## Radak on II Chronicles Chapter 2

###### Radak on II Chronicles 2:1:1
[Radak on II Chronicles 2:1:1](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Radak%20on%20II%20Chronicles/r/2:1:1)

**ויספר שלמה שבעים אלף איש סבל.** וכל אלה גרים היו – הסבלים והחוצבים וה**מנצחים** – כמו שאומ' בסמוך "ויספר שלמה כל האנשים הגרים" וכו' (פס' טז):

**The Commentary of Radak to Chronicles: A Translation with Introduction and Supercommentary, by Yitzhak Berger, Brown University, 2007:**
**Solomon counted seventy thousand porters.** All these—the porters, the hewers, and the **supervisors**—were alien-converts, as it says just below, “Solomon counted all the alien-converts …” (v. 16).


###### Radak on II Chronicles 2:1:2
[Radak on II Chronicles 2:1:2](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Radak%20on%20II%20Chronicles/r/2:1:2)

**שלשת אלפים ושש מאות.** ובמלכים: "שלשת אלפים ושלש מאות" (מ"א ה,ל)! פ' ר"ש ז"ל (שם) כי השלש מאות היו נציבים על כלם. כי השלשת אלפים ושלש מאות היו ממונים על מאה וחמשים אלף שהיו בין סבלים וחוצבים – אלף ומאה על חמשים אלף, כמו שאומ' "ומנצחים עליהם שלשת אלפים ושש מאות"; והשלש מאות מן השש מאות היו על כלם:

**The Commentary of Radak to Chronicles: A Translation with Introduction and Supercommentary, by Yitzhak Berger, Brown University, 2007:**
**Three thousand six hundred.** But in Kings [it says] “three thousand three hundred” (1 Kgs 5:30)! Rashi, of blessed memory, explains (ibid.) that the three hundred [not included] were prefects over all of them. For the three thousand three hundred were appointed over the porters and hewers, who numbered one-hundred-and-fifty thousand combined—one thousand one hundred for each fifty thousand, as it says “and their supervisors: three thousand six hundred”—and three hundred of the six hundred were over all of them.


###### Radak on II Chronicles 2:3:1
[Radak on II Chronicles 2:3:1](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Radak%20on%20II%20Chronicles/r/2:3:1)

**לעולם זאת על ישראל.** פי': המצוה הזאת – מצות הקרבנות – לעולם על ישראל, ואיננה לזמן; לפיכך צריך אני לבנות בית טוב וחזק. ורבותי' ז"ל דרשו (ב' מנ' קי,א): אלו תלמידי חכמים העסוקים בהלכות עבודה; מעלה עליהן הכת' כאלו נבנה בית המקדש בימיהם:

**The Commentary of Radak to Chronicles: A Translation with Introduction and Supercommentary, by Yitzhak Berger, Brown University, 2007:**
**This is Israel’s duty forever.** This means: This commandment—that of the offerings—is Israel’s duty forever, not just for a limited period; so I must build a good and strong Temple. In a midrashic vein, our Sages, of blessed memory (b. Menaḥot 110a), explain that this refers to scholars immersed in the laws of service: the text considers it to be as though the Sanctuary were built in their days.


###### Radak on II Chronicles 2:6:1
[Radak on II Chronicles 2:6:1](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Radak%20on%20II%20Chronicles/r/2:6:1)

**ובארגון.** כמו "ארגמן"; ותרגום "ארגמן" – "ארגונא" (שמ' כה,ד). והוא צבע אדום.

**The Commentary of Radak to Chronicles: A Translation with Introduction and Supercommentary, by Yitzhak Berger, Brown University, 2007:**
**And in *argevan*.** This is the equivalent of *argaman*: the Targum renders *argaman*: “*argevana*” (Exod 25:4). It is a reddish color.


###### Radak on II Chronicles 2:6:2
[Radak on II Chronicles 2:6:2](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Radak%20on%20II%20Chronicles/r/2:6:2)

ו**כרמיל** הוא צבע אדום גם כן, אלא שארגמן הוא צבע אדום שקורין "לאקא", וכרמיל הוא תולעת שני, והוא צבע הכרמז:

**The Commentary of Radak to Chronicles: A Translation with Introduction and Supercommentary, by Yitzhak Berger, Brown University, 2007:**
***Karmil*** is also a reddish color; but whereas *argaman* is the reddish color called *laque* (=lacquer), *karmil* is the worm-color *shani*; that is, crimson.


