THE FIRST BOOK
OF
THE
Kings
THE FIRST BOOK |
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CHAPTER 11. When King David was old, entering into the days, they would cover him [heavily] with [his] garments, but he was not warming up.Entering into the days: an idiom for being on his deathbed or at the end of his life. This coldness suggests that it was the "winter" of his life. Like a toothache, this was something that would not just go away. It seems he had some kind of disease, which may be what eventually led to his relatively early death, though he had something of a remission. He was only 70 years old. It does not seem to be a lingering effect of the plague at the end of 2 Shmu'el, for that killed people immediately. The only reason for it suggested in the context is that he did not discipline his sons (v. 6), and now the consequences are catching up wit him.2. So his servants said to him, "Let a search be made for a young virgin, and she will remain in the king's presence and be of benefit to him, and she can lie in your bosom so my master the king can become warm." Be of benefit: as someone of service to him, someone useful; some translate it "a nurse". A virgin: important because her job was going to be full-time, and she did not have to deal with the issue of loyalty to another man being questioned.3. So they searched throughout all the territory of Israel for a beautiful young [maiden], and they found Avishag the Shunammite, and brought her to the king. Shunem is in Yissakhar's territory south of Mt. Tavor in the Yezre'el Plain between Megiddo and Beth She'an.4. And the young woman was beautiful to the extreme, and she did turn out to be of benefit to him as she would wait on him, but he did not know her. Know her: i.e., have sexual relations with her. This had not been his purpose in searching her out; he was too ill to be interested in anything but getting warm at this point; but the remedy appears to have been effective to some extent, as David had enough strength later to get out of bed and make at least one public speech. 5. Then Adoniyah the son of Khaggith exalted himself, saying, "I will reign!" So he prepared a chariot, war horses, and fifty men to run ahead of him. Adoniyah was one of David's sons. We know nothing else about who Khaggith was, but even before he was king it was evident to all that he would be the next king, so wise kings in neighboring countries would have been interested in sealing alliances with him through marriage.6. Now his father had not bothered him [all] his days, saying, "Why have you acted this way?" How he was also very nice-looking, and he had been born after Avshalom. He was used to getting whatever he wanted. Nice-looking: He turned out to follow Avshalom in this way, too, as well as in his style of self-proclamation. David's other son Dani'el was either better disciplined or less ambitious.7. And he had words with Yo'av the son of Tz'ruyah and with Evyathar the priest, and they began to help Adoniyah with backing. No one came right out and said David was dying, but all these who were closest to him could not help but recognize that fact. These men do not seem to have been rebellious or intending to betray David; they probably thought they were upholding his dynasty by making sure one of his sons was the next king.8. But neither Tzadoq the priest, Benayahu the son of Yehoyada, Nathan the prophet, Shim'i and Re'i, or the heroic [warriors] who belonged to David, went with Adoniyah. 9. Then Adoniyah slaughtered sheep and oxen--fat ones at that--near the Crawling Stone, which is beside Eyn-Rogel, and he summoned all of his brothers, the sons of the king, as well as all the men of Yehudah [who were] servants of the king, Crawling: or shrinking back, serpentine.10. But he did not invite Nathan the prophet, Benayahu, the heroic [warriors], or his brother Shlomoh. The first three parties had already shown him that they were not particularly interested in making him king, but he specifically chose to exclude Shlomoh, probably because he knew David favored Shlomoh since he had undoubtedly seen David showing him the model and plans for the construction of the Temple, which was his biggest dream late in life. (1 Chron. 28:4-11) The one who had the plan, which had been shown David by YHWH Himself, had the same kind of authority as Moshe. David knew YHWH wanted Shlomoh to be the next king (1 Chron. 22:5), and Shlomoh knew too, so he would be expected to raise objections at his brother's coronation. The fact that Adoniyah did not seek David's blessing, but tried to make sure it was an accomplished fact before David knew about it also makes it clear that he did not expect David to support this move.11. Then Nathan spoke to Bath-Sheva, the mother of Shlomoh, saying, "Haven't you heard that Adoniyah the son of Khaggith has begun to reign, while our master David is not aware [of it]? Apparently David was so ill that they did not wish to bother him with such news.12. "So come now, please let me give you some advice so you can escape with your life and your son Shlomoh's life: 13. "Go and approach King David, and say to him, 'My master the king, didn't you swear to your maidservant, saying, "Since Shlomoh your son will reign after me, he will sit on my throne"? So why has Adoniyahu taken the throne?' Adoniyahu: the different spelling is present in the Hebrew text.14. "And while you are speaking there with the king, I will indeed come in behind you and confirm your words." 15. So Bath-Sheva approached the king [in] the [bed]chamber. Now the king was very old, and Avishag the Shunammite was waiting on the king. 16. So Bath-Sheva bowed down and did homage to the king, and the king said, "What [will it be] for you?" Avishag was privy to this conversation, as she must have been to all that took place in David's last days. This fact will be very important as background to an event otherwise unexplained in the next chapter.17. And she said, "My master, you swore to your maidservant by YHWH your Elohim, 'Since Shlomoh your son will reign after me, he will sit on my throne.' 18. "But now, look! Adoniyah has begun to reign--already, while you were not aware of it! Like Rivqah, she sees things more clearly than her husband, and intervenes to ensure that the blessing goes to the right son. Rather than use an accusatory tone, as the prophet hinted at, she recognized, or at least respectfully insinuated, that the king must not have known what had taken place, assuming he would have done something about it already if he had. She was in the position of Esther, coming before the king unsummoned, so she acts with restraint that Nathan, who had a long history of confronting David, would not need to use.19. "And he has been slaughtering oxen--and fat ones [at that]--as well as sheep to a great extent, and has summoned all the king's sons, as well as Evyathar the priest and Yo'av the commander of the army! But he has not called for your servant Shlomoh. 20. "As for you, my master the king, the eyes of all Israel are on you to declare to them who is to sit on the throne of my master the king after him; YHWH had given Shlomoh his name 20 years before, and revealed to David that he would be the one to build the Temple after him. (1 Chron. 22:9) Yet still this depended on David's response. If he decided to let Adoniyah's actions slide because he did not want to anger another son, the whole nation would be out of YHWH's will and Adoniyah would have at least tried to kill Shlomoh. Just because it is proclaimed as YHWH's will, it does not mean it will automatically take place if we do not cooperate. The very imperfect tense used in many commands and prophecies indicates an action not yet completed, and can be read as "should", "may", "can", or "must" just as well as "will". A covenant must be upheld by both parties in order to be fulfilled.21. "otherwise when my master the king lies down [to rest] with his ancestors, what will take place is that I and my son Shlomoh will end up being considered offenders." I.e., they were likely to be killed as potential threats to Adoniyah's authority.22. And indeed, while she was still speaking with the king, Nathan the prophet came in 23. and they [brought a] report to the king, saying, "Nathan the prophet is here!" And he entered the king's presence and did homage to the king on [his face, with] his nostrils to the ground. Nathan always had had David's ear in the past.24. Then Nathan said, "My master the king! [Did] you say, 'Adoniyah will reign after me, and he will sit on my throne'? 25. "Because he has gone down today and slaughtered oxen--and fat ones [at that]--and sheep to a great extent, and has summoned all the king's sons and the captains of the army, as well as Evyathar the priest, and there they are, eating and drinking in his presence, and they have been saying, '[Long] live Adoniyahu the king!' Gone down: rather than up to the slaughtering place David had appointed, he may have even been making his offerings in the Valley of Hinnom, where children would later be burned alive in pagan fertility rites.26. "But he has not called for myself, your servant, or Tzadoq the priest, or Benayah the son of Y'hoyada, or your servant Shlomoh. He knew better than to inform any of these people who were known to be loyal to his father. He knew they could easily have him killed if he did not present his coup as an already-accomplished fact before David knew about it. But he may have forgotten that YHWH spoke directly to Nathan, informing him of what was going on, no matter how successful they might have been at keeping any word from leaking out.27. "If this thing has come from my master the king, then you have not let your servant know who will sit on the throne of my master the king after him."
29. And the king made an oath and said, "[By the] life of YHWH, who has ransomed my soul out of every [kind of] tight spot, 30. "As I have adjured myself to you by YHWH, the Elohim of Israel, saying, 'Since Shlomoh your son will reign after me, he will sit on my throne', I will do the same this [very] day." I will do the same: i.e., not change what I have given my word about. He acted more responsibly this time than when Ashalom did the same thing.31. And Bath-sheva bowed down with her nostrils to the ground and did homage to the king, and she said, "May my master the king live forever!" Literally, may he live into the age (i.e., be alive during the Messianic Kingdom). And so he will, according to Y'hezq'el 24:23-24; 37:24-25; Hoshea 3:5. 32. Then King David said, "Summon to me Tzadoq the priest, Nathan the prophet, and Benayahu the son of Y'hoyada." And they came into the king's presence. 33. And the king told them, "Take with you the servants of your master, and have Shlomoh my son ride on the she-mule that is my own, and have him go down to Gihon, The Gihon was one of the four rivers that flowed from Eden, and therefore the anointing of the king following David in his dynasty at this location symbolizes the next step in the return to Eden. With each king in David's line that is anointed, we would be moving one step closer to the restoration of all things.34. "and let Tzadoq the priest along with Nathan the prophet anoint him there as king over Israel. Then blow the shofar and say, '[Long] live King Shlomoh!' Psalms 2 and 110 were written for the fuller coronation ceremony that was to follow.35. "Then come up after him and he will sit on my throne, so he may reign in my place, since I have ordered him to become ruler over Israel and over Yehudah." Sit on my throne: Yahshua said his Father (be it YHWH or David) had given him the same privilege, and he would give the same privilege to anyone who overcomes the present age, as these three delegated men did. (Rev. 3:21) It is possible that Adoniyah was not trying to take the throne of Yehudah from Shlomoh (especially while David was still alive), but only that of Israel.36. Then Benayah the son of Y'hoyada responded by saying, "So let it be! May YHWH, the Elohim of my master the king say the same! So let it be: Heb., amen, based on the word for "true" or "reliable", firmly-founded, as this indeed was founded in David's YHWH-given authority, in contrast with Adoniyah's authority, which was given by unauthorized men.37. "Just as YHWH has been with my master the king, so may He be with Shlomoh, and make his throne greater than the throne of my master the king!"
