2 S AM U EL 4/ 6

Now think, and decide how I am to answe r him who sends me.' -David said to 14
Gad, 'This is a hard choice. But let us rather fall into the power of Yahweh,
sinc e his merc y is great, an d not int o th e power of men.' ·So David chose IS
pestilence.
It was the time of the whea t ha rvest. Yahweh sen t a pestil ence on Israel from
th e morning till the time appointed and plague rav aged the people, v and from
THE BOOK S OF THE
ExI2 :23+
2K19:35
Dan to Beersheba seventy thousand men of the m died . -The angel stretched out 16
his hand towards Jerus alem to dest roy it, but Yahweh thought better of thi s
evil, and he said to the a ngel who was destroying the peo ple, ' Enough ! N ow KI N G S
withdraw your hand.' The angel of Ya hweh was beside the threshing-floor of
Arauna h the Je bus ite. • ' Wh en David saw the angel who was ravaging the people, 17
THE FIRST BOOK O F T HE K I N G S
he spoke to Ya hweh. 'It wa s I who sinned ;' he said ' I who did this wicked thing.
But the se, this flock , what ha ve the y done? Let you r hand lie heavy on me then,
a nd on my fa mily.' I. THE DA VIDI C S U CC ES S I O N"
IIIC h21 :
18-28
An altar is built David's last days, The intr igues of Adonija h
Go 23:3 Gad went to David that da y and said, 'Go u p and erect an altar to Yahweh 18
King David was a n old man well on in ye.ars and though they laid, coverlets I Ch23:1
on the threshing -floo r of Araunah the Jebusite' . -So at G ad's biddi ng David
went up as Yahweh had ordered him . •When Araunah loo ked down a nd
19
20
1over him he could not keep warm. -S o his servants sa id to him, Let some
you ng girl be found for my lo rd the king, to wait on the king and look afte r him;
saw the king and his officers advancing towards him-Araunah was th reshing 3 she shall lie o n your breast a nd this will keep my lord the king war m' . - Having
the wheat --che ca me forward an d with his face to the ground d id the king searched fo r a beau tiful girl througho ut the territory of Israel , they found Ab ishag
homage. •'Why ha s my lord the king come to his servant ?' Araunah as ked . 21 4 of Shunem a nd broug ht her to the king. -T he girl was of great beauty. She 2 K 4:"
David answered, 'To buy the threshing-floor from you, in or der to build an looked after the king and waited on him but the king had no inte rcourse with her .
altar t o Yahw eh , so th a t th e pla gue may leave the people'. · 'Let my lord the king 22 5 Now Adonijah, Haggith's son , was ambitio us ; he though t he might be king ; 2 S 3:4 _
ta ke it' Ar aunah said to David 'a nd offer up what he thi nks right. Here a re the acco rdingly he procured a cha riot and team with fifty men to run in front of ISS: 11
2 S 15:1
1 S 6:14
II( 19:2 1
oxen for the holocaust, th e thresh ing-sled; and the oxen 's yoke for the woo d . t. him . -At no time in his life had his fa ther ever crossed him by asking, 'Why do you
T he servan t of my lord the kin g gives all this to the king. And' Arauna h said 23 behave like th is?' He was also very ha ndsome; his mot her had given birt h to him
to the king 'may Ya hweh your G od accept yo ur offering.' 7 after Absa lom.• He con ferre d with Joab son of Zeruia h a nd wit h the priest
But th e king said to Araunah, ' N o, I must pa y you mon ey for it ; I will no t 24 " Ab iath ar ' who rallied to Ado nijah 's cause ; -but neither Zadok t he pr iest, nor
offer Ya hweh my God hol ocausts that have cost me no th ing'. So D avid paid Benaia h son of Je hoiada, no r the pro phet Nathan, nor Shimei and his co m-
fifty shekels in silver" for th e threshing-floor a nd oxen .• David built an altar to 25 pa nio ns.r David' s cham pion s. supported Adon ijah.
Yahweh there and offered ho locausts an d co mmu nio n sac rifices. Then Ya hweh On e day when Adon ijah was sacrificing sheep a nd oxen a nd fattened ca lves
21: 14 took pity on the country and the plague was turned away from Israel. at the Slidi ng Sto ne which is beside the Fuller's Spring, he invited all his brothers,
10 the royal princes, an d all th e men of J uda h in the king's service ; • but he did not

invite t he prophet Na tha n, or Benaiah, or t he cha mpio ns, or his brother So lom on .

The intrig ues of Nathan and Bathsheba

II Th en Nat ha n said to Bath sheba, Solomon's mothe r, 'Have you not heard tha t 25 12:2 4

12 unknown to o ur lord Dav id. Ado nijah , Hagg ith 's so n, has become king? •Well,
J this is my ad vice to you if you want to save you r ow n life a nd the life of
" yo ur son So lomon . -G o straig ht in to King Davi d an d say , " My lord king, did
I
you not make yo ur servant this pro mise on oath:" Your so n Solomon is to be
king afte r me; he is the one who is to sit on my throne? How is it, then , that
' ·1 Adonijah is king?" 'A nd while you a re st ill there ta lking to the king, I will
co me in afte r you an d confirm wha t you say.'
" So Baths heba went to the king in his room (he was very old a nd Abi shag of
, I> Shunem was in attendance o n him) . -She knelt down a nd d id ho mage to the
" king, and the king said, ' What is yo ur wish'?' · ' My lord,' she a nswered 'you swore
this to yo ur servant by Yah weh your God, "You r son So lomon is to be king a fter

