1 Kings 8

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King Solomon assembled all Israel to dedicate the newly built Temple, bringing the Ark of the Covenant into the Most Holy Place. Upon the Ark's placement, the glory of the LORD, manifested as a cloud, filled the house, preventing the priests from ministering. Solomon then offered a comprehensive prayer, dedicating the Temple and petitioning God to hear prayers made toward it in various circumstances, concluding with immense sacrifices and a fourteen-day feast.

The Ark Brought to the Temple 1–11

¶ Then Solomon assembled the elders of Israel, and all the heads of the tribes, the chief of the fathers of the children of Israel, unto king Solomon in Jerusalem, that they might bring up the ark of the covenant of the LORD out of the city of David, which is Zion.

And all the men of Israel assembled themselves unto king Solomon at the feast in the month Ethanim, which is the seventh month.

And all the elders of Israel came, and the priests took up the ark.

And they brought up the ark of the LORD, and the tabernacle of the congregation, and all the holy vessels that were in the tabernacle, even those did the priests and the Levites bring up.

And king Solomon, and all the congregation of Israel, that were assembled unto him, were with him before the ark, sacrificing sheep and oxen, that could not be told nor numbered for multitude.

And the priests brought in the ark of the covenant of the LORD unto his place, into the oracle of the house, to the most holy place, even under the wings of the cherubims.

For the cherubims spread forth their two wings over the place of the ark, and the cherubims covered the ark and the staves thereof above.

And they drew out the staves, that the ends of the staves were seen out in the holy place before the oracle, and they were not seen without: and there they are unto this day.

There was nothing in the ark save the two tables of stone, which Moses put there at Horeb, when the LORD made a covenant with the children of Israel, when they came out of the land of Egypt.

And it came to pass, when the priests were come out of the holy place, that the cloud filled the house of the LORD,

So that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud: for the glory of the LORD had filled the house of the LORD.

Solomon Confirms God’s Presence 12–21

¶ Then spake Solomon, The LORD said that he would dwell in the thick darkness.

I have surely built thee an house to dwell in, a settled place for thee to abide in for ever.

And the king turned his face about, and blessed all the congregation of Israel: (and all the congregation of Israel stood;)

And he said, Blessed be the LORD God of Israel, which spake with his mouth unto David my father, and hath with his hand fulfilled it, saying,

Since the day that I brought forth my people Israel out of Egypt, I chose no city out of all the tribes of Israel to build an house, that my name might be therein; but I chose David to be over my people Israel.

And it was in the heart of David my father to build an house for the name of the LORD God of Israel.

And the LORD said unto David my father, Whereas it was in thine heart to build an house unto my name, thou didst well that it was in thine heart.

Nevertheless thou shalt not build the house; but thy son that shall come forth out of thy loins, he shall build the house unto my name.

And the LORD hath performed his word that he spake, and I am risen up in the room of David my father, and sit on the throne of Israel, as the LORD promised, and have built an house for the name of the LORD God of Israel.

And I have set there a place for the ark, wherein is the covenant of the LORD, which he made with our fathers, when he brought them out of the land of Egypt.

Solomon Prays for the Temple 22–40

¶ And Solomon stood before the altar of the LORD in the presence of all the congregation of Israel, and spread forth his hands toward heaven:

And he said, LORD God of Israel, there is no God like thee, in heaven above, or on earth beneath, who keepest covenant and mercy with thy servants that walk before thee with all their heart:

Who hast kept with thy servant David my father that thou promisedst him: thou spakest also with thy mouth, and hast fulfilled it with thine hand, as it is this day.

Therefore now, LORD God of Israel, keep with thy servant David my father that thou promisedst him, saying, There shall not fail thee a man in my sight to sit on the throne of Israel; so that thy children take heed to their way, that they walk before me as thou hast walked before me.

And now, O God of Israel, let thy word, I pray thee, be verified, which thou spakest unto thy servant David my father.

But will God indeed dwell on the earth? behold, the heaven and heaven of heavens cannot contain thee; how much less this house that I have builded?

Yet have thou respect unto the prayer of thy servant, and to his supplication, O LORD my God, to hearken unto the cry and to the prayer, which thy servant prayeth before thee to day:

That thine eyes may be open toward this house night and day, even toward the place of which thou hast said, My name shall be there: that thou mayest hearken unto the prayer which thy servant shall make toward this place.

And hearken thou to the supplication of thy servant, and of thy people Israel, when they shall pray toward this place: and hear thou in heaven thy dwelling place: and when thou hearest, forgive.