Benayah was the commander over the Krethites and Plethites, who were foreign mercenary soldiers who constituted David's special forces or bodyguards. (2 Shmu'el 8:18)39. Then Tzadoq the priest took the horn of oil out from the tent and anointed Shlomoh , and they blew the shofar and all the people said, "[Long] live King Shlomoh!" Horn of oil: Much as animal horns were used in more recent centuries to carry gunpowder, they worked very well for holding olive oil and drizzling it onto the king's head through the opening at the small end while the other end was sealed shut with leather.40. And all the people came up after him, piping on flutes and celebrating with [such] great gladness that the earth was split open with their sound! This may be hyperbole, but it may have some parallel to the time all Israel shouted with Y'hoshua and the walls of Y'rikho fell down. Notice the contrast between David's method of coronation and that chosen by his rebellious son who exalted himself. The latter followed Avshalom's pattern, based on an Egyptian one, of having a chariot with forerunners. Shlomoh was riding David's own mule, which gave him immediately more authority than the chariot ever could. Adoniyah did this behind some people's back, and used no shofar, whereas David did, so people knew this was official (probably having a special pattern of notes used only on such occasions). Adoniyah needed to stage a grand event to hide what he was not doing and the fact that he had no authority to do this. Shlomo does not need to draw attention to himself with a lot of noise in a carnival or circus atmosphere, because his is the real thing, and the people naturally fell in and followed because he was doing the right thing.41. When Adoniyah and all the invitees who were with him heard [it], they quit eating. When Yo'av heard the sound of the shofar, he said, "Why is the town's voice so uproarious?" They were far enough away to escape David's notice but close enough to hear this uproar and the shofar.42. While he was still speaking, here came Yonathan the son of Evyathar the priest, and Adoniyah said, "Come in! Because you are a soldier and [must be] bringing glad news!" Yonathan's name is spelled defectively, since he was not acting in the role of truly being "provided by YHWH" at this time. Yonathan was one of the two who spied for David after Avshalom revolted. After what David did to the messenger who brought word that he had killed King Sha'ul, certain people were not seen as appropriate to bring bad news.43. But Yonathan answered and told Adoniyah, "Rather, our master, King David, has made Shlomoh king! 44. "And the king has sent Tzadoq the priest, Nathan the prophet, Benayahu the son of Y'hoyada, and the Krethites and Plethites with him, and they have set him on the king's mule to ride! 45. "And they--Tzadoq the priest and Nathan the prophet--have anointed him as king at [the] Gihon, and they have come up from there celebrating, and the town was in an uproar. That was the sound that you heard! 46. "And Shlomoh has even sat down on the royal throne! 47. "The king's servants have also come to bless our master, King David, saying, 'May your Elohim make Shlomoh's name better than your name, and his throne greater than your throne!' And the king has prostrated himself on the bed! A wish that one's child turns out better than oneself sounds like an insult, but David took it as a blessing. To be truly blessed, then, we must have children who are more knowledgeable than we and able to love YHWH and their true neighbors better than we do.48. "And what's more, the king [himself] said something like this: 'Blessed is YHWH the Elohim of Israel, who has provided someone to sit on my throne while my eyes can see it!'" 49. And all the invitees who belonged to Adoniyah shuddered and started getting up and each was going in his own direction. Invitees: or guests; literally, those called. They were either proving that they were each there for selfish reasons rather than truly in unity, or realizing that they have been fooled (once the king's true will was made known) and knew they would be the ones killed, as when the same type of banquet was broken up during Avshalom's revolt.50. And Adoniyah was afraid because of the presence of Shlomoh, so he got up and took hold of the horns of the altar. Horns: not as pointed as animal horns, but projections extending from the four corners. It was perceived as a place where no one would dare kill another, just like the churches in mafia movies. (The power of the empire was seen to be behind such a refuge.) In other nations, altars were places of blood and death, but in Israel, the slaughter was not done on the altar itself, but a place of mercy. This expectation is alluded to all the way back in Exodus 21:14, where YHWH says that if someone has been treacherous in planning to kill his brother, he should be taken away even from His altar. Adoniyah had not tried to kill Shlomoh, but the fact that he was afraid Shlomoh would kill him shows that he assumed he would do the same thing he would do if the tables were turned. So it is his own guilt accusing him rather than Shlomoh.51. And Shlomoh was told, "Look! Adoniyah is afraid of King Shlomoh, and indeed, he has taken hold of the horns of the altar, saying, 'Let King Shlomoh swear to me, as of today, [that] if he puts his servant to death by the sword...'" 52. So Shlomoh said, "If he becomes a capable son, not a hair of his will fall to the ground, but if wickedness is found in him, he will die." This was already a demonstration of the wisdom emerging in Shlomoh. He neither acted rashly nor overly defensively (by immediate killing even a potential rival), yet still did not let him feel that he was off the hook or out from under scrutiny. Not a hair of his head: David had said the same thing to the woman who brought the concocted story designed to keep David from killing Avshalom. (2 Shmu'el 14)53. And King Shlomoh sent and had them bring him down from the altar, and he came and prostrated himself to King Shlomoh. And Shlomoh told him, "Go to your home." Sent: or, stretched out [his scepter]. Prostrated himself: i.e., "knuckled" under to his authority. CHAPTER 21. As the days of David drew near to die, he gave orders to his son Shlomoh, saying,2. "I am going on the way of all the earth. So take a firm hold and become a man, Become a man: David is laying more expectations on this son than he had done for any of his other sons, possibly because he was too busy with the affairs of state to be very involved in their upbringing. He apparently believes this son can live up to them, and gives him a heritage the others did not receive. But Shlomoh had been chiefly raised by his mother (Prov. 4:3), and now he will be required to make decisions unclouded by emotion. He would no longer be the "spoiled rich kid", and the throne would require much more maturity than his more handsome brothers had ever had, for a king must be even more stable than his subjects, because their stability rests on his.3. "and pay attention to what YHWH your Elohim has given you as a responsibility--to walk in His ways and guard the ordinances He has prescribed, His commandments, His judicial procedures, and His testimonial evidence, as written in Moshe's instruction, so that you may make everything you do successful and prosper wherever you turn your face, Instruction: Heb., Torah. Make successful...prosper: both the same term in Hebrew, with the connotation of being wise, prudent, circumspect, and full of insight. This is what constitutes "being a man" in Israel.4. "so that YHWH may make His word endure, which He spoke to me, saying, 'If your sons will keep watch over their path, to truly walk in My presence with all their heart and with all their soul, [then,' He] said, 'not a soul of yours will be cut off from the throne of Israel.' Spoke to me: Though it is not verbatim, he may be referring to YHWH's words as recorded in 2 Shmu'el 7:12-16, or alluding to Psalm 132:12. This is based on parallel generalities in Deut. 11:18-21, but is also a special covenant specific to the descendants of David, to which Yahshua would also be heir. Since some of the intervening kings did not live up to these requirements, he was required to pay a heavy price to repair what they broke, and has had to wait a long time to receive his throne in actuality.5. "Now you also know what Yo'av the son of Tz'ruyah did to me--what he did to the two commanders of the armies of Israel (to Avner the son of Ner and to Amasa the son of Yether)--how he murdered them and brought the blood of war into peace[time] and allowed the blood of war to be on the belt that was around his waist and on his sandals that were on his feet. These stories are found in 2 Shmu'el chapters 3 and 20. To me: Yo'av sinned against David himself by murdering his generals and robbing him of valuable resource persons. Into peacetime: Yo'av was a great warrior, probably the best of his day other than David, but he took his specialty out of its proper context and brought the rules appropriate in wartime outside that framework, killing his fellows almost for sport, as if they had been enemies, while they were in fact people for whom David had a special affinity and did not want killed. David starts off by telling Shlomoh to do something his brothers had never done--shed blood. Shlomoh would not have expected to be king, being at least fourth in line by normal patterns, but he is suddenly given that responsibility. David immediately puts him in some tough situations so he will exercise strength and become more mature and readier for more difficult things which might come later--though starting off with a show of strength is probably what prevented him from ever having to go to war. Belt...sandals: possibly actual traditions in that day; there are vestiges of this still in the Middle Eastern psyche, as exemplified by the Muslims who killed Jews in a public building and showed their blood on their hands in the fall of 2000 while the world watched on cameras positioned outside the building in Ramallah.6. "So act according to your better judgment and don't let his grey hair go down to the grave peacefully. 7. "But show kindness to the sons of Barzillai the Gil'adite by letting them eat at your table, because they indeed came close to me when I was running from your brother Avshalom. Though Barzillai declined this honor (2 Shmu'el 19:31ff), David did not yet feel that he had honored him thoroughly enough. We were only told earlier that Barzillai himself helped David, but his sons must have been faithful to act in unison with him, and now they were the only ones left to honor, since Barzillai was close to death at the time David made him this offer the first time. Came close: They publicly stuck with David even when it was politically dangerous for them to do so.8. "But take note that Shim'i the son of Gera the Binyamite from Bakhurim is with you. Now he treated me very contemptuously on the day I was going to Makhanayim, when he came down to meet me at the Yarden, but I swore to him by YHWH my Elohim, saying, 'If I kill you with the sword...' If I kill: the sentence is unfinished in the standard format of Hebraic oaths, but it implies, "May the same thing befall me if I do." But apparently he had still turned out to remain a thorn in David's side, and David had a loophole now; he had never promised that his son would not kill him!9. "So now, don't exempt him from punishment, because you are a skillful man, and you know what you must do to him so as to bring his grey hair down to She'ol in a bloody [way]." You are a skillful man: i.e., You will figure out how to correct my mistake with integrity. The last thing David did was to ensure that old accounts were settled so that Shlomoh would not have the trouble he had had, and so that these examples would act as a deterrent to others from the start of his reign and no one would think he was weaker than his father and that they could now get away with more. Only after he had set these precedents could he relax into the role he had been chiefly called to as a peacetime king. 10. Then David lay down with his ancestors, and was buried in the City of David. Though Beyth-Lekhem is called the City of David in 1 Shmu'el 20:6 and Luqa 2:4, 11, the more contemporary writings of 2 Shmu'el 5:7 and 1 Chronicles 11:7 identify this title with the stronghold of Tzion, and 8:1 below will again call Tzion the City of David. But what is called Mt. Tzion today is not the same part of Yerushalayim; that area was not yet annexed to the city with a wall at this time. It was the now-unwalled hill immediately to the south of the Temple Mount, and some archaeologists think they have found David's actual tomb, as contracted with the one on the present Mt. Tzion which has long been called David's but probably is not.11. Now the [length of] time that David had reigned over Israel was 40 years (he reigned in Hevron 7 years and he reigned in Yerushalim 33 years), Seven years: This is rounded down. 2 Shmu'el 2:11 and 5:5, as well as 1 Chron. 3:4 are more precise, saying he reigned over only Yehudah for seven years and six months. Yerushalim: this truncated spelling of Yerushalayim appears in the Hebrew text here and in some other places.12. then Shlomo sat on the throne of his father David, and his kingdom was being established very firmly.
