11 Kings 1

2 S AM U EL

ExI2 :23+ 2K19:35

IIIC h21 : 18-28 Go 23:3

1 S 6:14 II( 19:2 1

21: 14

4/ 6

Now think, and decide how I am to answe r him who sends me.' -David said to Gad, 'This is a hard choice. But let us rather fall into the power of Yahweh, sinc e his merc y is great, an d not int o th e power of men.' ·So David chose pestilence. It was the time of the whea t ha rvest. Yahweh sen t a pestil ence on Israel from th e morning till the time appointed and plague rav aged the people, v and from Dan to Beersheba seventy thousand men of the m died . -The angel stretched out his hand towards Jerus alem to dest roy it, but Yahweh thought better of thi s evil, and he said to the a ngel who was destroying the peo ple, ' Enough ! N ow withdraw your hand.' The angel of Ya hweh was beside the threshing-floor of Arauna h the Je bus ite. • ' Wh en David saw the angel who was ravaging the people, he spoke to Ya hweh. 'It wa s I who sinned ;' he said ' I who did this wicked thing. But the se, this flock , what ha ve the y done? Let you r hand lie heavy on me then, a nd on my fa mily.'

14

IS

THE BOOK S OF THE 16

THE FIRST BOOK O F T HE K I N G S

17

I. THE DA VIDI C S U CC ES S I O N"

An altar is built Gad went to David that da y and said, 'Go u p and erect an altar to Yahweh on the threshing -floo r of Araunah the Jebusite' . -So at G ad's biddi ng David went up as Yahweh had ordered him . •When Araunah loo ked down a nd saw the king and his officers advancing towards him-Araunah was th reshing the wheat --che ca me forward an d with his face to the ground d id the king homage. •'Why ha s my lord the king come to his servant ?' Araunah as ked . David answered, 'To buy the threshing-floor from you, in or der to build an altar t o Yahw eh , so th a t th e pla gue may leave the people'. · 'Let my lord the king ta ke it' Ar aunah said to David 'a nd offer up what he thi nks right. Here a re the oxen for the holocaust, th e thresh ing-sled; and the oxen 's yoke for the woo d . T he servan t of my lord the kin g gives all this to the king. And' Arauna h said to the king 'may Ya hweh your G od accept yo ur offering.' But th e king said to Araunah, ' N o, I must pa y you mon ey for it ; I will no t offer Ya hweh my God hol ocausts that have cost me no th ing'. So D avid paid fifty shekels in silver" for th e threshing-floor a nd oxen .• David built an altar to Yahweh there and offered ho locausts an d co mmu nio n sac rifices. Then Ya hweh took pity on the country and the plague was turned away from Israel.

KI N G S

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David's last days, The intr igues of Adonija h King David was a n old man well on in ye.ars and though they laid, coverlets over him he could not keep warm. -S o his servants sa id to him, Let some you ng girl be found for my lo rd the king, to wait on the king and look afte r him; 3 she shall lie o n your breast a nd this will keep my lord the king war m' . - Having searched fo r a beau tiful girl througho ut the territory of Israel , they found Ab ishag 4 of Shunem a nd broug ht her to the king. -T he girl was of great beauty. She looked after the king and waited on him but the king had no inte rcourse with her . 5 Now Adonijah, Haggith's son , was ambitio us ; he though t he might be king ; acco rdingly he procured a cha riot and team with fifty men to run in front of t. him . -At no time in his life had his fa ther ever crossed him by asking, 'Why do you behave like th is?' He was also very ha ndsome; his mot her had given birt h to him 7 after Absa lom.• He con ferre d with Joab son of Zeruia h a nd wit h the priest " Ab iath ar ' who rallied to Ado nijah 's cause ; -but neither Zadok t he pr iest, nor Benaia h son of Je hoiada, no r the pro phet Nathan, nor Shimei and his co mpa nio ns.r David' s cham pion s. supported Adon ijah. On e day when Adon ijah was sacrificing sheep a nd oxen a nd fattened ca lves at the Slidi ng Sto ne which is beside the Fuller's Spring, he invited all his brothers, 10 the royal princes, an d all th e men of J uda h in the king's service ; • but he did not invite t he prophet Na tha n, or Benaiah, or t he cha mpio ns, or his brother So lom on .

1

I Ch23:1

2 K 4:"

2 S 3:4 _ ISS: 11 2 S 15:1

The intrig ues of Nathan and Bathsheba II

12

J "

I

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I. The pare nthesis Is Inserted here in accorda nce I, Th e translation follows the G reek. b. The narrative p roba bly fuses two tradition s: withCh . J. A b oard with stones se t in the underside sti ll according to on e, Ya hweh halt s the plague at the gates of Jerusa lem out of his love for t he cit y. v, 16. and used in Pa lestine for threshing. k , Six hundred golden shekels accordi ng to Ch. Dav id offers a sac rttice or thanksgiving 'as Ya hweh had ordered', v. 19. Accor di ng to the second. it is Araunah 's threshing-ftoor was outs ide the city on the Da vid 's pra yer and his bui1ding of t he altar that save hill do mina ting old Jer usa lem from the N. This is t he futu re site of Solom on's Temple, cf. 5:9+ . t he city, VV. 17. 2 1. 25.

Th en Nat ha n said to Bath sheba, Solomon's mothe r, 'Have you not heard tha t unknown to o ur lord Dav id. Ado nijah , Hagg ith 's so n, has become king? •Well, this is my ad vice to you if you want to save you r ow n life a nd the life of yo ur son So lomon . -G o straig ht in to King Davi d an d say , " My lord king, did you not make yo ur servant this pro mise on oath:" Your so n Solomon is to be king afte r me; he is the one who is to sit on my throne? How is it, then , that Adonijah is king?" 'A nd while you a re st ill there ta lking to the king, I will co me in afte r you an d confirm wha t you say.' So Baths heba went to the king in his room (he was very old a nd Abi shag of Shunem was in attendance o n him) . -She knelt down a nd d id ho mage to the king, and the king said, ' What is yo ur wish'?' · ' My lord,' she a nswered 'you swore this to yo ur servant by Yah weh your God, "You r son So lomon is to be king a fter a, C b , 1-2 co n ti n ue t he na r ra ti ve o f 2 S IJ -2 0 . b . J o a b: Dav id's n ephe w a n d co m pa ni o n o f his (";lI lv days. s l ill c om ma nder-in-ch ie f, 2 S 19 :1 4 ! : Ahial ha r: so le s u rvi vor o f t he rmesrs of Nob . I S 22:20. ;1IuJ s, ill loy a l 10 David . c, ' and his co mpa n ion s' Io tto wi n e G ree k. The Iact lons of Solo mon a nd A don ijah a re o pposed o n

pe rs o na l e ro u nds: Zad ok is a ri val of Ablarbur : t he capta in of tbe guard . Benaiah. is ic a tous o f Joa b . co m m a n d e r- in-c h ief: N athan h ad been CiOlI'S mou t hni c..:e fu r Dav id . especiatlv a r th e ti m e o f So lomon ' s b iTih. 2 S 12:2';"'1:5. d . T h is oat h has not hitherto bee n ment ion ed in (he h islOry of David.

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1 K ING S

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me ' he is the one who is to sit on my thro ne". -And now here is Adonijah king and you , my lord king, knowing nothing about it. -He ha s sacrificed quantities of oxen and fatt ened calves and sheep, and invited all the royal princes, th e prie st Ab iathar, and Joab th e army commander; but he has no t invited yo ur serv ant Solomon. -Yet you are the man, my lord king, to whom all Israel looks, to name for them the successor of my lord the king.' -And when my lord the king sleep s with his fathers, my son Solomon an d I will be mad e to suffer for this.' She was still speaking when the prophet N athan entered. ·'T he prophet N at ha n is here' the y tol d t he king ; a nd he cam e into th e kin g's presence a nd bowed do wn to the ground on his face before the king. -' My lord kin g: sai d N at ha n 'is this , then, you r decree: "Adonijah is to be king after me ; he is the one who is to sit on my throne" ? - For he has gone down today and sacrificed quanti ties of oxe n and fattened calves and sheep , and invi ted all the royal princes, the arm y chiefs, and the pr iest Abiathar ; and they are there now, eating an d dr inking in his presence and sho ut ing, " Lo ng live King Adonij ah! " -He has not, howe ver, invited me your ser vant. Zadok the priest, Bena iah son of Jchoiada, or yo ur servant So lomon.• Is this with my lord the king 's a pproval? Or have yo u not told those loyal to you who is to succeed to the th rone of my lo rd th e king'!'

1

Solomon is consecrated king at Da vid's nomination T hen King Da vid spoke. 'Call Bathsheba to me' he sa id. A nd she carne into the king 's presence and stoo d befo re him. -Then the king swore thi s oath , 'As Ya hweh lives, who has deli vered me from all adversity, -ju st as I swo re to yo u by Ya hweh the G od of Israel th at your so n So lo mo n should be king aft er me an d take my place on th e t hrone , so I will br ing it a bo ut thi s very day' . - Ba thshcb a knelt dow n, her face to th e grou nd, and did homage to th e king. 'M ay my lord K ing Da vid live fo r ever! ' she sa id. -T hcn King Da vid said, 'Summon Zadok t he priest, the prop het Na than a nd Bcna iah so n of Jch oiada' . So the y came 2KII : I I -:!O int o the kings presence. -'Take the roya l gua rd with yo u: sa id the king ' mount ESIII:9 Mt2 1:7 my son So lomon o n my own mule an d esco rt him d own to G ihon. -There Zadok 15 9: 26 r- the pri est an d the pro phet Nathan a re to a no int him king of Israe l; th en sound the trum pet an d sho ut, "Long live King So lomo n!" -Thcn you are to follow him up an d he is to com e and ta ke his sea t o n my thron e an d be king in place of me, fo r he is the ma n I ha ve appoi nted as ruler of Israe l an d of Ju da h.' - Benaia h son of Jeho iada ans wered the king. 'A men!' he sa id ' And may Yah weh too say Amen to the wor ds! of my lord the king' ·As Ya hweh has been with my lord the king, so may he be with Solo mon an d ma ke his th ron e even grea ter th a n the t hro ne of my lord King David!' 2S8: 1 ~ + Then Za dok the prie st, the prophet Na than , Benaia h son of Jchoiada, a nd the C hcre thi tcs an d Pelethitcs went down; they mou nted Solorn o: on Ki ng E:dO:22 +I S 10: I: 16:2 Dav id's mul e an d escorted him to G ihon . -Zadok t he priest loo k the ,10 m of oil 1Ch29:22 fro m the Te !lt and a no inted Solomo n. They sou nded t he tr um pet a nd all the peo ple sho uted, 'Lo ng live King Solomon!' -The peopl e all follo wed him up, with 1510:24 pipes play ing an d loud rejo icing and sho uts to sp lit the eart h.

2S IX:27

Adonijah is afraid Adonijah a nd his guests, who had by then finished the ir meal , all hea rd the noise. J oab too heard the sou nd of the tr umpet a nd said, 'Wh a t is tha t no ise of upr oar in the city'!' -Whi le he 'was still spea king, Jonathan the son of Abia thar the priest a rrive d. 'C ome in: Ado nija h said 'y ou a rc an ho nest man , so you mu st be br inging good news: -' Yes: Jonathan an swered 'o ur lord Kin g Da vid has mad e Solo mon king. -The king sen t Zad ok the priest with him, and the prop het Na tha n and Bena iah so n of Je ho iada and the Cherethites a nd Peleth ites ; they mou nted him on t he king 's mule, -a nd Zad o k th e priest and t he prophet Na tha n anointed him king a t G ihon; a nd the y wen t up fro m t here wit h sho uts

1 KIN GS 18 19

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of joy and the city is now in an uproar ; that was the no ise you heard. -What is more, Solomon is seated on the royal throne. -And further, the king's officers have been to congratu late our lord King Da vid with the words, "May your God make the name of So lomon more glorious even than yo urs, an d his throne more exa lted t han your own! " And the king bowed d own on his bed , -a nd then said, "Blessed be Yah weh , the God of Israel, who has all owed my eyes to see o ne of my descendants sitt ing on my throne today" : At t his, all Ado nijah's guests, tak ing fright, rose a nd made off in t heir several di rections. -Ado nija h, in terror of Solo mon , rose too and ra n off to cling to th e horn s of the altar. -So lornon was told, 'You sho uld know that Ado nijah is in terro r of King Solomon a nd is now clinging to the horns of the altar, say ing, "Let Kin g Solomon first swear to me that he will not ha ve his serva nt put to the sword? ", ·'Should he bear him self hon ourably: Solomon a nswered ' no t one hair of his sha ll fall to the grou nd : but if he is found ma licious , he shall die .' K ing Solomon then sent for him to be bro ugh t down from t he alt ar; he came and did homage to K ing Solomo n : Solo mon said to him , ' Go to yo ur house '.

Gn47:31

2:28 Ex2 1:D·14: 27:2 t-

Da vid's testa ment. His death" As Dav id's life dre w to its close he laid this charge on his so n Solom on, ' I am go ing the wa y of all the earth. Be strong and sho w yourself a man . ws 7:6 IH-20 Obs erve the injunctions of Yahw eh your G od, following his ways a nd keeping 2D SI17: 23:l f his laws, his comma ndme nts, his custo ms and his decrees, as it stands wr itten in the Law of Moses, that so yo u may be successful in all you do a nd undertake, Dr 29;8 so that Yahweh may fulfil the promi se he made me, "If you r so ns are careful 2S7: 11-16 ho w they behave, and walk loyal ly before me wit h all their heart a nd so ul, yo u sh all never lac k for a man o n the thr one of Israel". 'Y ou know too what Joa b son of Zeruia h did to me, and what he did to the 2:31 ; two commanders of the army of Israel, Abner so n of Ner a nd Amasa so n of 2 S20:3:27 10 Jc ther ; how he murdered t hem , how in time of peace he took vengeance for blood shed in wa r, sta ining the belt round my waist and the sandals on my feet with innocent blood. b - Yo u will be wise not to let his grey head go do wn to I6 :33 + Sheol in peace . -As regards the so ns of Ba rzilla i of Gilead, treat them kindl y, Nb Ezr 2:6 1 I7:27!; let them be among those who ea t at yo ur table , fo r they were as kind to me when lSJ9:32f I was fleeing from your brother Absalom. -Yo u also have with you Sh imei son 2 S 16:5f of Gera, the Benjaminite from Bahurirn. He called down a terrible curse on me the day I left for Mahanairn, but he came down to meet me at the Jordan and I swore to him by Yahweh I would not put him to the sword.' -But you ," you 2S19:19f must no t let him go unpunished; you a re a wise man and will know how to deal with him to br ing his grey head down to Sheol in blood.' So David slept with his a ncesto rs and was buried in the Citadel of David. 2S5:9 + Ch 29: Dav id's reign over Israel lasted forty years: he reign ed in He bron for seven yea rs, [11 26-27 and in Je rusa lem for thirty-three.

2

The death of Adonijah Solomon was seated upon the throne of Dav id, and his sovereignty was secur ely established. e . The ord er o f s ucce ss io n was not ye t dete rm ined by s ta ture. Sa u l and D a vid had been the ch o ice of God and of th e peo ple . T he m on ar chy is ab out to bec o me hereditary . b UI pri mogeniture is no t seen as a n adequate clai m an d the kin g h imself is exp ected to choose bet ween his so ns. D av id not on ly chooses So lo mon bu t actually tra nsf er s th e ro yal aut hori ty b y the ri tua l he pr escr ibe'). vv. 33-35. f . ' too say A men to the words' versions.

Vv. 3-4 are an ad di tion, in the de u terono mic style, to the ori gin al narrative . b. End o f verse co rrected in ac cordance with the vers io ns. Juab 's cri me s hav e ta rn ished Dav id's so ld ier ly re putati o n : Davi d had eve n been accused of pro mp ting them , 2 S 16:7. T he king a nd his descen dan ts are th erefor e lia ble to b lood -revenge until the tru e cu lprit has been killed . c. Shimei's c urse will lie he av y on David's desce nd a n ts s ince a curse, li ke a b lessing , retains its 2 a . T his ' tes tame nt' by wh ich So lomo n is ap po inted efficacy. O n ly by turning it agai nst its origi nator ca n to exe cute vengea nce o n Da vid 's perso nal e ne mies it be u nd on e. vv. 44-45. Da vid 's o a th has prevented reflec ts the idea s of this Per iod o f t he D .T. o n bloo d. him fro m doing t his, bu t Solomon is free . rev enge and t he last ing efficacy of th e curse, cr. v. 8. d . 'B ut YO U' vute.

:r

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2:13

Gn4:5+

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Rt l :17 +

2S7 : l l- 16

Jr 1:1

I S2:30- 36

1:50 Ex27:2 +

2S23:2 0

E x 2 1: 14

2;5 +

1 KI NG S

42 0

Adon ija h, H aggith's son , went to Bathsheba the mothe r of So lomon and bowed down befo re her. ' 'Do you bring peace?' she ask ed . H e a nswered, 'Yes, peace'. -T hen he sa id , 'I ha ve some thing to say to you ' . 'Spea k' she repli ed. 'You know' he said 't hat the kingdom sho uld ha ve co me to me," and that a11 Israel expected me to be king; but th e crown eluded me a nd fell to my brother, since it came to him from Yahweh. -Now I have one req uest to make you ; do not refu se me .' 'Speak' she said .• He went on , 'Please ask K ing Solomon-for he will no t refuse you-to give me A bishag of Shu nem in ma rriage' .• 'Very well,' Bathsheba repl ied 'I will spea k to the king about you.' -So Bathsheba went to King Solomon to speak to him ab out Adonija h; the king rose to meet her and bowed before her ; he then sat down on his th rone ; a sea t was bro ught for the mothe r of the king, an d she sa t down at his right han d . -S he said , 'I have on e small req uest to make you; do not refus e me' . ' My moth er ,' th e king answered ' make your requ est, for I will no t refuse you.' ·'Let A bishag of Shunc m' she sa id ' be given in marriag e to you r brother A don ijah.' • K ing Solomon a nswered h is mot her. 'A nd wh y' he sai d 'do you req uest Ab ishag of Shu nem fo r Ado nijah? Yo u mig ht as well req uest the k ingdo m for him, " since he is my elder br o th er a nd Ab iat har the priest an d Joab so n of Zeruia h a re on his side.' ·A nd K ing Solomon swore by Ya hweh: ' May G od do th is to me a nd more' he sa id 'if Ad onija h does not pay for these words of his with his life! -As Y ahwe h lives who has set me securely on the thron e of D a vid my fat her, and who, as he pr omi sed, ha s given him " a dy na sty, Adon ija h shall be pu t to dea th th is ver y day .' -A nd K ing Solomon commissio ned Bena ia h son of Jeho iad a to strike him d own, and he die d . The fate of Abiathar and Joab As fo r Abiathar the priest , th e king sa id to hi m , 'Go to Ana tho th: to your esta te. Y ou deserve to d ie, bu t I am not go ing to put yo u to death now, since you carr ied the a rk of Ya hweh in the presence of D av id my fath er a nd sha red all my fa ther's hard sh ips.' -Solorno n dep rived A bia thar o f t he pr iesthood of Ya hweh, th us fulfilling the or acle Yahweh had utt ered aga inst th e H ouse of Eli at Shiloh . When the news reac hed Joab- for Joab had lent h is suppo rt to Adon ijah, tho ugh he had not support ed Absalo m-he fled to the Tent of Ya hwe h and clung to the horns of the altar. • K ing Solomon wa s to ld, 'Jo ab has fled to t he Tent of Yahweh; he is there besid e the a ltar ' . T hen So lomon sen t word to Joab, ' What reason did you have for fleeing to the al tar?' Joa b repli ed , 'I was a fraid of you a nd fled to Ya hweh' . T he n Solo mo n sen t Bena iah - son of Je hoiad a. ' G o' he sa id 'a nd st rike him d ow n.' - Accord ingly Bena ia h went to the Te nt of Y ahweh. 'B y order of the kin g,' he sa id 'come o ut !' ' No ,' he sai d 'I will d ie here.v So Benaiah br ought ba ck word to the king, ' T his is wha t Joab sa id, and the an swer he gav e me' .• ' 0 0 as he says' the king re plied . ' Strike him do wn and bury him, an d so rid me an d my fami ly today of the innocent bloo d Joab ha s shed . •Ya hweh will bring his blo od d own on his ow n head, because he struc k do wn tw o more honourable an d bett er me n than he, and pu t to the swo rd, without my father David's kn owled ge, Abn er so n o f Ner, commander of the a rmy of Israel, a nd A masa son of Jether, co mmander of th e ar my of Judah. • May the ir blood come down on the head of Joab and his descendants for ever, but may David , his descendants, his dynasty, his th rone, have peace fo r ever from Ya hweh.' W hereu po n Bena iah so n of Jeh oiada went ou t, struc k Joab down and put him to death; he was buried a t his home in the wilderness. •In his place as hea d of th e army the king appointe d Bena iah son of Jeho iada a nd, in place of Abiat har, Zado k the priest .

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1 KINGS

he told him 'you are to live there; do not move anywhere else. -The day you go out and cross the wadi Kidron, be sure you will certainly die. Your blood will be on your ow n head.' .'Very well,' Shimei answered the king 'your servant will do as my lord the king orders.' And for a long time Shimei lived in Jerusalem. But when three years had gone by, it happened that two of Shimei's slaves ran away to Achish son of Maacah, king of Gath; Shimei was told, 'Your slaves are in Gath' .• At this, Shimei set about saddling his donkey and went to Achish at Gath to find his slaves . He went off and brought his slaves back from Gath. Solomon was informed that Shimei had gone from Jerusalem to Gath and had come back. The king had Shimei summoned to him . 'D id I not m ake you swear by Yahweh,' he said 'and did I not solem nly warn you: The day you go out to go a nyw here else, be sure you will certai nly die? m •W hy did you not keep the oa th of Yahweh and the order I laid on you? •You know all the evil- you did to my father D av id ' the king went on. 'Yahweh will bring your wicked ness down on yo ur own hea d . •But may K ing Solomon be blessed, > and may the thro ne of D av id be ke pt secur e before Ya hweh for ever.' -The king gave orders to Benai ah so n of Je ho iada; he went ou t and st ruck down Sh imei ; an d he died . A nd no w th e sov erei gnty was secur ely in the ha nds of Solomon.

