2 Chronicles 29:31
2Ch 29:31 The sacrifice of thank-offerings and praise-offerings and voluntary burnt-offering. - Hezekiah introduces this, the concluding act of this religious festival, with the words, “Now have ye filled your hand to the Lord,” i.e., you have again consecrated yourselves to the service of the Lord (cf. Exo 32:29 and the commentary on Lev 7:37.); “come near, and bring sacrifices and thank-offerings into the house of the Lord.” The words “Now have ye filled” are regarded by the commentators (Clericus, Ramb., Bertheau, etc.) as addressed to the priests; while the following וגו גּשׁוּ are supposed to be directed to the congregation, and Clericus and Ramb. consequently supply before גּשׁוּ, vos vero, Israelitae. The summons והביאוּ גּשׁוּ can certainly only be addressed to the congregation, as is shown by the words הקּהל ויּביאוּ, and the congregation brought, which correspond to the summons. But the supplying of vos vero before גּשׁוּ is quite arbitrary. If in גּשׁוּ other persons are addressed than those to whom the king formerly said, “Now have ye filled your hands,” the change in the persons addressed would have been intimated by mention of the person, or at least by ואתּם, “but ye.” As the two clauses at present stand, they must be spoken to the same persons, viz., the whole assembled congregation, including the priests and Levites. We must therefore suppose that the phrase לי יד מלּא, which in its narrower sense denotes only the consecration of the priests for service at the altar (see on Lev 7:37), is here used in a wider sense, and transferred to the whole congregation. They, by their participation in the consecratory offerings, by laying on of hands and worship during the sacrificial act, had consecrated themselves anew to the service of the Lord as their God, and had anew made a covenant with the Lord (2Ch 29:10); so that only the sacrificial meal was wanting to the completion of this celebration of the covenant, and for this the offering of sacrifices was requisite. The collocation ותודות זבהים is strange. זבהים are שׁלמים זבהים, sacrifices of peace-offering, also called briefly שׁלמים. Of these, in the law, three species - praise-offerings (תּודות), vowed offerings, and voluntary offerings - are distinguished (Lev 7:11, Lev 7:16). תּודות therefore denotes a species of the sacrifices or peace-offerings, the praise or thank-offerings in the stricter sense; and ותודות must be taken as explicative: sacrifices, and that (or namely) praise-offerings. לב וכל־נדיב, and every one who was heartily willing, (brought) burnt-offerings; i.e., all who felt inwardly impelled to do so, brought of their own accord burnt-offerings.
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