2 Chronicles 7:12
in 2 Chronicles 7the 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.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And Jehovah appeared to Solomon by night, and said unto him, I have heard thy prayer, and have chosen this place to myself for a house of sacrifice.
KJV
And the Lord appeared to Solomon by night, and said unto him, I have heard thy prayer, and have chosen this place to myself for an house of sacrifice.
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This verse in 2 Chronicles 7
Commentary
7 notes on this verseThe Lord appeared to Solomon - This was a second manifestation; see 1Ki 9:2-9 (note), and the notes there. The Targum says, “The Word of the Lord appeared to Solomon.”
This site's exposition
appeared to Solomon by night
This is the second time the Lord appears to Solomon, after the dream at Gibeon in 2 Chr 1:7-13, and this meeting follows a finished house rather than a fresh reign. Clarke calls it plainly a second manifestation, pointing back to the first and forward to the parallel note at 1 Ki 9:2-9. The Lord names what he has chosen the place for, an house of sacrifice, where the parallel at 1 Ki 9:3 names it the place where his name will dwell for ever, sacrifice and name both true of the one house rather than standing against each other.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
), that is, "There will I make myself known, and there will I be called upon." II. He promised to answer the prayers of his people that should at any time be made in that place,
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens
3 And when all the children of Israel saw how the fire came down, and the glory of the L ORD upon the house, they bowed themselves with their faces to the ground upon the pavement, and worshipped, and praised the L ORD , saying, For he is good; for his mercy endureth for ever. 4 Then the king and all the people offered sacrifices before the L ORD .
quarantine:scripture (2026-07-29) — scripture-overlap:91%@v3-4
And the Lord appeared to Solomon by night,.... From hence, to the end of the chapter, much the same things are related as in 1Ki 9:
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
The fact that this was the only temple of all nations in which the true God was worshipped imparts a moral grandeur to the scene and prepares the mind for the sublime prayer that was offered at the dedication. The pure theism of that prayer--its acknowledgment of the unity of God as well as of His moral perfections in providence and grace, came from the same divine source as the miraculous fire.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
An house of sacrifice - This expression does not elsewhere occur. Its meaning, however, is clear. God declares that Solomon’s Temple is the place whereunto all Israelites were commanded to bring their burnt-offerings and sacrifices (see Deu 12:5-6).
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
And the Lord appeared to Solomon at night in a vision of the night.
1 more on this passage, in their own words ▾
If I shut up.. if I command..or if I send corresponding to three prayers, “I shall hear..and forgive their sin, and heal their land.”
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. 2 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
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיֵּרָ֧א | vaiyera' | and he appeared | H7200 → | 1300 times |
| יְהוָ֛ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| שְׁלֹמֹ֖ה | shelomoh | Solomon | H8010 → | 291 times |
| בַּלָּ֑יְלָה | balayelah | in the night | H3915 → | 233 times |
| וַיֹּ֣אמֶר | vaiyomer | and he said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| ל֗וֹ | lo | to him | ||
| שָׁמַ֙עְתִּי֙ | shama'ti | I have heard | H8085 → | 1159 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| תְּפִלָּתֶ֔ךָ | tefilatekha | prayer your | H8605 → | 72 times |
| וּבָחַ֜רְתִּי | uvacharti | and I have chosen | H977 → | 171 times |
| בַּמָּק֥וֹם | bamakom | <in> the place | H4725 → | 401 times |
| הַזֶּ֛ה | hazeh | <the> this | H2088 → | 1180 times |
| לִ֖י | li | for myself | ||
| לְבֵ֥ית | leveit | for a house of | H1004 → | 2046 times |
| זָֽבַח׃ | zavach | sacrifice | H2077 → | 162 times |
וַיֵּרָ֧אand he appeared
vaiyera'H7200 →1300 times
יְהוָ֛הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
שְׁלֹמֹ֖הSolomon
shelomohH8010 →291 times
בַּלָּ֑יְלָהin the night
balayelahH3915 →233 times
וַיֹּ֣אמֶרand he said
vaiyomerH559 →5305 times
ל֗וֹto him
lo
שָׁמַ֙עְתִּי֙I have heard
shama'tiH8085 →1159 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
תְּפִלָּתֶ֔ךָprayer your
tefilatekhaH8605 →72 times
וּבָחַ֜רְתִּיand I have chosen
uvachartiH977 →171 times
בַּמָּק֥וֹם<in> the place
bamakomH4725 →401 times
הַזֶּ֛ה<the> this
hazehH2088 →1180 times
לִ֖יfor myself
li
לְבֵ֥יתfor a house of
leveitH1004 →2046 times
זָֽבַח׃sacrifice
zavachH2077 →162 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
Genesis 17:1When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the LORD appeared to him and said, “I am God Almighty. Walk before Me and be blameless.
it leads to
- Philippians 4:13
I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength.
- Ephesians 3:20
Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us,
- Luke 1:6
Both of them were righteous in the sight of God, walking blamelessly in all the commandments and decrees of the Lord.
- Genesis 18:14
Is anything too difficult for the LORD? At the appointed time I will return to you—in about a year—and Sarah will have a son.”
- Genesis 6:9
This is the account of Noah. Noah was a righteous man, blameless in his generation; Noah walked with God.
- Philippians 4:13
Through
2 Chronicles 1:7That night God appeared to Solomon and said, “Ask, and I will give it to you!”
it leads to
- Matthew 7:7–8
Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened to you.
- 1 John 5:14–15
And this is the confidence that we have before Him: If we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.
- Matthew 7:7–8
Through
2 Chronicles 7:16For I have now chosen and consecrated this temple so that My Name may be there forever. My eyes and My heart will be there for all time.
it leads to
- 2 Chronicles 7:15
Now My eyes will be open and My ears attentive to the prayers offered in this place.
- 2 Chronicles 7:15
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About 2 Chronicles
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Jamieson Fausset and Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole 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.