1 Kings 8:1

1 Then Solomon assembled the elders of Israel and all the heads of the tribes, the leaders of the fathers' houses of the people of Israel, before King Solomon in Jerusalem, to bring up the ark of the covenant of the LORD out of the city of David, which 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 Then Solomon assembled the elders of Israel and all the heads of the tribes, the leaders of the fathers' houses of the people of Israel, before King Solomon in Jerusalem, to bring up the ark of the covenant of the LORD out of the city of David, which is Zion.
2 And all the men of Israel assembled to King Solomon at the feast in the month Eth'anim, which is the seventh month.
3 And all the elders of Israel came, and the priests took up the ark.
4 And they brought up the ark of the LORD, the tent of meeting, and all the holy vessels that were in the tent; the priests and the Levites brought them up.
5 And King Solomon and all the congregation of Israel, who had assembled before him, were with him before the ark, sacrificing so many sheep and oxen that they could not be counted or numbered.
Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright 1952 [2nd edition, 1971] by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.