SOLOMON 



5435 



SOLOMON 



session of the kingdom; but, according to the 

 custom of his time, Solomon caused the leading 

 men who opposed him to be slain, one by one. 

 Solomon's Dream. Solomon is supposed to 

 have been about twenty years of age when he 

 became king. He was a zealous worshiper of 

 Jehovah, and began his duties by offering sacri- 

 fices and giving God thanks for the great favors 

 conferred upon him. In the night God ap- 

 peared to Solomon in a dream and said, "Ask 

 what I shall give thee;" and Solomon said: 



"O, Lord, my God, thou hast made thy servant 

 King instead of David, my father : and I am but 

 a little child ; I know not how to go out or come 

 in. And thy servant is in the midst of thy people 

 which thou hast chosen, a great people, that can- 

 not be numbered nor counted for multitude. Give 

 thy servant therefore an understanding heart to 

 judge thy people, that I may discern between good 

 and evil, for who is able to judge this, thy great 

 people?" 



THE KINGDOM OF SOLOMON 

 . The dotted line farthest east represents the 

 eastern boundary of the territory directly influ- 

 enced by his reign. 



The record states that "the speech pleased 

 the Lord," and Solomon was promised not only 

 wisdom, but also wealth and honor. The 

 promise was literally fulfilled, for Solomon was 

 recognized as the wisest and wealthiest king of 

 his age. 



Building the Temple and Palace. According 

 to the account in / Chronicles, David, before 

 his death, gave Solomon the plans and full 

 directions for building the Temple, for. which 

 he had gathered together most of the material. 

 Solomon formed an alliance with Hiram, king 

 of Tyre, by whom he was furnished with skilled 

 workmen and cedar. The structure was begun 

 in the fourth year of his reign, and seven years 

 were required for its completion. Though 

 small and plain compared with many of the 

 cathedrals of modern times, the Temple was 

 considered to be one of the most wonderful 

 buildings of its time. Its completion estab- 

 lished Jerusalem as the center of worship for 

 the nation, as well as the center of government. 



Solomon also built for himself a palace upon 

 grounds adjoining those of the Temple. This 

 required thirteen years for its completion, and 

 it was not finished until the twentieth year of 

 his reign. 



Extending Commerce. Solomon placed fleets 

 of ships on the Red Sea and on the Mediter- 

 ranean. These vessels were manned by Phoeni- 

 cian sailors, because the Israelites were not 

 acquainted with the art of navigation. The 

 fleets of Solomon are supposed to have sailed 

 southward as far as the southern part of Africa 

 and westward as far as Spain. Some authori- 

 ties believe that they sailed eastward as far as 

 India, but there is no positive information con- 

 cerning the extent of any of these voyages. 

 We do know, however, that Solomon extended 

 the commerce of his kingdom to all surround- 

 ing nations, and that his ships, for that age, 

 made long voyages. As a result of his trade 

 with so many peoples he gained great wealth, 

 which he expended in maintaining his army 

 and court. 



The Splendor of the King. Soon after he 

 became king, Solomon made an alliance with 

 Pharaoh, king of Egypt, and married his daugh- 

 ter, bringing her to Jerusalem. His palace was 

 one of the most magnificent structures of the 

 time. His throne was of ivory covered with 

 gold. All the kingdoms over which he ruled 

 "brought presents and served Solomon all the 

 days of his life." "And the king made silver to 

 be in Jerusalem as stones, and cedars made he 

 to be as sycamore trees that are in the low- 

 land, for abundance." We read also that he 

 had 40,000 stalls of horses for his chariots and 

 12,000 horsemen. In addition to these were 

 several hundred officials of state and attend- 

 ants who were maintained in and about his 

 palace. 



