Discovery Box1 Kings 9:1--11:13
Context9:1 After Solomon finished building the Lord’s temple, the royal palace, and all the other construction projects he had planned, 1 9:2 the Lord appeared to Solomon a second time, in the same way he had appeared to him at Gibeon. 2 9:3 The Lord said to him, “I have answered 3 your prayer and your request for help that you made to me. I have consecrated this temple you built by making it my permanent home; 4 I will be constantly present there. 5 9:4 You must serve me with integrity and sincerity, just as your father David did. Do everything I commanded and obey my rules and regulations. 6 9:5 Then I will allow your dynasty to rule over Israel permanently, 7 just as I promised your father David, ‘You will not fail to have a successor on the throne of Israel.’ 8
9:6 “But if you or your sons ever turn away from me, fail to obey the regulations and rules I instructed you to keep, 9 and decide to serve and worship other gods, 10 9:7 then I will remove Israel from the land 11 I have given them, I will abandon this temple I have consecrated with my presence, 12 and Israel will be mocked and ridiculed 13 among all the nations. 9:8 This temple will become a heap of ruins; 14 everyone who passes by it will be shocked and will hiss out their scorn, 15 saying, ‘Why did the Lord do this to this land and this temple?’ 9:9 Others will then answer, 16 ‘Because they abandoned the Lord their God, who led their ancestors 17 out of Egypt. They embraced other gods whom they worshiped and served. 18 That is why the Lord has brought all this disaster down on them.’”
9:10 After twenty years, during which Solomon built the Lord’s temple and the royal palace, 19 9:11 King Solomon gave King Hiram of Tyre 20 twenty cities in the region of Galilee, because Hiram had supplied Solomon with cedars, evergreens, and all the gold he wanted. 9:12 When Hiram went out from Tyre to inspect the cities Solomon had given him, he was not pleased with them. 21 9:13 Hiram asked, 22 “Why did you give me these cities, my friend 23 ?” He called that area the region of Cabul, a name which it has retained to this day. 24 9:14 Hiram had sent to the king one hundred twenty talents 25 of gold.
9:15 Here are the details concerning the work crews 26 King Solomon conscripted 27 to build the Lord’s temple, his palace, the terrace, the wall of Jerusalem, 28 and the cities of 29 Hazor, 30 Megiddo, 31 and Gezer. 9:16 (Pharaoh, king of Egypt, had attacked and captured Gezer. He burned it and killed the Canaanites who lived in the city. He gave it as a wedding present to his daughter, who had married Solomon.) 9:17 Solomon built up Gezer, lower Beth Horon, 9:18 Baalath, Tadmor in the wilderness, 32 9:19 all the storage cities that belonged to him, 33 and the cities where chariots and horses were kept. 34 He built whatever he wanted in Jerusalem, Lebanon, and throughout his entire kingdom. 35 9:20 Now several non-Israelite peoples were left in the land after the conquest of Joshua, including the Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites. 36 9:21 Their descendants remained in the land (the Israelites were unable to wipe them out completely). Solomon conscripted them for his work crews, and they continue in that role to this very day. 37 9:22 Solomon did not assign Israelites to these work crews; 38 the Israelites served as his soldiers, attendants, officers, charioteers, and commanders of his chariot forces. 39 9:23 These men were also in charge of Solomon’s work projects; there were a total of 550 men who supervised the workers. 40 9:24 Solomon built the terrace as soon as Pharaoh’s daughter moved up from the city of David 41 to the palace Solomon built for her. 42
9:25 Three times a year Solomon offered burnt offerings and peace offerings 43 on the altar he had built for the Lord, burning incense along with them before the Lord. He made the temple his official worship place. 44
9:26 King Solomon also built ships 45 in Ezion Geber, which is located near Elat in the land of Edom, on the shore of the Red Sea. 9:27 Hiram sent his fleet and some of his sailors, who were well acquainted with the sea, to serve with Solomon’s men. 46 9:28 They sailed 47 to Ophir, took from there four hundred twenty talents 48 of gold, and then brought them to King Solomon.
