Chapter 29 is the final chapter of the first book of Divrei HaYamim, continuing that momentous assembly where David gathered the entire congregation shortly before his passing. In this chapter, David turns to the people and asks for their assistance in building the Beit HaMikdash, enumerates all that he prepared for his son, and awakens the generosity of their hearts - which is the very prerequisite for the dwelling of the Shechinah in the Temple. We will follow the order of the pesukim, presenting the explanations of the commentary attributed to Rashi, the Radak, and the Malbim.
וַיֹּאמֶר דָּוִיד הַמֶּלֶךְ לְכׇל־הַקָּהָל שְׁלֹמֹה בְנִי אֶחָד בָּחַר־בּוֹ אֱלֹהִים נַעַר וָרָךְ וְהַמְּלָאכָה גְדוֹלָה כִּי לֹא לְאָדָם הַבִּירָה כִּי לַיהֹוָה אֱלֹהִים׃ - King David said to the entire assembly: "Shlomo my son, whom alone God has chosen, is young and tender, and the work is great, for the palace is not for man, but for the Lord God."
The commentary attributed to Rashi explains the gravity of these words: even if there were a hundred builders, they would not be able to build the Beit HaMikdash - and here, there is only one individual, and moreover, that one is "young and tender." In addition, "the work is great." And if one might suggest: let us then make the Temple smaller, so that we will not require such vast labor - that is impossible, "for the palace is not for man." That is to say, the plans are not in our hands, and we are not the designers; the entire palace was given through divine inspiration, "All this, in writing from the hand of Hashem, He made me understand." And the House is for Hashem God - and since that is so, there is no room to diminish it, for "the heavens and highest heavens cannot contain You." If anything, there would be reason to expand it, yet even that is not up to us, because the palace is not for man but for God, and whatever Hashem has established must be carried out precisely so. Nevertheless, David says to his son: do not be intimidated by building a house so grand, lofty, and exalted, for "with all my might I have prepared" - the burden has already been lightened for you, and it will now be easier for you to accomplish the task.
What is meant by "young and tender"? The Radak explains: the Sages said that Shlomo was twelve years old when he became king. He calculates the timeline as follows: in the same chapter in which Shlomo's birth is recorded, the story of Amnon and Tamar takes place. "And it came to pass after two full years, that Avshalom had sheepshearers" - that accounts for two years. Avshalom then killed Amnon, fled to Geshur, and remained there for three years - bringing the total to five. Avshalom returned to Jerusalem and lived there for two years - bringing it to seven. He then rebelled against his father and was killed. Afterward, "there was a famine in the days of David" for three years - bringing us to ten. In the following year, David numbered Israel, and they "traversed the land" for nine months - bringing us to eleven. And in the year of David's death, which was the fortieth year of his reign, he established the priestly shifts (mishmarot) - making twelve years. Thus, Shlomo was twelve years old when he ascended the throne. And this is what David is saying: God chose him, even though he is a young and tender youth of twelve, and despite this, he must build a lofty and exalted House for Hashem God.
The Malbim explains that beyond the plain meaning of the text - that David is informing them that a young boy is about to oversee a tremendous, immense undertaking, a task commensurate with the greatness of God since it must be done for His honor, and therefore he asks for their assistance - there is also a deeper dimension here. Lest the people say: this work exceeds our strength, such a house is beyond our capability, David tells them: know that the essence of the Beit HaMikdash is accomplished by the Holy One, blessed be He, and through His assistance. And where is this seen? "And the House, when it was built, was built of stone finished at the quarry" - what is the implication of "was built" (nivneh)? As if on its own. Chazal teach: the Temple was built as if by itself.
There is a profound principle here: when the Holy One, blessed be He, wishes to act through the natural order, He always selects the proper and sufficient means to achieve the intended goal. Following the Creation of the world, God does not generate things through miracles of ex nihilo (something from nothing); rather, everything proceeds naturally, utilizing appropriate and adequate means. Conversely, in an undertaking attributed directly to God - a matter that transcends nature - Hashem specifically chooses vessels that are "weak in matter and complete in form": physically weak, but spiritually elevated, exalted, and mighty, so that His divine assistance may rest upon them in accordance with their spiritual stature.
