1Then Solomon assembled before him in Jerusalem the elders of Israel and all the heads of the tribes, as well as the leaders of the ancestral houses of the Israelites, to bring up the ark of the covenant of Yahweh from the city of David, which is Zion.
The ark assembled near King Solomon
2 ① All the Israelites assembled near King Solomon in the month of Ethanim, the seventh month. 3When all the elders of Israel arrived, the priests carried the ark of Yahweh 4and brought it up together with the Tent of Meeting and all the holy vessels that were in the tent. After the priests and Levites had brought them up, 5King Solomon with the entire congregation of Israel that had assembled before him and were with him before the Ark, sacrificed so many sheep and oxen that they could neither be counted nor numbered. 6Then the priests laid the ark of the covenant of Yahweh in its place in the inner sanctuary of the House – the Most Holy Place – under neath the wings of the cherubim. 7The cherubim had their wings spread out over the place of the ark, providing a covering above the ark and its poles.
8The poles were so long that their ends were seen from the Holy Place in front of the inner sanctuary but not from the outside; and they remain there to this day. 9There was nothing in the ark except the two tables of stone which Moses placed there at Horeb, where Yahweh made a covenant with the Israelites when they came out of the land of Egypt. 10And when the priests came out of the Holy Place, such a cloud filled Yahweh’s House 11that the priests could not continue to minister. In deed, the glory of Yahweh filled his House.
12Then Solomon said, “Yahweh has said that he would dwell in thick darkness. 13So the House I have built you will be your House, a place for you to dwell in forever.”
14The king turned and blessed the entire assembly of Israel, as they stood, 15saying, “Blessed be Yahweh, the God of Israel, who has fulfilled by his hand what he promised personally to David my father when he said, 16‘Since the day I brought my people Israel out of Egypt, I chose no city in all the tribes of Israel in which to build a resting place for my Name, but now I have chosen Jerusalem for my Name to be there, as I chose David to be the king of my people Israel.’ 17Now David my father wanted to build a House for the Name of Yahweh, the God of Israel; 18but Yahweh told David my father, ‘You meant well to build a House for my Name. 19Nevertheless, not you but your son who shall be born to you shall build this House for my Name’.”
20Yahweh has fulfilled his promise, for I have succeeded David my father and am sitting on the throne of Israel; and, as Yahweh promised, I have built this House for the Name of Yahweh, the God of Israel. 21There I have provided a place for the ark with the covenant which Yahweh made with our fathers when he brought them out of the land of Egypt.”
Solomon’s prayer
22 ② Then Solomon stood before the altar of Yahweh in the presence of all the assembly of Israel. He raised his hands towards heaven 23and said, “O Yahweh, God of Israel, there is no God like you either in heaven or on earth! You keep your covenant and show loving-kindness to your servants who walk before you wholeheartedly. 24You have foretold this day to your servant David, my father, and this day you have fulfilled your promise. 25Now, O Yahweh, God of Israel, keep this other promise you made to David when you said, ‘You shall always have someone from your family on the throne of Israel, provided that your sons are careful to serve me as you have done.’ 26Now, therefore, O God of Israel, confirm the promise you have given to David my father.
27But will God really live among people on earth? If neither heavens nor the highest heavens can contain you, how much less can this House which I have built! 28Yet, listen to the prayer and supplication of your servant, O Yahweh my God; hearken to the cries and pleas which your servant directs to you this day. 29Watch over this House of which you have said, ‘My name shall rest there.’ Hear the prayer of your servant in this place.
30 ③ Listen to the supplication of your servant and your people Israel when they pray in this direction; listen from your dwelling place in heaven and, on listening, forgive.
31When people charged with a crime against their neighbor come and take their oath before your altar in this temple, 32then hear from heaven and do justice. Condemn the guilty and let his evildoing fall upon him, but vindicate the righteous and reward him according to his righteousness.
33When your people Israel are defeated by the enemy for having sinned against you, and when they turn back to you and acknowledge their sins, praying and making supplications to you in this House; 34then listen from heaven and forgive your people Israel. Bring them back to the land which you gave to their fathers.
35When the heavens are shut and no rain falls because they have sinned against you, and they pray in this place, acknowledging and repenting of their sin because you have afflicted them, 36then listen from heaven and forgive your servants, your people Israel, and teach them the way to live; and send rain on your land which you have given to your people as an inheritance.
37If there is famine in the land, or pestilence such as blight or mildew, locust or caterpillar; if their enemy attacks them in any of their cities; if they suffer from any plague or sickness; 38whatever be the prayer or supplication of anyone showing repentance and raising his hands in the direction of this House, 39then listen from heaven, your dwelling place, and forgive. Do to each, whose heart you know, according to his conduct (for you alone know the hearts of all) 40so that they may fear you as long as they live in the land which you gave our fathers.
