1 Kings 9

CHAPTER EIGHT

SOLOMON IN ALL OF HIS GLORY

1 Kings 9:10 to 1 Kings 10:29

Jesus once referred to Solomon in all of his glory, and no section of Kings illustrates better than 1 Kings 9:10 to 1 Kings 10:29 the grandeur of his reign. Some of the matters related here have been previously mentioned, and others are introduced here for the first time. In general these details underscore the wisdom of Solomon’s rule and the subsequent material blessing poured out upon the kingdom from the Lord. Solomon’s was surely the most glorious kingdom the world had yet seen, not because it was the largest or even the most prosperous, but because of the wisdom of its king and the perfection of its government.[244]

[244] Whitcomb, STE, p. 15.

REVIEW OF CHAPTER EIGHT

I. FACTS TO MASTER

A. The time it took Solomon to build the Temple and his palace (1 Kings 9:10).

B. The location of the following fortress cities:

1. Hazor

2. Beth-horon

3. Megiddo

4. Baalath

5. Gezer

6. Tamar

C. How Solomon acquired the city of Gezer (1 Kings 9:16).

D. The names of the native people pressed into slave labor (1 Kings 9:20).

E. The southern port used by Solomon’s navy (1 Kings 9:26).

F. Distant ports from which exotic goods were secured (1 Kings 9:28; 1 Kings 10:22).

G. The spot from which a curious queen came to interrogate Solomon (1 Kings 10:1).

H. The objects made by Solomon and placed in the house of the forest of Lebanon (1 Kings 10:17).

I. The number of Solomon’s chariots and horses (1 Kings 10:26).

II. QUESTIONS TO PONDER

1. Why did Solomon give Hiram twenty cities? 1 Kings 9:11

2. Did Solomon force Israelites into slave work? See 1 Kings 9:22; 1 Kings 5:13.

3. Why did Solomon build a special house for Pharaoh’s daughter? 1 Kings 9:24

4. Did Solomon have a navy on the Mediterranean as well as the Red Sea?

5. Where was Ophir?

6. In what way did Hiram help Solomon in his naval enterprise? Why?

7. What is behind the visit of the queen of Sheba? What is the point in Jesus-’ reference to this queen? Matthew 12:42

8. What was there about Solomon’s court and land that particularly impressed the queen of Sheba?

9. What are the possible symbolic significances of the various features of Solomon’s throne? 1 Kings 10:18-20

10. Describe Solomon’s commercial dealing in horses and chariots. 1 Kings 10:28-29

THE ROYAL DEPARTURE FROM THE DIVINE STANDARD

The Divine Standard

The Reign of Solomon

He shall not multiply bones to himself Deuteronomy 17:16

And Solomon bad four thousand stalls for horses and chariots and twelve thousand horsemen.

1 Kings 5:26; 2 Chronicles 9:25

He shall not multiply wives to himself. Deuteronomy 17:17

And he had seven hundred wives, princesses, and three hundred concubines; and his wives turned his heart. 1 Kings 11:3

He shall not multiply to himself silver and gold, Deuteronomy 17:17

And the king made silver and gold to be in Jerusalem as stones.

2 Chronicles 1:15

ASHTARETH

The Ashtareth was the Principal Sematic goddess. She was most prevalent among the Sidonians, although she was also prominent among the Phoenicians. She was mainly a fertility goddess; however, she also represented war and love.

HADAD

This was the name of a Syrian deity meaning -the Thunderer-’ who was the Amorite equivalent of the god of the storms Baal (So Ras Shamra texts). It is also written Adad, Adda, and Addu. A Hadad temple at Aleppo is known. Because of his title of a storm-god, he is usually pictured on the back of a bull with forked-lightning in his hands.

References: Zechariah 12:11

MOLECH or MOLOCH

The chief god of the Ammonites. It was constructed of brass, with a calf’s head. They honored it by the sacrifice of children, in which they were caused to pass through or/ into the fire. Palestinian excavations have uncovered evidences of infant skeletons in burial places around heathen shrines. Ammonites revered Molech as a protecting father.

BAAL-BERITH

He was also called El-Berith. It literally means god of the covenant. Baal worship was so prominent that most settlements had their local Baal.

