1 Kings 8:1-13

I. THE DEDICATION OF THE TEMPLE 8:1-66

Because of its importance in the history of redemption, the sacred historian devotes considerable space to the dedication of Solomon's Temple. For centuries God had been worshiped at a portable shrine, a tent which, with the passage of time, had become tattered and torn. Now the great day predicted by Moses and anticipated by David had finally come. Thousands of people flocked to Jerusalem to share in the paramount event. No doubt there was an air of expectancy throughout Jerusalem as people contemplated the possibility of a supernatural manifestation of God's approval of the new edifice. Without question the dedication of Solomon's Temple was the grandest ceremony ever performed under the Mosaic dispensation.[218] The solemn dedicatory transaction consisted of five acts: (1) a processional (1 Kings 8:1-14); (2) a speech (1 Kings 8:12-21); (3) a lengthy prayer (1 Kings 8:22-53); (4) a benediction (1 Kings 8:54-61); and (5) a celebration (1 Kings 8:62-66).

[218] Smith, OTH, p. 521.

A. THE DEDICATORY PROCESSIONAL 8:1-13

This unit again breaks down into two unequal divisions; (1) the installation of the ark (1 Kings 8:1-4); and (2) the declaration of Solomon (1 Kings 8:12-13).

1. THE INSTALLATION OF THE ARK (1 Kings 8:1-11)

TRANSLATION

(1) Then Solomon assembled the elders of Israel and all the heads of the tribes, the princes of the fathers of the children of Israel, unto King Solomon in Jerusalem for the purpose of bringing up the ark of the covenant of the LORD from the city of David which is Zion. (2) And all the men of Israel assembled themselves unto King Solomon at the feast, in the month Ethanim, which is the seventh month. (3) And all the elders of Israel came, and the priests carried the ark. (4) And they brought up the ark of the LORD and the tabernacle of meeting and all the holy vessels which were in the tent, even them did the priests and Levites bring up. (5) And King Solomon and all the congregation of Israel which were assembled unto him before the ark, were sacrificing sheep and oxen which could not be counted or numbered for multitude. (6) And the priests brought the ark of the covenant of the LORD unto its place, unto the Debir of the house, the most holy place, beneath the wings of the cherubim. (7) For the cherubim spread forth their wings unto the place of the ark, and the cherubim covered the ark and its staves from above. (8) And they drew out the staves, and the tips of the staves were seen from the holy place before the Debir, but they were not seen without; and they are there unto this day. (9) There was nothing in the ark except the two tables of stone which Moses placed there at Horeb where the LORD made a covenant with the children of Israel when they came out of the land of Egypt. (10) And it came to pass when the priests went out from the Holy Place, that the cloud filled the house of the LORD, (11) so that the priests were not able to stand and minister because of the cloud, because the glory of the LORD filled the house of the LORD.

COMMENTS

When the work on the Temple for all practical purposes was completed, Solomon summoned all the leaders of the nation to Jerusalem to share in the dedication ceremonies. It is only natural that Solomon would want the representatives of the people present to witness this historic and momentous event. After years of waiting, a national sanctuary was to be dedicated which would supersede the Tabernacle of Moses at which their forefathers had worshiped for five centuries. The first order of business was the transfer of the ark of the covenant from Zion, the city of David,[219] to its permanent resting place in the Debir of the Temple on Mt. Moriah. As the repository of the tables of law, the ark became a symbol of the covenant between God and Israel, and for this reason is here called the ark of the covenant (1 Kings 8:1). Because it housed the sacred ark, the newly-built Temple enjoyed the sanctity and national prestige of the sanctuary in Shiloh which had been destroyed by the Philistines about a hundred years earlier.

[219] Originally Zion was restricted to the Jebusite fortress (city of David) on the southern and lower part of the hill on which the Temple had been built. In later times the name Zion denoted the Temple hill (Amos 1:2; Isaiah 8:18 etc.) and the entire city of Jerusalem (Amos 6:1; Isaiah 10:24 etc.).

In addition to the princes summoned by Solomon all the men of Israel also came to Jerusalem to participate in the feast. Under the Law of Moses every adult male was obligated to attend the three major annual feastsPassover, Pentecost and Tabernacles. Since this gathering took place in the month of Ethanim,[220] the seventh month (1 Kings 8:2), the particular feast must have been the Feast of Tabernacles. This feast was the feast of ingathering (Exodus 23:16), and commemorated as well the deliverance from Egypt (Leviticus 23:43). As a social festival (Leviticus 23:40-42), Tabernacles was the greatest and most joyous gathering of the year. It was doubtless for this reason that Tabernacles was chosen as the time for the dedication.