24

II. SOLOMON

IN

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HIS GLORY

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A . SOLOMON THE SA CE

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Introduct ion Solomon all ied himself by ma rriage with Phara oh " king of Egypt; he ma rried Pha raoh's da ughter, and took he r to the C itadel of D avid unti l he cou ld co m plete th e bu ild ing of his pa lace and th e Temple of Yahweh and the wall surround ing Jerusa lem. -The peo ple, however, were still sacrificing on the hig h pla ces, beca use a t tha t time a dwelling place for th e na me of Ya hweh ha d no t yet been built. -Solomo n loved Ya hweh: he fo llowed the precep ts of David his fath er , except t hat he offe red sacr ifice a nd incense on the high places.

3

Sol omon's dr eam at Gibeon The king went to G ibeon to sac rifice there,. since that was th e greatest of the h igh places- Sol omon offered a tho usa nd holocausts on that altar. -A t G ibeon Yahweh a ppeared in a dream " to Solomo n d uring the night. God sa id , 'A sk what yo u wo uld like me to give yo u'. -So lo rnon replie d, 'You showed grea t kindness to yo ur servan t Dav id, my fathe r, when he lived his life before you in faith fulness and justice a nd integ rity of heart ; yo u have con tinu ed this great k indness to him by a llowing a son of his to sit on h is th ro ne today. • Now, Ya hweh my G od, you have made you r servan t king in success io n to Dav id my fath er. But I am a very young ma n, unsk illed in lea dership . •Yo u r serva nt finds himsel f in the midst of this people o f yours that yo u have chose n. a peo ple so ma ny its num ber e . 'a nd bowed down before her ' G reek. f. Since he was the e lde r. c. To tak e t he w ife of a dead or de posed k i ng

ga ve a ti tle to succe ssion . cf. 2 S J :iL 16:22 . Ab iat h a r the p ries t is o n h is side' vets ton s. 34 35

'a nd

h . ' h im' co rr. i. Levitical to wn nea r Je rus al em Tex t restor ed , fotto vving G reek . k . Benai ab trie s to adop t the proced u re o f Ex 2 1: 14, which is p recisel y Jo ab's ca se: ' If a m an ki lls his j.

nei ghbo ur tr eacber o u sl v, you sh al l l ake him eve n fr om

my a lt a r to pu t him

(0

death', J oa b . however. is de te r-

m i ned t ha i Sol o mon sh all incur th e odiu m of ri rcfan a-

The disobedience an d dea th of Shimei' The king ha d Shi mei su m moned to him. ' Build yourself a house in Jerusalem ,'

IS21:11 ; 27 :2f

36

tion. J. O n pa in of de ath Shi me l mu st ta ke up resi de nc e in Jer usa le m, a nd So lo mo n b ind s him unde r oa th.

Shi mel brea ks his oa th and is th us executed 'j ustl y' , Neve rthe less, Sol o m on admi ts, v. 44. tha t h is tr ue mo tive is the c urse tha t Shi m e l h ad pro nounced on Dav id.

m . Th e Hcbr . ad ds ' and you said to m e, "The wo rd I ha ve heard is go od", cr. v. 38. n. The te xt a dds ' th a t your hea rt h as con ceiv ed'. 0, As in v. 33, Solom o n immedia tel y a dds a bless in g so th a t his curse m a y not rec oil o n h im sel f. 3 a . Pro ba bly Psus ennis. last king o f the 2 1sl Dy nasty. Th e ' C itade l of Da vid' : the p ar t o f Jer usale m tha t ha d been the old Jcb ustre town, cr. 2 S 5:9 + . b . Befor e the pr ophe tic per iod , d rea ms were o ne of G od ' s m a in c hannel s of communication with man. cr. G o 20:3; 28 ; 31: 11.24 ; Nb 12;6 .

7:8;9:1 6f.24

2S 5:6+ IS9 :12+

'1 2C h l :3- 12 W58: 199; 12 Pr 8:15 Si 47 :J4 9:2 W57:7; 9:1

:r

o

~

WsS:IO Jm 1:5 4:20

1 K IN G S Pr 2:6-9 Nbl l :14 Is 7: 16

5:9 Ws7:7 0 0/ :/ 6 Si 47: 14 Ws 7:Jl Mt 6:33 D t 5:33 P r 3:1-2 Qo2: 4-10 Lv 1:1 + Lv 3:1 +

cannot be co unt ed or recko ned . ·G ive your serv ant a heart to un dersta nd ' how to discern between goo d and evi l, for who could govern this peop le of yours that is so great?' • It pleased Yahweh that So lomon should have asked for this. 'Since you have asked fo r this' Yahweh said 'and no t asked for long life fo r your self or rich es or th e lives of your enemies, bu t have asked for a dis cerning judgement for you rself, -here and now I do what you ask . I give you a heart wise and shrewd as none before you has had and none will have after you . •What you have not asked I shall give you too: such riches and glory as no other ki ng ever had ." -And I will give you a long life, if you follow my wa ys, keeping my laws and commandments, as your father Da vid followed the m .' -Then Solomon awoke; it was a dream. He return ed to Jerusalem and stood before the ark of th e covenant of Yahweh ; he offered holocausts and communion sacrifices , a nd held a banquet for all his servants.

423 9

10 II

12

13

10

14

II

15 12

The judgement of Solomon 2 S 14:4f

ws 8:11

Then two prostitutes ca me to the king and stood before him . ·'If it please yo u, my lord,' o ne of th e women sa id ' this wo man and I live in the same house, and while she was in the ho use I gave birth to a chi ld .• Now it ha ppened on the third day a fter my de livery th at this wo ma n a lso gave birth to a child . We were alone together; there was no o ne else in the ho use with us; j ust the two of us in the house.• N ow o ne nig ht this wo man's son died ; she o verl a id him .• And in the midd le of the nigh t she got u p and too k my so n from besid e me whi le yo ur servant wa s asleep; she put him to he r brea st and put he r own dead son to mi ne. When I go t up: to suckle my child, there he wa s, dead . But in the mo rni ng I look ed at him carefull y, a nd he was not th e child I had borne a t a ll.' -Thcn the othe r woman spok e. 'That is not tr ue' My son is the live o ne, yours is th e dead o ne'; an d the first retorted, ' T hat is not tru e! Yo ur son is t he dead on e, mine is th e live one .' A nd so they wra ng led before t he king. · 'This one says,' th e king o bse rved' " My so n is th e o ne who is al ive; yo ur son is dead ", while th e other sa ys, "Tha t is no t true ! Yo ur so n is the dead o ne , mi ne is th e live o ne ." Bri ng me a sword' sa id th e k ing; a nd a swo rd was brough t in to the kin g's p resence . •' Cut the livin g ch ild in two,' the king sai d 'and give hal f to on e, half to the other.' -At th is the woman wh o was the moth er of th e livin g child addressed the king, for she burned with pity fo r her so n. 'I f it plea se yo u , my lord,' she sa id ' let them give her th e child ; on ly do not let them th ink of killing it! ' But the other said, 'He shall belong to neithe r o f us. C ut him up .' -Then the king ga ve his dec ision . ' G ive the ch ild to the first woman ,' he sa id ' a nd do not kill h im. She is his mother .' · AIl Israel ca me to hea r of th e judgement th e king had prono unced , and held the king in awe, reco gn ising that he po ssessed divine wisdom for dispens ing ju stice.

16 I7 18

14 19 20

4:7f

5:27 .28 ; 12: 18

4:5

4

K ing Solomon was king over all Israel , - and these wer e his high o fficia ls::' Az a ria h so n of Zadok, priest. Elihoreph a nd Ahijah, so ns of Shis ha, secretar ies. Je h osha ph at son of Ah ilud, recorde r. (Bena iah son of Je hoiada, co mmander of the army. Za do k an d Abiathar, priests.)> Azariah so n of Nat ha n, chi ef a d min istrato r. Zabud so n of Nathan, Friend of the Kin g, and his b rother, master of th e palace. E liab son of J oab , co mmander of the army. Adoram son of Abda, in charge of forced labou r. '

Solomon's administrators Solomon ha d twelve administrators" for the whole of Is rae l who saw to the

IS

16 17 21

18

22

19

23

7 1:27 8 28

24 25 26

2 22 3 2J 4 14

27

28

S olomon 's high officia ls 18:3

13

4

5

15

KIN GS

5:5

provisioni ng of the king and h is household ; each had to pro vide for one month in the year. These are their names:' . .. so n of H ur, in th e mo unta in country o f Ephraim . . . . son of Oeker, in Maka z, Sh aa lbim, Bcth- shernesh, Aijalon as far as Beth- han a n. . . . son of Hesed, in Arubboth ; his dist rict was Socoh a nd a ll th e land of He pher. .. . so n of Ahin ad ab: t he wh ole region of Da r. T aphath, Solomon's daughter, was his wife . Baana son o f A hilud , in T aa nach and Megid do as fa r as the ot her side o f Jokrncarn , and all Beth-shean below Je zreel , from Bet h-shea n as far as Abel Meholah , wh ich is besid e Za rethan.f ••• so n of G eber, in Ramoth-g ilead : his district was the Encampments of Jair, so n of Manasseh, whic h are in Gilead; he had the region of Argob, which is in Bashan, sixty fort ified tow ns, walled-in a nd wit h bolts of bron ze. Ahinadab so n of Iddo , in Mahanaim. Ahi maaz in N ap htali ; he too lll ar ri e~1 a da ugh ter of Sol o mon, Basernath. Baa na so n of H ushai , in Asher a nd in the high la nds. " J ehoshap hat so n of Pa ru ah, in Issac har. Shimei son of Ela, in Benjami n. Ge ber so n of Uri, in the la nd of G a d, th e lan d of Sihon king of th e Amorites and of Og kin g of Bash an . In ad dition, there wa s o ne governor in the land. " "T hese admin istrators pr ovided the food for So lomo n a nd for all those wh o were admitt ed by h im to th e royal tabl e, b each fo r the period of a mo nth; the y saw to it th a t no thi ng was wa nting. •They a lso provided the ba rley a nd straw fo r th e hor ses a nd dra ug ht an imals, whe re required, eac h accord ing to his own assignment. •The da ily provisions for So lomon were: thir ty measures of fine flour a nd sixty me asures o f me al, - te n fa tt ened oxen, twe nty free-grazi ng oxen, on e hundred sheep, besides dee r a nd gazelles, roebucks a nd fatten ed cuc koos .' F or he wa s ma ster of all T ran seuphrates"- o f all the kings o f T ranseuph ra tes from T iphsa h to G az a-s-a nd he enjoyed pea ce on all his fro ntiers. -Juda h and Israel

5

c. T he-text ad ds ' to gove rn yo ur peopl e' . So lo mo n prays for wisdom in nra cncal a ffairs . not in his own int ere st bu t in t hose of t he nat io n . Cf. 5: 13 I a nd Ex 31:3 + . d . T he Hcb r . adds 'a ll yo ur li fe". e . T he text ad ds ' in t he morn ing' . 4 a . The record er (li t. ' remem b r ancer ") is bead o f the dipl om a t ic serv ice and inte rm ed iar y be twee n k ing and pe op le. Th e ma ster of th e pa lace is th e pr ime ministe r, th e ' v tzh-' of orienta l co u r ts. T he tit le "Fr-iend o f the Ki na' is on e of hono ur rathe r than of Iunsdicu on . T he pri est . chief re pr esenta tive of t he pr iest ly class. is ra n ked with the royal officia ls. So lo m o n re tain s Dav id' s r eco rd er and a pp o in ts t he sons of his prie st , secre ta ry a nd co m ma nde r-i n-ch ief', 2 S S: IOf: 20:23f. T he fo rm of so me o f th ese names va ries in Hebr. a nd version s, b , A gloss th e seco nd ha lf of wh ich con tradict s v , 2 and. 2:2M, c . 'and his brot he r ' cor r. T he na me a nd uue of the co m ma nde r-in-chief a re abse nt from H ebr. a nd arc restored from th e G reek . ' Ad ora m ' follow ing G reek. d . T he o ffice wa s created by So lomo n : it saw to the ra ising of the la bo ur force a nd the applica tion of taxe s to pu blic wo rk s. The 12 district s fa ll in to 3 groups: first. the ter r ito ry of Eph ra im an d Manasseh , so ns of Joseph . v. 8. toge th er wit h the conquered or reca p tu red C anaanite towns , vv. 9-12. and th e annexed d istri cts

of T runsiordania . vv, 13- I-t ; second . t he nor t her n tri bes , VV . 15· 17 ; third, Benjami n, \'.1 8. a nd Gad. v , 19. T here was a spe cia l arra ng ement fo r Judah. v. 19 an d note.

e. T his doc u me n t from t he sta te arc h!ves was dam aged at th e edgcs : this ex p la ins why. for the first ad m inis trators, o nly their fa th ers' na mes a re p rese rved . f. Ou r tr a nslat io n co rr ec ts the con fused geo graphi cal order. ~. Li t. ' usce r us'. T he h il l y coast be twe en Acr e a nd Tvre. h. "G ad' Greck : "G i lead ' lI e br. 'T he la nd ' . wit ho u t spcci ticutton . i s the roya l terr itor y of Juda h as op pos ed to the prov inces of Israel. J udah. the refore. had its ow n rcni me a nd ap pear s to h ave be en exempt fro m ta xes fo r p ub lic work s, 5 a . T he tra ns lat io n follow s th e o rd er of th e G reek which elve s the list of administ r ato rs in lon tca l order. T he H eb r. o rder h as been up set by alosscs : v , 4 da tes. a t th e earlies t, from the Exile: th e rema inde r. up to t he end of th e pa ra gra ph. is lat e . b. Not on ly the roy a l fa mil y a nd its dependants. bu t all th e se r va nt s, o fficial s. re aular troop s. c. T ra nslat io n conjec tu ral : cuckoo was a de licacy . d. O fficia l title for th e area between the E uphrates a nd t he Med ite rranea n d uring th e Pe rsian period. when thi s ver se was ad d ed .

2 S 7:1

1 KI N GS I M14:12 S147: 13 003:12-13

112C h9:26 Ws 8: 14 - 10 :26 112C h l : 14 ; 9; 25

Ws7:', S147:14 3:12 001 :16 Gn22 :17; 32:13 I C h 2:6

Ws 7:20 W s 8:11

424

4 25

lived in secur ity, eac h man un der his vine a nd his fig tree, from Dan as far as Beersheba, throughout the lifet ime of So lomon. 4 J uda h and Israel were like the sand by the sea for n umber; they ate and drank 20 I a nd lived ha ppily. 5 Solomon extended h is power over all the kingdoms 4:2 J from the river' to the land of the Philistines and the Egyptian bo rde r. They brought tribute and served h im a ll his life long. • For his chariots Solomon ha d ~6 fou r thousand! stall s and twelve thousa nd horses. Solomon's fame Ya hweh" gave Solomon immense wisdom and understand ing, a nd a heart ~9 as vast as the sand on the seasho re. •The wisd om of Solomon surpassed 13 the wisdom of all the sons of the Eas t, and all the wisdom of Egypt. • He was 1l wise r than any othe r, wiser than Et ha n the Ezrahite, " wiser than Heman and Calco l and Da rda, the cantors.• He composed three thousand proverbs, and his }3 songs num bered a tho usa nd and five. • He co uld ta lk a bout pla nts from the cedar 13 in Lebanon to the hysso p growi ng on the wa ll; a nd he co u ld tal k o f a n ima ls, a nd birds a nd reptiles a nd fish.' • Me n from a ll nat ion s came to hea r So lomon's 1~ wisdom, and he received gifts from a ll the kings of the world, who had heard of his wisd om'.

stones, special stones, for the layi ng of the templ e foundations, dressed stones. and H iram's workmen and the Gi blites « cut and assembled the wood and stone for the building of the Tem ple.

S14 7: 13

S7: 12- 13 Ws9:8 Is 60: 13

1'2 C h 2: 10- 11 Ws 8:11 li2C h 2: I S

9:1 1 12 C h 2:9

A m 1:9

4: 6 ;12: 18

4:6 2C h2: 1. 18

H ira m the king of Tyre sent a n em bassy to So lomon, havi ng learn t tha t he ha d bee n anoi nted ki ng in succession to his fat her and because Hiram had a lways been a friend of David. -A nd Solomon sent thi s message to Hiram, 'You a re awa re that Dav id my fa ther was unable to build a tem ple for the na me of Ya hweh, his God, because h is enem ies waged war on him from all sides, until Ya hweh should put them u nde r his control. • But now Yahweh my G od has given me rest on every side: not one enemy, no ca la mities. ·1 therefore plan to buil d a temple for the name of Yahweh my God , just as Yahweh said to David my fat her, "Your son whom I will place on yo ur throne to succeed you sha ll be the ma n to bu ild a temple for my na me". -So now ha ve ceda rs of Le ba non cut do wn for me; my servants will work with your serva nts, and I will pay for the hire of your servants at whatever rate you fix. As you know, we have no one as skill ed in felling trees as the Sidonians." •When Hiram heard wha t Solomon ha d sa id, he was de lighted. 'Now blessed be Yahweh' he said 'who has given David a wise son to rule over th is great people !' -A nd Hiram sent wo rd to Solomon, 'I have received your message. For my part , I will supply all you want in the way of cedar wood and j uniper. • Yo ur serva nts" will bri ng these down from Lebanon to the sea, a nd I sha ll have them towed by sea to an y place you name ; I shall discharge them there, and you will take them over. For your part, you will see to the provisioning of my hou sehold as I direct.' So H ira m provided Solomon with all the cedar wood and juniper he wanted, wh ile So lomon gave H iram twenty thousand kors of wheat to feed his household, and twenty thousand kors' of pure oi l. Solo mon gave Hiram this every year. Ya hweh gave Solomon wisdom a s he had prom ised him; good relations per sisted between Solomon and Hiram, and the two of them concl uded a treaty. King Solomon raised a levy througho u t Israel for forced labour: the levy nu mbered t hirty thousand men .• He sent the se to Leban on in relays , ten thousand a mo nth ; they spent o ne month in Lebanon and two months at home. Adoram was in charge of the forced la bou r. -Solorno n also had seventy thousand porters a nd eighty thousan d quarrymen in the mo un tains , ' a s well as the admini strators' officia ls who supervised the work, three tho usand three hundred of them in cha rge of the men emp loyed in the work. -At the king's orders the y quarried huge

I

2

4

5

6

7

8

II

J5

12

\6

13

1 7

14

~8

J9 15

~o

16

17

~I ~2

18

19 20

~3

6

2S7; 11- 6

Ezk41 :17

t , ' fo ur thousan d' fo llo wing 2 C h 9:23. K. ' Ya hwe h' fo llowing versions . h . Le . the native . T he names that follow are

Int r od uctio n to Wi sdom Books). T ha t he engaged in literary and poetic activit}' the re is no do u bt . cr. 8: 12- 13. and Da rt o f P r m a y pos s ib ly deri ve fr om him . Ps 72 a nd J27. O o, SR. ws . all bear h is nam e.

i. Th e ' Sidonia ns' mean s the Philistines as a wh ole . H ir am was kin g of Tyee and' Sidon .

k, ' Your serva nts' conf.: 'M y servants' Hebr . I. ' twe nty thousa nd measures' G reek .

]j

n

E zk 4 1:5

He lined the inside of the Te mple walls with panels of ceda r wood-panelling the m on the inside from the floor of th e Temple to the rafter s in the roof-and lai d t he floor of the Temple wit h juniper plan ks.• The twenty cubits meas ured from the end of th e Temple he built of cedar planks from floor to ra fters , and this pa rt was reserved as the Debir, the Holy of Holies. •Th e Temple measured forty cubits-the Hekal-in front of th e Debir. •There was cedar wo od round the inside of the Temple, ornamentally ca rved with gourds an d rosettes ; a ll was cedar wood, with no stone showing .• In the inner part of the Temple he des igned a Debir, to contain the ark of the covenan t of Yahweh. •The Debir was twenty cubits long, twenty cubits wide , and twenty high , and he plated it on the inside

73

J~

Ez k40:48 ; 41:1

11 2C h 3:8-9

pro ba bly th ose of sases famo us in Ca naa n . Ps 89 is anr tbured to Ethan. i. Solom on is the first ot the 'sa ges of Israe l' (see

7~

Ac 7:47

Interior furnis hings. The Holy of Holies

n n

S147:13

In the four hundred and eightieth yea r after the Israelites cam e out of the land of Egypt,s in the fourth year of Solomon's reign over Israel, in the month of Zi v, which is the second month, he began to build the T emple of Ya hweh. The Temple > that King So lomon built for Ya hweh was sixt y cubits long, twenty cubits wide and twenty-five in height. •The Ulam in front of the Hekal of the Temple was twenty cubi ts long across the width of the Temple and ten cubits wide al o ng the length of the Te mple. • He made windows for the Temple with fra mes an d la tt icework. ' • He a lso built an a nnex against the Te m ple wall ,' round the Hekal a nd the Debir, a nd made side tiers all round. •The lower story wa s five cubits wide, the midd le one six cubits, and t he third seven cubits , for ro u nd t he Te mple o n t he outside he had placed offsets so that this wa s not attached to the Tem ple walls . -CI'he buildi ng of the Temple was done with quarry-d ressed stone ; no sound of hamm er or pick or an y iron tool was to be hea rd in th e Te mple whil e it was being bui lt. ) -The en trance to the lower story was at the right-hand co rn er of the Temple, an d access to the midd le story ab ove wa s by tra p-door s, and so from the middle st ory to the thi rd. -He built the Tem ple,' completed it, a nd covered it with ced ar wood.• He bui lt the an nex on to t he whole length of the Tem ple; it was five cu bit s high a nd was attached to the Temple by beams of cedar wood. - An d th e word o f Ya hweh came to So lo mo n, 'Th is house you are build ing! .. . if you follow my stat utes an d obey my ordinances a nd faithfully follow my comman dments, I will fu lfil that pro mise I made about you to your fat her David . -A nd I will make my ho me among the sons of Israe l, and neve r fo rsake Israel my people.' -Solornon buil t the Temple, and completed it.

e. Euphrates . see v. 4.

