I Kings 13, A Prophet Confronts Jeroboam

Rehoboam rules the southern kingdom of Judah and Benjamin while Jeroboam rules the northern kingdom of ten tribes. The author of the scroll of Kings will now guides us through the reigns of various kings, alternating back and forth between the kingdoms, covering one king's full reign before picking up the story of the king of the other kingdom.

1 Kings 13:1-3, "O altar, altar!"

By the word of the LORD a man of God came from Judah to Bethel, as Jeroboam was standing by the altar to make an offering. He cried out against the altar by the word of the LORD: "O altar, altar! This is what the LORD says: `A son named Josiah will be born to the house of David. On you he will sacrifice the priests of the high places who now make offerings here, and human bones will be burned on you.'"

That same day the man of God gave a sign: "This is the sign the LORD has declared: The altar will be split apart and the ashes on it will be poured out."

A prophet confronts Jeroboam and his idolatry. The prophet comes from the southern kingdom, which still has the temple and ark of the covenant.

The prophet announces that a later king, a Josiah, will kill the priests of this alternate worship site and burn their bodies on that same altar. But first, the altar will be split and, at that time, all the uncleaned ashes will be poured out. Commentators Hubbard, Patterson and Austel, all argue that the point of the ashes spilling onto the ground is that such an event invalidates the sacrifice (see, for example, Leviticus 6:10-11.)

1 Kings 13:4-5, Shriveled hand

When King Jeroboam heard what the man of God cried out against the altar at Bethel, he stretched out his hand from the altar and said, "Seize him!" But the hand he stretched out toward the man shriveled up, so that he could not pull it back. Also, the altar was split apart and its ashes poured out according to the sign given by the man of God by the word of the LORD.

Jeroboam wants the man of God seized (and presumably killed) but the king's hand is suddenly shriveled up and the altar splits into pieces.

1 Kings 13: 6-10, Repentance

Then the king said to the man of God, "Intercede with the LORD your God and pray for me that my hand may be restored." So the man of God interceded with the LORD, and the king's hand was restored and became as it was before.

The king said to the man of God, "Come home with me and have something to eat, and I will give you a gift."

But the man of God answered the king, "Even if you were to give me half your possessions, I would not go with you, nor would I eat bread or drink water here. For I was commanded by the word of the LORD: `You must not eat bread or drink water or return by the way you came.'"

So he took another road and did not return by the way he had come to Bethel.

 

Jeroboam is undone by the result of his shriveled hand and broken altar and so begs forgiveness and healing. This is done, but the prophet refuses to eat with the king. The prophet returns home in a way that is different than expected.

1 Kings 13:11-17, Betrayed by an old prophet 

Now there was a certain old prophet living in Bethel, whose sons came and told him all that the man of God had done there that day. They also told their father what he had said to the king.

Their father asked them, "Which way did he go?" And his sons showed him which road the man of God from Judah had taken. 

So he said to his sons, "Saddle the donkey for me." And when they had saddled the donkey for him, he mounted it and rode after the man of God. He found him sitting under an oak tree and asked, "Are you the man of God who came from Judah?" 

"I am," he replied.

So the prophet said to him, "Come home with me and eat."

The man of God said, "I cannot turn back and go with you, nor can I eat bread or drink water with you in this place. I have been told by the word of the LORD: `You must not eat bread or drink water there or return by the way you came.'"

The old prophet goes after the young one and attempts to get the young one to return to Bethel and stay with him. (No motives are given for this.)

1 Kings 13:18-23, Lie

The old prophet answered, "I too am a prophet, as you are. And an angel said to me by the word of the LORD: `Bring him back with you to your house so that he may eat bread and drink water.'" (But he was lying to him.)

So the man of God returned with him and ate and drank in his house. While they were sitting at the table, the word of the LORD came to the old prophet who had brought him back. He cried out to the man of God who had come from Judah, "This is what the LORD says: `You have defied the word of the LORD and have not kept the command the LORD your God gave you. You came back and ate bread and drank water in the place where he told you not to eat or drink. Therefore your body will not be buried in the tomb of your fathers.'"

When the man of God had finished eating and drinking, the prophet who had brought him back saddled his donkey for him.

The old prophet lies and seduces the younger man into eating and drinking with him. (Again, we are given no motives.) At first the older prophet seemed to want to honor the younger man but now he deceives him. And then has a prophetic decree against the younger man. (That one's body is not buried in the family tomb indicates that one suffers a violent death away from home.)

1 Kings 13:24-26, Lion attack

As he went on his way, a lion met him on the road and killed him, and his body was thrown down on the road, with both the donkey and the lion standing beside it.

Some people who passed by saw the body thrown down there, with the lion standing beside the body, and they went and reported it in the city where the old prophet lived. When the prophet who had brought him back from his journey heard of it, he said, "It is the man of God who defied the word of the LORD. The LORD has given him over to the lion, which has mauled him and killed him, as the word of the LORD had warned him."

 

The younger prophet is killed by a lion. This is apparently because he ate with the old man. Everyone seems to understand that the young prophet had disobeyed YHWH.

1 Kings 13:27-32, His own tomb

The prophet said to his sons, "Saddle the donkey for me," and they did so.

Then he went out and found the body thrown down on the road, with the donkey and the lion standing beside it. The lion had neither eaten the body nor mauled the donkey. So the prophet picked up the body of the man of God, laid it on the donkey, and brought it back to his own city to mourn for him and bury him.

Then he laid the body in his own tomb, and they mourned over him and said, "Oh, my brother!"

After burying him, he said to his sons, "When I die, bury me in the grave where the man of God is buried; lay my bones beside his bones. For the message he declared by the word of the LORD against the altar in Bethel and against all the shrines on the high places in the towns of Samaria will certainly come true."

Despite his part in the death of the younger man, the older man buries the body of the younger man in his own tomb and mourns over him. He then asks that his children bury him next to the prophet. 

This is a strange story of confusion and remorse. The prophecy about Josiah is fulfilled almost three centuries later in 2 Kings 23. In 2 Kings 23:15-18, we are told that the bones of both prophets are treated with respect.

The commentary by Patterson and Austel claims that the term "Samaria", as a city or a region, did not exist until the reign of Omri, c. 880 BC, and so the older prophet's statement about towns of Samaria represents the narrator's update of the prophet's statement.

1 Kings 13: 33-34, Continuation in evil

Even after this, Jeroboam did not change his evil ways, but once more appointed priests for the high places from all sorts of people. Anyone who wanted to become a priest he consecrated for the high places. This was the sin of the house of Jeroboam that led to its downfall and to its destruction from the face of the earth.

A quick summary -- Jeroboam continues to do evil. The chapter began with Jeroboam sacrificing to idols at Bethel and ends with a reminder that much can be blamed on Jeroboam's idolatry.

First published November 27, 2023, updated October 8, 2026

I Kings 12, A Kingdom Divided

The date is about 930 BC. Solomon has died. Now there will be a fight for the throne.

