And at that time Solomon held a feast, and all Israel with
him
Partaking of the parts of the peace offerings which belonged to him, and were offered by way of thanksgiving on the occasion, together with whatsoever he might as a liberal prince provide for this entertainment:
for it was for a great congregation, from the entering in of Hamath
unto the river of Egypt;
consisting of a number of people, gathered together from Hamath, which was on the northern border of the land of Israel, to the river of Egypt; either the Nile, or Rhinoculura, a branch of it, which lay on the southern border of the land: and this was kept
before the Lord;
as in his presence, with thankfulness to him, and with a view to his glory:
seven days and seven days, even fourteen days;
seven days for the dedication of the house, and seven days for the feast of tabernacles, as the Targum; which agrees with ( 2 Chronicles 7:9 ) , the feast of dedication was first, and began perhaps on the seventh day of the month, as the feast of tabernacles did on the fifteenth: within this time, namely, on the tenth, was a fast day, the day of atonement; which was either observed between the two feasts, or was omitted, which is not likely; or they did not eat and drink until the evening of that day. The Septuagint version, according to the Vatican copy, reads "seven days" only once; see ( 2 Chronicles 7:8 ) .