###### Radak on II Chronicles 2:7:1
[Radak on II Chronicles 2:7:1](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Radak%20on%20II%20Chronicles/r/2:7:1)

**ואלגומים.** כמו "אלמגים" (מ"א י,יא), והוא העץ האדום הנקרא בערבי "אלבקם" ובלע' "ברזיל". ויש מפרשים: קורייל:

**The Commentary of Radak to Chronicles: A Translation with Introduction and Supercommentary, by Yitzhak Berger, Brown University, 2007:**
**And *algummim.*** This is the equivalent of *almuggim* (1 Kgs 10:11). It refers to the red-colored wood called *‘al baqam* in Arabic and *Brasil* (=Brazilwood) in the vernacular. But some explain it to mean coral.


###### Radak on II Chronicles 2:8:1
[Radak on II Chronicles 2:8:1](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Radak%20on%20II%20Chronicles/r/2:8:1)

**גדול והפלא.** פי': גדול יהיה והפלא בגדולתו:

**The Commentary of Radak to Chronicles: A Translation with Introduction and Supercommentary, by Yitzhak Berger, Brown University, 2007:**
**Will be great and wondrous.** This means: [The Temple] will be great, and it will be wondrous in its greatness.


###### Radak on II Chronicles 2:9:1
[Radak on II Chronicles 2:9:1](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Radak%20on%20II%20Chronicles/r/2:9:1)

**מכות לעבדיך.** כמו "מכלת לביתו" הכת' במלכים (מ"א ה,כה). וכתבו ר' יונה (ספר השרשים ערך "כתת") מן "כתת", רוצ' לומ': חטים טחונים. ואדני אבי ז"ל (ספר זכרון ע' 15) כתבו מן "נכת", מתרג' "וינשכו" (במ' כא,ו) – "ונכיתו": נשיכה לעבדיך, כאלו אמ' "מאכל". וזה היה מאכל כורתי העצים, ומה שזכר במלכים הוא מאכל לבית חירם, שכר עבדיו (מ"א ה,כ,כה):

**The Commentary of Radak to Chronicles: A Translation with Introduction and Supercommentary, by Yitzhak Berger, Brown University, 2007:**
***Makkot*** **for your servants.** This is akin to “as food (*makkolet*) for his household” in Kings (*1* 5:25). R. Jonah [ibn Janaִh] (*Shorashim* כתת) writes that this is of the root *ktt* (=to grind), so that it means ground wheat. But my master, my father, of blessed memory (*Zikkaron* p. 15), writes that it is from *nkt*, as in *ve-nakkitu*, the Targum of *vaynashekhu* (=and they bit; Num 21:6). [So it means]: “a bite for your servants,” as if to say “food.” This was food for the woodcutters; but what is mentioned in Kings was food for Hiram’s household, compensation for the use of his servants (1 Kgs 5:20, 25).


###### Radak on II Chronicles 2:13:1
[Radak on II Chronicles 2:13:1](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Radak%20on%20II%20Chronicles/r/2:13:1)

**בן אשה מן בנות דן. צרי** ובמלכים: "בן אשה אלמנה הוא ממטה נפתלי" (מ"א ז,יד)! אביו היה ממטה נפתלי, וקראו **צרי** לפי שגר בצר, כמו "עובד אדום הגתי" (ש"ב ו,י) – כי לוי היה, ולפי שגר בגת קראו גתי; וכן זה קראו צרי לפי שגר בצר. ואמו היתה ממטה דן, כמו שאומ' "מן בנות דן":

**The Commentary of Radak to Chronicles: A Translation with Introduction and Supercommentary, by Yitzhak Berger, Brown University, 2007:**
**The son of a Danite woman.** But in Kings [it says], “[The craftsman] was the son of a widow, from the tribe of *Naphtali*” (1 Kgs 7:14)! It was his father who was from the tribe of Naphtali: the reason [his father] is called **a Tyrian** is that he *lived* in Tyre. Compare “Obed-edom the Gittite” (2 Sam 6:10): he was in fact a Levite (1 15:18), but he was called a Gittite because he lived in Gath. So this man, likewise, was called a Tyrian because he lived in Tyre. But his mother was from the tribe of Dan, as it says, “a Danite woman.”


###### Radak on II Chronicles 2:13:2
[Radak on II Chronicles 2:13:2](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Radak%20on%20II%20Chronicles/r/2:13:2)

**יודע לעשות בזהב.** הוא, או אביו גם כן; וכן במלכים: "ואביו איש צרי חרש נחשת" (מ"א ז,יד) – יתכן "חרש נחשת" עליו או על אביו. ורז"ל (ב' ערכין טז,ב) פרשו על אביו, וסמכו מזה כי חייב אדם להתעסק באומנות אביו; כי לפיכך הזכיר הכתוב אביו – כי גם הוא היה אומן, ובנו למד אומנותו:

**The Commentary of Radak to Chronicles: A Translation with Introduction and Supercommentary, by Yitzhak Berger, Brown University, 2007:**
**He is skilled at working in gold.** [This means] either that *he* was, or that his father was as well. The same is true in Kings for: “And his father had been a Tyrian, a coppersmith” (1 Kgs 7:14): “a coppersmith” may refer to him or to his father. Our Sages, of blessed memory (b. Arakhin 16b), explain this to refer to his father, and they cite it to support [the principle] that a person is obligated to engage himself in his father’s craft. For the reason the text mentions his father is that he was a craftsman also, and his son learned his craft.


