1 Kings 8:2
in 1 Kings 8And all the men of Israel came together to King Solomon at the feast in the seventh month, the month of Ethanim.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And all the men of Israel assembled themselves unto king Solomon at the feast, in the month Ethanim, which is the seventh month.
KJV
And all the men of Israel assembled themselves unto king Solomon at the feast in the month Ethanim, which is the seventh month.
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This verse in 1 Kings 8
Commentary
8 notes on this verseThe two weeks [of festivity] and the two solemn celebrations were accomplished by the people of the Lord with the greatest joy. The former prefigured the festivals of our church, which Christ began with the mystical dedication of his temple and the transferring of the …
This site's exposition
Then Solomon assembled the elders
on 1 Kings 8:1-2
Solomon summons Israel's elders and tribal heads rather than the whole nation, a statelier gathering than David's own popular procession that brought the ark into Jerusalem at 2 Sam 6:1. The house had stood finished since the eighth month of the prior year at 6:38, yet the dedication waits for the seventh month and the feast of tabernacles, so nearly a year passes before the ark moves from Zion up to Moriah. The site itself carries its own history, since David bought the threshingfloor at 2 Sam 24 and 2 Chr 3:1 names it Mount Moriah, binding Solomon's house to Abraham's altar and to his father's plague offering.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
But the temple was not finished till the eighth month, chap. vi, 38, how then could he invite them in the seventh month? This was the seventh month of the next year. For although the house in all its parts was finished the year before, yet the utensils of it were not then fully finished: and many preparations were to be made for this great and extraordinary occasion.
) at the feast in the seventh month, namely, the feast of tabernacles, which was appointed on the fifteenth day of that month, Lev. xxiii. David, like a very good man, brings the ark to a convenient place, near him;
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens
And all the men of Israel assembled themselves unto King Solomon at the feast,....
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
That annual festival had been instituted in commemoration of the Israelites dwelling in booths during their stay in the wilderness, as well as of the tabernacle, which was then erected, in which God promised to meet and dwell with His people, sanctifying it with His glory.
At the feast in the month Ethanim - The feast of tabernacles, which was celebrated in the seventh month of what is called the ecclesiastical gear.
1 more voice on this verse
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
The feast in the month Ethanim - i. e. the Feast of Tabernacles, or the Feast of Ingathering, the commemoration of the dwelling in booths at the time of the Exodus (margin reference), and the festival of thanksgiving on account of the completion of harvest Exo 23:16; Lev 23:39; Deu 16:13. It was one of the three on which the people were required to “appear before the Lord.”
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
The leaders of the paternal families of the Bnei Yisroel. Of the children of Yisroel. 1 The literal translation is, “ to the children of Yisroel.”
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
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיִּקָּ֨הֲל֜וּ | vaiyikahalu | and they assembled | H6950 → | 39 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| הַמֶּ֤לֶךְ | hamelekh | the king | H4428 → | 2525 times |
| שְׁלֹמֹה֙ | shelomoh | Solomon | H8010 → | 291 times |
| כָּל־ | kol- | every | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| אִ֣ישׁ | ʾish | <the> person of | H376 → | 1663 times |
| יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל | yisrael | Israel | H3478 → | 2507 times |
| בְּיֶ֥רַח | beyerach | in [the] month of | H3391 → | 12 times |
| הָאֵֽתָנִ֖ים | haetanim | <the> Ethanim | H388 → | |
| בֶּחָ֑ג | bechag | at the festival | H2282 → | 62 times |
| ה֖וּא | hu' | that | H1931 → | 1879 times |
| הַחֹ֥דֶשׁ | hachodesh | [was] the month | H2320 → | 284 times |
| הַשְּׁבִיעִֽי׃ | hashevii | <the> seventh | H7637 → | 98 times |
וַיִּקָּ֨הֲל֜וּand they assembled
vaiyikahaluH6950 →39 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
הַמֶּ֤לֶךְthe king
hamelekhH4428 →2525 times
שְׁלֹמֹה֙Solomon
shelomohH8010 →291 times
כָּל־every
kol-H3605 →5413 times
אִ֣ישׁ<the> person of
ʾishH376 →1663 times
יִשְׂרָאֵ֔לIsrael
yisraelH3478 →2507 times
בְּיֶ֥רַחin [the] month of
beyerachH3391 →12 times
הָאֵֽתָנִ֖ים<the> Ethanim
haetanimH388 →
בֶּחָ֑גat the festival
bechagH2282 →62 times
ה֖וּאthat
hu'H1931 →1879 times
הַחֹ֥דֶשׁ[was] the month
hachodeshH2320 →284 times
הַשְּׁבִיעִֽי׃<the> seventh
hasheviiH7637 →98 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
Leviticus 23:34“Speak to the Israelites and say, ‘On the fifteenth day of the seventh month the Feast of Tabernacles to the LORD begins, and it continues for seven days.
it leads to
- Nehemiah 8:14
And they found written in the Law, which the LORD had commanded through Moses, that the Israelites were to dwell in booths during the feast of the seventh month.
- John 7:2
However, the Jewish Feast of Tabernacles was near.
- Numbers 29:12
On the fifteenth day of the seventh month, you are to hold a sacred assembly; you must not do any regular work, and you shall observe a feast to the LORD for seven days.
- Ezra 3:4
They also celebrated the Feast of Tabernacles in accordance with what is written, and they offered burnt offerings daily based on the number prescribed for each day.
- Nehemiah 8:14
Through
1 Kings 8:65So at that time Solomon and all Israel with him—a great assembly of people from Lebo-hamath to the Brook of Egypt—kept the feast before the LORD our God for seven days and seven more…
it leads to
- Numbers 34:5
where it will turn from Azmon, join the Brook of Egypt, and end at the Sea.
- Numbers 34:8
and from Mount Hor to Lebo-hamath, then extend to Zedad,
- Joshua 13:5
the land of the Gebalites; and all Lebanon to the east, from Baal-gad below Mount Hermon to Lebo-hamath.
- Numbers 34:5
Through
John 7:2However, the Jewish Feast of Tabernacles was near.
it leads to
- Zechariah 14:16–19
Then all the survivors from the nations that came against Jerusalem will go up year after year to worship the King, the LORD of Hosts, and to celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles.
- Zechariah 14:16–19
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 9 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Ephrem the Syrian, ON THE FIRST BOOK OF KINGS 8:1; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament; Keil, The Books of the Kings and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.