She thought he still might want to kill her--or her son, whose name, incidentally, means "his peace".14. And he said, "[May] I have a word with you?" And she said, "Speak." 15. So he said, "You know that the royalty was mine, and all Israel had set their face toward my becoming king, but the kingly office has been turned in a different direction, and it [has gone] to my brother, because it was his from YHWH. I.e., "That is no problem; it's water under the bridge." Yet he adds a "but" to what he has already acknowledged is YHWH's will:16. "But now I am requesting one favor of you; do not turn your face away." And she told him, "Speak." 17. So he said, "Please speak to Shlomoh the king, because he will not turn your face away. [Ask] that he give me Avishag the Shunammite as a wife." He will not turn your face away: an idiom for refusing his request. The king's mother was more of a queen than his wives, having more influence over him and the nation than any of them. Avishag was the woman who had kept David warm on his deathbed. (1:3) Avshalom had used sleeping with his father's concubines as a statement that he was next in line to be king. Though David had not been intimate with Avishag, she essentially belonged to him, and a similar interpretation would be likely. This could be the start of a slippery slope.18. And Bath-Sheva said, "Fine. I myself will speak to the king in regard to you." 19. When Bath-Sheva approached King Shlomoh to speak to him about Adoniyahu, the king stood up to welcome her, then bowed to her and sat [back] down on his throne. And he put in place a seat for the king's mother, and she sat at his right hand. Note how he honors her, though he is the king. Of course, she was the one who ensured that he would be king.20. And she said, "I have one favor to ask of you--a small one; do not turn my face away." And the king said to her, "Ask, my mother, because I will not turn your face away." 21. So she said, "Let Avishag the Shunammite be given to your brother Adoniyahu as a wife." 22. But King Shlomoh answered and said to his mother, "And why are you requesting [only] Avishag the Shunammite for Adoniyahu? [Go ahead and] request the kingship for him too, because he is my elder brother--for both him and for Evyathar the priest and for Yo'av the son of Tz'ruyah!" His tone changed rather quickly! The elder brother would be expected to have the prior claim to the throne. Shlomoh becomes very sarcastic here, even if he is speaking to his mother, because he recognizes that Adoniyahu does not particularly love this woman (as beautiful as she is), but has put his mother up to this for political reasons, because Avishag was privy to any words that passed between anyone and the king for the last several weeks or months of his life, and she would be able to give him any incriminating information that there might be about anyone close to him who might be able to fall in order to get him back in line to be the king. Avshalom had been killed, yet here he seemed to be again in the form of his brother. This may be a prophetic reference to the counterfeit Messiah whose mortal wound seems to be healed. (Rev. 13:14)23. And Shlomoh the King swore an oath in YHWH['s Name], saying, "May Elohim do the same to me and add more of the same [if I do], because Adoniyahu has spoken this thing in his ambition. In his ambition: some translate it, against his own life; i.e., it would seal the guarantee of his doom.24. "So now, [as surely as] YHWH lives, who has established me and seated me upon the throne of David my father, and who has brought about a household for me as He promised, Adoniyah will be put to death this very day!" 25. And King Shlomoh sent [orders] by the hand of Benayahu the son of Y'hoyada, and he struck him so that he died.
On this day: i.e., at this time. As he extended a test to Adoniyahu, which he failed, he gave the same veiled ultimatum to Evyathar, that if he did not behave himself, he, too, could suffer the same end as the one whom he had wrongly supported. His early faithfulness counted for enough to spare his life, but Shlomoh could not bear the sight of him, however, as it would constantly remind him of this incident, now that he recognized that Adoniyahu had still left a door open for the conspirators to rise up again. He thus prevented a "threefold cord" from being bound together again. Afflicted: or, humiliated, mistreated, occupied with.27. Thus Shlomoh ousted Evyathar from being a priest to YHWH, to fulfill YHWH's word, which He had spoken concerning the house of Eli at Shiloh. The background to this is found in 1 Shmu'el 2:17-25, 31-33 and 3:11-14. To fulfill: Not necessarily consciously for that purpose, because Shlomoh had a more immediate score to settle by doing this. As long as anyone of the house of Eli acted worthily, he was able to remain in the priestly office, for YHWH did not say the curse on Eli would necessarily take effect immediately. In fact, it had been about 100 years--possibly more--since Shmu'el had brought that message to Eli as a child. But now there was no longer any excuse for YHWH's mercy to be prolonged. 28. When the report reached Yo'av (because Yo'av had defected to follow Adoniyah, though he had not defected to follow Avshalom), Yo'av fled to the tent of YHWH and took hold of the projections of the altar. One out of two right choices was not enough. Compare Hebrews 6:4-8. Now that his ally is gone, Yo'av knows he is defenseless and recognizes that he is next in line. He saw what became of his co-defectors, and knew now that Shlomoh would not slack off where his father had been firm. Took hold of the projections (or, horns): This is the same thing Adoniyah had done (1:50) and was spared at that time, and Yo'av might have assumed this would work for him as well. But the Torah-based exception to the protection afforded there (Ex. 21:14) applied in this case.29. And it was reported to King Shlomoh that Yo'av had fled to the tent of YHWH and indeed, he was attached to the altar when Shlomoh sent Benayahu the son of Y'hoyada, saying, "Go, strike him down!" 30. When Benayahu came into the tent of YHWH, he told him, "This is what the king says: Come out!" But he said, "No, because I can be put to death right here!" So Benayahu brought the message back to the king, saying, "This is what Yo'av said, and this is how he responded to me!" He tried to get him to leave the Tabernacle precincts so he would not have to kill him in a holy place. But Yo'av did not seem to care, suggesting a callous disregard for things holy.31. So the king told him, "Do as he said, and strike him down. Then bury him, and turn away from me and from the house of my father the blood that Yo'av shed needlessly. Do as he said: Shlomoh would not let this deter him from fulfilling David's dying wish. No one had avenged these men's deaths, and though David had not been aware of Yo'av's plans to kill them and had not approved, still the responsibility fell upon David because they had been under his command. A guilt by association still remained, and his lineage was now responsible to silence the outcry of their innocent blood.32. "Thus YHWH will turn his blood back on his own head--he who has struck down two men more righteous and better than he, murdering them with the sword without my father David knowing it: Avner the son of Ner, the commander of the army of Israel, and Amasa the son of Yether, the commander of the army of Yehudah. Though the kingdom was still united, the armies of the two houses of Israel are already considered separate. Yo'av had been a great warrior, but he let this aspect of reality have more emphasis than it deserved, and it became a demon, as he turned into someone bloodthirsty at all times, not just in legitimate battle.33. "Their blood will therefore come back onto the head of Yo'av and onto the head[s] of his descendants forever, while to David and to his descendants and to his household and to his throne, there will be peace from YHWH forever." If Shlomoh had not avenged them, this peace would not have come, for injustice would still be unresolved. Many today do not recognize this, and think that if injustice is simply forgiven without repentance and restitution, the world can still somehow be at rest. There must be justice on the earth, and not just in the age to come.34. So Benayahu the son of Y'hoyada went up and struck him and killed him, and he was buried at his own home in the wilderness. Went up: The tabernacle may already have been on the present Temple Mount, which is higher than the city, since David had put an altar there before he died. But in any case, the tabernacle, and especially the altar, was a place of greater sanctity than any other part of the city, and therefore to go there was always to ascend, at least figuratively. At his home: or possibly, in his home. Some wealthy people (like Herod and many of the later regents of the northern kingdom of Israel) had their tombs built right under the floor of their houses, and since Yo'av had taken so much plunder, he probably had multiple estates.35. And the king appointed Benayahu the son of Y'hoyada to his position over the army, and the king appointed Tzadoq the priest to Evyathar's position. His: that is, Yoa'v's. Shlomoh might have wished to retain Yo'av, because he was a man who would get the job done, but too often he acted against those David had made peace with. 36. Then the king sent and summoned Shim'i and told him, "Build yourself a house in Yerushalayim and live there, but do not go out from there to anywhere else. He was keeping him where he could keep an eye on his every activity. He may have even provided the funding for the house--which would have made Shim'i all the more responsible to follow his instructions.37. "[Because] what will be the case [is that] on the day you leave and cross over the Qidron Valley, you will know for sure that you will certainly die; your blood will be on your own head." He was exiled from even the place where he had attacked David with insults soon after he had crossed the Qidron. Valley: a dry riverbed which can become a flood zone in the rainy season.38. And Shim'i said to the king, "The thing is appropriate. As my master the king has spoken, so will your servant do." And Shim'i lived in Yerushalayim many days.
