1 Raja-raja 8:12

8:12 Then Solomon said, “The Lord has said that he lives in thick darkness.

1 Raja-raja 8:2

8:2 All the men of Israel assembled before King Solomon during the festival ¹  in the month Ethanim ²  (the seventh month).

1 Raja-raja 6:1

The Building of the Temple

6:1 In the four hundred and eightieth year after the Israelites left Egypt, in the fourth year of Solomon’s reign over Israel, during the month Ziv ³  (the second month), he began building the Lord’s temple.

Mazmur 18:9

18:9 He made the sky sink ⁴  as he descended;

a thick cloud was under his feet.

Mazmur 18:12

18:12 From the brightness in front of him came

hail and fiery coals. ⁵ 

Mazmur 97:2

97:2 Dark clouds surround him;

equity and justice are the foundation of his throne. ⁶ 

Mazmur 104:2

104:2 He covers himself with light as if it were a garment.

He stretches out the skies like a tent curtain,

Mazmur 104:1

Psalm 104 ⁷ 

104:1 Praise the Lord, O my soul!

O Lord my God, you are magnificent. ⁸ 

You are robed in splendor and majesty.

Titus 1:16

1:16 They profess to know God but with their deeds they deny him, since they are detestable, disobedient, and unfit for any good deed.

[8:2]  ¹ sn The festival. This was the Feast of Tabernacles, see Lev 23:34.

[8:2]  ² sn The month Ethanim. This would be September-October in modern reckoning.

[6:1]  ³ sn During the month Ziv. This would be April-May, 966 b.c. by modern reckoning.

[18:9]  ⁴ tn The Hebrew verb נָטָה (natah) can carry the sense “[cause to] bend, bow down.” For example, Gen 49:15 pictures Issachar as a donkey that “bends” its shoulder or back under a burden. Here the Lord causes the sky, pictured as a dome or vault, to sink down as he descends in the storm.

[18:12]  ⁵ tc Heb “from the brightness in front of him his clouds came, hail and coals of fire.” 2 Sam 22:13 reads, “from the brightness in front of him burned coals of fire.” The Lucianic family of texts within the Greek tradition of 2 Sam 22:13 seems to assume the underlying Hebrew text: מנגה נגדו עברו ברד וגחלי אשׁ, “from the brightness in front of him came hail and coals of fire” (the basis for the present translation). The textual situation is perplexing and the identity of the original text uncertain. The verbs עָבָרוּ (’avaru; Ps 18:12) and בָּעֲרוּ (ba’aru; 2 Sam 22:13) appear to be variants involving a transposition of the first two letters. The noun עָבָיו (’avayv, “his clouds,” Ps 18:12) may be virtually dittographic (note the following עָבְרוּ, ’avru), or it could have accidentally dropped out from the text of 2 Sam 22:13 by virtual haplography (note the preceding בָּעֲרוּ, which might have originally read עָבְרוּ). The noun בָּרָד (barad, “hail,” Ps 18:12) may be virtually dittographic (note the preceding עָבְרוּ), or it could have dropped out from 2 Sam 22:13 by virtual haplography (note the preceding בָּעֲרוּ, which might have originally read עָבְרוּ). For a fuller discussion of the text and its problems, see R. B. Chisholm, “An Exegetical and Theological Study of Psalm 18/2 Samuel 22” (Th.D. diss., Dallas Theological Seminary, 1983), 74-76.

[97:2]  ⁶ sn The Lord’s throne symbolizes his kingship.

[104:1]  ⁷ sn Psalm 104. The psalmist praises God as the ruler of the world who sustains all life.

[104:1]  ⁸ tn Heb “very great.”