'Place' in the Bible

Then Solomon said to God, “You have shown great lovingkindness and mercy to my father David, and have made me king in his place.

So Solomon went from the high place at Gibeon, from the Tent of Meeting, to Jerusalem. And he reigned over Israel.

But who is able to build a house for Him, since the heavens and [even] the highest heavens cannot contain Him? Who am I to build a house for Him, except [as a place] to burn incense before Him?

Then Solomon began to build the house of the Lord in Jerusalem on Mount Moriah, where the Lord appeared to his father David, in the place that David had prepared, on the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite.

He overlaid the main room [the Holy Place] with cypress wood and overlaid it with fine gold, and decorated it with palm trees and chains.

He also overlaid the house [the Holy Place] with gold—the beams, the thresholds, and its walls and its doors; and he carved cherubim on the walls.

Now he made the room of the Holy of Holies: its length equaling the width of the house was twenty cubits, and its width was twenty cubits; and he overlaid it with 600 talents of fine gold.

And in the Holy of Holies he made two sculptured cherubim, and overlaid them with gold.

The wings of these cherubim extended twenty cubits. The cherubim stood on their feet, their faces toward the Holy Place (the main room).

He made the veil [between the Holy Place and the Holy of Holies] of blue, purple, and crimson colors, and fine linen, and embroidered cherubim on it.

and the snuffers, the basins, the dishes [for incense], and the firepans, of pure gold; and for the entrance of the house (temple), the inner doors for the Holy of Holies and the doors of the Holy Place (main room), were of gold.

Then the priests brought the ark of the covenant of the Lord to its place, to the inner sanctuary of the house, into the Holy of Holies, under the wings of the cherubim;

for the cherubim spread out their wings over the place of the ark, making a covering above the ark and its carrying poles.

When the priests came out of the Holy Place (for all the priests who were present had sanctified themselves [separating themselves from everything unclean], without regard to their assigned divisions),

“I have built You a lofty house,A place for You to dwell forever.”

Now the Lord has fulfilled His word which He spoke; for I have risen in place of my father David and I sit on the throne of Israel, just as the Lord promised, and have built the house for the Name of the Lord, the God of Israel.

that Your eyes may be open toward this house day and night, toward the place in which You have said that You would put Your Name (Presence), to listen to the prayer which Your servant shall pray toward this place.

So listen to the requests of Your servant and Your people Israel when they pray toward this place. Hear from Your dwelling place, from heaven; and when You hear, forgive.

“When the heavens are shut up and there is no rain because Your people have sinned against You, and they pray toward this place and confess Your name, and turn from their sin when You afflict and humble them;

Then the Lord appeared to Solomon by night and said to him: “I have heard your prayer and have chosen this place for Myself as a house of sacrifice.

Now My eyes will be open and My ears attentive to prayer offered in this place.

Now the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat the king of Judah were sitting, each on his throne, arrayed in their robes; they were sitting at the threshing floor at the entrance of the gate of Samaria; and all the prophets were prophesying before them.

Then on the fourth day they assembled in the Valley of Beracah, for it was there that they blessed the Lord. For that reason they named that place “The Valley of Beracah (blessing)” until today.

But let no one enter the house (temple) of the Lord except the priests and the Levites who minister; they may enter, for they are holy. And let all the people carefully observe the law of the Lord.

It came about that whenever the Levites brought the chest to the king’s official, and whenever they saw that there was a large amount of money, the king’s secretary and the chief priest’s representative would come and empty the chest, and take it, and return it to its place. They did this day after day and collected a large amount of money.

Then all the people of Judah took Uzziah, who was sixteen years old, and made him king in place of his father Amaziah.

Then Ahaz collected the utensils of the house of God and he cut them in pieces; and he shut the doors of the house of the Lord and made altars for himself in every corner of Jerusalem.

Then he said to them, “Levites, listen to me! Now consecrate (dedicate) yourselves and consecrate the house of the Lord, the God of your fathers, and get the filth [of idol worship] out of the Holy Place.

They have also closed the doors of the [temple] porch and put out the lamps, and they have not burned incense nor offered burnt offerings in the Holy Place to the God of Israel.

They took action and removed the [pagan] altars which were in Jerusalem; they also removed all the incense altars and threw them into the Brook Kidron [the dumping place for the ashes of such repulsive things].

thus says the Lord: “Behold, I am bringing evil on this place and on its inhabitants, all the curses that are written in the book which they have read in the presence of the king of Judah.