76

!!2Ch 3:1-7

The Temple building

10

Preparati ons for building the Tem ple 2 S 5:11 1,2Ch 2:2-3

0:20

U So lomon's workmen

9

B. SOLOMON THE BUIL DER

1 KINGS

m, Work men from Ge bal (the Greek Byblos ) to the N. of Beir ut. a . According to the chronolog ical sys tem in which the tabernacle . Solo m o n's Temp le. and the pos t-exilic Temple. were recko ned eq uidistant in time. In fact the

6

da te is about 960 B.C . b . T he Temp le was an oblo ng b uild ing consisting of three success ive compart men ts: the Porch: U lam ; the Great C hamber fo r wors hip: Hekel , later called the Holy (Place) ; th e Sa nc tu ary: Debtr , i.e . back room. la ter ca lled th e Holy of Holies. t he most sacred pl ace. containing the ark of th e co ven an t. 6:19. The d ifferen ce in hei ght between th e Hekal and the D eb ir (6:2 a nd ch . 10). ind icates tha t t he n oor of th e De bir was ra ised to for m a kind o f ros tr um for th e ark . The Deb ir m ust have been separ a ted fro m the Heka l by a partiti o n . T hr ee o ute r walls of th e Temple sustained a low th ree-story erection (6: 10). Cf. th e description of 't he tabernacle in t he deser t. Ex 26--36. a nd t ha t of the fu ture Temple in Ezk 40-42. c. Tra nsla tion uncertain . d. T he Hebr. here repea ts 'round the Temple walls', orrurted by Greek . e. T he Hebr. has here two uni n telligibl e wor ds whic h a re absent from the Greek. f. The phrase is bro ken 011'.

7:48 2K1 8:16 Ez k 41:3

I

6:21 Ezk4 1:22

Ex2 5:18 + 1:2C h3:1O- 13

Elk4 1:17

Ezk41 :23

4 27

1 K I NGS

with pure gold. H e made an al tar of cedar wood " • h in front of the D ebir and pla ted it with gold. ·He plated the whole Temp le with gold, the whole Temple ent irely.' The cherubs In th e De bir he made two cherubs of olive wood/ ... It was ten cubits high. One cherub's wing was five cubits long and the other wing five cubits: ten cubits from wing tip to wing tip . •The other cherub also mea sured ten cubits; both cherubs had the same measurements and th e same shape. •The height of one cherub was the same as the other's. · He placed the cherubs in the middle of the inner cha mber; th eir wings were spread ou t so that the wing of one touched one of the walls and the wing of the other touc hed the other wall, while their wings met in the middle of the cha mber, wing to wing . ·And he pla ted the cherubs with gold . •All round the Templ e wall s he carved figure s of cherubs, palm trees and rosettes, both inside and ou tside." · He plated the floor of the Temple with gold , both inside and outside. The doors .' The court He ma de th e do or of the Debir with uprights of olive wood, and five-sided door jambs, -and th e two leaves of olive wood. He carved figures of cherubs, pal m trees and ro settes which he pla ted with gold; he put a gold surface on the cheru bs and palm trees.• Similarl y, he made upr ights of olive wood for the door of th e He kal, an d four -sided door jambs, -and the two leaves of juni per: one lea f had two ribs binding it, and th e other ha d two ribs bind ing it. • He carved cheru bs, palm trees a nd ros ettes , which he pla ted with gold laid evenly over the carvings. He built the wall of the inner court> in three courses of dressed sto ne and one co urse of cedar beams.

Hiram, the bronzeworker

21 22

U

Solomon' s palaces As regar ds his pal ace, Solomo n spen t thirteen years on it before the bui ldi ng Is 22:8 was completed. • He built the Hall of the Forest of Lebano n," a hund red cubits long, fifty cubits wide, an d th irty cub its high, on fou r rows of cedar wo od pi lla rs with ceda r capi tals on th e pilla rs. -It was pan elled in cedar o n the upper pa rt as far as the pla nks above the pillar s.' -T here were th ree rows of ar chitraves," forty-five in all, t ha t is, fifteen in each row, facing o ne an other fro m three sides . A ll the doo rs and upr ights were of rectangular design, facing one another from three sides. -And he made t he Hall of Pilla rs, fifty cubi ts long and thirty cubits wide . . . with a po rch in fro nt .' · He also mad e the Hall of th e T hron e where he Ps 122:5 used to dispense just ice, that is, the Ha ll of Justice ; it was pane lled in ceda r fro m floo r to rafters. • H is own living qu a rters, in t he other co urt a nd inwards from t he Hall, were of the same co nstruct ion. And th ere was a house similar 3:1 + to this Ha ll for t he daughter of Pha raoh who m he had ta ken in marr iage . All t hese buildings were of special stones cut to measure, trimmed on the inner and ou ter sides with th e saw, right from th e fo undat ions to the wood course! - their found at io ns were of special stones, huge sto nes, sto nes of ten and eight cub its, -a nd, a bove these, special st ones, cu t to measur e, an d cedar wood - ·and, !.2 C h 4:9 o n t he out side, t he great co urt had three courses of dresse d ston e roun d it and one course of ceda r beams ; so also had the inner co urt of t he Temple of Yahweh a nd the vestibule of the Te mple.

7

Ki ng Solom on sent for H iram of Tyre ; · he was the son of a wid ow of the tri be of Naphtali but his father had been a Tyrian, a bronzeworker. He was a highly intelligen t craft sman, skilled in all types of bro nzewo rk. He cam e to K ing Solomon an d did all thi s work for him: The bronze pillars

24 25

15

26 27

16 17

28 29 30

18 19b 20

lit 3! 31

22

33 34

23

35 24

36

25

37

Ex35 :3035

He cast two bronze pillars; " the height of one pillar was eighteen cu bits, an d a cord twelve cubi ts long gave the measurement of its girt h; so also was the second pillar. - He made two capitals of cast bronze for th e to ps of the pillars; the height of one capi tal was five cubits, and the height of the othe r five cu bits. v- He ma de two sets of filigree to cover the moulding of the two cap itals su rmount ing the pilla rs, one filigree for one ca pital an d one filigree for the ot her cap ita l. He also made pomegranates: two rows of the m round each filigree, -four hundred in all, -a pp lied on the raised moul ding behind the filigree ; the re were two hund red pomegranates round one capi ta l and the same round the oth er ca pita l. •The cap ital s surmounti ng the pillars were flower-shaped. •He set up the pilla rs in front of the vestib ule of the sanc tua ry ; he set up the right-hand pillar and nam ed it Jachin; he set up the left-hand pillar and named it Boaz.' So the work on the pillars was completed.

112C h 3:1517 2K25: 13 J r 27: 19

Ez k40: 49

The bronze 'Sea '

!12C h4:2-5

H e ma de th e Sea/ of cast metal, ten cubits fro m rim to ri m, circular in sha pe and five cubits high; a cord th irty cub its lo ng gave the measu rement of its girt h. U nder its rim and compl etely encircling it were gour ds; th ey went ro und the Sea over a length of thirty" cubits; the gourds were in two rows, of one a nd the same casti ng with the rest. • It rested on twelve oxen, three facing no rth, three facing west , three facing south, thr ee fac ing east; on the se, th eir hindquarters all tu rne d inwards, stood the Sea . -I t was a hand's breadt h in thickness, an d its rim was shaped like the rim of a cup, like a flower. It held two thousand ba th s.

2K I6: 17 : 2 5: 13 J r 27: 19

38

The wheeled stand s and the bronz e basins' 27 28

Qo 2:4

112Ch2 :1314

23

26

T he date In the fourth yea r, in the month of Ziv, the foundations of the Temple were laid ; -in the eleven th year, in the month of Rul-that is, t he eighth month-the Temple was completed exactly as it had been pla nned and designed . Solomon to ok seven years to build it.

1 KI NG S

29 1

30 3

31

He made the ten stands of bro nze; each stan d was fou r cubits long, fou r cubits wide, and three high.• They were designed as follows: the y ha d an underca rriage an d crosspieces to the undercarriage. ·On the crosspieces of the undercarriage were lion s and bulls and cherubs, and on top of the undercarriage was a supp ort ; under the lions and oxen there were scrolls in th e style of. .. Each stand had four bronze wheels with bronze axles; its four feet ha d shoulderings unde r the basin, an d th e shouldering s were cast .. . •Its mo uth measured on e

4

wit h th e th rone room, v. 7. 'capit a ls' (i n v.z) T ar g . g. Th e altar of incense. cf Ex 30:1 +. h. The Hebr . has some extra words at the beginning and Svr .

7

~

9

10

Ii

of the verse b u t t he te xt is co rr up t . l. H ebr. adds ' a nd he plated the whole a ltar of the De b fr with go ld'; o mitted by G reek . i , One or two words have dropped out of the text. k. He re , as in v. 30. ' inside ' m eans th e D ebi r, or in ner Te mple . Y. 27 ; ' ou tside ' means the He kaI. Th e tw o ver ses hav e been added. J. T he de scrfptio n is h ar d to understand. T he text needs cor rection and the meaning of sever al technica l terms is uncertain . m. T he Templ e co urt it self as distinct fro m t he great court tha t su rro unded both T e m ple an d pa lace. 7 a . T he descr ip tion is mos tly co nfin ed to th e pu blic roo ms. Th e buildings la y to the s outh of th e Te m p le area . on th e Hill of O phel . b. A grea t pillar ed ha ll; th e co lumns were of ced ar. It ser ved as a guard room and as a n ante-cha m ber for a udience with the k in g , It h ad a vestib ule, v . 6, and com m unica ted with th e r oy al ap ar tm ent s, v , 8, and

c. T h e Hebr. her e has 'For ty-five in all , that is, fifteen in each ro w' , tr a nsposed fr o m v. 4. d . Meanin g uncertain. e. End of vers e corrupt . f . The text adds 'a nd on th e outside as far as the acea r court', corrupted do ub let of the end of v. 12. g . T hese two colum ns stoo d in front of th e p o rch of th e Temple, o n eit her side of th e e nt ra nce. h . T he text of vv. 17-22 is d isordered and in places co rru pt. Res tor a tio n co n jectu ra l. i. The two na m es are obsc ure; posslblv Cwith cor r. ) 'it is fir m ' an d 'it is strong ' . j , A la rge so urce of su pp ly of wa ter for sac red uses, cf. Nb 19. k . 't h irt y' co nj.: ' ten ' Hebr. l. Tex t corrupt and inte rpretat ion diffic ult. (T he words at the end of vv. 29 . 30, 36 are u n tn telllai ble .) T he st an ds were q u adra ngu lar a nd su rmo un ted by a rounded sUPPOrl to ho ld the bo wl.

2 KI6: 17 Jr 27:19

7:3 2

112 C h 4:6

2Ch4:10

1 KI NGS

an d a half cubits from whe re the sho ulderin gs met to the top ; its mouth was round like a rest for a vessel, and on the mouth th ere were engravings to o; the crosspieces, however, were rectangula r a nd not ro und. -The four wheels were und er the crosspieces. The axles of the wheels were inside the stands; the height of the whee ls was one and a half cubits.•The wheels were desi gned like chario t wheels: their axles, felloes, spokes and naves had all been cast. There were four shoulderings at the four corners of each sta nd : the stan d and the shoulderings were all of a piece. ·At the top of the stand there was a support, circular in shape and half a cubit high; and on top of the sta nd the re were lugs. The cro sspiec es were of a piece with the stand. -On the bands he en graved cherubs and lion s and palm leaves . .. and scrolls right round. • He made the ten stands like th is: the same casting and the same measurements for all. He made ten bronze basins ; ea ch basi n held forty baths and each basin measured fou r cubits, o ne basin to each of the ten stands. •He a rranged the stands, five o n the right -hand side of the Temple, five on the left-ha nd side of the Temple; the Sea he placed o n the right-hand side of the Temple to the south-east.

1 KI NGS 8b

The Lord takes possession of his Temple 33

10 II

34 35

12

36 37

13

38

6:2a- 21 Ex25:23+ !!2 C h 4 :7 2K 25:14 112 C h 4 :8 112 C h 5: :

!'2 Ch 5: 2-10

E x25:10+ 2S6:7+ 8:65

Ex25 :2 1: 40 :20

The ark brough t to the Temple a Then Solomon call ed the elders of Israel togeth er in Jerusalem to bri ng the ark of the coven ant of Yahweh u p fro m the Ci tadel of Dav id, which is Z io n. All the men of Israel assembled round Ki ng Solomon in the month of Et ha nim, at the time of the feast b (that is, the seventh month), . and the priests took up the ark -and the Ten t of Meetings with all the sacred vessels that were in it. In the presence of the ark, Ki ng Solomon and all Israe lsacrificed sheep and oxen , cou ntl ess, innumerable. -The priests brought the ark of the covenant of Yahweh to its place, in the Debir of the Temple, that is, in the Holy of Hol ies, under the ch erubs' win gs. -Fo r there whe re the ark was placed the cherubs spread ou t t heir win gs and sheltered the ark and its shafts. -T hese were long enough for their ends to be seen from the Holy Place in front of the Debir, but not from outside.• T here was no thing in the a rk except the two sto ne ta blets Moses ha d

8

D tlO:2.5

Now when the priests came out of the sa nctua ry, the cloud' filled the Temple of Yah weh , -a nd because of the cloud the pries ts could no longer perform thei r duties: the glor y of Yah weh filled Yahweh 's Temple. T hen Solom on said:! 'Y a hweh has ch osen to dwell in the thick cloud. Yes, I hav e built yo u a dwelling, a place for you to live in for ever.' Solomon addresses the people

11 2 C h 5: I I6:2 2 M 2:8 Ex 40:34-35 I s 6:4-

Ezk lOA ~ . R v15:8 E x2 4:16 + Ezk 43:4-5 Ps 18:11; 97:2 Ex 15: 17 Ps I3 2:.13- 14 i1 2 e h 6:3 -1 1

39 14 15

16

2K25: 14

placed in it a t Ho reb, the ta blets of the cove na nt" which Ya hweh had ma de with the Israeli tes when they came out of the land of Egypt; - they are still there today.

32

1\21 ~~ 4: The utensils. Summary

H ira m made the ash co ntainers, m the scoops and th e sprinkling bowls. He finished all th e work that he did for King Solomon on the Temple of Yahweh: two pillars; the two mo uld ings of th e ca pitals surmount ing the pillars; the two sets of filigree to cover the two mou ldings of the capi ta ls surmounting the pillars; -the four hundred pomegranates for the two sets of filigree; the pomegra nates of each set of filigree were in two ro ws ;" the ten stands an d the ten basins on the sta nds; the one Sea and the twelve oxen ben eath the Sea; the ash containers, the scoops, the sp rinkling bowl s. All these furnishings made by H iram for King Solomon for the Te mple of Yahweh were of burnished bronze. -He made the m by the pro cess of sand ca sting,> in the Jorda n area bet ween Succo th a nd Zarethan.» P T here were so many of them , that th e weight of the bronze was never calculat ed. Solo mon placed all the furnis hings he had made in the Temple of Yahweh: the gold en altar " and the table fo r the loaves of offering, which was of gold; the lam p-stands, five on the right and five on the left in front of the Debi r, of pure gold ; the floral work, th e lamps, the extin guishers, of gold; -the basins, knives, sprink ling bowls, incense boats, censers, of pure gold; the door sockets fo r the inner shrine- that is, the Holy of Holies-a nd for the Hekal, of gold . r So all the work that King Solomon did for the Temple of Ya hweh was co mpleted, and Solomon bro ught what his father David had consecrated, the silve r and the gold and t he vessels, and put them in th e treasury of the Temple of Ya hweh.

8:25

40

41

17

18

19 42 20 43 44

21

45

46

Solomon 's prayer for himself'«

47 22 48

23

49 50

24

25 51

T hen thc king turned and blessed the whol e assembl y of Israel , while the whol e asse mbly of Israe l stood. • Hc said, 'Blessed be Yahweh, the God of Israel , who has carried out by his hand what he promised with his mou th to Dav id my father when he said, · "From the day I brought my people Israel out of Egypt [ chose no city, in a ny of the tr ibes of Israel , to ha ve a ho use bu ilt where my na me might mak e its home ;" but [ chose David, to rule over Israel my peop le". • My ra ther Dav id had set his hea rt on buildin g a hou se for the na me of Yahwe h, the God of Israe l, - but Ya hweh sa id, " You have set yo ur heart on build ing a hou se fo r my name, a nd in th is yo u ha ve done wcll; "'a nd yet , you are not the ma n to build t he house ; your so n, born or yo ur own bod y, shall bu ild t he hou se for my na me". Ya hweh has kep t the prom ise he mad e: I have succee ded David my ra ther a nd a m seat ed on the th ron e or Israe l, as Ya hwe h pro mised; I have built th e hou se for the name or Ya hweh, th e God of Isra el, -a nd have mad e a place in it for thc ark co nta ining the co venan t tha t Ya hweh made with ou r fathers when he brou ght the m out of the la nd of Egypt.'

I

2 3 4 5 6

7

8a

9

c, Following Greek . D. The Hebr. beai ns t his ver se with the sa me p hrase as v, 48. Q. T he a ltar o f incen se . r . The en d of th e verse is re d u nd a nt in Heb r. R a . In vv. 1-5 cert a in redundan cies of the Hcbr . h ave been el im inat ed , I cfl owi nu G reek . h. Et ha nim is a mont h o f the C a naa ni te ca len da r which co rrespo nds with th e 7 t h mo n th o f th e lat er Israel ite on e . as th e gloss explains. T he mos t importa nt feas t is t hat of Tabernacles. d. Ex 23: 14 + . e. T he tent tha t shel tered the ar k , 2 S 7:2: I K 1::\9. A uloss ator ca lls it ' t he Ten t o f Mee ti ng' after th e ta be rnacle o f desert da ys. the mc ctmn place of Moses wi th Go d, Ex 25:22 I· .

2 K 2 1:7 Ez k4\\:35

2 S 7: 12f

1'2 C h6: 12-20

Then (in the presence of the who le assembly of Israel) Solomon stood before the altar of Ya hweh and , st retching out his hands to wards heaven , -s aid, ' Ya hweh, God of Israel, no t in hea ven above nor on earth be nea th is th ere such a God as you, true to your covenant and yo ur kind ness towards your ser va nts when they walk who lehea rte dly in your way . •Yo u have kept th e pr om ise yo u made to your serva nt D avid my father ; what yo u promised with your mout h, to day you have car ried out by your hand. -And now , Yahweh, God of Israe l, keep the pro mise yo u ma de to your servant D avid when you said, " Yo u shall never lack for a man to sit before me on the throne of Israe l, if onl y your sons ar e rn, 'ash con tain er s ' so m e MSS a nd Gree k . n. T he Hebr. here repeats a phrase of v. 41.

2S7:4- 16 /· Ps 132

ed ly au thent ic poe m after 8:5 3 in a s llg ht lv m ore devel op ed form (and with so me vari ants), ad d ing th a t it is tak en fr om ' the Book of Son g' . Th e poem as they p rese nt it see ms to co n trast the s un s h ini ng in the hea vens with Yahweh deigni n g to dwe ll in the d a r kn ess o r the H ol y o f Holies. ~ . ' T he name' of Y ah we h

dwells in t he T empl e

in w hic h Ya hwe h h imsel f ca nno t be co n fined . cf. t he in sert ion o f v. 2 7 w hich exclud es t he crass i nt erpre t atio n t h a t God him sel f res ides i n the Tem p le . N o netheless,

a name is a perso n's t ru e expression and repr esenta tive. and wher e ' the na me o f Yahweh' is. (loll is p rese nt in a very spec ial way. th o ugh no t in an y ex cl us ive se nse. h . T he a uthor he re d evel ops. in th e mann er o f Dr, ideas co nta ined in the dis course o f vv. 15-21. l ie hegin s wi t h t hc p rinciple o f mu tual fidel ity. v, 23: (IOJ 'S kindness to h is peo ple flows fr o m the Sina ltic pa ct. hut is co nd itio na l on thei r fait hfu lness: in t hig is d . ' t he table ts of Ihe cove na n t' Greek . con ta ined the who le thco togv o f t he cove nant, {he e . T he clo ud. cr. Ex 13:24 -c: 19: 16 +. is t he vis ib le cen t r al doc tr i ne o f t he D.T. T h en f o ll o w tw o particular ma ni festati o n o f th e presence o f Yahweh who now a p plica tio ns: Ya hweh has kern h is promise regardin g ta kes pos sessio n of his sa nctua ry. th e Te m ple . v, 24 ; may he keep it a lso in rega rd to th e f . So me G reek MSS place th is s hort and undo ubt- stabili ty of th e d yn as ty, v. 25.

DI 4:39 ;7:9

2S7:1 1·16

II

8:26

Dt4:7 + In l : l4 Ps 148:4 Is 66 : I Jr 23:24 .» Ac 7:48; 17:24 DtI2:5. 11 Ez.k48:35

12 Ch6:

21-31

Ps20:2:13 2:1

Lv2:6:t4.17 Dt 28:25.45 los 7

D r11:17; 28:23 -24

Dt28:21.38. 4251 A m 4:9

Ps 130:4 J r l l :20 + D 1 12:1

1 KINGS

430

careful how they behave, walking before me as you yourself have done". -So now , God of Israel, let the words come true which you spoke to your servan t David my father. •Yet will God really live with men' on the earth? Why, the heave ns and their own heavens cannot co ntain you . How much less this house that I have built! -Li sten to the prayer and entreaty of your servant, Ya hweh my God; listen to the cry and to th e prayer your servan t makes to you today. •Day and night let your eyes watc h ove r this house, over this place of which you have said , "My name shall be there", Listen to the prayer that your servant will offer in this place.

