1 Kings 3:1

The Lord Gives Solomon Wisdom

3:1 Solomon made an alliance by marriage with Pharaoh, king of Egypt; he married Pharaoh’s daughter. He brought her to the City of David¹ until he could finish building his residence and the temple of the Lord and the wall around Jerusalem.²

1 Kings 3:15

3:15 Solomon then woke up and realized it was a dream.³ He went to Jerusalem, stood before the ark of the Lord’s covenant, offered up burnt sacrifices, presented peace offerings,⁴ and held a feast for all his servants.

1 Kings 8:1

Solomon Moves the Ark into the Temple

8:1 ⁵Then Solomon convened in Jerusalem⁶ Israel’s elders, all the leaders of the Israelite tribes and families, so they could witness the transferal of the ark of the Lord’s covenant from the city of David (that is, Zion).⁷

1 Kings 9:15

9:15 Here are the details concerning the work crews⁸ King Solomon conscripted⁹ to build the Lord’s temple, his palace, the terrace, the wall of Jerusalem,¹⁰ and the cities of¹¹ Hazor,¹² Megiddo,¹³ and Gezer.

1 Kings 9:19

9:19 all the storage cities that belonged to him,¹⁴ and the cities where chariots and horses were kept.¹⁵ He built whatever he wanted in Jerusalem, Lebanon, and throughout his entire kingdom.¹⁶

1 Kings 10:2

10:2 She arrived in Jerusalem¹⁷ with a great display of pomp,¹⁸ bringing with her camels carrying spices,¹⁹ a very large quantity of gold, and precious gems. She visited Solomon and discussed with him everything that was on her mind.

1 Kings 10:26

10:26 Solomon accumulated²⁰ chariots and horses. He had 1,400 chariots and 12,000 horses. He kept them in assigned cities and in Jerusalem.²¹

1 Kings 11:29

11:29 At that time, when Jeroboam had left Jerusalem, the prophet Ahijah the Shilonite met him on the road; the two of them were alone in the open country. Ahijah²² was wearing a brand new robe,

1 Kings 11:36

11:36 I will leave²³ his son one tribe so my servant David’s dynasty may continue to serve me²⁴ in Jerusalem, the city I have chosen as my home.²⁵

1 Kings 12:18

12:18 King Rehoboam sent Adoniram,²⁶ the supervisor of the work crews,²⁷ out after them, but all Israel stoned him to death. King Rehoboam managed to jump into his chariot and escape to Jerusalem.²⁸

1 Kings 12:21

12:21 When Rehoboam arrived in Jerusalem, he summoned 180,000 skilled warriors from all of Judah and the tribe of Benjamin²⁹ to attack Israel and restore the kingdom to Rehoboam son of Solomon.

1 Kings 12:27-28

12:27 If these people go up to offer sacrifices in the Lord’s temple in Jerusalem,³⁰ their loyalty could shift to their former master,³¹ King Rehoboam of Judah. They might kill me and return to King Rehoboam of Judah.” 12:28 After the king had consulted with his advisers,³² he made two golden calves. Then he said to the people,³³ “It is too much trouble for you to go up to Jerusalem. Look, Israel, here are your gods who brought you up from the land of Egypt.”

¹sn The phrase City of David refers here to the fortress of Zion in Jerusalem, not to Bethlehem. See 2 Sam 5:7.

²map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.

³tn Heb “and look, a dream.”

⁴tn Or “tokens of peace”; NIV, TEV “fellowship offerings.”

⁵tc The Old Greek translation includes the following words at the beginning of ch. 8: “It so happened that when Solomon finished building the Lord’s temple and his own house, after twenty years.”

⁶map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.

⁷tn Heb “Then Solomon convened the elders of Israel, the heads of the tribes, the chiefs of the fathers belonging to the sons of Israel to King Solomon [in] Jerusalem to bring up the ark of the covenant of the Lord from the city of David (it is Zion).”

⁷sn The work crews. This Hebrew word מַס (mas) refers to a group of laborers conscripted for royal or public service.

⁸tn Heb “raised up.”

⁹map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.

¹⁰tn The words “the cities of” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

¹¹map For location see Map1-D2; Map2-D3; Map3-A2; Map4-C1.

¹²map For location see Map1-D4; Map2-C1; Map4-C2; Map5-F2; Map7-B1.

⁹tn Heb “to Solomon.” The proper name has been replaced by the pronoun (“him”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.

¹⁰tn Heb “the cities of the chariots and the cities of the horses.”

¹¹tn Heb “and the desire of Solomon which he desired to build in Jerusalem and in Lebanon and in all the land of his kingdom.”

¹¹map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.

¹²tn Heb “with very great strength.” The Hebrew term חַיִל (khayil, “strength”) may refer here to the size of her retinue (cf. NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV) or to the great wealth she brought with her.

¹³tn Or “balsam oil.”

¹³tn Or “gathered.”

¹⁴tn Heb “he placed them in the chariot cities and with the king in Jerusalem.”

¹⁵tn The Hebrew text has simply “he,” making it a bit unclear whether Jeroboam or Ahijah is the subject, but in the Hebrew word order Ahijah is the nearer antecedent, and this is followed by the present translation.

¹⁷tn Heb “give.”

¹⁸tn Heb “so there might be a lamp for David my servant all the days before me in Jerusalem.” The metaphorical “lamp” symbolizes the Davidic dynasty. Because this imagery is unfamiliar to the modern reader, the translation “so my servant David’s dynasty may continue to serve me” has been used.

¹⁹tn Heb “so there might be a lamp for David my servant all the days before me in Jerusalem, the city which I have chosen for myself to put my name there.”

¹⁹tc The MT has “Adoram” here, but the Old Greek translation and Syriac Peshitta have “Adoniram.” Cf. 1 Kgs 4:6.

²⁰sn The work crews. See the note on this expression in 4:6.

²¹map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.

²¹tn Heb “he summoned all the house of Judah and the tribe of Benjamin, one hundred eighty thousand chosen men, accomplished in war.”

²³map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.

²⁴tn Heb “the heart of these people could return to their master.”

²⁵tn The words “with his advisers” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

²⁶tn Heb “to them,” although this may be a corruption of “to the people.” Cf. the Old Greek translation.