1883 Haydock Douay Rheims Bible
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| I Kings 1:1 | Now *king David was old, and advanced in years: and when he was covered with clothes, he was not warm. | Year of the World 2989, Year before Christ 1015. Years; sixty-nine, as he died when he was seventy years old. (Calmet) (2 Kings 5:4.) --- Warm. Though David was of a strong constitution, he had been so much exposed to fatigue, and so harassed with domestic broils, that his vigour was nearly decayed. (Calmet) --- The Rabbins say, that the sight of the angel had greatly contributed to weaken him. Lyranus, and others, suppose that he was affected with the palsy. (Abulensis; Salien, the year of the world 3019.) |
| I Kings 1:2 | His servants, therefore, said to him: Let us seek for our Lord the king, a young virgin, and let her stand before the king, and cherish him, and sleep in his bosom, and warm our lord the king. | Servants. Physicians. (Josephus, [Antiquities?] 7:14.) --- People of the faculty still adopt the same sentiments; and when fire and clothes will not procure heat, they advise the application of living creatures. (Bartholin IX.; Galen VII.; Vales. Philos. C. 19.) |
| I Kings 1:3 | So they sought a beautiful young woma,n in all the coasts of Israel, and they found Abisag, a Sunamitess, and brought her to the king. | Sunamitess. Sunam was not far from Thabor, in the tribe of Issachar. (Calmet) --- This history leads us to explain the ambition and death of Adonias. (Haydock) |
| I Kings 1:4 | And the damsel was exceedingly beautiful, and she slept with the king, and served him, but the king did not know her. | Her. Which shews the virtue and temperance of David. (Menochius) --- She was his wife, at least of a secondary order. Adonias flattered himself, on account of Abisag's virginity, that the law did not hinder him from marrying her; (Leviticus 18:8.; Kimchi) or he was blinded by ambition. (Calmet) --- Heretics and persecutors thus attempt in vain, (Haydock) to defile the Church, the chaste spouse of Jesus, that they may usurp his throne. (Calmet) |
| I Kings 1:5 | And Adonias, the son of Haggith, exalted himself, saying: I will be king. And he made himself chariots and horsemen, and fifty men to run before him. | Him. He was not deterred by the fate of Absalom. (Haydock) --- He was now the eldest son, and gave himself out for the presumptive heir. (Calmet) --- David is blamed for some remissness, in not repressing him; (Salien) as his conduct tended to excite confusion, and to frustrate the appointment of God. But the king was convinced that nothing would be able to disturb that order; and he would take measures, in due time, to curb the ambition of his eldest son, from which, as yet, he apprehended no danger. (Haydock) --- Old age renders people slow. (Menochius) |
| I Kings 1:6 | *Neither did his father rebuke him at any time, saying: Why hast thou done this? And he also was very beautiful, the next in birth after Absalom. 1 Kings 2:29.; 2 Kings 13:21.; 2 Kings 15:1. | |
| I Kings 1:7 | And he conferred with Joab, the son of Sarvia, and with Abiathar, the priest, who furthered Adonias's side. | Side. For their own interest, and because they supposed that the throne belonged of course to him. (Menochius) --- This was the natural privilege, when no other disposition was made by God, or by the kings who succeeded David. They did not esteem themselves bound to leave the crown to their eldest sons. Hitherto God had made choice himself, as he had required, Deuteronomy 17:15. In favour of David, he pleased to grant sovereignty to his descendants. But the king expected to declare which he preferred, in case he chose to deviate from the natural order, ver. 20. |
| I Kings 1:8 | But Sadoc, the priest, and Banaias, the son of Joiada, and Nathan, the prophet, and Semei, and Rei, and the strength of David's army, was not with Adonias. | Sadoc, the rival of Abiathar, and a descendant of Eleazar. David had permitted both to perform the functions of the high priesthood; (Calmet) or one had acted as the delegate of the other. (Salien) --- Banaias was distinguished for his valour, 2 Kings 23:20. He was in the flower of his age, and, perhaps, aspired at the authority of Joab, whose credit began to decline; as he was grown old, and was known to be rather disagreeable to David, and had been guilty of such horrid murders. Both the contending princes sought to ingratiate themselves with the army and with the priests, as their influence was of the utmost consequence. Solomon was more fortunate, in having also Nathan the prophet on his side; but the throne was secured to him much more on account of the divine decree, 2 Kings 7:12., and 12:25. (Haydock) --- Nathan is commonly considered as the tutor of the young prince, (Menochius) and was styled his "father." (Calmet) --- Semei, or Nabath, father of Jeroboam; and Rei, or Ira, who is styled the priest of David, 2 Kings 20:26. (St. Jerome, Tradit.) (Menochius) --- To confound Semei with Nabath is wrong. (Salien) --- Army; the king's guard consisting chiefly of the Cerethi, etc., (Calmet) who were under Banaias. The whole army, over which Joab was general, was not always in arms. Septuagint, "Semei and Resi, other copies read (Haydock) his friends," (with Syriac; Arabic) "and Daia, heroes of David." Hebrew may be, "neither the hearers nor the seers, nor the brave men of David were with Adonias." The populace, or the disciples, as well as the prophets, may be thus denoted. |
| I Kings 1:9 | And Adonias having slain rams and calves, and all fat cattle, by the stone of Zoheleth, which was near the fountain Rogel, invited all his brethren, the king's sons, and all the men of Juda, the king's servants: | Slain. Either for sacrifice, or simply for a feast; (Calmet) though it is probable that victims of peace would be offered, as on similar occasions, on which the guests would afterwards feast, 1 Kings xi. (Haydock) --- Rogel, east of Jerusalem, in the vale of Josaphat. (Menochius) |
| I Kings 1:10 | But Nathan, the prophet, and Banaias, and all the valiant men, and Solomon, his brother, he invited not. | Not. Out of contempt, (Calmet) and because he knew that they would oppose his measures. (Haydock) |
| I Kings 1:11 | And Nathan said to Bethsabee, the mother of Solomon: Hast thou not heard that Adonias, the son of Haggith, reigneth, and our lord David knoweth it not? | It not. So that we may safely endeavour to overturn his plans. (Menochius) |
| I Kings 1:12 | Now then, come, take my counsel, and save thy life, and the life of thy son Solomon. | Life. Both would have been in imminent danger, if the ambitious projects of Adonias succeeded, as he knew that the throne had been promised to Solomon by his father, and he would consider him as a dangerous rival. (Calmet) --- The Turkish emperors usually destroy or confine their brethren, when they commence their reign. (Haydock) |
| I Kings 1:13 | Go, and get thee in to king David, and say to him: Didst not thou, my lord, O king, swear to me, thy handmaid, saying: Solomon, thy son, shall reign after me, and he shall sit on my throne? why then doth Adonias reign? | Swear. This he did, either when he comforted her, after the death of her first-born; (2 Kings 12:24.) or rather, when Solomon had received so glorious a name, and was declared the heir by Nathan, 2 Kings 7:12., and 1 Paralipomenon 22:20., and 28:5. Adonias acknowledges that God had made choice of his brother, 3 Kings 2:15. (Calmet) |
| I Kings 1:14 | And while thou art yet speaking there with the king, I will come in after thee, and will fill up thy words. | Words, and confirm what thou hast said, (Menochius) reminding the king of God's express declaration. (Haydock) |
| I Kings 1:15 | So Bethsabee went in to the king into the chamber. Now the king was very old, and Abisag, the Sunamitess, ministered to him. | |
| I Kings 1:16 | Bethsabee bowed herself, and worshipped the king. And the king said to her: What is thy will? | Worshipped. Protestants, "did obeisance." Hebrew, "fell prostrate on the ground before the king," (Calmet) without any danger of idolatry. (Haydock) |
| I Kings 1:17 | She answered, and said: My lord, thou didst swear to thy handmaid, by the Lord thy God, saying: Solomon, thy son, shall reign after me, and he shall sit on my throne. | |
| I Kings 1:18 | And behold, now Adonias reigneth, and thou, my lord the king, knowest nothing of it. | Of it. So that thy authority is also contemned. (Menochius) |
| I Kings 1:19 | He hath killed oxen, and all fat cattle, and many rams, and invited all the king's sons, and Abiathar, the priest, and Joab, the general of the army: but Solomon, thy servant, he invited not. | |
| I Kings 1:20 | And now, my lord, O king, the eyes of all Israel are upon thee, that thou shouldst tell them, who shall sit on thy throne, my lord the king, after thee. | Thee. Adonias boasts that all Israel was on his side, 3 Kings 2:15. (Calmet) --- But, in reality, the people waited for the final decision of David. (Haydock) |
| I Kings 1:21 | Otherwise it shall come to pass, when my lord the king sleepeth with his fathers, that I, and my son, Solomon, shall be accounted offenders. | Offenders. I, as guilty of adultery; and my son, as a mamzer; (Deuteronomy 23:2.; Tirinus) or we shall be accounted pretenders, (Haydock) and condemned as guilty of high treason. (Calmet) --- Our hopes and expectations will be frustrated. (Vatable) (Estius) --- We shall be despised or punished. (Worthington) |
| I Kings 1:22 | As she was yet speaking with the king, Nathan, the prophet, came. | |
| I Kings 1:23 | And they told the king, saying: Nathan, the prophet, is here. And when he was come in before the king, and had worshipped, bowing down to the ground, | |
| I Kings 1:24 | Nathan said: My lord, O king, hast thou said: Let Adonias reign after me, and let him sit upon my throne? | |
| I Kings 1:25 | Because he is gone down to-day, and hath killed oxen, and fatlings, and many rams, and invited all the king's sons, and the captains of the army, and Abiathar, the priest: and they are eating and drinking before him, and saying: God save king Adonias: | |
| I Kings 1:26 | But me, thy servant, and Sadoc, the priest, and Banaias, the son of Joiada, and Solomon, thy servant, he hath not invited. | |
| I Kings 1:27 | Is this word come out from my lord the king, and hast thou not told me, thy servant, who should sit on the throne of my lord the king after him? | |
| I Kings 1:28 | And king David answered, and said: Call to me Bethsabee. And when she was come in to the king, and stood before him, | Come in. Nathan went out, at the same time; (Menochius) so that each had a private audience. (Calmet) |
| I Kings 1:29 | The king swore, and said: As the Lord liveth, who hath delivered my soul out of all distress, | |
| I Kings 1:30 | Even as I swore to thee, by the Lord, the God of Israel, saying: Solomon thy son, shall reign after me, and he shall sit upon my throne in my stead, so will I do this day. | |
| I Kings 1:31 | And Bethsabee, bowing with her face to the earth, worshipped the king, saying: May my lord David live for ever. | |
| I Kings 1:32 | King David also said: Call me Sadoc, the priest, and Nathan, the prophet, and Banaias, the son of Joiada. And when they were come in before the king, | |
| I Kings 1:33 | He said to them: Take with you the servants of your lord, and set my son Solomon upon my mule: and bring him to Gihon: | Lord, David. (Menochius) --- The Cerethi, and other life-guards, went under the command of their captain, Banaias, (Calmet) to repel any force that might disturb this solemn inauguration. (Haydock) --- Mule. None but the king was allowed to mount it. --- Gihon, a fountain, or place of public resort, on the west of Jerusalem. Ezechias brought its waters into the city, 2 Paralipomenon 32:30. (Calmet) --- Adonias was at Rogel, on the east. (Menochius) |
| I Kings 1:34 | And let Sadoc, the priest, and Nathan, the prophet, anoint him there king over Israel: and you shall sound the trumpet, and shall say: God save king Solomon. | Save, (Vivat.) "Live." May Solomon reign for many years. (Haydock) |
| I Kings 1:35 | And you shall come up after him, and he shall come, and shall sit upon my throne, and he shall reign in my stead: and I will appoint him to be ruler over Israel, and over Juda. | Stead. Not after me only. David voluntarily abdicates the throne, so that Solomon reigned in his life-time. (Menochius) |
| I Kings 1:36 | And Banaias, the son of Joiada, answered the king, saying: Amen: so say the Lord, the God of my lord the king. | King. May all have a prosperous issue, conformably to the wishes of your majesty and the decrees of God. (Calmet) |
| I Kings 1:37 | As the Lord hath been with my lord the king, so be he with Solomon, and make his throne higher than the throne of my lord king David. | David. Parents wish their children to be still more happy than themselves, how jealous soever they may be of their own glory. (Calmet) Aspice completum votum; jam natus adaequat Te meritis, et, quod magis est optabile, vincit. (Claud. 4:Con. Honor.) |
| I Kings 1:38 | So Sadoc, the priest, and Nathan, the prophet, went down, and Banaias, the son of Joiada, and the Cerethi, and Phelethi: and they set Solomon upon the mule of king David, and brought him to Gihon. | |
| I Kings 1:39 | And Sadoc, the priest, took a horn of oil out of the tabernacle, and anointed Solomon: and they sounded the trumpet, and all the people said: God save king Solomon. | Horn of oil. Such liquors were commonly kept in vessels of horn. (Calmet) --- Some say that oil, for the consecration of priests, was used on this occasion; and that the ceremony was performed only, when the throne was contested: as in the case of Joas, Joachaz, etc. (Haydock) --- Nathan assisted Sadoc, (ver. 34,) who was not yet the high priest. (Menochius) |
| I Kings 1:40 | And all the multitude went up after him, and the people played with pipes, and rejoiced with a great joy, and the earth rang with the noise of their cry. | Rang. Hebrew, "was split." Chaldean, "shook." (Menochius) |
| I Kings 1:41 | And Adonias, and all that were invited by him, heard it, and now the feast was at an end. Joab also, hearing the sound of the trumpet, said: What meaneth this noise of the city in an uproar? | Uproar. Nathan had conducted the affair with singular address. A little delay might have plunged the kingdom into all the horrors of a civil war. |
| I Kings 1:42 | While he yet spoke, Jonathan, the son of Abiathar, the priest, came: and Adonias said to him: Come in, because thou art a valiant man, and bringest good news. | |
| I Kings 1:43 | And Jonathan answered Adonias: Not so: for our lord, king David, hath appointed Solomon king; | Not so. Hebrew, "Misfortune or mourning, or verily." A man of character did not willingly deliver a disagreeable message, 2 Kings 18:25. (Calmet) --- But Jonathan was concerned for his father. (Haydock) |
| I Kings 1:44 | And hath sent with him Sadoc, the priest, and Nathan, the prophet, and Banaias, the son of Joiada, and the Cerethi, and the Phelethi, and they have set him upon the king's mule: | |
| I Kings 1:45 | And Sadoc, the priest, and Nathan, the prophet, have anointed him king, in Gihon: and they are gone up from thence rejoicing, so that the city rang again: this is the noise that you have heard. | |
| I Kings 1:46 | Moreover, Solomon sitteth upon the throne of the kingdom. | |
| I Kings 1:47 | And the king's servants going in, have blessed our lord king David, saying: May God make the name of Solomon greater than thy name, and make his throne greater than thy throne. And the king adored in his bed: | Blessed. Congratulating him on the exaltation of Solomon. --- Bed. Shewing respect to the new king, as Jacob had done to Joseph; (Genesis 47:31.; Sanctius) or laying himself down again; (Calmet) or rather giving thanks to God, (Menochius) whom he adored, in gratitude for the favour of a successor being granted to him. (Worthington) |
| I Kings 1:48 | And he said: Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, who hath given this day one to sit on my throne, my eyes seeing it. | |
| I Kings 1:49 | Then all the guests of Adonias were afraid, and they all arose, and every man went his way. | Afraid. As they had offended both David and Solomon, and had rendered themselves suspected of high treason. |
| I Kings 1:50 | And Adonias fearing Solomon, arose and went, and took hold of the horn of the altar. | |
| I Kings 1:51 | And they told Solomon, saying: Behold Adonias, fearing king Solomon, hath taken hold of the horn of the altar, saying: Let king Solomon swear to me this day, that he will not kill his servant with the sword. | Altar. At Gabaon, (2 Paralipomenon 1:3.) or at Sion. All nations seemed to grant the right of an asylum to sacred places; but only in favour of the innocent, Exodus 21:14. (Calmet) |
| I Kings 1:52 | And Solomon said: If he be a good man, there shall not so much as one hair of his head fall to the ground: but if evil be found in him, he shall die. | |
| I Kings 1:53 | Then king Solomon sent, and brought him out from the altar: and going in, he worshipped king Solomon: and Solomon said to him: Go to thy house. | House. He does not forbid him the court, but grants him pardon. (Menochius) |
| I Kings 2:0 | David, after giving his last charge to Solomon, dieth. Adonias is put to death; Abiathar banished; Joab and Semei are slain. | |
| I Kings 2:1 | And *the days of David drew nigh that he should die, and he charged his son Solomon, saying: | Year of the World 2990, Year before Christ 1014. |
| I Kings 2:2 | I am going the way of all flesh: take thou courage and shew thyself a man. | Flesh, to the tomb. Omnium idem exitus est, sed et idem domicilium. (Petronius) ---In life each follows his own course. (Calmet) |
| I Kings 2:3 | And keep the charge of the Lord thy God, to walk in his ways, and observe his ceremonies, and his precepts, and judgments, and testimonies, *as it is written in the law of Moses: that thou mayst understand all thou dost, and whithersoever thou shalt turn thyself: Deuteronomy 17:19. | Charge, what he orders. --- Understand. Hebrew, "act prudently," (Menochius) or "with success," Greek interpreters (Calmet) and Chaldean. (Menochius) --- The observance of God's law, both in private and in public, will ensure to thee the title of a wise prince. |
| I Kings 2:4 | That the Lord may confirm his words, which he hath spoken of me, saying: If thy children shall take heed to their ways, and shall walk before me in truth, with all their heart, and with all their soul, there shall not be taken away from thee a man on the throne of Israel. | Truth and sincerity. (Calmet) --- This promise was made, 2 Kings 7:16. (Menochius) |
| I Kings 2:5 | Thou knowest also what Joab, the son of Sarvia, hath done to me, what he did to the two captains of the army of Israel, *to Abner, the son of Ner, and to Amasa, the son of Jether: whom he slew, and shed the blood of war in peace, and put the blood of war on his girdle that was about his loins, and in his shoes that were on his feet. 2 Kings 3:27. | Joab. These instructions given by David to his son, with relation to Joab and Semei, proceeded not from any rancour of heart, or private pique; but from a zeal for justice: that crimes so public and heinous might not pass unpunished. (Challoner) --- David and Solomon esteemed themselves, in a manner, defiled, as long as these continued unpunished, ver. 31. Joab had behaved to David with great insolence, after the death of Absalom. (Haydock) --- He had lately sided with Adonias. (Menochius) --- But what touched the good old king more particularly, were the treacherous murders of two great generals, who had put themselves under his protection, and were endeavouring to promote his welfare. Only the fear of greater commotions had hitherto prevented David from bringing his nephew to public execution, as the people expected. He deemed it requisite to remind his successor of this obligation, when his power should be sufficiently strong, that the impunity of such daring offenders might not destroy the commonwealth. (Haydock) --- Peace. Pretending affection. Joab had treated Abner and Amasa as the worst of enemies, and their blood had stained his garments. (Menochius) |
| I Kings 2:6 | Do, therefore, according to thy wisdom, and let not his hoary head go down to hell in peace. | To hell. This word hell doth not signify the place or state of damnation; but the place and state of the dead. (Challoner) --- It would have been a great scandal if this murderer had died quietly in his old age. Joab had rendered great services to his uncle, for which he had been rewarded. He had been at the head of the armies 40 years. His great age rendered him now less formidable; particularly as the nation enjoyed peace. |
| I Kings 2:7 | But shew kindness to the sons of Berzellai, the Galaadite, and let them eat at thy table: *for they met me when I fled from the face of Absalom, thy brother. 2 Kings 19:31. | Table, or of the meat, which had been served upon it; as was the custom at the court of Persia, Daniel 1:5. --- Brother. See 2 Kings 19:31. (Calmet) |
| I Kings 2:8 | *Thou hast also with thee Semei, the son of Gera, the son of Jemini, of Bahurim, who cursed me with a grievous curse, when I went to the camp: but because he came down to meet me when I passed over the Jordan, and I swore to him by the Lord, saying: I will not kill thee with the sword: 2 Kings 19:23.; 2 Kings 16:5.; 2 Kings 19:19. | Curse. Saying, Go out, etc., 2 Kings 16:5. --- Camp. Hebrew Machanayim. (Haydock) --- Sword. He would revenge his private wrongs, but reserved the punishment of a notorious offender, till a time when passion would have no influence. Solomon was not bound by the personal oath of his father. |
| I Kings 2:9 | Do not thou hold him guiltless. But thou art a wise man, and knowest what to do with him, and thou shalt bring down his grey hairs with blood to the grave. | Man. Many have thought that Solomon was only 12 years old. (Eusebius, etc.) --- But the best chronologers suppose that he was about 20. God had blessed him with a happy disposition, which he adorned with various graces, 3 Kings 3:12., and Wisdom 8:19. |
| I Kings 2:10 | *So David slept with his fathers, and was buried in the city of David. Acts 2:29. | David. Thus died this perfect model of princes, and this great saint, whose only fault, of consequence, was occasioned by Bethsabee: (2 Kings 11:4.) and this served to display his repentance. (St. Chrysostom, hom. lxxvii.) --- He prefigured Jesus Christ in a wonderful manner; in his birth, at the same city; his election, in preference to his brethren; his persecutions, and subsequent glory. Jesus was, in like manner, betrayed by a false friend, and obliged to go out of Jerusalem, laden with his cross. But he acquired fresh splendour by his sufferings, and purchased a more faithful people. The tomb of David remained for many ages, Acts 2:29. Josephus says that it contained vast riches: but this seems to be fabulous. St. Jerome often went to pray at this tomb. (Ep. ad Marcel.) --- If it be now unknown, the Holy Ghost has left us a more illustrious monument to the honour of this great man, in the Psalms, and Ecclesiasticus 47:2., etc. (Calmet) --- We have now only an abridgment of his history, 1 Paralipomenon 29:29. |
| I Kings 2:11 | *And the days that David reigned in Israel, were forty gears: in Hebron he reigned seven years, in Jerusalem thirty-three. 1 Paralipomenon 29:27. | Seven years. The odd six months are not mentioned, 2 Kings 2:11. (Haydock) |
| I Kings 2:12 | And Solomon sat upon the throne of his father, David, and his kingdom was strengthened exceedingly. | Sat, exercising the same authority, as he had done in his father's life-time, 3 Kings 1:53. (Calmet) (St. Augustine, de C.[City of God?] 17:8.) (Salien, the year before Christ 1033.) --- The public assembly of Israel, convoked by David, had already sworn fidelity to him, 1 Paralipomenon 28:1. (Haydock) |
| I Kings 2:13 | And Adonias, the son of Haggith, came to Bethsabee the mother of Solomon. And she said to him: Is thy coming peaceable? He answered: It is peaceable. | |
| I Kings 2:14 | And he added: I have a word to speak with thee. She said to him: Speak. And he said: | |
| I Kings 2:15 | Thou knowest that the kingdom was mine, and all Israel had preferred me to be their king: but the kingdom is transferred, and is become my brother's: for it was appointed him by the Lord. | Mine, according to the ordinary course of things. But I was willing to forego my claims, when I perceived that the Lord had made choice of my brother. (Calmet) |
| I Kings 2:16 | Now therefore, I ask one petition of thee; turn not away my face. And she said to him: Say on. | |
| I Kings 2:17 | And he said: I pray thee speak to king Solomon (for he cannot deny thee any thing) to give me Abisag, the Sunamitess, to wife. | Wife. Some think that Joab had instigated Adonias to make this petition, that his party might be strengthened. (Theodoret, q. 7.) But love might be his prompter. (Calmet) --- Bethsabee consented to further his petition, (Menochius) without suspecting any bad consequences. (Haydock) |
| I Kings 2:18 | And Bethsabee said: Well, I will speak for thee to the king. | |
| I Kings 2:19 | Then Bethsabee came to king Solomon, to speak to him for Adonias: and the king arose to meet her, and bowed to her, and sat down upon his throne: and a throne was set for the king's mother, and she sat on his right hand. | To her. Only fools will despise their parents, Proverbs 15:20., Ecclesiasticus 3:18., and Tobias 4:3. The Persians would allow no one to sit in his mother's presence, without her leave; and Alexander would treat Sysigambis with the like respect. (Q. Curt. v.) --- Right hand. In the most honourable place, next to his own, Genesis 48:13. The Turks and Persians give the preference to the left. (Xenophon, Cyrop. viii.) |
| I Kings 2:20 | And she said to him: I desire one small petition of thee; do not put me to confusion. And the king said to her: My mother ask, for I must not turn away thy face. | Thy face, with confusion. He engages to grant her request, if it could be done with any propriety, (Calmet) as a son ought to do. (Worthington) |
| I Kings 2:21 | And she said: Let Abisag, the Sunamitess, be given to Adonias, thy brother, to wife. | |
| I Kings 2:22 | And king Solomon answered, and said to his mother: Why dost thou ask Abisag, the Sunamitess, for Adonias? ask for him also the kingdom; for he is my elder brother, and hath Abiathar, the priest, and Joab, the son of Sarvia. | The kingdom. It was a maxim in most of the oriental courts, that the things which had belonged to the king, should not be enjoyed by any but his successor. (Grotius) --- Hence Adonias might be suspected of ambitious projects, as his party was still formidable. (Calmet) --- The marriage seems also to be unlawful. (Menochius) See 3 Kings 1:4. --- Yet, if the aforesaid custom subsisted at that time; or, if the marriage had been evidently prohibited, both Adonias and Bethsabee must have acted in a very inconsistent manner, so that we must hesitate before we pronounce sentence. (Haydock) --- Many condemn Solomon of precipitation and cruelty in his judgment; (Cajetan) while others approve of his conduct, (Theodoret, q. 7,) and think any delay might have proved dangerous. Ubi facto magis quam consulto opus. (Tacitus) (Calmet) |
| I Kings 2:23 | Then king Solomon swore by the Lord, saying: So and so may God do to me, and add more, if Adonias hath not spoken this word against his own life. | |
| I Kings 2:24 | And now, as the Lord liveth, who hath established me, and placed me upon the throne of David, my father, and who hath made me a house, as he promised, Adonias shall be put to death this day. | House. This generally denotes children, and Roboam was born this year. Some have considered his birth as miraculous, supposing that Solomon was not above 12 years old, ver. 9. (St. Jerome, Ep. ad Vital.) |
| I Kings 2:25 | And king Solomon sent by the hand of Banaias, the son of Joiada, who slew him, and he died. | Banaias. The chief officers became executioners, on such occasions, Daniel 2:24. The Romans employed soldiers; which makes Tertullian (Coron. xi.) dissuade Christians from entering the service. |
| I Kings 2:26 | And the king said also to Abiathar, the priest: Go to Anathoth, to thy lands, for indeed thou art worthy of death: but I will not at this time put thee to death, because thou didst carry the ark of the Lord God before David, my father, and hast endured trouble in all the troubles my father endured. | Priest. Sadoc had been anointed in his stead, probably by Nathan, in the general assembly, while David was present: they anointed....Sadoc to be high priest, 1 Paralipomenon 29:22. (Salien) --- But now, Solomon orders Abiathar to retire to his estate, in punishment of his conspiracy. (Calmet) --- He might have justly put him to death, if he had committed a crime worthy of it; as his dignity did not give him a right to disturb the peace of the state with impunity. (Haydock) --- Solomon acted as a prophet. (Worthington) --- God had long before denounced that the family of Eleazar should regain the dignity, which Heli had obtained by some means or other, 1 Kings 2:31. (Haydock) --- Solomon only put the divine decree in execution. (Pineda 6:15.) --- Sadoc had perhaps also passed sentence, as the Levitical tribe had a great sway in the courts of judicature. (Menochius) --- Abiathar was still honoured with his former title, 3 Kings 4:4. But he was not permitted to officiate, (Calmet) nor to remain in the royal city, as he seemed now to be a dangerous man. (Haydock) --- Anathoth was a sacerdotal town in Benjamin. (Menochius) --- A portion of the suburbs had been assigned to Abiathar, unless he had obtained a field by inheritance, or by marrying an heiress, See Jeremias 32:7. (Calmet) |
| I Kings 2:27 | So Solomon cast out Abiathar, from being the priest of the Lord, *that the word of the Lord might be fulfilled, which he spoke concerning the house of Heli in Silo. 1 Kings 2:31. | |
| I Kings 2:28 | And the news came to Joab, because Joab had turned after Adonias, and had not turned after Solomon: and Joab fled into the tabernacle of the Lord, and took hold on the horn of the altar. | Joab. The Latin manuscripts, except one, and almost all the ancient editions of Sixtus, etc., read Solomon. "And a messenger came to Solomon that Joab," etc. --- Solomon. Hebrew, Absalom. Septuagint vary. The difference is of little consequence. (Calmet) |
| I Kings 2:29 | And it was told king Solomon, that Joab was fled into the tabernacle of the Lord, and was by the altar: and Solomon sent Banaias, the son of Joiada, saying: Go, kill him. | |
| I Kings 2:30 | And Banaias came to the tabernacle of the Lord, and said to him: Thus saith the king: Come forth. And he said: I will not come forth, but here I will die. Banaias brought word back to the king, saying: Thus saith Joab, and thus he answered me. | Die, if my life must not be spared. (Haydock) --- He knew that the like precaution would not have been able to protect Adonias. It was not just that he, who had despised all that was sacred, should find an asylum at the altar itself. |
| I Kings 2:31 | And the king said to him: Do as he hath said; and kill him, and bury him, and thou shalt remove the innocent blood which hath been shed by Joab, from me, and from the house of my father: | |
| I Kings 2:32 | And the Lord shall return his blood upon his own head; because he murdered two men, just and better than himself: and slew them with the sword, my father, David, not knowing it; *Abner, the son of Ner, general of the army of Israel, and Amasa, the son of Jether, general of the army of Juda; 2 Kings 3:27. | |
| I Kings 2:33 | And their blood shall return upon the head of Joab, and upon the head of his seed for ever. But to David and his seed, and his house, and to his throne, be peace for ever from the Lord. | |
| I Kings 2:34 | So Banaias, the son of Joiada, went up, and setting upon him slew him, and he was buried in his house in the desert. | Slew him, holding the altar; though some think that he was removed by force, like Athalia, 4 Kings 11:15. Both actions were contrary to the reverence due to so holy a place, and perhaps inexcusable; (Calmet) unless the law had ordered it otherwise, Exodus 21:14. (Haydock) |
| I Kings 2:35 | And the king appointed Banaias, the son of Joiada in his room over the army; and Sadoc, the priest, he put in the place of Abiathar. | Abiathar. See ver. 26. Secular princes sometimes nominate, but they must obey, the pastor. (Worthington) |
| I Kings 2:36 | The king also sent, and called for Semei, and said to him: Build thee a house in Jerusalem, and dwell there: and go not out from thence any where. | |
| I Kings 2:37 | For on what day soever thou shalt go out, and shalt pass over the brook Cedron, know that thou shalt be put to death: thy blood shall be upon thy own head. | Cedron, which led towards Bahurim. He was equally forbidden to go out by any other road; and was put to death for going to Geth. --- Head. Thou canst blame only thyself. Solomon might have put this man to death before: but he chose to pay so much deference to the oath of his father, as not to bring him to execution without a fresh offence. |
| I Kings 2:38 | And Semei said to the king: The saying is good: as my lord the king hath said, so will thy servant do. And Semei dwelt in Jerusalem many days. | |
| I Kings 2:39 | And it came to pass after three years, that the servants of Semei ran away to Achis, the son of Maacha, the king of Geth: and it was told Semei that his servants were gone to Geth. | Servants. Two in number; (Hebrew; Septuagint) perhaps originally from Geth; (Menochius) to the king of which place David had fled, 44 years before. (Abulensis, q. 44.) |
| I Kings 2:40 | And Semei arose, and saddled his ass, and went to Achis, to Geth, to seek his servants, and he brought them out of Geth. | |
| I Kings 2:41 | And it was told Solomon, that Semei had gone from Jerusalem to Geth, and was come back. | |
| I Kings 2:42 | And sending he called for him, and said to him: Did I not protest to thee by the Lord, and tell thee before: On what day soever thou shalt go out and walk abroad any where, know that thou shalt die? And thou answeredst me: The word that I have heard is good. | |
| I Kings 2:43 | Why then hast thou not kept the oath of the Lord, and the commandment that I laid upon thee? | |
| I Kings 2:44 | And the king said to Semei: Thou knowest all the evil, of which thy heart is conscious, which thou didst to David, my father: the Lord hath returned thy wickedness upon thy own head. | |
| I Kings 2:45 | And king Solomon shall be blessed, and the throne of David shall be established before the Lord for ever. | |
| I Kings 2:46 | So the king commanded Banaias, the son of Joiada: and he went out and struck him; and he died. | |
| I Kings 3:0 | Solomon marrieth Pharao's daughter. He sacrifices in Gabaon: in the choice which God gave him, he preferreth wisdom. His wise judgment between the two harlots. | |
| I Kings 3:1 | And* the kingdom was established in the hand of Solomon, and he made affinity with Pharao, the king of Egypt: for he took his daughter, and brought her into the city of David: **until he had made an end of building his own house, and the house of the Lord, and the wall of Jerusalem round about. 1 Paralipomenon 8:11. | Year of the World 2991, Year before Christ 1013.; 2 Paralipomenon i. Solomon. By the death of his enemies, and by his affinity with the king of Egypt, and his friendship with Hiram, king Tyre, who were the most potent princes in the neighbourhood. Eupolemus (ap. Eusebius, praep.) has a letter of Solomon to Pharao Vaphres, in which the latter is said to have been the friend of David; (Salien) and St. Clement of Alexandria (Strom. i.) produces the testimony of Polyhistor, saying, that Vaphres sent 80,000 Egyptian workmen to assist Solomon to build the temple. --- Daughter. Who, probably, embraced the true religion; so that her praises are supposed to be recorded in the 44th Psalm, and in the canticles; though it seems she afterwards relapsed, and became the chief instrument in the perversion of the king, 3 Kings 11:1. --- David. She dwelt in the apartments of Bethsabee, (Canticle of Canticles 3:4., and 8:2,) till a magnificent palace could be built for her reception, 3 Kings 7:8. To marry idolatrous women was strictly forbidden, Deuteronomy 7:3., 1 Esdras 10:2., and 2 Esdras 13:26. |
| I Kings 3:2 | But yet the people sacrificed in the high places: for there was no temple built to the name of the Lord until that day. | But yet. It is not clear to what this refers. Hebrew, "for the rest, (Calmet) or only;" (as also ver. 3,) which may signify that the people, and their king, were blamable; or else, that they zealously offered sacrifices to God, even before the temple was erected. (Haydock) --- Those who afterwards left that sacred place, to imitate the conduct of idolaters, or of the ancient patriarchs, which was no longer tolerated, are justly condemned. (Calmet) --- High places. That is, altars where they worshipped the Lord, indeed, but not according to the ordinance of the law; which allowed of no other places for sacrifice but the temple of God. Among these high places, that of Gabaon was the chief, because there was the tabernacle of the testimony which had been removed from Silo to Nobe, and from Nobe to Gabaon. (Challoner) --- Hither David would have gone, as Solomon did, ver. 4. (Calmet) --- Hence this was not, at least, once of those high places, where it was unlawful to offer sacrifice; as the tabernacle was there, and the altar of holocausts, which Moses had erected. The obligation of sacrificing in no place, except in that which the Lord had appointed, regarded the times while the ark was in the desert, (Haydock) and when it was placed in the temple. While it continued in an unsettled state, people enjoyed more liberty in this respect; (Calmet) particularly when there was a prophet present, to sanction what they did. (Haydock) |
| I Kings 3:3 | And Solomon loved the Lord, walking in the precepts of David, his father; only he sacrificed in the high places, and burnt incense. | Only, etc. Which David had not done, though it was lawful. (Pineda) --- Yet we read that he offered victims on Sion, etc., 2 Kings 6:18. (Haydock) |
| I Kings 3:4 | He went therefore to Gabaon, to sacrifice there: for that was the great high place: a thousand victims for holocausts, did Solomon offer upon that altar, in Gabaon. | Victims. These he accompanied with most fervent prayer, Wisdom 7:7., and 2 Paralipomenon 1:9. |
| I Kings 3:5 | And the Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream by night, saying : Ask what thou wilt that I should give thee. | In a prophetic dream, or ecstasy. His mind had been so filled with the desire of wisdom, that the same thoughts recurred to him while he slept; and, as he had entertained them voluntarily before, he acquired fresh merit even during that time; as a man, who indulges sensual affections, becomes responsible for the accidents of the night. (St. Thomas Aquinas, 1. 2. q. 113. a. 2. and 2. 2. 9. 154. a. 5.) (St. Augustine, de Gen. ad lit. 12:15.) (Calmet) |
| I Kings 3:6 | And Solomon said: Thou hast shewed great mercy to thy servant David, my father, even as he walked before thee in truth, and justice, and an upright heart with thee: and thou hast kept thy great mercy for him, and hast given him a son to sit on his throne, as it is this day. | |
| I Kings 3:7 | And now, O Lord God, thou hast made thy servant king instead of David, my father: and I am but a child, and know not how to go out and come in; | In. So as to judge with discretion, and to lead my people. (Calmet) |
| I Kings 3:8 | And thy servant is in the midst of the people which thou hast chosen, an immense people, which cannot be numbered nor counted for multitude. | |
| I Kings 3:9 | *Give therefore to thy servant an understanding heart, to judge thy people, and discern between good and evil. For who shall be able to judge this people, thy people, which is so numerous? 2 Paralipomenon 1:10. | Understanding. Literally, "docile." (Haydock) --- Hebrew, "willing to hear," and to obey God. (Menochius) |
| I Kings 3:10 | And the word was pleasing to the Lord, that Solomon had asked such a thing. | |
| I Kings 3:11 | And the Lord said to Solomon: Because thou hast asked this thing, and hast not asked for thyself long life nor riches, nor the lives of thy enemies, but hast asked for thyself wisdom to discern judgment; | |
| I Kings 3:12 | Behold I have done for thee according to thy words, and have given thee a wise and understanding heart, in so much that there hath been no one like unto thee, before thee, nor shall arise after thee. | After thee. Solomon has given us some idea of his wisdom in the works which he has left. They were dictated by the Holy Spirit, who adorned his soul with so many graces, 3 Kings 4:29, 30. (Haydock) --- His knowledge of nature, and of the art of governing, excelled that of any of the kings of Israel; (Lyranus, etc.; 2 Paralipomenon ix.) though Moses and the apostles had a more comprehensive knowledge of the mysteries of God. (Calmet) --- Yet, even granting that no mere man might come up to him, Jesus Christ, in whom the treasures of wisdom were contained, was far superior. (Haydock) --- General propositions are often to be understood with a limitation. (Menochius) |
| I Kings 3:13 | *Yea, and the things also which thou didst not ask, I have given thee; to wit, riches and glory: as that no one hath been like unto thee, among the kings, in all days heretofore. Wisdom 7:11.; Matthew 6:21. | Heretofore: 2 Paralipomenon (1:12,) adds, nor after thee, Ecclesiastes 1:16. This is also limited by some to the kings of that country. But the riches of Solomon were not exceeded by those of the greatest monarchs. Diss., "on the riches which David left." (Calmet) |
| I Kings 3:14 | And, if thou wilt walk in my ways, and keep my precepts and my commandments, as thy father walked, I will lengthen thy days. | Days. But this he forfeited. (Menochius) |
| I Kings 3:15 | And Solomon awaked, and perceived that it was a dream: and when he was come to Jerusalem, he stood before the ark of the covenant of the Lord, and offered holocausts, and sacrificed victims of peace-offerings, and made a great feast for all his servants. | Dream. Sent by God, as [in] Genesis 41:1. (Calmet) |
| I Kings 3:16 | Then there came two women that were harlots, to the king, and stood before him. | Harlots. Rather than simply, "innkeepers." (Chaldean) (Menochius) --- The latter signification of Zona might, however, seem more natural; as harlots seldom have children; or, at least, any affection for them. Neither would such people have dared to appear before the king, Deuteronomy 23:17. |
| I Kings 3:17 | And one of them said: I beseech thee, my lord, I and this woman dwelt in one house, and I was delivered of a child with her in the chamber. | |
| I Kings 3:18 | And the third day after that I was delivered, she also was delivered; and we were together, and no other person with us in the house; only we two. | |
| I Kings 3:19 | And this woman's child died in the night: for in her sleep she overlaid him. | Him. This she suspected to be the case. They did not then place infants in the cradle, but let them sleep in their bosoms. (Calmet) |
| I Kings 3:20 | And rising in the dead time of the night, she took my child from my side, while I, thy handmaid, was asleep, and laid it in her bosom: and laid her dead child in my bosom. | |
| I Kings 3:21 | And when I arose in the morning, to give my child suck, behold it was dead: but considering him more diligently, when it was clear day, I found that it was not mine which I bore. | |
| I Kings 3:22 | And the other woman answered: It is not so as thou sayest, but thy child is dead, and mine is alive. On the contrary, she said; Thou liest: for my child liveth, and thy child is dead. And in this manner they strove before the king. | |
| I Kings 3:23 | Then said the king: The one saith, My child is alive, and thy child is dead. And the other answereth: Nay; but thy child is dead, and mine liveth. | |
| I Kings 3:24 | The king therefore said: Bring me a sword. And when they had brought a sword before the king, | |
| I Kings 3:25 | Divide, said he, the living child in two, and give half to the one, and half to the other. | Other. This sentence manifested the wisdom of Solomon, who knew that the real mother would feel the emotions of parental tenderness. By similar experiments, the truth has sometimes been discovered. Claudius obliged a mother to own her son, by ordering her to take him for a husband. (Seutonius xv.) --- The king of Trace told three who pretended to be the sons of the deceased king of the Cimmerians, to shoot an arrow at the corpse; which the real son would not do. (Calmet) (Diod. Sic.) --- A native of Mexico, reclaiming a horse which a Spaniard pretended was his, as the judge was under some doubts, the American threw his cloak over the horse's head, and asked which eye was blind? The Spaniard replied, the right; and thus was detected. (Palafox.) |
| I Kings 3:26 | But the woman whose child was alive, said to the king; (for her bowels were moved upon her child) I beseech thee, my lord, give her the child alive, and do not kill it. But the other said: Let it be neither mine nor thine; but divide it. | |
| I Kings 3:27 | The king answered, and said: Give the living child to this woman, and let it not be killed; for she is the mother thereof. | |
| I Kings 3:28 | And all Israel heard the judgment which the king had judged, and they feared the king, seeing that the wisdom of God was in him to do judgment. | |
| I Kings 4:0 | Solomon's chief officers. His riches and wisdom. | |
| I Kings 4:1 | And king Solomon reigned over all Israel: | |
| I Kings 4:2 | And these were the princes which he had: Azarias, the son of Sadoc, the priest: | Azarias. Some translate, "grandson of Sadoc, (and son of Achimaas) was priest," to assist his father, unless he was born of some other. Cohen signifies also prince, ver. 5. Azarias was scribe, as well as the two following, though not all at the same time. The office was very important, Judges 5:14. |
| I Kings 4:3 | Elihoreph, and Ahia, the sons of Sisa, scribes: Josaphat, the son of Ahilud, recorder: | Sisa. Perhaps the same with Siva, who was under David. --- Recorder. Historiographer; (Calmet) the presenter of petitions. (Grotius) (2 Kings 8:16.) |
