· Translation: KJV

2 Chronicles 2:2Solomon counted out seventy thousand men to bear burdens, and eighty thousand men who were stone cutters in the mountains, and three thousand and six hundred to oversee them.

The setting

Jerusalem, ~966 BC. Solomon surveys his father's plans and begins organizing the massive workforce needed for the temple. Modern Jerusalem, Israel.

The emotion here: methodical determination mixed with holy ambition

The original word

sāphar (סָפַר) — to count, number, declare; implies careful inventory and assignment

Why it matters

This workforce of 153,600 men was larger than many ancient armies

Read with care

What most readers miss in 2 Chronicles 2:2

These weren't slaves but paid workers - Israel had become prosperous enough to employ this massive workforce

Common misconceptionPeople assume this was slave labor like Egypt, but Solomon paid these workers. Israel had become wealthy enough to afford the world's largest construction project.

Bible Genome reading

2 Chronicles 2:2 — Bible Genome reading

SpeakerNarrator
EraUnited Kingdom
Primary emotiondeciding
Literary typenarrative

Emotional genome

Comfort power20%
Quotability20%
Memorability30%
Crisis relevance20%
Standalone30%
Themes:preparationorganization

In context

No verse stands alone.

Read the conversation around it.

Open 2 Chronicles 2

2 Chronicles 2:2 comes from the book of 2 Chronicles, written during the United Kingdom period. These words are attributed to Narrator. The dominant emotion in this verse is deciding, with a comfort power of 20% and a tone that is reflective. It belongs to the narrative genre of biblical literature. Key themes include preparation, organization. Notable phrases: seventy thousand men; stone cutters.

Your reflection

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