Further Trade, Building, and Maritime Expansion (9:10–28)

Solomon gave twenty towns in Galilee to Hiram king of Tyre (9:11). Land and cities were a common form of exchange between kingdoms of the ancient Near East, particularly when they were in need of friendly border adjustments.167 The cause for the exchange is unclear, but it likely reflects Tyre’s increasing strength and the final settling of accounts after its contribution to Solomon’s building campaign. Hiram desired a hinterland for his coastal kingdom whereas Solomon sought to secure inland trade routes.168

My brother (9:13). Ancient Near Eastern treaties and letters indicate that this term expresses agreement or understanding between two equal parties, both kings (cf. also comment on 20:3).

Cabul (9:13). Although the name is preserved in the biblical town of Cabul in the plain of Asher (Josh. 19:27), the use of the term here is unclear and attempts to trace its etymology are largely unsuccessful. It may refer to the region of Asher, south of the mountain range that bordered the kingdom of Tyre.

Sent … 120 talents of gold (9:14). The weight of one talent is calculated by multiplying the number of shekels per talent (three thousand) by the weight of a shekel as determined by weights and measures found in the archaeological record (11.4 grams), that is, some thirty kilograms (about sixty-seven pounds). Thus Hiram delivers almost four tons of gold to Solomon as part of the ongoing trade negotiations between the two kingdoms.169

Here is the account of the forced labor King Solomon conscripted (9:15). Solomon’s projects relied on forced labor or corvée service demanded of the foreigners (and especially Canaanites) in his kingdom. A census determined the capacity of this labor force (9:21).170 Textual records from larger ancient Near Eastern kingdoms often include abbreviated accounts of taxation, conscription, and building projects that characterize a rise in status and regional influence. Solomon’s royal building program and its administration reflect programs that can be traced as far back as the early civilizations of Mesopotamia.171

Pharaoh king of Egypt had attacked and captured Gezer (9:16). Gezer is located at a strategic position where two main routes intersect. As a link on the coastal highway that connects Egypt and Mesopotamia, it often came under the attack of international powers such as Egypt.172 As a powerful city on the main road into the Judean highlands, it was an important defensive position for the Israelites as well. Because there was a change in Egypt’s leadership during Solomon’s reign, it is unclear whether the pharaoh referred to in this verse is the same one who gave the city to Solomon as dowry when giving away his daughter or the pharaoh who preceded him (see comment on 3:1).173

Gezer from the north

Todd Bolen/www.BiblePlaces.com

He built up Lower Beth Horon, Baalath, and Tadmor in the desert (9:17–18). These cities represent the continuation of the fortification list that begins with verse 15. Whereas Gezer, Hazor, and Megiddo controlled the main trunk route through the country, Beth Horon was a crucial link between Gezer and Gibeon on the ascent into the Judean highlands.174

The identification of the last city on the list is problematic because the Hebrew text of the Old Testament offers two readings: “Tamar” and “Tadmor.” The former is an Israelite fortress in the southern Negev wilderness whereas the latter is a well-known trading post on the route between Mesopotamia and Damascus. Two texts support the “Tadmor” reading. In the annals of the twelfth-century Assyrian king Tiglath-pileser I, Tadmor is identified as a city of the Amurru kingdom in Syria, a kingdom that Solomon subjugated.175 In 2 Chronicles 8:4, Tadmor is listed as a city of Solomon in the context of his victory over the Arameans. This identification of Tadmor accords well with the expansive trade network that Solomon established in the northern Levant. However, the north-to-south geographical ordering of 1 Kings 9:15–19 supports “Tamar” of the wilderness.

Store cities and the towns for his chariots and for his horses (9:19). There is abundant evidence for administrative centers and chariot cities in the Levant and adjacent regions. During the Egyptian rule of Canaan in the fifteenth to twelfth centuries B.C., garrisons were established in Megiddo, Beth Shean, and other cities. They are mentioned in Egyptian annals and appear in the archaeological record as “governor’s residences.”176 Megiddo is the best example of an administrative center for storage and chariots dating to Solomon’s era, though substantial finds from this period have been discovered at other sites as well.177

Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites (9:20). In this list of peoples native to Canaan, the Perizzites and Hivites remain subject to speculation whereas the Amorites are well known from ancient Near Eastern sources as a people group that spread from Mesopotamia into the Levant.178 The Jebusites are associated with the city of Jerusalem during the pre-Davidic era, and the designation Hittites may refer either to people of Anatolian and Syrian extraction or to local “sons of Heth” who were already in the land in Abraham’s time.179

These were Solomon’s fighting men, government officials, officers, captains, and commanders of his chariots and charioteers (9:23). The robust terminology for court officials is to be expected in ancient kingdoms that became regional hegemonies. Although Solomon’s bureaucracy is most often compared to the court of the pharaoh in nearby Egypt, the range of officials is attested in the third through first millennium Syria and Mesopotamia as well.180

King Solomon also built ships at Ezion Geber, which is near Elath in Edom (9:26). The most successful Israelite and Judean kings are credited with maritime operations, though this was the exception for the Israelites, not the rule. Israel, and later Judah, offered a vital link between the ports of the Mediterranean and the sources of exotic goods in Arabia and east Africa. The most likely site for Ezion Geber is modern Jazirat Faraun, a small island in the Gulf of Aqaba/Eilat. The previous identification with Tell Kheleifeh has been discounted by a reexamination of its archaeological remains.181 The location of Elath is unknown, though it is likely to be close to the shoreline of modern Aqaba and Eilat.

Jazirat Faraun (Ezion Geber)

Bible Scene Multimedia/Maurice Thompson

Ophir (9:28). This destination is most often thought to be east Africa, perhaps along the Somali coast. The items attributed to Ophir in the biblical text are also known to originate from Arabia and Yemen, which lie opposite.182