170 



BERTH AS VISIT TO HER 



The expression applies equally to the outer di- 

 vision before the veil, which was called the 

 greater house ; and we are therefore to consider 

 that all the*buildings attached to the Temple are 

 included in this account of the employment of 

 the workmen. Now the buildings around the 

 whole area where the temple stood were in- 

 tended not only for the residence of the priests 

 and Levites, but were also adapted to contain 

 their portion, or tenth, of the produce of the land ; 

 and certainly, for these purposes, the out-build- 

 ings must have been very capacious. And 

 besides, we must recollect that great numbers of 

 men were necessarily occupied in quarrying stones 

 for buildings of such extent, as well as in pre- 

 paring the materials for fitting up the interior."" 



When my uncle had finished this satisfactory 

 explanation, Mary said that she had lately been 

 comparing the history in the books of Kings and 

 Chronicles, and that she had met with a little 

 difficulty. In 1st Kings, ix. 23, we are told that 

 the number of chief officers over Solomon's work 

 was five hundred and fifty. But in 2nd Chro- 

 nicles, viii. 10, they are said to be two hundred 

 and fifty. " Now, papa," said Mary, " I know 

 you can clear up this difficulty. 1 " 



" The accounts do seem contradictory," said 

 my uncle, " yet both are correct. You see in 

 1st Kings, v. 13, that Solomon levied out of all 

 Israel thirty thousand men. This army was 



