Before Chrlft 1046 — 975. 23: 



from Hiram king of Tyre, with whom he kept up a friendly corre- 

 fpondence as long as he lived ; and he alfo hired Tyrian mafons and 

 carpenters for carrying on his works. Thus the wealth of a warlike 

 nation muft ever flow into the pockets of their more induflrious com- 

 mercial neighbours *. 



This prince colleded for the building of the temple above eight hun- 

 dred millions of our money, as it is calculated by Arbuthnot ! [T'ables of 

 ancient coins, pp. 35, 208.] 



1012-975 — Solomon, the fucceflbr of David, cultivated the arts of 

 peace, and he was thereby enabled to indulge his tafle for magnificence 

 and luxury more than his father could poflibly do. Being a wife man, 

 he knew, that, to preferve his kingdom in a fecure and honourable 

 peace, it was neceffary to keep up a refpeftable military force, fufficient 

 to reprefs any hoftile invafion. But, without fliewing that pufillanimous 

 anxiety to preferve peace, which, while it dreads, invites, the infults of 

 the neighbouring nations, he molefted none of them, and thereby en- 

 joyed a reign of almoft uninterrupted tranquillity. He employed the 

 vafi: wealth, amafled by his father, in works of architedure, and in 

 ftrengthening and polhhing his kingdom. The famous temple of Jeru- 

 falem, the fortifications of that capital, and many entire cities, among 

 which was the celebrated Tadmor or Palmyra, were built by him. 

 Finding his own fubjeds but little qualified for fuch undertakings, he 

 applied to Hiram king of Tyre, the fon of his ixither's friend Hiram f, 

 who furniflied him cedar and fir (or cyprefs) timbers, and large flones %, 

 all properly cut and made ready for building, which the Tyrians car- 

 ried by water to the moft convenient landing-place in Solomon's domi- 

 nions. Hiram alfo fent a great number of workmen to aflifl and in- 

 ftrud Solomon's people, none of whom had Ikill ' to hew timber like 

 ' unto the Sidonians §.' Solomon in return furnifhed the Tyrians with 

 corn, wine, and oil ; and he even received a balance in gold. It is not 

 improbable, however, that the gold was the flipulated price for the cef- 

 lion of twenty towns to the Tyrians by Solomon, which Hiram, not lik- 

 ing them, afterwards returned to him. 



* Eupolemus, an author quoted by Eafebius, the two kings, fays exprefsly, that the t;mple was 

 [_Praparat. evangel. L. ix] fays that I)avid built begun in the eleventh year of Hiram, and that 

 iliips in Arabia, wherein he fent men, fltillcd in Hiram inherited the friendly difpofition of his fa- 

 mines and metah, to the ifland of Ophir. Modern ther. Now it was thirty-four years after the elder 

 iuithors, improving upon this rather-fufpicious an- Hiram had fupplied David with building materials, 

 thority, have afcrlbed to David the honoirr of be- when the temple was begun. The confufion oF 

 ing the founder of a great Eall-India commerce. kings of the fame name is a frequent fource of 



f See the letter of Hiram (or Huram) to So- chronological embarraifment. [Sec Jfeph. Antiq. 



lomon, wherein he mentions his father of the fame Z. vlil, c. 2 ; Contra Apion. L. i.^ 

 name. \_II Chron. c. 2] This clears up the diffi- \ According to Jofephus, {^Aniiq. L. xx, <r. 8j 



ctilty, found by Petavius in the reign of Hiram, the ftones were thirty feet long and nine feet high 



which he attempts to folve by affigning to it a a wonderful fize. 



duration of 56 years, apparently comprehending J So they ftlU called the Tyrians, as being a- 



the reign of two kings of that name. Moreover, colony from Sidon. 

 Jofephus, though be has not duely difcriminated 5 



