Historical

Chapter 8

Solomon’s Buildings.^{[a] 1} At the end of the twenty years that Solomon had taken to build the house of the Lord and his own palace, ² he rebuilt the cities that Huram had given to him, and he settled the Israelites in them.

³ Then Solomon went to Hamath-zobah and captured it.^{[b] 4} After that he fortified Tadmor^[c] in the wilderness and all the storage towns that he had built in Hamath. ⁵ He also built Upper Beth-horon and Lower Beth-horon, fortified cities with walls, gates, and bars, ⁶ and Baalath, all the supply cities belonging to Solomon, and all the towns for his chariots and for his cavalry and whatever else Solomon decided to build in Jerusalem, in Lebanon, and throughout his entire dominion.

⁷ All the people who still remained of the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites who did not belong to Israel— ⁸ that is, from their descendants still surviving in the land, whom the people of Israel had not destroyed—Solomon subjected to forced labor, as is still the case today.^[d]

⁹ However, Solomon did not use the people of Israel as slaves for all the work he wanted done. Rather, they were assigned as soldiers and his officers, as well as the commanders of his soldiers and his cavalry.^{[e] 10} These served as King Solomon’s officials, two hundred and fifty in number, who exercised authority over the people.

¹¹ Solomon’s Piety. Solomon brought the daughter of Pharaoh up from the City of David to the place that he had built for her, for he said: “No wife of mine shall live in the house of King David of Israel, for the places that the Ark of the Lord has entered are sacred.”

¹² Then Solomon sacrificed burnt offerings to the Lord upon the altar of the Lord that he had built in front of the portico, ¹³ in accordance with what was required for each day, offerings in accordance with the law of Moses for the Sabbaths, the new moons, and the annual dedicated feasts—the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the Feast of Weeks, and the Feast of Booths.

¹⁴ Following the ordinances of his father David, Solomon designated the various divisions of the priests for their service, and the Levites for their offices of praise and ministry alongside the priests as the duty of each day required, and the gatekeepers designated for specific gates, for such was the command of David, the man of God. ¹⁵ The instructions that David had specified in regard to the priests and Levites and also concerning the treasuries were never disregarded.

¹⁶ Thus all of Solomon’s work was accomplished, from the day that the foundation of the house of the Lord was laid until the house of the Lord was completed.

¹⁷ Solomon’s Glory. Then Solomon went to Ezion-geber and Elath on the seacoast of Edom, ¹⁸ and Huram sent ships under the command of his own officers and manned by experienced seamen familiar with the sea. They went to Ophir, together with the servants of Solomon, and brought back from there four hundred and fifty talents that they presented to King Solomon.

Chapter 9

The Queen of Sheba. ¹ When the Queen of Sheba was informed about Solomon’s reputation, she came to Jerusalem to test him with difficult questions. Arriving with a very large retinue, and with camels bearing spices, an immense quantity of gold, and precious stones, she came to Solomon and discussed everything she had on her mind. ² Solomon answered all of her questions. There was nothing she asked that he was unable to explain to her.

³ When the Queen of Sheba witnessed the wisdom of Solomon, the palace he had built, ⁴ the food served at his table, the seating of his ministers, the attendants and the elegance of their clothing, the cupbearers in their robes, and the burnt offerings that he presented in the house of the Lord, it literally took her breath away.

⁵ Then she said to the king: “The reports I heard in my own country about your accomplishments and your wisdom proved to be true. ⁶ However, I did not believe those reports to be accurate until I came and saw all this with my own eyes. Moreover, I have come to realize that I was not told even half of the greatness of your wisdom. You far surpass everything I had heard about you.

⁷ “How fortunate your people are! Happy are these servants of yours who are continually attending you and listening to your wisdom! ⁸ Blessed is the Lord, your God, who has taken such great delight in you and placed you on his throne as king for the Lord, your God. Because of the love of your God for Israel and his desire to have Israel endure forever, he has appointed you to be their king so that you may ensure that justice and righteousness will be maintained.”

⁹ Then she presented King Solomon with one hundred and twenty talents of gold, large quantities of spices, and precious stones. There had never been spices previously to equal those that the Queen of Sheba gave to King Solomon.

¹⁰ Besides all this, the servants of Huram and the servants of Solomon who had brought gold from Ophir also brought large amounts of algum wood and precious stones. ¹¹ From the algum wood the king made stairs for the house of the Lord and for the king’s palace, as well as lyres and harps for the singers. Nothing to match them had ever been seen before in the land of Judah.

¹² King Solomon gave the Queen of Sheba everything she desired and requested, far surpassing what she had brought to the king. Then she departed with her servants and journeyed back to her own land.

¹³ The weight of the gold that Solomon received each year amounted to six hundred and sixty-six talents of gold ¹⁴ in addition to the tolls levied on merchants and what was collected from foreign trade. All the kings of Arabia and the governors of the provinces also brought gold and silver to Solomon.

