1 Chronicles 28:19

All this, said David, the LORD made me understand in writing by his hand upon me, even all the works of this pattern.

EXPOSITORY (ENGLISH BIBLE)

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers

(19) All this said David.—The words with which David delivered the plans of the building and the schedule of its vessels to Solomon. The omission of any introductory formula, such as “And David said,” is dramatic. (Comp. 1Chronicles 16:8; 1Chronicles 23:4-5.) Literally rendered, after the Hebrew punctuation, the verse runs:—“The whole in a writing from the hand of Jehovah, to me he made clear; all the works of the model.” With the expression “a writing from the hand of Jehovah” (comp. Exodus 31:18; Exodus 25:40), David affirms his “pattern” of the sanctuary and its vessels to have been conceived, and described in writing, under that Divine guidance which he sought and followed in all the great enterprises of his life. Whether “the writing” was a communication “by the hand of” one of David’s seers, or merely the description of the Mosaic sanctuary (Exodus 25 seq.), is not clear. The verb “he taught” (hiskîl) requires an object, such as is supplied in the Authorised version: “made me understand.” It takes a dative (Proverbs 21:11), and probably the word rendered “upon me” is really a later equivalent of the same construction. Else we might compare Nehemiah 2:8, Ezekiel 1:3, and render: “The whole, in a writing from the hand of Jehovah upon me, he taught,” implying that David himself sketched out the whole design under Divine inspiration. Perhaps the text is corrupt.

Benson Commentary

1 Chronicles 28:19. The Lord made me understated in writing — The meaning is, either, 1st, That God revealed this to Samuel, or Gad, or Nathan or some other man of God, to be by them put in writing, and communicated to David: or, 2d, That God did, as it were, by his own hand and finger, (wherewith he wrote the ten commandments,) write these things upon the table of his mind.

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary

28:11-21 The temple must be a sacred thing, and a type of Christ; it must be framed by Divine teaching. Christ is the true temple, the church is the gospel temple, and heaven the everlasting temple; all are framed according to the Divine counsels, and the plan laid in the Divine wisdom, ordained before the world, for God's glory and our good. David gave this pattern to Solomon, that he might go by rule. Materials were provided for the most costly utensils of the temple. Directions were given which way to look for help in this great undertaking. Be not dismayed; God will help thee, and thou must look up to him in the first place. We may be sure that God, who owned our fathers, and carried them through the services of their day, will, in like manner, never leave us, while he has any work to do in us, or by us. Good work is likely to go on, when all concerned are hearty in furthering it. Let us hope in God's mercy; if we seek him, he will be found of us.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

The chariot of the cherubims - The cherubim are themselves the chariot upon which Yahweh rides Psalm 18:10; Psalm 99:1.

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

18, 19. the chariot of the cherubim—The expanded wings of the cherubim formed what was figuratively styled the throne of God, and as they were emblematical of rapid motion, the throne or seat was spoken of as a chariot (Ps 18:10; 99:1). It is quite clear that in all these directions David was not guided by his own taste, or by a desire for taking any existing model of architecture, but solely by a regard to the express revelation of the divine will. In a vision, or trance, the whole edifice, with its appurtenances, had been placed before his eyes so vividly and permanently, that he had been able to take a sketch of them in the models delivered to Solomon.

Matthew Poole's Commentary

The meaning is either,

1. That God revealed this to Samuel, {see 1 Chronicles 9:22} or Gad, or Nathan, or some other man of God, who put it into writing, and by them to David. Or,

2. That God did, as it were, by his own hand and finger, (wherewith he wrote the ten commandments, Exodus 31:18) write these things upon the table of my mind, which now I deliver to thee.

Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible

All this, said David, the Lord made me understand in writing by his hand upon me,.... Either by an impulse of his Spirit on him, whereby it was as it were written on his mind, and as clearly represented to him, as if he had it in writing before him; though the Jews think that all was first made known to Samuel, or some other prophet, who delivered it to David in writing, as from the Lord: but I see not why it may not be understood that David had the pattern of the temple, and all things relative to it, by an handwriting from the Lord himself, through the ministry of angels, as Moses received the two tables, the handwriting of the Lord, from himself; for the words, as they lie in order in the Hebrew text, are, the whole of this "in writing from the hand of the Lord, unto me, he made me to understand: even all the works of this pattern"; the particulars of which are given before.

Geneva Study Bible

All this, said David, the LORD made me understand in writing {k} by his hand upon me, even all the works of this pattern.

(k) For all this was left in writing in the book of the Law, Ex 25:40, which the king was bound to put in execution, De 17:19.

EXEGETICAL (ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)

Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

19. All this, said David, the Lord made me understand in writing by his hand upon me, even all the works of this pattern] The “writing” here mentioned probably means not a book, but a plan or series of patterns shewn to him in a vision. Cp. Exodus 25:9.

Pulpit Commentary

Verse 19. - This abrupt bringing in of David as the speaker himself has already had one illustration in 1 Chronicles 23:5. (See on the matter of this verse, note on per. 11; and comp. 2 Kings 3:15 for the parallel of an expression which evidently intends to assert an inspiring hand of the Lord.) 1 Chronicles 28:19

Keil and Delitzsch Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament

In giving over to Solomon the model of all the parts and vessels of the temple enumerated in 1 Chronicles 28:11-18, David said: "All this, viz., all the works of the pattern, has He taught by writing from the hand of Jahve which came upon me." הכּל is more closely defined by the apposition הת מלאכות כּל . That the verse contains words of David is clear from עלי. The subject of השׂכּיל is Jahve, which is easily supplied from יהוה מיּד. It is, however, a question with what we should connect עלי. Its position before the verb, and the circumstance that השׂכּיל construed with על pers. does not elsewhere, occur, are against its being taken with השׂכּיל; and there remains, therefore, only the choice between connecting it with יהוה מיּד and with בּכתב. In favour of the last, Psalm 40:8, עלי כּתוּב, prescribed to me, may be compared; and according to that, עלי כּתב can only mean, "what is prescribed to me;" cf. for the use of כּתב for written prescription, the command in 2 Chronicles 35:4. Bertheau accordingly translates עלי יהוה מיּד בּכתב, "by a writing given to me for a rule from Jahve's hand," and understands the law of Moses to be meant, because the description of the holy things in Exodus 25:1. is manifestly the basis of that in our verses. But had David wished to say nothing further than that he had taken the law in the Scriptures for the basis of his pattern for the holy things, the expression which he employs would be exceedingly forced and wilfully obscure. And, moreover, the position of the words would scarcely allow us to connect בּכתב with עלי, for in that case we should rather have expected יהוה מיּד עלי בּכתב. We must there take עלי along with יהוה מיּד: "writing from the hand of Jahve came upon me," i.e., according to the analogy of the phrase עלי יהוה יד היתה (2 Kings 3:15; Ezekiel 1:3; Ezekiel 3:14, etc.), a writing coming by divine revelation, or a writing composed in consequence of divine revelation, and founded upon divine inspiration. David therefore says that he had been instructed by a writing resting upon divine inspiration as to all the works of the pattern of the temple. This need not, however, be understood to mean that David had received exemplar vel ideam templi et vasorum sacrorum immediately from Jahve, either by a prophet or by vision, as the model of the tabernacle was shown to Moses on the mount (Exodus 25:40; Exodus 27:8); for it signifies only that he had not himself invented the pattern which he had committed to writings, i.e., the sketches and descriptions of the temple and its furniture and vessels, but had drawn them up under the influence of divine inspiration.