1 Kings 8:2 (KJV)

Passage

And all the men of Israel assembled themselves unto king Solomon at the feast in the month Ethanim, which is the seventh month.

Nearby Context

1 Kings 8:1 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 king Solomon in Jerusalem, that they might bring up the ark of the covenant of the LORD out of the city of David, which is Zion.

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.

1 Kings 8:3 And all the elders of Israel came, and the priests took up the ark.

1 Kings 8:4 And they brought up the ark of the LORD, and the tabernacle of the congregation, and all the holy vessels that were in the tabernacle, even those did the priests and the Levites bring up.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "israel", "assembled", "themselves", "king", "solomon", "feast", "month", and "ethanim". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "israel" and "assembled", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 1's "Then Solomon assembled the elders of Israel..." into verse 3's "And all the elders of Israel came...", so "israel" and "assembled" belong inside that flow. In 1 Kings context, the local focus is covenant, worship, and faithfulness.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "israel" and "assembled" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.