Chronicler's Ecclesiastical History lish to Jehovah, a thousand bullocks, a thousand rams, and a thousand lambs, with their accompanying libations, and sacrifices in abundance for all Israel. 22Then they ate and drank before Jehovah on that day with great gladness. Then they made Solomon the son of David king the second time, and Estabanointed him to be Jehovah's prince and Zadok to be priest. 23So Solomon ment of sat on the throne of Jehovah as king in the place of David his father. And Solohe prospered, and all Israel obeyed him; 24and all the princes, and the mighty the heroes as well, all the sons of King David paid homage to Solomon the of king. 25 And Jehovah exalted Solomon greatly in the sight of all Israel Israel and bestowed upon him such royal majesty as no other king before him in Israel had possessed. mon on throne death David 26Thus David the son of Jesse was king over Reign all Israel. 27 And the time during which he and reigned over Israel was forty years: seven years of he reigned in Hebron, and thirty-three years he reigned in Jerusalem. 28 And he died in a good old age, satisfied with living, with riches, and with honor; and Solomon his son reigned in his place. 29 Now the acts of David the king from beginning to end are already described in the history of Samuel the seer, 30together with all his reign and his brave deeds, and the fortunes that befell himd and Israel and all the kingdoms of the countries. IV THE SPLENDORS AND BUILDING ENTERPRISES OF SOLO- § 47. Removal of Solomon's Opponents, I Kgs. 212-48, II Chr. 11 Early Judean David Narratives I Kgs. 2 12Now Solomon sat upon the throne of David his father and his king- Adonijah's dom was firmly established. 13Then Adonijah the son of Haggith came to Bath- solicitasheba the mother of Solomon and bowed before her. And she said, Do you to I Chr. 2922 Not found in Gk. Evidently it is a harmonizing scribal gloss. The Splendors and Building Enterprises of Solomon's Reign.-I Kgs. 212-46 is really the § 47. This account of the initial acts of Solomon's reign is related not to the following, but to the preceding passages. There is no tendency to idealize the policy of the king, but the grim facts are presented with the directness and naturalness, as well as picturesqueness, that characterize the early Judean David narratives of which this section is the conclusion. The story was objectionable to the Chronicler, who in common with his age idealized the character and history of the builder of his beloved temple. Accordingly he omits it altogether, simply stating (II Chr. 11) that Solomon the son of David was strongly established in his kingdom and Jehovah his God was with him and made him exceedingly powerful. tions Abishag Solomon's and tion of jah Early Judean David Narratives come in a friendly manner?a And he replied, Yes, 14and added, I have something to say to you. And she said, Speak. 15And he said, You know that the kingdom was mine and that all Israel regarded me as the coming king, but now the kingdom has been taken away from me and has become my brother's, for it was his from Jehovah. 16Now, however, I would ask one thing of you; do not refuse me. And she said to him, Speak. 17 And he said, Then request Solomon the king-he will not refuse you to give me Abishag the Shunammite as wife. 18 And Bathsheba said, Good, I will speak for you to the king. 19 Bathsheba went therefore to King Solomon to speak to him for Adonindig- ijah. And the king rose up to meet her and bowed before her, and sat down nation on his throne, and a seat was placed for the king's mother, and she sat on speedy his right. 20Then she said, I would make a small request of you; do not execu- refuse me. And the king said to her, Make your request, my mother, for I Adoni- will not refuse you. 21And she said, Let Abishag the Shunammite be given to Adonijah your brother as wife. 22Then King Solomon answered and said to his mother, Why then do you ask Abishag the Shunammite for Adonijah? Ask for him the kingdom also! for he is my elder brother, and on his sided are Abiathar the priest and Joab the son of Zeruiah. 23Thereupon King Solomon swore by Jehovah, saying, God do to me whatever he pleaseth if Adonijah has not spoken this word against his own life. 24 Now therefore as Jehovah liveth, who hath established me and caused me to mount the throne of David my father, and who hath, as he promised, given me posterity, Adonijah shall surely be put to death this day. 25Then King Solomon sent Benaiah the son of Jehoiada; and he struck him down, so that he died. Banish ment of C 26 And to Abiathar the priest the king said, Go to Anathoth to your estate; for you are to-day condemned to die, but I will not put you to death, because Abia- bore the ark of Jehovah before David my father and because you shared you all the afflictions which my father experienced. 