40. So Shim'i got up and saddled his donkey, and went to Akhish in Gath to demand his servants [back]. Thus Shim'i went and brought his servants [back] from Gath. Since Gath was not across the Qidron Valley, but to the west of Yerushalayim, Shim'i might have thought this was a loophole, but Shlomoh had said "anywhere else". (v. 36) It seemed to be a necessity, but that is where the real test lies, as Uzzah learned the hard way. (2 Shmu'el 6)41. But it was reported to Shlomoh that Shim'i had gone from Yerushalayim to Gath and back. 42. So the king sent and summoned Shim'i, and said to him, "Didn't I have you take an oath by YHWH, and solemnly warn you again by saying, 'On the day you leave to go anywhere at all, you will know for sure that you will certainly die'? And didn't you say to me, 'The word that I have heard is appropriate'? 43. "Why, then, have you not kept the oath of YHWH and the order that I have [laid] on you as a responsibility?" YHWH's own name was compromised, and that was his biggest violation. Like Adam and Chawwah, he had only one simple command to obey to guarantee his well-being, but for some reason he thought he had "done his time" and had a valid reason to be exempt from further obedience. Shlomoh had given him a test to determine if he was worthy of forgiveness, and he had predictably failed it. David had told him to be crafty with this crafty man, and he did: he did not kill him for anything he had done in David's day, since that had been forgiven because of David's undeserved mercy. He put him in a position to demonstrate that rebellion still remained in his heart, and, though it took some time to surface, when it inevitably manifested itself, that was all he punished him for.44. The king also said to Shim'i, "You are aware of all the wickedness about which your heart has had the know-how, which you perpetrated toward my father David, so YHWH has turned the evil back on your own head, 45. "while King Shlomoh will be blessed, and the throne of David established before YHWH forever!" 46. And the king gave orders to Benayahu the son of Y'hoyada, and he went out and struck him down, and he died. Thus the kingdom was made stable in the hand of Shlomoh. All the troublemakers who had survived David were now gone from the earth, and the Davidic era had completely passed, except for his remaining widow, Bath-Sheva and possibly some other widows of his. CHAPTER 31. Then Shlomoh made an alliance with Pharaoh, king of Egypt, through marriage when he took the daughter of Pharaoh and brought her into the City of David until he had finished building his own house and the House of YHWH, and the wall encompassing Yerushalayim.This is the first of many such alliances he would make, though the Torah had told kings not to multiply wives for themselves lest their hearts turn away from YHWH. (Deut. 17:17) YHWH had told Israel not to intermarry with the peoples of the Land (Ex. 34:16), and had said specifically that the king of Israel should never take His people back to Egypt in particular to amass an army (Deut. 17:16), so he should have put two and two together and realized this was not a wise move, if not an outright sin. YHWH had clearly expressed on many occasions that He had no taste for Egypt. Ezra and Nekhemyah later overtly forbade such alliances for any Israelite. David could easily have made such a treaty, but had chosen not to, which should have told Shlomoh something. But this part of the chapter is emphasizing that Shlomoh was not yet the wisest of rulers. His own house: It would not technically be within the City of David, though it would be made contiguous with it once the wall mentioned here was built. His house would sit between the original part of the city and the Temple.2. It was just that the people were still slaughtering [animals] at cultic platforms, because until those days no house had been built for the name of YHWH. Cultic platforms: usually places of pagan worship, though as is stated here, the worship of YHWH had not yet been fully centralized at Yerushalayim. But one senses the disapproval in the scribe's tone here. At the very least it was a disunifying factor, and is again one of the worst aspects of our exile that there is no place where all of Israel can worship YHWH together. But a bigger reason is that these cultic platforms had been built specifically for the worship of pagan deities (usually for fertility rites) by the Kanaanites before them, and YHWH had said to break them down. (Ex. 34:13; Deut. 7:5; 12:3) YHWH does not want His worship associated with the places other elohim have been worshipped. But the early Church made exactly the same mistake, by taking over pagan temples and leaving their steeples (which were phallic symbols much like those used at such Kanaanite sites) in place to identify to other that these were still places of worship or to show that Hebraic truth had overcome the paganism once practiced there. It was, however, this displacement that ended up making that paganism an integral part of Christianity, thereby neutralizing most of the gains that had been made. The reason the Dome of the Rock has eight sides is because it was built over a Roman temple to Jupiter that had been put there to symbolize the displacement of the worship of YHWH. It was already a holy place in people's minds, but YHWH prefers to build a wall between such sites and His. It was not built on a former Yevusite worship site, but on a former threshing floor, which holds better pictures--those of the teacher who elevates his students to where the wind (spirit) can separate away what is useless. Until the fullness of the Kingdom arrives, He intends for His people to be separated from other forms of worship rather than conquering them as such.3. Now Shlomoh loved YHWH [enough] to walk within the limits prescribed by David his father, except that he was slaughtering [offerings] and burning incense at cultic platforms. 4. The king even went to Giv'on to offer a slaughter there, because it was the biggest cultic platform. Shlomoh offered a thousand ascending offerings on that altar. This would represent the expenditure of great wealth, and no one would even have eaten of these; they were fully consumed, as symbolic of giving them completely to YHWH. Giv'on means "a very large hill", which explains why the biggest worship site was there. It may have remained active for pagan worship much longer than the others, because the Giv'onites, who were Kanaanite, had been spared by Y'hoshua because of a hasty promise he had made, and had gone on living in their hometown. But 2 Chron. 1:3 says Elohim's Tent of Meeting that Moshe had built was at Giv'on at this time, so this does not sound too bad at first. However, Leviticus 17:3-5 says no Israelite may slaughter an animal outside the camp without bringing it to the priests, and the priests were with the altar and the ark in Yerushalayim. So the tent was just an empty shell, being separated from the covenant. YHWH was somewhere else, so why was His "dinner" still being delivered here? They were just walking in tradition without understanding, like Christianity and much of Judaism today. The ark was also missing from the Second Temple, giving an apt picture of the way Israel was in Yahshua's time--without covenant. Men had added many things to it, but only what could be traced back to the Tabernacle had unquestioned validity. The best scenario is that Shlomoh somehow knew only that the place where YHWH would set His Name was in Binyamin's territory, which is where Giv'on was. (Y'hoshua 18:25) But Shlomoh's remarkable generosity was misplaced. 5. At Giv'on, YHWH appeared to Shlomoh in a dream at night, and Elohim said, "Make a request: What should I give you?" YHWH never told him outright that he should not have been slaughtering there, though he should have been able to deduce this. But He mercifully met him since it was clear he needed redirection. YHWH knew he was inexperienced and did not castigate him for that, but it was now time for him to stop being an unlearned child, for he was already king! This is not exactly the "three wishes" of the fairy tales, but it was a privilege very few people every received so overtly--though YHWH always invites us to bring our needs and requests before Him.6. And Shlomoh said, "You showed great kindness to my father David when he walked before You in faithfulness, did what was right, and was upright in heart along with You, so You have reserved for him this great kindness, and have allowed him to have a son sitting on his throne, as [it is] this day. The blessing on his ancestor would not take effect unless he, too, took it up.7. "So now, O YHWH, my Elohim, you have allowed your servant to reign in the place of David my father, but I myself am a little lad; I do not know how to go out or come in. Go out or come in: an idiom for being skilled in warfare. He knew it had pleased YHWH that his father excelled at that. A little lad: We are not told how old Shlomoh was when he began to reign (we only know he reigned 40 years), but by tradition he was 20 years old--the age indeed at which men were first counted as eligible for "draft" into the army. He cannot have been much older than that. If he did not know warfare, there were parts of the Torah that he could not fully understand.8. "And Your servant is in the middle of Your people whom You have chosen, a great people that cannot be counted or described for the [sheer] size [of it]! In the middle: i.e., the center of attention, bearing the weight of the responsibility to protect them all from enemies and ensure that they followed YHWH's Torah.9. "So give Your servant a perceptive mind to judge Your people--to distinguish between right and wrong--because who is able to govern this great people of Yours?" Perceptive: literally, listening or obedient--a "hearing heart". He may have received this concept from his own father's words, which may be reflected in Proverbs 2:2. David had kept telling Shlomoh at the end of his life to seek wisdom (Prov. 4:4-6), so he knew what his father had desired him to be, and when YHWH gave him this offer, he recognized he did not have as much wisdom as he needed. At any rate, he was not wise in his own eyes, and that in itself is evidence of some wisdom. (Prov. 3:7) Giv'on was a place where Y'hoshua had been distinctively unwise and lacking perception, not to mention Shlomoh's own error there in v. 3, so he was repenting for both sins by asking for wisdom at specifically this place.10. And the matter was appropriate in the eyes of Adonai, that Shlomoh had asked for this thing. 11. So Elohim said to him, "Because you have asked for this thing instead of requesting many days for yourself, nor have you asked for wealth for yourself, nor have you asked for the life of your enemies, but have asked for yourself the discernment to hear judicial case[s], 12. "here! I have done as you have said. Indeed, I have provided you with such a skillful and instructed heart that there has never been one like you before you, nor will there [ever] arise an equal after you! Skillful: or, wise. He had his priorities right, but Shlomoh had only asked for understanding, which is a step higher than knowledge and is built upon it. But understanding is futile if it is not applied. So YHWH took it a step further and offered him the "principal thing: wisdom", which he had not asked for, possibly because he did not yet know that it was a higher gift. (Prov. 4:7) Instructed: one observant and gifted with perceptiveness, understanding, attentiveness, and consideration--in short, wisdom. Heart: can be understood as mind as well, as in verse 9. An equal: literally, your equal.13. "But I have also given you what you didn't ask for--both wealth and honor such that for all your days there will not be a man like you among the kings. Shlomoh did not ask for anything for himself except in relation to what YHWH's people needed. He had self in the right perspective, so YHWH allowed it to prosper as well. He wants us to be generous because He is! But note that YHWH did not offer him the third thing he had not asked for--the life of his enemies. Shlomoh had just rid Israel of his internal enemies, and David had rid them of any active enemies on the outside, so what enemies were left? His very name bespeaks the fact that Shlomoh was called to be a peacetime king, and indeed there were none that tried to attack Israel during his lifetime. He would, however, end up becoming his own worst enemy.14. "And if you will walk in My ways in order to guard the boundaries and orders that I have prescribed--just as your father David walked--then I will let your days continue for a long time." Note the conditionality of this offer. Shlomoh started well, but would end up going back and forth in his obedience when led by anything other than Torah (whether his wives or diplomatic concerns), and so though he did not exactly die young, he apparently did not even live as long as his father.15. Then Shlomoh woke up, and, lo and behold, it had been a dream! So he came into Yerushalayim and stood before the ark of YHWH's covenant and made ascending [offering]s go up, and prepared completeness-offerings, and made a [drinking] banquet for all of his servants. After YHWH met with him, he came back to his senses and offered slaughterings in the right place. Yerushalayim is where Avraham and Yaaqov had both met with YHWH, and he knew immediately that this is where he had to go. No one had to tell him to do the right thing; he exercised wisdom in one case, and was given more. One has to wonder whether he offered a thousand again to correct his former error. 