43 l 26

51 28 29

52 53

Solomon's prayer for the people 'Hear th e ent reaty of your serva nt and of Israel your people as they pray in 30 this place. Fro m hea ven where your dwelling is, hear ; and, as you hear, for give. • 'If a man sins aga inst his neighbour, and the neighbo ur calls down a curse 3 1 on him! and ma kes him swear an oath befor e your altar in this Te mple, -hear 32 fromheaven, and act; decide between your serva nts : pro nou nce the wicked one guilty, br inging his co nd uct down on his own head; a nd vind icate t he innocen t, rewardi ng him as his inn ocence deserves. 'When your people Israel are defeated by th e enemy because they have sinned 33 against you, if they return to you and praise your name and pray to you an d entreat you in th is Te mp le, -hear fro m heaven ; for give th e sin of your peo ple 34 Israel, and bring them back to the land you gave to their ancestors. ' When the heavens are shu t and there is no rain because they have sinne d 3 5 against you , if they pray in th is place and pra ise your name and, having been hum bled by you! repent of their sin, -hea r from heave n and forgive th e sin of 36 your serva nt and of your people Israel-show them the good way they ought to follow-and send rain on your land wh ich you have given your peop le for an inheritance. 'S hould there be famine in the land, o r pestilence, blight or mildew, locust 37 or caterpillar ; should this people 's enemy lay siege to one of its city gates ;' if there is any plague or sickness; •if anyone> should feel remorse in his own heart and 38 pray or make entrea ty, stretchin g out his hands towards this Temple, -hear fro m 39 heaven where your home is ; forgive and act, dea ling with each as his con duct deser ves; for you know every heart.i--you alone know the hearts of all mankindand so the y ma y come to revere you as long as th ey live in the land you gave to 40 our fathers.

D/26: J5

Si 36:4

Zc8:20-23

Tb3: 11 Ps 5:7 Do 6: 11

Pr 20:9 00 7: 20

Rm 3:2 1

lJ nl :~- IO

Dt28:63-6 4 ; 30:1 -2 0 1 9:5

D n 9:5 Tb 3: 11 Ps 28:2; 106 :6

'And the foreigner too , not belonging to your people Israel, if he comes from a distant coun try for the sake of your name - · for men will hear of your name, of your mighty hand a nd outstretched ann-if he co mes and pray s in this Te mple, hear from heaven where yo ur home is, a nd grant all the foreigner as ks, so th at all the peoples of the earth may co me to know yo ur name and , like your peopl e Israel, revere you, and know th at your name is given to the Temple I have built. 'If your people go out to wa r against the ir enem ies o n the way th at you send them, and if they turn towards the city yo u have ch osen a nd towards the Te mple I ha ve bu ilt for yo ur name, and pray to Yahweh, -hear from heaven their pr ayer and thei r entreaty, and uphold their cause . 'If they sin against yo u- for there is no man who does not sin-and you are angry with th em and deliver them to the enemy, and the ir conquerors lead them ca ptive to a country far or near, · if in the land of the ir exile they co me to themselves and repen t, and in the country of their conquerors they entrea t you sayin g, "We have sinned, we ha ve acte d perversely and wickedly", -a nd if they turn again to you with all their hea rt and soul in the country of the enemies who have deported them, and pra y to yo u, turnin g towa rds the land you gave to their ancestors, towards the city you have cho sen, and to ward s the Temple

I have built for your name , -hcar from heaven where your home is," -forgive your people the sins they have committed again st you and all the crimes they have been guilty of, grant them to win favo ur with their co nquerors so that they may have pity on them; •for they are your people and your heritage whom you brought out of Egypt, that iron furnace.

27

54

55 56

57

58

59

60

61

62 63

64

65

Supplementary section» EXI 2:48 + 1:2 C h 6: 32-3 9 Is 2:2-5 : 56:7 JrI 6: 19-2 1 M i 4: 1-3 Ac 8:27

~b

KI NGS

41 42

66

43

44

I

1! 2C h6:40

The sacrifices on the feast of Dedication The king and all Israel with him offered sacrifice before Yahweh. -Solornon offered twenty-two thou sand oxen and a hundred and twenty thousand sheep as communion sacrifices to Yahweh ; and so the king and all the Israelites dedicated the Temple of Yahweh. -On the same day the king cons ecrated the middle of the court lying in front of the Temple of Yahweh ; and there he offered th e holocaust, ob lations and fatt y parts of the communion sacr ifices, since the bronze altar> that stood before Yahweh was too small to hold the holocaust, oblation and the fatt y pa rts of the communion sacrifices, -A nd so at that time , Solomon celebrated the feast, q and all the Israelites with him , a great gathering from the Pass of Hamath to the wadi of Egypt, before Yahweh ou r God for seven days . r • T hen, on the eighth day, he dismissed the people, who blessed the king and went to t heir homes, rejoicing and happy in hear t for all the goodness Ya hweh had shown to D avid and to his people Israel.

U2C h 7:4- 10

Yahweh appears a second time When Solom on had finished building th e Temple of Ya hweh and th e roya l palace and all he had a mind to build, •Yahweh a ppeared to Solomo n a

9

o . Th e Hebr. ad d s ' t heir prayer a nd t he ir entrea ty' i. ' wi th men ' G reek. Tar g, and 2 C h 6: 18 . j. 'calls down' co rr . Prayer for d ivine jud geme nt: and uphold t heir ca use', doublet of v . 45. p. T he altar of holocaust s to od befo re th e entrance the accuser who lacks proof stands be for e th e a lta r an d calls d o wn a c ur se on t he acc use d . God will sho w to t he Te m p le. It was a met al st r uc tur e which was the guil t or inn ocen ce of the accu sed by im pleme n ti ng m o veable , cf. 2 K 16: 14. and re call ed the mo veabl e or not im p leme nti ng the curse. Cf. Nb 5: 19-28 ; a lt a r o f (he desert taber nacle, (he descrfprion of wh ich is ide ali sed . E x 27:l f . T he alt ar er ec ted b y So lom on. J g / 7: 1-3. 9;25. rem ained in use (ill the ti m e o f A haz, 2 K 16:10 . k , ' h um b led' G ree k. Vu lg , Q. T he ded icat ion of the Temple co incides wit h I. ' o ne of its ci ty gat es ' Greek, Svr, th e feast of Tabernacles. v. 2. wh ich las ted fo r seve n m, G reek . Hebr. adds 'of a ll the pe op le of Isr ae l' . n . Added after t he ret u r n fr om exile . Note t he days. D r 16;13- 15. r, The Hebr. adds 'and seven more days. that is u niversa lism of vv. 41-4 3. the c us to m of prayin g with the face turned to Jerusalem. v. 44 . the co ncern for fourteen days" a gloss absent from the G reek a nd contradicted by v , 66 . those still far from horne. vv. 47f.

8

47

48

Dt 4:20 : 9:26 :32:9 Es t 4:17g Jr 11:4

Conclusion of the prayer and blessing of the people 'Be always watchful for the entreaty of your servant and of your peop le Israel , always hearing them when they call to you . • For it was yo u who set them apart from all the peopl es of the earth to be your own heritage, as you declared through Moses your servant when you brought our ancestors out of Egypt, Lord Yahweh.' W hen Solomon had finished olTering this who le prayer and entreaty, he rose from where he was kneeling with han ds stretch ed out towa rds heaven before the altar of Yahweh, -and stood erect. And in a loud voice he blessed the whole asse mbly of Isra el. .'Blessed be Ya hweh' he said 'w ho has granted rest to his peop le Israe l, keep ing all his pro mises; of all th e promises of good tha t he made through Moses his servant, not one has failed .• May Ya hweh our Go d be with us, as he was with our ancestors; may he never desert us or cast us off. May he turn o ur hea rts towards him so th at we may follow all his ways and keep the com ma nd men ts, ana laws, and o rd ina nces he gave to o ur ances tors. May these words of mine, of my entreaty before Ya hweh, be presen t with Yahweh our G od day and night, that he may uph old the caus e of his servant and the ca use of Israel his people, as eac h day requ ires, -so that all the peoples of the ea rth may com e to know tha t Ya hweh is God indeed, and that there is no othe r. May your hearts be wholly with Yahweh our God, following his laws and keeping his commandments as at this present day.'

45

46

2 Ch30:9

D t7: 6 +

Is 55: lOf D1 31:6 Jos 1:5 J r31 :31 +

Lv3:1 +

Lv 1-3 + 2K16:12 1-M 4:44 Ezk43 :13 12:32 Jg 20:1 + 2 M 2:12

1i2 C h7:1l -22

3:5-15

1 KINGS Ps 93:5

P s 101:2

Dt28:15 Jr 22:9

D128 :37: 29:23 -26 J r I 8: 16 ; 19:8: 29 :18 1 S 8:8

112Ch8 :1-6

5:24-25

Aml :9

433

432

seco nd time, as he had a ppear ed to him at Gibeon .• Ya hweh said to him, 'I grant your prayer a nd the entreaty you have made before me . I consecra te this house you have built : I place my na me th ere for ever; my eyes and my hea rt shall be always there .• For your part, if you wa lk before me wit h innocence of heart and in honesty, like David your father , if you do all I order you and keep my laws and my ordinances, . 1 will make your royal thro ne secure over Israel for ever, as I promised David your father when i said : You shall never lack fo r a man on the throne of Israel. •But if you turn away from me, you or your sons , and do not keep the commandme nts a nd laws I have set before you , and go and serve other gods and wo rship them, -t hen I will cut Israel off from the land I have given th em, and I will cast out fro m my presence this Temple that 1 have consecrated for my name, and Isra el shall become a proverb and a bywor d among all the nat ions. -As for thi s exalt ed Temple," all who pass by will be as tounded ; they will wh istle and say, "Why has Ya hweh treated this cou ntry and this Temple like this?" -A nd the a nswe r will be, "Because they dese rted Ya hweh their God who brought their a ncestors out of the land of Egypt, and they adopted other gods and wor shipped them a nd served them; th at is why Yahweh has brought all the se disasters on t hem ".'

4

26

5

27 28

6

3: 1 10:26

Jo s 17:13 11 2Ch 8:7- 1O DI7:1 + D I7-220:1 6 •

3:1 112C h8:11

Ex23: 14 + D 11 6:16 112Ch8 : 12-16

, 2C h 8: 17- 18

King Solomon eq uipped a fleet at Ezion-geber, wh ich is near Ela th on the shores of the Red Sea , in the land of Eda m . • For this fleet Hiram sent men of his, sailor s who knew t he sea, to serve wit h So lomon's men . •They went to Oph ir and from there they brought hac k fo ur hundred and twenty talents of gold , which they del ivered to King Solo mon ."

22:49

I

8

9

3

10 II

7

12

8

13

9

14 10

25

II 12

13

10

00 2:8 Jg 14:12

Ps 72 : 10 The fame of So lomo n havi ng reached the quee n of Sheba ... " she came Si 4 7:17 to test him with d iffic ult q uestion s. -She hrou gh t imme nse rich es to Jerusa- JrIs 43:3 6: 20 Ezk3g lem wit h her, ca me ls laden with spices, great qua nt ities of gold, and pr ecious L k 11:3: 131 sto nes. On co ming to Solomon, she o pened her mind freely to him ; -an d Solomo n had an answer fo r all her questio ns, not o ne of t hem was too ob scur e for t he Dn 1:20 king to expound . •When the queen of Sheb a saw all the wisdom of So lomo n, the palace he had bui lt, • the food at his tab le, th e accommoda tion for his officials, ws S: I I the org an isat ion of his staff and the way they were d ressed , his cup-beare rs, and the ho locausts he offered in the Temp le of Ya hwe h, it left her breath less, -a nd she sa id to the king, 'What I hea rd in my own co untry ahout yo u a nd yo ur wisd om was true, th en! · Until I ca me a nd saw it with my own eyes I could not believe wha t they to ld me, but clea rly they to ld me less tha n half : fo r wisdo m a nd pros perity yo u surpass the repo rt I heard .• How ha ppy yo ur wives arc!: How ha ppy a re these servants of yo urs who wa it o n yo u always a nd hea r yo ur wisdo m' Blessed he Ya hwe h yo ur G od who has gran ted you his favour , sett ing you on the thro ne of Israel! Because of Ya hwe h's ever last ing love for Israel , he has made you king to deal out law a nd justice.' • And she presen ted the king with a hundred a nd twenty ta lents of go ld and grea t quantit ies of spices a nd precious sto nes; no such wealth of spices ever came aga in as those given to K ing Solomo n by the queen of Sheba . -A nd the fleet of H ira m, which ca rried gold from Op hir, Si 4i: 18 also bro ught great cargoes of alrnuggi rn wood" a nd precious sto nes. -The king made su ppor ts with t he almuggim wood for t he Te mple of Ya hweh a nd for the royal palace, a nd lyres a nd harps for th e musician s : no more of thi s almuggim wood has since come o r been seen to this da y. -And King Solomo n in his turn , presented the que en of Sheba with all she exp ressed a wish for , hesides those presents he mad e her o ut of his royal hou nty . T hen she went home, she and her serva nts, to her own country.

Solomon 's wealth 14

N b3 3:36

12C h9: 1- 12 Qo 1; 16;2;1'1 .» M t 12:42p

The queen of Sheba visits Solomon"

This is an account of the forced labour King So lomon levied for the building 15 of the Temple of Yahweh, his own palace, the Millo" and the wall of Jerusalem, Hazar, Megiddo, Gezer · (Pha raoh king of Egypt went up and captured Gezer, 16 he bu rnt it down and massacred the Ca naanites living there; he then gave the tow n as a dowry to his da ughte r, Solomo n's wife, -a nd So lomo n rebui lt Gezer), 17 Lower Bet h-heron, •Baa lath, Ta mar in th e wilderness, inside the cou ntry, -all :~ the garriso n towns owned by Solomo n, all th e tow ns fo r his char iots and horses,' a nd all it pleased Solomon to buil d in Jerusa lem, in Lebanon and in a ll the cou ntr ies subjec t to him.• All tho se who surv ived of the Amor ite, Hitt ite, Per izzite , 20 Hiv ite and Je busite peop les, who were not Israel ites, -t heir descendants who were 21 left in the country after th em , th ose on who m th e Israelites had not been able to en for ce the ban, these So lomon conscripted as slave- labourers, as they are still. •However, Solomon did not impose sla ve-la bou r on the Israel ites ;" these 22 served as fighting men : they were his guards, officers, eq uerries, chariot and cavalry co mma nders . •These were the adm inistrato rs' o fficials who supervised 2 3 So lomon's work: five hun d red and fifty of th em in cha rge of the peo ple employed in the wo rk . -A fter Pha rao h's daughter had moved from th e Citadel of Dav id 24 to the house which he had built for her , he th en built th e Millo. The maintenance of the Temple T hree ti mes a yea r Sol o mon offered ho locau sts a nd communion sacrifices on the altar he had buil t fo r Ya hweh . . . g and he kep t the Temple in good rep ai r

Solomon as ship-owner

7

Forced labour for Solomon 's building prog ramm e 11:27

10:14

C . SOLOMON THE TRADER

The bargain with Hiram At the end of the twent y years it to ok So lomon to erect the two bui ldings, the Temple of Ya hweh an d the roya l palace .(Hira m king of Tyre had pr ovided So lomon wit h as much cedar wood, j un iper wood a nd gold as he had wa nted)," King Solomo n gave H ira m twenty to wns in the lan d of G alilee.• But when Hiram cam e fro m Ty re to view th e tow ns Solomon had given him , he was not pleased with them . -He said, 'Wha t kind of towns a re these you have given me, my brother?' And to this day they are called 'the land of Ca bul' .:' -Hiram sen t the king one hundred and twenty talents of gold .

1 KINGS

1'2C h9: 13-24

T he weight of gold co ming to Solomon in o ne yea r was six hun dred an d 9 a. 'this ex alted Te mp le' vers ions; ' th is Temple will be exa lte d' Heb r. b. T his rem in iscence is a clu msy ad d it io n since it re fers ( 0 a di fferen t barga in: So lom on se lls pa n of

o pposite So malila nd. a. T he k ingd om of Sheba was t he S. W. portion of t he A ra b ia n pe n ins u la, b ut the que en m eru io ned ru led m ore probablv o ver o ne of th e Sabaean se u teme n ts his te rr itory fo r gold, v. 14 . o f N . Arab ia. Th e Hebr. Bib le di stingui shes between c. T he co n nec tio n of th e pl ace-name with H ira m 's t he more usu al She ba (used here) a nd Seb a wh ich it comm ent is do ub tful. ass oc ia tes m ore close ly with C ush. o r Et hio p ia, G n d . The ' fill in g' of e a rt h t ha t le ve l led t he craggy 10 :7 : Is 43 :3: 45: 14. T he nam e Se ba ca me to be used h ill s ur ro und inu the T emple a nd pa lace. fo r the far S., just as Tarsh ish sta nds for the W , lim its c . The (ow ns jus t en ume ra ted. Th e wa r c ha r iots . o f th e ea rt h. Ezk 3H:13 a nd Ps 72: 10 . Sheba is se ver a l co re of Solom on's s ta nd lnu a rm y . wer e sta tio ne d ti mes me nti o ned in asso ciat ion with Ded an , a no ther the re. Th e y form ed a line of de fe nce rou nd wh a t was Arabian group, (In 10:7 ; 25:3; Ezk 3H:13. figuri n g as str ic tly Isr a el i te te rrit o r),' . one of th e gre at tr ibes o f t ravellin g m er ch an ts , Ez k f. T h e au t ho r's rem ark d oes no t sq uare with th e 27:2 0 f: .Ir 0:20: .I14 :H: .T b 6:19. T his far-o ff nec n le will a ncient . a nd p re ferable, d a ta used in 5:2 7 ; 11:2S. come to do ho ma ge to the future ki ng, Ps 72: 10.15, g. Text co rrupt. in the new Jer usal em. Is 45 :14 and 60:6 f. cf. Mt 2:11. b. Untn tcllinl b tc, lit. ' for th e name of Y a hw eh ": h . Ezion-ze be r, nea r Aq aba, was a port at the head ph rase absen t from 2 Ch 9: 1, of the Gulf of Aq a ba . O ph ir is a gold-b earm a region c . ' yo ur wives ' versio ns. situated pr oba bly o n the W . coast of Arabia, possibly d. Rare a nd un ident ifiab le speci es.

]0

10:15

14:26

Ws 7:11

Si 47:18 22:49

002:10

112Ch 1: 14-17 5:6

1l2Chl:14 ;

9:25 9:19 !12C h I:15 ;

9:27 Si 47:1 8

1 KI N G S

434

sixty-six talents of gold, -not counting what came in from merchant s' dues a nd traders' profits, and from all the forei gn kings and the govern ors of th e country.' King Solomon made three hundred! great shields of beaten gold, and plated each shield with six hu ndred shekels of gold ; -al so three hundred small shields of beaten gold, an d plated each of the se with three minas of gold; and he put them in the Hall of t he Forest of Lebanon. -The king also made a grea t ivory throne, and plated it with refined gold. -The throne had six steps, and bulls' heads at the back of it, and arms at either side of the seat; two lions stood beside the arms, and twel ve lions stood on either side of the six steps. No throne like this was ever made in any other kingdom. All King Solomon's drinking vessels were of gold, and all the furnishings in the Hall of the Forest of Lebanon were of pure gold ; silver was thought little of in the time of Solo mon. -And the king also had a fleet of Tarshish« at sea with Hiram's fleet, and once every three years the fleet of Tarshish would co me back laden with gold and silver, ivory, apes and baboons. -For riches and for wisdom King Solomon outdid all the kings of the earth. •The whole world sought audience of Solomon to hear the wisdo m God had implanted in his heart -a nd each wou ld bring his own prese nt: gold vessels, silver vessels, robes, armour, spices, horses and mules; and this went on year after yea r. Solomon's chariots Solomon built up a force of chariots and horses; he had one thousand four hu ndred chariots and twelve thousand horses; these he stationed in the chariot towns an d near the king in Jerusalem .• In Jerusalem th e king made silver common as pebbl es, and cedars plentiful as the sycamores of the Lowlands.• Solomon's horses were imported from Cilicia ;« the kin g's agents took delivery of them from Cilicia at a fixed rate . •A chariot was imported from Egypt for six hundred shekels, a horse for a hundred and fifty. These were exported through the king's age nts to all the kings of the Hittites and to the kings of Aram in the same way.

435

1 KI NGS

my serva nt D avid, and for the sake of Jerusalem which I have cho sen, I wiII leave your son one tribe."

IS 16

Solomon's foreign enemies

17 14 18

IS

19 16 20

17

21

18

22 19 23 24

20

25

21

22 26

2Sb

27

23

28

24

20 2sa

Yahweh raised an enemy against Solomon, Hadad the Edomite, of the kingly stock of Edom. -After David had crushed Edom, Joa b, the commander of the army, had gone to bury the dead and he had slaughtered the entire male population of Edom ·(Joab stayed there with all Israel for six months until he had exterminated the entire male population of Edom), •but Hadad with a number of Edomites in his father's service had fled to Egypt. H adad had been only a boy at the time . •They set out from Midian, and on reaching Paran, took a number of men from Paran with them and went on to Egypt, to Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, who provided him with a house, undertook to maintain him, and assigned him an estate.• Hadad became a great favourite of Pharaoh who gave him his own wife's sister in marriage, the sister of the Great Lady" Tahpenes. The sister of Tahpenes bore him Genubath his son whom Tahpenes brought up in Pharaoh 's palace, Genubath living with Pharaoh's children. •But when news reached H ada d in Egy pt that David slept with his ancestors and that Joab the commander of the army was dead, he said to Pharaoh, ' G ive me leave to return to my own country'. ·'Do you want for anyt hing here with me' said Pharaoh 'th at yo u now ask to return to your own cou ntry?' ' No,' he replied 'but please let me go.' •Th is is whe re the harm of Hadad comes fro m: he loathed Israel and ruled Edo m. God ra ised a second enemy against Solo mon, Rezon so n of Eliada. He had fled from his master, Hadadezer king of Zoba h.• A number of men having rallied to him, he had becom e leader of a maraud ing band (which was then massacred by David). Rezon captured Damascus and settled there and became king of Damascus. -He was hostile to Israel as long as Solomon lived.'

288:13-14

2 S 8:3: 1O:16f

The revolt of Jeroboam 26

D . HIS DECLINE Ne 13:26 Si 9:2 D t-17 :17 Si 47 :19 D t 7:3-4

J

2Chl l :231.1: 1 21,25 J!,: 2:13 ...:..

