Synopsis of the Chapter
The dedication of the temple, in which Solomon beseeches God to hear those who pray in it, or toward it.
Verse 2: In the Month of Ethanim, the Seventh Month ¶
2. IN THE MONTH OF ETHANIM, ON THE SOLEMN DAY: IT IS THE SEVENTH MONTH. — Some wrongly read Bethanim. For with the Hebrew, the Septuagint, and the Roman texts, it should be read as "Ethanim," that is, of the strong, because in this seventh month the fruits are strong, that is, mature, and are gathered with the crops and stored in barns, by which the heart and life of man is strengthened and sustained, says Vatablus; or because of the frequent feasts celebrated in the seventh month, at which God was worshipped by the strong and pious: for feasts as it were strengthen men in piety and the worship of God, so Cajetan; or because in that month the strength and health of men is manifested, which is most tested by the sicknesses of autumn, when the leaves fall, and the strength of men fails as the sun recedes. The seventh month therefore, or Tishri, is called "Ethanim" for these reasons, and partly corresponds to our September, partly to October, and was formerly the first month of the civil year, before God established Nisan, that is, March or April, as the first month of the sacred year, because of the celebration of Passover, Exodus 12:2; hence the Chaldean translates here: Israel assembled in the month which the ancients called the first month, and now it is the seventh month.
You will say: The temple was completed in the eighth month, as was said in chapter 6, last verse; how then is it said here to have been dedicated in the seventh month? Abulensis, Salianus, and others answer that when the temple was dedicated, it was indeed complete as to its principal parts, but did not yet have its total perfection, and this was added after the dedication, so that it was entirely completed in the eighth month. For Solomon wished to anticipate the total completion because of the solemnity of the Feast of Tabernacles in the seventh month, so that on that occasion he might dedicate his temple before the whole people.
Serarius answers differently, namely that the dedication was postponed to the following year and to its seventh month, so that in the meantime the walls might dry better, and all other things necessary for the dedication might be more fully prepared. Therefore the temple was dedicated in the twelfth year of Solomon's reign, in the seventh month.
ON THE SOLEMN DAY, — that is, on the Feast of Tabernacles, says Abulensis. But this cannot be said: for this feast began on the 15th day of the seventh month; but here the dedication of the temple was celebrated over 14 days, as is clear from verse 65, and when it was completed the people were dismissed on the 23rd of the same month, as is clear from 2 Paralipomenon 7:10. Now from the 15th of the month to the 23rd there are not 14 days, but only eight. Therefore the solemn day here should be understood as this feast of the dedication, which was most solemn on account of this most magnificent dedication. So Vatablus, Torniellus, Serarius, Salianus, who think this feast of the dedication fell on the eighth day of the seventh month, or "Ethanim": for from there to the 23rd day, when the dedication was completed, there are 14 days, about which see verse 65. Therefore in these 14 days the Feast of Tabernacles is included, which was the most solemn, and began on the 15th day of the seventh month, and lasted for seven days: hence all males from all Israel were bound to go to the temple according to the law of Deuteronomy 16:16; therefore Solomon deliberately seized upon this occasion of the time and the feast, so that the dedication might be more solemn and celebrated with a greater gathering of people.
Allegorically, the dedication of the temple signified the dedication of the Church, and of every Christian temple, about which see our Martin de Roa, book On the Birthday, chapter 21.
Tropologically, it signified the dedication of the holy soul, especially of the Blessed Virgin, about whom see Peter Damian, Sermon II On the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin, where he compares her with the temple of Solomon. How the soul becomes a house and temple of God is taught by Philo, book On the Cherubim; St. Macarius, homilies 1 and 10; St. Bernard, sermon On the Dedication.
Verse 4: The Priests Carried the Ark of the Lord ¶
4. AND THE PRIESTS CARRIED THE ARK OF THE LORD, — just as they had carried the same in the time of David to Zion, 2 Kings 6, but the pomp of Solomon was greater than that of David.