I, Th e translation follows the G reek. I. The pare nthesis Is Inserted here in accorda nce a, C b , 1-2 co n ti n ue t he na r ra ti ve o f 2 S IJ -2 0 . pe rs o na l e ro u nds: Zad ok is a ri val of Ablarbur : t he
b. The narrative p roba bly fuses two tradition s: withCh . b . J o a b: Dav id's n ephe w a n d co m pa ni o n o f his capta in of tbe guard . Benaiah. is ic a tous o f Joa b .
J. A b oard with stones se t in the underside sti ll (";lI lv days. s l ill c om ma nder-in-ch ie f, 2 S 19 :1 4 ! : co m m a n d e r- in-c h ief: N athan h ad been CiOlI'S mou t h-
according to on e, Ya hweh halt s the plague at the gates
of Jerusa lem out of his love for t he cit y. v, 16. and used in Pa lestine for threshing. Ahial ha r: so le s u rvi vor o f t he rmesrs of Nob . I S 22:20. ni c..:e fu r Dav id . especiatlv a r th e ti m e o f So lomon ' s
;1IuJ s, ill loy a l 10 David . b iTih. 2 S 12:2';"'1:5.
Dav id offers a sac rttice or thanksgiving 'as Ya hweh k , Six hundred golden shekels accordi ng to Ch.
had ordered', v. 19. Accor di ng to the second. it is Araunah 's threshing-ftoor was outs ide the city on the c, ' and his co mpa n ion s' Io tto wi n e G ree k. The d . T h is oat h has not hitherto bee n ment ion ed in (he
Iact lons of Solo mon a nd A don ijah a re o pposed o n h islOry of David.
Da vid 's pra yer and his bui1ding of t he altar that save hill do mina ting old Jer usa lem from the N. This is t he
t he city, VV. 17. 2 1. 25. futu re site of Solom on's Temple, cf. 5:9+ .
 I : 18 1 K ING S 4 18
me ' he is the one who is to sit on my thro ne". -And now here is Adonijah king 18
and you , my lord king, knowing nothing about it. -He ha s sacrificed quantities 19
of oxen and fatt ened calves and sheep, and invited all the royal princes, th e
prie st Ab iathar, and Joab th e army commander; but he has no t invited yo ur
serv ant Solomon. -Yet you are the man, my lord king, to whom all Israel looks, 20
to name for them the successor of my lord the king.' -And when my lord the 21
king sleep s with his fathers, my son Solomon an d I will be mad e to suffer for
this.' 22
She was still speaking when the prophet N athan entered. ·'T he prophet 23
N at ha n is here' the y tol d t he king ; a nd he cam e into th e kin g's presence a nd
bowed do wn to the ground on his face before the king. -' My lord kin g: sai d 24
N at ha n 'is this , then, you r decree: "Adonijah is to be king after me ; he is the
one who is to sit on my throne" ? - For he has gone down today and sacrificed 25
quanti ties of oxe n and fattened calves and sheep , and invi ted all the royal princes,
the arm y chiefs, and the pr iest Abiathar ; and they are there now, eating an d
dr inking in his presence and sho ut ing, " Lo ng live King Adonij ah! " -He has not, 26
howe ver, invited me your ser vant. Zadok the priest, Bena iah son of Jchoiada, or
yo ur servant So lomon.• Is this with my lord the king 's a pproval? Or have yo u 27
not told those loyal to you who is to succeed to the th rone of my lo rd th e king'!'
Solomon is consecrated king at Da vid's nomination
T hen King Da vid spoke. 'Call Bathsheba to me' he sa id. A nd she carne into 28
the king 's presence and stoo d befo re him. -Then the king swore thi s oath , 'As 2"
Ya hweh lives, who has deli vered me from all adversity, -ju st as I swo re to yo u 30
by Ya hweh the G od of Israel th at your so n So lo mo n should be king aft er me an d
take my place on th e t hrone , so I will br ing it a bo ut thi s very day' . - Ba thshcb a 31
knelt dow n, her face to th e grou nd, and did homage to th e king. 'M ay my lord
K ing Da vid live fo r ever! ' she sa id. -T hcn King Da vid said, 'Summon Zadok 32
t he priest, the prop het Na than a nd Bcna iah so n of Jch oiada' . So the y came
2KII : I I -:!O int o the kings presence. -'Take the roya l gua rd with yo u: sa id the king ' mount 33
ESIII:9
Mt2 1:7 my son So lomon o n my own mule an d esco rt him d own to G ihon. -There Zadok 34
15 9: 26 r- the pri est an d the pro phet Nathan a re to a no int him king of Israe l; th en sound
the trum pet an d sho ut, "Long live King So lomo n!" -Thcn you are to follow him 35
up an d he is to com e and ta ke his sea t o n my thron e an d be king in place of me,
fo r he is the ma n I ha ve appoi nted as ruler of Israe l an d of Ju da h.' - Benaia h son 36
of Jeho iada ans wered the king. 'A men!' he sa id ' And may Yah weh too say
Amen to the wor ds! of my lord the king' ·As Ya hweh has been with my lord the 37
king, so may he be with Solo mon an d ma ke his th ron e even grea ter th a n the
t hro ne of my lord King David!'
2S8: 1 ~ +
1 Then Za dok the prie st, the prophet Na than , Benaia h son of Jchoiada, a nd 3S
the C hcre thi tcs an d Pelethitcs went down; they mou nted Solorn o: on Ki ng
E:dO:22 +-
I S 10: I: 16:2 Dav id's mul e an d escorted him to G ihon . -Zadok t he priest loo k the ,10 m of oil H
1Ch29:22 fro m the Te !lt and a no inted Solomo n. They sou nded t he tr um pet a nd all the
1510:24
peo ple sho uted, 'Lo ng live King Solomon!' -The peopl e all follo wed him up, with 40
pipes play ing an d loud rejo icing and sho uts to sp lit the eart h.
Adonijah is afraid
Adonijah a nd his guests, who had by then finished the ir meal , all hea rd the 41
noise. J oab too heard the sou nd of the tr umpet a nd said, 'Wh a t is tha t no ise of
upr oar in the city'!' -Whi le he 'was still spea king, Jonathan the son of Abia thar 42
2S IX:27
the priest a rrive d. 'C ome in: Ado nija h said 'y ou a rc an ho nest man , so you
mu st be br inging good news: -' Yes: Jonathan an swered 'o ur lord Kin g Da vid 43
has mad e Solo mon king. -The king sen t Zad ok the priest with him, and the 44
prop het Na tha n and Bena iah so n of Je ho iada and the Cherethites a nd Peleth ites ;
they mou nted him on t he king 's mule, -a nd Zad o k th e priest and t he prophet 45
Na tha n anointed him king a t G ihon; a nd the y wen t up fro m t here wit h sho uts
1 KIN GS 2:12
46 of joy and the city is now in an uproar ; that was the no ise you heard. -What is
47 more, Solomon is seated on the royal throne. -And further, the king's officers
have been to congratu late our lord King Da vid with the words, "May your God
make the name of So lomon more glorious even than yo urs, an d his throne more
Gn47:31
48 exa lted t han your own! " And the king bowed d own on his bed , -a nd then said,
"Blessed be Yah weh , the God of Israel, who has all owed my eyes to see o ne of
my descendants sitt ing on my throne today" :
49 At t his, all Ado nijah's guests, tak ing fright, rose a nd made off in t heir several
2:28
50 di rections. -Ado nija h, in terror of Solo mon , rose too and ra n off to cling to Ex2 1:D·14:
27:2 t-
51 th e horn s of the altar. -So lornon was told, 'You sho uld know that Ado nijah is in
terro r of King Solomon a nd is now clinging to the horns of the altar, say ing,
"Let Kin g Solomon first swear to me that he will not ha ve his serva nt put to the
52 sword? ", ·'Should he bear him self hon ourably: Solomon a nswered ' no t one
hair of his sha ll fall to the grou nd : but if he is found ma licious , he shall die .'
53 K ing Solomon then sent for him to be bro ugh t down from t he alt ar; he came
and did homage to K ing Solomo n : Solo mon said to him , ' Go to yo ur house '.
Da vid's testa ment. His death"
1 2 As Dav id's life dre w to its close he laid this charge on his so n Solom on,
' I am go ing the wa y of all the earth. Be strong and sho w yourself a man . ws 7:6
Obs erve the injunctions of Yahw eh your G od, following his ways a nd keeping 2D SI17: IH-20
23:l f
his laws, his comma ndme nts, his custo ms and his decrees, as it stands wr itten
in the Law of Moses, that so yo u may be successful in all you do a nd undertake, Dr 29;8
4 so that Yahweh may fulfil the promi se he made me, "If you r so ns are careful 2S7: 11-16
ho w they behave, and walk loyal ly before me wit h all their heart a nd so ul, yo u
sh all never lac k for a man o n the thr one of Israel".
'Y ou know too what Joa b son of Zeruia h did to me, and what he did to the 2:31
two commanders of the army of Israel, Abner so n of Ner a nd Amasa so n of 2 S20:3:27 ;
10
Jc ther ; how he murdered t hem , how in time of peace he took vengeance for
blood shed in wa r, sta ining the belt round my waist and the sandals on my feet
6 with innocent blood. b - Yo u will be wise not to let his grey head go do wn to
7 Sheol in peace . -As regards the so ns of Ba rzilla i of Gilead, treat them kindl y, Nb I6 :33 +
Ezr 2:6 1
let them be among those who ea t at yo ur table , fo r they were as kind to me when lSJ9:32f I7:27!;
8 I was fleeing from your brother Absalom. -Yo u also have with you Sh imei son 2 S 16:5f
of Gera, the Benjaminite from Bahurirn. He called down a terrible curse on me
the day I left for Mahanairn, but he came down to meet me at the Jordan and
I swore to him by Yahweh I would not put him to the sword.' -But you ," you 2S19:19f
must no t let him go unpunished; you a re a wise man and will know how to deal
with him to br ing his grey head down to Sheol in blood.' :r
U
10 So David slept with his a ncesto rs and was buried in the Citadel of David. 2S5:9 + "!
II Ch 29:
Dav id's reign over Israel lasted forty years: he reign ed in He bron for seven yea rs, [11 26-27
and in Je rusa lem for thirty-three.
The death of Adonijah
12 Solomon was seated upon the throne of Dav id, and his sovereignty was
secur ely established.
e . The ord er o f s ucce ss io n was not ye t dete rm inedVv. 3-4 are an ad di tion, in the de u terono mic style, to
by s ta ture. Sa u l and D a vid had been the ch o ice of God the ori gin al narrative .
and of th e peo ple . T he m on ar chy is ab out to bec o me b. End o f verse co rrected in ac cordance with the
hereditary . b UI pri mogeniture is no t seen as a n adequate vers io ns. Juab 's cri me s hav e ta rn ished Dav id's so ld ier ly
clai m an d the kin g h imself is exp ected to choose re putati o n : Davi d had eve n been accused of pro mp ting
bet ween his so ns. D av id not on ly chooses So lo mon them , 2 S 16:7. T he king a nd his descen dan ts are
bu t actually tra nsf er s th e ro yal aut hori ty b y the ri tua l
th erefor e lia ble to b lood -revenge until the tru e cu lprit
he pr escr ibe'). vv. 33-35. has been killed .
f . ' too say A men to the words' versions. c. Shimei's c urse will lie he av y on David's de-
sce nd a n ts s ince a curse, li ke a b lessing , retains its
2 a . T his ' tes tame nt' by wh ich So lomo n is ap po inted efficacy. O n ly by turning it agai nst its origi nator ca n
to exe cute vengea nce o n Da vid 's perso nal e ne mies it be u nd on e. vv. 44-45. Da vid 's o a th has prevented
reflec ts the idea s of this Per iod o f t he D .T. o n bloo d. him fro m doing t his, bu t Solomon is free .
rev enge and t he last ing efficacy of th e curse, cr. v. 8. d . 'B ut YO U' vute.
 2:13 1 KI NG S 42 0
Adon ija h, H aggith's son , went to Bathsheba the mothe r of So lomon and 13
bowed down befo re her. ' 'Do you bring peace?' she ask ed . H e a nswered, 'Yes,
peace'. -T hen he sa id , 'I ha ve some thing to say to you ' . 'Spea k' she repli ed. 14
'You know' he said 't hat the kingdom sho uld ha ve co me to me," and that a11 15
Gn4:5+ Israel expected me to be king; but th e crown eluded me a nd fell to my brother,
since it came to him from Yahweh. -Now I have one req uest to make you ; 16
I 27 :2f
do not refu se me .' 'Speak' she said .• He went on , 'Please ask K ing Solomon-for 17
I he will no t refuse you-to give me A bishag of Shu nem in ma rriage' .• 'Very well,' 18
Bathsheba repl ied 'I will spea k to the king about you.' -So Bathsheba went to 19
ii King Solomon to speak to him ab out Adonija h; the king rose to meet her and
bowed before her ; he then sat down on his th rone ; a sea t was bro ught for the
mothe r of the king, an d she sa t down at his right han d . -S he said , 'I have on e 20
small req uest to make you; do not refus e me' . ' My moth er ,' th e king answered
' make your requ est, for I will no t refuse you.' ·'Let A bishag of Shunc m' she 21
sa id ' be given in marriag e to you r brother A don ijah.' • K ing Solomon a nswered 22
h is mot her. 'A nd wh y' he sai d 'do you req uest Ab ishag of Shu nem fo r Ado nijah?
Yo u mig ht as well req uest the k ingdo m for him, " since he is my elder br o th er
a nd Ab iat har the priest an d Joab so n of Zeruia h a re on his side.' ·A nd K ing 23
Rt l :17 + Solomon swore by Ya hweh: ' May G od do th is to me a nd more' he sa id 'if
Ad onija h does not pay for these words of his with his life! -As Y ahwe h lives 24
2S7 : l l- 16 who has set me securely on the thron e of D a vid my fat her, and who, as he
pr omi sed, ha s given him " a dy na sty, Adon ija h shall be pu t to dea th th is ver y
day .' -A nd K ing Solomon commissio ned Bena ia h son of Jeho iad a to strike him 25
d own, and he die d .
Jr 1:1
The fate of Abiathar and Joab
As fo r Abiathar the priest , th e king sa id to hi m , 'Go to Ana tho th: to your 26
esta te. Y ou deserve to d ie, bu t I am not go ing to put yo u to death now, since
you carr ied the a rk of Ya hweh in the presence of D av id my fath er a nd sha red
all my fa ther's hard sh ips.' -Solorno n dep rived A bia thar o f t he pr iesthood of 27
I S2:30- 36 Ya hweh, th us fulfilling the or acle Yahweh had utt ered aga inst th e H ouse of
Eli at Shiloh .
When the news reac hed Joab- for Joab had lent h is suppo rt to Adon ijah, 28
tho ugh he had not support ed Absalo m-he fled to the Tent of Ya hwe h and
1:50 clung to the horns of the altar. • K ing Solomon wa s to ld, 'Jo ab has fled to t he 29
Ex27:2 +
Tent of Yahweh; he is there besid e the a ltar ' . T hen So lomon sen t word to Joab,
' What reason did you have for fleeing to the al tar?' Joa b repli ed , 'I was a fraid
2S23:2 0 of you a nd fled to Ya hweh' . T he n Solo mo n sen t Bena iah - son of Je hoiad a.
' G o' he sa id 'a nd st rike him d ow n.' - Accord ingly Bena ia h went to the Te nt 30
E x 2 1: 14 of Y ahweh. 'B y order of the kin g,' he sa id 'come o ut !' ' No ,' he sai d 'I will d ie
here.v So Benaiah br ought ba ck word to the king, ' T his is wha t Joab sa id, and
the an swer he gav e me' .• ' 0 0 as he says' the king re plied . ' Strike him do wn 31
2;5 + and bury him, an d so rid me an d my fami ly today of the innocent bloo d Joab
ha s shed . •Ya hweh will bring his blo od d own on his ow n head, because he struc k 32
do wn tw o more honourable an d bett er me n than he, and pu t to the swo rd,
without my father David's kn owled ge, Abn er so n o f Ner, commander of the a rmy
of Israel, a nd A masa son of Jether, co mmander of th e ar my of Judah. • May the ir 33
blood come down on the head of Joab and his descendants for ever, but may
David , his descendants, his dynasty, his th rone, have peace fo r ever from Ya hweh.'
W hereu po n Bena iah so n of Jeh oiada went ou t, struc k Joab down and put him 34
to death; he was buried a t his home in the wilderness. •In his place as hea d of 35
th e army the king appointe d Bena iah son of Jeho iada a nd, in place of Abiat har,
Zado k the priest .
The disobedience an d dea th of Shimei'
The king ha d Shi mei su m moned to him. ' Build yourself a house in Jerusalem ,' 36
42 1 1 KINGS
37 he told him 'you are to live there; do not move anywhere else. -The day you go out
and cross the wadi Kidron, be sure you will certainly die. Your blood will be
38 on your ow n head.' .'Very well,' Shimei answered the king 'your servant will
do as my lord the king orders.' And for a long time Shimei lived in Jerusalem.
39 But when three years had gone by, it happened that two of Shimei's slaves
ran away to Achish son of Maacah, king of Gath; Shimei was told, 'Your slaves IS21:11 ;
40 are in Gath' .• At this, Shimei set about saddling his donkey and went to Achish at
Gath to find his slaves . He went off and brought his slaves back from Gath.
41 Solomon was informed that Shimei had gone from Jerusalem to Gath and had
42
come back.
The king had Shimei summoned to him . 'D id I not m ake you swear by
Yahweh,' he said 'and did I not solem nly warn you: The day you go out to go
43 a nyw here else, be sure you will certai nly die? m •W hy did you not keep the oa th
44 of Yahweh and the order I laid on you? •You know all the evil- you did to my
father D av id ' the king went on. 'Yahweh will bring your wicked ness down on
45 yo ur own hea d . •But may K ing Solomon be blessed, > and may the thro ne of
46 D av id be ke pt secur e before Ya hweh for ever.' -The king gave orders to Benai ah
so n of Je ho iada; he went ou t and st ruck down Sh imei ; an d he died .
A nd no w th e sov erei gnty was secur ely in the ha nds of Solomon.
II. SOLOMON IN ALL HIS GLORY
A . SOLOMON THE SA CE
Introduct ion
1 3 Solomon all ied himself by ma rriage with Phara oh " king of Egypt; he ma rried
Pha raoh's da ughter, and took he r to the C itadel of D avid unti l he cou ld 7:8;9:1 6f.24
co m plete th e bu ild ing of his pa lace and th e Temple of Yahweh and the wall
2 surround ing Jerusa lem. -The peo ple, however, were still sacrificing on the hig h 2S 5:6+
pla ces, beca use a t tha t time a dwelling place for th e na me of Ya hweh ha d no t IS9 :12+
3 yet been built. -Solomo n loved Ya hweh: he fo llowed the precep ts of David his
fath er , except t hat he offe red sacr ifice a nd incense on the high places.
Sol omon's dr eam at Gibeon '1 2C h l :3- 12
W58: 19-
9; 12
The king went to G ibeon to sac rifice there,. since that was th e greatest of the Pr 8:15
Si 47 :J4
5 h igh places- Sol omon offered a tho usa nd holocausts on that altar. -A t G ibeon
Yahweh a ppeared in a dream " to Solomo n d uring the night. God sa id , 'A sk what 9:2
6 yo u wo uld like me to give yo u'. -So lo rnon replie d, 'You showed grea t kindness W57:7; 9:1
:r
o
to yo ur servan t Dav id, my fathe r, when he lived his life before you in faith fulness ~
and justice a nd integ rity of heart ; yo u have con tinu ed this great k indness to
7 him by a llowing a son of his to sit on h is th ro ne today. • Now, Ya hweh my G od,
you have made you r servan t king in success io n to Dav id my fath er. But I am
WsS:IO
8 a very young ma n, unsk illed in lea dership . •Yo u r serva nt finds himsel f in the Jm 1:5
midst of this people o f yours that yo u have chose n. a peo ple so ma ny its num ber 4:20
e . 'a nd bowed down before her ' G reek. Shi mel brea ks his oa th and is th us executed 'j ustl y' ,
f. Since he was the e lde r. Neve rthe less, Sol o m on admi ts, v. 44. tha t h is tr ue
c. To tak e t he w ife of a dead or de posed k i ng mo tive is the c urse tha t Shi m e l h ad pro nounced on
ga ve a ti tle to succe ssion . cf. 2 S J :iL 16:22 . 'a nd Dav id.
Ab iat h a r the p ries t is o n h is side' vets ton s.
h . ' h im' co rr. m . Th e Hcbr . ad ds ' and you said to m e, "The wo rd
i. Levitical to wn nea r Je rus al em I ha ve heard is go od", cr. v. 38.
j. Tex t restor ed , fotto vving G reek . n. The te xt a dds ' th a t your hea rt h as con ceiv ed'.
k . Benai ab trie s to adop t the proced u re o f Ex 2 1: 14, 0, As in v. 33, Solom o n immedia tel y a dds a
which is p recisel y Jo ab's ca se: ' If a m an ki lls his bless in g so th a t his curse m a y not rec oil o n h im sel f.
nei ghbo ur tr eacber o u sl v, you sh al l l ake him eve n fr om 3 a . Pro ba bly Psus ennis. last king o f the 2 1sl Dy n-
my a lt a r to pu t him (0 death', J oa b . however. is de te r- asty. Th e ' C itade l of Da vid' : the p ar t o f Jer usale m
m i ned t ha i Sol o mon sh all incur th e odiu m of ri rcfan a- tha t ha d been the old Jcb ustre town, cr. 2 S 5:9 + .
tion. b . Befor e the pr ophe tic per iod , d rea ms were o ne
J. O n pa in of de ath Shi me l mu st ta ke up resi de nc e of G od ' s m a in c hannel s of communication with man.
in Jer usa le m, a nd So lo mo n b ind s him unde r oa th. cr. G o 20:3; 28 ; 31: 11.24 ; Nb 12;6 .
 1 K IN G S
Pr 2:6-9 cannot be co unt ed or recko ned . ·G ive your serv ant a heart to un dersta nd '
Nbl l :14 how to discern between goo d and evi l, for who could govern this peop le of yours
Is 7: 16
that is so great?' • It pleased Yahweh that So lomon should have asked for this.
'Since you have asked fo r this' Yahweh said 'and no t asked for long life fo r
your self or rich es or th e lives of your enemies, bu t have asked for a dis cerning
5:9
Ws7:7 judgement for you rself, -here and now I do what you ask . I give you a heart
0 0/ :/ 6 wise and shrewd as none before you has had and none will have after you . •What
Si 47: 14
Ws 7:Jl you have not asked I shall give you too: such riches and glory as no other ki ng
Mt 6:33
D t 5:33
ever had ." -And I will give you a long life, if you follow my wa ys, keeping my
P r 3:1-2 laws and commandments, as your father Da vid followed the m .' -Then Solomon
Qo2: 4-10
awoke; it was a dream. He return ed to Jerusalem and stood before the ark of th e
Lv 1:1 + covenant of Yahweh ; he offered holocausts and communion sacrifices , a nd
Lv 3:1 + held a banquet for all his servants.
The judgement of Solomon
2 S 14:4f
ws 8:11 Then two prostitutes ca me to the king and stood before him . ·'If it please
yo u, my lord,' o ne of th e women sa id ' this wo man and I live in the same house,
and while she was in the ho use I gave birth to a chi ld .• Now it ha ppened on the
third day a fter my de livery th at this wo ma n a lso gave birth to a child . We were
alone together; there was no o ne else in the ho use with us; j ust the two of us
in the house.• N ow o ne nig ht this wo man's son died ; she o verl a id him .• And in
the midd le of the nigh t she got u p and too k my so n from besid e me whi le yo ur
servant wa s asleep; she put him to he r brea st and put he r own dead son to mi ne.
When I go t up: to suckle my child, there he wa s, dead . But in the mo rni ng
I look ed at him carefull y, a nd he was not th e child I had borne a t a ll.' -Thcn
the othe r woman spok e. 'That is not tr ue' My son is the live o ne, yours is th e
dead o ne'; an d the first retorted, ' T hat is not tru e! Yo ur son is t he dead on e,
mine is th e live one .' A nd so they wra ng led before t he king. · 'This one says,' th e
king o bse rved' " My so n is th e o ne who is al ive; yo ur son is dead ", while th e
other sa ys, "Tha t is no t true ! Yo ur so n is the dead o ne , mi ne is th e live o ne ."
Bri ng me a sword' sa id th e k ing; a nd a swo rd was brough t in to the kin g's
p resence . •' Cut the livin g ch ild in two,' the king sai d 'and give hal f to on e,
half to the other.' -At th is the woman wh o was the moth er of th e livin g child
addressed the king, for she burned with pity fo r her so n. 'I f it plea se yo u , my
lord,' she sa id ' let them give her th e child ; on ly do not let them th ink of killing
it! ' But the other said, 'He shall belong to neithe r o f us. C ut him up .' -Then
the king ga ve his dec ision . ' G ive the ch ild to the first woman ,' he sa id ' a nd
do not kill h im. She is his mother .' · AIl Israel ca me to hea r of th e judgement
th e king had prono unced , and held the king in awe, reco gn ising that he po ssessed
divine wisdom for dispens ing ju stice.
S olomon 's high officia ls
K ing Solomon was king over all Israel , - and these wer e his high o fficia ls::'
18:3 4 Az a ria h so n of Zadok, priest.
Elihoreph a nd Ahijah, so ns of Shis ha, secretar ies.
Je h osha ph at son of Ah ilud, recorde r.
(Bena iah son of Je hoiada, co mmander of the army.
Za do k an d Abiathar, priests.)>
4:7f
Azariah so n of Nat ha n, chi ef a d min istrato r.
Zabud so n of Nathan, Friend of the Kin g,
and his b rother, master of th e palace.
E liab son of J oab , co mmander of the army.
5:27 .28 ; Adoram son of Abda, in charge of forced labou r. '
12: 18
Solomon's administrators
4:5 Solomon ha d twelve administrators" for the whole of Is rae l who saw to the
423 KIN GS 5:5
9 provisioni ng of the king and h is household ; each had to pro vide for one month
in the year.
10 These are their names:'
II . .. so n of H ur, in th e mo unta in country o f Ephraim .
. . . son of Oeker, in Maka z, Sh aa lbim, Bcth- shernesh,
12 Aijalon as far as Beth- han a n.
13 10 . . . son of Hesed, in Arubboth ; his dist rict was Socoh
a nd a ll th e land of He pher.
14 II .. . so n of Ahin ad ab: t he wh ole region of Da r.
15 T aphath, Solomon's daughter, was his wife .
12 Baana son o f A hilud , in T aa nach and Megid do
as fa r as the ot her side o f Jokrncarn , and
all Beth-shean below Je zreel , from Bet h-shea n
as far as Abel Meholah , wh ich is besid e Za rethan.f
13 ••• so n of G eber, in Ramoth-g ilead : his district was
16
I7 the Encampments of Jair, so n of Manasseh, whic h
are in Gilead; he had the region of Argob, which
18 is in Bashan, sixty fort ified tow ns, walled-in
a nd wit h bolts of bron ze.
14 Ahinadab so n of Iddo , in Mahanaim.
19
20 IS Ahi maaz in N ap htali ; he too lll ar ri e~1 a da ugh ter of Sol o mon, Basernath.
16 Baa na so n of H ushai , in Asher a nd in the high la nds. "
17 J ehoshap hat so n of Pa ru ah, in Issac har.
21 18 Shimei son of Ela, in Benjami n.
22 19 Ge ber so n of Uri, in the la nd of G a d, th e lan d of Sihon
king of th e Amorites and of Og kin g of Bash an .
In ad dition, there wa s o ne governor in the land. "
23 7 "T hese admin istrators pr ovided the food for So lomo n a nd for all those wh o
1:27
8
5 were admitt ed by h im to th e royal tabl e, b each fo r the period of a mo nth; the y
saw to it th a t no thi ng was wa nting. •They a lso provided the ba rley a nd straw
28
24 fo r th e hor ses a nd dra ug ht an imals, whe re required, eac h accord ing to his own
25 2 assignment. •The da ily provisions for So lomon were: thir ty measures of fine
22
26 3 flour a nd sixty me asures o f me al, - te n fa tt ened oxen, twe nty free-grazi ng oxen,
2J
on e hundred sheep, besides dee r a nd gazelles, roebucks a nd fatten ed cuc koos .'
4
14 F or he wa s ma ster of all T ran seuphrates"- o f all the kings o f T ranseuph ra tes from
5 2 S 7:1
27
15 T iphsa h to G az a-s-a nd he enjoyed pea ce on all his fro ntiers. -Juda h and Israel
28 c. T he-text ad ds ' to gove rn yo ur peopl e' . So lo mo n of T runsiordania . vv, 13- I-t ; second . t he nor t her n tri bes ,
prays for wisdom in nra cncal a ffairs . not in his own VV . 15· 17 ; third, Benjami n, \'.1 8. a nd Gad. v , 19. T here
int ere st bu t in t hose of t he nat io n . Cf. 5: 13 I a nd was a spe cia l arra ng ement fo r Judah. v. 19 an d note.
Ex 31:3 + .
d . T he Hcb r . adds 'a ll yo ur li fe". e. T his doc u me n t from t he sta te arc h!ves was
e . T he text ad ds ' in t he morn ing' . dam aged at th e edgcs : this ex p la ins why. for the first
4 a . The record er (li t. ' remem b r ancer ") is bead ad m inis trators, o nly their fa th ers' na mes a re p rese rved .
o f the dipl om a t ic serv ice and inte rm ed iar y be twee n f. Ou r tr a nslat io n co rr ec ts the con fused geo -
k ing and pe op le. Th e ma ster of th e pa lace is th e pr ime
ministe r, th e ' v tzh-' of orienta l co u r ts. T he tit le "Fr-iend
o f the Ki na' is on e of hono ur rathe r than of Iunsdicu on .
graphi cal order.
~. Li t. ' usce r us'. T he
a nd Tvre.
h il l y coast be twe en Acr e
T he pri est . chief re pr esenta tive of t he pr iest ly class. h. "G ad' Greck : "G i lead ' lI e br. 'T he la nd ' . wit h-
is ra n ked with the royal officia ls. So lo m o n re tain s
o u t spcci ticutton . i s the roya l terr itor y of Juda h as
Dav id' s r eco rd er and a pp o in ts t he sons of his prie st ,
4
secre ta ry a nd co m ma nde r-i n-ch ief', 2 S S: IOf: 20:23f.
op pos ed to the prov inces of Israel. J udah. the refore.
had its ow n rcni me a nd ap pear s to h ave be en exempt
T he fo rm of so me o f th ese names va ries in Hebr. a nd fro m ta xes fo r p ub lic work s,
version s,
b , A gloss th e seco nd ha lf of wh ich con tradict s
5 a . T he tra ns lat io n follow s th e o rd er of th e G reek
which elve s the list of administ r ato rs in lon tca l order.
v , 2 and. 2:2M,
T he H eb r. o rder h as been up set by alosscs : v , 4 da tes.
c . 'and his brot he r ' cor r. T he na me a nd uue of the
co m ma nde r-in-chief a re abse nt from H ebr. a nd arc a t th e earlies t, from the Exile: th e rema inde r. up to
t he end of th e pa ra gra ph. is lat e .
restored from th e G reek . ' Ad ora m ' follow ing G reek.
d . T he o ffice wa s created by So lomo n : it saw to b. Not on ly the roy a l fa mil y a nd its dependants.
the ra ising of the la bo ur force a nd the applica tion of bu t all th e se r va nt s, o fficial s. re aular troop s.
taxe s to pu blic wo rk s. The 12 district s fa ll in to 3 groups: c. T ra nslat io n conjec tu ral : cuckoo was a de licacy .
first. the ter r ito ry of Eph ra im an d Manasseh , so ns of d. O fficia l title for th e area between the E uphrates
Joseph . v. 8. toge th er wit h the conquered or reca p tu red a nd t he Med ite rranea n d uring th e Pe rsian period. when
C anaanite towns , vv. 9-12. and th e annexed d istri cts thi s ver se was ad d ed .
 1 KI N GS 424
I M14:12
S147: 13 lived in secur ity, eac h man un der his vine a nd his fig tree, from Dan as far as
003:12-13
Beersheba, throughout the lifet ime of So lomon.
4 J uda h and Israel were like the sand by the sea for n umber; they ate and drank 20
112C h9:26 I
Ws 8: 14 a nd lived ha ppily. 5 Solomon extended h is power over all the kingdoms 4:2 J
from the river' to the land of the Philistines and the Egyptian bo rde r. They
- 10 :26
112C h l : 14 ;
9; 25
brought tribute and served h im a ll his life long. • For his chariots Solomon ha d ~6
fou r thousand! stall s and twelve thousa nd horses.
Ws7:',
S147:14 Solomon's fame
3:12
001 :16 Ya hweh" gave Solomon immense wisdom and understand ing, a nd a heart ~9
Gn22 :17; as vast as the sand on the seasho re. •The wisd om of Solomon surpassed 13
32:13
the wisdom of all the sons of the Eas t, and all the wisdom of Egypt. • He was 1l
I C h 2:6
wise r than any othe r, wiser than Et ha n the Ezrahite, " wiser than Heman and
Calco l and Da rda, the cantors.• He composed three thousand proverbs, and his }3
songs num bered a tho usa nd and five. • He co uld ta lk a bout pla nts from the cedar 13
Ws 7:20 in Lebanon to the hysso p growi ng on the wa ll; a nd he co u ld tal k o f a n ima ls,
W s 8:11 a nd birds a nd reptiles a nd fish.' • Me n from a ll nat ion s came to hea r So lomon's 1~
wisdom, and he received gifts from a ll the kings of the world, who had heard
of his wisd om'.
B. SOLOMON THE BUIL DER
Preparati ons for building the Tem ple
2 S 5:11
1,2Ch 2:2-3 H ira m the king of Tyre sent a n em bassy to So lomon, havi ng learn t tha t he
ha d bee n anoi nted ki ng in succession to his fat her and because Hiram had
a lways been a friend of David. -A nd Solomon sent thi s message to Hiram,
S14 7: 13
'You a re awa re that Dav id my fa ther was unable to build a tem ple for the na me of
Ya hweh, his God, because h is enem ies waged war on him from all sides, until
Ya hweh should put them u nde r his control. • But now Yahweh my G od has
given me rest on every side: not one enemy, no ca la mities. ·1 therefore plan
S7: 12- 13
Ws9:8 to buil d a temple for the name of Yahweh my God , just as Yahweh said to
Is 60: 13
David my fat her, "Your son whom I will place on yo ur throne to succeed you
sha ll be the ma n to bu ild a temple for my na me". -So now ha ve ceda rs of
Le ba non cut do wn for me; my servants will work with your serva nts, and I will
pay for the hire of your servants at whatever rate you fix. As you know, we have
1'2 C h 2:
10- 11 no one as skill ed in felling trees as the Sidonians." •When Hiram heard wha t
Ws 8:11 Solomon ha d sa id, he was de lighted. 'Now blessed be Yahweh' he said 'who
li2C h 2: I S has given David a wise son to rule over th is great people !' -A nd Hiram sent
wo rd to Solomon, 'I have received your message. For my part , I will supply
all you want in the way of cedar wood and j uniper. • Yo ur serva nts" will bri ng
these down from Lebanon to the sea, a nd I sha ll have them towed by sea to an y
place you name ; I shall discharge them there, and you will take them over.
For your part, you will see to the provisioning of my hou sehold as I direct.'
9:1 1 So H ira m provided Solomon with all the cedar wood and juniper he wanted,
12 C h 2:9 wh ile So lomon gave H iram twenty thousand kors of wheat to feed his household,
and twenty thousand kors' of pure oi l. Solo mon gave Hiram this every year.
Ya hweh gave Solomon wisdom a s he had prom ised him; good relations per sisted
A m 1:9
4: 6 ;12: 18
between Solomon and Hiram, and the two of them concl uded a treaty.
King Solomon raised a levy througho u t Israel for forced labour: the levy
nu mbered t hirty thousand men .• He sent the se to Leban on in relays , ten thousand
a mo nth ; they spent o ne month in Lebanon and two months at home. Adoram
4:6
2C h2: 1. 18 was in charge of the forced la bou r. -Solorno n also had seventy thousand porters
a nd eighty thousan d quarrymen in the mo un tains , ' a s well as the admini strators'
officia ls who supervised the work, three tho usand three hundred of them in
cha rge of the men emp loyed in the work. -At the king's orders the y quarried huge
4 25 1 KINGS 0:20
stones, special stones, for the layi ng of the templ e foundations, dressed stones.
U So lomon's workmen and H iram's workmen and the Gi blites « cut and assembled
the wood and stone for the building of the Tem ple.
The Temple building !!2Ch 3:1-7
I 6 In the four hundred and eightieth yea r after the Israelites cam e out of the
land of Egypt,s in the fourth year of Solomon's reign over Israel, in the month
S147:13
of Zi v, which is the second month, he began to build the T emple of Ya hweh.
Ac 7:47
2 The Temple > that King So lomon built for Ya hweh was sixt y cubits long, twenty
cubits wide and twenty-five in height. •The Ulam in front of the Hekal of the Ez k40:48 ;
41:1
Temple was twenty cubi ts long across the width of the Temple and ten cubits
4 wide al o ng the length of the Te mple. • He made windows for the Temple with
5 fra mes an d la tt icework. ' • He a lso built an a nnex against the Te m ple wall ,' E zk 4 1:5
6 round the Hekal a nd the Debir, a nd made side tiers all round. •The lower story
wa s five cubits wide, the midd le one six cubits, and t he third seven cubits , for
ro u nd t he Te mple o n t he outside he had placed offsets so that this wa s not
7 attached to the Tem ple walls . -CI'he buildi ng of the Temple was done with
quarry-d ressed stone ; no sound of hamm er or pick or an y iron tool was to be
8 hea rd in th e Te mple whil e it was being bui lt. ) -The en trance to the lower story
was at the right-hand co rn er of the Temple, an d access to the midd le story ab ove
9 wa s by tra p-door s, and so from the middle st ory to the thi rd. -He built the
10 Tem ple,' completed it, a nd covered it with ced ar wood.• He bui lt the an nex on
to t he whole length of the Tem ple; it was five cu bit s high a nd was attached to the
II Temple by beams of cedar wood. - An d th e word o f Ya hweh came to So lo mo n,
J5 12 'Th is house you are build ing! .. . if you follow my stat utes an d obey my ordinances
2S7; 11- 6
a nd faithfully follow my comman dments, I will fu lfil that pro mise I made about
\6 13 you to your fat her David . -A nd I will make my ho me among the sons of Israe l,
17
14 and neve r fo rsake Israel my people.' -Solornon buil t the Temple, and completed
it.
~8
J9 Interior furnis hings. The Holy of Holies 11 2C h 3:8-9
15 He lined the inside of the Te mple walls with panels of ceda r wood-panelling Ezk41 :17
the m on the inside from the floor of th e Temple to the rafter s in the roof-and
~o 16 lai d t he floor of the Temple wit h juniper plan ks.• The twenty cubits meas ured
from the end of th e Temple he built of cedar planks from floor to ra fters , and this
17 pa rt was reserved as the Debir, the Holy of Holies. •Th e Temple measured
~I 18 forty cubits-the Hekal-in front of th e Debir. •There was cedar wo od round
the inside of the Temple, ornamentally ca rved with gourds an d rosettes ; a ll was
~2 19 cedar wood, with no stone showing .• In the inner part of the Temple he des igned
7:48
20 a Debir, to contain the ark of the covenan t of Yahweh. •The Debir was twenty 2K1 8:16
Ez k 41:3
~3 cubits long, twenty cubits wide , and twenty high , and he plated it on the inside
e. Euphrates . see v. 4. da te is about 960 B.C .
t , ' fo ur thousan d' fo llo wing 2 C h 9:23. b . T he Temp le was an oblo ng b uild ing consisting
K. ' Ya hwe h' fo llowing versions . of three success ive compart men ts: the Porch: U lam ;
76 h . Le . the native . T he names that follow are the Great C hamber fo r wors hip: Hekel , later called
n pro ba bly th ose of sases famo us in Ca naa n . Ps 89 is
anr tbured to Ethan.
i. Solom on is the first ot the 'sa ges of Israe l' (see
the Holy (Place) ; th e Sa nc tu ary: Debtr , i.e . back room.
la ter ca lled th e Holy of Holies. t he most sacred
pl ace. containing the ark of th e co ven an t. 6:19. The
Int r od uctio n to Wi sdom Books). T ha t he engaged d ifferen ce in hei ght between th e Hekal and the D eb ir
73 in literary and poetic activit}' the re is no do u bt . cr. 8:
n
12- 13. and Da rt o f P r m a y pos s ib ly deri ve fr om him .
Ps 72 a nd J27. O o, SR. ws . all bear h is nam e.
i. Th e ' Sidonia ns' mean s the Philistines as a
(6:2 a nd ch . 10). ind icates tha t t he n oor of th e De bir
was ra ised to for m a kind o f ros tr um for th e ark . The
Deb ir m ust have been separ a ted fro m the Heka l by a
I
partiti o n . T hr ee o ute r walls of th e Temple sustained
7~ wh ole . H ir am was kin g of Tyee and' Sidon .
k, ' Your serva nts' conf.: 'M y servants' Hebr .
a low th ree-story erection (6: 10). Cf. th e description
of 't he tabernacle in t he deser t. Ex 26--36. a nd t ha t of
I. ' twe nty thousa nd measures' G reek . the fu ture Temple in Ezk 40-42.
]j m, Work men from Ge bal (the Greek Byblos ) to
c. Tra nsla tion uncertain .
d. T he Hebr. here repea ts 'round the Temple walls',
J~ the N. of Beir ut. orrurted by Greek .
6 a . According to the chronolog ical sys tem in which e. T he Hebr. has here two uni n telligibl e wor ds
n the tabernacle . Solo m o n's Temp le. and the pos t-exilic
Temple. were recko ned eq uidistant in time. In fact the
whic h a re absent from the Greek.
f. The phrase is bro ken 011'.
 6:21 1 K I NGS 4 27 1 KI NG S

