And My eyes and My heart will be. [Targum] Yonoson rendered, “and My Divine Presence will dwell there if My will is done.” And My eyes and My heart will be there. If My heart and My will are there.¹²

footnotes: ¹ I.e., if My desire and My will is being followed, My Divine Presence will be there. ² Even after the Beis Hamikdosh was destroyed, the Divine Presence remained on the Western Wall [כותל המערבי] of the Beis Hamikdosh. See Shir Hashirim 2:9 and Midrash Rabboh there.

And the House that I have sanctified for My Name. There is a condition between Me and you, [that] “If you heed not heed, etc.,” what is stated there? “I will bring your Sanctuaries into desolation.”³

footnotes: ³ Vayikra 26:31.

And a mockery. As the Targum [Yonoson rendered], ולשועי, [i.e.,] they will tell about the evils that have befallen them and will scoff at them, as in, “ויספר [=and he told,” which the Targum rendered] ואשתעי. The expression “שנינה” is also an expression of speech as it is written [in Scriptures], “and you shall repeat them [ושננתם] to your children.”

And this Beis Hamikdosh will be most high. So long as you have not sinned; but once you sin, every passerby will be astounded and will hiss.⁴ And similarly it is written in Divrei Hayomim, “And this Beis [Hamikdosh] that was exalted, all who pass by it, etc.,”⁵ and this is its interpretation, “and this house that was exalted and revered even by the gentiles,” as is stated above, “And even to the stranger who is not of Your people, etc.,”⁶ But, now in its destruction, everyone who passes by it, even the gentiles, will be astounded and hiss, and will say that the Jews’ sins were the cause.

footnotes: ⁴ Rashi understands that יהיה is the future tense, meaning “will be” most high. Alternatively, יהיה can also be interpreted in the present tense, “is” most high—Ralbag. Or, יהיה עליון is interpreted as “will be destroyed.”—Radak ⁵ II Divrei Hayomim 7:41. ⁶ I Melochim 8:21.

Will be astounded. [ישם means] “will wonder,” as in, “and your enemies will be astonished [ושממו] about it,”⁷ [and as in,] “Concerning his day, the later ones will wonder [נשמו].”⁸

footnotes: ⁷ Vayikra 26:32. ⁸ Iyov 18:20.

And whistle. Siffler, in O.F. The habit of anyone who suddenly sees desolation, is to hiss.⁹

footnotes: ⁹ When people are amazed at what they see, they often whistle.

Twenty years. I.e., seven years [to build] the Beis Hamikdosh, and thirteen years [to build] his own palace, as mentioned above.¹⁰

footnotes: ¹⁰ Above 6:38, and 7:1.

Provided Shlomo. An expression of bearing, [i.e.,] he bore his burden in this matter.

The land of Kovul. A land of chains, [i.e.,] a marshland into which the foot sinks and is entrapped.¹¹

footnotes: ¹¹ It was as troublesome to walk on, as it is difficult for a man who is chained in shackles to walk, i.e., the foot is trapped as if it were in a chain [=כבל]—Radak. The land was not fertile. Alternatively, the people of כבל wore chains of silver and gold, i.e., they were wealthy and spoiled, and Chirom did not want to deal with them. See Maseches Shabbos 54a and Rashi there.

And this is the review of the tax. Described at the end of this topic, “All the people that remained, etc.,¹² Shlomo levied a tax of labor.”¹³ The tax levy was to build all these [structures].

footnotes: ¹² Below v. 20. ¹³ Below v. 21.

The Millo. [Millo was] a place in Yerusholayim, in the City of Dovid, that was called Millo, because it was enclosed by a low wall and it was filled [ומלאו] with dirt.¹⁴

footnotes: ¹⁴ Alternatively, it was a large open plaza without any buildings, where people gathered [=מלא]—Ralbag.

Present. A dowry.

And Tadmor in the desert of the land. [I.e., it was located] near a settlement.¹⁵

footnotes: ¹⁵ The expression במדבר בארץ [=in the desert in the land] is somewhat ambiguous. Therefore Rashi suggests that the desert was located near a civilized area. Alternatively, the city was bordered by a desert on one side, and by arable land on the other side.—Ralbag

The store cities. [Targum Yonoson rendered,] “cities used for storage.”

Supervising officers. Commanders over the officers.

Five hundred fifty. Three hundred of them were proselytes in charge of 70,000 who bore burdens, 80,000 hewers in the mountains, and 3,300 who controlled the people who did the work, as stated above, “These were in addition to Shlomo’s chief officers, etc., three thousand three hundred [officers].” But in Divrei Hayomim it states, “six hundred.”¹⁶ These three hundred that are missing here, he counted there, for they were appointed over all of them. The two hundred fifty remaining were Bnei Yisroel appointed over the other laborers. In Divrei Hayomim¹⁷ they were counted separately, [as it states,] “and these were Shlomo’s supervising officers, two hundred fifty, who controlled “the people who did the work,” the laborers.

footnotes: ¹⁶ II Divrei Hayomim 2:17. ¹⁷ Divrei Hayomim 8:10.

Only then did the daughter of Pharaoh. Who was originally in the city of Dovid, as it is stated in the beginning of the book, “and he brought her to the City of Dovid.”¹⁸

footnotes: ¹⁸ Above 3:1.

Came up from the city of Dovid, etc. In Divrei Hayomim it explains, “for he said, ‘I should not have a wife live with me in [the City of] Dovid because they are holy [places], for the Ark of Adonoy was brought there.’”¹⁹ of Dovid.”

footnotes: ¹⁹ II Divrei Hayomim 8:11. The text there reads, “in the house

Then he built up. [I.e.,] Shlomo.

The Millo. To build within it houses for her menservants and maidservants. Concerning this Yerovom admonished him [saying], “Your father left it open for the festival pilgrims, and you closed it up to make a labor force for Pharaoh’s daughter.”²⁰ And this “but” mentioned here [means,] but in this Shlomo sinned, that he had built for her the Millo. So have I heard, but I say, “But then did the daughter of Pharaoh, etc.,” I.e., the above mentioned cities were necessary to build for store cities, chariots, riders, and greatness; but, the Millo he did not build for any greatness, for his father had left it for the festival pilgrims to pitch their tents there, but since Pharaoh’s daughter had gone up to her house, and the Millo was adjacent to that house, then he built up the Millo.²¹

footnotes: ²⁰ Paraphrasing below 11:27. See Maseches Sanhedrin 101b and Rashi there. ²¹ Alternatively, the house of Pharaoh’s daughter was built on the area of the Millo.—Radak

On the altar. I.e., the altar of the Beis Hamikdosh.

And he burnt incense [offerings] with it. And [he burnt the incense on] the incense altar that was before God for the burning of incense.²²

footnotes: ²² See Shemos 30:1-10.

A ship. A ship.