Bible Strands
2 Chronicles 4:18
Solomon made all these articles in such great abundance that the weight of the bronze could not be determined.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The chronicler records Solomon’s construction activities immediately after describing how the bronze vessels were cast in clay molds along the Jordan plain. This statement concludes the metalwork account before shifting to the golden furnishings for the house of God.
The words — The Hebrew phrase לָ/רֹב מְאֹד (la./Ro me.'Od) literally means "to abundance exceedingly" or "in exceedingly great quantity." This phrasing emphasizes the sheer volume of the cast bronze rather than its precise measurement.
The thread — This observation of unweighed bronze appears in 1 Kings 7:47 and is echoed in Jeremiah 52:20 when recounting the pillars and Sea. David’s earlier provision of iron for temple fittings in 1 Chronicles 22:3 parallels this theme of overwhelming material preparation.
Why it lands — The text demands recognition that the scale of the work surpasses human measurement, directing attention to the completed structure rather than quantitative accounting. It requires the reader to accept the narrative’s emphasis on divine provision through sheer material abundance without demanding exact figures.
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
Thus Solomon made all these vessels in great abundance: for the weight of the brass could not be found out.
Cross-references
- 1 Kings 7:47 Solomon left all these articles unweighed, because there were so many. The weight of the bronze could not be determined.
- Jeremiah 52:20 As for the two pillars, the Sea, the twelve bronze bulls under it, and the movable stands that King Solomon had made for the house of the LORD, the weight of the bronze from all these articles was beyond measure.
- 1 Chronicles 22:3 David provided a large quantity of iron to make the nails for the doors of the gateways and for the fittings, together with more bronze than could be weighed
- 1 Chronicles 22:14 Now behold, I have taken great pains to provide for the house of the LORD—100,000 talents of gold, 1,000,000 talents of silver, and bronze and iron too great to be weighed. I have also provided timber and stone, and you may add to them.