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Selected Verse: 1 Kings 8:1 - Strong Concordance

Verse	Translation	Text
1Ki 8:1	Strong Concordance	Then Solomon [08010] assembled [06950] the elders [02205] of Israel [03478], and all the heads [07218] of the tribes [04294], the chief [05387] of the fathers [01] of the children [01121] of Israel [03478], unto king [04428] Solomon [08010] in Jerusalem [03389], that they might bring up [05927] the ark [0727] of the covenant [01285] of the LORD [03068] out of the city [05892] of David [01732], which is Zion [06726].
	King James	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.

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Notes on the Bible, by Albert Barnes, [1834]
There seems to be a contrast here between the more popular proceedings of David Sa2 6:1, and the statelier system of his son, who merely summons the chief men as representatives of the nation. The rest of the people "assembled themselves" Kg1 8:2, and were mere spectators of the solemnity.

Notes on the Bible, by Albert Barnes, [1834]

There seems to be a contrast here between the more popular proceedings of David Sa2 6:1, and the statelier system of his son, who merely summons the chief men as representatives of the nation. The rest of the people "assembled themselves" Kg1 8:2, and were mere spectators of the solemnity.

The Scofield Bible Commentary, by Cyrus Ingerson Scofield, [1917]
Then Solomon The consecration of the temple illustrates all consecration. The temple, like the believer (Th1 5:23) was threefold: the court, that which was outward, visible, answered to the body; the holy place, where everything appealed to the sacred emotions, answered to the soul; the holy of holies, the place of communion with God (Exo 25:22) answered to the spirit of man. The ark was the most all-inclusive type of Christ of any one of the vessels of the tabernacle. (See Scofield) - (Exo 25:9). When, therefore, the priests brought the ark into the court, the holy place, and the holy of holies, they were, in type, enthroning Christ over the body, with its powers and appetites; the soul, seat of the emotions and desires; and the mind, seat of the capacity to know and commune with God. (See Scofield) - (Gen 1:26) note 3. In Christian experience this answers to; (Rom 12:1-3); (Eph 5:18).

