1 Kings 8:1-6

The Ark Brought into the Temple

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

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

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

4 And they brought up the ark of the LORD, ⁷the 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, ⁸sacrificing so many sheep and oxen that they could not be counted or numbered.

6 ⁹Then the priests brought the ark of the covenant of the LORD ¹⁰to its place in ¹¹the inner sanctuary of the house, in the Most Holy Place, underneath the wings of the cherubim.

1 Kings 8:1-6 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.

Cross References

• 1. For ver. 1-9, see 2 Chronicles 5:2-10
• 2. Numbers 1:16
• 3. [2 Samuel 6:17]
• 4. See 2 Samuel 5:7
• 5. ver. 65; Leviticus 23:34; See 2 Chronicles 7:8-10
• 6. [Numbers 4:15; Deuteronomy 31:9; Joshua 3:3, 6; 1 Chronicles 15:14, 15]
• 7. [1 Kings 3:4; 2 Chronicles 1:3]
• 8. [2 Samuel 6:13]
• 9. 2 Samuel 6:17
• 10. Exodus 26:33, 34
• 11. See 1 Kings 6:5