1 Kings 9:1-9

II. THE REVELATION TO SOLOMON 9:1-9

**TRANSLATION

(1) And it came to pass when Solomon had finished building the house of the LORD, and the house of the king, and all Solomon’s desire which he had desired to do, (2) that the LORD appeared unto Solomon a second time as He appeared unto him in Gibeon. (3) And the LORD said unto him, I have heard your prayer and your supplication which you have made before Me. I have sanctified this house which you have built, to put My name there forever, and My eyes and My heart shall always be there. (4) But as for you, if you continue to walk before Me as David your father walked with integrity of heart and uprightness, doing according to all which I have commanded you, and My statutes and My judgments you continue to keep, (5) then I will establish the throne of your kingdom over Israel forever as I spoke unto David your father, saying, A man shall not be cut off to you from upon the throne of Israel. (6) If you surely turn, you and your sons, from after Me and do not keep My commandments, My statutes which I have set before you, and you go and serve other gods, and worship them, (7) then I will cut off Israel from upon the face of the kind which I gave to them, and the house which I have sanctified for My name I will cast away from before Me, and Israel shall become a byword and a taunt among all peoples. (8) And this house shall be high, all passing by it shall be astonished and hiss and say, Why has the LORD done thus to this land and to this house? (9) And they shall answer, Because they forsook the LORD their God who brought their fathers from the land of Egypt, and they seized other gods, and bowed down to them, and served them; therefore, the LORD brought upon them all this calamity.

COMMENTS**

After Solomon had completed his building projects (1 Kings 9:1) the Lord appeared to him a second time as He had appeared unto him in the dream at Gibeon (1 Kings 9:2). Solomon had received a message from the Lord during the course of the Temple building, but that message had probably come through the lips of a prophet (cf. 1 Kings 6:11). In this divine communication there is constant and unmistakable reference to the dedicatory prayer of Solomon which was recorded in the previous chapter. In fact, this second dream appearance of the Lord must be regarded as God’s answer to that earlier prayer. Now if the dedication of the Temple took place immediately following the completion of that structure, and the second dream appearance followed the completion of the palace complex, then it would appear that at least thirteen years elapsed between Solomon’s dedicatory prayer and the answer to it (cf. 1 Kings 9:10).[242] Solomon was now at the height of his prosperity. With his building projects completed his heart was puffed up with pride. His love for the Lord was waning and he had already begun that spiritual decline which eventually led to idolatry. The divine warning served to remind him of that wonderful prayer and youthful devotion which he was in danger of forgetting.

[242] Slotki (SBB, p. 70) suggests that the prayer and supplication to which God alludes in 1 Kings 9:3 is not the dedicatory prayer, but some similar and unrecorded prayer offered by Solomon several years later.

The divine message to Solomon is given in greater detail in Chronicles (2 Chronicles 7:12-22). As far as the present account is concerned, God assured Solomon that he had heard his dedicatory prayer which had been made several years before and, as a consequence of that prayer, had sanctified the Temple. Probably the Lord is alluding to that manifestation described in 1 Kings 8:11 where the cloud of divine glory settled upon the house. Solomon had offered the house to God and God had put His name there, i.e., he accepted it as His own special dwelling forever. Solomon had asked that God’s eye might be upon the house; God now assured him that His heart would be there as well as His eyes (1 Kings 9:3). But if Solomon was to continue to enjoy divine favor he must continue to walk in the ways of his father David. The integrity of David consisted of his steadfast loyalty to the true God, his allegiance to the truth. Solomon prayed that David’s dynasty might be established over Israel forever just as God had promised his father (1 Kings 8:26); God reminded Solomon that the promise to David was conditional. Only if Solomon kept all the commandments of the Lord (1 Kings 9:4) would David’s dynasty be established (1 Kings 9:5).

