What Does 2 Chronicles 1:5 Mean?
Moreover the bronze altar that Bezaleel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, had made, he set before the dwelling of the LORD, and Solomon and the assembly sought it.
Key words are shown with the Hebrew or Greek and what each word meant.
Selah Decoded Version The Selah Decoded Version renders what the Hebrew and Greek words meant to the people who first heard them.
King James wording
King James Version
Moreover the brasen altar, that Bezaleel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, had made, he put before the tabernacle of the LORD: and Solomon and the congregation sought unto it.THE KEY
The Hebrew “sought him/it” lets the altar stand at the meeting point of shared seeking and the LORD’s presence.
THE MEANING
The verse places you among a gathered people whose seeking converges at the altar before the LORD’s dwelling. The Hebrew object pronoun can mean “him” or “it,” holding the altar and the One whose dwelling it faces close together.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
Seeking the LORD is only private or inward: here, the seeking is shared by a whole congregation and centered at the altar.
THE ROOT
וַיִּדְרְשֻׁהוּ
vayyidreshehu
GROWS FROM
דָּרַשׁ
To seek, inquire, or resort to.
“sought unto it” in this verse is vayyidreshehu. The verb’s object suffix can mean “him” or “it,” allowing the search to be heard as seeking the LORD at the altar. Its root also appears in words for inquiry, showing that this seeking is an active turning toward what is sought.
ALSO GROWS
doresh: One who seeks or inquires.
דּוֹרֵשׁ
This branch gives the seeker an active role, matching the congregation’s movement toward what they seek.
midrash: Inquiry or exposition.
מִדְרָשׁ
This branch preserves the root’s sense of searching through inquiry, beyond a passing glance.
מִזְבֵּחַ הַנְּחֹשֶׁת
mizbeach hannechoshet
GROWS FROM
זָבַח
To slaughter or sacrifice.
“brazen altar” in this verse is mizbeach hannechoshet. The Hebrew word for altar, מִזְבֵּחַ (mizbeach), is formed from the root זָבַח (zavach), meaning to slaughter or sacrifice. The verse therefore places the congregation’s seeking at a site whose name carries the work of offering.
ALSO GROWS
zebach: Sacrifice or offering.
זֶבַח
This noun names what is brought to the altar where the congregation gathers to seek.
zoveach: One who sacrifices.
זֹבֵחַ
This branch keeps the act of offering present in the altar’s name.
THE PATTERN
Seeking the LORD is an active turning toward his presence, shared, whole-hearted, and sustained.
But if from there you seek the LORD your God, you will find him, if you seek him with all your heart and with all your living soul.Seek the LORD and his strength; search for his face continually.But apart from trust it is impossible to please him, for the one who draws near to God must trust that he is, and that he pays wages to those who seek him out.THE THREAD
Seek the LORD and his strength; search for his face always.The Hebrew verb translated “sought” here and “Seek” in this verse comes from דָּרַשׁ (darash, seek or inquire). Here the object can be heard as “him” or “it”; this line names the LORD directly and opens the altar as the place of seeking.
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