Matthew Henry on 1 Kings 3:5-15
We have here an account of a gracious visit which God paid to Solomon, and the communion he had with God in it, which put a greater honour upon Solomon than all the wealth and power of his kingdom did.
I. The circumstances of this visit, Kg1 3:5. 1. The place. It was in Gibeon; that was the great high place, and should have been the only one, because there the tabernacle and the brazen altar were, Ch2 1:3. There Solomon offered his great sacrifices, and there God owned him more than in any other of the high places. The nearer we come to the rule in our worship the more reason we have to expect the tokens of God's presence. Where God records his name, there he will meet us and bless us. 2. Th…
Read the whole note in the consoleJamieson-Fausset-Brown on 1 Kings 3:6
HE CHOOSES WISDOM. (Kg1 3:6-15)
Solomon said--that is, had dreamed that he said.
Adam Clarke on 1 Kings 3:5
The Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream - This was the night after he had offered the sacrifices, (see Ch2 1:7), and probably after he had earnestly prayed for wisdom; see Wis. 7:7: Wherefore I prayed, and understanding was given me: I called upon God, and the spirit of wisdom came to me. If this were the case, the dream might have been the consequence of his earnest prayer for wisdom: the images of those things which occupy the mind during the day are most likely to recur during the night; and this, indeed, is the origin of the greater part of our dreams. But this appears to have been supernatural.
Gregory Nyssen, speaking of different kinds of dreams, observes that our organs and brain are…
Read the whole note in the consoleJohn Gill on 1 Kings 3:6
And Solomon said,.... In his dream; not that he dreamt he said, when he did not; but he really said, as follows:
thou hast showed unto thy servant David my father great mercy; bestowed many favours and blessings upon him, both temporal and spiritual:
according as he walked before thee in truth, and in righteousness, and in uprightness of heart with thee; in the truth of doctrine and worship, according to the revealed will and word of God, and which he observed with great strictness, living soberly, righteously, and godly, though not without failings and imperfections, yet with great integrity and sincerity; and this holy walk of his was not the cause of God's showing mercy to him, nor was…