1 Kings 12:1-5, Solomon's taxes

Rehoboam went to Shechem, for all the Israelites had gone there to make him king. When Jeroboam son of Nebat heard this (he was still in Egypt, where he had fled from King Solomon), he returned from Egypt.

So they sent for Jeroboam, and he and the whole assembly of Israel went to Rehoboam and said to him: "Your father put a heavy yoke on us, but now lighten the harsh labor and the heavy yoke he put on us, and we will serve you."

Rehoboam answered, "Go away for three days and then come back to me." So the people went away.

Shechem, about thirty miles north of Jerusalem, is the same city whose prince raped Dinah, daughter of Jacob in Genesis 34. It has been a major city throughout the time of the judges and kings of Israel and is apparently a place where Rehoboam expects to be crowned king, after his father.

Rehoboam inherits a wealthy and powerful kingdom. He also inherits the arrogance that goes with that power and so he is about to destroy his inheritance.

This is the first we hear of the heavy tax burden Solomon used to create his wealth and power. It was surely involved in the numerous constructions projects in Jerusalem, involving the use of conscripted slave labor.

Jeroboam has now returned from Egypt and is among those who make the request for a lighter yoke.

1 Kings 12:6-7, "Serve the people"

Then King Rehoboam consulted the elders who had served his father Solomon during his lifetime. "How would you advise me to answer these people?" he asked.

They replied, "If today you will be a servant to these people and serve them and give them a favorable answer, they will always be your servants."

Solomon's experienced council gives wise advice: "Be kind, reasonable, and consolidate your kingdom."

1 Kings 12:8-11, Young men weigh in

But Rehoboam rejected the advice the elders gave him and consulted the young men who had grown up with him and were serving him.

He asked them, "What is your advice? How should we answer these people who say to me, `Lighten the yoke your father put on us'?"

The young men who had grown up with him replied, "Tell these people who have said to you, `Your father put a heavy yoke on us, but make our yoke lighter'--tell them, `My little finger is thicker than my father's waist. My father laid on you a heavy yoke; I will make it even heavier. My father scourged you with whips; I will scourge you with scorpions.'"

Rehoboam's clique of wealthy young elites has different advice. These young men, who have grown up in the spoiled shelter of Solomon's palace, recommend that Rehoboam come down hard on any question about easing taxes. 

1 Kings 12:12-15, A harsh response

Three days later Jeroboam and all the people returned to Rehoboam, as the king had said, "Come back to me in three days."

The king answered the people harshly. Rejecting the advice given him by the elders, he followed the advice of the young men and said, "My father made your yoke heavy; I will make it even heavier. My father scourged you with whips; I will scourge you with scorpions."

So the king did not listen to the people, for this turn of events was from the LORD, to fulfill the word the LORD had spoken to Jeroboam son of Nebat through Ahijah the Shilonite.

Rehoboam gives the harsh, hard response. His attitude is "tone deaf" -- he is not listening to the people or to Solomon's elders. He will pay for his arrogance.

The writer of the scroll of Kings explains that this decision is fulfilling the earlier prophecy, given in the previous chapter.

1 Kings 12:16-19, "To your tents!"

When all Israel saw that the king refused to listen to them, they answered the king: "What share do we have in David, what part in Jesse's son? To your tents, O Israel! Look after your own house, O David!" So the Israelites went home.

But as for the Israelites who were living in the towns of Judah, Rehoboam still ruled over them.

King Rehoboam sent out Adoniram, who was in charge of forced labor, but all Israel stoned him to death. King Rehoboam, however, managed to get into his chariot and escape to Jerusalem. So Israel has been in rebellion against the house of David to this day.

Rehoboam's response is met with rebellion. The rebellion echoes an earlier one of David's time (2 Samuel 20:1-2) where the northern tribes had broken off from David for a short time. It appears that there has been a simmering unrest since those days two generations back.

The first person sent to quell the disturbance is killed. Rehoboam flees to Jerusalem and the ten northern tribes of Israel break off from Rehoboam. This rebellion continues through the time of the author.

1 Kings 12:20, Jeroboam crowned

When all the Israelites heard that Jeroboam had returned, they sent and called him to the assembly and made him king over all Israel. Only the tribe of Judah remained loyal to the house of David.

Jeroboam, the charismatic leader that frightened Solomon, has managed to become leader of the rebellion. So the Israelites, presumably still gathered at Shechem, crown Jeroboam king. Only Judah remains with Solomon's son, Rehoboam.

1 Kings 12:21-24, Intervention of Shemaiah

When Rehoboam arrived in Jerusalem, he mustered the whole house of Judah and the tribe of Benjamin--a hundred and eighty thousand fighting men--to make war against the house of Israel and to regain the kingdom for Rehoboam son of Solomon.

But this word of God came to Shemaiah the man of God: "Say to Rehoboam son of Solomon king of Judah, to the whole house of Judah and Benjamin, and to the rest of the people, `This is what the LORD says: Do not go up to fight against your brothers, the Israelites. Go home, every one of you, for this is my doing.'" 

So they obeyed the word of the LORD and went home again, as the LORD had ordered.

Rehoboam's first plan is to muster out an army and reconquer Israel. But Shemaiah, a "man of God" intervenes.

This passage parallels 2 Chronicles 12.  In that passage (2 Chronicles 12:15), Shemaiah is identified as a prophet who, with "Iddo the seer", records the history of Rehoboam's reign.

We see here that the tribe of Benjamin also supports Rehoboam, contrary to the earlier statement that only one tribe stayed with the king. Previously Benjamin had tended to be allied with Saul, opposed to the dynasty of David. Some suggest that Benjamin was divided, some going with Jeroboam, others staying with Rehoboam. Bible scholars have also raised questions about the tribe of Simeon as its territory was south of Judah and the tribe may have been absorbed into Judah at some time.

1 Kings 12:25-27, What about the temple?

Then Jeroboam fortified Shechem in the hill country of Ephraim and lived there. From there he went out and built up Peniel.

Jeroboam thought to himself, "The kingdom will now likely revert to the house of David. If these people go up to offer sacrifices at the temple of the LORD in Jerusalem, they will again give their allegiance to their lord, Rehoboam king of Judah. They will kill me and return to King Rehoboam."

Jeroboam fortifies his domain. Shechem is in Ephraim; Peniel is apparently east of the Jordan.

After presumably worrying about military avenues of attacks, Jeroboam also worries about the religious practices of his people.

1 Kings 12:28-31, "Here are your gods"

After seeking advice, the king made two golden calves. He said to the people, "It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem. Here are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of Egypt."

One he set up in Bethel, and the other in Dan. And this thing became a sin; the people went even as far as Dan to worship the one there. Jeroboam built shrines on high places and appointed priests from all sorts of people, even though they were not Levites.

Jeroboam sets up two idols in an attempt to keep his subjects from going to Jerusalem. The use of the golden calves is not explained (they may have represented other gods or may have been intended, like the cherubim, to be the seat of the invisible YHWH) but one is clearly reminded of Aaron's calf from Exodus 32.

Dan is in the northern part of the kingdom; Bethel is at the southern end, probably 10-15 miles from Jerusalem.