The warnings against unfaithfulness in 1 Kings 9:6-9 are stern and uncompromising. If Solomon or any of his children turned from following the Lord and failed to keep His commandments (1 Kings 9:6), then God would deprive the nation of the land He had given it, and He would utterly reject the Temple He had so recently acknowledged. The condition of Israel would become so deplorable that people would allude to Israel when they wished to use an apt illustration of folly and unfaithfulness (1 Kings 9:7). A byword and a taunt is an expression found in Deuteronomy 28:37 expressive of extraordinary calamity. The fate of Israel would be an example and admonition to others, a figure for disaster. The house of God would be high[243] in that day, i.e., it would be a conspicuous example of the fate which befalls an unfaithful people. The Temple stood upon a high mountain so that its ruins could not fail to attract the attention of all who went past. Those who observed the ruins of that once sacred spot would hiss or whistle in derision and perhaps astonishment, and ask one another why the Lord would have treated the land of the Temple in this manner (1 Kings 9:8). The answer would come back from those close to the scene that Israel had forsaken the God that had formed their nation and had brought them out of Egypt (1 Kings 9:9).

[243] Another possible rendering though it be high, everyone passing by shall be astonished. .s

1 Kings 9:10-14

I. THE BASIS OF SOLOMON’S GLORY 9:10-28

Whereas it was David who established the kingdom in its extent and power, it was Solomon who added the glamour. In 1 Kings 9:10-28 all that remains to be said about Solomon’s building projects is collected. The heterogeneous materials are so arranged as to indicate the resources which enabled Solomon to erect so many and such magnificent buildings. These resources were threefold: (1) his connection with Hiram who supplied the building materials (1 Kings 9:10-14); (2) the tributary labor which he raised within his kingdom (1 Kings 9:15-25); and (3) the maritime expedition to Ophir which brought him great wealth and at the same time spread his fame (1 Kings 9:26-28). These notices are very condensed as a comparison with the parallel account in 2Chronicles 8 indicates.

A. SOLOMON AND HIRAM 9:10-14

**TRANSLATION

(10) And it came to pass at the end of twenty years, when Solomon had built the two houses, the house of the LORD and the house of the king, (11) (Hiram, king of Tyre, supplied Solomon with cedar trees and fir trees and with gold according to all his desire), that then King Solomon gave to Hiram twenty cities in the land of Galilee. (12) And Hiram went out from Tyre to see the cities which Solomon had given to him, and they did not please him. (13) And he said, What cities are these which you have given to me, my brother? And he called them, The Land of Cabul unto this day. (14) Now Hiram had sent**[245]** the king a hundred twenty talents of gold.**

[245] The pluperfect rendering of the RSV is much to be preferred to the simple past of the KJV and NASB.

COMMENTS

Solomon spent twenty years on his major building projectsseven years on the Temple and thirteen years on the palace complex (1 Kings 9:10). That Solomon was able to build such magnificent buildings was due largely to his alliance with Hiram king of Tyre, from whom, as has already been noted, he had received enormous amounts of timber. At some point during that twenty years, Solomon ran short of gold and again turned to Hiram to supply his need. Probably the hundred twenty talents of gold alluded to in 1 Kings 9:14 was a loan rather than a gift. The talent (lit., round thing) was the highest unit of weight in the Near East. The talent varied in weight from a hundred thirty pounds in the old Babylonian system to as little as forty-five pounds in the late Jewish system. The Berkley Version computes the value of this gold loan to have been about $3,500,000. David had collected vast amounts of precious metal for the Temple, and Solomon had in addition considerable yearly revenues derived from tribute and trade. Nevertheless, Solomon’s buildings were so extensive that his revenues were not sufficient for the completion of these costly works. He was, therefore, compelled to procure a loan from the wealthy King Hiram. Some scholars believe that this money was advanced by Hiram on the strength of anticipated profits from his share in the joint naval expedition to Ophir described in 1 Kings 9:26-28.

Exactly why Solomon gave to Hiram twenty cities in the land of Galilee (1 Kings 9:11) is unclear. Three views have been advocated in the commentaries: (1) the cities were a gift in appreciation for the help Hiram had rendered throughout the twenty years of building;[246] (2) Solomon could not keep up his yearly payments for Tyrian goods and services and was forced to cede these towns to Hiram;[247] (3) the towns were put up as security for the loan of the hundred twenty talents of gold. The last view is probably the correct one.