[220] Ethanim means running water. The early rains which began to fall during the month caused the dry brooks to flow constantly. In later times this month was called Tishri. It corresponds to October-November on the present calendar.

While the month of the Temple dedication is certain, the precise year is in dispute. The author has already indicated that the Temple was finished in the eighth month of the eleventh year of Solomon's reign (1 Kings 6:38). Some have argued that the dedication was in the seventh month of that same year (Hammond). Others hold that Solomon waited until the seventh month of the year following (Gray). In the former case the dedication took place one month prior to the completion of the construction;[221] in the latter case, eleven months after completion. Keil regards 1 Kings 9:1-10 as a clue to dating the dedication. These verses relate that the answer to Solomon's dedicatory prayer came after he had finished his building projects, thirteen years after he had finished the Temple. If God's answer came shortly after the petition was made, then one is forced to conclude that the dedication did not take place until twenty years after the building was begun, or thirteen years after it was finished.

[221] The completion of the Temple in 1 Kings 6:38 may have been reckoned from the completion of the dedication which lasted for fourteen days and therefore, continued into the eighth month. This suggestion by Honor (JCBR, p. 113), would eliminate the difficulty of having the Temple dedicated one month before it was completed.

While either the immediate dedication view or the delayed dedication view can be harmonized with the Biblical data, the former explanation seems preferable. Preparations for building extended back into the preceding reign (1 Chronicles 28-29) and consequently the dedication had long been eagerly anticipated. Furthermore, the prodigious number of laborers employed on the project is evidence that the work had been carried forward as rapidly as possible. It would be almost inconceivable that after these energetic measures had been taken, the king or his subjects would have been content to allow this grand facility to go unused for thirteen years, while the royal palace complex was completed. It is more likely that Solomon, wishing to connect the dedication with the Feast of Tabernacles, ordered the services to be conducted in the seventh month of his eleventh year, one month before the completion of the final details of the building. It would not be inconsistent with the usual procedure of sacred writers to describe the Temple as finished when in reality it was incomplete in a few minor particulars.

As on former occasions of extraordinary solemnity, the priests rather than the Levites (cf. Number 1 Kings 4:15; 1 Kings 7:9) carried the ark of the covenant (1 Kings 8:3).[222] The parallel verse in Chronicles states that the Levites took up the ark (2 Chronicles 5:4). All priests were of the tribe of Levi and might properly be designated as Levites. But the Chronicler removes any possibility of contradiction with Kings by going on to state that it was the priests (1 Kings 8:7) and the Levitical priests (1 Kings 8:5) who brought in the ark.

[222] The priests carried the ark at the crossing of the Jordan (Joshua 3:6 ff.) and at the siege of Jericho (Joshua 6:6).

For nearly forty years the ark had been kept in a special tent erected for it on Mt. Zion by David (2 Samuel 6:17). The Tabernacle erected by Moses (Exodus 33:7-10) had for many years been located at Gibeon (1 Kings 3:4; 2 Chronicles 1:3). The ark and the Tabernacle were now reunited in the Temple of Solomon. The holy vessels of the Tabernaclethe bronze altar, the altar of incense, the table of showbread, the lampstandwere preserved in the storage areas of the Temple as relics of the past. While the priests carried the ark, apparently the Levites transported the Tabernacle and the holy vessels (1 Kings 8:4).[223]

[223] In contrast to the frequent allusion to Levites in Chronicles, this is the only reference to them in Kings.

The priestly processional occasionally halted en route to the Temple so that Solomon and the congregation, following the precedent of David (2 Samuel 6:13), could offer sacrifices[224] (1 Kings 8:5). These innumerable sacrifices were intended to express the grateful joy of the populace that a house of cedars (2 Samuel 7:7) had now been provided for the ark which had dwelt in curtains for five hundred years. The sacrifices may also have been intended to avert the divine wrath against any possible errors and imperfections in the transportation operation. Those who planned this phase of the dedicatory service would be keenly aware of the past tragedies connected with the removal of the ark.[225] Josephus adds that a vast quantity of incense was burnt and men preceded the ark, singing and dancing until it reached its destination.[226]

[224] Keil (BCOT, p. 120) thinks the sacrifices were made in the Temple courtyard when the ark was set down there either in front of or within the sanctuary.

[225] Cf. 1 Samuel 4:17; 1 Samuel 6:19; 2 Samuel 6:7.

[226] Antiquities VIII, 4.1.

