Chapter 28 of I Chronicles is a chapter of testament. King David, who had already become bedridden, gathers all the leaders of Israel to Jerusalem to deliver his final message to them: why he is not the one to build the Temple, who was chosen to build it, and what is required of the people and of the next king. We will proceed through the verses in order and examine the explanations of the Malbim and the other commentators.
וַיַּקְהֵל דָּוִיד אֶת־כׇּל־שָׂרֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל שָׂרֵי הַשְּׁבָטִים וְשָׂרֵי הַמַּחְלְקוֹת הַמְשָׁרְתִים אֶת־הַמֶּלֶךְ וְשָׂרֵי הָאֲלָפִים וְשָׂרֵי הַמֵּאוֹת וְשָׂרֵי כׇל־רְכוּשׁ־וּמִקְנֶה לַמֶּלֶךְ וּלְבָנָיו עִם־הַסָּרִיסִים וְהַגִּבּוֹרִים וּלְכׇל־גִּבּוֹר חָיִל אֶל־יְרוּשָׁלָ͏ִם׃ - "And David assembled all the princes of Israel: the princes of the tribes, the captains of the divisions who served the king, the captains of thousands, the captains of hundreds, the stewards of all the property and livestock of the king and his sons, along with the court officers, the mighty warriors, and every valiant man, to Jerusalem."
"And David assembled all the princes of Israel" is a general heading, followed by the specific breakdown - and all these groups were already enumerated for us in the previous chapter. The princes of the tribes are those listed in chapter 27, verses 16 through 22; the captains of the divisions who served the king - there, from verses 1 through 16; the stewards of all the property - from verses 25 through 28; and the stewards of the livestock - from verses 29 through 31. "Of the king and his sons" is also precise, as we saw that there were designated officials even for the king's sons. All of these King David assembled to Jerusalem.
וַיָּקׇם דָּוִיד הַמֶּלֶךְ עַל־רַגְלָיו וַיֹּאמֶר שְׁמָעוּנִי אַחַי וְעַמִּי אֲנִי עִם־לְבָבִי לִבְנוֹת בֵּית מְנוּחָה לַאֲרוֹן בְּרִית־יְהֹוָה וְלַהֲדֹם רַגְלֵי אֱלֹהֵינוּ וַהֲכִינוֹתִי לִבְנוֹת׃ - "Then King David rose to his feet and said: 'Hear me, my brothers and my people! I had it in my heart to build a house of rest for the Ark of the Covenant of Hashem and for the footstool of our God, and I prepared to build.'"
וְהָאֱלֹהִים אָמַר לִי לֹא־תִבְנֶה בַיִת לִשְׁמִי כִּי אִישׁ מִלְחָמוֹת אַתָּה וְדָמִים שָׁפָכְתָּ׃ - "'But God said to me: You shall not build a house for My Name, for you are a man of war, and you have shed blood.'"
What is the significance of "and he rose to his feet"? Radak explains: he summoned his strength and rose from the bed on which he was lying. David had already taken to his bed, as described in the Book of Kings, and now - because he wished to assemble the nation and impart to them his final testament - he gathered his strength to stand upright. Such is the power of transmitting a legacy to the next generation.
In his address, David emphasizes that he lacked nothing for the construction of the Temple. The Malbim explains: the desire was not lacking - he does not say "it was in my heart," but rather "I, it is in my heart," meaning that it remains my present desire to build a house for Hashem. And should one argue that good intentions are plentiful, but acquiring and assembling materials is another matter entirely - to this he states, "and I prepared to build": this too was not lacking, as the materials were already prepared. All that was missing was the actual building. And what stood in the way? "But God said to me: You shall not build a house for My Name, for you are a man of war, and you have shed blood." Everything was ready - only the consent of the Holy One, Blessed be He, was withheld.
What is a "footstool" (hadom)? A stool placed beneath a throne so that the one sitting upon it can rest his feet. This does not refer to an easy chair where one reclines with legs stretched forward - a king does not sit in such a manner. A familiar modern parallel is the footstool placed before a sandak: because he sits on a raised, honorable chair, a footstool is set beneath his feet. This is the meaning of "His footstool."