27Thus Solomon ejected Abiathar, so that he was no longer Jehovah's priest, that he might fulfil the word of Jehovah which he spoke concerning the house of Eli in Shiloh. thar the priest bloody end Joab's 28 But when the report came to Joab-for Joab had supported Adonijah, although he had not supported Absalomi-Joab fled to the tent of Jehovah, and caught hold of the horns of the altar. 29 And it was told King Solomon, are clearly connected with this major theme. Chap. 11 alone reflects the deep shadow which hung over Solomon's reign as a consequence of his selfish despotic policy. By subsequent generations the shadow was forgotten and the builder shared the veneration and glory that centred about the temple. The tendency to idealize the comparatively small and modest structure originally reared by Solomon, as one of his palace buildings, is well illustrated by the great number of supplemental notes which have been added to the older accounts and the tendency to overlay it profusely with gold and precious woods. a 213 Lit., Is your coming peace? The last clause is found in Gk. and Luc. and is probably original. b 219 So Gk. and Syr. Heb., caused to be placed. 222 Heb. adds through a scribal error, and for him. d 222 So Gk., Luc., Syr., and Lat. The Heb. omits, on his side. 224 Heb., made me a house. 1 226 Heb., a man of death. 226 So Gk. and Syr. The Heb. adds by mistake before Jehovah the word, Lord. h22 Evidently this is a later note, added by an editor familiar with the later Ephraimite I passage. II Sam. 231-35 i 228 So Heb., Gk., and Targ. Luc. and Syr., Solomon. Early Judean David Narratives Joab has fled to the tent of Jehovah and is there beside the altar. Thereupon Solomon sent to Joab, saying, How comes it that you have fled to the altar? Joab replied, Because I was afraid of you and so I fled to Jehovah. Then Solomon sent Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, saying, Go, strike him down. 30 And Benaiah went to the tent of Jehovah and said to him, The king commands, Come forth.' But he said, No; I will rather die here. And Benaiah brought the king word again, saying, Thus said Joab and thus he answered me. 31And the king said to him, Do as he has said: strike him down and bury him, that you may take away the innocent blood which Joab shed from me and from my father's clan. 32And Jehovah will requite his bloody act upon his own head, because he struck down two men more honorable and better than he, and slew them with the sword without the knowledge of my father David: Abner the son of Ner, commander of the army of Israel, and Amasa the son of Jether, commander of the army of Judah. 33So shall their blood come back upon the head of Joab and the head of his descendants forever; but to David, and to his descendants, and to his house, and to his throne may there be peace forever from Jehovah. 34Then Benaiah the son of Jehoiada went up and struck him down and slew him; and he was buried in his own house in the wilderness. 35And the king put Benaiah the son of Jehoiada in his place over the army, and the king put Zadok the priest in the place of Abiathar. condi posed Shimei ei's fate 36Then the king summoned Shimei and said to him, Build a house in Jeru- The salem, there you may live, but you shall not go forth from there to any place tions whatever. 37For as soon as you go away and cross the Brook Kidron, know imfor certain that you shall surely die; your blood shall be upon your own head. upon 38 And Shimei said to the king, The statement is fair; Your servant will do as my lord the king has said. And Shimei lived in Jerusalem a long time. 39 But at the end of three years, two of Shimei's slaves ran away to Achish Shimson of Maacah king of Gath. And when it was reported to Shimei, Your slaves are in Gath, 40Shimei rose and saddled his ass and went to Gath to Achish to seek his slaves. And Shimei went and brought his slaves from Gath. 41 And it was told Solomon that Shimei had gone from Jerusalem to Gath and had come back again. 42Then the king summoned Shimei, and said to him, Did I not cause you to take an oath by Jehovah and solemnly admonish you, saying, 'Know for certain that as soon as you go away to any place whatever, you shall surely die'? And you said to me, 'The statement is fair. 43Why then have you not kept the oath of Jehovah and the command that I laid upon you? 44The king also said to Shimei, You are aware of all the wickedness which you yourself alone know, that you did to David my father; now Jehovah hath brought your wickedness upon your own head. 45 But King Solomon shall be blessed and the throne of David shall be established before Jehovah forever. 46So the king gave command to Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, and he went out and struck him down, and thus he died. So the kingdom was brought completely under the control of Solomon. i 229 The entire clause, Thereupon Solomon sent Heb., but is retained in the Gk. and Luc. . to Jehovah, has fallen out of the Solomon's sacrifice at § 48. Solomon's Wisdom, I Kgs. 32-28, 429-34, II Chr. 12-13 Popular Solomon Tradi tions I Kgs. 3 'Now Solomon loved Jehovah so that he walked in the statutes of Da Gibeon vid his father; only he sacrificed and burnt offerings on the high places. "The people likewise sacrificed on the high places because up to that time no temple had been built for Jehovah.1 4And the king went to Gibeon to sacrifice there; for that was the great high place; a thousand burnt offerings did Solomon offer upon that altar. II Chr. 1 2And Solomon summoned all Israel, the commanders of thousands and of hundreds, and the judges and every prince in all Israel, the heads of the clans. 