¹⁵ Moreover, King Solomon made two hundred large shields of beaten gold, with six hundred shekels of beaten gold going into each shield, ¹⁶ and three hundred bucklers of beaten gold, with three hundred shekels of gold going into each buckler. The king stored all these in the House of the Forest of Lebanon.

¹⁷ King Solomon also made a large ivory throne which he overlaid with pure gold. ¹⁸ The throne had six steps, and a footstool of gold was fastened to it. There were armrests on each side of the seat, with two lions standing beside the arms, ¹⁹ while twelve lions stood on either side of the six steps. Nothing like it had ever been made in any other kingdom.

²⁰ Furthermore, all of Solomon’s drinking vessels were of gold, and all the vessels of the House of the Forest of Lebanon were made of pure gold. Silver was not regarded as anything of value in the days of King Solomon. ²¹ The king had a fleet of ships that sailed to Tarshish with the servants of Huram. Once every three years a fleet of ships from Tarshish used to return with a cargo of gold, silver, ivory, apes, and monkeys.

²² Thus King Solomon surpassed all the kings of the earth in riches and in wisdom, ²³ and all the kings of the earth sought to consult Solomon in order to hear from him the wisdom that God had implanted in his heart. ²⁴ Moreover, every single one of those kings brought a gift with him: objects of silver and gold, garments, weapons, spices, horses, and mules in an annual tribute.

²⁵ Solomon had four thousand stalls for horses and chariots, and twelve thousand horses, which he stationed in the chariot cities and with the king in Jerusalem. ²⁶ He ruled over all the kings from the Euphrates to the land of the Philistines and the border of Egypt.

²⁷ King Solomon made silver as common in Jerusalem as stone, and cedars as plentiful as the sycamores of the foothills. ²⁸ Horses were imported for Solomon from Egypt and from all the other countries.

²⁹ The Death of Solomon. The rest of the acts of Solomon’s reign, from first to last, are recorded in the history of Nathan the prophet, in the prophecy of Ahijah the Shilonite, and, in the visions of Iddo the seer concerning Jeroboam, the son of Nebat.^[f]

³⁰ Solomon reigned in Jerusalem over all Israel for forty years. ³¹ Then he rested with his ancestors and was buried in the city of his father David. He was succeeded by his son Rehoboam.

The Monarchy before Hezekiah

Chapter 10

The Kingdom Divided. ¹ Rehoboam immediately went to Shechem, for all Israel had gone there. ² When Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, learned about this in Egypt, where he had fled from King Solomon, he then returned from Egypt.

³ The people thereupon summoned Jeroboam, and he and all Israel came to Rehoboam and said to him: ⁴ “Your father laid a heavy yoke upon us. However, if you agree to lighten the harsh labor and the heavy yoke that he imposed on us, we will serve you.” ⁵ Rehoboam replied to them: “Come back to me again in three days, and then I will inform you of my decision.” On hearing this, the people departed.

⁶ Then King Rehoboam sought the counsel of the elders who had served as attendants and advisors to his father Solomon during his lifetime. He asked them: “What answer do you advise me to give to this people?” ⁷ They replied: “If you will treat this people with kindness and be fair in your dealings with them, they will remain your servants forever.”

⁸ However, Rehoboam rejected the advice that the elders had given him and proceeded to consult the young men who had grown up with him and who now attended him. ⁹ He said to them: “What reply do you advise me to give to this people who have requested that I lighten the yoke that my father imposed on them?”

¹⁰ The young men who had grown up with him replied: “This is the answer that you should give to this people who said to you: ‘Your father made our yoke heavy. We implore you to lighten it for us.’ Tell them: ‘My little finger is thicker than my father’s loins. ¹¹ Although my father laid a heavy yoke on you, I shall make it heavier. My father beat you with whips, but I will scourge you with scorpions.’ ”

¹² On the third day, Jeroboam and all the people came to Rehoboam as the king had instructed them to do. ¹³ The king replied to them sharply, having rejected the advice which the elders had given him. ¹⁴ Rather, he followed the advice of the younger men and said: “My father laid a heavy yoke on you, but I will make it even heavier. My father beat you with whips, but I will scourge you with scorpions.”

¹⁵ Thus the king did not listen to the people, for this turn of events was ordained by God so that the Lord might fulfill his word that he had spoken to Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, through Ahijah the Shilonite.

^16 [g]When all Israel realized that the king would not listen to them, the people answered the king:

Then all Israel departed to their tents. ¹⁷ Therefore, Rehoboam reigned over only those Israelites who lived in the towns of Judah.

¹⁸ When King Rehoboam sent forth Hadoram, the commander in charge of the forced labor, the Israelites stoned him to death. However, King Rehoboam managed to mount his chariot and flee to Jerusalem. ¹⁹ Thus from that day to this, Israel has been in rebellion against the house of David.