II Chronicles 3:1 · Bible study
2 Chronicles 3:1 Commentary: Temple on Moriah, Sacrifice and Mercy
Hebrew · 9 what the commentators say
Meaning in one sentence
The temple is built on Mount Moriah, tying together Abraham’s offering of Isaac, David’s altar, and the place of God’s appearance.
Research Summary
- Meaning: The temple begins on the site of Abraham’s sacrifice and David’s threshing floor, a place of tested faith and mercy.
- Key words: Moriah (appearance of Jah), threshing floor (goren), prepared (hekhin).
- Main debate: Whether “where the Lord appeared” refers to a theophany to David or simply a showing/pointing out of the site.
- Theological theme: God’s provision in sacrifice and judgment; the temple as the meeting place of human need and divine mercy.
- Best use: Connecting the Old Testament temple to Christ’s sacrifice on the cross, where judgment and mercy meet.
Translation Comparison
BSB Berean Standard Bible 2020
Then Solomon began to build the house of the LORD in Jerusalem on Mount Moriah, where the LORD had appeared to his father David. This was the place that David had prepared on the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite.
WEB World English Bible 2000
Then Solomon began to build Yahweh’s house at Jerusalem on Mount Moriah, where Yahweh appeared to David his father, which he prepared in the place that David had appointed, on the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite.
KJV King James Version 1769
Then Solomon began to build the house of the Lord at Jerusalem in mount Moriah, where the Lord appeared unto David his father, in the place that David had prepared in the threshingfloor of Ornan the Jebusite.
ASV American Standard Version 1901
Then Solomon began to build the house of Jehovah at Jerusalem on mount Moriah, where Jehovahappeared unto David his father, which he made ready in the place that David had appointed, in the threshing-floor of Ornan the Jebusite.
YLT Young's Literal Translation 1898
And Solomon beginneth to build the house of Jehovah, in Jerusalem, in the mount of Moriah, where He appeared to David his father, in the place that David had prepared, in the threshing-floor of Ornan the Jebusite,
Darby Darby Bible 1890
And Solomon began to build the house of Jehovah at Jerusalem on mount Moriah, where he appeared to David his father, in the place that David had prepared in the threshing-floor of Ornan the Jebusite.
Douay-Rheims Douay-Rheims Bible 1899
And Solomon began to build the house of the Lord in Jerusalem, in mount Moria, which had been shewn to David his father, in the place which David had prepared in the thrashingfloor of Ornan the Jebusite.
Translations in other languages (10 available)
Y COMENZÓ Salomón á edificar la casa en Jerusalem, en el monte Moria que había sido mostrado á David su padre, en el lugar que David había preparado en la era de Ornán Jebuseo.
E começou Salomão a edificar a casa em Jerusalém, no monte Moriá que havia sido mostrado a Davi seu pai, no lugar que Davi havia preparado na eira de Ornã jebuseu.
Salomon commença à bâtir la maison de l’ Éternel à Jérusalem, sur la montagne de Morija, qui avait été indiquée à David, son père, dans le lieu préparé par David sur l’ aire d’Ornan, le Jébusien.
Und Salomo fing an zu bauen das Haus des HERRN zu Jerusalem auf dem Berge Morija, der David, seinem Vater, gezeigt war, welchen David zubereitet hatte zum Raum auf der Tenne Ornans, des Jebusiters.
En Salomo begon het huis des HEEREN te bouwen te Jeruzalem, op den berg Moria, die zijn vader David gewezen was, in de plaats, die David toebereid had, op den dorsvloer van Ornan, den Jebusiet.
Salomone cominciò a costruire la casa dell’Eterno a Gerusalemme, sul monte Moriah, dove l’Eterno era apparso a Davide suo padre, nel luogo che Davide aveva preparato, nell’aia di Ornan, il Gebuseo.
Począł tedy Salomon budować dom Pański w Jeruzalemie na górze Moryja, która była ukazana Dawidowi, ojcu jego, na miejscu, które zgotował Dawid na bojewisku Ornana Jebuzejczyka.
