Bible Strands
Acts 7:47
But it was Solomon who built the house for Him.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — Stephen addresses the Sanhedrin during his trial, recounting Israel’s history to clarify the temple’s origin. He notes that David requested a dwelling place for God, but Solomon was the one who actually constructed it.
The words — οἰκοδόμησεν (oikodomēsen) translates literally as “built,” emphasizing the physical construction of the structure. αὐτῷ (autō) means “for Him,” directing the completed house toward God as its intended recipient.
The thread — The text fulfills the promises recorded in 2 Samuel 7:13 and 1 Kings 8:20 regarding a Davidic successor building a temple. It aligns with the historical account in 1 Kings 6:37, which marks the foundation laying during Solomon’s fourth year.
Why it lands — The verse states the historical fact that Solomon built the temple before transitioning to the claim that God does not dwell in human-made structures. It requires the reader to acknowledge completed divine instructions while accepting that physical buildings cannot contain the Most High.
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 Greek words
King James Version
But Solomon built him an house.
Cross-references
- 1 Kings 8:20 Now the LORD has fulfilled the word that He spoke. I have succeeded my father David, and I sit on the throne of Israel, as the LORD promised. I have built the house for the Name of the LORD, the God of Israel.
- 2 Samuel 7:13 He will build a house for My Name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever.
- 1 Kings 6:37 The foundation of the house of the LORD was laid in the fourth year of Solomon’s reign, in the month of Ziv.
- 1 Kings 5:1 Now when Hiram king of Tyre heard that Solomon had been anointed king in his father’s place, he sent envoys to Solomon; for Hiram had always been a friend of David.
- 1 Kings 7:13 Now King Solomon sent to bring Huram from Tyre.
- 1 Chronicles 17:1 After David had settled into his palace, he said to Nathan the prophet, “Here I am, living in a house of cedar, while the ark of the covenant of the LORD is under a tent.”
- 2 Chronicles 2:1 Now Solomon purposed to build a house for the Name of the LORD and a royal palace for himself.
- 2 Chronicles 3:1 Then Solomon began to build the house of the LORD in Jerusalem on Mount Moriah, where the LORD had appeared to his father David. This was the place that David had prepared on the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite.
- Zechariah 6:12 And you are to tell him that this is what the LORD of Hosts says: ‘Here is a man whose name is the Branch, and He will branch out from His place and build the temple of the LORD.