Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of 1 Kings 8:2
And all the men of Israel assembled themselves unto king Solomon at the feast in the month Ethanim, which [is] the seventh month.
2. at the feast in the month Ethanim which is the seventh month ] Josephus tells us that the feast of tabernacles fell at this time, and that that festival and the dedication services were combined into one great feast. We know from Lev 23:34, that the feast of tabernacles commenced on the fifteenth day of the seventh month and was held for seven days. The month Ethanim, which name only occurs here, is described as the seventh month. The name, which is connected with a word used for running water, is thought to signify ‘the rainy month.’ Josephus calls it , which was the month between the new moons of October and November. If heavy rains were common at the time it was an unfortunate date for the feast of tabernacles. The ‘early rains’ spoken of in Scripture were the rains of autumn, and fell at the end of October or beginning of November, but came on very gradually. The ‘latter rains’ were those of spring, mostly in March. If the feast took place towards the middle of October it would close before the rains began to fall.
Supposing the Temple to have been dedicated as soon as possible after its completion, this festival must have been held in the twelfth year of Solomon’s reign. For in 1Ki 6:37 we are told that the actual building was finished in the eighth month of the eleventh year. The seventh month, named for the dedication, must have been in the year following.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
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.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 2. 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.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
All the men of Israel; not only the chief men who were particularly invited, but a vast number of the common people, as being forward to see and to join in this great and glorious solemnity.
At the feast: understand either, first, The feast of tabernacles. Or rather, secondly, The feast of the dedication, to which Solomon had invited them, which was before that feast; for that began on the 15th day of the 7th month, Lev 23:34, but this began at the least seven days before that feast; for Solomon and the people kept the feast for fourteen days, here, 1Ki 8:65, i.e. seven days for the dedication of the temple, and seven other days for that of tabernacles; and after both these were finished, he sent all the people to their homes on the twenty-third day of the month. See 2Ch 7:9,10.
Which is the seventh month; which time he chose with common respect to his peoples convenience, because now they had gathered in all their fruits, and now they were come up to Jerusalem to celebrate the feast of tabernacles.
Quest. The temple was not finished till the eighth month, 1Ki 6:38, how then could he invite them in the seventh month
Answ. 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, described 1Ki 7, were not then fully finished, but took up a considerable time afterward; and many preparations were to be made for this great and extraordinary occasion.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
2-6. at the feast in the monthEthanimThe public and formal inauguration of this nationalplace of worship did not take place till eleven months after thecompletion of the edifice. The delay, most probably, originated inSolomon’s wish to choose the most fitting opportunity when thereshould be a general rendezvous of the people in Jerusalem (1Ki8:2); and that was not till the next year. That was a jubileeyear, and he resolved on commencing the solemn ceremonial a few daysbefore the feast of tabernacles, which was the most appropriate ofall seasons. That annual festival had been instituted incommemoration of the Israelites dwelling in booths during their stayin the wilderness, as well as of the tabernacle, which was thenerected, in which God promised to meet and dwell with His people,sanctifying it with His glory. As the tabernacle was to be supersededby the temple, there was admirable propriety in choosing the feast oftabernacles as the period for dedicating the new place of worship,and praying that the same distinguished privileges might be continuedto it in the manifestation of the divine presence and glory. At thetime appointed for the inauguration, the king issued orders for allthe heads and representatives of the nation to repair to Jerusalemand take part in the august procession [1Ki8:1]. The lead was taken by the king and elders of the people,whose march must have been slow, as priests were stationed to offeran immense number of sacrifices at various points in the line of roadthrough which the procession was to go. Then came the priests bearingthe ark and the tabernaclethe old Mosaic tabernacle which wasbrought from Gibeon. Lastly, the Levites followed, carrying thevessels and ornaments belonging to the old, for lodgment in the new,house of the Lord. There was a slight deviation in this procedurefrom the order of march established in the wilderness (Num 3:31;Num 4:15); but the spirit of thearrangement was duly observed. The ark was deposited in the oracle;that is, the most holy place, under the wings of the cherubimnotthe Mosaic cherubim, which were firmly attached to the ark (Exo 37:7;Exo 37:8), but those made bySolomon, which were far larger and more expanded.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