3So Solomon, and all the assembly with him, went to the high place that was at Gibeon; for there was the tent of meeting of God, which Moses the servant of Jehovah had made in the wilderness. 4But the ark of God David had brought up from Kiriathjearim to the place that David had prepared for it; for he had pitched for it a tent at Jerusalem. 5Moreover the brazen altar, that Bezalel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, had made, was there before the dwelling of Jehovah. And Solomon and the assembly sought it. And Solomon made an offering there before Jehovah on the brazen altar which was at the tent of meeting, and sacrificed upon it a thousand burnt-offerings. appeared to Solomon Thou hast showed to thy servant David my "In that night God appeared to Solomon and said to him, Ask what I shall give thee. 8And Solomon said to God, Thou hast showed great kindness to David my father, and hast made me king in his place. 9Now, O Jehovah God, let thy promise to David my father be established; for thou hast made me king over a people as numerous as the dust of the In the passage § 48 In the Gk. 31 follows 4 and is also connected with 916 with which it naturally belongs. Vss. 2. 3 are clearly from late prophetic editors, 2 having been inserted last. beginning with, the worship at high places is assumed as perfectly natural, but the later editors felt it necessary to excuse Solomon's act. These stories appear to have been taken from the popular cycle which grew up about the name of Solomon, as about those of Saul and David. Cf. Introd., p. 15. The Chronicler in the parallel passages explains his going to Gibeon by stating that the tent of meeting was there, 13. The narrative in I Kgs. 34-28 is as a whole prophetic in character, and is based no doubt on popular tradition. It has been supplemented at many points, however, by the late prophetic editor, whose work is clearly revealed by the presence of his characteristic phrases. IKgs. 33 The Heb. here and elsewhere is correctly translated, burn incense; but it is very doubtful whether or not incense was ever employed in the pre-exilic Heb. ritual. The original meaning of the verb is, to cause the savor of the sacrifice to rise. In II Kgs. 1613. 15 it is used to describe the burning of the burnt-offering and the cereal-offering. It is employed elsewhere in connection with the burning of the fat or vegetable sacrifices. Ordinarily in preexilic literature it simply means, offer sacrifice. I Kgs. 32 So Gk. Heb., for the name of Jehovah. The introduction of the name is probably a later scribal refinement. Jeho vah's prom ise of wis Popular Solomon Traditions And thy servant is in the midst of thy people which thou hast chosen, a great people too numerous to be numbered or counted. 9Give thy servant therefore an understanding mind to judge thy people, that I may discern between good and evil; for who is able to judge this thy great people? 10 And it pleased the Lord that Solomon so that there hath been none like thee before 13 And I have also given thee that which thou Chronicler's Ecclesiastical earth. 10Give me now wis- 11Then God said to Solo- edge for thyself, that thou thee riches and wealth and honor, such as none of the kings has had who have been before wis the case two 16Then two harlots came to the king and stood before him. 17 And the An example one woman said, O, my lord, this woman and I dwell in the same house; noloand I was delivered of a child in her presence within the house. 18 Now on mon's the third day after I was delivered, this woman was also delivered and we dom: were together, there being no one else with us in the house: we two being alone in the house. 19 And this woman's child died in the night, because she of the lay upon it. 20 And she arose at midnight and took my son from beside me, mothwhile your maid-servant slept, and laid it in her bosom and laid her dead child in my bosom. 21 And when I rose in the morning to nurse my child, there it was dead; but when I looked at it in the morning, behold, it was not my son whom I had borne. 22Then the other woman said, No; but the living is my son, and the dead child is your son. And the first woman was saying, No; but the dead is your son and the living child is my son. Thus they contended before the king. I Kgs. 315 The inconsistency of Solomon's first going to Gibeon to sacrifice, if he was accustomed to do so before the ark, did not occur to the late prophetic editor, who added this half-verse in order to bring Solomon's conduct into harmony with later usage and ideas. ers |