came into Jacob’s tent... and came into Rachel’s tent.” Now was it not already stated, “And Laban came into Jacob’s tent,” which was Rachel’s tent? However, “and did not find” refers to the maidservants, mentioned last, and then he explains the first matter, “... and he went out of Leah’s tent” first, and he “came into Rachel’s tent.” From Leah’s tent he went to Rachel’s tent, but because he had to say other things about this, “And Rachel had taken, etc.” and consequently, it is inappropriate to say, “... and in the tent of the two maidservants and did not find.” Here too, he had other things to say about the sacrifices, namely...

‘sacrifices’ — they offered peace-offerings in abundance. ‘for all Israel’ — meaning, all of them brought peace-offerings.

'bullocks' — [this list of animals] first explains [the clause] 'and offered burnt-offerings,' and afterward [the phrase 'sacrifices in abundance'] explains [the clause] 'and they sacrificed sacrifices,' which was the more numerous — just as Rashi explains.

And they ate and drank, etc. on that day, etc. And if he would say, “and they slaughtered sacrifices to the Lord,” he would interrupt between the sacrifices [i.e., the peace offerings] and the burnt offerings with other matters, and in order not to interrupt, he did not state it immediately, but waited until the end and stated, “... and numerous sacrifices, and they ate and drank before the Lord.” An example of this (Ex. 18:12): “And Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, took, etc.” and they crowned Solomon the son of David a second time They had already crowned him once, as is written in I Kings (1:39): “And Zadok the priest took the horn, etc.” It is stated explicitly in Horayot (11b): “The king, the son of a king, is not anointed. Why then did they anoint Solomon? David commanded to anoint him in order to remove [the false idea] from the heart of Adoniah’s supporters to crown him.” and they anointed [him] to the Lord as ruler - Heb. נָגִיד, from an expression of נְגִידוּ, the Targum for (Ex. 12:21): “pull,” as in (Num. 27:17): “... who will go out before them and who will come in before them and who will lead them out and who will bring them in.” and Zadok as priest because Ebiathar had anointed Adoniah.

and anointed him to Hashem to be prince, and Zadok to be priest — It appears that when they anointed him this second time, they also anointed Zadok as high priest, and Abiathar was removed from being high priest — even though afterward King Solomon told him, 'Go to Anathoth, to your own fields' (I Kings 2:26).

‘before Hashem’ — in accordance with the law governing the meat of peace-offerings. ‘And they made... king the second time’ — because the first time he was made king, on account of the strife caused by Adonijah, as stated in I Kings, only the men of Jerusalem were present; so they now made him king again, in an assembly of all the officers of Israel. ‘and anointed him to Hashem’ — by Hashem's command they anointed him as king. ‘and Zadok’ — and they appointed Zadok to be High Priest.

'And they made Solomon... king the second time' — for he had already been made king and anointed once, at David's command, as mentioned in I Kings 1; and now this was done [a second time] by all Israel. 'and anointed him to Hashem to be prince, and Zadok to be priest' — that he [Zadok] should be high priest in place of Abiathar, who had been among the conspirators with Adonijah.

And Solomon sat on the throne of the Lord as king Here it is appropriate to say that he reigned on the throne of the Lord because the throne is God’s to enthrone upon it whomever He wishes, and in the Midrash (Peskikta d’Rav Kahana p. 53a) it is explained that the throne was full (at its highest level) like the moon on the fifteenth of the month, because from Abraham to Solomon were fifteen generations: Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Judah, Perez, Hezron, Ram, Amminadab, Nahshon, Salmah, Boaz, Obed, Jesse, David, and Solomon, and that is what is written: (Ps. 89:37): “...and his throne is like the sun before Me,” which never diminishes, and if you wish to compare it to the moon, it will be like the moon which will be established in the time to come. But from Solomon and onward, the kings diminished from their greatness like the moon, which continuously diminishes, until Zedekiah, (II Kings 25:7): “...and he blinded Zedekiah’ s eyes.” and all Israel obeyed him immediately, unlike Saul, about whom it is written: (I Sam. 10:27): “And wicked men said: How will this one save us?” And also David ruled at first only in Hebron for seven years.

‘on the throne of Hashem’ — meaning, to carry out the judgment of Hashem. ‘all Israel’ — and no one challenged him.

And all the leaders and the mighty men unlike Adoniah, as it is written (I Kings 1:8): “... and David’s mighty men were not with Adoniah.” and also all King David’s sons placed their hand unlike Adoniah, under whom they did not place their hand. placed their hand In faith they gave their handclasp to Solomon to serve him wholeheartedly.

