1 Thus all the work that Solomon made for the house of the Lord was finished: and Solomon brought in all the things that David his father had dedicated; and the silver, and the gold, and all the instruments, put he among the treasures of the house of God.
2 Then Solomon assembled the elders of Israel, and all the heads of the tribes, the chief of the fathers of the children of Israel, unto Jerusalem, to bring up the ark of the covenant of the Lord out of the city of David, which is Zion.
3 Wherefore all the men of Israel assembled themselves unto the king in the feast which was in the seventh month.
4 And all the elders of Israel came; and the Levites took up the ark.
5 And they brought up the ark, and the tabernacle of the congregation, and all the holy vessels that were in the tabernacle, these did the priests and the Levites bring up.
6 Also king Solomon, and all the congregation of Israel that were assembled unto him before the ark, sacrificed sheep and oxen, which could not be told nor numbered for multitude.
7 And the priests brought in the ark of the covenant of the Lord unto his place, to the oracle of the house, into the most holy place, even under the wings of the cherubims:
8 For the cherubims spread forth their wings over the place of the ark, and the cherubims covered the ark and the staves thereof above.
9 And they drew out the staves of the ark, that the ends of the staves were seen from the ark before the oracle; but they were not seen without. And there it is unto this day.
10 There was nothing in the ark save the two tables which Moses put therein at Horeb, when the Lord made a covenant with the children of Israel, when they came out of Egypt.
11 And it came to pass, when the priests were come out of the holy place: (for all the priests that were present were sanctified, and did not then wait by course:
12 Also the Levites which were the singers, all of them of Asaph, of Heman, of Jeduthun, with their sons and their brethren, being arrayed in white linen, having cymbals and psalteries and harps, stood at the east end of the altar, and with them an hundred and twenty priests sounding with trumpets:)
13 It came even to pass, as the trumpeters and singers were as one, to make one sound to be heard in praising and thanking the Lord; and when they lifted up their voice with the trumpets and cymbals and instruments of musick, and praised the Lord, saying, For he is good; for his mercy endureth for ever: that then the house was filled with a cloud, even the house of the Lord;
14 So that the priests could not stand to minister by reason of the cloud: for the glory of the Lord had filled the house of God.
<html><b>and Solomon brought his father David’s hallowed things</b> Whatever is mentioned in this verse—according to its simple meaning—refers to that which remained to him from the things that David hallowed, as is written above (I Chron. 18:11): “Those also King David dedicated to the Lord, [along] with the silver and the gold that he took from all the nations, etc.,” and that which he left over he deposited into the treasuries of the House of God. And [in] <i>Midrash Aggadah</i> (<i>Pesikta Rabbathi</i> 6:7), some sages say that [he did not use these articles for the building of the Temple] because he knew that it was destined to be destroyed, in order that the nations should not say, “Our deity is strong,” for it took revenge on this House, which was built from the loot and the spoils that David robbed from their heathen temples. Some say: So said Solomon, “There was a famine during the days of David my father for three consecutive years, year after year, and he should have given away these hallowed things to sustain the poor of Israel with them.” I wish to bring support [to the view that Solomon did not build the Temple with the spoils of the nations], for regarding all the devoted things that David dedicated, as is written above (ibid.), it is not stated that with this Solomon made such and such a thing, as it is stated regarding the copper, as it is said (ibid. verse 8): “And from Tibhath and from Cun, cities of Hadadezer, David took huge quantities of copper, with which Solomon made the copper sea, etc.,” but of the silver and gold, about which it is not stated that Solomon made anything from it, it may be deduced that he did not make [anything from it]. Therefore, it is not written here any copper, but silver and gold. According to the simple interpretation, it seems to me that Scripture does not mention copper because copper is cheap, and it is not proper or fitting to bring it into the treasuries of the House of God.</html>