1 Kings 12:32-33, Festival

He instituted a festival on the fifteenth day of the eighth month, like the festival held in Judah, and offered sacrifices on the altar. This he did in Bethel, sacrificing to the calves he had made. And at Bethel he also installed priests at the high places he had made. On the fifteenth day of the eighth month, a month of his own choosing, he offered sacrifices on the altar he had built at Bethel. So he instituted the festival for the Israelites and went up to the altar to make offerings.

In order to promote his own kingdom and separate it from Jerusalem, Jeroboam creates his own festival. The Feast of Booths, during which Solomon's temple was dedicated, occurred on the fifteenth day of the seventh month. Jeroboam seems to have initiated a competing festival on the  fifteenth day of the eighth month. It is possible that there may have already been a Canaanite festival at that time.

First published November 25, 2023, updated October 7, 2026

I Kings 11, Wives and Concubines

Solomon's reign involves both considerable knowledge and wisdom. We have reached the height of Solomon's reign, indeed, the height of Israel's power and influence. The writer of the scroll of Kings has summarized Solomon's wealth and now leads us into the downside of his reign. (In an attempt to keep up with the events of the Old Testament, I mark eleven here as a bad number -- David's reign goes downhill in the eleventh chapter of 2 Samuel and the eleventh chapter of 1 Kings describes the decay of a once humble Solomon.)

1 Kings 11:1-3, 700 wives, 300 concubines

King Solomon, however, loved many foreign women besides Pharaoh's daughter--Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Sidonians and Hittites. They were from nations about which the LORD had told the Israelites, "You must not intermarry with them, because they will surely turn your hearts after their gods." Nevertheless, Solomon held fast to them in love. He had seven hundred wives of royal birth and three hundred concubines, and his wives led him astray.

Solomon's extravagance extends to his harem, to his wives and concubines. His "love" for them translates into accommodating their religious practices.

It is ironic that with one thousand wives and concubines, we have only three recorded children of Solomon: Rehoboam (probably his oldest son) who succeeded him, and two daughters, Tapath and Basemath, married to Israelite governors (1 Kings 4:11-15.)

1 Kings 11:4-6, Ashtoreth and Molech, 

As Solomon grew old, his wives turned his heart after other gods, and his heart was not fully devoted to the LORD his God, as the heart of David his father had been. He followed Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians, and Molech the detestable god of the Ammonites.

So Solomon did evil in the eyes of the LORD; he did not follow the LORD completely, as David his father had done.

The effect of a thousand lovers is that Solomon allows their many gods into his house and heart, breaking the covenant with YHWH.

1 Kings 11:7-10, Turned away from YHWH

On a hill east of Jerusalem, Solomon built a high place for Chemosh the detestable god of Moab, and for Molech the detestable god of the Ammonites. He did the same for all his foreign wives, who burned incense and offered sacrifices to their gods.

The LORD became angry with Solomon because his heart had turned away from the LORD, the God of Israel, who had appeared to him twice. Although he had forbidden Solomon to follow other gods, Solomon did not keep the LORD's command.

 

Solomon goes beyond mere accommodation, building an altar to Chemosh and Molech on a hill east of Jerusalem. The author notes that this had occurred even though YHWH had twice appeared to Solomon.

1 Kings 11:11-13, Torn away

So the LORD said to Solomon, "Since this is your attitude and you have not kept my covenant and my decrees, which I commanded you, I will most certainly tear the kingdom away from you and give it to one of your subordinates. Nevertheless, for the sake of David your father, I will not do it during your lifetime. I will tear it out of the hand of your son.

Yet I will not tear the whole kingdom from him, but will give him one tribe for the sake of David my servant and for the sake of Jerusalem, which I have chosen."

Solomon is told that the kingdom will be taken from him, but after his death. This means the kingdom will be split up. The one tribe that remains is Judah.  

Meanwhile, Solomon has made some enemies. Three of them are described below.

1 Kings 11:14-16, Hadah

Then the LORD raised up against Solomon an adversary, Hadad the Edomite, from the royal line of Edom. 

Earlier when David was fighting with Edom, Joab the commander of the army, who had gone up to bury the dead, had struck down all the men in Edom. Joab and all the Israelites stayed there for six months, until they had destroyed all the men in Edom.

 

An old feud rises up, between a descendant of Edom/Esau and Solomon. Joab, David's commander, had previously destroyed the army of Edom. (Edom would have controlled a region on the southeast shore of the Dead Sea.)

1 Kings 11:17-20, Prospering in Egypt

But Hadad, still only a boy, fled to Egypt with some Edomite officials who had served his father. They set out from Midian and went to Paran. Then taking men from Paran with them, they went to Egypt, to Pharaoh king of Egypt, who gave Hadad a house and land and provided him with food.

Pharaoh was so pleased with Hadad that he gave him a sister of his own wife, Queen Tahpenes, in marriage. The sister of Tahpenes bore him a son named Genubath, whom Tahpenes brought up in the royal palace. There Genubath lived with Pharaoh's own children.

Hadad, as a boy, flees from the Joab massacre. Welcomed by Pharaoh, Hadad now has some power and probably has sights on the throne of Israel.

1 Kings 11:21-22, Return to Israel

While he was in Egypt, Hadad heard that David rested with his fathers and that Joab the commander of the army was also dead. Then Hadad said to Pharaoh, "Let me go, that I may return to my own country."

"What have you lacked here that you want to go back to your own country?" Pharaoh asked. 

"Nothing," Hadad replied, "but do let me go!"

 

Hearing that both David and Joab are dead, Hadad returns to Israel. 

1 Kings 11:23-25, Another adversary

And God raised up against Solomon another adversary, Rezon son of Eliada, who had fled from his master, Hadadezer king of Zobah. He gathered men around him and became the leader of a band of rebels when David destroyed the forces [of Zobah]; the rebels went to Damascus, where they settled and took control.

Rezon was Israel's adversary as long as Solomon lived, adding to the trouble caused by Hadad. So Rezon ruled in Aram and was hostile toward Israel.

Rezon, in Damascus, is also a foe of Solomon. Solomon then had foes to the northeast (Damascus) and southeast (Edom.)

1 Kings 11:26-33, Abijah speaks to Jeroboam

Also, Jeroboam son of Nebat rebelled against the king. He was one of Solomon's officials, an Ephraimite from Zeredah, and his mother was a widow named Zeruah. 

Here is the account of how he rebelled against the king: Solomon had built the supporting terraces and had filled in the gap in the wall of the city of David his father. Now Jeroboam was a man of standing, and when Solomon saw how well the young man did his work, he put him in charge of the whole labor force of the house of Joseph.

About that time Jeroboam was going out of Jerusalem, and Ahijah the prophet of Shiloh met him on the way, wearing a new cloak. The two of them were alone out in the country, and Ahijah took hold of the new cloak he was wearing and tore it into twelve pieces.

