1 Kings 8:2 (DBY)

Passage

And all the men of Israel assembled themselves to king Solomon at the feast in the month Ethanim, that 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 princes of the fathers of the children of Israel, unto king Solomon in Jerusalem, to bring up the ark of the covenant of Jehovah out of the city of David, which is Zion.

1 Kings 8:2 And all the men of Israel assembled themselves to king Solomon at the feast in the month Ethanim, that 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 Jehovah, and the tent of meeting, and all the holy vessels that were in the tent: the priests and the Levites brought them 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.