The Kings of Israel – 6 / Solomon – 1

Solomon (c. 970/969–931 BCE)

David was occupied chiefly with fighting wars and with expanding his kingdom by both military and political means. Solomon was concerned mainly with consolidating the lands acquired by David and organizing the administration of the kingdom. But before he could turn to this, Solomon had to strengthen his position as king.

Threats to Solomon’s Rule 

 During the first years of his reign, Solomon was confronted first with an internal and then an external threat. As long as Adonijah, David’s oldest surviving son, lived, this apparent Davidic heir was a danger; there was always the possibility that he would present himself as the legitimate successor to David. Solomon seized an early opportunity to rid himself of this threat: Adonijah was executed as soon as he was suspected of scheming against Solomon. David’s powerful general Joab, one of Adonijah’s supporters, was also executed, and Abiathar the priest, another of Adonijah’s chief supporters, was exiled to his own estate in Anathoth (1 Kings 2:13–35). Solomon also put to death Shimei, a supporter of the house of Saul (1 Kings 2:36–46). In this way, the Bible tells us, “the kingdom was established in the hand of Solomon” (1 Kings 2:46).

Outside of Israel, the Egyptian pharaoh, probably Siamun, tried to take advantage of the change in rulers to intervene.  He organized a military expedition that seized and destroyed Gezer (1 Kings 9:16), a destruction that now seems confirmed by archaeological excavations.  Apparently the pharaoh did not go further, however; that is, he did not enter Solomon’s territory. On the contrary, perhaps because he was aware of Solomon’s power, he made an alliance with Solomon  and gave one of his daughters to Solomon as a wife, with the city of Gezer as her dowry (1 Kings 3:1, 7:8, 11:1). Such an unusual marriage reflects Egypt’s weakness at the time.  Perhaps Solomon had promised in return not to attack the Philistine territory, which was, at least theoretically, under Egyptian sovereignty.

Except for the addition of Gezer, Solomon’s kingdom was probably the same as David’s kingdom, at least at the beginning of his reign. No significant change in external policy occurred except, perhaps, a development in commercial relations with Hiram, king of Tyre (1 Kings 5:1–18).

Like David, Solomon entered diplomatic marriages to ensure the fidelity of neighboring kingdoms. He probably married “Naamah the Ammonitess,” whose son later became King Rehoboam (1 Kings 14:21).  According to 1 Kings 4:21 (Old Testament), Solomon, like his father, “ruled over all the kingdoms from the River [the Euphrates] to Philistia, as far as the Egyptian frontier; they were bringing gifts (or tribute) and were subject to him all his life.” But this general assertion needs to be qualified, especially for Philistia  and for Damascus’s kingdom , as well as more generally for northern Syria and the Phoenician coast north of Tyre.

Solomon also reorganized the administration of his kingdom, a task to which he devoted very considerable effort and for which biblical tradition accords him the title “wise” (hakam)—that is to say, he was both a clever politician and a good administrator. Various areas of administrative organization or reorganization can be distinguished.  First was the central government, in which a new royal cabinet was nominated:

And these were his high officials: Azariah the son of Zadok was the priest; Elihoreph and Ahijah the sons of Shisha were secretaries; Jehoshaphat the son of Ahilud was recorder; Benaiah the son of Jehoiada was in command of the army; Zadok and Abiathar were priests;  Azariah the son of Nathan was over the officers; Zabud the son of Nathan was priest and king’s friend; Ahishar was in charge of the palace; and Adoniram the son of Abda was in charge of the forced labor. (1 Kings 4:2–6)

In comparison with David’s royal cabinet (2 Samuel 8:16), Solomon’s appointments reflect a certain continuity, a son often inheriting his father’s position. We can also detect Egyptian influence in the bureaucratic structure.  There are new officials such as the man over the officers/governors, the man in charge of the administration of the palace and the man in charge of the forced labor levy. In general, the bureaucracy became more complex and more pervasive.

Two sons of the prophet Nathan were made members of this cabinet, probably because of the prominent part their father played in the designation of Solomon as king (1 Kings 1:11–38).

Israelite territory now included a number of annexed Canaanite city-states, such as Dor, Megiddo and Beth-Shean. As it expanded, Israel was divided into 12 administrative districts or provinces.  Each province had at its head a prefect or governor appointed by the king. Administration was thus centralized. In 1 Kings 4:8–19 (Old Testament) we find a list of the governors with their territories and principal cities, which presents a good parallel to other ancient Near Eastern administrative lists.  At least two governors married Solomon’s daughters (1 Kings 4:11, 15), another way of centralizing and controlling the government administration.

Each administrative district was required to provide for the king and his palace for one month a year (1 Kings 4:7; 4:27–28 [Old Testament]). This was a heavier economic responsibility than it might at first seem. It included the expenses of maintaining the royal harem, of providing for a number of functionaries and of equipping the army with horses and chariots (1 Kings 4:28 [Old Testament] = 1 Kings 5:8 [Hebrew Bible]). As in David’s reign, the royal treasury also received income from royal properties. Although the royal treasury did not receive as much booty in Solomon’s reign as in David’s, Solomon’s treasury was supplied regularly with tribute from administered territories and from vassal lands (1 Kings 4:21 [Old Testament] = 1 Kings 5:1 [Hebrew Bible]).