[246] Slotki, SBB, p. 72. [247] Olmstead, HPS, p. 346.

Old Testament Galilee was the northern part of the tribal territory of Naphtali.[248] This region is known elsewhere as Galilee of the Gentiles because of the large number of Phoenicians who inhabited it.[249] The villages given to Hiram were doubtlessly Canaanite communities which had not been taken over and developed into Israelite cities. No doubt Solomon selected this territory to serve as security for the loan because of its geographical proximity to Phoenicia, its heavy foreign population and, apparently, its unproductiveness and general unattractiveness.

[248] Old Testament Galilee was not nearly so extensive as the territory called by that name in the New Testament. See Joshua 20:7; 2 Kings 15:29; Isaiah 9:1.

[249] Isaiah 9:1; Matthew 4:15.

When Hiram went out to inspect his newly acquired territory, he was greatly disappointed (1 Kings 9:12). He had hoped to be awarded a rich grain-producing area, but had received instead a mountainous, bleak and barren tract. Immediately he fired off a letter to Jerusalem to express his disappointment to Solomon. The terminology my brother was the standard form of address between kings who had formal treaties of friendship with one another. The king designated the land he had received as Cabul and the name stuck. Cabul is of uncertain derivation and scholars have expressed widely different views as to its meaning. Perhaps the best suggestion is that of Keil, supported recently by Gray, that Cabul means mortgaged. Others claim the name means nothing or worthless. Whatever be the precise meaning of the word, it is almost certainly an expression of disparagement intended to mark Solomon’s stinginess. The Chronicler intimates that Solomon regained possession of the mortgaged cities (2 Chronicles 8:1-2). Perhaps Hiram simply refused to take jurisdiction of the area and gave the cities back to Solomon.

1 Kings 9:15-25

B. SOLOMON AND THE CORVÉE 9:15-25

The second means by which Solomon was able to construct so many buildings was the compulsory labor force. The use of forced labor (Heb. hammas) was mentioned in connection with the building of the Temple (1 Kings 5:13-18). Here it is mentioned again in connection with Solomon’s other building projects. The object of the forced labor was the building of public works, the Temple, palace, fortifications and strategic points in the provinces. This section lists the various construction projects of the corvée (1 Kings 9:15-19), discusses the composition of the corvée (1 Kings 9:20-23), and concludes with two brief notes pointing to the completion of Solomon’s Jerusalem projects (1 Kings 9:24-25).

1. THE PROJECTS OF THE CORVEE (1 Kings 9:15-19)

**TRANSLATION

(15) And this is the case with regard to the levy which King Solomon raised to build the house of the LORD, and his house, and the Millo, and the wall of Jerusalem, and Hazor, and Megiddo, and Gezer. (16) Pharaoh, king of Egypt, had come up and captured Gezer and burned it with fire, and the Canaanites who lived in the city he had slain; and he had given it as a dowry to his daughter, the wife of Solomon. (17) And Solomon built Gezer, Beth-horon the Lower, (18) Baalath, Tamar in the wilderness of the land, (19) all the store cities which Solomon had, cities for his chariots, cities for his horses, and what Solomon was pleased to build in Jerusalem and in Lebanon and in all the land of the dominion.

COMMENTS**

The building projects of the corvée fall into five categories: (1) the Jerusalem projects (1 Kings 9:15 a); (2) the fortress cities (1 Kings 9:15 b - 1 Kings 9:18); (3) the storage cities (1 Kings 9:19 a); (4) the chariot cities (1 Kings 9:19 b); and (5) the pleasure houses (1 Kings 9:19 c).

a) The Jerusalem projects. The first and foremost of the works of the manpower levy were the house of the Lord and the palace complex about which so much has already been narrated. In addition, two projects connected with Jerusalem are mentioned, the Millo and the wall of Jerusalem.

