1 Kings 8:29

May Your eyes be open toward this temple night and day, toward the place of which You said, ‘My Name shall be there,’ so that You may hear the prayer that Your servant prays toward this place.

Berean Standard Bible

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Study note

Setting — Solomon addresses Yahweh during the dedication of the newly built temple, concluding a prayer of consecration. He stands before the altar, requesting that God maintain constant attention to this specific location.

The words — עֵינֶ֨ךָ פְתֻח֜וֹת ('einekha petuchot) translates literally to "your eyes [are] open," emphasizing continuous divine perception. לַ֣יְלָה וָ/י֔וֹם (laylah va-yom) means "night and day," stressing uninterrupted vigilance over the temple.

The thread — This petition for God's focused attention on the temple appears identically in 2 Chronicles 6:20 and echoes the promise of attentive listening in 2 Chronicles 7:15. It also connects to Deuteronomy 12:11, which establishes the principle of God choosing a specific location for His Name.

Why it lands — The text requires the reader to recognize that worship is directed toward a concrete, God-appointed place rather than an abstract concept. It demands that prayer be offered with the expectation that God actively listens to petitions directed toward the location He designated.

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

That thine eyes may be open toward this house night and day, even toward the place of which thou hast said, My name shall be there: that thou mayest hearken unto the prayer which thy servant shall make toward this place.

Cross-references

2 Chronicles 6:20 May Your eyes be open toward this temple day and night, toward the place where You said You would put Your Name, so that You may hear the prayer that Your servant prays toward this place.
2 Chronicles 7:15 Now My eyes will be open and My ears attentive to the prayers offered in this place.
Deuteronomy 12:11 then the LORD your God will choose a dwelling for His Name. And there you are to bring everything I command you: your burnt offerings and sacrifices, your tithes and special gifts, and all the choice offerings you vow to the LORD.
1 Kings 8:16 ‘Since the day I brought My people Israel out of Egypt, I have not chosen a city from any tribe of Israel in which to build a house so that My Name would be there. But I have chosen David to be over My people Israel.’
Nehemiah 1:6 let Your eyes be open and Your ears attentive to hear the prayer that I, Your servant, now pray before You day and night for Your servants, the Israelites. I confess the sins that we Israelites have committed against You. Both I and my father’s house have sinned.
2 Kings 23:27 For the LORD had said, “I will remove Judah from My sight, just as I removed Israel. I will reject this city Jerusalem, which I chose, and the temple of which I said, ‘My Name shall be there.’”
2 Chronicles 6:5 ‘Since the day I brought My people out of the land of Egypt, I have not chosen a city from any tribe of Israel in which to build a house so that My Name would be there, nor have I chosen anyone to be ruler over My people Israel.
2 Chronicles 33:4 Manasseh also built altars in the house of the LORD, of which the LORD had said, “My Name will remain in Jerusalem forever.”
Nehemiah 1:9 but if you return to Me and keep and practice My commandments, then even if your exiles have been banished to the farthest horizon, I will gather them from there and bring them to the place I have chosen as a dwelling for My Name.’
Daniel 6:10 Now when Daniel learned that the document had been signed, he went into his house, where the windows of his upper room opened toward Jerusalem, and three times a day he got down on his knees, prayed, and gave thanks to his God, just as he had done before.