10:1 When the queen of Sheba heard about Solomon, 49 she came to challenge 50 him with difficult questions. 51 10:2 She arrived in Jerusalem 52 with a great display of pomp, 53 bringing with her camels carrying spices, 54 a very large quantity of gold, and precious gems. She visited Solomon and discussed with him everything that was on her mind. 10:3 Solomon answered all her questions; there was no question too complex for the king. 55 10:4 When the queen of Sheba saw for herself Solomon’s extensive wisdom, 56 the palace 57 he had built, 10:5 the food in his banquet hall, 58 his servants and attendants, 59 their robes, his cupbearers, and his burnt offerings which he presented in the Lord’s temple, she was amazed. 60 10:6 She said to the king, “The report I heard in my own country about your wise sayings and insight 61 was true! 10:7 I did not believe these things until I came and saw them with my own eyes. Indeed, I didn’t hear even half the story! 62 Your wisdom and wealth 63 surpass what was reported to me. 10:8 Your attendants, who stand before you at all times and hear your wise sayings, are truly happy! 64 10:9 May the Lord your God be praised because he favored 65 you by placing you on the throne of Israel! Because of the Lord’s eternal love for Israel, he made you king so you could make just and right decisions.” 66 10:10 She gave the king 120 talents 67 of gold, a very large quantity of spices, and precious gems. The quantity of spices the queen of Sheba gave King Solomon has never been matched. 68 10:11 (Hiram’s fleet, which carried gold from Ophir, also brought from Ophir a very large quantity of fine timber and precious gems. 10:12 With the timber the king made supports 69 for the Lord’s temple and for the royal palace and stringed instruments 70 for the musicians. No one has seen so much of this fine timber to this very day. 71 ) 10:13 King Solomon gave the queen of Sheba everything she requested, besides what he had freely offered her. 72 Then she left and returned 73 to her homeland with her attendants.
10:14 Solomon received 666 talents 74 of gold per year, 75 10:15 besides what he collected from the merchants, 76 traders, Arabian kings, and governors of the land. 10:16 King Solomon made two hundred large shields of hammered gold; 600 measures 77 of gold were used for each shield. 10:17 He also made three hundred small shields of hammered gold; three minas 78 of gold were used for each of these shields. The king placed them in the Palace of the Lebanon Forest. 79
10:18 The king made a large throne decorated with ivory and overlaid it with pure gold. 10:19 There were six steps leading up to the throne, and the back of it was rounded on top. The throne had two armrests with a statue of a lion standing on each side. 80 10:20 There were twelve statues of lions on the six steps, one lion at each end of each step. There was nothing like it in any other kingdom. 81
10:21 All of King Solomon’s cups were made of gold, and all the household items in the Palace of the Lebanon Forest were made of pure gold. There were no silver items, for silver was not considered very valuable in Solomon’s time. 82 10:22 Along with Hiram’s fleet, the king had a fleet of large merchant ships 83 that sailed the sea. Once every three years the fleet 84 came into port with cargoes of 85 gold, silver, ivory, apes, and peacocks. 86
10:23 King Solomon was wealthier and wiser than any of the kings of the earth. 87 10:24 Everyone 88 in the world wanted to visit Solomon to see him display his God-given wisdom. 89 10:25 Year after year visitors brought their gifts, which included items of silver, items of gold, clothes, perfume, spices, horses, and mules. 90
10:26 Solomon accumulated 91 chariots and horses. He had 1,400 chariots and 12,000 horses. He kept them in assigned cities and in Jerusalem. 92 10:27 The king made silver as plentiful 93 in Jerusalem as stones; cedar was 94 as plentiful as sycamore fig trees are in the lowlands. 95 10:28 Solomon acquired his horses from Egypt 96 and from Que; the king’s traders purchased them from Que. 10:29 They paid 600 silver pieces for each chariot from Egypt and 150 silver pieces for each horse. They also sold chariots and horses to all the kings of the Hittites and to the kings of Syria. 97
