1 Kings 8:1

The Dedication of the Temple

1 At that time, Solomon assembled the elders of Israel, all the heads of the tribes, and the leaders of the {families} of the {Israelites} before King Solomon, in order to bring up the ark of the covenant of Yahweh from the city of David, that is, Zion.

1 Kings 8:1 Meaning and Commentary

1 Kings 8:1

Then Solomon assembled the elders of Israel
The judges in the several cities, or senators of the great sanhedrim, as others; though it is a question whether as yet there was such a court:

and all the heads of the tribes;
the princes of the twelve tribes:

the chief of the fathers of the children of Israel;
the principal men of the ancient families in every tribe:

unto King Solomon in Jerusalem;
these he summoned together to himself there where the temple was built:

that they might bring up the ark of the covenant of the Lord out of the
city of David, which is Zion;
whither David brought it, when he had taken that fort, so called, and dwelt in it; and from this mountain Solomon proposed to bring it up to the temple, on a higher mountain, Moriah, not far from one another.

1 Kings 8:1 In-Context

1 At that time, Solomon assembled the elders of Israel, all the heads of the tribes, and the leaders of the {families} of the {Israelites} before King Solomon, in order to bring up the ark of the covenant of Yahweh from the city of David, that is, Zion.

2 All the men of Israel assembled before King Solomon at the festival in the month of Ethnaim, that is, the seventh month.

3 All the elders of Israel came, and the priests carried the ark.

4 So they brought up the ark of Yahweh and the tent of assembly and all of the holy vessels that [were] in the tent; the priests and the Levites brought them up.

5 King Solomon and all the assembly of Israel who were assembling with him in the presence of the ark [were] sacrificing sheep and oxen that could not be counted nor numbered because of abundance.

Footnotes

• [a]. Literally "fathers"
• [b]. Literally "sons/children of Israel"