Text: 2 Chronicles 6:18
OT Text Referred to: 1 Kings 8:27
Subject: Divine transcendence and the temple
Source: Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Reference Type: Direct Quotation
Connection Method(s): Longitudinal Theme
Significance: Both 2 Chronicles 6:18 and 1 Kings 8:27 preserve Solomon's identical rhetorical question: "But will God indeed dwell on the earth? Behold, heaven and the highest heaven cannot contain You" (hinne hashamayim ushemei hashamayim lo yekhalkhelukha). This statement of divine transcendence within a temple dedication prayer creates a deliberate theological tension: the God who cannot be contained by the cosmos graciously chooses to make His Name dwell in this particular house. Solomon's paradox becomes foundational for Israel's temple theology, holding together God's infinite majesty with His covenantal nearness.