This provides clear proof for our subject: had the Holy One, blessed be He, intended for the Temple to be built solely by human effort, He would not have chosen someone weak, young, and tender - a twelve-year-old boy - to construct the Beit HaMikdash. Or, at the very least, He would have provided him with numerous aides, assistants, and master craftsmen, just as we saw with the construction of the Mishkan: even though that involved an even higher spiritual level than the Beit HaMikdash, the Mishkan was built by Betzalel, Oholiav, and artisans skilled in woodcarving, copper, silver, and gold - the Holy One, blessed be He, established an appropriate human infrastructure for the construction. But here, "Shlomo my son, alone" - he has no equal partner; "young and tender" - and the work exceeds his strength; yet despite all this, Hashem chose him. What do you learn from this? "For the palace is not for man" - the work of building this palace does not depend on human power alone. Therefore, do not be daunted by the enormity of the task or by its being placed upon a young youth, for "the House, when it was built" was constructed as if on its own, through supernatural assistance, "for it is for the Lord God," and He will send His help from the Sanctuary.
And Shlomo himself was chosen because of his spiritual stature - "Yedidiah," beloved of Hashem. Do not look merely at his physical form, a twelve-year-old child, but at the perfection of his spiritual form: an individual of immense comprehension, to whom the Holy One, blessed be He, already revealed Himself, saying, "Ask what I shall give you," and he chose wisdom - and all this in a young lad. Thus, he was complete in form, even though he was weak in matter.
And if you will, the same was true at the splitting of the Yam Suf. The Holy One, blessed be He, created, as it were, the natural infrastructure so that events would unfold within the framework of nature: before the splitting, there was a "strong east wind all night." Can a wind split a sea? Does it have the power to dry up the sea? No. On the contrary, precisely a wind that lacks the power to dry up the sea was sent - so that you understand that a miracle occurred here, and not interpret the events as a purely physical action. So too with the construction of the Temple: the Holy One, blessed be He, did not send it down ready-built in fire, but gave Shlomo the task of building it - a supernatural reality, yet within the framework of nature, through means weak in material substance and perfected in form.
וּֽכְכׇל־כֹּחִי הֲכִינוֹתִי לְבֵית־אֱלֹהַי הַזָּהָב לַזָּהָב וְהַכֶּסֶף לַכֶּסֶף וְהַנְּחֹשֶׁת לַנְּחֹשֶׁת הַבַּרְזֶל לַבַּרְזֶל וְהָעֵצִים לָעֵצִים אַבְנֵי־שֹׁהַם וּמִלּוּאִים אַבְנֵי־פוּךְ וְרִקְמָה וְכֹל אֶבֶן יְקָרָה וְאַבְנֵי־שַׁיִשׁ לָרֹב׃ - "And with all my might I have prepared for the house of my God: gold for things of gold, silver for things of silver, copper for things of copper, iron for things of iron, and wood for things of wood; onyx stones and settings, stones of antimony and colorful stones, every precious stone, and marble stones in abundance."
"With all my might" - with all my capabilities I prepared everything that was needed: gold for whatever needs to be made of gold, silver for whatever needs to be made of silver, copper for copper, iron for iron, wood for wood, and precious stones and marble stones in abundance.
The commentary attributed to Rashi elaborates: "Onyx stones and settings" - just as in the Mishkan, onyx stones and stones to be set for the Ephod and the Choshen. "Stones of antimony and colorful stones, and every precious stone" - to inlay into the golden walls, and precious stones were likewise set into the silver vessels. "Marble stones" - for the pillars, the tables, and the floor, all of which required marble stones. And Radak adds regarding the puch (antimony): it is possible that these are blue stones, or precious stones whose hue resembles blue. And where does the association with blue come from? From the phrase "and you painted your eyes with antimony (puch)" - puch was the cosmetic pigment used to paint the eyes, as the Gemara mentions in several places that they would paint their eyes with kohl.