If any man trespass against his neighbour, and an oath be laid upon him to cause him to swear, and the oath come before thine altar in this house:

Then hear thou in heaven, and do, and judge thy servants, condemning the wicked, to bring his way upon his head; and justifying the righteous, to give him according to his righteousness.

When thy people Israel be smitten down before the enemy, because they have sinned against thee, and shall turn again to thee, and confess thy name, and pray, and make supplication unto thee in this house:

Then hear thou in heaven, and forgive the sin of thy people Israel, and bring them again unto the land which thou gavest unto their fathers.

When heaven is shut up, and there is no rain, because they have sinned against thee; if they pray toward this place, and confess thy name, and turn from their sin, when thou afflictest them:

Then hear thou in heaven, and forgive the sin of thy servants, and of thy people Israel, that thou teach them the good way wherein they should walk, and give rain upon thy land, which thou hast given to thy people for an inheritance.

If there be in the land famine, if there be pestilence, blasting, mildew, locust, or if there be caterpiller; if their enemy besiege them in the land of their cities; whatsoever plague, whatsoever sickness there be;

What prayer and supplication soever be made by any man, or by all thy people Israel, which shall know every man the plague of his own heart, and spread forth his hands toward this house:

Then hear thou in heaven thy dwelling place, and forgive, and do, and give to every man according to his ways, whose heart thou knowest; (for thou, even thou only, knowest the hearts of all the children of men;)

That they may fear thee all the days that they live in the land which thou gavest unto our fathers.

Petition for Foreigners 41–45

Moreover concerning a stranger, that is not of thy people Israel, but cometh out of a far country for thy name's sake;

(For they shall hear of thy great name, and of thy strong hand, and of thy stretched out arm;) when he shall come and pray toward this house;

Hear thou in heaven thy dwelling place, and do according to all that the stranger calleth to thee for: that all people of the earth may know thy name, to fear thee, as do thy people Israel; and that they may know that this house, which I have builded, is called by thy name.

If thy people go out to battle against their enemy, whithersoever thou shalt send them, and shall pray unto the LORD toward the city which thou hast chosen, and toward the house that I have built for thy name:

Then hear thou in heaven their prayer and their supplication, and maintain their cause.

Petition for Exiles 46–53

If they sin against thee, (for there is no man that sinneth not,) and thou be angry with them, and deliver them to the enemy, so that they carry them away captives unto the land of the enemy, far or near;

Yet if they shall bethink themselves in the land whither they were carried captives, and repent, and make supplication unto thee in the land of them that carried them captives, saying, We have sinned, and have done perversely, we have committed wickedness;

And so return unto thee with all their heart, and with all their soul, in the land of their enemies, which led them away captive, and pray unto thee toward their land, which thou gavest unto their fathers, the city which thou hast chosen, and the house which I have built for thy name:

Then hear thou their prayer and their supplication in heaven thy dwelling place, and maintain their cause,

And forgive thy people that have sinned against thee, and all their transgressions wherein they have transgressed against thee, and give them compassion before them who carried them captive, that they may have compassion on them:

For they be thy people, and thine inheritance, which thou broughtest forth out of Egypt, from the midst of the furnace of iron:

That thine eyes may be open unto the supplication of thy servant, and unto the supplication of thy people Israel, to hearken unto them in all that they call for unto thee.

For thou didst separate them from among all the people of the earth, to be thine inheritance, as thou spakest by the hand of Moses thy servant, when thou broughtest our fathers out of Egypt, O Lord GOD.

The Concluding Blessing 54–61

¶ And it was so, that when Solomon had made an end of praying all this prayer and supplication unto the LORD, he arose from before the altar of the LORD, from kneeling on his knees with his hands spread up to heaven.

And he stood, and blessed all the congregation of Israel with a loud voice, saying,

Blessed be the LORD, that hath given rest unto his people Israel, according to all that he promised: there hath not failed one word of all his good promise, which he promised by the hand of Moses his servant.

The LORD our God be with us, as he was with our fathers: let him not leave us, nor forsake us:

That he may incline our hearts unto him, to walk in all his ways, and to keep his commandments, and his statutes, and his judgments, which he commanded our fathers.

And let these my words, wherewith I have made supplication before the LORD, be nigh unto the LORD our God day and night, that he maintain the cause of his servant, and the cause of his people Israel at all times, as the matter shall require:

That all the people of the earth may know that the LORD is God, and that there is none else.

Let your heart therefore be perfect with the LORD our God, to walk in his statutes, and to keep his commandments, as at this day.

The Sacrifices and Feast of Dedication 62–66

¶ And the king, and all Israel with him, offered sacrifice before the LORD.