41Likewise, when a foreigner who is not from your people Israel, comes from a far country because of your Name 42(for they shall hear of your great Name, your mighty hand and outstretched arm), and prays in this House, 43listen from the heavens, your dwelling place, and do for the foreigner whatever he asks of you, so that all the peoples of the earth may know your Name and fear you, as do your people Israel, and may know that your name rests on this House which I have built.
44If your people go to war wherever you send them, and they pray to Yahweh in the direction of the city which you have chosen and the House which I have built for your Name, 45then from heaven listen to their prayers and supplications and defend their cause.
46If they sin against you (and there is no one who does not sin), and, in your anger, you deliver them to an enemy who takes them captive into enemy territory, whether near or far off; 47and if, in the land where they have been carried captive, they sincerely repent and plead with you and say, ‘We have sinned and have acted wrongly and wickedly’; 48if they do repent with sincerity while in the land of their captors and pray to you, turning towards the land which you gave to their ancestors, the city which you have chosen, and the House which I have built for your Name; 49then listen from heaven, your dwelling place, their prayer and supplication and defend their cause. 50Forgive your people who have sinned against you; forgive all their offenses, and make their captors have compassion on them. 51(For they are your people – your heritage which you brought out of Egypt from the heart of the iron furnace).
52Open your eyes to the pleadings of your servant and to those of your people Israel, and listen to them whenever they call on you. 53For you took them from among all the peoples of the earth to be your heritage, as you declared through Moses your servant when you brought our ancestors out of Egypt, O Yahweh God.”
54When Solomon finished offering all this prayer and entreaty to Yahweh, he rose from before the altar of Yahweh where he had knelt with hands raised towards heaven and, 55standing, blessed all the assembly of Israel with a loud voice, 56“Blessed be Yahweh who has given rest to his people Israel as he promised; for not one of his promises, given to Moses his servant, has been broken. 57May Yahweh our God be with us as he was with our fathers. May he not leave or forsake us; 58may he incline our hearts towards him and make us walk in all his ways keeping his commands, his statutes and regulations which he commanded our fathers. 59Let my prayer to Yahweh be with our God day and night. May he defend my cause and the cause of his people Israel in their daily life; 60in this way all the peoples of the earth may know that Yahweh is God and there is no other. 61As for you, let your heart be wholly true to Yahweh our God, following his laws and keeping his commands as at this time.”
62Then the king and all the Israelites with him offered sacrifices before Yahweh. 63Solomon offered twenty-two thousand oxen and a hundred and twenty thousand sheep as peace offerings to Yahweh. So the king and all the Israelites dedicated Yahweh’s House. 64That same day, the king consecrated the middle of the court in front of Yahweh’s House, for it was there that he offered the burnt offerings, the cereal offerings and the fat of the peace offerings since the bronze altar that was before Yahweh was too small to receive the burnt offering, the cereal offering and the fat of the peace offerings.
65So at this time Solomon, together with a large assembly of Israelites that gathered from the entrance of Hamath to the Brook of Egypt, celebrated the festival before Yahweh for seven days. 66On the eighth day, Solomon dismissed the people.
After bidding farewell to the king, they went home rejoicing and happy because of all the kindness that Yahweh had shown to his servant David and to his people Israel.