J \ 20:5 2 K2.\: I J 2Chll ;2J I.n 1:5

Solomon's wives King Solomon loved many fore ign women: not only Ph ara oh's daughter bu t Moabites. Edomites, Sidonians an d Hittites, -from those peo ples of whom Yahweh had said to the Israelites , 'You are not to go to them nor they to you, or the y will surel y sway your hearts to their own gods'. But Solomon was deeply a ttached to them. •He had seven hu ndred wives of roy al rank, and th ree hun dred concubines . a • When Solomon grew old his wives swayed his hear t to ot her gods ; and his heart was no t wholly with Yahweh his God as his fat her David's had been . ·Solomon became a follower of Astarte, the goddess of the Sido nians, and of M ilcom, the Ammonite abomination. -He did wha t was disp leasi ng to Ya hweh, a nd was not a who lehearted follower of Yahweh, as his fat her David had been . •Then it was that Solomon built a high place for Chemosh the god of Mo ab on the mountain to the east of Jerusalem, and to Milcom the god of the Ammo nites. b • He did the same fo r all his foreign wives, who offered incense a nd sacrifice to their gods. Yahweh was an gry with Solo mon becau se his hea rt had turned from Yahweh the God of Israel who had twice a ppea red to him -and who had then forbidden him to follow ot her god s; but he d id not ca rry out Yahweh's o rder . •Ya hweh therefore sa id to Solo mon, 'Si nce you beha ve like t his and do not keep my covenant or the laws I laid down fo r you, I will most surely tear the kingd om away from you and give it to one of your servants.• For your father David's sake, ho wever, I will not do this dur ing yo ur lifetime, but will tear it out of your son 's han ds. • Even so , I will not tear the whole kingdom from him. Fo r t he sake of

27

11

2~ 21

4

7

8

10 II

I~ 13

j'!

Jeroboam was the son of Nebat, an Ephraimite from Zeredah; the na me of his mother, a widow, was Zcr uah ; he was in Solomon's service but revolted aga inst the king.• This is th e acco unt of his revolt. Sol omon was buil di ng t he Millo a nd closing the breac h in the Citade l of Dav id his father . •No w this Jero boa m was a ma n of rank; Solomon, not icing how th e yo ung man set about his work, put him in cha rge of all the forced la bour of the Ho use of Josep h. -O ne da y when Jer oboam had gon e ou t of Jerusale m, the prop het Ahija h of Shiloh accosted him on the road. Ahijah was wearing a new cloak ; the two of them were in t he ope n country by themselves. Ah ijah took the new cloa k he was weari ng a nd to re it into twelve str ips,! -sayi ng to Jeroboa m, 'Take ten st rips for yourself, for thus Yah weh speaks, the God of Israel, "I am go ing to tea r the kingdom from Solomon's ha nd and give ten tribes e . Te xt unc ert ain. for po litica l ends a nd th e pag an shrines were in te nded for his wives and fo r trade rs. Suc h co ntacts, how ever. f. ' three hund red' Greek. ieo na rcliscd the purity of the religi o n of Ya hweh, a nd g. Mea ni ng of p h rase unc er tai n . Sec 10:1 -1- . the au thor in ter pr ets th e s itu ation in the spi r it and h. 'from Ci lic ia' co rr . lan gu a ge of Dt : G od punishes th is fo r m of im piet y i. V v. 28-29 may me an that Sol omon's a gen ts ar c by ra ising up e ne m ies abroad. YV. 14(, a nd a t home , internat ional mi d dl em en: th ev supp ly Egyp t wi th horses YV. zsr. imp or ted from Ci hci a ; they supply 'the kin gs of th e d . T h is 'Great Lady' is th e p rincipa l wife of the Hitt ites' in N . Syr ia and ' the ki n gs of A ra nt' in S. Syria pharao h a nd is here given a Heh r. ti tle used of the with ch ariots impo rt ed fr om E gy p t. qu ee n m o th er. 1 K 15:13 , and of th e queen, 2 K 10:13. 11 a . The Hcbr. adds 'a nd his wives swayed his hear t", c. Te xt rest o re d acco rding to G ree k . Damascu s. d uplica te of v. 4: a bse nt in Greek. o nc e cont ro lled by D avid, 2 S 8: 6, becomes an in dcb . 'the god ' G reek , c f. v. 33; 'the a b om ina tio n ' pendent kingdom : i t will p ro ve a b itt er enemy of Isr ael. Hebr. "Milcom' Gree k : "M olec h' He br. Mikom is f. T he sym bol ic ges tu res of the p rophets arc not th e na tio nal god of the A m m oni tes , Jr 49: 1.3; 2 S 12:30 onl y mea nin gfu l b ut hav e a real effect, cr. Jr 18:1 +. (G reek). Chemosh that of the Mcabites . N b 2t:29 : The ten p ieces as signed to Jer ob o am are the ten N. Jr 48:46 . tribes (cf. 2 S 19:44) ; the two remai n ing p ieces rep resen t the on e t ribe left for So lomon's s uccessor, na mel y c . So lom o n' s foreign m arriages were contracted Jud ah which ha d absorbed Simeon. Jos 19:1.

9: 15 2 S 5:6 + 2Chll:23

14:2 I S 1:3 +

I S 15:26

2 81 9:44

1 KIN G S

z» 1:5

15:4 2 S21:17 2 K 8: 19 2 Ch21 :7

14:25

['2

C h9:29 ~31

to YO U •• He shall keep on e trib e for the sa ke of my servant David and for the sake of Jer usalem, the city I ha ve chosen out of all the tribes of Israe l ; •for he has forsa ken me to wo rshi p Astarte the god dess of the Sido nians, Chemos h the god of Moab, Milcom th e god of the Ammo nites; he ha s not follo wed my ways ' by d oing wha t is right in my eyes or keeping my laws and ord ina nces as his fat her Dav id did .• But I will not take the kingdom out of his own ha nds , since I have made him a prince for as long as he lives, for the sake of my servant David who kept my commandments and laws . ·1 will, however, take the kingdom from the ha nd of his son, giving the ten tribes to yo u. ·1 will keep one t ribe to give to his son, so that my ser vant David ma y always have a lamp" in my presence in Je rusalem, the city I have chosen as a dwell ing place for my na me. •You nonetheless I will ta ke to rule over as much as you wish , a nd you shall be king of Israel. -If you listen to all my orders and foll ow my ways, by do ing what is right in my eyes a nd kee ping my la ws a nd co mma nd ment s as my servant Dav id did , then I will be wit h yo u a nd will build you as enduring a Ho use as the o rre I buil t for David . I will give Israel to you , - thus humbling the descend a nt s of David ; but not for eve r." , Solomon tried to kill Jero boam but he made off a nd fled to Egypt, to Shishak king of Egypt, and he rem ain ed in Egy pt until Solomon's death . The end of the reign of Solomon T he rest of the histo ry of Solo mon , his entire career, his wisdo m, is not all thi s reco rded in the Boo k of the Act s of Solomo n?' -S o lo rnori's reign in Jerusalem over all Israe l laste d fo rty yea rs. •T hen Solomon slept with his a ncestors a nd was bu ried in the Citadel of Da vid his fathe r ; Rehoboam his so n succeeded him.

32

33

16

'W ha t share have we in David? We have no inherita nce in the son of Jesse. T o your tents, Israel! Henceforth look after your own house, David!'

35 17

37

18

38 19

I S 8: 17

Pr 15:1

And Israel went off to their tents. • Rehoboam, however, reigned over those so ns of Israel who lived in the towns of Judah. • King Rehoboam sent Adoram who was in cha rge of fo rced labour, but the Isr aelites stoned him to deat h ; whereupon King Reh oboam was obliged to mount his chariot a nd esca pe to Jerusa lem. -An d Israel has been separa ted fro m th e House of David until the present day .

39

40

2 S 20:\

21 41 42 43

2

n

W hen all Israel heard th at Jeroboa m had returned, they summoned him to the assembly and made him king of all Israel; no one remained loyal to the Ho use of Dav id, except the tribe of Jud ah . Rehoboam went to Jerusalem and mustered the whole House of Judah and the tribe of Benja min , a hun d red a nd eighty thousa nd picked warriors, to fight th e House of Israel and win back t he kingdom for Rehoboam son of Solomon. But the word of Ya hwe h came to Shemaiah the ma n of G od, ·'Say this to Re hoboam son of Solomon, king of Judah , to the whole House of Juda h, to Benjam in and to the rest of the peop le, · "Y a hweh says th is: Do not go to fight aga inst you r brothers, the sons of Israel; let everyo ne go home, for what has happened is my doing" '. Jeroboam fortified Shechem in the mountain country of Ephraim, and lived the re. The n, leaving there, he fortified Penuel.

6 7

8 9

10

11

12 13 14

15

Si 47:21

2K I7: lg

112 Ch 11:1-4

The religious schism Jeroboam tho ught to himself, ' As things are , the kingdom will rever t to ~gJ!W21 27 the Ho use of David. •If this peop le continues to go up to the Temple of ribs~4 Ya hweh in Je rusale m to offer sacrifices, the people's hea rt will turn back again H o 13:2 28 to their lor d, Re hob oam king of J uda h, a nd they will pu t me to death." -So the 32:4 king t ho ught t his over a nd the n made two golden ca lves; he said to the people, Ex 2KIO:29 ; 17:16 ' You 'have been go ing u p to Jerusalem long enough. He re are your gods, Israel; H o 8:5 jg these br ought you u p o ut of the lan d of Egyp t !'! ·He set up one in Bet hel' -and A m3; \4 ; 7:13 31 the people went in procession all the way to Dan in front of the other . -He set 2K1 7:32 up the tem ple of the high places an d appointed priests from ordinary families, 8:65 32 who were not of the so ns of Levi. -Je roboam also institu ted a feast in the eighth Ho 8:5 ; mon th , on th e fiftee nt h of the mo nt h, like t he feast tha t was kept in Judah, 13:2 and he went up to the altar." Th at was how he behaved in Bethel, sacrificing to the ca lves he had made ; a nd at Bethel he put the priests of the high

26

5

4:6;5 :27

The political schism 20

25

12

11:29·3 9

36

III. TH E POLITICAL AND RELIGIOUS S CHISM T he assembly a t Shechem As soo n as Jero boa m son of Ne bat hea rd the newsa-he was still in Egypt, where he had ta ken refuge fro m King Solomon- he retu rned fro m Egypt. Reh ob oam went to Shechem, for it was to Shechem tha t a ll Israe l" had gone to proclaim him king, • c and the y said th is to him , • 'Y our fathe r gave us a heavy burden to bear; lighten yo ur father' s harsh tyranny no w, a nd th e weight of the burden he laid on us, and we will serve you ' .» He said to them, 'Go awa y fo r three days and then co me back to me' . And the people went a way. Ki ng Re ho boarn consulted the elders , who had been in the servic e of his fat he r Solomo n while he was alive. 'What rep ly' he asked 'do you ad vise me to give to th is peo ple?' · ' Act as servant of t his peo ple now ,' they said 'h umour the m, treat them fairly , and t hey will be yo ur servants for ever.' • But he rejected the advice given him by the elders a nd con su lted the young men who had gro wn up with him and were in his ser vice. · 'How do yo u advise us' he asked 'to an swer t his peo ple who ha ve said to me, " Lighten the burden your fat her imposed o n us" ?' •T he young men who had grow n up with him rep lied, 'Give this a nswer to these people who have sa id, "Your fathe r gave us a hea vy burden to bea r, you mu st lighten it for us", say this to them, " My litt le finger is t hicker th an my fat her 's loins ! · 50 then , my fat her mad e yo u bear a heavy bur den . I will ma ke it hea vier st ill. My fat her beat you with whips ; I a m go ing to bea t you wit h load ed sco urges." , O n the third da y all the people" carne to Reho boa m in obed ience to the king's com mand: 'Co me back to me on the third da y' . -The king, rejectin g the ad vice given him by the elders, gave the people a har sh a nswer, -s pea king to them as the young men had recommended . ' My fat her made you bea r a heavy burden ,' he said 'b ut I will make it hea vier still. My fathe r beat yo u with whips ; I am go ing to beat yo u wit h loaded scourges.' •The king in fact too k no noti ce

12:3 2

of the people' s wishes, an d this was bro ught about by Ya hweh to carry out the pro mise he had sp oken through Ahija h of Shiloh t o Jeroboam so n of Nebat. When all Israe l saw t ha t the king took no no tice of their wishes, t hey gave him this answer:

34

24

I S H:II 1, 2 ':h 10 Si47:2 1.23

1 KINGS

43 7

43 6

g. Verbs in sin gular. with ver sion s. h. Symbo lisi ng a n end uri ng d ynas ty . l, Th is bo o k. no w lost. see ms 10 ha ve bee n one of t he ancient so urces o f I K 3- 11. 12 a , Of So lo mo n's d ea th ; v , 2 m ust be read before v. I. 'h e retu rned fro m Egy p t' vers io ns. b. Here . as in the an cien t h istor ica l te xts. ' all Is rael' mean s the N . tribes as dis tin ct fr om Judah . In Jer us alem the peop le o f J uda h reco gn ise Re hoboam. I n S hec he m t he Israelites. whose in teres ts So lomon h ad s ubo rd ina ted to tho se of Ju da h, demand a cha rt er. T he cr isis h ad lo ng threa tened . c. T he Hebr. inser ts a t the beg inn ing 'And the y sent an d called Je roboam and he came. he and aU the asse mbly of Is rael ' . a gloss omitted by the Greek and con tra dic ted by v, 20 ,

d. G reek . T he Hebr . adds 'Jeroboam' in acc o rdance Viit h the gloss of v , 3. e . T he He b r. ad ds 'They will ret urn to R eho boam, kin g o f J udah ' , omi tted b y G reek. f. Je ro boa m's inte ntio n was n ot to adopt another god . b ut by usin g the symbol of Baal-hadad to rep resen t th e in visible God ; he was red ucing Ya hw ism to the level of the surrou nding religions. g. T he He b r. contin ues ' a nd he p ut t he o ther in Dan . T h is th ing led to sin : D a n. nea r the source of th e Jordan. a nd Beth el, on the Je rusalem road, delimit th e new ki ngdo m. These p laces were already hallowed s hr ines . G n 12:8 erc. : rs 17-18 . h. T he new temple o f Bet hel. like Solomo n 's Temple. is dedicated o n the feast of Taberna cles

439

I KINGS places he had esta blished . -O n the fifteent h o f the eigh th month, the month he had deliberat ely cho sen, he went up to the alt ar he had mad e ; he instituted a feast for the Israel ites, and went up to the a lta r to offer incense.

28

33

29

The condemnat ion of the altar in Bethel J S 9:6 Am 3:14

2K23 :J5·1 6

L v 1:16

N b 22: I S

M12 : 12

13

There came to Bethel at Ya hweh's co mmand a man of God from Judah just as Jeroboam was stand ing by the altar to otTer the sacrifice , -a nd at Yahweh's command this man denou nced the altar. 'Altar , altar,' he said 'Yahweh says this, " A son shall be born to the Ho use of Dav id, Jos iah by na me, who shall immolate on yo u th e priests of the high places who have offered sac rifice on you, and on you shall he burn the bo nes of men " .' '' -At the same time he gave a sign. 'T his is the sign ' he said ' tha t Yahw eh has spo ken, "T his a lta r here will burst apa rt and the ashes that a re o n it will be sca ttered" . ' •When the king heard how the man of God denounced the a ltar of Bethel, he stre tched o ut his hand from th e alta r, say ing, 'Seize him !' But the hand he stretched o ut aga inst the man withered, an d he co uld not d raw it bac k, -and the a ltar burst a pa rt and the ashes from the alt a r were scattered, in accordance with the sign given by t he man of G od at Yahweh' s co mmand. •T he king said to the man of God, ' I beg you to placate Yahweh you r G od , " and so resto re me the use of my han d' . T he man of God placated Ya hweh; th e king's hand was restored as it had been before . •T he king then said to the man of G od, 'C o me home with me a nd refre sh your self, and I will give you a present' ; •bu t t he man of G od answered the king, ' Were you to give me ha lf yo ur house, 1 would not go wit h you. I will eat and dr ink nothing here , -Io r I have had Ya hweh's order: " Yo u a re to eat or dr ink no thing, nor to return by the way you came".' · An d he left by anot her road a nd did not return by the way he had come to Bethe l.

30

1

31

32

3

J3 4

34

5

lr 22:18 2 K 23:17-18

Si 47:24

IV . THE TWO KI NGDOMS U N TI L ELIJAH

7

Continuation of the reign of Jeroboam I (931-910) A~ t h~t time Abijah, Jero?oam's son , fell sick, -and Je.roboam said to his WIfe, Come, please disguise you rself so that no one Will recognise you as Jeroboam's wife, and go to Shiloh; th e prophet Ahijah is there, the man who 3 said I was to be king over this people. ·Go to him, and tak e ten loaves and some savoury food and a jar of honey; he will tell you what will happen to the chi ld.' 4 Jeroboam's wife did this: she set out, went to Shiloh and came to Ahija h's hou se. Now Ahijah could not see, his eyes were dimmed with age, •but Yahweh had told him , 'Jeroboam's wife is no w on her way to ask you for an oracle about her son, as he is sick. You will tell her such and such. When she come s, she will pretend 6 to be some other woman.' -So when Ahija h heard her footsteps at the door, he called , 'Come in, wife of Jer ob oam ; why pretend to be someo ne else? I have 7 bad news for you. -G o and tell Jeroboam , "Yahweh says this, th e G od of Israel: I raised you from th e people and made you leader of my peopl e Israel ; 8 I tore the kingdom from the House of Dav id and gave it to yo u. But you have not been like my servant David who kep t my commandments and follow ed me 9 with all his heart do ing only what is right in my eyes; ' you have done more evil than all your pred ecessor s, you have go ne and ma de yourse lf other gods, idols of cast metal, " pro vokin g my anger, and you have turned your back on 10 me.• For this I will br ing disaster on the House of Jero boam, I will wipe out every ma le belonging to the famil y of Jero boam, fettered or free " in Isra el, I will sweep awa y the House of Jer oboa m as a ma n sweeps dung away till non e is left. II T hose of Jeroboam' s family who die in the city, the dogs will eat; and tho se who die in the open count ry, the birds of the air will eat, c for Ya hweh has spoken." 12 N ow get up and go home ; at the moment your feet enter the town , the child 13 will die . -A ll Israel will mourn for him, and bury him; an d he alone of Jeroboam's

14

H

9 10

The man of God and the prophet '

20:36

to his sons , ' Saddle the donkey for me' , and they sadd led it.• He set off and foun d the man's corpse lying on the road with the donkey and the lion standing beside the cor pse ; the lion had neit her eat en the corp se no r mauled the donkey , Th e prophet lifted the co rpse of the man of God and put it on t he donkey and brought it back to th e town where he lived to hold mourning for him and bury him. •He laid the corpse in his own tomb, an d the y raised th e mourning cry for him, ' Alas, my brother!' -After burying him, the prophet said to his sons, 'When I die, bury me in the same tomb as the man of God, lay my bones beside his, • For the word he uttered at Ya hweh 's command against the altar of Bethel and agai nst all the shrines of the high places in t he to wns of Samaria will certainly com e t rue.' Jeroboam did not give up his wicked ways after this incident, bu t went on a ppoint ing pr iests for the high places from the com mon peop le. He consecrated as priests of the high places any who wished to be. -Such conduct made the House of Jero boa m a sinful Ho use, and caused its rui n and extinction fro m the face of the earth .

6

Now there was an old pr oph et living in Bethel and his so ns ca me to tell him I J all th at the man of G od had don e in Bethel that day ; and the wo rds he had sa id to th e king, they told the se to th eir father too . · ' Which road did he ta ke?' their 12 fath er asked . His so ns showe d him" the road th at th e man of God who came from J uda h had taken. ·'Saddle the donkey for me' he said to his so ns; the y saddled 13 the do nkey for him and he mou nted .• He followed the man of God and found 14 him sitt ing unde r a terebinth . 'Are you the man of God' he said 'who came from Judah ?' ' I am' he rep lied . ·'Come home with me ' he said 'and take some food.' 15 'I cannot go back with you ,' he an swered 'o r eat or drin k an yth ing here : -fo r : ~ I ha ve received Yahweh 's order: "You are to eat or drin k nothing there, no r to return by th e way you came" .' · '1 too am a prophet like you,' the other rep lied 18 'and an an gel told me thi s by Ya hweh's order: "Bring him back with yo u to your ho use to eat and dri nk" .' He was lyin g to him.! •Th e man of G od went 19 bac k with him ; he ate and d ra nk at his house. As they were sitti ng at tab le a word of Yah weh came to the prophet who had 20 brought him back, -and he addressed the man of God who came from J udah , 2 1 ' Ya hweh says this,' he said '''Since you have defied Yahweh's command and not obeyed the orders Yahweh you r God gave you, • but have eom e back an d 22 eaten and drunk where he forbade you to eat or dr ink , your co rpse will never reach the tomb of you r ancesto rs" . ' -After he had eaten and dru nk, the pro phet 23 sad dled t he donkey for him, and he turned ab out and went away ." ·A lio n met 24 him on the road and killed him; his corpse lay stretched out on the road; the donkey stood there beside it; the lion stood by t he corpse to o.• Peop le goi ng 2 5 by saw the corpse lying on the road and the lio n sta nding by the corpse, and went and spoke about it in th e town where the old prophet lived.• When the pro phet 26 wh o had made th e man turn back heard a bo ut it, he said , 'Th at istheman of God who defied Yahweh's command! Ya hweh has handed him over to the lion which ha s ma uled and killed him , just as Yahweh had fo retold it would .' -He said 27

1 KINGS

•

13 a . 'he will bu rn ' vers io ns; 'will be burnt' Hebr. T his forecast , th e pr ecisio n of which is fore ign to the p rop he tic sty le , h as been ad ded to the o r igin al o ra cle wh ich was v . 3 on ly. b. The Heb r. ad ds ' a nd pray for me' ab sent from

be obeyed a bs olutely: th e ma n of God had no r teht q ues tio n th e or der he had originally recei ved . not even a t th e b idd ing o f an ang el. cf. Ga 1:8. r.. ' t urn ed ab o ut and went away' ver sio ns,

[0

14 a. The ph rase reflec ts t he ins tin ct of tru e Ya hwism: c . T he ' p rop het" na bi, a t th is period. is of a lower thou gh Jeroboam intended his golde n ca lves to form arade than t he t ru e 'man of G od' , Compare Elij ah pa rt of Yahwisti c worship. 12:28 + . th ey were no t a nd Elisha wi th th e 'sons of th e prophets ' o f2 K 2 . et c ., suitab le s ym bo ls of Ya hweh . they were ' fa lse gods' and cf. Am 7: 14 . and no m o re. b. Two al lit erat ive words. ea ch of un ce r tain se nse d . ' showed him ' versi o ns. b u t tog ether expressing to ta li ty: 'e very srnere m an ', e. The Hebr. is somewhat re d undant. c. Wh et her in {Own or co un try t hey will lie u nf . To test h im . Wh at fo llo ws. wr itt en in a m arkedl y popular style. teac hes this lesson : God's orders must bu ried : cf, th e co nt rast ing v. 13.

versions .

