Bible Strands
2 Chronicles 7:12
the LORD appeared to him at night and said to him: “I have heard your prayer and have chosen this place for Myself as a house of sacrifice.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The LORD speaks to Solomon at night immediately after the completion of the temple and royal palace. This address concludes the dedication sequence and precedes the conditional warnings in 2 Chronicles 7:13.
The words — The Hebrew verb וַיֵּרָא (va.yi.re') means "he appeared," denoting a visible divine manifestation. The verb שָמַעְתִּי (sha.ma.ti) translates literally as "I have heard," directly referencing the reception of Solomon’s preceding petition.
The thread — This nighttime divine appearance parallels God’s appearance to Abram in Genesis 17:1 and to Solomon again in 1 Kings 9:2. The motif of God hearing prayer and selecting a location for worship connects to the earlier promise in 2 Chronicles 1:7.
Why it lands — The text states that God heard the prayer and designated the temple as a house of sacrifice before interpreting this as a model for covenant response. It requires the reader to recognize that divine favor is tied to specific locations and subsequent obedience rather than automatic entitlement.
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 the Lord appeared to Solomon by night, and said unto him, I have heard thy prayer, and have chosen this place to myself for an house of sacrifice.
Cross-references
- Genesis 17:1 When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the LORD appeared to him and said, “I am God Almighty. Walk before Me and be blameless.
- 1 Kings 9:2 the LORD appeared to him a second time, as He had appeared to him at Gibeon.
- 2 Chronicles 1:7 That night God appeared to Solomon and said, “Ask, and I will give it to you!”
- 2 Chronicles 7:16 For I have now chosen and consecrated this temple so that My Name may be there forever. My eyes and My heart will be there for all time.
- 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.
- 2 Kings 20:5 “Go back and tell Hezekiah the leader of My people that this is what the LORD, the God of your father David, says: ‘I have heard your prayer; I have seen your tears. I will surely heal you. On the third day from now you will go up to the house of the LORD.
- Luke 1:13 But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zechariah, because your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to give him the name John.
- Acts 10:31 and said, ‘Cornelius, your prayer has been heard, and your gifts to the poor have been remembered before God.
- 1 John 5:14 And this is the confidence that we have before Him: If we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.
- Deuteronomy 12:5 Instead, you must seek the place the LORD your God will choose from among all your tribes to establish as a dwelling for His Name, and there you must go.