- 1 K 8,2 On the day of the Temple's inauguration, God makes his presence felt by means of the cloud. In Exodus, this was the visible sign of Yahweh's presence in Jerusalem which protected them (Ex 14:19 and 40:34) wherever they were. In the course of time, many indecent things occurred in the courtyards of the Temple; they even built up altars to idols and practiced sacred prostitution according to pagan customs. (See 2 K 23:4-7). Yet it is not said that Yahweh abandoned his Sanctuary where he remained out of fidelity to his Covenant. It was only in the last years of the Kingdom that the prophet Ezekiel had a vision where the cloud left the Temple: this meant that Yahweh would now live among his faithful ones exiled in Babylon (Ezk 9:3). Much later, the apostle John will see this cloud in the heavenly temple (Rev 15:8) after having seen it over the person of Jesus during his transfiguration. 1 K 8,22 Yahweh has fulfilled his promise (v. 20 and 25). David had received two promises from God. The first was that his son would build the Temple; the second, that his descendants would keep the throne of Israel. It is worth noting how God, being the invisible God and Creator of the Universe, wills to be, in some way, at a definite place, Jerusalem, and among a definite people, David's descendants. This visible center of divine presence is now the Church. The Kingdom of God is universal, yet the Church relates with Christ through a well-defined series of people: the bishops and the pope. This prayer of Solomon, composed probably by a prophet at the time of the kings, emphasizes both the importance and the relativity of the Temple. It is there that the Name of God resides, there God will hear the prayers of his people (8:30-53). And yet this Temple built by human hands could not contain God in his Glory. The invisible heavens cannot contain him, how much less this earthly dwelling. This vision of the Temple will be continually present in the teaching of the prophets. However great, the Temple will never be a magic charm for Israel. It is the sign and reminder of the presence of the holy God. Gradually, because of this, all theology of Israel will be centered on the Temple. The earth and the heavens belong to God, but on this earth one country belongs to him in a very special way - it is the Land of a Promise. In this Promised Land all the towns are his; but one among them is especially dear. And in this city, in the heart of this city is the holy mountain on which Yahweh's dwelling place has been built. The Temple is thus like the pivot around which the whole universe revolves. For this reason it is understandable that its destruction in 587 was for the faith of Israel an unimaginable trial: without the Temple of Jerusalem, the universe lost its center. If the universe had by degrees been centered around the Temple, with the New Testament, on the contrary, it is the Christ - the New Temple - who becomes the point of departure for the expansion of salvation: You will be my witnesses, in Judea and Samaria and to the ends of the earth. 1 K 8,30 After making a request for his descendants, Solomon makes a request for his people. Let us underline some points: Vindicate the righteous. The first petition is in line with a custom of that period. (See Num 5:11.) If the truth in some crime could not be established, the accused had to swear that he was innocent and that he would accept any punishment from God if he had perjured himself. The people were convinced that God would not leave the liar unpunished. No rain falls because they have sinned against you. Prayer is for people who are sinners and who know themselves to be such. They fear God's punishment but believe that God forgives; they believe that God cannot be won over by prayers and ceremonies but by repentance. So that they may fear you (v. 40). In the Bible, to fear God means oftentimes: to take him seriously and to respect him. But it is also true that at times we need to fear God and his punishments because his love is not yet strong enough in us to protect us against our weakness. When a foreigner comes from a far country. This prayer was written centuries later, when the missionary efforts of the Jews had brought many pagans to their faith.
- 1 K 8,2 On the day of the Temple's inauguration, God makes his presence felt by means of the cloud. In Exodus, this was the visible sign of Yahweh's presence in Jerusalem which protected them (Ex 14:19 and 40:34) wherever they were. In the course of time, many indecent things occurred in the courtyards of the Temple; they even built up altars to idols and practiced sacred prostitution according to pagan customs. (See 2 K 23:4-7). Yet it is not said that Yahweh abandoned his Sanctuary where he remained out of fidelity to his Covenant. It was only in the last years of the Kingdom that the prophet Ezekiel had a vision where the cloud left the Temple: this meant that Yahweh would now live among his faithful ones exiled in Babylon (Ezk 9:3). Much later, the apostle John will see this cloud in the heavenly temple (Rev 15:8) after having seen it over the person of Jesus during his transfiguration. 1 K 8,22 Yahweh has fulfilled his promise (v. 20 and 25). David had received two promises from God. The first was that his son would build the Temple; the second, that his descendants would keep the throne of Israel. It is worth noting how God, being the invisible God and Creator of the Universe, wills to be, in some way, at a definite place, Jerusalem, and among a definite people, David's descendants. This visible center of divine presence is now the Church. The Kingdom of God is universal, yet the Church relates with Christ through a well-defined series of people: the bishops and the pope. This prayer of Solomon, composed probably by a prophet at the time of the kings, emphasizes both the importance and the relativity of the Temple. It is there that the Name of God resides, there God will hear the prayers of his people (8:30-53). And yet this Temple built by human hands could not contain God in his Glory. The invisible heavens cannot contain him, how much less this earthly dwelling. This vision of the Temple will be continually present in the teaching of the prophets. However great, the Temple will never be a magic charm for Israel. It is the sign and reminder of the presence of the holy God. Gradually, because of this, all theology of Israel will be centered on the Temple. The earth and the heavens belong to God, but on this earth one country belongs to him in a very special way - it is the Land of a Promise. In this Promised Land all the towns are his; but one among them is especially dear. And in this city, in the heart of this city is the holy mountain on which Yahweh's dwelling place has been built. The Temple is thus like the pivot around which the whole universe revolves. For this reason it is understandable that its destruction in 587 was for the faith of Israel an unimaginable trial: without the Temple of Jerusalem, the universe lost its center. If the universe had by degrees been centered around the Temple, with the New Testament, on the contrary, it is the Christ - the New Temple - who becomes the point of departure for the expansion of salvation: You will be my witnesses, in Judea and Samaria and to the ends of the earth. 1 K 8,30 After making a request for his descendants, Solomon makes a request for his people. Let us underline some points: Vindicate the righteous. The first petition is in line with a custom of that period. (See Num 5:11.) If the truth in some crime could not be established, the accused had to swear that he was innocent and that he would accept any punishment from God if he had perjured himself. The people were convinced that God would not leave the liar unpunished. No rain falls because they have sinned against you. Prayer is for people who are sinners and who know themselves to be such. They fear God's punishment but believe that God forgives; they believe that God cannot be won over by prayers and ceremonies but by repentance. So that they may fear you (v. 40). In the Bible, to fear God means oftentimes: to take him seriously and to respect him. But it is also true that at times we need to fear God and his punishments because his love is not yet strong enough in us to protect us against our weakness. When a foreigner comes from a far country. This prayer was written centuries later, when the missionary efforts of the Jews had brought many pagans to their faith.