וְעוֹד בִּרְצוֹתִי בְּבֵית אֱלֹהַי יֶשׁ־לִי סְגֻלָּה זָהָב וָכָסֶף נָתַתִּי לְבֵית־אֱלֹהַי לְמַעְלָה מִכׇּל־הֲכִינוֹתִי לְבֵית הַקֹּדֶשׁ׃ - "Moreover, in my devotion to the house of my God, I have a personal treasure of gold and silver which I have given for the house of my God, over and above all that I have prepared for the holy house:"
David says: Out of my deep desire for the house of my God, I have a personal treasure - a storehouse of gold and silver - which I have given to the house of my God, over and above all that I prepared for the holy house. The Malbim explains: Even though I prepared with all my might all the materials needed for the construction, "in my devotion to the house of my God" - I possessed a fervent desire to glorify and beautify the House of Hashem, for regarding the house of God one never says "enough" or "too much." Indeed, "the heavens and the highest heavens cannot contain You," so whatever one does is praiseworthy; there is no limit to its splendor and glory. Therefore, I have an additional personal treasure: gold and silver with which to overlay the walls of the Temple, making the House far more magnificent than originally planned - as we see in Sefer Melachim in the description of the Temple's construction, how they overlaid the walls with gold.
The Malbim notes a precise shift in phrasing: initially it says "I prepared for the holy house," whereas now it says "I gave to the house of my God." That is to say, it must be even more dignified, for it is not merely a sanctuary, but a sanctuary where my God will dwell. Therefore, a house magnificently built of hewn stone is not enough; it must be overlaid and plated with gold and silver.
שְׁלֹשֶׁת אֲלָפִים כִּכְּרֵי זָהָב מִזְּהַב אוֹפִיר וְשִׁבְעַת אֲלָפִים כִּכַּר־כֶּסֶף מְזֻקָּק לָטוּחַ קִירוֹת הַבָּתִּים׃ - "Three thousand talents of gold, of the gold of Ophir, and seven thousand talents of refined silver, to overlay the walls of the houses:"
This is the personal treasure he prepared out of "my devotion to the house of my God": three thousand talents of gold from the gold of Ophir - gold of Ophir was considered the most prestigious and magnificent gold of their time - and an additional seven thousand talents of refined silver. "Refined" (mezukak), explains the commentary attributed to Rashi, means very white, as it had been purged of all dross. He adds that one cannot overlay anything with silver or gold unless it is refined - evidently, if they are not refined, they do not adhere and bond properly to the walls.
Radak asks: Were not the walls overlaid with gold? Why then does it say here, "seven thousand talents of refined silver, to overlay the walls of the houses"? The Temple interior was overlaid with gold, and there was no silver overlay! Chazal expound: "'To overlay the walls of the house' - was it really silver? Surely it was gold! And why is it called silver (kesef)? Because it caused all other gold to pale (makhsif)." And what does makhsif mean? It put them to shame - from the term kissufa, shame, as in nahama dikssufa, "the bread of shame." That is, it was gold so precious that it shamed all other possessors of gold.
Radak himself offers another explanation: "To overlay the walls of the houses" does not refer to the silver, but rather to the gold mentioned at the beginning of the verse - as though it were written: three thousand talents of gold, from the gold of Ophir, to overlay the walls of the houses, and seven thousand talents of refined silver. There is also an additional explanation: David initially prepared both silver and gold to overlay the walls, not knowing whether there would be enough gold - perhaps the interior would be overlaid in gold and the exterior in silver, or vice versa. Later, however, when Solomon attained such immense wealth that silver was regarded as nothing, he did not use the silver at all and overlaid everything in gold. David did not foresee that they would reach such wealth, which is why he prepared both. Thus there is no contradiction: on the one hand, he prepared silver out of concern that the gold might not suffice, while in practice they overlaid the walls solely with gold.
