2 Chronicles 3:10

And in the most holy house he made two cherubims of image work, and overlaid them with gold.

EXPOSITORY (ENGLISH BIBLE)

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers

(10) Two cherubims.—1Kings 6:23-28. They were made of oleaster, plated with gold.

Of image work.—Literally, a work of statuary. The Hebrew word meaning “statuary” occurs here only, and looks suspicious. The Vulg. renders opere statuario; the LXX. “a work of logs”; the Syriac “a durable work.” With the last three renderings comp. 1Kings 6:23, “wood (or blocks) of oleaster,” a specially hard wood. The rendering of the LXX. suggests that the original reading may have been ma‘asēh ‘ēçîm, “woodwork.”

And overlaid.—Heb., and they overlaid.

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary

3:1-17 The building of the temple. - There is a more particular account of the building of the temple in #1Ki 6". It must be in the place David had prepared, not only which he had purchased, but which he had fixed on by Divine direction. Full instructions enable us to go about our work with certainty and to proceed therein with comfort. Blessed be God, the Scriptures are enough to render the man of God thoroughly furnished for every good work. Let us search the Scriptures daily, beseeching the Lord to enable us to understand, believe, and obey his word, that our work and our way may be made plain, and that all may be begun, continued, and ended in him. Beholding God, in Christ, his true Temple, more glorious than that of Solomon's, may we become a spiritual house, a habitation of God through the Spirit.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

The word translated "image work," or, in the margin, "moveable work," occurs only in this passage, and has not even a Hebrew derivation. Modern Hebraists find an Arabic derivation, and explain the word to mean "carved work."

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

10-13. two cherubims—These figures in the tabernacle were of pure gold (Ex 25:1-40) and overshadowed the mercy seat. The two placed in the temple were made of olive wood, overlaid with gold. They were of colossal size, like the Assyrian sculptures; for each, with expanded wings, covered a space of ten cubits in height and length—two wings touched each other, while the other two reached the opposite walls; their faces were inward, that is, towards the most holy house, conformably to their use, which was to veil the ark.

Matthew Poole's Commentary

Of image work; made in the shape of young men or boys, as they commonly are. Or, of movable work; so called because they were not fixed to the mercy-seat, as the Mosaical cherubims were, but stood upon their feet, as it is said here 2 Chronicles 3:13, in a moving posture.

Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible

See Chapter Introduction

Geneva Study Bible

And in the most holy house he made two cherubim of image work, and overlaid them with gold.

EXEGETICAL (ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)

Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

10–13. The Cherubim

10. of image work] Both the meaning of the phrase and the reading are doubtful; LXX. ἔργον ἐκ ξύλων; 1 Kings 6:23, of olive wood (R.V.).

and overlaid] R.V. and they overlaid; but the singular is probably right; LXX. ἐχρύσωσεν: 1 Kings 6:28, and he overlaid.

Pulpit Commentary

Verse 10. - Image work. The word in the Hebrew text (צַעֲצֻעִים) translated thus in our Authorized Version is a word unknown. Gesenius traces it to "an unused" Hebrew root צוַע, of Arabic derivation (meaning "to carry on the trade of a goldsmith"), and offers to translate it "statuary" work with the Vulgate (opus statuarium). The parallel (1 Kings 6:23) gives simply "wood of oil" (not "olive," Nehemiah 8:15), i.e. the oleaster tree wood. It is obvious that some of the characters of these words would go some way to make the other unknown word. But it must be confessed that our text shows no external indications of a corrupt reading. 2 Chronicles 3:10

Keil and Delitzsch Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament

The figures of the cherubim are called צעצעים מעשׂה, sculpture work. The ἁπ. λεγ.. צעצעים comes from צוּע, Arab. ṣâǵ, formavit, finxit, and signifies sculptures. The plur. יצפּוּ, "they overlaid them," is indefinite. The length of the wings was five cubits, and the four outspread wings extended across the whole width of the most holy place from one wall to the other. The repetition of the clauses האהר הכּרוּב...האהד כּנף (2 Chronicles 3:11, 2 Chronicles 3:12) has a distributive force: the top of one wing of each cherub reached the wall of the house, that of the other wing reached the wing of the other cherub standing by. In the repetition the masc. מגּיע alternates with the fem. מגּעת, being construed in a freer way as the principal gender with the fem. כּנף, and also with דּבקה, adhaerebat, in the last clause. - In 2 Chronicles 3:12 Bertheau would strike out the word כּנפי because it does not suit פּרשׂים, which occurs in 1 Chronicles 28:17; 2 Chronicles 5:8; 1 Kings 8:7, in the transitive signification, "to stretch out the wings." But nothing is gained by that, for we must then supply the erased word after פּרשׂים again. And, moreover, the succeeding clause is introduced by והם, just because in the first clause the wings, and not the cherubim, were the subject. We hold the text to be correct, and translate: "the wings of these cherubim were, for they stretched them out, twenty cubits." והם refers to הכּרוּבים. They stood upon their feet, consequently upright, and were, according to 1 Kings 6:26, ten cubits high. "And their faces towards the house," i.e., turned towards the holy place, not having their faces turned towards each other, as was the case with the cherubim upon the Capporeth (Exodus 25:20).