2 Chronicles 29:17

They began the consecration on the first day of the first month, and on the eighth day of the month they reached the portico of the LORD. For eight more days they consecrated the house of the LORD itself, finishing on the sixteenth day of the first month.

Berean Standard Bible

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Study note

Setting — The priests and Levites report their progress to King Hezekiah as they cleanse and consecrate the temple. Their work commenced on the first day of the first month, marking the start of Hezekiah’s religious reforms.

The words — The Hebrew verb וַ֠/יָּחֵלּוּ (Va/i.ya.che.lu) translates literally to “and they began,” while לְ/קַדֵּשׁ֒ (le./ka.Desh) means “to consecrate.” These terms anchor the narrative in the deliberate initiation of a ritual process.

The thread — The designation of the first month echoes Exodus 12:2, which establishes it as the calendar’s starting point. The mention of the portico recalls 1 Kings 6:3 and 1 Chronicles 28:11, which describe its location and David’s original architectural plans.

Why it lands — The text records a fixed timeline for temple purification without commentary or embellishment. It requires the reader to recognize the disciplined, sequential nature of covenant restoration and the necessity of measured obedience before worship resumes.

Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.

The Hebrew words

וַ֠יָּחֵלּוּVa/i.ya.che.luand/ they began בְּאֶחָ֞דbe./'e.Chadon/ [day] one לַחֹ֣דֶשׁla./Cho.deshof the/ month הָרִאשׁוֹן֮ha./ri.shOn<the>/ first לְקַדֵּשׁ֒le./ka.Deshto/ consecrate וּבְי֧וֹםu./ve./Yomand/ on/ day שְׁמוֹנָ֣הshe.mo.Naheight לַחֹ֗דֶשׁla./Cho.deshof the/ month בָּ֚אוּBa.'uthey came לְאוּלָ֣םle./'u.Lamto/ [the] porch of יְהוָ֔הYah.wehYahweh וַיְקַדְּשׁ֥וּva/y.ka.de.Shuand/ they consecrated אֶת־'et-<obj.>בֵּית־beit-[the] house of יְהוָ֖הYah.wehYahweh לְיָמִ֣יםle./ya.Mimfor/ days שְׁמוֹנָ֑הshe.mo.Naheight וּבְי֨וֹםu./ve./Yomand/ on/ day שִׁשָּׁ֥הshi.Shahsix-עָשָׂ֛ר'a.Sarteen לַחֹ֥דֶשׁla./Cho.deshof the/ month הָרִאשׁ֖וֹןha./ri.Shon<the>/ first כִּלּֽוּ׃ סki.Luthey finished

King James Version

Now they began on the first day of the first month to sanctify, and on the eighth day of the month came they to the porch of the Lord: so they sanctified the house of the Lord in eight days; and in the sixteenth day of the first month they made an end.

Cross-references

Exodus 12:2 “This month is the beginning of months for you; it shall be the first month of your year.
1 Kings 6:3 The portico at the front of the main hall of the temple was twenty cubits long, extending across the width of the temple and projecting out ten cubits in front of the temple.
1 Chronicles 28:11 Then David gave his son Solomon the plans for the portico of the temple, its buildings, storehouses, upper rooms, inner rooms, and the room for the mercy seat.
2 Chronicles 3:4 The portico at the front, extending across the width of the temple, was twenty cubits long and twenty cubits high. He overlaid the inside with pure gold.
2 Chronicles 29:3 In the first month of the first year of his reign, Hezekiah opened and repaired the doors of the house of the LORD.
2 Chronicles 29:7 They also shut the doors of the portico and extinguished the lamps. They did not burn incense or present burnt offerings in the Holy Place of the God of Israel.