burnt-offerings unto Jehovah my God which cost me nothing." There is a general agreement among scholars that the site of David's altar was identical with that of Solomon's altar of burnt-offering, and that the site is now occupied by the Dome of the Rock, sometimes called the Mosque of Omar.

BIBLICAL SOurces:

The famine and the hanging of Saul's sons, 2 Sam. 21. I-10. The purchase of Araunah's threshing-floor and erection of an altar to Jehovah, 2 Sam. 24.

The accession of Solomon, 1 Kings 1.

The death of David, 1 Kings 2. I-II.

QUESTIONS

I. Give the most important facts concerning each of the following persons: Nathan, Abiathar, Benaiah, Adonijah, Joab.

2. In David's deathbed instructions what prominent leaders are marked for death?

3. Give approximate dates of David's reign.

4. Locate on map the boundaries of David's kingdom.

5. Make a thorough character study of David, verifying all the statements you make concerning him by incidents from his life, or by the opinion of him held by his contemporaries (not by later ages).

6. What do you consider the chief elements of greatness in David's character?

LESSON XXIV

SOLOMON'S AUTOCRATIC RULE

PERHAPS no king ever began his reign with a more promising outlook for the future than did Solomon. David's brilliant reign had subdued all Israel's enemies and Solomon found himself in peaceful possession of a large territory. The records indicate that at first. he genuinely desired to be a good ruler of his people, but the temptations of wealth and unlimited power proved too much for him. Though our information about him is scant and more or less self-contradictory, his reign has come down to us in history as the synonym for extravagance and for despotism. As a result of it the kingdom broke in two immediately upon his death.

Solomon's treatment of his rivals. It was customary for Oriental monarchs, on coming to the throne, to put to death all who might dispute their title to it. Solomon at first showed unusual clemency. Adonijah, who was promised safety on the condition of good behavior, brought death upon himself by asking that he might have for his wife a beautiful Shunammite who had attended David in his last days. In accordance with Oriental ideas, Solomon regarded this as a step toward the seizure of the throne. The aged Joab, realizing that he too was marked for execution, fled to the altar of Jehovah, and was there cut down by Benaiah, at Solomon's order, with as little mercy as he himself had shown his numerous victims. The life of Abiathar was spared because of the service he had rendered David, but he was banished to his native

town of Anathoth. Shimei was told not to leave Jerusalem, upon pain of death. When he left the city three years later he was promptly executed. Thus Solomon's last dangerous enemy was removed.

Solomon's dream at Gibeon.-Soon after his accession he made a visit to Gibeon for the purpose of worshiping Jehovah. "For that was the great high place: a thousand burnt-offerings did Solomon offer upon that altar." Here Jehovah appeared to him in a dream and told him to ask for anything he wanted. Solomon asked not for riches or honor, but for an understanding heart, that he might rule his people aright. Jehovah was so much pleased that he promised him not only wisdom but riches and honor.

Solomon as judge. One of the reasons Absalom was able to steal the hearts of the people from David was that the latter had become lax in "judging" the people. Solomon, at the beginning of his reign, distinguished himself for the wisdom with which he administered justice. The classic instance, showing not only his sense of justice but also his insight and cleverness, is the case of two women, both claiming to be the mother of the same child. When Solomon ordered a sword to be brought, that the child might be divided between the claimants, the real mother revealed herself by promptly yielding her claim to the other.

The organization of Solomon's kingdom.—He added many new officials to his court, which was out of all proportion to the size of his kingdom. The chief aim of his life, evidently, was to equal or surpass in splendor the most magnificent potentates of his day. His dominant characteristic was love of display and luxury. "Solomon's provision for one day" is given as three hundred and thirty bushels of

flour, six hundred and sixty bushels of meal, thirty oxen, and one hundred sheep, besides "harts, and gazelles, and roebucks, and fatted fowl." It is easy to see that to furnish such a quantity of provisions would prove an intolerable burden to his kingdom, in which most of the people were poor. To secure the means for his enormous expenditures now became his greatest problem.

His method of taxation.-Soon after the beginning of his reign the territory left him by David began to decrease in area. Edom and Moab successfully revolted. Damascus broke away from Solomon's control and as the chief city of Aram eventually became one of Israel's most dangerous enemies. The loss of terri

tory meant a decrease in revenue, and Solomon resorted to new expedients to raise the needed funds. He divided the country into twelve districts, ignoring tribal boundaries, and compelled each to furnish support for his expensive court one month each year. (Judah, his own tribe, is not mentioned, and was probably exempt.) This aroused in the people a smoldering resentment which was ready to break forth at the first opportunity. Solomon could not manage even with this enormous revenue. He borrowed large sums of money from Hiram of Tyre, which he had great difficulty in repaying. As a result he ceded to Hiram twenty cities in Galilee.

Commerce under Solomon. The Hebrews had never been a seafaring people, for they had no seaport on the Mediterranean. Solomon, with the assistance of Hiram, king of Tyre, built “a navy of ships" in the Gulf of Akabah on the Red Sea and established trading routes to distant points in Arabia and possibly India. His ships were gone three years and brought

back "gold, and silver, ivory, and apes, and peacocks." Sandalwood and precious stones, hangings and carpets are also mentioned as articles of import. In addition to his trading ships, Solomon established caravan routes to distant points. He imported large numbers of horses from Egypt and sold them to neighboring nations at a handsome profit. His commercial enterprises brought much wealth into his country, but it does not seem that they were intended to benefit his people so much as to add to the luxuries of his court.

His relations with foreign nations. He was a man of peace, having no desire for foreign conquests, and for this we must commend him. He built fortresses at strategic points for the better protection of his country, and fortified Jerusalem. He brought Palestine into direct contact with other nations through commerce, and sought to maintain friendly relations with his neighbors through alliances, especially through marriage alliances.

Solomon's wives. He took wives from among the Ammonites, Edomites, Hittites, and other nations, generally for reasons of state. The book of Kings says that "he had seven hundred wives, princesses, and three hundred concubines," which is thought to be an exaggeration. The marriage which brought most glory to him in his own eyes and in the eyes of his subjects was that with an Egyptian princess. It was a proud day when a scion of the race that had been in bondage to the haughty Egyptians led home the daughter of the reigning Pharaoh as his queen. Each of his wives was allowed to establish her own worship at his court, and to have her priests and other dependents. This, however, was regarded merely as "international courtesy." His foreign wives "turned