Trade and Construction During Solomon’s Reign 

Solomon also developed an important new source of income from the international trade that became so important during his peaceful reign.  The government operated this trade, and the royal treasury profited from it in various ways: Trade with Phoenicia provided timber (cedar and pine) and technical aid (mainly for the construction of Solomon’s official buildings). In exchange, Israel supplied agricultural produce (wheat and olive oil) (1 Kings 5:8–11 [Old Testament] = 1 Kings 5:22–25 [Hebrew Bible]). In cooperation with the Tyrians, Solomon sent trading expeditions to Ophir  through the Red Sea.  These expeditions brought back gold, precious stones and tropical products (almug wood, apes and baboons) (1 Kings 9:26–28, 10:11, 22). Caravans through the Arabian desert returned with spices (1 Kings 10:1–10).

Although Solomon’s reign was comparatively peaceful (David had been almost continually at war), he nevertheless took care to modernize his army.  He equipped it with large numbers of chariots imported from Egypt, for which he imported horses from the kingdom of Que (Cilicia) (1 Kings 10:26–29).  Solomon also built special garrisons in various administrative districts for his chariots and their horses (1 Kings 4:26–28 [Old Testament] = 1 Kings 5:6–8 [Hebrew Bible]; 9:19). Solomon is also famous for his building activities. He constructed a wall around Jerusalem and built three fortified cities, Hazor, Megiddo and Gezer (1 Kings 9:15). These building activities can be related to military defense (see 1 Kings 9:17–18).  Solomon’s public works in Jerusalem were major accomplishments. It took him seven years to build the Temple (1 Kings 6:37–38) and 13 years to build his royal palace (1 Kings 7:1, 9:10). He also built a structure in Jerusalem known as the millo. No one today is certain what the millo was. The most likely suggestion is that it was some kind of terracing, since the word seems to be related to the Hebrew term for “fill.” 

To plan and construct these official buildings, Solomon needed the technical aid of the Phoenicians, who provided assistance not only with the basic architecture and structure, but also with the decoration of the buildings and the acquisition of the raw materials (wood, ivory, gold). These imports were expensive. Indeed, during the second part of his reign, “King Solomon gave to Hiram twenty cities in the land of Galilee” (1 Kings 9:11–13), that is “the Land of Cabul”  (Asher with the rich plain of Acco),  to balance the trade deficit between the two kings. To cast the many bronze objects decorating the Temple and the royal palace, Solomon used his metalworks in the Jordan Valley “between Succoth and Zarethan.” The casting seems to have been supervised by a Phoenician who specialized in bronze craftsmanship (1 Kings 7:13–47). The origin of the metal is not specified, and Solomon’s copper mines—if indeed they existed—have not been found. 

The Bible’s detailed description of Solomon’s public buildings, especially the Temple (1 Kings 5–6), reflects not only the importance of these monuments to the king’s glory but also to the people. Jerusalemites, as well as pilgrims, were no doubt proud to see such achievements, which helped to legitimize the new political organization.  However, to build and maintain them Solomon needed a reservoir of cheap manpower. His solution was the corvée, forced labor required not only of non-Israelite peoples (1 Kings 9:20–21) but of Israelites as well. The statement in 1 Kings 9:22 that “of the people of Israel Solomon made no slaves” seems contradicted by several statements in Kings (1 Kings 5:13–18 [Old Testament] = 1 Kings 6:27–32 [Hebrew Bible]; 11:28; 12:4). The corvée and the conscription of Israelites into Solomon’s army (1 Kings 9:22) were probably the two principal sources of popular dissatisfaction with Solomon’s reign. 

As often happens during long reigns, internal discontent grew in the latter half of Solomon’s rule; at the same time, serious external threats surfaced. The biblical tradition gives us a few hints of the dissension inside Israel, as well as of disturbances in the vassal states (1 Kings 11). 
The text speaks of two foreign adversaries (satan) of Solomon: The first was “Hadad the Edomite [Aramean].” A member of the royal house of Edom (Aram),  Hadad sought refuge in Egypt and even married a sister of the queen (Tahpenes) before trying to go back to his country (1 Kings 11:14–22). The second adversary of Solomon was “Rezon the son of Eliyada,” who fled from his master Hadadezer, king of Zobah, and took to the hills as the chief of a small troop: “They went to Damascus, and dwelt there and made him king in Damascus” (1 Kings 11:23–24). (Actually, as we will discuss below, these two enemies might have been one and the same: “the Aramean Prince/Rezon Hadad son of Eliyada.”)

In Israel itself, internal dissatisfaction led to a revolt spearheaded by Jeroboam, an Ephraimite who had the support of the prophet Ahijah from Shiloh: “Solomon sought therefore to kill Jeroboam; but Jeroboam arose and fled into Egypt, to Shishak king of Egypt and was in Egypt until the death of Solomon” (1 Kings 11:29–40). 

The dissatisfaction with Solomon’s rule probably had many sources, but the biblical tradition insists principally on the people’s objections, based on religious grounds, to Solomon’s many foreign wives.

For when Solomon was old his wives turned away his heart after other gods … He went after Ashtoreh, the goddess of the Sidonians, and after Milcom, the abomination of the Ammonites … Then Solomon built a high place for Chemosh the abomination of Moab, and for Molech (Milcom)  the abomination of the Ammonites, on the mountain.  east of Jerusalem.(1 Kings 11:4–7)

The biblical account of Solomon’s reign closes by again mentioning the wisdom of Solomon (1 Kings 11:41; see previously 1 Kings 4:29–34 [Old Testament] = 1 Kings 5:9–14 [Hebrew Bible] and 1 Kings 10:1–13) and by fixing the length of his reign at 40 years (1 Kings 11:42).