Because they have abandoned (rejected) Me and have burned incense to other gods, in order to provoke Me to anger with all the works of their hands, My wrath will be poured out on this place and it will not be extinguished.”’

“Because your heart was gentle and penitent and you humbled yourself before God when you heard His words against this place and its inhabitants, and humbled yourself before Me, and tore your clothes and wept before Me, I also have heard you,” declares the Lord.

“Behold, I will gather you to your fathers [in death], and you shall be gathered to your grave in peace, and your eyes shall not see all the evil which I am going to bring on this place and on its inhabitants.”’” So they brought back word to the king.

Then the king stood in his place and made a covenant before the Lord—to walk after (obey) the Lord, and to keep His commandments, His testimonies, and His statutes with all his heart and with all his soul, to perform the words of the covenant written in this book.

When the service was ready, the priests stood in their [assigned] places and the Levites by their divisions, in accordance with the king’s command.

In any place where a survivor (Jewish exile) may live, let the men (Gentiles) of that place support him with silver and gold, with goods and cattle, together with freewill offerings for the house of God in Jerusalem.’”

So they set up the altar on its [old] foundation, for they were terrified because of the peoples of the lands; and they offered burnt offerings on it to the Lord, morning and evening.

In the first year of King Cyrus, Cyrus the king issued a decree: ‘Concerning the house of God in Jerusalem, let the temple (house), the place where sacrifices are offered, be rebuilt and let its foundations be strongly laid, its height and its width each 60 cubits,

Also let the gold and silver utensils of the house of God, which Nebuchadnezzar took from the temple in Jerusalem and brought to Babylon, be returned and brought back to their [proper] places in the temple in Jerusalem; and you shall put them in the house of God.’

And I sent them to Iddo, the leading man at the place Casiphia, telling them what to say to Iddo and his brothers, the temple servants at the place Casiphia, that is, to bring us servants (ministers) for the house of our God.

But now for a brief moment grace has been [shown to us] from the Lord our God, who has left us a surviving remnant and has given us a peg (secure hold) in His holy place, that our God may enlighten our eyes and give us a little reviving in our bondage.

Then Ezra got up from before the house of God and went into the chamber of Jehohanan the son of Eliashib [and spent the night there]. He did not eat bread nor drink water, for he was mourning over the [former] exiles’ faithlessness.

but if you return to Me and keep My commandments and do them, though those of you who have been scattered are in the most remote part of the heavens, I will gather them from there and will bring them to the place where I have chosen for My Name to dwell.’

and I said to the king, “Let the king live forever. Why should my face not be sad when the city, the place of my fathers’ tombs, lies desolate and its gates have been consumed by fire?”

Then I passed over to the Fountain Gate and to the King’s Pool, but there was no place for the animal that I was riding to pass.

Wherever you hear the sound of the trumpet, gather to us there. Our God will fight for us.”

Then all the people gathered together as one man at the open square in front of the Water Gate; and they asked Ezra the scribe to bring the Book of the Law of Moses which the Lord had given to Israel.

Then he read from it, in front of the open square which was in front of the Water Gate, from early morning until midday, in the presence of the men and women, those who could understand; and all the people listened carefully to the Book of the Law.

Also Jeshua, Bani, Sherebiah, Jamin, Akkub, Shabbethai, Hodiah, Maaseiah, Kelita, Azariah, Jozabad, Hanan, Pelaiah, and the Levites, explained the Law to the people, and the people remained in their places.

While they stood in their places, they read from the Book of the Law of the Lord their God for a fourth of the day and for another fourth [of it] they confessed [their sins] and worshiped the Lord their God.

and who were close to him [as advisors]: Carshena, Shethar, Admatha, Tarshish, Meres, Marsena, and Memucan, the seven officials of Persia and Media who had access to the king and were ranked highest in the kingdom.

When the king returned from the palace garden to the place where they were drinking wine, Haman was falling on the couch where Esther was. Then the king said, “Will he even attempt to assault the queen with me in the palace?” As the king spoke those words, the servants covered Haman’s face [in preparation for execution].

Now when Job’s three friends heard of all this adversity that had come upon him, each one came from his own place, Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite; for they had made an appointment together to come to sympathize with him and to comfort him.

When it is warm, they are silent and cease to flow;When it is hot, they vanish from their place.