AND THE TABERNACLE OF THE COVENANT, — namely that fabricated by Moses, for this is properly called "of the covenant." So Josephus, Ribera, Abulensis, Serarius, Villalpando, Sanchez, and others, although Salianus and Emmanuel Sa understand it as the tabernacle that David had fabricated for the ark of the covenant in Zion. For the tabernacle of Moses was not in Zion, but in Gibeon. But there is no doubt that it was transferred from Gibeon by Solomon to Zion, and from there into the temple. Add that both tabernacles, of Moses as well as of David, were transferred by Solomon into the temple, just as all the other sacred vessels fabricated by Moses, especially the altars, were transferred into the temple, that is, into the upper chamber of the temple, and this by prudent counsel, so that the worship of God might not be celebrated elsewhere than in the temple, and thus the danger of superstition and idolatry might be avoided, says Cajetan.
Verse 6: Into the Holy of Holies Beneath the Cherubim ¶
6. AND THEY BROUGHT THE ARK INTO THE ORACLE OF THE TEMPLE, (that is) INTO THE HOLY OF HOLIES BENEATH THE WINGS OF THE CHERUBIM, — which Solomon had newly fabricated, and which were ten cubits high, so that they might veil the ark, which was only one and a half cubits high, and cover it with their wings.
Verse 9: Nothing in the Ark but the Two Stone Tablets ¶
9. IN THE ARK THERE WAS NOTHING ELSE BUT THE TWO STONE TABLETS. — On this matter I spoke abundantly at Hebrews 9, verses 4 and 5.
Verse 10: A Cloud Filled the House of the Lord ¶
10. A CLOUD FILLED THE HOUSE OF THE LORD. — For by the cloud God represented Himself and His glory, and at the same time veiled them. For darkness is the veil of the Divinity, as well as its mystery. For it signifies that He is invisible and inaccessible to men.
Verse 11: The Priests Could Not Stand to Minister ¶
11. AND THE PRIESTS COULD NOT STAND AND MINISTER BECAUSE OF THE CLOUD, — both because of reverence for the divine majesty showing itself through the cloud; and because this rather dense cloud hurt the eyes of the priests, and dulled and dimmed their vision. So Cajetan.
FOR THE GLORY OF THE LORD HAD FILLED THE HOUSE OF THE LORD. — He calls the cloud "the glory of the Lord," because it was the sign and symbol of the glory of the Lord, as I said: and therefore it was bright and splendid. So Cajetan. This cloud, he says, is called both cloud, and darkness, and glory of the Lord. From these names it is gathered that it was a cloud in the manner of a luminous darkness, and by reason of its light it is called glory, or rather the honor of the Lord; by reason of its form it is called darkness; but by reason of its matter, a cloud: for they were like vapors of a misty darkness with splendor, and therefore they physically hurt the eyes of the priests ministering at the altar.
Verse 12: The Lord Said He Would Dwell in a Cloud ¶
12. THE LORD SAID THAT HE WOULD DWELL IN A CLOUD. — He said this in Leviticus 16:13, where God commands the high priest not to enter the Holy of Holies except while offering incense, and this so that the vapor and cloud of the incense might cover the propitiatory, and God dwelling upon it: lest if the high priest were to see Him, he might be struck dead by the splendor and terror of the divinity and die. He said the same in Psalm 103:3: "Who makes the clouds His chariot." And Psalm 17:10, "darkness beneath His feet." And verse 12: "He made darkness His hiding place." Hence God spoke to Moses and the Hebrews through darkness, Exodus 24:16; Deuteronomy 4 and 5.
Verse 13: Your Most Firm Throne ¶
13. YOUR MOST FIRM THRONE. — Hebrew: a direction to Your throne. The function of the temple, says Cajetan, is shown to be not to provide God with a dwelling, but to provide men with a direction of their minds toward the eternal divine throne, which is in heaven: for the temple was made to direct men toward God, who created the heavens and the earth, and governs the universe.
Verse 22: Solomon Stood and Spread His Hands to Heaven ¶
22. AND SOLOMON STOOD BEFORE THE ALTAR (of holocausts. He stood therefore between the altar and the people surrounding him on three sides. It is added in 2 Paralipomenon 6:13 that he stood on a bronze platform, placed there for the king's person, so that he might be seen by all the people) IN THE SIGHT (in Hebrew, facing the whole) OF THE ASSEMBLY OF ISRAEL, — with his face turned toward the altar and the sanctuary to the West (on which side the priests and Levites also were); the people meanwhile were on the other three sides, East, South, and North. For thus he began to do what he taught others should be done in the following prayer; namely that with their face turned toward the temple they should pour forth prayers to God.
