📖 Exodus 25:8
וְעָשׂוּ לִי מִקְדָּשׁ וְשָׁכַנְתִּי בְּתוֹכָם
(Ve’asu li mikdash veshakhanti betokham – Let them make Me a mikdash, that I may dwell among them)
Paleo-Hebrew/Early Script: “And let them make Me a mikdash, that I may dwell among them.”
Mikdash means "set-apart place." YHWH said “among them” (בְּתוֹכָם), supporting a mobile mishkan, not a temple.
KJV: “And let them make me a sanctuary; that I may dwell among them.”
NIV: “Then have them make a sanctuary for me, and I will dwell among them.”
📖 1 Kings 8:27
הַאֻמְנָם יֵשֵׁב אֱלֹהִים עַל־הָאָרֶץ הִנֵּה הַשָּׁמַיִם וּשְׁמֵי הַשָּׁמַיִם לֹא יְכַלְכְּלוּךָ
(Ha’umnam yeshev Elohim al-ha’aretz hinne hashshamayim ushmei hashshamayim lo yekhalkelukha – Will Elohim indeed dwell on the earth? Behold, the heavens cannot contain You)
Early Square Script: “But will Elohim indeed dwell on the earth? Behold, the heavens and the heavens of heavens cannot contain You—how much less this house that I have built!”
Solomon admits the building can’t hold YHWH, showing humility, not divine command.
KJV: “But will God indeed dwell on the earth? behold, the heaven and heaven of heavens cannot contain thee; how much less this house that I have builded?”
NIV: “But will God really dwell on earth? The heavens, even the highest heaven, cannot contain you. How much less this temple I have built!”
📖 2 Samuel 7:5–7
הֲכִי אָמַרְתִּי... לָמָּה לֹא־בְנִיתֶם לִי בֵּית אֲרָזִים
(Hakhi amarti… lammah lo-venitem li beit arazim – Did I ever speak… saying, Why have you not built Me a house of cedar?)
Dead Sea Scrolls/Early Script: “Did I ever speak… saying, Why have you not built Me a house of cedar?”
YHWH makes it clear: He never asked for a temple, only traveled with them in the tent.
KJV: “Shalt thou build me an house for me to dwell in? Whereas I have not dwelt in any house… but have walked in a tent and in a tabernacle.”
NIV: “Are you the one to build me a house to dwell in? I have not dwelt in a house… but I have been moving from place to place with a tent as my dwelling.”
📖 Jeremiah 7:4–11
אַל־תִּבְטְחוּ לָכֶם אֶל־דִּבְרֵי הַשֶּׁקֶר... הֵיכַל יְהוָה
(Al-tivtechu lakhem el-divrei hasheker… heikhal YHWH – Do not trust in these lying words: The temple of YHWH)
Early Square Script: “Do not trust in these lying words: ‘The temple of YHWH…’ Has this house… become a den of robbers?”
Jeremiah rebukes temple worship, used to justify sin, not holiness.
KJV: “Trust ye not in lying words, saying, The temple of the LORD… Is this house… become a den of robbers in your eyes?”
NIV: “Do not trust in deceptive words and say, ‘This is the temple of the LORD…’ Has this house… become a den of robbers to you?”
📖 Isaiah 66:1–2
כֹּה אָמַר יְהוָה הַשָּׁמַיִם כִּסְאִי וְהָאָרֶץ הֲדֹם רַגְלָי
(Koh amar YHWH hashamayim kisi veha’aretz hadom raglai – Heaven is My throne, the earth is My footstool)
Dead Sea Scrolls (1QIsaa): “Heaven is My throne, the earth is My footstool. What house will you build for Me? … To this one will I look: the one humble and lowly in spirit.”
YHWH seeks those who tremble at His word, not stone walls, destroying temple theology.
KJV: “Thus saith the LORD, The heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool: where is the house that ye build unto me? … to this man will I look, even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit.”
NIV: “This is what the LORD says: ‘Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool. Where is the house you will build for me? … These are the ones I look on with favor: those who are humble and contrite in spirit.’”