“As a cloud vanishes and is gone,So he who goes down to Sheol (the nether world, the place of the dead) does not come up.

“He will not return again to his house,Nor will his place know about him anymore.

“Behold, this is the joy of His way;And from out of the dust others will spring up and grow [to take his place].

Who shakes the earth out of its place,And its pillars tremble;

“His wisdom is as high as the heights of heaven. What can you do?It is deeper than Sheol (the nether world, the place of the dead). What can you know?

“But as a mountain, if it falls, crumbles into nothing,And as the rock is moved from its place,

“You who tear yourself apart in anger,Is the earth to be abandoned for your sake,Or the rock to be moved out of its place?

“Surely such are the dwellings of the wicked and the ungodly,And such is the place of him who does not know or recognize or honor God.”

“The eye which saw him sees him no longer,Neither does his [accustomed] place behold him any longer.

“Drought and heat consume the snow waters;So does Sheol (the nether world, the place of the dead) [consume] those who have sinned.

“Sheol (the nether world, the place of the dead) is naked before God,And Abaddon (the place of destruction) has no covering [from His eyes].

“The east wind lifts him up, and he is gone;It sweeps him out of his place.

“People will clap their hands at him [to mock and ridicule him]And hiss him out of his place.

“Surely there is a mine for silver,And a place where they refine gold.

“But where can wisdom be found?And where is the place of understanding?

“From where then does wisdom come?And where is the place of understanding?

“Abaddon (the place of destruction) and Death say,‘We have [only] heard a report of it with our ears.’

“God understands the way [to wisdom]And He knows its place [for wisdom is with God alone].

“When I went out to the gate of the city,When I took my seat [as a city father] in the square,

“For it is a fire which consumes to Abaddon (destruction, ruin, final torment);And [illicit passion] would burn and rage and uproot all my [life’s] increase [destroying everything].

“Then indeed, He enticed you from the mouth of distress and confinement,Into a broad place where there is no constraint or distress;And that which was set on your table was full of fatness (rich food).

“Indeed, at His thundering my heart tremblesAnd leaps out of its place.

“Since your days began, have you ever commanded the morning,And caused the dawn to know its place,

When they crouch in their densAnd lie in wait in their lair?

“Is it at your command that the eagle mounts upAnd makes his nest on high [in an inaccessible place]?

For in death there is no mention of You;In Sheol (the nether world, the place of the dead) who will praise You and give You thanks?

The wicked will turn to Sheol (the nether world, the place of the dead),Even all the nations who forget God.

For You will not abandon me to Sheol (the nether world, the place of the dead),Nor will You allow Your Holy One to undergo decay.

The cords of Sheol (the nether world, the place of the dead) surrounded me;The snares of death confronted me.

He made darkness His hiding place (covering); His pavilion (canopy) around Him,The darkness of the waters, the thick clouds of the skies.

He brought me out into a broad place;He rescued me because He was pleased with me and delighted in me.

But You are holy,O You who are enthroned in [the holy place where] the praises of Israel [are offered].

Who may ascend onto the mountain of the Lord?And who may stand in His holy place?

O Lord, I love the habitation of Your houseAnd the place where Your glory dwells.

My foot stands on a level place;In the congregations I will bless the Lord.

For in the day of trouble He will hide me in His shelter;In the secret place of His tent He will hide me;He will lift me up on a rock.

O Lord, You have brought my life up from Sheol (the nether world, the place of the dead);You have kept me alive, so that I would not go down to the pit (grave).

And You have not given me into the hand of the enemy;You have set my feet in a broad place.

Let me not be put to shame, O Lord, for I call on You;Let the wicked (godless) be put to shame, let them be silent in Sheol (the nether world, the place of the dead).

In the secret place of Your presence You hide them from the plots and conspiracies of man;You keep them secretly in a shelter (pavilion) from the strife of tongues.

You are my hiding place; You, Lord, protect me from trouble;You surround me with songs and shouts of deliverance. Selah.

Yet You have [distressingly] crushed us in the place of jackalsAnd covered us with [the deep darkness of] the shadow of death.

There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God,The holy dwelling places of the Most High.

Like sheep they are appointed for Sheol (the nether world, the place of the dead);Death will be their shepherd;And the upright shall rule over them in the morning,And their form and beauty shall be for Sheol to consume,So that they have no dwelling [on earth].

But God will redeem my life from the power of Sheol,For He will receive me. Selah.