2 Kings 12:10

Whenever they saw that there was a large amount of money in the chest, the royal scribe and the high priest would go up, count the money brought into the house of the LORD, and tie it up in bags.

Berean Standard Bible

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Study note

Setting — The narrator describes a procedural routine during King Joash’s reign as temple repairs are funded by voluntary contributions. The royal scribe and high priest oversee the collection process beside the altar in the house of the LORD.

The words — The text highlights רַב (rav, "much") to denote the accumulating sum in the chest and סֹפֵר (sofer, "scribe") to identify the official responsible for recording the transaction. These terms anchor the narrative in administrative oversight rather than spontaneous giving.

The thread — The pairing of scribes and priests in financial or ceremonial oversight appears in 2 Samuel 8:17 and 2 Kings 22:12, where they accompany royal officials during temple restoration or covenant renewal. This administrative structure recurs in 2 Kings 19:2 when officials deliver messages in sackcloth.

Why it lands — The text records a standardized procedure for handling collected funds before it describes how those funds are disbursed to workers. Readers must note that institutional accounting precedes the physical restoration of the temple.

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

וַֽיְהִי֙va/y.Hiand/ it was כִּרְאוֹתָ֔םki/r.'o.Ta/mwhen/ saw/ they כִּֽי־ki-that רַ֥בravmuch הַכֶּ֖סֶףha./Ke.sefthe/ money בָּֽאָר֑וֹןba./'a.Ron[was] in the/ chest וַיַּ֨עַלva/i.Ya.'aland/ he came up סֹפֵ֤רso.Fer[the] scribe of הַמֶּ֙לֶךְ֙ha./Me.lekhthe/ king וְהַכֹּהֵ֣ןve./ha./ko.Henand/ the/ priest הַגָּד֔וֹלha./ga.Dol<the>/ great וַיָּצֻ֙רוּ֙va/i.ya.Tzu.ruand/ they tied up וַיִּמְנ֔וּva/i.yim.Nuand/ they counted אֶת־'et-<obj.>הַכֶּ֖סֶףha./Ke.sefthe/ money הַנִּמְצָ֥אha./nim.Tza'which/ was found בֵית־veit-[the] house of יְהוָֽה׃Yah.wehYahweh

King James Version

And it was so, when they saw that there was much money in the chest, that the king’s scribe and the high priest came up, and they put up in bags, and told the money that was found in the house of the Lord.

Cross-references

2 Samuel 8:17 Zadok son of Ahitub and Ahimelech son of Abiathar were priests; Seraiah was the scribe;
2 Kings 19:2 And he sent Eliakim the palace administrator, Shebna the scribe, and the leading priests, all wearing sackcloth, to the prophet Isaiah son of Amoz
2 Kings 22:12 and commanded Hilkiah the priest, Ahikam son of Shaphan, Achbor son of Micaiah, Shaphan the scribe, and Asaiah the servant of the king:
2 Samuel 20:25 Sheva was the scribe; Zadok and Abiathar were priests;
2 Kings 5:23 But Naaman insisted, “Please, take two talents.” And he urged Gehazi to accept them. Then he tied up two talents of silver in two bags along with two sets of clothing and gave them to two of his servants, who carried them ahead of Gehazi.
2 Kings 22:3 Now in the eighteenth year of his reign, King Josiah sent the scribe, Shaphan son of Azaliah, the son of Meshullam, to the house of the LORD, saying,