Solomon dedicated the temple during the feast of Tabernacles (v. 3). The priests brought the ark and the other utensils that had been in the tent David had pitched for the ark into the temple. The temple site was north of and higher than the city of David where the people lived. Sacrifices of worship accompanied the installation. The descent of the cloud (shekinah) signified that God's presence now abode in the most holy place in a localized sense (cf. Exod. 40:34-35). From then on God dwelt there among His people until the Babylonians destroyed the temple in 586 B.C. His presence was the basis for Solomon's address to the people and his prayer that followed.
The statement in verse 9 that the poles of the ark were visible "to this day"suggests that someone wrote Chronicles before the destruction of the temple. However most scholars believe the evidence for a postexilic date of composition is overwhelming and that this reference is a copyist's mistake. Probably it came into this text from 1 Kings 8:8.13Evidently the veil did not extend the full width of the sanctuary.