16. Then two women--prostitutes--approached the king and stood before him, We are not told whether this was at the banquet described above. A king holds the life of his subjects in his hands. (Prov. 16:14-15) One who comes before a wise king should expect that he will see through any ruse they may be concocting, and this should cause them a healthy fear. These women do not seem to have been afraid to come before the king, as the witch of Eyn-Dor had been afraid to be seen by Sha'ul, showing that it was not illegal for prostitutes as such to exist in the Land as long as long as they did not belong to a particular husband or father. They probably chose this trade because they felt they had no other choice, being orphaned with no one to care for them, which may be why it seemed so important to each of them to have a son, who would care for them in their old age.17. and the one woman said, "Excuse me, my master. I and this woman live in one house, and I gave birth [to a baby] in the house with her [there]. Note that she puts herself first in the sentence, already suggesting an animosity or a lower regard for the other woman.18. "But what took place was [that] on the third day [after] I gave birth, this woman also gave birth [to a child], and we were together. There was no stranger with us in the house; only the two of us were in the house. No stranger: i.e., they were not plying their trade at such a time!19. "But this woman's son died at night, because she lay down on top of it. 20. "And she got up in the middle of the night and took my son from right beside me while your maidservant was sleeping and laid him in her bosom, and she laid her son who had died in my bosom! 21. "When I got up the [next] morning to nurse my son, lo and behold, it was dead! But when I looked at him carefully in the morning [light], he was not the son I had given birth to!" 22. But the other woman said, "Not so, because my son is the live one, and your son is the dead one!" Then this [first] one said, "No, because my son is the live one, and your son is the dead one!" And they spoke [so] intensely in the king's presence. 23. Then the king said, "This one says, 'This is my son--the one that's alive--and your son is the dead one', but that one says, 'Not so, because my son is the dead one, and your son is the live one!'" 24. And the king said, "Get me a sword!" So they brought a sword into the king's presence. 25. And the king said, "Cut the living child in two, and give half to the one and the [other] half to the [other] one!" 26. But while that one was saying, "Don't let him be either mine or yours; divide him!", the woman whose son was the living one spoke to the king, because her compassion grew agitated over her son, and she said, "Please, my master, give her the living child, but whatever you do, don't kill him!" Compassion grew agitated: or, her "gut" grew warm and tender. This is the natural response of a true mother. The other woman's response, in contrast, was as cold as ice. ("If I can't have him, nobody can!") Letting anyone else rear him would be far preferable to seeing him cut in half.27. So the king said, "Give her the living one that was brought forth, and by no means kill him; she is his mother." 28. When all of Israel heard the verdict that the king had rendered, they were awed by the king's presence, because they saw that the wisdom of Elohim was within him in order to make judicial ruling[s]. Did Shlomoh know it would turn out this way? He was probably as awed by the outcome as any of the rest of them, but he had based his ruling on the closest thing he could find to the situation within the Torah: If one man's ox kills another's, they divide the dead ox between them and sell the living one and split the profits. (Ex. 21:35) For this case to come before the king, it meant rulers of ten, fifty, one hundred, and one thousand had had to refer it up higher, either not knowing how to rule or not being willing to go to such an extreme. What made Shlomoh a true king was that he was willing to search out what YHWH had hidden. (Prov. 25:2) Because he knew he had to walk in Torah and was willing to apply such a radical principle to a human situation, the other factors revealed themselves once he decided that "the buck stops here". What seems a right ruling is not really so if it is not based solidly on something in the Torah. Because he applied Torah, the child's life was saved because the truth came out. Deut. 4:5-6 says that if we keep YHWH's prescribed customs and principles for judicial rulings, we will appear very wise and understanding to the nations around us. Even if we do not understand all the logic of them at first, the outcome of obedience will demonstrate His wisdom, and our name will be linked with it as well. CHAPTER 41. While King Shlomoh was king over all of Israel,2. these were the officials whom he had: Azaryah the son of Tzadoq the priest; We are not told his position, but he would be expected to take over as priest when his father (v. 4) died. The types of departments a government has tell us a great deal about national priorities. The United States has just opened a Department of Homeland Security in response to terrorism. The Department of Transportation reflects a national penchant for efficient travel. Modern Israel has a Department of Antiquities because archaeological sites are one of the nation's richest treasures. By looking at who made up Shlomoh's "cabinet", we can get a snapshot of what was most important to the nation at that time.3. Elikhoref and Akhiyah the sons of Shisha [were the] accountants; Y'hoshafat the son of Akhilud [was the] chronicler, Both of these men were "scribes"--one relating more to financial or possibly census records, and the other to historical records. Not only is a historian valuable in helping a nation avoid making the same mistake twice; in Israel it would be especially important to keep records of who lost his land to pay off a debt so that he or his son could receive it back on the fiftieth year (Lev. 25:10ff), or so that other property rights issues could be readily resolved. (Deut. 19:14; 27:17)4. while Benayahu the son of Y'hoyada [was] over the army, and Tzadoq and Evyathar were priests. Part way into his reign, Shlomoh deposed Evyathar because of his association with conspirators. (2:27)5. Azaryah the son of Nathan was over the stationed [deputies], while Zavud the son of Nathan was a priest associated [with] the king. These may be sons of Nathan the prophet, David's closest advisor. Priest: Zavud may have served as a priest only for Shlomoh, rather than in the Temple. He may not have even been a Levite. The Torah tells us that a priest's role is to provide judgment and justice. (Deut. 17:9-12; 21:5) David did the same. (2 Shmu'el 8:15) Two priests were part of his "cabinet" of officials, along with generals, scribes, etc. One was the high priest; the other was related to him, but chosen as sort of a "personal priest" to David when he was fleeing from King Sha'ul. (1 Shm. 22:20ff) He was later removed from this office by Shlomo to fulfill a prophecy that none of Eli's descendants would retain authority. (3:12) So a king had the authority to remove a priest who held his position because of a political arrangement. Azaryah the son of Tzadoq the priest is the first in this list of "officials" (sarim) here. David had some of his own sons in the role of cohanim (literally, officiators), the same word usually translated priest, as here. (1 Shm. 8:18) They did not officiate in the Tabernacle. They held this second kind of priesthood that Zavud apparently also held, or a third type--the priestly order of Melkhitzedeq, which simply means a priest who is also king in Yerushalayim--the right of any descendant of David who was in line for the throne. (Psalm 110:4). Zavud's job may have been to remind Shlomoh of the specifics of the Torah, with which a king is required to be very familiar (Deut. 17:18), and in which the son of a prophet would also have been very well-versed.6. Also, Akhishar was over the household, and Adoniram the son of Avda was over the [forced] laborers. Akhishar means "my brother is upright". There were 30,000 of these conscripted workers. (5:13) Shmu'el the prophet had warned Israel from the time that they first demanded a king that a king would by definition make such heavy demands of them which had not been imposed until that time. (1 Shm. 8:11-17)7. Shlomoh also had twelve deputies [stationed] over all of Israel, and they supplied sustenance for the king and his household; it was the responsibility of [each] one to [provide the] supply [for one] month of the year. The number of people Shlomoh was responsible to feed required him to make such demands on the other tribes. Giving a specific responsibility to each one at a specific time rather than leaving it random not only left no question about his responsibility; it also allowed each to demonstrate the agricultural wealth as well as the generosity of the region under his jurisdiction. If they all brought something each month, it would be hard to know what came from where.8. And these are their names: Ben-Khur in the mountains of Efrayim, Most of them are named "Ben..." (son of) something. These may have been titles Shlomoh created for the sake of some uniformity, but at this time it was common for most names to be structured in this way. Khur means "white cloth". This region is in the center of the country north of Yerushalayim.9. Ben-Deqer in Maqatz, and in Shaalvim and Beth-Shemesh and Eylon Beth-Khanan, Deqer means "piercing through" or "stabbing". This region is between Yerushalayim and the coast. Most is in Yehudah's territory, but some is in Dan's.10. Ben-Khesed in Arubboth (Sokhoh and all the territory of Khefer belonged to him), Sokhoh is in the western section of Menashe's territory.11. Ben-Avinadav [was over] all the coast of Dor. (Shlomoh's daughter Tafath became his wife.) Avinadav means "my father is generous". Coast: or height, elevation, possibly region; Dor is a harbor on the Mediterranean north of the later city of Caesarea and south of the present city of Haifa.12. Baana Ben-Akhilud [was over] Taanakh, Megiddo, and all of Beyth-She'an, which is near Tzarthanah, below Yezre'el--from Beyth-She'an all the way to Avel-Meholah, as far as the area across from Yoqmeam. Taanakh was a Levitical city southeast of the often-visited tel of Megiddo in Yissakhar's territory, on the southern edge of the Yezre'el Valley, guarding a pass over Mt. Karmel. Beyth-She'an is where the Yezre'el and Yarden Valleys meet. Yezre'el (the city) was on the edge of Mt. Gilboa on the southern side of the Yezre'el Valley. Avel-Meholah is south of Beyth-She'an along the western Yarden Valley, and Yoqmeam is further south, in Efrayim's territory; this district would end just before the border between Menashe and Efrayim.13. Ben-Gever [governed] in Ramoth-Gil'ad; to him [belonged] Khavoth-Ya'ir the son of Menashe, which are in Gil'ad. His was the region of Argov, which is in Bashan--sixty large walled cities with bars of bronze. Gever means "a strong man". Khavoth means "towns" or "living places". Bars: for the gates of the city. This region is across the Yarden in the area of the Golan Heights and the part of Jordan just across the Yarmuq River from there.14. Akhinadav Ben-Iddo was in Makhanayim. Akhinadav means "my brother is generous". Iddo means "his testimony".15. Akhimaatz was in Nafthali. (He also took Basmath the daughter of Shlomoh as a wife.) Akhimaatz means "my brother was angry". Was it due to jealousy for who he got as a wife? His name lacks "ben"; Shlomoh or the scribe may have thought he stood on his own reputation rather than his father's because he was the king's son-in-law. Basmath was named after Esau's daughter; her name means "spicy fragrance".16. Baana Ben-Hushai was in Asher and in Aloth. Asher is along Israel's northern coast, and extended up to or toward the great cities of Tzur (Tyre) and Tzidon. Aloth may mean the heights above Asher--possibly part of the foothills of Levanon.17. Y'hoshafat Ben-Paruakh was in Yissakhar. This is in the eastern Yezre'el Valley north of Beyth-She'an and south of the Kinnereth (Sea of Galilee).18. Shim'i Ben-Ela was in Binyamin. Ela means "a great tree". Binyamin extends from the Temple Mount northward to Beyth-El and includes Giv'on and Y'rikho.19. Gever Ben-Uri was in the land of Gil'ad--the land of Sikhon king of the Emorites and Og king of Bashan, and there was one deputy posted in the region. Uri means "my light". One deputy: yet this seems to overlap somewhat with the area Ben-Gever was responsible for (v. 13); that Ben-Gever may have been the son of this Gever. This territory is in modern-day Jordan and runs into Syria. Some of these districts remain along tribal lines; others did not. Other factors that contributed to the borders probably had to do with population or the distribution of natural resources, or the amount of arable land in each area. If these were administrative districts for other areas beside agriculture (though this is not certain), then we see a trend away from the inheritance Y'hoshua had laid out for the nation. Two generations of kings before him had already upset the households by taking many away from their inherited lands, and the fact that Israel had not been letting the land lie fallow every seventh year (Lev. 26:34, 43), which was the direct cause of the Babylonian captivity (Yirmeyahu 25; 2 Chron. 