Bible Strands
2 Chronicles 30:26
So there was great rejoicing in Jerusalem, for nothing like this had happened there since the days of Solomon son of David king of Israel.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The Chronicler records this observation immediately after the Passover festival concludes, describing the reaction of the assembled Judahites, Israelites, priests, Levites, and resident foreigners in Jerusalem. The narrative captures the moment following the priests' blessing and God's response in heaven.
The words — The text highlights שִׂמְחָה (simchah, joy) and גְדוֹלָה (gedolah, great) to quantify the unprecedented scale of the celebration. It explicitly notes this joy occurred in יְרוּשָׁלַיִם (Yerushalayim, Jerusalem) since the days of Solomon.
The thread — The Chronicler explicitly compares this event to the Passover festival during Solomon’s reign, as recorded in 2 Chronicles 7:8. The narrative links the restored worship under Hezekiah to the historical peak of centralized Israelite devotion.
Why it lands — The passage establishes a historical benchmark for corporate worship to evaluate subsequent religious reforms. It requires the reader to recognize that authentic communal rejoicing is measured against the standard of centralized, covenant-keeping obedience.
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
King James Version
So there was great joy in Jerusalem: for since the time of Solomon the son of David king of Israel there was not the like in Jerusalem.
Cross-references
- 2 Chronicles 7:8 So at that time Solomon and all Israel with him—a very great assembly of people from Lebo-hamath to the Brook of Egypt—kept the feast for seven days.