And David commanded to gather together the strangers that were in the land of Israel; and he set masons to hew wrought stones to build the house of God.
David ordered that all the foreigners living in Israel be brought together, and he assigned skilled stoneworkers to cut and shape stones for building God's temple.
David is organizing foreign workers and craftsmen to begin preparing materials for building God's temple.
📚 Historical Context
This took place during King David's later years as he prepared for the construction of the temple in Jerusalem, though God had told him his son Solomon would actually build it. The 'strangers' or foreigners were likely descendants of the original Canaanite peoples who remained in the land after Israel's conquest, as well as other non-Israelites who had settled there. David was mobilizing this workforce because temple construction required massive amounts of skilled labor and materials.
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