‘submitted themselves’ [literally, gave a hand] — they clasped hands, in pledge to be under his rule.

'and all the sons likewise of king David' — even though they had been at the feast that Adonijah made in order to be proclaimed king, as mentioned in I Kings 1, 'submitted themselves' [lit. 'gave a hand'] — meaning, they submitted themselves under him (as in (Lamentations 5:6), 'we gave the hand to Egypt').

and He bestowed upon him such regal majesty The meaning is: He bestowed upon him royal favor; an example of this is (Num. 27:20): “And you shall bestow some of your majesty (מֵהוֹדְךָ) upon him,” that everyone said, “This one is fit.” And in Daniel (11:21) it says: “And a contemptible person will stand on his base, upon whom they have not bestowed regal majesty.”

‘in the sight of all Israel’ — all of them saw his greatness. ‘royal majesty’ — meaning, he appeared, in everyone's eyes, to be fitting and worthy of kingship in his own right. ‘on any king’ — on any king at all who had preceded him over Israel.

Exceedingly (lemalah) - An expression of ascent and elevation.

'And Hashem magnified...' — there is [the expression] 'hod malchut' (splendor of kingship), and [there is] 'hadar malchut' (glory of kingship). 'Glory' (hadar) is the external quality by which one adorns himself before the people through wealth and a great retinue; hence it says that Hashem magnified Solomon exceedingly in the sight of all Israel — meaning, through his glory, which everyone could see with their own eyes. 'Splendor' (hod), by contrast, is an inner, spiritual matter — whether one is filled with a spirit of justice, humility, righteousness, compassion, mercy, wisdom, and understanding (as I have written in my composition Torah VeHaMitzvah, [portion] Kedoshim); hence it says, 'and bestowed upon him such royal majesty' [lit. 'gave upon him splendor of kingship'].

'Now David the son of Jesse reigned...' — meaning that, despite all this [Solomon's having been made king], David still reigned, and [his reign] was still counted as David's kingship, so much so that his reign was reckoned as forty years [in total]; only after David died did they begin to count [years] toward Solomon's kingship, as it says, 'and he died, and Solomon his son reigned in his stead.'

‘seven years’ — Scripture did not trouble to count the additional six months that he reigned in Hebron; or, [it may be] because for six months he was a fugitive from before Absalom his son, and that period was not reckoned as a reign, and so these six months were not included in the count.

‘riches, and honor’ — this refers back to the word ‘full,’ to say that he was full of riches and honor.

And the words of King David, the first and the last that which happened to David from his beginning to his end. behold they are written in the words of Samuel in the Book of Samuel. and in the words of Gad In the incident of the plague, and in honor of the king he tells and mentions it, saying that the full account of the greatness of the king is written here and elsewhere, and so it is with Mordecai, (Esther 10:2): “... they are written in the chronicles of the kings of Media and Persia.”

