1 Kings 8
1 Kings 8 is the eighth chapter of the Books of Kings in the Hebrew Bible or the First Book of Kings in the Old Testament of the Christian Bible. The book is a compilation of various annals recording the acts of the kings of Israel and Judah by a Deuteronomic compiler in the seventh century BCE, with a supplement added in the sixth century BCE. This chapter belongs to the section focusing on the reign of Solomon over the unified kingdom of Judah and Israel. The focus of this chapter is the dedication of Solomon's Temple in Jerusalem.
Text
This chapter was originally written in the Hebrew language and since the 16th century is divided into 66 verses.Textual witnesses
Some early manuscripts containing the text of this chapter in Hebrew are of the Masoretic Text tradition, which includes the Codex Cairensis, Aleppo Codex, and Codex Leningradensis. Fragments containing parts of this chapter in Hebrew were found among the Dead Sea Scrolls, that is, 4Q54 with extant verses 1–9, 16–18.There is also a translation into Koine Greek known as the Septuagint, made in the last few centuries BCE. Extant ancient manuscripts of the Septuagint version include Codex Vaticanus and Codex Alexandrinus.
Old Testament references
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Analysis
Solomon made seven petitions in the center of the passage, which provide a 'rough preview of the events Israel would face later, with some mentioned curses also listed in Deuteronomy 28:
- Defeat before an enemy
- Heavens shut without rain
- Famine, pestilence, blight, mildew, locust, grasshopper, plague, siege
- Exile
These two verbs 'alternate chiastically', indicating a connection between captivity and repentance, which could suggest that the solution to "exile" is to "return" to YHWH, so they can "return to the land".
The dedication of the Temple (8:1–21)
The temple dedication began with a procession of the ark from the tent in the city of David to the temple grounds. The ark, containing the two tablets of the Ten Commandments, was originally designed as a 'transportable war palladium' which could be carried into battle in the conviction that 'YHWH was enthroned upon it and would lead his people to victory'. It was placed in the most holy place in the temple, beneath the spread wings of the cherubim, still retaining the signs of mobility with its staves. Next in the ceremony is the blessing of the assembly, opened with a short sermon by Solomon that since 'the Exodus from Egypt, God had intended to reside in Jerusalem' and finally the house of the name of the Lord could be built there.Verse 2
- "Feast in the...seventh month": This was the "Feast of Tabernacles" or "Sukkot", see.
- "The month of Ethanim": or Tishrei/Tishri, which is September or October in Gregorian calendar.
Verse 9
- Cross reference: 2 Chronicles 5:10
- "There was nothing in the ark except...": The statement seems intended to emphasize that the various things placed in there "before the testimony"—the pot of manna, the rod of Aaron, the copy of the Law —were not in the ark. Hebrews 9:4 wrote according to tradition that during the worship in the Tabernacle, in the ark of the covenant 'was the golden pot that had manna, and Aaron's rod that budded' as well as the tablets of the covenant. The command to placet the tablets in the ark is recorded in Exodus 25:16, and the actual placement of them there in Exodus 40:20, immediately after the Tabernacle was set up.
- "Two tablets": as described in Deuteronomy 10:1–5
- "Horeb": the name used for Mount Sinai in the book of Deuteronomy.
Verse 21
| 1 Kings 8:21 | 2 Chronicles 6:11 |
| ארוןמקום ל ואשם שם אשר־שם ברית יהוה אבתינו־אשר כרת עם בהוציאו אתם מארץ מצרים | ארוןאת־ה ואשים שם אשר־שם ברית יהוה בני ישראל־אשר כרת עם |
| And I have set there a place for the ark, wherein is the covenant of the Lord, which he made with our fathers, when he brought them out of the land of Egypt. | And in it have I put the ark, wherein is the covenant of the Lord, that he made with the children of Israel. |
Solomon's dedicational prayer at the Temple (8:22–61)
The dedicational prayer reflects the relationship between God's promise to David and the people's loyalty to the Torah, and between the inestimablesize of God and his residence in Zion. God cannot literally 'dwell on earth', but he can listen in heaven when 'people pray toward the Temple'. In the main prayer Solomon asked God to hear all future prayers made to heaven in this temple, especially in the time of difficult trials, wartime hardship, drought, and other calamities, also the prayers of the proselytes who would come to Jerusalem and of the Israelites who would dwell in other countries as this would 'give every member of YHWH's chosen people a common
identity'. Finally, Solomon plead for God 'to instil in their hearts a willingness to abide by the commandments, expresses their awe of God's judgement and acceptance of their own insufficiencies'. Israel's existence is solely due to God's mercy and serves the purpose of 'manifesting God to all the peoples of the world'.