Commentary on the Old Testament, by Carl Friedrich Keil and Franz Delitzsch [1857-78]
This solemn transaction consisted of three parts, and the chapter arranges itself in three sections accordingly: viz., (a) the conveyance of the ark and the tabernacle, together with its vessels, into the temple, with the words spoken by Solomon on the occasion (vv. 1-21); (b) Solomon's dedicatory prayer (vv. 22-53); (c) the blessing of the congregation, and the offering of sacrifice and observance of a feast (Kg1 8:54-66). - The parallel account to this in 2 Chron 5:2-7:10, in addition to certain minor alterations of words and constructions, introduced for the most part merely for the sake of elucidation, contains here and there, and more especially towards the end, a few deviations of greater extent, partly omissions and partly additions. But in other respects it agrees almost word for word with our account. With regard to the time of the dedication, it is merely stated in Kg1 8:2 that the heads of the nation assembled at Jerusalem to this feast in the seventh month. The year in which this took place is not given. But as the building of the temple was finished, according to Kg1 6:38, in the eighth month of the eleventh year of Solomon's reign, the dedication which followed in the seventh month cannot have taken place in the same year as the completion of the building. Ewald's opinion, that Solomon dedicated the building a month before it was finished, is not only extremely improbable in itself, but is directly at variance with Kg1 7:51. If we add to this, that according to Kg1 9:1-10 it was not till after the lapse of twenty years, during which he had built the two houses, the temple, and his palace, that the Lord appeared to Solomon at the dedication of the temple and promised to answer his prayer, we must decide in favour of the view held by Thenius, that the dedication of the temple did not take place till twenty years after the building of it was begun, or thirteen years after it was finished, and when Solomon had also completed the building of the palace, which occupied thirteen years, as the lxx have indicated at the commencement of Kg1 8:1 by the interpolation of the words, καὶ ἐγένετο ὡς συνετέλεσε Σαλωμὼν τοῦ οἰκοδομῆσαι τὸν οἶκον Κυρίου καὶ τὸν οἶκον αὐτοῦ μετὰ εἴκοσι ἔτη. (Note: From the whole character of the Alexandrian version, there can be no doubt that these words have been transferred by the lxx from Kg1 9:1, and have not dropped out of the Hebrew text, as Thenius supposes.) 1 Kings 8:1-21 The First Act of the solemnities consisted (1) in the removal of the ark of the covenant into the Most Holy Place of the temple (Kg1 8:1-11); and (2) in the words with which Solomon celebrated the entrance of the Lord into the new temple (Kg1 8:12-21). Kg1 8:1-11 Removal of the ark of the covenant into the temple. - This solemn transaction was founded entirely upon the solemnities with which the ark was conveyed in the time of David from the house of Obed-edom into the holy tent upon Zion (Sa2 6:12.; Ch1 15:2.). Solomon assembled the elders of Israel, and all the heads of the tribes, the princes of the fathers' houses (האבות נשׂיאי, contracted from האבות בּית נשׂיאי) of the Israelites, as representatives of the whole congregation, to himself at Jerusalem, to bring the ark of the covenant out of the city of David, i.e., from Mount Zion (see the Comm. on Sa2 6:16-17), into the temple which he had built upon Moriah. (On the use of the contracted form of the imperfect יקהל after אז, see Ewald, 233, b.) Kg1 8:2 Accordingly "all the men of Israel (i.e., the heads of the tribes and families mentioned in Kg1 8:1) assembled together to the king in the month Ethanim, i.e., the seventh month, at the feast." Gesenius explains the name האתנים (in 55 codd. האיתנים) as meaning "month of the flowing brooks," after איתן in Pro 13:15; Bttcher, on the other hand, supposes it to denote the equinox. But apart from other grounds, the plural by no means favours this. Nor does the seventh month answer to the period between the middle of our September and the middle of October, as is supposed by Thenius, who founds upon this supposition the explanation already rejected by Bttcher, viz., "month of gifts;" but it corresponds to the period between the new moon of October and the new moon of November, during which the rainy season commences in Palestine (Rob. Pal. ii. p. 96ff.), so that this month may very well have received its name from the constant flowing of the brooks. The explanation, "that is the seventh month," is added, however (here as in Kg1 6:1, Kg1 6:38), not because the arrangement of the months was a different one before the captivity (Thenius), but because different names came into use for the months during the captivity. בּחג is construed with the article: "because the feast intended was one that was well known, and had already been kept for a long time (viz., the feast of tabernacles)." The article overthrows the explanation given by Thenius, who supposes that the reference is to the festivities connected with the dedication of the temple itself. Kg1 8:3-4 After the arrival of all the elders (i.e., of the representatives of the nation, more particularly described in Kg1 8:1), the priests carried the ark and brought it up (sc., into the temple), with the tabernacle and all the holy vessels in it. The expression אתם ויּעלוּ, which follows, introduces as a supplementary notice, according to the general diffuseness of the early Hebrew style of narrative, the more precise statement that the priests and Levites brought up these sacred vessels. מועד אהל is not the tent erected for the ark of the covenant upon Zion, which can be proved to have been never so designated, and which is expressly distinguished from the former in Ch2 1:4 as compared with Kg1 8:3, but is the Mosaic tabernacle at Gibeon in front of which Solomon had offered sacrifice (Kg1 3:4). The tabernacle with the vessels in it, to which, however, the ark of the covenant, that had long been separated from it, did not belong, was probably preserved as a sacred relic in the rooms above the Most Holy Place. The ark of the covenant was carried by priests on all solemn occasions, according to the spirit of the law, which enjoined, in Num 3:31 and Num 4:5., that the ark of the covenant and the rest of the sacred vessels should be carried by the Levites, after the priests had carefully wrapped them up; and the Levites were prohibited from directly touching them, on pain of death. When, therefore, the ark of the covenant was carried in solemn procession, as in the case before us, probably uncovered, this could only be done by the priests, more especially as the Levites were not allowed to enter the Most Holy Place. Consequently, by the statement in Kg1 8:3, that the priests and Levites carried them (אתם), viz., the objects mentioned before, we are to understand that the ark of the covenant was carried into the temple by the priests, and the tabernacle with its vessels by the Levites. (Note: Instead of כּהנים in Kg1 8:3, we have הלּויּם in Ch2 5:4; and instead of והלּויּם הכּהנים in Kg1 8:4, we have הלּויּם הכּהנים, "the Levitical priests." These variations are to be attributed to inexactness in expression. For it is obvious that Thenius is wrong in his notion that the chronicler mentioned the Levites instead of the priests, from the simple fact that he states in Kg1 8:7 that "the priests carried the ark," etc., in exact agreement with our account.) Kg1 8:5 "And king Solomon and the whole congregation, that had gathered round him, were with him before the ark sacrificing sheep and oxen in innumerable multitude." This took place while the ark of the covenant was carried up, no doubt when it was brought into the court of the temple, and was set down there for a time either within or in front of the hall. Then was this magnificent sacrifice "offered" there "in front of the ark" (הארון לפני). Kg1 8:6-7 After this sacrificing was ended, the priests carried the ark to its place, into the back-room of the house, into the Most Holy under the wings of the cherubim (already described in Kg1 6:23.). The latter statement is explained in Kg1 8:7. "For the cherubim were spreading out wings towards the place of the ark, and so covered (lit., threw a shade) over the ark and over its poles from above." If the outspread wings of the great cherubic figures threw a shade not only over the ark of the covenant, but also over its poles, the ark was probably so placed that the poles ran from north to south, and not from east to west, as they are sketched in my Archologie. Kg1 8:8 "And the poles were long, and there were seen their heads (i.e., they were so long that their heads were seen) from the Holy Place before the hinder room; but on the outside (outside the Holy Place, say in the porch) they were not seen." יאכוּ cannot be rendered: they had lengthened the poles, from which Kimchi and others have inferred that they had made new and longer carrying-poles, since the form of the tense in this connection cannot be the pluperfect, and in that case, moreover the object would be indicated by את as in Kg1 3:14; but האריך is used intransitively, "to be long," lit., to show length, as in Exo 20:12; Deu 5:16, etc. The remark to the effect that the poles were visible, indicates that the precept of the law in Exo 25:15, according to which the poles were to be left in the ark, was observed in Solomon's temple also. Any one could convince himself of this, for the poles were there "to this day." The author of our books has retained this chronological allusion as he found it in his original sources; for when he composed his work, the temple was no longer standing. It is impossible, however, to ascertain from this statement how the heads of the poles could be seen in the Holy Place, - whether from the fact that they reached the curtain and formed elevations therein, if the poles ran from front to back; or whether, if, as is more probable, they ran from south to north, the front heads were to be seen, simply when the curtain was drawn back. (Note: The proof which Thenius has endeavoured to give by means of a drawing of the correctness of the latter view, is founded upon untenable assumptions (see Bttcher, Aehrenl. ii. p. 69). It by no means follows from the expression דביר על־פּני that the heads of the poles were visible as far off as the door of the Holy Place, but simply that they could be seen in the Holy Place, though not outside.) Kg1 8:9 "There was nothing in the ark but the two tables of stone, which Moses had put there at Horeb, when Jehovah concluded the covenant with Israel." The intention of this remark is also simply to show that the law, which enjoined that the ark should merely preserve the stone tables of the covenant (Exo 25:16; Exo 40:20), had not been departed from in the lapse of time. אשׁר before כּרת is not a pronoun, but a conjunction: when, from the time that, as in Deu 11:6, etc. כּרת without בּרית, signifying the conclusion of a covenant, as in Sa1 20:16; Sa1 22:8, etc. Horeb, the general name for the place where the law was given, instead of the more definite name Sinai, as in Deuteronomy (see the Comm. on Exo 19:1-2). (Note: The statement in Heb 9:4, to the effect that the pot of manna and Aaron's rod that budded were also to be found in the ark, which is at variance with this verse, and which the earlier commentators endeavoured to bring into harmony with it by forced methods of different kinds, simply rests upon an erroneous interpretation of העדוּת לפני in Exo 16:33-34, and Num 17:10, which had become traditional among the Jews; since this merely affirms that the objects mentioned had been deposited in front of the testimony, i.e., in front of the ark which contained the testimony, and not within it, as the Jews supposed. - Still less are De Wette and others warranted in deducing from this verse an argument against the existence of the Mosaic book of the law in the time of Solomon, inasmuch as, according to the precept in Deu 31:26, the book of the law was not to be kept in the ark, but by the side of it, or near it.) Kg1 8:10-11 At the dedication of the tabernacle the glory of Jehovah in the cloud filled the sanctuary, so that Moses could not enter (Exo 40:34-35); and so was it now. When the priests came out of the sanctuary, after putting the ark of the covenant in its place, the cloud filled the house of Jehovah, so that the priests could not stand to minister. The signification of this fact was the same on both occasions. The cloud, as the visible symbol of the gracious presence of God, filled the temple, as a sign that Jehovah the covenant-God had entered into it, and had chosen it as the scene of His gracious manifestation in Israel. By the inability of the priests to stand, we are not to understand that the cloud drove them away; for it was not till the priests had come out that it filled the temple. It simply means that they could not remain in the Holy Place to perform service, say to offer an incense-offering upon the altar to consecrate it, just as sacrifices were offered upon the altar of burnt-offering after the dedicatory prayer (Kg1 8:62, Kg1 8:63). (Note: Bertheau's opinion (on Ch2 5:14), that the priests could not remain in the hall and in front of it on account of the cloud, namely, "the cloud of smoke, which, ascending from the sacrifices burned upon the altar of burnt-offering, concealed the glory of the Lord," is decidedly erroneous. For the cloud which hindered the priest from performing the service was, according to the distinct words of the text, the cloud which filled the house; and the explanatory clause, "for the glory of the Lord filled the house of Jehovah," indicates in the most unmistakeable terms that it was the vehicle of the glory of God, and therefore was no a cloud of smoke formed by the burning sacrifices, but the cloud in which God manifested His invisible being to His people, - the very same cloud in which Jehovah was to appear above the Capporeth, when the high priest entered the Most Holy Place on the day of atonement, so that he was commanded not to enter it at all times, and, when he entered, to cover the Capporeth with the cloud of the burning incense (Lev 16:2, Lev 16:13). The glory of the Lord, which is like a consuming fire (Exo 24:17; Deu 4:24; Deu 9:3), before which unholy man cannot stand, manifested itself in the cloud. This marvellous manifestation of the glory of God took place only at the dedication; after that the cloud was only visible in the Most Holy Place on the great day of atonement, when the high priest entered it. - The Chronicles contain a long account at this place of the playing and singing of the Levites at these solemnities (vid., Ch2 5:12-14). Kg1 8:12-15 Solomon extols this marvellous proof of the favour of the Lord. - Kg1 8:12. Then spake Solomon, "Jehovah hath spoken to dwell in the darkness." "Solomon saw that the temple was filled with a cloud, and remembered that God had been pleased to appear in a cloud in the tent of Moses also. Hence he assuredly believed that God was in this cloud also, and that, as formerly He had filled the tabernacle, so He would now fill the temple and dwell therein" (Seb. Schmidt). וגו יהוה אמר, which Thenius still renders incorrectly, "the Lord intends to dwell in the darkness," refers, as Rashi, C. a Lap., and others have seen, to the utterances of God in the Pentateuch concerning the manifestation of His gracious presence among His people, not merely to Lev 16:2 (I will appear in the cloud), but also to Exo 19:9, where the Lord said to Moses, "I come to thee הענן בּעב," and still more to Exo 20:21 and Deu 4:11; Deu 5:19, according to which God came down upon Sinai בּערפל. Solomon took the word ערפל from these passages. That he meant by this the black, dark cloud which filled the temple, is perfectly obvious from the combination והערפל הענן in Deu 5:19 and Deu 4:11. (Note: Thenius, however, has built up all kinds of untenable conjectures as to alterations of the text, upon the erroneous assumption that ענן means the light and radiant cloud, and cannot be synonymous with ערפל. Bttcher adopts the same opinion, without taking any notice of the striking remarks of Bertheau on Ch2 5:14.) Solomon saw this word of Jehovah realized in the filling of the temple with the cloud, and learned therefrom that the Lord would dwell in this temple. Hence, being firmly convinced of the presence of Jehovah in the cloud which filled the sanctuary, he adds in Kg1 8:13 : "I have built Thee a house to dwell in, a place for Thy seat for ever." We are not to understand עולמים as signifying that Solomon believed that the temple built by him would stand for ever; but it is to be explained partly from the contrast to the previous abode of God in the tabernacle, which from the very nature of the case could only be a temporary one, inasmuch as a tent, such as the tabernacle was, is not only a moveable and provisional dwelling, but also a very perishable one, and partly from the promise given to David in Sa2 7:14-16, that the Lord would establish the throne of his kingdom for his seed for ever. This promise involved the eternal duration of the gracious connection between God and Israel, which was embodied in the dwelling of God in the temple. This connection, from its very nature, was an eternal one; even if the earthly form, from which Solomon at that moment abstracted himself, was temporal and perishable. - Solomon had spoken these words with his face turned to the Most Holy Place. He then (Kg1 8:14) turned his face to the congregation, which was standing in the court, and blessed it. The word "blessed" (יברך) denotes the wish for a blessing with which the king greeted the assembled congregation, and introduced the praise of God which follows. - In Kg1 8:15-21 he praises the Lord for having now fulfilled with His hand what He spake with His mouth to his father David (2 Sam 7). Kg1 8:16 The promise of God, to choose Jerusalem as the place for the temple and David as prince, is taken freely from Sa2 7:7-8. In Ch2 6:6, before "I chose David," we find "and I chose Jerusalem, that my name might be there;" so that the affirmation answers more precisely to the preceding negation, whereas in the account before us this middle term is omitted. Kg1 8:17-19 David's intention to build the temple, and the answer of God that his son was to execute this work, are so far copied from Sa2 7:2, Sa2 7:12-13, that God approves the intention of David as such. הטיבת, "Thou didst well that it was in thy mind." Kg1 8:20-21 "And Jehovah has set up His word." וגו ויּקם supplies the explanation of בידו מלּא (hath fulfilled with his hand) in Kg1 8:15. God had caused Solomon to take possession of the throne of David; and Solomon had built the temple and prepared a place there for the ark of the covenant. The ark is thereby declared to be the kernel and star of the temple, because it was the throne of the glory of God.

