Tuesday, May 14, 2024

II Chronicles 9, The Golden Age of Israel

Solomon has built a temple and a palace (indeed, several palaces) and expanded the kingdom to the north, with merchant ships south in the Red Sea. His power and wisdom create a golden age for Israel, one associated with the Wisdom literature of the Old Testament.

2 Chronicles 9:1-2, The Queen of Sheba
When the queen of Sheba heard of Solomon's fame, she came to Jerusalem to test him with hard questions. Arriving with a very great caravan--with camels carrying spices, large quantities of gold, and precious stones--she came to Solomon and talked with him about all she had on her mind. Solomon answered all her questions; nothing was too hard for him to explain to her.
 
Solomon, with the help of King Hiram of Tyre, has a merchant fleet trading along the Red Sea, around the Arabian Peninsula, possibly into the Gulf of Aden. At that time, the kingdom of Sheba lay at the southwestern corner of the Arabian Peninsula (in modern day Yemen), extending across the Red Sea into modern Ethiopia. It is likely that Israelite merchant ships traded in Sheba. One can imagine that merchants in Sheba, trading for the first time with the expanding kingdom to the north, are curious about that kingdom, and the reigning monarch of Sheba would be curious also.

The Queen of Sheba (otherwise unnamed) travels north, overland to Jerusalem, with a rich caravan. She comes in peace as another monarch, curious about this famous king.

2 Chronicles 9:3-8, Awe
When the queen of Sheba saw the wisdom of Solomon, as well as the palace he had built, the food on his table, the seating of his officials, the attending servants in their robes, the cupbearers in their robes and the burnt offerings he made at the temple of the LORD, she was overwhelmed. She said to the king, "The report I heard in my own country about your achievements and your wisdom is true. But I did not believe what they said until I came and saw with my own eyes. Indeed, not even half the greatness of your wisdom was told me; you have far exceeded the report I heard. How happy your men must be! How happy your officials, who continually stand before you and hear your wisdom!

Praise be to the LORD your God, who has delighted in you and placed you on his throne as king to rule for the LORD your God. Because of the love of your God for Israel and his desire to uphold them forever, he has made you king over them, to maintain justice and righteousness."

The visiting queen is awed by what she sees. The kingdom of Israel, under the Name of YHWH, is an attraction to numerous outsiders, as intended.

2 Chronicles 9:9-11, Trade
Then she gave the king 120 talents of gold, large quantities of spices, and precious stones. There had never been such spices as those the queen of Sheba gave to King Solomon. (The men of Hiram and the men of Solomon brought gold from Ophir; they also brought algumwood and precious stones. The king used the algumwood to make steps for the temple of the LORD and for the royal palace, and to make harps and lyres for the musicians. Nothing like them had ever been seen in Judah.)

The Queen of Sheba gives Solomon numerous gifts, including spices from her land. Mentioned in this paragraph are trade relations with Hiram, to the north, the region of Ophir (probably somewhere to the south, possibly along the Arabian Sea) and Sheba, to the south. At this time, Israel is a rich and prosperous kingdom.

2 Chronicles 9: 12-20, Mutual admiration
King Solomon gave the queen of Sheba all she desired and asked for; he gave her more than she had brought to him. Then she left and returned with her retinue to her own country.

The weight of the gold that Solomon received yearly was 666 talents, not including the revenues brought in by merchants and traders. Also all the kings of Arabia and the governors of the land brought gold and silver to Solomon.

King Solomon made two hundred large shields of hammered gold; six hundred bekas of hammered gold went into each shield. He also made three hundred small shields of hammered gold, with three hundred bekas of gold in each shield. The king put them in the Palace of the Forest of Lebanon. Then the king made a great throne inlaid with ivory and overlaid with pure gold. The throne had six steps, and a footstool of gold was attached to it. On both sides of the seat were armrests, with a lion standing beside each of them. Twelve lions stood on the six steps, one at either end of each step. Nothing like it had ever been made for any other kingdom.

All King Solomon's goblets were gold, and all the household articles in the Palace of the Forest of Lebanon were pure gold. Nothing was made of silver, because silver was considered of little value in Solomon's day.

The relationship with Sheba surely involves considerable trade; more trade occurs along the Arabian peninsula and with Lebanon, north along the Mediterranean.

Very little is known about the Queen of Sheba. She is given here as an example of foreign monarch attracted to Solomon's wisdom and power. Partly because so little is known of her, partly because of her mention here, she has been the subject of much fiction and many flights of fancy.

2 Chronicles 9: 21, Solomon's merchant navy
The king had a fleet of trading ships manned by Hiram's men. Once every three years it returned, carrying gold, silver and ivory, and apes and baboons.

The merchant fleet is explicitly mentioned. It surely helps produce the considerable trade to the south and possibly also in the Mediterranean.

2 Chronicles 9:22-24, Wealth and wisdom
King Solomon was greater in riches and wisdom than all the other kings of the earth. All the kings of the earth sought audience with Solomon to hear the wisdom God had put in his heart.

Year after year, everyone who came brought a gift--articles of silver and gold, and robes, weapons and spices, and horses and mules.

Solomon is praised for both wealth (in trade and gifts) and in wisdom, wisdom given him by God.

2 Chronicles 9:25-28, Thousand of horses, plentiful silver and cedar.
Solomon had four thousand stalls for horses and chariots, and twelve thousand horses, which he kept in the chariot cities and also with him in Jerusalem. He ruled over all the kings from the River to the land of the Philistines, as far as the border of Egypt.

The king made silver as common in Jerusalem as stones, and cedar as plentiful as sycamore-fig trees in the foothills. Solomon's horses were imported from Egypt and from all other countries.
 
As mentioned previously, Solomon has thousands of horses and considerable gold and silver.  This passage repeats earlier claims from 2 Chronicles 1:14-17. One is reminded, again, of the warnings of Deuteronomy 17:16-17, the prohibition against relying on vast quantities of horses and wealth.

The wealth of Solomon's kingdom is due partly to his considerable trade, wisdom and diplomacy. It also relies somewhat on a heavy tax system, which we will see in the next chapter.

2 Chronicles 9: 29-31, Death of Solomon
As for the other events of Solomon's reign, from beginning to end, are they not written in the records of Nathan the prophet, in the prophecy of Ahijah the Shilonite and in the visions of Iddo the seer concerning Jeroboam son of Nebat?
 
Solomon reigned in Jerusalem over all Israel forty years. Then he rested with his fathers and was buried in the city of David his father. And Rehoboam his son succeeded him as king.

Other documents were available to the Chronicler and he assumes his readers have access to these also. Most likely the works of Nathan include the scroll of Kings.

Solomon, like David, eventually died and so "rested with his fathers". The next chapter will describe the disastrous ascension of Rehoboam.

A parallel passage is 1 Kings 10.

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