Bible Strands
1 Kings 3:2
The people, however, were still sacrificing on the high places because a house for the Name of the LORD had not yet been built.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The narrator describes the religious condition of Israel during Solomon’s early reign, while the king dwells in the City of David awaiting the completion of his palace and the temple.
The words — בָּמ֑וֹת (ba.Mot) translates literally to elevated sites or high places, and נִבְנָ֥ה (niv.Nah) means it was constructed or built.
The thread — This narrative pattern of continued sacrifice at high places before temple completion appears in 1 Kings 22:43 and 2 Chronicles 33:17, where the practice persists until later reforms or temple dedication.
Why it lands — It requires acknowledging that the text records a temporary accommodation: localized worship occurred because a central sanctuary for the Name of the LORD did not yet exist.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
Only the people sacrificed in high places, because there was no house built unto the name of the Lord, until those days.
Cross-references
- 1 Kings 22:43 And Jehoshaphat walked in all the ways of his father Asa; he did not turn away from them, but did what was right in the eyes of the LORD. The high places, however, were not removed; the people still sacrificed and burned incense on the high places.
- 2 Chronicles 33:17 Nevertheless, the people still sacrificed at the high places, but only to the LORD their God.
- Deuteronomy 12:2 Destroy completely all the places where the nations you are dispossessing have served their gods—atop the high mountains, on the hills, and under every green tree.
- Leviticus 26:30 I will destroy your high places, cut down your incense altars, and heap your lifeless bodies on the lifeless remains of your idols; and My soul will despise you.
- Leviticus 17:3 ‘Anyone from the house of Israel who slaughters an ox, a lamb, or a goat in the camp or outside of it
- 1 Kings 5:3 “As you are well aware, due to the wars waged on all sides against my father David, he could not build a house for the Name of the LORD his God until the LORD had put his enemies under his feet.
- 1 Chronicles 17:4 “Go and tell My servant David that this is what the LORD says: You are not the one to build Me a house in which to dwell.
- 1 Chronicles 28:3 but God said to me, ‘You are not to build a house for My Name, because you are a man of war who has shed blood.’
- Acts 7:47 But it was Solomon who built the house for Him.