Commentary on the Old Testament, by Carl Friedrich Keil and Franz Delitzsch [1857-78]

This solemn transaction consisted of three parts, and the chapter arranges itself in three sections accordingly: viz., (a) the conveyance of the ark and the tabernacle, together with its vessels, into the temple, with the words spoken by Solomon on the occasion (vv. 1-21); (b) Solomon's dedicatory prayer (vv. 22-53); (c) the blessing of the congregation, and the offering of sacrifice and observance of a feast (Kg1 8:54-66). - The parallel account to this in 2 Chron 5:2-7:10, in addition to certain minor alterations of words and constructions, introduced for the most part merely for the sake of elucidation, contains here and there, and more especially towards the end, a few deviations of greater extent, partly omissions and partly additions. But in other respects it agrees almost word for word with our account.

With regard to the time of the dedication, it is merely stated in Kg1 8:2 that the heads of the nation assembled at Jerusalem to this feast in the seventh month. The year in which this took place is not given. But as the building of the temple was finished, according to Kg1 6:38, in the eighth month of the eleventh year of Solomon's reign, the dedication which followed in the seventh month cannot have taken place in the same year as the completion of the building. Ewald's opinion, that Solomon dedicated the building a month before it was finished, is not only extremely improbable in itself, but is directly at variance with Kg1 7:51. If we add to this, that according to Kg1 9:1-10 it was not till after the lapse of twenty years, during which he had built the two houses, the temple, and his palace, that the Lord appeared to Solomon at the dedication of the temple and promised to answer his prayer, we must decide in favour of the view held by Thenius, that the dedication of the temple did not take place till twenty years after the building of it was begun, or thirteen years after it was finished, and when Solomon had also completed the building of the palace, which occupied thirteen years, as the lxx have indicated at the commencement of Kg1 8:1 by the interpolation of the words, καὶ ἐγένετο ὡς συνετέλεσε Σαλωμὼν τοῦ οἰκοδομῆσαι τὸν οἶκον Κυρίου καὶ τὸν οἶκον αὐτοῦ μετὰ εἴκοσι ἔτη.

(Note: From the whole character of the Alexandrian version, there can be no doubt that these words have been transferred by the lxx from Kg1 9:1, and have not dropped out of the Hebrew text, as Thenius supposes.)

1 Kings 8:1-21

The First Act of the solemnities consisted (1) in the removal of the ark of the covenant into the Most Holy Place of the temple (Kg1 8:1-11); and (2) in the words with which Solomon celebrated the entrance of the Lord into the new temple (Kg1 8:12-21).

Kg1 8:1-11

Removal of the ark of the covenant into the temple. - This solemn transaction was founded entirely upon the solemnities with which the ark was conveyed in the time of David from the house of Obed-edom into the holy tent upon Zion (Sa2 6:12.; Ch1 15:2.). Solomon assembled the elders of Israel, and all the heads of the tribes, the princes of the fathers' houses (האבות נשׂיאי, contracted from האבות בּית נשׂיאי) of the Israelites, as representatives of the whole congregation, to himself at Jerusalem, to bring the ark of the covenant out of the city of David, i.e., from Mount Zion (see the Comm. on Sa2 6:16-17), into the temple which he had built upon Moriah. (On the use of the contracted form of the imperfect יקהל after אז, see Ewald, 233, b.)

Kg1 8:2

Accordingly "all the men of Israel (i.e., the heads of the tribes and families mentioned in Kg1 8:1) assembled together to the king in the month Ethanim, i.e., the seventh month, at the feast." Gesenius explains the name האתנים (in 55 codd. האיתנים) as meaning "month of the flowing brooks," after איתן in Pro 13:15; Bttcher, on the other hand, supposes it to denote the equinox. But apart from other grounds, the plural by no means favours this. Nor does the seventh month answer to the period between the middle of our September and the middle of October, as is supposed by Thenius, who founds upon this supposition the explanation already rejected by Bttcher, viz., "month of gifts;" but it corresponds to the period between the new moon of October and the new moon of November, during which the rainy season commences in Palestine (Rob. Pal. ii. p. 96ff.), so that this month may very well have received its name from the constant flowing of the brooks. The explanation, "that is the seventh month," is added, however (here as in Kg1 6:1, Kg1 6:38), not because the arrangement of the months was a different one before the captivity (Thenius), but because different names came into use for the months during the captivity. בּחג is construed with the article: "because the feast intended was one that was well known, and had already been kept for a long time (viz., the feast of tabernacles)." The article overthrows the explanation given by Thenius, who supposes that the reference is to the festivities connected with the dedication of the temple itself.

Kg1 8:3-4

After the arrival of all the elders (i.e., of the representatives of the nation, more particularly described in Kg1 8:1), the priests carried the ark and brought it up (sc., into the temple), with the tabernacle and all the holy vessels in it. The expression אתם ויּעלוּ, which follows, introduces as a supplementary notice, according to the general diffuseness of the early Hebrew style of narrative, the more precise statement that the priests and Levites brought up these sacred vessels. מועד אהל is not the tent erected for the ark of the covenant upon Zion, which can be proved to have been never so designated, and which is expressly distinguished from the former in Ch2 1:4 as compared with Kg1 8:3, but is the Mosaic tabernacle at Gibeon in front of which Solomon had offered sacrifice (Kg1 3:4). The tabernacle with the vessels in it, to which, however, the ark of the covenant, that had long been separated from it, did not belong, was probably preserved as a sacred relic in the rooms above the Most Holy Place. The ark of the covenant was carried by priests on all solemn occasions, according to the spirit of the law, which enjoined, in Num 3:31 and Num 4:5., that the ark of the covenant and the rest of the sacred vessels should be carried by the Levites, after the priests had carefully wrapped them up; and the Levites were prohibited from directly touching them, on pain of death. When, therefore, the ark of the covenant was carried in solemn procession, as in the case before us, probably uncovered, this could only be done by the priests, more especially as the Levites were not allowed to enter the Most Holy Place. Consequently, by the statement in Kg1 8:3, that the priests and Levites carried them (אתם), viz., the objects mentioned before, we are to understand that the ark of the covenant was carried into the temple by the priests, and the tabernacle with its vessels by the Levites.

(Note: Instead of כּהנים in Kg1 8:3, we have הלּויּם in Ch2 5:4; and instead of והלּויּם הכּהנים in Kg1 8:4, we have הלּויּם הכּהנים, "the Levitical priests." These variations are to be attributed to inexactness in expression. For it is obvious that Thenius is wrong in his notion that the chronicler mentioned the Levites instead of the priests, from the simple fact that he states in Kg1 8:7 that "the priests carried the ark," etc., in exact agreement with our account.)

Kg1 8:5

"And king Solomon and the whole congregation, that had gathered round him, were with him before the ark sacrificing sheep and oxen in innumerable multitude." This took place while the ark of the covenant was carried up, no doubt when it was brought into the court of the temple, and was set down there for a time either within or in front of the hall. Then was this magnificent sacrifice "offered" there "in front of the ark" (הארון לפני).

Kg1 8:6-7

After this sacrificing was ended, the priests carried the ark to its place, into the back-room of the house, into the Most Holy under the wings of the cherubim (already described in Kg1 6:23.). The latter statement is explained in Kg1 8:7. "For the cherubim were spreading out wings towards the place of the ark, and so covered (lit., threw a shade) over the ark and over its poles from above." If the outspread wings of the great cherubic figures threw a shade not only over the ark of the covenant, but also over its poles, the ark was probably so placed that the poles ran from north to south, and not from east to west, as they are sketched in my Archologie.

Kg1 8:8

"And the poles were long, and there were seen their heads (i.e., they were so long that their heads were seen) from the Holy Place before the hinder room; but on the outside (outside the Holy Place, say in the porch) they were not seen." יאכוּ cannot be rendered: they had lengthened the poles, from which Kimchi and others have inferred that they had made new and longer carrying-poles, since the form of the tense in this connection cannot be the pluperfect, and in that case, moreover the object would be indicated by את as in Kg1 3:14; but האריך is used intransitively, "to be long," lit., to show length, as in Exo 20:12; Deu 5:16, etc. The remark to the effect that the poles were visible, indicates that the precept of the law in Exo 25:15, according to which the poles were to be left in the ark, was observed in Solomon's temple also. Any one could convince himself of this, for the poles were there "to this day." The author of our books has retained this chronological allusion as he found it in his original sources; for when he composed his work, the temple was no longer standing. It is impossible, however, to ascertain from this statement how the heads of the poles could be seen in the Holy Place, - whether from the fact that they reached the curtain and formed elevations therein, if the poles ran from front to back; or whether, if, as is more probable, they ran from south to north, the front heads were to be seen, simply when the curtain was drawn back.