36:21), suggests that they were also not keeping the fiftieth year restoration of ancestral lands, for this would have been based on the seven-year cycles. Some of the problem also came because though he had not completely finished ousting foreigners from the Land, Y'hoshua had left no successor, and the next generation thought the status quo was adequate. As the Kanaanites who remained in the Land began to cramp them too much, some from other tribes (notably David) began to come conquer their cities, and it would be hard for the local tribe to tell those who brought them such relief that they could not stay and inhabit the cities they had fought to take. Therefore some tribal boundaries had probably been blurred form early on. In the Kingdom there will also be a change in where the inheritances are located, but all will be along tribal lines.20. Yehudah and Israel were as numerous as the sand on the sea [shore] for abundance--eating, drinking, and rejoicing. This sounds like the fulfillment of YHWH's promise to Avraham in Genesis 22:17. Though it turned out to be only temporary, we will see many ways in which Shlomoh's reign is a foreshadowing of the Messianic Kingdom of Yahshua. In many English versions, the chapter continues for 14 more verses. CHAPTER 51. While Shlomoh was ruling in all the kingdoms from the River, the land of the Filistines, as far as the border of Egypt, they approached him with tribute and were serving Shlomoh all the days of his life.River: when used alone like this, the term almost always refers not to the Yarden but to the "great river"--the Ferath, or Euphrates. This is another picture of the Messianic Kingdom (Psalm 72:8), when all nations will contribute to Israel--largely because they are not doing so now. (Yeshayahu 60:11; Rev. 21:25-26)2. And this was Shlomoh's food for a single day: 30 kors of fine flour, 60 kors of ground meal, A kor was ten eyfoth, or 100 omers, so 30 kors would be the equivalent of 3,000 portions of manna. This is a huge amount, but considering how large each administrative district was, it would not be overwhelming. Ground meal: a coarser flour. There was more of it than the more expensive, finer flour.3. ten well-fed cattle, twenty oxen [from the] pasture, and a hundred sheep, let alone buck, gazelle, [other] deer, and fattened field-birds, Well-fed...from the pasture: Again we see two grades of meat quality (compare v. 2), hinting that he was feeding people at different levels. Fattened field-birds: This would include quail, pheasant, and pigeons raised in captivity, for most methods of hunting them (other than trapping) would render them not kosher, and there was no way to guarantee that a bird in the wild would be fattened before being caught.4. because he had subjugated the whole Trans-River area, from Tifsakh all the way to 'Azzah--all of the Trans-River kings--and he had peace from everyone across [his borders] on every side. Trans-River: that which is across (on the west side) from the perspective of Kharan or Nin'veh. Tifsakh is on the western bank of the Ferath (Euphrates). Its name really means "skipping-over" and is related to the name of Pesakh (Passover). The trade route from Babylon went through here, probably because it was narrow or shallow enough to "hop across" easily at this point. 'Azzah: i.e., Gaza.5. So Yehudah and Israel dwelt securely, [every] man under his own vine and under his own fig tree, from Dan all the way to Be'ersheva, all the days of Shlomoh. This is a picture of what the Messianic Kingdom will be like. (Mikha 4:4; Zkh. 3:10) Vines and fig trees both need intense tending at harvest-time to keep the birds or other predators away, and this could not be done if they were at war. This is therefore an idiom for peacetime. This explains what Yahshua meant when he said he had seen Nathan'el "under the fig tree". (Yoch. 1:48) He meant that he had already seen that he would be in the Kingdom. 6. Now Shlomoh had 40,000 stalls' [worth] of horses for his chariotry and 12,000 war-horses. This is in direct violation of YHWH's command for kings in Deut. 17:16. The fact that Shlomoh did not pay the price for this in his own lifetime is a direct result of David's merit in YHWH's eyes, but it did lead to civil war after he died. Megiddo and Gezer were some of the cities developed chiefly to house these horses.7. When those deputies supplied sustenance for King Shlomoh and all who came near to King Shlomoh's table, each [in] his month, they didn't lack a thing. Those: refers to the ones mentioned in 4:7.8. They also brought barley and straw for the horses and dromedaries to the place where [each] was, [each] man as he judged [appropriate]. Barley: At the time of Y'hoshua, this was the staple crop for the Israelites. Now there is so much prosperity that the coarser grain was not even eaten by humans; the finer-grained wheat was plentiful enough. But this trend could explain why Yahshua, after his resurrection on the Firstfruits of the Barley Harvest, put so much emphasis on "feeding his sheep". (Yoch. 21:16) Dromedaries: the meaning is uncertain in Hebrew. As he judged: or, according to his responsibility.9. And Elohim gave Shlomoh skill and very much insight, as well as broadness of heart like sand that is on the shore of the sea. Broadness of heart: or of mind. It may refer to an understanding of a wide range of subjects, as we see by his own description in the book of Qoheleth (Ecclesiastes). It also means that with each thing he learned, he made room for more learning. He looked closely at things and became very well-rounded. As we will see below, Shlomoh lectured on many subjects, for he was extremely knowledgeable about how things work and how they interact with one another. If we only "get" one kind of knowledge, it should, of course, be Torah knowledge. But any kind of learning can become Torah knowledge if we apply it properly, for looking at things from many perspectives does increase our understanding and make room for more knowledge. We see someone who is ignorant as a small person, because he has chosen to ignore the knowledge he could have gained. Of course, science has its limits because its methods are often misdirected, so as we open many rooms inside ourselves, we need to, again through the Torah, control what goes into them. But as Avraham did not stay stuck in the stream of idolatry, but made room for the ocean that is YHWH, we, too, can increase our capacity for greater wisdom by acting on what we already do know. Like sand: The promise to Avraham (Gen. 22:17) did not concern only number of descendants, but that he would have descendants who would carry on his traits. Shlomoh was one of them. Shore: literally, lip.10. And Shlomoh's wisdom increased beyond the wisdom of all the sons of the east and beyond all the wisdom of Egypt. Sons of the east: Those descendants of Avraham's concubines to whom he had given "gifts" when he sent them away from Yitzhaq. (Gen. 25:6) Confucius was not born yet, but there was already much "eastern wisdom", which was much more accurate than eastern philosophy. The word for east also means "antiquity", so he may be saying he was wiser than any who had come before him, which lines up with YHWH's promise in 3:12.11. And he grew wiser than any [other] human being--than Eythan the Ezrakhite or Heyman or Khalkol or Darda, the sons of Makhol. And his reputation spread to all the Gentiles round about. These must have been the best-known sages at this time. Eythan was the author of Psalm 89.12. And he uttered 3,000 proverbs, and his songs came to 1,005. His father David may have taught him musical skills as well, though the strength of David's was in his lyrics, because he played a ten-stringed harp, which has limited potential for intricacy. Or he simply had a very large collection of songs others wrote. His proverbs also were not all of his own writing;13. And he discoursed on the topic of trees, from the cedar that is in Levanon to the hyssop that comes out of a wall. He also discoursed on the beasts, the flying creatures, the reptiles, and the fish. Cedar: more like a redwood than what we call cedar in the west, which is very flammable. With the climate at that time (prior to a 6-degree pole shift in 701 B.C.E.), the climate in Israel was much like that of northern California, where the redwoods grow, making the land much greener than it is today, and allowing these trees to reach immense size. He was a master of botany and zoology. He brings out this knowledge in Proverbs, e.g., "Go to the ant, you sluggard!"14. And they came from all the nations to hear the wisdom of Shlomoh--associates of all the kings of the earth who had heard of his wisdom. Associates: Few of the kings themselves came, but at least one queen did come herself. (ch. 10) 15. [5:1 in English versions] Then Khiram, king of Tzor, sent his servants to Shlomoh, because he had heard of his wisdom, because he heard that they had anointed him to reign in place of his father, because Khiram was one who had been a friend to David all his life. With all the other kings in far-off lands (v. 14) sending representatives, Khiram may not have wanted to seem like one of the many "Johnnies-come-lately", saying in effect, "His father and I go way back", and therefore wanted to have a special stake in the kingdom which was also his next-door neighbor. It was obvious to him that Shlomoh could easily crush his kingdom militarily, so he quickly came to terms with this and became subservient to him.16. So Shlomoh sent [word] to Khiram, saying, 17. "You know that my father David was not able to build a house for the Name of YHWH his Elohim because of the presence of the war that was all around him until YHWH had put them under the soles of his feet. David did not have time to focus on building projects because there was always upheaval in his kingdom. His calling was to be a warrior (1 Chron. 28:3), but it was not so with Shlomoh:18. "But now YHWH has given me rest from every side; there is no adversary nor is there any calamity going on. There were not even any natural disasters, especially of the huge, planetary-scale catastrophes like the deluge of Noach or smaller ones like David might have been eyewitness to. (Psalm 18)19. "So here I am, declaring [that I will] build a house for the Name of YHWH my Elohim, as YHWH promised to David my father, saying, 'Your son, whom I will set in your place on your throne--he [is the one who] will build the House for My Name.' He publicly obligated himself to do what he knew was right because of YHWH's promise (though YHWH had never asked for a house; He granted David's desire), having another man of his stature as king hold him accountable. The way he did so was by asking him to get directly involved in the provisions:20. "So now, give orders that cedars from Levanon be cut for me, and my servants will be with your servants, and I will give you any wage at all that you name for your servants, because you know that among us there is not a man who knows [how] to cut timber like the Tzidonians."
