Bible Strands
1 Kings 9:25
Three times a year Solomon offered burnt offerings and peace offerings on the altar he had built for the LORD, burning incense with them before the LORD. So he completed the temple.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The narrator records Solomon’s actions immediately after housing Pharaoh’s daughter in his palace and finalizing the temple structure. The account places Solomon at the altar he constructed for the LORD as he concludes the building project.
The words — The text uses וְ/הֶעֱלָ֣ה (ve./he.'e.Lah), meaning "and he offered up," to describe Solomon’s ritual actions. It also employs שָׁלֹשׁ֩ פְּעָמִ֨ים בַּ/שָּׁנָ֜ה (sha.Losh pe.'a.Mim ba./sha.Nah), literally "three times in the year," to establish the exact frequency of these sacrifices.
The thread — The three-times-a-year sacrificial pattern appears in Exodus 23:14 and Deuteronomy 16:16 as festival mandates. Solomon’s regular offerings on his built altar parallel the account in 2 Chronicles 8:12.
Why it lands — The verse requires readers to note that temple completion included ongoing ritual maintenance, not just structural construction. It establishes that Solomon’s final act involved maintaining a fixed schedule of burnt offerings, peace offerings, and incense before the LORD.
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
And three times in a year did Solomon offer burnt offerings and peace offerings upon the altar which he built unto the Lord, and he burnt incense upon the altar that was before the Lord. So he finished the house.
Cross-references
- Exodus 23:14 Three times a year you are to celebrate a feast to Me.
- Deuteronomy 16:16 Three times a year all your men are to appear before the LORD your God in the place He will choose: at the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the Feast of Weeks, and the Feast of Tabernacles. No one should appear before the LORD empty-handed.
- 2 Chronicles 8:12 At that time Solomon offered burnt offerings to the LORD on the altar of the LORD he had built in front of the portico.
- 2 Chronicles 8:16 Thus all the work of Solomon was carried out, from the day the foundation was laid for the house of the LORD until it was finished. So the house of the LORD was completed.
- Exodus 30:7 And Aaron is to burn fragrant incense on it every morning when he tends the lamps.
- Exodus 34:23 Three times a year all your males are to appear before the Lord GOD, the God of Israel.
- 1 Kings 6:38 In the eleventh year, in the month of Bul, the eighth month, the temple was finished in every detail and according to every specification. So he built the temple in seven years.
- 1 Chronicles 23:13 The sons of Amram: Aaron and Moses. Aaron and his descendants were set apart forever to consecrate the most holy things, to burn incense before the LORD, to minister before Him, and to pronounce blessings in His name forever.
- 2 Chronicles 26:16 But when Uzziah became powerful, his arrogance led to his own destruction. He was unfaithful to the LORD his God, for he entered the temple of the LORD to burn incense on the altar of incense.
- 2 Chronicles 29:11 Now, my sons, do not be negligent, for the LORD has chosen you to stand before Him, to serve Him, to minister before Him, and to burn incense.”