However, the Malbim explains the matter in a more inner way, for surely this is not to be taken literally, and all these concepts are stated as allegories. The intention, says the Malbim, is "the end of His chain of causes and His providence toward the lower world," just as he interprets the verse "and His train filled the Temple." The divine influences descend from high above high, cascading down step after step, until they reach here, to the very lowest realms. The expression for the point where the abundance reaches the lower realms is called "His footstool" - that which is under the feet, the place to which everything descends. And this is always the idiom of "feet," as is said of Malchut, which channels down the divine flow from all the Sefirot above it, and regarding which it is said, "Her feet go down to death" - the feet of Malchut already reach into the world of Asiyah, pouring out the abundance into the lower realm.
"The end of His chain of causes" - because up to this point everything proceeds through causes and effects, cause and effect, one bringing about the other, until it reaches the end. And what is the end? Here, the lowly world. This is also the meaning of "and His train filled the Temple": the hem or train is the lowest part, like the bottom of a pot that is blackened from cooking ("his face blackened like the bottom of a pot"). Here too: the ultimate effect of all causes, where everything arrives in the end - into the lowest realm, into the manifest influence within the physical world below.
וַיִּבְחַר יְהֹוָה אֱלֹהֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל בִּי מִכֹּל בֵּית־אָבִי לִהְיוֹת לְמֶלֶךְ עַל־יִשְׂרָאֵל לְעוֹלָם כִּי בִיהוּדָה בָּחַר לְנָגִיד וּבְבֵית יְהוּדָה בֵּית אָבִי וּבִבְנֵי אָבִי בִּי רָצָה לְהַמְלִיךְ עַל־כׇּל־יִשְׂרָאֵל׃ - "Yet Hashem, the God of Israel, chose me out of all my father's house to be king over Israel forever; for He chose Judah as ruler, and among the house of Judah, the house of my father, and among the sons of my father, He was pleased to make me king over all Israel."
David clarifies, as the Metzudat David explains, that the shedding of blood was not considered a sin on his part. Do not think that this was recorded before the Holy One, blessed be He, as a demerit, and that perhaps for this reason He rejected him. On the contrary - "Yet Hashem, the God of Israel, chose me out of all my father's house to be king over Israel forever." This did not diminish in the slightest his right to kingship; perhaps it was even because he fought the wars of Israel.
The Malbim explains: Here David enumerates three choices - a choice of the tribe, a choice of the household, and an individual choice of him personally. First, the Holy One, blessed be He, chose the tribe: "for He chose Judah as ruler," the tribe of Judah being the royal tribe. Then, within Judah, He chose his father's house, the house of Peretz and continuing down to David. Finally, "and among the sons of my father, He was pleased to make me king" - an individual choice of David himself.
The Malbim adds: "And in Solomon a third choice was added, in that He chose him from among all the sons of David, even though he was not the firstborn." The wording is slightly difficult, since he already stated that David had three choices, so why say regarding Solomon that "a third choice was added"? It seems that a word is missing, and it should read: "And in Solomon [it was] added unto the third choice." That is, upon that third choice it was additionally added that Solomon was chosen from all of David's sons, for David had many sons and this was not an automatic succession - there was an individual choice of him from among all his brothers. One might perhaps have called it a "fourth choice," but the text says "third," and to suggest that a letter gimmel was switched with a dalet is less likely; the reading "added unto the third choice" makes more sense.
Therefore, the limitation was not in David himself, but in the nature of the Temple: a House built for the Name of Hashem, in which no sound of iron is heard - so too, one who shed blood was not to be among its builders. And similarly, as we explained regarding the emphasis on "for My Name": David desired to attain rest from war through the building of the Temple, and perhaps in the finest, most subtle manner, the purely altruistic intention ("for the sake of Heaven") would be slightly compromised. The emphasis is always on "for My Name."
There is also an additional consideration: had David built the Temple, it would never have been destroyed. There is a Midrash that says regarding the Western Wall that King David began its construction, and then the Holy One, blessed be He, stopped him, and therefore the Western Wall was never destroyed. Had David built the entire Temple, it would never have been destroyed, and then the Holy One, blessed be He, would not have been able to pour out His wrath on wood and stones, leaving no remnant of the enemies of Israel (a euphemism for the Jewish people). Therefore, the task was entrusted to Solomon.
