Solomon Worships at Gibeon

(A)Solomon the son of David established himself in his kingdom, (B)and the Lord his God was with him and made him exceedingly great.

Solomon spoke to all Israel, to the (C)commanders of thousands and of hundreds, to the judges, and to all the leaders in all Israel, the heads of fathers' houses. And Solomon, and all the assembly with him, went to (D)the high place that was at Gibeon, (E)for (F)the tent of meeting of God, which Moses the servant of the Lord had made in the wilderness, was there. (G)(But David had brought up the ark of God from Kiriath-jearim to the place that David had prepared for it, for he had pitched a tent for it in Jerusalem.) Moreover, (H)the bronze altar that (I)Bezalel the son of Uri, son of Hur, had made, was there before the tabernacle of the Lord. And Solomon and the assembly (J)sought it[a] out. And Solomon went up there to the bronze altar before the Lord, which was at the tent of meeting, (K)and offered a thousand burnt offerings on it.

Solomon Prays for Wisdom

(L)In that night God appeared to Solomon, and said to him, “Ask what I shall give you.” And Solomon said to God, “You have shown great and steadfast love to David my father, (M)and have made me king in his place. O Lord God, (N)let your word to David my father be now fulfilled, for you have made me king over a people as numerous (O)as the dust of the earth. 10 Give me now wisdom and knowledge to (P)go out and come in before this people, for who can govern this people of yours, which is so great?” 11 God answered Solomon, “Because this was in your heart, and you have not asked for (Q)possessions, wealth, honor, or the life of those who hate you, and have not even asked for long life, but have asked for wisdom and knowledge for yourself that you may govern my people over whom I have made you king, 12 wisdom and knowledge are granted to you. I will also give you (R)riches, possessions, and honor, (S)such as none of the kings had who were before you, and none after you shall have the like.” 13 So Solomon came from[b] the (T)high place at Gibeon, from before (U)the tent of meeting, to Jerusalem. And he reigned over Israel.

Solomon Given Wealth

14 (V)Solomon gathered together chariots and horsemen. (W)He had 1,400 chariots and 12,000 horsemen, whom he stationed (X)in the chariot cities and with the king in Jerusalem. 15 And the king made silver and gold as common in Jerusalem as stone, and he made cedar as plentiful as the sycamore of the Shephelah. 16 And Solomon's import of horses was from Egypt and Kue, and the king's traders would buy them from Kue for a price. 17 They imported a chariot from Egypt for 600 shekels[c] of silver, and a horse for 150. Likewise through them these were exported to all the kings of the Hittites and the kings of Syria.

Footnotes

  1. 2 Chronicles 1:5 Or him
  2. 2 Chronicles 1:13 Septuagint, Vulgate; Hebrew to
  3. 2 Chronicles 1:17 A shekel was about 2/5 ounce or 11 grams

The Lord Makes Solomon Wise

(1 Kings 3.1-15)

King Solomon, the son of David, was now in complete control of his kingdom, because the Lord God had blessed him and made him a powerful king.

2-5 (A) At that time, the sacred tent that Moses the servant of the Lord had made in the desert was still kept at Gibeon, and in front of the tent was the bronze altar that Bezalel[a] had made.

One day, Solomon told the people of Israel, the army commanders, the officials, and the family leaders, to go with him to the place of worship at Gibeon, even though his father King David had already moved the sacred chest from Kiriath-Jearim to the tent that he had set up for it in Jerusalem. Solomon and the others went to Gibeon to worship the Lord, and there at the bronze altar, Solomon offered a thousand animals as sacrifices to please the Lord.[b]

God appeared to Solomon that night in a dream and said, “Solomon, ask for anything you want, and I will give it to you.”

Solomon answered:

Lord God, you were always loyal to my father David, and now you have made me king of Israel. (B) I am supposed to rule these people, but there are as many of them as there are specks of dust on the ground. So keep the promise you made to my father 10 and make me wise. Give me the knowledge I'll need to be the king of this great nation of yours.

11 God replied:

Solomon, you could have asked me to make you rich or famous or to let you live a long time. Or you could have asked for your enemies to be destroyed. Instead, you asked for wisdom and knowledge to rule my people. 12 So I will make you wise and intelligent. But I will also make you richer and more famous than any king before or after you.

13 Solomon then left Gibeon and returned to Jerusalem, the capital city of Israel.

Solomon's Wealth

(1 Kings 10.26-29)

14 (C) Solomon had a force of 1,400 chariots and 12,000 horses that he kept in Jerusalem and other towns.

15 While Solomon was king of Israel, there was silver and gold everywhere in Jerusalem, and cedar was as common as ordinary sycamore trees in the foothills.

16-17 (D) Solomon's merchants bought his horses and chariots in the regions of Musri and Kue.[c] They paid 600 pieces of silver for a chariot and 150 pieces of silver for a horse. They also sold horses and chariots to the Hittite and Syrian kings.

Footnotes

  1. 1.2-5 Bezalel: Hebrew “Bezalel son of Uri son of Hur.”
  2. 1.6 sacrifices to please the Lord: These sacrifices have traditionally been called “whole burnt offerings,” because the whole animal was burned on the altar. A main purpose of such sacrifices was to please the Lord with the smell of the sacrifice, and so in the CEV they are often called “sacrifices to please the Lord.”
  3. 1.16,17 Musri and Kue: Hebrew “Egypt and Kue.” Musri and Kue were regions located in what is today southeast Turkey.