Moreover, Solomon offered this prayer as king of Israel, and therefore wore a diadem on his head. Hence the Chaldean, at Canticle chapter 3, verse 11, having understood Solomon's litter as his temple, in place of what our Translator, the Septuagint, and the Hebrews have: Go forth and see, daughters of Zion, King Solomon in his diadem, etc., translates thus: When King Solomon came to make the dedication of the house of the sanctuary, a herald went forth mightily and said thus: Go forth and see, inhabitants of the provinces of the land of Israel, and the people of Zion, the diadem and crown with which the house of Israel crowned King Solomon on the day of the dedication of the sanctuary; and he rejoiced in the joy of the feast of tabernacles, which King Solomon made at that time for 14 days. And chapter 4, verse 1, he adds: And on that day King Solomon offered a thousand holocausts, and his offering was received with favor before the Lord; a voice rushed from heaven and said: How beautiful is the assembly of Israel, and how beautiful are the princes of the congregation and the wise dwelling in council: for they always illumine the people of the house of Israel, etc. Let kings and princes see here the wonderful piety of Solomon, by which he as king, like a priest and pontiff, dedicates and consecrates to God the temple built by himself; and beseeches that God may hear the prayers of those who pray in it, and blesses the whole people, and therefore is heard by God, and is honored by a miraculous darkness and fire falling from heaven upon the victims. Let princes imitate him, and they will likewise be blessed by God.
AND HE SPREAD OUT HIS HANDS TOWARD HEAVEN, — and bent his knees, as is said in 2 Paralipomenon 6:13, so that by this gesture he might attest his reverence and devotion toward God and God's temple; and might stir the people to the same by his example. The first Christians imitated Solomon, who prayed with bent knees and hands raised toward heaven, the various reasons for which ceremony I reviewed from the Fathers at 1 Timothy 2:8, at the words: "Lifting up pure hands."
FOR IF HEAVEN AND THE HEAVEN OF HEAVENS (that is, the highest, vastest, and most capacious heavens) CANNOT CONTAIN YOU, HOW MUCH LESS THIS HOUSE THAT I HAVE BUILT, — shall not contain You. For God is immense, and therefore is everywhere, and fills all things, and extends beyond all things through the immense spaces of the void, and therefore can create a thousand and infinitely many millions of new worlds in them. The philosophers said the same, hence Aratus:
Jupiter is whatever you see: all things are full of Jove.
And Aeschylus, cited by Clement of Alexandria, book V of the Stromata:
Jupiter is the ether, is the earth, Heaven and all things are Jupiter, and whatever is above.
And Orpheus in the same place:
To the borders of the Ocean His hand is extended, and on all sides His right hand, and the earth is placed beneath His feet.
Verse 29: My Name Shall Be There ¶
29. MY NAME SHALL BE THERE, — that is to say, in my house I will be present: there I will be worshipped, there I will answer, there I will hear prayers, I will work wonders, and I will show My glory. Hence again: "My name shall be there," that is, it will be called by My name, "the temple of the Lord," according to that saying: "My house shall be called a house of prayer," Matthew chapter 21, verse 13.
Verse 31: If a Man Sins Against His Neighbor ¶
31. IF A MAN SINS AGAINST HIS NEIGHBOR, AND HAS SOME OATH, — that is, if someone, summoned to the temple to swear, swears there that he has not sinned against his neighbor, nor taken or damaged his property, Solomon says: O Lord, I pray and beseech that in this temple You may show the truth or falsehood of the oath, so that You may punish the perjurer in the temple as sacrilegious and profaning Your house, so that it may be clear to all how much religion and reverence is owed to Your temple, and how present You are in it, and that You may show Your spiritual power. For thus this phrase is explained in the book of 2 Paralipomenon, chapter 6, verses 22 and 23. So Abulensis. Thus in ancient times those suspected of some crime were brought to the oratory of St. Stephen, to purge themselves there by oath: for if they swore falsely, they were immediately punished by God, examples of which St. Augustine recounts, book XXII of the City of God, chapter 8. The same happened to those who perjured themselves in the temple of St. Martin at his relics, as Gregory of Tours narrates, book VIII, chapter 16.