וּמִכׇּל־בָּנַי כִּי רַבִּים בָּנִים נָתַן לִי יְהֹוָה וַיִּבְחַר בִּשְׁלֹמֹה בְנִי לָשֶׁבֶת עַל־כִּסֵּא מַלְכוּת יְהֹוָה עַל־יִשְׂרָאֵל׃ - "And of all my sons - for Hashem has given me many sons - He has chosen Solomon my son to sit on the throne of the kingdom of Hashem over Israel."
The Metzudat David explains that this alludes to the fact that he did not take Batsheva in sin. For had there been a sin, the first child would have been born a mamzer, and the second child would have been born to a woman he was obligated to divorce - a woman rendered forbidden to him, as a married woman who had relations with another man is permanently forbidden to him and can never marry him, even after her husband dies. How, then, could he take such a son for the monarchy? And had he, Heaven forbid, committed a sin, would his son Shlomo have been chosen, with Hashem loving him and naming him Yedidyah?
And do not say: what did David really have? Only one son, so the Holy One, Blessed be He, said, "What can we do, let us take him; he is not perfect, but that is what we have." Regarding this the verse states, "And from all my sons, for Hashem has given me many sons" - I had many sons, and among them were others who were worthy, yet even so, He chose Shlomo.
וַיֹּאמֶר לִי שְׁלֹמֹה בִנְךָ הוּא־יִבְנֶה בֵיתִי וַחֲצֵרוֹתָי כִּי־בָחַרְתִּי בוֹ לִי לְבֵן וַאֲנִי אֶהְיֶה־לּוֹ לְאָב׃ - And He said to me: "Shlomo your son, he shall build My House and My courtyards, for I have chosen him for Myself as a son, and I will be to him a Father."
וַהֲכִינוֹתִי אֶת־מַלְכוּתוֹ עַד־לְעוֹלָם אִם־יֶחֱזַק לַעֲשׂוֹת מִצְוֺתַי וּמִשְׁפָּטַי כַּיּוֹם הַזֶּה׃ - "And I will establish his kingdom forever, if he remains strong to perform My commandments and My judgments, as on this day."
David was told explicitly: not only was Shlomo chosen to reign after him, but he is the one who will build the Beit HaMikdash. "For I have chosen him for Myself as a son" - that he shall be beloved to Me as a son; "and I will be to him a Father" - and the Metzudat David explains: I will have compassion on him just as a father has compassion on his son.
"And I will establish his kingdom forever" - but on condition: "if he remains strong to perform My commandments and My judgments, as on this day." The Malbim explains, as he does in several places - both in Tehillim 132 and as explained in the study of Sefer Melachim - that Shlomo's own monarchy was unconditional, whereas the monarchy of his descendants was conditional. Shlomo was guaranteed to remain king no matter what; even if he faltered, it was not said of him, "I will take My kingdom from him," but rather, "I will chasten him with the rod of men" - the Holy One, Blessed be He, raised adversaries against him, such as Rezon son of Eliada and others who distressed him toward the end of his days, but they did not strip him of his kingdom. He receives blows, but he does not lose the monarchy.
By contrast, his descendants were not guaranteed: if they were worthy, their kingdom would endure, and if not, it would cease. And so indeed we see: in Shlomo's days the kingdom did not divide, whereas in the days of Rechavam it divided, because they were not worthy.
וְעַתָּה לְעֵינֵי כׇל־יִשְׂרָאֵל קְהַל־יְהֹוָה וּבְאׇזְנֵי אֱלֹהֵינוּ שִׁמְרוּ וְדִרְשׁוּ כׇּל־מִצְוֺת יְהֹוָה אֱלֹהֵיכֶם לְמַעַן תִּירְשׁוּ אֶת־הָאָרֶץ הַטּוֹבָה וְהִנְחַלְתֶּם לִבְנֵיכֶם אַחֲרֵיכֶם עַד־עוֹלָם׃ - "And now, before the eyes of all Israel, the congregation of Hashem, and in the hearing of our God, observe and seek out all the commandments of Hashem your God, so that you may possess this good land and bequeath it to your children after you forever."
Here David cautions the people. The Malbim explains a fundamental principle: just as Hashem increases His beneficence toward man, so to that same measure must man respond with gratitude and divine service commensurate with that good. He cites an example from the bowings: an ordinary person bows four times during the prayer, the Kohen Gadol would bow at the conclusion of every single blessing, and the king - once he bowed, he did not straighten up again until the end. We learn that the greater a person's standing, the greater is his obligation of thanksgiving and submission.
