1 Kings 8:7-15

7 For the cherubim spread out their wings over the place of the ark, so that the cherubim overshadowed the ark and its poles.

8 ¹And the poles were so long that the ends of the poles were seen from the Holy Place before ²the inner sanctuary; but they could not be seen from outside. And they are there to this day.

9 There was nothing in the ark except ³the two tablets of stone that Moses put there at Horeb, where ⁴the Lord made a covenant with the people of Israel, when they came out of the land of Egypt.

10 And when the priests came out of the Holy Place, ⁵a 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 Blesses the Lord

12 ⁶Then Solomon said, “The Lord^[a] has said that he would dwell ⁷in thick darkness.

13 ⁸I have indeed built you an exalted house, ⁹a place for you to dwell in forever. ”

14 Then the king turned around and ¹⁰blessed all the assembly of Israel, while all the assembly of Israel stood.

15 And he said, ¹¹“Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, who with his hand has fulfilled ¹²what he promised with his mouth to David my father, saying,

1 Kings 8:7-15 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. 8:8 Ex. 25:13-15
• 2. 8:8 [See ver. 6 above]
• 3. 8:9 Ex. 25:21; 40:20; Deut. 10:2, 5; Heb. 9:4
• 4. 8:9 Ex. 34:27, 28; Deut. 4:13
• 5. 8:10 Ex. 40:34, 35; 2 Chr. 5:13, 14; 7:1, 2; [Ezek. 10:3, 4]
• 6. 8:12 For ver. 12-50, see 2 Chr. 6:1-39
• 7. 8:12 Ps. 18:11; 97:2; [Lev. 16:2]
• 8. 8:13 2 Sam. 7:13
• 9. 8:13 Ex. 15:17; [Ps. 132:14]
• 10. 8:14 ver. 55; 2 Sam. 6:18
• 11. 8:15 Luke 1:68
• 12. 8:15 ch. 6:12

Footnotes

• [a] 8:12 Septuagint 'The 'Lord'has set the sun in the heavens, but'