And Solomon offered a sacrifice of peace offerings, which he offered unto the LORD, two and twenty thousand oxen, and an hundred and twenty thousand sheep. So the king and all the children of Israel dedicated the house of the LORD.

The same day did the king hallow the middle of the court that was before the house of the LORD: for there he offered burnt offerings, and meat offerings, and the fat of the peace offerings: because the brasen altar that was before the LORD was too little to receive the burnt offerings, and meat offerings, and the fat of the peace offerings.

And at that time Solomon held a feast, and all Israel with him, a great congregation, from the entering in of Hamath unto the river of Egypt, before the LORD our God, seven days and seven days, even fourteen days.

On the eighth day he sent the people away: and they blessed the king, and went unto their tents joyful and glad of heart for all the goodness that the LORD had done for David his servant, and for Israel his people.

Bible text: King James Version (1769 Blayney text) · Public domain

Study Notes for 1 Kings 8

Verse 1

the city of David, which is Zion — Zion is the stronghold David took, 'the same is the city of David' (2 Sam 5:7). The ark had been set there 'in the midst of the tabernacle that David had pitched for it' (2 Sam 6:17), and now goes up to the house Solomon built. The elders, the heads of the tribes and the chiefs of the fathers assembled to bring it up, and the priests took it up (v.3).

Verse 2

the month Ethanim — Ethanim, 'the permanent brooks', names the seventh month and is found nowhere else in Scripture. The feast is the feast of tabernacles, kept from 'the fifteenth day of this seventh month' for seven days (Lev 23:34).

Verse 4

the tabernacle of the congregation — Ohel mo'ed, the tent of meeting. In Solomon's early years the tabernacle that Moses made stood at Gibeon, 'the great high place' (3:4; 2 Chr 1:3). Its vessels are brought up with the ark by 'the priests and the Levites' to the house that replaces it.

Verse 6

the oracle of the house — Debir, the inner room prepared 'to set there the ark of the covenant of the LORD' (6:19), called here 'the most holy place'. The ark goes 'under the wings of the cherubims': two figures of olive tree, each ten cubits high, whose wings 'touched one another in the midst of the house' (6:23, 27).

Verse 9

nothing in the ark save the two tables of stone — Moses 'put the tables in the ark' (Deut 10:5), the covenant made at Horeb. The manna and Aaron's rod were laid up in front of the testimony (Ex 16:34; Num 17:10). Chronicles has the same statement (2 Chr 5:10).

Verse 10

the cloud filled the house of the LORD — The sign given at the tabernacle's completion: 'a cloud covered the tent of the congregation, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle' (Ex 40:34). The cloud (anan) comes as the priests leave the holy place. After Solomon's prayer it is seen again, with fire from heaven (2 Chr 7:1–2).

Verse 11

the glory of the LORD — Kavod, from a root meaning weight, used for splendor. The priests 'could not stand to minister', as Moses 'was not able to enter into the tent of the congregation' when the cloud rested on it (Ex 40:35). Ezekiel sees the glory fill the house again (Ezek 43:5).

Verse 12

the thick darkness — Arafel, the dark cloud of Sinai, where Moses 'drew near unto the thick darkness where God was' (Ex 20:21; Deut 4:11). Of the mercy seat the LORD had said, 'I will appear in the cloud upon the mercy seat' (Lev 16:2).

Verse 15

spake with his mouth… fulfilled it — Solomon blesses the LORD for the word given to David, 'He shall build an house for my name' (2 Sam 7:13). Mouth and hand (peh, yad) are paired again in v.24: 'thou spakest also with thy mouth, and hast fulfilled it with thine hand.' Zacharias opens his song with the same blessing (Luke 1:68).

Verse 16

I chose no city — Moses had spoken of 'the place which the LORD your God shall choose out of all your tribes to put his name there' (Deut 12:5). Here the choice is named together with David. Chronicles states it outright: 'I have chosen Jerusalem, that my name might be there' (2 Chr 6:6).

Verse 22

spread forth his hands toward heaven — He stood 'before the altar', on the brazen scaffold of five cubits that Chronicles describes, and 'kneeled down upon his knees' (2 Chr 6:13). v.54 closes the prayer with him rising 'from kneeling on his knees with his hands spread up to heaven'. Moses 'spread abroad his hands unto the LORD' (Ex 9:33).

Verse 23

no God like thee — The confession echoes Moses: 'the LORD he is God in heaven above, and upon the earth beneath: there is none else' (Deut 4:39). 'Covenant and mercy' are berith and chesed, as in Deut 7:9, 'keepeth covenant and mercy'; Daniel's prayer opens with the same pair (Dan 9:4).