Verse 38: Every Prayer and Supplication ¶
38. EVERY PRAYER (some wrongly read "devouring") AND SUPPLICATION. — In Hebrew: every prayer and supplication that shall have been made by any man in the temple, etc. So also the Septuagint and the Chaldean. For "devotatio" is a prayer and the declaration of a vow, and this word was formerly in use, as I showed from Apuleius and Cicero at Proverbs 20:25, at the words: "It is ruin for a man to devour," or, as Bede, Lyranus, and others read, "to devote holy things."
"Imprecation" here means the same as "prayer": for the compound word is used for the simple one: therefore St. Augustine less accurately takes it as an anathematism, Question 21.
IF ANYONE KNOWS THE PLAGUE OF HIS HEART, — that is, if anyone has felt a sharp pain of soul, and has poured it out in prayer before You in the temple, You will hear and will free him from it.
Verse 43: Your Name Has Been Invoked over This House ¶
43. YOUR NAME HAS BEEN INVOKED OVER THIS HOUSE, — that is to say, this house is called Your house.
Verse 45: You Will Execute Judgment for Them ¶
45. YOU WILL EXECUTE JUDGMENT FOR THEM, — that is, You will declare and execute justice for them, by avenging the injuries done to them, and freeing them from unjust and violent oppressors.
Verse 48: They Pray toward Their Land and the Temple ¶
48. AND THEY PRAY TO YOU TOWARD THE WAY OF THEIR LAND, etc., AND THE CITY THAT YOU HAVE CHOSEN, AND THE TEMPLE, — that is, if the Jews, established among the nations outside Judea, pray to You turning their face toward their land, namely toward Jerusalem and the temple. Thus Daniel, chapter 6, verse 10: "While a captive in Babylon, he knelt three times a day facing Jerusalem." And the Psalmist, Psalm 133:2: "In the nights, he says, lift up your hands toward the Holy Place," that is, toward the holy temple. Indeed, even the Turks today in their mosques, praying superstitiously, turn themselves toward the South, so as to face toward Mecca and their Muhammad buried there.
Verse 50: You Will Grant Mercy before Them ¶
50. YOU WILL GRANT MERCY BEFORE THEM. — In Hebrew: You will give them to mercies, meaning: You will win them favor with their enemies, so that they may obtain mercy from them, and be treated mercifully and freed.
Verse 54: He Had Fixed Both Knees upon the Ground ¶
54. FOR HE HAD FIXED BOTH KNEES UPON THE GROUND. — Let those noble, delicate, and vainglorious people take note of this, who pray with one knee fixed on the ground and the other raised, as if about to fight with God lest He grant what they ask. Behold, Solomon, the king of kings, praying bent both his knees and spread both his hands toward heaven, and persisted in this suppliant posture for the whole time of his lengthy prayer: and shall we, lowly and poor little men, disdain to bend both knees, so that with one we seem to beseech God, and with the other to threaten Him?
Verse 55: He Blessed the Whole Assembly of Israel ¶
55. HE BLESSED THE WHOLE ASSEMBLY OF ISRAEL, — that is to say, he prayed well for the entire assembly, or gathering, of the people of Israel.
Verse 59: Let My Words Be Near to the Lord ¶
59. LET MY WORDS, etc., BE NEAR TO THE LORD, — that is to say, may the Lord be continually mindful of this prayer of mine, which I have poured forth to Him for future generations and ages. So Vatablus.
Verse 60: The Lord Himself Is God ¶
60. FOR THE LORD HIMSELF IS GOD, AND THERE IS NO OTHER BESIDES HIM, — that is to say, there is no other God besides Him, but He alone is the one and only true God.
Verse 61: Let Our Heart Be Perfect with the Lord ¶
61. AS ALSO TODAY, — understand: you do, so that you also may do in the future, that you may love God with a perfect heart and keep all His commandments.