| I Kings 4:4 | Banaias, the son of Joiada, over the army: and Sadoc, and Abiathar, priests. | Abiathar. By this it appears that Abiathar was not altogether deposed from the high priesthood; but only banished to his country house; and by that means excluded from the exercise of his functions. (Challoner) --- He retained the name, as bishops still do, after they have resigned their see. (Calmet) --- Some think that Solomon reinstated Abiathar to his office. (Estius) |
| I Kings 4:5 | Azarias, the son of Nathan, over them that were about the king: Zabud, the son of Nathan, the priest, the king's friend: | King. President of the council, (Menochius) steward of the household. --- Priest refers to Zabud here, though the Hebrew is ambiguous. It means also a prince. (Haydock) --- He was chief officer and favourite of Solomon, (Calmet) as Chusai had been of David, 2 Kings 16:16. |
| I Kings 4:6 | And Ahisar, governor of the house: and Adoniram, the son of Abda, over the tribute. | House. Septuagint, "Eliak was also director of the house," oikonomos. (Haydock) --- It is impossible to mark, with precision, the extent of these offices. --- Tribute, or levy of workmen, as it is expressed, 3 Kings 5:14. |
| I Kings 4:7 | And Solomon had twelve governors over all Israel, who provided victuals for the king and for his household: for every one provided necessaries, each man his month in the year. | Month. The lunar year was not then in use; (Calmet) or else, the first of these governors, was in office during the 13th, or intercalary month, every third year, and the rest in succession. (Tostat) |
| I Kings 4:8 | And these are their names: Benhur, in Mount Ephraim, | Benhur. Ben here, and in the following verses, may signify "the son of Hur," etc. (Calmet) --- Septuagint retain both the original term, and its explanation, "Ben, the son of Or." But they afterwards read only "the son of Dakar....of Esed....of Abinadab....and Gaber." |
| I Kings 4:9 | Bendecar, in Macces, and in Salebim, and in Bethsames, and in Elon, and in Bethanan. | |
| I Kings 4:10 | Benhesed, in Aruboth: his was Socho, and all the land of Epher. | |
| I Kings 4:11 | Benabinadab, to whom belonged all Nephath-Dor: he had Tapheth, the daughter of Solomon, to wife. | To wife. Not at the beginning of his reign, ver. 15. (Menochius) --- This chapter gives a general idea of the officers who lived under Solomon. (Calmet) |
| I Kings 4:12 | Bana, the son of Ahilud, who governed Thanac, and Mageddo, and all Bethsan, which is by Sarthana, beneath Jezrael, from Bethsan unto Abelmehula, over-against Jecmaan. | |
| I Kings 4:13 | Bengaber, in Ramoth Galaad: he had the towns of Jair, the son of Manasses, in Galaad: he was chief in all the country of Argob, which is in Basan, threescore great cities with walls, and brazen bolts. | |
| I Kings 4:14 | Ahinadab, the son of Addo, was chief in Manaim. | Manaim, which is often rendered the camp. The word is read Mahanaim, by the Masorets, (2 Kings 2:8,) and by the Vulgate, Genesis 32:2. (Haydock) |
| I Kings 4:15 | Achimaas, in Nephthali: he also had Basemath, the daughter of Solomon, to wife. | |
| I Kings 4:16 | Baana, the son of Husi, in Aser, and in Baloth. | |
| I Kings 4:17 | Josaphat, the son of Pharue, in Issachar. | |
| I Kings 4:18 | Semei, the son of Ela, in Benjamin. | |
| I Kings 4:19 | Gaber, the son of Uri, in the land of Galaad, in the land of Sehon, the king of the Amorrhites, and of Og, the king of Basan, over all that were in that land. | Land. Hebrew, "the only officer who was in the land," (Haydock) except in the towns of Jair, ver. 13. (Calmet) --- His province had belonged to two kings. (Menochius) |
| I Kings 4:20 | Juda and Israel were innumerable, as the sand of the sea in multitude; eating and drinking, and rejoicing. | Multitude. We may suppose seven millions; though, if the calculation of Chronicles be more accurate, they were much more numerous. See 2 Kings 24:9. (Haydock) |
| I Kings 4:21 | *And Solomon had under him all the kingdoms, from the river to the land of the Philistines, even to the border of Egypt: and they brought him presents, and served him all the days of his life. Ecclesiasticus 47:15. | The river. Euphrates. (Challoner) --- To, or "of the land," terrae. (Haydock) --- This river may denote the torrent Besor, as Solomon's dominions extended not only as far as Gaza, but also to the oriental branch of the Nile, ver. 24. Thus one verse explains the other. There were, indeed, no kingdoms (Calmet) in this portion of land, which is now quite barren: but formerly it had several cities, and they belonged to various kings of Egypt, Arabia, the Philistines, etc. (Haydock) --- Hebrew may be rendered "from the river, (Euphrates) the land of the Philistines, and to the border," etc., (Calmet) agreeably to 2 Paralipomenon 9:26. He exercised authority over all the kings from the river Euphrates to the land, etc. Hebrew, "the river even unto," etc. Solomon had all the kings of Syria, Ammon, the Philistines, etc., under him; so that his empire took in all that had been promised to Abraham. (Haydock) See St. Augustine, q. 21. (Josue) |
| I Kings 4:22 | And the provision of Solomon, for each day was thirty measures of fine flour, and threescore measures of meal; | Measures, (cori.) Each of which contained little less than 300 pints. (Calmet) --- A corus is equivalent to 30 modii, and would support as many men a day; so that the family of Solomon would contain 2,700 people. (Cornelius a Lapide) (Menochius) --- Villalpand calculates 48,600, and Calvisius 54,000. |
| I Kings 4:23 | Ten fat oxen, and twenty out of the pastures, and a hundred rams; besides venison of harts, roes, and buffaloes, and fatted fowls. | Buffaloes. Yachmur means also a sort of wild-goat, like a stag, Deuteronomy 14:5. (Bochart, Anim. 1:B. 3:22.) --- Fowls. Some Rabbins explain barburim, (or borbrim) of capons, or birds from Barbary; as if this name had been known in the days of Solomon. (Calmet) --- There was an ancient Ethiopian Barbary on the Persian gulf, (Bochart) with which the Rabbins were not acquainted. (Calmet) |
| I Kings 4:24 | For he had all the country which was beyond the river, from Thaphsa to Gazan, and all the kings of those countries: and he had peace on every side round about. | Beyond. Hebrew, "on the side of," without determining on which, Deuteronomy 1:--- Thaphsa. The famous Thapsacus, on the Euphrates. --- To Gazan. Hebrew Hazza. This name is written in a different manner from Gaza, and may signify a country of the Medes, on the frontiers of Armenia. But, as it is pronounced almost alike, and the parallel passage determines for the country of the Philistines, (ver. 21,) we may explain it of Gaza. (Calmet) |
| I Kings 4:25 | And Juda, and Israel, dwelt without any fear, every one under his vine, and under his fig-tree, from Dan to Bersabee, all the days of Solomon. | Vine. this expression is often used to imply a state of peace and happiness. The people were then content with rural pleasures. (Calmet) |
| I Kings 4:26 | *And Solomon had forty thousand stalls of chariot horses, and twelve thousand for the saddle. 2 Paralipomenon 9:25. | Forty: 2 Paralipomenon 9:25., has four in the Hebrew. Septuagint read in both places 40,000 mares, for chariots, and 12,000 horses. (Calmet) --- The Alexandrian copy has 40 here, and 4000 in the latter place; where, instead of horses, it gives horsemen, with the Vulgate. These two words are often used as synonymous by the best authors. But it is more difficult to reconcile the number; (Calmet) as (2 Paralipomenon xiv.) we read again differently, he had 1400 chariots, and 12,000 horsemen. (Haydock) --- Forty might easily be mistaken for four, by only adding im at the end of arba. (Bochart) (Grotius) --- Instead of stalls, Calmet supposes stables to be understood, and in each he would place ten horses, which completes the number here assigned. If this be admitted, no change is necessary: but, as praesepe signifies "a stall," we may adhere to the Vulgate, which has 40,000 in both places; whereas the Hebrew varies, though the sense may be the same. The number of Solomon's chariots was 1400. As two horses were usually employed to draw them, 2800; or, allowing for accidents, changes, etc., 4000 horses would have been amply sufficient. It seems, therefore, that we should admit only so many horses or stalls. (Haydock) --- "Vignoles conjectures, that the Jews formerly used marks analogous to our common figures; as the Arabians have done for many hundred years. And, if so, the corruption" of hundreds for tens, etc., "may be easily accounted for, by the transcriber's carelessly adding or omitting a single cypher." (Kennicott, Diss. ii.) --- Yet, if 40,000 horses must be admitted, we may say that they were not all intended for the chariots of war, but some for draught-horses, to convey the stones and other materials for the numerous buildings, which Solomon carried on. This might serve to excuse him for having so many horses, (Haydock) contrary to the letter of the law, and the example of Josue and of David. His subjects were thus, perhaps, engaged in too much commerce with the Egyptians: and the king was forced to burden them with taxes, which at last proved so fatal. (Serarius) (Pineda) (Calmet) --- Yet some undertake his defence, by saying that he did not act against the spirit of the law; that many of the horses were imposed as a tribute, and Solomon did not place his trust in them, Proverbs 21:31., and 2 Paralipomenon 9:24. (Tostat) (Bochart, B. 2:9.) --- His empire was become more extensive, and his works more splendid; so that what might appear an useless parade in some, might be worthy of praise in Solomon. The law is not so precise. He shall not multiply horses to himself, nor lead back the people into Egypt, being lifted up with the number of his horsemen, Deuteronomy 17:16. There is a like prohibition of many wives and treasures. |
| I Kings 4:27 | And the foresaid governors of the king fed them; and they furnished the necessaries also for king Solomon's table, with great care, in their time. | Fed them and is omitted in Hebrew and Septuagint. (Haydock) |
| I Kings 4:28 | They brought barley also, and straw for the horses and beasts, to the place where the king was, according as it was appointed them. | Beasts. Racesh denotes horses of extraordinary swiftness, (Bochart) or dromedaries, etc. Junius translates, "post-horses." --- King: so also the Septuagint. Protestants, "the officers were, every man according to his charge." The twelve governors employed others to bring all necessary provisions, (Haydock) to the places where the king was travelling; (Calmet) or they took care not only of the king's table, but they had also the general inspection over his stables. (Haydock) --- Few oats are grown in the East. They feed their horses on barley and straw. (Calmet) |
| I Kings 4:29 | And God gave to Solomon wisdom, and understanding exceeding much, and largeness of heart, as the sand that is on the sea shore. | Hart; magnanimity, which pride often attempts to imitate, and is therefore designated by the same expression, Proverbs 21:4. The genius of Solomon was also most penetrating and comprehensive. (Calmet) --- Aenomaus thus addresses Apollo, "Thou who knowest, both the number of the sands and the extent of the sea---who understandest the dumb, and hearest the man who has not spoken." (Eusebius, praep. 5:34.) (Haydock) |
| I Kings 4:30 | And the wisdom of Solomon surpassed the wisdom of all the Orientals, and of the Egyptians; | Orientals of Chaldea, Arabia, Idumea, etc., Daniel 2:2., Abdias viii., Numbers 22:5. Job and his friends were of this description. The Greeks acknowledged that they had received their philosophy from the barbarians; (Laert. proem.) and Casaubon observes, that the ancient defendants of the Christian faith proved the same truth. (Not. Ibid.) They shewed that all true saving knowledge had been derived from the Hebrews. (Haydock) --- The Chaldeans maintain that their countrymen were the fountains of science; and many suppose that Abraham communicated these treasures to the Egyptians; whereas the latter pretend, that a colony from their country had imparted that blessing to the Chaldeans. Diodorus (B. i.) says that Belus conducted such a colony, and the Greeks chiefly owed their information to the Egyptians. God had communicated to Solomon all that was of real use in those sciences, in a superior degree, Wisdom 7:17. (Josephus, [Antiquities?] 8:2.) He was eminently skilled in natural philosophy, etc. (Calmet) |
| I Kings 4:31 | *And he was wiser than all men: wiser than Ethan, the Ezrahite, and Heman, and Chalcol, and Dorda, the sons of Mahol, and he was renowned in all nations round about. Ecclesiasticus 47:16. | All men, of his time (Lyranus) and nation. (Munster) --- But why should we limit these general expressions? (Calmet) See 3 Kings 3:12, 13. (Haydock) --- Ethan is the same as Idithun. The title of Ezrahite does not seem to belong to him; and Chalcol and Dorda seem to be inserted here by some transcriber from 1 Paralipomenon 2:6., where we read, the sons of Zara....Ethan and Eman, and Chalchal and Dara, of the tribe of Juda. But they were different from these men, who were probably Levites. (Calmet) --- We find Chalcol and Dorda mentioned no where else. Heman was an Ezrahite, (Psalm lxxxvii.) and a seer of the king, presiding over the singers, (1 Paralipomenon 15:19., and 25:4., and 5.; Menochius) who stood in the middle. Ethan's band surrounded the altar, (1 Paralipomenon 6:44.) while Asaph's were on the right hand. --- Mahol was the mother of the four, unless the word denote their profession, as sons of "the choir," singing and playing on musical instruments. (Calmet) --- Solomon was eminent in both respects, as well as in poetry; as he is compared with those who were most noted for compositions and music. (Sanctius) |
| I Kings 4:32 | Solomon also spoke three thousand parables: and his poems were a thousand and five. | Three thousand parables. These works are all lost, excepting some part of the parables extant in the book of Proverbs; and his chief poem called the Canticle of Canticles. (Challoner) --- The title of Psalm cxxvi., attributes it to Solomon. But its authority is not sufficiently established. The book of Proverbs contains at present only 658, (Cornelius a Lapide) or 800 parables. (Clarius) --- Josephus exaggerates, when he reads 3000 volumes of parables. --- Five. Septuagint read, "5000 odes," which is adopted by many interpreters. Josephus (Calmet) and the Chaldean agree with the Hebrew. (Menochius) |
| I Kings 4:33 | And he treated about trees, from the cedar that is in Libanus, unto the hyssop that cometh out of the wall: and he discoursed of beasts, and of fowls, and of creeping things, and of fishes. | Wall. Some deny that ezob means hyssop. (Kimchi; Levinus, etc.) But there is a species which grows on mountains, and even out of walls. (Bochart) (Sanctius) --- It is a small odoriferous plant; whereas the cedar was the largest tree with which the Jews were acquainted. (Calmet) --- On Libanus there are found such trees above 36 feet in circumference; which extend their branches 111 feet around them. (Maundrell, Jerus. p. 239.) --- Solomon examined all, Wisdom 7:17, etc. Many works have been falsely attributed to him, which Origen rejects: hom. 35, in Matthew. See Josephus, [Antiquities?] 8:2.; Pineda 3:29. (Calmet) --- Perhaps he might have composed some magical works, while he was an idolater. (Salien) |
| I Kings 4:34 | And they came from all nations to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and from all the kings of the earth, who heard of his wisdom. | Wisdom. The Scriptures relate the coming of the queen of Saba, 3 Kings 10. Thus Livy attracted the attention of distant nations, who neglected the grandeur of Rome, to visit him. (St. Jerome, Ep. ad Paulin.) Solomon's wisdom is compared to a great river, inundating the whole earth. (Ecclesiasticus 47:16.) |
| I Kings 5:0 | Hiram, king of Tyre, agreeth to furnish timber and workmen for building the temple: the number of workmen and overseers. | |
| I Kings 5:1 | And* Hiram, king of Tyre, sent his servants to Solomon: for he heard that they had anointed him king in the room of his father: for Hiram had always been David's friend. | Year of the World 2992, Year before Christ 1012. Hiram. Josephus says, that the temple was built in the 11th year of this prince. He must therefore have been the son of David's friend, as the former had sent artificers to build David's house, (2 Kings 5:11.; Calmet) above 30 years before. But there may be a mistake in the number, as the Scripture evidently speaks of the same king; and Josephus had said before, "Hiram rejoiced exceedingly that Solomon had succeeded to the throne; (for he had been the friend of David) and he sent ambassadors to congratulate with him on his present felicity, by whom Solomon wrote," etc. The mutual letters of these kings were still preserved in the archives of Tyre; and this author confidently appeals to them, as he deems it "impious to insert any fiction" in his history. (Josephus, Antiquities 8:2.) He quotes Dius and Menander; who asserted, that these princes proposed enigmas to each other; and that Hiram was obliged to pay a large sum of money, as he could not explain that which Solomon had proposed, etc. (Josephus, contra Apion i.) (Haydock) |
| I Kings 5:2 | And Solomon sent to Hiram, saying: | |
| I Kings 5:3 | Thou knowest the will of David, my father, and that he could not build a house to the name of the Lord his God, because of the wars that were round about him, until the Lord put them under the soles of his feet. | Wars. Many interpreters assert that this was the real impediment, (Tostat; Salien, etc.) rather than the blood, which David had already spilt, 2 Kings vii., and 1 Paralipomenon 22:8. |
| I Kings 5:4 | But now the Lord my God hath given me rest round about; and there is no adversary nor evil occurrence. | Adversary. Literally, "Satan." Adad of Idumea, and another of Syria, and Jeroboam, began to molest Solomon, only towards the end of his reign, 3 Kings 11:25. |
| I Kings 5:5 | Wherefore I purpose to build a temple to the name of the Lord my God, as the Lord spoke to David, my father, saying: *Thy son, whom I will set upon the throne, in thy place, he shall build a house to my name. 2 Kings 7:13.; 1 Paralipomenon 22:10. | |
| I Kings 5:6 | Give orders, therefore, that thy servants cut me down cedar-trees, out of Libanus, and let my servants be with thy servants: and I will give thee the hire of thy servants whatsoever thou wilt ask: for thou knowest how there is not among my people a man that has skill to hew wood like to the Sidonians. | Libanus. It belonged to Israel, since the victory of David, 2 Kings 10:18. Solomon built some fortresses on the mountain, 3 Kings 9:19. The cedar-trees grow chiefly towards Phenicia, above Biblos. They bear a great resemblance with fir-trees, and grow in a pyramidical form. The wood is hard and bitter, so that worms will not molest it. Hence it was much used in the temple of Ephesus, and in other large buildings; lacunaria ex ea....propter aeternitatem sunt facta. (Vitruvius 2:9.) --- Sidonians. It seems they were subject to the king of Tyre, or this was the common title of all the Phenicians. (Calmet) |
| I Kings 5:7 | Now when Hiram had heard the words of Solomon, he rejoiced exceedingly, and said: Blessed be the Lord God this day, who hath given to David a very wise son over this numerous people. | Lord (Jehova) God "of Israel," as it is expressed, 2 Paralipomenon 2:12. (Haydock) --- This pagan prince adored and erected temples and altars in honour of Baal, Astarte, and Hercules; (Josephus, etc.) yet he did not hesitate to acknowledge the God of Israel, as he supposed that there was a god for each nation. See 3 Kings 20:28., and 4 Kings 17:27. (Calemt) --- Thus many think that they may serve the God of unity, by going to hear the sermons of men who preach a contradictory doctrine. The devil will be satisfied, if he can share the divine honours: but God will admit of no rival, nor can he sanction any but the true religion. (Haydock) |
| I Kings 5:8 | And Hiram sent to Solomon, saying: I have heard all thou hast desired of me; and I will do all thy desire concerning cedar-trees, and fir-trees. | Fir-trees. Some take these to be another species of cedars, as they say fir is too slender and corruptible; (Martin, etc.) and Solomon had not asked for it, ver. 6.; though he does in 2 Paralipomenon 2:8, where (Haydock) the word is translated archeuthina, "juniper-trees," by the Septuagint and St. Jerome. (Calmet) --- Beroshim, is rendered fir-trees by Pagnin; box or cedars, etc., by others. The precise import of the Hebrew names of plants, animals, etc., is not sufficiently known. (Menochius) --- Fir is use by the best architects. (Virtuvius, 2:9.) (Calmet) |
| I Kings 5:9 | My servants shall bring them down from Libanus to the sea: and I will put them together in floats, on the sea, and convey them to the place, which thou shalt signify to me; and will land them there, and thou shalt receive them: and thou shalt allow me necessaries to furnish food for my household. | There. Joppe was fixed upon, as the port nearest Jerusalem, 2 Paralipomenon 2:16. The trees were squared and rolled, (Calmet) or dragged (Haydock) from the mountain-top to the river Adonis, or the plain of Biblos, and then sent in floats by sea. (Calmet) --- Household, for the workmen employed in cutting the wood; (2 Paralipomenon; Menochius) and also for Hiram's other servants, as the kings of the East paid them not with money. (Calmet) --- The Tyrians neglected agriculture. (Servius) |
| I Kings 5:10 | So Hiram gave Solomon cedar-trees, and fir-trees, according to all his desire. | |
| I Kings 5:11 | And Solomon allowed Hiram twenty thousand measures of wheat, for provision for his house, and twenty measures of the purest oil: thus gave Solomon to Hiram every year. | Wheat, "ground or beaten." (Hebrew; Paralipomenon) (Haydock) --- By comparing this passage with 3 Kings 4:22, we may see how much the court of Solomon surpassed that of Hiram. The former consumed 90 measures of flour a day; and 20,000 of wheat sufficed for the Tyrian prince's family a whole year. --- Twenty. It is supposed by many commentators that thousand is to be supplied from the former sentence; as there seems otherwise to be no proportion between the wheat and the oil. (Piscator, etc.) --- The Septuagint, Syriac, etc., read 20,000. (Calmet) --- The Alexandrian copy has not core, but only beth, (Haydock) or "bath," which is a smaller measure, containing 29 pints and something more, (Calmet) or seven gallons, four pints, English wine measure; whereas the core, or chomer, consisted of 75 gallons, five pints. (Arbuthnot) (Haydock) --- In Paralipomenon, the workmen have 20,000 cores of wheat, and also of barley, and as many baths of wine and of oil; which bear some proportion with each other. (Calmet) |
| I Kings 5:12 | *And the Lord gave wisdom to Solomon, as he promised him: and there was peace between Hiram and Solomon, and they two made a league together. 3 Kings 3:12. | |
| I Kings 5:13 | And king Solomon chose workmen out of all Israel, and the levy was of thirty thousand men. | |
| I Kings 5:14 | And he sent them to Libanus, ten thousand every month, by turns, so that two months they were at home: and Adoniram was over this levy. | Levy, or tribute. The men had only to procure stones, as the Tyrians had engaged to do all which regarded the wood. (Calmet) --- These were Israelites. (Menochius) |
| I Kings 5:15 | And Solomon had seventy thousand to carry burdens, and eighty thousand to hew stones in the mountain: | Mountain of Libanus. (Calmet) --- Paralipomenon mountains: but the Hebrew is singular in both places. They were all proselytes or strangers. |
| I Kings 5:16 | Besides the overseers who were over every work, in number three thousand and three hundred, that ruled over the people, and them that did the work. | Three hundred. In 2 Paralipomenon (2:2., and 18,) we read six hundred; (Haydock) as there are 300 superior officers included. (Calmet) (Menochius) (Sa, etc.) --- But these 3600 are all overseers. (Haydock) |
| I Kings 5:17 | And the king commanded that they should bring great stones, costly stones, for the foundation of the temple, and should square them: | Foundation, which did not appear. (Calmet) --- What sort would, therefore, be chosen for the most conspicuous parts of the temple? (Haydock) |
| I Kings 5:18 | And the masons of Solomon, and the masons of Hiram, hewed them: and the Giblians prepared timber and stones to build the house. | Giblians. Ezechiel (xxvii. 9,) commends them for building ships. Giblos of Gebal is supposed to be the town, which profane authors style Biblos, at the foot of Libanus. Ptolemy also mentions Gabala, to the east of Tyre. (Calmet) |
| I Kings 6:0 | The building of Solomon's temple. | |
| I Kings 6:1 | And *it came to pass in the four hundred and eightieth year after the children of Israel came out of the land of Egypt, in the fourth year of the reign of Solomon over Israel, in the month Zio, (the same is the second month) he began to build a house to the Lord. 12: 2 Kings 7:16. | Year of the World 2092, Year before Christ 1012.; 2 Paralipomenon iii. Eightieth year. This chronology meets with the approbation of most people. See Usher. (Chap. 12.) Some, however, find a difficulty in reconciling it with Acts 13:20., which seems to attribute 450 years to the government of the judges. (Calmet) --- Septuagint have 440; Josephus 592, though Ruffin neglects the 90 in his version; Petau 520; Severus 582; Clement of Alexandria 566; Vossius 580; Cano 590; Serarius 680. --- Houbigant would read 350 in the Acts. But Capellus would add 100 here, etc. (Haydock) --- Second of the sacred year, corresponding with our April. Syriac, Chaldean styles it "of the splendour of flowers." (Menochius) --- The Hurons, and other nations of America, call this "the moon of plants;" the Flemings, "the month for mowing," Grasmaand. Our Saxon ancestors gave descriptive names to the months. See Verstegan. (Haydock) --- At first, the Hebrews only described the months by their order; "first, second," etc. In Solomon's time we begin to find other names, taken from the Phenicians, (Scaliger) Chaldean names were adopted; (Haydock) 1. Nisan; 2. Jar; 3. Sivan; 4. Tammus; 5. Ab; 6. Elul; 7. Tisri; 8. Marshevan; 9. Casleu; 10. Thebet; 11. Schebet; 12. Adar; (Calmet) 13. Veadar, the intercalary month, when requisite, according to the lunar system, which was not perhaps yet adopted. Each of these months generally corresponded with two of ours; Nisan with the end of March and the beginning of April, etc. Septuagint here take no notice of Zio, though they do, ver. 37. (Haydock) --- The temple was begun on Monday, May 21, in the year of the world 2992. (Usher) --- It was finished in the year of the world 3000, or in the following year, when it was solemnly dedicated. (Button.) |
| I Kings 6:2 | And the house, which king Solomon built to the Lord, was threescore cubits in length, and twenty cubits in breadth, and thirty cubits in height. | House. Hebrew Habayith, "the palace" of the God of Israel, where the priests alone had access. It was surrounded by various courts and apartments, as the ancient temples were very different from ours. All these appendages sometimes go under the common name of the temple. (Calmet) --- Cubits. The common one contained half a yard. The sacred cubit amounted to 21,888 inches. (Arbuthnot) (Ezechiel 43:13.) --- Calmet makes the cubit consist of 24 fingers' breadth, or little less than 20 inches of the French measure, which is greater than ours. (Haydock) --- Hence the temple would be 102 feet 6 inches long, 34 feet 2 inches broad, 51 feet 3 inches high to the ceiling. (Calmet) --- The walls are not included; else the breadth would be almost 60 cubits, the length 100, and the height 50. (Vallalpand 2:5, 14.) (Menochius) |
| I Kings 6:3 | And there was a porch before the temple, of twenty cubits in length, according to the measure of the breadth of the temple: and it was ten cubits in breadth, before the face of the temple. | Temple. The porch was of the same height as the temple, though we read that it wa 120 cubits high, 2 Paralipomenon 3:4. But one word seems there to have been substituted for another, (Calmet) unless it might resemble a high tower. (Haydock) --- Before the porch were placed the two brazen pillars. The interior of it was highly adorned by Herod. (Josephus, Antiquities 15:11.) |
| I Kings 6:4 | And he made in the temple oblique windows. | Oblique windows. Which were made slanting, that the light might be more easily communicated within. (Haydock) --- On the outside they were not so large. (Worthington) (Menochius) --- Hebrew, "windows to see through, shut," with lattices, (Calmet) or blinds. Protestants, "he made windows of narrow lights." (Haydock) --- Curtains might be hung before them, as no glass was yet used. (Calmet) --- These windows occupied the five cubits above the chambers, which were built on the west end, and on the sides of the temple, 15 cubits high. (Calmet) --- No windows were permitted in the holy of holies. (Menochius) |
| I Kings 6:5 | And upon the wall of the temple, he built floors round about, in the walls of the house, round about the temple and the oracle, and he made chambers in the sides round about. | Upon the wall. That is, joining to the wall. --- He built floors round about. Chambers or cells adjoining to the temple, for the use of the temple and of the priests, so contrived as to be between the inward and outward wall of the temple, in three stories, one above another. --- The oracle. The inner temple or holy of holies, where God gave his oracles. (Challoner) --- Sides. Protestants, "he made chambers round about." (Haydock) --- Some think that buttresses were used, to strengthen the building. Septuagint, "ribs," (Menochius) or sides. But there seem rather to have been three off-sets; so that the wall kept decreasing in breadth, as it grew higher, (Haydock) every ten cubits, (Ezechiel 41:6.; Menochius) and thus the upper chamber was two cubits broader than the lowest. The beams might thus rest upon the walls, and be easily changed. (Haydock) |
| I Kings 6:6 | The floor that was underneath was five cubits in breadth, and the middle floor was six cubits in breadth, and the third door was seven cubits in breadth. And he put beams in the house round about on the outside, that they might not be fastened in the walls of the temple. | Temple. This was done for greater respect, and that the walls might not be injured. Ezechiel (xli. 6,) counts 33 chambers on the three sides. St. Jerome seems to double that number; while Josephus acknowledges only 30. (Calmet) --- Salien has 42, or 14 in each story. |
| I Kings 6:7 | And the house, when it was in building, was built of stones, hewed and made ready: so that there was neither hammer nor axe nor any tool of iron heard in the house when it was in building. | Made ready, etc. So the stones for the building of God's eternal temple, in the heavenly Jerusalem, (who are the faithful) must first be hewn and polished here by many trials and sufferings, before they can be admitted to have a place in that celestial structure. (Challoner) --- Those who have the happiness to be chosen, will be no more disturbed with the noise or inconvenience of persecution, (Haydock) which they ought to bear in silence upon earth. (Worthington) --- Building. Screw nails were probably used. The ancient Romans wrought the mouldings, etc., of their pillars, after they were erected. The Rabbins pretend that a little worm, or stone schamir, which was brought from the earthly paradise by an eagle, or by the devil, Asmodeus, polished all the stones. Maimonides has even written a book on this famous worm. (Grotius) --- Theodoret (q. 23.) also asserts, without proof, that the stones were found ready cut, in the quarry, and that they had only to be polished. We may form a grand idea of the workmen employed by Solomon, when we consider that they were able to prepare all things, with such exactitude, at a distance. (Calmet) |
| I Kings 6:8 | The door, for the middle side, was on the right hand of the house: and by winding-stairs they went up to the middle room, and from the middle to the third. | Middle side. Septuagint, "lower story." (Calmet) --- "The door of the lower story (rib or side, pleuras; Chaldean, the lower appendage) was under the right wing of the house, and a winding staircase led to the middle, and from the middle to the third story. (Haydock) --- This sense is very clear. Hebrew intimates that the staircase was round like a screw, and was formed in the wall, at one end of the rooms. --- Right hand of those who entered the temple, or on the north; though the south is commonly thus designated. The doors opened into the porch, as the temple was not to be made a thoroughfare. (Calmet) |
| I Kings 6:9 | So he built the house, and finished it: and he covered the house with roofs of cedar. | Roofs. Protestants, "beams and boards of cedar." None of the stones appeared within, ver. 18. (Haydock) |
| I Kings 6:10 | And he built a floor over all the house, five cubits in height, and he covered the house with timber of cedar. | Height. To prevent the excessive heats. Five other cubits were also subtracted, ver. 20. Some translate, "he made also stories of all the temple, each five cubits high;" so that the three stories occupied half the height of the walls, which were 30 cubits in height, ver. 2. (Calmet) --- Covered. Hebrew, "took (or bound together) the house," etc. The roof was flat. (Calmet) --- Villalpand maintains the contrary, (in Ezechiel xli.) with Sanchez, etc. Salien gathers from many of the ancients, that the floor here mentioned, was a balustrade, or the pinnacle of the temple, (Matthew iv.) where people might walk or pray. (Menochius) |
| I Kings 6:11 | And the word of the Lord came to Solomon, saying: | Saying. By the prophet Ahia, as the Jews suppose he was sent thrice to Solomon. The temple had been commenced two years; (Salien) or this apparition took place after the dedication, and is related more at length; (chap. 9:2.; Calmet) though the former opinion seems more agreeable to the context, art building, etc. Instead of as for, (Haydock) we might supply stabit. "This house....shall stand;" (Salien) or simply, God looks down upon the building with complacency, and says, "This is the house," by way of eminence. As thou hast endeavoured to honour my name, I will not only fulfil my promises to David, but I will be ever ready to grant thy just requests, in this holy place, provided thou continue faithful, with thy subjects, and obey my commands. (Haydock) |
| I Kings 6:12 | As for this house, which thou art building, if thou wilt walk in my statutes, and execute my judgments, and keep all my commandments, walking in them, I will fulfil my word to thee, *which I spoke to David thy father. | |
| I Kings 6:13 | *And I will dwell in the midst of the children of Israel, and will not forsake my people Israel. 1 Paralipomenon 22:9. | |
| I Kings 6:14 | So Solomon built the house, and finished it. | |
| I Kings 6:15 | And he built the walls of the house on the inside, with boards of cedar, from the floor of the house to the top of the walls, and to the roofs, he covered it with boards of cedar on the inside: and he covered the floor of the house with planks of fir. | Fir. Or perhaps of another species of cedar, resembling the juniper-tree. It is found in Phoenecian and in Lycia. See 3 Kings 5:8. It is doubted whether the sanctuary was also boarded, as we read that it was paved with marble. Hebrew, "with precious or costly stones," 2 Paralipomenon 3:6. But boards might be laid upon them, as they were on other parts of the temple. The magnificence of Solomon appears in his using such costly things, even where they would not be exposed to view. The floor was again covered with plates of gold, ver. 30. |
| I Kings 6:16 | And he built up twenty cubits with boards of cedar at the hinder part of the temple, from the floor to the top: and made the inner house of the oracle to be the holy of holies. | The inner house of the oracle. That is, the sanctuary, which he separated from the other part of the temple, with this partition of cedar, instead of the veil, which in the tabernacle of Moses hung before the sanctuary. (Challoner) --- It was a square of 20 cubits, extending from the western end. (Haydock) --- Hither none but the high priest was allowed to enter, and he but once a year. (Calmet) |
| I Kings 6:17 | And the temple itself, before the doors of the oracle, was forty cubits long. | Itself. Where the priests were stationed. This part was double the length, but of the same breadth, as the most holy place. (Haydock) |
| I Kings 6:18 | And all the house was covered within with cedar, having the turnings, and the joints thereof artfully wrought, and carvings projecting out: all was covered with boards of cedar: and no stone could be seen in the wall at all. | Out. Hebrew, "and the cedar boards of the house within, were carved with knops (fruits) and open flowers," (Haydock) alternately. (Calmet) --- At all. So the bones in the human body, though concealed, strengthen it; and monks, in their deserts, fortify the Church. (Worthington) |
| I Kings 6:19 | And he made the oracle in the midst of the house, in the inner part, to set there the ark of the covenant of the Lord. | |
| I Kings 6:20 | Now the oracle was twenty cubits in length, and twenty cubits in breadth, and twenty cubits in height. And he covered it, and overlaid it with most pure gold. And the altar also he covered with cedar. | Pure gold. Hebrew, "reserved" by David, or "gold locked up," as most precious. Thin plates were laid on, so as to fit all the various mouldings, flowers, etc. --- Cedar. The altar was probably of stone, and upon the cedar boards gold was laid, that the ark might rest upon it. The altar of perfumes was not in the most holy place. (Calmet) |
| I Kings 6:21 | And the house before the oracle he overlaid with most pure gold, and fastened on the plates with nails of gold. | Before, ver. 17. The holy and the most holy place were equally covered with plates of gold. (Haydock) --- Hebrew, "So Solomon overlaid the inner temple with gold reserved, and he made a partition with chains of gold, before the sanctuary, and he overlaid it with gold." (Haydock) --- the chains were destined to fasten the doors, before locks were invented. |
| I Kings 6:22 | And there was nothing in the temple that was not covered with gold: the whole altar of the oracle he covered also with gold. | |
| I Kings 6:23 | And he made in the oracle two cherubims of olive-tree, of ten cubits in height. | Olive. Hebrew, "trees full of oil or resin," distinguished from olive trees, 2 Esdras 8:15. Vatable translates, "pine;" others, "cypress-wood." (Calmet) --- Height. Their gigantic stature served to denote the magnificence and greatness of God. They looked towards the east. (Menochius) --- Their wings extended equalled their height; so that the two cherubims occupied the whole space from north to south, (Haydock) covering the smaller cherubim of Moses. They only reached half the height of the sanctuary. Their form is not clearly ascertained. See Exodus 25:18. (Calmet) --- What will the Iconoclasts say to these images, which adorned not only the temple, which the people might behold, but also the most sacred place? (Haydock) --- Villalpand and Salien suppose, that a cherub resembled a young man in the higher parts, adorned with four wings of an eagle and a lion's skin, round his breast and shoulders, while his feet were like those of a calf. (Menochius) --- Ezechiel seems to insinuate that, in the temple, the cherubim had two faces, one of a man and another of a lion, each looking at palm-trees; as these were placed alternately with cherubim, round the walls, Ezechiel 41:18, 19. |
| I Kings 6:24 | One wing of the cherub was five cubits, and the other wing of the cherub was five cubits: that is, in all ten cubits, from the extremity of one wing to the extremity of the other wing. | |
| I Kings 6:26 | The second cherub also was ten cubits: and the measure, and the work was the same in both the cherubims: | |
| I Kings 6:26 | That is to say, one cherub was ten cubits high, and in like manner the other cherub. | |
| I Kings 6:27 | And he set the cherubims in the midst of the inner temple: and the cherubims stretched forth their wings, and the wing of the one touched one wall, and the wing of the other cherub touched the other wall: and the other wings in the midst of the temple touched one another. | |
| I Kings 6:28 | And he overlaid the cherubims with gold. | |
| I Kings 6:29 | And all the walls of the temple round about he carved with divers figures and carvings: and he made in them cherubims and palm-trees, and divers representations, as it were standing out, and coming forth from the wall. | And divers, etc. Hebrew, "and open (full-blown) flowers within and without" the sanctuary. We read also of chains of gold connected together, 2 Paralipomenon 3:5. The palm-trees might resemble pillars of the Corinthian order. (Calmet) --- It is clear that sacred pictures were authorized to be set up in the temple, for God's honour, (Worthington) though the Jews were so prone to idolatry. (Haydock) |
| I Kings 6:30 | And the floor of the house he also overlaid with gold within and without. | |
| I Kings 6:31 | And in the entrance of the oracle, he made little doors of olive-tree, and posts of five corners, | Corners, each piece being, perhaps, a cubit in length, so that the two folding-doors would contain ten cubits, or half the wall. But Ezechiel only assigns six cubits to this door, and ten to that of which opened into the holy place. Hebrew, "the lintel and the side posts, a fifth" of the wall; in which sense, the door must not have been above four cubits. So ver. 33, four-square is translated also, "a fourth part." But it does not appear to what it refers. Rebihith sometimes means four-square; and why may not chamishith here signify pentagonal? (Calmet) --- Many suppose that the gate of the sanctuary was of this form, (Haydock) ending in a point at the top; unless the posts were carved so as to have five angles, like a pillar. (Ribera, Templ. 2:8.) (Menochius) |
| I Kings 6:32 | And two doors of olive-tree: and he carved upon them figures of cherubims, and figures of palm-trees, and carvings very much projecting; and he overlaid them with gold: and he covered both the cherubims and the palm-trees, and the other things, with gold. | And carvings, etc. Hebrew, "and flowers full-blown." The term anaglypha, denotes a sculpture in relievo, (Calmet) or projecting. (Haydock) |
| I Kings 6:33 | And he made in the entrance of the temple posts of olive-tree four-square: | |
| I Kings 6:34 | And two doors of fir-tree, one of each side: and each door was double, and so opened with folding-leaves. | Fir-tree, or some species of cedar, ver. 15. --- Double. In the large doors, other smaller were made, that the priests might pass more easily. (Menochius) --- And so, etc. Literally, "and holding each other, was opened." Both the great and the small doors might open at the same time; (Sanchez) or rather the latter would afford a passage, while the great folding doors were shut. (Menochius) --- Perhaps both the doors of the holy place and of the sanctuary were so connected, that both opened together. (Tract. Middot. 4:1.) (Calmet) --- But the sanctuary would never be thus exposed to public view. Protestants, "two leaves of one door were folding," etc. (Haydock) |
| I Kings 6:35 | And he carved cherubims, and palm-trees, and carved work standing very much out: and he overlaid all with golden plates in square work by rule. | And carved, etc. Hebrew, "and open flowers, (as ver. 32) and overlaid them with gold, fitted upon the sculpture;" (Haydock) so that the shape of every thing appeared. |
| I Kings 6:36 | And he built the inner court with three rows of polished stones, and one row of beams of cedar. | Court of the priests. --- Cedar. Some think that the court was surrounded with galleries, supported on three rows of pillars; or one gallery was above another, on pillars of stone, with a third supported by cedar pillars. (Menochius) --- But Josephus takes no notice of these galleries. Others think that the wall of separation consisted only of two rows of stone, with a third of wood, in all three cubits high. (Josephus, [Antiquities?] 8:2.) (Villalpand) --- But the sacred writers seem rather to indicate, that beams of cedar were fixed in the walls, at the distance of three courses of stone, even to the top. This mode of architecture is clearly mentioned, 3 Kings 7:12., 1 Esdras 6:3, 4., and 5:8., and Habacuc 2:11. The ancients admired such a variety, and deemed the building more solid. (Vit. 1:5.) Eupolemus (ap. Eusebius, praep. 9:34.) takes notice, that these beams were fastened together, in the temple, by hooks of copper, weighing each a talent. (Haydock) --- Such was the structure of the inner court. (Calmet) |
| I Kings 6:37 | In the fourth year was the house of the Lord founded, in the month Zio: | |