- 1 K 8,2 On the day of the Temple's inauguration, God makes his presence felt by means of the cloud. In Exodus, this was the visible sign of Yahweh's presence in Jerusalem which protected them (Ex 14:19 and 40:34) wherever they were. In the course of time, many indecent things occurred in the courtyards of the Temple; they even built up altars to idols and practiced sacred prostitution according to pagan customs. (See 2 K 23:4-7). Yet it is not said that Yahweh abandoned his Sanctuary where he remained out of fidelity to his Covenant. It was only in the last years of the Kingdom that the prophet Ezekiel had a vision where the cloud left the Temple: this meant that Yahweh would now live among his faithful ones exiled in Babylon (Ezk 9:3). Much later, the apostle John will see this cloud in the heavenly temple (Rev 15:8) after having seen it over the person of Jesus during his transfiguration. 1 K 8,22 Yahweh has fulfilled his promise (v. 20 and 25). David had received two promises from God. The first was that his son would build the Temple; the second, that his descendants would keep the throne of Israel. It is worth noting how God, being the invisible God and Creator of the Universe, wills to be, in some way, at a definite place, Jerusalem, and among a definite people, David's descendants. This visible center of divine presence is now the Church. The Kingdom of God is universal, yet the Church relates with Christ through a well-defined series of people: the bishops and the pope. This prayer of Solomon, composed probably by a prophet at the time of the kings, emphasizes both the importance and the relativity of the Temple. It is there that the Name of God resides, there God will hear the prayers of his people (8:30-53). And yet this Temple built by human hands could not contain God in his Glory. The invisible heavens cannot contain him, how much less this earthly dwelling. This vision of the Temple will be continually present in the teaching of the prophets. However great, the Temple will never be a magic charm for Israel. It is the sign and reminder of the presence of the holy God. Gradually, because of this, all theology of Israel will be centered on the Temple. The earth and the heavens belong to God, but on this earth one country belongs to him in a very special way - it is the Land of a Promise. In this Promised Land all the towns are his; but one among them is especially dear. And in this city, in the heart of this city is the holy mountain on which Yahweh's dwelling place has been built. The Temple is thus like the pivot around which the whole universe revolves. For this reason it is understandable that its destruction in 587 was for the faith of Israel an unimaginable trial: without the Temple of Jerusalem, the universe lost its center. If the universe had by degrees been centered around the Temple, with the New Testament, on the contrary, it is the Christ - the New Temple - who becomes the point of departure for the expansion of salvation: You will be my witnesses, in Judea and Samaria and to the ends of the earth. 1 K 8,30 After making a request for his descendants, Solomon makes a request for his people. Let us underline some points: Vindicate the righteous. The first petition is in line with a custom of that period. (See Num 5:11.) If the truth in some crime could not be established, the accused had to swear that he was innocent and that he would accept any punishment from God if he had perjured himself. The people were convinced that God would not leave the liar unpunished. No rain falls because they have sinned against you. Prayer is for people who are sinners and who know themselves to be such. They fear God's punishment but believe that God forgives; they believe that God cannot be won over by prayers and ceremonies but by repentance. So that they may fear you (v. 40). In the Bible, to fear God means oftentimes: to take him seriously and to respect him. But it is also true that at times we need to fear God and his punishments because his love is not yet strong enough in us to protect us against our weakness. When a foreigner comes from a far country. This prayer was written centuries later, when the missionary efforts of the Jews had brought many pagans to their faith.
