1 Kings 8:14

And the king turned his face about, and blessed all the congregation of Israel: (and all the congregation of Israel stood;)

The verse belongs to the history of the undivided kingdom under Solomon in 1 Kings 1-11, which continues the history from the close of 2 Samuel when David was still old and reigning until Solomon was on the throne. That history begins the continuous history of the kings from Solomon's accession to the Babylonian Captivity. In the Hebrew canon Kings is counted as one book, divided into two books in the old versions called the four books of the Kingdoms, with the break at the end of 1 Kings falling at an arbitrary point of no special significance.

The verse stands in the account of Solomon's temple, which was built on the tabernacle's plan as an immovable, larger structure with two holy places, sacred vessels of the same kinds, and the same ministration. Its two holy places made it a pattern of the heavenly temple. The dedication took place in Jerusalem during the Feast of Tabernacles, in the eleventh year of Solomon's reign.

At the dedication Solomon turned from the proceedings toward the gathered congregation of Israel and blessed them, while the people stood before him. He addressed the assembled people of Israel before his comprehensive prayer at the dedication of the temple.

The verse is an example of true public prayer at the dedication of the house, in which Solomon addresses and blesses the assembled congregation of Israel. It shows that public prayer with one's own congregation is right and is not the private prayer offered in public condemned in Matthew 6. God proved that the dedicatory prayer was not hypocritical and was acceptable to Him when fire came down from heaven and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifice and the glory of Jehovah filled the house. A prayer offered in public from a true heart of submission and faith is equally acceptable with God as a prayer offered in secret.

The verse is one example where the Greek translators used ekklesia for Israel's assembly or congregation, showing that God's congregation in earlier ages was the same called-out people as the church in later times.

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