| I Kings 6:38 | And in the eleventh year, in the month Bul, (which is the eighth month) the house was finished in all the works thereof, and in all the appurtenances thereof: and he was seven years in building it. | Bul, afterwards styled Marchesvan. Pagnin thinks that the former name alludes to "the inundation" of rain, at that season, corresponding with our October and November. Chaldean, "the month of collected fruits." (Menochius) --- Years. Six months are neglected, (see 3 Kings 2:11.) and as many are redundant, 3 Kings 7:1. Odd numbers are often treated in this manner. (Calmet) --- It is wonderful that Solomon could complete this most stupendous structure (Haydock) in so short a time. All Asia was 200 years in building the temple of Diana, at Ephesus, and 400 more in embellishing it. (Pliny, [Natural History?] 36:12.) --- It is reported that 360,000 men were employed for twenty years, to build a pyramid of Egypt; (Calmet) which was designed, perhaps for no other purpose but to shew the pride and magnificence of the king while living, and to contain his ashes after death. Many of the materials for the temple had indeed been collected by David, (1 Paralipomenon xxii.) so that Solomon was enabled to finish it in a much shorter time than his own palace, which took him almost thirteen years to bring to perfection. They were almost contiguous to each other, though built on separate hills. The temple occupied the whole of Moria, which was levelled a great deal, to allow space sufficient for such an amazing structure. It was thus founded upon a rock, as an emblem of the perpetuity of the true religion, which has subsisted from the beginning of the world: as may be seen at large in Dr. Worthington; who, on this occasion, gives a retrospective view of what had taken place in the Jewish state, with respect to this most important subject, during the fourth age, or for the space of the last 480 years. See Douay Bible, p. 701, etc. We may be dispensed from repeating these things after him, as they are already, for the most part, observed in the notes; where the attentive reader cannot fail to remark, that the law of the Old Testament was only a figure of that which all must now embrace. I am not come to destroy, (the law or the prophets) says our Saviour, (Matthew 5:17.) but to fulfil, by accomplishing all the figures and predictions, and by perfecting all that was imperfect, though suitable for the state of mortals in former ages. Children cannot rationally be required to attain, at once, the perfection of manhood. The painter first marks the outlines, which the colouring is calculated to efface, yet so as to render the picture more beautiful. "The cunning Jew" would therefore, in vain, allege the greater antiquity of his religion, as it prefigured and foretold the author and finisher of our faith. And Protestants will act very childishly if they suppose, with Mr. Slack, a Methodist preacher, at Whitby, that this can in any degree enervate the argument of Catholics, who always arraign them before the tribunal of the apostolic ages, in which they confess our bishops, Linus, etc., existed, and were ordained by the apostles themselves. "Setting aside the apostles, Linus, agreeably to the common opinion, was the first bishop of the Roman see, who was ordained before the martyrdom both of Peter and Paul." Campbell, 12 lect., quoted by Mr. Slack; (p. 63) who says that he was the first pope, and of course, that our religion mounts up to the age of the apostles; and, if he thinks to evade this difficulty, by saying, that the Jewish religion was more ancient still, and yet rejected, we may desire him to point out where the Scripture mentions that the religion of Christ was to be rendered more perfect than he left it; as we know from that source, that he was to establish a new law, founded on better promises than those which had been made to the Jew? How will this state of fluctuation, and this relapsing into abominable errors and idolatry, for many hundred years, accord with the promises of Christ? (Matthew xxviii., etc.) (Haydock) --- Building it. The dedication was deferred till the following year, probably on account of the jubilee recurring at that time. (Usher, the year of the world 3000.) (Calmet) --- But this is very uncertain. Salien fixes upon the year 3030, which was not a year of jubilee; and he rather thinks that the delay was occasioned by the vessels, the brazen sea, etc., which had to be brought from the other side of the Jordan. We may also recollect, that the rainy season was set in before the temple was quite finished; so that it would have been very inconvenient for all Israel to assemble at that time. After the dedication, the temple continued to be adorned, till it was destroyed by Nebuchadonoser, (Haydock) in the year 3416, and lay in ruins fifty-two years, when the Jews were authorized by Cyrus to rebuild it. They could not however finish the work, so as to proceed to a fresh dedication, till the reign of Darius Hystaspes, in the year 3489. Herod undertook to rebuild (Button) the greatest part of this second temple, and to adorn it, in the most magnificent manner, in the year 3986. This place was honoured by the presence of the Son of God, who foretold the destruction, which took place within that generation, [in] A.D. 70. (Haydock) |
| I Kings 7:0 | Solomon's palace, his house in the forest, and the queen's house: the work of the two pillars: the sea (or laver) and other vessels. | |
| I Kings 7:1 | And Solomon built his own house in *thirteen years, and brought it to perfection. 3 Kings 6:38.; 3 Kings 9:10. | Year of the World 3000, Year before Christ 1004. Thirteen. He was only twelve years and a half; since he finished both the temple and the palace in 20 years, 3 Kings 9:10. Salien observes that Solomon's house was connected with the queen's, as well as with that part which was styled of the forest of Libanus, for their mutual recreation, the year before Christ 1023. The Roman Septuagint places the 13 first verses at the end, ver. 51. (Haydock) |
| I Kings 7:2 | He built also the house of the forest of Libanus; the length of it was a hundred cubits, and the breadth fifty cubits, and the height thirty cubits: and four galleries between pillars of cedar: for he had cut cedar-trees into pillars. | Libanus. So it was called, on account of the many cedar pillars brought from that mountain; or because many trees and shrubs were planted in the vicinity. (Calmet) --- Libanus might also be seen from it, and refreshing breezes be felt. (Ar.[Arbuthnot?] Mont.[Montanus?]) --- The palace stood on the eastern part of Sion, and to the west of the temple. (Menochius) --- The vale between them had been filled up, at a vast expense, and a sort of bridge erected, which was called Mello. Thus the palace of David, on the west of Sion, and this of Solomon, served to protect the temple, and to keep the citizens in awe. (Salien) --- Sanchez declines giving the dimensions of this palace, as they are not satisfactory. (Menochius) --- Here Solomon resided, and was served in gold, (Calmet) adorning his palace with shields and targets of the same precious metal, 3 Kings 10:16, 21. --- Cubits. The more sacred part of the temple was only 60, 20, and 30 cubits, 3 Kings 6:2. But there were various other appendages and towers. This palace must have been very extensive. --- And four. Hebrew, "upon four rows of cedar pillars, with cedar beams upon the pillars." (Haydock) -- One row of these might be rather pilasters, against the wall; (ver. 3,) so that there would be three covered galleries, before the apartments, each supported on 15 pillars. (Calmet) |
| I Kings 7:3 | And he covered the whole vault with boards of cedar, and it was held up with five and forty pillars. And one row had fifteen pillars, | |
| I Kings 7:4 | Set one against another, | Set, etc. Hebrew, "and windows in three rows, over-against one another; (5) and all the doors and posts square with the windows: and light was against light, in three rows." (Haydock) --- The palace had three stories; but the galleries before it were of equal height with it. |
| I Kings 7:5 | And looking one upon another, with equal space between the pillars, and over the pillars were square beams in all things equal. | |
| I Kings 7:6 | And he made a porch of pillars of fifty cubits in length, and thirty cubits in breadth: and another porch before the greater porch, and pillars, and chapiters upon the pillars. | Porch. Septuagint seem to retain the original word ulam, as they read ailam; whence our hall, and the Latin aula, may be derived. (Haydock) --- It was a court surrounded by pillars and galleries, in front of the palace. (Calmet) --- Another. Hebrew, "the porch before them, (pillars) and the pillars, and the thick beam before them." |
| I Kings 7:7 | He made also the porch of the throne wherein is the seat of judgment; and covered it with cedar-wood from the floor to the top. | Tob. Hebrew, "the other side." (Haydock) --- The eastern princes generally sit before their palace to give judgment; and hence that of the Ottoman emperors is styled the Porte, (Calmet) or "gate." |
| I Kings 7:8 | And in the midst of the porch, was a small house, where he sat in judgment of the like work. He made also a house for the daughter of Pharao (*whom Solomon had taken to wife) of the same work, as this porch; 3 Kings 3:1. | House. In the form of a recess or alcove, at the end of one of the aforesaid porches, and probably in that which was nearer the palace. Guards would be stationed in the other. (Haydock) --- This is the idea which travellers have given us of the palaces in the East. They consist of various apartments, galleries, and courts. Under the outward porch there are guards standing, in a double row; and hence there is a communication with other parts of the house, and with the apartments of the women, which are far removed, and inaccessible to strangers. The women still continue to have separate tents, or apartments; as they had in the days of Sara, Esther, Herodias, etc., Genesis xxiv., Esther 1:11., and Matthew 14:8. (Calmet) --- Pharao. Till it was finished, this lady had lodged in David's palace; though as it was deemed in a manner sacred, on account of the presence of the ark, it was judged expedient to remove her, 2 Paralipomenon 8:11. (Haydock) --- Perhaps she had begun to manifest some signs of a relapse towards idolatry, into which she is supposed chiefly to have induced her husband, 3 Kings 11:4. (Salien) |
| I Kings 7:9 | All of costly stones, which were sawed by a certain rule and measure, both within and without: from the foundation to the top of the walls, and without, unto the great court. | |
| I Kings 7:10 | And the foundations were of costly stones, great stones of ten cubits or eight cubits. | |
| I Kings 7:11 | And above there were costly stones of equal measure hewed, and in like manner planks of cedar. | |
| I Kings 7:12 | And the greater court was made round with three rows of hewed stones, and one row of planks of cedar, which also was observed in the inner court of the house of the Lord, and in the porch of the house. | Cedar, in regular courses with the stones, 3 Kings 6:36. Public places were often made in a circular form, and were thus rendered more beautiful. The palace of Solomon might have enclosed the court in this manner, or there were buildings on all the four sides, made of three courses of fine large stones, with the fourth of cedar beams, till the whole was completed. The ancients built for posterity, as we may perceive from the huge stones, well connected, which still reman in the ruins of Egyptian, Greek, and Roman architecture. |
| I Kings 7:13 | And king Solomon sent, and brought Hiram from Tyre, | |
| I Kings 7:14 | The son of a widow woman, of the tribe of Nephthali, whose father was a Tyrian, an artificer in brass, and full of wisdom, and understanding, and skill to work all work in brass. And when he was come to king Solomon, he wrought all his work. | Nephthali: 2 Paralipomenon 2:14. we read of Dan. But the king of Tyre might be under a mistake, (Sanctius) or he may only insinuate that she lived at the city of that name, in the tribe of Nephthali. (Menochius) --- One of her husbands might be a Danite, (Grotius) though resident at Tyre. --- Father, may also denote a master or officer; in which sense we read in Paralipomenon, My father, Hiram. (Haydock) (St. Jerome, Trad.) (Menochius) --- If the woman married an idolater, it was contrary to the law: (Calmet) though Grotius maintains the contrary, when the free exercise of religion was granted. |
| I Kings 7:15 | And he cast two pillars in brass, each pillar was eighteen cubits high: *and a line of twelve cubits compassed both the pillars. Jeremias 52:21. | Eighteen. Both together are said in Paralipomenon to be 35, as if half a cubit too much had been here assigned, which is not unusual with regard to imperfect numbers, ver. 1. But Jeremias (lii. 21,) agrees with this passage; and the book of Paralipomenon may not have included a cubit of solid metal at the base or plinth. (Cornelius a Lapide) --- The rest was hollow. The chapiters of five cubits, and the bases, which were perhaps as large, are not contained in the 18 cubits, which might otherwise appear to be disproportionate with the circumference of 12 cubits. The Egyptian pillars are sometimes very thick and low; and their temples bear a great resemblance with that of Solomon, than with those of the Greeks and Romans. (Calmet) --- Both. Hebrew, "the second," as if something similar had been observed of the first. (Calmet) --- But Sheni, signifies also "both, either," etc. (Menochius) --- Protestants, "did compass either of them about." (Haydock) --- Circles, at equal distances, adorned these pillars, Exodus 26:32. (Atheneus 5:9.) |
| I Kings 7:16 | He made also two chapiters of molten brass, to be set upon the tops of the pillars: the height of one chapiter was five cubits, and the height of the other chapiter was five cubits: | Five. Comprising all the ornaments. The body was only three cubits, 4 Kings 25:17. If we include the circles, which join it to the pillar, it would be four; ver. 19, and with the rose, and ornaments at the top, five cubits high. Atheneus distinguishes three parts in the Egyptian chapiters; (1) next to the pillar, was seen a circle or wreath of flowers; (2) the stalk, out of which proceeded (3) a rose beginning to open. (Calmet) --- In the passages, which seem to contradict this text, the omission of the cornice or architrave, may cause the difference. (Menochius) |
| I Kings 7:17 | And a kind of net-work, and chain-work wreathed together with wonderful art. Both the chapiters of the pillars were cast: seven rows of nets were on one chapiter, and seven nets on the other chapiter. | |
| I Kings 7:18 | And he made the pillars, and two rows round about each net-work to cover the chapiters, that were upon the top, with pomegranates: and in like manner did he to the other chapiter. | The pillars. This word may have changed places with pomegranates. |
| I Kings 7:19 | And the chapiters that were upon the top of the pillars, were of lily-work, in the porch of four cubits. | Of lily-work, seems also transposed. Calmet would translate, Hebrew, "and he made pomegranates, two rows round each net, to cover the chapiter, which was at the top of the pillar, and in, etc., (19) and the chapiter, which was above the pillars of the court, (or porch) four cubits high. And he made rows of 200 pomegranates, all round, to cover one of the crowns of the pillars, and he did the like for the other crown; (20) and he also made a chapiter, like a rose, (or lily) at the top of the pillars, above, and over-against the body, which was beyond the nets." The rose seemed to grow out of the pillar. The chapiters were not square, but of a circular form. Pelletier supposes that these pillars were of the ancient Doric order. It is certain that all the chapiter was not in the form of a lily, as the Hebrew would now insinuate, but only the top part of it, 3 Kings 5:22. The long addition of one of the crowns, etc., may be unnecessary, if the original signify either; (as [in] ver. 15) "to cover either crown." |
| I Kings 7:20 | And again there were other chapiters on the top of the pillars above, according to the measure of the pillar over-against the net-work: and of pomegranates there were two hundred, in rows round about the other chapiter. | Chapiter, (capitelli secundi.) (Haydock) --- Villalpand thinks this "second chapiter," is rather the cornice, round which the pomegranates hung. (Menochius) --- Septuagint, "and of roses, five rows, all round, upon the second circle." (Haydock) |
| I Kings 7:21 | And he set up the two pillars in the porch of the temple: and when he had set up the pillar on the right hand, he called the name thereof Jachin: in like manner he set up the second pillar, and called the name thereof Booz. | Temple. Against the wall, (Jeremias 52:23,) on each side of the door which leads to the holy place. The pillars might be 28 cubits high, ver. 15. --- Jachin intimated that God "will establish." --- Booz means, "strength is in him." (Calmet) --- Both together might foretel the stability of the temple. "He shall establish in strength." We have already mentioned the conjecture of Houbigant, that these two pillars were erected in honour of some of Solomon's progenitors, though the former be lost in his genealogy, Ruth 4:22. (Haydock) --- Jachin. That is, firmly established. --- Booz. That is, in its strength. By recording these names in holy writ, the Spirit of God would have us understand the invincible firmness and strength of the pillars on which the true temple of God, which is the Church, is established. (Challoner) |
| I Kings 7:22 | And upon the tops of the pillars he made lily-work: so the work of the pillars was finished. | Lily, or rose, as Susan means both. This ornament seems to have been detached from the rest of the chapiter, and one cubit high, ver. 16. (Calmet) |
| I Kings 7:23 | *He made also a molten sea, of ten cubits, from brim to brim, round all about; the height of it was five cubits, and a line of thirty cubits compassed it round about. 2 Paralipomenon 4:2. | Brim, in diameter. The circumference was about 30 cubits; for it is not exactly three [but pi (3.14159...)] times as much as the diameter. (Calmet) --- The latter is [approximately] as 7 to 22, with respect to the circumference. But the Scripture takes no notice of trifles. (Menochius) |
| I Kings 7:24 | And a graven work, under the brim of it, compassed it for ten cubits going about the sea: there were two rows cast of chamfered sculptures. | Ten cubits. All was not therefore ornamented. Protestants, "there were knops compassing it, ten in a cubit....the knops were cast in two rows, when it was cast." (Haydock) --- The signification of Pekahim is not ascertained, whether it be "apples, balls," etc., or perhaps a corrupt word for Bokrim, "oxen," or "ox heads;" as 2 Paralipomenon 4:3, clearly explains it. (Calmet) --- There also it is insinuated, that the carvings commenced only towards the bottom, where the circumference was reduced to 10 cubits. (Menochius) |
| I Kings 7:25 | And it stood upon twelve oxen, of which three looked towards the north, and three towards the west, and three towards the south, and three towards the east: and the sea was above upon them, and their hinder parts were all hid within. | Oxen. Josephus and the Jews would condemn Solomon for making these figures; but it is clear that his present was acceptable to God, as well as his person. (Calmet) --- Within. The oxen were of solid brass, to support such a weight. (Menochius) --- Some think that the water was discharged through their mouths. But Pelletier believes that there were cocks placed between each of the four divisions of oxen, which let water into a basin below, in which the priests might purify themselves. He supposes also that the vessel was double; the cup would contain 2000 baths, and the foot or basin another 1000, by which means he would reconcile this book with that of Chronicles. (Melanges, T. 1:p. 115.) |
| I Kings 7:26 | And the laver was a handbreadth thick: and the brim thereof was like the brim of a cup, or the leaf of a crisped lily: it contained two thousand bates. | Two thousand bates. That is, about ten thousand gallons. This was the quantity of water which was usually put into it: but it was capable, if brim-full, of holding three thousand. See 2 Paralipomenon 4:5, 7. (Challoner) --- The batus contained about five gallons. (Worthington) --- Some imagine, without grounds, (Calmet) that the measure in Paralipomenon was of a less capacity. (Vallalpand) (Cornelius a Lapide) --- The smaller is called metreta, "measure," after the Greek, as it had no proper name. (Salien) --- Instead of a hand's breadth, it is literally, "three ounces," or the fourth part of a Roman foot; which is equivalent to four fingers' (Haydock) breadth, or a "hand's breadth," as the Hebrew tophach implies, or a little above three inches. --- Crisped, or "full-blown lily." The Chaldean supposes it was thus ornamented. Hebrew, "with flowers of lilies," (Calmet) or "roses," Shoshan. (Haydock) |
| I Kings 7:27 | And he made ten bases of brass, every base was four cubits in length, and four cubits in breadth, and three cubits high. | Bases. These were designed to wash the victims. (Pelletier) |
| I Kings 7:28 | And the work itself of the bases, was intergraven: and there were gravings between the joinings. | And. Hebrew is very obscure in this and the following verse. Indeed interpreters are so little agreed about the precise signification of some of the terms, that it is not necessary to repeat their sentiments. |
| I Kings 7:29 | And between the little crowns and the ledges, were lions, and oxen, and cherubims: and in the joinings likewise above: and under the lions and oxen, as it were bands of brass hanging down. | |
| I Kings 7:30 | And every base had four wheels, and axle-trees of brass: and at the four sides were undersetters, under the laver molten, looking one against another. | |
| I Kings 7:31 | The mouth also of the laver within, was in the top of the chapiter: and that which appeared without, was of one cubit all round, and together it was one cubit and a half: and in the corners of the pillars were divers engravings: and the spaces between the pillars were square, not round. | |
| I Kings 7:32 | And the four wheels, which were at the four corners of the base, were joined one to another under the base: the height of a wheel was a cubit and a half. | Joined. Yet not so as to be immovable. (Calmet) |
| I Kings 7:33 | And they were such wheels as are used to be made in a chariot: and their axle-trees, and spokes, and strakes, and naves, were all cast. | |
| I Kings 7:34 | And the four undersetters, that were at every corner of each base, were of the base itself, cast and joined together. | |
| I Kings 7:35 | And in the top of the base, there was a round compass of half a cubit, so wrought that the laver might be set thereon, having its gravings, and divers sculptures of itself. | |
| I Kings 7:36 | He engraved also in those plates, which were of brass, and in the corners, cherubims, and lions, and palm-trees, in likeness of a man standing, so that they seemed not to be engraven, but added round about. | Palm-trees were not expressed, ver. 29. All was in relievo, and represented in its natural posture. (Calmet) --- About. One would have taken them to be alive, they were so well executed. Hebrew, "according to the proportion of every one, and added round about," (Haydock) projecting. (Menochius) |
| I Kings 7:37 | After this manner, he made ten bases, of one casting and measure, and the like graving. | |
| I Kings 7:38 | He made also ten lavers of brass: one laver contained four bates, and was of four cubits: and upon every base, in all ten, he put as many lavers. | |
| I Kings 7:39 | And he set the ten bases, five on the right side of the temple, and five on the left: and the sea he put on the right side of the temple, over-against the east, southward. | Right side, to the south, between the temple and the altar of holocausts. --- Sea. It was the most towards the east, of the five basins, (Calmet) or near the eastern gate of the priests' court, standing to the south of the entrance, that they might purify themselves. (Menochius) --- St. Justin Martyr (apology ii.) observes that the pagans imitated this custom. But this ought not to hinder Christians from employing a thing which is innocent in itself, and calculated to make them aspire to the greatest purity, when they approach to God. (Haydock) Spargit et ipse suos lauro rorante capillos Incipit et solita fundere voce preces. (Ovid, Fast. v.) |
| I Kings 7:40 | And Hiram made cauldrons, and shovels, and basins, and finished all the work of king Solomon in the temple of the Lord. | Shovels. Scutras may also signify "cauldrons," from their resemblance with a shield. These terms occur [in] Exodus 27:3., (Calmet) and are there properly translated, shovels, etc. (Haydock) --- The Jews say there were always, at least, three things of the same species, that one might be ready in case another was defiled. |
| I Kings 7:41 | The two pillars and the two cords of the chapiters, upon the chapiters of the pillars: and the two net-works, to cover the two cords, that were upon the top of the pillars. | Cords: no mention of these had been made before. The same terms are frequently expressed in a different manner, ver. 15, to 20. Hebrew, "the two pillars and the chapiters round, (Calmet) which were on the top of the pillars and the two nets to cover the two bowls of (or the two circular) chapiters," etc. (Haydock) |
| I Kings 7:42 | And four hundred pomegranates for the two net-works: two rows of pomegranates for each net-work, to cover the cords of the chapiters, which were upon the tops of the pillars. | |
| I Kings 7:43 | And the ten bases, and the ten lavers on the bases. | |
| I Kings 7:44 | And one sea, and twelve oxen under the sea. | |
| I Kings 7:45 | And the cauldrons, and the shovels, and the basins. All the vessels that Hiram made for king Solomon, for the house of the Lord, were of fine brass. | Fine brass (aurichalco.) Some pretended that gold was mixed with this sort of brass. But Pliny ([Natural History?] 34:2.) informs us that it came out of the mines, without dross. --- Hebrew, "polished (or refined) brass." (Calmet) --- It might resemble the Corinthian brass. (Menochius) |
| I Kings 7:46 | In the plains of the Jordan, did the king cast them in a clay ground, between Socoth and Sarthan. | Sarthan. This place was on the west, and Socoth on the east of the Jordan, near Bethsan, 3 Kings 4:12. (Calmet) --- Josue 3:16. (Haydock) --- Adrichomius places both on the east, in the tribe of Gad. (Menochius) |
| I Kings 7:47 | And Solomon placed all the vessels: but for exceeding great multitude the brass could not be weighed. | Weighed. It was deemed unnecessary, and too troublesome. (Haydock) --- Hebrew, "And Solomon would not have all the vessels weighed," on account of the too great number: "the weight of the brass was not discovered." (Vatable) |
| I Kings 7:48 | And Solomon made all the vessels for the house of the Lord: the altar of gold, and the table of gold, upon which the leaves of proposition should be set: | Altar, not that on which the ark was placed, (chap. 6:20.; Calmet) though some are of that opinion; (Menochius, etc.) but perhaps the altar of incense. The one which Moses had made was probably too small, (Calmet) and reposited in the treasury. (Rabbins) --- Table. In 1 Paralipomenon 4:8., we find ten specified, one between each candlestick, in the holy place. Josephus ([Antiquities?] 8:2.) mentions an incredible number of gold and silver utensils, which are not found in Scripture; and the Rabbins are not sparing in miracles, to promote a respect for the temple. No venomous creature, they say, was ever seen in Jerusalem; nor did man seek for lodgings in vain, etc. The priests were so numerous, that the same person had never to offer the perpetual sacrifice or incense twice in his life. No one durst spit in the temple, nor turn his back on the altar, etc. (Calmet) |
| I Kings 7:49 | And the golden candlesticks, five on the right hand, and five on the left, over-against the oracle, of pure gold: and the flowers like lilies, and the lamps over them of gold: and golden snuffers, | |
| I Kings 7:50 | And pots, and flesh-hooks, and bowls, and mortars, and censers, of most pure gold: and the hinges for the doors of the inner house of the holy of holies, and for the doors of the house of the temple, were of gold. | |
| I Kings 7:51 | *And Solomon finished all the work that he made in the house of the Lord, and brought in the things that David, his father, had dedicated, the silver and the gold, and the vessels, and laid them up in the treasures of the house of the Lord. 2 Paralipomenon 5:1. | Dedicated. Literally, "sanctified," (Haydock) or set apart. (Worthington) --- Gold, unwrought. (Menochius) |
| I Kings 8:0 | The dedication of the temple: Solomon's prayer and sacrifices. | |
| I Kings 8:1 | Then* all the ancients of Israel, with the princes of the tribes, and the heads of the families of the children of Israel, were assembled to king Solomon, in Jerusalem: that they might carry the ark of the covenant of the Lord, out of the city of David, that is, out of Sion. 9: Exodus 34:27.; Hebrews 9:4. | Year of the World 3001, Year before Christ 1003.; 2 Paralipomenon v. |
| I Kings 8:2 | And all Israel assembled themselves to king Solomon, on the festival day, in the month of Ethanim, the same is the seventh month. | Ethanim was afterwards called Tisri. (Haydock) --- Usher places the dedication on Friday, 30th October, the 8th of the seventh month. The people continued at Jerusalem till the 23rd. The feast of expiation fell on the 10th, (Haydock) during the octave of the dedication. After this, the feast of tabernacles commenced on the 15th, for other seven days. This was the year of jubilee; and Solomon had waited on purpose, that the people might have more leisure to attend on such a solemn occasion. (Calmet) --- But on this we cannot rely. There might be other reasons for the delay; (See 3 Kings 6:38.) and one of the chief might be, a desire to perform this ceremony in the seventh or sabbatical month, which was honoured with more festivals than any other. It had just elapsed, before the temple was finished, in the preceding year. (Haydock) |
| I Kings 8:3 | And all the ancients of Israel came, and the priests took up the ark, | Priests, who were also Levites, as it is expressed in 2 Paralipomenon 5:4. Perhaps the ark was uncovered, (Calmet) as the Caathites carried it when folded up. (Haydock) |
| I Kings 8:4 | And carried the ark of the Lord, and the tabernacle of the covenant, and all the vessels of the sanctuary, that were in the tabernacle: and the priests and the Levites carried them. | Ark, from the city of David, along with the tabernacle, (Salien) which had been made for it in the palace, ver. 1. They also (Haydock) brought the Mosaic tabernacle from Gaboan, (Calmet; Josephus, etc.) and reposited both (Haydock) in the treasury of the temple, as they were now of no other service. Jeremias was authorized to take the ark, the tabernacle, and the altar of incense, in order to prevent their falling into the hands of the Chaldeans. He placed them in a cave, where they have never, perhaps, been discovered, 2 Machabees 2:4. |
| I Kings 8:5 | And king Solomon, and all the multitude of Israel, that were assembled unto him, went with him before the ark, and they sacrificed sheep and oxen, that could not be counted or numbered. | Sacrificed, by the hands of the priests, (Menochius) or at least (Haydock) gave them the blood to offer upon the altars, which were placed at six paces from one another, in imitation of David, 2 Kings 6:13. (Calmet) --- Could not. See 3 Kings 7:47. |
| I Kings 8:6 | And the priests brought in the ark of the covenant of the Lord into its place, into the oracle of the temple, into the holy of holies, under the wings of the cherubims. | Wings. These covered the smaller cherubim, upon the ark. (Haydock) (Chap. 6:23, 27.) --- They formed a sort of throne, with their wings extended, from one side of the building to the other, (Calmet) twenty cubits long. (Haydock) |
| I Kings 8:7 | For the cherubims spread forth their wings over the place of the ark, and covered the ark, and the staves thereof above. | |
| I Kings 8:8 | And whereas the staves stood out, the ends of them were seen without, in the sanctuary before the oracle, but were not seen farther out, and there they have been unto this day. | Out. In the days of Moses, these staves had touched the veil of the tabernacle: but now, as the place for the ark was twice as large, they were no longer perceived; though they remained in the holes prepared for them by Moses, till the author wrote; which must have been before the captivity. Unless we thus distinguish the times, the Hebrew contains a palpable contradiction. (Calmet) --- "They drew out (or lengthened) the staves, and the heads....were seen out in the holy place....and they were not seen out." (Haydock) --- To a person standing at a small distance, they were not visible, though they rather touched the veil, 2 Paralipomenon 5:9. (Menochius) |
| I Kings 8:9 | Now in the ark there was nothing else *but the two tables of stone, which Moses put there at Horeb, when the Lord made a covenant with the children of Israel, when they came out of the land of Egypt. | Nothing else, etc. There was nothing else but the tables of the law within the ark. But on the outside of the ark, or near the ark, were also the rod of Aaron, and a golden urn with manna, Hebrews 9:4. (Challoner) (Worthington) --- These might have been in the ark while it was not fixed: but after the temple was built, all but the tables were placed in the treasury; where, we find, the book of the law was discovered, under Joas, Deuteronomy 31:26., and 2 Paralipomenon 34:14. Others think that, in the days of St. Paul, the rod, etc., might have been reposited in the ark, though they had not been admitted at the time when this book was written. (Bellarmine, etc.) --- But we have no assurance that the ark was ever placed in the second temple; and Josephus informs us, that when the Romans destroyed the temple, "there was nothing at all" in the sanctuary. (Calmet) --- In area might easily signify ad, or juxta arcam, "near the ark." (Salien) |
| I Kings 8:10 | And it came to pass, when the priests were come out of the sanctuary, that a cloud filled the house of the Lord, | |
| I Kings 8:11 | And the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud: for the glory of the Lord had filled the house of the Lord. | |
| I Kings 8:12 | Then Solomon said: *The Lord said that he would dwell in a cloud. 2 Paralipomenon 6:1. | Cloud. He alludes to Leviticus 16:2. (Menochius) --- God had so frequently appeared in this manner, that Solomon was authorized to consider it as the symbol of his presence, Exodus 14:19., 24:16., and 40:32., and Psalm 17:12. This luminous cloud filled the whole temple, to convince all that the Lord was pleased with the devotion of the king, and of his people. (Calmet) |
| I Kings 8:13 | Building, I have built a house for thy dwelling, to be thy most firm throne for ever. | Ever. He seems to contrast this solid and glittering fabric with the cloud, (Menochius) as, in some sort, more worthy of God's presence. (Haydock) |
| I Kings 8:14 | And the king turned his face, and blessed all the assembly of Israel: for all the assembly of Israel stood. | Stood. It is pretended that the king alone was allowed to sit. (Calmet) --- But here Solomon stood, upon an eminence made of brass, 2 Paralipomenon 6:13. (Haydock) --- He pronounced the blessing, (part of which is given, ver. 15-22) with his face turned towards the people, as he was also in the court of Israel. Then turning himself to the altar (Calmet) of holocausts, (Menochius) with his hands uplifted, he began to pray, ver. 23, to 54. See Exodus 39:43., and 2 Kings 6:18., where Moses and David blessed the people, on similar occasions. (Calmet) --- Thus the priests of the Catholic Church turn to the people, when they bless or speak to them; and look towards the altar, when they pour forth their supplications for them to God. Sectaries would always behold the face of the preacher. (Haydock) --- Blessed. Princes bless their subjects, as parents do their children. (Worthington) |
| I Kings 8:15 | And Solomon said: Blessed be the Lord the God of Israel, who spoke with his mouth to David, my father, and with his own hands hath accomplished it, saying: | Own hands, or almighty power, (Menochius) hath fulfilled his promise. (Haydock) |
| I Kings 8:16 | Since the day that I brought my people Israel, out of Egypt, I chose no city out of all the tribes of Israel, for a house to be built, that my name might be there: but I chose David to be over my people Israel. | |
| I Kings 8:17 | *And David, my father, would have built a house to the name of the Lord, the God of Israel: 2 Kings 7:5. | |
| I Kings 8:18 | And the Lord said to David, my father: Whereas thou hast thought in thy heart to build a house to my name, thou hast done well in having this same thing in thy mind. | |
| I Kings 8:19 | Nevertheless, thou shalt not build me a house, but thy son, that shall come forth out of thy loins, he shall build a house to my name. | |
| I Kings 8:20 | The Lord hath performed his word which he spoke: and I stand in the room of David, my father, and sit upon the throne of Israel, as the Lord promised: and have built a house to the name of the Lord, the God of Israel. | |
| I Kings 8:21 | And I have set there a place for the ark, wherein is the covenant of the Lord, which he made with our fathers, when they came out of the land of Egypt. | |
| I Kings 8:22 | And Solomon stood before the altar of the Lord, in the sight of the assembly of Israel, and spread forth his hands towards heaven, | Heaven, falling on his knees, ver. 54., and 2 Paralipomenon 6:13. This is the first instance we find of people praying on their knees, which was common afterwards, 1 Esdras 9:5., Isaias 45:24., Daniel 6:10., and Acts 9:40., and 20:36. The Christian church generally adopts this custom. So did the pagans, (Et genibus pronus, supplex, similisque roganti.; Metam. iii.) as they also stretched for their hands. Sustulit exutas vinclis ad sidera palmas, says Virgil. (Aeneid 2:153.) This practice was very general, Psalm 27:2., and 1 Timothy 2:8. |
| I Kings 8:23 | And said: Lord God of Israel, there is no God like thee, in heaven above, or on earth beneath: who keepest covenant and mercy with thy servants, that have walked before thee with all their heart: | |
| I Kings 8:24 | Who hast kept with thy servant David, my father, what thou hast promised him: with thy mouth thou didst speak, and with thy hands thou hast performed, as this day proveth. | |
| I Kings 8:25 | Now, therefore, O Lord God of Israel, keep with thy servant David, my father, what thou hast spoken to him, saying: *There shall not be taken away of thee a man in my sight, to sit on the throne of Israel: yet so that thy children take heed to their way, that they walk before me as thou hast walked in my sight. 2 Kings 7:12. | Sight. Solomon was aware of the conditions on which he held his crown and the divine favour, so that his fall is the more inexcusable. (Haydock) --- His posterity lost a great part of the kingdom, though they had the right to rule over Juda, till the coming of Christ. (Worthington) |
| I Kings 8:26 | And now, Lord God of Israel, let thy words be established, which thou hast spoken to thy servant David, my father. | |
| I Kings 8:27 | Is it then to be thought that God should indeed dwell upon earth? for if heaven, and the heavens of heavens, cannot contain thee, how much less this house which I have built? | Earth. Full of admiration, he breaks out into this pathetic exclamation, wondering that God should deign to accept of what he had done; and that, by the symbol of his presence, he should engage to honour this temple in a more particular manner, and to shower down his graces with a more liberal hand on those who should there present themselves before him.. This wise prince was not ignorant that God's immensity fills all places. --- Heavens. We know not how many haveans the Jews admitted. We find, 1. the air, 2. the region of the stars, 3. the residence of God, thus specified; and this last is here denoted as the most excellent of all. St. Paul styles it the third heaven, 2 Corinthians 12:2. The Basilidians counted as many heavens as there are days in the year. (St. Irenaeus 1:23.) |
| I Kings 8:28 | But have regard to the prayer of thy servant, and to his supplications, O Lord, my God: hear the hymn and the prayer, which thy servant prayeth before thee this day: | |
| I Kings 8:29 | That thy eyes may be open upon this house, night and day: upon the house of which thou hast said: *My name shall be there: that thou mayst hearken to the prayer which thy servant prayeth, in this place to thee: Deuteronomy 12:11. | My name. It shall be called the house of God. (Haydock) --- There people shall come to do homage to the Lord. (Calmet) |
| I Kings 8:30 | That thou mayst hearken to the supplication of thy servant, and of thy people Israel, whatsoever they shall pray for in this place, and hear them in the place of thy dwelling in heaven; and when thou hearest, shew them mercy. | |
| I Kings 8:31 | If any man trespass against his neighbour, and have an oath upon him, wherewith he is bound, and come, because of the oath, before thy altar, to thy house, | Oath. In certain cases, an oath would clear a person, Exodus 22:11. Solomon prays that perjury may be disclosed. --- Altar. It was customary to touch the altar, when a person took an oath, as Hannibal did. K. Latinus says; Tango aras mediosque ignes et Numina testor--- Nulla dies pacem hanc Italis nec foedera rumpet. (Virgil, Aeneid 12:201.) |
| I Kings 8:32 | Then hear thou in heaven: and do and judge thy servants, condemning the wicked, and bringing his way upon his own head, and justifying the just, and rewarding him according to his justice. | Justice. A reward is clearly promised to good works. (Worthington) |
| I Kings 8:33 | If thy people Israel shall fly before their enemies (because they will sin against thee) and doing penance, and confessing to thy name, shall come and pray, and make supplications to thee in this house: | |
| I Kings 8:34 | Then hear thou in heaven, and forgive the sin of thy people Israel, and bring them back to the land which thou gavest to their fathers. | Fathers. In the place of their captivity they might turn, like Daniel, towards the temple. (Calmet) --- God had threatened that he would punish his people by the hand of their enemies, etc., if they transgressed, Leviticus 26:17. (Menochius) |
| I Kings 8:35 | If heaven shall be shut up, and there shall be no rain, because of their sins, and they, praying in this place, shall do penance to thy name, and shall be converted from their sins, by occasion of their afflictions: | |
| I Kings 8:36 | Then hear thou them in heaven, and forgive the sins of thy servants, and of thy people Israel: and shew them the good way wherein they should walk, and give rain upon thy land, which thou hast given to thy people in possession. | |
| I Kings 8:37 | If a famine arise in the land, or a pestilence, or corrupt air, or blasting, or locust, or mildew; if their enemy afflict them, besieging the gates, whatsoever plague, whatsoever infirmity, | Mildew. Hebrew also, "a bruchus," or a young locust. Protestants, "caterpillar." |
| I Kings 8:38 | Whatsoever curse or imprecation shall happen to any man of thy people Israel: when a man shall know the wound of his own heart, and shall spread forth his hands in this house; | Heart: his offence. Septuagint aphen, "touching, or compunction." (Haydock) --- Let a man go to the source of the evil, and be sorry for his sins. (Calmet) |
| I Kings 8:39 | Then hear thou in heaven, in the place of thy dwelling, and forgive, and do so as to give to every one according to his ways, as thou shalt see his heart (for thou only knowest the heart of all the children of men) | Men. God cannot be imposed upon. If our heart be not moved with sorrow for our offences, including a degree of love, in vain shall we stretch forth our hands in prayer. (Calmet) |
| I Kings 8:40 | That they may fear thee all the days that they live upon the face of the land, which thou hast given to our fathers. | |
| I Kings 8:41 | Moreover also the stranger, who is not of thy people Israel, when he shall come out of a far country for thy name's sake, (for they shall hear every where of thy great name, and thy mighty hand, | Stranger. God watches over all mankind; and oblations were received from all sorts of people, even from idolaters. The kings of Persia and Egypt, the Roman emperors, etc., made great presents, 1 Esdras 3:7., and 7:21. (Josephus, [Antiquities?] xi., and 12:2.) It seems the court of the Gentiles was only made after the captivity. Some of these adored the true God, like Cornelius, etc., Acts 8:27., and 10:1. Some were drawn by curiosity; others desired to be converted. To thee, kings shall offer presents, Psalm 71:10. (Calmet) --- Unbelievers are still invited to attend the chapels of the true God, that they may receive information, and deserve to obtain the blessing of faith. (Haydock) |
| I Kings 8:42 | And thy stretched out arm) so when he shall come, and shall pray in this place, | |
| I Kings 8:43 | Then hear thou in heaven, in the firmament of thy dwelling-place, and do all those things, for which that stranger shall call upon thee: that all the people of the earth may learn to fear thy name, as do thy people Israel, and may prove that thy name is called upon on this house, which I have built. | |
| I Kings 8:44 | If thy people go out to war against their enemies, by what way soever thou shalt send them, they shall pray to thee towards the way of the city, which thou hast chosen, and towards the house, which I have built to thy name: | Name. It was the practice of the religious Jews, to pray with their eyes turned towards the holy place, ver. 48. The primitive Christians looked towards the east, in prayer, to remind them of the ascension of our Saviour, (Calmet) from Mount Olivet, in that quarter. (Haydock) (Psalm 67:34.) (St. Just.[Justin Martyr?] q. 118.; Tertullian, apol. xvi.; St. Epiphanius, haer. xix.) (Calmet) |
| I Kings 8:45 | And then hear thou in heaven their prayers, and their supplications, and do judgment for them. | |
| I Kings 8:46 | But if they sin against thee, (*for there is no man who sinneth not) and thou being angry, deliver them up to their enemies, so that they be led away captives into the land of their enemies, far or near; 2 Paralipomenon 6:36.; Ecclesiastes 7:21.; 1 John 1:8. | |
| I Kings 8:47 | Then if they do penance in their heart, in the place of captivity, and being converted, make supplication to thee in their captivity, saying: We have sinned, we have done unjustly, we have committed wickedness: | Heart. Without this, external repentance will not suffice. (Worthington) |
| I Kings 8:48 | And return to thee with all their heart, and all their soul, in the land of their enemies, to which they had been led captives: and pray to thee towards the way of their land, which thou gavest to their fathers, and of the city which thou hast chosen, and of the temple which I have built to thy name: | |
| I Kings 8:49 | Then hear thou in heaven, in the firmament of thy throne, their prayers, and their supplications, and do judgment for them: | |