###### Radak on II Chronicles 2:15:1
[Radak on II Chronicles 2:15:1](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Radak%20on%20II%20Chronicles/r/2:15:1)

**רפסדות.** הוא כמו "דברות" הכת' במלכים (מ"א ה,כג), והם הקורות שקושרים אותם בראשיהם זה עם זה ומוליכים אותם בנהרות ובים. ולכן קראו "דברות" – לשון הנהגה; תרגו' "וינהג" (בר' לא,יח) –"ודבר". ונקראו גם כן "רפסדות". ובלשון המשנה (ברכות ד,ו) "אסדא": "היה יושב בספינה או באסדא", ובתלמוד ירושלמי (ברכות לה,ב): היא אסדא היא אכסרא היא רפסדות:

**The Commentary of Radak to Chronicles: A Translation with Introduction and Supercommentary, by Yitzhak Berger, Brown University, 2007:**
***Rafsodot* (=rafts).** This is the same as *doverot* in Kings (1 5:23): these consist of logs tied to one another at the front that are guided along rivers and the sea. That is why they are called *doverot*, which has the sense of guiding (*hanhagah*): the Targum of *vayyinhag* (Gen 31:18) is *u-devar*. They were also called *rafsodot*, however. In the Mishnah’s terminology [this is called] an *asda*: [concerning the phrase], “If he was sitting in a boat or an *asda*” (Ber. 4:6), the Talmud Yerushalmi [explains] (Berakhot 35b): *Asda*, *akhsera*, and *rafsodot* are one and the same.


###### Radak on II Chronicles 2:16:1
[Radak on II Chronicles 2:16:1](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Radak%20on%20II%20Chronicles/r/2:16:1)

**הספר.** שם, על משקל "אֱיָל" (תה' פח,ה), "שְרָד" (שמ' לט,א), "שְאָר" (יש' י,כא):

**The Commentary of Radak to Chronicles: A Translation with Introduction and Supercommentary, by Yitzhak Berger, Brown University, 2007:**
**The *sefar* (=census).** This is a noun, in the pattern of *eyal* (=strength; Ps 88:5), *serad* (=service; Exod 39:1), and *she’ar* (=remnant; Isa 10:21).


###### Radak on II Chronicles 2:16:2
[Radak on II Chronicles 2:16:2](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Radak%20on%20II%20Chronicles/r/2:16:2)

**אשר ספרם דויד אביו.** כמו שאמ' למעלה "ויאמר דוד לכנוס את הגרים אשר בארץ ישראל ויעמד חצבים" (דה"א כב,ב); והוא גם כן ספרם אחר כן, כי נוספו עליהם מעת שמלך שלמה. ואפשר שהגרים האלה הם העם הנותר מן האמורי ומן החתי והפריזי והיבוסי כמו שאומ' בסמוך (להלן ח,ז), כי אותם העלה שלמה למס "עד היום" (שם ח,ח) לעשות לו מלאכתו והערים אשר בנה. וקראם "גרים" לפי שלא היו עובדי ע"ז, כי לא היו מניחים אותם לעבוד ע"ז בימי דוד ובימי שלמה שהיתה יד ישראל תקפה; ובתנאי זה הניחום לשבת בארץ, ועשה מהם דוד ושלמה חוצבים וסבלים ועושי מלאכתו (להלן פס' יז):

**The Commentary of Radak to Chronicles: A Translation with Introduction and Supercommentary, by Yitzhak Berger, Brown University, 2007:**
**By which [Solomon’s] father David had counted [the alien-converts]**—as it says above: “David gave orders to assemble the alien-converts living in the land of Israel, and assigned them to be hewers” (1 Chr 22:2). But later on Solomon counted them again, because their numbers had grown since the time he became king. It is possible that these alien-converts were the remnant of the Amorite, Hittite, Perizzite, and Jebusite nations, consistent with what the text says just below (8:7); for Solomon subjected them to forced labor “to this very day” (ibid. 8:8) to perform his tasks and [to work on] the cities he arranged to have built. They are called alien-converts (*gerim*) because they were not idol-worshipers; for in the days of David and Solomon, when the Israelites had the upper hand, they did not permit them to worship idols. It was on this condition that they permitted them to reside in the land; and David and Solomon made them into hewers, porters, and general laborers (v. 17).