11:1 King Solomon fell in love with many foreign women (besides Pharaoh’s daughter), including Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Sidonians, and Hittites. 11:2 They came from nations about which the Lord had warned the Israelites, “You must not establish friendly relations with them! 98 If you do, they will surely shift your allegiance to their gods.” 99 But Solomon was irresistibly attracted to them. 100
11:3 He had 700 royal wives 101 and 300 concubines; 102 his wives had a powerful influence over him. 103 11:4 When Solomon became old, his wives shifted his allegiance to 104 other gods; he was not wholeheartedly devoted to the Lord his God, as his father David had been. 105 11:5 Solomon worshiped 106 the Sidonian goddess Astarte and the detestable Ammonite god Milcom. 107 11:6 Solomon did evil in the Lord’s sight; 108 he did not remain loyal to 109 the Lord, like his father David had. 11:7 Furthermore, 110 on the hill east of Jerusalem 111 Solomon built a high place 112 for the detestable Moabite god Chemosh 113 and for the detestable Ammonite god Milcom. 114 11:8 He built high places for all his foreign wives so they could burn incense and make sacrifices to their gods. 115
11:9 The Lord was angry with Solomon because he had shifted his allegiance 116 away from the Lord, the God of Israel, who had appeared to him on two occasions 117 11:10 and had warned him about this very thing, so that he would not follow other gods. 118 But he did not obey 119 the Lord’s command. 11:11 So the Lord said to Solomon, “Because you insist on doing these things and have not kept the covenantal rules I gave you, 120 I will surely tear the kingdom away from you and give it to your servant. 11:12 However, for your father David’s sake I will not do this while you are alive. I will tear it away from your son’s hand instead. 11:13 But I will not tear away the entire kingdom; I will leave 121 your son one tribe for my servant David’s sake and for the sake of my chosen city Jerusalem.”
[9:1] 1 tn Heb “and all the desire of Solomon which he wanted to do.”
[9:2] 2 sn In the same way he had appeared to him at Gibeon. See 1 Kgs 3:5.
[9:3] 3 tn Heb “I have heard.”
[9:3] 4 tn Heb “by placing my name there perpetually” (or perhaps, “forever”).
[9:3] 5 tn Heb “and my eyes and my heart will be there all the days.”
[9:4] 6 tn Heb “As for you, if you walk before me, as David your father walked, in integrity of heart and in uprightness, by doing all which I commanded you, [and] you keep my rules and my regulations.” Verse 4 is actually a lengthy protasis (“if” section) of a conditional sentence, the apodosis (“then” section) of which appears in v. 5.
[9:5] 7 tn Heb “I will establish the throne of your kingdom over Israel forever.”
[9:5] 8 tn Heb “there will not be cut off from you a man from upon the throne of Israel.”
[9:6] 9 tn Heb “which I placed before you.”
[9:6] 10 tn Heb “and walk and serve other gods and bow down to them.”
[9:7] 11 tn Heb “I will cut off Israel from upon the surface of the land.”
[9:7] 12 tn Heb “and the temple which I consecrated for my name I will send away from before my face.”
[9:7] 13 tn Heb “will become a proverb and a taunt,” that is, a proverbial example of destruction and an object of reproach.
[9:8] 14 tn Heb “and this house will be high [or elevated].” The statement makes little sense in this context, which predicts the desolation that judgment will bring. Some treat the clause as concessive, “Even though this temple is lofty [now].” Others, following the lead of several ancient versions, emend the text to, “this temple will become a heap of ruins.”
[9:8] 15 tn Heb “hiss,” or perhaps “whistle.” This refers to a derisive sound one would make when taunting an object of ridicule.