Ezk4 1:22 with pure gold. H e made an al tar of cedar wood " • h in front of the D ebir and 21 Hiram, the bronzeworker 112Ch2 :13-
14
pla ted it with gold. ·He plated the whole Temp le with gold, the whole Temple 22 U Ki ng Solom on sent for H iram of Tyre ; · he was the son of a wid ow of the
ent irely.' tri be of Naphtali but his father had been a Tyrian, a bronzeworker. He was Ex35 :30-
35
Ex2 5:18 +
a highly intelligen t craft sman, skilled in all types of bro nzewo rk. He cam e to
1:2C h3:1O- 13 The cherubs K ing Solomon an d did all thi s work for him:
In th e De bir he made two cherubs of olive wood/ ... It was ten cubits high. 23
One cherub's wing was five cubits long and the other wing five cubits: ten cubits 24
The bronze pillars 112C h 3:15-
17
from wing tip to wing tip . •The other cherub also mea sured ten cubits; both 25 15 He cast two bronze pillars; " the height of one pillar was eighteen cu bits, an d 2K25: 13
J r 27: 19
cherubs had the same measurements and th e same shape. •The height of one 26 a cord twelve cubi ts long gave the measurement of its girt h; so also was the second
cherub was the same as the other's. · He placed the cherubs in the middle of the 27 16 pillar. - He made two capitals of cast bronze for th e to ps of the pillars; the
inner cha mber; th eir wings were spread ou t so that the wing of one touched 17 height of one capi tal was five cubits, and the height of the othe r five cu bits. v- He
one of the walls and the wing of the other touc hed the other wall, while their ma de two sets of filigree to cover the moulding of the two cap itals su rmount ing
wings met in the middle of the cha mber, wing to wing . ·And he pla ted the 28 the pilla rs, one filigree for one ca pital an d one filigree for the ot her cap ita l.
Elk4 1:17 18
cherubs with gold . •All round the Templ e wall s he carved figure s of cherubs, 29 19b He also made pomegranates: two rows of the m round each filigree, -four
palm trees and rosettes, both inside and ou tside." · He plated the floor of the 30 20 hundred in all, -a pp lied on the raised moul ding behind the filigree ; the re were
Temple with gold , both inside and outside. two hund red pomegranates round one capi ta l and the same round the oth er
lit ca pita l. •The cap ital s surmounti ng the pillars were flower-shaped. •He set
The doors .' The court up the pilla rs in front of the vestib ule of the sanc tua ry ; he set up the right-hand Ez k40: 49
Ezk41 :23
He ma de th e do or of the Debir with uprights of olive wood, and five-sided 3! pillar and nam ed it Jachin; he set up the left-hand pillar and named it Boaz.'
door jambs, -and th e two leaves of olive wood. He carved figures of cherubs, 31 22 So the work on the pillars was completed.
pal m trees and ro settes which he pla ted with gold; he put a gold surface on the
cheru bs and palm trees.• Similarl y, he made upr ights of olive wood for the door 33
The bronze 'Sea ' !12C h4:2-5

of th e He kal, an d four -sided door jambs, -and the two leaves of juni per: one 34 23 H e ma de th e Sea/ of cast metal, ten cubits fro m rim to ri m, circular in sha pe 2K I6: 17 :
2 5: 13
lea f had two ribs binding it, and th e other ha d two ribs bind ing it. • He carved 35 and five cubits high; a cord th irty cub its lo ng gave the measu rement of its girt h. J r 27: 19

cheru bs, palm trees a nd ros ettes , which he pla ted with gold laid evenly over the 24 U nder its rim and compl etely encircling it were gour ds; th ey went ro und the
carvings. Sea over a length of thirty" cubits; the gourds were in two rows, of one a nd
He built the wall of the inner court> in three courses of dressed sto ne and one 36 25 the same casti ng with the rest. • It rested on twelve oxen, three facing no rth,
co urse of cedar beams. three facing west , three facing south, thr ee fac ing east; on the se, th eir hind-
26 quarters all tu rne d inwards, stood the Sea . -I t was a hand's breadt h in thickness,
T he date an d its rim was shaped like the rim of a cup, like a flower. It held two thousand
In the fourth yea r, in the month of Ziv, the foundations of the Temple were 37 ba th s.
laid ; -in the eleven th year, in the month of Rul-that is, t he eighth month-the 38
Temple was completed exactly as it had been pla nned and designed . Solomon The wheeled stand s and the bronz e basins'
to ok seven years to build it. 27 He made the ten stands of bro nze; each stan d was fou r cubits long, fou r 2 KI6: 17
Jr 27:19
28 cubits wide, and three high.• They were designed as follows: the y ha d an under-
Solomon' s palaces 29 ca rriage an d crosspieces to the undercarriage. ·On the crosspieces of the
Qo 2:4 As regar ds his pal ace, Solomo n spen t thirteen years on it before the bui ldi ng undercarriage were lion s and bulls and cherubs, and on top of the undercarriage
Is 22:8
7 was completed. • He built the Hall of the Forest of Lebano n," a hund red
cubits long, fifty cubits wide, an d th irty cub its high, on fou r rows of cedar wo od
1

pi lla rs with ceda r capi tals on th e pilla rs. -It was pan elled in cedar o n the upper
pa rt as far as the pla nks above the pillar s.' -T here were th ree rows of ar chitraves,"
forty-five in all, t ha t is, fifteen in each row, facing o ne an other fro m three sides .
A ll the doo rs and upr ights were of rectangular design, facing one another from
three sides. -And he made t he Hall of Pilla rs, fifty cubi ts long and thirty cubits
wide . . . with a po rch in fro nt .' · He also mad e the Hall of th e T hron e where he
Ps 122:5
used to dispense just ice, that is, the Ha ll of Justice ; it was pane lled in ceda r
fro m floo r to rafters. • H is own living qu a rters, in t he other co urt a nd inwards
from t he Hall, were of the same co nstruct ion. And th ere was a house similar
3:1 + to this Ha ll for t he daughter of Pha raoh who m he had ta ken in marr iage .
All t hese buildings were of special stones cut to measure, trimmed on the
inner and ou ter sides with th e saw, right from th e fo undat ions to the wood course!
- their found at io ns were of special stones, huge sto nes, sto nes of ten and eight
cub its, -a nd, a bove these, special st ones, cu t to measur e, an d cedar wood - ·and,
!.2 C h 4:9
o n t he out side, t he great co urt had three courses of dresse d ston e roun d it and
one course of ceda r beams ; so also had the inner co urt of t he Temple of Yahweh
a nd the vestibule of the Te mple.
30
was a supp ort ; under the lions and oxen there were scrolls in th e style of. ..
Each stand had four bronze wheels with bronze axles; its four feet ha d shoulder-
3 31 ings unde r the basin, an d th e shouldering s were cast .. . •Its mo uth measured on e
4
g. Th e altar of incense. cf Ex 30:1 +. wit h th e th rone room, v. 7. 'capit a ls' (i n v.z) T ar g .
h. The Hebr . has some extra words at the beginning and Svr .
of the verse b u t t he te xt is co rr up t . c. T h e Hebr. her e has 'For ty-five in all , that is,
l. H ebr. adds ' a nd he plated the whole a ltar of fifteen in each ro w' , tr a nsposed fr o m v. 4.
the De b fr with go ld'; o mitted by G reek . d . Meanin g uncertain.
7
i , One or two words have dropped out of the text. e. End of vers e corrupt .
k. He re , as in v. 30. ' inside ' m eans th e D ebi r, or f . The text adds 'a nd on th e outside as far as the
in ner Te mple . Y. 27 ; ' ou tside ' means the He kaI. Th e acea r court', corrupted do ub let of the end of v. 12.
~
tw o ver ses hav e been added.
J. T he de scrfptio n is h ar d to understand. T he text
g . T hese two colum ns stoo d in front of th e p o rch
of th e Temple, o n eit her side of th e e nt ra nce.
needs cor rection and the meaning of sever al technica l
h . T he text of vv. 17-22 is d isordered and in places
terms is uncertain .
9 m. T he Templ e co urt it self as distinct fro m t he
co rru pt. Res tor a tio n co n jectu ra l.
i. The two na m es are obsc ure; posslblv Cwith cor r. )
great court tha t su rro unded both T e m ple an d pa lace. 'it is fir m ' an d 'it is strong ' .
10
7 a . T he descr ip tion is mos tly co nfin ed to th e pu blic j , A la rge so urce of su pp ly of wa ter for sac red uses,
roo ms. Th e buildings la y to the s outh of th e Te m p le cf. Nb 19.
Ii area . on th e Hill of O phel . k . 't h irt y' co nj.: ' ten ' Hebr.
b. A grea t pillar ed ha ll; th e co lumns were of ced ar.
l. Tex t corrupt and inte rpretat ion diffic ult. (T he
It ser ved as a guard room and as a n ante-cha m ber for words at the end of vv. 29 . 30, 36 are u n tn telllai ble .)
a udience with the k in g , It h ad a vestib ule, v . 6, and T he st an ds were q u adra ngu lar a nd su rmo un ted by a
com m unica ted with th e r oy al ap ar tm ent s, v , 8, and rounded sUPPOrl to ho ld the bo wl.
 7:3 2 1 KI NGS
an d a half cubits from whe re the sho ulderin gs met to the top ; its mouth was
round like a rest for a vessel, and on the mouth th ere were engravings to o;
the crosspieces, however, were rectangula r a nd not ro und. -The four wheels 32
were und er the crosspieces. The axles of the wheels were inside the stands;
the height of the whee ls was one and a half cubits.•The wheels were desi gned 33
like chario t wheels: their axles, felloes, spokes and naves had all been cast.
There were four shoulderings at the four corners of each sta nd : the stan d and the 34
shoulderings were all of a piece. ·At the top of the stand there was a support, 35
circular in shape and half a cubit high; and on top of the sta nd the re were lugs.
The cro sspiec es were of a piece with the stand. -On the bands he en graved cherubs 36
and lion s and palm leaves . .. and scrolls right round. • He made the ten stands 37
like th is: the same casting and the same measurements for all.
112 C h 4:6 He made ten bronze basins ; ea ch basi n held forty baths and each basin 38
measured fou r cubits, o ne basin to each of the ten stands. •He a rranged the 39
stands, five o n the right -hand side of the Temple, five on the left-ha nd side of
2Ch4:10 the Temple; the Sea he placed o n the right-hand side of the Temple to the
south-east.
1\21 ~~ 4: The utensils. Summary
H ira m made the ash co ntainers, m the scoops and th e sprinkling bowls. He 40
finished all th e work that he did for King Solomon on the Temple of Yahweh:
two pillars; the two mo uld ings of th e ca pitals surmount ing the pillars; the 41
two sets of filigree to cover the two mou ldings of the capi ta ls surmounting the
pillars; -the four hundred pomegranates for the two sets of filigree; the pome- 42
gra nates of each set of filigree were in two ro ws ;"
the ten stands an d the ten basins on the sta nds; 43
the one Sea and the twelve oxen ben eath the Sea; 44
2K25: 14
the ash containers, the scoops, the sp rinkling bowl s. 45
All these furnishings made by H iram for King Solomon for the Te mple of
Yahweh were of burnished bronze. -He made the m by the pro cess of sand 46
ca sting,> in the Jorda n area bet ween Succo th a nd Zarethan.» P T here were so 47
many of them , that th e weight of the bronze was never calculat ed.
Solo mon placed all the furnis hings he had made in the Temple of Yahweh: 48
6:2a- 21
Ex25:23+ the gold en altar " and the table fo r the loaves of offering, which was of gold;
!!2 C h 4 :7 the lam p-stands, five on the right and five on the left in front of the Debi r, of 49
2K 25:14 pure gold ; the floral work, th e lamps, the extin guishers, of gold; -the basins, 50
112 C h 4 :8 knives, sprink ling bowls, incense boats, censers, of pure gold; the door sockets
fo r the inner shrine- that is, the Holy of Holies-a nd for the Hekal, of gold . r
112 C h 5: : So all the work that King Solomon did for the Temple of Ya hweh was 51
co mpleted, and Solomon bro ught what his father David had consecrated, the
silve r and the gold and t he vessels, and put them in th e treasury of the Temple of
Ya hweh.
!'2 Ch 5: 2-10
The ark brough t to the Temple
E x25:10+
2S6:7+ 8 a Then Solomon call ed the elders of Israel togeth er in Jerusalem to bri ng the
ark of the coven ant of Yahweh u p fro m the Ci tadel of Dav id, which is Z io n.
All the men of Israel assembled round Ki ng Solomon in the month of Et ha nim,
I
2
8:65 at the time of the feast b (that is, the seventh month), . and the priests took up 3 h. Et ha nim is a mont h o f the C a naa ni te ca len da r
the ark -and the Ten t of Meetings with all the sacred vessels that were in it. 4 Israel ite on e . as th e gloss explains. T he mos t importa nt
In the presence of the ark, Ki ng Solomon and all Israe lsacrificed sheep and oxen , 5 feas t is t hat of Tabernacles. d. Ex 23: 14 + .
cou ntl ess, innumerable. -The priests brought the ark of the covenant of Yahweh 6 A uloss ator ca lls it ' t he Ten t o f Mee ti ng' after th e
to its place, in the Debir of the Temple, that is, in the Holy of Hol ies, under the
ch erubs' win gs. -Fo r there whe re the ark was placed the cherubs spread ou t 7
t heir win gs and sheltered the ark and its shafts. -T hese were long enough for 8a
their ends to be seen from the Holy Place in front of the Debir, but not from
Ex25 :2 1:
40 :20 outside.• T here was no thing in the a rk except the two sto ne ta blets Moses ha d 9 ta kes pos sessio n of his sa nctua ry.
1 KI NGS 8:25
placed in it a t Ho reb, the ta blets of the cove na nt" which Ya hweh had ma de with D tlO:2.5
8b the Israeli tes when they came out of the land of Egypt; - they are still there today.
11 2 C h 5: I I-
The Lord takes possession of his Temple 6:2
2 M 2:8
10 Now when the priests came out of the sa nctua ry, the cloud' filled the Temple Ex 40:34-35
I s 6:4-
II of Yah weh , -a nd because of the cloud the pries ts could no longer perform thei r Ezk lOA
~ . R v15:8
duties: the glor y of Yah weh filled Yahweh 's Temple.
12 T hen Solom on said:! E x2 4:16 +
Ezk 43:4-5
'Y a hweh has ch osen to dwell in the thick cloud. Ps 18:11;
97:2
13 Yes, I hav e built yo u a dwelling, Ex 15: 17
a place for you to live in for ever.' Ps I3 2:.13- 14
Solomon addresses the people i1 2 e h 6:3 -1 1
14 T hen thc king turned and blessed the whol e assembl y of Israel , while the whol e
15 asse mbly of Israe l stood. • Hc said, 'Blessed be Yahweh, the God of Israel , who
has carried out by his hand what he promised with his mou th to Dav id my father
16 when he said, · "From the day I brought my people Israel out of Egypt [ chose 2S7:4- 16 /·
Ps 132
no city, in a ny of the tr ibes of Israel , to ha ve a ho use bu ilt where my na me might 2 K 2 1:7
17 mak e its home ;" but [ chose David, to rule over Israel my peop le". • My ra ther Ez k4\\:35
Dav id had set his hea rt on buildin g a hou se for the na me of Yahwe h, the God
18 of Israe l, - but Ya hweh sa id, " You have set yo ur heart on build ing a hou se fo r
19 my name, a nd in th is yo u ha ve done wcll; "'a nd yet , you are not the ma n to build
t he house ; your so n, born or yo ur own bod y, shall bu ild t he hou se for my na me". 2 S 7: 12f
20 Ya hweh has kep t the prom ise he mad e: I have succee ded David my ra ther a nd
a m seat ed on the th ron e or Israe l, as Ya hwe h pro mised; I have built th e hou se
21 for the name or Ya hweh, th e God of Isra el, -a nd have mad e a place in it for thc
ark co nta ining the co venan t tha t Ya hweh made with ou r fathers when he brou ght
the m out of the la nd of Egypt.'
Solomon 's prayer for himself'« 1'2 C h6:
12-20
22 Then (in the presence of the who le assembly of Israel) Solomon stood before
23 the altar of Ya hweh and , st retching out his hands to wards heaven , -s aid, ' Ya hweh,
God of Israel, no t in hea ven above nor on earth be nea th is th ere such a God DI 4:39 ;7:9
as you, true to your covenant and yo ur kind ness towards your ser va nts when
24 they walk who lehea rte dly in your way . •Yo u have kept th e pr om ise yo u made
to your serva nt D avid my father ; what yo u promised with your mout h, to day 2S7:1 1·16
25 you have car ried out by your hand. -And now , Yahweh, God of Israe l, keep
the pro mise yo u ma de to your servant D avid when you said, " Yo u shall never
lack for a man to sit before me on the throne of Israe l, if onl y your sons ar e
rn, 'ash con tain er s ' so m e MSS a nd Gree k . ed ly au thent ic poe m after 8:5 3 in a s llg ht lv m ore
n. T he Hebr. here repeats a phrase of v. 41. devel op ed form (and with so me vari ants), ad d ing th a t
c, Following Greek . it is tak en fr om ' the Book of Son g' . Th e poem as they
D. The Hebr. beai ns t his ver se with the sa me p rese nt it see ms to co n trast the s un s h ini ng in the
p hrase as v, 48. hea vens with Yahweh deigni n g to dwe ll in the d a r kn ess
Q. T he a ltar o f incen se .
r . The en d of th e verse is re d u nd a nt in Heb r.
R a . In vv. 1-5 cert a in redundan cies of the Hcbr .
o r the H ol y o f Holies.
~ . ' T he name' of Y ah we h dwells in t he T empl e
in w hic h Ya hwe h h imsel f ca nno t be co n fined . cf. t he
h ave been el im inat ed , I cfl owi nu G reek . in sert ion o f v. 2 7 w hich exclud es t he crass i nt erpre t atio n
t h a t God him sel f res ides i n the Tem p le . N o netheless,
which co rrespo nds with th e 7 t h mo n th o f th e lat er a name is a perso n's t ru e expression and repr esenta tive.
and wher e ' the na me o f Yahweh' is. (loll is p rese nt
in a very spec ial way. th o ugh no t in an y ex cl us ive se nse.
e. T he tent tha t shel tered the ar k , 2 S 7:2: I K 1::\9. h . T he a uthor he re d evel ops. in th e mann er o f Dr,
ideas co nta ined in the dis course o f vv. 15-21. l ie hegin s
ta be rnacle o f desert da ys. the mc ctmn place of Moses wi t h t hc p rinciple o f mu tual fidel ity. v, 23: (IOJ 'S
wi th Go d, Ex 25:22 I· . kindness to h is peo ple flows fr o m the Sina ltic pa ct.
hut is co nd itio na l on thei r fait hfu lness: in t hig is
d . ' t he table ts of Ihe cove na n t' Greek . con ta ined the who le thco togv o f t he cove nant, {he
e . T he clo ud. cr. Ex 13:24 -c: 19: 16 +. is t he vis ib le cen t r al doc tr i ne o f t he D.T. T h en f o ll o w tw o particular
ma ni festati o n o f th e presence o f Yahweh who now a p plica tio ns: Ya hweh has kern h is promise regardin g
th e Te m ple . v, 24 ; may he keep it a lso in rega rd to th e
f . So me G reek MSS place th is s hort and undo ubt- stabili ty of th e d yn as ty, v. 25.
II 8:26 1 KINGS 430 43 l KI NGS

