the tithe of dedicated things] a strange phrase without parallel. Read probably the dedicated things.
⁷In the third month they began to lay the foundation of the heaps, and finished them in the seventh month. ⁸And when Hezekiah and the princes came and saw the heaps, they blessed the Lord, and his people Israel. ⁹Then Hezekiah questioned with the priests and the Levites concerning the heaps.
7. the third month] The Feast of Harvest took place at the beginning of this month and seven weeks later the Feast of Ingathering followed.
¹⁰And Azariah the chief priest, of the house of Zadok, answered him and said, Since the people began to bring the oblations into the house of the Lord, we have eaten and had enough, and have left plenty: for the Lord hath blessed his people; and that which is left is this great store.
10. Azariah the chief priest] Not mentioned in connection with Hezekiah’s previous arrangements.
of the house of Zadok] Compare 1 Chronicles xxiv. 1–4. Tradition spoke of two main families of priests, (1) the descendants of Eleazar the third son of Aaron, whose chief representative in David’s day was Zadok (hence they are here called “the house of Zadok”), (2) the descendants of Ithamar the fourth son of Aaron, represented in David’s time by Ahimelech (Saul’s victim) or by Abiathar (David’s protégé). The Chronicler prefers to name the descendants of Ithamar after Ahimelech (1 Chronicles xxiv. 3, where see note).
the oblations] “The Hebrew word, tĕrūmāh, denotes properly what is ‘taken off’ from a larger mass and so separated from it for sacred purposes.” The word is sometimes rendered heave offering, but this is due to a mistaken impression that a rite of elevation was involved (see the full note in Driver, Exodus, p. 263).
hath blessed his people] Compare Malachi iii. 10.
and that which is left is this great store] The Hebrew requires some correction. Read as the LXX., καὶ κατελίπομεν ἐπὶ τὸ πλῆθος τοῦτο, “we leave (‘have left’) this great store and more.”
11–13. The offerings mentioned in verses 5–10 were placed in charge of Conaniah, Shimei and their subordinates for storage in the Temple treasuries.