Then he said to Jeroboam, "Take ten pieces for yourself, for this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: `See, I am going to tear the kingdom out of Solomon's hand and give you ten tribes. But for the sake of my servant David and the city of Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, he will have one tribe. I will do this because they have forsaken me and worshiped Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians, Chemosh the god of the Moabites, and Molech the god of the Ammonites, and have not walked in my ways, nor done what is right in my eyes, nor kept my statutes and laws as David, Solomon's father, did.

Jeroboam, a man of standing in Solomon's court, is told by Abijah, "the prophet of Shiloh", that he will receive ten of the twelve tribes. 

(NIV footnotes: as before, the Hebrew word millo,  translated "supporting terraces" is unclear.)

1 Kings 11:34-40, Ten tribes and one tribe

" `But I will not take the whole kingdom out of Solomon's hand; I have made him ruler all the days of his life for the sake of David my servant, whom I chose and who observed my commands and statutes. I will take the kingdom from his son's hands and give you ten tribes. I will give one tribe to his son so that David my servant may always have a lamp before me in Jerusalem, the city where I chose to put my Name.

However, as for you, I will take you, and you will rule over all that your heart desires; you will be king over Israel.  If you do whatever I command you and walk in my ways and do what is right in my eyes by keeping my statutes and commands, as David my servant did, I will be with you. I will build you a dynasty as enduring as the one I built for David and will give Israel to you. I will humble David's descendants because of this, but not forever.'"

Solomon tried to kill Jeroboam, but Jeroboam fled to Egypt, to Shishak the king, and stayed there until Solomon's death.

Abijah says that David's descendants will be humbled but that this is to be temporary; the Davidic/Solomon dynasty will still endure forever.  

Solomon, apparently aware of the threat from Jeroboam, tries to kill him, but Jeroboam flees.

We have some discrepancy on the tribes that stay with Solomon's dynasty. Is it one, Judah? Or two? We will look at this in the next chapter.

Hubbard argues that Shishak is the same king as Shoshenq 1, founder of the Twenty-Second Dynasty in Egypt, and the successor to the pharaoh of 1 Kings 3:1, whose daughter Solomon married. Shishak will later attack Jerusalem and raid the rich temple and palace (1 Kings 14:25-26.)

1 Kings 11:41-43, Death of Solomon

As for the other events of Solomon's reign--all he did and the wisdom he displayed--are they not written in the book of the annals of Solomon? Solomon reigned in Jerusalem over all Israel forty years. Then he rested with his fathers and was buried in the city of David his father. And Rehoboam his son succeeded him as king.

Solomon "rests with his fathers" and is buried in David's tomb. Rehoboam is to be Solomon's successor.

The book of the annals of Solomon in one of a number of ancient Hebrew texts lost to time.

First published November 25, 2023, updated October 6, 2026

I Kings 10, A Foreign Queen Visits Solomon

Solomon's work, wisdom, knowledge, ornate temple and palace, are well-known to Israel and others. This chapter will begin to round out his reign by boasting of other exploits besides his palace and temple.

1 Kings 10:1-3, Arrival of the queen of Sheba

When the queen of Sheba heard about the fame of Solomon and his relation to the name of the LORD, she came to test him with hard questions.

Arriving at Jerusalem with a very great caravan--with camels carrying spices, large quantities of gold, and precious stones--she came to Solomon and talked with him about all that she had on her mind. Solomon answered all her questions; nothing was too hard for the king to explain to her.

Solomon is challenged by a queen who arrives with great fanfare.  Solomon's wisdom is put on display. (This wisdom will later be recorded as parts of the books of Proverb, Ecclesiastes and the Song of Songs.)

Sheba was apparently a kingdom in the Arabian peninsula, probably in modern day Yemen. The visit by this queen, described in this chapter, has led to a variety of legends and embellishments; see this Britannica webpage and this Wikipedia webpage.

1 Kings 10:4-9, Awe

When the queen of Sheba saw all the wisdom of Solomon and the palace he had built, the food on his table, the seating of his officials, the attending servants in their robes, his cupbearers, and the burnt offerings he made at the temple of the LORD, she was overwhelmed.

She said to the king, "The report I heard in my own country about your achievements and your wisdom is true. But I did not believe these things until I came and saw with my own eyes. Indeed, not even half was told me; in wisdom and wealth you have far exceeded the report I heard. How happy your men must be! How happy your officials, who continually stand before you and hear your wisdom!

Praise be to the LORD your God, who has delighted in you and placed you on the throne of Israel. Because of the LORD's eternal love for Israel, he has made you king, to maintain justice and righteousness."

The Queen expresses admiration and awe, not just for Solomon's wealth but his wisdom and his worship.  She praises Solomon's God who has given him all this.

1 Kings 10:10-15, Gifts from Sheba

And she gave the king 120 talents of gold, large quantities of spices, and precious stones. Never again were so many spices brought in as those the queen of Sheba gave to King Solomon. (Hiram's ships brought gold from Ophir; and from there they brought great cargoes of almugwood and precious stones. The king used the almugwood to make supports for the temple of the LORD and for the royal palace, and to make harps and lyres for the musicians. So much almugwood has never been imported or seen since that day.)

King Solomon gave the queen of Sheba all she desired and asked for, besides what he had given her out of his royal bounty. Then she left and returned with her retinue to her own country.

The weight of the gold that Solomon received yearly was 666 talents, not including the revenues from merchants and traders and from all the Arabian kings and the governors of the land.

Like others before her, the queen showers Solomon with gifts. King Hiram is involved. The writer wants us to be overwhelmed by both the wealth and accolades.

The governors mentioned in verse 15 are probably those identified in 1 Kings 4:7-19 as governors in Israel. This implies an extensive taxation system that supports the glory of Jerusalem. This taxation system will become significant in 1 Kings 12 when Solomon's son, Rehoboam, foolishly promises to increase his father's taxes.

The Hebrew word almuggim (אַלְמֻגִּים), appearing in verses 11 and 12, is apparently some type of fine wood. The word is the plural of almug and is probably related to sandalwood (Strom's concordance.) Patterson and Austel, in a footnote, quote an archaeological table where it is mentioned as used in fine furniture.

1 Kings 10:16-21, Gold shields, throne, goblets

King Solomon made two hundred large shields of hammered gold; six hundred bekas of gold went into each shield. He also made three hundred small shields of hammered gold, with three minas of gold in each shield. The king put them in the Palace of the Forest of Lebanon.

Then the king made a great throne inlaid with ivory and overlaid with fine gold. The throne had six steps, and its back had a rounded top. On both sides of the seat were armrests, with a lion standing beside each of them. Twelve lions stood on the six steps, one at either end of each step. Nothing like it had ever been made for any other kingdom.

All King Solomon's goblets were gold, and all the household articles in the Palace of the Forest of Lebanon were pure gold. Nothing was made of silver, because silver was considered of little value in Solomon's days.
 

Among the many expensive objects on display in one of the palaces are shields, a throne and goblets.  The writer says so many things were made of gold that silver was considered "of little value"!

1 Kings 10:22-29, More accolades

The king had a fleet of trading ships at sea along with the ships of Hiram. Once every three years it returned, carrying gold, silver and ivory, and apes and baboons.