(Note: The proof which Thenius has endeavoured to give by means of a drawing of the correctness of the latter view, is founded upon untenable assumptions (see Bttcher, Aehrenl. ii. p. 69). It by no means follows from the expression דביר על־פּני that the heads of the poles were visible as far off as the door of the Holy Place, but simply that they could be seen in the Holy Place, though not outside.)

Kg1 8:9

"There was nothing in the ark but the two tables of stone, which Moses had put there at Horeb, when Jehovah concluded the covenant with Israel." The intention of this remark is also simply to show that the law, which enjoined that the ark should merely preserve the stone tables of the covenant (Exo 25:16; Exo 40:20), had not been departed from in the lapse of time. אשׁר before כּרת is not a pronoun, but a conjunction: when, from the time that, as in Deu 11:6, etc. כּרת without בּרית, signifying the conclusion of a covenant, as in Sa1 20:16; Sa1 22:8, etc. Horeb, the general name for the place where the law was given, instead of the more definite name Sinai, as in Deuteronomy (see the Comm. on Exo 19:1-2).

(Note: The statement in Heb 9:4, to the effect that the pot of manna and Aaron's rod that budded were also to be found in the ark, which is at variance with this verse, and which the earlier commentators endeavoured to bring into harmony with it by forced methods of different kinds, simply rests upon an erroneous interpretation of העדוּת לפני in Exo 16:33-34, and Num 17:10, which had become traditional among the Jews; since this merely affirms that the objects mentioned had been deposited in front of the testimony, i.e., in front of the ark which contained the testimony, and not within it, as the Jews supposed. - Still less are De Wette and others warranted in deducing from this verse an argument against the existence of the Mosaic book of the law in the time of Solomon, inasmuch as, according to the precept in Deu 31:26, the book of the law was not to be kept in the ark, but by the side of it, or near it.)

Kg1 8:10-11

At the dedication of the tabernacle the glory of Jehovah in the cloud filled the sanctuary, so that Moses could not enter (Exo 40:34-35); and so was it now. When the priests came out of the sanctuary, after putting the ark of the covenant in its place, the cloud filled the house of Jehovah, so that the priests could not stand to minister. The signification of this fact was the same on both occasions. The cloud, as the visible symbol of the gracious presence of God, filled the temple, as a sign that Jehovah the covenant-God had entered into it, and had chosen it as the scene of His gracious manifestation in Israel. By the inability of the priests to stand, we are not to understand that the cloud drove them away; for it was not till the priests had come out that it filled the temple. It simply means that they could not remain in the Holy Place to perform service, say to offer an incense-offering upon the altar to consecrate it, just as sacrifices were offered upon the altar of burnt-offering after the dedicatory prayer (Kg1 8:62, Kg1 8:63).

(Note: Bertheau's opinion (on Ch2 5:14), that the priests could not remain in the hall and in front of it on account of the cloud, namely, "the cloud of smoke, which, ascending from the sacrifices burned upon the altar of burnt-offering, concealed the glory of the Lord," is decidedly erroneous. For the cloud which hindered the priest from performing the service was, according to the distinct words of the text, the cloud which filled the house; and the explanatory clause, "for the glory of the Lord filled the house of Jehovah," indicates in the most unmistakeable terms that it was the vehicle of the glory of God, and therefore was no a cloud of smoke formed by the burning sacrifices, but the cloud in which God manifested His invisible being to His people, - the very same cloud in which Jehovah was to appear above the Capporeth, when the high priest entered the Most Holy Place on the day of atonement, so that he was commanded not to enter it at all times, and, when he entered, to cover the Capporeth with the cloud of the burning incense (Lev 16:2, Lev 16:13).

The glory of the Lord, which is like a consuming fire (Exo 24:17; Deu 4:24; Deu 9:3), before which unholy man cannot stand, manifested itself in the cloud. This marvellous manifestation of the glory of God took place only at the dedication; after that the cloud was only visible in the Most Holy Place on the great day of atonement, when the high priest entered it. - The Chronicles contain a long account at this place of the playing and singing of the Levites at these solemnities (vid., Ch2 5:12-14).

Kg1 8:12-15

Solomon extols this marvellous proof of the favour of the Lord. - Kg1 8:12. Then spake Solomon, "Jehovah hath spoken to dwell in the darkness." "Solomon saw that the temple was filled with a cloud, and remembered that God had been pleased to appear in a cloud in the tent of Moses also. Hence he assuredly believed that God was in this cloud also, and that, as formerly He had filled the tabernacle, so He would now fill the temple and dwell therein" (Seb. Schmidt). וגו יהוה אמר, which Thenius still renders incorrectly, "the Lord intends to dwell in the darkness," refers, as Rashi, C. a Lap., and others have seen, to the utterances of God in the Pentateuch concerning the manifestation of His gracious presence among His people, not merely to Lev 16:2 (I will appear in the cloud), but also to Exo 19:9, where the Lord said to Moses, "I come to thee הענן בּעב," and still more to Exo 20:21 and Deu 4:11; Deu 5:19, according to which God came down upon Sinai בּערפל. Solomon took the word ערפל from these passages. That he meant by this the black, dark cloud which filled the temple, is perfectly obvious from the combination והערפל הענן in Deu 5:19 and Deu 4:11.

(Note: Thenius, however, has built up all kinds of untenable conjectures as to alterations of the text, upon the erroneous assumption that ענן means the light and radiant cloud, and cannot be synonymous with ערפל. Bttcher adopts the same opinion, without taking any notice of the striking remarks of Bertheau on Ch2 5:14.)

Solomon saw this word of Jehovah realized in the filling of the temple with the cloud, and learned therefrom that the Lord would dwell in this temple. Hence, being firmly convinced of the presence of Jehovah in the cloud which filled the sanctuary, he adds in Kg1 8:13 : "I have built Thee a house to dwell in, a place for Thy seat for ever." We are not to understand עולמים as signifying that Solomon believed that the temple built by him would stand for ever; but it is to be explained partly from the contrast to the previous abode of God in the tabernacle, which from the very nature of the case could only be a temporary one, inasmuch as a tent, such as the tabernacle was, is not only a moveable and provisional dwelling, but also a very perishable one, and partly from the promise given to David in Sa2 7:14-16, that the Lord would establish the throne of his kingdom for his seed for ever. This promise involved the eternal duration of the gracious connection between God and Israel, which was embodied in the dwelling of God in the temple. This connection, from its very nature, was an eternal one; even if the earthly form, from which Solomon at that moment abstracted himself, was temporal and perishable. - Solomon had spoken these words with his face turned to the Most Holy Place. He then (Kg1 8:14) turned his face to the congregation, which was standing in the court, and blessed it. The word "blessed" (יברך) denotes the wish for a blessing with which the king greeted the assembled congregation, and introduced the praise of God which follows. - In Kg1 8:15-21 he praises the Lord for having now fulfilled with His hand what He spake with His mouth to his father David (2 Sam 7).

Kg1 8:16

The promise of God, to choose Jerusalem as the place for the temple and David as prince, is taken freely from Sa2 7:7-8. In Ch2 6:6, before "I chose David," we find "and I chose Jerusalem, that my name might be there;" so that the affirmation answers more precisely to the preceding negation, whereas in the account before us this middle term is omitted.

Kg1 8:17-19

David's intention to build the temple, and the answer of God that his son was to execute this work, are so far copied from Sa2 7:2, Sa2 7:12-13, that God approves the intention of David as such. הטיבת, "Thou didst well that it was in thy mind."

Kg1 8:20-21

"And Jehovah has set up His word." וגו ויּקם supplies the explanation of בידו מלּא (hath fulfilled with his hand) in Kg1 8:15. God had caused Solomon to take possession of the throne of David; and Solomon had built the temple and prepared a place there for the ark of the covenant. The ark is thereby declared to be the kernel and star of the temple, because it was the throne of the glory of God.

Explanatory Notes on the Whole Bible, by John Wesley [1754-65]
Elders - The senators, and judges, and rulers. Heads - For each tribe had a peculiar governor. Chief - The chief persons of every great family in each tribe. Jerusalem - Where the temple was built. Bring the ark - To the top of Moriah, upon which it was built; whither they were now to carry the ark in solemn pomp. City of David - Where David had placed the ark, which is called Zion, because it was built upon that hill.

Adam Clarke Commentary on the Whole Bible - Published 1810-1826
Then Solomon assembled - It has already been observed that Solomon deferred the dedication of the temple to the following year after it was finished, because that year, according to Archbishop Usher, was a jubilee. "This," he observes, "was the ninth jubilee, opening the fourth millenary of the world, or A.M. 3001, wherein Solomon with great magnificence celebrated the dedication of the temple seven days, and the feast of tabernacles other seven days; and the celebration of the eighth day of tabernacles being finished, upon the twenty-third day of the seventh month the people were dismissed every man to his home. The eighth day of the seventh month, viz., the thirtieth of our October, being Friday, was the first of the seven days of dedication; on the tenth day, Saturday, November 1, was the fast of expiation or atonement held; whereon, according to the Levitical law, the jubilee was proclaimed by sound of trumpet. The fifteenth day, Friday, November 6, was the feast of tabernacles; the twenty-second, November 13, being also Friday, was the feast of tabernacles, which was always very solemnly kept, Ch2 7:9; Lev 23:36; Joh 7:37; and the day following, November 14, being our Saturday, when the Sabbath was ended, the people returned home. "In the thirteenth year after the temple was built, Solomon made an end also of building his own house, having spent full twenty years upon both of them; seven and a half upon the temple, and thirteen or twelve and a half upon his own." - Usher's Annals, sub. A.M. 3001.