И начал Соломон строить дом Господень в Иерусалиме на горе Мориа, которая указана была Давиду, отцу его, на месте, которое приготовил Давид, на гумне Орны Иевусеянина.
所羅門 就在耶路撒冷、耶和華 向他父 大衛 顯現 的 摩利亞 山上，就是耶布斯人 阿珥楠 的禾場上、大衛 所 指定的地方 預備好了，開工 建造 耶和華 的殿。
Then Solomon made a start at building the house of the Lord on Mount Moriah in Jerusalem, where the Lord had been seen by his father David, in the place which David had made ready in the grain-floor of Ornan the Jebusite.
Verse in Context
Original Language (Biblical Hebrew)
Old Testament · Biblical Hebrew · II Chronicles 3:1
Source: STEPBible TAGNT/TEHB (CC-BY 4.0). Click or tap a morphology code to see the full parsing.
Scholars' Consensus
Commentators across traditions agree that the Chronicler deliberately identifies the temple site as Mount Moriah, the mountain of Abraham’s near-sacrifice of Isaac (Genesis 22:2,14) and the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite, which David purchased and where he built an altar after the plague (2 Samuel 24; 1 Chronicles 21). The Targum, cited by Clarke, expands on this, connecting the site also to Jacob’s prayer. Barnes notes that the phrase “where the Lord appeared unto David” may be read as a theophany, God showing Himself, rather than the place being pointed out. Keil and Delitzsch argue that “appeared” (Niphal of ra’ah) always indicates a divine self-disclosure, not a passive showing. This site is not arbitrary; it is where God provided a ram for Abraham, where He stopped the plague for David, and where Solomon now builds the house of God. The temple stands on a history of tested faith and answered mercy.
How settled is the interpretation?
Interpretive difficulty: Medium
Main views:
- Theophany interpretation: The Niphal of <em>ra’ah</em> consistently refers to God appearing (Keil & Delitzsch, Barnes); this reading emphasizes divine initiative at the site.
- Showing interpretation: The marginal reading and some versions (Geneva, Douay) render it ‘showed’ or ‘declared,’ implying David was directed to the place by an angel or vision.
What is clear: The temple was built on the same mountain where Abraham offered Isaac and where David purchased the threshing floor after the plague.
What Scholars Agree and Debate
| Topic | Agreed | Debated |
|---|---|---|
| Nature of the appearance to David | God revealed something to David on Mount Moriah, leading him to build an altar. | Some (following the marginal reading and the Geneva Bible) read “which was shown to David”, a passive pointing out. Others (Keil & Delitzsch, Barnes) argue the Niphal of <em>ra’ah</em> always means a theophany: God appeared to David. |
| Exact location of the threshing floor | The temple was built on Mount Moriah, generally identified with the later Temple Mount / Haram esh-Sharif. | Some traditions (especially Jewish and some Christian) identify the exact rock under the Dome of the Rock as Ornan’s threshing floor. Others hold that the precise spot is unknown and that the temple area covered a larger platform. |
| Significance of the threshing floor | It was the place where David purchased land and offered sacrifice, ending the plague. | Some see the threshing floor primarily as a place of judgment (winnowing, separating) that became a place of mercy. Others emphasize it simply as the convenient site David acquired. |
| Connection to Abraham’s sacrifice | The temple is on the same mountain range (Moriah) as the binding of Isaac. | The Targum and many Jewish sources say it is the exact spot; some Christian interpreters treat it as typological (the mountain of sacrifice points to the cross) without insisting on the precise rock. |
Historical & Cultural Context
Mount Moriah appears first in Genesis 22:2 as the land to which Abraham was sent to offer Isaac. The name itself may mean “chosen by Jehovah” or “appearance of Jah.” Jewish tradition, reflected in the Targum and early rabbinic sources, held that this was the same spot where Jacob prayed when he fled from Esau and where the threshing floor of Ornan (called Araunah in 2 Samuel 24) later stood.
The threshing floor was an elevated, open area on the rocky summit, used for winnowing grain. After David’s census brought a plague, the angel of the Lord stopped at this threshing floor. David built an altar there, offered sacrifices, and the plague ended (2 Samuel 24:18-25; 1 Chronicles 21:26). David declared, “This is the house of Yahweh God” (1 Chronicles 22:1).
