Moreover concerning the stranger, which is not of your people Israel, but is come from a far country for your great name's sake, and your mighty hand, and your stretched out arm; if they come and pray in this house;
the stranger
Exodus 12:48,49 And when a stranger shall sojourn with thee, and will keep the passover to the LORD, let all his males be circumcised, and then let him come near and keep it; and he shall be as one that is born in the land: for no uncircumcised person shall eat thereof…
Ruth 1:16 And Ruth said, Intreat me not to leave thee, or to return from following after thee: for whither thou goest, I will go; and where thou lodgest, I will lodge: thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God:
Ruth 2:11,12 And Boaz answered and said unto her, It hath fully been shewed me, all that thou hast done unto thy mother in law since the death of thine husband: and how thou hast left thy father and thy mother, and the land of thy nativity, and art come unto a people which thou knewest not heretofore…
is come
Exodus 18:8-12 And Moses told his father in law all that the LORD had done unto Pharaoh and to the Egyptians for Israel's sake, and all the travail that had come upon them by the way, and how the LORD delivered them…
Joshua 2:9 And she said unto the men, I know that the LORD hath given you the land, and that your terror is fallen upon us, and that all the inhabitants of the land faint because of you.
Joshua 9:9 And they said unto him, From a very far country thy servants are come because of the name of the LORD thy God: for we have heard the fame of him, and all that he did in Egypt,
thy mighty
Exodus 3:19,20 And I am sure that the king of Egypt will not let you go, no, not by a mighty hand…
Exodus 13:14 And it shall be when thy son asketh thee in time to come, saying, What is this? that thou shalt say unto him, By strength of hand the LORD brought us out from Egypt, from the house of bondage:
Psalm 89:13 Thou hast a mighty arm: strong is thy hand, and high is thy right hand.
if they come
Isaiah 66:20 And they shall bring all your brethren for an offering unto the LORD out of all nations upon horses, and in chariots, and in litters, and upon mules, and upon swift beasts, to my holy mountain Jerusalem, saith the LORD, as the children of Israel bring an offering in a clean vessel into the house of the LORD.
Zechariah 14:16,17 And it shall come to pass, that every one that is left of all the nations which came against Jerusalem shall even go up from year to year to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, and to keep the feast of tabernacles…
Acts 2:10 Phrygia, and Pamphylia, in Egypt, and in the parts of Libya about Cyrene, and strangers of Rome, Jews and proselytes,
but has come from a distant land
The mention of a "distant land" highlights the far-reaching reputation of Israel's God. This reflects the historical reality of Israel's strategic location, which was a crossroads of ancient civilizations. The fame of Solomon's wisdom and the prosperity of his kingdom would have attracted visitors from afar, as seen in the account of the Queen of Sheba in 1 Kings 10.
because of Your great name and Your mighty hand and outstretched arm—
The "great name" of God refers to His reputation and character, which were known among the nations. The "mighty hand and outstretched arm" are expressions often used in the Old Testament to describe God's power and deliverance, particularly in the Exodus (Exodus 6:6). This phrase underscores God's sovereignty and His acts of salvation, which are a testimony to all peoples.
when he comes and prays toward this temple,
The temple in Jerusalem was the central place of worship and the dwelling place of God's presence. Praying toward the temple signifies recognition of God's presence and authority. This practice is seen in Daniel 6:10, where Daniel prays toward Jerusalem. The temple serves as a type of Christ, who is the ultimate meeting place between God and humanity (John 2:19-21). Solomon's prayer anticipates the future reality where all nations will worship God, as prophesied in Isaiah 56:7.
Solomon’s prayer widens the circle beyond ethnic Israel. The king anticipates people who do not share Abraham’s bloodline yet still desire fellowship with the LORD.
• Genesis 12:3 shows God’s intent to bless “all the families of the earth.”
• Isaiah 56:6-7 promises that foreigners who “embrace My covenant… their burnt offerings and sacrifices will be accepted on My altar.”
Here, the term “foreigner” is neither dismissive nor exclusionary; it simply names someone outside the covenant nation who is now being welcomed into covenant privilege.
