Chapter XVI: Part ONE

The reign of Sol'o-mon may be regarded as the culminating period in the history of Is'ra-el. But, strictly speaking, the latter part of Da'vid's reign and only the former part of Sol'o-mon's constitute "the golden age of Is'ra-el"; for Sol'o-mon's later years manifested a decline, which after his death rapidly grew to a fall.

I. =Sol'o-mon's Empire= embraced all the lands from the Red Sea to the Eu-phra'tes, and from the Med-i-ter-ra'ne-an to the Syr'i-an desert, except Phoe-ni'cia, which was isolated by the Leb'a-non mountains. 1. Besides Pal'es-tine, he ruled over E'dom, Mo'ab, Am'mon, Syr'i-a (here referring to the district having Da-mas'cus as its capital), Zo'bah, and Ha'math. 2. On the Gulf of Ak'a-ba, E'zi-on-ge'ber was his southern port (1 Kings 9. 26); on the Med-i-ter-ra'ne-an, Ga'za (Az'zah) was his limit; in the extreme north, Tiph'sah, by the Eu-phra'tes (1 Kings 4. 24); in the desert, Tad'mor, afterward Pal-my'ra (1 Kings 9. 18).

II. =His Foreign Relations= were extensive, for the first and only time in the history of Is'ra-el. 1. His earliest treaty was _with Tyre_ (Phoe-ni'cia), whose king had been his father's friend (1 Kings 5. 1). (What this alliance brought to Sol'o-mon see 1 Kings 5. 6-10; 2 Chron. 2. 3-14.) 2. His relations _with E'gypt_: in commerce (1 Kings 10. 28, 29); in marriage, a bold departure from Is'ra-el-ite customs (1 Kings 3. 1). Perhaps Psalm 45 was written upon this event. 3. _With A-ra'bi-a_, the land bordering on the southern end of the Red Sea (1 Kings 10. 1-10, 14. 15). 4. _With the Far East_, perhaps India, referred to in 1 Kings 9. 21-28. 5. _With the West_, perhaps as far as Spain, the Tar'shish of 1 Kings 10. 22.

III. =His Buildings.= No king of Is'ra-el ever built so many and so great public works as did Sol'o-mon. Among these are named:

1. _The temple_, on Mount Mo-ri'ah, to be described later.

(According to Stade.)

"Reprinted from Kent's History of the Hebrew People, from the Settlement in Canaan to the Division of the Kingdom. Copyrighted, 1896, by Charles Scribner's Sons."]

2. _His own palace_, south of the temple precincts, on the slope of O'phel and Mo-ri'ah. This consisted of several buildings, as follows: 1.) The House of the Forest of Leb'a-non, so called because of its many columns of cedar; this was the forecourt, or entrance. 2.) The Porch to the Palace. 3.) The Throne Hall. 4.) The King's Palace. 5.) The Queen's Palace, or Harem.

3. _His fortified cities_, forming a cordon around his kingdom. (See the lists of these in 1 Kings 9. 17-19.)

4. _His aqueducts_, some of which may still be seen (Eccl. 2. 4-6).

IV. But all was not bright in the reign of Sol'o-mon. We must notice also =His Sins=, for they wrought great results of evil in the after years. 1. That which led to all his other sins was his _foreign marriages_ (1 Kings 11. 1-4). These were the natural and inevitable results of his foreign relations, and were probably effected for political reasons as well as to add to the splendor of his court. 2. His _toleration of idolatry_, perhaps actual participation in it (1 Kings 11. 5-8). We cannot overestimate the harm of Sol'o-mon's influence in this direction. At once it allied him with the lower and evil elements in the nation, and lost to him the sympathy of all the earnest souls.[13] 3. Another of Sol'o-mon's sins, not named in Scripture, but referred to in many legends of the East, may have been a _devotion to magical arts_. He appears in Oriental traditions as the great master of forces in the invisible world, engaging in practices forbidden by the law of Mo'ses (Lev. 19. 31; Deut. 18. 10, 11).

Blackboard Outline

I. =Sol. Emp.= Pal. Ed. Mo. Amm. Syr. Zob. Ham. E.-G. G. T. T.
II. =For. Rel.= Ty. Eg. Ar. F. E. W.
III. =Buil.= 1. Tem. 2. Pal. 1.) H. F. L. 2.) P. 3.) T. H. 4.) K. P.
5.) Q. P.
IV. =Sins.= 1. For. mar. 2. Tol. idol. 3. Mag.

Review Questions

What is the reign of Sol'o-mon called? How far is that
a correct title? What lands were included in
Sol'o-mon's empire? What cities were on its
boundaries? With what countries did Sol'o-mon have
treaties and foreign relations? How was Sol'o-mon
connected with the court of E'gypt? What were some of
Sol'o-mon's buildings? Name the various parts of his
palace. What were the sins of Sol'o-mon?