careful how they behave, walking before me as you yourself have done". -So 26 ~b I have built for your name , -hcar from heaven where your home is," -forgive
now , God of Israel, let the words come true which you spoke to your servan t your people the sins they have committed again st you and all the crimes they have
Dt4:7 + 2 Ch30:9
In l : l4 David my father. •Yet will God really live with men' on the earth? Why, the 27 been guilty of, grant them to win favo ur with their co nquerors so that they may
Ps 148:4 Dt 4:20 :
Is 66 : I heave ns and their own heavens cannot co ntain you . How much less this house 51 have pity on them; •for they are your people and your heritage whom you brought 9:26 :32:9
Jr 23:24 Es t 4:17g
.» Ac 7:48; that I have built! -Li sten to the prayer and entreaty of your servant, Ya hweh my 28 out of Egypt, that iron furnace. Jr 11:4
17:24
God; listen to the cry and to th e prayer your servan t makes to you today. •Day 29
1! 2C h6:40
DtI2:5. 11 and night let your eyes watc h ove r this house, over this place of which you have Conclusion of the prayer and blessing of the people
Ez.k48:35 said , "My name shall be there", Listen to the prayer that your servant will offer 52 'Be always watchful for the entreaty of your servant and of your peop le
in this place. 53 Israel , always hearing them when they call to you . • For it was yo u who set them
D t7: 6 +
12 Ch6:
apart from all the peopl es of the earth to be your own heritage, as you declared
21-31 Solomon's prayer for the people through Moses your servant when you brought our ancestors out of Egypt, Lord
'Hear th e ent reaty of your serva nt and of Israel your people as they pray in 30 Yahweh.'
Ps20:2:13 2:1
this place. Fro m hea ven where your dwelling is, hear ; and, as you hear, for give. • 54 W hen Solomon had finished olTering this who le prayer and entreaty, he rose
'If a man sins aga inst his neighbour, and the neighbo ur calls down a curse 3 1 from where he was kneeling with han ds stretch ed out towa rds heaven before the
on him! and ma kes him swear an oath befor e your altar in this Te mple, -hear 32 55 altar of Yahweh, -and stood erect. And in a loud voice he blessed the whole
fromheaven, and act; decide between your serva nts : pro nou nce the wicked one 56 asse mbly of Isra el. .'Blessed be Ya hweh' he said 'w ho has granted rest to
guilty, br inging his co nd uct down on his own head; a nd vind icate t he innocen t, his peop le Israe l, keep ing all his pro mises; of all th e promises of good tha t he
Is 55: lOf
rewardi ng him as his inn ocence deserves. 57 made through Moses his servant, not one has failed .• May Ya hweh our Go d be
Lv2:6:t4.17 D1 31:6
Dt 28:25.45 'When your people Israel are defeated by th e enemy because they have sinned 33 with us, as he was with our ancestors; may he never desert us or cast us off. Jos 1:5
los 7
against you, if they return to you and praise your name and pray to you an d 58 May he turn o ur hea rts towards him so th at we may follow all his ways and J r31 :31 +
entreat you in th is Te mp le, -hear fro m heaven ; for give th e sin of your peo ple 34 keep the com ma nd men ts, ana laws, and o rd ina nces he gave to o ur ances tors.
Israel, and bring them back to the land you gave to their ancestors. 59 May these words of mine, of my entreaty before Ya hweh, be presen t with Yahweh
D r11:17;
28:23 -24 ' When the heavens are shu t and there is no rain because they have sinne d 3 5 our G od day and night, that he may uph old the caus e of his servant and the
against you , if they pray in th is place and pra ise your name and, having been 60 ca use of Israel his people, as eac h day requ ires, -so that all the peoples of the
hum bled by you! repent of their sin, -hea r from heave n and forgive th e sin of 36 ea rth may com e to know tha t Ya hweh is God indeed, and that there is no othe r.
your serva nt and of your people Israel-show them the good way they ought 61 May your hearts be wholly with Yahweh our God, following his laws and
to follow-and send rain on your land wh ich you have given your peop le for an keeping his commandments as at this present day.'
inheritance. U2C h 7:4- 10
Dt28:21.38.
4251 'S hould there be famine in the land, o r pestilence, blight or mildew, locust 37 The sacrifices on the feast of Dedication
A m 4:9 62
or caterpillar ; should this people 's enemy lay siege to one of its city gates ;' if there 63 The king and all Israel with him offered sacrifice before Yahweh. -Solornon
is any plague or sickness; •if anyone> should feel remorse in his own heart and 38 offered twenty-two thou sand oxen and a hundred and twenty thousand sheep
Lv3:1 +
pray or make entrea ty, stretchin g out his hands towards this Temple, -hear fro m 39 as communion sacrifices to Yahweh ; and so the king and all the Israelites
Ps 130:4 heaven where your home is ; forgive and act, dea ling with each as his con duct 64 dedicated the Temple of Yahweh. -On the same day the king cons ecrated the
J r l l :20 + deser ves; for you know every heart.i--you alone know the hearts of all mankind- middle of the court lying in front of the Temple of Yahweh ; and there he offered
D 1 12:1 Lv 1-3 +
and so the y ma y come to revere you as long as th ey live in the land you gave to 40 th e holocaust, ob lations and fatt y parts of the communion sacr ifices, since the
2K16:12
our fathers. bronze altar> that stood before Yahweh was too small to hold the holocaust, 1-M 4:44
Ezk43 :13
65 oblation and the fatt y pa rts of the communion sacrifices, -A nd so at that time ,
Supplementary section» Solomon celebrated the feast, q and all the Israelites with him , a great gathering 12:32
Jg 20:1 +
EXI 2:48 + 2 M 2:12
1:2 C h 6: 'And the foreigner too , not belonging to your people Israel, if he comes from 41 from the Pass of Hamath to the wadi of Egypt, before Yahweh ou r God for
32-3 9
Is 2:2-5 : a distant coun try for the sake of your name - · for men will hear of your name, 42 66 seven days . r • T hen, on the eighth day, he dismissed the people, who blessed
56:7
JrI 6: 19-2 1 of your mighty hand a nd outstretched ann-if he co mes and pray s in this Te mple, the king and went to t heir homes, rejoicing and happy in hear t for all the goodness
M i 4: 1-3
Ac 8:27 hear from heaven where yo ur home is, a nd grant all the foreigner as ks, so th at 43 Ya hweh had shown to D avid and to his people Israel.
D/26: J5
Si 36:4 all the peoples of the earth may co me to know yo ur name and , like your peopl e
1i2 C h7:1l -22
Zc8:20-23
Israel, revere you, and know th at your name is given to the Temple I have built. Yahweh appears a second time

Tb3: 11
'If your people go out to wa r against the ir enem ies o n the way th at you send
them, and if they turn towards the city yo u have ch osen a nd towards the Te mple
44 I 9 When Solom on had finished building th e Temple of Ya hweh and th e roya l
palace and all he had a mind to build, •Yahweh a ppeared to Solomo n a 3:5-15
Ps 5:7
Do 6: 11
I ha ve bu ilt for yo ur name, and pray to Yahweh, -hear from heaven their pr ayer 45
8 i. ' wi th men ' G reek. Tar g, and 2 C h 6: 18 . o . Th e Hebr. ad d s ' t heir prayer a nd t he ir entrea ty'
and thei r entreaty, and uphold their cause . j. 'calls down' co rr . Prayer for d ivine jud geme nt: and uphold t heir ca use', doublet of v . 45.
Pr 20:9
00 7: 20 'If they sin against yo u- for there is no man who does not sin-and you 46 the accuser who lacks proof stands be for e th e a lta r p. T he altar of holocaust s to od befo re th e entrance
Rm 3:2 1 an d calls d o wn a c ur se on t he acc use d . God will sho w to t he Te m p le. It was a met al st r uc tur e which was
lJ nl :~- IO are angry with th em and deliver them to the enemy, and the ir conquerors lead the guil t or inn ocen ce of the accu sed by im pleme n ti ng m o veable , cf. 2 K 16: 14. and re call ed the mo veabl e
Dt28:63-6 4 ;
30:1 -2 them ca ptive to a country far or near, · if in the land of the ir exile they co me 47 or not im p leme nti ng the curse. Cf. Nb 5: 19-28 ; a lt a r o f (he desert taber nacle, (he descrfprion of wh ich
J g / 7: 1-3. is ide ali sed . E x 27:l f . T he alt ar er ec ted b y So lom on.
0 1 9:5 to themselves and repen t, and in the country of their conquerors they entrea t 9;25. rem ained in use (ill the ti m e o f A haz, 2 K 16:10 .
k , ' h um b led' G ree k. Vu lg ,
D n 9:5 you sayin g, "We have sinned, we ha ve acte d perversely and wickedly", -a nd if 48 I. ' o ne of its ci ty gat es ' Greek, Svr, Q. T he ded icat ion of the Temple co incides wit h

they turn again to you with all their hea rt and soul in the country of the enemies m, G reek . Hebr. adds 'of a ll the pe op le of Isr ae l' . th e feast of Tabernacles. v. 2. wh ich las ted fo r seve n
Tb 3: 11 n . Added after t he ret u r n fr om exile . Note t he days. D r 16;13- 15.
Ps 28:2; who have deported them, and pra y to yo u, turnin g towa rds the land you gave u niversa lism of vv. 41-4 3. the c us to m of prayin g with r, The Hebr. adds 'and seven more days. that is
106 :6 the face turned to Jerusalem. v. 44 . the co ncern for fourteen days" a gloss absent from the G reek a nd
to their ancestors, towards the city you have cho sen, and to ward s the Temple contradicted by v , 66 .
those still far from horne. vv. 47f.
 1 KINGS 432
seco nd time, as he had a ppear ed to him at Gibeon .• Ya hweh said to him, 'I grant
Ps 93:5 your prayer a nd the entreaty you have made before me . I consecra te this house
you have built : I place my na me th ere for ever; my eyes and my hea rt shall
P s 101:2
be always there .• For your part, if you wa lk before me wit h innocence of heart
and in honesty, like David your father , if you do all I order you and keep my
laws and my ordinances, . 1 will make your royal thro ne secure over Israel for
ever, as I promised David your father when i said : You shall never lack fo r a
man on the throne of Israel. •But if you turn away from me, you or your sons ,
Dt28:15 and do not keep the commandme nts a nd laws I have set before you , and go
Jr 22:9 and serve other gods and wo rship them, -t hen I will cut Israel off from the land
I have given th em, and I will cast out fro m my presence this Temple that 1 have
consecrated for my name, and Isra el shall become a proverb and a bywor d
among all the nat ions. -As for thi s exalt ed Temple," all who pass by will be
D128 :37: as tounded ; they will wh istle and say, "Why has Ya hweh treated this cou ntry
29:23 -26
J r I 8: 16 ; and this Temple like this?" -A nd the a nswe r will be, "Because they dese rted
19:8:
29 :18 Ya hweh their God who brought their a ncestors out of the land of Egypt, and
1 S 8:8
they adopted other gods and wor shipped them a nd served them; th at is why
Yahweh has brought all the se disasters on t hem ".'
112Ch8 :1-6
The bargain with Hiram
At the end of the twent y years it to ok So lomon to erect the two bui ldings,
5:24-25 the Temple of Ya hweh an d the roya l palace .(Hira m king of Tyre had pr ovided
Aml :9 So lomon wit h as much cedar wood, j un iper wood a nd gold as he had wa nted),"
King Solomo n gave H ira m twenty to wns in the lan d of G alilee.• But when
Hiram cam e fro m Ty re to view th e tow ns Solomon had given him , he was not
pleased with them . -He said, 'Wha t kind of towns a re these you have given me,
my brother?' And to this day they are called 'the land of Ca bul' .:' -Hiram sen t
the king one hundred and twenty talents of gold .
Forced labour for Solomon 's building prog ramm e
This is an account of the forced labour King So lomon levied for the building 15
11:27 of the Temple of Yahweh, his own palace, the Millo" and the wall of Jerusalem,
Hazar, Megiddo, Gezer · (Pha raoh king of Egypt went up and captured Gezer, 16
he bu rnt it down and massacred the Ca naanites living there; he then gave the
3: 1 tow n as a dowry to his da ughte r, Solomo n's wife, -a nd So lomo n rebui lt Gezer), 17
Lower Bet h-heron, •Baa lath, Ta mar in th e wilderness, inside the cou ntry, -all :~
10:26 the garriso n towns owned by Solomo n, all th e tow ns fo r his char iots and horses,'
a nd all it pleased Solomon to buil d in Jerusa lem, in Lebanon and in a ll the
Jo s 17:13 cou ntr ies subjec t to him.• All tho se who surv ived of the Amor ite, Hitt ite, Per izzite , 20
11 2Ch 8:7- 1O
Hiv ite and Je busite peop les, who were not Israel ites, -t heir descendants who were 21
DI7:1 +
left in the country after th em , th ose on who m th e Israelites had not been able
D I7-2-
20:1 6 • to en for ce the ban, these So lomon conscripted as slave- labourers, as they are
still. •However, Solomon did not impose sla ve-la bou r on the Israel ites ;" these 22
served as fighting men : they were his guards, officers, eq uerries, chariot and
cavalry co mma nders . •These were the adm inistrato rs' o fficials who supervised 2 3
So lomon's work: five hun d red and fifty of th em in cha rge of the peo ple employed
3:1
112C h8:11 in the wo rk . -A fter Pha rao h's daughter had moved from th e Citadel of Dav id 24
to the house which he had built for her , he th en built th e Millo.
The maintenance of the Temple
Ex23: 14 +
D 11 6:16 T hree ti mes a yea r Sol o mon offered ho locau sts a nd communion sacrifices
112Ch8 : 12-16
on the altar he had buil t fo r Ya hweh . . . g and he kep t the Temple in good rep ai r
433 1 KINGS 10:14
C . SOLOMON THE TRADER
Solomon as ship-owner , 2C h 8: 17- 18
4
22:49
26 King Solomon eq uipped a fleet at Ezion-geber, wh ich is near Ela th on the N b3 3:36
5 27 shores of the Red Sea , in the land of Eda m . • For this fleet Hiram sent men of
28 his, sailor s who knew t he sea, to serve wit h So lomon's men . •They went to Oph ir
6 and from there they brought hac k fo ur hundred and twenty talents of gold , 00 2:8
which they del ivered to King Solo mon ." Jg 14:12
7 12C h9: 1- 12
Qo 1; 16;2;1'1
The queen of Sheba visits Solomon" .» M t 12:42p
8
I 10 The fame of So lomo n havi ng reached the quee n of Sheba ... " she came Si Ps 72 : 10
4 7:17
to test him with d iffic ult q uestion s. -She hrou gh t imme nse rich es to Jerusa- JrIs 43:3
6: 20
lem wit h her, ca me ls laden with spices, great qua nt ities of gold, and pr ecious L k 11:3: 131
Ezk3g
9 3 sto nes. On co ming to Solomon, she o pened her mind freely to him ; -an d Solomo n
had an answer fo r all her questio ns, not o ne of t hem was too ob scur e for t he Dn 1:20
king to expound . •When the queen of Sheb a saw all the wisdom of So lomo n,
the palace he had bui lt, • the food at his tab le, th e accommoda tion for his officials, ws S: I I
the org an isat ion of his staff and the way they were d ressed , his cup-beare rs, and
the ho locausts he offered in the Temp le of Ya hwe h, it left her breath less, -a nd
10 she sa id to the king, 'What I hea rd in my own co untry ahout yo u a nd yo ur
II 7 wisd om was true, th en! · Until I ca me a nd saw it with my own eyes I could not
believe wha t they to ld me, but clea rly they to ld me less tha n half : fo r wisdo m
12 8 a nd pros perity yo u surpass the repo rt I heard .• How ha ppy yo ur wives arc!: How
ha ppy a re these servants of yo urs who wa it o n yo u always a nd hea r yo ur wisdo m'
13 9 Blessed he Ya hwe h yo ur G od who has gran ted you his favour , sett ing you on
14 the thro ne of Israel! Because of Ya hwe h's ever last ing love for Israel , he has
10 made you king to deal out law a nd justice.' • And she presen ted the king with
a hundred a nd twenty ta lents of go ld and grea t quantit ies of spices a nd precious
sto nes; no such wealth of spices ever came aga in as those given to K ing Solomo n
II by the queen of Sheba . -A nd the fleet of H ira m, which ca rried gold from Op hir, Si 4i: 18
12 also bro ught great cargoes of alrnuggi rn wood" a nd precious sto nes. -The king
made su ppor ts with t he almuggim wood for t he Te mple of Ya hweh a nd for
the royal palace, a nd lyres a nd harps for th e musician s : no more of thi s almuggim
13 wood has since come o r been seen to this da y. -And King Solomo n in his turn ,
presented the que en of Sheba with all she exp ressed a wish for , hesides those
presents he mad e her o ut of his royal hou nty . T hen she went home, she and
her serva nts, to her own country.
Solomon 's wealth 1'2C h9: 13-24
14 T he weight of gold co ming to Solomon in o ne yea r was six hun dred an d
9 a. 'this ex alted Te mp le' vers ions; ' th is Temple will o pposite So malila nd.
be exa lte d' Heb r. ]0 a. T he k ingd om of Sheba was t he S. W. portion of
b. T his rem in iscence is a clu msy ad d it io n since it t he A ra b ia n pe n ins u la, b ut the que en m eru io ned ru led
re fers ( 0 a di fferen t barga in: So lom on se lls pa n of m ore probablv o ver o ne of th e Sabaean se u teme n ts
his te rr itory fo r gold, v. 14 . o f N . Arab ia. Th e Hebr. Bib le di stingui shes between
c. T he co n nec tio n of th e pl ace-name with H ira m 's t he more usu al She ba (used here) a nd Seb a wh ich it
comm ent is do ub tful. ass oc ia tes m ore close ly with C ush. o r Et hio p ia, G n
d . The ' fill in g' of e a rt h t ha t le ve l led t he craggy 10 :7 : Is 43 :3: 45: 14. T he nam e Se ba ca me to be used
h ill s ur ro und inu the T emple a nd pa lace. fo r the far S., just as Tarsh ish sta nds for the W , lim its
c . The (ow ns jus t en ume ra ted. Th e wa r c ha r iots . o f th e ea rt h. Ezk 3H:13 a nd Ps 72: 10 . Sheba is se ver a l
co re of Solom on's s ta nd lnu a rm y . wer e sta tio ne d ti mes me nti o ned in asso ciat ion with Ded an , a no ther
the re. Th e y form ed a line of de fe nce rou nd wh a t was Arabian group, (In 10:7 ; 25:3; Ezk 3H:13. figuri n g as
25 str ic tly Isr a el i te te rrit o r),' . one of th e gre at tr ibes o f t ravellin g m er ch an ts , Ez k
f. T h e au t ho r's rem ark d oes no t sq uare with th e 27:2 0 f: .Ir 0:20: .I14 :H: .T b 6:19. T his far-o ff nec n le will
a ncient . a nd p re ferable, d a ta used in 5:2 7 ; 11:2S. come to do ho ma ge to the future ki ng, Ps 72: 10.15,
g. Text co rrupt. in the new Jer usal em. Is 45 :14 and 60:6 f. cf. Mt 2:11.
b. Untn tcllinl b tc, lit. ' for th e name of Y a hw eh ":
h . Ezion-ze be r, nea r Aq aba, was a port at the head ph rase absen t from 2 Ch 9: 1,
of the Gulf of Aq a ba . O ph ir is a gold-b earm a region c . ' yo ur wives ' versio ns.
situated pr oba bly o n the W . coast of Arabia, possibly d. Rare a nd un ident ifiab le speci es.
 10:15 1 KI N G S
sixty-six talents of gold, -not counting what came in from merchant s' dues a nd
traders' profits, and from all the forei gn kings and the govern ors of th e country.'
14:26 King Solomon made three hundred! great shields of beaten gold, and plated each
shield with six hu ndred shekels of gold ; -al so three hundred small shields of
beaten gold, an d plated each of the se with three minas of gold; and he put them
in the Hall of t he Forest of Lebanon. -The king also made a grea t ivory throne,
and plated it with refined gold. -The throne had six steps, and bulls' heads at the
back of it, and arms at either side of the seat; two lions stood beside the arms,
and twel ve lions stood on either side of the six steps. No throne like this was ever
made in any other kingdom.
Ws 7:11 All King Solomon's drinking vessels were of gold, and all the furnishings in the
Si 47:18 Hall of the Forest of Lebanon were of pure gold ; silver was thought little of in
22:49 the time of Solo mon. -And the king also had a fleet of Tarshish« at sea with
Hiram's fleet, and once every three years the fleet of Tarshish would co me back
laden with gold and silver, ivory, apes and baboons. -For riches and for wisdom
002:10 King Solomon outdid all the kings of the earth. •The whole world sought audience
of Solomon to hear the wisdo m God had implanted in his heart -a nd each wou ld
bring his own prese nt: gold vessels, silver vessels, robes, armour, spices, horses
and mules; and this went on year after yea r.
112Ch 1: 14-17
Solomon's chariots
5:6
1l2Chl:14 ; Solomon built up a force of chariots and horses; he had one thousand four
9:25
9:19 hu ndred chariots and twelve thousand horses; these he stationed in the chariot
towns an d near the king in Jerusalem .• In Jerusalem th e king made silver common
!12C h I:15 ;
9:27 as pebbl es, and cedars plentiful as the sycamores of the Lowlands.• Solomon's
Si 47:1 8
horses were imported from Cilicia ;« the kin g's agents took delivery of them from
Cilicia at a fixed rate . •A chariot was imported from Egypt for six hundred
shekels, a horse for a hundred and fifty. These were exported through the king's
age nts to all the kings of the Hittites and to the kings of Aram in the same way.
D . HIS DECLINE
Ne 13:26
Si 9:2 Solomon's wives
D t-17 :17 King Solomon loved many fore ign women: not only Ph ara oh's daughter
11
Si 47 :19
D t 7:3-4 bu t Moabites. Edomites, Sidonians an d Hittites, -from those peo ples of
whom Yahweh had said to the Israelites , 'You are not to go to them nor they
to you, or the y will surel y sway your hearts to their own gods'. But Solomon
was deeply a ttached to them. •He had seven hu ndred wives of roy al rank, and
J 2Chl l :23-
1.1: 1 th ree hun dred concubines . a • When Solomon grew old his wives swayed his
hear t to ot her gods ; and his heart was no t wholly with Yahweh his God as his
21,25
J!,: 2:13 ...:.. fat her David's had been . ·Solomon became a follower of Astarte, the goddess
of the Sido nians, and of M ilcom, the Ammonite abomination. -He did wha t was
disp leasi ng to Ya hweh, a nd was not a who lehearted follower of Yahweh, as his
J \ 20:5
2 K2.\: I J fat her David had been . •Then it was that Solomon built a high place for Chemosh
2Chll ;2J
I.n 1:5 the god of Mo ab on the mountain to the east of Jerusalem, and to Milcom the
god of the Ammo nites. b • He did the same fo r all his foreign wives, who offered
incense a nd sacrifice to their gods.
Yahweh was an gry with Solo mon becau se his hea rt had turned from Yahweh
the God of Israel who had twice a ppea red to him -and who had then forbidden
him to follow ot her god s; but he d id not ca rry out Yahweh's o rder . •Ya hweh
therefore sa id to Solo mon, 'Si nce you beha ve like t his and do not keep my
covenant or the laws I laid down fo r you, I will most surely tear the kingd om
away from you and give it to one of your servants.• For your father David's sake,
ho wever, I will not do this dur ing yo ur lifetime, but will tear it out of your son 's
han ds. • Even so , I will not tear the whole kingdom from him. Fo r t he sake of
434 435 1 KI NGS
IS my serva nt D avid, and for the sake of Jerusalem which I have cho sen, I wiII
leave your son one tribe."
16
17 Solomon's foreign enemies
14 Yahweh raised an enemy against Solomon, Hadad the Edomite, of the
288:13-14
18 IS kingly stock of Edom. -After David had crushed Edom, Joa b, the commander
19 of the army, had gone to bury the dead and he had slaughtered the entire male
16 population of Edom ·(Joab stayed there with all Israel for six months until he
20 17 had exterminated the entire male population of Edom), •but Hadad with a
number of Edomites in his father's service had fled to Egypt. H adad had been
21 18 only a boy at the time . •They set out from Midian, and on reaching Paran,
took a number of men from Paran with them and went on to Egypt, to Pharaoh,
22 the king of Egypt, who provided him with a house, undertook to maintain him,
19 and assigned him an estate.• Hadad became a great favourite of Pharaoh who
23 gave him his own wife's sister in marriage, the sister of the Great Lady" Tahpenes.
24 20 The sister of Tahpenes bore him Genubath his son whom Tahpenes brought up
25 21 in Pharaoh 's palace, Genubath living with Pharaoh's children. •But when news
reached H ada d in Egy pt that David slept with his ancestors and that Joab the
commander of the army was dead, he said to Pharaoh, ' G ive me leave to return
22 to my own country'. ·'Do you want for anyt hing here with me' said Pharaoh
'th at yo u now ask to return to your own cou ntry?' ' No,' he replied 'but please let
26 2Sb me go.' •Th is is whe re the harm of Hadad comes fro m: he loathed Israel and
ruled Edo m.
27 23 God ra ised a second enemy against Solo mon, Rezon so n of Eliada. He had
2 S 8:3:
28 24 fled from his master, Hadadezer king of Zoba h.• A number of men having rallied 1O:16f
to him, he had becom e leader of a maraud ing band (which was then massacred
20 by David). Rezon captured Damascus and settled there and became king of
2sa Damascus. -He was hostile to Israel as long as Solomon lived.'
The revolt of Jeroboam
26 Jeroboam was the son of Nebat, an Ephraimite from Zeredah; the na me of
his mother, a widow, was Zcr uah ; he was in Solomon's service but revolted
27 aga inst the king.• This is th e acco unt of his revolt.
9: 15
Sol omon was buil di ng t he Millo a nd closing the breac h in the Citade l of 2 S 5:6 +
2Chll:23
2~ Dav id his father . •No w this Jero boa m was a ma n of rank; Solomon, not icing
how th e yo ung man set about his work, put him in cha rge of all the forced
21 la bour of the Ho use of Josep h. -O ne da y when Jer oboam had gon e ou t of 14:2
Jerusale m, the prop het Ahija h of Shiloh accosted him on the road. Ahijah was I S 1:3 +
wearing a new cloak ; the two of them were in t he ope n country by themselves.
4 j'! Ah ijah took the new cloa k he was weari ng a nd to re it into twelve str ips,! -sayi ng I S 15:26
to Jeroboa m, 'Take ten st rips for yourself, for thus Yah weh speaks, the God of
Israel, "I am go ing to tea r the kingdom from Solomon's ha nd and give ten tribes 2 81 9:44
e . Te xt unc ert ain. for po litica l ends a nd th e pag an shrines were in te nded
7 f. ' three hund red' Greek. for his wives and fo r trade rs. Suc h co ntacts, how ever.
ieo na rcliscd the purity of the religi o n of Ya hweh, a nd
g. Mea ni ng of p h rase unc er tai n . Sec 10:1 -1- .
the au thor in ter pr ets th e s itu ation in the spi r it and
h. 'from Ci lic ia' co rr .
8
i. V v. 28-29 may me an that Sol omon's a gen ts ar c
lan gu a ge of Dt : G od punishes th is fo r m of im piet y
by ra ising up e ne m ies abroad. YV. 14(, a nd a t home ,
internat ional mi d dl em en: th ev supp ly Egyp t wi th horses
YV. zsr.
imp or ted from Ci hci a ; they supply 'the kin gs of th e d . T h is 'Great Lady' is th e p rincipa l wife of the
Hitt ites' in N . Syr ia and ' the ki n gs of A ra nt' in S. Syria pharao h a nd is here given a Heh r. ti tle used of the
10 with ch ariots impo rt ed fr om E gy p t. qu ee n m o th er. 1 K 15:13 , and of th e queen, 2 K 10:13.
II 11 a . The Hcbr. adds 'a nd his wives swayed his hear t", c. Te xt rest o re d acco rding to G ree k . Damascu s.
d uplica te of v. 4: a bse nt in Greek. o nc e cont ro lled by D avid, 2 S 8: 6, becomes an in dc-
b . 'the god ' G reek , c f. v. 33; 'the a b om ina tio n ' pendent kingdom : i t will p ro ve a b itt er enemy of Isr ael.
Hebr. "Milcom' Gree k : "M olec h' He br. Mikom is f. T he sym bol ic ges tu res of the p rophets arc not
I~ th e na tio nal god of the A m m oni tes , Jr 49: 1.3; 2 S 12:30 onl y mea nin gfu l b ut hav e a real effect, cr. Jr 18:1 +.
(G reek). Chemosh that of the Mcabites . N b 2t:29 : The ten p ieces as signed to Jer ob o am are the ten N.
Jr 48:46 . tribes (cf. 2 S 19:44) ; the two remai n ing p ieces rep resen t
13 the on e t ribe left for So lomon's s uccessor, na mel y
c . So lom o n' s foreign m arriages were contracted Jud ah which ha d absorbed Simeon. Jos 19:1.
 43 7 1 KINGS 12:3 2
1 KIN G S 43 6
to YO U •• He shall keep on e trib e for the sa ke of my servant David and for the 32 of the people' s wishes, an d this was bro ught about by Ya hweh to carry out the
sake of Jer usalem, the city I ha ve chosen out of all the tribes of Israe l ; •for he 33 pro mise he had sp oken through Ahija h of Shiloh t o Jeroboam so n of Nebat.
11:29·3 9
has forsa ken me to wo rshi p Astarte the god dess of the Sido nians, Chemos h the 16 When all Israe l saw t ha t the king took no no tice of their wishes, t hey gave him
z» 1:5 god of Moab, Milcom th e god of the Ammo nites; he ha s not follo wed my ways ' this answer:
by d oing wha t is right in my eyes or keeping my laws and ord ina nces as his 'W ha t share have we in David? 2 S 20:\
fat her Dav id did .• But I will not take the kingdom out of his own ha nds , since 34
We have no inherita nce in the son of Jesse.
I have made him a prince for as long as he lives, for the sake of my servant David T o your tents, Israel!
who kept my commandments and laws . ·1 will, however, take the kingdom 35
Henceforth look after your own house, David!'
from the ha nd of his son, giving the ten tribes to yo u. ·1 will keep one t ribe to 36
15:4
2 S21:17 give to his son, so that my ser vant David ma y always have a lamp" in my presence 17 And Israel went off to their tents. • Rehoboam, however, reigned over those
4:6;5 :27
2 K 8: 19
2 Ch21 :7 in Je rusalem, the city I have chosen as a dwell ing place for my na me. •You 37 18 so ns of Israel who lived in the towns of Judah. • King Rehoboam sent Adoram
nonetheless I will ta ke to rule over as much as you wish , a nd you shall be king who was in cha rge of fo rced labour, but the Isr aelites stoned him to deat h ;
of Israel. -If you listen to all my orders and foll ow my ways, by do ing what 38 whereupon King Reh oboam was obliged to mount his chariot a nd esca pe to
Si 47:21
is right in my eyes a nd kee ping my la ws a nd co mma nd ment s as my servant 19 Jerusa lem. -An d Israel has been separa ted fro m th e House of David until the
Dav id did , then I will be wit h yo u a nd will build you as enduring a Ho use as present day .
the o rre I buil t for David . I will give Israel to you , - thus humbling the descend a nt s 39
of David ; but not for eve r." , The political schism
2K I7: lg
14:25 Solomon tried to kill Jero boam but he made off a nd fled to Egypt, to Shishak 40 20 W hen all Israel heard th at Jeroboa m had returned, they summoned him
king of Egypt, and he rem ain ed in Egy pt until Solomon's death . to the assembly and made him king of all Israel; no one remained loyal to the
Ho use of Dav id, except the tribe of Jud ah .
['2 C h9:29 ~31
The end of the reign of Solomon 21 Rehoboam went to Jerusalem and mustered the whole House of Judah and the 112 Ch 11:1-4