The priests deposited the ark in its assigned place in the Debirthe Holy of Holiesunder the wings of the two giant cherubim which dominated that place in the Temple (1 Kings 8:6). The wings of the cherubim completely covered the ark so that it was enveloped in darkness[227] (1 Kings 8:7). As it was forbidden to remove the staves from the rings at the corners of the ark (Exodus 25:12-15), they drew the staves forward toward the front end of the ark. These staves could be seen by one who might be standing in the Holy Place or area of the Temple immediately in front of the Debir, but outside the Holy Placein the porch or courtyardthe staves could not be seen. It is impossible to determine whether the author means that the staves could constantly be seen by those priests ministering in the Holy Place, or that they occasionally could be seen as when the curtain was pulled aside to allow the high priest to enter the Debir on the Day of Atonement.[228]

[227] If the outspread wings of the cherubim threw a shade not only over the ark, but over its poles, the ark was probably so placed that the poles ran from north to south (Keil, BCOT, p. 121).
[228] Hammond (PC, p. 148) argues persuasively for the latter view. The traditional Jewish view is that the staves pressed against the veil which hung before the Debir.

The expression unto this day (1 Kings 8:8) occurs several times in Kings (1 Kings 9:21; 1 Kings 12:19; 2 Kings 8:22). This expression refers not to the date of the publication of the Book of Kings at which time the Temple had already been destroyed, but to the date of the source which the author of Kings used for the history of Solomon.

At the time the ark was placed in the Temple it contained only the two tables of stone which had been put there by Moses at Horeb (1 Kings 8:9). Horeb refers to the mountain range, Sinai to the particular peak where the law was given. The golden pot of manna and Aaron's rod that budded which had formerly been in the ark (Hebrews 9:4; Exodus 16:34; Numbers 17:10) were probably removed by the Philistines when they had temporary possession of the ark (1 Samuel 5-6). The sacrilege of the Philistines was probably discovered by the men of Beth-shemesh when they peered into the ark (1 Samuel 6:19).

As the priests withdrew from the Debir, here designated as the Holy Place (cf. Ezekiel 41:23), and were preparing to minister[229] in the sanctuary the cloud which was indicative of the divine presence filled the house of the Lord[230] (1 Kings 8:10). This is the same cloud which rested on the Tabernacle when it was dedicated (Exodus 40:34) and which accompanied that sacred tent in its journeys (Exodus 40:38). At certain critical points in the history of Israel that cloud had made itself manifest (Numbers 12:5; Numbers 12:10; Numbers 16:42; Deuteronomy 31:15). The cloud was the acknowledged symbol of God's presence, and its appearance at the Temple dedication served to indicate that God now accepted the Temple as His shrine and dwelling place. The appearance of this cloud in the house was so awe-inspiring that the priests could not stand in its presence to conduct their ministration[231] (1 Kings 8:11). This marvelous manifestation took place only at the dedication; after that, the cloud of divine glory was visible only in the Debir on the great Day of Atonement when the high priest entered.

[229] Chronicles is even more precise in identifying the moment the cloud appeared: It was when the singers and trumpeters, standing at the east end of the altar, began their service of praise. The reappearance of the priest may well have been the signal for them to begin (2 Chronicles 5:13).

[230] At the dedication of the Tabernacle, the cloud of divine glory filled the sanctuary so that Moses could not enter (Exodus 40:34-35).

[231] Exodus 40:34 seems to distinguish between the cloud which abode upon the tent of meeting and the glory of the Lord which filled the interior of the tent. Hammond (PC, p. 150) thinks the glory of the Lord in 1 Kings 8:11 was a brilliant light that was resident in the cloud but not always luminous.

2. THE DECLARATION OF SOLOMON (1 Kings 8:12-13)

TRANSLATION

(12) Then Solomon said, the LORD has intended to dwell in thick darkness. (13) I have surely built a house for You, a settled place for You to dwell in forever.

COMMENTS

As Solomon witnessed this divine manifestation, he was stirred to the depths of his being. That glorious cloud proved that his work of piety had been accepted. The almighty God, creator of heaven and earth, would enter the earthly shrine he had prepared and would continue to abide there! He recalled to mind the divine utterance of Leviticus 16:2, I will appear in the cloud upon the mercy seat, and he knew that he was witnessing a theophany (1 Kings 8:12).[232] He could only turn his eyes heavenward and utter a prayer of declaration in which he affirmed anew his purpose in building the Temple. It was intended to be a house in which God might dwell among His people; a settled place in contrast to the portable shrine of the Tabernacle (1 Kings 8:13). The Temple was a shrine for the ark, and God dwelt between the cherubim of the mercy seat of that ark.

[232] Other passages which speak of God appearing in thick darkness or in a cloud: Exodus 19:9; Exodus 20:21; Deuteronomy 4:11; Deuteronomy 5:22. Some think that the thick darkness here is an allusion to the fact that the Debir was windowless.