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 SOLOMON

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SOLOMON

the Delta. Solomon wedded his daughter; and the Egyptian sovereign, having attacked and burnt Gezer and destroyed the Canaanite inhabitants, bestowed it as a dowry upon the princess. It was now rebuilt and made a fortified city of Solomon. In Jerusalem itself additional defences were constructed, and the capital was further adorned by the erection of the temple and the royal palaces described below. In view of the trade route to the Red Sea, which the possession of the ports of Edom gave to Israel, Tamar (perhaps Haze- zon Tamar) was likewise fortified. Cities had also to be built for the reception and support of the force of chariots and cavalry which the king maintained, and which he seems to have been the first to introduce into the armies of Israel. This force is stated to have consisted of 1400 chariots and 12,000 horsemen (III Kings, X, 26). The numbers of the foot-soldiery are not given, perhaps because, being a militia and not a standing army, it was only mustered when there was occasion for its services; but the levies available were, probably, not inferior to those which the nation could raise at the close of David's reign.

Solomon's foreign policy was one of international friendship and peace. His relation with the Pharaoh of Egypt has already been alluded to, and the same may be said of his relation with his other great neigh- bour, Hiram, King of TjTe, and lord of the Phoenician Riviera which lies between Lebanon and the sea. To him belonged the famous cedar forests, and the no less famous artisans of Gabal were his subjects. Solomon formed with him a commercial treaty, surrendering certain towns on the northern frontier (III Kings, ix, 11) in exchange for floats of timber conveyed to Joppa and skilled workmen lent him for wood-carving, stone- fashioning, and bronze-casting. What Solomon gained by the alliance was knowledge of the Phceni- cian manner of trading. As ruler of Edom he had possession of the port of Eloth, at the head of the Gulf of Akaba. Here he built ships and sent his own ser- vants, under Phcenician masters, to trade with Arabia. The profits went into the king's coffers. As Arabia was a gold-producing country, we need not suppose that South Africa was reached by these fleets. Whether the commerce of India reached him bj' this route is not certain. The list of products imported has sometimes been interpreted in this sense. But one or two obscure words in a comparatively late text can hardly establish the conclusion. The money value of the importations, four hundred and twenty talents in a single voyage, must be viewed with suspicion.

Solomon's internal policy was one of justice and concentration of power and authority. In the ad- ministration of justice David's policy and reign of re- missness and incoherence was improved upon by Solo- mon's stern administration and equanimity. He also took steps to make the royal authority stronger, more efficient, and more far-reaching, chiefly, as far as our records go, with a view to the collection of revenue and the maintenance of an army, which latter, apparently, he did not know how to use. We have a longer list of ministers. David's government included a com- mander-in-chief, a captain of the mercenary guard, a superintendent of forced labour, a recorder, a scribe and priests, and a "king's friend". In addition to these, Solomon had a superintendent of prefects and a master of the household. A more striking innovation was the division of the country into twelve <listricts, each under a royal representative or prefect, charged with the duty of provisioning the Court month by month. This division largely ignored the ancient tribes, and seems to show that the tribal system was passing away. Like most |3owerful rulers, Solomon signalized his reign by iniinerous splendid buildings, and for this purpose made extensive use of the corvee or forced labour. This again led to increased exertion of authority by the central government; and, inci- dentally, the complete subjugation of the Canaanitcs

was shown by the fact that they had to bear the main portion of this burden. According to om- present bib- lical data, Solomon went beyond any ancient monarch in the luxury of the harem. The enormous number of wives (700) and concubines (300) attributed to him must be made up by counting aU the female slaves of the palace among the concubines. Even then the fig- ures must be grossly exaggerated. Klostermann has wisely remarked that the two items are not in the right proportion, and he is inclined, and we think with good reason, to suspect that 70 wives and 300 concubines was the original statement of the sacred narrator.

The building operations of Solomon were on a large scale and of a remarkable magnitude and splendour. Besides the erection of a magnificent temple he suc- ceeded in emulating the great kings of Western Asia and Egypt by building for himself in the city of Jeru- salem, palaces, houses, and gardens. (See Temple OF Jerusalem.) In the erection of these, thirteen years were spent as well as a large sum of money, while thousands of labourers and craftsmen were employed. The royal residence embraced several distinct struc- tures: (1) The house of the forest of Lebanon (so named from the quantity of cedar-wood used in it), which measured 100x50x30 cubits, and rested upon three rows (so Sept.) of piUars (each row being composed of fifteen columns) in addition to the external walls; (2) the porch of pillars, .50x30 cubits; (3) the porch of the throne (to which the last-mentioned may have served as an ante-chamber), forming a judgment hall where the king's throne of ivory and gold (III Kings, x, l.S-20) was placed when he dispensed justice; (4) the king's private palace, surrounded by a court; (.5) the palace of Pharaoh's daughter, probably included within the court just named. All these were built of costly hewn stone, the wood employed being cedar. Of Solomon's closing years nothing further is recorded. His reign is stated to have lasted forty years; but it is probable that this is merely a round number employed to indicate a considerable period (perhaps a full gen- eration) and the actual duration of his rule is un- known. The year of his death may be approximately fixed between 938 and 916 B. c, a date arrived at from a consideration of the number of years assigned by the Bible to his successors, corrected by the chronology of certain Assyrian inscriptions.

In the view of the Hebrew historian, Solomon was unsurpassed for sagacity and knowledge. On his ac- cession to the throne, it is related that Jehovah ap- peared to him at Gibeon in a dream, and bade him choose a boon; and the young king, instead of asking for long life or riches or success in war, prayed to be endowed with an understanding heart that he might judge the people committed to him. His request was granted; and riches and honour were added thereto, with a promise of length of days if he kept Jehovah's commandments. In consequence of this endowment, he was reputed to be wiser than all men; people flocked from all quarters to hear his wisdom; and the Queen of Sheba, in particular, came to prove him with hard questions. He was at once a philospher and a poet. He spake 3000 proverbs; his songs were lOO.i; and his utterances embraced references alike to the vegetable and the animal kingdoms. So great, intieed, was his reputation for practical insight that in later times the bulk of the Hebrew Gnomic literature was ascribed to him. In the light of after-events, it is impossible fully to endorse the historian's estimate of his sagacity, or even to clear his memory from imput.ations of criminal foil}'. To his oppressive exactions, in furtherance of his schemes of luxury and magnificence, was due the fliscoiilent which in the reign of his son broke his kingdom in two, and ultimately led to the destruction in detail of the Hebrew nation by the power of Assyria and Babylon. It is cleur likewise that, besides being fond of display, he was voluptuous and sensual, and