T he rest of the histo ry of Solo mon , his entire career, his wisdo m, is not all
thi s reco rded in the Boo k of the Act s of Solomo n?' -S o lo rnori's reign in Jerusalem
over all Israe l laste d fo rty yea rs. •T hen Solomon slept with his a ncestors a nd was
bu ried in the Citadel of Da vid his fathe r ; Rehoboam his so n succeeded him.
III. TH E POLITICAL AND RELIGIOUS S CHISM
I S H:II
1, 2 ':h 10 T he assembly a t Shechem
Si47:2 1.23
As soo n as Jero boa m son of Ne bat hea rd the newsa-he was still in Egypt,
12 where he had ta ken refuge fro m King Solomon- he retu rned fro m Egypt.
Reh ob oam went to Shechem, for it was to Shechem tha t a ll Israe l" had gone to
41 tribe of Benja min , a hun d red a nd eighty thousa nd picked warriors, to fight th e
House of Israel and win back t he kingdom for Rehoboam son of Solomon.
42
43 n But the word of Ya hwe h came to Shemaiah the ma n of G od, ·'Say this to
Re hoboam son of Solomon, king of Judah , to the whole House of Juda h, to
24 Benjam in and to the rest of the peop le, · "Y a hweh says th is: Do not go to
fight aga inst you r brothers, the sons of Israel; let everyo ne go home, for what
has happened is my doing" '.
25 Jeroboam fortified Shechem in the mountain country of Ephraim, and lived
the re. The n, leaving there, he fortified Penuel.
2

proclaim him king, • c and the y said th is to him , • 'Y our fathe r gave us a heavy
I S 8: 17
burden to bear; lighten yo ur father' s harsh tyranny no w, a nd th e weight of the
burden he laid on us, and we will serve you ' .» He said to them, 'Go awa y fo r three
days and then co me back to me' . And the people went a way.
Ki ng Re ho boarn consulted the elders , who had been in the servic e of his
fat he r Solomo n while he was alive. 'What rep ly' he asked 'do you ad vise me to
give to th is peo ple?' · ' Act as servant of t his peo ple now ,' they said 'h umour
the m, treat them fairly , and t hey will be yo ur servants for ever.' • But he rejected
the advice given him by the elders a nd con su lted the young men who had gro wn
up with him and were in his ser vice. · 'How do yo u advise us' he asked 'to an swer
t his peo ple who ha ve said to me, " Lighten the burden your fat her imposed
o n us" ?' •T he young men who had grow n up with him rep lied, 'Give this a nswer
to these people who have sa id, "Your fathe r gave us a hea vy burden to bea r, you
mu st lighten it for us", say this to them, " My litt le finger is t hicker th an my fat her 's
loins ! · 50 then , my fat her mad e yo u bear a heavy bur den . I will ma ke it hea vier
st ill. My fat her beat you with whips ; I a m go ing to bea t you wit h load ed
sco urges." ,
Pr 15:1
O n the third da y all the people" carne to Reho boa m in obed ience to the
king's com mand: 'Co me back to me on the third da y' . -The king, rejectin g the
ad vice given him by the elders, gave the people a har sh a nswer, -s pea king to
them as the young men had recommended . ' My fat her made you bea r a heavy
burden ,' he said 'b ut I will make it hea vier still. My fathe r beat yo u with whips ;
I am go ing to beat yo u wit h loaded scourges.' •The king in fact too k no noti ce
26
The religious schism
Jeroboam tho ught to himself, ' As things are , the kingdom will rever t to ~gJ!W21
27 the Ho use of David. •If this peop le continues to go up to the Temple of ribs~4
Ya hweh in Je rusale m to offer sacrifices, the people's hea rt will turn back again H o 13:2
5 28 to their lor d, Re hob oam king of J uda h, a nd they will pu t me to death." -So the
king t ho ught t his over a nd the n made two golden ca lves; he said to the people, Ex 32:4
2KIO:29 ;
17:16
6 ' You 'have been go ing u p to Jerusalem long enough. He re are your gods, Israel; H o 8:5
jg these br ought you u p o ut of the lan d of Egyp t !'! ·He set up one in Bet hel' -and A m3; \4 ;
7:13
7 31 the people went in procession all the way to Dan in front of the other . -He set
2K1 7:32
8 up the tem ple of the high places an d appointed priests from ordinary families,
8:65
32 who were not of the so ns of Levi. -Je roboam also institu ted a feast in the eighth Ho 8:5 ;
9 mon th , on th e fiftee nt h of the mo nt h, like t he feast tha t was kept in Judah, 13:2
and he went up to the altar." Th at was how he behaved in Bethel, sacrificing
10 to the ca lves he had made ; a nd at Bethel he put the priests of the high
g. Verbs in sin gular. with ver sion s. d. G reek . T he Hebr . adds 'Jeroboam' in acc o rdance
h. Symbo lisi ng a n end uri ng d ynas ty . Viit h the gloss of v , 3.
l, Th is bo o k. no w lost. see ms 10 ha ve bee n one of
11 t he ancient so urces o f I K 3- 11. e . T he He b r. ad ds 'They will ret urn to R eho boam,
12 a , Of So lo mo n's d ea th ; v , 2 m ust be read before kin g o f J udah ' , omi tted b y G reek.
v. I. 'h e retu rned fro m Egy p t' vers io ns. f. Je ro boa m's inte ntio n was n ot to adopt another
b. Here . as in the an cien t h istor ica l te xts. ' all Is rael' god . b ut by usin g the symbol of Baal-hadad to rep resen t
mean s the N . tribes as dis tin ct fr om Judah . In Jer us alem th e in visible God ; he was red ucing Ya hw ism to the
12
the peop le o f J uda h reco gn ise Re hoboam. I n S hec he m level of the surrou nding religions.
13 t he Israelites. whose in teres ts So lomon h ad s ubo rd i- g. T he He b r. contin ues ' a nd he p ut t he o ther in
na ted to tho se of Ju da h, demand a cha rt er. T he cr isis Dan . T h is th ing led to sin : D a n. nea r the source of th e
14
h ad lo ng threa tened . Jordan. a nd Beth el, on the Je rusalem road, delimit
c. T he Hebr. inser ts a t the beg inn ing 'And the y th e new ki ngdo m. These p laces were already hallowed
sent an d called Je roboam and he came. he and aU the s hr ines . G n 12:8 erc. : rs 17-18 .
asse mbly of Is rael ' . a gloss omitted by the Greek and h. T he new temple o f Bet hel. like Solomo n 's
15 con tra dic ted by v, 20 , Temple. is dedicated o n the feast of Taberna cles
 I KINGS
places he had esta blished . -O n the fifteent h o f the eigh th month, the month he
had deliberat ely cho sen, he went up to the alt ar he had mad e ; he instituted a feast
for the Israel ites, and went up to the a lta r to offer incense.
The condemnat ion of the altar in Bethel
J S 9:6
Am 3:14
13 There came to Bethel at Ya hweh's co mmand a man of God from Judah
just as Jeroboam was stand ing by the altar to otTer the sacrifice , -a nd at
Yahweh's command this man denou nced the altar. 'Altar , altar,' he said
2K23 :J5·1 6
'Yahweh says this, " A son shall be born to the Ho use of Dav id, Jos iah by na me,
who shall immolate on yo u th e priests of the high places who have offered sac rifice
on you, and on you shall he burn the bo nes of men " .' '' -At the same time he gave
a sign. 'T his is the sign ' he said ' tha t Yahw eh has spo ken, "T his a lta r here will
burst apa rt and the ashes that a re o n it will be sca ttered" . ' •When the king
heard how the man of God denounced the a ltar of Bethel, he stre tched o ut his
hand from th e alta r, say ing, 'Seize him !' But the hand he stretched o ut aga inst
L v 1:16
the man withered, an d he co uld not d raw it bac k, -and the a ltar burst a pa rt
and the ashes from the alt a r were scattered, in accordance with the sign given by
t he man of G od at Yahweh' s co mmand. •T he king said to the man of God, ' I beg
you to placate Yahweh you r G od , " and so resto re me the use of my han d' .
T he man of God placated Ya hweh; th e king's hand was restored as it had been
before . •T he king then said to the man of G od, 'C o me home with me a nd refre sh
N b 22: I S
your self, and I will give you a present' ; •bu t t he man of G od answered the king,
' Were you to give me ha lf yo ur house, 1 would not go wit h you. I will eat and
dr ink nothing here , -Io r I have had Ya hweh's order: " Yo u a re to eat or dr ink
M12 : 12
no thing, nor to return by the way you came".' · An d he left by anot her road a nd
did not return by the way he had come to Bethe l.
The man of God and the prophet '
Now there was an old pr oph et living in Bethel and his so ns ca me to tell him I J
all th at the man of G od had don e in Bethel that day ; and the wo rds he had sa id
to th e king, they told the se to th eir father too . · ' Which road did he ta ke?' their 12
fath er asked . His so ns showe d him" the road th at th e man of God who came from
J uda h had taken. ·'Saddle the donkey for me' he said to his so ns; the y saddled 13
the do nkey for him and he mou nted .• He followed the man of God and found 14
him sitt ing unde r a terebinth . 'Are you the man of God' he said 'who came from
Judah ?' ' I am' he rep lied . ·'Come home with me ' he said 'and take some food.' 15
'I cannot go back with you ,' he an swered 'o r eat or drin k an yth ing here : -fo r : ~
I ha ve received Yahweh 's order: "You are to eat or drin k nothing there, no r
to return by th e way you came" .' · '1 too am a prophet like you,' the other rep lied 18
'and an an gel told me thi s by Ya hweh's order: "Bring him back with yo u to
your ho use to eat and dri nk" .' He was lyin g to him.! •Th e man of G od went 19
bac k with him ; he ate and d ra nk at his house.
20:36
As they were sitti ng at tab le a word of Yah weh came to the prophet who had 20
brought him back, -and he addressed the man of God who came from J udah , 2 1
' Ya hweh says this,' he said '''Since you have defied Yahweh's command and
not obeyed the orders Yahweh you r God gave you, • but have eom e back an d 22
eaten and drunk where he forbade you to eat or dr ink , your co rpse will never
reach the tomb of you r ancesto rs" . ' -After he had eaten and dru nk, the pro phet 23
sad dled t he donkey for him, and he turned ab out and went away ." ·A lio n met 24
him on the road and killed him; his corpse lay stretched out on the road; the
donkey stood there beside it; the lion stood by t he corpse to o.• Peop le goi ng 2 5
by saw the corpse lying on the road and the lio n sta nding by the corpse, and went
and spoke about it in th e town where the old prophet lived.• When the pro phet 26
wh o had made th e man turn back heard a bo ut it, he said , 'Th at istheman of God
who defied Yahweh's command! Ya hweh has handed him over to the lion which
ha s ma uled and killed him , just as Yahweh had fo retold it would .' -He said 27
439 1 KINGS
33 28 to his sons , ' Saddle the donkey for me' , and they sadd led it.• He set off and
foun d the man's corpse lying on the road with the donkey and the lion standing
beside the cor pse ; the lion had neit her eat en the corp se no r mauled the donkey ,
29 Th e prophet lifted the co rpse of the man of God and put it on t he donkey and
brought it back to th e town where he lived to hold mourning for him and bury
him. •He laid the corpse in his own tomb, an d the y raised th e mourning cry
1 30
31 for him, ' Alas, my brother!' -After burying him, the prophet said to his sons,
'When I die, bury me in the same tomb as the man of God, lay my bones beside
lr 22:18
2 K 23:17-18
his, • For the word he uttered at Ya hweh 's command against the altar of Bethel
32
and agai nst all the shrines of the high places in t he to wns of Samaria will certainly
3 com e t rue.'
J3 Jeroboam did not give up his wicked ways after this incident, bu t went on Si 47:24
4 a ppoint ing pr iests for the high places from the com mon peop le. He consecrated
34 as priests of the high places any who wished to be. -Such conduct made the
House of Jero boa m a sinful Ho use, and caused its rui n and extinction fro m the
face of the earth .
5
6
IV . THE TWO KI NGDOMS U N TI L ELIJAH
Continuation of the reign of Jeroboam I (931-910)
7
A~ t h~t time Abijah, Jero?oam's son , fell sick, -and Je.roboam said to his
H
14 WIfe, Come, please disguise you rself so that no one Will recognise you as
Jeroboam's wife, and go to Shiloh; th e prophet Ahijah is there, the man who
1 S 28:8
11:29·39
9
3 said I was to be king over this people. ·Go to him, and tak e ten loaves and some
10
IS9 :7 +
savoury food and a jar of honey; he will tell you what will happen to the chi ld.'
4 Jeroboam's wife did this: she set out, went to Shiloh and came to Ahija h's hou se.
Now Ahijah could not see, his eyes were dimmed with age, •but Yahweh had told
him , 'Jeroboam's wife is no w on her way to ask you for an oracle about her son,
as he is sick. You will tell her such and such. When she come s, she will pretend
6 to be some other woman.' -So when Ahija h heard her footsteps at the door, he
called , 'Come in, wife of Jer ob oam ; why pretend to be someo ne else? I have
7 bad news for you. -G o and tell Jeroboam , "Yahweh says this, th e G od of
16:2
Israel: I raised you from th e people and made you leader of my peopl e Israel ;
8 I tore the kingdom from the House of Dav id and gave it to yo u. But you have
not been like my servant David who kep t my commandments and follow ed me
9 with all his heart do ing only what is right in my eyes; ' you have done more
evil than all your pred ecessor s, you have go ne and ma de yourse lf other gods,
E x20 :3-5
idols of cast metal, " pro vokin g my anger, and you have turned your back on
21:21
10 me.• For this I will br ing disaster on the House of Jero boam, I will wipe out 2K 14:26
every ma le belonging to the famil y of Jero boam, fettered or free " in Isra el, I will
1 S25:22
sweep awa y the House of Jer oboa m as a ma n sweeps dung away till non e is left.
II T hose of Jeroboam' s family who die in the city, the dogs will eat; and tho se
• 15:27·30:
16:4 :21:24
who die in the open count ry, the birds of the air will eat, c for Ya hweh has spoken."
12 N ow get up and go home ; at the moment your feet enter the town , the child
13 will die . -A ll Israel will mourn for him, and bury him; an d he alone of Jeroboam's
13 a . 'he will bu rn ' vers io ns; 'will be burnt' Hebr. be obeyed a bs olutely: th e ma n of God had no r teht
T his forecast , th e pr ecisio n of which is fore ign to the [0 q ues tio n th e or der he had originally recei ved .
p rop he tic sty le , h as been ad ded to the o r igin al o ra cle not even a t th e b idd ing o f an ang el. cf. Ga 1:8.
wh ich was v . 3 on ly. r.. ' t urn ed ab o ut and went away' ver sio ns,
b. The Heb r. ad ds ' a nd pray for me' ab sent from
versions . 14 a. The ph rase reflec ts t he ins tin ct of tru e Ya hwism:
c . T he ' p rop het" na bi, a t th is period. is of a lower thou gh Jeroboam intended his golde n ca lves to form
arade than t he t ru e 'man of G od' , Compare Elij ah pa rt of Yahwisti c worship. 12:28 + . th ey were no t
a nd Elisha wi th th e 'sons of th e prophets ' o f2 K 2 . et c ., suitab le s ym bo ls of Ya hweh . they were ' fa lse gods'
and cf. Am 7: 14 . and no m o re.
d . ' showed him ' versi o ns. b. Two al lit erat ive words. ea ch of un ce r tain se nse
e. The Hebr. is somewhat re d undant. b u t tog ether expressing to ta li ty: 'e very srnere m an ',
f . To test h im . Wh at fo llo ws. wr itt en in a m arkedl y c. Wh et her in {Own or co un try t hey will lie u n-
popular style. teac hes this lesson : God's orders must bu ried : cf, th e co nt rast ing v. 13.
 1 KI N G S 44° 44 1 1 KINGS
ho usehold will go to the tomb, for it is in him alone of the House of Jeroboam 10 and reigned for forty -one years in Jerusalem. His mothe r's name was Maacah,
that anything pleasing to Yahweh, the God of Israel, is found . •Yahweh will 14 II dau ghter of Absalom. -Asa did what is right in th e eyes of Ya hweh, as his 12 C h 14:
1-3
raise up a king for himself over Israel to wipe ou t the House of Jeroboam." 12 ancestor Da vid had do ne. • He dro ve out of the cou ntry the men who had been
Yahweh will make Israel shake as a reed shakes in the water, he will uproot IS 13 sacred prostitutes and clea red awa y all the idols his ancesto rs had made. • He 22:4 7
Dt 23:19 +
Israel from this prosperous land which he gave to their ancestors and scatter even deprived his grandmother of the digni ty of queen moth er for maki ng an 11:19 ·
them beyond the river for provoking Yahweh to anger by making their sacred obscenit y' fo r Asherah ; Asa cut down her obsce nity and burned it in the wad i 2Ch 15:
16-18
poles. · He will abandon Israel for the sins Jeroboam has committed and made 16 14 Kid ron. •T houg h th e high places were not ab olished, th e heart of Asa was
Israel commit.' -Jeroboam's wife rose and left. She ar rived at Tirzah,s and when 17 IS wholly with Yah weh throughou t his life. • He deposited th e offerings dedic ate d
she crossed the threshold of the house, the child was already dead . •They buried 18 by his fat her and his own offeri ngs too , in the Temple of Yahweh, silver an d gold
him , and all Israel mourned him, just as Ya hweh had foretold through his servant and furn ishings.
Ah ijah the pr oph et. 16 Asa and B-aasha king of Israel were at war with each oth er as long as they 2Ch 16:
1·6
The rest of the histo ry of Jeroboam, what wars he waged, ho w he governed, 19 17 lived.• Baasha king of Israel march ed on Judah and fortified Ramah to blockade J r 41:9
these may be found recorded in th e Boo k of the Annals of the Kings of Israe l. 18 Asa kin g of Judah. - Asa then took the rema ining silver and gold from the
Jeroboam's reign lasted twenty- two years; th en he slept with his ancestors ; his so n 20 treasuries of the Temple of Yahweh a nd the roya l palace . Entrusting this to
N ada b succeeded him. his servants, he sent them with the following message to Ben-hadad" son of
19 Tab rirnmon son of Hezion , the king of Aram who lived in Damascus, · 'A n
The reign of Rehoboam (931-913) Ho 5:13
alliance between myself and you, as between my fathe r and your fath er! With
112Ch 12:
13·1 4 In Judah Rehoboa m son of Solomon became king; he was forty -one years old 21 this I send you a gift of silver and gold. Co me, break oil' your alliance with
whe n he came to the throne and he reigned for seven teen years in Jerusalem, 20 Baasha king of Israe l, and he will have to retire from my territo ry.' • Ben-hadad
the city which Yahweh had cho sen out of all the tribes of Israe l, to give his agreed, and sent his general s agai nst t he towns of Israel; he co nquered Ijon ,
nam e a hom e there . H is moth er' s name was Na amah, the Ammonitess.• He! did 22 Da n Abel-bet h-maa cah all C hinnc ro t h,r and th e whole land of Nap hta li too .
2Ch1 2:1 what is displeasing to Yahweh , aro using his resentmen t mor e tha n his ancest o rs 21 When Baasha hear d this he gave up fort ifying Ramah and returned to T irzah.
I S9:12 + did by all the sins they committed, -t hey who had built th emselves high places, 23 22 King Asa then summo ned t he whole of Juda h, no one was exem pt; th ey took
Ex 23:24+ : and had set up pilla rs and sacred poles on every high hill and under every spre ad-
34:13 + awa y the sto nes and timber with which Baasha had becn fortifyi ng Ramah,
DI 12:2+ : ing tree . -T here were even men in the countr y who were sacred pros t itutes. He 24
23:19 + and with them t he king fortified Ge ba of Benjam in an d Mizpa h.
2 K 23:7 copi ed all the shameful practices of t he natio ns whom Ya hweh had dispossessed 23 T he rest of th e history of Asa, all his valou r, his entire career, " is not all this
for t he so ns of Israel. recorded in the Book of the An nals of the Kings of Judah? In his old age, 12 C h 16: 12
11:40 In the fifth year of Reho boa m, Shisha k g the king of Egypt marched on 25 12 C h 16:
11 2C h I2:2. 24 however, he suffered from a disease of the feet. •Then Asa slept with his a necstors 13-14
9-11 Je rusalem. • He took all the treasures fro m the Tem ple of Ya hweh and the 26 and was buried in the Citadel of David his ancestor; his son Jehoshaphat
treasures from the royal palace, he took everything, includ ing all the golden succeeded him.
10:16
shields that Solomon had made ; -in place of them K ing Reh oboam had bronze 27
shields made, entrus ting them to the care of the officers of the gua rd" who The reign of Nadab in Israel (910-909)
guarded the king 's palace ga te. •Whenever the king went to th e Temp le of 28 25 Nadab so n of Jeroboam became king of Israel in the seco nd year of Asa king
Ya hweh, the guards would carry them, return ing them to the guard room a fter- 26 of Judah, and he reigned over Israel for two years . • He did what is disp leasing
wards. to Yahw eh; he copied his father 's exam ple and the sin into which he had led
The rest of the history of Rehoboam, his entire career, is not all thi s recorded 29 27 Israel. •Baas ha son of Ah ijah, of the Ho use of Issachar, plotted aga inst him
in the Book of the Annals of the Ki ngs of Judah? • Rehoboam and Jero boa m were 30 and murdered him at G ibbetho n, a Philistine town which Nadab and all Israel
2Ch 12:16 at war with each other throughout their reigns. -Then Rehoboam slept with his 31 28 were besieging. • Baasha killed Na dab and succeeded him in the third year of
ancestors and was bu ried in the Citadel of David; his son Abijam succeeded him .' 29 Asa king of Judah .• No soone r was he king th an he but chere d the entire House 2 K 10:1
of Jeroboam, not spa ring a soul , and wiped it out , just as Yahweh had foretol d
The reign of Abijam in J udah (913-911) 14:10-11
30 through his servant Ahijah of Shiloh, -beca use of the sins into which he had
112Ch13 :
In the eighteenth yea r of Kin g Jeroboa m son of Nebat, Abijam became king
1-2