לַזָּהָב לַזָּהָב וְלַכֶּסֶף לַכֶּסֶף וּלְכׇל־מְלָאכָה בְּיַד חָרָשִׁים וּמִי מִתְנַדֵּב לְמַלֹּאות יָדוֹ הַיּוֹם לַיהֹוָה׃ - Gold for the things of gold, and silver for the things of silver, and for all kinds of work by the hands of craftsmen. And who then offers willingly to consecrate his hand today to Hashem?
The Malbim explains: Even though I have prepared everything required for the physical exterior of the building - the materials of gold and silver, and the laborers and craftsmen for all the work - all these are merely external, physical matters. You have a stone structure and a golden overlay, but it remains a body without a soul. What we truly need is the resting of the Shechinah - that the Holy One, blessed be He, desire this House and that His Divine Presence be manifest within it. And as a prerequisite for the Temple to be endowed with holiness, an additional element is needed: the willing heart of the people and their inner preparation, through which holiness rests upon the House.
And where do we learn this? Already from the Mishkan: "From every man whose heart moves him you shall take My offering" - take the offering from one whose heart is moved to give willingly, for that is the true catalyst for the resting of the Shechinah. The essence of Hashem's offering is the willingness of the heart, and upon it rests the Divine favor and holiness. Therefore David says, "And who then offers willingly to consecrate his hand today to Hashem" - that through the generosity of his heart he may dedicate himself to Hashem, thereby performing what is pleasing before the Creator, blessed be He. And what is meant by "to consecrate his hand" (lemalot yado)? Pseudo-Rashi explains: it is like "and you shall consecrate Aaron and his sons" (u-mileita yad Aharon), which the Targum renders as "and you shall bring near Aaron's offering" - to bring the offering that he wishes to present this day to Hashem.
וַיִּתְנַדְּבוּ שָׂרֵי הָאָבוֹת וְשָׂרֵי שִׁבְטֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל וְשָׂרֵי הָאֲלָפִים וְהַמֵּאוֹת וּלְשָׂרֵי מְלֶאכֶת הַמֶּלֶךְ׃ - Then the leaders of the ancestral households, the leaders of the tribes of Israel, the commanders of thousands and of hundreds, and the officers over the king's work offered willingly.
Pseudo-Rashi explains: Those mentioned earlier over the tribes of Israel, the tribal leaders whose names we saw previously, were the ones who offered first - as it was stated above, "And the children of Israel after their number, the heads of fathers' households." Likewise, "the officers over the king's work," those who were appointed over the king's estates, in the vineyards and the other domains we saw earlier, were among those who offered first.
וַיִּתְּנוּ לַעֲבוֹדַת בֵּית־הָאֱלֹהִים זָהָב כִּכָּרִים חֲמֵשֶׁת־אֲלָפִים וַאֲדַרְכֹנִים רִבּוֹ וְכֶסֶף כִּכָּרִים עֲשֶׂרֶת אֲלָפִים וּנְחֹשֶׁת רִבּוֹ וּשְׁמוֹנַת אֲלָפִים כִּכָּרִים וּבַרְזֶל מֵאָה־אֶלֶף כִּכָּרִים׃ - And they gave for the service of the House of God: five thousand talents and ten thousand darics of gold, ten thousand talents of silver, eighteen thousand talents of copper, and one hundred thousand talents of iron.
A kikar (talent) is a unit of weight well known throughout the words of Chazal. "And ten thousand darics (adarkonim ribo)" - an adarkon is the name of a coin well known in antiquity, appearing in other places in Tanach as well, in both the Book of Ezra and the Book of Nechemiah. The quantity was a ribo, meaning ten thousand coins, which did not add up to the weight of a full talent.
וְהַנִּמְצָא אִתּוֹ אֲבָנִים נָתְנוּ לְאוֹצַר בֵּית־יְהֹוָה עַל יַד־יְחִיאֵל הַגֵּרְשֻׁנִּי׃ - And whoever had precious stones in his possession gave them to the treasury of the House of Hashem, into the custody of Yechiel the Gershonite.
