2 Crônicas 8

BLIVRE · Chapter 8/36

1E aconteceu que ao fim de vinte anos que Salomão havia edificado a casa do SENHOR e sua casa,

2Reedificou Salomão as cidades que Hirão lhe havia dado, e estabeleceu nelas aos filhos de Israel.

3Depois veio Salomão a Hamate de Zobá, e a tomou.

4E edificou a Tadmor no deserto, e todas as cidades de armazéns que edificou em Hamate.

5Assim reedificou a Bete-Horom a de acima, e a Bete-Horom a de abaixo, cidades fortificadas, de muros, portas, e barras;

6E a Baalate, e a todas as vilas de armazéns que Salomão tinha; também todas as cidades dos carros e as de cavaleiros; e tudo o que Salomão quis edificar em Jerusalém, e no Líbano, e em toda a terra de seu senhorio.

7E a todo o povo que havia restado dos heteus, amorreus, perizeus, heveus, e Jebuseos, que não eram de Israel,

8Os filhos dos que haviam restado na terra depois deles, aos quais os filhos de Israel não destruíram do todo, fez Salomão tributários até hoje.

9E dos filhos de Israel não pôs Salomão servos em sua obra; porque eram homens de guerra, e seus príncipes e seus capitães, e comandantes de seus carros, e seus cavaleiros.

10E tinha Salomão duzentos e cinquenta principais dos governadores, os quais mandavam naquela gente.

11E passou Salomão à filha de Faraó, da cidade de Davi à casa que ele lhe havia edificado; porque disse: Minha mulher não morará na casa de Davi rei de Israel, porque aquelas habitações de onde entrou a arca do SENHOR, são sagradas.

12Então ofereceu Salomão holocaustos ao SENHOR sobre o altar do SENHOR, que havia ele edificado diante do pórtico,

13Para que oferecessem cada coisa em seu dia, conforme ao mandamento de Moisés, nos sábados, nas novas luas, e nas solenidades, três vezes no ano, a saber, na festa dos pães ázimos, na festa das semanas, e na festa das cabanas.

14E constituiu as repartições dos sacerdotes em seus ofícios, conforme à ordenação de Davi seu pai; e os levitas por suas ordens, para que louvassem e ministrassem diante dos sacerdotes, casa coisa em seu dia; assim os porteiros por sua ordem

15E não saíram do mandamento do rei, quanto aos sacerdotes e levitas, e os tesouros, e todo negócio:

16Porque toda a obra de Salomão estava preparada desde o dia em que a casa do SENHOR foi fundada até que se acabou, até que a casa do SENHOR foi acabada do tudo.

17Então Salomão foi a Eziom-Geber, e a Elote, à costa do mar na terra de Edom.

18Porque Hirão lhe havia enviado navios por mão de seus servos, e marinheiros destros no mar, os quais foram com os servos de Salomão a Ofir, e tomaram de ali quatrocentos e cinquenta talentos de ouro, e os trouxeram ao rei Salomão.

📖 Chapter study

Summary

Solomon completes several building projects beyond the temple, including his palace and fortified cities, organizes the forced labor system using the remaining non-Israelite peoples, and establishes the regular routine of sacrifices and priestly divisions as instructed by David.

Explanation

This chapter shows Solomon as a capable administrator, expanding the kingdom's infrastructure well beyond the temple, including strategic fortifications and storage systems. An ethically complex detail is the use of remaining Canaanite peoples as forced laborers, a common practice in ancient times though viewed with discomfort today — the text is careful to clarify that Israelites themselves were not subjected to this kind of compulsory labor. The faithful maintenance of priestly divisions and the sacrificial routine, specifically following what David had established, shows organizational continuity between father and son in the religious administration of the kingdom.

Fun facts

  • Solomon builds a separate house for his Egyptian wife, the Pharaoh's daughter, explaining that she should not live in the former house of David because the ark had been there, a sign of religious sensitivity regarding the holiness of certain spaces.
  • The mention of Solomon sailing to Ezion-geber, on the Red Sea, with the help of experienced sailors from Tyre to bring gold from Ophir, shows the maritime commercial reach of the Israelite kingdom during his reign.

Verse-by-verse explanation

  1. 2 Crônicas 8:1After twenty years devoted to building the temple and his own palace, the text moves on to tell what Solomon did during the rest of his reign.
  2. 2 Crônicas 8:2Solomon rebuilds and resettles with Israelites some cities that Huram of Tyre had given him — part of the commercial arrangement between the two kings.
  3. 2 Crônicas 8:3Solomon also expands the territory northward, conquering Hamath-zobah, a Syrian region.
  4. 2 Crônicas 8:4In the wilderness, Solomon builds Tadmor (later known as Palmyra) and other fortified cities in the region of Hamath — strategic posts for trade and defense.
  5. 2 Crônicas 8:5Upper Beth-horon and Lower Beth-horon are rebuilt as fortified cities, with walls, gates, and bars — part of the kingdom’s defensive network.
  6. 2 Crônicas 8:6The list of building projects continues with Baalath and other storage cities, along with cities set aside for chariots and cavalry, spread across Jerusalem, Lebanon, and the whole territory.
  7. 2 Crônicas 8:7The text turns again to the peoples still living in the land from before the Israelite conquest — Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites — who were not counted as part of Israel.
  8. 2 Crônicas 8:8The descendants of these peoples left in the land, because the Israelites had not driven them out completely, became forced labor for Solomon, a situation that still held at the time the book was written.
  9. 2 Crônicas 8:9Solomon uses as forced labor only the descendants of the peoples already in the land before the Israelite conquest — native-born Israelites serve as soldiers and officers, not as slave labor. It’s a distinction the text makes a point of stating clearly.
  10. 2 Crônicas 8:10Two hundred fifty officers head this forced labor force, supervising the work on the king’s behalf.
  11. 2 Crônicas 8:11Solomon builds a separate house for his Egyptian wife, Pharaoh’s daughter, because he considers the spaces where the ark has been too sacred for her to go on living there.
  12. 2 Crônicas 8:12After settling this domestic matter, Solomon goes back to offering burnt offerings to God, on the altar he himself built in front of the temple.
  13. 2 Crônicas 8:13These sacrifices follow the calendar set by Moses: daily, on sabbaths, on new moons, and at the three great annual feasts — Passover, Weeks, and Tabernacles.
  14. 2 Crônicas 8:14Solomon organizes the priests and Levites into service divisions, following the system David had already set up before, also including the gatekeepers responsible for each entrance of the temple.
  15. 2 Crônicas 8:15The text assures that no one departed from these orders of David, either regarding religious service or regarding the temple’s treasures.
  16. 2 Crônicas 8:16With that, the whole work of the temple is recorded as complete, from the foundation to the final finishing — a formal close to the great building project.
  17. 2 Crônicas 8:17Solomon travels to Ezion-geber and Eloth, ports on the coast of Edom, launching the kingdom’s maritime expansion told in the verses that follow.
  18. 2 Crônicas 8:18Solomon’s fleet only manages to reach Ophir, a land famous for gold, because Huram of Tyre lends experienced sailors — the Israelites had no seafaring tradition of their own. It’s a trade partnership, not a conquest.

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