Verse 25

There shall not fail thee a man — The promise Solomon cites is that of 2:4, given with its condition: 'If thy children take heed to their way, to walk before me in truth with all their heart and with all their soul.' Gabriel's word to Mary takes up the same throne: 'of his kingdom there shall be no end' (Luke 1:32–33).

Verse 27

the heaven and heaven of heavens cannot contain thee — Deut 10:14 already says 'the heaven and the heaven of heavens is the LORD'S thy God'. Isaiah asks, 'where is the house that ye build unto me?' (Isa 66:1), and Stephen cites it: 'Solomon built him an house', yet 'the most High dwelleth not in temples made with hands' (Acts 7:47–48).

Verse 30

pray toward this place — The house is where prayer is directed and heaven is where it is heard: 'hear thou in heaven thy dwelling place'. 'Supplication' (techinnah) comes from the verb for asking favor. Daniel prayed with his windows 'open in his chamber toward Jerusalem' (Dan 6:10). 'Hear thou in heaven' returns in vv.32, 34, 36, 39, 43 and 45.

Verse 31

an oath be laid upon him — The first case is a dispute that only an oath can settle, as in Ex 22:11: 'Then shall an oath of the LORD be between them both, that he hath not put his hand unto his neighbour's goods.' Here the oath is sworn 'before thine altar', and the prayer asks God to 'judge thy servants' (v.32).

Verse 33

smitten down before the enemy — The covenant had warned of this: 'The LORD shall cause thee to be smitten before thine enemies' (Deut 28:25). The way back is given in verbs: 'turn again' (shuv), 'confess' (yadah), 'pray' and 'make supplication', and v.34 asks that God 'bring them again unto the land'.

Verse 41

a stranger, that is not of thy people Israel — The nokri is a foreigner who comes 'for thy name's sake', and v.43 asks that 'all people of the earth may know thy name'. The queen of Sheba came hearing of Solomon's fame 'concerning the name of the LORD' (10:1). The LORD's house 'shall be called an house of prayer for all people' (Isa 56:7).

Verse 46

no man that sinneth not — Eccl 7:20 says the same: 'there is not a just man upon earth, that doeth good, and sinneth not.' The verse sets out captivity 'unto the land of the enemy, far or near', and vv.47–48 give the way back: to repent there and 'pray unto thee toward their land'. Compare 1 John 1:8.

Verse 51

the furnace of iron — Kur barzel, an iron furnace. Moses used the image of Egypt: 'brought you forth out of the iron furnace… to be unto him a people of inheritance' (Deut 4:20); Jeremiah recalls it (Jer 11:4). 'Inheritance' is nachalah, the word of Moses' prayer, 'thy people and thine inheritance' (Deut 9:26).

Verse 56

hath given rest unto his people — Menuchah, the rest in the land that Joshua's generation saw: 'the LORD gave them rest round about' (Josh 21:44). 'Not failed' is the verb naphal, to fall, as in Josh 21:45, 'There failed not ought of any good thing', and Josh 23:14.

Verse 58

incline our hearts — Natah, to stretch out or bend, the verb of Ps 119:36, 'Incline my heart unto thy testimonies'. It is used again of Solomon himself in 11:3–4, where 'his wives turned away his heart' after other gods.

Verse 60

that all the people of the earth may know — The aim is that the nations know what Israel was shown: 'the LORD he is God; there is none else beside him' (Deut 4:35). Hezekiah prays for the same end, 'that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that thou art the LORD God, even thou only' (2 Kings 19:19).

Verse 61

be perfect with the LORD — Shalem, whole or complete. Solomon's own heart is later judged by this word: 'his heart was not perfect with the LORD his God, as was the heart of David his father' (11:4). Of Asa it is said, 'Asa's heart was perfect with the LORD all his days' (15:14).

Verse 63

peace offerings — Shelamim. The fat was burned on the altar (Lev 3:3–5) and the flesh eaten by those who brought it, a thanksgiving offering on the same day (Lev 7:15), which suits a feast 'before the LORD' (v.65). 'Dedicated' is chanak, the word of a new house in Deut 20:5.

Verse 64

the middle of the court — The brasen altar made for the house was twenty cubits square and ten high (2 Chr 4:1), yet it was 'too little to receive' the burnt offerings, meat offerings and fat. So the king hallowed (qadash) the middle of the court before the house, as 2 Chr 7:7 also records.

Verse 65

seven days and seven days — Chronicles divides them: 'they kept the dedication of the altar seven days, and the feast seven days' (2 Chr 7:9), the second week being the feast of tabernacles (Lev 23:34). The assembly came 'from the entering in of Hamath unto the river of Egypt', the limits given in Num 34:5, 8.