21. And it turned out that when Khiram heard the words of Shlomoh, he was extremely glad and said, "Blessed be YHWH today, who has given David [such] a wise son over this vast people!" He was glad to see that David's name and glory were being carried on without fading.22. And Khiram sent [word] to Shlomoh, saying, "I have heard what you have sent me. I myself will do all that you wish in regard to the cedar trees--and cypress trees as well! Cypress trees: Not the type with "knees" such as found in American swamps, but an evergreen, a large stand of which grows on the northern edge of the Temple Mount over the fosse which served as a moat for the Fortress of Antonia. Some alternately translate it "fir", "juniper", or "pine". In any case, it was a lighter wood both in color and weight than the cedar/redwood, and might have been used simply to inlay as an artistic contrast in color to beautify the Temple even more. It was used for the Temple flooring or some other sort of paneling. (2 Chron. 3:5) As a softer wood, it would have been easier on the priests' bare feet. He added a bonus.23. "My servants will bring [them] down from Levanon to the sea, and I will make them into rafts [to convey them] by sea to the place which you send to me, and there I will take them apart so you can carry them away. And you [in exchange] shall carry out my pleasure to provide food for my household." 24. So Khiram started giving Shlomoh cedar trees and cypress trees--all that he wanted. 25. And Shlomoh gave Khiram 20,000 kors of [various types of] wheat as food for his household, as well as 20 kors of oil [of the first] pressing. Shlomoh gave Khiram the same year by year. First pressing: i.e., "extra virgin" oil. Neot Kedumim Biblical Landscape Museum estimates that this was the equivalent of 4,400,000 liters of wheat and 440,000 liters of oil per year.26. And YHWH gave Shlomoh wisdom, as He had promised him, and there was peace between Khiram and Shlomoh, and the two of them cut a covenant. Cut: possibly a pun on the cutting of the cedar trees. (v. 20) Between kings, such covenants were often sealed with the marriage of the two households, and indeed, Shlomoh married the daughter of the king of Tzor. (Psalm 45:12) Should he have made a covenant with a foreign king? David had carried on a stable relationship with him without any covenant. Only those within the Land of Kanaan were proscribed for Israel (Ex. 23:31-32), and this king not only appears not only noble in every respect, but righteous as well, in contrast with a later, or figurative, king of Tyre. (Y'hezq'el 28:12ff). He blessed YHWH (v. 21), and the parallel account in 2 Chron. 2:12 includes the fact that he even called YHWH "maker of heaven and earth", so he at least had respect for Him if he was not an actual believer as well. (The fact that David had conquered the whole region showed, at least in the eyes of the Gentiles, that his Elohim was more powerful than theirs. As David's name became great, YHWH was more often seen as supreme.) A building such as this had not been built before, and Shlomoh trusted him to do it well. So this covenant does seem justified on all counts.27. And Shlomoh raised a labor force from all of Israel, and the labor force was 30,000 men. The fact that Shlomoh let their burdens become too heavy (as Shmu'el had promised any king would) and his son would not lighten them became the cause of the division of the kingdom in the next generation.28. And he sent them to Levanon, 10,000 men in each monthly shift; they were in Levanon for a month, then two months at their own home, and Adoniram was over the labor force. Thus they were basically slaves for four months of the year, and their time off was not "vacation", but the now-limited time to grow their crops and fulfill all their other obligations.29. And Shlomoh had 70,000 loadbearers and 80,000 [stone]cutters in the mountains, Mountains: not in Levanon, but at home in Israel. (See note on v. 31.) There is plenty of stone there, and it far outlasts wood, so even the main support beams for the second floor of common Israelite houses were made of stone.30. besides the chief of Shlomoh's deputies, who were over the work--3,300 [who] oversaw the people who were doing the work. This is nearly one to every 60 workers.31. At the king's order they brought large stones and costly stones to lay the foundation of the House--cut stones. Quarries have been found which appear to be those from which the stones for the Temple were cut and apparently assembled at this remote location to ensure that they fit together before bringing them. (6:7) These stones were immense. One of Herod's stones along the western wall of the Temple Mount was over 20 feet long and weighed as much as a fully-loaded 747 airplane, and one cannot even slide a credit card between two of them!. The way they were placed on top of others without breaking the lower ones was by putting lead balls between them, which bore the entire brunt of the impact and were melted in the process, with the molten metal running out from between them. Tiny remnants of the lead were found. After Israel recovered the Old City of Yerushalayim, part of the northeastern wall of the Temple Mount collapsed, and while it was being put back together, Paleo Hebrew numbers were found designating how they were to fit together, so some of these very stones are still in place there today! The stones for the altar were not cut, so these are the second tier in terms of both construction and holiness.32. And Shlomoh's builders, Khiram's builders, and the Givlites made the wood and the stone ready to build the house. Givlites: a people who lived near Levanon (Y'hoshua 13:5), in the maritime city near Tzor known now as Jebeil, but known to the Greeks as "Byblos". Because papyrus reed was so often shipped there to make scrolls, the word for "book" came from its name. But in Hebrew the name is based on a word meaning "border" or "boundary", suggesting that they worked with boundary-marker stones. Y'hezq'el 27:9 says they were "caulkers" (probably of ships' hulls, but it can also be read as "repairers of seams", and if involved in stone masonry, this would be especially important in keeping cisterns from leaking by fitting them together as tightly as possible where people were not favored with being able to build theirs right into the bedrock. CHAPTER 61. So in the 480th year after the children of Israel had come out of the land of Egypt, in the fourth year of Shlomoh's reign over Israel, in the month of Ziu (that is, the second month), he did begin to build the House for YHWH.480 years: symbolically, 12 generations. In Acts 13:18-21, Paul counts 40 years in the wilderness, 450 years under the Judges, and 40 years under King Sha'ul, totalling 530 years. Adding 40 years of David's reign and the first three years of Shlomo's, the total is 573. But if we subtract the 8 years of subservience to Mesopotamia, 18 to Moav, 20 to the king of Kanaan, 7 to the Midyanites, and 40 to the Filistines (Judges 3:8, 14; 4:2-3; 6:1; 13:1), a total of 93 years that the people of Israel were cast off by YHWH in punishment for their idolatry, the resulting total is indeed 480. (Sir Robert Anderson, The Coming Prince, p. 81ff) So this scribe only counted the years in which Israel was in favor with YHWH. He was still putting up with much; they were not letting the land lie fallow every seventh year, and only occasionally did they keep the festivals YHWH had prescribed. But it was only the years they owed for their idolatry that He did not count this time. Ziu means "brightness, flowering, or cheerfulness"--and indeed it falls in the springtime, two weeks after Passover. This was the mood with which construction started. Josephus counts 592 years (Antiquities of the Jews 8:3:1-3), saying this was also 1,020 years after Avraham's leaving Mesopotamia for Kanaan, 3,102 years since creation, and in Khiram's eleventh year (but, he adds, 240 years after the city of Tzor was founded). He says the foundations were laid deep in the ground of strong stones that would resist the force of time, uniting them to the earth so they would be a sure foundation for the very heavy stone of the buildings.2. Now the House that King Shlomoh built for YHWH was sixty cubits in its length, twenty in its width, and thirty cubits in its height. The second Temple was about twice as tall.3. And the porch on the front of the House's sanctuary was twenty cubits in its length, covering the face of the [whole] width of the House, and its width was ten cubits over the front of the House. Length...width: Somewhat confusing because the "length" corresponds to the measurement of the width of the (eastern) front of the building. In this case, the porch is "turned sideways", so we would nowadays call the second "width" listed here the depth. In other words, it covered the whole front of the Temple building, and extended ten cubits outward from it.4. And he made windows [with] narrowing frames for the House. Narrowing: they got narrower from the outside of the wall to the inside of the wall they sat in, with diagonal sides to the casing. This is the opposite of how most ancient buildings were made, which allowed the light to diffuse over a wider area inside. The rabbis say these windows were not designed to let light into the Temple, but to let the light from within the Temple (i.e., the menorah and whatever radiance of YHWH's presence was there at any time) shine outward from within. Compare the Temple that still remains to be built, as described in Y'hezq'el (Ezekiel) 40ff.5. And against the wall of the House on every side he built extensions of the walls of the House all around for the temple-building and the [sanctuary of] the oracle, and he made side-chambers all around. Compare the description in Y'hezq'el 41. Each of these passages helps us understand the other. Side-chamber: apparently cells within the thick walls of the structure surrounding that which housed the sanctuaries, with a thick buffering wall on each side. The word for "side-chamber" is the same as the Hebrew word for "rib", and comes from a root word meaning to curve, possibly because, as we will see, each of the three levels drew in a cubit closer to the main structure. The shape also suggested "shoulders" (v. 8), as they would only be half as tall as the central structure. This still suggests the shape of a tent. In any case, figuratively the "ribs" surround the "heart" of the Temple.6. The lowest side-chamber was five wide by the cubit, the middle one, six, and the third, seven in its width by the cubit, because on the outside of the House all around he set [ledges] recessing [toward the building] so as to avoid [their] being fastened into the [actual] walls of the House. 7. And during its construction, the House was built of stone fully prepared [at the] quarry, so that no hammers or chisel or any iron tool was heard at the House while it was being built. This is a picture of how YHWH is again preparing His "living stones" outside His Land so that we will be perfected and ready to fit together into the House that He really wants to live in by the time He brings us back from exile. It would not be fitting for us to continue to be corrected and disciplined after we are already in the fullness of His presence and in a position to be a visible picture for the nations of what kind of people He wants to dwell among. It is like the Sabbath, which must be fully prepared for in advance. The noise of iron is connected in Deut. 28:48 with the curse of slavery to our enemies, and that is not the goal here. Rabbinic writers say the reason no noise was heard was because clashing iron is most often heard in the context of war, so it is considered the sound of death, and this was a place of life. Noise, as heard in children, is connected with immaturity, and this is our time for the hacking to be done on us so that any noise of pain or complaint is out of the way so we are ready for the place where we must arrive already mature. When the Kingdom arrives, it will be too late to make any more preparations. Josephus says the stones were polished and laid together so smoothly and harmoniously that onlookers could not tell that any tool had even been used on them, but they seemed naturally united together, much as stone masons can do today with countertops which seem seamless when sanded properly. The altar would be constructed first out of stones which were never even touched by iron tools (Deut. 27:5), a picture of those whose lives are shaped directly by the water of the Torah. They still have to be mortared together by commitment to the Torah and to one another. But others fit together much less readily, having been influenced by men's doctrines or mere selfishness; they will have to submit to the chiseling of the way the Messiah interprets the Torah if they are to fit properly together to form one unified dwelling-place for YHWH. 8. The entrance to the middle side-structure was on the right shoulder of the House, and they went up onto the middle [floor] by way of winding stairs, and [the same way] from the middle one to the third. Winding stairs: or possibly stairways that doubled back on each other (as with a landing in the middle), or even just a shaft (i.e., stairwell) or enclosed space with stairs or a ladder within. This may have been on the inside of the House, where the math does not otherwise add up exactly per Y'hezq'el's description. Josephus says the upper room over the Temple was entered by steps within the thickness of the wall because it had no large door on the eastern end as the lower house had, but entrances were from the sides through very small doors.9. Thus he constructed the House and brought it to completion, and he paneled the inside with beams and rows of cedar trees. He did not start the job but leave it undone. Beams: or rafters. Rows: from a word meaning "set in order" as in battle rank.10. Then he built the side-structure against the whole house, its height five cubits, and they held to the House with timbers of cedar.