1 S 28:8

11:29·39 IS9 :7 +

16:2

E x20 :3-5 21:21 2K 14:26 1 S25:22 15:27·30: 16:4 :21:24

1 KI N G S

44°

ho usehold will go to the tomb, for it is in him alone of the House of Jeroboam that anything pleasing to Yahweh, the God of Israel, is found . •Yahweh will raise up a king for himself over Israel to wipe ou t the House of Jeroboam." Yahweh will make Israel shake as a reed shakes in the water, he will uproot Israel from this prosperous land which he gave to their ancestors and scatter them beyond the river for provoking Yahweh to anger by making their sacred poles. · He will abandon Israel for the sins Jeroboam has committed and made Israel commit.' -Jeroboam's wife rose and left. She ar rived at Tirzah,s and when she crossed the threshold of the house, the child was already dead . •They buried him , and all Israel mourned him, just as Ya hweh had foretold through his servant Ah ijah the pr oph et. The rest of the histo ry of Jeroboam, what wars he waged, ho w he governed, these may be found recorded in th e Boo k of the Annals of the Kings of Israe l. Jeroboam's reign lasted twenty- two years; th en he slept with his ancestors ; his so n N ada b succeeded him. 112Ch 12: 13·1 4

2Ch1 2:1 I S9:12 + Ex 23:24+ : 34:13 + DI 12:2+ : 23:19 + 2 K 23:7 11:40 11 2C h I2:2. 9-11

10:16

2Ch 12:16

112Ch13 : 1-2 2Chll :20

11:36 + I S2 1: 17 2K8: 19 +

112C h 13:2b 112Ch13:23

The reign of Rehoboam (931-913) In Judah Rehoboa m son of Solomon became king; he was forty -one years old whe n he came to the throne and he reigned for seven teen years in Jerusalem, the city which Yahweh had cho sen out of all the tribes of Israe l, to give his nam e a hom e there . H is moth er' s name was Na amah, the Ammonitess.• He! did what is displeasing to Yahweh , aro using his resentmen t mor e tha n his ancest o rs did by all the sins they committed, -t hey who had built th emselves high places, and had set up pilla rs and sacred poles on every high hill and under every spre ading tree . -T here were even men in the countr y who were sacred pros t itutes. He copi ed all the shameful practices of t he natio ns whom Ya hweh had dispossessed for t he so ns of Israel. In the fifth year of Reho boa m, Shisha k g the king of Egypt marched on Je rusalem. • He took all the treasures fro m the Tem ple of Ya hweh and the treasures from the royal palace, he took everything, includ ing all the golden shields that Solomon had made ; -in place of them K ing Reh oboam had bronze shields made, entrus ting them to the care of the officers of the gua rd" who guarded the king 's palace ga te. •Whenever the king went to th e Temp le of Ya hweh, the guards would carry them, return ing them to the guard room a fterwards. The rest of the history of Rehoboam, his entire career, is not all thi s recorded in the Book of the Annals of the Ki ngs of Judah? • Rehoboam and Jero boa m were at war with each other throughout their reigns. -Then Rehoboam slept with his ancestors and was bu ried in the Citadel of David; his son Abijam succeeded him .' The reign of Abijam in J udah (913-911) In the eighteenth yea r of Kin g Jeroboa m son of Nebat, Abijam became king of Judah -a nd reigned for three years in Jerusalem. His mother 's nam e was Maac ah, daughter of Absalom .• He followed the sinful exa mple of his father before him in everything ; his heart was not wholly with Ya hweh his God, as the hear t of D avid his ancestor had been .• H owever, for D avid's sake, Yahweh his G od gave him a tamp in Jerusalem, assuring him sons " after him and keeping Jer usalem secu re ; -for David ha d done what is right in the eyes of Ya hweh and had never in all his life disobeyed whatever he ordered him." The rest of th e hist or y of Abijarn, his entire caree r, is not all this reco rded in the Book of the Annals of the Ki ngs of Judah? Abijam an d Jeroboam were at wa r with each other. -Th en Abija m slept with his ancestor s and t hey buri ed him in th e Citad el of D avid; his son Asa succeeded him.

15

44 1 10 14

12 IS

13

16

14

17

IS

18

16

19

17 18

20

19 21 20

22 21 23

22

24 23 25

24

26

and reigned for forty -one years in Jerusalem. His mothe r's name was Maacah, dau ghter of Absalom. -Asa did what is right in th e eyes of Ya hweh, as his ancestor Da vid had do ne. • He dro ve out of the cou ntry the men who had been sacred prostitutes and clea red awa y all the idols his ancesto rs had made. • He even deprived his grandmother of the digni ty of queen moth er for maki ng an obscenit y' fo r Asherah ; Asa cut down her obsce nity and burned it in the wad i Kid ron. •T houg h th e high places were not ab olished, th e heart of Asa was wholly with Yah weh throughou t his life. • He deposited th e offerings dedic ate d by his fat her and his own offeri ngs too , in the Temple of Yahweh, silver an d gold and furn ishings. Asa and B-aasha king of Israel were at war with each oth er as long as they lived.• Baasha king of Israel march ed on Judah and fortified Ramah to blockade Asa kin g of Judah. - Asa then took the rema ining silver and gold from the treasuries of the Temple of Yahweh a nd the roya l palace . Entrusting this to his servants, he sent them with the following message to Ben-hadad" son of Tab rirnmon son of Hezion , the king of Aram who lived in Damascus, · 'A n alliance between myself and you, as between my fathe r and your fath er! With this I send you a gift of silver and gold. Co me, break oil' your alliance with Baasha king of Israe l, and he will have to retire from my territo ry.' • Ben-hadad agreed, and sent his general s agai nst t he towns of Israel; he co nquered Ijon , Da n Abel-bet h-maa cah all C hinnc ro t h,r and th e whole land of Nap hta li too . When Baasha hear d this he gave up fort ifying Ramah and returned to T irzah. King Asa then summo ned t he whole of Juda h, no one was exem pt; th ey took awa y the sto nes and timber with which Baasha had becn fortifyi ng Ramah, and with them t he king fortified Ge ba of Benjam in an d Mizpa h. T he rest of th e history of Asa, all his valou r, his entire career, " is not all this recorded in the Book of the An nals of the Kings of Judah? In his old age, however, he suffered from a disease of the feet. •Then Asa slept with his a necstors and was buried in the Citadel of David his ancestor; his son Jehoshaphat succeeded him.

12 C h 14: 1-3

22:4 7 Dt 23:19 +

11:19 · 2Ch 15: 16-18

2Ch 16: 1·6 J r 41:9

Ho 5:13

12 C h 16: 12 12 C h 16: 13-14

27

The reign of Nadab in Israel (910-909) 28

Nadab so n of Jeroboam became king of Israel in the seco nd year of Asa king of Judah, and he reigned over Israel for two years . • He did what is disp leasing to Yahw eh; he copied his father 's exam ple and the sin into which he had led 27 Israel. •Baas ha son of Ah ijah, of the Ho use of Issachar, plotted aga inst him and murdered him at G ibbetho n, a Philistine town which Nadab and all Israel 28 were besieging. • Baasha killed Na dab and succeeded him in the third year of 29 Asa king of Judah .• No soone r was he king th an he but chere d the entire House of Jeroboam, not spa ring a soul , and wiped it out , just as Yahweh had foretol d 30 through his servant Ahijah of Shiloh, -beca use of the sins into which he had led Israel, and becau se he had pro voked t he anger of Yahweh, the God of Israel. 31 The rest of the history of Nada b, his enti re career, is not all th is record ed (32) in the Book of the Annals of the Kings of Israel?" 25

26

29 30 31

I

4

5

(6)7

8

The reign of Asa in Judah (911-870) In the twentieth year of Jeroboa m king of Israel, Asa became king of Juda h

II

1 KINGS

9

d . T he te xt adds 'T h is is th e da y ; a nd wha t m ore now '?' A gloss on v, 15 insert ed by an ex ile. e. Ca p ital of the kingdom of Israel befo re Sa ma ria was b uilt , 16:24 . Site dispu ted. f . Ver bs in sin gular. fo llowing G reek ; Hebr. has p lu ral, referring to Juda h as a whol e . R. Fi rst Pharaoh of the 22nd D yn asty. It see ms t ha t he inva ded P alest ine but spared Ju dah . nro bablv beca use Rehoboam pai d tri bu te . h. Bod yguards (o r 'cou r iers' , cf . 1 K I:5) who escor ted the ktn e' s chario t. t. Text co rre cted in accordance with 2 C h 12:16 . IS 3 . 'sons' Greek ; 'a son' Hebr.

b. T he He br. ad ds ' excep t in the mailer of U r iah th e Hittite ', gloss a bsent fro m G ree k. V. 6, a doublet of 14:30 . is wa n ting in the best G ree k M SS . c . T r anslatio n doubtfu l. Pos si b ly a ca no p y over t he im a ge of the goddess. d . Ben -had ad I. On the dy na s ty's subsequ ent his tor y sec 20: I. Asa im ita tes the po licy of fo re ign a llia nce for wh ich th e great pr ophets constan tly rep ro ach the ki ngs o f Judah . cr. Is 7:4-9 : 8:6-8, etc. e. T he di str ict W . of La ke Ti ber tas. f . T he Hebr. he re adds ' an d th e towns he bu ilt' . g . V. 32 s im p ly re pea ts v-, 16 a nd is o mi tted by G reek .

2 K 10:1 14:10-11

1 KINGS T he reign of Baasha in Israel (909-889)

14:7-11 : 16: 13

2 1:2 1

2 K9: 8 14:11

2 K9: 7

Ho 5:13

I n the third year of A sa king of Jud a h, Baasha son of Abijah became king o f Israel at Tirzah for twenty-four yea rs. -He d id wha t is displea sing to Ya hweh; he co pied the example of J ero boam and the sin in to which he had led Israel. T he word of Ya hwe h ca me to Jehu son of Hanani against Baasha, ,'I ra ised you fro m the d ust a nd made you leader of my people Isr ael , bu t you have followed J erobo am's exa mp le and led my people Israel in to sins that provoke my anger. -Now I will sweep away Baasha a nd his House; I will make your House like the Hou se of J eroboam son of N ebat. -Those of Baasha's fa m ily wh o d ie in the city, the dogs will eat ; a nd those who die in the open co unt ry, the birds of the air will eat. ' T he rest of the history o f Baasha, his ca reer, his va lo ur, is not all th is recorded in the Book of the A nnals of the Ki ngs of Israel? -Then Baa sha slep t with his a ncesto rs a nd wa s buried in Tirzah ; his so n Elah succee ded him . Further mo re, the word o f Ya hweh was delivered through the pr ophet J ehu son of Hanani against Baasha and his House, firstly because of all the ev il he did in the sight of Yahweh , provoking him to anger by his actions and beco mi ng li ke the House of J ero boa m; seco nd ly because he destroyed that House. a

25 33

26

34

16

27

28

Is 5:11

1 S25: 22 2 K 10 : 1

16: 1-4 2 K 9:13

5

30

6 31 7

32 33

34

8

9

Ahab son of Orn ri bec a me kin g of Israel in the thirt y-eigh th year of Asa king o f Jud a h, a nd reigned o ver Israel fo r twent y-two years in Sam ari a . · Aha b son of O rnri did what is d ispleas ing to Yah weh, an d wa s wo rse than all his pr cdecessors. •Th e least th at he did wa s to follow the sinfu l example of J eroboam so n o f Nebat: he ma rried Jc zcbcl , th e da ughter of Ethbaa l kin g of th e Sid oni an s," and th en proceeded to ser ve Baal a nd wo rshi p him . • He erec ted an altar to him in the temp le o f Baal which he built in Sa maria. -Ahab al so put u p a sacred pole and co mm itted o ther crime s as well, prov o king t he anger of Yahweh , the God of Israe l. more than all th e kin gs o f Isra el who were his predecesso rs. It was in his timc that H icl of Beth el rebu ilt Jericho ; he la id its foundat ion s at the pri ce of A biram, h is first-born ; its gat es he erected at t he price of his youngest so n Scgub.:' ju st as Yahweh had for eto ld th ro ugh Jos hua so n of Nun .

2 1:25 2 K 23: 15

Ex 34:13 2 K 10:21

Lv I S:21 i-

10

V , THE E LI J A H

C YCLE

II

A . T il E

G REA T

D RO L"G flT

12

Elijah foretells the drought 13

Elijah the Ti shbite, o f T ishbe in Gilead. " sa id to A hab , 'A s Ya hweh lives. the God of lsracl ' whorn I se rve. there shall be nei the r dew nor ram these years except at my order' .

17

14

At the wadi Cherith

15

16

The wo rd of Yahweh carne to him.• ' G o away fro m here. go ea stwards, an d hid e vo urself in the wa di C herith which lies ca st of J o rd an . • You can drin k fro m ~hc st rea m, and I ha ve ordered th e ravens to bri ng yo u foo d th ere .' • He di d as Yahweh had sa id; he went and stayed in the wadi C hcrith which lies ca st of J ordan. •The ra ven s bro ught him bread in the morni ng and me at in the even ing . b and he quenched his thirst a t the st rea m .

£ x I6:8. 12

17 18

19

20

21 22

The reign of Omri in Israel (88 5-874) " In the thirty-fir st year of As a ki ng of Ju da h, O m ri became king of Is rael a nd reigned for tw elve years. He reigned for six years in Tirzah . •T hen fo r two

talents of silver he bought a hillr from Sherner a nd on it bui lt a town which he named Samaria after Shemer who had owned the hill. -Ornri did what is di spl ea sing to Yahweh, and wa s wo rse tha n all his predecessors. • In every wa y he co pied the example of Jeroboam so n o f N eba t and the sin s in to which he had led Israel, provo king the anger of Ya hweh, the God of Israel, with th eir useless idols . Th e rest of the hist or y o f O rnri, his career, his val o ur , is not a ll thi s rec orded in the Book of the An nals of the Kings of Israel'? -Thcn O mri slept with his a ncestors and was buried in Sa ma ria ; his so n Ahab succeeded him . Introduct ion to the re ign of Aha b (874-8 53)

29

The reign of Zimr i in Israel (885) In the twenty-seventh year of Asa king of J udah, Zi m ri became king fo r seven days, in Tirzah. The people were then encamped in fro nt of Gibbethon, a Philisti ne town. • W hen news reached the camp of how Zimri had no t only plotted agai ns t but ac tually killed th e king, all Israel proclaimed Omri, their general, king of Israel in the camp the same day.• Omri, and a ll Israel with him, raised the siege of Gibbethon a nd la id siege to Tirzah .• When Z imri saw that the town was captu red , he we nt into the kee p of the royal pa lace, burned the palace over his own head , a nd died. -Th is was because of the sin he committed by doing what is displeasing to Yahweh, by copyi ng the example of J erob oa m a nd the sin into wh ich he had led Israel. The rest of the histo ry of Z imri and the plot he hat ched, is no t a ll th is reco rded in the Boo k o f th e A nnals of the Kings of Is rael? The people of Is rae l t hen spl it into two faction s: o ne half fo llowing T ibn i son of G ina th to make him kin g, the other hal f foll o wing O mri. • But the factio n of O mri proved stronger tha n that o f Ti bni son of Gi nat h; Ti bni died , and O mri be ca me king .

IT I O

4

T he reign of Elah in Isra el (886-885 ) In the twenty-sixth year o f Asa king of Judah, E lah son of Baasha became king of Israel at T irzah , for two years . -Zimri, one of his officers, captain of half h is cha rio try, plotted against him. While he was at Tirzah, d rinking himself senseles s in t he house of Arza who was master of the palace in Tirzah, -Zirn ri came in, struck him down and kille d him in the twenty-seventh year of Asa king of J udah, and succeeded him . -O n his access ion, as soo n as he was seated o n the throne, he butchered Baas ha 's enti re fami ly, not lea ving him a single male, or a ny relatio ns, or friend s. -Zirnri destroyed the whole House o f Baasha, in acco rda nce with the word which Ya hweh had spoken through the prophet Jehu , - beca use of all the sin s o f Baasha and his son Elah into which they had led Israel, provok ing the a nger of Ya hweh, the God of Israel, with their u seless idols. T he history of Elah, his enti re career, is not all this recorded in the Book of the Annals of th e Kings of Israel ?

1 KINGS

443

442

23 24

At Za rephath . The miracle of the flour a nd the oil But a fte r a while th e strea m dri ed up. for the co untr y had no ra in. -And then ., the wo rd of Ya hweh ca me to him. · · Up a nd go to Za rephath. a Sidonian town, 10 a nd stay there . I ha ve ordered a wid ow there to give yo u food.' -So he went 16 a . T he whole verse is a n ad di tio n repeatin g \'\' .1·4 (;;!!1lC to te rms and sealed th ei r alliance hy a fumilv a nd oflerln g a second rea son for Baasha's pu nishmen t. m arr ia ge. T he effe c ts on the re ligion of Isra el of thi s ass ocia tio n w it h the P hil isti nes were In be lu crcasinalv a nd not co ns iste n t with t he spir it of t he book . b. Omri was wit hout doubt a great ru ler. but the felt t h ro ug h o u t th e reign of A ha b. 1' . Hi s tw o sons wer e slaughtered as a fo u nd a tion Book s o f King s. co nce rned with the kingdom o f Israel exc lusi vely from th e religi ous p oin t o f view . mentions sucr iflcc. o nl y t he Ioundlnu of Sa ma r ia whi ch was to remain t he 17 a . 'of T ishhc' Greek. The d oc u ment dcalin u wit h t he history of Elijah, of wh ich use now begi ns 10 be ca p ita l unti l the kin gdom finnl ly collapsed . m ad e (d. lruroducuon to Joshua ct c. : pro bably rcc o u n ted t he earlier life of the pro ph et , b ut our au t hor takes it LIP a t t he p oin t w her e it tits in to h is own c. T he text adds ' Sa m aria ' . d . 'T he lea st ' G reek. Ethbaal (I uobaa l in th e na rr uu vc: the dr ou a tu is p resent ed as a pu n ishment G reek ) was a 'priest of Asta rt e who seized po wer in for th e in trod uc tio n o f t hc c u lt o f Baa l, 16:32 -3 3. b. Tra ns lat io n foll ow in g G re ek. Tv re at th e same lim e as Omri in Israel; the two usurpers

2 K 4:1--

• U.:4:25 -2 i':

17:1 1

1 KI N G S

444

off to Sidon . And when he reached the city gate, th ere was a widow gat hering sticks; addressing her he said, ' Please bring a litt le water in a vessel for me to dr in k' . -S he was sett ing off to bring it when he called a fter her. ' Please~ he sa id ' bring me a scrap of bread in yo ur hand.' -' As Ya hweh yo ur G od lives,' she replied '1 have no baked br ead , but only a handful of mea l in a jar and a litt le o il in a jug ; I am just gathering a stick or two to go and prepare th is for myself an d my son to eat, and then we shall d ie.' - But Elija h sa id to her , 'D o no t be afraid , go an d do as you have sa id ; but first ma ke a litt le scone of it for me an d bring it to me, an d then make some for yourse lf an d for yo ur so n. - For t hus Ya hweh spea ks, th e God of Israel:

445

II

14

13

2l'it lt n 2 K 4;20 S i 48:5

Ac 9; 37

2 K4;33 -36 Ac 20:10

H eb I 1;35

16

r

17 18 19

15

20

21 17 18

22

19

23

20

24

21 25

22

24

Elijah and Obadiah A long time went by, and th e wo rd of Ya hweh ca me to Elija h in the th ird I year , 'Go, pre sent yourself to Aha b ; I a m a bou t to send down ra in on the land' . -So Elija h set off to p resen t himself to Aha b. As the famine was pa rticu larly severe in Sa ma ria, - Aha b sum mo ned O bad ia h, the mas ter of the pa lace- Ob adi ah held Ya hwe h in great revere nce : -when 4 Jezebel was butcheri ng the pr op hets of Ya hweh, O badia h to ok a hundr ed of them and h id th em , fifty a t a time, in a cave , a nd kept them provided with fo od a nd waterv-s-vand Aha b said to Obad iah, ' Come a long, we mu st sco ur t he 5 co untry , all the spri ngs and all t he wa dis in t he ho pe of find ing grass to keep horses and m ules a live, or we shall have to slaughter so me o f our stock ' . -T hey 6 divi ded the coun try fo r the purpose of the ir survey ; A ha b went o ne way by himse lf and O bad ia h went a nother wa y by himself. - W hile O badia h was on his 7 way. whom sho uld he meet birt Elijah; recogn ising him he fell on his face a nd said , 'So it is you, my lor d Elija h " -' Yes,' he rep lied ' go a nd tell you r maste r, x " Elija h is here" .' -B ut O bad ia h said, 'What sin ha ve I com mitte d, for yo u to 9 put you r servant in Aha b's power an d cause my deat h? - As Ya hweh your God 10 lives , there is no na tio n or kingdom where my ma ster has no t sent in sear ch of yo u ; and when they sa id, " He is not th ere" , he made the kingdom o r nat io n swea r on oa th that they d id not kn ow where you were . - And now you say to me, II " Go a nd tell your mas ter: Elijah is here" . - But as so o n as I lea ve yo u, the spirit 12

4;2 +

26

23

1S12: 17

18

1~VI1

Elijah and Ahab O badiah went to find Aha b and tell hi m the news, and Ahab then went to find E lijah. -W hen he saw Elijah, Ahab said, 'So th ere you are, you scour ge of Israel!' -' Not I,' he repl ied 'I am not the scou rge of Israel, you an d your fa mily a re ; because yo u have deserted Ya hweh' a nd gon e afte r th e Baa ls. - N ow give o rders for a ll Israe l to gath er ro un d me on M ount Ca rmel, an d also the four hun dr ed prophets of Baal" who ea t at Jezebel' s table.'

