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1 Kings 8:11

in 1 Kings 8

so that the priests could not stand there to minister because of the cloud; for the glory of the LORD filled the house of the LORD.

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV

ASV

so that the priests could not stand to minister by reason of the cloud; for the glory of Jehovah filled the house of Jehovah.

KJV

So that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud: for the glory of the Lord had filled the house of the Lord.

This verse in 1 Kings 8

Commentary

7 notes on this verse
As in the case of Moses Exo 40:35, so now the glory of the Lord, the manifestation of the divine presence, which the cloud usually veiled, shone forth from it with such brilliancy, that mortal man could not bear the sight.

This site's exposition

the cloud filled the house

on 1 Kings 8:10-11

The cloud filling the house and driving the priests from their ministry repeats Ex 40:34-35 in shape and nearly in words, the same glory that kept Moses from entering the finished tabernacle now stopping the priests at the finished temple. Barnes ties the two scenes together directly, the glory the cloud usually veiled now shining out with a brightness mortal men could not bear, exactly as it had at the tabernacle's own dedication. The moment answers Deut 12's promise of a place for the name with an unmistakable sign that the Lord himself has taken up residence, the temple thread reaching its summit here.

This site's exposition

the priests could not stand there to minister

Adam Clarke held that the cloud filled the whole house, court and all, so that the people saw it too. Jamieson, Fausset and Brown weigh whether blazing light or a dense and fearful darkness drove the priests out. Verse 12 takes up the darkness.

The record, by era

The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices

A commentator

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

But the glory of God appeared in a cloud, a dark cloud, to signify, (1.) The darkness of that dispensation in comparison with the light of the gospel, by which, with open face, we behold, as in a glass, the glory of the Lord. (2.) The darkness of our present state in comparison with the vision of God, which will be the happiness of heaven, where the divine glory is unveiled.
So that the priests could not stand to minister, because of the cloud,....

The Nineteenth Century2 voices

A commentator

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown

1802–1910

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)

The dazzling brightness, or rather, perhaps, the dense portentous darkness of the cloud, struck the minds of the priests, as it formerly had done Moses, which such astonishment and terror (Le 16:2-13; Ex 40:35) that they could not remain. Thus the temple became the place where the divine glory was revealed, and the king of Israel established his royal residence.

A commentator

Adam Clarke

1762–1832

Commentary on the Bible · Written before 1832.

proposed

The glory of the Lord had filled the house - The cloud, the symbol of the Divine glory and presence, appears to have filled not only the holy of holies, but the whole temple, court and all, and to have become evident to the people; and by this Solomon knew that God had honored the place with his presence, and taken it for his habitation in reference to the people of Israel.

How the passage was read

What the Jewish commentators add

On the verses either side of this one

After the Kohanim went out of the Kodesh. As the Kohanim who carried the Ark into the Holy of Holies were leaving, the Divine Presence immediately came to rest in the Sanctuary.
Rashi: France, 1040–1105 · Rashi on I Kings 8:10:1, via Sefaria, The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J
1 more on this passage, in their own words ▾
Then Shlomo declared. When he saw the cloud, he said, “Now I see that the Divine Presence is in the house which I built, for thus did He promise to come and dwell in it from the midst of a cloud and thick darkness.
Rashi: France, 1040–1105 · Rashi on I Kings 8:12:1, via Sefaria, The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J

This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.

Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 3 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.

The words behind it

14 Hebrew words

Every 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.

  • וְלֹֽא־and not

    velo'-H38085168 times

  • יָכְל֧וּthey were able

    yakheluH3201194 times

  • הַכֹּהֲנִ֛יםthe priests

    hakohanimH3548750 times

  • לַעֲמֹ֥דto stand

    laamodH5975521 times

  • לְשָׁרֵ֖תto serve

    lesharetH833497 times

  • מִפְּנֵ֥י<from> because of

    mipeneiH64402123 times

  • הֶֽעָנָ֑ןthe cloud

    heananH6051

  • כִּי־for

    ki-H35884482 times

  • מָלֵ֥אit filled

    male'H4390249 times

  • כְבוֹד־[the] glory of

    khevod-H3519

  • יְהוָ֖הYahweh

    yahwehH30686520 times

  • אֶת־<obj.>

    ʾet-H85310935 times

  • בֵּ֥ית[the] house of

    beitH10042046 times

  • יְהוָֽה׃ פYahweh

    yahwehH30686520 times

A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.

The walk

8 stops

Each 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

    2 Corinthians 3:18

    And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into His image with intensifying glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.

    it leads to

    • 2 Corinthians 4:6

      For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” made His light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of…

    • Ephesians 4:22–24

      to put off your former way of life, your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires;

    • Romans 12:2

      Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what is the good, pleasing, and perfect will of…

    • 2 Corinthians 4:4

      The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers so they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.

    • 1 Corinthians 13:12

      Now we see but a dim reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.

  • Through

    2 Corinthians 4:6

    For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” made His light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of…

    it leads to

    • Isaiah 60:2

      For behold, darkness covers the earth, and thick darkness is over the peoples; but the LORD will rise upon you, and His glory will appear over you.

    • Genesis 1:3

      And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light.

    • 1 Peter 2:9

      But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, to proclaim the virtues of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.

Where this verse is studied

About 1 Kings

The Judgment of Solomon, Gustave Doré, 1866. Public domain.
The Judgment of Solomon, Gustave Doré, 1866. Public domain.

This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Keil, The Books of the Kings and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.