2 ChroniquesChapitre 2

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Solomon conscripted seventy thousand men as burden-bearers and eighty thousand to quarry stone in the hills, with three thousand six hundred to supervise them.

Then Solomon sent word to Huram king of Tyre: "Deal with me as you dealt with my father David, when you sent him cedar to build himself a house to live in.

I am about to build a house for the name of the LORD my God, to consecrate it to him for burning fragrant incense before him, for the regular setting out of the bread, and for burnt offerings morning and evening, on the Sabbaths, at the new moons, and at the appointed feasts of the LORD our God. This is an everlasting ordinance for Israel.

The house I am building will be great, for our God is greater than all gods.

Yet who is able to build him a house, when heaven and the highest heavens cannot contain him? And who am I to build him a house—except as a place to burn incense before him?

So send me a man skilled in working with gold and silver, bronze and iron, and with purple, crimson, and violet yarn, a man trained in engraving, to work with the skilled craftsmen I have here in Judah and Jerusalem, whom my father David provided.

Send me also cedar, cypress, and algum timber from Lebanon, for I know that your servants are skilled at cutting the timber of Lebanon. My servants will work alongside yours

to provide me with timber in abundance, for the house I am building must be great and wonderful.

And for your servants, the woodsmen who cut the timber, I will supply twenty thousand kors of crushed wheat, twenty thousand kors of barley, twenty thousand baths of wine, and twenty thousand baths of oil."

Huram king of Tyre answered in a letter that he sent to Solomon: "Because the LORD loves his people, he has made you king over them."

And Huram added: "Blessed be the LORD, the God of Israel, who made heaven and earth! He has given King David a wise son, endowed with insight and understanding, who will build a house for the LORD and a royal palace for himself.

I am sending you Huram-abi, a skilled man of great understanding,

the son of a woman of the tribe of Dan, his father a man of Tyre. He is trained to work in gold and silver, bronze and iron, stone and wood, and in purple, violet, and crimson yarn and in fine linen. He is skilled in every kind of engraving and can carry out any design given to him. He will work with your craftsmen and with those of my lord David, your father.

בֶּן־אִשָּׁ֞ה מִן־בְּנ֣וֹת דָּ֗ן וְאָבִ֣יו אִישׁ־צֹרִ֡י יוֹדֵ֡עַ לַעֲשׂ֣וֹת בַּזָּֽהָב־וּ֠בַכֶּסֶף בַּנְּחֹ֨שֶׁת בַּבַּרְזֶ֜ל בָּאֲבָנִ֣ים וּבָעֵצִ֗ים בָּאַרְגָּמָ֤ן בַּתְּכֵ֙לֶת֙ וּבַבּ֣וּץ וּבַכַּרְמִ֔יל וּלְפַתֵּ֙חַ֙ כָּל־פִּתּ֔וּחַ וְלַחְשֹׁ֖ב כָּל־מַחֲשָׁ֑בֶת אֲשֶׁ֤ר יִנָּֽתֶן־לוֹ֙ עִם־חֲכָמֶ֔יךָ וְֽחַכְמֵ֔י אֲדֹנִ֖י דָּוִ֥יד אָבִֽיךָ׃ ‬

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Now then, let my lord send his servants the wheat and barley, the oil and wine that he spoke of.

We will cut all the timber from Lebanon that you need and float it in rafts by sea to Joppa, and you can haul it up to Jerusalem."

Solomon took a census of all the foreigners residing in the land of Israel, following the census his father David had taken, and they numbered a hundred and fifty-three thousand six hundred.

He assigned seventy thousand of them as burden-bearers, eighty thousand as stonecutters in the hills, and three thousand six hundred as foremen to keep the people at work.

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Résumé2

Chapitre 2

Main Theme: Solomon's preparations for building the temple through an alliance with Tyre and the organization of the workforce.

Content: Solomon sends a message to King Hiram of Tyre, requesting timber and a skilled craftsman for the temple construction. He emphasizes that the temple is to be built for the God of Israel, who is greater than all gods—even though the heavens of heaven cannot contain him. Hiram responds positively, praises the God of Israel, and sends the craftsman Huram-Abi along with a promise of timber from Lebanon. Solomon organizes 153,600 foreigners living in Israel as laborers: carriers, stonecutters, and overseers.