And all the men of Israel assembled themselves unto King Solomon at the feast,…. Not of tabernacles, as the Targum on 2Ch 5:3 and so Jarchi; though that was in the same month next mentioned, and began on the fifteenth of it, and held seven days; wherefore this must be the feast of the dedication of the temple, and which was kept before that; since both lasted fourteen days, and the people were dismissed on the twenty third of the month; now not only the above principal persons convened, but a vast number of the common people came to see the solemnity of removing the ark, and of dedicating the temple, and to attend the feast of it, and the more, since in a few days was the time for all the males in Israel to appear there:
in the month Ethanim, which is the seventh month; it was, as the Targum says, originally the first month; but upon the children of Israel coming out of Egypt in Ab or Nisan, that became the first month, and this was the seventh from that; and is the same with Tisri, which answers to part of September, and part of October, here called Ethanim; which some render the month of the ancients, others of strong ones; either because of the many feasts that were in it, as some say; or because it was the time of ingathering all the increase and fruits of the earth, which strengthen and support man’s life; or rather of “never failing”, i.e. waters, showers falling in this month, and the rivers full of water l; so September is “septimus imber”, according to Isidore m, and the three following months are alike derived; this, by the Egyptians, was called Theuth, and was with them the first month in the year n; so Porphyry says o, with the Egyptians the beginning of the year was not Aquarius, as with the Romans, but Cancer; and so the month of September was the first with the Ethiopians p, and with most people q; though with the Chinese about the middle of Aquarius r. Now, though the temple was finished in the eighth month, 1Ki 6:38, it was not dedicated until the seventh in the following year; it required time to finish the utensils and vessels, and put them in their proper place, and for the drying of the walls, &c.
l Vid. Hackman. Praecidan. Sacr. p. 130, 131. m Origin. l. 5. c. 33. n Lactant. de Fals. Felig. l. 1. c. 6. o De Antro Nymph. prope finem. p Ludolf. Lexic. Ethiopic. p. 65. & Hist. Ethiop. l. 3. c. 6. q Julian. Opera, par. 1. orat. 4. p. 290, 291. r Martin. Sinic. Hist. l. 1. p. 22.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
(2) The month Ethanim (called after the Captivity Tisri), corresponded with the end of September and beginning of October. The name is supposed (by Thenius) to be properly, as in the LXX., Athanim, and to signify the month of gifts, so called as bringing with it the gathering in of the vintage, and of the last of the crops. According to the Chaldee Targum, it was in old times the beginning of the civil, as Abib of the ecclesiastical year. The feast in this month was the Feast of Tabernaclesof all feasts of the year the most joyfulmarking the gathering in of all the fruits of the land, commemorating the dwelling in tabernacles in the wilderness, and thanking God for settlement and blessing in the land (Lev. 23:33-44). It was, perhaps, the time when the Israelites could best be absent from their lands for a prolonged festival; but there was also a peculiar appropriateness in thus giving it a higher consecration, by celebrating on it the transference of the ark from the movable tabernacle to a fixed and splendid habitation. In this instance the festival was doubled in duration, from seven to fourteen days. (See 1Ki. 8:65.)
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
2. The feast in the month Ethanim Which was the feast of tabernacles. See at Lev 23:34-43. Ethanim, which Gesenius defines as “the month of flowing streams,” corresponded with our October. Solomon finished the temple in the eighth month, (1Ki 6:38,) but waited till the seventh month of the next year for the dedication, that it might be coincident with the feast of tabernacles. It is probable, also, that while the temple itself was finished in the eighth month of Solomon’s eleventh year, (1Ki 6:38,) the various vessels described in 1Ki 7:23-50 were not completed till some time afterward, and the temple could not be dedicated till all these were finished. It is absurd, however, to suppose, as some do, that Solomon deferred the dedication of the temple for thirteen years after he had completed it. This feast was designed for a thanksgiving and rejoicing over the fruits of harvest, (Exo 23:16; Deu 16:13,) and also for a commemoration of the time when Israel dwelt in booths, in the desert. Lev 23:43. It was therefore fitting to associate the dedication of the temple with this important feast, for the ark that had dwelt in a tabernacle, and been carried to and fro for five hundred years, was now to enter into its place of rest. Compare 1Ch 28:2; 2Ch 6:41. And so the holy house, begun in the month of flowers and finished in the month of garnered fruits, (see note on 1Ki 6:38,) was appropriately consecrated in the month of thanksgiving.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