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² And all the men [0376] of Israel [03478] assembled [06950] themselves unto king [04428] Solomon [08010] at the feast [02282] in the month [03391] Ethanim [0388], which is the seventh [07637] month [02320].

¹ Again, David [01732] gathered together [0622] [03254] all the chosen [0977] men of Israel [03478], thirty [07970] thousand [0505].

¹⁸ And [2532] be [3182] not [3361] drunk [3182] with wine [3631], wherein [1722] [3739] is [2076] excess [810]; but [235] be filled [4137] with [1722] the Spirit [4151];

¹ I beseech [3870] you [5209] therefore [3767], brethren [80], by [1223] the mercies [3628] of God [2316], that ye present [3936] your [5216] bodies [4983] a living [2198] sacrifice [2378], holy [40], acceptable [2101] unto God [2316], which is your [5216] reasonable [3050] service [2999].
² And [2532] be [4964] not [3361] conformed [4964] to this [5129] world [165]: but [235] be ye transformed [3339] by the renewing [342] of your [5216] mind [3563], that [1519] ye [5209] may prove [1381] what [5101] is that good [18], and [2532] acceptable [2101], and [2532] perfect [5046], will [2307] of God [2316].
³ For [1063] I say [3004], through [1223] the grace [5485] given [1325] unto me [3427], to every man [3956] that is [5607] among [1722] you [5213], not [3361] to think of himself more [3844] highly [5252] than [3739] he ought [1163] to think [5426]; but [235] to think [5426] soberly [1519] [4993], according as [5613] God [2316] hath dealt [3307] to every man [1538] the measure [3358] of faith [4102].

²⁶ And God [0430] said [0559], Let us make [06213] man [0120] in our image [06754], after our likeness [01823]: and let them have dominion [07287] over the fish [01710] of the sea [03220], and over the fowl [05775] of the air [08064], and over the cattle [0929], and over all the earth [0776], and over every creeping thing [07431] that creepeth [07430] upon the earth [0776].

⁹ According to all that I shew [07200] thee, after the pattern [08403] of the tabernacle [04908], and the pattern [08403] of all the instruments [03627] thereof, even so shall ye make [06213] it.

²² And there I will meet [03259] with thee, and I will commune [01696] with thee from above the mercy seat [03727], from between [0996] the two [08147] cherubims [03742] which are upon [05921] the ark [0727] of the testimony [05715], of all things which I will give thee in commandment [06680] unto the children [01121] of Israel [03478].

²³ And [1161] the very [846] God [2316] of peace [1515] sanctify [37] you [5209] wholly [3651]; and [2532] I pray God your [5216] whole [3648] spirit [4151] and [2532] soul [5590] and [2532] body [4983] be preserved [5083] blameless [274] unto [1722] the coming [3952] of our [2257] Lord [2962] Jesus [2424] Christ [5547].

²⁰ And the LORD [03068] hath performed [06965] his word [01697] that he spake [01696], and I am risen up [06965] in the room of David [01732] my father [01], and sit [03427] on the throne [03678] of Israel [03478], as the LORD [03068] promised [01696], and have built [01129] an house [01004] for the name [08034] of the LORD [03068] God [0430] of Israel [03478].
²¹ And I have set [07760] there a place [04725] for the ark [0727], wherein is the covenant [01285] of the LORD [03068], which he made [03772] with our fathers [01], when he brought them out [03318] of the land [0776] of Egypt [04714].

¹² And when thy days [03117] be fulfilled [04390], and thou shalt sleep [07901] with thy fathers [01], I will set up [06965] thy seed [02233] after [0310] thee, which shall proceed [03318] out of thy bowels [04578], and I will establish [03559] his kingdom [04467].
¹³ He shall build [01129] an house [01004] for my name [08034], and I will stablish [03559] the throne [03678] of his kingdom [04467] for [05704] ever [05769].

² That the king [04428] said [0559] unto Nathan [05416] the prophet [05030], See [07200] now, I dwell [03427] in an house [01004] of cedar [0730], but the ark [0727] of God [0430] dwelleth [03427] within [08432] curtains [03407].

¹⁷ And it was in the heart [03824] of David [01732] my father [01] to build [01129] an house [01004] for the name [08034] of the LORD [03068] God [0430] of Israel [03478].
¹⁸ And the LORD [03068] said [0559] unto David [01732] my father [01], Whereas [03282] [0834] it was in thine heart [03824] to build [01129] an house [01004] unto my name [08034], thou didst well [02895] that it was in thine heart [03824].
¹⁹ Nevertheless [07535] thou shalt not build [01129] the house [01004]; but thy son [01121] that shall come forth out [03318] of thy loins [02504], he shall build [01129] the house [01004] unto my name [08034].

⁶ But I have chosen [0977] Jerusalem [03389], that my name [08034] might be there; and have chosen [0977] David [01732] to be over my people [05971] Israel [03478].

⁷ In all the places wherein I have walked [01980] with all the children [01121] of Israel [03478] spake [01696] I a word [01697] with any [0259] of the tribes [07626] of Israel [03478], whom I commanded [06680] to feed [07462] my people [05971] Israel [03478], saying [0559], Why build [01129] ye not me an house [01004] of cedar [0730]?
⁸ Now therefore so shalt thou say [0559] unto my servant [05650] David [01732], Thus saith [0559] the LORD [03068] of hosts [06635], I took [03947] thee from the sheepcote [05116], from following [0310] the sheep [06629], to be ruler [05057] over my people [05971], over Israel [03478]:

¹⁶ Since the day [03117] that I brought forth [03318] my people [05971] Israel [03478] out of Egypt [04714], I chose [0977] no city [05892] out of all the tribes [07626] of Israel [03478] to build [01129] an house [01004], that my name [08034] might be therein; but I chose [0977] David [01732] to be over my people [05971] Israel [03478].

¹⁵ And he said [0559], Blessed [01288] be the LORD [03068] God [0430] of Israel [03478], which spake [01696] with his mouth [06310] unto David [01732] my father [01], and hath with his hand [03027] fulfilled [04390] it, saying [0559],
¹⁶ Since the day [03117] that I brought forth [03318] my people [05971] Israel [03478] out of Egypt [04714], I chose [0977] no city [05892] out of all the tribes [07626] of Israel [03478] to build [01129] an house [01004], that my name [08034] might be therein; but I chose [0977] David [01732] to be over my people [05971] Israel [03478].
¹⁷ And it was in the heart [03824] of David [01732] my father [01] to build [01129] an house [01004] for the name [08034] of the LORD [03068] God [0430] of Israel [03478].
¹⁸ And the LORD [03068] said [0559] unto David [01732] my father [01], Whereas [03282] [0834] it was in thine heart [03824] to build [01129] an house [01004] unto my name [08034], thou didst well [02895] that it was in thine heart [03824].
¹⁹ Nevertheless [07535] thou shalt not build [01129] the house [01004]; but thy son [01121] that shall come forth out [03318] of thy loins [02504], he shall build [01129] the house [01004] unto my name [08034].
²⁰ And the LORD [03068] hath performed [06965] his word [01697] that he spake [01696], and I am risen up [06965] in the room of David [01732] my father [01], and sit [03427] on the throne [03678] of Israel [03478], as the LORD [03068] promised [01696], and have built [01129] an house [01004] for the name [08034] of the LORD [03068] God [0430] of Israel [03478].
²¹ And I have set [07760] there a place [04725] for the ark [0727], wherein is the covenant [01285] of the LORD [03068], which he made [03772] with our fathers [01], when he brought them out [03318] of the land [0776] of Egypt [04714].

¹⁴ And the king [04428] turned [05437] his face [06440] about [05437], and blessed [01288] all the congregation [06951] of Israel [03478]: (and all the congregation [06951] of Israel [03478] stood [05975]

¹⁴ I will be his father [01], and he shall be my son [01121]. If he commit iniquity [05753], I will chasten [03198] him with the rod [07626] of men [0582], and with the stripes [05061] of the children [01121] of men [0120]:
¹⁵ But my mercy [02617] shall not depart away [05493] from him, as I took [05493] it from Saul [07586], whom I put away [05493] before [06440] thee.
¹⁶ And thine house [01004] and thy kingdom [04467] shall be established [0539] for [05704] ever [05769] before [06440] thee: thy throne [03678] shall be established [03559] for [05704] ever [05769].

¹³ I have surely [01129] built [01129] thee an house [01004] to dwell in [02073], a settled place [04349] for thee to abide in [03427] for ever [05769].

