1 Kings 3:4
in 1 Kings 3Now the king went to Gibeon to sacrifice there, for it was the great high place. Solomon offered a thousand burnt offerings on the altar there.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And the king went to Gibeon to sacrifice there; for that was the great high place: a thousand burnt-offerings did Solomon offer upon that altar.
KJV
And the king went to Gibeon to sacrifice there; for that was the great high place: a thousand burnt offerings did Solomon offer upon that altar.
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This verse in 1 Kings 3
Commentary
7 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
Gibeon - The transfer to Gibeon of the “tabernacle of the congregation,” and the brass “altar of burnt offerings” made by Moses, which were removed there from Nob (compare 1Sa 21:6, with marginal references “i,” “k”), had made it “the great high-place,” more sacred, i. e., than any other in the holy land, unless it were Mount Zion where the ark had been conveyed by David. For the position of Gibeon, see Jos 9:3 note. A thousand burnt offerings did Solomon offer - Solomon presented the victims. The priests were the actual sacrificers 1Ki 8:
This site's exposition
went to Gibeon to sacrifice
on 1 Kings 3:4-5
Gibeon is called the great high place, and 2 Chronicles 1:3-6 explains why: the tabernacle Moses made in the wilderness still stood there, so a thousand burnt offerings there was worship at Israel's own sanctuary tent rather than private excess. The Lord meets Solomon at night in a dream and opens with no conditions attached, ask what I shall give thee, an offer as wide as a king could receive. The scene does not repeat with this openness again in the book, and what Solomon does with it sets the reign's course.
The record, by era
The Medieval Church1 voice
Since the Law forbade praying or sacrificing outside Jerusalem, why did Solomon offer one thousand whole burnt offerings on the altar of Gibeon? Because the tabernacle was in Gibeon, as is attested in the book of Chronicles, and therefore, out of veneration for the ancient …
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
Our God is a consuming fire. Bishop Patrick quotes it as a tradition of the Jews that the smoke of the sacrifices ascended directly in a straight pillar, and was not scattered, otherwise it would have choked those that attended, when so many sacrifices were offered as were here. Here is something concerning which it may be doubted whether it was good or no.
And the king went to Gibeon to sacrifice there,....
Silence and retirement befriend our communion with God. His kindest visits are often in the night, Ps. xvii. It was in a dream, when he was asleep, his senses locked up, that God's access to his mind might be the more free and immediate.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
The royal progress was of public importance. It was a season of national devotion. The king was accompanied by his principal nobility (2Ch 1:2); and, as the occasion was most probably one of the great annual festivals which lasted seven days, the rank of the offerer and the succession of daily oblations may help in part to account for the immense magnitude of the sacrifices.
The words behind it
16 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיֵּ֨לֶךְ | vaiyelekh | and he went | H1980 → | 1546 times |
| הַמֶּ֤לֶךְ | hamelekh | the king | H4428 → | 2525 times |
| גִּבְעֹ֙נָה֙ | givonah | Gibeon towards | H1391 → | 38 times |
| לִזְבֹּ֣חַ | lizboach | to sacrifice | H2076 → | 134 times |
| שָׁ֔ם | sham | there | H8033 → | 834 times |
| כִּ֥י | ki | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| הִ֖יא | hi' | that | H1931 → | 1879 times |
| הַבָּמָ֣ה | habamah | [was] the high place | H1116 → | 102 times |
| הַגְּדוֹלָ֑ה | hagedolah | <the> great | H1419 → | 526 times |
| אֶ֤לֶף | ʾelef | a thousand | H505 → | 505 times |
| עֹלוֹת֙ | ʾolot | burnt offerings | H5930 → | 287 times |
| יַעֲלֶ֣ה | yaaleh | he offered up | H5927 → | 890 times |
| שְׁלֹמֹ֔ה | shelomoh | Solomon | H8010 → | 291 times |
| עַ֖ל | ʾal | on | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| הַמִּזְבֵּ֥חַ | hamizbeach | the altar | H4196 → | 401 times |
| הַהֽוּא׃ | hahu' | <the> that | H1931 → | 1879 times |
וַיֵּ֨לֶךְand he went
vaiyelekhH1980 →1546 times
הַמֶּ֤לֶךְthe king
hamelekhH4428 →2525 times
גִּבְעֹ֙נָה֙Gibeon towards
givonahH1391 →38 times
לִזְבֹּ֣חַto sacrifice
lizboachH2076 →134 times
שָׁ֔םthere
shamH8033 →834 times
כִּ֥יfor
kiH3588 →4482 times
הִ֖יאthat
hi'H1931 →1879 times
הַבָּמָ֣ה[was] the high place
habamahH1116 →102 times
הַגְּדוֹלָ֑ה<the> great
hagedolahH1419 →526 times
אֶ֤לֶףa thousand
ʾelefH505 →505 times
עֹלוֹת֙burnt offerings
ʾolotH5930 →287 times
יַעֲלֶ֣הhe offered up
yaalehH5927 →890 times
שְׁלֹמֹ֔הSolomon
shelomohH8010 →291 times
עַ֖לon
ʾalH5921 →5755 times
הַמִּזְבֵּ֥חַthe altar
hamizbeachH4196 →401 times
הַהֽוּא׃<the> that
hahu'H1931 →1879 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
1 Chronicles 21:29For the tabernacle of the LORD that Moses had made in the wilderness and the altar of burnt offering were presently at the high place in Gibeon,
it leads to
- 1 Chronicles 16:39
And David left Zadok the priest and his fellow priests before the tabernacle of the LORD at the high place in Gibeon
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- 2 Chronicles 1:13
So Solomon went to Jerusalem from the high place in Gibeon before the Tent of Meeting, and he reigned over Israel.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- 2 Chronicles 1:3
And Solomon and the whole assembly went to the high place at Gibeon because it was the location of God’s Tent of Meeting, which Moses the servant of the LORD had made in the…
- 1 Chronicles 16:39
Through
2 Chronicles 1:3And Solomon and the whole assembly went to the high place at Gibeon because it was the location of God’s Tent of Meeting, which Moses the servant of the LORD had made in the…
it leads to
- 1 Chronicles 21:29
For the tabernacle of the LORD that Moses had made in the wilderness and the altar of burnt offering were presently at the high place in Gibeon,
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- 1 Chronicles 21:29
Through
2 Chronicles 7:5And King Solomon offered a sacrifice of 22,000 oxen and 120,000 sheep. So the king and all the people dedicated the house of God.
it leads to
- John 10:22
At that time the Feast of Dedication took place in Jerusalem. It was winter,
- 2 Chronicles 30:24
For Hezekiah king of Judah contributed a thousand bulls and seven thousand sheep for the assembly, and the officials contributed a thousand bulls and ten thousand sheep for the assembly, and a great number…
- Ezekiel 45:17
And it shall be the prince’s part to provide the burnt offerings, grain offerings, and drink offerings for the feasts, New Moons, and Sabbaths—for all the appointed feasts of the house of Israel. He…
- John 10:22
Through
1 Chronicles 16:39And David left Zadok the priest and his fellow priests before the tabernacle of the LORD at the high place in Gibeon
it leads to
- 1 Chronicles 15:11
David summoned the priests Zadok and Abiathar and the Levites Uriel, Asaiah, Joel, Shemaiah, Eliel, and Amminadab.
- 1 Chronicles 15:11
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About 1 Kings
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Alfred Edersheim, Bible History: Old Testament; F. W. Farrar, The First Book of Kings (Expositor's Bible); Ishodad of Merv, BOOKS OF SESSIONS 1 KINGS 3:4; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.