1Ki 8:2. All the men of Israel assembledin the month Ethanim To celebrate the dedication of his new temple with greater magnificence, Solomon chose to defer it till the next year, which was the Jubilee, their ninth, according to Archbishop Usher, which opened the fourth millenary of the world: at which solemnity there used to be always a vast concourse of people from all parts of the kingdom. The ceremony began on the eighth day of the seventh month of the sacred year, which was the first of the civil year, answering to the latter end of our October, and lasted seven days; at the end of which began the feast of tabernacles. The ceremony opened with a pompous procession, in which the priests carried the ark from the tabernacle which David had erected for it, to the temple, and deposited it in the most holy place, between the two golden cherubims which Solomon had caused to be made by Hiram, to be a kind of covering to the ark. The king himself, accompanied by all his chief officers and the elders of Israel, marched before the ark: these were followed by a great number of priests and Levites, who sung some canticles proper to the occasion, and played upon various instruments. Next to the ark followed another number of singers and players, with other priests bearing the golden candlesticks, altar of incense, and other sacred utensils of the sanctuary, which had been brought from Gibeon, where they and the tabernacle had been deposited till that time. While the priests were placing the ark in the Holy of Holies, the air rung with the sound of a hundred and twenty trumpets, and with the voices of the Levites, who sang the praises of God, repeating these words at proper stanzas: Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;and his mercy endureth for ever: it was then that God seemed to come down in a visible manner, to take possession, as it were, of his new temple, by filling it with a glorious cloud, as he had formerly done the tabernacle; insomuch that the priests could not stand to offer up the sacrifices which they had prepared upon that occasion. See Exo 40:34. 2 Chronicles 5 throughout, and Universal History.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
(2) And all the men of Israel assembled themselves unto king Solomon at the feast in the month Ethanim, which is the seventh month.
What a delightful convention of Israel this must have been. Oh! how glorious a sight is it, to see the house of God completely filled!
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
1Ki 8:2 And all the men of Israel assembled themselves unto king Solomon at the feast in the month Ethanim, which [is] the seventh month.
Ver. 2. In the month Ethanim. ] Which signifieth ripeness or strengh: either because the fruits were then ripe, sc., in September, and strengthened the heart of man; or else, by this festival month men’s hearts were filled with the joy of the Lord, which was their strength, Neh 8:10 and lifted up in the ways of his precepts.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Ethanim. Same as Tisri.
the seventh month. Compare Lev 23:24. See note on 1Ki 6:38.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Ethanim
Seventh month i.e. October.
Fuente: Scofield Reference Bible Notes
at the feast: Lev 23:34, Num 29:12-40, Deu 16:13, 2Ch 5:3, 2Ch 7:8-10, Ezr 3:4, Neh 8:14-18, Zec 14:16-19, Joh 7:2, Joh 7:37
Reciprocal: Lev 16:29 – in the seventh 1Ki 8:65 – held 1Ki 12:32 – like unto
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
1Ki 8:2. All the men of Israel assembled Not only the chief men, who were particularly invited, but a vast number of the common people, as being desirous to see and join in this great and glorious solemnity. At the feast This feast of the dedication to which Solomon had invited them. In the month Ethanim, which is the seventh month This time he chose for the peoples greater convenience, because now they had gathered in all their fruits, and were going up to Jerusalem to celebrate the feast of tabernacles. But it may be objected, According to 1Ki 6:38, the temple was not finished till the eighth month, how then could he invite them to the dedication of it in the seventh month? To this it must be answered, It was the seventh month of the next year. For although the house in all its parts was finished the year before, yet, it seems, the utensils of it were not then fully finished; and many preparations were to be made for this great and extraordinary occasion. Add to this, that Solomon chose to defer this solemnity till the next year, that he might celebrate it with the greater magnificence, that being the year of jubilee, their ninth, according to Archbishop Usher, which opened the fourth millenary of the world; and at the solemnity of the jubilee, there used to be always a vast concourse of people from all parts of the kingdom. This ceremony then of the dedication began on the eighth day of the seventh month of the sacred year, which was the first of the civil year, answering to the latter end of our October, and lasted seven days, at the end of which began the feast of tabernacles.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
8:2 And all the men of Israel assembled themselves unto king Solomon at the feast in the month {b} Ethanim, which [is] the seventh month.
(b) Containing part of September and part of October, in which they held three solemn feasts, Num 29:1.