Chapter commentary
2 Chronicles Chapter 9
1
2Ch 9:1-12.
繁體中文
English original
2Ch 9:1-12.
THE QUEEN OF SHEBA VISITS SOLOMON; SHE ADMIRES HIS WISDOM AND MAGNIFICENCE.
1-4. when the queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon--(See on
1Ki 10:1-13).
It is said that among the things in Jerusalem which drew forth the admiration of Solomon's royal visitor was "his ascent by which he went up into the house of the Lord." This was the arched viaduct that crossed the valley from Mount Zion to the opposite hill. In the commentary on the passage quoted above, allusion was made to the recent discovery of its remains. Here we give a full account of what, for boldness of conceptions for structure and magnificence, was one of the greatest wonders in Jerusalem. "During our first visit to the southwest corner of the area of the mosque, we observed several of the large stones jutting out from the western wall, which at first seemed to be the effect of a bursting of the wall from some mighty shock or earthquake. We paid little regard to this at the moment; but on mentioning the fact not long after to a circle of our friends, the remark was incidentally dropped that the stones had the appearance of having once belonged to a large arch. At this remark, a train of thought flashed across my mind, which I hardly dared to follow out until I had again repaired to the spot, in order to satisfy myself with my own eyes as to the truth or falsehood of the suggestion. I found it even so. The courses of these immense stones occupy their original position; their external surface is hewn to a regular curve; and, being fitted one upon another, they form the commencement or foot of an immense arch which once sprung out from this western wall in a direction towards Mount Zion, across the Tyropœon valley. This arch could only have belonged to the bridge, which, according to JOSEPHUS, led from this part of the temple to the Xystus (covered colonnade) on Zion; and it proves incontestably the antiquity of that portion from which it springs" [ROBINSON]. The distance from this point to the steep rock of Zion ROBINSON calculates to be about three hundred and fifty feet, the probable length of this ancient viaduct. Another writer adds, that "the arch of this bridge, if its curve be calculated with an approximation to the truth, would measure sixty feet, and must have been one of five sustaining the viaduct (allowing for the abutments on either side), and that the piers supporting the center arch of this bridge must have been of great altitude--not less, perhaps, than one hundred and thirty feet. The whole structure, when seen from the southern extremity of the Tyropœon, must have had an aspect of grandeur, especially as connected with the lofty and sumptuous edifices of the temple, and of Zion to the right and to the left" [ISAAC TAYLOR'S EDITION OF TRAILL'S JOSEPHUS].
13
2Ch 9:13-28.
繁體中文
2Ch 9:13-28.
他的財富。
13. 所羅門每年所得的金子——（參
1Ki 10:14-29）。
金子六百六十六他連得——此數等於三百六十四萬六千三百五十英鎊；若將未計在內的銀子
（2Ch 9:14） 按一與九之比計算，約二十萬英鎊，則每年供應近六百萬英鎊——對於海上貿易的初步嘗試而言，是一筆龐大的數目〔NAPIER〕。
English original
2Ch 9:13-28.
HIS RICHES.
13. Now the weight of gold that came to Solomon in one year--(See on
1Ki 10:14-29).
six hundred and threescore and six talents of gold--The sum named is equal to £3,646,350; and if we take the proportion of silver
(2Ch 9:14),
which is not taken into consideration, at one to nine, there would be about £200,000, making a yearly supply of nearly £6,000,000, being a vast amount for an infant effort in maritime commerce [NAPIER].
21
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繁體中文
21. 王的船隻往他施去——更恰當地說「他施的船隻」與戶蘭的僕人一同前往。
他施的船隻——即載重與結構類似為他施建造或在他施使用的大船〔CALMET, Fragments〕。
English original
21. the king's ships went to Tarshish--rather, "the king's ships of Tarshish went" with the servants of Huram.
ships of Tarshish--that is, in burden and construction like the large vessels built for or used at Tarshish [CALMET, Fragments].