(1) The Millo is mentioned six times in Scripture, each time with the definite article. The term literally means the filling in. The fact that Millo is mentioned in connection with the wall of Jerusalem would seem to indicate that it was part of the defense works of the city. In 1 Kings 11:27 Millo is mentioned in connection with the closing of a breach in the city of David.[250] Thus the Millo may have been a bastion which filled some weak point in the walls.[251] The evidence seems to suggest that Millo stood in David’s time and even in Jebusite days (2 Samuel 5:9). If this be the case, then Solomon’s efforts must be viewed as either strengthening, extending or perhaps rebuilding this feature of the city’s fortifications. Many theories have been put forward as to what part of the city of David was strengthened by the Millo, but in the absence of concrete archaeological evidence these theories must be regarded as pure speculation.

[250] Others, however, feel that the closing of the breach and construction of the Millo in 1 Kings 11:27 are two altogether different projects.

[251] Others think of the Millo as a rampart of filled-in earth or a land-fill in the ravine which separated the city of David from the Temple mount.

(2) The wall of Jerusalem. The precise extent and location of the wall of Jerusalem built by Solomon is uncertain.[252] With the expansion of the city to include the Temple and palace area, new fortifications were necessary. Solomon closed the breach of the city of David (1 Kings 11:27) and probably extended the city wall so as to enclose the Temple mount. He may also have surrounded the lower city with a wall since David had only built a fortification round about the upper city upon Zion (cf. 2 Samuel 5:9).

[252] Gray, OTL, p. 227.

b) The fortress cities. Outside Jerusalem Solomon constructed six fortresses located at points strategic for controlling all approaches to the plateau of Judah and (what was even more important) for controlling the movement of caravans of commerce. These fortresses were Hazor, Megiddo, Gezer, Lower Beth-horon, Baalath, and Tamar.

(1) The fortress of Hazor situated in northern Galilee occupied a position of military importance from the time of Joshua (cf. Joshua 11:10). Located on an elevation overlooking the waters of Merom, Hazor commanded the routes from the north. Archaeological excavation on the site has unearthed a double-chambered gateway and casemate walls dating to the time of Solomon. Hazor was a rather large city, and the modern remains are strewn over twenty-two acres.

(2) Megiddo was the great fortress which commanded one of the major passes through the mountain range which separated the costal Plain of Sharon from the Plain of Esdraelon, the great battlefield of Palestine. The main highway from Egypt to Damascus passed through Megiddo. Throughout the period of the monarchy, the city was heavily fortified until it was finally captured by the Assyrians in 734 B.C. The remains of a complex gateway and casemate walls dating to the time of Solomon have been excavated at Megiddo.[253]

[253] BAR, II, 240-247.

(3) Gezer (1 Kings 9:15) was Solomon’s fortress guarding the southern frontier of Israel. The city stands on a spur of the Judaean foothills overlooking the major north-south highway through the coastal plains.

The mention of Gezer among the cities built and fortified by Solomon causes the author to digress that he might relate how this city came into the possession of Israel. Though Gezer was allotted to the tribe of Ephraim (Joshua 16:3) and designated as a Levitical city (Joshua 21:21), the Canaanite inhabitants had never been displaced either by the Philistines or by the military efforts of David. Gezer seems to have enjoyed an independent status. Pharaoh attacked and destroyed the city and put the Canaanite inhabitants to the sword. The precise date of this conquest is uncertain, but it must certainly have been several years prior to the marriage between Solomon and this Pharaoh’s daughter. Pharaoh gave Gezer to his daughter as a wedding present (1 Kings 9:16). The city was then rebuilt and fortified by Solomon. The incorporation of this hostile fortress into Solomon’s kingdom made possible the significant trade relations between Israel and Egypt which characterized Solomon’s reign (cf. 1 Kings 10:26-29). That this trade was important to Egypt as well as Israel may be inferred from the trouble Pharaoh went to in order to bring Gezer under Solomon’s control. For a suggestion as to the identity of the Pharaoh who conquered Gezer see comments on 1 Kings 3:1.

(4) Lower Beth-horon (1 Kings 9:17) was situated at the foot of a ravine on a prominent hill guarding one of the main roads between Jerusalem and the seacoast. The object of the king in fortifying this spot was to protect the Judaean highlands against invasion from the Philistine plain. According to 2 Chronicles 8:5 Upper Beth-horon, situated at the summit of the same pass, was also fortified by Solomon.

