What Does 1 Kings 8:22 Mean?
And Solomon stood before the altar of the LORD, before the face of all the assembly of Israel, and spread out his palms toward heaven.
Key words are shown with the Hebrew or Greek and what each word meant.
Selah Decoded Version The Selah Decoded Version renders what the Hebrew and Greek words meant to the people who first heard them.
King James wording
King James Version
And Solomon stood before the altar of the LORD in the presence of all the congregation of Israel, and spread forth his hands toward heaven:THE KEY
The prayer begins as a bodily opening: Solomon spreads his palms toward heaven before the whole assembly.
THE MEANING
Here, an act of address is already embodied: a person stands at the altar among the gathered people and spreads open palms toward heaven. The posture makes the address visible to the community while directing it heavenward.
THE ROOT
וַיִּפְרֹשׂ
vayyifros
GROWS FROM
פרשׂ
p-r-ś
to spread out or extend wide
“spread out” in this verse is vayyifros. This verb names the physical act of extending something across space. The same root describes Moses spreading his palms toward the LORD and a garment spread over someone; the shared word connects reaching outward with extending a covering.
ALSO GROWS
spread abroad: extend the palms outward
Exodus uses the same verb for Moses spreading his hands toward the LORD, echoing Solomon’s gesture.
spread: extend a covering over someone
In Ruth, the same root describes spreading a garment, showing that its movement can extend beyond a gesture toward heaven to a covering laid over another.
THE PATTERN
Address takes visible form when hands extend toward the one being addressed.
And Moses said to him, As I go out of the city, I will spread out my palms to the LORD. The thunder shall stop, and there shall be no more hail, so that you may perceive that the earth is the LORD's.I spread my hands to you; my living soul thirsts for you as a parched land. Selah.I will therefore that men pray in every place, lifting up set-apart hands, without anger and divided reasoning.THE THREAD
And Moses said to him, As I go out of the city, I will spread out my palms to the LORD. The thunder shall stop, and there shall be no more hail, so that you may perceive that the earth is the LORD's.Exodus uses the same Hebrew verb, פרשׂ (paras, “spread out”), for Moses extending his hands toward the LORD. The shared word links Solomon’s public gesture at the altar with Moses’ gesture amid the storm.
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