| I Kings 8:50 | And forgive thy people, that have sinned against thee, and all their iniquities, by which they have transgressed against thee: and give them mercy before them that have made them captives, that they may have compassion on them. | |
| I Kings 8:51 | For they are thy people, and thy inheritance, whom thou hast brought out of the land of Egypt, from the midst of the furnace of iron. | Iron. This expression is often used to denote the rigour of the Egyptian bondage, Deuteronomy 4:20. Thus Homer says, that Mars was shut up for thirteen months in a barrel (or prison) of brass. (Iliad E.) |
| I Kings 8:52 | That thy eyes may be open to the supplication of thy servant, and of thy people Israel, to hear them in all things for which they shall call upon thee. | |
| I Kings 8:53 | For thou hast separated them to thyself for an inheritance, from amongst all the people of the earth, as thou hast spoken by Moses, thy servant, when thou broughtest our fathers out of Egypt, O Lord God. | |
| I Kings 8:54 | And it came to pass, when Solomon had made an end of praying all this prayer and supplication to the Lord, that he rose from before the altar of the Lord: for he had fixed both knees on the ground, and had spread his hands towards heaven. | |
| I Kings 8:55 | And he stood, and blessed all the assembly of Israel with a loud voice, saying: | |
| I Kings 8:56 | Blessed be the Lord, who hath given rest to his people Israel, according to all that he promised: there hath not failed so much as one word of all the good things that he promised by his servant Moses. | |
| I Kings 8:57 | The Lord our God be with us, as he was with our fathers, and not leave us, nor cast us off: | |
| I Kings 8:58 | But may he incline our hearts to himself, that we may walk in all his ways, and keep his commandments, and his ceremonies, and all his judgments, which he commanded our fathers. | |
| I Kings 8:59 | And let these my words, wherewith I have prayed before the Lord, be nigh unto the Lord our God day and night, that he may do judgment for his servant, and for his people Israel, day by day: | Judgment, granting his just request, and defending him against all his enemies. (Calmet) |
| I Kings 8:60 | That all the people of the earth may know, that the Lord he is God, and there is no other besides him. | |
| I Kings 8:61 | Let our hearts also be perfect with the Lord our God, that we may walk in his statutes, and keep his commandments, as at this day. | |
| I Kings 8:62 | And the king, and all Israel him, offered victims before the Lord. | |
| I Kings 8:63 | And Solomon slew victims of peace-offerings, which he sacrificed to the Lord, two and twenty thousand oxen, and a hundred and twenty thousand sheep: so the king, and all the children of Israel, dedicated the temple of the Lord. | Sheep, and other small beasts, during the seven days, without counting the oblations of individuals. The law had not prescribed any particular rites for the dedication of places. But common sense dictated that sacred things should be distinguished from such as were common. Moses and David had set a pattern, which was followed by the Jews after the captivity, and by the Machabees, Exodus 40:9., 1 Kings 6:17., 1 Esdras 3:10., and 1 Machabees 4:56. (Calmet) --- The festival of the dedication was observed by our Saviour, John 10:22. (Haydock) --- Even private houses received a sort of dedication, Deuteronomy 20:5. The pagans observed the like practice, with regard to statues and temples, lands and public places, Daniel 3:1. Among the Romans, such ceremonies were performed by a general or consul, with his head covered, reciting some ancient prayers, at the suggestion of the pontiff, before a fire and an assembly of the people, called on purpose, while some person played upon the flute. (Cicero, pro Domo. Alex. Genial. 6:14.) |
| I Kings 8:64 | In that day the king sanctified the middle of the court, that was before the house of the Lord; for there he offered the holocaust, and sacrifice, and the fat of the peace-offerings: because the brazen altar that was before the Lord, was too little to receive the holocaust, and sacrifice, and the fat of the peace-offerings. | Court of the priests. An altar was there erected, in haste. Fire from heaven came to consume the victims, 2 Paralipomenon 7:1. (Calmet) |
| I Kings 8:65 | And Solomon made at the same time a solemn feast, and all Israel with him, a great multitude, from the entrance of Emath to the river of Egypt, before the Lord our God, seven days and seven days, that is, fourteen days. | Egypt. Rhinocolura, (Menochius) or rather the branch of the Nile nearest to Arabia, Josue 13:3., and Numbers 13:22. (Calmet) --- Seven, for each festival, ver. 1. |
| I Kings 8:66 | And on the eighth day, he sent away the people: and they blessed the king, and went to their dwellings, rejoicing, and glad in heart, for all the good things that the Lord had done for David, his servant, and for Israel, his people. | Eighth day, at the conclusion of the second octave. (Haydock) --- Blessed the king, as he had done them before. The most honourable performs this office, Hebrew 7:7. (Calmet) --- The king and people wished all sorts of happiness to each other. --- David. The glory of his son reflected honour on him. (Haydock) |
| I Kings 9:0 | The Lord appeareth again to Solomon: he buildeth cities: he sendeth a fleet to Ophir. | |
| I Kings 9:1 | And it came to pass when Solomon had finished the building of the house of the Lord, and the king's house, and all that he desired and was pleased to do, | Do, regarding those buildings, Paralipomenon. (Menochius) |
| I Kings 9:2 | That the Lord appeared to him the second time, *as he had appeared to him in Gabaon. 3 Kings 3:5.; 2 Paralipomenon 7:12. | Gabaon; that is, "during the night," 2 Paralipomenon 7:12. God had spoken to Solomon, by a prophet, while he was building the temple; (chap. 6:11.; Haydock) unless that passage relate to the same time as that which is here recorded more in detail, and took place in the night, after Solomon had poured forth his most solemn prayer. (Calmet) --- Others think that God deferred answering his petition for thirteen years, till Solomon was on the point of falling off from the observance of piety, that so he might be restrained more effectually. (Salien, the year before Christ 1011.) --- Fire from heaven had sufficiently signified that his former request had been granted. (Menochius) --- The context shews that the admonition was not sent till the palace was finished, (ver. 1, and 10.) in the 23rd year of Solomon. (Salien) |
| I Kings 9:3 | And the Lord said to him: I have heard thy prayer and thy supplication, which thou hast made before me: I have sanctified this house, which thou hast built, to put my name there for ever; and my eyes, and my heart, shall be there always. | |
| I Kings 9:4 | And if thou wilt walk before me, as thy father walked, in simplicity of heart, and in uprightness: and wilt do all that I have commanded thee, and wilt keep my ordinances, and my judgments, | Simplicity of heart. That is, in the sincerity and integrity of a single heart, as opposite to all double-dealing and deceit. (Challoner) --- External worship alone will not be acceptable. (Worthington) --- "God is worshipped by faith, hope, and charity." (St. Augustine, Ench. iii.) |
| I Kings 9:5 | *I will establish the throne of thy kingdom over Israel for ever, as I promised David, thy father, saying: There shall not fail a man of thy race upon the throne of Israel. 2 Kings 7:12-16. | |
| I Kings 9:6 | But if you and your children, revolting, shall turn away from following me, and will not keep my commandments, and my ceremonies, which I have set before you, but will go and worship strange gods, and adore them: | But if. This threat had been denounced by Moses, (Deuteronomy 29:24.) and was repeated by Jeremias, (xxii. 8.) when it was on the point of being put in execution. (Menochius) |
| I Kings 9:7 | I will take away Israel from the face of the land which I have given them; and the temple which I have sanctified to my name, I will cast out of my sight; and Israel shall be a proverb, and a by-word among all people. | Take away, by death or exile. (Haydock) --- Sight. God is disposed to grant favours to those who approach his temples with piety. If they indulge their passions, he will suffer these holy places to be profaned, as a dreadful warning of his displeasure. The Jews enjoyed prosperity while they continued faithful. On their revolt, the ark was taken, the temple pillaged by Sesac, burnt by Nabuchodonosor, profaned by Antiochus, and destroyed by the Romans. (Calmet) |
| I Kings 9:8 | And this house shall be made an example of: every one that shall pass by it, shall be astonished, and shall hiss, and say: *Why hath the Lord done thus to this land, and to this house? Deuteronomy 29:24.; Jeremias 22:8. | Example. Hebrew, "at this house, on high," (or dedicated "to the most high;" Paralipomenon) "every," etc. (Haydock) --- It shall be treated with no more regard than the high places of idols. (Calmet) --- Though at present so much exalted, it shall be reduced to a heap of ruins, (Vatable) and destroyed. (Challoner) |
| I Kings 9:9 | And they shall answer: Because they forsook the Lord their God, who brought their fathers out of the land of Egypt, and followed strange gods, and adored them, and worshipped them: therefore hath the Lord brought upon them all this evil. | |
| I Kings 9:10 | *And when twenty years were ended, after Solomon had built the two houses; that is, the house of the Lord, and the house of the king, 2 Paralipomenon 8:1. | |
| I Kings 9:11 | (Hiram, the king of Tyre, furnishing Solomon with cedar-trees and fir-trees, and gold, according to all he had need of) then Solomon gave Hiram twenty cities in the land of Galilee. | Galilee, the higher, which was nearer to the sea and the confines of Tyre; (Menochius) or rather the lower Galilee lay in this direction. (Calmet) --- This was not a part of the country allotted to Israel, (Josue 19:27.) but had been conquered: as Hiram gave the cities back, 2 Paralipomenon 8:2. Solomon caused them to be rebuilt, and peopled by the Israelites. (Grotius) --- If they had formed a part of his dominions before, he would not have had to send a colony thither. (Calmet) --- Others think that he only ceded that country for a time to Hiram, till he should be indemnified. (Abulensis) (Tostat) (Menochius) (Tirinus) (Worthington) --- The country belonged to the Lord, (Leviticus 25:13.) and could not be given away by the prince. In case it had been occupied by strangers, Solomon would have taken care that the Israelites should have the free exercise of their religion. But as Hiram rejected his offer, he would make him recompense by some other means; (Calmet) in ready money, ver. 14. (Josephus) (Tirinus) |
| I Kings 9:12 | And Hiram came out of Tyre, to see the towns which Solomon had given him, and they pleased him not; | |
| I Kings 9:13 | And he said: Are these the cities which thou hast given me, brother? And he called them the land of Chabul, unto this day. | Brother. By this title the eastern kings addressed each other, 3 Kings 20:32., and 1 Machabees 10:18., and 11:30. Solomon and Hiram always lived on good terms. (Calmet) --- Chabul: that is, dirty or displeasing. (Challoner) --- The latter signification is given by Josephus, from the Phoenician language. (Haydock) --- The real meaning is uncertain. Some with the last mentioned author, place these cities in the vicinity of Tyre, south of Ptolemais, which is most probable; though St. Jerome says they were in the land of Basan, beyond the Jordan. (Calmet) |
| I Kings 9:14 | And Hiram sent to king Solomon a hundred and twenty talents of gold. | |
| I Kings 9:15 | This is the sum of the expences, which king Solomon offered to build the house of the Lord, and his own house, and Mello, and the wall of Jerusalem, and Heser, and Mageddo, and Gazer. | Offered, or paid back to Hiram, for what he had lent. (Tirinus) --- Hebrew, "And this is the reason of the levy (or tribute) which king Solomon imposed, in order to build," etc. (Haydock) --- We have seen that Adoniram was at the head of this department, 3 Kings 5:14. The people bore these burdens with patience, till the works of Mello gave Jeroboam an occasion of stirring them up to rebellion, 3 Kings 11:27. Mello was a palace, fortification, (Calmet) or bridge, erected in the vale, (Salien) from the palace to the temple, (Menochius) lying between Sion and the old Jerusalem. David had begun to build here, and Solomon perfected the works. Ezechias repaired the wall, 2 Paralipomenon 32:5. In this palace Joas was slain, 4 Kings 12:20. (Calmet) --- Heser, or Asor, Josue 15:23., and 19:36. (Haydock) --- There was a town of this name in the tribe of Juda, and another in that of Nephthali. --- Gazer had been taken by Josue, but the Chanaanites had again made themselves masters of it. |
| I Kings 9:16 | Pharao, the king of Egypt, came up and took Gazer, and burnt it with fire: and slew the Chanaanite that dwelt in the city, and gave it for a dowry to his daughter, Solomon's wife. | Wife. This custom distinguished princes from common people, who paid a dowry to their intended bride, 2 Machabees 1:14. Philadelphus gave his daughter Bernice to Antiochus, of Syria, with an immense dowry, which caused her to be styled Phernophorus. The influence of these royal wives was more extensive than that of others of meaner birth, as we find in the daughter of Pharao, Jezabel, Athalia, etc. (Calmet) |
| I Kings 9:17 | So Solomon built Gazer, and Bethhoron the nether, | Nether, in the tribe of Benjamin. 2 Paralipomenon 8:5. adds, the upper, which was a town of Ephraim. (Menochius) |
| I Kings 9:18 | And Baalath, and Palmira, in the land of the wilderness. | Baalath. There were several towns of this name, Josue 19:44. (Calmet) --- Palmira. Hebrew Tamor, "a palm-tree." (Calmet) --- But the d is preserved in the margin, as well as in some manuscripts, and in the ancient versions; and is read, Tadmor, in Chronicles. (Kennicott) --- Protestants have also, "Tadmor, in the wilderness, in the land." (Haydock) --- Le Clerc adds, "of Aram," or Syria of Soba, 2 Paralipomenon 8:3, 4. Palmira, famous for its water and fertile soil, was the boundary of the Roman and Parthian empires, (Pliny, [Natural History?] 5:25.) surrounded on all sides by vast deserts, and built by Solomon for the advantage of travellers, a day's journey from the Euphrates. (Josephus, [Antiquities?] 8:6.) --- Superb ruins are still to be seen, and various pagan inscriptions, in Greek. There are others in an unknown language, which might relate to the Jewish or Christian affairs. See Phil. Transac. Oct. 1695. (Brun) --- The city was destroyed by the emperor Aurelian. (Calmet) |
| I Kings 9:19 | And all the towns that belonged to himself, and were not walled, he fortified; the cities also of the chariots, and the cities of the horsemen, and whatsoever he had a mind to build in Jerusalem, and in Libanus, and in all the land of his dominion. | That....himself. Hebrew, "of store;" or to keep his treasures. (Haydock) --- Literally, "of indigence," designed to counteract the effects of famine. Pharao obliged the Israelites to build such cities for him, (Exodus 1:11.) which are called cities of tabernacles. The word miscenoth is here rendered, were not walled. --- Chariots. See 3 Kings 4:26. (Calmet) --- Libanus, the temple, (St. Jerome, Trad.) or the palace. (Sa) --- But these were both in Jerusalem. (Haydock) --- Solomon built a great deal at the foot of Libanus, (Salien) as the defile was of great importance. We read of the tower of Libanus, Canticle of Canticles 7:4. Travellers mention its ruins. (Gabriel. Sionita. p. 6.) |
| I Kings 9:20 | All the people that were left of the Amorrhites, and Hethites, and Pherezites, and Hevites, and Jebusites, that are not of the children of Israel: | |
| I Kings 9:21 | Their children, that were left in the land; to wit, such as the children of Israel had not been able to destroy, Solomon made tributary unto this day. | Day. After the captivity, some were found who had perhaps come from Phoenicia, 1 Esdras 9:1. Solomon reduced the natives of the country to the most abject condition, forcing them to work like slaves. (Josephus, [Antiquities?] 8:6.) --- Hebrew, "upon those, Solomon imposed a tribute of bond-service, until this day." (Haydock) --- Esdras (1 Esdras 2:58.) calls them who returned from captivity, the children of the servants of Solomon, 392. Their fathers were probably styled proselytes; and were in number, 153,600. See 1 Paralipomenon 22:2., and 2 Paralipomenon 2:17. (Calmet) |
| I Kings 9:22 | But of the children of Israel, Solomon made not any to be bond-men, but they were warriors, and his servants, and his princes, and captains, and overseers of the chariots and horses. | Bondmen. Paralipomenon, To serve in the king's works; for they were warriors, etc. The natural subjects performed the more honourable offices. (Haydock) --- Strangers pay tribute, Matthew 17:24. Sesostris, king of Egypt, caused many temples to be erected after his expeditions, with this inscription: "No native laboured at them." (Diodorus i.) |
| I Kings 9:23 | And there were five hundred and fifty chief officers set over all the works of Solomon, and they had people under them, and had charge over the appointed works. | Officers of the crown. There were 250 over the army, (Paralipomenon) or 3,300, (3,600, Paralipomenon) including those who presided over the proselytes, 3 Kings 5:16. (Calmet) --- These are employed while the temple was building. (Menochius) |
| I Kings 9:24 | *And the daughter of Pharao came up out of the city of David to her house, which Solomon had built for her: then did he build Mello. 2 Paralipomenon 8:11. | Mello, taking it from the public, and adorning it with the most beautiful structures, for the honour and convenience of his queen. (Tirinus) |
| I Kings 9:25 | Solomon also offered three times every year holocausts, and victims of peace-offerings, upon the altar which he had built to the Lord, and he burnt incense before the Lord: and the temple was finished. | Year, at the three great festivals, with peculiar solemnity, (Calmet) as well as holocausts every day, and on the sabbaths and new moons, 2 Paralipomenon 8:13. See 2 Paralipomenon 31:3. (Calmet) --- He established funds for all these victims. (Menochius) |
| I Kings 9:26 | And king Solomon made a fleet in Asiongaber, which is by Ailath, on the shore of the Red Sea, in the land of Edom. | Fleet. Some ancient Latin editions have, (Haydock) "a name," or monument. (Worthington) --- Ailath, to the east. See Numbers 33:13. |
| I Kings 9:27 | And Hiram sent his servants in the fleet, sailors that had knowledge of the sea, with the servants of Solomon. | Fleet, from Tyre, (Calmet) or from the island of the same name, in the Red Sea. (Grotius) |
| I Kings 9:28 | And they came to Ophir; and they brought from thence to king Solomon four hundred and twenty talents of gold. | Ophir, in the East Indies; (Menochius) an island called Taprobana, or Sumatra; (Salien) or a country near the heads of the Euphrates and Tigris. (Calmet, Dissert.) --- The variety of opinions is astonishing. Huet fixes upon Sophola, on the eastern coast of Africa; and supposes that the fleet of Hiram might proceed down a canal, which seems to have been formerly opened for a communication between the Mediterranean and the Red Sea. (Strabo 1:17., and ii.) (Du Hamel) --- The various commodities might be procured either in Africa, or, on the voyage, in other countries. (Haydock) --- Twenty. Paralipomenon reads fifty. The letter c (20) and n (50) may easily have been mistaken. (Huet) --- The thirty talents might be the value of other parts of the cargo, or might be spent in repairs and wages. (Calmet) --- The sum here mentioned might be also refined gold. (Menochius) |
| I Kings 10:0 | The queen of Saba cometh to king Solomon: his riches and glory. | |
| I Kings 10:1 | And *the queen of Saba having heard of the fame of Solomon in the name of the Lord, came to try him with hard questions. 2 Paralipomenon 9:1.; Matthew 12:42.; Luke 11:31. | Saba is written with sh, to denote a part of Arabia, and with s, when Ethiopia is meant, Psalm 71:10. The former is here designated, (Menochius) being "the ends of the earth, east" of Judea, (Tacitus, Hist. v.) and lying also to the south of that country, Matthew 12:42. This region was famous for gold, etc., and acknowledged the dominion of women: Medis levibusque Sabaeis Imperat hic sexus. (Claud. Eutrop. i.) Grotius follows the opinion of Josephus ([Antiquities?] 8:6.) and Origen, (hom. 2. in Canticle of Canticles.) who place the seat of this queen's empire at Meroe. The Abyssinians also pretend that their kings are descendants of Solomon, by the queen of Saba; and that Azarias, the son of Sadoc, stole the tables of the law, when he brought back his pupil from Jerusalem. (Sanctius) --- This shews their vanity and ignorance. (Calmet) --- Still many suppose that this queen came from their country. (Worthington, etc.) --- Lord, who had raised Solomon to so great splendour, while, on the other hand, the king endeavoured to enhance his glory. (Haydock) --- If we place the stop after Solomon, we may say that the queen was moved by divine grace, and attracted, like the Gabaonites, (Josue 9:9.) to embrace the true religion; (Calmet) though she seems to have professed it already, as many others did among the Gentiles. (Haydock) --- The Fathers look upon her as a figure of the Christian Church. (St. Hilary, Psalm cxxi.; St. Irenaeus 4:45., etc.) Barbara natione, non animo. (St. Paulin, ep. 1.) --- Questions. Thus the ancients tried each others skill, Judges 14:12. See 3 Kings 4:30. The questions might regard natural history or religion. (Menochius) |
| I Kings 10:2 | And entering into Jerusalem, with a great train, and riches, and camels that carried spices, and an immense quantity of gold, and precious stones, she came to king Solomon, and spoke to him all that she had in her heart. | |
| I Kings 10:3 | And Solomon informed her of all the things she proposed to him: there was not any word the king was ignorant of, and which he could not answer her. | |
| I Kings 10:4 | And when the queen of Saba saw all the wisdom of Solomon, and the house which he had built, | House, the palace, or rather the temple, (Calmet) or both. (Menochius) --- Dion (37) and Tacitus extol the grandeur of the temple, which Titus destroyed. What would they have said of that built by Solomon? (Calmet) |
| I Kings 10:5 | And the meat of his table, and the apartments of his servants, and the order of his ministers, and their apparel, and the cup-bearers, and the holocausts, which he offered in the house of the Lord, she had no longer any spirit in her; | In her. She fainted away in rapture and astonishment. (Haydock) --- Thus the church of the Gentiles is taught, by the gospel, to lay aside the spirit of pride, etc. (Worthington) |
| I Kings 10:6 | And she said to the king: The report is true, which I heard in my own country, | |
| I Kings 10:7 | Concerning thy words, and concerning thy wisdom. And I did not believe them that told me, till I came myself, and saw with my own eyes, and have found that the half hath not been told me: thy wisdom and thy works exceed the fame which I heard. | |
| I Kings 10:8 | Blessed are thy men, and blessed are thy servants, who stand before thee always, and hear thy wisdom. | |
| I Kings 10:9 | Blessed be the Lord thy God, whom thou hast pleased, and who hath set thee upon the throne of Israel, because the Lord hath loved Israel for ever, and hath appointed thee king, to do judgment and justice. | Justice. Kings are given by God, either in his mercy or in his anger. (Calmet) --- They are not appointed for themselves alone. (Menochius) --- This queen was moved to take so long a journey, to hear and to see Solomon, as a figure of the many potentates who should embrace the Christian faith. (Worthington) |
| I Kings 10:10 | *And she gave the king a hundred and twenty talents of gold, and of spices a very great store, and precious stones: there was brought no more such abundance of spices as these which the queen of Saba gave to king Solomon. 2 Paralipomenon 9:9. | |
| I Kings 10:11 | (*The navy also of Hiram, which brought gold from Ophir, brought from Ophir great plenty of thyine-trees, and precious stones. 2 Paralipomenon 9:10. | Thyine. Pliny ([Natural History?] 3:16.) mentions a species of tall and incorruptible trees, called thya. The wood was odoriferous, and very costly. Citri et mensarum insania, quas feminae viris contra margaritas regerunt. (B. xiii., and 15:16.) Calypso burnt it, to perfume her whole island. (Homer) --- It was used as a sort of incense in sacrifices, and thence received its name. (Haydock) --- Septuagint translate, "plained;" and elsewhere, pine-trees, which is adopted by St. Jerome, 2 Paralipomenon 2:8. (Calmet) --- Hebrew reads almuggim in one place, and algumin in the other, the letters being transposed; "for I suppose, says Kennicott, it will hardly be said that these trees were both almug and algum." (Haydock) --- One word might be the Ethiopian pronunciation. (Huet) --- Yet Kimchi observes, that such transpositions of letters are very common among the Hebrews. (Du Hamel) --- Solomon had desired Hiram to send him some algum, or "gum bearing" wood: but as there was not sufficient, or so fine, in Libanus as in Ophir, or in foreign parts, he procured more from those countries. The wood might probably resemble that of settim, or of black acacia, (Exodus 25:5.) whence the gum of Arabia is extracted. Acanthos, in Thebais, was celebrated for its fine thorn-trees, and for its gum. (Strabo xvii.) (Calmet) --- It is placed near Memphis. (Pliny, [Natural History?] iv 10.) --- The Rabbins commonly understand the Hebrew to mean, "coral," which is not fit for instruments, much less for architecture. Others translate ebony, or Brazil wood, but without reason. (Calmet) (Tirinus) |
| I Kings 10:12 | And the king made of the thyine-trees the rails of the house of the Lord, and of the king's house, and citterns and harps for singers: there were no such thyine-trees as these brought nor seen unto this day.) | Rails. Hebrew mihsad, "pillars, supporters, or banisters." (Haydock) --- Most interpreters suppose the rails were on each side of the road, leading from the palace to the temple. (Calmet) --- Paralipomenon stairs. --- Citterns, or harps and lyres. (Haydock) --- Hebrew, "kinnoroth and nebalim." |
| I Kings 10:13 | And king Solomon gave the queen of Saba all that she desired, and asked of him: besides what he offered her of himself of his royal bounty. And she returned, and went to her own country, with her servants. | |
| I Kings 10:14 | And the weight of the gold that was brought to Solomon every year, was six hundred and sixty-six talents of gold: | Gold. His stated revenue was, 4,646,350l. sterling. (Haydock) |
| I Kings 10:15 | Besides that which the men brought him that were over the tributes, and the merchants, and they that sold by retail, and all the kings of Arabia, and the governors of the country. | Merchants: wholesale. (Menochius) --- Arabia, the desert, which was peopled by various nations. Arab means, "a mixture, or assemblage," as well as "the night, and a fruitless country." Septuagint seem to have read abor, "all the kings of the other side" the Euphrates, who were also called Arabs. See 3 Kings 4:24. --- Country around Judea, comprising the Phylarchs of Arabia, (Genesis 17:20.) and the Philistine Satraps. |
| I Kings 10:16 | And Solomon made two hundred shields of the purest gold: he allowed six hundred sicles of gold for the plates of one shield. | Shields. Hebrew tsinnu is rather indeterminate, denoting something sharp or pointed; "a dart," etc. (Calmet) --- Paralipomenon spears. Some of the shields were made with a point, projecting from the middle, (Haydock) with which the enemy might be wounded. (Menochius) --- These arms were used when the king went to the temple, and were reposited in the arsenal, at his return, 3 Kings 14:28. |
| I Kings 10:17 | And three hundred targets of fine gold: three hundred pounds of gold covered one target: and the king put them in the house of the forest of Libanus. | Targets, smaller than the former, and resembling a crescent. Ducit Amazonidum lunatis agmina peltis. (Virgil, Aeneid i.) (Calmet) --- Paralipomenon reads, shields. --- Fine. Septuagint, "ductile." Hebrew sséut, "beaten, refined," etc. --- Hundred is omitted in Hebrew and Septuagint, (Haydock) but is found in 2 Paralipomenon (9:16.) where we read 300 of gold, in like manner as 600 of gold in the preceding verse, without specifying the particular weight in either. These targets or shields, seem to have been heavier than the former, and designed only for ornament, being placed in the great hall, as they weighed each 375 Roman pounds, or 18,000 sicles; (Calmet) unless minae, pound, be here put for sicle; as Josephus ([Antiquities?] 2:3.) says that sons of Jacob sold their brother for twenty pieces of silver, Genesis 37:28. (Menochius) --- Salien thinks that 200 shields were each worth 600 sicles, and these 300 targets weighed each 300 sicles of gold. (Haydock) |
| I Kings 10:18 | King Solomon also made a great throne of ivory: and overlaid it with the finest gold. | Ivory. Hebrew, "of the tooth" (or horn) of elephants: people do not agree of which the ivory is formed. See Pliny ([Natural History?] 8:3.) for the former sentiment, and for the latter, Varro vi. Ezechiel (xxvii. 15.) seems to unite both sentiments, calling it, "horns of the tooth." (Haydock) --- Ivory may, in effect, be wrought like horn. --- Finest. Hebrew, "gold of Uphas." This was the country whence it was brought; (Jeremias 10:9.) probably Colchis, where the river Phasis, or Phison, flows, Genesis 2:11. (Calmet) --- The Chaldean calls Uphas, (in Jeremias) Ophir; and Huet supposes that Paz and Parvaim designate the same place, 3 Kings 9:28., and Job 28:17. (Du Hamel) --- In Paralipomenon, we only read, pure gold, which would suffer the ivory to appear in some places. (Calmet) |
| I Kings 10:19 | It had six steps: and the top of the throne was round behind: and there were two hands on either side holding the seat: and two lions stood, one at each hand. | Behind, like an alcove, (Haydock) placed in the porch of the palace, 3 Kings 7:8. --- Hands, for the elbows to rest on. In Paralipomenon, St. Jerome translates, "little" arms. The feet might also be made in this shape. Josephus ([Antiquities?] 8:5.) represents them as forming the seat: (Calmet) and the Septuagint place them on each side: "the fore-parts of oxen, projecting from the back of the throne, and hands on the throne, on each side of the seat." In Paralipomenon also, we find a foot-stool of gold. (Haydock) |
| I Kings 10:20 | And twelve little lions stood upon the six steps, on the one side and on the other: there was no such work made in any kingdom. | |
| I Kings 10:21 | Moreover, all the vessels out of which king Solomon drank, were of gold: and all the furniture of the house of the forest of Libanus was of most pure gold: there was no silver, nor was any account made of it in the days of Solomon: | No silver vessels, (Calmet) though there was a great abundance of that metal, ver. 27. It was not deemed worthy to be admitted at the king's table. (Haydock) |
| I Kings 10:22 | For the king's navy, once in three years, went with the navy of Hiram by sea to Tharsis, and brought from thence gold, and silver, and elephants' teeth, and apes, and peacocks. | To Tharsis. This word in Hebrew signifies, "the sea," Isaias 2:16., and 23:10. (Menochius) --- But when it signifies some particular place, (Haydock) it probably refers to Tarsus of Cilicia, which was once the most famous mart on the Mediterranean, though not perhaps in the days of Solomon, but after it had been embellished by the Assyrian kings. "Ships of Tharsis," often denote such as were fit for a long voyage; and of this description were the fleets of Solomon and of Hiram, which sailed from Asiongaber to Ophir, and touched at various ports, where they procured what they wanted. (Calmet) --- Hebrew, "the king had at sea a navy of Tharsis....once in three years: the navy of Tharsis came, bringing gold," etc. (Haydock) --- Teeth. Hebrew Shenhabim. The latter word is commonly rendered elephants, k being lost at the beginning. (Bochart) --- Syriac and Arabic intimate, that the elephants were brought alive. Perhaps n may be dropped after b; so that we should read, ebnim, as [in] Ezechiel 27:15., and translate ivory and ebony; the one being remarkable for its white, and the other for is black colour. Both might be procured on the coasts of Ethiopia, by which the fleet passed. The Persians, and Sesostris, required the people of the country to pay both for tribute. (Pliny, [Natural History?] 12:14.; Diodorus i.) --- Apes. Hebrew Kophim. Greek, Kepos. There was a peculiar species in Ethiopia, which the Egyptians adored at Babylon, near Memphis, and was exhibited by Julius Caesar, in the public shews. (Solin.; Bochart) --- Peacocks is not expressed in the Septuagint. (Calmet) --- The Roman edition, instead of elephants, etc., inserts, "stones" etc., intended for the various edifices and towns, which Solomon fortified, to keep under the nations of Chanaan, whom he forced to labour, etc. But the Alexandrian copy has, taonon, "peacocks," as thuciim is rendered (Haydock) by the Chaldean, Syriac, etc. (Calmet) --- Huet observes, that these birds were scarcely known in the time of Alexander, and would therefore understand , psittacos, "parrots." (Du Hamel) --- But peacocks were called, "birds of Media," as they were very common in that country, (Calmet) and about Babylon. (Diodorus ii.) --- The fleet of Solomon might advance as far as the confines of Media. Josephus adds, that it brought home Ethiopian slaves, who were in high esteem in a country where eunuchs were employed to guard the women, (Calmet) as there would be less danger of too great familiarity. (Haydock) |
| I Kings 10:23 | And king Solomon exceeded all the kings of the earth in riches and wisdom. | |
| I Kings 10:24 | And all the earth desired to see Solomon's face, to hear his wisdom, which God had given in his heart. | The earth; or, the kings of, etc., Paralipomenon. |
| I Kings 10:25 | And every one brought him presents, vessels of silver and of gold, garments, and armour, and spices, and horses, and mules, every year. | |
| I Kings 10:26 | *And Solomon gathered together chariots and horsemen, and he had a thousand four hundred chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen: and he bestowed them in fenced cities, and with the king in Jerusalem. 2 Paralipomenon 1:14. | Hunderd chariots. Paralipomenon, forty thousand horses, in the stables, and 12,000 chariots and horsemen; though the chariots may be referred to the former number, conformably to the Hebrew, and to 3 Kings 4:26. (Menochius) --- Many of the horses were not employed in the chariots, (Salien) which were 1400 in number, 2 Paralipomenon 1:14. (Menochius) |
| I Kings 10:27 | And he made silver to be as plentiful in Jerusalem as stones: and cedars to be as common as sycamores which grow in the plains. | Sycamores, (Hebrew shikmim) which were formerly very common in Palestine, as they are still about Cairo, in Egypt. The fruit resembles figs, as the leaves do the mulberry tree; whence the name is a compound of sukon, "a fig," and moria, "a mulberry;" though some would prefer moros, "a fool," to denote that the fruit is "insipid." It is however sweeter than wild figs, and proceeds from the trunk of the tree. (Calmet) |
| I Kings 10:28 | And horses were brought for Solomon out of Egypt, and Coa: for the king's merchants brought them out of Coa, and bought them at a set price. | Egypt was once very famous for horses, and the breed is much admired by travellers. The Turks will not suffer strangers to have them. The canals made by Sesostris and other kings, caused their numbers to be diminished. (Herodotus 2:108.) --- Yet there were many used in the time of Ezechias, 4 Kings 18:24. --- And Coa. Some take this to be the name of some unknown place, (Du Hamel) or of a town in Arabia Felix, (Ptol. 6:17.) or "of a fair." (Tirinus) --- Hebrew, "and from Michoe," which was the ancient name of Troglodytis, near Egypt. (Pliny, [Natural History?] 6:29.) (Calmet) --- Protestants, "and linen yarn; the king's merchants received the linen yarn at the price." Mokue signifies "a thread;" (Haydock) and the linen cloth of Egypt was in high estimation, Isaias 19:9., and Ezechiel 27:7. (Pliny, [Natural History?] 19:1.) --- Jarchi and others understand, "a string" of horses, tied together by the tails. But Bochart translates, "They brought horses for Solomon out of Egypt; and, as for the tribute, the custom-house officers of the king received it, at a certain rate," agreed upon between Solomon and the king of Egypt. |
| I Kings 10:29 | And a chariot of four horses came out of Egypt, for six hundred sicles of silver, and a horse for a hundred and fifty. And after this manner did all the kings of the Hethites, and of Syria, sell horses. | Fifty, upon an average. --- Hethites: some had retired, and built Lusa; (Judges 1:26.) others dwelt beyond Libanus, 4 Kings 7:4. These kings sold horses to Solomon; or, according to the Hebrew, the Jews had the traffic of horses in their own hands. (Calmet) --- Protestants, "and so for all the kings....did they bring them out by their means." Septuagint, "thus to all the kings....of Syria, on the sea-shore, they came out." (Haydock) --- The merchants sold horses to these kings, at 150 sicles a piece. (Calmet) |
| I Kings 11:0 | Solomon, by means of his wives, falleth into idolatry: God raiseth him adversaries, Adad, Razon, and Jeroboam: Solomon dieth. | |
| I Kings 11:1 | And king Solomon *loved many strange women, besides the daughter of Pharao, and women of Moab, and of Ammon, and of Edom, and of Sidon, and of the Hethites: Deuteronomy 17:17.; Ecclesiasticus 47:21. | Strange women, who had been brought up in the service of idols, and were not sincerely converted. (Haydock) --- Riches engaged Solomon in the love of pleasure, and this brought on his ruin. (Calmet) --- He began with the spirit, but ended in the flesh, Galatians 3:3., and Ecclesiasticus 47:21. He was aware of the dangerous conversation of women, Ecclesiasticus 19:2. Yet he has left us in his own person an example of that dreadful truth, that it is difficult to love with discretion. (Haydock) --- Amare et sapere vix cuiquam conceditur. Nothing could be more beautiful than the commencement of his reign, nor more terrible than the latter part of it. Thou hast stained thy glory, etc., Ecclesiasticus 47:22. Hence we may apply to him, How are thou fallen from heaven? (Isaias 14:12.) (Calmet) --- Pharao. This marriage seems to be blamed, as the source of Solomon's misfortunes; though it is probable, that she had pretended to embrace his religion. (Menochius) (Salien) --- He ought to have repudiated her as soon as she relapsed. (Tirinus) |
| I Kings 11:2 | Of the nations concerning which the Lord said to the children of Israel: *You shall not go in unto them, neither shall any of them come into yours: for they will most certainly turn away your hearts to follow their gods. And to these was Solomon joined with a most ardent love. Exodus 34:16. | Gods. See Exodus 34:16., and Deuteronomy 7:4. The law only forbids expressly the marrying of the women of Chanaan. But it was easy to discern, that the spirit of the law equally prohibited connexions with others who were addicted to idol-worship. See 1 Esdras 10:3. Such alliances are always dangerous, and generally prove fatal; (Calmet) unless there be good reason to believe that the parties are sincerely converted: in which case the prohibition ceases. (Haydock) --- Love. Thus, nitimur in vetitum semper, cupimusque negata; and, stolen waters are sweeter, says impure love; but her guests are in the depths of hell, Proverbs 9:17, 18. |
| I Kings 11:3 | And he had seven hundred wives as queens, and three hundred concubines: and the women turned away his heart. | Concubines, or secondary wives. (Haydock) --- Those who have any sense of modesty, can hardly read this without blushing. (Salien) --- Solomon was guilty not only of intemperance, but also of a transgression of the precept. (Menochius) (Deuteronomy 17:17.) --- He shall not have many wives: though as that command is indefinite, and David had eighteen, without blame, (2 Kings 3:3.) it is difficult to say how many a person might have, at that time, without exceeding the bounds of moderation. (Haydock) --- But a thousand wives for one man, is certainly too great a number. When Solomon wrote the Canticles, he had only sixty queens and eighty concubines, Canticle of Canticles 6:8. The Rabbins allow the king eighteen wives. But it is probable that most of the kings indulged themselves in a greater latitude. Darius, of Persia, took along with him to the wars 350 concubines, when he was overcome by Alexander. (Atheneus 13:1.) Priam had also many wives, besides Hecuba, the queen. The inferior wives looked upon those who had this title with a degree of respect, bordering on adoration. (Calmet) |
| I Kings 11:4 | And when he was now old, *his heart was turned away by women to follow strange gods: and his heart was not perfect with the Lord his God, as was the heart of David, his father. | Year of the World 3023, Year before Christ 981. Old; about fifty. (Salien) (Calmet) --- This is an aggravation of his guilt. (Haydock) --- Solomon spent the first thirty years of his reign in virtue: but towards the termination of it, he gave into idolatry, and into such excesses, that he deserves to be ranked with Henry VIII, who began well, but ended with dishonour. (Haydock) --- Heart, and mind also, ver. 9. He sacrificed to idols, not only externally, but gave them internal worship; (Salien) so much was his understanding darkened, unless (Haydock) he acted against his better knowledge, Ecclesiastes 2:9. (Tirinus) --- Father who did not continue long in sin. (Du Hamel) --- "The wisdom, which had been given to him, entirely abandoned his heart, which the discipline even of the smallest tribulation had not guarded." (St. Gregory, Pastoral. p. 3.) --- "He had commenced his reign with an ardent desire of wisdom, and when he had obtained it by spiritual love, he lost it by carnal affections." (St. Augustine, Doct. 3:21.) --- "Prosperity, which is a severe trial for the wise, was more disadvantageous to him than wisdom herself had been profitable." (St. Augustine, City of God 17:20.) --- The Fathers do not attempt to palliate the guilt of Solomon; and those aggravate his crime, who endeavour to excuse him by saying, that his mind was still convinced that there could be but one God, and that his adoration of idols was merely external, and out of complaisance to his wives. See Santius,etc. (Calmet) |
| I Kings 11:5 | But Solomon worshipped Astarthe, the goddess of the Sidonians, and Moloch, the idol of the Ammonites. | Astarthe. Hebrew Hashtoreth, "ewes," is in the plural form, as if to denote many idols. But the moon, or the queen of heaven, (Jeremias 7:18.) is particularly designated, Judges 2:12. (Haydock) --- Some explain it of Venus, (Sanctius) or Juno. (Tirinus) --- Moloch. Hebrew Molciom, (their king) "the abomination;" (Haydock) supposed to be the sun, (Sanctius) or saturn. (Tirinus) See 4 Kings 23:10. |
| I Kings 11:6 | And Solomon did that which was not pleasing before the Lord, and did not fully follow the Lord, as David, his father. | |
| I Kings 11:7 | Then Solomon built a temple for Chamos, the idol of Moab, on the hill that is over-against Jerusalem, and for Moloch, the idol of the children of Ammon. | Chamos. Bacchus or Priapus, called Komos, by the Greeks, as he presided over "feasting." His worship was most shameful, and therefore performed in the night. The temples erected by Solomon, were not entirely demolished till the reign of Josias. (Tirinus) --- Hill. Hebrew, "Then Solomon erected a high place (temple, altar, or grove) to Chamos, the abomination of Moab, on the, etc., hill;" it is supposed of olives, (Haydock) to the east of Jerusalem, which was hence called, the mount of offence, 4 Kings 23:13. (Calmet) --- Yet no place was consecrated to idols within the city. (Menochius) --- The idols of Egypt are not specified, though the daughter of Pharao would, probably, interest herself in their favour. The Jews were more prone to those of Chanaan. We find, however, that they were addicted to the worship of Adonis, who was highly revered in Egypt; (Ezechiel 8:14.; Calmet) and the golden calves were an imitation of Apis. (Haydock) --- Six temples were probably built, as wives of so many different nations are specified, ver. 1. (Abulensis) (Salien) |
| I Kings 11:8 | And he did in this manner for all his wives that were strangers, who burnt incense, and offered sacrifice to their gods. | |
| I Kings 11:9 | And the Lord was angry with Solomon, because his mind was turned away from the Lord, the God of Israel, *who had appeared to him twice; 3 Kings 9:2. | Twice, or repeatedly. See 3 Kings 9:2. (Haydock) --- He had appeared to him at Gabaon, and after the consecration of the temple, (Menochius) besides sending a prophet to him while he was building, 3 Kings 6:12. (Abulensis) --- God was not content with giving him the general commandments: he had condescended to caution him in a most particular and earnest manner: (Haydock) so that his transgression is more horrible and ungrateful. (Calmet) --- No doubt the priests and prophets had often besought him to alter his conduct; but the sinner is deaf, till God speak to his heart. (Salien, the year of the world 3054.) |
| I Kings 11:10 | And had commanded him concerning this thing, that he should not follow strange gods: but he kept not the things which the Lord commanded him. | |
| I Kings 11:11 | The Lord therefore said to Solomon: Because thou hast done this, and hast not kept my covenant, and my precepts, which I have commanded thee, I will divide and rend thy kingdom, and will give it to thy servant. | This. Literally and Hebrew, "Because thou hast this with thee." (Haydock) --- Since this is thy conduct, and fixed determination, to abandon my service, I will also reject thee. The Lord spoke to him in a third vision, (Calmet) or by the mouth of Ahias, (Abulensis) who was likewise appointed to inform Jeroboam of his election to a part of the kingdom. (Salien, the year of the world 3059.) |