Key Words/Images:

God's greatness: Solomon acknowledges that even the heavens of heaven cannot contain God—the temple is merely a place for worship and sacrifice (v. 5–6).
International cooperation: The alliance with Tyre shows how pagan nations contribute to God's house, and Hiram praises the God of Israel.
Huram-Abi: A master craftsman with an Israelite mother and a Tyrian father, sent to lead the artistic work.
Forced labor: The foreigners in Israel are counted and assigned to heavy work—a pattern that later creates division within the kingdom.

Contexte historique

People

Hiram (Huram) of Tyre – The chapter presents King Hiram of Tyre as Solomon’s key trading partner in the temple-building project. The Phoenician king already had an established relationship with David, and this diplomatic bond continues. Hiram’s response (vv. 10–16) shows remarkable respect for Israel’s God, as he praises "the Lord, the God of Israel, who made heaven and earth" (v. 11). Phoenician kings are well documented in Assyrian and Egyptian sources from this period.

Huram-Abi (v. 13) – The master craftsman sent from Tyre is described as the son of a woman from the tribe of Dan and a Tyrian father. This mixed heritage is significant: it links him to Oholiab from Dan, who worked on the tabernacle (Exod 31:6), while also explaining his Phoenician expertise. The name "Huram-Abi" ("my father Hiram") may be an honorific title rather than a literal family relationship.

Places

Lebanon – The Lebanon mountains were the ancient world’s premier source of quality timber. The cedar trees from there were sought after throughout the Middle East, and Egyptian and Mesopotamian texts confirm extensive timber trade from this region. The Phoenicians controlled this trade and had developed advanced techniques for logging and transport.

Joppa (Jaffa) – The port city of Joppa is mentioned as the receiving point for timber shipments (v. 15). This was the nearest natural harbor to Jerusalem, about 55–60 km away. The timber was floated as "rafts" along the coast from Lebanon—a transport method also confirmed in 1 Kings 5:9 and later in connection with the rebuilding under Ezra (Ezra 3:7).

Events and Customs

International treaties and trade – The correspondence between Solomon and Hiram follows the pattern of ancient diplomatic agreements. Solomon offers payment in kind: 20,000 cors of wheat, 20,000 cors of barley, 20,000 baths of wine, and 20,000 baths of oil (v. 9). Such barter-trade agreements were standard in the Bronze Age and Iron Age, before coin-based economies became common.

Use of foreign laborers – The chapter concludes with a census of "foreigners" (gerim) in the land—153,600 people who were assigned to forced labor (vv. 16–17). This differs from the account in Kings by specifying that only non-Israelite inhabitants were used for forced labor. The Chronicler’s presentation emphasizes that Israelites were spared this burden.

Key Terms

"Algummim" wood (אַלְגּוּמִּים, v. 7) – This type of wood, also known as "almugim" in 1 Kings 10:11, is difficult to identify with certainty. Possible candidates include sandalwood or a type of redwood. It was used for fine craftsmanship and musical instruments, suggesting it was a valuable imported product.

"Cor" and "bath" – Units of measure for dry goods (cor, about 220 liters) and liquids (bath, about 22 liters). The enormous quantities promised to the Phoenicians—equivalent to thousands of tons of grain and hundreds of thousands of liters of wine and oil—illustrate the massive scale of the project and Israel’s agricultural resources at that time.

Personnages3

David4 Solomon3 Shuham4

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Mots-clés8

Solomon — King David's son and successor as king of Israel, known for his wisdom and the building of the temple in Jerusalem.
Temple — A holy place dedicated to God's worship, especially the first temple in Jerusalem built by King Solomon.
Hiram — The king of Tyre who helped Solomon obtain materials and labor for the construction of the temple.
Tyre — An ancient city in present-day Lebanon, an important trading partner for Israel at that time.
Cedar trees — Tall, straight trees with fragrant wood, valued as building materials and often mentioned in the Bible.
Workers — People who perform physical or manual labor, in this case for the construction of the temple.
Building project — An organized effort to construct a structure, in this case the temple in Jerusalem.
Offerings — Gifts, usually food or animals, given to God in worship and thanksgiving.