[9:9] 16 tn Heb “and they will say.”
[9:9] 18 tn Heb “and they took hold of other gods and bowed down to them and served them.”
[9:10] 19 tn Heb “the two houses, the house of the
[9:11] 20 map For location see Map1 A2; Map2 G2; Map4 A1; JP3 F3; JP4 F3.
[9:12] 21 tn Heb “they were not agreeable in his eyes.”
[9:13] 22 tn Heb “and he said.”
[9:13] 23 tn Heb “my brother.” Kings allied through a parity treaty would sometimes address each other as “my brother.” See 1 Kgs 20:32-33.
[9:13] 24 tn Heb “he called them the land of Cabul to this day.” The significance of the name is unclear, though it appears to be disparaging. The name may be derived from a root, attested in Akkadian and Arabic, meaning “bound” or “restricted.” Some propose a wordplay, pointing out that the name “Cabul” sounds like a Hebrew phrase meaning, “like not,” or “as good as nothing.”
[9:14] 25 tn The Hebrew term כִּכָּר (kikkar, “circle”) refers generally to something that is round. When used of metals it can refer to a disk-shaped weight made of the metal or to a standard unit of weight, generally regarded as a talent. Since the accepted weight for a talent of metal is about 75 pounds, this would have amounted to about 9,000 pounds of gold (cf. NCV, NLT); CEV “five tons”; TEV “4,000 kilogrammes.”
[9:15] 26 sn The work crews. This Hebrew word מַס (mas) refers to a group of laborers conscripted for royal or public service.
[9:15] 28 map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
[9:15] 29 tn The words “the cities of” are supplied in the translation for clarification.
[9:15] 30 map For location see Map1 D2; Map2 D3; Map3 A2; Map4 C1.
[9:15] 31 map For location see Map1 D4; Map2 C1; Map4 C2; Map5 F2; Map7 B1.
[9:18] 32 tn The Hebrew text has “in the wilderness, in the land.”
[9:19] 33 tn Heb “to Solomon.” The proper name has been replaced by the pronoun (“him”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[9:19] 34 tn Heb “the cities of the chariots and the cities of the horses.”
[9:19] 35 tn Heb “and the desire of Solomon which he desired to build in Jerusalem and in Lebanon and in all the land of his kingdom.”
[9:20] 36 tn Heb “all the people who were left from the Amorites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, who were not from the sons of Israel.”
[9:21] 37 tn Heb “their sons who were left after them in the land, whom the sons of Israel were unable to wipe out, and Solomon raised them up for a crew of labor to this day.”
[9:22] 38 sn These work crews. The work crews referred to here must be different than the temporary crews described in 5:13-16.
[9:22] 39 tn Heb “officers of his chariots and his horses.”
[9:23] 40 tn Heb “these [were] the officials of the governors who were over the work belonging to Solomon, five hundred fifty, the ones ruling over the people, the ones doing the work.”
[9:24] 41 sn The phrase city of David refers here to the fortress of Zion in Jerusalem, not to Bethlehem. See 2 Sam 5:7.
[9:24] 42 tn Heb “As soon as Pharaoh’s daughter went up from the city of David to her house which he built for her, then he built the terrace.”
[9:25] 43 tn Or “tokens of peace”; NIV, TEV “fellowship offerings.”
[9:25] 44 tn Heb “and he made complete the house.”
[9:26] 45 tn Or “a fleet” (in which case “ships” would be implied).
[9:27] 46 tn Heb “and Hiram sent with the fleet his servants, men of ships, [who] know the sea, [to be] with the servants of Solomon.”
[9:28] 48 tn The Hebrew term כִּכָּר (kikkar, “circle”) refers generally to something that is round. When used of metals it can refer to a disk-shaped weight made of the metal or to a standard unit of weight, generally regarded as a talent. Since the accepted weight for a talent of metal is about 75 pounds, this would have amounted to about 31,500 pounds of gold (cf. NCV); CEV, NLT “sixteen tons”; TEV “more than 14,000 kilogrammes.”