This phrase underscores the distinction between national Israel and the nations. Still, the same God extends grace to both.
• 1 Kings 8:41 repeats this line, revealing that the Chronicler faithfully preserves Solomon’s original plea.
• Ephesians 2:11-13 reminds Gentile believers that they were “alienated from the commonwealth of Israel… but now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near.”
God’s unchanging plan: Israel is His chosen vessel, yet Gentiles are never excluded from salvation’s reach.
Traveling great distances in the ancient world was arduous—yet these seekers deem it worthwhile.
• The Queen of Sheba in 1 Kings 10 traveled far to hear Solomon’s wisdom.
• Acts 8:27 records an Ethiopian official journeying to Jerusalem to worship.
Such examples show that God draws hearts from every corner of the globe, fulfilling Psalm 65:2, “You who hear prayer, to You all people will come”.
Foreigners are not lured by temple architecture or Israel’s culture; they come because they have heard of God Himself.
• Rahab confessed, “We have heard how the LORD dried up the waters of the Red Sea… for the LORD your God, He is God in heaven above and on earth below” (Joshua 2:10-11).
• Exodus 7:5 speaks of Egypt recognizing the LORD’s “outstretched hand.”
God’s reputation—His name (character) and mighty works—creates faith in outsiders, just as Romans 10:17 affirms, “faith comes by hearing.”
Solomon expects the Gentile visitor to align himself with God’s prescribed place of worship.
• Daniel 6:10 exemplifies this posture, praying “toward Jerusalem.”
• John 12:20-21 shows Greeks who approach Philip, saying, “Sir, we wish to see Jesus,” indicating the temple as a rendezvous point with God.
The geography of prayer anticipates the greater reality: Christ Himself becomes the meeting place where Jew and Gentile alike approach the Father (John 2:19-22).
2 Chronicles 6:32 celebrates God’s heart for the nations. Solomon prays that any foreigner, drawn by the Lord’s fame and power, who undertakes the costly journey to Jerusalem and prays toward the temple, will be heard. The verse affirms:
• God’s covenant with Israel is generous, not exclusionary.
• His mighty acts are missionary, stirring faith in distant peoples.
• Access to God is granted to all who come in humility and faith, a promise later fulfilled perfectly in Jesus Christ, the true and greater Temple.
(32) Moreover concerning the stranger.--In this verse, 1Kings 8:41-42, are run together, probably by an error of transcription.But is come.--And shall come.
For thy great name's sake.--Kings, "for thy name sake (for they will hear of thy great name and thy mighty hand and thy stretched-out arm), and shall come and pray towards this house." So nearly the Syriac and Arabic here.
Verses 32, 33. - The stranger... come from a far country for thy great Name's sake. These two verses, with every clause in them, must be felt most refreshing by every reader; but they ought also to be particularly observed, as both corrective of a common but strictly erroneous impression as to exclusiveness and a genius of bigotry inhering in the setting apart of the Jewish race for a certain purpose in the Divine government and counsel, and also as revealing very significantly that that setting apart was nothing but a method and means to an end, as comprehensive and universal as the world itself The analogies, in fact, in the world's history are linked, in one unbroken chain, to what sometimes seems to a mere reader of the Bible pages as an artificial and somewhat arbitrary decree or arrangement (see, amid many significant parallels, Exodus 22:21; Leviticus 25:35; Numbers 15:13-17; Deuteronomy 10:19; Deuteronomy 31:12). Not of thy people Israel (John 10:16; John 12:20-26; Acts 8:27). For thy great Name's sake. The insertion of the adjective "great" here (גָּדול) is not Pentateuchal, but is found in Joshua 7:9; in our parallel, 1 Kings 8:42; Psalm 76:1; Psalm 99:3; Ezekiel 36:23; Jeremiah 10:6; Jeremiah 44:26. All people of the earth. Not only are many of the psalms utterly in harmony with the spirit of this verse, but also the light of it is reflected brilliantly in such passages as Acts 17:22-31. This house is called by thy Name; literally, thy Name is called upon (or perhaps, into) this house, meaning that God himself is invoked there, or present there in order that he may be constantly invoked.