1 Kings 8:1-21

The Ark Brought into the Temple

1 ¹Then Solomon assembled the elders of Israel and all ²the heads of the tribes, the leaders of the fathers' households of the sons of Israel, to King Solomon in Jerusalem, ³to bring up the ark of the covenant of the LORD from ⁴the city of David, which is Zion.

2 All the men of Israel assembled themselves to King Solomon at ⁵the feast, in the month Ethanim, which is the seventh month.

3 Then all the elders of Israel came, and ⁶the priests took up the ark.

4 They brought up the ark of the LORD and ⁷the 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, ⁸were with him before the ark, sacrificing so many sheep and oxen they could not be counted or numbered.

6 Then ⁹the priests brought the ark of the covenant of the LORD ¹⁰to its place, into the inner sanctuary of the house, to the most holy place, ¹¹under 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 ¹²the 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 ¹³There was nothing in the ark except the two tablets of stone which Moses put there at Horeb, where ¹⁴the 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, ¹⁵the 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 ¹⁶Then Solomon said, "The LORD has said that ¹⁷He would dwell in the thick cloud.

13 "¹⁸I have surely built You a lofty house, ¹⁹A place for Your dwelling forever."

14 Then the king faced * about and ²⁰blessed all the assembly of Israel, while all the assembly of Israel was standing.

15 He said, "²¹Blessed be the LORD, the God of Israel, ²²who spoke with His mouth to my father David and has fulfilled it with His hand, saying,

16 '²³Since the day that I brought My people Israel from Egypt, I did not choose a city out of all the tribes of Israel in which to build a house that ²⁴My name might be there, but ²⁵I chose David to be over My people Israel.'

17 "²⁶Now it was in the heart of my father David to build a house for the name of the LORD, the God of Israel.

18 "But the LORD said to my father David, 'Because * it was in your heart to build a house for My name, you did well that it was in your heart.

19 '²⁷Nevertheless you shall not build the house, but your son who will be born * to you, he will build the house for My name.'

20 "Now the LORD has fulfilled His word which He spoke; for ²⁸I have risen in place of my father David and sit on the throne of Israel, as the LORD promised, and have built the house for the name of the LORD, the God of Israel.

21 "There I have set a place for the ark, ²⁹in which is the covenant of the LORD, which He made with our fathers when He brought them from the land of Egypt."

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1 Kings 8:1-21 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 29

1. 2 Chronicles 5:2-10
2. Numbers 1:4; Numbers 7:2
3. 2 Samuel 6:12-17; 1 Chronicles 15:25-29
4. 2 Samuel 5:7
5. Leviticus 23:34; 1 Kings 8:65; 2 Chronicles 7:8-10
6. Numbers 7:9; Deuteronomy 31:9; Joshua 3:3, 6
7. 1 Kings 3:4; 2 Chronicles 1:3
8. 2 Samuel 6:13; 2 Chronicles 1:6
9. 1 Kings 8:3
10. 1 Kings 6:19
11. 1 Kings 6:27
12. Exodus 25:13-15; Exodus 37:4, 5
13. Exodus 25:16, 21; Deuteronomy 10:2-5; Hebrews 9:4
14. Exodus 24:7, 8; Exodus 40:20; Deuteronomy 4:13
15. Exodus 40:34, 35; 2 Chronicles 7:1, 2
16. 2 Chronicles 6:1
17. Leviticus 16:2; Psalms 18:11; Psalms 97:2
18. 2 Samuel 7:13
19. Exodus 15:17; Psalms 132:14
20. 2 Samuel 6:18; 1 Kings 8:55
21. 1 Chronicles 29:10, 20; Nehemiah 9:5; Luke 1:68
22. 2 Samuel 7:12, 13; 1 Chronicles 22:10
23. 2 Samuel 7:4, 5; 1 Chronicles 17:3-10; 2 Chronicles 6:5
24. Deuteronomy 12:5, 11
25. 1 Samuel 16:1; 2 Samuel 7:8
26. 2 Samuel 7:2, 3; 1 Chronicles 17:1, 2
27. 2 Sam 7:5, 12, 13; 1 Kings 5:3, 5; 1 Chronicles 17:11, 12; 1 Chronicles 22:8-10
28. 1 Chronicles 28:5, 6
29. Deuteronomy 31:26; 1 Kings 8:9

Footnotes 7

[a]. Lit "sheep and oxen...numbered for multitude"
[b]. Lit "turned his face about"
[c]. Lit "with"
[d]. Lit "with"
[e]. Lit "with"
[f]. Lit "will come forth from your loins"
[g]. Lit "spoke"