[10:1] 49 tn Heb “the report about Solomon.” The Hebrew text also has, “to the name of the
[10:2] 52 map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
[10:2] 53 tn 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.
[10:3] 55 tn Heb “Solomon declared to her all her words; there was not a word hidden from the king which he did not declare to her.” If riddles are specifically in view (see v. 1), then one might translate, “Solomon explained to her all her riddles; there was no riddle too complex for the king.”
[10:4] 56 tn Heb “all the wisdom of Solomon.”
[10:5] 58 tn Heb “the food on his table.”
[10:5] 59 tn Heb “the seating of his servants and the standing of his attendants.”
[10:5] 60 tn Heb “there was no breath still in her.”
[10:6] 61 tn Heb “about your words [or perhaps, “deeds”] and your wisdom.”
[10:7] 62 tn Heb “the half was not told to me.”
[10:8] 64 tn Heb “How happy are your men! How happy are these servants of yours, who stand before you continually, who hear your wisdom!”
[10:9] 65 tn Or “delighted in.”
[10:9] 66 tn Heb “to do justice and righteousness.”
[10:10] 67 tn The Hebrew term כִּכָּר (kikkar, “circle”) refers generally to something that is round. When used of metals it can refer to a disk-shaped weight made of the metal or to a standard unit of weight, generally regarded as a talent. Since the accepted weight for a talent of metal is about 75 pounds, this would have amounted to about 9,000 pounds of gold (cf. NCV, NLT); CEV “five tons”; TEV “4,000 kilogrammes.”
[10:10] 68 tn Heb “there has not come like those spices yet for quantity which the queen of Sheba gave to King Solomon.”
[10:12] 69 tn This Hebrew architectural term occurs only here. The meaning is uncertain; some have suggested “banisters” or “parapets”; cf. TEV, NLT “railings.” The parallel passage in 2 Chr 9:11 has a different word, meaning “tracks,” or perhaps “steps.”
[10:12] 70 tn Two types of stringed instruments are specifically mentioned, the כִּנּוֹר (kinnor, “zither” [?]), and נֶבֶל (nevel, “harp”).
[10:12] 71 tn Heb “there has not come thus, the fine timber, and there has not been seen to this day.”
[10:13] 72 tn Heb “besides what he had given her according to the hand of King Solomon.”
[10:13] 73 tn Heb “turned and went.”
[10:14] 74 tn The Hebrew term כִּכָּר (kikkar, “circle”) refers generally to something that is round. When used of metals it can refer to a disk-shaped weight made of the metal or to a standard unit of weight, generally regarded as a talent. Since the accepted weight for a talent of metal is about 75 pounds, this would have amounted to about 50,000 pounds of gold (cf. NCV); CEV, NLT “twenty-five tons”; TEV “almost 23,000 kilogrammes.”
[10:14] 75 tn Heb “the weight of the gold which came to Solomon in one year was 666 talents of gold.”
[10:15] 76 tn Heb “traveling men.”
[10:16] 77 tn The Hebrew text has simply “six hundred,” with no unit of measure given.
[10:17] 78 sn Three minas. The mina was a unit of measure for weight.
[10:17] 79 sn The Palace of the Lebanon Forest. This name was appropriate because of the large amount of cedar, undoubtedly brought from Lebanon, used in its construction. The cedar pillars in the palace must have given it the appearance of a forest.
[10:19] 80 tn Heb “[There were] armrests on each side of the place of the seat, and two lions standing beside the armrests.”
[10:20] 81 tn Heb “nothing like it had been made for all the kingdoms.”
[10:21] 82 tn Heb “there was no silver, it was not regarded as anything in the days of Solomon.”
