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Matthew Henry

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - 1 Kings 8:62-66

We read before that Judah and Israel were eating and drinking, and very cheerful under their own vines and fig-trees; here we have them so in God's courts. Now they found Solomon's words true concerning Wisdom's ways, that they are ways of pleasantness. I. They had abundant joy and satisfaction while they attended at God's house, for there, 1. Solomon offered a great sacrifice, 22,000 oxen and 120,000 sheep, enough to have drained the country of cattle if it had not been a very fruitful land.... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - 1 Kings 8:64

The same day did the king hallow the middle of the court that was before the house of the Lord ,.... The court of the priests that was before the holy place, adjoining to it, in which was the altar of burnt offering; this, or, however, the middle part of it, he sanctified for present use, to offer sacrifices on, for a reason hereafter given: for there he offered burnt offerings and meat offerings, and the fat of the peace offerings ; which was the reason why the middle of the great court... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - 1 Kings 8:64

Did the king hallow the middle of the court - The great altar of burnt-offerings was not sufficient for the number of sacrifices which were then made; therefore the middle of the court was set apart, and an altar erected there for the same purpose. read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - 1 Kings 8:62-66

The Feast on the Sacrifices. In this prodigious number of sacrifices—in round numbers 150,000 victims—3,000 oxen and 18,000 sheep forevery day of the festival (Keil); five oxen and twenty-five sheep forevery minute of each day (Thenius)—in this wholesale slaughter, which converted the court of the priests into one great shambles, and almost choked the sewers of the temple with blood, one feature is liable to be overlooked (note on 1 Kings 8:64 ), namely, that all these sacrifices were " ... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - 1 Kings 8:64

The same day did the king hallow the middle of the court [ i.e; the entire area of the court of the priests ( 1 Kings 6:36 ). Ewald translates "the inner court." The whole space may have been regarded as "one huge altar" (Rawlinson), or temporary altars may have been erected all over the area. As already observed, this fact alone points to an enormous number of victims] that was before the house of the Lord: for there he offered burnt offerings [Heb. the burnt offerings, i.e; ... read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - 1 Kings 8:64

The middle of the court - Or, “the whole area of the court “ - all the “mid” space within the enclosing walls, which thus became one huge altar, on any part of which victims might be offered at one and the same time. read more

Joseph Benson

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - 1 Kings 8:64

1 Kings 8:64. The same day Or rather, at the same time. For it can scarcely be supposed that it could all be done the same day. Did the king hallow the middle of the court Namely, the court of the priests in which the great altar was. This he consecrated as he did the great altar, by sacrifices; but with this difference, that he consecrated that for perpetual use, but this only for the present occasion, being warranted to do so both by the necessity of it for God’s service, and for the... read more

Donald C. Fleming

Bridgeway Bible Commentary - 1 Kings 8:22-66

The dedication ceremony (8:22-9:9)Solomon then went up on to a specially made bronze platform, knelt down and prayed to God in the presence of the assembled people (2 Chronicles 6:12-13). He admitted that only God’s grace had allowed his father and himself to fulfil their wish of building God a symbolic dwelling place. He prayed that God’s grace would rest likewise upon his royal descendants after him (22-26). Solomon knew there was no necessity for the temple, because God dwells everywhere.... read more

Robert Jamieson; A. R. Fausset; David Brown

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible - 1 Kings 8:64

64. The same day did the king hallow the middle of the court—that is, the whole extent of the priests' court—the altar of burnt offerings, though large ( :-), being totally inadequate for the vast number of sacrifices that distinguished this occasion. It was only a temporary erection to meet the demands of an extraordinary season, in aid of the established altar, and removed at the conclusion of the sacred festival. [See on :-.] :-. THE PEOPLE JOYFUL. read more

Thomas Constable

Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable - 1 Kings 8:1-66

5. The temple dedication ch. 8This chapter climaxes the writer’s emphasis on the greatness of Yahweh as Israel’s God. It is the most detailed account of a dedication service in the Bible. It is also one of the most theologically significant texts in 1 and 2 Kings. read more

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