Pray as David Did

There is a question as to whether Solomon’s prayer indicates that a person would physically look toward the Temple, or simply have his mind focused on the Temple.  To answer this question, we should first look at the other examples offered by this author, specifically Psalm 5:7. 

At the beginning of the psalm, David asks God to hear his prayers since every morning he directs his voice to Him. David then contrasts himself with the evildoers, proud ones, and liars who might also pray to God by saying -

^KJV Psalm 5:7 But as for me, I will come into thy house  in the multitude  of thy mercy: and in thy fear will I worship toward thy holy temple.

This verse is an example a Hebrew parallelism, a poetic device where you state a thought, then state it again another way.  David is saying that he approaches God’s house (the dwelling place of God’s glory) fully cognoscente of the fact that it’s only by God’s mercy that he has been allowed him to come.  He then follows it by saying that he worships God in respect and reverence by bowing toward the “Temple”.  

The term that he uses to imply worship is “shachah” which means to bow down or prostrate oneself.  Though it’s understood that  David’s worship is “toward” God, he shows it by bowing down “toward”  the Temple, the place of his throne. 

The English word “toward” is translated from the Hebrew preposition “el” (אֶל - 413) which means “to” or “toward”.  “el” is connected to the noun “heykel” (palace, temple) by a “makkeph” - a Hebrew “hyphen”, and thus becomes part of the associated noun.  Thus we have “to the Temple” or “toward the Temple”.  According to Gesenius 1, “el”  is “a noun indicative of motion, direction to any place”.   An example of its use is found in Isaiah 38 -

^NKJ Isaiah 38:2 Then Hezekiah turned his face toward the wall (אֶל־הַקֶיר -“el-hakir”), and prayed to the LORD,

In regards to motion and direction, BDB2 adds the note “whether physical or mental” to its general definition of “el”.  In other words, “el” indicates motion or direction whether it’s physical motion or mental motion.  Thus, considering the fact that the Temple had yet to be built, was David only bowing in his mind? Maybe so. Maybe he was “bowing” toward the yet-to-be-built Temple that he had envisioned.  After all, he knew the exact location where the Temple was to be built, he had procured the materials to build it, and he had been promised that it would be built.  Thus, in his mind the Temple was as good as built.  He could, therefore,  bow toward it - or at least toward where it soon would be.  Whether built or not built, physically or mentally,  out of respect for its future occupant, David was still bowing toward the Temple.

But Solomon is more precise in his wording. As he is praying toward the Temple with his hands spread out toward heaven, he asked God to hearken to the prayer he was making toward the temple -

^NKJ 1 Kings 8:28-29   "Yet regard the prayer of Your servant and his supplication, O LORD my God, and listen to the cry and the prayer which Your servant is praying before You today:  ²⁹ "that Your eyes may be open toward this temple night and day, toward the place of which You said, 'My name shall be there,' that You may hear the prayer which Your servant makes toward this place.

In this verse the phrase  “toward this place” is “el-haMakom” (אֶל־הַממָּקֻוֹם), and again, the preposition “el” is translated as “toward” which would stand to reason since Solomon was at that time physically facing the Temple.  Then in the very next verse, he used the exact same phrase - “el-haMakom”  when he spoke of the people  of Israel who would also pray toward the same place -

^NKJ 1 Kings 8:30 "And may You hear the supplication of Your servant and of Your people Israel, when they pray toward this place. Hear in heaven Your dwelling place; and when You hear, forgive.

Solomon uses the same preposition “el” combined with the noun “place” again in 1 Kings 8:35 as well as in verse 42 except that he says “house” instead of “place”.  But in verse 44, he becomes even more precise.

^ESV 1 Kings 8:44 "If your people go out to battle against their enemy, by whatever way you shall send them, and they pray to the LORD toward the city that you have chosen and the house that I have built for your name,

In this verse, the preposition “toward” is not derived from the Hebrew preposition “el”.  Instead, Solomon used the noun “derek” (דֶרֶךְ - 1870) which is translated “way” and generally refers to a road or a path. “Derek” comes from the verbal root word “darak” (דָרַךְ - 1869) which means “to tread, trample, or march”.  Thus a “derek” is a path or road on which one walks or marches, thus motion is implied. In addition, roads always go in a certain direction.  Thus when you are on a road (derek), you are going in the direction of the road.  

The first time we see the word “derek” in scripture is in the phrase “to guard the way (derek) to the tree of life” (Gen.3:24) where a physical turning sword is in a physical garden guarding a physical road that lead to a physical tree that bore physical fruit.

To better understand the word “derek”, consider the story of Rahab who misled the men of Jericho as to the whereabouts of the two spies. She lead them to believe that they had returned to the camp of Israel which was by the Jordan river.  You would therefore think that  the men of Jericho would pursue them in the direction of the Jordan, and that is just what they did.  The KJV says -

^KJV Joshua 2:7 And the men pursued after them the way (derek) to Jordan unto the fords: and as soon as they which pursued after them were gone out, they shut the gate.

But the JPS Tnakh3 is much more clear. It says -

^TNK Joshua 2:7 So the men pursued them in the direction (derek) of the Jordan down to the fords; and no sooner had the pursuers gone out than the gate was shut behind them.

So we see that “the way” implies going in a certain direction.  Going back to 1 Kings 8:44, Solomon states that there would be times when God would send soldiers out to battle.  These soldiers would have marched down a road or path in a certain direction to reach the enemy.  When they gained victory over the enemy, Solomon said that they would pray to YHVH “in the path” or “in the direction” of Jerusalem and the Temple.

The final portion of Solomon’s prayer was for  the exiles who would be taken captive because of their failure to follow God.  Solomon hoped that while in exile, they would figure out what they had done to themselves and would want to return to God.  So he said -

^NKJ 1 Kings 8:48 "and when they return to You with all their heart and with all their soul in the land of their enemies who led them away captive, and pray to You toward (derek - in the direction of) their land which You gave to their fathers, the city which You have chosen and the temple which I have built for Your name . . .”

It’s clear that Solomon was indicating that the people would physically turn their face toward Jerusalem and pray toward the Temple.  We know that to be true because some 500 years later,  Daniel - a spiritual giant who was himself an exile from the Promised Land - made it his custom to open his windows toward Jerusalem and pray.

Shalom Alecheim