Then Dawud1 said, “This is the House of YAHWEH2 God3, and this is the altar of burnt-offering for Israel.”
2Dawud commanded to gather together the foreigners who were in the land of Israel; and he set masons to cut dressed stones to build the House of God. 3Dawud prepared iron in abundance for the nails for the doors of the gates, and for the couplings; and bronze in abundance without weight; 4and cedar trees without number: for the Sidonians and those of Tyre brought cedar trees in abundance to Dawud. 5Dawud said, “Sulayman4 my son is young and tender, and the house that is to be built for YAHWEH must be very magnificent, of fame and of glory throughout all countries: I will therefore make preparation for it.” So Dawud prepared abundantly before his death.
6Then he called for Sulayman his son, and charged him to build a house for YAHWEH, the God of Israel. 7Dawud said to Sulayman his son, “As for me, it was in my heart to build a house to the Name of YAHWEH my God. 8But the Word of YAHWEH came to me, saying, ‘You have shed blood abundantly, and have made great wars: you shall not build a house to my Name, because you have shed much blood on the earth in my sight. 9Behold, a son shall be born to you, who shall be a man of rest; and I will give him rest from all his enemies all around him; for his name shall be Sulayman, and I will give peace and quiet to Israel in his days. 10He shall build a house for my Name; and he shall be my son, and I will be his father; and I will establish the throne of his kingdom over Israel for ever.’ 11Now, my son, YAHWEH be with you; and prosper you, and build the House of YAHWEH your God, as he has spoken concerning you. 12Only may YAHWEH give you discretion and understanding, and give you charge concerning Israel; that so you may keep the Taurat5 of YAHWEH your God. 13Then shall you prosper, if you are careful to observe the statutes and the ordinances which YAHWEH charged Musa6 with concerning Israel: be strong, and of good courage; do not be afraid, neither be dismayed. 14Now, behold, in my affliction I have prepared for the House of YAHWEH one hundred thousand talents of gold, and one thousand thousand talents of silver, and of bronze and iron without weight; for it is in abundance: timber also and stone have I prepared; and you may add thereto. 15Moreover there are workmen with you in abundance, cutters and workers of stone and timber, and all men who are skillful in every manner of work: 16of the gold, the silver, and the bronze, and the iron, there is no number. Arise and be doing, and YAHWEH be with you.
17Dawud also commanded all the princes of Israel to help Sulayman his son, saying, 18“Isn’t YAHWEH your God with you? And hasn’t he given you rest on every side? For he has delivered the inhabitants of the land into my hand; and the land is subdued before YAHWEH, and before his people. 19Now set your heart and your soul to seek after YAHWEH your God; arise therefore, and build the sanctuary of YAHWEH God, to bring the ark of the covenant of YAHWEH, and the holy vessels of God, into the house that is to be built to the Name of YAHWEH.
- 22:1 Dawud, this Arabic name is derived from David (Hebrew) and means “Beloved.” ↩︎
- 22:1 YAHWEH, God’s personal Name revealed to Prophet Musa in the Taurat, Exodus 3:15: ‘God said moreover to Musa, “You shall tell Bani-Israel this, ‘YAHWEH, the God of your fathers, the God of Ibrahim, the God of Ishaq, and the God of Yaqub, has sent me to you.’ This is my Name forever, and this is how I am to be remembered to all generations.”’ ↩︎
- 22:1 God, English translation of elohim. Elohim (Hebrew) is related to allah (Arabic) and alaha (Syriac), all of which translate as “God,” and refer to the one true God. ↩︎
- 22:5 Sulayman, this Arabic name and the name Solomon are both derived from the Hebrew name Shlomo which means “peace.” ↩︎
- 22:12 Taurat, this Arabic word derived from Torah (Hebrew) literally means “instruction” or “teaching.” Depending on context, Taurat can refer to,
1. The whole Hebrew Bible contained here under the title Taurat, equivalent to what Jews today call Tanakh, and what Christians call the Old Testament.
2. The revelation given to Prophet Musa, that is, the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, sometimes called the Pentateuch. Pentateuch is a Greek word meaning “five books” and includes Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. These five books are attributed to Prophet Musa himself. This is the traditional and most common meaning given to Taurat or Torah.
3. The Law of Musa found within the Pentateuch, with its hundreds of rules and regulations covering many aspects of daily life for the people of Israel. The most famous of these laws are the Ten Commandments, found in Exodus 20.
4. Taurat can also refer to divine instruction and teaching in general without reference to a particular book of the Hebrew Bible. ↩︎ - 22:13 Musa, this Arabic name is derived from the Hebrew name Moses meaning “to pull out” or “draw out” (of water); referring to the biblical story where he was rescued from the Nile River by Firaun’s daughter. ↩︎