In truth, there are actually five bowings, but almost everyone forgets the fifth. For "Oseh Shalom," the halachah dictates that one must bow. People nod their heads slightly, gesture to the right and to the left, and think they are done; but in truth, one must bow completely, just as one bows at "Baruch" in Magen Avraham and in Modim, and take the steps backward while bowed. There is a disagreement over whether one straightens up when turning to the right and to the left or remains bowed, and each view has halachic support; but no one disputes that "Oseh Shalom" itself must be recited while bowed. One does not say "Oseh Shalom" standing upright - one departing from the King bows before Him and steps backward. Once, at a prayer service held for a siyum masechet or a chanukat habayit, an observer watching from the back noticed that not a single person bowed at "Oseh Shalom."
And speaking of bowing, there is another place that everyone tends to forget: "Vezot HaTorah." The Shulchan Aruch rules that one should bow when reciting "Vezot HaTorah," yet how many people do you see actually doing so? It is told of the Steipler that he was praying together with the elder Rabbi Toledano at Yeshivat Beit Meir. When they recited "Vezot HaTorah," Rabbi Toledano later commented: "There is an explicit halachah in the Shulchan Aruch that one must bow; why does no one bow?" The Steipler replied to him: "I bowed." This is what is called a tzaddik - before we even speak of a chasid, a tzaddik is one who simply fulfills what is written. Halachah says to bow - so he bowed. And this is Maran the Shulchan Aruch, not some obscure minority opinion among the poskim.
The Malbim adds: A king's mitzvot are likewise more numerous than those of the rest of the nation. Every individual is commanded to have a Sefer Torah - "Now, therefore, write for yourselves" - whereas the king is commanded to have an additional Sefer Torah, a second scroll that must always accompany him: "And it shall be with him, and he shall read in it all the days of his life."
This very principle explains the distinction between the nations of the world and Israel: A gentile received a lesser measure of divine beneficence, and therefore minimal service and minimal submission are demanded of him - basic commandments essential for an orderly society: not to steal, not to murder, not to commit adultery, not to worship idols, not to eat a limb torn from a living animal. He is not burdened with additional service like Israel, who received the 613 mitzvot. Why? Because he did not receive such immense kindness. In contrast, the people of Israel, who received extraordinary beneficence - "You alone have I known of all the families of the earth," I chose you, I gave you the Torah, I brought you out of Egypt - from them, additional service and greater submission are demanded. This is the fundamental rule: the more a person has received, the more he is required to give, to submit, and to labor in divine service.
According to this, the verse is explained: All of Israel received from the Holy One, blessed be He, the great kindness of inheriting the Land, and therefore they are obligated to observe Hashem's commandments, and through this they will inherit the Land - fulfill the commandments of Hashem, and you will remain here in the Land; in this merit you received the Land, and on the condition that you keep His commandments, it will endure in your possession forever. This is the meaning of: "Observe and seek out all the commandments of Hashem your God, so that you may possess this good land and bequeath it to your children after you forever." This is what is required of the community as a whole. But for Shlomo, who was granted unique lovingkindness, this alone is not enough - more is demanded of him, as David addresses him in the verses that follow.
King David gathers his strength and rises from his bed to deliver his final testament to the people: his desire to build the Temple remained steadfast and the materials were fully prepared, lacking only the consent of the Holy One, blessed be He, Who told him, "You shall not build a house for My Name" - both due to the nature of the Temple itself and due to a higher calculation that had David built it, the Temple would never have been destroyed, leaving no avenue for Hashem to pour out His wrath on wood and stones. David emphasizes that his own selection as king involved three stages of choice - tribe, family, and individual - and that Shlomo, too, was chosen from among many sons, proving that David's marriage to Batsheva was not born of sin. Shlomo's own reign is unconditionally guaranteed, whereas the continuity of his dynasty is conditional upon their deeds. Finally, the message to the nation: just as Hashem bestows goodness, so man is called upon to reciprocate with gratitude and divine service - the greater the privilege, the greater the required submission and accountability. Israel, having received the Land, are charged to keep the mitzvot so that they may inherit it forever.