Jg2;13+

16

L k 4: 25 J m 5:17 Si 48:2

)

Th e widow's son raised to life It happened afte r th is t ha t the son of th e mistress o f the house fell sick ; his illness was so severe that in the end he had no brea th left in him . - And t he woma n said to Elijah, 'W ha t qua rrel ha ve you wit h me, ma n of G od ? Ha ve yo u com e her e to bri ng my sins home to me and to kill my so n?" -'G ive me yo ur son ' he sai d, and ta king him fro m her la p, carried him to the u pper roo m wher e he was sta ying a nd laid him on his own bed . - He cri ed o ut to Ya hweh, ' Yahweh my G od, do you mean to bring grief to the widow who is looking a fter me by killing her son?' - He st ret ched himself on t he child three times and cried out to Ya hweh, ' Ya hweh my God , ma y the soul o f this child , I beg you, come int o him a ga in !' -Y a hweh hea rd the praye r o f Elija h a nd the sou l o f the ch ild re tu rned to him agai n a nd he revived . - Elija h to ok the child , brought him dow n fro m th e u pper roo m into th e ho use, a nd gave him to his mot her. ' Look,' Elija h sa id 'your son is alive .' - And the wo ma n replied , ' N ow I kn ow you a re a man of God an d the wo rd of Yahweh in your mouth is truth itself' .

15

of Yah weh will carry you away and I sha ll not know wher e ;" I sha ll come and tell Aha b ; he will not be able to find you, and will kill me . Yet fro m his yout h your servant has revere d Yahweh. -H as no one told my lord what I did when Jezebel butchered the p rop hets of Yahweh , how I hid a hundred of th em in a cave, fifty at a time, a nd kept th em provided with fo od an d water? -A nd now you say to me , "Go a nd tell your ma ste r: Elijah is here" . Why, he will kill me !' Elijah replied, 'A s Ya hweh Sabaoth lives, who m I serve, I shall present myse lf befo re him today!'

14

" Jar of meal shall not be spen t, jug of o il sha ll not be emptied , before the day whe n Ya hweh sends ra in on the face of t he eart h".' T he woman wen t and d id as Elija h tol d her a nd they ate the food , she, himself a nd her so n.' -T he jar of mea l was not spent no r the jug of oil emp tied , just as Yahweh had fore to ld t hro ug h Elijah.

13

12

1 KINGS

27

28 29

30

31

Th e sacrifice on Carmel Ahab called all Israe l toge ther and asse mbled the prophets on Mount Ca rmel. - Elija h ste pped out in fron t of all th e peo ple. ' How lon g' he said 'd o you mean to hobble first on on e leg' the n on th e other? If Yahw eh is God, follow hi m ; if Baa l, follo w him.' But t he people never said a wo rd. -Elija h then said to them, ' I, I alone , am left as a prophet of Ya hweh, wh ile the prophets of Baa l ar e four hund red and fifty. - Let two bu lls be given us ; let th em choose one for the mselves, d ismemb er it a nd lay it on th e wood , but not set fire to it. I in my turn will pre pare the ot her bu ll, but no t set fire to it. -You must call on th e nam e of yo ur god, a nd I shall call on t he na me of mine ; th e god wh o a nswers with fire, is G od indeed.'! T he people all a nswered, ' Ag reed !' Elijah then sa id to the prophet s of Baal, 'C ho ose on e bull and begin, for there ar e more of you. Ca ll on the nam e of you r god bu t light no fire.' -They took the bu ll and prepa red it, a nd fro m morn ing to midday they called on the name of Baal. ' 0 Baal, an swer us!' they cried, but ther e was no voice, no answer, as they per fo rmed their hobbling dan ce round the altar they ha d made. -M idday cam e, a nd Elija h mocked them . 'Call lo uder,' he said ' for he is a god: he is preoccupied or he is busy, o r he ha s gone on a j ourney ; perhaps he is asleep a nd will wake u p.' -S o t hey sho uted louder and gashed th emse lves, as their cus tom was , with swords a nd spears unti l th e blood flowed down th em. - Midday passed, and th ey ra nted on un til the time th e offering is presen ted ;" but ' there was no voice, no answer, no at tenti on given to them . Then Elija h said to all the peop le, 'Come close r to me', an d a ll the peo ple cam e close r to him. H e repa ired the alt ar of Ya hweh whi ch had been broken down . -Elijah to ok twelve sto nes, co rre spondi ng to the nu mb er of the tribes of the son s of Jacob , to who m the word of Yahweh ha d come, ' Israel shall be c . 'and her so n' carr.. cr. vv. 12- 13. d . The woman aurtbutcs her misfortu ne to Elija h's visi t: a man o f G od is like a ho st ile wit ness. at hi s pr esence secret or unco nscious sins ar e brou ght to light and dra w down retribution. 18 a . T he parenthesis pr epares fo r v. 13. On thes e 'prophet s' cr. 1 S 10:5 + ; they playa pr om inent part in the Elisha cycle. b. These sudden d isappearances seem to ha ve been a feature of the story of Elijah. 2 K 2:16, unt il th e las t d isappeara nce o f all. 2 K 2: I If. T he sp iri t of Yahw eh is an external fo rce wh ich carries the p rophet fr om pl ace to place. cf . Ezk 3:12; 8:3; 11:1; 43:5 ; A c 8:39. c , ' Yah weh' G reek; ' the co mmandments of Yah.. weh ' He br . d . A gloss adds 'and the four hun dred p rophets

of As he ra h ' . T he re were many such 'p ro p hets' among the peo ples contiguous to Isra el , Jr 27:3,9f ; they for med n umerou s gro ups, like th e prophets o f Yahweh, 18:4 . Here they are the devo tees of the Tyrtan Baa l. in vited in to Israel and ma intained by Jezebel. e. T he meaning of the last word is u ncertain b ut the tran slat ion (cr , Greek) acco rds with th e performance in v. 26: the Isr aelites dance in honour bot h of Ya hweh and of Baal . f . It is not merely a matter of d ecidi n g whe ther Yah weh or Ba al is lord of the mo untain or which is the stronger, b ut simp ly wh ich is God . Elijah's own statement , his prayer, v. 37, and the people 's acclamation. v. 39, ma ke th is clear: monotheism itself is at stake here . g , T he men tion of the eve nin g sa cri fice, Ex 29: 39 ; N b 28 :4 ; 2 K 16:15, is merely an ind icati o n of th e time of d ay .

Ho 11:7

2 S 6:13

Zc 13;6 18;36 2 K 3:20 D n 9:21

G n 32:29

18:3 2

18:29 S1 4H:3

Lv 9: 24 N b ll: l: 16:35 J g 6:2 1

1 KINGS

your name', -and built an altar in the name of Yahweh. " Round the altar he dug a trench of a size to ho ld two measures of seed .• He then arranged the wood, dismembered the bull, and laid it on the wood. ~ Then he sa id, 'Fill four jars with wa ter and pour it on th e holocau st and on the wood '; this the y d id . He sa id, ' Do it a seco nd time' ; they did it a seco nd time. He sai d , 'Do it a third time ' ; the y did it a third time.• T he water flowed round the alt ar and th e trench itself was full of water.' · At t he time when the o ffering is presented, Elijah the pro phet stepped for wa rd. 'Yahweh, G od of A bra ha m, ' Isaa c a nd Israel ,' he said 'le t them know today that yo u ar e God in Israel, a nd th at I a m your ser vant, that I ha ve done a ll th ese th ings a t yo u r co mma nd . -A nswer me , Yahweh , answer me , so that this people ma y know that you, Yahweh , are G od and are winning back their hearts.'; The n the fire of Yahweh fell and consumed the holocaust and wood " and licked up the water in the trench .• When a ll the people saw this they fell o n their face s. ' Ya hweh is God,' they cried ' Ya hweh is God .' • Elijah sa id, 'Se ize t he prophets of Baal: do no t let o ne o f them escape'. T hey seized th em, and Elija h took t he m down to th e wad i Ki shon, and he slaug htered t hem th ere.'

447 32 33

34 12 35

13

36 14 37

15 38

16

39 40

17

18

The drought ends ,,' J m5: 18

1-1 0 1:4 2 K 3: 15 Ezk l :3 I

Elijah sa id to Ahab, Go back, cat and dr ink; m fo r I hear the sou nd of ra in'. W hile A ha b went back to eat a nd d rink, Elija h climb ed to the top of Ca rmel an d bowed do wn to the ea rth, pu tt ing his face between his knees. ·' Now go up,' he to ld his ser van t 'a nd look out to the sea.' He wen t up a nd look ed . 'T here is not hing at all' he sa id. 'Go back seve n tim es' Elija h sai d . -Thc seve nt h time, t he servant sa id, 'Now there is a cloud, sma ll as a man 's ha nd, risin g from the sea ' . Elija h sa id , 'Go and sa y to A hab, "Harness the chariot and go down before the rain stops yo u" ' . - A nd wit h that the sk y grew dark with clo ud and sto rm, and ra in fell in torrents. A ha b mo unted his chariot and made for J ezrcel .« T he hand of Ya hweh was on Elija h, a nd tucking up h is cloak he ran in fro nt of A ha b as fa r as the outs kirts of Jez reel.

and stand on the mountain before Yahweh'. T hen Y ahweh himself went by . There came a migh ty wind, so strong it tore the mountains and shattered the rock s before Yahweh. But Yahweh was not in the wind . After the wind came an earthquake. But Ya hweh was not in the earthquake. -After the eart hquake came a fire. But Yahweh was not in the fire. And after the fire there came the sound of a gent le breeze. ' - A nd when Elija h heard this, he cove red his face with his cloak and went out and st ood at the entrance of the cave. Th en a voice cam e to him , which sa id, 'W ha t ar e yo u doing here , Elijah?' • He replied , 'I am filled with jealous zea l fo r Ya hweh Sabaoth , because the so ns of Israel have de serted you, broken down your altars and put your prophets to th e sword. I am the only o ne left and the y want to kill me.' 'Go,' Yahweh said ' go back by the sa me wa y to the wilderness of Damascus. You are to go and a noint Ha zael as king of Aram .• Yo u a re to anoi nt Je hu son of Nim shi as king of Israel,! and to ano ints Elisha son of Shaphat, of Abel Me holah, as prophet to succeed you. ·Anyon e who escapes the sword of Hazael wi ll be put to deat h by Je hu; a nd a nyo ne who escapes the sword of Jehu will be put to de at h by Elisha .• But I sha ll spare seve n t hou sa nd in Isr ael: a ll th e knees t ha t ha ve not be nt befo re Baa l, a ll the mouths th a t have not kissed him.'

19

43 20 44 2\

45

Leav ing there," he ca me o n Elisha so n o f Sha pha t a s he was plo ugh ing be hind twelve yo ke o f oxe n, he himself bein g with the twelft h. Elija h passed nca r to him a nd threw h is cloa k ove r hi m.' • Elisha left his oxe n a nd ran a fter Elijah. ' Let me kiss my fat he r a nd mother, then I w ill foll ow yo u' he sa id . Elija h a nswe red, 'Go, go bac k; fo r have I do ne a nyt hing to yo u?' • Elisha tu rned away, took the pair of oxen and sla ughtered them . He used the plough for cooki ng the oxen , then gave to his men , who a te. He then rose , and followed Elija h and became his servant.

46

C, THE ARAMAEAN

B, ELIJAH AT

Rtl:17 + M k 9: 13

G n 2 1:14-21 Nb ll: 14 Tb 3:6 Jb6:9 :7:15 J on 4:3.8 AcI2: 5- 7

Ex 24: 18 M t4:2 I ;4:3 Ex33: 18·3 4:9 Si 48:7

2 K 9:7 Si 48 :2 M k 9: 13

19

W hen Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah ha d do ne, and how he ha d pu t all the prophets to the sword, -Jez ebel sen t a me ssenger to Elijah to say , 'May the gods do thi s to me and more, if by thi s time tomorro w I hav e no t made your life like the life of o ne of th em !' · H e was afraid " a nd fled for h is life . He cam e to Beers heba, a town o f J uda h, where he left his servant. -He himse lf went on in to the wilderness, a day's j ourn ey, a nd sitting un der a furze bus h wished he were dead. 'Yahweh,' he said 'I ha ve had enoug h. Ta ke my life; I a m no bett er tha n my a ncestors.' •Then he lay down a nd wen t to sleep. But a n angel to uched him a nd said, 'Get up a nd eat' . -He loo ked rou nd, a nd there at his head was a sco ne baked on hot stones, and a ja r of wa ter. He at e a nd drank a nd then lay d own aga in. -B ut the angel of Yahwe h ca me back a seco nd time and touched him a nd said, 'Get up and eat, or the j ourn ey will be to o lon g fo r you'. -So he got u p and a te an d dran k, and strengthened by that food he wa lked for forty days a nd for ty nig hts until he rea ched Horeb, the mo untain of God. b

1 1

3 4

7

8

The encou nter with God T he re he went into the ca ve' and spent th e night in it. T hen the word of Yahwe h came to him saying, 'What are you doing here, Elijah?' - He replied, 'I am filled with jealous zea l fo r Yahweh Sa baoth, because the sons of Israel have deserted you, broken down your altars and put your prophets to the sword . I am the only one left, and they want to kill rne.v • T hen he was told, ' G o out

WA R S

T he siege of Sa mari a

HO RE B

Th e journey to H oreb

9

10

11

E x 13:22 1 ; 19:16+

Gn 3:8 Jb 4: 16 Ex 3:6 : 33:20 +

Si 48:2 .." Rmll:3

2K 8:7- 15 2K 9: 1-13 J9: 19-2 1

Si 48:2

Is 4:3 I fl o 13:2 ..' Rm ll:4-5

The call of Elisha

41 42

1 KINGS

2

20

Ben-hadad k ing o f Ararn« mustere d his whole army-thirty-t wo kings " were with him , and ho rses a nd chariots- a nd went up to lay siege to Samar ia a nd sto rm it. • He sent messen gers i~to th e city to A ha b ki ng o f Israel to tell him , 'Thus says Ben-ha dad, "Yo ur silve r a nd go ld ar e mine ; yo u ma y b . Vv. 31-32a a ppear to be a glos.s , I. T his is no t ra in-ma ki ng m ag ic b ut a war o f en ha nci ng th e fire mir acl e . i. The m iracle will de mo ns tra te: I . to the p rophets of Baal and to Jezebet's e ntourage of foreig ne rs ('let the m k now' , v , 36) tha t th e re is no p lace for them in Israe l where Yahweh is God: and 2. to th e Israe lites Cthis peop le' , v. 37) t hat Yahweh is the only God , the God who wins back wayward hearts . k . T he tex t adds ' st o ne s and so il', a uloss . I. In th is war be twee n Yahwch and Baa l those who ser ve Baal su ffer the fa te of the conque red in the warfare of the times. m . A fa st ha d bee n o bse r ve d to pre pa re for t he sacrifice a nd to brin g rain . n . T he n ser ving as a n alt erna tive ca p it a l for th e kin gs of Israel . 2 1:1; 2 K 8:29; 9:3 0f . 19 3. 'He was afrai d ' ver sions: 'He saw ' H e br. b. C r. Ex 19:1 +. Ze a lo us 10 ma i~tai n th e cove na n t an d res tore t he a ncient fai th , Elijah visits th e place where the true G od re vealed h imself. Ex 3 an d 33:18 34:9. a nd whe re the cov e na n t had bee n c on c luded . E x 19 an d 24: he sees h is ow n ta s k as tha t o f con tinuing the wor k o f Mo ses . Moses a nd Eli jah hav e in co m m o n a t heo p ha ny a t Ho reb ; bo th a lso witness th e N. T. theo phany, C hrist's tr a nsfigurati on . Mt 17:1-9 p . c. The ' crevice o f the rock' wh er e Moses cr ou ched

when God a p pea red, Ex 33:22 . d. '}'O U ' ve rs io ns; 'your cove na nt' Heb r.: so al so v , 14 . - Yv. 9b- 1O are a d oublet of v v, 13- 14. e . T he storm. e arthq uak e . a nd lighmi n a. which in Ex 19 man ifested God's p rese nce . a re here o n ly th e he ra lds of his co m ing. T he whispe r o f a light breeze s luni fies t hat G od is a s p iri t a nd tha t he co n ve rses int imately with h is prophe ts: it do es not me an th a t G od ' s dealings are ge nt le a nd u np c rce ived-c- this comm on interpretat io n is refuted by th e te rrible comm iss io n of vv. 16- 17. r. T hese tas ks were in fac t lat e r performed by E lis ha. g. A n oi nt ing, E x 30 :24+ . was reser ved for k ings 1 K 1:34 : pa rall eli sm explains th e us c of th e word her e . h . Vv . 19-21 arc bo rrowed fro m the Elis ha cyc le . i. T he cloak sym bolises th e pe rson a nd rig h ts of its ow ne r . Th a t of Elijah ha s . m o reover, m iraculo us prope rt ies, 2 K 2:8. Eli ja h thus a cq uires an a ut hor ity ove r E lis ha wh ich the lancr can no t res ist. By des troying pl o ugh an d o xe n El ish a fo rmall y re nounces hi s old way of lif e. 20 3 . Bcn-had ad n. r ule r of th e Aramaean kin gdo m o f Damasc us . successo r to Ben-had ed I. I 'K 15:18 + . b. Pr ince ly vas sals of Be n-hadad. cr. v. 24 .

19: 16

2 K 2:13

L k 9:1'\1

M l I4: 18.22

1 K IN GS

Rtl:17+

keep your wives and children".'< -The king of Israel replied, 'As you co mma nd, my lord king.s Myself and all I have are yours.' But the messengers ca me back and said, 'Ben-hadad says this, "I sent you this order: Ha nd over your silver and your gold, your wives and your children. Count on it that this time tomorrow I will send my servants to search your house and you r servants' houses and lay hands on all they' fancy and take it away." , The king of Israel summoned all the elders of the land and said, 'You can see clearly how th is man intends to ruin us. He now claims my wives and my children, although I have not refused him my silver and my gold.'! ·AIl the elde rs and all the peopl e said, 'Take no notice . Do not consent'.• So he gave this answer to Ben-h adad's messenger s, 'Say to my lord the king, "A ll you first required of your servant I will do, but this I cannot do" ' . And t he messengers went back with t he answer. Ben -hadad then sent him the following message, 'May the gods do th is to me and more if there are enough handfuls of rubble in Sam aria for all the people in my following'. -But the kin g of Israe l ret urne d this a nswer, 'The proverb says: The man who puts on his armour is not the o ne who ca n boast, but t he man who takes it off'. •When Ben-hadad heard this message-he was under the awnings d rinking with the kings-he gave orders to his servants, 'Take post!' And they took up their positions against the city.

449 4

27

5 28

6 29 7 30 8 9

31

10

32

II 33 12

34

Victory for Israel 22 :5

2S24:22

A pro phet the n a rrived, loo king for Ahab king of Israel. 'Yah weh says this' he said. 'Y ou have seen this mighty army? Th is very day I will deliver it into your hand s, and you shall know that I am Ya hweh.' . 'By who se means?' asked Ahab. The prophet repl ied, 'Yahweh says this, "By means of the young soldiers of the district governors" ' . 'Who is to open the attack?' Ahab asked. 'Yourself' the prophet answered. h So Ahab inspected the young soldiers of the district governors: there were two hundred and thirty-two. After these he reviewed the whole army, all the Israelites: there were seven thousand. -They made a sortie at midday, when Ben-hadad was drinking himsel f senseless under the awnings, he and the thirtytwo kings who were his allies . •The young soldiers of the district govern ors led the sortie. Ben-hadad was informed, 'Some men have co me out of Samaria'. He said, 'If they have co me out for peace, take the m al ive; if they have com e ou t for wa r, ta ke th em ali ve too'. -So they made a so rtie from the to wn, the young soldiers of the dis trict gove rno rs an d behind them th e arm y, -a nd each struck do wn his ma n. Aram took to flight an d Israel pursued ; Ben-had ad king of Aram escap ed o n a chariot horse .• Then the king of Israel came out, ca ptu ring horses and chariots and inflicting a great defeat o n Aram.

13

14 35 36

15 37 16

38

17

39

18

19 20

40

21 .