¹⁴ So that the priests [03548] could [03201] not stand [05975] to minister [08334] by reason [06440] of the cloud [06051]: for the glory [03519] of the LORD [03068] had filled [04390] the house [01004] of God [0430].

¹¹ And ye came near [07126] and stood [05975] under the mountain [02022]; and the mountain [02022] burned [01197] with fire [0784] unto the midst [03820] of heaven [08064], with darkness [06205], clouds [06051], and thick darkness [02822].

¹⁹ Neither shalt thou steal [01589].

²¹ And the people [05971] stood [05975] afar off [07350], and Moses [04872] drew near [05066] unto the thick darkness [06205] where God [0430] was.

⁹ And the LORD [03068] said [0559] unto Moses [04872], Lo, I come [0935] unto thee in a thick [05645] cloud [06051], that the people [05971] may hear [08085] when I speak [01696] with thee, and believe [0539] thee for ever [05769]. And Moses [04872] told [05046] the words [01697] of the people [05971] unto the LORD [03068].

² And the LORD [03068] said [0559] unto Moses [04872], Speak [01696] unto Aaron [0175] thy brother [0251], that he come [0935] not at all times [06256] into the holy [06944] place within [01004] the vail [06532] before [06440] the mercy seat [03727], which is upon the ark [0727]; that he die [04191] not: for I will appear [07200] in the cloud [06051] upon the mercy [03727] seat.

¹² Then spake [0559] Solomon [08010], The LORD [03068] said [0559] that he would dwell [07931] in the thick darkness [06205].

¹² Also the Levites [03881] which were the singers [07891], all of them of Asaph [0623], of Heman [01968], of Jeduthun [03038], with their sons [01121] and their brethren [0251], being arrayed [03847] in white linen [0948], having cymbals [04700] and psalteries [05035] and harps [03658], stood [05975] at the east end [04217] of the altar [04196], and with them an hundred [03967] and twenty [06242] priests [03548] sounding [02690] with trumpets [02689]:)
¹³ It came even to pass, as the trumpeters [02690] [02690] and singers [07891] were as one [0259], to make one [0259] sound [06963] to be heard [08085] in praising [01984] and thanking [03034] the LORD [03068]; and when they lifted up [07311] their voice [06963] with the trumpets [02689] and cymbals [04700] and instruments [03627] of musick [07892], and praised [01984] the LORD [03068], saying, For he is good [02896]; for his mercy [02617] endureth for ever [05769]: that then the house [01004] was filled [04390] with a cloud [06051], even the house [01004] of the LORD [03068];
¹⁴ So that the priests [03548] could [03201] not stand [05975] to minister [08334] by reason [06440] of the cloud [06051]: for the glory [03519] of the LORD [03068] had filled [04390] the house [01004] of God [0430].

³ Understand [03045] therefore this day [03117], that the LORD [03068] thy God [0430] is he which goeth over [05674] before [06440] thee; as a consuming [0398] fire [0784] he shall destroy [08045] them, and he shall bring them down [03665] before thy face [06440]: so shalt thou drive them out [03423], and destroy [06] them quickly [04118], as the LORD [03068] hath said [01696] unto thee.

²⁴ For the LORD [03068] thy God [0430] is a consuming [0398] fire [0784], even a jealous [07067] God [0410].

¹⁷ And the sight [04758] of the glory [03519] of the LORD [03068] was like devouring [0398] fire [0784] on the top [07218] of the mount [02022] in the eyes [05869] of the children [01121] of Israel [03478].

¹³ And he shall put [05414] the incense [07004] upon the fire [0784] before [06440] the LORD [03068], that the cloud [06051] of the incense [07004] may cover [03680] the mercy seat [03727] that is upon the testimony [05715], that he die [04191] not:

⁶³ And Solomon [08010] offered [02076] a sacrifice [02077] of peace offerings [08002], which he offered [02076] unto the LORD [03068], two [08147] and twenty [06242] thousand [0505] oxen [01241], and an hundred [03967] and twenty [06242] thousand [0505] sheep [06629]. So the king [04428] and all the children [01121] of Israel [03478] dedicated [02596] the house [01004] of the LORD [03068].

⁶² And the king [04428], and all Israel [03478] with him, offered [02076] sacrifice [02077] before [06440] the LORD [03068].

³⁴ Then a cloud [06051] covered [03680] the tent [0168] of the congregation [04150], and the glory [03519] of the LORD [03068] filled [04390] the tabernacle [04908].
³⁵ And Moses [04872] was not able [03201] to enter [0935] into the tent [0168] of the congregation [04150], because the cloud [06051] abode [07931] thereon, and the glory [03519] of the LORD [03068] filled [04390] the tabernacle [04908].

¹⁰ And it came to pass, when the priests [03548] were come out [03318] of the holy [06944] place, that the cloud [06051] filled [04390] the house [01004] of the LORD [03068],
¹¹ So that the priests [03548] could [03201] not stand [05975] to minister [08334] because [06440] of the cloud [06051]: for the glory [03519] of the LORD [03068] had filled [04390] the house [01004] of the LORD [03068].

²⁶ Take [03947] this book [05612] of the law [08451], and put [07760] it in the side [06654] of the ark [0727] of the covenant [01285] of the LORD [03068] your God [0430], that it may be there for a witness [05707] against thee.

¹⁰ And the LORD [03068] said [0559] unto Moses [04872], Bring [07725] Aaron's [0175] rod [04294] again [07725] before [06440] the testimony [05715], to be kept [04931] for a token [0226] against the rebels [04805] [01121]; and thou shalt quite take away [03615] their murmurings [08519] from me, that they die [04191] not.

³³ And Moses [04872] said [0559] unto Aaron [0175], Take [03947] a [0259] pot [06803], and put [05414] an omer [06016] full [04393] of manna [04478] therein, and lay it up [03240] before [06440] the LORD [03068], to be kept [04931] for your generations [01755].
³⁴ As the LORD [03068] commanded [06680] Moses [04872], so Aaron [0175] laid it up [03240] before [06440] the Testimony [05715], to be kept [04931].

⁴ Which had [2192] the golden [5552] censer [2369], and [2532] the ark [2787] of the covenant [1242] overlaid [4028] round about [3840] with gold [5553], wherein [1722] [3739] was the golden [5552] pot [4713] that had [2192] manna [3131], and [2532] Aaron's [2] rod [4464] that budded [985], and [2532] the tables [4109] of the covenant [1242];

¹ In the third [07992] month [02320], when the children [01121] of Israel [03478] were gone forth [03318] out of the land [0776] of Egypt [04714], the same day [03117] came [0935] they into the wilderness [04057] of Sinai [05514].
² For they were departed [05265] from Rephidim [07508], and were come [0935] to the desert [04057] of Sinai [05514], and had pitched [02583] in the wilderness [04057]; and there Israel [03478] camped [02583] before the mount [02022].

⁸ That all of you have conspired [07194] against me, and there is none that sheweth [01540] [0241] me that my son [01121] hath made a league [03772] with the son [01121] of Jesse [03448], and there is none of you that is sorry [02470] for me, or sheweth [01540] [0241] unto me that my son [01121] hath stirred up [06965] my servant [05650] against me, to lie in wait [0693], as at this day [03117]?

¹⁶ So Jonathan [03083] made [03772] a covenant with the house [01004] of David [01732], saying, Let the LORD [03068] even require [01245] it at the hand [03027] of David's [01732] enemies [0341].

⁶ And what he did [06213] unto Dathan [01885] and Abiram [048], the sons [01121] of Eliab [0446], the son [01121] of Reuben [07205]: how the earth [0776] opened [06475] her mouth [06310], and swallowed them up [01104], and their households [01004], and their tents [0168], and all the substance [03351] that was in their possession [07272], in the midst [07130] of all Israel [03478]:

²⁰ And he took [03947] and put [05414] the testimony [05715] into the ark [0727], and set [07760] the staves [0905] on the ark [0727], and put [05414] the mercy seat [03727] above [04605] upon the ark [0727]:

¹⁶ And thou shalt put [05414] into the ark [0727] the testimony [05715] which I shall give [05414] thee.

⁹ There was nothing in the ark [0727] save [07535] the two [08147] tables [03871] of stone [068], which Moses [04872] put [03240] there at Horeb [02722], when the LORD [03068] made [03772] a covenant with the children [01121] of Israel [03478], when they came out [03318] of the land [0776] of Egypt [04714].

¹⁵ The staves [0905] shall be [01961] in the rings [02885] of the ark [0727]: they shall not be taken [05493] from it.

¹⁶ Honour [03513] thy father [01] and thy mother [0517], as the LORD [03068] thy God [0430] hath commanded [06680] thee; that thy days [03117] may be prolonged [0748], and that it may go well [03190] with thee, in the land [0127] which the LORD [03068] thy God [0430] giveth [05414] thee.

¹² Honour [03513] thy father [01] and thy mother [0517]: that thy days [03117] may be long [0748] upon the land [0127] which the LORD [03068] thy God [0430] giveth [05414] thee.

¹⁴ And if thou wilt walk [03212] in my ways [01870], to keep [08104] my statutes [02706] and my commandments [04687], as thy father [01] David [01732] did walk [01980], then I will lengthen [0748] thy days [03117].

