65 So Solomon held the feast at that time, and all Israel with him, a great assembly, from the entrance of Hamath to the brook of Egypt, before Yahweh our God, seven days and seven days, even fourteen days.
*Minor differences ignored. Grouped by changes, with first version listed as example.
A feast necessarily accompanied such a sacrifice as Solomon was holding. Compare Leviticus 19:5. On the present occasion there was a double festival - first, the Feast of the Dedication, from the 8th to the 15th of the month Ethanim (or Tisri), and then the Feast of tabernacles, from the 15th to the 22nd 1-Kings 8:2. On the day after this, "the eighth day," counting from the commencement of the second seven, and the twenty-third day of the month (margin reference "m"), Solomon dismissed the people to their homes.
The entering in of Hamath - Compare Numbers 13:21, note andmargin reference. The phrase marks the extreme northern boundary of the holy land.
The river of Egypt - The Wady-el-Arish, the only large water-course on this coast (margin reference).
From - Hamath - Supposed to be Antioch of Syria; unto the river of Egypt - to the Rhinocorura; the former being on the north, the latter on the south: i.e., from one extremity of the land to the other.
And at that time Solomon held a feast, and all Israel with him, a great congregation, from the entering in of (z) Hamath unto the river of Egypt, before the LORD our God, (a) seven days and seven days, [even] fourteen days.
(z) That is, from North to South: meaning all the country.
(a) Seven days for the dedication, and seven for the feast.
And at that time Solomon held a feast, and all Israel with him,.... Partaking of the parts of the peace offerings which belonged to him, and were offered by way of thanksgiving on the occasion, together with whatsoever he might as a liberal prince provide for this entertainment:
for it was for a great congregation, from the entering in of Hamath unto the river of Egypt; consisting of a number of people, gathered together from Hamath, which was on the northern border of the land of Israel, to the river of Egypt; either the Nile, or Rhinoculura, a branch of it, which lay on the southern border of the land: and this was kept
before the Lord; as in his presence, with thankfulness to him, and with a view to his glory:
seven days and seven days, even fourteen days; seven days for the dedication of the house, and seven days for the feast of tabernacles, as the Targum; which agrees with 2-Chronicles 7:9, the feast of dedication was first, and began perhaps on the seventh day of the month, as the feast of tabernacles did on the fifteenth: within this time, namely, on the tenth, was a fast day, the day of atonement; which was either observed between the two feasts, or was omitted, which is not likely; or they did not eat and drink until the evening of that day. The Septuagint version, according to the Vatican copy, reads "seven days" only once; see 2-Chronicles 7:8.
THE PEOPLE JOYFUL. (1-Kings 8:65)
from the entering in of Hamath unto the river of Egypt--that is, from one extremity of the kingdom to the other. The people flocked from all quarters.
seven days and seven days, even fourteen days--The first seven were occupied with the dedication, and the other seven devoted to the feast of tabernacles (2-Chronicles 7:9). The particular form of expression indicates that the fourteen days were not continuous. Some interval occurred in consequence of the great day of atonement falling on the tenth of the seventh month (1-Kings 8:2), and the last day of the feast of tabernacles was on the twenty-third (2-Chronicles 7:10), when the people returned to their homes with feelings of the greatest joy and gratitude "for all the goodness that the Lord had done for David his servant, and for Israel his people."
Thus Solomon held the feast at that time, and all Israel with him, a great assembly from the neighbourhood of Hamath to the brook of Egypt, i.e., from the whole land in its fullest extent from north to south. "The district of Hamath," i.e., Epiphania on the Orontes, is mentioned as the northern boundary (cf. Numbers 34:8; Numbers 13:21; Joshua 13:5, etc.); and "the brook of Egypt" (מצרים נחל), Rhinocorura, as the southern boundary (cf. Numbers 34:8; Joshua 15:4). "The feast" (החג), which Solomon held with the people "seven days and seven days, fourteen days," is not the feast of the dedication, but, as in 1-Kings 8:2, the feast of tabernacles, which fell in the seventh month; and the meaning of the verse is, that on that occasion the feast of the seventh month was kept for fourteen days, namely, seven days as the feast of the dedication, and seven days as the feast of tabernacles. We are obliged to take the words in this way, partly on account of the evident reference to בּחג (at the feast) in 1-Kings 8:2 in the expression את־החג (the feast) in this verse, and partly on account of the statement which follows in 1-Kings 8:66, "and on the eighth day he sent the people away." The "eight day" is not the first day of the feast of tabernacles (Thenius); but the eighth day, as the conclusion of the feast of tabernacles, עצרת (Leviticus 23:36). The correctness of this view is placed beyond all doubt by the context in the Chronicles, which states more clearly that, "Solomon kept the feast seven days, and all Israel with him and they kept עצרת (the closing feast) on the eight day; for they kept the dedication of the altar seven days and the feast seven days; and on the twenty-third day of the seventh month he sent the people away." The feast of tabernacles lasted seven days, from the 15th to the 21st, with a closing festival on the eighth day, i.e., the 22nd of the month (Leviticus 23:33-39). This festival was preceded by the dedication of the temple from the 8th to the 14th of the month. The statement in 1-Kings 8:66, "on the eighth day he sent the people away," if we take the words in their strict sense, is at variance with the statement in the Chronicles, "on the 23rd day," since the eighth day of the feast of tabernacles was the 22nd day of the month; but it may easily be accounted for from want of precision in a well-known matter. Solomon sent the people away on the eighth day, i.e., on the afternoon or evening of the atzereth of the feast of tabernacles, so that on the morning of the next day, i.e., on the 23rd of the month, the people took their journey home, "joyful and glad of heart for all the goodness that the Lord had shown to His servant David and to the people." David is mentioned, because the completion of the building of the temple was the fulfilment of the divine promise given to him. "Tents," for houses, as in 2-Samuel 10:1; Judges 7:8, and other passages.
Seven - Seven for the dedication of the temple, or altar; and the other seven for the feast of tabernacles. And it seems to be expressed in this manner, to intimate, that these fourteen days of rejoicing, were not altogether, but that there was some interval between them, which indeed was necessary, because the day of atonement was on the tenth day of this month, Leviticus 23:27. And because these fourteen days ended on the twenty - second day, 2-Chronicles 7:10, it may seem most probable, that the feast of the dedication was kept before the tenth day: and the feast of tabernacles some days after it.
*More commentary available at chapter level.