Annotations upon the remaining historicall part of the Old Testament. The second part. to wit, the books of Joshua, Judges, the two books of Samuel, Kings, and Chronicles, and the books of Ezra, Nehemiah, and Esther : wherein first, all such passages in the text are explained as were thought likely to be questioned by any reader of ordinary capacity : secondly, in many clauses those things are discovered which are needfull and usefull to be known ... and thirdly, many places that might at first seem to contradict one another are reconciled ... / by Arthur Jackson.

CHAP. VIII.

Vers. 2. THe cities which Huram had restored to Solomon, Solomon built them, &c.] Solomon had given them to Huram, and Huram not liking them had restored them to Solomon, and so Solomon built them. See 1. Kings 9.11, 12. In which chapter we have also most of the other passages of this chapter; and therefore I must referre the reader to the annotations there.

Vers. 11. For he said, My wife shall not dwell in the house of David, &c.] In the foregoing words it is said, that Solomon brought up the daughter of Pha∣raoh out of the city of David, unto the house that he had built for her: and here the reason given for this is, for he said, My wife shall not dwell in the house of David king of Israel; and why so? Because the places are holy whereunto the ark of the Lord hath come: Concerning which, a question of great difficulty may be moved, to wit, why the house of David should be counted so holy, that Solo∣mons wife might not be suffered to dwell there? and that even after the ark was al∣ready removed thence into the Temple: we reade not any where else that the pre∣sence of the ark made any place holy any longer then it continued there; (for was the house of Obed-edom holy after the ark was carried from thence?) yet here

thirteen years after the ark was carryed into the Temple, (for so long it was after the finishing of the Temple, ere Solomon had built his own house, and the queens house, 1. Kings 7.1.) Solomon refused to let his wife dwell in Davids house, be∣cause the ark had been there; yea, the words seem to imply, that all places were e∣steemed holy where the ark had been, the places are holy saith Solomon, whereunto the ark of the Lord hath come. But for resolving of this, two answers may be gi∣ven: First, that those words, for he said, My wife shall not dwell in the house of David king of Israel, because the places are holy, &c. contain the reason why Solomon resolved to build an house for his wife (at which time the ark was yet in the house of David) not why he brought up his wife into the house he had built for her, when indeed the ark had been long before removed into the Temple, and so must be referred to the words immediately foregoing (the house that he had built for her) Solomon brought up the daughter of Pharaoh out of the city of Da∣vid, unto the house that he had huilt for her: and then to shew, what moved him to build an house for her, this clause is added, for he said, My wife shall not dwell in the house of David king of Israel, because the places are holy whereunto the ark of the Lord hath come. Or secondly, that Solomon resolved that because the places were holy, whereunto the ark was brought, therefore it was not fit that his wife who was born of heathen parents, and had not her self perhaps at that time, em∣braced the faith of Israel, should dwell in the house which had been holy in this re∣gard: though Davids house ceased to be holy after the ark was removed thence, in regard of the Symbolicall signe of Gods presence, yet out of his superabundant re∣spect unto that signe of Gods presence, he thought it not fit to make that a dwelling place for her and her followers, that were aliens and strangers to the house of Israel, which had been the holy dwelling place of the most high God: and this I conceive to be the best and most satisfying answer.