1 Kings 9:1

And it came to pass, when Solomon had finished the building of the house of the Lord,.... Which was done in seven years, 1 Kings 6:38.

And it came to pass, when Solomon had finished the building of the house of the LORD, and the king's house, and all Solomon's desire which he was pleased to do, And it came to pass, when Solomon had finished.

1 Kings 9:1 And it came to pass, when Solomon had finished the building of the house of the LORD, and the king’ s house, and all Solomon’ s desire which he was pleased to do, Ver. 1. And all Solomon’ s desire.] The word signifieth such a desire as a young man hath after his mistress, or a bridegroom toward his bride; which showeth that Solomon took too much content in his buildings and furniture, passed over his affections too much unto them, and here began his fall. Licitis perimus omnes. See Ecclesiastes 2:2-10.

(1) And it came to pass.—The obvious primâ facie meaning of this verse would land us in much difficulty. By 1 Kings 6:38; 1 Kings 7:1, we find that, while the Temple was built in seven years, the erection of the palace and the other buildings occupied thirteen years; and from 1 Kings 5:10 and 2 Chronicles 8:1 it appears that these works were successive, and therefore that the completion of the palace could not have taken place till thirteen years after the completion of the Temple. Hence we should have to conclude, either that the dedication was postponed for thirteen years, till all the buildings were finished—which is in itself infinitely improbable, and contradicts the express declaration of Josephus—or that a similar period intervened between Solomon’s prayer and the Divine answer to it, which is even more preposterous. The variation in 2 Chronicles 7:11 probably suggests the true key to the difficulty: viz., that the notice in this verse is merely a summary of the history of 1 Kings 6-8, which records the whole of the building works of Solomon, and is not intended to fix the date of the vision of 1 Kings 9:2-9.

CHAPTER IX The Lord appears a second time to Solomon, and assures him that he had heard his prayer; and that he would establish his worship for ever in that temple, and him and his successors on the throne of Israel, provided he and they would keep his statutes and judgments, 1-5; but if they should transgress and forsake the Lord, then they should be cast off, the temple itself abandoned, and their enemies permitted to prevail over them, 6-9. Solomon having finished the temple and the king's house, about which he was employed twenty years, and having received assistance from Hiram king of Tyre, he gave him in return twenty cities in Galilee, with which he was not pleased, 10-14. Solomon's levies, buildings, and the persons employed, 15-23. Pharaoh's daughter comes to the city of David, 24. He sacrifices thrice a year at the temple, 25. Solomon's navy, and the gold they brought from Ophir, 26-28. NOTES ON CHAP. IX

Ch. 1 Kings 9:1-9. God’s second appearance unto Solomon (2 Chronicles 7:11-22) 1. when Solomon had finished] We read (1 Kings 6:38) that Solomon was seven years in building the Temple, and in 1 Kings 7:1 that he was thirteen years building his own house. We find also below (in 1 Kings 9:9) that these periods were not reckoned concurrently, but that the whole period was twenty years. Hence arises a difficulty with regard to this second appearance of God to the king. From the words of God’s message “I have heard thy prayer &c.” (1 Kings 9:3) it is plain that this second vision was an answer to the dedication prayer. Was then the dedication of the Temple, though the structure was completed in seven years, delayed until all the rest of Solomon’s works were ended? Or was the answer of God delayed through the thirteen years that elapsed between the finishing of the Temple and the finishing of the king’s house? We can hardly accept the latter supposition as possible. It appears far more likely that the dedication was delayed. And this may have been necessary because of the amount of time which Hiram would need for casting the metal-work, the greater part of which was for things that were unconnected with the actual Temple-building. This work from its nature could be undertaken only by persons specially skilled, of whom the number would be limited, and in consequence of this the work might be spread over a long time. all Solomon’s desire] The noun implies something by which special store was set, a special fancy. It seems to indicate that the king had gone to much nicety in his building schemes. The LXX. gives πραγματεία, perhaps in the sense of ‘careful carrying out of any plan’. In 2 Chronicles 7:11, it is said ‘he prosperously effected all that came into his heart to make.’

1. All Solomon’s desire — All that he desired in the way of buildings, not only at Jerusalem, but throughout his whole realm. Compare 1 Kings 9:19 and 2 Chronicles 8:6.