⁸ And they drew out [0748] the staves [0905], that the ends [07218] of the staves [0905] were seen out [07200] in the holy [06944] place before [06440] the oracle [01687], and they were not seen [07200] without [02351]: and there they are unto this day [03117].

⁷ For the cherubims [03742] spread forth [06566] their two wings [03671] over the place [04725] of the ark [0727], and the cherubims [03742] covered [05526] the ark [0727] and the staves [0905] thereof above [04605].

²³ And within the oracle [01687] he made [06213] two [08147] cherubims [03742] of olive [08081] tree [06086], each ten [06235] cubits [0520] high [06967].

⁶ And the priests [03548] brought in [0935] the ark [0727] of the covenant [01285] of the LORD [03068] unto his place [04725], into the oracle [01687] of the house [01004], to the most [06944] holy [06944] place, even under the wings [03671] of the cherubims [03742].
⁷ For the cherubims [03742] spread forth [06566] their two wings [03671] over the place [04725] of the ark [0727], and the cherubims [03742] covered [05526] the ark [0727] and the staves [0905] thereof above [04605].

⁵ And king [04428] Solomon [08010], and all the congregation [05712] of Israel [03478], that were assembled [03259] unto him, were with him before [06440] the ark [0727], sacrificing [02076] sheep [06629] and oxen [01241], that could not be told [05608] nor numbered [04487] for multitude [07230].

⁴ And they brought up [05927] the ark [0727] of the LORD [03068], and the tabernacle [0168] of the congregation [04150], and all the holy [06944] vessels [03627] that were in the tabernacle [0168], even those did the priests [03548] and the Levites [03881] bring up [05927].

⁴ And all the elders [02205] of Israel [03478] came [0935]; and the Levites [03881] took up [05375] the ark [0727].

³ And all the elders [02205] of Israel [03478] came [0935], and the priests [03548] took up [05375] the ark [0727].

⁵ And when the camp [04264] setteth forward [05265], Aaron [0175] shall come [0935], and his sons [01121], and they shall take down [03381] the covering [04539] vail [06532], and cover [03680] the ark [0727] of testimony [05715] with it:

³¹ And their charge [04931] shall be the ark [0727], and the table [07979], and the candlestick [04501], and the altars [04196], and the vessels [03627] of the sanctuary [06944] wherewith they minister [08334], and the hanging [04539], and all the service [05656] thereof.

⁴ And the king [04428] went [03212] to Gibeon [01391] to sacrifice [02076] there; for that [01931] was the great [01419] high place [01116]: a thousand [0505] burnt offerings [05930] did Solomon [08010] offer [05927] upon that altar [04196].

³ And all the elders [02205] of Israel [03478] came [0935], and the priests [03548] took up [05375] the ark [0727].

⁴ But [061] the ark [0727] of God [0430] had David [01732] brought up [05927] from Kirjathjearim [07157] to the place which David [01732] had prepared [03559] for it: for he had pitched [05186] a tent [0168] for it at Jerusalem [03389].

³ And all the elders [02205] of Israel [03478] came [0935], and the priests [03548] took up [05375] the ark [0727].
⁴ And they brought up [05927] the ark [0727] of the LORD [03068], and the tabernacle [0168] of the congregation [04150], and all the holy [06944] vessels [03627] that were in the tabernacle [0168], even those did the priests [03548] and the Levites [03881] bring up [05927].

³⁸ And in the eleventh [0259] [06240] year [08141], in the month [03391] Bul [0945], which is the eighth [08066] month [02320], was the house [01004] finished [03615] throughout all the parts [01697] thereof, and according to all the fashion [04941] of it. So was he seven [07651] years [08141] in building [01129] it.

¹ And it came to pass in the four [0702] hundred [03967] [08141] and eightieth [08084] year [08141] after the children [01121] of Israel [03478] were come out [03318] of the land [0776] of Egypt [04714], in the fourth [07243] year [08141] of Solomon's [08010] reign [04427] over Israel [03478], in the month [02320] Zif [02099], which is the second [08145] month [02320], that he began to build [01129] the house [01004] of the LORD [03068].

¹⁵ Good [02896] understanding [07922] giveth [05414] favour [02580]: but the way [01870] of transgressors [0898] is hard [0386].

¹⁶ And as the ark [0727] of the LORD [03068] came [0935] into the city [05892] of David [01732], Michal [04324] Saul's [07586] daughter [01323] looked [08259] through a window [02474], and saw [07200] king [04428] David [01732] leaping [06339] and dancing [03769] before [06440] the LORD [03068]; and she despised [0959] him in her heart [03820].
¹⁷ And they brought [0935] in the ark [0727] of the LORD [03068], and set [03322] it in his place [04725], in the midst [08432] of the tabernacle [0168] that David [01732] had pitched [05186] for it: and David [01732] offered [05927] burnt offerings [05930] and peace offerings [08002] before [06440] the LORD [03068].

² Then David [01732] said [0559], None ought to carry [05375] the ark [0727] of God [0430] but the Levites [03881]: for them hath the LORD [03068] chosen [0977] to carry [05375] the ark [0727] of God [0430], and to minister [08334] unto him for [05704] ever [05769].

¹² And it was told [05046] king [04428] David [01732], saying [0559], The LORD [03068] hath blessed [01288] the house [01004] of Obededom [05654], and all that pertaineth unto him, because of the ark [0727] of God [0430]. So David [01732] went [03212] and brought up [05927] the ark [0727] of God [0430] from the house [01004] of Obededom [05654] into the city [05892] of David [01732] with gladness [08057].

¹ Then Solomon [08010] assembled [06950] the elders [02205] of Israel [03478], and all the heads [07218] of the tribes [04294], the chief [05387] of the fathers [01] of the children [01121] of Israel [03478], unto king [04428] Solomon [08010] in Jerusalem [03389], that they might bring up [05927] the ark [0727] of the covenant [01285] of the LORD [03068] out of the city [05892] of David [01732], which is Zion [06726].
² And all the men [0376] of Israel [03478] assembled [06950] themselves unto king [04428] Solomon [08010] at the feast [02282] in the month [03391] Ethanim [0388], which is the seventh [07637] month [02320].
³ And all the elders [02205] of Israel [03478] came [0935], and the priests [03548] took up [05375] the ark [0727].
⁴ And they brought up [05927] the ark [0727] of the LORD [03068], and the tabernacle [0168] of the congregation [04150], and all the holy [06944] vessels [03627] that were in the tabernacle [0168], even those did the priests [03548] and the Levites [03881] bring up [05927].
⁵ And king [04428] Solomon [08010], and all the congregation [05712] of Israel [03478], that were assembled [03259] unto him, were with him before [06440] the ark [0727], sacrificing [02076] sheep [06629] and oxen [01241], that could not be told [05608] nor numbered [04487] for multitude [07230].
⁶ And the priests [03548] brought in [0935] the ark [0727] of the covenant [01285] of the LORD [03068] unto his place [04725], into the oracle [01687] of the house [01004], to the most [06944] holy [06944] place, even under the wings [03671] of the cherubims [03742].
⁷ For the cherubims [03742] spread forth [06566] their two wings [03671] over the place [04725] of the ark [0727], and the cherubims [03742] covered [05526] the ark [0727] and the staves [0905] thereof above [04605].
⁸ And they drew out [0748] the staves [0905], that the ends [07218] of the staves [0905] were seen out [07200] in the holy [06944] place before [06440] the oracle [01687], and they were not seen [07200] without [02351]: and there they are unto this day [03117].
⁹ There was nothing in the ark [0727] save [07535] the two [08147] tables [03871] of stone [068], which Moses [04872] put [03240] there at Horeb [02722], when the LORD [03068] made [03772] a covenant with the children [01121] of Israel [03478], when they came out [03318] of the land [0776] of Egypt [04714].
¹⁰ And it came to pass, when the priests [03548] were come out [03318] of the holy [06944] place, that the cloud [06051] filled [04390] the house [01004] of the LORD [03068],
¹¹ So that the priests [03548] could [03201] not stand [05975] to minister [08334] because [06440] of the cloud [06051]: for the glory [03519] of the LORD [03068] had filled [04390] the house [01004] of the LORD [03068].