2Chll :20
15 of Judah -a nd reigned for three years in Jerusalem. His mother 's nam e
was Maac ah, daughter of Absalom .• He followed the sinful exa mple of his father
before him in everything ; his heart was not wholly with Ya hweh his God, as the
hear t of D avid his ancestor had been .• H owever, for D avid's sake, Yahweh his
11:36 +
I S2 1: 17 G od gave him a tamp in Jerusalem, assuring him sons " after him and keeping
2K8: 19 +
Jer usalem secu re ; -for David ha d done what is right in the eyes of Ya hweh and
had never in all his life disobeyed whatever he ordered him."
The rest of th e hist or y of Abijarn, his entire caree r, is not all this reco rded in
112C h 13:2b
the Book of the Annals of the Ki ngs of Judah? Abijam an d Jeroboam were at
112Ch13:23
wa r with each other. -Th en Abija m slept with his ancestor s and t hey buri ed him in
th e Citad el of D avid; his son Asa succeeded him.
The reign of Asa in Judah (911-870)
In the twentieth year of Jeroboa m king of Israel, Asa became king of Juda h
I led Israel, and becau se he had pro voked t he anger of Yahweh, the God of
Israel.
31 The rest of the history of Nada b, his enti re career, is not all th is record ed
(32) in the Book of the Annals of the Kings of Israel?"
4
d . T he te xt adds 'T h is is th e da y ; a nd wha t m ore b. T he He br. ad ds ' excep t in the mailer of U r iah
5 now '?' A gloss on v, 15 insert ed by an ex ile. th e Hittite ', gloss a bsent fro m G ree k. V. 6, a doublet
e. Ca p ital of the kingdom of Israel befo re Sa ma ria of 14:30 . is wa n ting in the best G ree k M SS .
was b uilt , 16:24 . Site dispu ted.
(6)7 c . T r anslatio n doubtfu l. Pos si b ly a ca no p y over
f . Ver bs in sin gular. fo llowing G reek ; Hebr. has
p lu ral, referring to Juda h as a whol e . t he im a ge of the goddess.
d . Ben -had ad I. On the dy na s ty's subsequ ent
8 R. Fi rst Pharaoh of the 22nd D yn asty. It see ms
his tor y sec 20: I. Asa im ita tes the po licy of fo re ign
t ha t he inva ded P alest ine but spared Ju dah . nro bablv
beca use Rehoboam pai d tri bu te . a llia nce for wh ich th e great pr ophets constan tly
rep ro ach the ki ngs o f Judah . cr. Is 7:4-9 : 8:6-8, etc.
h. Bod yguards (o r 'cou r iers' , cf . 1 K I:5) who
e. T he di str ict W . of La ke Ti ber tas.
escor ted the ktn e' s chario t. f . T he Hebr. he re adds ' an d th e towns he bu ilt' .
t. Text co rre cted in accordance with 2 C h 12:16 . g . V. 32 s im p ly re pea ts v-, 16 a nd is o mi tted by
9 IS 3 . 'sons' Greek ; 'a son' Hebr. G reek .
 1 KINGS 443 1 KINGS IT I O
442
T he reign of Baasha in Israel (909-889) talents of silver he bought a hillr from Sherner a nd on it bui lt a town which
25 he named Samaria after Shemer who had owned the hill. -Ornri did what is
I n the third year of A sa king of Jud a h, Baasha son of Abijah became king 33
26 di spl ea sing to Yahweh, and wa s wo rse tha n all his predecessors. • In every wa y
o f Israel at Tirzah for twenty-four yea rs. -He d id wha t is displea sing to Ya hweh; 34
he co pied the example of Jeroboam so n o f N eba t and the sin s in to which he
he co pied the example of J ero boam and the sin in to which he had led Israel. had led Israel, provo king the anger of Ya hweh, the God of Israel, with th eir
14:7-11 :
16: 13
16 T he word of Ya hwe h ca me to Jehu son of Hanani against Baasha, ,'I ra ised
you fro m the d ust a nd made you leader of my people Isr ael , bu t you have 27
useless idols .
Th e rest of the hist or y o f O rnri, his career, his val o ur , is not a ll thi s rec orded
followed J erobo am's exa mp le and led my people Israel in to sins that provoke 28 in the Book of the An nals of the Kings of Israel'? -Thcn O mri slept with his
2 1:2 1
2 K9: 8 my anger. -Now I will sweep away Baasha a nd his House; I will make your a ncestors and was buried in Sa ma ria ; his so n Ahab succeeded him .
House like the Hou se of J eroboam son of N ebat. -Those of Baasha's fa m ily 4
14:11
2 K9: 7 wh o d ie in the city, the dogs will eat ; a nd those who die in the open co unt ry, Introduct ion to the re ign of Aha b (874-8 53)
the birds of the air will eat. ' Ahab son of Orn ri bec a me kin g of Israel in the thirt y-eigh th year of Asa king
29
T he rest of the history o f Baasha, his ca reer, his va lo ur, is not all th is 5
30 o f Jud a h, a nd reigned o ver Israel fo r twent y-two years in Sam ari a . · Aha b son
recorded in the Book of the A nnals of the Ki ngs of Israel? -Then Baa sha slep t 6
of O rnri did what is d ispleas ing to Yah weh, an d wa s wo rse than all his pr cde- 2 1:25
with his a ncesto rs a nd wa s buried in Tirzah ; his so n Elah succee ded him . 31 cessors. •Th e least th at he did wa s to follow the sinfu l example of J eroboam 2 K 23: 15
Further mo re, the word o f Ya hweh was delivered through the pr ophet J ehu 7
so n o f Nebat: he ma rried Jc zcbcl , th e da ughter of Ethbaa l kin g of th e Sid oni an s,"
Ho 5:13
son of Hanani against Baasha and his House, firstly because of all the ev il he did 32 and th en proceeded to ser ve Baal a nd wo rshi p him . • He erec ted an altar to him
in the sight of Yahweh , provoking him to anger by his actions and beco mi ng 33 in the temp le o f Baal which he built in Sa maria. -Ahab al so put u p a sacred Ex 34:13
2 K 10:21
li ke the House of J ero boa m; seco nd ly because he destroyed that House. a pole and co mm itted o ther crime s as well, prov o king t he anger of Yahweh , the
T he reign of Elah in Isra el (886-885 ) God of Israe l. more than all th e kin gs o f Isra el who were his predecesso rs.
Lv I S:21 i-
34 It was in his timc that H icl of Beth el rebu ilt Jericho ; he la id its foundat ion s
In the twenty-sixth year o f Asa king of Judah, E lah son of Baasha became 8
at the pri ce of A biram, h is first-born ; its gat es he erected at t he price of his
king of Israel at T irzah , for two years . -Zimri, one of his officers, captain of 9
youngest so n Scgub.:' ju st as Yahweh had for eto ld th ro ugh Jos hua so n of Nun .
half h is cha rio try, plotted against him. While he was at Tirzah, d rinking himself
Is 5:11
senseles s in t he house of Arza who was master of the palace in Tirzah, -Zirn ri 10
came in, struck him down and kille d him in the twenty-seventh year of Asa V , THE E LI J A H C YCLE
king of J udah, and succeeded him . -O n his access ion, as soo n as he was seated II
1 S25: 22
2 K 10 : 1 o n the throne, he butchered Baas ha 's enti re fami ly, not lea ving him a single A . T il E G REA T D RO L"G flT
male, or a ny relatio ns, or friend s. -Zirnri destroyed the whole House o f Baasha, 12
in acco rda nce with the word which Ya hweh had spoken through the prophet Elijah foretells the drought
16: 1-4
2 K 9:13 Jehu , - beca use of all the sin s o f Baasha and his son Elah into which they 13 Elijah the Ti shbite, o f T ishbe in Gilead. " sa id to A hab , 'A s Ya hweh lives.
had led Israel, provok ing the a nger of Ya hweh, the God of Israel, with their
u seless idols.
17 the God of lsracl ' whorn I se rve. there shall be nei the r dew nor ram these
years except at my order' .
T he history of Elah, his enti re career, is not all this recorded in the Book 14
of the Annals of th e Kings of Israel ? At the wadi Cherith
The wo rd of Yahweh carne to him.• ' G o away fro m here. go ea stwards, an d
The reign of Zimr i in Israel (885)
hid e vo urself in the wa di C herith which lies ca st of J o rd an . • You can drin k
In the twenty-seventh year of Asa king of J udah, Zi m ri became king fo r 15
fro m ~hc st rea m, and I ha ve ordered th e ravens to bri ng yo u foo d th ere .' • He di d
seven days, in Tirzah. The people were then encamped in fro nt of Gibbethon, as Yahweh had sa id; he went and stayed in the wadi C hcrith which lies ca st
a Philisti ne town. • W hen news reached the camp of how Zimri had no t only 16
of J ordan. •The ra ven s bro ught him bread in the morni ng and me at in the £ x I6:8. 12
plotted agai ns t but ac tually killed th e king, all Israel proclaimed Omri, their even ing . b and he quenched his thirst a t the st rea m .
general, king of Israel in the camp the same day.• Omri, and a ll Israel with him, 17
raised the siege of Gibbethon a nd la id siege to Tirzah .• When Z imri saw that 18 At Za rephath . The miracle of the flour a nd the oil 2 K 4:1--