25
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繁體中文
25. 所羅門有套車的馬四千——有人推測〔GESENIUS, Hebrew Lexicon〕，原詞不僅可指馬廄，也可指佔用同等數目馬廄的馬匹數。若以十匹合為一組，則為四萬。照此解釋理論，《列王紀》的史家是指馬匹
〔參 1Ki 10:26〕； 而《歷代志》的史家所說的，是安置馬匹的馬廄。但較新的學者不接受這種化解難題的方式，而認為四千個馬廄與所羅門宮殿整體的宏偉相稱，一致認定《列王紀》的經文因抄寫者的錯誤而遭損壞。
English original
25. Solomon had four thousand stalls--It has been conjectured [GESENIUS, Hebrew Lexicon] that the original term may signify not only stall or stable, but a number of horses occupying the same number of stalls. Supposing that ten were put together in one part, this would make forty thousand. According to this theory of explanation, the historian in Kings refers to horses [see
1Ki 10:26];
while the historian in Chronicles speaks of the stalls in which they were kept. But more recent critics reject this mode of solving the difficulty, and, regarding the four thousand stalls as in keeping with the general magnificence of Solomon's establishments, are agreed in considering the text in Kings as corrupt, through the error of some copyist.
28
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繁體中文
28. 他們從埃及帶馬給所羅門——（參
2Ch 1:14）。
所羅門無疑將希伯來王國推向了屬世榮華的頂峰。他完成了那項宏大的工程，將國家的敬拜集中於耶路撒冷——國民每年三次上到那裏——使他的名字在古代教會的歷史中佔有顯赫的地位。但他的統治對「獨居的民」卻有災難性的影響；他那可悲的偶像崇拜的榜樣、他與外邦君王所締結的關係、他所從事的商業投機，以及他所引入國中的奢華，似乎在很大程度上改變並降低了猶太人的品格。
English original
28. they brought unto Solomon horses out of Egypt--(See on
2Ch 1:14).
Solomon undoubtedly carried the Hebrew kingdom to its highest pitch of worldly glory. His completion of the grand work, the centralizing of the national worship at Jerusalem, whither the natives went up three times a year, has given his name a prominent place in the history of the ancient church. But his reign had a disastrous influence upon "the peculiar people," and the example of his deplorable idolatries, the connections he formed with foreign princes, the commercial speculations he entered into, and the luxuries introduced into the land, seem in a great measure to have altered and deteriorated the Jewish character.
2Ch 9:1-12.
示巴女王訪問所羅門；讚嘆其智慧與榮華。
1-4. 示巴女王聽見所羅門的名聲——（參
1Ki 10:1-13）。
據說在耶路撒冷諸事物中，令所羅門這位王室訪客讚嘆的，包括「他上耶和華殿的臺階」。那是一座拱形高架橋，從錫安山跨越山谷通往對面的山岡。在前面所引經文的註釋中，曾提到該橋遺跡近年被發現。此處我們對這座在構思之大膽、結構與氣派上都堪稱耶路撒冷奇觀之一的建築，作完整記述。「我們初次到清真寺區的西南角時，注意到西牆有幾塊巨大的石頭向外突出，起初看似牆體因某種劇烈衝擊或地震而崩裂。當時我們未加留意；但不久向一群朋友提及此事時，有人不經意說這些石頭看來彷彿曾屬於一座大拱門。此話一出，一連串念頭閃過我心，我幾乎不敢深想，直到我再次回到現場，親眼印證這猜測的真偽。我發現確實如此。這些巨石的層位仍在其原來位置；其外露表面被鑿成規則的弧面；層層相疊，構成一道巨大拱門的起點或拱座，這拱門曾從這面西牆朝錫安山方向，橫跨提羅珥園（Tyropœon）山谷而出。這拱門只能屬於那座橋——據約瑟夫（JOSEPHUS）記載，該橋從聖殿這一側通往錫安山的休憩廊（Xystus，有頂柱廊）——這也無可辯駁地證明了它所發源的那段牆體年代古遠」〔ROBINSON〕。從此處到錫安陡峭岩壁的距離，羅賓遜計算約三百五十呎，即這座古代高架橋的可能長度。另一位作者補充說：「這橋的拱，若按接近真實的弧度來計算，量度約為六十呎，必是支撐這座高架橋的五道拱之一（兩端橋臺另計），而支撐這橋中央拱的橋墩必十分高峻——恐怕不少於一百三十呎。整座結構從提羅珥園南端望去，必定氣象宏偉，尤其與右左兩側聖殿及錫安山上高聳華美的建築相連」〔ISAAC TAYLOR'S EDITION OF TRAILL'S JOSEPHUS〕。