It is added in 2 Paralipomenon 6:41: "Now therefore arise, O Lord God, to Your rest, You and the ark of Your strength;" that is, so that resting upon the ark You may repose in this temple built by me for You. He calls it "the ark of strength," because through it God powerfully conquered Jericho and Canaan under the leadership of Joshua. Paralipomenon continues: "Let Your priests, O Lord God, be clothed with salvation," so that they may be sound and safe on all sides, and be clothed and girded round about with salvation as with a garment, so that they may also be able to impart it to others, especially to the laity: "O Lord God, do not turn away the face of Your Anointed," that is to say: Do not, O Lord, turn away my prayers, those of Solomon, who am Your Christ, that is, the king of Israel, anointed and appointed by You, which I have just recounted, but hear and fulfill them: he adds a spur in conclusion: "Remember the mercies (in Hebrew chasde, that is, the pious deeds) of David Your servant," meaning: Grant me what I ask on account of the merits of David my father, who was a man of pious deeds and mercies, both actively and passively, because he showed many and excellent works of mercy toward Saul and the other Israelites, and therefore in turn from You, O Lord, he obtained great mercy and grace.
Moreover, that God heard Solomon's prayer will be evident in the next chapter, verse 2. Note here that God more readily hears prayers that are offered in the temple as in His house, than those offered elsewhere, for the reasons I reviewed at 1 Timothy 2:1 and 2.
Verse 63: Twenty-Two Thousand Oxen as Peace Offerings ¶
63. AND SOLOMON SLAUGHTERED PEACE OFFERINGS (WHICH were offered for peace, that is, for the health and happiness of himself and the people, both already obtained and to be obtained hereafter, according to the law of Leviticus 3) TWENTY-TWO THOUSAND OXEN, AND ONE HUNDRED TWENTY THOUSAND SHEEP. — See here again the piety and magnificence of Solomon in the worship of God.
Verse 64: He Sanctified the Middle of the Court ¶
64. ON THAT DAY THE KING SANCTIFIED THE MIDDLE OF THE COURT THAT WAS BEFORE THE HOUSE OF THE LORD, — that is to say, on that day of the dedication of the temple, Solomon through the high priest and the priests dedicated the middle part of the court of the priests, which was before the Holy Place, so that in it many altars might be erected for offering so many thousands of victims on them. For the one altar prescribed by God, Exodus chapter 27, verse 1, could not hold all these. Therefore the present necessity excused Solomon from sin, so that he did not act against God's law forbidding the erection of another altar, especially because he simultaneously offered on the altar prescribed by God as many victims as it could hold, and offered the rest on the altars he had erected next to it in the court of the priests: hence at that time the entire court of the priests, or rather half of it, was like one altar. So Abulensis.
Henceforth Solomon offered sacrifices daily in this temple; but more and with greater solemnity three times a year, namely at Passover, Pentecost, and the Feast of Tabernacles, as is clear from 2 Paralipomenon 8:13.
Verse 65: A Celebrated Feast for Fourteen Days ¶
65. SO SOLOMON AT THAT TIME MADE A CELEBRATED FEAST, etc., FOR SEVEN DAYS AND SEVEN DAYS. — The first seven days were for the dedication of the temple, the latter seven for the Feast of Tabernacles. So Abulensis, Cajetan, and others.
Finally, at this dedication the Levites and Singers and 120 priests sang together both with their voices and sounded forth with trumpets, cymbals, organs, harps, psalteries, and other musical instruments, as is said in 2 Paralipomenon 5:11. The Rabbis tell the fable that at that time the gates of the temple were closed of their own accord, and when Psalm 131 was sung, they opened of their own accord. The miracles that then occurred were that God consumed all the victims with heavenly fire, and showed His majesty in a splendid and glorious cloud. Hear 2 Paralipomenon 7:1: "And when Solomon had finished pouring forth his prayers, fire came down from heaven and consumed the holocausts and victims: and the majesty of the Lord filled the house. Nor could the priests enter the temple of the Lord, because the majesty of the Lord had filled the temple of the Lord. And all the children of Israel saw the fire descending, and the glory of the Lord upon the house: and falling prostrate upon the ground on the pavement laid with stone, they worshipped and praised the Lord: For He is good, for His mercy endures forever."