the town was captu red , he we nt into the kee p of the royal pa lace, burned
the palace over his own head , a nd died. -Th is was because of the sin he
committed by doing what is displeasing to Yahweh, by copyi ng the example of
J erob oa m a nd the sin into wh ich he had led Israel.
The rest of the histo ry of Z imri and the plot he hat ched, is no t a ll th is
reco rded in the Boo k o f th e A nnals of the Kings of Is rael?
The people of Is rae l t hen spl it into two faction s: o ne half fo llowing T ibn i
son of G ina th to make him kin g, the other hal f foll o wing O mri. • But the factio n
of O mri proved stronger tha n that o f Ti bni son of Gi nat h; Ti bni died , and O mri
be ca me king .
The reign of Omri in Israel (88 5-874) "
In the thirty-fir st year of As a ki ng of Ju da h, O m ri became king of Is rael a nd
reigned for tw elve years. He reigned for six years in Tirzah . •T hen fo r two
But a fte r a while th e strea m dri ed up. for the co untr y had no ra in. -And then
19 ., the wo rd of Ya hweh ca me to him. · · Up a nd go to Za rephath. a Sidonian town, • U.:4:25 -2 i':
10 a nd stay there . I ha ve ordered a wid ow there to give yo u food.' -So he went
20 16 a . T he whole verse is a n ad di tio n repeatin g \'\' .1·4 (;;!!1lC to te rms and sealed th ei r alliance hy a fumilv
a nd oflerln g a second rea son for Baasha's pu nishmen t. m arr ia ge. T he effe c ts on the re ligion of Isra el of thi s
a nd not co ns iste n t with t he spir it of t he book . ass ocia tio n w it h the P hil isti nes were In be lu crcasinalv
21 b. Omri was wit hout doubt a great ru ler. but the felt t h ro ug h o u t th e reign of A ha b.
Book s o f King s. co nce rned with the kingdom o f Israel 1' . Hi s tw o sons wer e slaughtered as a fo u nd a tion
22 exc lusi vely from th e religi ous p oin t o f view . mentions sucr iflcc.
o nl y t he Ioundlnu of Sa ma r ia whi ch was to remain t he 17 a . 'of T ishhc' Greek. The d oc u ment dcalin u wit h
ca p ita l unti l the kin gdom finnl ly collapsed . t he history of Elijah, of wh ich use now begi ns 10 be
m ad e (d. lruroducuon to Joshua ct c. : pro bably rc-
c o u n ted t he earlier life of the pro ph et , b ut our au t hor
c. T he text adds ' Sa m aria ' . takes it LIP a t t he p oin t w her e it tits in to h is own
d . 'T he lea st ' G reek. Ethbaal (I uobaa l in th e na rr uu vc: the dr ou a tu is p resent ed as a pu n ishment
23 G reek ) was a 'priest of Asta rt e who seized po wer in for th e in trod uc tio n o f t hc c u lt o f Baa l, 16:32 -3 3.
Tv re at th e same lim e as Omri in Israel; the two usurpers b. Tra ns lat io n foll ow in g G re ek.
24
 17:1 1 1 KI N G S 444
off to Sidon . And when he reached the city gate, th ere was a widow gat hering
sticks; addressing her he said, ' Please bring a litt le water in a vessel for me to
dr in k' . -S he was sett ing off to bring it when he called a fter her. ' Please~ he sa id
' bring me a scrap of bread in yo ur hand.' -' As Ya hweh yo ur G od lives,' she
replied '1 have no baked br ead , but only a handful of mea l in a jar and a litt le o il in
a jug ; I am just gathering a stick or two to go and prepare th is for myself an d
my son to eat, and then we shall d ie.' - But Elija h sa id to her , 'D o no t be afraid ,
go an d do as you have sa id ; but first ma ke a litt le scone of it for me an d bring
it to me, an d then make some for yourse lf an d for yo ur so n. - For t hus Ya hweh
spea ks, th e God of Israel:
" Jar of meal shall not be spen t,
jug of o il sha ll not be emptied ,
before the day whe n Ya hweh sends
ra in on the face of t he eart h".'
T he woman wen t and d id as Elija h tol d her a nd they ate the food , she, himself
a nd her so n.' -T he jar of mea l was not spent no r the jug of oil emp tied , just as
Yahweh had fore to ld t hro ug h Elijah.
2l'it lt n Th e widow's son raised to life
2 K 4;20 It happened afte r th is t ha t the son of th e mistress o f the house fell sick ;
S i 48:5
his illness was so severe that in the end he had no brea th left in him . - And t he
woma n said to Elijah, 'W ha t qua rrel ha ve you wit h me, ma n of G od ? Ha ve yo u
com e her e to bri ng my sins home to me and to kill my so n?" -'G ive me yo ur son '
he sai d, and ta king him fro m her la p, carried him to the u pper roo m wher e
Ac 9; 37 he was sta ying a nd laid him on his own bed . - He cri ed o ut to Ya hweh, ' Yahweh
my G od, do you mean to bring grief to the widow who is looking a fter me by
2 K4;33 -36 killing her son?' - He st ret ched himself on t he child three times and cried out to
Ac 20:10
Ya hweh, ' Ya hweh my God , ma y the soul o f this child , I beg you, come int o
him a ga in !' -Y a hweh hea rd the praye r o f Elija h a nd the sou l o f the ch ild
re tu rned to him agai n a nd he revived . - Elija h to ok the child , brought him dow n
fro m th e u pper roo m into th e ho use, a nd gave him to his mot her. ' Look,' Elija h
H eb I 1;35 sa id 'your son is alive .' - And the wo ma n replied , ' N ow I kn ow you a re a man
of God an d the wo rd of Yahweh in your mouth is truth itself' .
1S12: 17
Elijah and Obadiah
L k 4: 25 A long time went by, and th e wo rd of Ya hweh ca me to Elija h in the th ird I
J m 5:17
Si 48:2
18 year , 'Go, pre sent yourself to Aha b ; I a m a bou t to send down ra in on the
land' . -So Elija h set off to p resen t himself to Aha b.
) 4;2 + As the famine was pa rticu larly severe in Sa ma ria, - Aha b sum mo ned O bad ia h,
the mas ter of the pa lace- Ob adi ah held Ya hwe h in great revere nce : -when 4
Jezebel was butcheri ng the pr op hets of Ya hweh, O badia h to ok a hundr ed of
r them and h id th em , fifty a t a time, in a cave , a nd kept them provided with fo od
a nd waterv-s-vand Aha b said to Obad iah, ' Come a long, we mu st sco ur t he 5
co untry , all the spri ngs and all t he wa dis in t he ho pe of find ing grass to keep
horses and m ules a live, or we shall have to slaughter so me o f our stock ' . -T hey 6
divi ded the coun try fo r the purpose of the ir survey ; A ha b went o ne way by
himse lf and O bad ia h went a nother wa y by himself. - W hile O badia h was on his 7
way. whom sho uld he meet birt Elijah; recogn ising him he fell on his face a nd
said , 'So it is you, my lor d Elija h " -' Yes,' he rep lied ' go a nd tell you r maste r, x
" Elija h is here" .' -B ut O bad ia h said, 'What sin ha ve I com mitte d, for yo u to 9
put you r servant in Aha b's power an d cause my deat h? - As Ya hweh your God 10
lives , there is no na tio n or kingdom where my ma ster has no t sent in sear ch
of yo u ; and when they sa id, " He is not th ere" , he made the kingdom o r nat io n
swea r on oa th that they d id not kn ow where you were . - And now you say to me, II
" Go a nd tell your mas ter: Elijah is here" . - But as so o n as I lea ve yo u, the spirit 12
445 1 KINGS
of Yah weh will carry you away and I sha ll not know wher e ;" I sha ll come and
tell Aha b ; he will not be able to find you, and will kill me . Yet fro m his yout h
II 13 your servant has revere d Yahweh. -H as no one told my lord what I did when
12 Jezebel butchered the p rop hets of Yahweh , how I hid a hundred of th em in
14 a cave, fifty at a time, a nd kept th em provided with fo od an d water? -A nd now
you say to me , "Go a nd tell your ma ste r: Elijah is here" . Why, he will kill me !'
13 15 Elijah replied, 'A s Ya hweh Sabaoth lives, who m I serve, I shall present myse lf 1~VI1
befo re him today!'
14
Elijah and Ahab
16 O badiah went to find Aha b and tell hi m the news, and Ahab then went to
17 find E lijah. -W hen he saw Elijah, Ahab said, 'So th ere you are, you scour ge of
18 Israel!' -' Not I,' he repl ied 'I am not the scou rge of Israel, you an d your fa mily
19 a re ; because yo u have deserted Ya hweh' a nd gon e afte r th e Baa ls. - N ow give Jg2;13+
o rders for a ll Israe l to gath er ro un d me on M ount Ca rmel, an d also the four
15 hun dr ed prophets of Baal" who ea t at Jezebel' s table.'
16
Th e sacrifice on Carmel
20 Ahab called all Israe l toge ther and asse mbled the prophets on Mount
21 Ca rmel. - Elija h ste pped out in fron t of all th e peo ple. ' How lon g' he said
17 'd o you mean to hobble first on on e leg' the n on th e other? If Yahw eh is God,
18 22 follow hi m ; if Baa l, follo w him.' But t he people never said a wo rd. -Elija h
then said to them, ' I, I alone , am left as a prophet of Ya hweh, wh ile the prophets
19 23 of Baa l ar e four hund red and fifty. - Let two bu lls be given us ; let th em
choose one for the mselves, d ismemb er it a nd lay it on th e wood , but not set
20 24 fire to it. I in my turn will pre pare the ot her bu ll, but no t set fire to it. -You
must call on th e nam e of yo ur god, a nd I shall call on t he na me of mine ; th e
21 god wh o a nswers with fire, is G od indeed.'! T he people all a nswered, ' Ag reed !'
Ho 11:7
25 Elijah then sa id to the prophet s of Baal, 'C ho ose on e bull and begin, for there
22 26 ar e more of you. Ca ll on the nam e of you r god bu t light no fire.' -They took
2 S 6:13
23 the bu ll and prepa red it, a nd fro m morn ing to midday they called on the name
of Baal. ' 0 Baal, an swer us!' they cried, but ther e was no voice, no answer,
24 27 as they per fo rmed their hobbling dan ce round the altar they ha d made. -M idday
cam e, a nd Elija h mocked them . 'Call lo uder,' he said ' for he is a god: he is
preoccupied or he is busy, o r he ha s gone on a j ourney ; perhaps he is asleep
28 a nd will wake u p.' -S o t hey sho uted louder and gashed th emse lves, as their Zc 13;6
29 cus tom was , with swords a nd spears unti l th e blood flowed down th em. - Midday
passed, and th ey ra nted on un til the time th e offering is presen ted ;" but ' there
was no voice, no answer, no at tenti on given to them .
18;36
2 K 3:20
D n 9:21
30 Then Elija h said to all the peop le, 'Come close r to me', an d a ll the peo ple
cam e close r to him. H e repa ired the alt ar of Ya hweh whi ch had been broken
31 down . -Elijah to ok twelve sto nes, co rre spondi ng to the nu mb er of the tribes
of the son s of Jacob , to who m the word of Yahweh ha d come, ' Israel shall be G n 32:29
c . 'and her so n' carr.. cr. vv. 12- 13. of As he ra h ' . T he re were many such 'p ro p hets' among
d . The woman aurtbutcs her misfortu ne to Elija h's the peo ples contiguous to Isra el , Jr 27:3,9f ; they for med
visi t: a man o f G od is like a ho st ile wit ness. at hi s n umerou s gro ups, like th e prophets o f Yahweh, 18:4 .
pr esence secret or unco nscious sins ar e brou ght to light Here they are the devo tees of the Tyrtan Baa l. in vited
and dra w down retribution. in to Israel and ma intained by Jezebel.
18 a . T he parenthesis pr epares fo r v. 13. On thes e e. T he meaning of the last word is u ncertain b ut
'prophet s' cr. 1 S 10:5 + ; they playa pr om inent part the tran slat ion (cr , Greek) acco rds with th e performance
in the Elisha cycle. in v. 26: the Isr aelites dance in honour bot h of Ya hweh
and of Baal .
b. These sudden d isappearances seem to ha ve f . It is not merely a matter of d ecidi n g whe ther
been a feature of the story of Elijah. 2 K 2:16, unt il Yah weh or Ba al is lord of the mo untain or which is
th e las t d isappeara nce o f all. 2 K 2: I If. T he sp iri t of the stronger, b ut simp ly wh ich is God . Elijah's own
Yahw eh is an external fo rce wh ich carries the p rophet statement , his prayer, v. 37, and the people 's accla-
fr om pl ace to place. cf . Ezk 3:12; 8:3; 11:1; 43:5 ; mation. v. 39, ma ke th is clear: monotheism itself is
A c 8:39. at stake here .
c , ' Yah weh' G reek; ' the co mmandments of Yah.. g , T he men tion of the eve nin g sa cri fice, Ex 29: 39 ;
weh ' He br . N b 28 :4 ; 2 K 16:15, is merely an ind icati o n of th e
d . A gloss adds 'and the four hun dred p rophets time of d ay .
 18:3 2 1 KINGS
your name', -and built an altar in the name of Yahweh. " Round the altar he
dug a trench of a size to ho ld two measures of seed .• He then arranged the
wood, dismembered the bull, and laid it on the wood. ~ Then he sa id, 'Fill four
jars with wa ter and pour it on th e holocau st and on the wood '; this the y d id .
He sa id, ' Do it a seco nd time' ; they did it a seco nd time. He sai d , 'Do it a third
time ' ; the y did it a third time.• T he water flowed round the alt ar and th e trench
18:29
S1 4H:3 itself was full of water.' · At t he time when the o ffering is presented, Elijah
the pro phet stepped for wa rd. 'Yahweh, G od of A bra ha m, ' Isaa c a nd Israel ,'
he said 'le t them know today that yo u ar e God in Israel, a nd th at I a m your
ser vant, that I ha ve done a ll th ese th ings a t yo u r co mma nd . -A nswer me ,
Yahweh , answer me , so that this people ma y know that you, Yahweh , are G od
and are winning back their hearts.';
Lv 9: 24
N b ll: l: The n the fire of Yahweh fell and consumed the holocaust and wood " and
16:35
J g 6:2 1 licked up the water in the trench .• When a ll the people saw this they fell o n their
face s. ' Ya hweh is God,' they cried ' Ya hweh is God .' • Elijah sa id, 'Se ize t he
prophets of Baal: do no t let o ne o f them escape'. T hey seized th em, and Elija h
took t he m down to th e wad i Ki shon, and he slaug htered t hem th ere.'
The drought ends
Elijah sa id to Ahab, Go back, cat and dr ink; m fo r I hear the sou nd of ra in'.
,,' J m5: 18
W hile A ha b went back to eat a nd d rink, Elija h climb ed to the top of Ca rmel
an d bowed do wn to the ea rth, pu tt ing his face between his knees. ·' Now go up,'
he to ld his ser van t 'a nd look out to the sea.' He wen t up a nd look ed . 'T here
is not hing at all' he sa id. 'Go back seve n tim es' Elija h sai d . -Thc seve nt h time,
t he servant sa id, 'Now there is a cloud, sma ll as a man 's ha nd, risin g from the
sea ' . Elija h sa id , 'Go and sa y to A hab, "Harness the chariot and go down before
the rain stops yo u" ' . - A nd wit h that the sk y grew dark with clo ud and
1-1 0 1:4
sto rm, and ra in fell in torrents. A ha b mo unted his chariot and made for J ezrcel .«
2 K 3: 15
Ezk l :3 I T he hand of Ya hweh was on Elija h, a nd tucking up h is cloak he ran in fro nt of
A ha b as fa r as the outs kirts of Jez reel.
B, ELIJAH AT HO RE B
Th e journey to H oreb
Rtl:17 +
19 W hen Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah ha d do ne, and how he ha d pu t
all the prophets to the sword, -Jez ebel sen t a me ssenger to Elijah to say ,
'May the gods do thi s to me and more, if by thi s time tomorro w I hav e no t made
M k 9: 13
your life like the life of o ne of th em !' · H e was afraid " a nd fled for h is
life . He cam e to Beers heba, a town o f J uda h, where he left his servant. -He
G n 2 1:14-21
himse lf went on in to the wilderness, a day's j ourn ey, a nd sitting un der a furze
Nb ll: 14
Tb 3:6 bus h wished he were dead. 'Yahweh,' he said 'I ha ve had enoug h. Ta ke my life;
Jb6:9 :7:15
J on 4:3.8 I a m no bett er tha n my a ncestors.' •Then he lay down a nd wen t to sleep. But a n
AcI2: 5- 7 angel to uched him a nd said, 'Get up a nd eat' . -He loo ked rou nd, a nd there at
his head was a sco ne baked on hot stones, and a ja r of wa ter. He at e a nd drank
a nd then lay d own aga in. -B ut the angel of Yahwe h ca me back a seco nd time
and touched him a nd said, 'Get up and eat, or the j ourn ey will be to o lon g fo r
you'. -So he got u p and a te an d dran k, and strengthened by that food he wa lked
Ex 24: 18
M t4:2 I ;4:3 for forty days a nd for ty nig hts until he rea ched Horeb, the mo untain of God. b
Ex33: 18·3 4:9
The encou nter with God
Si 48:7
T he re he went into the ca ve' and spent th e night in it. T hen the word of
Yahwe h came to him saying, 'What are you doing here, Elijah?' - He replied,
2 K 9:7
Si 48 :2 'I am filled with jealous zea l fo r Yahweh Sa baoth, because the sons of Israel
M k 9: 13
have deserted you, broken down your altars and put your prophets to the sword .
I am the only one left, and they want to kill rne.v • T hen he was told, ' G o out
447 1 KINGS
32 and stand on the mountain before Yahweh'. T hen Y ahweh himself went by .
E x 13:22 1 ;
33 There came a migh ty wind, so strong it tore the mountains and shattered the 19:16+
34 rock s before Yahweh. But Yahweh was not in the wind . After the wind came an
12 earthquake. But Ya hweh was not in the earthquake. -After the eart hquake
came a fire. But Yahweh was not in the fire. And after the fire there came the
Gn 3:8
35 13 sound of a gent le breeze. ' - A nd when Elija h heard this, he cove red his face Jb 4: 16
36 with his cloak and went out and st ood at the entrance of the cave. Th en a voice Ex 3:6 :
33:20 +
14 cam e to him , which sa id, 'W ha t ar e yo u doing here , Elijah?' • He replied , 'I am
Si 48:2
filled with jealous zea l fo r Ya hweh Sabaoth , because the so ns of Israel have
.." Rmll:3
37 de serted you, broken down your altars and put your prophets to th e sword.
I am the only o ne left and the y want to kill me.'
2K 8:7- 15
15 'Go,' Yahweh said ' go back by the sa me wa y to the wilderness of Damascus.
2K 9: 1-13
38 16 You are to go and a noint Ha zael as king of Aram .• Yo u a re to anoi nt Je hu son
J9: 19-2 1
39 of Nim shi as king of Israel,! and to ano ints Elisha son of Shaphat, of Abel
Si 48:2
40 17 Me holah, as prophet to succeed you. ·Anyon e who escapes the sword of Hazael
wi ll be put to deat h by Je hu; a nd a nyo ne who escapes the sword of Jehu will be
Is 4:3 I
18 put to de at h by Elisha .• But I sha ll spare seve n t hou sa nd in Isr ael: a ll th e knees fl o 13:2
..' Rm ll:4-5
t ha t ha ve not be nt befo re Baa l, a ll the mouths th a t have not kissed him.'
41 The call of Elisha
19: 16
42 19 Leav ing there," he ca me o n Elisha so n o f Sha pha t a s he was plo ugh ing
43 be hind twelve yo ke o f oxe n, he himself bein g with the twelft h. Elija h passed
2 K 2:13
20 nca r to him a nd threw h is cloa k ove r hi m.' • Elisha left his oxe n a nd ran a fter
44 Elijah. ' Let me kiss my fat he r a nd mother, then I w ill foll ow yo u' he sa id .
L k 9:1'\1
2\ Elija h a nswe red, 'Go, go bac k; fo r have I do ne a nyt hing to yo u?' • Elisha tu rned
away, took the pair of oxen and sla ughtered them . He used the plough for
M l I4: 18.22
45 cooki ng the oxen , then gave to his men , who a te. He then rose , and followed
Elija h and became his servant.
46
C, THE ARAMAEAN WA R S
T he siege of Sa mari a
1 20 Ben-hadad k ing o f Ararn« mustere d his whole army-thirty-t wo kings "
were with him , and ho rses a nd chariots- a nd went up to lay siege to
Samar ia a nd sto rm it. • He sent messen gers i~to th e city to A ha b ki ng o f Israel
1 2
to tell him , 'Thus says Ben-ha dad, "Yo ur silve r a nd go ld ar e mine ; yo u ma y
3 b . Vv. 31-32a a ppear to be a glos.s , when God a p pea red, Ex 33:22 .
I. T his is no t ra in-ma ki ng m ag ic b ut a war o f d. '}'O U ' ve rs io ns; 'your cove na nt' Heb r.: so al so
4 en ha nci ng th e fire mir acl e . v , 14 . - Yv. 9b- 1O are a d oublet of v v, 13- 14.
i. The m iracle will de mo ns tra te: I . to the p rophets
of Baal and to Jezebet's e ntourage of foreig ne rs ('let e . T he storm. e arthq uak e . a nd lighmi n a. which in
the m k now' , v , 36) tha t th e re is no p lace for them in Ex 19 man ifested God's p rese nce . a re here o n ly th e
Israe l where Yahweh is God: and 2. to th e Israe lites he ra lds of his co m ing. T he whispe r o f a light breeze
Cthis peop le' , v. 37) t hat Yahweh is the only God , s luni fies t hat G od is a s p iri t a nd tha t he co n ve rses
the God who wins back wayward hearts . int imately with h is prophe ts: it do es not me an th a t
k . T he tex t adds ' st o ne s and so il', a uloss . G od ' s dealings are ge nt le a nd u np c rce ived-c- this
I. In th is war be twee n Yahwch and Baa l those who comm on interpretat io n is refuted by th e te rrible
7 ser ve Baal su ffer the fa te of the conque red in the comm iss io n of vv. 16- 17.
warfare of the times. r. T hese tas ks were in fac t lat e r performed by
m . A fa st ha d bee n o bse r ve d to pre pa re for t he E lis ha.
8 sacrifice a nd to brin g rain . g. A n oi nt ing, E x 30 :24+ . was reser ved for k ings -
n . T he n ser ving as a n alt erna tive ca p it a l for th e 1 K 1:34 : pa rall eli sm explains th e us c of th e word her e .
kin gs of Israel . 2 1:1; 2 K 8:29; 9:3 0f .
h . Vv . 19-21 arc bo rrowed fro m the Elis ha cyc le .
19 3. 'He was afrai d ' ver sions: 'He saw ' H e br.
i. T he cloak sym bolises th e pe rson a nd rig h ts of
b. C r. Ex 19:1 +. Ze a lo us 10 ma i~tai n th e cove na n t
an d res tore t he a ncient fai th , Elijah visits th e place its ow ne r . Th a t of Elijah ha s . m o reover, m iraculo us
9 where the true G od re vealed h imself. Ex 3 an d 33:18 -
prope rt ies, 2 K 2:8. Eli ja h thus a cq uires an a ut hor ity
ove r E lis ha wh ich the lancr can no t res ist. By des troying
10 34:9. a nd whe re the cov e na n t had bee n c on c luded .
pl o ugh an d o xe n El ish a fo rmall y re nounces hi s old
E x 19 an d 24: he sees h is ow n ta s k as tha t o f con tinuing
the wor k o f Mo ses . Moses a nd Eli jah hav e in co m m o n way of lif e.
a t heo p ha ny a t Ho reb ; bo th a lso witness th e N. T. the- 20 3 . Bcn-had ad n. r ule r of th e Aramaean kin gdo m
o phany, C hrist's tr a nsfigurati on . Mt 17:1-9 p . o f Damasc us . successo r to Ben-had ed I. I 'K 15:18 + .
11 c. The ' crevice o f the rock' wh er e Moses cr ou ched b. Pr ince ly vas sals of Be n-hadad. cr. v. 24 .
 1 K IN GS
keep your wives and children".'< -The king of Israel replied, 'As you co mma nd,
my lord king.s Myself and all I have are yours.'
But the messengers ca me back and said, 'Ben-hadad says this, "I sent you
this order: Ha nd over your silver and your gold, your wives and your children.
Count on it that this time tomorrow I will send my servants to search your
house and you r servants' houses and lay hands on all they' fancy and take
it away." ,
The king of Israel summoned all the elders of the land and said, 'You can
see clearly how th is man intends to ruin us. He now claims my wives and my
children, although I have not refused him my silver and my gold.'! ·AIl the elde rs
and all the peopl e said, 'Take no notice . Do not consent'.• So he gave this answer
to Ben-h adad's messenger s, 'Say to my lord the king, "A ll you first required
of your servant I will do, but this I cannot do" ' . And t he messengers went back
with t he answer.
Rtl:17+
Ben -hadad then sent him the following message, 'May the gods do th is to
me and more if there are enough handfuls of rubble in Sam aria for all the people
in my following'. -But the kin g of Israe l ret urne d this a nswer, 'The proverb -
says: The man who puts on his armour is not the o ne who ca n boast, but t he
man who takes it off'. •When Ben-hadad heard this message-he was under the
awnings d rinking with the kings-he gave orders to his servants, 'Take post!'
And they took up their positions against the city.
Victory for Israel
22 :5
A pro phet the n a rrived, loo king for Ahab king of Israel. 'Yah weh says
this' he said. 'Y ou have seen this mighty army? Th is very day I will deliver
it into your hand s, and you shall know that I am Ya hweh.' . 'By who se means?'
asked Ahab. The prophet repl ied, 'Yahweh says this, "By means of the young
soldiers of the district governors" ' . 'Who is to open the attack?' Ahab asked.
'Yourself' the prophet answered. h
So Ahab inspected the young soldiers of the district governors: there were
two hundred and thirty-two. After these he reviewed the whole army, all the
Israelites: there were seven thousand. -They made a sortie at midday, when
Ben-hadad was drinking himsel f senseless under the awnings, he and the thirty-
two kings who were his allies . •The young soldiers of the district govern ors led
the sortie. Ben-hadad was informed, 'Some men have co me out of Samaria'.
He said, 'If they have co me out for peace, take the m al ive; if they have com e
ou t for wa r, ta ke th em ali ve too'. -So they made a so rtie from the to wn, the
young soldiers of the dis trict gove rno rs an d behind them th e arm y, -a nd each
struck do wn his ma n. Aram took to flight an d Israel pursued ; Ben-had ad king
2S24:22
of Aram escap ed o n a chariot horse .• Then the king of Israel came out, ca ptu ring
horses and chariots and inflicting a great defeat o n Aram.
Respite
The prophet went up to the king of Israe l. 'Co me,' he said to him 'take
courage and think ca refully wha t you shou ld do, for at t he turn of the year'
the king of Ara m will march against you.'
The ser vants of th e king of Aram said to him, 'T heir god is a god of the
Jd t 7: 10
mou ntains ; tha t is why they ha ve proved stronger th an us. But if we fight them
o n level gro und , we will cer tainly beat them. -T his is what you must do : remove all
th ese kings from their pos ts and a ppoint com ma nde rs instead. • You , for yo ur
part, mu st recruit an a rmy as lar ge as the o ne that deserted you, with as man y
hor ses a nd as ma ny chariots; then if we fight t hem on level ground, we will
certain ly beat them .' He liste ned to their adv ice a nd acted accordingly.
The victory of Aphek
At the turn of the year, Ben-hadad muste red the Ara rnaeans and went up
449 1 KI NG S
4 27 to Ap hek to fight Is ra el. •The Israelites ha d also mustered, and marched ou t
to meet them . Encamped opposite th ern. ,the Israelites looked like two herds of
5 goats, whereas the Aramaeans filled the cou ntryside.
28 The man of G od; accosted th e king of Israel. 'Y ahweh says th is' he said.
6 '''Since Ara m has said that Ya hweh is a god or the mou ntains and not a god of Jd' 7:10
th e plains, I will put all this mighty host into your power, and you sha ll know
29 t hat I am Ya hweh .'" • For seven days they were encamped opposite each other.
7 On the seventh day battle was joined and the Israel ites slaughtered the
30 A ramaeans, a hundred thousand foot soldiers" in one day . -T he rest fled to
8 Aphek, into the town itself, bu t the walls fell down on the twenty-seven tho usand
9 who rema ined.
N ow Ben-hadad had fled a nd tak en refuge within the tow n in an inner ro om.
31 'Lo o k,' his servants said to him 'we have heard that the kings of Israel are 2K6:30
merciful kings. Let us put sackcloth ro und our waists and ropes on our heads'
10 32 and go out to the king of Israel; perhaps he will spare your life.' -So they
wrapped sackcloth ro und their waists and put ropes on th eir heads and went
II to the king of Israel, and said, 'Your servant Ben-hadad says, "Spare my life" ' .
33 'So he is still alive?' he answered. 'He is my brother .t> -T he men took this
12 for a good omen and quickly seized on his words. 'Yes,' they said 'Ben-hadad
is you r brother.' Ahab said, 'Go and fetch him' . Th en Ben-hadad came out to
34 him and Ahab ma de him get up into his chariot. -Ben-hadad said, 'I will restore
the towns my father to ok from your father and you ma y set up bazaars for
you rself in Damascus as my fat her did in Samaria. Myself, by the ter ms of th is
13 treaty, you will set free.> So Ahab made a treaty with him and let him go free.
14 A prophet condemns Ahab's policy
2K2:3 +
35 At Yahweh's order a member of the brotherhood of prophets said to
36 a companion of his, 'Strike me', but the man refused to strike him . -So he said
13:20-25
to him, 'Since you have disobeyed the order of Yahweh, the very moment
15 you leave me a lion will kill you'. And no soo ner had he left him than he met
37 a lion, which killed hirn.v •The pro phet then went to find anot her ma n and said,
2S I2:1 -12;
16 38 'S trike me', an d the man struck him and wounded him. > -T he pr ophet then 14; 1-20
went and st ood waiting for the king on the road, disguising himself with his
17 39 headband over his eyes. •As the king passed , he called out to him, 'Y our
servant was mak ing his way to whe re the fight was th ickest when someone left
18 the fighting to bring a man to me, and sa id, "Guard this man ; if he is found
19 missing , your life will pay for his, or else you will have to pay one ta lent of
20 40 silver" . -But while yo ur servant was busy with one thing and another, the man :r:
disa ppeared.' T he king of Israel said, That is your sentence, then. You have U
<'I-
21 . 41 pronounced it yo urself.' -At this the man quickly pulled off the headband
coveri ng his eyes, and th e king of Israe l recogn ised him as o ne of the prophets. q
42 He said to t he king, 'Yahw eh says this, "Si nce you have let the man esca pe
who was under my ban , your life will pay for his, your peop le for his people " '.
22
20 c . 'ch ild ren' G reek: 'good children' He be. 'yo u m. Vassal k in gs co n fessed the mse lves 'servan ts, of
keep ' , lit. ' yo u rs' co nj.: ' mi ne' He br. the ir suze ra in; kings of eq ua l sta ndi ng we re ' b rot hers' .
d. Ahab speaks lik e one vanquished and a lr ead y Ben-ha da d now a dmits defeat but A ha b dec li nes his
23 a vass al. T he siege had be en p rece d ed by Isra elite h omage, a nd the envoys. hea ri ng the word ' b ro the r'.
re verses (th e text o nly all udes to the se, v, 34) . de d uce th at their master is now sa fe.
e . 't hey fa ncy' vers ions; 'You fa ncy' H e br. n , 'Myself you will set free' co nj. : ' I shall set you
24 f . ' a lt ho ugh , .. my go ld' Greek ; 'm y silver and my
free ' He b r,
go ld I d id no t refu se h im ' Hebr. e. T he re is a sim ila r story . in the same po pul ar
25 a . 'The pro ver b says ' cont . : 'Say YOU' Hebr. s tyle, in I K 13:24f: all who disobey t he wor d o f God
h. Go d is co ns ulted about mil itary s trategy, o r o f a man of G od, even fo r good m ot ives, will be
cf. J g 1: lf; 20:18; see Ex 33:7 + . pu n ished . This ide a is not pe r fec t an d is no t t ha t of the
I. The Sp rin g equinox, cf . 2 S J 1:1. great pr o p het s, b ut it refiec ts th e mentali ty of the
anc ien t prophet ic co m m uni ties.
J. The pr op het of vv. 13 a nd 22. 'YOU (si ng ula r) p. T he wo u nd is to help the pr op het to pose as
shall know' Greek . a combata nt, v. 39 .
k , T his figure , like the fol lowing one. is fantastic- q. The pr op hets perhaps carried a di sti ngu ishi n g
ally high; th is is popu lar history . mark o n the fo re head (tauoo, incisio n f ), or shaved
26 I. Sig nifyi ng m ou rning a nd repentance. their heads, cr, 2 K 2:23.
11
20A3 1 K IN G S 45 0
A nd off went th e kin g o f Israel, gloomy a nd out of tem per, on his way back
to Sa maria.
Is5 :S-1O !-
D. "ABOTH'S n"EYARD
2 K l);7.25
Naboth refuses to hand over his vineyard
I S 8: 14
21 This is what happened next: Naboth of Jezreel had a vineya rd close by
the palace of Ahab « king of Samaria, -and Ahab said to Naboth, 'Give
me your vineyard to be my vegetable garden, since it adjoins my hou se; [ will
give you a better vineya rd for it or, if yo u prefer, [ will give you its worth in
2 1:4
money' .• But Naboth answered Ahab, 'Yahweh fo rbid that I sh ould give you
the inheritance of my ancestors! '
Ahab and .Iezebel
Ahab went ho me gloomy and out of temper at the words of Naboth of
21:3
Jezree l, 'I will not give you the inheritance of my fat hers '. He lay down on
his bed a nd tu rned his face away a nd refused to eat. • H is wife Jez cbcl came to
h im. 'Whv are you so dispirited' she said ' tha t you will not eat'!' • He said,
' I have been speak ing to Nabot h of Jezrcel ; I sa id : G ive me your vineyard eit her
for mo ney or, if yo u prefer , for another vineyard in exc ha nge, But he said .
" I w ill not give you my vineya rd" . -Then his wife Jczc bcl sa id, ' Yo u ma ke
a fine kin g of Isra el, an d no mistake! Get up and eat; cheer up, a nd you w ill feel
better ; [ will get you th e vineyard of Naboth of Jezrcel myself.'
Naboth is murdered
So she wro te lette rs in Ahab's name and sealed them with his seal, sending
them to the elders and nobles who lived where Na both lived . -In the letters
2Ch20:4
she wrote, 'Proclai m a fast, a nd put Naboth in the forefront of the people. "
Confro nt him with a couple of scou ndre ls" who will accuse him like this, "You
E, ::! ~: 27
Lv 24 :14 have cursed God and the king" Then ta ke him outside a nd stone him to dcath. >'
The men of Naboth's town, the elders and nobles who lived in his town,
d id what Jezebel ordered, what was written in the letters she had sent them .
They proclaimed a fast and put N aboth in the fo refro nt of the peop le. -Then
the two sco undrels 'came a nd stood in fro nt of him a nd made their accusation,
'Naboth has cursed G od and the king'. They led h im o utside the to wn a nd
stoned him to de a th. •They then sent word to Jezebel, ' Na both has bee n stoned
to dea th' . •When Jezcbel hea rd that Naboth had bee n sto ned to death, she sa id
to Ahab , 'Get up' Take possessio n of the vineyard wh ich Na bot h of Jezrccl wo uld
not give you for mon ey, fo r Nabot h is no lon ger a live, he is dead .' •W hen A hab
r heard t hat Naboth was dead , he got up to go down to the vineyard of Naboth
of Jczreel and take possession of it.
2 S 12
El ijah pronounces God's sentence'
Si 4 S:(,
T hen the wo rd of Ya hweh carne to Elijah the Tishbite, -'Up! Go down to : ~
meet Ahab king of Israel, in Sa maria. You will find him in Naboth's vineya rd;
he ha s go ne down to take possession of it. •Yo u a rc to say this to h im, 19
"Y a hweh savs th is: You ha ve com mitted mu rder ; now yo u usurp as well. For
2K 1):25~26
Ps 6S:23 th is.' - a nd Yahwe h savs t his- in the place where t he dogs licked th e blood o f
Naboth, the dogs will lick your blood too." -A hab sa id to Elijah, 'So you have 20
fo und me ou t, 0 my enemy!' Elijah answered, 'I have fou nd yo u ou t . For your
do uble dealing, and since you have done wha t is disp leas ing to Ya hweh , • [ will 21
14: 10-11 :
I h:J-4 no w bring d isaster down on you ; I will sweep away your descenda nts, and wipe
2 K 9;X:
10: 10 out every male belonging to the family of Ahab, fett ered or free in Israel.
I will treat vour House as I treated t he Ho use of Jeroboa m son of Nebat a nd 22
of Baasha son of A hijah, for provoking my anger and leadi ng Israel into sin .
451 1 KI N G S 2 2 : 10
43
23 (Against Jez ebel too Yahweh spoke these words: The dogs will eat Je zebel in 2K9: 1O.36
24 the Field of Jez reel.) -Those of Ah ab's fa mily who die in the city, the dogs
14:1I
will eat; and those who die in the open co untry , the birds of the air will eat.'
25 And indeed there never was anyone like Ahab for double dealing and for 16:30-34
26 doing what is displeasing to Yahweh, urged on by Jezebel his wife . • He behaved l! :4
Gn 3:12
in the most abominable wa y, adhering to idols, just as the Amorites used to
2K21:l!
do whom Ya hweh had dispossessed for the sons of Israel.
I
Ahab repents
27 When Ahab heard these words, he tore his garments and put sackcloth next 2S12:16
2 K 6:30
28 his skin and fasted; he slept in the sackcloth; he walked with slow steps, -Then
29 the word of Yahweh came to Elijah the Tishbite, .'Have you seen how Ahab
has humbled himse lf before me ? Since he has humbled himself before me , I will 2S12:13-15
not bring the disaster in his days; I will bring the disaster down on his House 2 K 9-10
4
in the days of his son.'
5
E. ANOTHER WAR WITH ARAM
6
Ahab plans a campaign against Ramoth-gilead 112 C h 18:1 -3
7 I 22 T here wa s a lu ll of three year s, with no fighting bet ween Ara rn and Israel.
T hen, in the third year, Jehosha pha t king o f J ud a h pa id a visit to the
3 king o f Israel.« -The king o f Israel sa id to his office rs, 'You a re a wa re that
Ramoth-gi lead belongs to us? A nd yet we do nothi ng to wres t it away from
the ki ng of A ram .? -He said to Je hoshaphat, 'Will yo u com e with me to fight 2 K 3:7:
8:28;9:14
8 at Rarnoth-g ilead?' Jehoshaphat answered the king of Israel, 'I a m as ready as
you, my me n as you r men , my horses as your horses' ,
The sp urio us prop hets predict success 1: 2Ch 18:4- 11
10
Jehoshaphat, howeve r, sa id to the ki ng of Israel, 'Fi rst, please co nsu lt the 20:13-14 +
II word of Yahweh'. -So the king of Israe l cal led the prophets togethe r, abo ut four
hund red of the m.' 'Should [ ma rch to a ttack Ramoth-gilead' he asked 'or
n 7
sho uld I refrai n?' ' Ma rch,' they rep lied 'Yahwe h will deliver it into the power
of t he king .' • But J ehos haphat said, 'Is there no oth er prophet of Ya hweh here 2 K 3:7
8 for us to cons ult?' •Th e king of Israel a nswere d Je hos ha pha t, 'There is o ne mo re
14 man through who m we ca n co nsul t Ya hweh, but [ hate him beca use he ne ver
15 has a favourable p ro phecy for me, o nly unfa vour a ble ones; he is M ica ia h son Is 30: 10
Am2: 12
of Irnla h' .« ' Th e king sho uld not say such th ings ' Je hos hap hat said .• Aceording ly
16 the ki ng o f Israe l sum moned one of the eu nuchs a nd sa id, 'Bring M ieaiah son
of Irnla h immed iately'.
10 The king of Isra el and Je hoshaphat king of Ju da h were both sitt ing on th eir
thron es in full rega lia, at th e threshi ng -floo r outside the gate of Sa maria, with
21 a. Hi s pa lace in Jezreel, I K J8 :45. not the one in
Sa m a ria . 2 K 9:25 -26 .
dy nast y r et a ins the d ivine p ro m ise, whe reas A h ab's
is 's wep t a way' : Na t han rem ai ns Da vid 's p ro phe t a nd
b. In times of d isas ter, p ub lic fas ting a nd pu blic bl esse s Solomo n, but Elija h IS A ha b 's 'e ne my '.
p r a ye r were procla imed. Jg 20:26 ; J l 1:14: 2:1 5. ct c.,
to p lacate G o d and to d iscover the fa ult t hat ha d
f. 'For th is' G reek .
p rovoked hi s nn aer. There must ha ve been s o me 22 a. T he two k ingdoms had drawn c loser to get her:
wide sp read calam ity (dr oug h t? fa m ine j) to give Jezebel
a n onnor tunitv fo r he r plot.
Jeh oshaphat 's son Jehora m had married A tha lia. siste r
o f A hab. 2 K R:18.
c. F or ca p ita l trial two witnesses were req ui red, b. P ro ba b ly st ill Ben -hadad II . cf. 20: l. The
N b 35:3 0 : Ot 17:6 : cf . M t 26:60f. The Heb r. has
s ubstitu ted ' bless ed' for 'cursed ' as in v, 13. so a lso
to wn . captured by t he Aramaeans durin g o r be fore
the re ign o f D avid . had not been handed ba ck af ter
Jb 1:5.11: 2:5.9. the t rea ty of A nhek. 20:34 . See als o 2 K 8:28 .
d . Ap p a ren t ly the possessi o ns of Ihose co nde mned
to dea t h reve r ted to the kin g.
c . T hese 'p rop hets' were in the kln g's serv ice a nd
wer e no t pure Ya hw lsta, u nli ke the pr ophets sla in by
e. No te the simila r ity with Ihe e piso de o f N a tha n Jezcbel , 18:4. 13: 19:4 . Hence Jeh oshaph ar' s Ques tio n.
a nd Da vid in 2 S 12: o n ea ch oc cas io n Ya hw eh d efends v. 7.
the helple ss ag ai ns t th e powerful an d the re is t he sa me d . Not the Mic a ia h (' M ica h') numbered a mo ng the
re prie ve for the re pe nt an t offender wh o is punished o nly t wel ve ' m ino r prophets ' . who li ved a cen tu ry-a nd-a - ha lf
t hro ugh h is son. But th ere ar e di ffer en ces. too: D avid' s late r.
 22:1 I 1 KINGS 45 2 453 1 KINGS 22:54