King Solomon was greater in riches and wisdom than all the other kings of the earth. The whole world sought audience with Solomon to hear the wisdom God had put in his heart.

Year after year, everyone who came brought a gift--articles of silver and gold, robes, weapons and spices, and horses and mules.  Solomon accumulated chariots and horses; he had fourteen hundred chariots and twelve thousand horses, which he kept in the chariot cities and also with him in Jerusalem.

The king made silver as common in Jerusalem as stones, and cedar as plentiful as sycamore-fig trees in the foothills. Solomon's horses were imported from Egypt and from Kue --the royal merchants purchased them from Kue. They imported a chariot from Egypt for six hundred shekels of silver, and a horse for a hundred and fifty. They also exported them to all the kings of the Hittites and of the Arameans.

In verse 22, the term translated "trading ships" is literally "ships of Tarshish". The region (city?) of Tarshish was apparently so significant for seafaring trade in the ancient Near East that "ships of Tarshish" was a synonym for "trading ships."

Solomon's reign was marked by considerable trade. Once again the writer claims silver was "as common as stones" but then goes on to describe things purchased with silver. We have now reached the height of Solomon's reign, indeed, the height of power and influence for the nation of Israel. The nation of Israel will decline dramatically after this.

Solomon has become famous for accumulating large numbers of horses and a large amount of silver and gold. These are explicitly prohibited in Deuteronomy 17:16-17, presumably because these riches and military strength encourage the king to ignore YHWH and rely on their own wealth and power. The passage in Deuteronomy also prohibits returning to Egypt for horses, presumably because this implies a return to old ways before the Exodus. The passage in Deuteronomy prohibits a king from accumulating one more "treasure": wives. That leads us into the next chapter.

First published November 25, 2023, updated October 5, 2026

Wordplay in the Old Testament

My wife, Jan, and I were driving down a Michigan road at dusk the other night and she said, "Watch for deer."  I replied, "Yes, dear." This is an English wordplay we have done countless times, playing on the fact that "deer", the animal, and "dear", a sweetheart, sound the same.  (I'm not sure Jan still thinks this is funny, but she has learned to put up with me! She is patient with her patient! 😁)

Wordplay occurs in all languages.  It is especially common in Old Testament Hebrew, where the wordplay would aid in memorization of the story and also keep the attention of listeners.

Wordplay, like the acrostic structure in an earlier post, disappears in translation from Hebrew to English and often has to be pointed out by footnotes. Occasionally the wordplay is explicitly mentioned in the text, but most of the time only the Hebrew listener would catch it.

In Ruth 4:1, Boaz calls a man over to begin the negotiation for Ruth. The NIV has Boaz call the man "friend" but in the Hebrew the term is peloni almoni, a rhyming phrase that means "such and such," hiding the man's name for all eternity. The rhyming phrase might be better translated "mister mystery" to catch the flavor of the original wordplay.

Robert Alter's translations and commentaries give many examples of these. For example, in 1 Samuel 13:7, the text says "the Hebrews had crossed the Jordan..." The uncommon description of the people as "Hebrews" is explained by the wordplay ivrim avru, two similar Hebrew words meaning "Hebrews crossed". In 1 Samuel 16:23, Saul's finding relief from the evil spirit, involves the same base word; ruah is spirit and rawah is relief. 

Much of my notes here follow an online article, Word Play in the Old Testament by Randy McCracken. McCracken writes: 

Samson’s riddle to his wedding guests in Judges 14:14, comes through quite well in most English translations. Based on his exploit of killing a lion and later discovering honey in its carcass, which he proceeds to eat, Samson poses the following riddle: “From-the-eater out-came eat[s] and from-the-strong out-came sweet[s]”...  Samson does use assonance (the use of similar vowel sounds), alliteration (the use of same sounding consonants), and word repetition.

[Wordplay] is found in Judges 3:8, 10. ... Othniel, battles Cushan Rishathaim from Aram Naharaim. Even in English we can pick up the obvious rhyme between Rishathaim and Naharaim. The NKJV spoils this rhyme by translating Aram Naharaim ... as Mesopotamia. ... [T]he name Cushan Rishathaim also is a clever wordplay. The word “Rishathaim” means “doubly wicked.” Cushan may also mean “dark,” and so Cushan Rishathaim means, “the dark doubly wicked one!” Clearly this is not the name that Cushan’s parents gave him! Rather, it is a clever twisting or substituting of vowels to produce a pun that mocks their adversary... 

[I]n Judges 9 when a man named Gaal Ben Ebed strolls into the city of Shechem. Gaal Ben Ebed means “Loathesome son of a slave,” hardly the man’s real name. In cases like this, we will never know the real name of the individual, but we can take an educated guess. For example, by changing a couple of vowels, Gaal becomes “Goel” which means “redeemer.” Were the Israelites making fun of this man whose name may have meant “Redeemer” by calling him “Loathesome?” Remember that when writing ancient Hebrew (much like modern Hebrew) only consonants were used. Therefore, Gaal and Goel would look the same when written out. 

 

[W]hen Jeremiah was called to be a prophet God says to him in Jeremiah 1:11, “What do you see Jeremiah?” The young prophet responds, “I see a branch of an almond tree.” The Lord responds, “I am watching over my word to perform it” (Jer. 1:12). In Hebrew the word for almond tree is shaqed, while the word for watching is shoqed. Since the almond tree was the first tree to bud in spring, the point of the wordplay is that God’s word will soon come to pass. ...

My favorite wordplay of this kind occurs in the story of Eli found in 1 Samuel chapters 1-4. We are told on two occasions that Eli has a weight problem. In 1 Samuel 2:29 the Lord accuses Eli and his sons of making themselves “fat with the best of all the offerings of Israel.” Later when Eli dies, the narrator tells us that Eli broke his neck when he fell backwards off his seat because he was old and heavy. The word heavy in Hebrew is kabed. It is from the same root as the Hebrew word for honor which is kabod. The story of Eli emphasizes that he has not honored the Lord (1 Sam. 2:30)  Eli’s heaviness is directly related to the lack of honor that he has shown for God because it is his consumption of the stolen meat from the sacrifices that has contributed to his weight problem. The wordplay between kabed and kabod emphasizes the correspondence between the stolen sacrificial meat and the lack of honor given to God.... After Eli’s death, his daughter-in-law gives birth to a child that she names Ichabod ... [which] means ...“no glory”.

There are countless other places where the Hebrew wordplay is lost in translation. Reading Alter's commentaries in recent studies, I've noticed the following:

In Psalm 48, the Hebrew nowda in verse 3, translated by the NIV as "shown himself", is followed in the next line by nowadu (verse 4), translated as "joined forces". (God has nowda while the kings have nowadu.)

In Psalm 56:8, the psalmist writes: "Record my lament; list my tears on your scroll..." The Hebrew is literally "Count my wanderings (nodi), my tears into your bottle (nod)...." The psalmist sings that his nodi are collected into God's nod.