| I Kings 11:12 | *Nevertheless, in thy days I will not do it, for David thy father's sake: but I will rend it out of the hand of thy son. 3 Kings 12:15. | Sake. As David placed this son upon the throne, the disgrace would seem to revert on him. (Menochius) --- Here we behold the reward of piety, and how desirable a thing it is to have saints for our parents. (Haydock) |
| I Kings 11:13 | Neither will I take away the whole kingdom; but I will give one tribe to thy son, for the sake of David, my servant, and Jerusalem, which I have chosen. | One tribe. Besides that of Juda, his own native tribe. (Challoner) --- That of Benjamin had been so reduced, that it scarcely deserved the name of a tribe. It was also invariably connected with the adjoining tribe of Juda; as many of the other tribes, after the captivities of Assyria and Babylon, went by the common title of Jews. (Tirinus) --- The Levites, and many of the Israelites, came to inhabit in the land of Juda, for the sake of the true religion, 3 Kings 12:17., and 2 Paralipomenon 11:13, 16. Jeroboam banished the tribe of Levi from his dominions, that he might more easily introduce a change of religion among his subjects. The two kingdoms were thus almost equal in strength. (Calmet) --- Chosen for the abode of holiness, and the seat of government. (Salien) --- One tribe....and Jerusalem; which latter may denote the tribe of Benjamin. (Worthington) |
| I Kings 11:14 | And the Lord raised up an adversary to Solomon, Adad, the Edomite, of the king's seed, in Edom. | Adversary. Hebrew Satan. Nothing of this kind could molest him, while he continued faithful, 3 Kings 5:4. But now he sees the arm of God stretched out, pressing him to repent. --- Adad. Septuagint Ader. Josephus says that this prince solicited Pharao to let him return into his own country, after the death of Joab: but was prevailed upon to desist from the attempt, till the affairs of Solomon began to decline. He then endeavoured to get possession of the country; but, being repelled by the strong garrisons of the Hebrews, he went and joined Razar, (Hebrew Razon) who had revolted against Aderezer; and made inroads into the dominions of Solomon consented, at the entreaty of Pharao, that Adad should reign over Idumea, on his paying tribute; and that the latter attempted to throw off the yoke. (Salien) --- But these particulars are uncertain, and Idumea was subject to the kings of Juda till the days of Joram, 2 Paralipomenon 21:8. (Calmet) |
| I Kings 11:15 | *For when David was in Edom, and Joab, the general of the army, was gone up to bury them that were slain, and had killed every male in Edom, 2 Kings 8:14. | In Edom, in the 15th year of his reign. (Salien) --- Abisai was the general in this expedition, 2 Kings viii., and 1 Paralipomenon 18:12. |
| I Kings 11:16 | (For Joab remained there six months with all Israel, till he had slain every male in Edom,) | |
| I Kings 11:17 | Then Adad fled, he and certain Edomites of his father's servants, with him, to go into Egypt: and Adad was then a little boy. | Boy. About five (Salien) or 12 years of age. (Pineda) |
| I Kings 11:18 | And they arose out of Madian, and came into Pharan, and they took men with them from Pharan, and went into Egypt, to Pharao, the king of Egypt: who gave him a house, and appointed him victuals, and assigned him land. | Land, to maintain him (Josephus) out of the royal domains, (Calmet) of which the kings were possessed. (Didor. 1:p. 46.) --- He appointed him governor of some part of the country. (Vatable) |
| I Kings 11:19 | And Adad found great favour before Pharao, insomuch that he gave him to wife the own sister of his wife, Taphnes, the queen. | Full. Septuagint, "elder sister of his wife Thekemina." (Haydock) |
| I Kings 11:20 | And the sister of Taphnes bore him his son, Genubath; and Taphnes brought him up in the house of Pharao: and Genubath dwelt with Pharao among his children. | |
| I Kings 11:21 | And when Adad heard in Egypt that David slept with his fathers, and that Joab, the general of the army, was dead, he said to Pharao: Let me depart, that I may go to my own country. | |
| I Kings 11:22 | And Pharao said to him: Why, what is wanting to thee with me, that thou seekest to go to thy own country? But he answered: Nothing; yet I beseech thee to let me go. | |
| I Kings 11:23 | God also raised up against him an adversary, Razon, the son of Eliada, *who had fled from his master, Adarezer, the king of Soba. 2 Kings 8:6.; 1 Paralipomenon 18:6. | Razon. He must have been now about 94 years old; unless this was the son of Aderezer's general. (Salien) (Menochius) |
| I Kings 11:24 | And he gathered men against him, and he became a captain of robbers, when David slew them of Soba: and they went to Damascus, and dwelt there, and they made him king in Damascus. | Robbers, or (Hebrew and Septuagint) "a band" with whom he made depredations. (Haydock) --- Damascus, with David's consent, on their admitting a garrison, (2 Kings 8:6,) and consenting to pay tribute; (Menochius) or Razon might make himself master of this place, only after the apostacy of Solomon. His successors became very formidable to the Jews, particularly Razin, (4 Kings xv., and xvi.) who was slain by Theglathphalassar, 4 Kings 5:9. (Calmet) |
| I Kings 11:25 | And he was an adversary to Israel all the days of Solomon: and this is the evil of Adad, and his hatred against Israel; and he reigned in Syria. | Solomon, after he once began. (Haydock) --- Adad. Hebrew, "and with the evil of Adad, and he detested Israel." (Menochius) --- Razon and Adad conspired to attack Solomon. (Haydock) --- Adad may be the common name of the kings of Damascus. Some copies of the Septuagint do not speak of Razon, but continue the history of Adad, ver. 14. They also read Edom here instead of Aram, or Syria, which would remove the confusion. (Calmet) --- Adad, Razon, and Jeroboam always oppugn Solomon after his fall; and signify the flesh, the world, and the devil. (Worthington) |
| I Kings 11:26 | *Jeroboam also, the son of Nabat, an Ephrathite, of Sareda, a servant of Solomon, whose mother was named Sarua, a widow woman, lifted up his hand against the king. 2 Paralipomenon 13:6. | King, attempting to draw the people into rebellion, as he perceived that they were discontent with the buildings at Mello. He had a command over them; and though he was, for the present, obliged to save himself by flight, he had sown the seeds of rebellion by his discourses, in such a manner, that the imprudent answer of Roboam (Calmet) easily brought them to maturity. (Haydock) |
| I Kings 11:27 | And this is the cause of his rebellion against him; for Solomon built Mello, and filled up the breach of the city of David, his father. | |
| I Kings 11:28 | And Jeroboam was a valiant and mighty man: and Solomon seeing him a young man ingenious and industrious, made him chief over the tributes of all the house of Joseph. | Joseph, Ephraim and Manasses. (Menochius) --- He was of the former tribe. (Salien) --- At first Solomon employed none of the Israelites to work, 3 Kings 9:22. But he afterwards oppressed them grievously. The king's right was to make his subjects cultivate his lands, etc., 1 Kings 8:11. They did not pay money, (Matthew 17:24,) but wrought for the king. Hebrew, "he made him ruler over all the charge," (or levy.) (Haydock) --- The Vulgate often uses the word tribute (Calmet) for sebel. Josephus believes that Jeroboam had the command over the forces of the house of Joseph: but he had rather the superintendency over the workmen. (Haydock) |
| I Kings 11:29 | *So it came to pass at that time, that Jeroboam went out of Jerusalem, and the prophet Ahias, the Silonite, clad with a new garment, found him in the way: and they two were alone in the field. 2 Paralipomenon 10:15. | Garment. Salma occurs 16 times in this sense, and simlee 27. The latter, we may presume, is the true reading, as it is in the Samaritan Pentateuch invariably; Exodus 22:26, 27, both words are printed in the Hebrew Bible. But it is not probable that Moses should have written them so; no more than a Latin author would use both vestinentum and vestimentum. Shamal, in Arabic, signifies "he clothed himself all over." (Kennicott) --- Way leading to Ephraim, (Menochius) his department. (Calmet) --- Field. Septuagint, "he drew him aside out of the road: and Ahias had on a new cloak, and both were in the field." (Haydock) --- Jeroboam would not probably go unattended; (Menochius) and it seems this transaction soon transpired, and came to the ears of Solomon. (Haydock) |
| I Kings 11:30 | And Ahias taking his new garment, wherewith he was clad, divided it into twelve parts: | Parts. He speaks by his actions, (Menochius) thus foretelling what should happen, as was customary with the prophets, Osee 1:2., Jeremias 27:2., Ezechiel 12:7., and Acts 21:11. (Calmet) --- This tended to make a deeper impression on the mind, (Haydock) and convince all, that what was spoken, was not in jest. (Worthington) |
| I Kings 11:31 | 31And he said to Jeroboam: Take to thee ten pieces: for thus saith the Lord, the God of Israel: Behold I will rend the kingdom out of the hand of Solomon, and will give thee ten tribes. | |
| I Kings 11:32 | But one tribe shall remain to him for the sake of my servant, David, and Jerusalem, the city which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel: | |
| I Kings 11:33 | Because he hath forsaken me, and hath adored Astarthe, the goddess of the Sidonians, and Chamos, the god of Moab, and Moloch, the god of the children of Ammon: and hath not walked in my ways, to do justice before me, and to keep my precepts, and judgments, as did David, his father. | |
| I Kings 11:34 | Yet I will not take away all the kingdom out of his hand, but I will make him prince all the days of his life, for David my servant's sake, whom I chose, who kept my commandments, and my precepts. | Make, or permit him to reign. (Menochius) |
| I Kings 11:35 | But I will take away the kingdom out of his son's hand and will give thee ten tribes: | |
| I Kings 11:36 | And to his son I will give one tribe, that there may remain a lamp for my servant, David, before me always in Jerusalem, the city which I have chosen, that my name might be there. | A lamp. Posterity, (2 Kings 21:17.) power, and glory, 4 Kings 8:19. |
| I Kings 11:37 | And I will take thee, and thou shalt reign over all that thy soul desireth, and thou shalt be king over Israel. | Desireth. It seems he was already disposed to revolt. (Calmet) |
| I Kings 11:38 | If then thou wilt hearken to all that I shall command thee, and wilt walk in my ways, and do what is right before me, keeping my commandments, and my precepts, as David, my servant, did: I will be with thee, and will build thee up a faithful house, as I built a house for David, and I will deliver Israel to thee: | Faithful house, which shall not be destroyed, nor lose the kingdom, for a long time. Jeroboam never complied with the condition. (Calmet) |
| I Kings 11:39 | And I will for this afflict the seed of David, but yet not for ever. | For this infidelity of Solomon, (Haydock) afflict, by raising up a rival. (Menochius) --- For ever. Notwithstanding the wickedness of many of its princes, this family was to subsist, in a distinguished rank, till the coming of the Messias; that the completion of the promises might be more observable. (Calmet) --- After 250 years, the throne of Israel was subverted. (Menochius) |
| I Kings 11:40 | Solomon, therefore, sought to kill Jeroboam: but he arose, and fled into Egypt, to Sesac, the king of Egypt, and was in Egypt till the death of Solomon. | Therefore, being apprized of what had passed, as well as to prevent the farther attempts of Jeroboam. (Haydock) --- Sesac. He is the first, whose proper name is given in Scripture. Whether he was of the same family, as the Pharao, whose daughter Solomon had married, cannot be ascertained. Marsham makes Sesac the same with the renowned Sesostris, the Sethosis of Manetho. But Usher thinks that Sesostris reigned immediately after the Israelites left Egypt; while Pezron, etc., suppose that Amenoplis, who was drowned, was even his grandson. (Calmet) |
| I Kings 11:41 | And the rest of the words of Solomon, and all that he did, and his wisdom: behold they are all written in the Book of the words of the days of Solomon. | Words, or transactions. (Haydock) --- Book. This book is lost, with divers others mentioned in holy writ. (Challoner) --- Nathan, Ahias, and Addo, composed these journals, 2 Paralipomenon 9:29. (Haydock) --- Similar works were kept at the courts of Persia and of Babylon, Esther 6:1., and 1 Esdras 6:2. Plutarch quotes the journal of Alexander; and Tacitus (An. iii.) informs us, that the smallest occurrences were specified in journals, at Rome, while things of greater importance were recorded in the annals. The books of days, are cited in the Paralipomenon, so that we cannot suppose that these journals are the same with that work. (Calmet) --- God was pleased that those writings should not come down to us; so that we can only speak from conjecture of the repentance of Solomon. (Salien, the year of the world 3058.) |
| I Kings 11:42 | And the days that Solomon reigned in Jerusalem, over all Israel, were forty years. | Forty. Josephus says eighty; and some suppose, that the Scripture only specifies the years during which Solomon reigned virtuously. Pezron is of the same opinion as Josephus. (Haydock) --- Others contend that it is a manifest mistake. Immoderate pleasures hastened his old age and death, when he was about fifty-eight years old. All in him was great, whether we consider the virtues of his early days, or the vices of his old age. He falls from heaven into the abyss. His repentance is a problem. (Calmet) |
| I Kings 11:43 | And *Solomon slept with his fathers, and was buried in the city of David, his father, and Roboam, his son, reigned in his stead. | Year of the World 3029, Year before Christ 975. Solomon slept, etc. That is, died. He was then about fifty-eight years of age, having reigned forty years. (Challoner) --- St. Chrysostom, at different times, seems to have entertained opposite opinions on this head, (Haydock) which has been a matter of controversy among the Fathers, as it is at present with us. We ought to adore and imitate, with trembling, the silence of Scripture. (Calmet) --- Septuagint seem favourable to Solomon: (Proverbs 24:32.) "At last I did penance, and looked forward, to embrace discipline." (Haydock) --- But the Hebrew, Chaldean, and Vulgate have nothing similar. (Calmet) --- Some think that the Book of Proverbs, as well as that of Ecclesiastes, was composed by him after his repentance; and that he expresses his sentiments of affliction and self-condemnation, (Proverbs 30:2.) and his opinion of all earthly gratifications, Ecclesiastes 1:2., etc. (Haydock) --- Yet this dreadful uncertainty may serve to keep us all in humble fear, and teach us to work out our salvation with trembling. (Calmet) --- If Solomon really repented, (Haydock) he might not have time or power to remove all the vestiges, and the very foundations of the idolatrous temples, which Ezechias also neglected in ruins, as no longer dangerous, and as so many monuments of the folly of Solomon. But Josias caused them to be entirely removed, 4 Kings 23:13. (Salien, the year of the world 3059.) The daughter of Pharao would probably imitate her beloved husband. (Pineda) --- Sadoc seems to have departed this life about the same time with Solomon; as his son Achimaas, who had married Basemath, the king's daughter, succeeded him in the pontificate, at the commencement of Roboam's reign. (Chron. Min. Heb. Salien) |
| I Kings 12:0 | Roboam, following the counsel of young men, alienateth from him the minds of the people. They make Jeroboam king over ten tribes: he setteth up idolatry. | |
| I Kings 12:1 | And *Roboam went to Sichem: for thither were all Israel come together to make him king. 15: 3 Kings 11:31. | Year of the World 3029.; 2 Paralipomenon x. Year of the World 3030, Year before Christ 974. King, or to acknowledge his right, provided he would grant their request. The discontented assembled at Sichem, rather than at Jerusalem, as they would be under less restraint. (Calmet) --- They appointed Jeroboam to prefer their petition. (Menochius) --- Roboam was probably the only son whom Solomon had by his wives. (Calmet) --- We read of two daughters, Japheth and Basemath, 3 Kings 4:11., and 15. (Haydock) --- Naama, the Ammonite, was the mother of Robaom, who, though 40 years old, was devoid of good sense, 2 Paralipomenon 13:7., Ecclesiastes 2:18., and Ecclesiasticus 47:27. (Calmet) |
| I Kings 12:2 | But Jeroboam, the son of Nabat, who was yet in Egypt, a fugitive from the face of king Solomon, hearing of his death, returned out of Egypt. | Hearing of. Hebrew, "It (the assembly) and Jeroboam dwelt in Egypt." (Haydock) --- But in 2 Paralipomenon 10:2., we find he returned. It is probable that both texts agreed in the days of St. Jerome; as the same letters, if read in a different manner, may have both meanings. (Calmet) --- Septuagint have also "returned." (Haydock) |
| I Kings 12:3 | And they sent and called him: and Jeroboam came, and all the multitude of Israel, and they spoke to Roboam, saying: | |
| I Kings 12:4 | Thy father laid a grievous yoke upon us: now, therefore, do thou take off a little of the grievous service of thy father, and of his most heavy yoke, which he put upon us, and we will serve thee. | Yoke, of personal service, (Calmet) first to build the temple, and afterwards to erect palaces, fortify cities, etc. The works of Mello gave the greatest discontent. (Haydock) |
| I Kings 12:5 | And he said to them: Go till the third day, and come to me again. And when the people was gone, | |
| I Kings 12:6 | King Roboam took counsel with the old men, that stood before Solomon, his father, while he yet lived, and he said: What counsel do you give me, that I may answer this people? | Old man. Banaias and Jahiel. (St. Jerome, Trad.) |
| I Kings 12:7 | They said to him: If thou wilt yield to this people to-day, and condescend to them, and grant their petition, and wilt speak gentle words to them, they will be thy servants always. | They said. Hebrew, "he said." The transcribers, probably not understanding what they wrote, frequently make singular for plural verbs. So ver. 21, "They came," instead of he came. Some manuscripts and the ancient versions are correct. (Kennicott) --- Yield. Hebrew, "serve." By the submission of one day he might have acquired the kingdom. Great attention is requisite at first. Tacitus (Hist. iv.) represents Vespasian, Novo principatu suspensum, et vultus quoque ac sermones omnium circumspectantem. |
| I Kings 12:8 | But he left the counsel of the old men, which they had given him, and consulted with the young men, that had been brought up with him, and stood before him. | Him. They were young, compared with the former, though they might be 40 years old. (Menochius) --- It was frequently the custom in the eastern courts, to educate young noblemen along with the heir to the crown. Such formed the captains of Alexander, (1 Machabees 1:7,) and the warriors of Sesostris, whose father ordered all the male children who were born on the same day in his dominions, to be brought to court, to be educated with his son. (Diodorus i.) --- The Persian nobility were brought up at the gate of the prince, that they might learn temperance and the art of governing. (Xenophon, Cyrop. i.) --- The endeavours of Solomon were frustrated by the evil disposition of his son, and of those about his person. |
| I Kings 12:9 | And he said to them: What counsel do you give me, that I may answer this people, who have said to me: Make the yoke, which thy father put upon us, lighter? | |
| I Kings 12:10 | And the young men that had been brought up with him, said: Thus shalt thou speak to this people, who have spoken to thee, saying: Thy father made our yoke heavy, do thou ease us. Thou shalt say to them: My little finger is thicker than the back of my father. | Finger is not expressed in Hebrew or Septuagint, but the Syriac and Josephus agree with the Vulgate. In Paralipomenon, we read loins, instead of back. Hebrew and Septuagint, my little (Protestants supply finger). Septuagint, "my littleness," mikrotes; but in Paralipomenon finger is added. (Haydock) --- Chaldean, "my weakness is stronger than my father's strength." The loins denote strength. Roboam did not use these boastings and insolent expressions: but he adopted their spirit. (Calmet) --- He insinuates that he was twice as old as his father when he began to reign, (Pineda 7:24,) or he uses a proverbial exaggeration. (Delrio. adag. 202.) (Menochius) |
| I Kings 12:11 | And now my father put a heavy yoke upon you, but I will add to your yoke: my father beat you with whips, but I will beat you with scorpions. | Scorpions. Chaldean, "thorns." Hebrew has both significations. Like a tyrant, Roboam threatens to beat the people with sharp thorns. (Menochius) |
| I Kings 12:12 | So Jeroboam, and all the people, came to Roboam the third day, as the king had appointed, saying: Come to me again the third day. | |
| I Kings 12:13 | And the king answered the people roughly, leaving the counsel of the old men, which they had given him, | |
| I Kings 12:14 | And he spoke to them according to the counsel of the young men, saying: My father made your yoke heavy, but I will add to your yoke: My father beat you with whips, but I will beat you with scorpions. | |
| I Kings 12:15 | And the king condescended not to the people: for the Lord was turned away from him, to make good his word, *which he had spoken in the hand of Ahias, the Silonite, to Jeroboam, the son of Nabat. | Turned. Hebrew, "for the cause (revolution) was from the Lord, (Calmet) that he might verify his word." (Haydock) --- God permitted the king to act impudently, and disposed things in such a manner, that the prediction took effect. (Calmet) --- Indeed, the prophet had only spoken, because things would happen. (Haydock) --- "There are two sorts of persecutors, those who blame, and those who flatter: the tongue of the flatterer persecutes more than the hand of him who kills." (St. Augustine in Psalm lxix.) (Du Hamel) --- Roboam fell a prey to his evil counsellors. (Haydock) --- That, (ver. 16.) denotes the sequel, not the final cause, as 3 Kings 14:9. (Worthington) |
| I Kings 12:16 | Then the people, seeing that the king would not hearken to them, answered him, saying : What portion have we in David? or what inheritance in the son of Isai? Go home to thy dwellings, O Israel: now, David, look to thy own house. So Israel departed to their dwellings. | Look to. Chaldean, "rule over thy own tribe." They imitate those who give a bill of divorce. (Calmet) --- Herein they were not excusable, no more than those who persecuted God's people, though he permitted their wickedness, to chastise the guilty. (Menochius) --- Seba had formerly withdrawn the people from David in the same manner, 2 Kings 20:1. (Haydock) --- Abulensis thinks that as God had chosen Jeroboam, and his rival acted tryannically, the people did right. (Tirinus) |
| I Kings 12:17 | But as for all the children of Israel that dwelt in the cities of Juda, Roboam reigned over them. | Them, as well as over many, who came into his territory, that they might practise the true religion, without restraint. (Haydock) (Chap. 11:13.) --- The kings of Juda afterwards made various conquests, 3 Kings 13:19. Hence they were able to contend with the other tribes (Calmet) with advantage. (Haydock) --- Even at first, Roboam put himself at the head of 180,000 chosen men, ver. 21. Abia had an army of 400,000, and Asa near 600,000; while Josaphat had 1,160,000 soldiers, 2 Paralipomenon 13:3., and 14:8., and 17:14. |
| I Kings 12:18 | Then king Roboam sent Aduram, who was over the tribute: and all Israel stoned him, and he died. Wherefore king Roboam made haste to get him up into his chariot, and he fled to Jerusalem: | Aduram. One of the same name had occupied this post under David, 2 Kings 20:24. (Calmet) --- Some suppose that this is the same with Adoniram, 3 Kings 4:6. Roboam impudently sent him to appease the people, (Salien) or haughtily to demand the usual tribute; unless the king abandoned him to the fury of the populace, as an object of their horror. The people have often been appeased by the death of rapacious ministers. --- Haste. Hebrew, "he strengthened himself," or obstinately persisted in his resolution of reducing the people by force; and thus those, who might now have been easily reclaimed, were driven to choose another king, and the evil became irremediable. (Calmet) |
| I Kings 12:19 | And Israel revolted from the house of David, unto this day. | |
| I Kings 12:20 | And it came to pass when all Israel heard that Jeroboam was come again, that they gathered an assembly, and sent and called him, and made him king over all Israel, and there was none that followed the house of David but the tribe of Juda only. | Again, from Egypt, ver. 2. (Haydock) --- He had not been present, it seems, at the second assembly; or, at least, he had retired as soon as Roboam had given his decision. But the people having stoned Aduram, and thus rendered a reconciliation very difficult, Jeroboam was invited to accept the crown. (Calmet) --- As this was conformable to his utmost desires and the prophet's declaration, he made no demur, 3 Kings 11:37. (Haydock) Only. Benjamin was a small tribe, and so intermixed with the tribe of Juda, (the very city of Jerusalem being partly in Juda, partly in Benjamin) that they are here counted but as one tribe. (Challoner) --- Perhaps Benjamin at first hesitated; but, considering the greater danger to which it would be exposed, embraced the party of Roboam, ver. 21. (Salien) |
| I Kings 12:21 | And Roboam came to Jerusalem, and gathered together all the house of Juda, and the tribe of Benjamin, a hundred fourscore thousand chosen men for war, to fight against the house of Israel, and to bring the kingdom again under Roboam, the son of Solomon. | Fourscore.[Eighty.] Septuagint, "twenty." (Du Hamel) --- But the Alexandrian copy agrees with the Hebrew. (Haydock) |
| I Kings 12:22 | *But the word of the Lord came to Semeias, the man of God, saying: 2 Paralipomenon 11:2. | |
| I Kings 12:23 | Speak to Roboam, the son of Solomon, the king of Juda, and to all the house of Juda, and Benjamin, and the rest of the people, saying: | |
| I Kings 12:24 | Thus saith the Lord: You shall not go up, nor fight against your brethren, the children of Israel: let every man return to his house, for this thing is from me. They hearkened to the word of the Lord, and returned from their journey, as the Lord had commanded them. | Them. This shews the great authority of Semeias. He wrote the history of Roboam, 2 Paralipomenon 12:15. He also foretold the irruption of Sesac, to punish the house of Israel; but not to destroy it. (Calmet) --- The obedience of Roboam deserves applause; though it would have been a vain attempt to resist God, who was resolved to punish his family. (Menochius) --- God must have touched the hearts of the leaders, to convince them that he spoke by the mouth of Semeias. (Salien) --- The Vatican Septuagint here subjoins almost the whole history of Jeroboam, improperly. (Haydock) See 3 Kings 14. |
| I Kings 12:25 | And Jeroboam built Sichem in Mount Ephraim, and dwelt there, and going out from thence, he built Phanuel. | Built, or "had built," while Roboam was preparing for his invasion. (Salien) --- Sichem and Phanuel had been ruined by Abimelech, and by Gedeon, Judges 8:17., and 9:45. (Calmet) --- By means of these fortresses, he secured both sides of the Jordan. (Haydock) --- Jeroboam afterwards fixed his residence at Thirsa, where the court was kept, till Amri built Samaria. |
| I Kings 12:26 | And Jeroboam said in his heart: Now shall the kingdom return to the house of David, | |
| I Kings 12:27 | If this people go up to offer sacrifices in the house of the Lord at Jerusalem: and the heart of this people will turn to their lord Roboam, the king of Juda, and they will kill me, and return to him. | Him. Jeroboam chose to follow the dictates of human policy, rather than to depend on the express declaration of God, who had given him the kingdom. It was natural that the people should have a predilection for the house of David; (Calmet) and he might fear that the priests would prevail upon them to return to their old master, as they dwelt about Jerusalem. (Salien) |
| I Kings 12:28 | *And finding out a device, he made two golden calves, and said to them: Go ye up no more to Jerusalem: **Behold thy gods, O Israel, who brought thee out of the land of Egypt. Tobias 1:5. --- ** Exodus 32:8. | Device. Wicked policy, to make religion subservient to the state. (Worthington) --- Jeroboam was right in judging, (Haydock) that it is one of the strongest foundations of government, (Calmet) and therefore he would have a peculiar religion for his subjects. (Haydock) --- Strange blindness, caused by ambition! As if God could not have maintained him on the throne. The sequel evinces how delusive were his wicked projects. (Calmet) --- Calves. It is likely, by making his gods in this form, he mimicked the Egyptians, among whom he had sojourned, who worshipped their Apis and their Osiris under the form of a bullock. (Challoner) (St. Jerome in Osee 4:15., and v., etc.) --- The Greeks commonly style these idols, heifers, as more contemptible than bulls: (Tirinus) and some Fathers style them, "calf-heads." (Lactantius 4:10.) Monceau pretends that they resembled the cherubim, and were intended to represent the true God; thus endeavouring to excuse the Israelites from idolatry, on this occasion, as well as when they came out of Egypt, Exodus 32:4. But his arguments are weak, and Jeroboam is constantly condemned as a most wicked and idolatrous prince, 3 Kings 14:9., 4 Kings 23:15., and Osee 8:5., and 10:5. (Calmet) --- Egypt. The same had been said by Aaron. (Menochius) |
| I Kings 12:29 | And he set the one in Bethel, and the other in Dan: | Bethel and Dan. Bethel was a city of the tribe of Ephraim, in the southern parts of the dominions of Jeroboam, about six leagues from Jerusalem: Dan was in the extremity of his dominions, to the north, on the confines of Syria. (Challoner) --- The Israelites did not hesitate to travel so far, ver. 30. (Calmet) --- Those who lived nearer Bethel, went thither along with their king. (Salien) --- The latter city was assigned to Benjamin, Josue 18:22. (Menochius) --- But probably many of the subjects of Jeroboam dwelt in it; so that it was the most southern city of his dominions. It had been consecrated by Jacob, (Genesis 28:19.) and was a famous place of devotion, 1 Kings 10:3. Septuagint (Alexandrian) and St. Cyril (in Osee, p. 5.) read Galgal. Dan had been long before infected with idolatry, Judges 18:30. |
| I Kings 12:30 | And this thing became an occasion of sin: for the people went to adore the calf as far as Dan. | Sin, almost irreparable, which brought on the ruin of the ten tribes. Though the calves were taken away along with them into captivity, the people did not return to the service of the Lord: but the greatest part imitated the conduct of the pagans, with whom they mixed; while some few returned with the tribe of Juda, and made a part of that kingdom. The Samaritans, who were sent to inhabit their country, were not of the race of Jacob. (Calmet) |
| I Kings 12:31 | And he made temples in the high places,* and priests of the lowest of the people, who were not of the sons of Levi. 2 Paralipomenon 11:15. | Places, to other idols or devils, (2 Paralipomenon 11:15.; Haydock) not merely at Bethel, 3 Kings 13. --- Lowest. Such places were fittest for him. (Worthington) --- Hebrew, "extremity:" others understand people of reputation: but it seems he took any whosoever would (chap. 13:33.) accept the office, without confining himself to the Levites. (Calmet) --- Indeed most of them were banished, as refractory; (2 Paralipomenon 11:13.) though some were so weak as to take part with him; (Ezechiel 44:10.) probably the descendants of Micha, Judges 18:31. (Haydock) --- They were not punished with instant death, like Core, though their crime seemed greater. (Salien) |
| I Kings 12:32 | And he appointed a feast in the eighth month, on the fifteenth day of the month, after the manner of the feast that was celebrated in Juda. And going up to the altar, he did in like manner in Bethel, to sacrifice to the calves, which he had made: and he placed in Bethel priests of the high places, which he had made. | Day. God had prescribed the seventh month, (Calmet) and this wicked prince purposely made choice of another, that the observance of the days appointed might be obliterated. Thus the Jacobins, in France, decreed that the tenth day should be the day of rest, instead of Sunday. (Haydock) --- Religious assemblies tend greatly to promote the spirit of concord and peace. |
| I Kings 12:33 | And he went up to the altar, which he had built in Bethel, on the fifteenth day of the eighth month, which he had devised of his own heart: and he ordained a feast to the children of Israel, and went up on the altar to burn incense. | To: literally, "up on," (super) as at the end of the verse. (Haydock) --- The altars were very high and large. (Calmet) --- Month. Septuagint add, "on the festival which," etc. (Menochius) --- Heart. Hebrew reads millibod, (praeter) instead of molbu, (ex corde suo.) Some manuscripts retain the latter word, as it is printed also in the marginal keri. Leusden tells us, we are by no means to say it is the truer reading, because then the text must be allowed to be corrupted; but it only explains what is meant by praeter, "besides." A marvellous explanation! and perhaps it is only to be paralleled by ei explained by non. (Kennicott) --- Jeroboam has a mind to do honour to his new worship, and unites in his own person the sacerdotal and regal dignity, as the Roman emperors did. (Calmet) --- Incense. Septuagint, "to sacrifice." (Haydock) --- From this period, many learned men date the 390 years of the iniquity of Israel, Ezechiel 4:5. (Du Hamel) |
| I Kings 13:0 | A prophet sent from Juda to Bethel, foretelleth the birth of Josias, and the destruction of Jeroboam's altar. Jeroboam's hand, offering violence to the prophet, withereth, but is restored by the prophet's prayer: the same prophet is deceived by another prophet, and slain by a lion. | |
| I Kings 13:1 | And *behold there came a man of God out of Juda, by the word of the Lord, to Bethel, when Jeroboam was standing upon the altar, and burning incense. | Year of the World 3030. A man. Some suppose his name was Addo, 2 Paralipomenon 9:29. But this is quite uncertain. --- Incense, or victims. (Calmet) |
| I Kings 13:2 | And he cried out against the altar in the word of the Lord, and said: O altar, altar, thus saith the Lord: *Behold a child shall be born to the house of David, Josias by name, and he shall immolate upon thee the priests of the high places, who now burn incense upon thee, and he shall burn men's bones upon thee. 4 Kings 23:16. | Altar, in which the prodigy was to take place, for the instruction of all. (Menochius) --- Name: 340 (Calmet) or 350 years after. (Salien) --- This prediction proves the truth of the religion; for, though the author of this book might have seen it verified, yet he would undoubtedly insert the very words of the prophet, which were known to all the people, 4 Kings 23:15. In this passage we do not read that Josias destroyed the priests. But ver. 19., and 20., it is clearly insinuated. (Calmet) --- Who now. He will reduce their bones to ashes upon this altar; or, those who shall imitate these priests, shall be there burnt alive. (Haydock) |
| I Kings 13:3 | And he gave a sign the same day, saying: This shall be the sign, that the Lord hath spoken: Behold the altar shall be rent, and the ashes that are upon it, shall be poured out. | Sign. This would take place immediately, to convince the king that what he had said would be accomplished. So Moses and Achaz were treated, Exodus 3:2, 12., and Isaias 7:14, 16. (Calmet) |
| I Kings 13:4 | And when the king had heard the word of the man of God, which he had cried out against the altar in Bethel, he stretched forth his hand from the altar, saying: Lay hold on him. And his hand which he stretched forth against him, withered: and he was not able to draw it back again to him. | |
| I Kings 13:5 | The altar also was rent, and the ashes were poured out from the altar, according to the sign which the man of God had given before in the word of the Lord. | |
| I Kings 13:6 | And the king said to the man of God: Entreat the face of the Lord thy God, and pray for me, that my hand may be restored to me. And the man of God besought the face of the Lord, and the king's hand was restored to him, and it became as it was before. | Thy God. He does not say my, being conscious that he had abandoned his service. (Menochius) --- Before. We may be surprised that God thus heals a man, whose heart was not changed, ver. 33. (Estius) --- But miracles do not always work a conversion. Pharao, Saul, and Achaz beheld them in vain: only one of the ten lepers returned to give thanks, Luke 17:17. This miracle rendered Jeroboam still more inexcusable. (Calmet) |
| I Kings 13:7 | And the king said to the man of God: Come home with me to dine, and I will make thee presents. | |
| I Kings 13:8 | And the man of God answered the king: If thou wouldst give me half thy house I will not go with thee, nor eat bread, nor drink water in this place: | With thee. He considers the king as one excommunicated, that he may thus be induced to repent. (Salien) |
| I Kings 13:9 | For so it was enjoined me by the word of the Lord, commanding me: Thou shalt not eat bread, nor drink water, nor return by the same way that thou camest. | |
| I Kings 13:10 | So he departed by another way, and returned not by the way that he came into Bethel. | Bethel, which was defiled, 1 Kings 21:5. God would thus caution us to keep at the greatest distance (Tirinus) possible from evil company, (Haydock) and from whatever may lead to sin. (Menochius) --- Besides the literal sense, Sanchez believes that the prophet was thus admonished to comply exactly with his injunctions, and to leave nothing unfinished; as God says, by the way that he came, he shall return, (Isaias 37:34.) to denote that Sennacherib's attempts should be frustrated. (Calmet) |
| I Kings 13:11 | Now a certain old prophet dwelt in Bethel, and his sons came to him, and told him all the works that the man of God had done that day in Bethel: and they told their father the words which he had spoken to the king. | Bethel, originally (Haydock) from Samaria, 4 Kings 23:18. (Menochius) --- Josias would have burnt his bones, like those of the false prophets, if they had not be blended with those of the man of God. (Calmet) |
| I Kings 13:12 | And their father said to them: What way went he? His sons shewed him the way by which the man of God went, who came out of Juda. | |
| I Kings 13:13 | And he said to his sons: Saddle me the ass. And when they had saddled him, he got up, | |
| I Kings 13:14 | And went after the man of God, and found him sitting under a turpentine-tree: and he said to him: Art thou the man of God who camest from Juda? He answered: I am. | |
| I Kings 13:15 | And he said to him: Come home with me, to eat bread. | |
| I Kings 13:16 | But he said: I must not return, nor go with thee, neither will I eat bread, nor drink water in this place: | |
| I Kings 13:17 | Because the Lord spoke to me, in the word of the Lord, saying: Thou shalt not eat bread, and thou shalt not drink water there, nor return by the way thou wentest. | |
| I Kings 13:18 | He said to him: I also am a prophet like unto thee: and an angel spoke to me, in the word of the Lord, saying: Bring him back with thee into thy house, that he may eat bread, and drink water. He deceived him, | An angel spoke to me, etc. This old man of Bethel was indeed a prophet, but he sinned in thus deceiving the man of God; the more, because he pretended a revelation for what he did; (Challoner; Worthington) though he did it with a good intention, and supposed that the prophet had only been forbidden to eat with Jeroboam and his followers. (Theodoret, q. 42.) --- This lie might cause him to be styled, "a false prophet," by Josephus. Abulensis thinks he was a wicked man, like Balaam; and many suppose that he was the chief instrument in deluding the king. (Josephus; St. Gregory, etc.) --- After the man of God had been torn to pieces, he might easily persuade the people that he was only an impostor, and that the pretended miracles were merely the effects of natural causes. It is not certain that this man was inspired by God, ver. 20. --- Deceived. Hebrew, "he lied unto him, (Calmet) and thus caused him to transgress. (Worthington) |
| I Kings 13:19 | And brought him back with him: so he ate bread, and drank water in his house. | |
| I Kings 13:20 | And as they sat at table, the word of the Lord came to the prophet that brought him back: | Table. After this the Masorets place a piska, or circle, to denote some omission, which the Syriac version alone supplies; "and did eat." (Kennicott) --- Back. Some translate, "whom he had brought back." (Junius; Syriac, etc.) --- This would destroy the principal proof of those who esteem the man of Bethel to have been a true prophet. (Calmet) --- Protestants agree with us; and the context seems to assert, that God addressed his servant by another's mouth. (Haydock) |
| I Kings 13:21 | And he cried out to the man of God who came out of Juda, saying: Thus saith the Lord: Because thou hast not been obedient to the Lord, and hast not kept the commandment which the Lord thy God commanded thee, | |
| I Kings 13:22 | And hast returned, and eaten bread, and drunk water in the place wherein he commanded thee that thou should not eat bread, nor drink water, thy dead body shall not be brought into the sepulchre of thy fathers. | Fathers. This was a great punishment for the Hebrews, Genesis 49:29. |
| I Kings 13:23 | And when he had eaten and drunk, he saddled his ass for the prophet, whom he had brought back. | For. Some Latin manuscripts read propheta, as if the prophet saddled his own ass. But he probably came on foot, and the man of Bethel lent him one. (Calmet) |
| I Kings 13:24 | And when he was gone, a lion found him in the way, and killed him, and his body was cast in the way: and the ass stood by him, and the lion stood by the dead body. | Killed him. Thus the Lord often punishes his servants here, that he may spare them hereafter. For the generality of divines[theologians] are of opinion, that the sin of this prophet, considered with all its circumstances, was not mortal. (Challoner) --- He had received a positive order, and ought to have tried the spirits, whether they were from God, 1 John 4:1., and Galatians 6:18. Every prophecy which contradicts the word of God, comes from an evil principle. (Calmet) --- The prophet might suppose, however, that some cause had intervened, which authorized him to eat with this his brother, (ver. 30.) whom he probably revered as a true prophet. Many of God's commands are conditional. (Haydock) --- Serenus observes, that God often inflicts death for the smallest faults. (Cassian 7:26.) (St. Gregory, Dial. 4:24.) --- St. Augustine (cura, C. 7.) doubts not of the prophet's salvation. --- Body, without even hurting the ass, ver. 28. (Haydock) --- God protected the relics of his servant, by stationing the lion for a guard. (Procopius) (Menochius) --- How impenetrable are the counsels of God! He suffers Jeroboam, and the prophet who had seduced his servant, to live; while he punishes the latter for a fault which he had committed undesignedly. But he thus purified him from guilt, (Calmet) while he reserved Jeroboam for more lasting torments in another world. (Haydock) --- Nothing could prove more forcibly the existence of future rewards and punishments. (Calmet) --- Not only the deceiver, but he also who is deceived, so as to transgress God's orders, must be punished. (Worthington) |
| I Kings 13:25 | And behold, men passing by, saw the dead body cast in the way, and the lion standing by the body. And they came and told it in the city, wherein that old prophet dwelt. | |
| I Kings 13:26 | And when that prophet, who had brought him back out of the way, heard of it, he said: It is the man of God, that was disobedient to the mouth of the Lord, and the Lord hath delivered him to the lion, and he hath torn him, and killed him, according to the word of the Lord, which he spoke to him. | |
| I Kings 13:27 | And he said to his sons: Saddle me an ass. And when they had saddled it, | |
| I Kings 13:28 | And he was gone, he found the dead body cast in the way, and the ass and the lion standing by the carcass: the lion had not eaten of the dead body, nor hurt the ass. | |
| I Kings 13:29 | And the prophet took up the body of the man of God, and laid it upon the ass, and going back brought it into the city of the old prophet, to mourn for him. | |
| I Kings 13:30 | And he laid his dead body in his own sepulchre: and they mourned over him, saying: Alas! alas, my brother. | Brother. Such titles were customary, Jeremias 22:18. (Menochius) |
| I Kings 13:31 | And when they had mourned over him, he said to his sons: When I am dead, bury me in the sepulchre wherein the man of God is buried: lay my bones beside his bones. | Bones. Septuagint add, "that my bones may be saved along with his." The conduct and faith of this man would lead us to conclude that he had done wrong, without any malicious design, ver. 18. (Haydock) |
| I Kings 13:32 | For assuredly the word shall come to pass which he hath foretold in the word of the Lord, against the altar that is in Bethel: and against all the temples of the high places, that are in the cities of Samaria. | Samaria. The city was built by Amri, fifty years after the death of Jeroboam, 3 Kings 16:24. But the sacred writer speaks of places by the names which they bore in his time. (Calmet) --- If this man was a prophet, he might easily mention Samaria, which would give its name to the kingdom of Israel. There was also probably a village of this name long before, on the mountain Samir, where one of the judges was buried, Judges 10:2. (Haydock) |