behold, they are written in the words of Samuel the seer — That is to say, alongside the words of Samuel the seer; this is in the Book of Samuel, and it appears that there too are also the words of Nathan the prophet and the words of Gad the seer, which are mentioned in this verse. This is what we have seen fit to explain at this point, of what is not mentioned in the Book of Samuel, in keeping with how we have limited our commentary on this book. Now, the benefits to be derived from this, besides what we have already enumerated of these in the Book of Samuel, are these: The first benefit is to make known the greatness of God's providence in bringing the kingship to David — to the point that even while he was being pursued by Saul, He turned the hearts of the mighty men of Israel and their leaders to join him. Among these were even men of the tribe of Benjamin, Saul's own kinsmen, and their longing to come to David was so strong that they crossed the Jordan in the first month, when they had to set up barriers across all the valleys so that they could cross over them, and they did not delay in coming to him until the abundance of water subsided — for this was from Hashem. They kept coming to him day after day to help him, until he had a great camp. And also, when they came to Hebron, the men of Benjamin, Saul's kinsmen, came there to make David king, even though most of them had been keeping the watch of the kingdom of the house of Saul. The second benefit is to make known that the Ark of God may be carried only by the Levites, and only on the shoulder; and from this we learn that the Torah's statement that the service of the sanctuary is upon them, that they shall bring it on the shoulder, is a positive commandment. The third benefit is what we learn from this account concerning the divisions of the priests, which were instituted by Hashem, as will become clear from David's own words. From this passage we are guided to the intent of the Torah's statement, 'they shall eat equal portions, besides what he has from the sale of his patrimony' — for it was fitting that this be so in this honored service as well, meaning that everything in it should be so regulated that nothing would be lacking from it; and for this reason it was proper that they know who would perform the service on each given day, since by this quarreling and dispute would also be removed from among them. The fourth benefit is what we learn from this, that the service of the Levites included song, by mouth, to give thanks to Hashem, performed by whichever of them was most fit for it — as it says, 'he was master in the song, because he was skillful' (15:22). From this we came to understand the intent of the Torah's statement, 'to stand and minister in the name of Hashem' (Deuteronomy 18:5); and from this it also follows that some of them were singers of every kind of song. We further learn from this that what the Torah established for the Levites, that they should keep the charge of the House of Hashem, includes their serving as gatekeepers; that they should guard the sacred things from all impurity; that they should guard the treasuries, the dedicated property, and the vessels of the Temple, and the fine flour, the wine, and the oil set aside for the meal-offerings; and that they should prepare the showbread, the fine-flour offerings, and the wafers of the High Priest. In general, their charge included everything with which they could assist the priests in matters of the Temple and its sacred things. David had already established, in this connection, divisions for all of these matters, so that each man would have his own assigned task — just as we find that the Torah insisted that each man be responsible for his own service and his own burden. The fifth benefit is to make known that it is fitting to walk before Hashem, blessed be He, in garments that signify purity — that is, white garments — and not in garments that signify authority and royalty. For this reason it is related that David was not dressed in royal garments when he walked before the Ark of God, but was wrapped in a linen robe and girded with a linen ephod; and in keeping with this same intent, David danced and made merry before Hashem and did not carry himself as a king. The sixth benefit is to make known the wondrous song of thanks that the singers offered, which embraces tremendously important principles of the Torah and of faith. The first principle is that those who seek His presence, who cling to Him, will have wonders performed for them by Hashem, blessed be He, to do good for them and save them from harm — as it says, 'Seek you Hashem and His strength; seek His face continually.' This principle also includes within it another principle, namely, that Hashem, blessed be He, watches over each individual human being; and this is already stated explicitly in the words, 'the covenant which He made with Abraham, and His oath to Isaac.' The second principle is to make known that His promises, given through His prophets, are sure to be fulfilled; hence it says, '...and the judgments of His mouth,' as we have explained. And it says, 'the word which He commanded to a thousand generations, the covenant which He made with Abraham, and His oath to Isaac,' etc. From this principle another principle is likewise established, namely, the reality of prophecy — for were it not for the acknowledgment of prophecy, the Torah as a whole would collapse. The third principle is the belief in the creation of the world, namely the statement, 'but Hashem made the heavens.' The fourth principle is that the ultimate joy and delight is found with Hashem, blessed be He; therefore it befits every person to attach himself to this wondrous joy to whatever extent he is able, and this comes about through gaining understanding and knowledge of Hashem, blessed be He, according to his capacity. The fifth principle is that all the nations will one day serve Hashem, as it says, 'and let them say among the nations: Hashem reigns' — with all that follows from this, as we explained in our commentary on these words. So too the prophet said that Hashem, blessed be He, will turn to the peoples a pure speech, so that they will all call upon the name of Hashem and serve Him with one accord (Zephaniah 3:9). Now this points as well to the matter of the exile in which we now find ourselves, for it will be the means of bringing all the nations to the true faith; for when we go forth from this exile, what is said here about the nations declaring, 'Hashem reigns,' will come to pass, as is explained in the Book of Daniel, in keeping with what we explained there. The seventh benefit is to make known that the Temple in Jerusalem is chosen forever. Hence it says, 'This is the house of Hashem God, and this is the altar of burnt-offering for Israel,' and it says, 'as for me, it was in my heart to build a house of rest for the Ark of the Covenant of Hashem.' The eighth benefit is to make known that, out of the intensity of David's longing to build the Temple, he set aside a fund for its construction from the time of his own affliction, and prepared everything for Solomon before his death — giving him the pattern for every part of the building, the pattern of the vessels and their weight, and establishing the divisions of the priests and Levites, so that the service of the House would be set up in the fullest possible perfection. All of this came to David from Hashem, as we have mentioned. Now, just as Moses — when he was unable to bring Israel into their inheritance of the land because of their sins, as we mentioned there — directed Joshua and instructed him in all that he was to do in giving Israel their inheritance of the land, so too was the matter here, equally, between David and Solomon; and just as Hashem did not withhold from Moses the credit for having caused Israel to inherit the land, even though Joshua was greater than he in that role, so too here the matter is the same between David and Solomon, for David's own stature was in fact higher than Solomon's. Rather, Hashem, blessed be He, did not wish David to build it, because he had shed much blood — lest, when the end of the House came about on account of Israel's sin, the nations think that this evil befell this House because of the sin of the blood that David had shed, as we have mentioned. The ninth benefit is to make known that the good that Hashem, blessed be He, promised Solomon was conditional: that if he followed Hashem, blessed be He, in doing the commandments of the Torah, its statutes and its ordinances, this good would follow for him. Hence David said to Solomon, 'Then you shall prosper, if you observe to do the statutes and the ordinances which Hashem charged Moses with concerning Israel' (22:13); and it says, 'And I will establish his kingdom forever, if he be constant to do My commandments and My ordinances, as at this day' (28:7). The tenth benefit is to make known the fulfillment of the covenant that Hashem, blessed be He, made with Pinchas, that he should have an everlasting covenant of priesthood — so much so that you find that the High Priesthood belonged to the descendants of Ithamar only briefly, while it belonged mostly to the descendants of Pinchas. You also find that, of the divisions of the priests, sixteen divisions belonged to the line of Eleazar, while only eight of them belonged to Ithamar. It is likewise explained in the Book of Ezekiel that the High Priesthood was established for the sons of Zadok (Ezekiel 40:46; 43:19; 44:15; 48:11), who were of the line of Pinchas. The eleventh benefit is to make known that it is not fitting for a person to engage in two occupations, or hold two positions of oversight, at the same time — for being occupied with the one will prevent him from properly attending to the other, so that in the end perfection will be lacking in both. Hence you find that David assigned, for every single task among the Levites, its own particular men, and for every single office among his enterprises and possessions, its own particular man. For example, the one appointed over the work of the vineyards was not also appointed over the wine cellars that received their produce, and the one who was over the cattle grazing in the Sharon was not appointed over the cattle in the valleys. The twelfth benefit is to make known the goodness of David's character and his love for Hashem, blessed be He, and for His people Israel. Hence you find that, before his death, he commanded Solomon his son to walk in the ways of Hashem, blessed be He, and to keep the commandments of the Torah — for by this his kingship would be established for him and for his descendants forever, and he would succeed in all that he would call upon Him for. He likewise commanded all the leaders of Israel to walk in the ways of Hashem, blessed be He, and to keep and seek out all His commandments, so that the inheritance of the land would be established for them and their descendants forever. Hence too you find that he brought it about that all the officers volunteered gifts for the service of the House of God, so that they would have a good reward from Hashem, blessed be He. The thirteenth benefit is to make known that from the providence of Hashem, blessed be He, over those who cling to Him, it follows that He prepares their hearts toward Him by bringing about new things that guide them to His service. This is the meaning of the words, 'keep this forever, even the imagination of the thoughts of the heart of Your people, and direct their heart to You.' Hence our Sages, of blessed memory, said, 'One who comes to purify himself is helped [from Above]' (Shabbat 104). And so it is: just as Hashem, blessed be He, grants those who love Him things that guard them from bodily harm by watching over them, so too He provides them with things that guard them from harm to the soul, as we explained in the fourth [book] of the Wars of Hashem.