In Psalm 69, in verses 30 and 31, the Hebrew word translated "song" is shiyr while the Hebrew translated "ox" is shor. David claims that praising God with shiyr will please God more than shor.

In 2 Kings 1:6-8, Elijah has a message for the king, Ahaziah. Ahaziah identifies Elijah by the description "garment of hair and a leather belt." The Hebrew expression translated here "garment of hair" is baal sear , literally "lord of hair." The messengers were originally to go see Baal-Zebub (literally "lord of the flies") but instead met Baal-Sear ("lord of hair".) 

In the same chapter, verses 11 and 12, the men of Ahaziah demand that "the man (ish) of God come down" but in response to their demand, "the fire (esh) of God comes down". They call for ish but get esh! (Be careful what you ask for!)

Other resources

In the 900-plus chapters of the Old Testament, there are literally thousands of examples of wordplay. There are then numerous online articles on this characteristic of Hebrew scriptures. Below is a short list of online articles I found interesting.

• Biblicalarchaeology.org has an article on Wordplay in Genesis. 
• Gary Rendsburg of Cornell has an article Wordplay in Biblical Hebrew.
• John Parsons at hebrew4christians.com has this short article.
• Verlyn Verbrugge has this short article on Hebrew wordplay.
• The Culture of the Bible blog argues in this article that Hebrew wordplay even shows up in some of the sayings of Jesus (once they are translated back into Hebrew.)

Occasionally in this blog, as I discover the more remarkable examples, I will try to make note of the wordplay in the text.  Since I do not really know Hebrew, the wordplay is usually pointed out by commentators such as Robert Alter or Robert L. Hubbard, Jr..

First published October 22, 2023, updated October 4, 2026

I Kings 9, God's Covenant with Solomon

Solomon has finished and dedicated the temple.

I Kings 9:1-5, Second appearance of YHWH

When Solomon had finished building the temple of the LORD and the royal palace, and had achieved all he had desired to do, the LORD appeared to him a second time, as he had appeared to him at Gibeon.

The LORD said to him: "I have heard the prayer and plea you have made before me; I have consecrated this temple, which you have built, by putting my Name there forever. My eyes and my heart will always be there.

"As for you, if you walk before me in integrity of heart and uprightness, as David your father did, and do all I command and observe my decrees and laws, I will establish your royal throne over Israel forever, as I promised David your father when I said, `You shall never fail to have a man on the throne of Israel.'

In the first twenty years of his reign, Solomon achieves everything he desires, including massive building projects described below. (Read Ecclesiastes 2:1-11 for a declaration of these achievements -- and the thoughts that follow.)

YHWH continues the Davidic covenant with Solomon. This second appearance of YHWH to Solomon is apparently in the middle of his forty year reign. This passage parallels 2 Chronicles 7:11-22.

I Kings 9:6-9, "Don't turn away"

"But if you or your sons turn away from me and do not observe the commands and decrees I have given you and go off to serve other gods and worship them, then I will cut off Israel from the land I have given them and will reject this temple I have consecrated for my Name. Israel will then become a byword and an object of ridicule among all peoples. And though this temple is now imposing, all who pass by will be appalled and will scoff and say, `Why has the LORD done such a thing to this land and to this temple?'

People will answer, `Because they have forsaken the LORD their God, who brought their fathers out of Egypt, and have embraced other gods, worshiping and serving them--that is why the LORD brought all this disaster on them.'"

Like the covenants before, this one has both blessings and cursings, promises and warnings.

(NIV footnotes: In verse 6, the Hebrew term translated "you" is plural, addressed presumably to all of Israel, not just Solomon.)

I Kings 9:10-14, Good-for-nothing

At the end of twenty years, during which Solomon built these two buildings--the temple of the LORD and the royal palace-- King Solomon gave twenty towns in Galilee to Hiram king of Tyre, because Hiram had supplied him with all the cedar and pine and gold he wanted.

But when Hiram went from Tyre to see the towns that Solomon had given him, he was not pleased with them. "What kind of towns are these you have given me, my brother?" he asked. And he called them the Land of Cabul, a name they have to this day.

Now Hiram had sent to the king 120 talents of gold.

There seems to be a dispute between Solomon and Hiram. The dispute explains a name for a collection of towns; according to the NIV footnotes "Cabul" sounds like the Hebrew for good-for-nothing.

I Kings 9:15-21, Forced labor

Here is the account of the forced labor King Solomon conscripted to build the LORD's temple, his own palace, the supporting terraces, the wall of Jerusalem, and Hazor, Megiddo and Gezer. (Pharaoh king of Egypt had attacked and captured Gezer. He had set it on fire. He killed its Canaanite inhabitants and then gave it as a wedding gift to his daughter, Solomon's wife. And Solomon rebuilt Gezer.) 

He built up Lower Beth Horon, Baalath, and Tadmor in the desert, within his land, as well as all his store cities and the towns for his chariots and for his horses --whatever he desired to build in Jerusalem, in Lebanon and throughout all the territory he ruled. All the people left from the Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites (these peoples were not Israelites), that is, their descendants remaining in the land, whom the Israelites could not exterminate--these Solomon conscripted for his slave labor force, as it is to this day.

Solomon's temple, palace, and other building projects were built by forced labor conscripted from foreigners left within Canaan. 

As noted in our earlier study of 2 Samuel 5:9, the Hebrew translated here as "supporting terraces" is unclear. It is literally "the Millo" and is mentioned several times in the Old Testament history.  Wikipedia has an article on it here and the Biblical Archealogical Society has an online article on it here.

Solomon fortifies the towns of Hazor, Megiddo and Gezer. Hubbard says that all three towns were originally Canaanite and were significant in protecting trade routes in the region. The city of Hazor was just north of the Sea of Galilee, at the northern edge of Israel. It was one of the most significant cities of the ancient Near East (see this Wikipedia article.) The city of Gezer was in the middle of Canaan, west of Jerusalem, towards the coast. Joshua, in Joshua 10:33, defeats Horam, king of Gezer. Here we have the Egyptian king razing the city and then giving it to Solomon as part of the dowry of the king's daughter.  Megiddo, says Hubbard, "guarded a crucial pass in the Carmel mountains, which linked the Valley of Jezreel and the international coastal highway to Egypt" (p. 61 of Hubbard's commentary on First and Second Kings.) All of these actions improve Israel's standing and power in the Levant region of the ancient Near East.

I Kings 9:22-25, Israelite supervisors

But Solomon did not make slaves of any of the Israelites; they were his fighting men, his government officials, his officers, his captains, and the commanders of his chariots and charioteers. They were also the chief officials in charge of Solomon's projects--550 officials supervising the men who did the work.

After Pharaoh's daughter had come up from the City of David to the palace Solomon had built for her, he constructed the supporting terraces. 

Three times a year Solomon sacrificed burnt offerings and fellowship offerings on the altar he had built for the LORD, burning incense before the LORD along with them, and so fulfilled the temple obligations.

Israelites were not enslaved. The Israelites oversaw the work of others.

In marrying the daughter of the king of Egypt, Solomon received the town of Gezer (above, verse 16) and then builds her a palace in Jerusalem.