[10:22] 83 tn Heb “a fleet of Tarshish [ships].” This probably refers to large ships either made in or capable of traveling to the distant western port of Tarshish.
[10:22] 84 tn Heb “the fleet of Tarshish [ships].”
[10:22] 85 tn Heb “came carrying.”
[10:22] 86 tn The meaning of this word is unclear. Some suggest “baboons.”
[10:23] 87 tn Heb “King Solomon was greater than all the kings of the earth with respect to wealth and with respect to wisdom.”
[10:24] 88 tc The Old Greek translation and Syriac Peshitta have “all the kings of the earth.” See 2 Chr 9:23.
[10:24] 89 tn Heb “and all the earth was seeking the face of Solomon to hear his wisdom which God had placed in his heart.”
[10:25] 90 tn Heb “and they were bringing each one his gift, items of silver…and mules, the matter of a year in a year.”
[10:26] 92 tn Heb “he placed them in the chariot cities and with the king in Jerusalem.”
[10:27] 93 tn The words “as plentiful” are added for clarification.
[10:27] 95 tn Heb “as the sycamore fig trees which are in the Shephelah.”
[10:28] 96 sn From Egypt. Because Que is also mentioned, some prefer to see in vv. 28-29 a reference to Mutsur. Que and Mutsur were located in Cilicia/Cappadocia (in modern southern Turkey). See HALOT 625 s.v. מִצְרַיִם.
[10:29] 97 tn Heb “and a chariot went up and came out of Egypt for six hundred silver [pieces], and a horse for one hundred fifty, and in the same way to all the kings of the Hittites and to the kings of Aram by their hand they brought out.”
[11:2] 98 tn Heb “you must not go into them, and they must not go into you.”
[11:2] 99 tn Heb “Surely they will bend your heart after their gods.” The words “if you do” are supplied in the translation for clarification.
[11:2] 100 tn Heb “Solomon clung to them for love.” The pronominal suffix, translated “them,” is masculine here, even though it appears the foreign women are in view. Perhaps this is due to attraction to the masculine forms used of the nations earlier in the verse.
[11:3] 101 tn Heb “wives, princesses.”
[11:3] 102 sn Concubines were slave women in ancient Near Eastern societies who were the legal property of their master, but who could have legitimate sexual relations with their master. A concubine’s status was more elevated than a mere servant, but she was not free and did not have the legal rights of a free wife. The children of a concubine could, in some instances, become equal heirs with the children of the free wife. The usage in the present passage suggests that after the period of the Judges concubines may have become more of a royal prerogative (cf. also 2 Sam 21:10-14).
[11:3] 103 tn Heb “his wives bent his heart.”
[11:4] 104 tn Heb “bent his heart after.”
[11:4] 105 tn Heb “his heart was not complete with the
[11:5] 106 tn Heb “walked after.”
[11:5] 107 tn Heb “Milcom, the detestable thing of the Ammonites.”
[11:6] 108 tn Heb “in the eyes of the
[11:6] 109 tn The idiomatic statement reads in Hebrew, “he did not fill up after.”
[11:7] 111 sn The hill east of Jerusalem refers to the Mount of Olives.
[11:7] 112 sn A high place. The “high places” were places of worship that were naturally or artificially elevated (see 1 Kgs 3:2).
[11:7] 113 tn Heb “Chemosh, the detestable thing of Moab.”
[11:7] 114 tc The MT reads “Molech,” but Milcom must be intended (see vv. 5, 33).
[11:8] 115 tn Heb “and the same thing he did for all his foreign wives, [who] were burning incense and sacrificing to their gods.”
[11:9] 116 tn Heb “bent his heart.”
[11:9] 117 sn These two occasions are mentioned in 1 Kgs 3:5 and 9:2.
[11:10] 118 tn Heb “and had commanded him concerning this thing not to walk after other gods.”
[11:11] 120 tn Heb “Because this is with you, and you have not kept my covenant and my rules which I commanded you.”
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