2 Chronicles 3 Summary - 5 Minute Bible Study
2 Chronicles 3 Short Summary:
2 Chronicles 3 documents the construction of Solomon’s Temple in Jerusalem. The building project took 7.5 years to complete, and the final design is described in chapter 6. The length, height, width, interior, and exterior of the Temple are detailed by the writer. It was a magnificent structure which was meant to honor God.
2 Chronicles 3 Extended Summary
WHEN:
2 Chronicles 3 discusses events that took place in the early years of Solomon’s reign, specifically from his 4th to 11th year as king. Solomon was king for 40 years according to 1 Kings 11:42, from approximately 1015-975 B.C.
It took Solomon 7.5 years told build the Temple (1 Kings 6:38) and 13 years told build his palace in Jerusalem (1 Kings 7:1).
CHARACTERS:
Solomon – Son of David and the 3rd king of God’s people in the Promised Land.
Hiram – King of Tyre. He was an ally of Solomon’s father, David.
Huram-abi – A talented craftsman who helped Solomon build the special items which went into the Temple. He is called “Hiram” in 1 Kings 13 and in 2 Chronicles 4.
WHERE:
The capital of the Kingdom of Israel and Judah was Jerusalem.
The Temple was built in Jerusalem at the location where Araunah’s threshing floor once stood (2 Sam 24; 1 Chron 21:18; 2 Chron 3:1)
OUTLINE:
SOLOMON BUILDS THE TEMPLE (3:1-17):
480 years after the Israelites were freed from slavery in Egypt (1491 B.C.), Solomon started building the Temple (1011 B.C., 1 Kings 6:1) on Mount Moriah.
*A cubit is generally estimated to be 18 inches or 45.7 cm.
The Temple was 60 cubits long and 20 cubits wide. It was twice the length and width of Moses’ Tabernacle.
The vestibule (NASB, “porch”), which was the entrance to the Temple proper, was 20 cubits wide and 10 cubits deep.
The interior of the Temple was covered in wood, which was then covered in gold.
The gold was engraved with beautiful designs and adorned with gemstones.
Solomon carved images of cherubim (heavenly beings) on the walls.
Just as the Tabernacle had two rooms, the Temple had two rooms, the larger external Holy Place, and the small internal Most Holy Place.
The Holy Place (nave) was 40 cubits long.
The Most Holzy Place was 20 feet long, 20 wide, and 20 tall.
Both rooms were overlaid with gold, even the floor. In the Most Holy Place alone, 600 talents of gold were used (talent = 75 lbs or 34 kg).
In the Most Holy Place there were statues of two cherubim, made of wood and overlaid with gold, whose wings spread across the entire room. Each cherub was 10 cubits tall with a 10-cubit wingspan.
Solomon brought Hiram, a man of Naphtali, to Jerusalem to do bronze work at the Temple (1 Kings 17:13-22).
He made two pillars of bronze, each 18 cubits tall and about 5.7 cubits wide. They were each topped with a capital of 5 cubits.
One pillar was set on the south side of the vestibule and another on the north.
The pillars were given names, Jachin (south) and Boaz (north).
