1 Kings 8:4-14

4 They brought up the ark of the LORD and ¹the tent of meeting and all the holy utensils, which were in the tent, and the priests and the Levites brought them up.

5 And King Solomon and all the congregation of Israel, who were assembled to him, ²were with him before the ark, sacrificing so many sheep and oxen they could not be counted or numbered.

6 Then ³the priests brought the ark of the covenant of the LORD ⁴to its place, into the inner sanctuary of the house, to the most holy place, ⁵under the wings of the cherubim.

7 For the cherubim spread their wings over the place of the ark, and the cherubim made a covering over the ark and its poles from above *.

8 But ⁶the poles were so long that the ends of the poles could be seen from the holy place before * the inner sanctuary, but they could not be seen outside; they are there to this day.

9 ⁷There was nothing in the ark except the two tablets of stone which Moses put there at Horeb, where ⁸the LORD made a covenant with the sons of Israel, when they came out of the land of Egypt.

10 It happened that when the priests came from the holy place, ⁹the cloud filled the house of the LORD,

11 so that the priests could not stand to minister because * of the cloud, for the glory of the LORD filled the house of the LORD.

Solomon Addresses the People

12 ¹⁰Then Solomon said, "The LORD has said that ¹¹He would dwell in the thick cloud.

13 "¹²I have surely built You a lofty house, ¹³A place for Your dwelling forever."

14 Then the king faced * about and ¹⁴blessed all the assembly of Israel, while all the assembly of Israel was standing.

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1 Kings 8:4-14 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO 1 KINGS 8

This chapter gives an account of the introduction of the ark into the temple, 1Ki 8:1-9 of the glory of the Lord filling it, 1Ki 8:10,11 of a speech Solomon made to the people concerning the building of the temple, and how he came to be engaged in it, 1Ki 8:12-21, of a prayer of his he put up on this occasion, requesting, that what supplications soever were made at any time, or on any account, by Israelites or strangers, might be accepted by the Lord, 1Ki 8:22-53, and of his blessing the people of Israel at the close of it, with some useful exhortations, 1Ki 8:54-61, and of the great number of sacrifices offered up by him, and the feast he made for the people, upon which he dismissed them, 1Ki 8:62-66.

Taken from John Gill's Exposition of the Bible

Cross References 14

1. 1 Kings 3:4; 2 Chronicles 1:3
2. 2 Samuel 6:13; 2 Chronicles 1:6
3. 1 Kings 8:3
4. 1 Kings 6:19
5. 1 Kings 6:27
6. Exodus 25:13-15; Exodus 37:4, 5
7. Exodus 25:16, 21; Deuteronomy 10:2-5; Hebrews 9:4
8. Exodus 24:7, 8; Exodus 40:20; Deuteronomy 4:13
9. Exodus 40:34, 35; 2 Chronicles 7:1, 2
10. 2 Chronicles 6:1
11. Leviticus 16:2; Psalms 18:11; Psalms 97:2
12. 2 Samuel 7:13
13. Exodus 15:17; Psalms 132:14
14. 2 Samuel 6:18; 1 Kings 8:55

Footnotes 2

[a]. Lit "sheep and oxen...numbered for multitude"
[b]. Lit "turned his face about"