| I Kings 13:33 | After these words, Jeroboam came not back from his wicked way: but on the contrary, he made of the meanest of the people priests of the high places: whosoever would, he filled his hand, and he was made a priest of the high places. | Way. Every thing promotes the salvation of the just, while the wicked pervert the most gracious designs of Providence to their own ruin. The king concluded that the prediction deserved no regard, ver. 18. (Calmet) --- Meanest. 3 Kings 12:31. Thus he wished to eradicate all sense of religion. (Haydock) --- His, suam, "own." Any person who brought the oil and the necessary victims, might assume the office of priest. See Exodus 28:41. (Haydock) |
| I Kings 13:34 | And for this cause did the house of Jeroboam sin, and was cut off, and destroyed from the face of the earth. | Earth. Hebrew, "to destroy it from the face of the earth." The Vulgate insinuates that it had taken place before the author wrote. In the third year of Asa, 22 years after this revolt, Bansa slew the whole family, 3 Kings 15:29. |
| I Kings 14:0 | Ahias prophesieth the destruction of the family of Jeroboam. He dieth, and is succeeded by his son Nadab. The king of Egypt taketh and pillageth Jerusalem. Roboam dieth, and his son Abiam succeedeth. | |
| I Kings 14:1 | At that time Abia, the son of Jeroboam, fell sick. | At. The Septuagint omit the 20 verses following. But Grabe's edition has them marked with asterisks, (Haydock) as being supplied from Theodotion, etc. The Vatican copy gives a great part, with some circumstances which occur no where else, 3 Kings 12:24. (Calmet) --- The wife of Jeroboam is there called Ano, (Menochius) the elder sister of the queen of Egypt, Thekemina. See 3 Kings 11:19; where Adad marries another sister. (Haydock) --- Time. This expression does not determine the year. (St. Chrysostom, etc.) --- The passage in the Vatican Septuagint seems to place this death before Jeroboam ascended the throne: but it took place rather at the end of his reign, ver. 14. Abia seems to have been his eldest son, and fit for command; so that the people mourn for him, which they would hardly have done for an infant. (Calmet) |
| I Kings 14:2 | And Jeroboam said to his wife: Arise, and change thy dress, that thou be not known to be the wife of Jeroboam, and go to Silo, where Ahias, the prophet is, *who told me that I should reign over this people. 3 Kings 11:31. | Dress. As if the prophet, who could dive into futurity, could be thus imposed upon. Jeroboam was aware that he would be full of indignation at the changes which had been introduced. He might also fear, lest his wife might be exposed to danger in (Calmet) or near (Haydock) the enemy's country, (Calmet) and the people would have been more convinced of the vanity of their idols, if they had seen that it was necessary to have recourse to a prophet of the true God. (Menochius) --- The mother might ask without the least suspicion, "Will my son recover?" --- Silo might still be attached to the service of God, in consequence of the ark residing there so long, and the presence of the revered Ahias; so that, if it formed a part of the dominions of Israel, (Tirinus) as it was in the tribe of Ephraim, though nearer Jerusalem than Sichem, (Calmet) Jeroboam might reasonably fear lest his wife should be treated with indignity. (Tirinus) |
| I Kings 14:3 | Take also with thee ten loaves, and cracknels, and a pot of honey, and go to him: for he will tell thee what shall become of this child. | Cracknels. Hebrew nikkudim, "cakes full of holes," etc., Josue 9:12. (Calmet) --- Septuagint give a double translation, "cakes and raisins." Arabic, "fruits." Syriac adds "dried." It was customary to make presents to the prophets, 1 Kings 9:7. (Calmet) --- But these were mean, that the woman might not be known. (Du Hamel) --- It is not said that Ahias deigned to receive them. (St. Jerome in Mic. iii.) |
| I Kings 14:4 | Jeroboam's wife did as he told her: and rising up, went to Silo, and came to the house of Ahias; but he could not see, for his eyes were dim by reason of his age. | Dim. Hebrew, "swelled," etc. (Calmet) --- Septuagint inform us that the prophet was 60 years old. (Haydock) |
| I Kings 14:5 | And the Lord said to Ahias: Behold the wife of Jeroboam cometh in, to consult thee concerning her son, that is sick: thus and thus shalt thou speak to her. So when she was coming in, and made as if she were another woman, | |
| I Kings 14:6 | Ahias heard the sound of her feet, coming in at the door, and said: Come in, thou wife of Jeroboam: why dost thou feign thyself to be another? But I am sent to thee with heavy tidings. | Tidings. Hebrew, "I am a hard messenger to thee." (Calmet) |
| I Kings 14:7 | Go, and tell Jeroboam: Thus saith the Lord, the God of Israel: For as much as I exalted thee from among the people, and made thee prince over my people Israel; | |
| I Kings 14:8 | And rent the kingdom away from the house of David, and gave it to thee, and thou hast not been as my servant, David, who kept my commandments, and followed me with all his heart, doing that which was well pleasing in my sight: | |
| I Kings 14:9 | But hast done evil above all that were before thee, and hast made thee strange gods, and molten gods, to provoke me to anger, and hast cast me behind thy back: | Strange gods; that is, foreign gods: which expression destroys the opinion of those who imagine that Jeroboam designed by his calves to worship the Lord God of Israel. (Challoner) --- Back. Literally, "body." |
| I Kings 14:10 | Therefore, behold I will bring evils upon the house of Jeroboam, and *will cut of from Jeroboam him that pisseth against the wall, and him that is shut up, and the last in Israel: and I will sweep away the remnant of the house of Jeroboam, as dung is swept away till all be clean. 3 Kings 15:29. | Wall. Every male child, or every dog. See 1 Kings 25:22. (Haydock) --- The Hebrew word mashtin, in Spanish and French, signifies a "shepherd's dog." --- Israel. This proverbial expression signifies, that even those who keep at home, and meddle not with the affairs of war, will not escape; (Calmet) nor shall those who have run away from the field of battle, (Haydock) nor the most precious or contemptible things be spared, Deuteronomy 32:36., and 4 Kings 14:26. (Menochius) --- Clean. This family is compared to something most disgusting, (Haydock) because it had introduced idolatry, and the prediction against it was literally fulfilled by Baasa, (chap. 15:29.; Tirinus) "as the vintner seeks in the vineyard even for the last grape." (Syriac and Arabic) |
| I Kings 14:11 | Them that shall die of Jeroboam in the city, the dogs shall eat: and them that shall die in the field, the birds of the air shall devour: for the Lord hath spoken it. | Devour. They shall have the burial of asses, Jeremias 22:19. |
| I Kings 14:12 | Arise thou, therefore, and go to thy house: and when thy feet shall be entering into the city, the child shall die, | |
| I Kings 14:13 | And all Israel shall mourn for him, and shall bury him: for he only of Jeroboam shall be laid in a sepulchre, because in his regard there is found a good word from the Lord, the God of Israel, in the house of Jeroboam. | Word from. Hebrew or "thought towards." (Grotius) --- He has entertained sentiments of piety (Calmet) in the midst of a wicked court; therefore, God will hasten to draw him out of the midst of iniquity. (Haydock) --- The Rabbins say that he had pulled down the walls, which his father had built, to prevent the people from going to Jerusalem. (Calmet) --- God was please to shew mercy to him. (Menochius) |
| I Kings 14:14 | And the Lord hath appointed himself a king over Israel, who shall cut off the house of Jeroboam in this day, and in this time: | Time. Protestants, "But what? even now." The young prince, (Haydock) who was the firmest support of the family, was presently hurried away. Abia, king of Juda, slew above 500,000 of Jeroboam's subjects at once; and Baasa exterminated his family. (Calmet) --- The latter had now begun his conspiracy. (Abulensis, q. 26.) |
| I Kings 14:15 | And the Lord God shall strike Israel as a reed is shaken in the water: and he shall root up Israel out of this good land, which he gave to their fathers, and shall scatter them beyond the river: because they have made to themselves groves, to provoke the Lord. | Water. The kingdom of Israel was continually agitated with wars. --- River Euphrates, by degrees. The kings of Assyria verified these predictions; and we know not what is become of these ten tribes. (Calmet) --- To provoke. These people did not perhaps design (Haydock) to make God their enemy, no more than their king did, ver. 9. But their actions had that effect. Such expressions denote not the final cause, but the sequel of other facts, without direct intention. (Worthington) --- Yet these sins might probably be called sins of malice. (Haydock) --- They were all involved in ruin, because they had been accomplices in wickedness. (Menochius) |
| I Kings 14:16 | And the Lord shall give up Israel for the sins of Jeroboam, who hath sinned, and made Israel to sin. | Sin. This is the common effect of evil example in kings. Plus exemplo quà m peccato nocent. (Cicero, Leg. iii.) "As it is esteemed a sort of service to imitate the customs and vices of the king; they laid aside all piety, lest they might seem to upbraid the king with his impiety, if they should live in a virtuous manner." (Lactantius 5:6.) The crimes of kings are seldom confined to their own persons. (Calmet) |
| I Kings 14:17 | And the wife of Jeroboam arose, and departed, and came to Thersa: and when she was coming in to the threshold of the house, the child died, | Thersa. Septuagint inform us that Jeroboam had built this place, which the call Sarira, while he was employed by Solomon. No wonder, therefore, that it is not mentioned by Josue. Its exact situation is not known, though it must have been very delightful, since Solomon compares the spouse to it. (Calmet) --- Where we read sweet, (Canticle of Canticles 6:3.) Hebrew has, "Thou art beautiful....as Thersa, and comely as Jerusalem." Hither Jeroboam had removed his court from Sichem. (Tirinus) --- Some place Thersa in the tribe of Manasses; (Adrichomius) others, in that of Ephraim. (Bonfrere) --- House. Hebrew, "door," or gate of the city, when the prophet had denounced that the child should die, (ver. 12.) unless the palace was contiguous to the walls. (Haydock) |
| I Kings 14:18 | And they buried him. And all Israel mourned for him, according to the word of the Lord, which he spoke by the hand of his servant Ahias, the prophet. | |
| I Kings 14:19 | And the rest of the acts of Jeroboam, how he fought, and how he reigned, behold they are written in the Book of the words of the days of the kings of Israel. | The book of the words of the days of the kings of Israel. This book, which is often mentioned in the Book of Kings, is long since lost. For as to the books of Paralipomenon, or Chronicles, (which the Hebrews call the words of the days) they were certainly written after the Book of Kings, since they frequently refer to them; (Challoner) and they also remit us to these journals for farther information. (Haydock) |
| I Kings 14:20 | And the days that Jeroboam reigned, were two and twenty years: and he slept with his fathers: and Nadab, his son, reigned in his stead. | |
| I Kings 14:21 | *And Roboam, the son of Solomon, reigned in Juda: Roboam was one and forty years old when he began to reign: and he reigned seventeen years in Jerusalem, the city which the Lord chose out of all the tribes of Israel to put his name there. And his mother's name was Naama, an Ammonitess. 2 Paralipomenon 12:13. | Forty. Some suspect there is a mistake, and that it should be twenty-one. See 1 Paralipomenon 22:5. (Grotius) (Du Hamel) --- Hardouin dates from the aera of Solomon. Roboam was young, in the Scripture style. But he might be forty-one years old, 3 Kings 12:10. (Calmet) --- Ammonitess. She probably perverted her son; (Menochius) so that he only continued three years faithful to the Lord; (2 Paralipomenon 11:17.) when his people readily imitated the idolatry of Israel, as they had been already staggered in their faith by the conduct of Solomon. (Calmet) |
| I Kings 14:22 | And Juda did evil in the sight of the Lord, and provoked him above all that their fathers had done, in their sins which they committed. | |
| I Kings 14:23 | For they also built them altars, and statues, and groves, upon every high hill, and under every green tree: | High hill. Such places of devotion had been tolerated, before the temple was built: but now they were deemed profane. (Calmet) |
| I Kings 14:24 | There were also the effeminate in the land, and they did according to all the abominations of the people, whom the Lord had destroyed before the face of the children of Israel. | The effeminate. Catamites, or men addicted to unnatural lust. (Challoner) --- This crime had been punished in the Sodomites, and in the people of Chanaan, and of Benjamin. Yet they continued prevalent in the country, 3 Kings 15:12., and 4 Kings 23:7., and Isaias 2:6., and 2 Machabees 4:12. (Calmet) --- These were perpetrated in honour of Venus, Priapus, etc. (Menochius) See Deuteronomy 23:17. (Haydock) |
| I Kings 14:25 | *And in the fifth year of the reign of Roboam, Sesac, king of Egypt came up against Jerusalem. | Year of the World 3030. Sesac. See 3 Kings 11:40. He was allied to Jeroboam, (Calmet) so that he might come to his assistance, (Haydock) being attracted by the ivory throne, (Rabbins) and the immense riches of Jeroboam. (Calmet) --- Roboam was informed by Semeias, that resistance would be fruitless; and being humbled, he repaired more frequently to the temple, ver. 18. But his piety was of short duration, as it was influenced only by fear, 2 Paralipomenon 12:14. |
| I Kings 14:26 | And he took away the treasures of the house of the Lord, and the king's treasures, and carried all off: as also the shields of gold which *Solomon had made: 3 Kings 10:16. | |
| I Kings 14:27 | And Roboam made shields of brass instead of them, and delivered them into the hand of the captains of the shield-bearers, and of them that kept watch before the gate of the king's house. | Hand. Symmachus, "the place where the courtiers" (guards) stood, (Haydock) in the hall; (Calmet) or he made the guards carry these shields before him, ver. 28. (Haydock) |
| I Kings 14:28 | And when the king went into the house of the Lord, they whose office it was to go before him, carried them: and afterwards they brought them back to the armoury of the shield-bearers. | |
| I Kings 14:29 | Now the rest of the acts of Roboam, and all that he did, behold they are written in the Book of the words of the days of the kings of Juda. | |
| I Kings 14:30 | And there was war between Roboam and Jeroboam always. | Always. The two kingdoms were constantly divided, and did each other all the harm they could; though we know not that they ever came to a pitched battle. Roboam was too great a coward, 2 Paralipomenon 13:7. |
| I Kings 14:31 | And Roboam slept with his fathers, and was buried with them, in the city of David: and his mother's name was Naama, an Ammonitess: and Abiam, his son, reigned in his stead. | Roboam. He deserved some commendation for procuring provisions, and fortifying his dominions; (2 Paralipomenon 11:5, 12.) but was a prince devoid of wisdom or religion. He married 18 wives and 60 concubines. The son of Maacha, his most favourite queen, succeeded him, after he had reigned seventeen years, and lived fifty-eight. (Calmet) --- Semeias and Addo wrote his history, 2 Paralipomenon 12:15. |
| I Kings 15:0 | The acts of Abiam, and of Asa, kings of Juda. And of Nadab, and Baasa, kings of Israel. | |
| I Kings 15:1 | Now *in the eighteenth year of the reign of Jeroboam, the son of Nabat, Abiam reigned over Juda. | Year of the World 3046, Year before Christ 958. |
| I Kings 15:2 | He reigned three years in Jerusalem: *the name of his mother was Maacha, the daughter of Abessalom. 2 Paralipomenon 13:2. | Years, wanting some months. Maacha. She is called elsewhere, Michaia, daughter of Uriel; but is was a common thing, in those days, for a person to have two names. (Challoner) --- Abessalom and Absalom, the son of David are the same, 2 Paralipomenon 11:21. (Calmet) --- St. Jerome (Trad.) is of a different opinion. (Menochius) --- Josephus ([Antiquities?] 8:10.) intimates that Maacha was the daughter of Thamar. The eldest daughter, in the kingdom of Gessur, seems to have been usually styled Maacha, ver. 10. (Tirinus) |
| I Kings 15:3 | And he walked in all the sins of his father, which he had done before him: and his heart was not perfect with the Lord his God, as was the heart of David, his father. | |
| I Kings 15:4 | But for David's sake the Lord his God gave him a lamp in Jerusalem, to set up his son after him, and to establish Jerusalem: | Lamp, son; (chap. 11:36.) though he deserved to have his family exterminated. (Calmet) --- He is preserved for his father's sake. (Worthington) |
| I Kings 15:5 | Because David had done that which was right in the eyes of the Lord, and had not turned aside from any thing that he commanded him, all the days of his life, *except the matter of Urias, the Hethite. 2 Kings 11:14. | Hethite. This could not be excused. But all his other imperfections might not appear criminal in the eyes of the world, as they had some pretext of virtue; so that God reserves the judgment of them to himself, and to David's conscience, who confessed that he had sinned, 2 Kings 24:10. (Tirinus) --- Except David, Ezechias, and Josias, all the kings of Juda committed sin; (Ecclesiasticus 49:5.; Calmet) and not one of those who ruled over Israel, gave an example of virtue. (Haydock) --- David soon entered into himself, with respect to his other failings. But he continued for a long time involved in the guilt of adultery and murder. (Sanchez) |
| I Kings 15:6 | But there was war between Roboam and Jeroboam all the time of his life. | Roboam. This had been remarked, 3 Kings 14:30. (Haydock) --- There was a domestic quarrel between the two families. (Calmet) --- Some suspect that Roboam is placed to designate his successors, or that we ought to read, Abia. (Sanchez) --- Castalion rashly ventures to alter the text. (Calmet) --- Abiam gained a decisive victory over Jeroboam, ver. 7., and 2 Paralipomenon 13:3. |
| I Kings 15:7 | And the rest of the words of Abiam, and all that he did, are they not written in the Book of the words of the days of the kings of Juda?* And there was war between Abiam and Jeroboam. 2 Paralipomenon 13:3. | |
| I Kings 15:8 | And Abiam slept with his fathers, and they buried him in the city of David, *and Asa, his son, reigned in his stead. 2 Paralipomenon 14:1. | |
| I Kings 15:9 | So in the *twentieth year of Jeroboam, king of Israel, reigned Asa, king of Juda, | Year of the World 3049, Year before Christ 955. Year complete, when the 21st was running on. (Usher) --- Septuagint, "the 24th." (Calmet) --- But Grabe's edition agrees with the Hebrew. (Haydock) |
| I Kings 15:10 | And he reigned one and forty years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Maacha, the daughter of Abessalom. | His mother's, etc. That is, his grandmother; unless we suppose, which is not improbable, that the Maacha here named is different from the Maacha mentioned [in] ver. 2. (Challoner) --- She was probably another grand-daughter of David's son, (Calmet) as such are frequently styled simply daughters. So David is called the father of Asa, (ver. 11.; Haydock) though he was really his great-grandfather. (Menochius) |
| I Kings 15:11 | And Asa did that which was right in the sight of the Lord, as did David, his father: | |
| I Kings 15:12 | And he took away the effeminate out of the land, and he removed all the filth of the idols, which his fathers had made. | Effeminate. See 3 Kings 14:24. Yet his zeal could not entirely eradicate this evil. There was room for the exertions of his son Josaphat, 3 Kings 22:47. (Calmet) --- The king punished with death such as he could discover. (Haydock) |
| I Kings 15:13 | Moreover, he also removed his mother, Maacha, from being the princess in the sacrifices of Priapus, and in the grove which she had consecrated to him: and he destroyed her den, and broke in pieces the filthy idol, and burnt it by the torrent Cedron: | Priapus. He would not spare such abominations in his own family. (Menochius) He took from his mother the direction of the palace, (Vatable) and her guards. (Grotius) --- Hebrew, "even her he removed from being queen, because she had made a Miphlatstah." (Haydock) --- Septuagint render this term a synod, "meeting," or something shameful; also a cavern, or den; and in Paralipomenon, the "idol" Astarte. St. Jerome also gives different meanings; so that the precise import is not well known. Most people translate, "a scarecrow;" (Calmet) terriculum. In the gardens of Greece and of Rome, the figure of Priapus was set up (Du Hamel) to frighten thieves and birds away. Inde ego furum aviumque Maxima formido. (Horace, Sat. 1. 8.) Others understand that Pan, another frightening idol, is here meant; (Castalion) or the abominations of Phallus and Ithyphallus, derived from the same Hebrew word. (Seldon) --- As the goddess Astarte, or Asera, "the grove," here the object of adoration, was the wife of Adonis, it is probable, that the same obscenities were carried in triumph, as Herodotus (II. 28., and 49.) specifies in the description of the festival of Bacchus, celebrated by the Egyptians. --- To him. Protestants, "She had made an idol in the grove." Hebrew also, "to Asera; and Asa destroyed her idol, (miphlatstah) and burnt it." (Haydock) |
| I Kings 15:14 | But the high places he did not take away. Nevertheless, the heart of Asa was perfect with the Lord all his days: | The high places. There were excelsa, or high places, of two different kinds. Some were set up and dedicated to the worship of idols, or strange gods: and these Asa removed, 2 Paralipomenon 14:2. Others were only altars of the true God, but were erected contrary to the law, which allowed of no sacrifices but in the temple; and these were not removed by Asa. (Challoner) --- They had been built before the temple, and tolerated by the prophets; (Calmet) and, though they were now improper for sacrifices, (Haydock) Asa thought it would be imprudent to molest them, (Calmet) as perhaps he could not take them away. (Du Hamel) --- He left also the ruins of (Haydock) the temples built by Solomon, (Worthington) on Mount Olivet, (4 Kings xxiii.; Menochius) as no longer dangerous. (Salien) --- Lord. Asa had his faults; but never forsook the worship of the Lord. (Challoner) --- In the same sense, David is so often praised as a just prince. Asa threw a prophet into prison, and placed his trust as much in physicians, etc., 2 Paralipomenon 16:10, 12. But he did penance, and deserves to be ranked (Calmet) among the few just kings of Juda. (Haydock) |
| I Kings 15:15 | And he brought in the things which his father had dedicated, and he had vowed, into the house of the Lord, silver and gold, and vessels. | Vowed. Hebrew, "which he himself had dedicated," or vowed, 2 Paralipomenon 15:18. (Haydock) --- Asa made liberal presents to the Lord, and gave what his father had promised, (Menochius) probably during the famous battle against Jeroboam, 2 Paralipomenon 13:5. (Abulensis, q. 17.) Abiam was a wicked prince, and had neglected this duty, that heirs were bound to execute the vows of their parents, though Moses does not express it. (Calmet) |
| I Kings 15:16 | And there was war between Asa, and Baasa, king of Israel, all their days. | Their days: not that they were always fighting. (Haydock) --- Open war was declared only in the 35th year of Asa, (2 Paralipomenon 15:19.) which must be dated from the schism, and not from the commencement of his reign; since his rival, Baasa, enjoyed the sovereignty only 24 years, and died in the 26th of Asa, which was the 36th from the division of the two kingdoms. Thus Hardouin observes that the years of Commodus, in some ancient Egyptians medals, are dated from the reign of M. Aurelius, chief of that family; so that the first of Commodus is inscribed the twenty-first of Aurelius. Asa defeated Zara in the fifteenth, and attacked Israel in the sixteen year of his reign. (Usher) (Tirinus) (Calmet) --- Others would substitute 25 for 35, (Grotius; Capel.) though contrary to the text, and to all the versions. (Calmet) |
| I Kings 15:17 | *And Baasa, king of Israel, went up against Juda, and built Rama, that no man might go out or come in of the side of Asa, king of Juda. 2 Paralipomenon 16:1. | Year of the World 3051, Year before Christ 953. Rama, fortifying it with a wall all round, 2 Paralipomenon xvi. (Haydock) --- Rama signifies, "a height." This fort commanded a narrow pass, between the two kingdoms, (Calmet) and cut off all communication; which Baasa dreaded, lest his subjects should return to the service of the true God, and of Juda. (Haydock) --- Josue (xviii. 25.) mentions Rama, near Gaboan, (Calmet) about five miles north of Jerusalem. (St. Jerome) --- There was another towards the south. (Menochius) --- But there the king of Israel would have no power. (Haydock) |
| I Kings 15:18 | Then Asa took all the silver and gold that remained in the treasures of the house of the Lord, and in the treasures of the king's house, and delivered it into the hands of his servants: and sent them to Benadad, son of Tabremon, the son of Hezion, king of Syria, who dwelt in Damascus, saying: | House. Sesac had not carried off all the treasures, (Calmet) and the losses had been since in a great measure repaired, ver. 15. (Haydock) --- Asa thought himself justified in employing these treasures in such a pressing necessity, (Calmet) perhaps (Haydock) without reason, as the danger was not so great; and he might have gained the victory without having recourse to an infidel, if he had placed more confidence in God, 2 Paralipomenon 16:7, 9. (Menochius) --- He had already discomfited Zara, king of Ethiopia, and had an army of 580,000 men. (Calmet) (2 Paralipomenon 14:8.) --- Tabremon, "Good Remmon," idol of Damascus. (Haydock) --- Hezion, the same with Razon, 3 Kings 11:23. (Menochius) |
| I Kings 15:19 | There is a league between me and thee, and between my father and thy father: therefore I have sent thee presents of silver and gold: and I desire thee to come, and break thy league with Baasa, king of Israel, that he may depart from me. | League. The infidel is ready to take part with the best bidder. (Haydock) --- Benadad gains a double reward, as he plunders the conquered. (Menochius) |
| I Kings 15:20 | Benadad, hearkening to king Asa, sent the captains of his army against the cities of Israel, and they smote Ahion, and Dan, and Abel-bethmaacha, and all Ceneroth; that is, all the land of Nephthali. | Ahion, or Ain, remote in the north, whence Theglathphalasar took away captives, (4 Kings 15:29.) is perhaps the Enan of Ezechiel 48:1., and Numbers 34:9. --- Maacha. In Paralipomenon, Abel-maim, "Abela of the waters," 2 Kings 20:14. --- Ceneroth, near the sea of Tiberias, Josue 11:2. Benadad kept possession of some of these places, and even built streets in Samaria, 3 Kings 20:34. |
| I Kings 15:21 | And when Baasa had heard this, he left off building Rama, and returned into Thersa. | Returned. So the Septuagint. Hebrew, "dwelt." (Calmet) --- He returned to protect his own dominions, (Menochius) and shut himself up in his capital. (Calmet) |
| I Kings 15:22 | But king Asa sent word into all Juda, saying: Let no man be excused: and they took away the stones from Rama, and the timber thereof, wherewith Baasa had been building, and with them Asa built Gabaa of Benjamin, and Maspha. | Excused. "When the country is to be defended, all exemptions cease." (Leg. ult.) (Calmet) --- Septuagint seem to preserve the terms of the original untranslated, "Asa called all....to Annacim." Hebrew en naki, (Haydock) means, "no one exempt." (Calmet) --- Rama belonged to the enemy; and, as it appears from this passage, was in the vicinity of Maspha. (Haydock) --- Gabaa, the city of Saul, (Menochius) adding fresh fortifications, as this and Maspha were frontier towns, against the inroads of Israel. (Haydock) |
| I Kings 15:23 | But the rest of all the acts of Asa, and all his strength, and all that he did, and the cities that he built, are they not written in the Book of the words of the days of the kings of Juda? But in the time of his old age he was diseased in his feet. | Strength. Septuagint, "dynasty," or power, whether of his dominions or of his person. (Calmet) --- Feet, with the gout, (Menochius) three years before his death. He did not confide in the Lord sufficiently, 2 Paralipomenon 16:12. His body was embalmed or burnt, unless aromatic spices evaporated while it was laid on a bed of state, before it was consigned to the tomb, which Asa had prepared for himself in the city of David, 2 Paralipomenon 16:14. |
| I Kings 15:24 | And he slept with his fathers, and was buried with them in the city of David, his father.* And Josaphat, his son, reigned in his place. 2 Paralipomenon 17:1. | |
| I Kings 15:25 | But Nadab, the son of Jeroboam, reigned over Israel the second year *of Asa, king of Juda: and he reigned over Israel two years. | Year of the World 3050, Year before Christ 954. Two years, incomplete; since he commenced his reign in the second, and died in the third year of Asa, ver. 28. (Calmet) --- Petau only allows him, "a few months;" and supposes, that he had been associated on the throne with Jeroboam. But this is unnecessary. (Houbigant) --- Nadab was the first king of Israel, who fell a prey to the fury of his subjects. (Salien, the year before Christ 971.) |
| I Kings 15:26 | And he did evil in the sight of the Lord, and walked in the ways of his father, and in his sins, wherewith he made Israel to sin. | |
| I Kings 15:27 | And Baasa, the son of Ahias, of the house of Issachar, conspired against him, and slew him in Gebbethon, which is a city of the Philistines: for Nadab and all Israel besieged Gebbethon. | Gebbethon, of the tribe of Dan, occupied by the Philistines. It was often attacked, 3 Kings 16:15. (Calmet) --- The occasion of this war is not known. (Menochius) |
| I Kings 15:28 | So Baasa slew him in the third year *of Asa, king of Juda, and reigned in his place. | Year of the World 3051. |
| I Kings 15:29 | *And when he was king, he cut off all the house of Jeroboam: he left not so much as one soul of his seed, till he had utterly destroyed him, according to the word of the Lord, **which he had spoken in the hand of Ahias, the Silonite: 3 Kings 21:22. --- ** 3 Kings 14:10. | Jeroboam. The author of schism is punished in his posterity. (Worthington) --- The body of Nadab was left unburied, 3 Kings 14:11. (Menochius) |
| I Kings 15:30 | Because of the sin of Jeroboam, which he had sinned, and wherewith he had made Israel to sin, and for the offence wherewith he provoked the Lord, the God of Israel. | |
| I Kings 15:31 | But the rest of the acts of Nadab, and all that he did, are they not written in the Book of the words of the days of the kings of Israel? | |
| I Kings 15:32 | And there was war between Asa and Baasa, the king of Israel, all their days. | |
| I Kings 15:33 | In the third year *of Asa, king of Juda, Baasa, the son of Ahias, reigned over all Israel, in Thersa, four and twenty years. | Year of the World 3051. |
| I Kings 15:34 | And he did evil before the Lord, and walked in the ways of Jeroboam, and in his sins, wherewith he made Israel to sin. | |
| I Kings 16:0 | Jehu prophesieth against Baasa: his son Ela is slain, and all his family destroyed by Zambri: of the reign of Amri, father of Achab. | |
| I Kings 16:1 | Then the word of the Lord came to Jehu, the son of Hanani, against Baasa, saying: | Jehu was different from one of the same name and parentage, who came to Josaphat; (2 Paralipomenon 19:2.; Du Hamel; Tirinus) though, if Baasa did not put him to death, as there is some reason to doubt, he might be the same, ver. 7. (Calmet) --- Hanani had been sent to Asa, 2 Paralipomenon 16:7. (Abulensis, q. 3.) |
| I Kings 16:2 | For as much as I have exalted thee out of the dust, and made thee prince over my people Israel, and thou hast walked in the way of Jeroboam, and hast made my people Israel to sin, to provoke me to anger with their sins: | I have. All power comes from God, though he frequently disapproves of the means by which people obtain it. (Haydock) --- Baasa was a traitorous usurper. --- My people. Many had abandoned the Lord: (Haydock) yet he still regards Israel as his people, sending prophets to reclaim them, and preserving many from bending the knee before Baal. |
| I Kings 16:3 | Behold I will cut down the posterity of Baasa, and the posterity of his house, and I will make thy house as the house of Jeroboam, the son of Nabat. | Posterity, (posteriora.; Haydock) children, and all that he shall leave behind. (Calmet) --- Baasa himself died a natural death, ver. 6. (Salien) |
| I Kings 16:4 | *Him that dieth of Baasa, in the city, the dogs shall eat: and him that dieth of his in the country, the fowls of the air shall devour. 3 Kings 14:11. | |
| I Kings 16:5 | *But the rest of the acts of Baasa, and all that he did, and his battles, are they not written in the Book of the words of the days of the kings of Israel? 2 Paralipomenon 16:1. | |
| I Kings 16:6 | So Baasa slept with his fathers, and was buried in Thersa: and Ela, his son, reigned in his stead. | |
| I Kings 16:7 | And when the word of the Lord came in the hand of Jehu, the son of Hanani, the prophet, against Baasa, and against his house, and against all the evil that he had done before the Lord, to provoke him to anger by the works of his hands, to become as the house of Jeroboam: for this cause he slew him; that is to say, Jehu, the son of Hanani, the prophet. | The evil, to punish it. (Menochius) --- He, God, slew him, Baasa, (Calmet) or "because the latter slew" Nadab, etc. (Grotius) --- God punished his usurpation and murders. (Calmet) --- That is, etc., is not found in Hebrew, Chaldean, Septuagint, nor in some Latin copies. (Estius) --- Hence Jehu might survive to admonish Josaphat, ver. 1. (Calmet) |
| I Kings 16:8 | In the *six and twentieth year of Asa, king of Juda, Ela, the son of Baasa, reigned over Israel, in Thersa, two years. | Year of the World 3074, Year before Christ 930. Years, in part, as he was slain in the 27th year of Asa, ver. 10. |
| I Kings 16:9 | And his servant Zambri, who was captain of half the horsemen, rebelled against him: now Ela was drinking in Thersa, and drunk in the house of Arsa, the governor of Thersa. | Horsemen. Hebrew, "chariots." (Septuagint) (Calmet) --- But Josephus styles him, Hipparchon, "general of the horse." (Menochius) --- Rebelled. Hebrew, "conspired." (Haydock) --- He acted privately at first. (Menochius) --- Governor. Hebrew, "steward of his house." Chaldean and Arabic, "in the temple of the idol Arsa," the earth, whom the pagans worshipped as the mother of gods and men; unless Arsa be put for Asera, or Astarte. (Calmet) |
| I Kings 16:10 | *And Zambri rushing in, struck him, and slew him, in the seven and twentieth year of Asa, king of Juda; and he reigned in his stead. 4 Kings 9:31. | |
| I Kings 16:11 | And when he was king, and sat upon his throne, he slew all the house of Baasa, and he left not one thereof to piss against a wall, and all his kinsfolks and friends. | Wall. See 1 Kings 25:22. --- Friends, from whom he had any thing to fear. (Menochius) |
| I Kings 16:12 | And Zambri destroyed all the house of Baasa, according to the word of the Lord, that he had spoken to Baasa, in the hand of Jehu, the prophet, | |
| I Kings 16:13 | For all the sins of Baasa, and the sins of Ela, his son, who sinned, and made Israel to sin, provoking the Lord, the God of Israel, with their vanities. | Vanities; idols. (Haydock) --- They raised fresh altars; or, by their example, encouraged the people to persevere in their impiety. (Menochius) |
| I Kings 16:14 | But the rest of the acts of Ela, and all that he did, are they not written in the Book of the words of the days of the kings of Israel? | |
| I Kings 16:15 | In the seven and twentieth year *of Asa, king of Juda, Zambri reigned seven days in Thersa: now the army was besieging Gebbethon, a city of the Philistines. | Year of the World 3075, Year before Christ 929. |
| I Kings 16:16 | And when they heard that Zambri had rebelled, and slain the king, all Israel made Amri their king, who was general over Israel in the camp that day. | All Israel, that was in the army, while others took part with Zambri. (Worthington) |
| I Kings 16:17 | And Amri went up, and all Israel with him, from Gebbethon, and they besieged Thersa. | |
| I Kings 16:18 | And Zambri, seeing that the city was about to be taken, went into the palace, and burnt himself with the king's house: and he died | Himself. Hebrew may also signify, "he (Amri) burnt him." --- Zambri, his rival. But the other sense is more natural. (Calmet) --- Thus Sardanapalus chose to destroy himself, with all his riches, (Justin i.; Atheneus 12:7.) to prevent the dead body from being insulted. It was for this reason that Sylla, the first of the Cornelian family, ordered his remains to be burnt. (Cicero, Leg. i.) (Tirinus) |
| I Kings 16:19 | In his sins, which he had sinned, doing evil before the Lord, and walking in the way of Jeroboam, and in his sin, wherewith he made Israel to sin. | To sin. Zambri had sufficient time, in seven days, (Haydock) to manifest his evil dispositions, of which he had perhaps given proof before. (Calmet) |
| I Kings 16:20 | But the rest of the acts of Zambri, and of his conspiracy and tyranny, are they not written in the Book of the words of the days of the kings of Israel? | |
| I Kings 16:21 | Then were the people of Israel divided into two parts: one half of the people followed Thebni, the son of Gineth, to make him king: and one half followed Amri. | Parts. Those who had chosen Amri, were mortified at the election made by the army, and therefore set up another king. (Calmet) --- The contest seems to have lasted four years. (Houbigant) |
| I Kings 16:22 | But the people that were with Amri, prevailed over the people that followed Thebni, the son of Gineth: and Thebni died, and Amri reigned. | Died in the battle, wherein Amri prevailed. (Menochius) |
| I Kings 16:23 | In the one and thirtieth year *of Asa, king of Juda, Amri reigned over Israel twelve years: in Thersa he reigned six years. | Year of the World 3079, Year before Christ 925. In the one and thirtieth year, etc. Amri began to reign in the seven and twentieth year of Asa; but had not the quiet possession of the kingdom, till the death of his competitor Thebni, which was in the one and thirtieth year of Asa's reign. (Challoner) --- Twelve years in all, (Worthington) comprehending the four of civil war; six at Thersa, and two in Samaria. (Houbigant) |
| I Kings 16:24 | And he bought the hill of Samaria of Semer, for two talents of silver: and he built upon it, and he called the city which he built Samaria, after the name of Semer, the owner of the hill. | Silver: 684l. 7s. 6d. sterling. (Arbuthnot) --- The place was sold so cheap, on condition that it should be called after the original owner. (Salien) --- Somer dwelt there; and several houses had been already erected, (chap. 13:32.) and even streets, by the king of Syria, for the convenience of his merchants, 3 Kings 20:34. (Haydock) --- Thersa had lately been so much ruined by civil wars, that Amri thought proper to choose a new seat of government. Samaria was greatly adorned by succeeding kings, 3 Kings 22:39. It stood in a delightful and commanding situation, and gave its name to the adjacent territory, and to the whole kingdom of Israel. Benadad besieged it twice; and Salmanasar took it. The kings of Egypt laid claim to it, after the death of Alexander: but Antiochus, of Syria, took it from them. Hyrcanus levelled it with the ground. Herod the Great rebuilt the city, and called it Sebaste, in honour of Augustus. |
| I Kings 16:25 | And Amri did evil in the sight of the Lord, and acted wickedly above all that were before him. | Above. He made a law, (Calmet) to force all to conform to the established irreligion, Micheas 6:16. (Haycock) |
| I Kings 16:26 | And he walked in all the way of Jeroboam, the son of Nabat, and in his sins, wherewith he made Israel to sin: to provoke the Lord, the God of Israel, to anger with their vanities. | With their vanities. That is, their idols, their golden calves, vain, false, deceitful things. |
| I Kings 16:27 | Now the rest of the acts of Amri, and the battles he fought, are they not written in the Book of the words of the days of the kings of Israel? | |
| I Kings 16:28 | And *Amri slept with his fathers, and was buried in Samaria, and Achab, his son, reigned in his stead. | Year of the World 3086, Year before Christ 918. |
| I Kings 16:29 | Now Achab, the son of Amri, reigned over Israel in the eight and thirtieth year of Asa, king of Juda. And Achab, the son of Amri, reigned over Israel in Samaria two and twenty years. | |
| I Kings 16:30 | And Achab, the son of Amri, did evil in the sight of the Lord above all that were before him. | |
| I Kings 16:31 | Nor was it enough for him to walk in the sins of Jeroboam, the son of Nabat: but he also took to wife Jezabel, daughter of Ethbaal, king of the Sidonians. And he went, and served Baal, and adored him. | Jezabel, whose name is become proverbial, to designate a proud, lewd, cruel, and impious woman, Apocalypse 2:20. Grotius compares her with Tullia, Fulvia, and Eudoxia, the respective wives of Tarquin, Anthony, and Arcadius. She was the chief promoter of all the evils of Achab's reign. He did not insist that she should embrace the true religion, when he married her; as it is supposed former kings had done, when they espoused women who had been brought up in idolatry. (Calmet) --- He even introduced her country's idols, and thus enhanced upon the wickedness of his predecessors. (Haycock) --- Ethbaal. Menander (following Josephus, contra Apion i.) calls him Ithobaal, and remarks that his reign was memorable for a year's drought; probably that of three years, under Achaz, 3 Kings 17:1. Ethbaal was king of Tyre, and ruled over the Sidonians likewise, 3 Kings 5:6. |
| I Kings 16:32 | And he set up an altar for Baal, in the temple of Baal, which he had built in Samaria; | |
| I Kings 16:33 | And he planted a grove: and Achab did more to provoke the Lord, the God of Israel, than all the kings of Israel that were before him. | |
| I Kings 16:34 | In his days Hiel, of Bethel, built Jericho: in Abiram, his first-born, he laid its foundations: and in his youngest son, Segub, he set up the gates thereof: according to the word of the Lord, which he spoke in the hand of Josue, the son of* Nun. Josue 6:26. | Hand. Josue had committed this curse to writing. (Haydock) --- Hiel, an idolater, did not regard it, and Achab had not zeal to attempt to hinder him. But divine Providence punished his audacity. (Calmet) --- All his sons perished, while the city was rebuilding. (Worthington) --- See Josue 6:26. (Calmet) |
| I Kings 17:0 | Elias shutteth up the heavens from raining. He is fed by ravens, and afterwards by a widow of Sarephta. He raiseth the widow's son to life. | |
| I Kings 17:1 | And *Elias the Thesbite, of the inhabitants of Galaad, said to Achab: As the Lord liveth, the God of Israel, in whose sight I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, but according to the words of my mouth. Ecclesiasticus 48:1.; James 5:17. | Year of the World about 3092, Year before Christ 912. Elias means, "the strong God." Some Greeks derive the name of the prophet from elios, "the sun," improperly. His parentage is not known, nor even his tribe. Thesbe was situated in the tribe of Gad. The Fathers agree that Elias never was married. He seems to have had no fixed abode; but was sent to the house of Israel, to maintain the cause of the true God, with the most active and generous zeal. He may have presided over the colleges of the prophets, (Calmet) which were then numerous in Israel, particularly at Mount Carmel, (Tirinus) notwithstanding the general corruption, 3 Kings 18:13., and 19:10. (Haydock) --- I stand, to serve (Numbers 3:6.) and pray, James 5:17., and Luke 4:25. He calls God to witness, like St. Paul, Galatians 1:20. --- Mouth. Stupendous power and assurance of the prophet, with which the pagans have nothing to compare. (Calmet) --- God had threatened his people with drought, if they proved faithless, Deuteronomy 28:24. Elias begs that this punishment may now serve to open their eyes. (Tirinus) |
| I Kings 17:2 | And the word of the Lord came to him, saying: | |
| I Kings 17:3 | Get thee hence, and go towards the east, and hide thyself by the torrent of Carith, which is over-against the Jordan; | Carith, between Samaria and the Jordan. It was a torrent or valley. (Calmet) |
| I Kings 17:4 | And there thou shalt drink of the torrent: and I have commanded the ravens to feed thee there. | Ravens. Hebrew horebim, (Haydock) is sometimes rendered "Arabs," by the Vulgate, 2 Paralipomenon 21:16. Others would translate, "merchants," or the inhabitants of Arabo, which was near Carith. They suppose that the ravens, being unclean birds, would never have been employed. But they were only forbidden to be eaten or touched, when dead; and God is not restricted by his own laws. He might thus chose to display his wonderful providence. St. Jerome relates how St. Paul, the first hermit, was fed thus by a raven, with half a loaf a day; and a whole one was sent, when St. Anthony went to see him. (Calmet) --- Yet Kennicott mentions this as one of the improvements which might be now made in the Protestant version, "the Orbim," or inhabitants of Oreb, or Orbo. Orbim, accolae villae in finibus Arabum Eliae dederunt alimenta. (Jerom 3:119.) --- It is not clear to what passage he refers. (Diss. 2:p. 581.) Another instance occurs, Judges 15:4., where instead of foxes, he would substitute "300 sheaves of corn, placed end to end." But if there were no mistranslations of great importance, the version might subsist. (Haydock) |
| I Kings 17:5 | So he went, and did according to the word of the Lord: and going, he dwelt by the torrent Carith, which is over-against the Jordan. | |
