Then the chief of the fathers and princes of the tribes of Israel ,.... The princes of the twelve tribes: and the captains of thousands, and of hundreds, with the rulers over the king's work ; who were now assembled, 1 Chronicles 28:1 . offered willingly ; and cheerfully; needed no more arguments to press them to it, but at once readily communicated. read more
EXPOSITION These verses continue the account of what David said to the whole congregation, respecting his son Solomon and his tender age in view of the great enterprise of building the temple; respecting the public preparations which had been already made, and the gifts of his own individual property—these latter being alluded to, no doubt, for the sake of example. On the faith of them he grounds with tenfold effect his appeal to people and princes to join heartily in the work. The... read more
The response was hearty ; it comprised voluntary gifts from the most of those mentioned in 1 Chronicles 28:1 ; and described in 1 Chronicles 27:16-31 . For the rulers of the king's work , see 1 Chronicles 27:26 ; 1 Chronicles 28:1 . As the more general term "work" is employed, we are not bound to confine the expression to include only those who managed "the substance and cattle" of 1 Chronicles 28:1 . read more
Solomon presented to the people (28:1-29:30)David had been forced to appoint Solomon as king hastily when he learnt that another son, Adonijah, was plotting to seize the throne for himself (see notes on 1 Kings 1:5-53). That very unceremonious anointing of Solomon was followed soon after by a second anointing, this time with full religious and regal ceremony (see 29:22). This second occasion is the one that the Chronicler refers to here. David presented Solomon to the people as the one who, by... read more
chief = prince. See note on 1 Chronicles 27:16 . read more
THE PRINCES OF ISRAEL RESPOND TO DAVID'S CHALLENGE"Then the princes of the fathers' houses, and the princes of the tribes of Israel, and the captains of thousands and of hundreds, with the rulers over the king's work, offered willingly; and they gave for the service of the house of God of gold five thousand talents and ten thousand darics, and of silver ten thousand talents, and of brass eighteen thousand talents, and of iron a hundred thousand talents. And they with whom precious stones were... read more
6-8. Then the chief of the fathers—or heads of the fathers (1 Chronicles 24:31; 1 Chronicles 27:1). princes of the tribes— (1 Chronicles 27:16-22). rulers of the king's work—those who had charge of the royal demesnes and other possessions (1 Chronicles 27:1- :). offered willingly—Influenced by the persuasive address and example of the king, they acted according to their several abilities, and their united contributions amounted to the gross sum—of gold 5,000 talents and 10,000 drams; and of... read more
3. The third account of God’s promises to David chs. 28-29A primary concern of the Chronicler, the evidence of which is his selection of material and emphases, was the promise of a King who would eventually come and rule over God’s people. God had fulfilled some of the Davidic Covenant promises in David’s lifetime. He fulfilled others in Solomon’s reign. Still others remained unfulfilled. For a third time the writer recorded the promises God gave to David. In the first case, God spoke to David... read more
David’s Offerings, Thanksgiving, and Death1. The palace] The word in the original is more strictly applicable to the fortress which was attached to the Second Temple (Nehemiah 2:8) and afterwards called the tower of Antonia, but here and in 1 Chronicles 29:19 is employed of Solomon’s Temple.3. Of mine own proper good] RV ’a treasure of mine own.’4. Three thousand, etc.] The weights here named, as in many other places in Chronicles, are incredibly large, amounting in value to £21,320,000 of our... read more
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Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - 1 Chronicles 29:1-9
We may here observe, I. How handsomely David spoke to the great men of Israel, to engage them to contribute towards the building of the temple. It is our duty to provoke one another to love and to good works, not only to do good ourselves, but to draw in others to do good too as much as we can. There were many very rich men in Israel; they were all to share in the benefit of the temple, and of those peaceable days which were to befriend the building of it; and therefore, though David would not... read more