1 Kings 3:5
in 1 Kings 3One night at Gibeon the LORD appeared to Solomon in a dream, and God said, “Ask, and I will give it to you!”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
In Gibeon Jehovah appeared to Solomon in a dream by night; and God said, Ask what I shall give thee.
KJV
In Gibeon the Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream by night: and God said, Ask what I shall give thee.
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This verse in 1 Kings 3
Commentary
8 notes on this verseThe Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream - This was the night after he had offered the sacrifices, (see 2Ch 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.
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.
This site's exposition
the LORD appeared to Solomon in a dream
Albert Barnes sets Solomon’s dream at Gibeon beside the dreams God gave in Genesis. Adam Clarke places it on the night after the thousand burnt offerings, and Matthew Henry reads God’s offer to give as a sign He accepted them. The grant was real, say Jamieson, Fausset and Brown.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
He saw the glory of God shine about him, and heard a voice saying, Ask what I shall give thee. Not that God was indebted to him for his sacrifices, but thus he would testify his acceptance of them, and signify to him what great mercy he had in store for him, if he were not wanting to himself. Thus he would try his inclinations and put an honour upon the prayer of faith.
In Gibeon the Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream by night,....
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. i. There Solomon offered his great sacrifices, and there God owned him more than in any other of the high places. The nearer we come to the rule in our worship the more reason we have to expect the tokens of God's presence.
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
In sleep his thoughts ran upon the subject of his prayer, and he dreamed that God appeared to him and gave him the option of every thing in the world--that he asked wisdom, and that God granted his request (1Ki 3:9-12). His dream was but an imaginary repetition of his former desire, but God's grant of it was real.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
The Lord appeared unto Solomon in a dream - Compare the marginal references and Gen 15:1; Gen 28:12; Gen 37:5.
The words behind it
13 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| בְּגִבְע֗וֹן | begivon | at Gibeon | H1391 → | 38 times |
| נִרְאָ֧ה | nirah | he appeared | H7200 → | 1300 times |
| יְהֹוָ֛ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| שְׁלֹמֹ֖ה | shelomoh | Solomon | H8010 → | 291 times |
| בַּחֲל֣וֹם | bachalom | in a dream | H2472 → | |
| הַלָּ֑יְלָה | halayelah | the night | H3915 → | 233 times |
| וַיֹּ֣אמֶר | vaiyomer | and he said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| אֱלֹהִ֔ים | ʾelohim | God | H430 → | 2601 times |
| שְׁאַ֖ל | sheal | ask | H7592 → | 171 times |
| מָ֥ה | mah | what? | H4100 → | 752 times |
| אֶתֶּן־ | ʾeten- | will I give | H5414 → | 2011 times |
| לָֽךְ׃ | lakh | to you |
בְּגִבְע֗וֹןat Gibeon
begivonH1391 →38 times
נִרְאָ֧הhe appeared
nirahH7200 →1300 times
יְהֹוָ֛הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
שְׁלֹמֹ֖הSolomon
shelomohH8010 →291 times
בַּחֲל֣וֹםin a dream
bachalomH2472 →
הַלָּ֑יְלָהthe night
halayelahH3915 →233 times
וַיֹּ֣אמֶרand he said
vaiyomerH559 →5305 times
אֱלֹהִ֔יםGod
ʾelohimH430 →2601 times
שְׁאַ֖לask
shealH7592 →171 times
מָ֥הwhat?
mahH4100 →752 times
אֶתֶּן־will I give
ʾeten-H5414 →2011 times
לָֽךְ׃to you
lakh
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
Numbers 12:6He said, “Hear now My words: If there is a prophet among you, I, the LORD, will reveal Myself to him in a vision; I will speak to him in a dream.
it leads to
- Genesis 46:2
And that night God spoke to Israel in a vision: “Jacob, Jacob!” He said. “Here I am,” replied Jacob.
- Genesis 31:10–11
When the flocks were breeding, I saw in a dream that the streaked, spotted, and speckled males were mating with the females.
- Acts 22:17–18
Later, when I had returned to Jerusalem and was praying at the temple, I fell into a trance
- Luke 1:22
When he came out and was unable to speak to them, they realized he had seen a vision in the temple. He kept making signs to them but remained speechless.
- Daniel 10:8
So I was left alone, gazing at this great vision. No strength remained in me; my face grew deathly pale, and I was powerless.
- Genesis 46:2
Through
1 Kings 9:2the LORD appeared to him a second time, as He had appeared to him at Gibeon.
it leads to
- 2 Chronicles 7:12
the LORD appeared to him at night and said to him: “I have heard your prayer and have chosen this place for Myself as a house of sacrifice.
- 1 Kings 11:9
Now the LORD grew angry with Solomon, because his heart had turned away from the LORD, the God of Israel, who had appeared to him twice.
- 2 Chronicles 1:7–12
That night God appeared to Solomon and said, “Ask, and I will give it to you!”
- 2 Chronicles 7:12
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 Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; 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); 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.