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From: 1 Kings 8:1-7, 9-13

Transfer of the Ark of the Covenant

[1] Then Solomon assembled the elders of Israel and all the heads of the tribes, the leaders of the fathers’ houses of the people of Israel, before King Solomon in Jerusalem, to bring up the ark of the covenant of the LORD out of thecity of David, which is Zion. [2] And all the men of Israel assembled to King Solomon at the feast in the month Ethanim, which is the seventh month [3] And all the elders of Israel came, and the priests took up the ark. [4] And they brought up the ark of the LORD, the tent of meeting and all the holy vessels that were in the tent the priests and the Levites brought them up. [5] And King Solomon and all the congregation of Israel who had assembled before him were with him before the ark, sacrificing so many sheep and oxen that they could not be counted or numbered. [6] Then the priests brought the ark of the covenant of the LORD to its place, in the inner sanctuary of the house, in the most holy place, underneath the wings of the cherubim. [7] For the cherubim spread out their wings over the place of the ark, so that the cherubim made a covering above the ark and its pales. [9] There was nothing in the ark except the two tables of stone which Moses put there at Horeb, where the LORD made a covenant with the people of Israel, when they came out of the land of Egypt. [10] And when the priests came out of the holy place, a cloud filled the house of the LORD, [11] so that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud; for the glory of the LORD filled the house of the LORD.

[12] Then Solomon said, “The LORD has set the sun in the heavens, but has said that he would dwell in thick darkness. [13] I have built thee an exalted house, a place for thee to dwell in for ever.”

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Commentary:

8:1-9:9. Once the temple was built and furnished, the key thing remained to be fulfilled—that God should accept it as his dwelling-place. This section brings us to the most important passage in the books of the Kings. This temple dedicated by Solomon now becomes the place of the presence of God—the same presence as Moses and the people enjoyed in the wilderness (Ex 25:8-9). Jesus himself recognizes the temple of Jerusalem as the house of God (cf. Mt 21:13 and par.; Jn 2:16) and in fact it is there that he will manifest himself to men. So, it is not surprising that the early Christian writers should see Solomon as a figure of Christ: “The temple that Solomon built for the Lord was a type and figure of the future Church, the body of the Lord as it is described in the Gospel: “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up”. In the same way as Solomon built that temple, the true Solomon, our Lord Jesus Christ, the true peacemaker, built a temple. The name Solomon means ‘Peacemaker’ and Jesus Christ is the true peacemaker, of whom the Apostle said: “He is our peace. He has formed the two peoples into one body”. He is the true peacemaker who unites in his person, being himself the cornerstone, the two walls which run from opposite sides—the believers from among the circumcised people and the believers from among the uncircumcised Gentiles. From these two peoples, he, the cornerstone, has raised up one Church, and thus he is the true peacemaker. Christ is the true Solomon, and the other Solomon, the son of David, born of Bethsabee, and a king of Israel, was a figure of the King Peacemaker (to come)” (St Augustine, “Enarrationes In Psalmos”, 126, 2).

8:1-13. The sacred writer wants to stress the solemnity and reverence that marked the transfer of the ark to the temple. Once the ark was positioned in the inner sanctuary, the poles (which according to Exodus 25:15 had to remain in the rings) could be seen from outside that sanctuary, to confirm that the ark was indeed inside. The statement that the ark contained only the tables of the Law is designed to show that this is in line with what Moses did according to Exodus 25:21 and to emphasize the Law given to Israel; there are other traditions recorded in the Letter to the Hebrews (cf. Heb 9:4) which say that the ark also contained a small piece of manna (cf. Ex 16:33) and the rod of Aaron (cf. Num 17:25).

The Septuagint Greek places the words of Solomon in v. 12b (along with v. 13) in v. 53, and gives the source as “the Book of Song”. According to v. 12 (RSV) Solomon is acknowledging God to be both in the light of the sun and in the shadow of the cloud. See the RSV note z. “These two images occur together in the manifestations of the Holy Spirit. In the theophanies of the Old Testament, the cloud, now obscure, now luminous, reveals the living and saving God, while veiling the transcendence of his glory—with Moses on Mount Sinai (cf. Ex 24:15-18), at the tent of meeting (cf. Ex 33:9-10) and during the wandering in the desert (cf. Ex 40:36-38; 1 Cor 10:1-2) and with Solomon at the dedication of the Temple (cf. 1 King 8:10-12). In the Holy Spirit, Christ fulfills these figures.The Spirit comes upon the Virgin Mary and ‘overshadows’ her, so that she might conceive and give birth to Jesus (Lk 1:35). On the mountain of Transfiguration, the Spirit in the ‘cloud came and overshadowed’ Jesus, Moses and Elijah, Peter, James and John, and ‘a voice came out of the cloud, saying, “This is my Son, my Chosen; listen to him!” (Lk 9:34-35). Finally, the cloud took Jesus out of the sight of the disciples on the day of his Ascension, and will reveal him as Son of Man in glory on the day of his final coming (cf. Lk 21:27)” (”Catechism of the Catholic Church”, 697).