where he might judge, even the porch of judgment: and it was covered with cedar from floor to ceiling. And his house where he dwelt in another court farther within from the porch, was of the like work. Solomon made also an house for Pharaoh's daughter, whom he had taken to wife, like unto this porch. And Pharaoh's daughter came up out of the city of David unto her house which Solomon had built for her.

All these were of costly stones, according to the measures of hewed stones, sawed with saws, within and without, even from the foundation unto the coping, and so on the outside towards the great court. And the great court round about had three rows of hewn stones, and a row of cedar beams, round about the inner court of the house of the Lord, and the court of the porch of the house.

Solomon's Resources and Wealth (1 Kings ix. 10-23, 2628; x. 11, 12, 14-29). 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 king's house, that then king Solomon gave Hiram twenty cities in the land of Galilee.1 And Hiram came out from Tyre to see the cities which Solomon had given him; and they pleased him not. And he said: "What cities are these which thou hast given me, my brother?" And he called them the land of Cabul unto this day. And Hiram sent to the king sixscore talents of gold.

2

And this is the reason of the levy which king Solomon raised; for to build the house of the Lord, and his own house, and the Millo, and the wall of Jerusalem, and Hazor, and Megiddo, and Gezer. For Pharaoh king of Egypt had gone up, and taken Gezer, and burnt it with fire, and slain the Canaanites that dwelt in the city, and given it for a present unto his daughter, Solomon's wife. And Solomon built Gezer, and Beth-horon the nether, and Baalath, and Tamar in the wilderness, and all the cities of store that Solomon had, and cities for his chariots, and

1 According to the Chronicler, Solomon at this time built and settled "the cities which Hiram had restored to Solomon."

2 Gezer is repeatedly mentioned in Egyptian records, the earliest of about 1475 B. C. Since 1902 its site has been excavated with important resulting discoveries. Among these are terra-cotta plaques with relief figures of the goddess Ashtart; a very complete high place,' with eight (originally ten) large mazzebahs or standing stones; and a great number of buried jars containing the bones of new-born infants possibly of sacrificed first-born.

cities for his horsemen, and that which Solomon desired to build in Jerusalem, and in Lebanon, and in all the land of his dominion. And all the people that were left of the Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites, which were not of the children of Israel, their children that were left after them in the land, whom the children of Israel also were not able utterly to destroy, upon those did Solomon levy a tribute of bondservice unto this day. But of the children of Israel did Solomon make no bondmen: but they were men of war, and his servants, and his princes, and his captains, and rulers of his chariots, and his horsemen. These were the chief of the officers that were over Solomon's work, five hundred and fifty, which bare rule over the people that wrought in the work.

And king Solomon made a navy of ships in Ezion-geber, which is beside Eloth, on the shore of the Red Sea, in the land of Edom. And Hiram sent in the navy his servants, shipmen that had knowledge of the sea, with the servants of Solomon. And they came to Ophir, and fetched from thence gold, four hundred and twenty talents, and brought it to king Solomon. And the navy also of Hiram, that brought gold from Ophir, brought in from Ophir great plenty of almug trees,' and precious stones. And the king made of the almug trees pillars for the house of the Lord, and for the king's house, harps also and psalteries for singers: there came no such almug trees, nor were seen unto this day.

Now the weight of gold that came to Solomon in one year was six hundred threescore and six talents of gold, beside that he had of the merchantmen, and of the traffic of the spice merchants, and of all the kings of Arabia, and of the governors of the country. And king Solomon made two hundred targets of beaten gold: six hundred shekels of gold went to one target.2 And he made three hundred shields of beaten gold; three pound of gold went to one shield: and the king put them in the house of the forest of Lebanon. Moreover the king made a great throne of ivory, and overlaid it with the best gold. The throne had six steps, and the top of the throne was round behind: and there were stays on either side by the place of the seat, and two lions stood beside the stays. And twelve lions

1 almug trees. Supposed (doubtfully) to have been red sandal wood. Col. C. R. Conder suggests that almug may represent a word for 'precious wood.' 2 target. The Heb. denotes a large oblong shield. 600 shekels

about 20 lbs.

stood on the one side and on the other upon the six steps: there was not the like made in any kingdom. And all king Solomon's drinking vessels were of gold, and all the vessels of the house of the forest of Lebanon were of pure gold; none were of silver it was nothing accounted of in the days of Solomon. For the king had at sea a navy of Tarshish' with the navy of Hiram once in three years came the navy of Tarshish, bringing gold, and silver, ivory, and apes, and peacocks.

So king Solomon exceeded all the kings of the earth for riches and for wisdom. And all the earth sought to Solomon, to hear his wisdom, which God had put in his heart. And they brought every man his present, vessels of silver, and vessels of gold, and garments, and armor, and spices, horses, and mules, a rate year by year. And Solomon gathered together chariots and horsemen : and he had a thousand and four hundred chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen, whom he bestowed in the cities for chariots, and with the king at Jerusalem. And the king made silver to be in Jerusalem as stones, and cedars made he to be as the sycomore trees that are in the vale, for abundance. And Solomon had horses brought out of Muzri and Kuë: the king's merchants brought them from Kuë at a price. And a chariot came up and went out of Muzri for six hundred shekels of silver, and an horse for an hundred and fifty: and so brought they out horses for all the kings of the Hittites, and for the kings of Syria, by their means.

