1 Kings 8:62–66, King James Version
Italic words were supplied in the English translation for clarity.
1 Kings 8:62–66
Sacrifice and feast dedicate the temple
The king and all Israel offer sacrifice before the LORD
Solomon offers a sacrifice of peace offerings, two and twenty thousand oxen and an hundred and twenty thousand sheep. So the king and all the children of Israel dedicate the house of the LORD. The same day the king hallows the middle of the court before the house, because the bronze altar is too little to receive the burnt offerings, meal offerings, and fat of the peace offerings.
The numbers are immense. They describe a national rite that overflowed the altar, not a target for later congregations and not a spiritual grade. Dedication here is costly public worship after a prayer that denied God could be housed.
Fourteen days, then a joyful going home
At that time Solomon holds a feast, and all Israel with him, a great congregation from the entering in of Hamath unto the river of Egypt, before the LORD seven days and seven days, fourteen days. On the eighth day he sends the people away. They bless the king and go to their tents joyful and glad of heart for all the goodness the LORD had done for David his servant and for Israel his people.
The map formula names a wide assembly. Joy is for goodness to David and Israel, not for a building campaign's success metrics. This is not a modern church-construction slogan, not a warrant to impoverish a people with spectacle, and not the last word on Solomon.
How this should shape us
Feast when a community has told the truth in prayer, and then go home. Do not copy the headcount of animals, and do not treat dedication week as proof that the house will keep the people's heart.
Teach it back
Explain 1 Kings 8:62–66 in your own words: include the movement “Sacrifice and feast dedicate the temple,” one source-supported observation, one limit, and one harm the unit does not authorize.
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Go deeper
The explanation above is meant to stand on its own. Open these notes only if you want language, history, disagreements, or source locations.
Where careful interpreters disagreeThe strongest options and their difficulties
Where does uncertainty remain?
Best judgment: The received Hebrew narrative and its KJV presentation are clear enough to follow this movement, while precise source history, chronology, motives, textual development, and external correlation require graded confidence rather than invented certainty.
How certain? probableResearch trail and exact locationsThe source record behind this section
Supports: Exact displayed KJV wording, paragraph metadata, supplied-word markup, and complete verse coverage.
1 Kings 8:62–66, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM corpus
Supports: Hebrew wording and morphology used for lexical, grammatical, name, clause, and older-English checks; this is not a critical apparatus or historical proof.
Open Scriptures MorphHB v.2.2, commit 6a5db284c715c18b239422e57bb89684e6a19f00, wlc/1Kgs.xml, Masoretic words and morphology for 8:62–66
Supports: Only printed unit-level translation, lexical, grammatical, textual, historical, and verse-numbering notes; silence is not evidence.
NET Bible 1 Kings PDF, printed pp. 599–602, translation and translator notes for 8:62–66
Supports: Inspected full-text literary, compositional, historical, and theological orientation used as one synthesis rather than consensus.
Dietrich, '1 and 2 Kings,' Oxford Bible Commentary (2001), printed pp. 237–239, exposition covering 1 Kings 8:62–66
Supports: Publisher-visible framing of the Masoretic, Greek, and other textual witnesses; the full chapter was not inspected.
Tekoniemi, 'Textual History,' Oxford Handbook of the Books of Kings (2024), official abstract and metadata for pp. 55–66
Supports: Only publisher-visible discussion of links with Deuteronomy and Deuteronomistic History.
Müller, 'Kings, Deuteronomy, and Deuteronomistic History,' Oxford Handbook (2024), official abstract and metadata for pp. 83–97
Supports: Only publisher-visible authorship, dating, source, and redaction framing; detailed proposals remain alternatives.
Römer, 'Theories of the Composition of the Books of Kings,' Oxford Handbook (2024), official abstract and metadata for pp. 98–122
Supports: Abstract-level current framing of Solomon and Jeroboam traditions, history, and literary development.
Robker, 'Solomon and Jeroboam I,' Oxford Handbook (2024), official abstract and metadata for pp. 139–155
Supports: Publisher-visible framing of temple descriptions and Ancient Near Eastern comparison, not proof of every dimension or event.
Dubovský, 'Solomon's Temple,' Oxford Handbook (2024), official abstract and metadata for pp. 296–310
Supports: Publisher-visible political and ideological questions around royal power and privilege.
Hens-Piazza, 'Power and Privilege,' Oxford Handbook (2024), official abstract and metadata for pp. 493–505
Sources for This Section
These records identify the source, the claim it supports, and the exact location used. A source remains evidence to evaluate; it does not replace the biblical text.