(5) Baalath, probably the place mentioned in Joshua 19:44, was located in the tribal territory of Dan southwest of Beth- horon.[254]

[254] The other possibility is that Baalath is to be taken with Tamar, in which case it would be the Baalath of Jos 15:24 or the Baalah of Jos 15:29 which are ascribed to Simeon (Joshua 19:3).

(6) Tamar (not Tadmor as in KJV) is mentioned in Ezekiel 47:19; Ezekiel 48:28 as the southeastern limit of the holy land. The name Tamar means Palms, and the spot may be the same as the city of Palms mentioned in Judges 1:16. No doubt this fortress protected the route to Ezion-geber, a city which was vital to Solomon’s economic program as 1 Kings 9:26-28 indicate.

To this list of outlying fortresses the Chronicler adds Tadmor, an earlier name for Palmyra, the oasis in the Syrian desert a hundred fifty miles northwest of Damascus (2 Chronicles 8:4). The major trade routes to Mesopotamia met at this important oasis which was located about midway between Damascus and the Euphrates. Palmyra continued as an important trade center until the early centuries of the Christian age.

c) The store cities. Other cities were set aside for storage of produce. Such provisions were used for the troops and the royal household, and possibly as insurance against seasons of scarcity. These may have been the cities where Solomon’s twelve administrative officers lived (1 Kings 4:7) who were responsible for supplying a month’s provisions to the court each year. Each would have needed large storage facilities. Archaeologists have found buildings in several citiesBeth-shemesh, Lachish, Hazorwhich seem to have served the purpose of public storage bins.[255]

[255] Wright, BA, p. 130.

d) Chariot cities. Other cities served as bases for Solomon’s chariot forces and cavalry units.[256] The remains of stables dating to the time of Solomon have been found at Hazor and at Taanach four miles south of Megiddo.[257] The great plain at Megiddo was an ideal location for training in chariot tactics. The chariot cities were probably in part identical with the store cities.

[256] Horses is a technical expression for horses used in military operations whether for cavalry or chariots. Mould, EBH, p. 197, n. 65. [257] The stable complex found at Megiddo for many years was thought to be Solomonic. But Yadin has now pronounced them to be from the time of Ahab. BAR, II, 247.

e) Pleasure houses. In addition to the projects already named, Solomon constructed for himself pleasure buildings where he could relax and refresh himself. This seems to be the meaning of the phrase that which Solomon desired to build, which literally in the Hebrew reads, the desire of Solomon which he desired. Leisure houses were built in Lebanon and leisure gardens in and around Jerusalem and elsewhere in his domain (1 Kings 9:19).

2. THE COMPOSITION OF THE CORVÉE (1 Kings 9:20-23)

**TRANSLATION

(20) And all the people remaining from the Amorites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Hivites and Jebusites which were not from the children of Israel, (21) their children which were left after them in the land which the children of Israel had not been able to destroy, them did Solomon bring up to the levy of servitude onto this day. (22) But of the children of Israel Solomon made no bondsmen; but they were men of war, his servants and his officers and his captains, his chariot commanders and his horsemen. (23) These are the chief of the officers who were over the work of Solomon, five hundred fifty who ruled over the people who did the work.

COMMENTS**

Solomon’s levy of bondslaves was taken from among the foreign peopleAmorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites (1 Kings 9:20)whom the Israelites had not completely destroyed[258] when they entered Canaan (1 Kings 9:21). The various peoples named in 1 Kings 9:21 reflect the diversity of races which were to be found in Palestine prior to the Israelite invasion. Those racially closest to the Israelites would be the Amorites. The Hittites of antiquity were mainly located in Anatolia (Asia Minor), though some Hittite trading colonies seem to have been located in Palestine. The Perizzites, Gergashites and possibly the Jebusites may have been descendants of mercenaries from the northeast who had garrisoned in Palestine during the period of Egyptian domination from the fifteenth to the thirteenth century B.C.[259] The practice of subjecting these conquered peoples to servile labor originated with Joshua (Joshua 9:22-27). Nelson Glueck, in his explorations east of the Jordan, discovered what he believed were prison camps in the vicinity of copper mines. This would seem to indicate that the copper mines were worked by forced labor.[260] The levy of servitude was also a feature of Canaanite life as the Ras Shamra texts show.[261] Since the Law of Moses forbade enslavement of Hebrews (Leviticus 25:39), no Israelites were forced to become bondslaves. The statement in 1 Kings 5:13 that Solomon raised a levy out of all Israel must be interpreted in the light of the present passage. Probably there were two leviesone of Canaanite bondmen or slaves, and the other of Israelites who, though compelled to serve, were treated as hired servants.[262] Furthermore, the Canaanite bondservants were compelled to serve for a life-time whereas the Israelite levy served one month in three until the building projects were completed. By and large Solomon used Israelites for the more exalted service in the army or in the royal court as princes and officers. The word translated captains in 1 Kings 9:22 means literally third men and refers to a noble rank of soldiers who fought from chariots. Solomon’s chariots carried three men, and the third man, besides the driver and the warrior, was the armor-bearer.[263]