| I Kings 17:6 | And the ravens brought him bread and flesh in the morning, and bread and flesh in the evening; and he drank of the torrent. | And flesh. So the Hebrew, etc. But some copies of the Septuagint have, "bread in the morning, and flesh in the evening." (Theodoret, q. 52.) --- It is idle to inquire whence the ravens took this food. (Calmet) --- Some say from the kitchen of Achab. (Abulensis) --- The minister of angels undoubtedly intervened. (Tirinus) --- God provides his servant with what may support nature, without any wine or delicacies. (Haydock) |
| I Kings 17:7 | But *after some time the torrent was dried up: for it had not rained upon the earth. | Year of the World 3093. Some time. Literally, "after days," (Haydock) which some explain of a year; others, of half that time, or less, as the torrent would not be long supplied with water. |
| I Kings 17:8 | Then the word of the Lord came to him, saying: | |
| I Kings 17:9 | Arise, and go to Sarephta, of the Sidonians, and dwell there: for I have commanded a widow-woman there to feed thee. | Sidonians, and nearer their city than it was to Tyre. (Calmet) --- Commanded, or provided that she shall feed thee. So he commanded the ravens, ver. 4. (Menochius) --- It appears that the widow had received no precise intimation, ver. 12. She was not an Israelite, (Luke 4:25.) but probably a pagan. (St. Chrysostom, etc.) --- Many suppose that Elias did not know, at first, that she was to entertain him. (Calmet) --- But both the one and the other might be divinely instructed how to act. In due time the widow and the prophet became acquainted with the will of God, and complied with it. (Haydock) |
| I Kings 17:10 | *He arose, and went to Sarephta. And when he was come to the gate of the city, he saw the widow-woman gathering sticks, and he called her, and said to her: Give me a little water in a vessel, that I may drink. Luke 4:26. | |
| I Kings 17:11 | And when she was going to fetch it, he called after her, saying: Bring me also, I beseech thee, a morsel of bread in thy hand. | |
| I Kings 17:12 | And she answered: As the Lord thy God liveth, I have no bread, but only a handful of meal in a pot, and a little oil in a cruise: behold I am gathering two sticks, that I may go in and dress it, for me and my son, that we may eat it and die. | |
| I Kings 17:13 | And Elias said to her: Fear not; but go, and do as thou hast said: but first make for me of the same meal a little hearth-cake, and bring it to me, and after make for thyself and thy son. | First. He puts the faith of the widow to a severe trial; and the gospel requires nothing more perfect than what she practised. The true faith, which she then received, was her first and most precious recompense; and we shall soon see, that her guest drew down blessings upon her. (Calmet) |
| I Kings 17:14 | For thus saith the Lord, the God of Israel: The pot of meal shall not waste, nor the cruise of oil be diminished, until the day wherein the Lord will give rain upon the face of the earth. | Until, nor for some time afterwards; otherwise they would still have been in danger of perishing, as the corn could not grow immediately. (Salien, the year before Christ 929.) |
| I Kings 17:15 | She went, and did according to the word of Elias: and he ate, and she, and her house: and from that day | |
| I Kings 17:16 | The pot of meal wasted not, and the cruise of oil was not diminished, according to the word of the Lord, which he spoke in the hand of Elias. | |
| I Kings 17:17 | And it came to pass after this, that the son of the woman, the mistress of the house, fell sick, and the sickness was very grievous, so that there was no breath left in him. | In him. He died. (Haydock) --- The Jews, followed by some Christians, assert that this boy was the prophet Jonas. But Jonas was a Hebrew, from Geth-opher, 4 Kings 14:25., and Jonas 1:9. (Calmet) |
| I Kings 17:18 | And she said to Elias: What have I to do with thee, thou man of God? art thou come to me, that my iniquities should be remembered, and that thou shouldst kill my son? | Remembered. Have I not waited upon thee with sufficient attention? or have not thine eyes been able to bear with my imperfections? (Haydock) --- Before thy arrival, God seemed not to notice my transgressions. She is convinced that "all just punishment presupposes an offence." (St. Augustine, Retract. 1:9.) This child died like Lazarus for the greater glory of God. (St. Augustine, ad Simp. 2:5.) (John 11:4.) (Worthington) |
| I Kings 17:19 | And Elias said to her: Give me thy son. And he took him out of her bosom, and carried him into the upper chamber where he abode, and laid him upon his own bed. | |
| I Kings 17:20 | And he cried to the Lord, and said: O Lord, my God, hast thou afflicted also the widow, with whom I am after a sort maintained, so as to kill her son? | Her son. He speaks in the most earnest and familiar manner, shewing his confidence in God. (Salien) |
| I Kings 17:21 | And he stretched, and measured himself upon the child three times, and cried to the Lord, and said: O Lord, my God, let the soul of this child, I beseech thee, return into his body. | Times, in honour of the blessed Trinity. (Menochius) --- He puts himself in this posture, as if to co-operate with God in warming the child; as Eliseus did, (4 Kings 4:34,) as well as St. Paul, (Acts 20:10,) and St. Benedict. (St. Gregory, Dial. 2:32.) This posture represented the condescension of Jesus Christ in assuming our nature, to give us life; and the Old Testament affords few more striking figures of this union. (Calmet) (St. Augustine, ser. 201. de Temp.; St. Bernard xvi. in Cant.) (Tirinus) |
| I Kings 17:22 | And the Lord heard the voice of Elias: and the soul of the child returned into him, and he revived. | |
| I Kings 17:23 | And Elias took the child, and brought him down from the upper chamber to the house below, and delivered him to his mother, and said to her: Behold thy son liveth. | |
| I Kings 17:24 | And the woman said to Elias: Now by this I know that thou art a man of God, and the word of the Lord in thy mouth is true. | True. She saw the force of miracles; (Haydock) and was now, at least, thoroughly converted. (Salien) |
| I Kings 18:0 | Elias cometh before Achab. He convinceth the false prophets by bringing fire from heaven: he obtaineth rain by his prayer. | |
| I Kings 18:1 | After *many days, the word of the Lord came to Elias, in the third year, saying: Go and shew thyself to Achab, that I may give rain upon the face of the earth. | Year of the World 3096, Year before Christ 908. Year of his sojourning at Sarephta. As other six months elapsed before the drought was removed, it is probable that Elias had spent them at Carith, James 5:17. (Calmet) --- Earth. God is pleased to withdraw his chastisement, though the guilty were not yet reclaimed. (Salien) |
| I Kings 18:2 | And Elias went to shew himself to Achab, and there was a grievous famine in Samaria. | Samaria, and the vicinity. The people could procure corn from a distance. But Achab is solicitous to find grass, ver. 5. |
| I Kings 18:3 | And Achab called Abdias the governor of his house: now Abdias feared the Lord very much. | Abdias. Some suppose that he was the fourth of the minor prophets, or the husband of the Sunamitess, (4 Kings iv.) or the third of the captains, who were ordered by Ochozias to seize Elias, 4 Kings 1:13. (Tirinus) --- But this is uncertain. He took care of the persecuted prophets, (ver. 4, 13.) judging it better to obey God than man. (Calmet) |
| I Kings 18:4 | For when Jezabel killed the prophets of the Lord, he took a hundred prophets, and hid them by fifty and fifty in caves, and fed them with bread and water. | |
| I Kings 18:5 | And Achab said to Abdias: Go into the land unto all fountains of waters, and into all valleys, to see if we can find grass, and save the horses and mules, that the beasts may not utterly perish. | |
| I Kings 18:6 | And they divided the countries between them, that they might go round about them: Achab went one way, and Abdias another way by himself. | Himself. So Providence ordered it, that the prophet might declare his sentiments to him freely. (Haydock) --- Achab would go in person, another way, that he might not be imposed upon. He was more solicitous for his cattle than for his subjects. (Menochius) |
| I Kings 18:7 | And as Abdias was in the way, Elias met him: and he knew him, and fell on his face, and said: Art thou my lord Elias? | Face, to shew him a religious veneration, due to the servant of God. (Worthington) |
| I Kings 18:8 | And he answered: I am. Go, and tell thy master: Elias is here. | |
| I Kings 18:9 | And he said: What have I sinned, that thou wouldst deliver me, thy servant, into the hand of Achab, that he should kill me? | Kill me, as an impostor, or an accomplice of thy escape, if afterwards thou shouldst disappear, ver. 12. (Calmet) |
| I Kings 18:10 | As the Lord thy God liveth, there is no nation or kingdom, whither my lord hath not sent to seek thee: and when all answered: He is not here: he took an oath of every kingdom and nation, because thou wast not found. | An oath of every kingdom, adjuring all his neighbours to tell if they knew any thing about Elias. (Haydock) --- Achab wished to make him restore rain, or to punish him for the refusal. (Calmet) --- How stupid he must have been, not to perceive that God was punishing him! (Haydock) --- Elias must have kept himself very retired, not to be discovered at Sarephta, which was so near, (Calmet) and where Jezabel's father reigned. But God could render him invisible, even upon the high road, when he went thither. (Haydock) |
| I Kings 18:11 | And now thou sayest to me: Go and tell thy master: Elias is here. | |
| I Kings 18:12 | And when I am gone from thee, the Spirit of the Lord will carry thee into a place that I know not: and I shall go in and tell Achab; and he, not finding thee, will kill me: but thy servant feareth the Lord from his infancy. | Spirit. Abdias supposed that the prophet had been transported to some unknown country, (Calmet) as he was afterwards to paradise. His disciples imagined, by a violent wind, 4 Kings 2:16. (Haydock) --- Thus the spirit of the Lord took away Philip, (Acts 8:39,) and conducted Jesus into the desert, Matthew 4:1., and Mark 1:12. (Calmet) --- Infancy. This he mentions, that the prophet might take pity on him. (Menochius) |
| I Kings 18:13 | Hath it not been told thee, my lord, what I did when Jezabel killed the prophets of the Lord; how I hid a hundred men of the prophets of the Lord, by fifty and fifty in caves, and fed them with bread and water? | A hundred. Hence we may judge how numerous they were. These prophets were not perhaps all inspired: but they had such at their head; and spent their time in working and in the divine praises. They were the salt and light of the earth, the pillars of the true religion, against whom Jezabel bent all her fury, during the first years of the drought. (Calmet) |
| I Kings 18:14 | And now thou sayest: Go and tell thy master: Elias is here: that he may kill me. | Kill me. He had expressed this fear twice before. Elias perceiving how much he was agitated, confirmed him with an oath. (Haydock) |
| I Kings 18:15 | And Elias said: As the Lord of hosts liveth, before whose face I stand, this day I will shew myself unto him. | |
| I Kings 18:16 | Abdias therefore went to meet Achab, and told him: and Achab came to meet Elias. | Meet Elias, out of respect, (Abulensis) or rather to upbraid him. |
| I Kings 18:17 | And when he had seen him, he said: Art thou he that troublest Israel? | Troublest Israel? Thus the wicked esteem those disturbers of the public repose, who will not suffer them to go on in their wickedness unmolested. Thus the Jews complain of Jesus Christ, Luke 23:5. Such a war is better than a false peace: and Achab, in fact, proclaims the praise of Elias, who strove by easy means to make the people open their eyes and return to their God. (Calmet) |
| I Kings 18:18 | And he said: I have not troubled Israel, but thou and thy father's house, who have forsaken the commandments of the Lord, and have followed Baalim. | House. Your impiety has brought on this scourge. I only denounced it. (Salien) |
| I Kings 18:19 | Nevertheless send now, and gather unto me all Israel, unto Mount Carmel, and the prophets of Baal four hundred and fifty, and the prophets of the groves four hundred, who eat at Jezabel's table. | Fifty, attached to Baal, and fed by the king; while the prophets of the groves, or of Astarte, lived at the queen's expense. They imitated the lives of the true prophets, to delude the people. --- Carmel was long after famous fo the worship of Apollo, who was the same with Baal, or the sun, Josue 19:26. (Calmet) --- No mention is made of rain: but it was understood that it would be given, when the people should assemble to hear God's determination. (Menochius) --- Achab durst not therefore refuse to convoke them. (Haydock) |
| I Kings 18:20 | Achab sent to all the children of Israel, and gathered together the prophets unto Mount Carmel. | |
| I Kings 18:21 | And Elias coming to all the people, said: How long do you halt between two sides? If the Lord be God, follow him: but if Baal, then follow him. And the people did not answer him a word. | Sides: sometimes adoring God; at other times the devil. (Calmet) --- Such an expostulation ought to be made to those who are indifferent about religion. (Worthington) --- You cannot serve two masters. (Calmet) --- They wished to unite the service of both, foolishly supposing that there might be many gods; as some, at present assert that many religions may be pleasing to heaven. (Haydock) --- A word, not knowing the drift of his proposal. But, as they might perhaps rely that they considered Baal also as a god, Elias puts this to the test of a miracle; being convinced that God would never suffer the devils to prevail on this occasion. (Salien) --- They might otherwise have brought down fire, as they will do in the days of Antichrist, Apocalypse 13:13. (Menochius) |
| I Kings 18:22 | And Elias said again to the people: I only remain a prophet of the Lord: but the prophets of Baal are four hundred and fifty men. | 1:Hebrew repeats "I," to make the contrast more striking. Elias alone was present, in this assembly, as the prophet of the Lord. (Haydock) --- He knew that Abdias had preserved 100: but they were concealed. --- Men. The other 400 of Jezabel did not appear. |
| I Kings 18:23 | Let two bullocks be given us, and let them choose one bullock for themselves, and cut it in pieces, and lay it upon wood, but put no fire under: and I will dress the other bullock, and lay it on wood, and put no fire under it. | |
| I Kings 18:24 | Call ye on the names of your gods, and I will call on the name of my Lord: and the God that shall answer by fire, let him be God. And all the people answering, said: A very good proposal. | Call ye. He does not order them to invoke idols; but challenges them to prove their divinity, if they can. --- By fire. On such trying occasions, it is not tempting God to ask for a miracle. God had given this proof of fire repeatedly, Genesis 15:17., Leviticus 9:24., and 2 Paralipomenon 7:1. He will restrain the devil's power, to confirm the truth, Mark 16:20. (Worthington) |
| I Kings 18:25 | Then Elias said to the prophets of Baal: Choose you one bullock and dress it first, because you are many: and call on the names of your gods; but put no fire under. | |
| I Kings 18:26 | And they took the bullock, which he gave them, and dressed it: and they called on the name of Baal from morning even until noon, saying: O Baal, hear us. But there was no voice, nor any that answered: and they leaped over the altar that they had made. | That they. Hebrew, "which he (Achaz) had made;" (Calmet) or, "which was made." (Haydock) --- The altar of Elias was erected afterwards, ver. 30. The prophets of Baal acted in a foolish manner, (Calmet) as if in jest, but really despairing of success. (Haydock) --- The pagans were accustomed to dance around their altars: --- Pingues spatiatur ad aras. (Virgil, Aeneid iv.) --- and some would translate, "near the altar." We might apply to these prophets, the verses of Horace: Dedit risusque jocosque, Dum, flammà sine, thura liquescere limine sacro Persuadere cupit: credat Judaeus Apella Non ego. (Sat. 1:5.) |
| I Kings 18:27 | And when it was now noon, Elias jested at them, saying: Cry with a louder voice: for he is a god; and perhaps he is talking, or is in an inn, or on a journey; or perhaps he is asleep, and must be awaked. | Talking to some of his prophets, (Calmet) or in deep contemplation. (Montanus) --- An inn. Septuagint, "giving oracles;" or, "he is pursuing." (Pagnin) |
| I Kings 18:28 | So they cried with a loud voice, and cut themselves after their manner with knives and lancets, till they were all covered with blood. | Blood. Strange infatuation! which has nevertheless prevailed in many pagan mysteries and countries. Thus were Bellona, Cybele, the Syrian goddess, etc., honoured and appeased. (Calmet) --- God prohibits this fury, Deuteronomy 14:1. The devil always endeavours to destroy or to injure man. (Menochius) "Ipsa bipenne suos caedit violenta lacertos, Sanguineque effuso spargit inepta deam." (Tebullus) |
| I Kings 18:29 | And after mid-day was past, and while they were prophesying, the time was come of offering sacrifice, and there was no voice heard, nor did any one answer, nor regard them as they prayed. | Prophesying, "acting like fools;" (Chaldean) performing their superstitious rites, and singing the praises of their god, etc. (Calmet) --- Sacrifice, by Elias, who had assigned all the morning to Baal's prophets. Perhaps he waited till the time of the evening sacrifice, Exodus 29:38. (Menochius) |
| I Kings 18:30 | Elias said to all the people: Come ye unto me. And the people coming near unto him, he repaired the altar of the Lord, that was broken down: | Down, by the false prophets, whose fury the people now repressed. (Tirinus) --- The altar might have been erected, under the judges, lawfully. (Calmet) |
| I Kings 18:31 | And he took twelve stones, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Jacob, to whom the word of the Lord came, saying: *Israel shall be thy name. Genesis 32:28. | Twelve stones, (as [in] Exodus xxiv., etc.) intimating that he acted in the name of all; (Menochius) and in order that all Israel might return with one heart to the service of God. (Haydock) --- The prophet did not follow his own spirit in erecting this altar. (Calmet) |
| I Kings 18:32 | And he built with the stones an altar to the name of the Lord: and he made a trench for water, of the breadth of two furrows round about the altar. | Furrows. Hebrew, "of two (sathayim) measures of seed." These furrows Elias filled with water, to impede the natural activity of fire, and to shew the miracle in a more striking light; (Haydock) as also to convince all that there was no deceit. An author quoted, under the name of St. Chrysostom, says that the pagans had sometimes subterraneous passages, by which they kindled the wood on the altar, as if by miracle, ita ut multi decepti ignem illum coelestem esse existiment. (ap. Surium iv.) |
| I Kings 18:33 | And he laid the wood in order, and cut the bullock in pieces, and laid it upon the wood. | |
| I Kings 18:34 | And he said: Fill four buckets with water, and pour it upon the burnt-offering, and upon the wood. And again he said: Do the same the second time. And when they had done it the second time, he said: Do the same also the third time. And they did so the third time. | Time. So that the wood was less disposed to catch fire. (Menochius) |
| I Kings 18:35 | And the water run round about the altar, and the trench was filled with water. | |
| I Kings 18:36 | And when it was now time to offer the holocaust, Elias, the prophet, came near and said: O Lord God of Abraham, and Isaac, and Israel, shew this day that thou art the God of Israel, and I thy servant, and that according to thy commandment I have done all these things. | |
| I Kings 18:37 | Hear me, O Lord, hear me: that this people may learn that thou art the Lord God, and that thou hast turned their heart again. | Again. This effect he hoped for from the miracle. |
| I Kings 18:38 | Then the fire of the Lord fell, and consumed the holocaust, and the wood, and the stones, and the dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench. | Trench, as if it had been of an inflammable nature. Julian himself was forced to acknowledge this miracle. "This, says he, once happened under Moses, and, a long while after, again under Elias, the Thesbite." |
| I Kings 18:39 | And when all the people saw this, they fell on their faces, and they said: The Lord, he is God; the Lord, he is God. | |
| I Kings 18:40 | And Elias said to them: Take the prophets of Baal, and let not one of them escape. And when they had taken them, Elias brought them down to the torrent Cison, and killed them there. | Cison, at the foot of Carmel. (Adrichomius) --- Achab durst not protect his prophets, being confounded by the evidence of the miracle, (Menochius) and the unanimity of the people's cry. (Haydock) --- Killed them, by God's inspiration, (Calmet) as impostors, who had deluded the people, and were worthy of death. |
| I Kings 18:41 | And Elias said to Achab: Go up, eat and drink: for there is a sound of abundance of rain. | Sound. It will as surely come, as if you heard it falling. (Haydock) |
| I Kings 18:42 | Achab went up to eat and drink: and Elias went up to the top of Carmel, and casting himself down upon the earth, put his face between his knees, | Knees, in fervent and humble prayer. God made his servant wait some time before he granted his request, that he might not give way to vanity. The people were not present, so that there was no danger of their being scandalized. (Menochius) |
| I Kings 18:43 | And he said to his servant: Go up, and look towards the sea. And he went up, and looked, and said: There is nothing. And again he said to him: Return seven times. | |
| I Kings 18:44 | And at the seventh time: Behold a little cloud arose out of the sea like a man's foot. And he said: Go up, and say to Achab: Prepare thy chariot, and go down, lest the rain prevent thee. | Sea, the Mediterranean, which could be seen from Carmel. (Haydock) --- Hence the rain commonly came in that country, Luke 12:54. |
| I Kings 18:45 | And while he turned himself this way and that way, behold the heavens grew dark, with clouds, and wind, and there fell a great rain. And Achab getting up, went away to Jezrahel: | Jezrahel, where Achab had a palace, 3 Kings 21:1. (Calmet) --- He stopped for shelter, as he had not time to reach Samaria. (Menochius) |
| I Kings 18:46 | And the hand of the Lord was upon Elias, and he girded up his loins, and ran before Achab, till he came to Jezrahel. | Before Achab, notwithstanding the king was drawn by horses, (Calmet) and Elias was advanced in years, 3 Kings 19:4. (Menochius) --- The invigorating spirit gave him such strength and agility, (Haydock) as Jezrahel was 12 or 15 leagues, (Calmet) or about 36 miles, from Carmel. In the Levant, impostors still run very swiftly before the chariots of princes, to imitate Elias. (Calmet) |
| I Kings 19:0 | Elias, fleeing from Jezabel, is fed by an angel in the desert; and by the strength of that food walketh forty days, till he cometh to Horeb, where he hath a vision of God. | |
| I Kings 19:1 | And Achab told Jezabel all that Elias had done, and how he had slain all the prophets with the sword. | |
| I Kings 19:2 | And Jezabel sent a messenger to Elias, saying: Such and such things may the gods do to me, and add still more, if by this hour to-morrow I make not thy life as the life of one of them. | |
| I Kings 19:3 | Then *Elias was afraid, and rising up, he went whithersoever he had a mind: and he came to Bersabee of Juda, and left his servant there, | Year of the World 3097, Year before Christ 907. Afraid. Hebrew, "he saw, arose, and went for his life." (Haydock) --- He was aware of a woman's anger, Ecclesiasticus 25:23. Though he goes intrepidly to meet Achab, he flees before a woman, God being desirous that he should exercise humility, (Theodoret, q. 57, etc.) though some think that he had given way to a secret fault; (Calmet) which is a groundless assertion. (Haydock) --- He must confess that all his strength is from above. (Tirinus) --- Mind, to escape notice. (Menochius) --- Bersabee, at the southern extremity of the kingdom of Juda, perhaps fifty leagues from Samaria, and five more from Jezrahel. (Calmet) --- Servant, the boy whom he had raised to life. (Abulensis) |
| I Kings 19:4 | And he went forward, one day's journey into the desert. And when he was there, and sat under a juniper-tree, he requested for his soul that he might die, and said: It is enough for me, Lord; take away my soul: for I am no better than my fathers. | Desert. It seems, towards Horeb. (Calmet) --- Tree. Hebrew Rothem, which term the Septuagint retain, "Rathmen." Symmachus has, "a shade." (Haydock) --- Die. Elias requested to die, not out of impatience or pusillanimity, but out of zeal against sin; and that he might no longer be witness of the miseries of his people, and the war they were waging against God and his servants. See ver. 10. (Challoner) --- He does not wish to fall into the hands of Jezabel, lest the idolaters should triumph: but he is willing to die, if God so order it. (Calmet) --- Mathathias entertained the like sentiments, 1 Machabees 2:7. --- Fathers: that I should live longer than they did. (Menochius) (Ecclesiasticus 30:17.) --- If he had been weary of life, why did he flee? His answer to Achab shews that he was by no means timid. (Calmet) |
| I Kings 19:5 | And he cast himself down, and slept in the shadow of the juniper-tree: and behold an angel of the Lord touched him, and said to him: Arise and eat. | |
| I Kings 19:6 | He looked, and behold there was at his head a hearth-cake, and a vessel of water: and he ate and drank, and he fell asleep again. | Cake, baked in a hollow stone, covered with fire. The Arabs call such cakes, Ridpha. An angel brought this nourishment. (Calmet) |
| I Kings 19:7 | And the angel of the Lord came again the second time, and touched him, and said to him: Arise, eat: for thou hast yet a great way to go. | Go. Hebrew, "the journey is too great for thee," without this support. (Haydock) --- He spent forty days in this journey, as he did not follow the straitest road. Horeb is only about fifty leagues from Bersabee. (Calmet) --- He might have travelled thither in four or five days. (Menochius) |
| I Kings 19:8 | And he arose, and ate and drank, and walked in the strength of that food forty days and forty nights, unto the mount of God, Horeb. | In the strength of that food, etc. This bread with which Elias was fed in the wilderness, was a figure of the bread of life, which we receive in the blessed sacrament [of the Eucharist]: by the strength of which we are to be supported in our journey through the wilderness of this world, till we come to the true mountain of God, and his vision in a happy eternity. (Challoner) --- Horeb signifies "a rock, or dry wilderness." (Calmet) |
| I Kings 19:9 | And when he was come thither, he abode in a cave: and behold the word of the Lord came unto him, and he said to him: What dost thou here, Elias? | Here. Thy presence is necessary in Israel. (Tirinus) --- Elias had been guided by a natural fear. (Menochius) --- "With how great familiarity is he received by God!" (Tertullian, contra Psychic. vi.) |
| I Kings 19:10 | And he answered: With zeal have I been zealous for the Lord God of hosts: for the children of Israel have forsaken thy covenant: they have thrown down thy altars, they have slain thy prophets with the sword, and I alone am left, and they seek my life to take it away. | Zeal; ordering the idolatrous prophets to be destroyed, (Menochius) which has enkindled the rage of Jezabel against me. I cannot bear to see the general corruption. (Calmet) --- Covenant; neglecting circumcision, (Rabbins) and almost the whole law. (Haydock) --- Altars. Some had been erected by the prophets, (Estius) as the king would suffer none to go to Jerusalem. (Haydock) --- The idolaters threw them down, 3 Kings 18:30. Such altars would have been unlawful in Juda. (Calmet) --- I alone am left; viz., of the prophets in the kingdom of Israel, or of the ten tribes; for in the kingdom of Juda, religion was at that time in a very flourishing condition, under the kings Asa and Josaphat. And even in Israel there remained several prophets, though not then known to Elias. See 3 Kings 20:13, 28, 35. (Challoner) (Worthington) --- Hebrew repeats I, as [in] ver. 14, and 3 Kings 18:22. He might justly fear that those had been destroyed at last, whom Abdias had protected. At any rate, none durst appear in public to assist Elias. (Haydock) --- God informs him (ver. 18.) that all is not yet lost. |
| I Kings 19:11 | And he said to him: Go forth, and stand upon the mount before the Lord: and behold the Lord passeth, and a great and strong wind before the Lord, overthrowing the mountains, and breaking the rocks in pieces: but the Lord is not in the wind. And after the wind, an earthquake: but the Lord is not in the earthquake. | Lord; the angel, his representative. (Menochius) --- God had formerly granted the like favour to Moses, in the same place, Exodus 33:21. |
| I Kings 19:12 | And after the earthquake, a fire: but the Lord is not in the fire. And after the fire, a whistling of a gentle air. | Air. Something similar happened at the giving of the law, and at the propagation of the gospel, Exodus 19:9, 16., and Acts 2:2. The Lord was pleased to shew his prophet the difference between the two laws: the one was full of terror, the other of mildness. (Grotius) --- He insinuated likewise, that he could easily exterminate the offenders, but he chose to bear patiently with them; (Tirinus) and taught his prophet to moderate his zeal, and, after terrifying sinners, to being them to a sense of their duty by gentle means. (Sanctius) (Calmet) --- "His spirit is most indulgent and mild." ....est tenerae serenitatis, apertus et simplex. (Tertullian, contra Marcion xxiii.) |
| I Kings 19:13 | And when Elias heard it, he covered his face with his mantle, and coming forth, stood in the entering in of the cave, and behold a voice unto him, saying: What dost thou here, Elias? And he answered: | Mantle, out of respect, like Moses, Exodus 3:6. So the cherubim veil their faces with their wings, Isaias 6:2. (Menochius) --- Among the Orientals, to cover the face has the same import as when we pull of our hats. (Calmet) |
| I Kings 19:14 | With zeal have I been zealous for the Lord God of hosts: *because the children of Israel have forsaken thy covenant: they have destroyed thy altars, they have slain thy prophets with the sword; and I alone am left, and they seek my life to take it away. Romans 11:3. | |
| I Kings 19:15 | And the Lord said to him: Go, and return on thy way, through the desert, to Damascus: and when thou art come thither, thou shalt anoint Hazael to be king over Syria; | Desert, avoiding the towns as much as possible, (Calmet) and travelling through the country of Ammon to Damascus. (Menochius) --- God does not send Elias again into the midst of danger, at Achab's court. (Haydock) --- Hazael. God exercises his authority over all nations, and disposes of crowns. He appoints Hazael to punish his people. It does not appear that Elias performed this commission in person, but by the hand of Eliseus, 4 Kings 8:12. Neither do we find that Hazael was anointed, but he was "declared king;" in which sense the term is used, Judges 9:8. (Salien) (Calmet) --- Yet Torniel believes, that Elias really anointed both Hazael and Jehu. He foretold, at least, (Haydock) that they should reign. (Worthington) |
| I Kings 19:16 | *And thou shalt anoint Jehu, the son of Namsi, to be king over Israel: and Eliseus, the son of Saphat, of Abelmeula, thou shalt anoint to be prophet in thy room. 4 Kings 9:1. | Jehu, the son of Jospahat, (4 Kings 9:2.) and grandson of Namsi. (Menochius) --- Eliseus sent one of his disciples to anoint him, (4 Kings 9:1.; Calmet) with common oil; the sacred was reserved for priests and the kings of Juda, according to the Rabbins. --- Anoint, or call to the ministry, perhaps by placing a mantle on his head, ver. 19. No mention is made of unction. (Calmet) --- Yet the Fathers have hence inferred that prophets received it, as well as priests and kings. (Sanctius) --- Elias had complained that he was left alone. God appoints him a coadjutor, and successor; a person who seemed to have yet made no immediate preparation for the office. His parents were probably known for their probity, and had taken no part in the worship of idols. (Calmet) --- Abelmeula was in the great plain, ten miles south of Scythopolis. (Eusebius) |
| I Kings 19:17 | And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall escape the sword of Hazael, shall be slain by Jehu: and whosoever shall escape the sword of Jehu, shall be slain by Eliseus. | Shall be slain by Eliseus. Eliseus did not kill any of the idolaters with the material sword; but he is here joined with Hazael and Jehu, the great instruments of God in punishing the idolatry of Israel, because he foretold to the former his exaltation to the kingdom of Syria, and the vengeance he would execute against Israel, and anointed the latter by one of his disciples to be king of Israel, with commission to extirpate the house of Achab. (Challoner) --- They left nothing imperfect in the vengeance, 4 Kings viii., and ix. Eliseus sent bears to destroy forty-two children of Bethel; (4 Kings 2:23.; Calmet) and Abulensis (q. 23.) thinks that he might put many false prophets to death, as the Scripture does not mention every thing, (Menochius) and as Elias had done himself. (Haydock) --- Eliseus may also be the name of some general. (Du Hamel) |
| I Kings 19:18 | *And I will leave me seven thousand men in Israel, whose knees have not been bowed before Baal, and every mouth that hath not worshipped him, kissing the hands. Romans 11:4. | Will leave. Hebrew also, "I have left," as Romans 11:4. Septuagint, "thou shalt leave." (Haydock) --- After answering the first part of the prophet's complaint, and informing him that the guilty should not pass unpunished, God lets him know that he is not left alone, but that many thousands (Calmet) even in Israel still continue faithful; so far was the true Church from being in danger of perishing entirely. (Haydock) --- Seven is often put for a great number, Proverbs 24:16. Yet some suppose, (Calmet) that only this number served God out of 1,110,000 men in Israel, 1 Paralipomenon 21:5. (Grotius, etc.) --- Hands. To this custom the word adore owes it rise. (Haydock) --- The pagans kissed their right-hand, or the statue itself, when they could reach it, to testify their veneration. Inter adorandum, dexteram ad osculum referimus. (Pliny, [Natural History?] 28:2.) Cicero (in Ver. 4.) mentions a beautiful statue of Hercules, the cheeks and beard of which had been rather worn with kissing; non solum id venerari, sed etiam osculari solent. See Genesis 18:2. (Calmet) --- Job 31:27. (Menochius) |
| I Kings 19:19 | And Elias departing from thence, found Eliseus, the son of Saphat, ploughing with twelve yoke of oxen: and he was one of them that were ploughing with twelve yoke of oxen: and when Elias came up to him, he cast his mantle upon him. | Mantle, perhaps to signify that he must change his manner of living. (Menochius) |
| I Kings 19:20 | And he forthwith left the oxen, and ran after Elias, and said: Let me, I pray thee, kiss my father and my mother, and then I will follow thee. And he said to him: Go, and return back: for that which was my part, I have done to thee. | Kiss, and bid them adieu. (Menochius) --- To thee. I have no farther orders. Obey the Spirit of God. Hoc age. Hebrew, "for what have I done to thee?" Did I require thee to follow me? Act as God may direct thee. Yet remember the ceremony which thou hast seen, and do not turn back (Calmet) to neglect thy office. (Haydock) (Matthew 8:22., and Luke 9:62.) |
| I Kings 19:21 | And returning back from him, he took a yoke of oxen, and killed them, and boiled the flesh with the plough of the oxen, and gave to the people, and they ate: and rising up, he went away, and followed Elias, and ministered to him. | Oxen, to shew that he had relinquished his profession. (Menochius) --- "He makes a vow of them." (St. Jerome, ep. xxviii.) --- Elias waited for him in the field, while he made a feast for his fellow-citizens, at parting. (Calmet) --- Then both probably retreated to Carmel, (Salien) to watch over the instruction of the college of prophets. (Haydock) |
| I Kings 20:0 | The Syrians besiege Samaria: they are twice defeated by Achab; who is reprehended by a prophet for letting Benadad go. | |
| I Kings 20:1 | And *Benadad, king of Syria, gathered together all his host, and there were two and thirty kings with him, and horses, and chariots: and going up, he fought against Samaria, and besieged it. | Year of the World 3103, Year before Christ 901. And. The Roman Septuagint and Josephus place this war after the account of Naboth, 3 Kings 21. But the Alexandrian copy follows the order of the Hebrew. (Haydock) --- They style Benadad, "the son of Ader." He succeeded (ver. 34.) the king who attacked Baasa, 3 Kings 15:18. We know not the time nor the occasion of this war. (Calmet) --- Probably Achab had refused to pay tribute, and God had a mind to try if his obstinacy would yield to kindness, ver. 13., and 28. (Salien, the year before Christ 919.) --- Kings. Almost every city had one. |
| I Kings 20:2 | And sending messengers to Achab, king of Israel, into the city, | |
| I Kings 20:3 | He said: Thus saith Benadad: Thy silver and thy gold is mine: and thy wives and thy goodliest children are mine. | Mine. He had a desire to dispose of them, as he thought proper. Achab was willing to pay tribute, to remove the impending danger. (Calmet) |
| I Kings 20:4 | And the king of Israel answered: According to thy word, my lord, O king, I am thine, and all that I have. | Have. Achab is not in earnest, but strives to pacify the barbarian. (Menochius) |
| I Kings 20:5 | And the messengers came again, and said: Thus saith Benadad, who sent us unto thee: Thy silver and thy gold, and thy wives and thy children, thou shalt deliver up to me. | |
| I Kings 20:6 | To-morrow, therefore, at this same hour, I will send my servants to thee, and they shall search thy house, and the houses of thy servants: and all that pleaseth them, they shall put in their hands, and take away. | Servants, or subjects. The king of Israel has thus a plea to interest all his people, as the danger was common. (Salien) --- He assumes the character of disinterestedness, as if he had been willing to abandon all his private property; knowing that Benadad would not accede even to that hard proposal. (Haydock) --- Thus "Nero consulted the first men of the city, whether they would prefer a doubtful war or a disgraceful peace." (Tacitus, An. xv.) |
| I Kings 20:7 | And the king of Israel called all the ancients of the land, and said: Mark, and see that he layeth snares for us. For he sent to me for my wives, and for my children, and for my silver and gold: and I said not nay. | |
| I Kings 20:8 | And all the ancients, and all the people said to him: Hearken not to him, nor consent to him. | |
| I Kings 20:9 | Wherefore he answered the messengers of Benadad: Tell my lord, the king: All that thou didst send for to me, thy servant, at first, I will do: but this thing I cannot do. | |
| I Kings 20:10 | And the messengers returning brought him word. And he sent again, and said: Such and such things may the gods do to me, and more may they add, if the dust of Samaria shall suffice for handfuls for all the people that follow me. | Handfuls. Hebrew shohal. The Septuagint, read "shuhal" and render it, "suffice for the foxes, for all the people, (even for) my infantry;" (Haydock) as if his forces were so numerous as to cover the whole land, and leave no room for even foxes to occupy. The hyperbole is equally great, supposing that his soldiers could by each taking a handful, or what might stick to his feet, (Chaldean) carry off all Samaria. Josephus intimates, that Benadad speaks of erecting terraces of equal height with the walls; others, that he would level the city with the ground, Ezechiel 26:4. (Sanctius) |
| I Kings 20:11 | And the king of Israel answering, said: Tell him: Let not the girded boast himself as the ungirded. | Let not the girded, etc. Let him not boast before the victory: it will then be time to glory when he putteth off his armour, having overcome his adversary. (Challoner) --- "Let not him who goes to battle, though well armed, boast; but the man who returns victorious." (Chaldean) "Enough: let not the man with a crooked back boast, as one that is upright." (Septuagint) "Let not him that girdeth, (Haydock) or is bound," (Hebrew) or rather "shutteth up, boast, as he that openeth." (Syriac) It is easy to besiege: but the city does not always fall. Neither people in arms, nor the unarmed, have reason to boast; as the former are often made prisoners, as soon as the latter. (Calmet) --- A despised enemy sometimes proves most dangerous. (Haydock) --- Those who distrust in themselves, and place their confidence in God, prevail: a necessary lesson both in temporal and spiritual warfare. (Worthington) --- The fortune of war is very doubtful. (Tirinus) |
| I Kings 20:12 | And it came to pass, when Benadad heard this word, that he and the kings were drinking in pavilions, and he said to his servants: Beset the city. And they beset it. | Pavilions, (umbraculis) or even under "the shade" of the trees, in full security. (Menochius) --- Beset. Hebrew, "set, and they set against the city." Chaldean, "hold yourselves in readiness, and they laid ambushes round the city." The siege had not been yet commenced in form, as it was never expected that Achab would dare to make any resistance. |
| I Kings 20:13 | And behold a prophet coming to Achab, king of Israel, said to him: Thus saith the Lord: Hast thou seen all this exceeding great multitude? behold I will deliver them into thy hand this day: that thou mayst know that I am the Lord. | Prophet. It does not appear who this and the other prophets were who address Achab so boldly during these wars; if indeed they were different persons: Elias is never mentioned. Did Jezabel leave the rest alone? or did these wars break out before she began to persecute them? (Calmet) --- Many suppose that the prophet, who spoke on this occasion, was Micheas. (Menochius) --- But Achab complains that he always brought him evil tidings, 3 Kings 22:8. (Salien) |
| I Kings 20:14 | And Achab said: By whom? And he said to him: Thus saith the Lord: By the servants of the princes of the provinces. And he said: Who shall begin to fight? And he said: Thou. | Servants. Literally, "footmen." (Haydock) --- Hebrew means either "sons or servants." The pages of honour, or the menial servants of the lords, were not likely to gain the victory. (Calmet) --- There were 232 in number, ver. 15. Achab followed them, (ver. 19.) with 7000; and this army defeated the Syrians. --- Thou, not in person; but thy men must begin the attack. |
| I Kings 20:15 | So he mustered the servants of the princes of the provinces, and he found the number of two hundred and thirty-two: and he mustered after them the people, all the children of Israel, seven thousand: | |
| I Kings 20:16 | And they went out at noon. But Benadad was drinking himself drunk in his pavilion, and the two and thirty kings with him, who were come to help him. | |
| I Kings 20:17 | And the servants of the princes of the provinces went out first. And Benadad sent. And they told him, saying: There are men come out of Samaria. | |
| I Kings 20:18 | And he said: Whether they come for peace, take them alive: or whether they come to fight, take them alive. | Alive. This he said out of contempt, and too great confidence; (Menochius) and this gave occasion to his defeat. For, while his men were endeavouring to execute his orders punctually, the Israelites cut many in pieces, and routed the rest. (Salien) |
| I Kings 20:19 | So the servants of the princes of the provinces went out, and the rest of the army followed: | |
| I Kings 20:20 | And every one slew the man that came against him: and the Syrians fled, and Israel pursued after them. And Benadad, king of Syria, fled away on horseback with his horsemen. | |
| I Kings 20:21 | But the king of Israel going out overthrew the horses and chariots, and slew the Syrians with a great slaughter. | |
| I Kings 20:22 | (And a prophet coming to the king of Israel, said to him: Go, and strengthen thyself, and know, and see what thou dost: for the next year the king of Syria will come up against thee.) | |
| I Kings 20:23 | But the servants of the king of Syria said to him: Their gods are gods of the hills, therefore they have overcome us: but it is better that we should fight against them in the plains, and we shall overcome them. | Hills. All the high places of Israel were covered with idols. Samaria, Bethel, Dan, etc., were built on eminences. (Menochius) --- Altars had also been erected to the true God on the most famous mountains. The law had been given at Sinai, and promulgated at Garizim. The late miracle at Carmel was known to all. Hence the pagans, (Calmet) conformably to their notions of assigning different parts of the creation to different gods, suspected that the god of Israel might preside only over the mountains. (Haydock) --- People are always ready to blame any but themselves. (Calmet) --- They lay the fault on fortune, etc. (Tirinus) --- The pride of Benadad could not bear to be told that his own temerity had brought on the defeat. (Haydock) |
| I Kings 20:24 | Do thou, therefore, this thing: Remove all the kings from thy army, and put captains in their stead: | Stead, who may obey thy orders more implicitly. Rex unius esto. (Calmet) --- Captains, who have been inured to warfare, would not so easily run away. (Menochius) --- Thus, in the late French republic, commanders were chosen from the common ranks, while the nobles were neglected. (Haydock) |
| I Kings 20:25 | And make up the number of soldiers that have been slain of thine, and horses, according to the former horses, and chariots, according to the chariots which thou hadst before: and we will fight against them in the plains, and thou shalt see that we shall overcome them. He believed their counsel, and did so. | |