¹² Then spake [0559] Solomon [08010], The LORD [03068] said [0559] that he would dwell [07931] in the thick darkness [06205].
¹³ I have surely [01129] built [01129] thee an house [01004] to dwell in [02073], a settled place [04349] for thee to abide in [03427] for ever [05769].
¹⁴ And the king [04428] turned [05437] his face [06440] about [05437], and blessed [01288] all the congregation [06951] of Israel [03478]: (and all the congregation [06951] of Israel [03478] stood [05975]
¹⁵ And he said [0559], Blessed [01288] be the LORD [03068] God [0430] of Israel [03478], which spake [01696] with his mouth [06310] unto David [01732] my father [01], and hath with his hand [03027] fulfilled [04390] it, saying [0559],
¹⁶ Since the day [03117] that I brought forth [03318] my people [05971] Israel [03478] out of Egypt [04714], I chose [0977] no city [05892] out of all the tribes [07626] of Israel [03478] to build [01129] an house [01004], that my name [08034] might be therein; but I chose [0977] David [01732] to be over my people [05971] Israel [03478].
¹⁷ And it was in the heart [03824] of David [01732] my father [01] to build [01129] an house [01004] for the name [08034] of the LORD [03068] God [0430] of Israel [03478].
¹⁸ And the LORD [03068] said [0559] unto David [01732] my father [01], Whereas [03282] [0834] it was in thine heart [03824] to build [01129] an house [01004] unto my name [08034], thou didst well [02895] that it was in thine heart [03824].
¹⁹ Nevertheless [07535] thou shalt not build [01129] the house [01004]; but thy son [01121] that shall come forth out [03318] of thy loins [02504], he shall build [01129] the house [01004] unto my name [08034].
²⁰ And the LORD [03068] hath performed [06965] his word [01697] that he spake [01696], and I am risen up [06965] in the room of David [01732] my father [01], and sit [03427] on the throne [03678] of Israel [03478], as the LORD [03068] promised [01696], and have built [01129] an house [01004] for the name [08034] of the LORD [03068] God [0430] of Israel [03478].
²¹ And I have set [07760] there a place [04725] for the ark [0727], wherein is the covenant [01285] of the LORD [03068], which he made [03772] with our fathers [01], when he brought them out [03318] of the land [0776] of Egypt [04714].

¹ And it came to pass, when Solomon [08010] had finished [03615] the building [01129] of the house [01004] of the LORD [03068], and the king's [04428] house [01004], and all Solomon's [08010] desire [02837] which he was pleased [02654] to do [06213],
² That the LORD [03068] appeared [07200] to Solomon [08010] the second time [08145], as he had appeared [07200] unto him at Gibeon [01391].
³ And the LORD [03068] said [0559] unto him, I have heard [08085] thy prayer [08605] and thy supplication [08467], that thou hast made [02603] before [06440] me: I have hallowed [06942] this house [01004], which thou hast built [01129], to put [07760] my name [08034] there for [05704] ever [05769]; and mine eyes [05869] and mine heart [03820] shall be there perpetually [03117].
⁴ And if thou wilt walk [03212] before [06440] me, as David [01732] thy father [01] walked [01980], in integrity [08537] of heart [03824], and in uprightness [03476], to do [06213] according to all that I have commanded [06680] thee, and wilt keep [08104] my statutes [02706] and my judgments [04941]:
⁵ Then I will establish [06965] the throne [03678] of thy kingdom [04467] upon Israel [03478] for ever [05769], as I promised [01696] to David [01732] thy father [01], saying [0559], There shall not fail [03772] thee a man [0376] upon the throne [03678] of Israel [03478].
⁶ But if ye shall at all [07725] turn [07725] from following [0310] me, ye or your children [01121], and will not keep [08104] my commandments [04687] and my statutes [02708] which I have set [05414] before [06440] you, but go [01980] and serve [05647] other [0312] gods [0430], and worship [07812] them:
⁷ Then will I cut off [03772] Israel [03478] out [06440] of the land [0127] which I have given [05414] them; and this house [01004], which I have hallowed [06942] for my name [08034], will I cast out [07971] of my sight [06440]; and Israel [03478] shall be a proverb [04912] and a byword [08148] among all people [05971]:
⁸ And at this house [01004], which is high [05945], every one that passeth [05674] by it shall be astonished [08074], and shall hiss [08319]; and they shall say [0559], Why hath the LORD [03068] done [06213] thus unto this land [0776], and to this house [01004]?
⁹ And they shall answer [0559], Because they forsook [05800] the LORD [03068] their God [0430], who brought forth [03318] their fathers [01] out of the land [0776] of Egypt [04714], and have taken hold [02388] upon other [0312] gods [0430], and have worshipped [07812] them, and served [05647] them: therefore hath the LORD [03068] brought [0935] upon them all this evil [07451].
¹⁰ And it came to pass at the end [07097] of twenty [06242] years [08141], when Solomon [08010] had built [01129] the two [08147] houses [01004], the house [01004] of the LORD [03068], and the king's [04428] house [01004],

⁵¹ So was ended [07999] all the work [04399] that king [04428] Solomon [08010] made [06213] for the house [01004] of the LORD [03068]. And Solomon [08010] brought in [0935] the things which David [01732] his father [01] had dedicated [06944]; even the silver [03701], and the gold [02091], and the vessels [03627], did he put [05414] among the treasures [0214] of the house [01004] of the LORD [03068].

⁵⁴ And it was so, that when Solomon [08010] had made an end [03615] of praying [06419] all this prayer [08605] and supplication [08467] unto the LORD [03068], he arose [06965] from before [06440] the altar [04196] of the LORD [03068], from kneeling [03766] on his knees [01290] with his hands [03709] spread up [06566] to heaven [08064].
⁵⁵ And he stood [05975], and blessed [01288] all the congregation [06951] of Israel [03478] with a loud [01419] voice [06963], saying [0559],
⁵⁶ Blessed [01288] be the LORD [03068], that hath given [05414] rest [04496] unto his people [05971] Israel [03478], according to all that he promised [01696]: there hath not failed [05307] one [0259] word [01697] of all his good [02896] promise [01697], which he promised [01696] by the hand [03027] of Moses [04872] his servant [05650].
⁵⁷ The LORD [03068] our God [0430] be with us, as he was with our fathers [01]: let him not leave [05800] us, nor forsake [05203] us:
⁵⁸ That he may incline [05186] our hearts [03824] unto him, to walk [03212] in all his ways [01870], and to keep [08104] his commandments [04687], and his statutes [02706], and his judgments [04941], which he commanded [06680] our fathers [01].
⁵⁹ And let these my words [01697], wherewith I have made supplication [02603] before [06440] the LORD [03068], be nigh [07138] unto the LORD [03068] our God [0430] day [03119] and night [03915], that he maintain [06213] the cause [04941] of his servant [05650], and the cause [04941] of his people [05971] Israel [03478] at all times [03117] [03117], as the matter [01697] shall require:
⁶⁰ That all the people [05971] of the earth [0776] may know [03045] that the LORD [03068] is God [0430], and that there is none else.
⁶¹ Let your heart [03824] therefore be perfect [08003] with the LORD [03068] our God [0430], to walk [03212] in his statutes [02706], and to keep [08104] his commandments [04687], as at this day [03117].
⁶² And the king [04428], and all Israel [03478] with him, offered [02076] sacrifice [02077] before [06440] the LORD [03068].
⁶³ And Solomon [08010] offered [02076] a sacrifice [02077] of peace offerings [08002], which he offered [02076] unto the LORD [03068], two [08147] and twenty [06242] thousand [0505] oxen [01241], and an hundred [03967] and twenty [06242] thousand [0505] sheep [06629]. So the king [04428] and all the children [01121] of Israel [03478] dedicated [02596] the house [01004] of the LORD [03068].
⁶⁴ The same day [03117] did the king [04428] hallow [06942] the middle [08432] of the court [02691] that was before [06440] the house [01004] of the LORD [03068]: for there he offered [06213] burnt offerings [05930], and meat offerings [04503], and the fat [02459] of the peace offerings [08002]: because the brasen [05178] altar [04196] that was before [06440] the LORD [03068] was too little [06996] to receive [03557] the burnt offerings [05930], and meat offerings [04503], and the fat [02459] of the peace offerings [08002].
⁶⁵ And at that time [06256] Solomon [08010] held [06213] a feast [02282], and all Israel [03478] with him, a great [01419] congregation [06951], from the entering [0935] in of Hamath [02574] unto the river [05158] of Egypt [04714], before [06440] the LORD [03068] our God [0430], seven [07651] days [03117] and seven [07651] days [03117], even fourteen [0702] [06240] days [03117].
⁶⁶ On the eighth [08066] day [03117] he sent [07971] the people [05971] away [07971]: and they blessed [01288] the king [04428], and went [03212] unto their tents [0168] joyful [08056] and glad [02896] of heart [03820] for all the goodness [02896] that the LORD [03068] had done [06213] for David [01732] his servant [05650], and for Israel [03478] his people [05971].

³⁷ [1161] In [1722] the last [2078] day [2250], that great [3173] day of the feast [1859], Jesus [2424] stood [2476] and [2532] cried [2896], saying [3004], If [1437] any man [5100] thirst [1372], let him come [2064] unto [4314] me [3165], and [2532] drink [4095].

³⁶ Seven [07651] days [03117] ye shall offer [07126] an offering made by fire [0801] unto the LORD [03068]: on the eighth [08066] day [03117] shall be an holy [06944] convocation [04744] unto you; and ye shall offer [07126] an offering made by fire [0801] unto the LORD [03068]: it is a solemn assembly [06116]; and ye shall do [06213] no servile [05656] work [04399] therein.

⁹ And in the eighth [08066] day [03117] they made [06213] a solemn assembly [06116]: for they kept [06213] the dedication [02598] of the altar [04196] seven [07651] days [03117], and the feast [02282] seven [07651] days [03117].