‘first’ — when he was still a fugitive from before Saul. ‘in the words of Samuel’ — meaning, in the Book of Samuel. ‘and in the words of Nathan,’ etc. — they too wrote books, but they are not with us [i.e., not extant].

'behold, they are written...' — meaning, his earlier acts were recorded by Samuel while he was still alive, before David became king, and his later acts were recorded by Nathan and Gad in their own books; they recorded the events of his reign and the accounts of his heroic deeds, and they also recorded the times that passed — the good times and the bad — whether concerning Israel or concerning the other kingdoms.

and the times that passed over him the times of trouble that passed over him. This is what David said, (Ps. 31:16): “My times are in Your hands; rescue me from the hands of my enemies and from my pursuers.” and over Israel the times that passed over Israel. and over all the kingdoms of the lands who came upon Israel. An example of this is in I Samuel (7:10): “And the Lord thundered with a great noise, etc., upon the Philistines and threw them into a panic, etc.” So it is with Jehoshaphat: (II Chron. 20:22): “And at the time they began with song and praise, the Lord stationed, etc.,” and so with Sannecherib, (Isa. 37:36): “And they arose in the morning, and behold they were all dead corpses.” (“And when the wicked perish, there is song.” Prov. 11:10).

‘with all his reign’ — meaning, there [in those books] the acts of David are recounted together with all the lands over which he reigned. ‘and the times,’ etc. — times for good, and times for ill.

And the times (veha'itim) - An expression related to "et" (time) and season.