| I Kings 20:26 | Wherefore, at the return of the year, *Benadad mustered the Syrians, and went up to Aphec, to fight against Israel. | Year of the World 3104, Year before Christ 900. Aphec, belonging to the tribe of Aser, though it does not appear that they ever obtained possession of it, Josue 19:30. A subterraneous fire and earthquake have caused the city to sink; and a lake, nine miles in circumference, now occupies its place. The ruins may still be discerned in its waters. It is about two hours walk from the plains of Balbec, (Paul Lucas. Levant 1:20.) at the foot of Libanus. The waters must be very thick and bituminous, if what is related by the ancients be true; namely, that the presents, offered to the Aphacite goddess, were tried by them, and deemed agreeable to her, if they sunk; as wool would do, while tiles, and often metals, would swim. (Calmet) --- Adrichomius places this Aphec on the great plain of Esdrelon, not far from Jezrahel. (Menochius) |
| I Kings 20:27 | And the children of Israel were mustered, and taking victuals, went out on the other side, and encamped over-against them, like two little flocks of goats: but the Syrians filled the land. | Victuals. Hebrew also, "they were all present." Chaldean, "ready." Syriac, "in battle array." --- Goats. They were comparatively so contemptible, ver. 15. (Haydock) --- At the same time, Josaphat could muster above a million warriors; for piety makes kingdoms prosper. (Salien) |
| I Kings 20:28 | (And a man of God coming, said to the king of Israel: Thus saith the Lord: Because the Syrians have said: The Lord is God of the hills, but is not God of the valleys: I will deliver all this great multitude into thy hand, and you shall know that I am the Lord.) | Lord. Many favours were bestowed on Achab, but he died impenitent. (Worthington) |
| I Kings 20:29 | And both sides set their armies in array one against the other seven days, and on the seventh day the battle was fought: and the children of Israel slew, of the Syrians, a hundred thousand footmen in one day. | Days. The Syrians durst not begin the attack. (Haydock) |
| I Kings 20:30 | And they that remained fled to Aphec, into the city: and the wall fell upon seven and twenty thousand men, that were left. And Benadad, fleeing went into the city, into a chamber that was within a chamber. | Went, or had gone before, and commanded his men to defend the walls of Aphec. (Haydock) --- But the slaughter of these 27,000 is joined to the preceding. (Menochius) --- God caused the walls to fall, as he had done those of Jericho; or the Israelites beat them down with battering rams, and the defendants perished in the ruins. --- Chamber. Josephus observes that it was under ground. Micheas told Benadad that he would have thus to hide himself again, 3 Kings 22:25. (Calmet) |
| I Kings 20:31 | And his servants said to him: Behold, we have heard that the kings of the house of Israel are merciful; so let us put sackcloths on our loins, and ropes on our heads, and go out to the king of Israel: perhaps he will save our lives. | Heads, or necks, to indicate that hey deserved to die. (Haydock) --- The Syrians acted thus, when they came as supplicants. (Josephus, [Antiquities?] 8:14.) --- The son of Psammetichus, king of Egypt, was led in this manner to execution, with 2000 others. (Herodotus 3:14.) --- Bessus was conducted to Alexander with a chain round his neck. (Curt. vii.) (Calmet) --- What a reverse of fortune do we here behold! (Salien) |
| I Kings 20:32 | So they girded sackcloths on their loins, and put ropes on their heads, and came to the king of Israel, and said to him: Thy servant, Benadad, saith: I beseech thee let me have my life. And he said: If he be yet alive, he is my brother. | |
| I Kings 20:33 | The men took this for good luck: and in haste caught the word out of his mouth, and said: Thy brother Benadad. And he said to them: Go, and bring him to me. Then Benadad came out to him, and he lifted him up into his chariot. | Men. Protestants, "Now the men did diligently observe whether any thing would come from him, and did hastily catch it, and they said." They heard him mention the title of brother with joy, concluding that he was not so much irritated, as they might have expected. Allied kings style each other brother; those who are tributary, call themselves servants, (like Achaz, 4 Kings 16:7.; Calmet) as well as those who seek for favour; as Benadad does at present, ver. 32. (Haydock) --- Luck. The pagans were accustomed to make vain observations. (Menochius) |
| I Kings 20:34 | And he said to him: The cities which my father took from thy father, I will restore: and do thou make thee streets in Damascus, as my father made in Samaria, and having made a league, I will depart from thee. So he made a league with him, and let him go. | Thy father. Benadad did not know the changes which had taken place in the royal family of Israel. He speaks of the cities which his predecessor had wrested from Baasa, 3 Kings 15:20. --- Streets, for merchants, of whom he would receive tribute: or military stations, as David had done, (2 Kings 8:6.) to prevent any inroads. Benadad does not appear to have complied with these conditions, as the king of Israel had to take Ramath by force, 3 Kings 22:2. --- And having. These words seem to be the conclusion of Benadad's proposition: but, according to the Hebrew, they contain Achab's reply. (Calmet) --- Protestants, "Then said Achab: I will send thee away with this covenant." (Haydock) --- How generous does the conduct of Achab appear to the world! Yet it displeased God. (Salien) --- He severely punished this foolish pity towards a dangerous foe. (Worthington) |
| I Kings 20:35 | Then a certain man of the sons of the prophets, said to his companion, in the word of the Lord: Strike me. But he would not strike. | In the word, or by the authority. The person who refused to comply, out of a false compassion, displeased God. The wound of the prophet was a symbol of what would happen to Achab. It was a prophetic action, 3 Kings 11:30. (Calmet) |
| I Kings 20:36 | Then he said to him: Because thou wouldst not hearken to the word of the Lord, behold thou shalt depart from me, and a lion shall slay thee. And when he was gone a little from him, a lion found him, and slew him. | |
| I Kings 20:37 | Then he found another man, and said to him: Strike me. And he struck him and wounded him. | |
| I Kings 20:38 | So the prophet went, and met the king in the way, and disguised himself by sprinkling dust on his face and his eyes. | Dust. Chaldean and Septuagint, "he tied a veil," etc. Apher has both meanings. |
| I Kings 20:39 | And as the king passed by, he cried to the king, and said: Thy servant went out to fight hand to hand: and when a certain man was run away, one brought him to me, and said: Keep this man: and if he shall slip away, thy life shall be for his life, or thou shalt pay a talent of silver. | One. Thus God delivered the proud and blasphemous Benadad to Achab. (Haydock) |
| I Kings 20:40 | And whilst I, in a hurry, turned this way and that, on a sudden he was not to be seen. And the king of Israel said to him: This is thy judgment, which thyself hast decreed. | Decreed. Thou must either die or pay the money. (Menochius) --- Thus the king pronounced sentence against himself, as David had done, 2 Kings 12:1., and 14:4. The Rabbins assert, that Achab had received an express order from God to destroy and subjugate all the Syrians. He ought, at least, to have been consulted, as he had given the enemy into the hands of the Israelites; (Calmet) and thus insinuated, that he would have them punished, (ver. 28.; Rupert 5:13.) for restricting his power to the hills. (Tirinus) |
| I Kings 20:41 | But he forthwith wiped off the dust from his face, and the king of Israel knew him, that he was one of the prophets. | |
| I Kings 20:42 | And he said to him: Thus saith the Lord: *Because thou hast let go out of thy hand a man worthy of death, thy life shall be for his life, and thy people for his people. 3 Kings 22:38. | Worthy. Hebrew, "of my anathema;" or, "the man who has fallen into my snares." (Vatable) Cherem is taken in this sense, Micheas 7:2., etc. He was my prey, and you ought not to have disposed of him without my leave. (Calmet) --- People. This was verified (ch. XXII.; Menochius) within three years. (Salien) |
| I Kings 20:43 | And the king of Israel returned to his house, slighting to hear, and raging came into Samaria. | Raging, (furibundus) full of indignation. Hebrew, "went to his house, heavy and displeased." Septuagint, "confounded and fainting," through rage; eklelumenos. (Haydock) --- "Vexed at the prophet, he ordered him to be kept in prison; and confounded at what Micheas had said, he went to his own house." (Josephus, [Antiquities?] 8:14.) |
| I Kings 21:0 | Naboth, for denying his vineyard to king Achab, is, by Jezabel's command, falsely accused and stoned to death: for which crime Elias denounceth to Achab the judgments of God. Upon his humbling himself, the sentence is mitigated. | |
| I Kings 21:1 | And *after these things, Naboth the Jezrahelite, who was in Jezrahel, had at that time a vineyard, near the palace of Achab, king of Samaria. | Year of the World 3105, Year before Christ 899. Who was. Hebrew, Chaldean, etc., place this after vineyard, and read which, referring it to the ground; which we might naturally suppose would be the place of Naboth's nativity, as it was his paternal estate, 4 Kings 9:21. Josephus calls the place Azari, and says it was a field contiguous to the king's palace. Septuagint alo, "threshing-floor." |
| I Kings 21:2 | And Achab spoke to Naboth, saying: Give me thy vineyard, that I may make me a garden of herbs, because it is nigh, and adjoining to my house; and I will give thee for it a better vineyard: or if thou think it more convenient for thee, I will give thee the worth of it in money. | Herbs. The taste of eastern nations is very different from ours. The Syrians delight in seeing gardens filled with melons, onions, etc., and they cannot conceive what pleasure we can find in rambling round our long walks for the sake of exercise. --- Money. Hence we perceive that, notwithstanding the despotic power of the kings of Israel, they did not imagine that they had a right to take their subjects' lands, 1 Kings 8:14. (Calmet) --- Naboth's conduct is therefore here applauded; and St. Ambrose (Off. 3:9.) styles him a martyr, (Worthington) and a great saint. (Tirinus) --- Maluit periculum cum honestate, quam utilitatem cum opprobrio. |
| I Kings 21:3 | Naboth answered him: The Lord be merciful to me, and not let me give thee the inheritance of my fathers. | Fathers. He would have deemed it a mark of disrespect and a crime, as he was not in a state of indigence; which alone could authorize him to sell his property, and then only till the year of jubilee; (Leviticus 25:23.) and as his field was to be turned into a royal garden, and the law was disregarded by the king, there was no prospect of his regaining it at that period. The law of Moses was till in force; and there were some, like Naboth, who were resolved to comply with it, (Calmet) even at the hazard of their lives. (Tirinus) |
| I Kings 21:4 | And Achab came into his house angry and fretting, because of the word that Naboth, the Jezrahelite, had spoken to him, saying: I will not give thee the inheritance of my fathers. And casting himself upon his bed, he turned away his face to the wall, and would eat no bread. | Fretting. The Hebrew terms are the same as [in] 3 Kings 20:43. What weakness in Achab! Riches and honours are not capable of ensuring content. (Calmet) --- "Who, thinkest thou, is poor; the man who is content with his own, or he who covets another's property?" (St. Ambrose, Naboth ii.) --- Wall, as Ezechias did afterwards, in very different dispositions; though both were oppressed with grief, Isaias 38:2. Septuagint, "he covered his face." (Haydock) |
| I Kings 21:5 | And Jezabel, his wife, went in to him, and said to him: What is the matter that thy soul is so grieved? and why eatest thou no bread? | |
| I Kings 21:6 | And he answered her: I spoke to Naboth, the Jezrahelite, and said to him: Give me thy vineyard, and take money for it: or if it please thee, I will give thee a better vineyard for it. And he said: I will not give thee my vineyard. | |
| I Kings 21:7 | Then Jezabel, his wife, said to him: Thou art of great authority indeed, and governest well the kingdom of Israel. Arise, and eat bread, and be of good cheer; I will give thee the vineyard of Naboth, the Jezrahelite. | Israel. Hebrew simply, "Now thou wilt make the kingdom of Israel." (Calmet) --- Protestants, "Dost thou now govern the?" etc. (Haydock) --- Thou art a fit person indeed to establish a kingdom! Ought not a king to take what he has a mind to? Syriac, "Are you fit to reign?" Arabic, "You do not deserve to govern." (Calmet) --- Septuagint, "Dost thou now act the king over Israel, in this manner?" (Haydock) |
| I Kings 21:8 | So she wrote letter's in Achab's name, and sealed them with his ring, and sent them to the ancients, and the chief men that were in his city, and that dwelt with Naboth. | Chief men. Hebrew chorim, "those in white," the usual colour of magistrates and noblemen, Ecclesiastes 9:8., and Daniel 7:9. The angels generally appear arrayed in white. Among the Egyptians and the Greeks, the rich were remarkable for the whiteness of their robes. (Herodotus 2:36.) (Homer, Odyssey Z.) |
| I Kings 21:9 | And this was the tenor of the letters: Proclaim a fast, and make Naboth sit among the chief of the people; | Fast, as in a case of the greatest importance, where the welfare of the king and of the state are concerned. We have frequent mention of such extraordinary fasts, 2 Paralipomenon 20:3., 1 Esdras 8:21., and Joel 1:14, etc. Some would translated, "Call an assembly." (Vatable) --- But the Chaldean, etc., are for the fast. Josephus joins both. All the people were collected, (Calmet) and Naboth was (Hebrew) "set on high, or at the head, as president, on account of his riches and nobility, (Haydock) that he might be unprepared, and afterwards be more disgraced. (Menochius) Abulensis (q. 4.) thinks that the judges were accustomed to fast, to shew their pity for the criminal, and that they were moved only by a zeal for justice. |
| I Kings 21:10 | And suborn two men, sons of Belial, against him, and let them bear false witness; that he hath blasphemed God and the king: and then carry him out, and stone him, and so let him die. | Belial, without restraint or conscience. --- Blasphemed. Hebrew, "blessed." --- Elohim, (Haydock) or god, the gods, magistrates, etc. (Calmet) --- Blessing is equally put, to avoid the horrible sound of blaspheming. (Worthington) (Job 1:5., and 2:9.) --- Martin de Roa (I. 9.) maintains, that the word implies to "bid adieu," or quit; as if Naboth had relinquished the service both of God and of the king. He was accused as a traitor. The law did not condemn the person to death who had spoken ill of the prince, Exodus 22:28. But the wicked judges complied with the intimation of Jezabel; (Calmet) as she pretended that he had also blasphemed God. (Haydock) --- Josephus introduces three witnesses, which was more conformable to the practice of the Jews. (Grotius) --- But the text specifies two; and that number would suffice. (Haydock) --- All Naboth's family were involved in his ruin; (4 Kings 9:26.; Tirinus) as it was necessary for Achab's purpose. So Achan's children perished with him, Josue 7:25. (Haydock) --- What a complication of crimes! (Tirinus) --- "They proclaim a fast, in order to commit murder." (St. Chrysostom, ser. 68.) Hypocrisy, falsehoods, perjury, perversion of justice, all are employed to take away the life, honour, and property of the innocent. See St. Ambrose, Seneca Benef. 2:27. (Tirinus) |
| I Kings 21:11 | And the men of his city, the ancients and nobles, that dwelt with him in the city, did as Jezabel had commanded them, and as it was written in the letters which she had sent to them; | |
| I Kings 21:12 | They proclaimed a fast, and made Naboth sit among the chief of the people. | |
| I Kings 21:13 | And bringing two men, sons of the devil, they made them sit against him: and they, like men of the devil, bore witness against him before the people: saying: Naboth hath blasphemed God and the king. Wherefore they brought him forth without the city, and stoned him to death. | Devil. Hebrew Belial, ver. 10. Protestants, "and the men of Belial witnessed against him." --- City, as was requisite. (Calmet) --- Stoned him, for blasphemy, Leviticus 24:16., and 23. |
| I Kings 21:14 | And they sent to Jezabel, saying: Naboth is stoned, and is dead. | |
| I Kings 21:15 | And it came to pass, when Jezabel heard that Naboth was stoned, and dead, that she said to Achab: Arise, and take possession of the vineyard of Naboth, the Jezrahelite, who would not agree with thee, and give it thee for money: for Naboth is not alive, but dead. | |
| I Kings 21:16 | And when Achab heard this, to wit, that Naboth was dead, he arose, and went down into the vineyard of Naboth, the Jezrahelite, to take possession of it. | Of it, on the title of confiscation, as Naboth had been condemned for high treason; (see 2 Kings 9:7.; Menochius) or because there was no heir left, ver. 10. Some assert, that Naboth was Achab's uncle. But this wants proof. (Calmet) --- Achab only waited one day, and then Elias met him to denounce to him a similar fate after he was dead, 4 Kings 9:26. Septuagint have, "he tore his garments, and put on sackcloth; and it came to pass afterwards, that Achab arose," etc. This addition would intimate that the king pretended to be sorry. They repeat the same thing, ver. 27., "he had put on sackcloth, on the day when he slew Naboth, and went along cast down." It is probable that Achab might assume this garb, to make people suppose that he had no hand in the death of Naboth; but this was all hypocrisy, and Elias boldly accused him of guilt. Thou hast slain, etc., ver. 19. (Haydock) --- He knew, at least, of his wife's machinations. (Salien) |
| I Kings 21:17 | And the word of the Lord came to Elias, the Thesbite, saying: | |
| I Kings 21:18 | Arise, and go down to meet Achab, king of Israel, who is in Samaria: behold he is going down to the vineyard of Naboth, to take possession of it: | |
| I Kings 21:19 | And thou shalt speak to him, saying: Thus saith the Lord: Thou hast slain: moreover also thou hast taken possession. And after these words thou shalt add: Thus saith the Lord: *In this place, wherein the dogs have licked the blood of Naboth, they shall lick thy blood also. 3 Kings 22:38. | Possession, by desire; though he was yet only on the road. (Menochius) --- Perhaps he had sent his servants before. (Haydock) --- Place, not precisely, as Achab was slain in Samaria. (Menochius) --- But Naboth's vineyard, perhaps, was not far distant from the pool, where dogs licked the blood of the king. (Haydock) --- On account of Achab's repentance, the sentence was (ver. 29.; Calmet) rather changed, and his son Joram was substituted in his stead, 4 Kings 9:25. Jehu, and his captain, Badacer, were present, when Elias denounced this judgment upon the family of Achab; and they concluded that the prediction regarded Joram. He had, perhaps, taken part with his impious parents, and promoted the same crimes. (Haydock) |
| I Kings 21:20 | And Achab said to Elias: Hast thou found me thy enemy? He said: I have found thee, because thou art sold to do evil in the sight of the Lord. | Thy enemy. Have I done thee any harm, whenever thou hast appeared before me? Hebrew and Septuagint, "O my enemy." (Haydock) --- To find, often means to attack or take by surprise. Art thou come thus, to fall upon me on the road? (Calmet) --- Sold. That is, so addicted to evil, as if thou hadst sold thyself to the devil, to be his slave to work all kind of evil. (Challoner) (Worthington) (St. Gregory, in Ezec. hom. 10.) --- The expression strongly marks the empire of the passions. Achab was sovereignly wicked, without any restraint. (Calmet) --- So Vitellius was: Luxui saginaeque mancipatus, emptusque. (Tacitus, Hist. ii.) --- Sold, or "abandoned," are used in the same sense, Psalm 43:13. |
| I Kings 21:21 | *Behold I will bring evil upon thee, and I will cut down thy posterity, and I will kill of Achab him that pisseth against the wall, and him that is shut up, and the last in Israel. 4 Kings 9:8. | Wall. See 1 Kings 25:22. --- Israel, 3 Kings 14:10. (Menochius) |
| I Kings 21:22 | And I will make thy house like the *house of Jeroboam the son of Nabat, and like the house of **Baasa the son of Ahias: for what thou hast done to provoke me to anger, and for making Israel to sin. 3 Kings 15:29. --- ** 3 Kings 16:3. | Sin. god frequently inculcates the enormity of the crime of public scandal. (Menochius) |
| I Kings 21:23 | *And of Jezabel also, the Lord spoke, saying: The dogs shall eat Jezabel in the field of Jezrahel. 4 Kings 9:36. | Field. Hebrew, "wall," or "before the wall." This was exactly fulfilled, 4 Kings 9:32. Jezabel was hurled from a window over the gate or wall of the city. (Calmet) |
| I Kings 21:24 | If Achab die in the city, the dogs shall eat him: but if he die in the field, the birds of the air shall eat him. | Eat him. Yet God remitted something from the severity of this sentence; and Achab was buried in Samaria, 3 Kings 22:37. But his son was deprived of burial. (Tirinus) (4 Kings 9:26.) --- According to the Hebrew, the prediction related to Achab's posterity, as the Chaldean, Septuagint, Syriac, etc., have understood it. (Calmet) --- Protestants, "him that dieth of Achab in the city," etc. |
| I Kings 21:25 | Now, there was not such another as Achab, who was sold to do evil in the sight of the Lord: for his wife, Jezabel, set him on, | Now. Septuagint, "Moreover, Achab was foolishly sold, a man who was sold, etc., since Jezabel....changed him:" metetheken. His natural disposition was not perhaps so bad. But his unfortunate connexion with a most wicked wife involved him in ruin. Even when he began to relent, and was on the point of reforming his life, (ver. 27.) her influence spoiled all. (Haydock) --- He was sold to her, and she exercised a most severe tyranny over him, using his seal at pleasure, and treating him with indignity, ver. 7, 8. (Tirinus) |
| I Kings 21:26 | And he became abominable, insomuch that he followed the idols which the Amorrhites had made, whom the Lord destroyed before the face of the children of Israel. | Amorrhites. The Sidonians still adored the idols Baal and Astaroth, with the utmost exertions of cruelty and lust. This was the religion which Achab wished to establish, more than any of his predecessors. (Calmet) |
| I Kings 21:27 | And when Achab had heard these words, he rent his garments, and put hair-cloth upon his flesh, and fasted, and slept in sackcloth, and walked with his head cast down. | Down. Hebrew, "uncovered," (Malvenda; 2 Kings 15:30.) or "barefoot," (Chaldean; Syriac) or "softly," (Vatable; Protestants) or "he walked bent down." (Septuagint) This variety shows that the signification or at (Haydock) is not well known. The repentance of Achab is not more certain. Some believe that it was insincere, and only external: yet God was pleased to reward it iin this life, (Lyranus; Theodoret, etc.) as it might have some influence on the people. (Haydock) --- Others suppose that Achab really repented for what he had done, but presently relapsed at the instigation of Jezabel; so that his reward was equally of a temporal nature; though St. Chrysostom (ad Theod. laps.) seems to be convinced that he "obtained the remission of all his sins, and entirely changed his life." (ser. 68, et hom. 5. ad Antioc.) --- But here lies the difficulty. (Calmet) --- "His groans would have found favour, if the lurking envy had not increased his offence." (St. Ambrose, in Psalm XXXVII., de Naboth. ch. IV.) See ver. 25. --- A relapse renders the sincerity of the former conversions doubtful; and the more so, when no radical change, but only external sorrow, has appeared. |
| I Kings 21:28 | And the word of the Lord came to Elias, the Thesbite, saying: | |
| I Kings 21:29 | Hast thou not seen Achab humbled before me? therefore, because he hath humbled himself, for my sake, I will not bring the evil in his days, *but in his son's days will I bring the evil upon his house. 4 Kings 9:26. | Sake. Hebrew, "before me," publicly. (Haydock) --- The threat of the prophet caused Achab to invest his son with the royal dignity, and Josaphat followed his example. (Salien, the year before Christ 916.) --- But some call this in question. (Haydock) |
| I Kings 22:0 | Achab believing his false prophets, rather than Micheas, is slain in Ramoth-Galaad. Ochozias succeedeth him. Good king Josaphat dieth, and his son Joram succeedeth him. | |
| I Kings 22:1 | And there passed three years without war between Syria and Israel. 2 Paralipomenon 18:1. | Year of the World 3107, Year before Christ 897. Israel, from the time when Benadad and Achab had made a league, 3 Kings 20:34. |
| I Kings 22:2 | And *in the third year, Josaphat, king of Juda, came down to the king of Israel. | Josaphat. It is wonderful that a prince of so great piety, should be on terms of such strict friendship with a most wicked king. God did not approve of it; and the event was unfortunate, 2 Paralipomenon 20:37. Achab received the king of Juda with extraordinary magnificence, 2 Paralipomenon 18:2. It is thought that (Calmet) the latter had married his daughter, (Grotius) or rather (Haydock) he had taken Athalia for his son Joram, 2 Paralipomenon 18:1. (Tirinus) (Menochius) |
| I Kings 22:3 | (And the king of Israel said to his servants: Know ye not that Ramoth-Galaad is ours, and we neglect to take it out of the hand of the king of Syria?) | Syria. Benadad had not restored it; either because he no longer regarded his treaty, or because the city had not been taken by his father. (Calmet) |
| I Kings 22:4 | And he said to Josaphat: Wilt thou come with me to battle to Ramoth-Galaad? | |
| I Kings 22:5 | And Josaphat said to the king of Israel: As I am, so art thou: my people and thy people are one: and my horsemen are thy horsemen. And Josaphat said to the king of Israel: Inquire, I beseech thee, this day the word of the Lord. | One, in concord, (Haydock) and ready to march against the same enemy. --- Lord. This was rather late, if (Menochius) the army was already receiving its pay under the walls of Samaria. (Josephus, [Antiquities?] 8:15.) --- God ought to have been consulted at first. (Menochius) |
| I Kings 22:6 | Then the king of Israel assembled the prophets, about four hundred men, and he said to them: Shall I go to Ramoth-Galaad to fight, or shall I forbear? They answered: Go up, and the Lord will deliver it into the hand of the king. | Men, probably the prophets of the groves, who had not gone to Carmel, 3 Kings 18:19, 22. (Calmet) --- The recent slaughter had not deterred others from imitating the example of the false prophets. (Haydock) |
| I Kings 22:7 | And Josaphat said: Is there not here some prophet of the Lord, that we may inquire by him? | Lord. Josaphat knew that these four hundred were addicted to idol worship, (Haydock) and suspected that they only flattered their king. (Josephus) |
| I Kings 22:8 | And the king of Israel said to Josaphat: There is one man left, by whom we may inquire of the Lord; Micheas, the son of Jemla: but I hate him, for he doth not prophesy good to me, but evil. And Josaphat said: Speak not so, O king. | One man. Perhaps Micheas alone resided at Samaria. Elias and his disciples were in the country. Josephus and some others think, (Calmet) that the son of Jemla had been cast into prison for what he had said to Achab, when he had dismissed the king of Syria, 3 Kings 20:43. (Haydock) --- Not so. Good advice should be followed, though it be not pleasant. (Menochius) --- Josaphat justly suspected the schismatical false prophets. (Worthington) |
| I Kings 22:9 | Then the king of Israel called an eunuch, and said to him: Make haste, and bring hither Micheas, the son of Jemla. | Eunuch. Hebrew saris, denotes also "a servant;" or Achab might have purchased this stranger. |
| I Kings 22:10 | Then the king of Israel, and Josaphat, king of Juda, sat each on his throne, clothed with royal robes, in a court, by the entrance of the gate of Samaria, and all the prophets prophesied before them. | Court, or barn floor. They were in or near cities, that they might be so protected from the incursions of enemies, who strove to set the corn on fire, 1 Kings 23:1., and Judges 15:5. |
| I Kings 22:11 | And Sedecias, the son of Chanaana, made himself horns of iron, and said: Thus saith the Lord: With these shalt thou push Syria, till thou destroy it. | Push, "with the horn," (keratiseis; Septuagint) and throw into the air, (Menochius) like a bull. (Calmet) --- Nothing shall withstand thy power. The actions of Sedecias were of the same import as his words. (Haydock) --- See Jeremias 27:2., and 28:10. --- Such horns were shewn to Zacharias; (1:18.) as false prophets often do, like the true ones. (Worthington) |
| I Kings 22:12 | And all the prophets prophesied in like manner, saying: Go up to Ramoth-Galaad, and prosper, for the Lord will deliver it into the king's hands. | |
| I Kings 22:13 | And the messenger that went to call Micheas, spoke to him, saying: Behold the words of the prophets with one month declare good things to the king: let thy word, therefore, be like to theirs, and speak that which is good. | |
| I Kings 22:14 | But Micheas said to him: As the Lord liveth, whatsoever the Lord shall say to me, that will I speak. | |
| I Kings 22:15 | So he came to the king, and the king said to him: Micheas, shall we go to Ramoth-Galaad to battle, or shall we forbear? He answered him: Go up, and prosper, and the Lord shall deliver it into the king's hands. | Go up, etc. This was spoken ironically, and by way of jesting at the flattering speeches of the false prophets: and so the king understood it, as appears by his adjuring Micheas, in the following verse, to tell him the truth in the name of the Lord. (Challoner) --- Micheas had only repeated their words, and by his accent and gestures (Du Hamel) might easily explain his meaning. (Haydock) --- Similar examples of irony may be seen, 3 Kings 18:27., and Genesis 3:22. (Calmet) --- The prophet might also pray for success. But the king begged for a positive answer. (Worthington) |
| I Kings 22:16 | But the king said to him: I adjure thee again and again, that thou tell me nothing but that which is true, in the name of the Lord. | |
| I Kings 22:17 | And he said: I saw all Israel scattered upon the hills, like sheep that have no shepherd; *and the Lord said: These have no master: let every man of them return to his house in peace. Numbers 27:17.; Matthew 9:36. | No shepherd....no master, clearly intimated (Menochius) that the king should perish in the battle. Paralipomenon reads: These have no masters. (Haydock) |
| I Kings 22:18 | (Then the king of Israel said to Josaphat: Did I not tell thee, that he prophesieth no good to me, but always evil?) | |
| I Kings 22:19 | And he added and said: Hear thou, therefore, the word of the Lord: I saw the Lord sitting on his throne, and all the army of heaven standing by him on the right hand and on the left: | He, Micheas, added, (Menochius) not fearing the king's displeasure, who seemed to regard his former denunciation as an effect of his ill-will. Hence he explains his vision more at large. God often conforms to our ideas, and even prejudices. The people were then accustomed to look upon him as a king, environed with his army of good and evil spirits; the one at his right-hand, to execute his designs of mercy, and the other at his left, to execute his judgments. Job (1:6, 12.) speaks in the like manner. We know that God stands in need of no counsellors; (Romans 11:34.) and that the angels of satan have no place in heaven, Isaias 14:12., Apocalypse 12:9., and Jude 6. |
| I Kings 22:20 | And the Lord said: Who shall deceive Achab, king of Israel, that he may go up, and fall at Ramoth-Galaad? And one spoke words of this manner, and another otherwise. | The Lord said, etc. God standeth not in need of any counsellor; nor are we suppose, that things pass in heaven in the manner here described: but this representation was made to the prophet, to be delivered by him in a manner adopted to the common ways and notions of men. (Challoner) (St. Gregory, Mor. 2:21., etc.) (Worthington) --- God did not enable the king to discern the falsehood. (Bellarmine 2:13. Grat. Amis.) |
| I Kings 22:21 | And there came forth a spirit, and stood before the Lord, and said: I will deceive him. And the Lord said to him: By what means? | |
| I Kings 22:22 | And he said: I will go forth, and be a lying spirit, in the mouth of all his prophets. And the Lord said: Thou shalt deceive him, and shalt prevail: *go forth, and do so. See Matthew 8:32.; Apocalypse 20:3. | Go forth, and do so. This was not a command, but a permission; for God never ordaineth lies, though he often permitteth the lying spirit to deceive those who love not the truth, 2 Thessalonians 2:10. And in this sense it is said in the following verse, the Lord hath given a lying spirit in the mouth of all thy prophets. (Challoner) --- What is translated in the imperative, denotes frequently what will come to pass, though it be displeasing to God. (Calmet) --- He permits it, therefore, only by not exerting his power to prevent the execution. (Haydock) --- The devils can do nothing without such a permission. Achab deserved to be deceived by the false prophets, as he would not hearken to a true one. (St. Augustine, contra Jul. 5:4., and q. 53. inter. 83.) |
| I Kings 22:23 | Now, therefore, behold the Lord hath given a lying spirit, in the mouth of all thy prophets that are here, and the Lord hath spoken evil against thee. | |
| I Kings 22:24 | And Sedecias, the son of Chanaana, came, and struck Micheas on the cheek, and said: Hath then the spirit of the Lord left me, and spoken to thee? | Cheek. Josephus says he had told the king, that if his hand did not wither, like that of Jeroboam, he might conclude that Micheas was a false prophet; particularly as his prediction was at variance with that of Elias; who had asserted that Achab should die at Jezrahel, while Micheas seemed to condemn him to death at Ramoth. But these circumstances are by no means certain, though they be adopted by the author of the Scholastic History, by Lyranus, etc. (Calmet) --- If Sedecias had the assurance to make such a declaration, God was not obliged to work a miracle to prevent the king's mistake; and Micheas had never said that Achab should die at Ramoth. (Haydock) --- Hath. In 2 Paralipomenon 18:23, it is expressed, Which way went the spirit of the Lord from me to speak to thee? If he could have proved that he had ever possessed the spirit, he might have spoken with some confidence; though sin may easily banish him. Thus Catholics may ask the pretended reformers, who boast of the spirit, how He came to abandon the Church with which all agree He once resided, to establish a contrary one? The spirit of God cannot be at variance with himself, nor reveal contradictory things. (Haydock) |
| I Kings 22:25 | And Micheas said: Thou shalt see, in the day when thou shalt go into a chamber, within a chamber, to hide thyself. | Go into a chamber, etc. This happened when he heard the king was slain, and justly apprehended that he should be punished for his false prophecy; (Challoner) though this be nowhere recorded, (Calmet) except in Josephus. (Worthington) --- He probably escaped death. (Salien) |
| I Kings 22:26 | And the king of Israel said: Take Micheas, and let him abide with Amon, the governor of the city, and with Joas, the son of Amalech; | |
| I Kings 22:27 | And tell them: Thus saith the king: Put this man in prison, and feed him with bread of affliction, and water of distress, till I return in peace. | Distress, both "in small quantity," (Paralipomenon) and very bad. (Grotius) (Tirinus) (Isaias 30:20.) --- Peace, when I will punish thee, as an impostor. (Menochius) --- How grating must this have been to the good king Josaphat; and still he does not abandon the company of such infatuated people! (Ver. 29.) (Haydock) |
| I Kings 22:28 | And Micheas said: If thou return in peace, the Lord hath not spoken by me. And he said: Hear, all ye people. | |
| I Kings 22:29 | So the king of Israel, and Josaphat, king of Juda, went up to Ramoth-Galaad. | |
| I Kings 22:30 | And the king of Israel said to Josaphat: Take thy armour, and go into the battle, and put on thy own garments. But the king of Israel changed his dress, and went into the battle. | Thy own. Septuagint, "I will disguise myself, and go into the battle; and do thou put on my garment." Hence the Syrians mistook Josaphat for Achab, (ver. 32.; Calmet) as "it had been agreed between them, that he should wear the robes of Achab, to elude more easily the prediction of Micheas." (Josephus, [Antiquities?] 8:15.) --- Vain and impious attempt! Providence found him out, though unadorned. (Haydock) --- Achab might pretend thus to honour the king of Juda! (Menochius) and perhaps he had been apprized of the order given to the Syrians, to single him out, ver. 31. What could prompt such an order, cannot be easily ascertained. Benadad might wish to revenge himself, for being brought out as a prisoner to Achab; or he might be informed of the prediction of Micheas. |
| I Kings 22:31 | And the king of Syria had commanded the two and thirty captains of the chariots, saying: You shall not fight against any, small or great, but against the king of Israel only. | Captains of, or mounted "on chariots." There would hardly be so many general officers over the chariots alone. The same number of kings had been in a former engagement, and they had been replaced by these captains, 3 Kings 20:24. (Calmet) --- Only. Not that the Syrians were to avoid hurting any body else, as they could not thus come at the king; (Salien) and we find one shot an arrow at the army of Israel; (ver. 34.; Haydock) but the main onset was to be directed against Achab, either to kill or to take him prisoner. (Menochius) |
| I Kings 22:32 | So when the captains of the chariots saw Josaphat, they suspected that he was the king of Israel, and making a violent assault, they fought against him: and Josaphat cried out. | Cried out. Paralipomenon add, to the Lord, and he helped him, and turned them away from him. The Jews (in Seder. Olam xvii.) acknowledge the same thing; and thus it was known that Josaphat was not the king of Israel, who would rather have invoked Baal. (Menochius) --- Perhaps he also declared the truth, and who he was, when he saw the Syrians surround him, crying, This is the king of Israel! (2 Paralipomenon 18:31.) (Tirinus) |
| I Kings 22:33 | And the captains of the chariots perceived that he was not the king of Israel, and they turned away from him. | |
| I Kings 22:34 | And a certain man bent his bow, shooting at a venture, and chanced to strike the king of Israel, between the lungs and the stomach. But he said to the driver of his chariot: Turn thy hand, and carry me out of the army, for I am grievously wounded. | Stomach. Paralipomenon, between the neck and the shoulders. The arrow went in at the lungs, and came out at the shoulders, as it was shot from a lower ground. (Menochius) --- Some explain the Hebrew, "between the joints and the coat of mail." Protestants, "joints of the harness." Septuagint, "between the lungs and the thorax." (Haydock) --- Syriac, "between the juncture of the coat of mail," where it is connected with the armour of the thighs. (Grotius) --- God directed the random shot. (Salien) (Worthington) --- Hand. It was deemed unbecoming for the king to touch the reins. (Diodorus, Sic. xvii.; Brisson 3:p. 383.) |
| I Kings 22:35 | And the battle was fought that day, and the king of Israel stood in his chariot against the Syrians, and he died in the evening: and the blood ran out of the wound into the midst of the chariot. | Evening. Achab had only retired to the hinder ranks, while Josaphat, by his valour, maintained the day, till the death of the former put an end to the war. |
| I Kings 22:36 | And the herald proclaimed through all the army, before the sun set, saying: Let every man return to his own city, and to his own country. | |
| I Kings 22:37 | And the king died, *and was carried into Samaria: and they buried the king in Samaria. | Year of the World 3107. |
| I Kings 22:38 | *And they washed his chariot in the pool of Samaria, and the dogs licked up his blood, and they washed the reins according to the word of the Lord which he had spoken. 3 Kings 21:19. | Of Samaria. Josephus says, of Jezara, (Jezrahel) conformably to the prediction. But God had relented in that particular, on Achab's repentance; (Calmet; 3 Kings 21:24, 29.) unless it regarded his son Joram. (Haydock) (Salien) --- Reins. Hebrew zonoth, may also signify "arms," (Munster) and "harlots." (Septuagint) Some suspect that such were painted on the chariot. Josephus intimates, with the Septuagint, that "harlots bathed in the blood," (Antiquities 8:15.) which would tend to the greater contempt of Achab. (Menochius) --- Spoken, respecting dogs licking up Achab's blood. No mention had been made of the chariot. God was thus pleased to shew how easily he could have executed the sentence in all its rigour. |
| I Kings 22:39 | But the rest of the acts of Achab, and all that he did, and the house of ivory that he made, and all the cities that he built, are they not written in the Book of the words of the days of the kings of Israel? | Of ivory. The palace was greatly adorned with it, (see Amos 3:15., and Psalm 44:9.; Calmet) like the throne of Solomon, 3 Kings 10:18. Pliny (xvi. 43.) speaks of bedsteads and vehicles of ivory, in the same sense. (Tirinus) |
| I Kings 22:40 | So Achab slept with his fathers; and Ochozias, his son, reigned in his stead. | |
| I Kings 22:41 | But Josaphat, the son of Asa, began to reign over Juda, in the fourth year *of Achab, king of Israel. | Year of the World 3090, Year before Christ 914. |
| I Kings 22:42 | He was five and thirty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned five and twenty years in Jerusalem: the name of his mother was Azuba, the daughter of Salai. | |
| I Kings 22:43 | And he walked in all the way of Asa, his father, and he declined not from it: and he did that which was right in the sight of the Lord. | |
| I Kings 22:44 | Nevertheless, he took not away the high places: for as yet the people offered sacrifices, and burnt incense in the high places. | He took not away, etc. He left some of the high places, viz., those in which they worshipped the true God: but took away all others, 2 Paralipomenon 17:6; (Challoner) and even those also, before the end of his reign; (Calmet) as they were contrary to the law. (Menochius) --- Others think that the passage in Paralipomenon is incorrect; ula being substituted for vaud. He took away the high places, (chap. 19:3.) and the groves. (Grotius) (Capell.) --- We know that such remained in the days of Joas; and Josaphat in not ranked among the irreproachable kings, Ecclesiasticus 49:5. (Calmet) --- He attempted perhaps to remove those places, but was prevented by the people. (Menochius) See 3 Kings 15:14. |
| I Kings 22:45 | And Josaphat had peace with the king of Israel. | Israel. The five subsequent verses are omitted in the Roman Septuagint. |
| I Kings 22:46 | But the rest of the acts of Josaphat, and his works which he did, and his battles, are they not written in the Book of the words of the days of the kings of Juda? | |
| I Kings 22:47 | And the remnant also of the effeminate, who remained in the days of Asa, his father, he took out of the land. | Effeminate. Men addicted to unnatural lust, 3 Kings 14:24., and 15:12. |
| I Kings 22:48 | And there was then no king appointed in Edom. | Edom. Hebrew and Chaldean, "but a deputy king," or viceroy; (Tirinus) so that the kings of Juda might equip fleets at Asiongaber, as the country of Idumea was subject to them ever since the time of David, 2 Paralipomenon 8:17. Under Ochozias, the son of Josaphat, the kings of Edom became independent, 4 Kings 8:20. (Calmet) --- Hitherto they had paid tribute. (Menochius) |
| I Kings 22:49 | But king Josaphat made navies on the sea, *to sail into Ophir for gold: but they could not go, **for the ships were broken in Asiongaber. 2 Paralipomenon 20:36. | Year of the World 3108. Made. Hebrew incorrectly reads hasar, "ten," instead of hasa, "made;" (Calmet) which the Protestants follow, "made ships of Tharshish, to go to Ophir." (Haydock) See 3 Kings 9:26., and 28. |
| I Kings 22:50 | Then Ochozias, the son of Achab, said to Josaphat: Let my servants go with thy servants in the ships. And Josaphat would not. | Would not. He had been reprehended before for admitting such a partner: and therefore would have no more to do with him. (Challoner) --- They had formerly joined in equipping such a fleet, (2 Paralipomenon 20:36., and 37.; Calmet) and it had been dashed to pieces in the very port. (Haydock) |
| I Kings 22:51 | And *Josaphat slept with his fathers, and was buried with them in the city of David, his father: and Joram, his son, reigned in his stead. | Year of the World 3115, Year before Christ 889. |
| I Kings 22:52 | And Ochozias, the son of Achab, began to reign over Israel, in Samaria, in the seventeenth year of *Josaphat, king of Juda, and he reigned over Israel two years. | Year of the World 3106. Years, not complete; as the first is comprized in the reign of Achab, and the last in that of Joram, 4 Kings 3:1. (Usher, the year of the world 3108.) --- Yet, his very short reign was memorable for many disasters; the revolt of the dependant king of Moab, the ruin of his navy, etc., that he might thus be reclaimed from his evil ways. (Salien, the year before Christ 915.) --- Houbigant allows this king two full years; and rejects the notion of his being associated by his father, as he does on other similar occasions, where the Scripture is silent. He makes Ochozias commence in the 19th, and end in the 22d of Josaphat, and not in the second of Joram, 4 Kings 1:17. The Hebrew and Greek copies vary. (Haydock) |
| I Kings 22:53 | And he did evil in the sight of the Lord, and walked in the way of his father and his mother, and in the way of Jeroboam, the son of Nabat, who made Israel to sin. | |
| I Kings 22:54 | He served also Baal, and worshipped him, and provoked the Lord, the God of Israel, according to all that his father had done. |