Before the construction of the temple, it was reported that Solomon made sacrifices at the "high places". But now the sacrifices have been moved into the temple where Solomon now makes regular sacrifices, three times a year.

I Kings 9:26-28, Solomon's navy

King Solomon also built ships at Ezion Geber, which is near Elath in Edom, on the shore of the Red Sea. And Hiram sent his men--sailors who knew the sea--to serve in the fleet with Solomon's men. They sailed to Ophir and brought back 420 talents of gold, which they delivered to King Solomon.

Solomon also developed a navy, so as to improve trade and commerce. The fleet sailed from the city of Ezion Geber (on the Gulf of Aqaba) down the Red Sea to Ophir (likely along the Gulf of Aden, says Hubbard) and did significant trading, including bringing home 420 talents (probably about 16 tons) of gold. Below, from Google Maps, is that region today. 

With these ships, Israel now has access to ports along the Arabian Sea and the Indian Ocean. This is a significant commercial region and represents, once again, Israel's standing in the region. (See this website for more details on this trade.) The Israelite commercial navy will be short lived; there will be a futile attempt to rebuild the fleet by King Jehoshaphat, Solomon's great-great-grandson, about 70 years later. (See 1 Kings 22:48.)

First published November 25, 2023, updated October 3, 2026

I Kings 8, The Temple Dedicated

Solomon has built both an extravagant temple and an extravagant palace.

I Kings 8:1-5, Ark brought to the temple

Then King Solomon summoned into his presence at Jerusalem the elders of Israel, all the heads of the tribes and the chiefs of the Israelite families, to bring up the ark of the LORD's covenant from Zion, the City of David. 

All the men of Israel came together to King Solomon at the time of the festival in the month of Ethanim, the seventh month. When all the elders of Israel had arrived, the priests took up the ark, and they brought up the ark of the LORD and the Tent of Meeting and all the sacred furnishings in it. The priests and Levites carried them up, and King Solomon and the entire assembly of Israel that had gathered about him were before the ark, sacrificing so many sheep and cattle that they could not be recorded or counted.

In the seventh month, the ark is brought into the temple. The number of sacrificed animals is too large to count!

The temple was finished in the eighth month (1 Kings 6:38) and the ark is brought into the temple in the seventh month, so presumably eleven months was spent furnishing the temple before bringing in the ark. (It is also possible that the ark was brought in on the seventh month to coincide with the Feast of Booths.)  Patterson and Austel say that Ethanin was the name of the seventh month prior to the Babylonian captivity; after the captivity the seventh month was called Tishrei and this may be the reason it is explained as the seventh month to the reader.

I Kings 8:6-9, Into the inner sanctuary

The priests then brought the ark of the LORD's covenant to its place in the inner sanctuary of the temple, the Most Holy Place, and put it beneath the wings of the cherubim. The cherubim spread their wings over the place of the ark and overshadowed the ark and its carrying poles. These poles were so long that their ends could be seen from the Holy Place in front of the inner sanctuary, but not from outside the Holy Place; and they are still there today.

There was nothing in the ark except the two stone tablets that Moses had placed in it at Horeb, where the LORD made a covenant with the Israelites after they came out of Egypt.

The writer appears to have seen this, claiming it is still visible "today", that is, in the day of writing.  The stone tablets are those that Moses received back in Exodus 34.

I Kings 8:10-13, Cloud fills the temple

When the priests withdrew from the Holy Place, the cloud filled the temple of the LORD. And the priests could not perform their service because of the cloud, for the glory of the LORD filled his temple.

Then Solomon said, "The LORD has said that he would dwell in a dark cloud; I have indeed built a magnificent temple for you, a place for you to dwell forever."

As happened with Moses in Exodus 40:34, the presence of YHWH is now physically visible.

I Kings 8:14-21, Blessing

While the whole assembly of Israel was standing there, the king turned around and blessed them. Then he said: "Praise be to the LORD, the God of Israel, who with his own hand has fulfilled what he promised with his own mouth to my father David. For he said, `Since the day I brought my people Israel out of Egypt, I have not chosen a city in any tribe of Israel to have a temple built for my Name to be there, but I have chosen David to rule my people Israel.'

"My father David had it in his heart to build a temple for the Name of the LORD, the God of Israel. But the LORD said to my father David, `Because it was in your heart to build a temple for my Name, you did well to have this in your heart.  Nevertheless, you are not the one to build the temple, but your son, who is your own flesh and blood--he is the one who will build the temple for my Name.'

"The LORD has kept the promise he made: I have succeeded David my father and now I sit on the throne of Israel, just as the LORD promised, and I have built the temple for the Name of the LORD, the God of Israel. I have provided a place there for the ark, in which is the covenant of the LORD that he made with our fathers when he brought them out of Egypt."

Solomon "blesses" this people. (Presumably this is a statement of promises related to the covenant.) Then he praises YHWH, expressing gratitude for being on the throne and being allowed to build the temple.

I Kings 8:22-26, Praise

Then Solomon stood before the altar of the LORD in front of the whole assembly of Israel, spread out his hands toward heaven and said: "O LORD, God of Israel, there is no God like you in heaven above or on earth below--you who keep your covenant of love with your servants who continue wholeheartedly in your way. You have kept your promise to your servant David my father; with your mouth you have promised and with your hand you have fulfilled it--as it is today.

"Now LORD, God of Israel, keep for your servant David my father the promises you made to him when you said, `You shall never fail to have a man to sit before me on the throne of Israel, if only your sons are careful in all they do to walk before me as you have done.' And now, O God of Israel, let your word that you promised your servant David my father come true.

Solomon rejoices in YHWH's gifts to him and to Israel. He praises God in language that reviews the covenant and the promises to the descendants of David. 

In verse 23 Solomon describes God's "covenant of love"; the Hebrew word translated "love" by the NIV is hesed.  That word is a subject of a Sunday essay, here.

Solomon's stance in prayer is to stand, with hands spread out, uplifted. This was a common Old Testament way to pray, far different from our culture's common "head bowed, eyes closed" stance in prayer. A parallel passage, 2 Chronicles 6:13, has Solomon standing first, then kneeling before the people, with hands outstretched.

I Kings 8:27-30, "Then hear from heaven"

"But will God really dwell on earth? The heavens, even the highest heaven, cannot contain you. How much less this temple I have built! Yet give attention to your servant's prayer and his plea for mercy, O LORD my God. Hear the cry and the prayer that your servant is praying in your presence this day. May your eyes be open toward this temple night and day, this place of which you said, `My Name shall be there,' so that you will hear the prayer your servant prays toward this place. Hear the supplication of your servant and of your people Israel when they pray toward this place. Hear from heaven, your dwelling place, and when you hear, forgive.

In his praise, Solomon asks a rhetorical question, "Will God really dwell (physically) on earth?"  The temple is to give YHWH a place to physically appear before His people but Solomon recognizes that YHWH is much greater than anything a temple can contain, indeed, admits Solomon, YHWH cannot be contained by all the heavens. The temple then is a structure to aid the people of Israel in approaching YHWH.