Biblical text
King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006
eBible.org and CrossWire Bible Society
USFM archive eng-kjv2006_usfm.zip; source files dated 2026-08-19; downloaded 2026-08-24; archive SHA-256 aec1b3b26c622fd3d963d2bbac963016b9513246ffbfa20da00bb100372ea007; normalized corpus SHA-256 09aef51d90488aa7b9722b3fd9a93f4b25f6bf2064c5fd798fb39673c300ddf2.
Supports: Exact displayed KJV wording, paragraph metadata, supplied-word markup, and complete verse coverage.
Exact location: 1 Kings 8:62–66, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM corpus
Open source ↗hebrew text and morphology
Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible: 1 Kings
Open Scriptures
Open Scriptures, release 2.2
Supports: Hebrew wording and morphology used for lexical, grammatical, name, clause, and older-English checks; this is not a critical apparatus or historical proof.
Exact location: Open Scriptures MorphHB v.2.2, commit 6a5db284c715c18b239422e57bb89684e6a19f00, wlc/1Kgs.xml, Masoretic words and morphology for 8:62–66
Open source ↗translation and translator notes
NET Bible: 1 Kings with translators' notes
Biblical Studies Press
Biblical Studies Press, 2006
Supports: Only printed unit-level translation, lexical, grammatical, textual, historical, and verse-numbering notes; silence is not evidence.
Exact location: NET Bible 1 Kings PDF, printed pp. 599–602, translation and translator notes for 8:62–66
Open source ↗scholarly commentary chapter
1 and 2 Kings
Walter Dietrich
The Oxford Bible Commentary, Oxford University Press, 2001
Supports: Inspected full-text literary, compositional, historical, and theological orientation used as one synthesis rather than consensus.
Exact location: Dietrich, '1 and 2 Kings,' Oxford Bible Commentary (2001), printed pp. 237–239, exposition covering 1 Kings 8:62–66
Open source ↗scholarly handbook chapter abstract and metadata
Textual History
Timo Tekoniemi
The Oxford Handbook of the Books of Kings, Oxford University Press, 2024
Supports: Publisher-visible framing of the Masoretic, Greek, and other textual witnesses; the full chapter was not inspected.
Exact location: Tekoniemi, 'Textual History,' Oxford Handbook of the Books of Kings (2024), official abstract and metadata for pp. 55–66
Open source ↗scholarly handbook chapter abstract and metadata
Kings, Deuteronomy, and Deuteronomistic History
Reinhard Muller
The Oxford Handbook of the Books of Kings, Oxford University Press, 2024
Supports: Only publisher-visible discussion of links with Deuteronomy and Deuteronomistic History.
Exact location: Müller, 'Kings, Deuteronomy, and Deuteronomistic History,' Oxford Handbook (2024), official abstract and metadata for pp. 83–97
Open source ↗scholarly handbook chapter abstract and metadata
Theories of the Composition of the Books of Kings
Thomas Romer
The Oxford Handbook of the Books of Kings, Oxford University Press, 2024
Supports: Only publisher-visible authorship, dating, source, and redaction framing; detailed proposals remain alternatives.
Exact location: Römer, 'Theories of the Composition of the Books of Kings,' Oxford Handbook (2024), official abstract and metadata for pp. 98–122
Open source ↗scholarly handbook chapter abstract and metadata
Solomon and Jeroboam I
Jonathan Miles Robker
The Oxford Handbook of the Books of Kings, Oxford University Press, 2024
Supports: Abstract-level current framing of Solomon and Jeroboam traditions, history, and literary development.
Exact location: Robker, 'Solomon and Jeroboam I,' Oxford Handbook (2024), official abstract and metadata for pp. 139–155
Open source ↗scholarly handbook chapter abstract and metadata
Solomon's Temple
Peter Dubovsky
The Oxford Handbook of the Books of Kings, Oxford University Press, 2024
Supports: Publisher-visible framing of temple descriptions and Ancient Near Eastern comparison, not proof of every dimension or event.
Exact location: Dubovský, 'Solomon's Temple,' Oxford Handbook (2024), official abstract and metadata for pp. 296–310
Open source ↗scholarly handbook chapter abstract and metadata
Power and Privilege
Gina Hens-Piazza
The Oxford Handbook of the Books of Kings, Oxford University Press, 2024
Supports: Publisher-visible political and ideological questions around royal power and privilege.
Exact location: Hens-Piazza, 'Power and Privilege,' Oxford Handbook (2024), official abstract and metadata for pp. 493–505
Open source ↗