[258] The term destroyed (Heb. cherem) is a technical term from the vocabulary of the holy war. The entire Canaanite population was put under the curse or ban and was to be exterminated. In the holy war the Israelites were acting as the agents of God’s judgment.

[259] Gray, OTL, p. 233. [260] Glueck, OSJ, chap. 3. [261] Gray, OTL, p. 233.

[262] See further the comments on 1 Kings 5:13. Finley (BBC, p. 384) feels that even in 1 Kings 5:13 an all Canaanite levy is intended. He interprets the term all Israel to be geographical. The levy was raised from all the tribal territories of Israel; but only the Canaanites living in those regions were pressed into service.

[263] The term third man (Heb., shalish) came to signify a royal aide-de-camp, he on whose arm the king stayed himself (2 Kings 7:2; 2 Kings 7:17; 2 Kings 7:19). The position was of such importance that it could be used as a springboard to the crown (2 Kings 15:25).

At the top administrative level over Solomon’s levy of bond-men were five hundred fifty officers (1 Kings 9:23). As has been previously pointed out in the comments on 1 Kings 5:16, three hundred of these superior officers were Canaanites.

2. FINAL CONSTRUCTION NOTICES (1 Kings 9:24-25)

TRANSLATION

(**24) And the daughter of Pharaoh went up from the city of David unto her house which he had built for her; then he built Millo. (25) And Solomon offered up burnt offerings and peace offerings three times in the year upon the altar which he had built for the LORD, and he burned incense upon the altar which was before the LORD. So he finished the house.

COMMENTS**

The account of Solomon’s building operations is brought to a close with two notices in 1 Kings 9:24-25. When Solomon married Pharaoh’s daughter, he brought her into the city of David (1 Kings 3:1) until he had finished his own palace and had built for her a house of her own. After this building was built, he had her brought up from the city of David to the loftier summit where her palace was situated. Just as soon as this project was completed, Solomon built Millo (see on 1 Kings 9:15). The corresponding verse in Chronicles (2 Chronicles 8:11) indicates Solomon’s motives in moving his Egyptian wife out of the city of David. According to the Chronicler, Solomon felt that the presence of this foreign princess in the holy city would be sacrilegious. After the building of the Temple, the practice of sacrificing upon the altars of the high places could be brought to an end (cf. 1 Kings 3:2). The king was now able to offer burnt offerings and thank offerings upon the altar which he had built to the Lord in the courtyard of the Temple. This Solomon did three times a year at the three great yearly feastsPassover, Weeks and Tabernacles (2 Chronicles 8:13). These words are not to be interpreted to mean that Solomon himself officiated at the sacrifice, for this was the prerogative of the Aaronic priesthood alone. Still less is it to be inferred that Solomon entered the Holy Place and offered incense upon the altar. Only priests could enter there. Rather the meaning is that Solomon as builder of the Temple provided these special offerings which were offered by the ministering priests in the name of the king (cf. 2 Chronicles 8:14). The words so he finished the house are repeated from 1 Kings 6:22 except that here the inspired author uses a form of the verb which may carry the idea, he perfected the house, i.e., by devoting it to its proper use. It was, after all, to be a house of sacrifice.[264]

[264] Hammond, PC, pp. 194-95. Another view is that the phrase means that Solomon kept the Temple in repair.