<html><b>Then Solomon assembled the elders of Israel</b> He conducted [the matter] with the attribute of wisdom, in that he gathered the elders, and not the youths, [which was] better than David [had done,] who gathered even the youths, as it is written, “And David assembled all the leaders of Israel…Jerusalem” (I Chron. 28:1).</html>
<html><b>on the festival</b> the festival of Succoth.</html>
<html><b>and the Tent of Meeting</b> that Moses made, Solomon hid it in the treasuries of the House of God with the remaining vessels and the hallowed articles, because he did not need them, and our Sages (<i>Tosefta of Sotah 13:1) said that they were hidden away.</i> <b>all the sacred vessels that were in the Tent</b> that David had given to the Ark. <b>the priests and the Levites brought them up.</b> This refers back to the above, where Scripture says: “and the Levites bore the Ark,” and he explains: Who were those Levites that I mentioned to you above? The Levitic priests, for the priests are also of the sons of Levi, but they were not real Levites, and so it is written (I Kings 8:3): “and the priests took up the Ark.” And the Levites also brought up the vessels and the Tent of Meeting according to their regulations.</html>
<html><b>And the cherubim were spreading their wings over the place of the Ark</b> in the place where the Ark was standing Therefore - <b>and the cherubim covered over the Ark and over its staves from above</b> above the Ark. So were the staves standing, and they extended so far out toward the east, that the Ark could stand exactly beneath the cherubim without the hindrance of the staves. Therefore, “and the cherubim covered over the Ark.” And they also covered part of the staves adjacent to the Ark, but not all of them, because they reached until the east. But you cannot explain that the cherubim covered the entire staves. And also, because of this—<b>And they extended the staves so that the ends of the staves were seen from the Ark before the Debir</b> For if it were not so, but [if they were] the same; i.e., if they were extended with one measure one from the other, [i.e., the part of the staves extending eastward equaled the part extending westward]. The staves that Moses made were still there, and they stood in the Holy of Holies of the Tent of Meeting, which was only ten [cubits], whereas this was twenty [cubits], and it reached from wall to wall. With the cherubim of Moses, about which it is also written, “spreading and covering,” they did not have to move any part of the staves from their place, because the cherubim of Moses were standing over the Ark on the Ark cover, but as for the cherubim mentioned here-Solomon made them standing on their feet on the ground, but nevertheless, those of Moses were still attached to the Ark cover. This is how Rabbi Nathan explained it, (but our Rabbi explained) that the priests wished to bring the Ark into the Debir with its staves, but they were unable to do so, because the Cloud filled the House of the Lord, and they could not bring the cherubim up to the western wall. Therefore, they [the staves] protruded into the dividing curtain. To me, this poses a difficulty, however, because it is written (I Kings 8:10f.): “And it came to pass when the priests came out, etc.,” and afterwards, “the glory of the Lord filled the House of God (sic).” (Rabbi Joseph of blessed memory, however, explained) that it does not say וַיִּתְאָרְכוּ [in the reflexive conjugation], which would mean that they became elongated by themselves, but וַיַּאֲרִיכוּ [in the causative conjugation], which means that others elongated them, and he explained that the craftsmen elongated them to twenty cubits, and their two ends touched the eastern wall and their [other] two ends touched the western wall. It is, however, puzzling how they could spread out their wings and cover the Ark, which was ten cubits from them.</html>
<html><b>And it came to pass when the priests left the Holy</b> He should have immediately written, “and the House became full of the cloud of the House of the Lord,” but he interrupted in between, and so in I Kings (8:10): “And it came to pass, when the priests came out of the Holy, and the cloud filled the House of the Lord.” <b>for all the priests that were present had sanctified themselves</b> for this thing. <b>not taking heed of the divisions</b> The twenty-four of the Levites and the twenty-four of the priests, but all those present sanctified themselves.</html>
<html><b>And the trumpeters, etc. were as one</b> The meaning is: And they were united - all the trumpeters together. Now for what purpose were they united? To make one sound together to praise and to thank the Lord.</html>