Visit of the Queen of Sheba (1 Kings x. 1-10, 13). And when the queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon concerning the name of the Lord,2 she came to prove him with hard questions. And she came to Jerusalem with a very great train, with camels that bare spices, and very much gold, and precious stones: and when she was come to Solomon, she communed with him of all that was in her heart. And Solomon told her all her questions: there was not any thing hid from the king, which he told her not. And when the queen of Sheba had seen all Solomon's wisdom, and the house that he had built, and the meat of his table, and the sitting of his servants, and the attendance

1 nary of Tarshish. A fleet of sea-going ships, such as those in which the Phoenicians made their voyages to Tartessus in Spain.

2 concerning ... Lord. Klostermann suggests that the text is here a defective reading for: "[and the fame of the house which he had built] to the name of the Lord."

of his ministers, and their apparel, and his cupbearers, and his burnt offering which he offered in the house of the Lord; there was no more spirit in her. And she said to the king: "It was a true report that I heard in mine own land of thy acts and of thy wisdom. Howbeit I believed not the words, until I came, and mine eyes had seen it and behold, the half was not told me: thy wisdom and prosperity exceedeth the fame which I heard. Happy are thy wives! happy are these thy servants, which stand continually before thee, and that hear thy wisdom! Blessed be the Lord thy God, which delighted in thee, to set thee on the throne of Israel! because the Lord loved Israel for ever, therefore made he thee king, to do judgment and justice." And she gave the king an hundred and twenty talents of gold, and of spices very great store, and precious stones: there came no more such abundance of spices as these which the queen of Sheba gave to king Solomon. And king Solomon gave unto the queen of Sheba all her desire, whatsoever she asked, beside that which Solomon gave her of his royal bounty. So she turned and went to her own country, she and her servants.

Solomon's Apostasy (1 Kings xi. 1-13). But king Solomon loved many strange women, together with the daughter of Pharaoh, women of the Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Zidonians, and Hittites; of the nations concerning which the Lord said unto the children of Israel: "Ye shall not go in to them, neither shall they come in unto you: for surely they will turn away your heart after their gods; " Solomon clave unto these in love. And he had seven hundred wives, princesses, and three hundred concubines:1 and it came to pass, when Solomon was old, that his wives turned away his heart after other gods: and his heart was not perfect with the Lord his God, as was the heart of David his father. For Solomon went after Ashtoreth the goddess of the Zidonians, and after Milcom the god of the Ammonites. Then did Solomon build an high place for Chemosh, the god of Moab, in the hill that is before Jerusalem, and for Molech, the god of the children of Ammon. And likewise did he

1 Many of Solomon's marriages were doubtless for political alliance, which would involve a mutual recognition of gods between the allied peoples. The proportion of wives to concubines would be more in accord with custom, if we read (with Klostermann) "seventy wives and three hundred concubines," although even then the concubines must have been reckoned as including all the female slaves of the harem.

for all his strange wives, burning incense and sacrificing unto their gods. Wherefore the Lord said unto Solomon: "Forasmuch as this is done of thee, and thou hast not kept my covenant and my statutes, which I have commanded thee, I will surely rend the kingdom from thee, and will give it to thy servant. Notwithstanding in thy days I will not do it, for David thy father's sake: but I will rend it out of the hand of thy son. Howbeit I will not rend away all the kingdom; but will give one tribe to thy son for David my servant's sake, and for Jerusalem's sake which I have chosen."

Solomon's Enemies and Death (1 Kings xi. 14-31, 40–43). And the Lord stirred up an adversary unto Solomon, Hadad the Edomite he was of the king's seed in Edom. For it came to pass, when David was in Edom, and Joab the captain of the host was gone up to bury the slain, after he had smitten every male in Edom (for six months did Joab remain there with all Israel, until he had cut off every male in Edom); that Hadad fled, he and certain Edomites of his father's servants with him, to go into Egypt; Hadad being yet a little child. And they arose out of Midian, and came to Paran: and they took men with them out of Paran, and they came to Egypt, unto Pharaoh king of Egypt; which gave him an house, and appointed him victuals, and gave him land. And Hadad found great favor in the sight of Pharaoh, so that he gave him to wife the sister of his own wife, the sister of Tahpenes the queen. And the sister of Tahpenes bare him Genubath his son, whom Tahpenes weaned in Pharaoh's house: and Genubath was in Pharaoh's household among the sons of Pharaoh. And when Hadad heard in Egypt that David slept with his fathers, and that Joab the captain of the host was dead, Hadad said to Pharaoh: "Let me depart, that I may go to mine own country." Then Pharaoh said unto him: "But what hast thou lacked with me, that behold, thou seekest to go to thine own country?" And he answered: "Nothing: howbeit let me go in any wise." This is the evil that Hadad did; and he abhorred Israel, and reigned in Edom.

And God stirred him up another adversary, Rezon the son of Eliadah, which fled from his lord Hadadezer king of Zobah: and he gathered men unto him, and became captain over a band. And they went to Damascus, and dwelt therein, and reigned in