1 Kings 9:26-28

B. SOLOMON’S NAVY 9:26-28

**TRANSLATION

(26) And King Solomon made a fleet of Ezion-geber which is beside Eloth upon the shore of the Red Sea, in the land of Edom. (27) And Hiram sent his servants with the fleet, skilled sailors, along with the servants of Solomon. (28) And they went to Ophir, and brought from there four hundred twenty talents of gold, and brought unto King Solomon.

COMMENTS**

The allusion to Solomon’s navy is probably inserted at this point because it was to the voyage of this fleet that the king was indebted for the gold with which he financed his various building projects. Next to the Temple, the construction of this fleet was probably the greatest accomplishment of Solomon’s reign.[265] The king built his ships at Ezion-geber located on the northern tip of the Gulf of Aqaba (1 Kings 9:26). The earlier subjugation of Edom in the reign of David (2 Samuel 8:14) made this valuable port available to the Israelites. The Chronicler adds a detail to what is recorded in 1 Kings 9:26 when he relates that Solomon himself made a journey or possibly undertook a campaign to Ezion-geber (2 Chronicles 8:17). The Eloth mentioned in 1 Kings 9:26 is probably the new settlement which sprang up in the days of Solomon around the ancient settlement of Ezion-geber.

[265] That Israelite naval enterprises actually began under David is hinted at in the fact that David collected for the Temple three hundred talents of gold of Ophir (1 Chronicles 29:4). Traditions concerning David’s maritime activities have survived in the Jewish communities of the Mediterranean. See Stieglitz, MAAI, p. 148.

The importance of the outlet at Ezion-geber to the Israelites can hardly be overestimated. From the time of David unto the reign of Ahaz (735-715 B.C.), the kings of Jerusalem sought to maintain control over this spot and the near-by trade routes.[266]

[266] Stieglitz, MAAI, p. 73.

In this maritime venture, Solomon and Hiram of Tyre were partners. Phoenician sailors, known throughout ancient times for their expertise in seamanship, joined the inexperienced men of Solomon on their voyages (1 Kings 9:27). The Chronicler adds that Hiram also provided the ships (2 Chronicles 8:18). This probably means that the ships were transported overland, in sections, to the port at Ezion-geber and were there reassembled. Hiram would not have encouraged Solomon in a maritime enterprise which would have involved competition with his own interests. He was, however, anxious to open up the Red Sea trade routes to which he otherwise had no access.

The location of Ophir is uncertain. Modern scholarship has attempted to narrow the location to either India or East Africa. A couple of clues bearing on this problem are given in the text. For one thing it would appear that Ophir was accessible only from the Red Sea and therefore, must be located somewhere along the coasts of that body of water which today is called the Indian Ocean. The best clue, however, is the list of products obtained from Ophir: gold, almug trees and precious stones (1 Kings 10 :II).[267] These products suggest that Ophir was located along the coasts of Africa, possibly even the Atlantic coasts of Africa.[268] Without further evidence,[269] however, it is difficult to be more precise as to the whereabouts of Ophir.

[267] Other products, usually assumed by scholars to originate in Ophir (although this is not stated in the Bible), are those which were brought back by Solomon’s Tarshish fleet: gold, silver, ivory, apes and baboons. For discussion of Solomon’s Tarshish fleet see comments on 1 Kings 10:22.

[268] Stieglitz, MAAI, pp. 60-61. [269] Attempts have been made to identify Ophir by linguistic analysis of the Biblical product names. The results are inconclusive, some scholars vigorously asserting the Indian and some the Egyptian origin of these names.

Wherever its location, Ophir supplied Solomon with enormous quantities of goldfour hundred twenty talents (about $10,000,000) according to Kings (1 Kings 9:28), four hundred fifty talents according to Chronicles. It is possible that Kings gives the amount of gold that actually entered the coffers of Solomon, while Chronicles includes thirty additional talents which went to Hiram for his services. Whether all this gold, amounting to some thirty tons, was brought back on one voyage, or whether this figure represents the profits from several voyages to Ophir cannot be determined.