1 Kings 8 · a question people ask
How long was the feast, and when did the people go home?
1 Kings says, "So Solomon held the feast at that time, and all Israel with him, a great assembly, from the entrance of Hamath to the brook of Egypt, before the LORD our God, seven days and seven more days, even fourteen days" (8:65), and then, "On the eighth day he sent the people away" (8:66). 2 Chronicles tells it this way: "So Solomon held the feast at that time for seven days" (2 Chronicles 7:8); "On the eighth day, they held a solemn assembly; for they kept the dedication of the altar seven days, and the feast seven days" (2 Chronicles 7:9); and "On the twenty-third day of the seventh month, he sent the people away to their tents" (2 Chronicles 7:10). Both books count two sets of seven days. They differ on the eighth day: in 1 Kings it is the day the people were sent away, in 2 Chronicles the day of a solemn assembly, with the sending away dated to the twenty-third day of the month. Neither book explains the other, and this answer quotes both and doesn't join them.
The verses
“So Solomon held the feast at that time, and all Israel with him, a great assembly, from the entrance of Hamath to the brook of Egypt, before the LORD our God, seven days and seven more days, even fourteen days. On the eighth day he sent the people away; and they blessed the king, and went to their tents joyful and glad in their hearts for all the goodness that the LORD had shown to David his servant, and to Israel his people.”
“So Solomon held the feast at that time for seven days, and all Israel with him, a very great assembly, from the entrance of Hamath to the brook of Egypt. On the eighth day, they held a solemn assembly; for they kept the dedication of the altar seven days, and the feast seven days. On the twenty-third day of the seventh month, he sent the people away to their tents, joyful and glad of heart for the goodness that the LORD had shown to David, to Solomon, and to Israel his people.”