41

42

Respite

Jd t 7: 10

The prophet went up to the king of Israe l. 'Co me,' he said to him 'take courage and think ca refully wha t you shou ld do, for at t he turn of the year' the king of Ara m will march against you.' The ser vants of th e king of Aram said to him, 'T heir god is a god of the mou ntains ; tha t is why they ha ve proved stronger th an us. But if we fight them o n level gro und , we will cer tainly beat them. -T his is what you must do : remove all th ese kings from their pos ts and a ppoint com ma nde rs instead. • You , for yo ur part, mu st recruit an a rmy as lar ge as the o ne that deserted you, with as man y hor ses a nd as ma ny chariots; then if we fight t hem on level ground, we will certain ly beat them .' He liste ned to their adv ice a nd acted accordingly.

to Ap hek to fight Is ra el. •The Israelites ha d also mustered, and marched ou t to meet them . Encamped opposite th ern. ,the Israelites looked like two herds of goats, whereas the Aramaeans filled the cou ntryside. The man of G od; accosted th e king of Israel. 'Y ahweh says th is' he said. '''Since Ara m has said that Ya hweh is a god or the mou ntains and not a god of th e plains, I will put all this mighty host into your power, and you sha ll know t hat I am Ya hweh .'" • For seven days they were encamped opposite each other. On the seventh day battle was joined and the Israel ites slaughtered the A ramaeans, a hundred thousand foot soldiers" in one day . -T he rest fled to Aphek, into the town itself, bu t the walls fell down on the twenty-seven tho usand who rema ined. N ow Ben-hadad had fled a nd tak en refuge within the tow n in an inner ro om. 'Lo o k,' his servants said to him 'we have heard that the kings of Israel are merciful kings. Let us put sackcloth ro und our waists and ropes on our heads' and go out to the king of Israel; perhaps he will spare your life.' -So they wrapped sackcloth ro und their waists and put ropes on th eir heads and went to the king of Israel, and said, 'Your servant Ben-hadad says, "Spare my life" ' . 'So he is still alive?' he answered. 'He is my brother .t> -T he men took this for a good omen and quickly seized on his words. 'Yes,' they said 'Ben-hadad is you r brother.' Ahab said, 'Go and fetch him' . Th en Ben-hadad came out to him and Ahab ma de him get up into his chariot. -Ben-hadad said, 'I will restore the towns my father to ok from your father and you ma y set up bazaars for you rself in Damascus as my fat her did in Samaria. Myself, by the ter ms of th is treaty, you will set free.> So Ahab made a treaty with him and let him go free. A prophet condemns Ahab's policy At Yahweh's order a member of the brotherhood of prophets said to a companion of his, 'Strike me', but the man refused to strike him . -So he said to him, 'Since you have disobeyed the order of Yahweh, the very moment you leave me a lion will kill you'. And no soo ner had he left him than he met a lion, which killed hirn.v •The pro phet then went to find anot her ma n and said, 'S trike me', an d the man struck him and wounded him. > -T he pr ophet then went and st ood waiting for the king on the road, disguising himself with his headband over his eyes. •As the king passed , he called out to him, 'Y our servant was mak ing his way to whe re the fight was th ickest when someone left the fighting to bring a man to me, and sa id, "Guard this man ; if he is found missing , your life will pay for his, or else you will have to pay one ta lent of silver" . -But while yo ur servant was busy with one thing and another, the man disa ppeared.' T he king of Israel said, That is your sentence, then. You have pronounced it yo urself.' -At this the man quickly pulled off the headband coveri ng his eyes, and th e king of Israe l recogn ised him as o ne of the prophets. q He said to t he king, 'Yahw eh says this, "Si nce you have let the man esca pe who was under my ban , your life will pay for his, your peop le for his people " '.

22

20 c . 'ch ild ren' G reek: 'good children' He be. 'yo u 23

24 25

The victory of Aphek At the turn of the year, Ben-hadad muste red the Ara rnaeans and went up

1 KI NG S

26

m. Vassal k in gs co n fessed the mse lves 'servan ts, of the ir suze ra in; kings of eq ua l sta ndi ng we re ' b rot hers' . Ben-ha da d now a dmits defeat but A ha b dec li nes his h omage, a nd the envoys. hea ri ng the word ' b ro the r'. de d uce th at their master is now sa fe. n , 'Myself you will set free' co nj. : ' I shall set you free ' He b r, e. T he re is a sim ila r story . in the same po pul ar s tyle, in I K 13:24f: all who disobey t he wor d o f God o r o f a man of G od, even fo r good m ot ives, will be pu n ished . This ide a is not pe r fec t an d is no t t ha t of the great pr o p het s, b ut it refiec ts th e mentali ty of the anc ien t prophet ic co m m uni ties. p. T he wo u nd is to help the pr op het to pose as J. The pr op het of vv. 13 a nd 22. 'YOU (si ng ula r) a combata nt, v. 39 . shall know' Greek . q. The pr op hets perhaps carried a di sti ngu ishi n g k , T his figure , like the fol lowing one. is fantasticmark o n the fo re head (tauoo, incisio n f ), or shaved ally high; th is is popu lar history . their heads, cr, 2 K 2:23. I. Sig nifyi ng m ou rning a nd repentance.

keep ' , lit. ' yo u rs' co nj.: ' mi ne' He br. d. Ahab speaks lik e one vanquished and a lr ead y a vass al. T he siege had be en p rece d ed by Isra elite re verses (th e text o nly all udes to the se, v, 34) . e . 't hey fa ncy' vers ions; 'You fa ncy' H e br. f . ' a lt ho ugh , .. my go ld' Greek ; 'm y silver and my go ld I d id no t refu se h im ' Hebr. a . 'The pro ver b says ' cont . : 'Say YOU' Hebr. h. Go d is co ns ulted about mil itary s trategy, cf. J g 1: lf; 20:18; see Ex 33:7 + . I. The Sp rin g equinox, cf . 2 S J 1:1.

Jd' 7:10

2K6:30

2K2:3 +

13:20-25

2S I2:1 -12; 14; 1-20

:r: U

<'I-

11

20A3

1 K IN G S

45 0

A nd off went th e kin g o f Israel, gloomy a nd out of tem per, on his way back to Sa maria.

451 23 24

Is5 :S-1O !-

D.

25

"ABOTH'S n"EYARD

26

2 K l);7.25

I S 8: 14

2 1:4

Naboth refuses to hand over his vineyard

21

This is what happened next: Naboth of Jezreel had a vineya rd close by the palace of Ahab « king of Samaria, -and Ahab said to Naboth, 'Give me your vineyard to be my vegetable garden, since it adjoins my hou se; [ will give you a better vineya rd for it or, if yo u prefer, [ will give you its worth in money' .• But Naboth answered Ahab, 'Yahweh fo rbid that I sh ould give you the inheritance of my ancestors! '

I

Ahab went ho me gloomy and out of temper at the words of Naboth of Jezree l, 'I will not give you the inheritance of my fat hers '. He lay down on his bed a nd tu rned his face away a nd refused to eat. • H is wife Jez cbcl came to h im. 'Whv are you so dispirited' she said ' tha t you will not eat'!' • He said, ' I have been speak ing to Nabot h of Jezrcel ; I sa id : G ive me your vineyard eit her for mo ney or, if yo u prefer , for another vineyard in exc ha nge, But he said . " I w ill not give you my vineya rd" . -Then his wife Jczc bcl sa id, ' Yo u ma ke a fine kin g of Isra el, an d no mistake! Get up and eat; cheer up, a nd you w ill feel better ; [ will get you th e vineyard of Naboth of Jezrcel myself.'

28 29

4

2Ch20:4

E,

::! ~: 27

Lv 24 :14

r 2 S 12

Si 4 S:(,

2K 1):25~26 Ps 6S:23

14: 10-11 : I h:J-4

2 K 9;X: 10: 10

(Against Jez ebel too Yahweh spoke these words: The dogs will eat Je zebel in the Field of Jez reel.) -Those of Ah ab's fa mily who die in the city, the dogs will eat; and those who die in the open co untry , the birds of the air will eat.' And indeed there never was anyone like Ahab for double dealing and for doing what is displeasing to Yahweh, urged on by Jezebel his wife . • He behaved in the most abominable wa y, adhering to idols, just as the Amorites used to do whom Ya hweh had dispossessed for the sons of Israel.

When Ahab heard these words, he tore his garments and put sackcloth next his skin and fasted; he slept in the sackcloth; he walked with slow steps, -Then the word of Yahweh came to Elijah the Tishbite, .'Have you seen how Ahab has humbled himse lf before me ? Since he has humbled himself before me , I will not bring the disaster in his days; I will bring the disaster down on his House in the days of his son.'

5

E.

6

2K9: 1O.36 14:1I 16:30-34 l! :4 Gn 3:12 2K21:l!

I

7

3

8

22

T here wa s a lu ll of three year s, with no fighting bet ween Ara rn and Israel. T hen, in the third year, Jehosha pha t king o f J ud a h pa id a visit to the king o f Israel.« -The king o f Israel sa id to his office rs, 'You a re a wa re that Ramoth-gi lead belongs to us? A nd yet we do nothi ng to wres t it away from the ki ng of A ram .? -He said to Je hoshaphat, 'Will yo u com e with me to fight at Rarnoth-g ilead?' Jehoshaphat answered the king of Israel, 'I a m as ready as you, my me n as you r men , my horses as your horses' , The sp urio us prop hets predict success

n 7

8 14 15

16 10

Jehoshaphat, howeve r, sa id to the ki ng of Israel, 'Fi rst, please co nsu lt the word of Yahweh'. -So the king of Israe l cal led the prophets togethe r, abo ut four hund red of the m.' 'Should [ ma rch to a ttack Ramoth-gilead' he asked 'or sho uld I refrai n?' ' Ma rch,' they rep lied 'Yahwe h will deliver it into the power of t he king .' • But J ehos haphat said, 'Is there no oth er prophet of Ya hweh here for us to cons ult?' •Th e king of Israel a nswere d Je hos ha pha t, 'There is o ne mo re man through who m we ca n co nsul t Ya hweh, but [ hate him beca use he ne ver has a favourable p ro phecy for me, o nly unfa vour a ble ones; he is M ica ia h son of Irnla h' .« ' Th e king sho uld not say such th ings ' Je hos hap hat said .• Aceording ly the ki ng o f Israe l sum moned one of the eu nuchs a nd sa id, 'Bring M ieaiah son of Irnla h immed iately'. The king of Isra el and Je hoshaphat king of Ju da h were both sitt ing on th eir thron es in full rega lia, at th e threshi ng -floo r outside the gate of Sa maria, with

El ijah pronounces God's sentence' T hen the wo rd of Ya hweh carne to Elijah the Tishbite, -'Up! Go down to : ~ meet Ahab king of Israel, in Sa maria. You will find him in Naboth's vineya rd; he ha s go ne down to take possession of it. •Yo u a rc to say this to h im, 19 "Y a hweh savs th is: You ha ve com mitted mu rder ; now yo u usurp as well. For th is.' - a nd Yahwe h savs t his- in the place where t he dogs licked th e blood o f Naboth, the dogs will lick your blood too." -A hab sa id to Elijah, 'So you have 20 fo und me ou t, 0 my enemy!' Elijah answered, 'I have fou nd yo u ou t . For your do uble dealing, and since you have done wha t is disp leas ing to Ya hweh , • [ will 21 no w bring d isaster down on you ; I will sweep away your descenda nts, and wipe out every male belonging to the family of Ahab, fett ered or free in Israel. I will treat vour House as I treated t he Ho use of Jeroboa m son of Nebat a nd 22 of Baasha son of A hijah, for provoking my anger and leadi ng Israel into sin .

2S12:13-15

2 K 9-10

21 a. Hi s pa lace in Jezreel, I K J8 :45. not the one in Sa m a ria . 2 K 9:25 -26 . b. In times of d isas ter, p ub lic fas ting a nd pu blic p r a ye r were procla imed. Jg 20:26 ; J l 1:14: 2:1 5. ct c., to p lacate G o d and to d iscover the fa ult t hat ha d p rovoked hi s nn aer. There must ha ve been s o me wide sp read calam ity (dr oug h t? fa m ine j) to give Jezebel a n onnor tunitv fo r he r plot. c. F or ca p ita l trial two witnesses were req ui red, N b 35:3 0 : Ot 17:6 : cf . M t 26:60f. The Heb r. has s ubstitu ted ' bless ed' for 'cursed ' as in v, 13. so a lso Jb 1:5.11: 2:5.9. d . Ap p a ren t ly the possessi o ns of Ihose co nde mned to dea t h reve r ted to the kin g. e. No te the simila r ity with Ihe e piso de o f N a tha n a nd Da vid in 2 S 12: o n ea ch oc cas io n Ya hw eh d efends the helple ss ag ai ns t th e powerful an d the re is t he sa me re prie ve for the re pe nt an t offender wh o is punished o nly t hro ugh h is son. But th ere ar e di ffer en ces. too: D avid' s

112 C h 18:1 -3

2 K 3:7:

8:28;9:14

1: 2Ch 18:4- 11

10

II

2S12:16 2 K 6:30

ANOTHER WAR WITH ARAM

Ahab plans a campaign against Ramoth-gilead

Naboth is murdered So she wro te lette rs in Ahab's name and sealed them with his seal, sending them to the elders and nobles who lived where Na both lived . -In the letters she wrote, 'Proclai m a fast, a nd put Naboth in the forefront of the people. " Confro nt him with a couple of scou ndre ls" who will accuse him like this, "You have cursed God and the king" Then ta ke him outside a nd stone him to dcath. >' The men of Naboth's town, the elders and nobles who lived in his town, d id what Jezebel ordered, what was written in the letters she had sent them . They proclaimed a fast and put N aboth in the fo refro nt of the peop le. -Then the two sco undrels 'came a nd stood in fro nt of him a nd made their accusation, 'Naboth has cursed G od and the king'. They led h im o utside the to wn a nd stoned him to de a th. •They then sent word to Jezebel, ' Na both has bee n stoned to dea th' . •When Jezcbel hea rd that Naboth had bee n sto ned to death, she sa id to Ahab , 'Get up' Take possessio n of the vineyard wh ich Na bot h of Jezrccl wo uld not give you for mon ey, fo r Nabot h is no lon ger a live, he is dead .' •W hen A hab heard t hat Naboth was dead , he got up to go down to the vineyard of Naboth of Jczreel and take possession of it.

2 2 : 10

Ahab repents 27

Ahab and .Iezebel 21:3

1 KI N G S

43

dy nast y r et a ins the d ivine p ro m ise, whe reas A h ab's is 's wep t a way' : Na t han rem ai ns Da vid 's p ro phe t a nd bl esse s Solomo n, but Elija h IS A ha b 's 'e ne my '. f. 'For th is' G reek .

22 a. T he two k ingdoms had drawn c loser to get her: Jeh oshaphat 's son Jehora m had married A tha lia. siste r o f A hab. 2 K R:18. b. P ro ba b ly st ill Ben -hadad II . cf. 20: l. The to wn . captured by t he Aramaeans durin g o r be fore the re ign o f D avid . had not been handed ba ck af ter the t rea ty of A nhek. 20:34 . See als o 2 K 8:28 . c . T hese 'p rop hets' were in the kln g's serv ice a nd wer e no t pure Ya hw lsta, u nli ke the pr ophets sla in by Jezcbel , 18:4. 13: 19:4 . Hence Jeh oshaph ar' s Ques tio n. v. 7. d . Not the Mic a ia h (' M ica h') numbered a mo ng the t wel ve ' m ino r prophets ' . who li ved a cen tu ry-a nd-a - ha lf late r.

20:13-14 +

2 K 3:7

Is 30: 10 Am2: 12

1 KINGS

22:1 I

all the prophets raving in front of them . •Zedekiah son of Chenaanah had made himself iron horns. ' 'Yahweh says th is' he said . '''With these you will gore the Aramaeans till yo u make an end of them." ·' -And all the prop hets pro phesied the same . ' March to Rarnoth-gilead' the y said 'and conquer. Yahweh will deliver it int o the power of the king .' 11 2 C h 18: 12·27

N a3 :17 b

22:25-36 Nb27: 18

22:36

Jb1:6:2:1 Is 6: 1:19:14

2Th2:II

J g 9:23

J b 26:4 22: 17

Am 2: 12

'12 C h 18: 28-34

The prophet Mica iah predicts defeat The messenger who had gon e to sum mon Micaiah said, 'H ere are all the prophets as one man speak ing favourabl y to the king . Try to speak like one of them and fore tell success.' • But Micaiah answered, 'As Yahweh lives, what Yahweh says to me, that will I utter!' -When he came to the king, the king said , 'Micaiah, sho uld we march to attack Ramoth-gilead , or shoul d we refrain ?' He answered , 'March and co nquer. Yahweh will deliver it into the power of the king .'! • But the king said, ' H ow often must I put you on oath to tell me not hin g but the truth in the name of Yahweh?' -T hen Micaiah spo ke:

11

37 38

12

14

40

16 J7

41 42

43 44 18 45 46

20

47

21

1~

22

50

23

51

The rest of the history of Aha b, his ent ire ca reer, the ivory house he erected , all the towns he bui lt, is not all this recorded in the Book of the Annals of the Kings of Israe l? •The n Aha b slept with his ancestors; his son Ahazia h succeeded him .

A m 3: 15

The reign of Jehoshaphat in Judah (870-848)

112C h 20: 31-21 :1

Jehoshapha t son of Asa became king of J udah in the fourt h year of Ahab king of Israel. -Jehoshaphat was thi rty-five yea rs old when he came to the thro ne, and he reigned for twenty-five years in Jerusalem. His mot her 's na me was Azuba h, da ughter of Shilhi. -In every way he followed the exa mp le of his father Asa undeviatingly, doing what is right in the eyes of Yahweh. -T he high places, however, were not abol ished; the peop le still offered sacrifice and incense on the high places. -Jehosha pha t was at peace with the king of Israel. T he rest of the histor y of Je hosha phat, the valour he showed, the wars he waged, is not a ll this recorded in the Book of the Anna ls of the Kings of Judah? T he remainin g male sacred prostitutes of those who had lived in the time of his father Asa, he swept out of the co untry . •T here was no king in Edam," -a nd King Je hoshaphat bui lt a ship" of Tarshish to go to Op hir for gold, but his ship never reached there: it was wrecked at Ezion-geber. •T hen Ahaziah son of Ah ab said to Je hoshaphat, ' Let my men man the ships with yours'. But Jeh oshap hat wo uld not ag ree. -T hen Je hos ha pha t slept with his ancesto rs an d was buried in the Cita del of Davi d, his ancestor; his so n Jeho rarn succeeded him. King Ahaziah of Israel and the prophet Elijah (853-852)

25 52 53

27 54 28

Ahaziah son of Aha b became king of Israel in Sam ar ia in the seventeenth year of Je hoshaphat king of Juda h, and reigned over Israel for two years .• He did what is disp leasing to Ya hweh, by following the example of his father and mother, and of Jeroboam son of Nebat who had led Israel into sin. -He served Baal and wor shipped him, and prov oked the ang er of Yahweh the G od of Israel just as his father had done.

Ahab falls at Ra moth-gilead T he king of Israe l and Jehosha phat king of Juda h went up against Rarnothgilead . -The king of Israel said to Jehoshap hat , ' I will disguise myself to go! into ba tt le, but I wan t you to wear your royal unifor m' . T he king of Israel went int o battl e disguised . •T he king of Aram had given his chariot co mmanders- the following o rder: ' Do not attack an yone of whatever ra nk, except th e kin g of Israel' , • When the chariot co mma nders ca ught sight of Je hosha phat, the y sa id, 'T hat is o bviously the king of Israel', And the y wheeled to the att ack . But Jehosha phat sho uted his war cry -and th e char iot co mman ders, realising th at he was not the king of Israel, called off their pur suit. Now o ne of the men, d rawing his bow at rando m, hit the king of Israe l be twee n the co rslet and the scale-ar mo ur of his breastp late. 'Turn about' the king said to his charioteer. 'G et me out of the battle; ' I have been hur t.' - But the batt le grew fiercer as the day went on ; the king was held up right in his chari ot facing the Ararn aeans, and in th e evening he died; the blood from the wound flowed into the bott om of the chariot. -At su ndow n a sho ut ran through the

29 30

31

32

33

34

35

36

P s 68:23

OF AHAB

24

26

22: 17

The end of the reign of Ahab 39

15

19

22:54

camp, ' Every man back to his to wn, every man back to his coun try ; -the king is dead !' m The y went to Sam aria, and in Samaria they bu ried th e king.• Th ey wash ed the chariot " at the Pool of Sam ar ia; t he dogs licked up the blo od, and the pro stitutes was hed in it, in acco rdance with the word that Ya hweh had spok en .

F . AFTER THE DEATH 13

'I have seen a ll Israel scattered on the mountains like sheep wit ho ut a shepherd . And Yahweh said , "These have no master, let each go ho me unm olested" .' At th is the king of Israel said to Jehos hap hat, 'Did I not tell you that he never gives me favourable prophecies, but only un favoura ble o nes?' • Micaiah went on , 'L isten rather to the wo rd of Ya hweh. I have seen Ya hweh seated on his throne ; all the array of hea ven " stood in his presence, on his right and on his left. Ya hweh said, " Who will trick A hab into marc hing to his dea th at Ra mo thgilead?" At which some ans wered o ne way, and some another. -Then the spirit» carne forwa rd and stood before Yahweh. "I," he said " I will trick him ." " Ho w'!" Yahweh asked. • He r.eplied, " I will go and become a lying spirit in the mouths of all his prophets". "Y ou shall trick him," Yahweh said "you shall succeed. Go and do it." •Now see how Yahweh has pu t a lying spirit into the mouths of all yo ur pro phets here. But Ya hweh has pronounced disaster on you.' Then Zedekiah son of Che naa nah ca rne up and st ruck Micaiah on t he j aw. 'Which way' he asked 'did the sp irit of Yahweh leave me, to ta lk to you?' ··T hat is what you will find out, ' Mica iah retor ted 'the day you flee to an inner room to hid e.' -T hc king of Israe l said , 'Seize Micaiah an d han d him over to Amo n, govern or of the city, and to Prince Joas h, -a nd say, "These are the kin g's or ders: Put thi s man in prison and feed him o n noth ing but bread and water unt il I co me bac k sa fe a nd sound" ' . - Micaiah said, ' If you co rne back safe and sound, Ya hweh has not spo ken through me' .'

1 KINGS

453

45 2

22 e. This Zedek ia h. o ther wise u nk n ow n , is a p pa rently the sp oke sman fo r the tr oop of ecs ta tics , His mime. cf. 11:30 1- a nd Jr 18:1 -l- . is int ended to sym bo lise and even e ffect th e triumph of A hab. T he horns represent s tre ng th , Dt 33: 17, etc . f. Mica iah ta kes up the exa ct words o f th e false prophet s ; b u t he is r id icu ling the king , an d the king knows it . g. The an gels. h. Not an angel but a pers onifi ca ti on of the pr ophetic sp irit which the divine inten tion will transfor m int o a SPirit o f lies, v , 22 . i , The text ad ds ' A nd he said: Listen , peo ples all' . These opening words of the Book of Mic ah (Mi 1:2) are inserted by a gfossator who co nfused th is

Mic a iah with th e canoni ca l prop he t. j . 'I will d isguise my self to eo' ver sions . k . T he text adds 'thirty-two', a gloss absent fr om 2 C h 18:20 . l. 'ba tt le' Greek .

m. ' T he k ing is de ad' Gr eek : ' A nd the k ing died' Heb r.

n. "T hey washed ' G reek;
15:12 D I23 : 19 + 9:2/,-2 B: 10:22