1 Kings 3:4

4 ¹The king went to ²Gibeon to sacrifice there, ³for that was the great high place; Solomon offered a thousand burnt offerings on that altar.

1 Kings 3:4 Meaning and Commentary

1 Kings 3:4

And the king went to Gibeon to sacrifice there
About four or five miles from Jerusalem; (See Gill on 1 Kings 2:28);

for that [was] the great high place;
not that the place itself might be higher than others that were used; but here were the tabernacle of Moses, and the altar; so that it was a more dignified place, and more sacred because of them:

a thousand burnt offerings did Solomon offer upon that altar;
the brazen altar of burnt offerings there; not at one time, but on several days successively; though Jarchi says on one day; and which was a prodigious number, never was known the like, unless at the dedication of the temple, ( 1 Kings 8:63 1 Kings 8:64 ) .

1 Kings 3:4 In-Context

2 The people were still sacrificing on the high places, because there was no house built for the name of the LORD until those days.

3 Now Solomon loved the LORD , walking in the statutes of his father David, except he sacrificed and burned incense on the high places.

4 The king went to Gibeon to sacrifice there, for that was the great high place; Solomon offered a thousand burnt offerings on that altar.

5 In Gibeon the LORD appeared to Solomon in a dream at night; and God said, "Ask what you wish me to give you."

6 Then Solomon said, "You have shown great lovingkindness to Your servant David my father, according as he walked before You in truth and righteousness and uprightness of heart toward You; and You have reserved for him this great lovingkindness, that You have given him a son to sit on his throne, as it is this day.

Cross References

• 1. 2 Chronicles 1:3
• 2. Joshua 18:21-25
• 3. 1 Chronicles 16:39; 1 Chronicles 21:29