When Solomon began construction in the fourth year of his reign (1 Kings 6:1), the Chronicler takes care to anchor the temple’s location in these earlier acts of faith and judgment. The site was part of the eastern ridge of Jerusalem, a narrow plateau that required Solomon to build vaults and terraces to enlarge it, as noted by Josephus and cited in Jamieson-Fausset-Brown. The temple itself was not a large gathering hall; it was a dwelling place for God’s presence, and its grandeur lay in its internal ornament and gold. The Chronicler’s emphasis on the location shows that the temple was not a new invention but the culmination of God’s work through Abraham, David, and now Solomon.
Textual Notes
The consulted commentaries note no significant textual variants for II Chronicles 3:1. The Hebrew text is stable. The main ambiguity is lexical: the Niphal form nir’ah (“appeared”) can be read as either an active divine manifestation or a passive showing, as reflected in the marginal rendering “which was shown.” This is an interpretive choice, not a variant in the manuscript tradition.
Reception History
Early Jewish tradition, as preserved in the Targum cited by Clarke, identified Mount Moriah not only with Abraham’s sacrifice and David’s threshing floor but also with Jacob’s prayer. The site was revered as the foundation stone of creation itself. In Christian tradition, the temple’s location on a mountain of sacrifice and mercy was seen as a foreshadowing of Golgotha, where God provided the ultimate Lamb. Church fathers such as Origen and Jerome drew parallels between Abraham’s “God will provide” (Genesis 22:14) and Christ’s atoning work. Through the centuries, pilgrims to Jerusalem have venerated the site as a holy place where heaven and earth met in crisis and promise.
Preaching This Verse
Three-Point Outline
- The Mountain of Sacrifice. Abraham climbed Moriah with Isaac, trusting God to provide. The temple stands on that same ridge, reminding Israel that worship rests on God’s provision.
- The Place of Mercy. David’s altar on Ornan’s threshing floor turned away the plague. The temple is built where judgment was stayed, becoming a house of mercy.
- The House of God. Solomon begins the building. The site is not chosen by human wisdom but by God’s repeated acts of deliverance and presence.
Five-Point Outline
- God chooses the site, not Solomon, not David, but divine appointment through history.
- The site tests faith, Abraham’s knife, David’s offering, Solomon’s labor.
- The site turns away judgment, the threshing floor is where the plague stopped.
- The site is prepared, David gathered materials and designated the place.
- Solomon begins the work, the temple rises on a foundation of promises kept.
Illustration Hooks
- A family builds their home on land where a grandparent once survived a disaster. Every room carries a story of preservation.
- A church purchases a plot of land that was once a site of tragedy (e.g., a fatal accident) and transforms it into a garden of peace.
- A carpenter uses wood from an old barn that sheltered refugees, giving the new piece of furniture a hidden history of rescue.
Questions Your Congregation Is Asking
- Why does the exact location of the temple matter for my faith today?
- How does the temple’s connection to Abraham and David affect how I read the rest of the Old Testament?
- What does it mean that God’s house was built on a place of both near-sacrifice and mercy?
Leading a Discussion
This verse ties together two of the most dramatic moments in Israel’s history: Abraham’s near-sacrifice of Isaac and David’s altar that stopped the plague. As you read it again, notice how the Chronicler layers these events into one location. This small-group guide will help your group see the connections and consider what it means for their own lives.
Discussion Questions
- What places are mentioned in this verse? What happened at each of them in earlier Bible stories?
- Why do you think the Chronicler includes these details instead of simply saying “Solomon built the temple in Jerusalem”?
- Both Abraham and David came to this mountain with a sacrifice. What did each one expect? What did God provide?
- The threshing floor was a place of judgment (the plague) and mercy (the altar). How does that tension shape the meaning of the temple?
- If God’s house is built on a history of sacrifice and mercy, what does that suggest about how we approach worship?
- Think of a place in your own life that once held difficulty but became a place of blessing. How might that shape the way you build (your home, your work, your relationships)?