Anyone in possession of stones needed for the building handed them over to Yechiel, and Yechiel brought them into the treasury. And who was this Yechiel? Yechiel the Gershonite, whom we encountered earlier in chapter 26 as the supervisor over the treasuries: "The sons of Yechieli, Zetham and Joel his brother, were over the treasuries of the House of Hashem." Therefore, anyone who wished to bring stones to the treasury of the House of Hashem gave them to the official in charge of the treasury.
וַיִּשְׂמְחוּ הָעָם עַל־הִתְנַדְּבָם כִּי בְּלֵב שָׁלֵם הִתְנַדְּבוּ לַיהֹוָה וְגַם דָּוִיד הַמֶּלֶךְ שָׂמַח שִׂמְחָה גְדוֹלָה׃ - And the people rejoiced over their offering, for with a whole heart they offered willingly to Hashem, and King David also rejoiced with great joy.
The main point, says the Malbim, is that they gave with a whole heart, and they rejoiced in their giving. Sometimes when an appeal is made, a person has no choice and feels forced to give, lest people call him stingy; or there are others present and he wants to steal the show, so he gives more so that people will notice him. In short, there are many reasons why a person might give, and not necessarily because he is genuinely happy to contribute. Here, the verse testifies that this was not the case: "And the people rejoiced over their offering."
The commentary attributed to Rashi explains what is meant by "with a whole heart": as mentioned earlier, there is a concept of two hearts - the grammatical form leivav indicates two hearts, and there is one who gives "with a double heart" (b'lev va-lev), where his heart is not completely behind what he gives, but rather divided. There is a person who gives reluctantly, without a willing spirit, simply because he is embarrassed in front of others - this is called having two hearts. But these individuals gave with a willing soul for the sake of Hashem, with a whole heart and not with two hearts.
And why did David rejoice? Because David knew that through this, the prerequisites were fulfilled for a building upon which the Shechinah would dwell, and this is what secures favor before Hashem. Just as it was with the Mishkan, so it was here: when the people offer with heartfelt willingness and give their hearts - and that is the essential thing, "in my heart I shall build a sanctuary" - the Shechinah can then dwell in the House that will be built for His Name.
The commentary attributed to Rashi adds: Do not think that David's joy was merely equal to theirs; rather, the verse comes to teach you that his joy was greater than theirs, because he was the initiator of the matter - he was the one who spearheaded this entire contribution. Therefore, the verse mentions him on his own, not simply as part of the collective: "and King David also rejoiced with great joy," far above and beyond the joy of everyone else. An example of this is: "The mountains quaked before Hashem" - this refers to Sinai. Why specify Sinai when "mountains" already includes Sinai, for is it not a mountain? Rather, because Hashem descended upon it in fire - since Hashem descended upon Sinai in fire, it was on a higher plane. All the mountains quaked before Hashem, but Mount Sinai did so far above and beyond the rest, because Hashem descended specifically upon it.
David opens his final address by presenting the contrast: an only son, tender and young, and a work as immense as the greatness of God - and from this itself lies the proof that "the palace is not for man." When the Holy One, Blessed is He, acts through nature, He arranges means commensurate with the goal; but when He acts above nature, He chooses specifically means that are weak in material substance yet perfect in spiritual form - like the east wind at the Red Sea, and like the twelve-year-old Shlomo, who was chosen for his stature in holiness. David then enumerates all that he prepared: gold, silver, copper, iron, wood, and precious stones, and above all, his personal treasure of gold of Ophir and refined silver to overlay the walls, out of his "affection for the House of my God" - for there is no limit to the splendor of the House of Hashem. Yet despite all this, all the material preparation is merely a body without a soul: the prerequisite for the resting of holiness is the heartfelt offering of the people, which is why he asks, "and who is willing to consecrate his hand?" And when the leaders and the people gave willingly with a whole heart and with joy, David rejoiced with a joy greater than all of them - for through this, the conditions were completed for a House in which the Shechinah would dwell.