camp, ' Every man back to his to wn, every man back to his coun try ; -the king 22: 17
all the prophets raving in front of them . •Zedekiah son of Chenaanah had 11 37

made himself iron horns. ' 'Yahweh says th is' he said . '''With these you 38 is dead !' m The y went to Sam aria, and in Samaria they bu ried th e king.• Th ey
wash ed the chariot " at the Pool of Sam ar ia; t he dogs licked up the blo od, and P s 68:23
will gore the Aramaeans till yo u make an end of them." ·' -And all the prop hets 12
pro phesied the same . ' March to Rarnoth-gilead' the y said 'and conquer. Yahweh the pro stitutes was hed in it, in acco rdance with the word that Ya hweh had spok en .
will deliver it int o the power of the king .'
11 2 C h 18:
12·27 The prophet Mica iah predicts defeat F . AFTER THE DEATH OF AHAB
The messenger who had gon e to sum mon Micaiah said, 'H ere are all the 13
The end of the reign of Ahab
prophets as one man speak ing favourabl y to the king . Try to speak like one of
A m 3: 15
them and fore tell success.' • But Micaiah answered, 'As Yahweh lives, what 14 39 The rest of the history of Aha b, his ent ire ca reer, the ivory house he erected ,
Yahweh says to me, that will I utter!' -When he came to the king, the king said , 15 all the towns he bui lt, is not all this recorded in the Book of the Annals of the
'Micaiah, sho uld we march to attack Ramoth-gilead , or shoul d we refrain ?' He 40 Kings of Israe l? •The n Aha b slept with his ancestors; his son Ahazia h succeeded
answered , 'March and co nquer. Yahweh will deliver it into the power of the him .
king .'! • But the king said, ' H ow often must I put you on oath to tell me not hin g 16
112C h 20:
but the truth in the name of Yahweh?' -T hen Micaiah spo ke: J7
The reign of Jehoshaphat in Judah (870-848) 31-21 :1

N a3 :17 b 41 Jehoshapha t son of Asa became king of J udah in the fourt h year of Ahab
'I have seen a ll Israel scattered on the mountains
42 king of Israel. -Jehoshaphat was thi rty-five yea rs old when he came to the
like sheep wit ho ut a shepherd .
22:25-36 thro ne, and he reigned for twenty-five years in Jerusalem. His mot her 's na me
Nb27: 18 And Yahweh said , "These have no master, 15:12
43 was Azuba h, da ughter of Shilhi. -In every way he followed the exa mp le of his D I23 : 19 +
let each go ho me unm olested" .' 44 father Asa undeviatingly, doing what is right in the eyes of Yahweh. -T he high
22:36 places, however, were not abol ished; the peop le still offered sacrifice and incense 9:2/,-2 B:
At th is the king of Israel said to Jehos hap hat, 'Did I not tell you that he never 18 10:22
gives me favourable prophecies, but only un favoura ble o nes?' • Micaiah went 19 45 on the high places. -Jehosha pha t was at peace with the king of Israel.
Jb1:6:2:1 T he rest of the histor y of Je hosha phat, the valour he showed, the wars he
Is 6: 1:19:14 on , 'L isten rather to the wo rd of Ya hweh. I have seen Ya hweh seated on his 46
throne ; all the array of hea ven " stood in his presence, on his right and on his left. waged, is not a ll this recorded in the Book of the Anna ls of the Kings of Judah?
Ya hweh said, " Who will trick A hab into marc hing to his dea th at Ra mo th- 20 47 T he remainin g male sacred prostitutes of those who had lived in the time of his
gilead?" At which some ans wered o ne way, and some another. -Then the spirit» 21 1~ father Asa, he swept out of the co untry . •T here was no king in Edam," -a nd
2Th2:II carne forwa rd and stood before Yahweh. "I," he said " I will trick him ." " Ho w'!" King Je hoshaphat bui lt a ship" of Tarshish to go to Op hir for gold, but his ship
Yahweh asked. • He r.eplied, " I will go and become a lying spirit in the mouths 22 50 never reached there: it was wrecked at Ezion-geber. •T hen Ahaziah son of
of all his prophets". "Y ou shall trick him," Yahweh said "you shall succeed. Ah ab said to Je hoshaphat, ' Let my men man the ships with yours'. But
J g 9:23 Go and do it." •Now see how Yahweh has pu t a lying spirit into the mouths 23 51 Jeh oshap hat wo uld not ag ree. -T hen Je hos ha pha t slept with his ancesto rs an d was
of all yo ur pro phets here. But Ya hweh has pronounced disaster on you.' buried in the Cita del of Davi d, his ancestor; his so n Jeho rarn succeeded him.
Then Zedekiah son of Che naa nah ca rne up and st ruck Micaiah on t he j aw. 24
J b 26:4 'Which way' he asked 'did the sp irit of Yahweh leave me, to ta lk to you?' ··T hat 25 King Ahaziah of Israel and the prophet Elijah (853-852)
22: 17 is what you will find out, ' Mica iah retor ted 'the day you flee to an inner room 52 Ahaziah son of Aha b became king of Israel in Sam ar ia in the seventeenth
to hid e.' -T hc king of Israe l said , 'Seize Micaiah an d han d him over to Amo n, 26 53 year of Je hoshaphat king of Juda h, and reigned over Israel for two years .• He
govern or of the city, and to Prince Joas h, -a nd say, "These are the kin g's or ders: 27 did what is disp leasing to Ya hweh, by following the example of his father and
Put thi s man in prison and feed him o n noth ing but bread and water unt il I co me 54 mother, and of Jeroboam son of Nebat who had led Israel into sin. -He served
Am 2: 12 bac k sa fe a nd sound" ' . - Micaiah said, ' If you co rne back safe and sound, Ya hweh 28 Baal and wor shipped him, and prov oked the ang er of Yahweh the G od of Israel
has not spo ken through me' .' just as his father had done.
'12 C h 18: Ahab falls at Ra moth-gilead
28-34
T he king of Israe l and Jehosha phat king of Juda h went up against Rarnoth- 29
gilead . -The king of Israel said to Jehoshap hat , ' I will disguise myself to go! 30
into ba tt le, but I wan t you to wear your royal unifor m' . T he king of Israel went
int o battl e disguised . •T he king of Aram had given his chariot co mmanders- the 31
following o rder: ' Do not attack an yone of whatever ra nk, except th e kin g of
22 e. This Zedek ia h. o ther wise u nk n ow n , is a p pa rently Mic a iah with th e canoni ca l prop he t.
Israel' , • When the chariot co mma nders ca ught sight of Je hosha phat, the y sa id, 32
the sp oke sman fo r the tr oop of ecs ta tics , His mime. j . 'I will d isguise my self to eo' ver sions .
'T hat is o bviously the king of Israel', And the y wheeled to the att ack . But cf. 11:30 1- a nd Jr 18:1 -l- . is int ended to sym bo lise k . T he text adds 'thirty-two', a gloss absent fr om
and even e ffect th e triumph of A hab. T he horns
Jehosha phat sho uted his war cry -and th e char iot co mman ders, realising th at 33
represent s tre ng th , Dt 33: 17, etc .
2 C h 18:20 .
l. 'ba tt le' Greek .
he was not the king of Israel, called off their pur suit. f. Mica iah ta kes up the exa ct words o f th e false
Now o ne of the men, d rawing his bow at rando m, hit the king of Israe l 34 prophet s ; b u t he is r id icu ling the king , an d the king
knows it . m. ' T he k ing is de ad' Gr eek : ' A nd the k ing died'
be twee n the co rslet and the scale-ar mo ur of his breastp late. 'Turn about' the g. The an gels. Heb r.
h. Not an angel but a pers onifi ca ti on of the n. "T hey washed ' G reek; <H e washed" Hebr, The
king said to his charioteer. 'G et me out of the battle; ' I have been hur t.' - But 35
pr ophetic sp irit which the divine inten tion will trans- verse is a gloss referr ing back to 2 1: 19. though in
the batt le grew fiercer as the day went on ; the king was held up right in his chari ot for m int o a SPirit o f lies, v , 22 . fact Naboth had been killed at Jezreel . and 21:19
i , The text ad ds ' A nd he said: Listen , peo ples had reser ved th e p unis hment of Ahab for h is son .
facing the Ararn aeans, and in th e evening he died; the blood from the wound all' . These opening words of the Book of Mic ah o . Text uncertain a nd Interp re tat ion dis p u ted.
flowed into the bott om of the chariot. -At su ndow n a sho ut ran through the 36 (Mi 1:2) are inserted by a gfossator who co nfused th is p . ' 3 shi p' Gree k .