Genesis 22:2
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
2 Then God said: Take your son Isaac, your only one, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah. There offer him up as a burnt offering on one of the heights that I will point out to you.(A)
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1 Kings 6:1
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
Chapter 6
Building of the Temple.[a] 1 In the four hundred and eightieth year after the Israelites went forth from the land of Egypt, in the fourth year of Solomon’s reign over Israel, in the month of Ziv (the second month), he began to build the house of the Lord.[b]
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- 6:1–7:51 The central units of the Solomon story describe the building of the Temple (6:1–7:51) and its dedication ceremony (8:1–9:10). The account of the construction of the Temple (“the house”) is organized to give the reader a guided tour. Approaching from a distance, we see ground plans (6:2–3) and structural work in stone (6:4–8) and wood (6:9–10). After a brief interruption that recounts a divine word to Solomon (6:11–13), we enter the Temple to view the paneling and ornamentation of the nave (6:14–18), the gilded walls and golden entrance of the inner sanctuary or holy of holies (6:19–22), with its priceless interior decoration and furnishings (6:23–28). As we leave, we admire the interior carvings and gilded floor of the inner sanctuary (6:29–30), return to the nave through carved and gilded doors (6:31–32), and exit from the nave through another set of carved and gilded doors (6:33–35) to the courtyard (6:36). Our guide briefly points out the nearby palace complex (7:1–12); then we walk around the courtyard to marvel at Hiram’s heroic works in bronze: the two columns (7:15–22), the “sea” (7:23–26), and the ten stands and basins set along either side of the Temple buildings (7:27–39). The account ends with the smaller bronze vessels Hiram made for the Temple services (7:40–47) and the gold vessels that Solomon made (7:48–50). Unfortunately, several factors make it impossible to use the account to produce a satisfactory model of Solomon’s Temple. Throughout the account there are numerous technical architectural terms whose meaning is lost to us; and it is moreover likely that the author is describing the Temple as it stood in his own time, centuries after Solomon’s day. The Chronicler also describes the construction of the Temple in 2 Chr 3:1–4:22 and its dedication in 2 Chr 5:1–7:22.
- 6:1 Construction of the Temple is here dated in relation to the traditional date of the exodus from Egypt, rounded off to a conventional twelve generations of forty years each. This chronology means that the Temple was built approximately midway between Israel’s two foundational deliverances, the exodus and the return from the Babylonian exile. The schematization of history implied in these figures recommends caution in using them for historical reconstruction.
1 Chronicles 21:22-26
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
22 David said to Ornan: “Sell me the site of this threshing floor, that I may build on it an altar to the Lord. Sell it to me at its full price, that the plague may be withdrawn from the people.” 23 But Ornan said to David: “Take it as your own, and let my lord the king do what is good in his sight. See, I also give you the oxen for the burnt offerings, the threshing sledges for the wood, and the wheat for the grain offering. I give it all to you.” 24 But King David replied to Ornan: “No! I will buy it from you properly, at its full price. I will not take what is yours for the Lord, nor bring burnt offerings that cost me nothing.” 25 So David paid Ornan six hundred shekels of gold[a] for the place.
Altar for Burnt Offerings. 26 David then built an altar there to the Lord, and sacrificed burnt offerings and communion offerings. He called upon the Lord, who answered him by sending down fire from heaven upon the altar for burnt offerings.(A)
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- 21:25 Six hundred shekels of gold: according to 2 Sm 24:24, David paid only fifty shekels of silver for Ornan’s threshing floor; the Chronicler’s higher figure reflects the value the site of the future Temple had in his eyes.
1 Chronicles 22:1
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
Chapter 22
1 Thus David said, “This is the house of the Lord God, and this is the altar for burnt offerings for Israel.”(A)
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