Commentaries and Other Bible Study Helps - Prayer Tents - Prayer Tents

9:10-13 twenty cities in the land of Galilee. The fortress at Rosh Zayit lay in the border area between Israel and Phoenicia at this time. Excavations there have found that spaces between walls have been filled in with wood from the cedars of Lebanon. The site perhaps represents a fortress built by Israel with Phoenician materials and then given to Hiram of Tyre along with 19 other cities (v. 11).

9:10 At the end of twenty years would be c. 946 b.c.

9:11 Hiram king of Tyre was first encountered in 5:1-18, where Solomon's wise dealings with him were described. In one sense 9:10-14 simply confirms the impression gained there, that Hiram is the "junior partner" in his relationship with Solomon. The gold mentioned in v. 11 was not referenced in the agreement struck between the two kings in 5:1-18, but Hiram nevertheless supplied Solomon with as much as he desired. Solomon in turn "rewards" him with twenty cities of dubious worth.

9:13 land of Cabul. The name probably comes from Hebrew kabal, from which is derived the noun kebel ("fetters") that is found in Ps. 149:8, a psalm that celebrates the supremacy of Israel over the nations. Hiram calls the land "fettered" because this word reflects the nature of his relationship with Solomon, as can be seen in his continuing willingness, even though he is displeased, to send men to sea to bring back more treasures for the Israelite king (1 Kings 9:26-28; 10:11-12, 22).

9:14 The references to gold in this Hiram story are only the first of many mentions of this metal in the current section of 1 Kings (cf. v. 28; 10:2, 10-11, 14, 16-18, 21-22, 25). Solomon accumulates gold in extraordinarily large and increasing amounts (120 talents in 9:14; 420 in 9:28; 666 in 10:14; 10:10 is the exception). The gold is indeed collected from more and more exotic places (9:28; 10:22). This emphasis on gold throughout 9:10-10:29 is striking when this section of Kings is compared with the description of Solomon's glory in chs. 4-5. There prosperity is described in terms of food rather than precious metals, and the emphasis lies not on luxury at the royal court but on the way that prosperity was shared with the king's subjects. It is also striking that 9:6-9 has just warned about "turning away from God," and biblical texts associate the accumulation of wealth with apostasy (e.g., Deut. 17:17; Prov. 30:8). God may well have given Solomon riches, but will they lead him astray?

9:15-25 the account of the forced labor. This is another section that refers the reader back to 5:1-18. Here it is clarified that Solomon did not use his task force of 30,000 only for the temple but also for his other building operations, and that it did not include his Israelite subjects (who had other jobs to do), but only Canaanite laborers. The significance of this delayed clarification becomes clear in the authors' associating these Canaanites with Pharaoh's daughter (9:24). She was first introduced (waiting for her palace) in 3:1, using language reminiscent of the Deuteronomic warnings about intermarriage with foreigners (Deut. 7:1-6; precisely those Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites mentioned in 1 Kings 9:20) because of the danger of apostasy. Their appearance here along with Pharaoh's daughter serves to prepare the reader for Solomon's apostasy. He will be seduced by the other gods (11:2), even though he is for the moment an orthodox worshiper in the temple (9:25).

9:15 Excavations at Hazor, Megiddo, and Gezer have revealed extensive building for fortification and government from the Solomonic period. All three sites include four entry gates that are connected to an outer casemate wall system. Megiddo in particular, with its palaces and stables/storehouses, provides a good picture of a Solomonic royal city. the Millo. See note on 2 Sam. 5:9.

9:17-19 A series of fortresses have been discovered in the central Negev, which appear to have been part of a defensive network built during the time of Solomon in the tenth century b.c. Their purpose was to provide a solid line of defense against invasion from the south, particularly from Egypt. The fortresses were occupied for only a short time (50 years at the most).

9:26-28 Many scholars have tried to identify Ezion-geber with the modern Tell el-Kheleifeh, but this site was not settled until the eighth century b.c., at least 200 years after Solomon's time.

10:1 queen of Sheba. Cf. note on 2 Chron. 9:1-9, 12. It is not only gold that arrives from Arabia ("Ophir" in 1 Kings 9:28) but also a queen who comes to test Solomon with hard questions, another theme picked up from earlier in the narrative (cf. the worldwide fame of Solomon in 4:29-34, which attracts foreigners to his court). The ease with which Solomon deals with her questions, combined with her own observation of his wealth, leaves her breathless (10:5).

10:3 there was nothing hidden from the king that he could not explain to her. Solomon's wisdom, given by God, was unprecedented in the entire world, and it amazes this foreign queen (v. 4).

10:8 Happy are your men! Happy are your servants. When the authors of 1-2 Kings described the joyful kingdom back in ch. 4, they stressed the benefits of Solomon's wisdom for all his subjects (4:20, 25). The queen of Sheba, however, refers much more specifically to the blessing that Solomon must be to his court officials. While Solomon's wisdom and wealth are still remarkable, and are still evidence of God's abundant blessing, it seems that his great wisdom, wealth, and power have begun to distort his moral judgment in the proper use of these blessings. Chapter 10 as a whole in fact focuses on this benefit that wisdom brings to the royal court, and particularly to Solomon himself, rather than on any benefit that might flow out to the people. The influx of food described in chs. 4-5 has been replaced by an influx of luxury goods (10:2, 10-12, 22, 25).

10:10-13 The queen's gift of 120 talents of gold (9,000 pounds/4,080 kg) is a remarkably large amount, yet in context it does not compare with Solomon's wealth. Solomon was already receiving much more gold than this (notice that her gift is exactly the same size as Hiram's first installment in 9:14, now superseded by his second in 9:28), as well as unparalleled amounts of valuable almug wood. Solomon was a vastly wealthier person than the queen, something that is underlined in 10:13. What she gives to him pales in relation to what he gives to her.

10:14-25 weight of gold. The accumulation of gold continues; it is mentioned no fewer than 11 times in vv. 14, 16-18, 21-22, 25. Solomon decorates his palace with it (v. 16); overlays the finest throne ever seen with it (vv. 18-20); and makes household items with it (v. 21). It arrives in Israel by various means, including ships of Tarshish (v. 22), ships capable of a journey to such a far-flung western port (see Isa. 66:19; Ezek. 27:12-15; Jonah 1:3). These ships are said to have sailed to lands so distant that it took three years to return with their extraordinary cargo.

10:26-29 chariots and horsemen . . . silver. The accumulation of silver and horses, as well as gold, is forbidden by Deut. 17:16-17 (see note on 1 Kings 4:28). The significant addition to the theme here is the detail that Solomon's import of horses was from Egypt (10:28). All but one of the instructions about kingship in Deut. 17:16-17 have thus far been violated by Solomon. That remaining one (he must not take many wives) will be taken up in 1 Kings 11.