I Kings 8:31-40, "Then hear from heaven"

"When a man wrongs his neighbor and is required to take an oath and he comes and swears the oath before your altar in this temple, then hear from heaven and act. Judge between your servants, condemning the guilty and bringing down on his own head what he has done. Declare the innocent not guilty, and so establish his innocence.

"When your people Israel have been defeated by an enemy because they have sinned against you, and when they turn back to you and confess your name, praying and making supplication to you in this temple, then hear from heaven and forgive the sin of your people Israel and bring them back to the land you gave to their fathers.

"When the heavens are shut up and there is no rain because your people have sinned against you, and when they pray toward this place and confess your name and turn from their sin because you have afflicted them, then hear from heaven and forgive the sin of your servants, your people Israel. Teach them the right way to live, and send rain on the land you gave your people for an inheritance.

"When famine or plague comes to the land, or blight or mildew, locusts or grasshoppers, or when an enemy besieges them in any of their cities, whatever disaster or disease may come, and when a prayer or plea is made by any of your people Israel--each one aware of the afflictions of his own heart, and spreading out his hands toward this temple-- then hear from heaven, your dwelling place. Forgive and act; deal with each man according to all he does, since you know his heart (for you alone know the hearts of all men), so that they will fear you all the time they live in the land you gave our fathers.

Solomon's prayer includes seven requests (four in these verses.) In the first request, Solomon asks that God condemn the guilty who makes a false statement in a claim brought before God. This presumably reflects the situation in which there is a dispute between two parties but there are no witnesses to the critical event.

In the second request, Solomon asks for forgiveness when the people sin and then are defeated by an enemy. The third request is similar; here the people sin and a drought comes as punishment. In the fourth request, Solomon asks for forgiveness for the people during times of famine. 

I Kings 8:41-44, The view from the foreigner

"As for the foreigner who does not belong to your people Israel but has come from a distant land because of your name-- for men will hear of your great name and your mighty hand and your outstretched arm--when he comes and prays toward this temple, then hear from heaven, your dwelling place, and do whatever the foreigner asks of you, so that all the peoples of the earth may know your name and fear you, as do your own people Israel, and may know that this house I have built bears your Name.

In his fifth request, Solomon asks for God to hear the prayers of the foreigners, the Gentiles, who approach His temple. This paragraph gives an explicit reason for the covenant, the covenant law, and the temple -- so that other nations will be attracted to Israel, so that they will want to come to the temple and make their requests of YHWH!

I Kings 8:45-51, Expectations

"When your people go to war against their enemies, wherever you send them, and when they pray to the LORD toward the city you have chosen and the temple I have built for your Name, then hear from heaven their prayer and their plea, and uphold their cause.

"When they sin against you--for there is no one who does not sin--and you become angry with them and give them over to the enemy, who takes them captive to his own land, far away or near; and if they have a change of heart in the land where they are held captive, and repent and plead with you in the land of their conquerors and say, `We have sinned, we have done wrong, we have acted wickedly'; and if they turn back to you with all their heart and soul in the land of their enemies who took them captive, and pray to you toward the land you gave their fathers, toward the city you have chosen and the temple I have built for your Name; then from heaven, your dwelling place, hear their prayer and their plea, and uphold their cause.

"And forgive your people, who have sinned against you; forgive all the offenses they have committed against you, and cause their conquerors to show them mercy; for they are your people and your inheritance, whom you brought out of Egypt, out of that iron-smelting furnace.

Solomon's sixth request asks that YHWH hear the people even when they are distant and not near Jerusalem. The seventh request extends that situation to those taken captive and deported to a distant land (such as, much later, the land of Babylon.)

Verse 46 is clear: "For there is no one who does not sin".  Thus everyone needs to turn to YHWH for forgiveness.

Patterson and Austel, in their commentary on 1 & 2 Kings see Solomon's requests as echoes of the blessings and curses of Deuteronomy 28-30.

I Kings 8:52-53, Eyes open

"May your eyes be open to your servant's plea and to the plea of your people Israel, and may you listen to them whenever they cry out to you. For you singled them out from all the nations of the world to be your own inheritance, just as you declared through your servant Moses when you, O Sovereign LORD, brought our fathers out of Egypt."

Solomon repeats Israel's special place in the kingdoms of the world and reminds YHWH that He has said He will be open to their pleas.

I Kings 8:54-61, Benediction

When Solomon had finished all these prayers and supplications to the LORD, he rose from before the altar of the LORD, where he had been kneeling with his hands spread out toward heaven. He stood and blessed the whole assembly of Israel in a loud voice, saying: "Praise be to the LORD, who has given rest to his people Israel just as he promised. Not one word has failed of all the good promises he gave through his servant Moses. 

"May the LORD our God be with us as he was with our fathers; may he never leave us nor forsake us.

"May he turn our hearts to him, to walk in all his ways and to keep the commands, decrees and regulations he gave our fathers. And may these words of mine, which I have prayed before the LORD, be near to the LORD our God day and night, that he may uphold the cause of his servant and the cause of his people Israel according to each day's need, so that all the peoples of the earth may know that the LORD is God and that there is no other. But your hearts must be fully committed to the LORD our God, to live by his decrees and obey his commands, as at this time."

Solomon finishes his prayer by telling the people that YHWH will continue to care for them and reward them. Solomon intends to be fully committed to YHWH and urges the people to also be fully committed. In this way, the nation will continue to receive "rest" in their land. (Like Saul and David before him, Solomon will eventually reach a position of power and pride ... and then downfall.)

1 Chronicles 7:1-3 adds that after Solomon's prayer, before the upcoming sacrifices, fire came down from heaven and God's glory filled the temple.

I Kings 8:62-64, Sacrifices

Then the king and all Israel with him offered sacrifices before the LORD.

Solomon offered a sacrifice of fellowship offerings to the LORD: twenty-two thousand cattle and a hundred and twenty thousand sheep and goats. So the king and all the Israelites dedicated the temple of the LORD.  On that same day the king consecrated the middle part of the courtyard in front of the temple of the LORD, and there he offered burnt offerings, grain offerings and the fat of the fellowship offerings, because the bronze altar before the LORD was too small to hold the burnt offerings, the grain offerings and the fat of the fellowship offerings.

Solomon ends his prayer with a massive sacrifice of animals in the temple. It is for these sacrifices that the temple courts were built.

I Kings 8:65-66, Festival

So Solomon observed the festival at that time, and all Israel with him--a vast assembly, people from Lebo Hamath to the Wadi of Egypt. They celebrated it before the LORD our God for seven days and seven days more, fourteen days in all.

On the following day he sent the people away. They blessed the king and then went home, joyful and glad in heart for all the good things the LORD had done for his servant David and his people Israel.

The festival, the Feast of Booths (Sukkot) ends with joy. God is good and life is good.

(NIV footnotes: in verse 65, "Lebo Hamath" is unclear; it could be "from the entrance to Hamath".)

First published November 25, 2023, updated October 2, 2026