1 Kings 3:5-9 NIV

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - 1 Kings 3:5-15

We have here an account of a gracious visit which God paid to Solomon, and the communion he had with God in it, which put a greater honour upon Solomon than all the wealth and power of his kingdom did. I. The circumstances of this visit, 1 Kgs. 3:5. 1. The place. It was in Gibeon; that was the great high place, and should have been the only one, because there the tabernacle and the brazen altar were, 2 Chron. 1:3. There Solomon offered his great sacrifices, and there God owned him more than in... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - 1 Kings 3:5

In Gibeon the Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream by night ,.... This was not a common natural dream, but an extraordinary, divine, and supernatural one, a prophetic dream, a night vision, such as God used to speak in to his prophets; in which he had the full use of his reasoning powers, was under divine impressions, and in a spiritual frame of mind, and in the exercise of grace; it was not a mere dream that the Lord did appear to him, but he really did appear to him while sleeping and... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - 1 Kings 3:6

And Solomon said ,.... In his dream; not that he dreamt he said, when he did not; but he really said, as follows: thou hast showed unto thy servant David my father great mercy ; bestowed many favours and blessings upon him, both temporal and spiritual: according as he walked before thee in truth, and in righteousness, and in uprightness of heart with thee ; in the truth of doctrine and worship, according to the revealed will and word of God, and which he observed with great... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - 1 Kings 3:7

And now, O Lord my God, thou hast made thy servant king instead of David my father ,.... Removed by death, in whose stead he reigned by the appointment of God, and through his overruling providence, notwithstanding the attempts made to prevent it, and therefore to God he ascribes it: and I am but a little child ; not in age and stature, but in knowledge and understanding; for though his father called him a wise man, and he was judged so by others, and really was one, yet in his own... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - 1 Kings 3:8

And thy servant is in the midst of thy people which thou hast chosen ,.... To be his special and peculiar people above all people on the earth; this is not to be understood locally, though Jerusalem, where his palace was, was in the middle of the land; but of the exercise of his office, he being placed over the people, and among them, and having the care and inspection of them: a great people, that cannot be numbered and counted for multitude ; being for number as the stars in the sky,... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - 1 Kings 3:9

Give therefore thy servant an understanding heart, to judge thy people ,.... Not an understanding of things spiritual, nor of things natural, though both were given him, but of things political, what related to the civil government, that he might be able to judge or rule the people of Israel in the best manner: that I may discern between good and bad ; not merely between moral good and evil, of which he had a discernment; but between right and wrong in any case or controversy that came... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - 1 Kings 3:5

The Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream - This was the night after he had offered the sacrifices, (see 2 Chronicles 1:7 ;), and probably after he had earnestly prayed for wisdom; see Wis. 7:7: Wherefore I prayed, and understanding was given me: I called upon God, and the spirit of wisdom came to me. If this were the case, the dream might have been the consequence of his earnest prayer for wisdom: the images of those things which occupy the mind during the day are most likely... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - 1 Kings 3:7

I know not how to go out or come in - I am just like an infant learning to walk alone, and can neither go out nor come in without help. read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - 1 Kings 3:9

Give - an understanding heart to judge thy people - He did not ask wisdom in general, but the true science of government. This wisdom he sought, and this wisdom he obtained. read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - 1 Kings 3:5

In Glbeon the Lord appeared unto Solomon in a dream [cf. Numbers 12:6 . A vision is not necessarily implied (as in Genesis 28:12 ; cf. Genesis 15:12 ), though he may have seen some angelic form ( angelus in Dei nomine ei apparuit loquens. Grotius)—of course, only in his dream. Cf. Matthew 1:20 ; Matthew 2:12 . Probably "appeared" is the equivalent of "revealed Himself." Bähr] by night; and God said, Ask what I shall give thee [cf. Matthew 7:7 . This was the answer to the... read more

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - 1 Kings 3:5-15

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - 1 Kings 3:5

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - 1 Kings 3:6

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - 1 Kings 3:7

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - 1 Kings 3:8

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - 1 Kings 3:9

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - 1 Kings 3:5

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - 1 Kings 3:7

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - 1 Kings 3:9

The Pulpit Commentary - 1 Kings 3:5

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