- How does this temple site point forward to Jesus, who died outside Jerusalem and provided a final sacrifice?
Word Study
The key original-language words in this verse. Select any word for its full lexicon entry — meaning, every occurrence in Scripture, and related words.
Cross-References
Source: Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (TSK, public domain)
| Genesis 22:2 | He said, “Now take your son, your only son, Isaac, whom you love, and go into the land of Moriah. Offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains which I will tell you of.” |
| Genesis 22:14 | Abraham called the name of that place “Yahweh Will Provide”. As it is said to this day, “On Yahweh’s mountain, it will be provided.” |
| II Samuel 24:18 | Gad came that day to David and said to him, “Go up, build an altar to Yahweh on the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite.” |
| II Samuel 24:25 | David built an altar to Yahweh there, and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings. So Yahweh was entreated for the land, and the plague was removed from Israel. |
| I Kings 6:1 | In the four hundred and eightieth year after the children of Israel had come out of the land of Egypt, in the fourth year of Solomon’s reign over Israel, in the month Ziv, which is the second month, he began to build Yahweh’s house. |
| I Kings 6:14 | So Solomon built the house and finished it. |
| I Chronicles 21:18 | Then Yahweh’s angel commanded Gad to tell David that David should go up and raise an altar to Yahweh on the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite. |
| I Chronicles 22:1 | Then David said, “This is the house of Yahweh God, and this is the altar of burnt offering for Israel.” |
Interlinear and lexical data from STEPBible (CC BY 4.0). Cross-reference data from OpenBible.info (CC BY 4.0). Commentaries are public domain.
For personal reflection
Read the devotional page — prayer, application, and "for families"
What the Commentators Say
8 public-domain commentaries, condensed into plain language.
Adam Clarke's Commentary Methodist/Wesleyan 1826
Clarke emphasizes that the temple was built on Mount Moriah, the same sacred site where Abraham nearly offered Isaac, where Jacob prayed, and where David built an altar after the angel appeared. This connection ties the temple directly to these pivotal moments of faith and divine encounter in Israel's history.
Barnes' Notes on the Bible Protestant 1832
Barnes notes that some interpreters read "which was shown to David" instead of "where the Lord appeared," linking the site to the angelic vision that directed David to build an altar. He adds that "the place that David had prepared" gives the correct sense, even if the original word order seems accidentally disrupted.
Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges Anglican 1880
The commentary identifies the temple site as Mount Moriah, tying it directly to Abraham’s offering in Genesis. It also notes a translation difference: the King James Version reads “David had prepared,” while the Revised Version follows the Hebrew more closely with “David had appointed,” and points the reader to the account of Ornan the Jebusite.
Geneva Bible Notes Reformed 1599
The Geneva notes highlight that Solomon built the temple on Mount Moriah, the very site God had revealed to David. This location was the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite, where David had already prepared the ground. The notes stress the continuity of God’s specific, revealed plan from father to son.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Commentary Protestant 1871
JFB stresses that the temple's grandeur lay in its internal splendor and spacious courts, not in massive stonework. The site on Mount Moriah is broadly agreed upon, but the exact location of the temple within the present enclosure remains uncertain. The rock El Sakhara is traditionally identified as Araunah's threshing floor.
Keil & Delitzsch OT Commentary Protestant 1876
Keil-Delitzsch insist that the Hebrew verb nirah, in the Niphal stem, means appeared not was pointed out, so the text records a divine theophany to David on Mount Moriah. They also propose an alternative punctuation of the following phrase to avoid a grammatical strain, connecting the idea of preparation more naturally.
Matthew Henry's Commentary Reformed/Presbyterian 1710
Henry notes that Solomon was spared the burden of choosing the temple site; God had already settled it. The location on Mount Moriah likely connects the temple to Abraham's offering of Isaac, tying the place of sacrifice to the place of worship.
Wesley's Explanatory Notes Methodist/Wesleyan 1754
Wesley records the ancient Jewish tradition that the temple in Jerusalem was built on the exact spot where Abraham offered Isaac. This connects the temple directly to that defining act of faith and obedience.