11. Then the word of YHWH came to Shlomoh, saying, 12. "This House that you are building--if you will walk in the customs I have prescribed and carry out My correct legal procedures, and you pay careful attention to walk in all My commands, then I will confirm with you My word that I promised to David your father, The promise was still conditional with each generation.13. "and I will [settle down and] reside in the midst of the descendants of Israel, and I will not abandon My people Israel." Unlike idols, He would really be present! Abandon: let go slack, or simply leave. If He did, the whole purpose of beautifying this House in so many ways would be defeated. But to keep Him there, we must keep our house in order. Though in the excitement the scribe inspires by his description here it is hard to think about the fact that this whole structure would later be burned and torn down, we must bear in mind that that was the way this part of the story ended some 400 years later. It was designed to be permanent and probably could have lasted to our own day with very little needing to be replaced, but because some of his descendants rested on their laurels and became slack about the worship of foreign deities. The structure that later replaced it impressed Yahshua's disciples, as it was far larger than this one, but he too refocused their perspective by prophesying its demise (Luqa 19:44) because the people at large were missing its main purpose for existence. The House belonged to YHWH, and He always had the right to take back a gift He had given when it was being abused by the recipients. 14. So Shlomoh kept building the House, and was bringing it to completion. Bringing it to completion: or, making it a bride. Indeed, in Yochanan's vision, the New Yerushalayim is called the Lamb's wife. (Rev. 21:9)15. As he was building the inside walls of the House with a framework of cedar, from the floor of the House to the sides of the ceiling, he overlaid the inside with wood, and overlaid the floor of the House with planks of cypress. 16. And he built the twenty cubits on the flanks of the [back of the] House of cedar planks, from the floor to the walls, and he built a housing for it to serve as the oracle for the Holy of Holies. Oracle: Heb., d'vir, related to the term for "spoken word".17. And [the] forty cubits became the House--that is, the Temple, in front of it. This is referring to the "Holy Place" that sat in front of the Holy of Holies, connected to it, but a separate entity. Temple: Heb., heykhal, from a word meaning "to be able", "to endure", "to prevail", and "to overcome".18. And the cedar toward the inside on the surface was engraved with buds and open blooms. The whole [thing] was cedar; there was not [one] stone seen. Buds: or, gourds. Open blooms: or, freed shining things--something that attracts attention, as a flower does to pollinating insects. The contrast may have been to show that not only potential fruitfulness was needed, but actual fullness. Not one stone seen: It was fully insulated, being entirely closed in, hiding the rough and cold exterior. This parallels the fact that no iron tool was heard on site. 19. And he made the oracle in the innermost part of the House ready to place the Ark of the Covenant of YHWH there. Made ready: finished every aspect of it so YHWH would be "comfortable" there. To place: stood in way that is sure, firm, and stable. Leen Ritmeyer has found evidence (immediately under the present Dome of the Rock) of not only the leveling of the bedrock so the walls could be level, but exactly the right distance from them, there is a rectangular depression cut into the bedrock that is exactly the size needed to set the ark in so it would not topple on the otherwise-uneven stone floor.20. And [as] for the dimensions of the oracle, [it was] twenty cubits long, twenty cubits wide, and its height twenty cubits. And he overlaid it with tightly-adhering gold, and overlaid the altar with cedar. Dimensions: literally, faces. Height twenty: as compared to the thirty for the front section. Either the rear part was lower than the front room in its entirety, or a separate cubical room was built inside the outer structure, which did not reach all the way to the outer roof. But also, most depictions (based on rabbinic writings) show a stepped rise between the two rooms, possibly because the bedrock itself rises several feet higher right at this spot. This may correlate with the "separate base" of verse 30. The altar: This was the altar of incense inside the Holy Place. The wood itself would add a beautiful scent to the room as well. But why overlay further what was already overlaid with gold? He may have built the altar of cedar instead of acacia this time, and overlaid that with gold. 
21. Then Shlomoh overlaid the inside of the House with tightly-adhering gold, then he crossed chains over in front of the sanctuary, and overlaid it with gold.
Josephus described the cedar boards overlaid with gold being held together by thick chains, which supported and strengthened the building.22. And the whole inside he overlaid with gold until the whole House was complete, and all of the altar that belonged to the sanctuary he overlaid with gold. 23. And inside the sanctuary he made two kh'ruvim of oil-wood ten cubits in height. Kh'ruvim: a class of messengers especially associated with guarding set-apart places. Some depict them as "winged sphinxes", but this may be a result of Babylonian influence. YHWH is said to dwell between the kh'ruvim. (Yeshayahu 37:16) There was a pair built right into the lid of the ark of the covenant, but these are separate, much larger depictions. Oil-wood: probably olive wood, since oil for anointing comes from that tree's fruit. But the fact that these two 15-foot-tall depictions cut from the trunks of trees exist in the Temple probably formed the basis for the imagery of the two olive trees (Zkh. 4:11) as the two anointed ones who stand beside the Master of all the earth. Revelation 11:3 carries on this vision, and Yahshua's transfiguration suggests that these two witnesses are Moshe and Eliyahu, as representatives of the Torah and the prophets, which are indeed where our anointing must come from or it is invalid.24. And the wing of the one kh'ruv was five cubits, and the wing of the second kh'ruv was five cubits; [it was] ten cubits from the extremity of its wings all the way to the [other] extremity of its wings. 25. And the second kh'ruv was ten by the cubit; both kh'ruvim had one measurement and [the same] shape. They were a picture of what YHWH wanted for Israel: equal weights and measures. (Deut. 25:15; Prov. 20:10)26. The height of the one kh'ruv was ten cubits, and the second kh'ruv was the same. There is no difference between them, except that they are facing opposite directions. This is reminiscent of both Messiah and Yerushalayim being called "YHWH is our righteousness". (Yirmeyahu 23:6; 33:16)27. And he put the kh'ruvim inside the innermost [part of the] House, and the wings of the kh'ruvim spread out so that the wing of the one touched the second wall with their wings toward the middle of the House, wing to wing. 28. And he overlaid the kh'ruvim with gold. 29. And [on] all the walls of the House from every side he carved engravings of figures of kh'ruvim, palm trees, and open blooms, [both] inside and outside. It was a representation of the Garden of Eden, the last place YHWH had been known to walk with men in perfect harmony, for the purpose of the Temple was to bring us back into YHWH's presence--with the reminder that kh'ruvim still guard it, because particular steps still have to be taken to correct for our continued unworthiness to enter that presence.30. And he overlaid the separate base of the House with gold, [both] inside and outside.
A fifth: probably the doors constituted one fifth of the length of the wall. 2 Chron. 3:14 tells us there was also a veil covering these doors as well as the other set of doors. It would not physically keep anyone out, but if necessary the w hole room could be blockaded off. Another detail about the front of the building that 2 Chron. 3 includes that this account does not is that there were two separate pillars on the very front of the building (v. 17), which did not hold up the porch or anything else in particular. Some depict them as flanking the entrance to the porch, others as being atop the porch roof.32. The two doors were also of oil-wood, and he carved on them engravings of kh'ruvim, palm trees, and open blooms, and overlaid [them] with gold, and he beat out the gold over the kh'ruvim and on the palm trees. Beat out: or possibly, caused to go down.33. And in the same way he made for the entrance of the Temple [side] doorposts of oil-wood from with a fourth. Fourth: probably meaning a fourth of the width of the wall.34. But both of the doors were of cypress wood. The two loose sides of the one door folded [back], and both hanging-leaves of the second door folded [back]. They would fold flat against the doorposts so they would essentially be invisible. In fact, most people would never even see this far into the Temple, as only the priests entered after it was finished. This scribe may have been a priest himself or someone who knew those who had worked on the construction.35. And he carved kh'ruvim, palm trees, and open blooms, and overlaid [them] with gold fitted smoothly over what was engraved. 36. Then he built the inner court, three rows of hewn stone and a course of cut cedar beams.
38. and in the eleventh year, in the month of Bul (which is the eighth renewing), the House was finished [down] to every matter and to its every detail. So he was building it for seven years. Detail: literally, judgment, measurement, ordinance, proper fitting. More precisely, it was seven years and six months. Bul means "wealth or plenty". CHAPTER 71. Then Shlomoh [took] thirteen years to build his own house, and when he had finished his own house,This does not necessarily mean Shlomoh's house was more elaborate than YHWH's Temple, just because he took almost twice as long to build it. Undoubtedly he had more of an urgency when building the Temple, and built his own at a more relaxed pace. Josephus agrees with this, saying he began after the Temple was completed, and was not as zealous for this project.2. he built the House of the Forest of Levanon. Its length was 100 cubits, its breadth 50 cubits, and its height 30 cubits above four rows of cedar pillars, with cut cedar beams on the pillars. 3. Then it was paneled with cedar on the side-beams that were on top of the 45 pillars (15 to a row). Paneled with cedar: Hareuveni translates it, "roofed with 45 cedar planks, 15 in a row, which were laid upon the beams that rested on the pillars." She illustrates this as 15 support beams laid perpendicular to the 4 rows (v. 2) of 15 cedar pillars, each across the tops of four of the pillars (one from each row), with the slats of wood laid at intervals perpendicular to the beams so they would still let sunlight come in through the roof.4. And there were transparent framed passages in three rows, reflecting-glass [adjacent] to reflecting-glass in three occurrences. Reflecting-glass: from a word meaning "light" or "place of seeing", related to the term for "seer", who would often have visions in the reflection in a well's water.5. And all the doorways and side-doorposts had squared frames, and a reflecting-glass was opposite a reflecting-glass three times. 6. And he made the columned porch 50 cubits long and 30 cubits wide. And the porch was over their faces, and the pillars and the main beam were over their faces. 7. And the porch of the throne where he judged he made the Porch of Judgment, and it was paneled with cedar from split floor to split floor. This is a second porch where Shlomoh held court. Since this area had been a threshing floor where the former owner had winnowed grain, it must have been a breezy area, making it pleasant to sit in a semi-open-air place rather than indoors when the weather was warm.8. And [as for] his own house where he lived, the other courtyard within the porch was just like this workmanship. And Shlomoh also made a house for Pharaoh's daughter, whom he had taken [as a wife], just like this porch. Porch: literally, silencer. Pharaoh's daughter was his first wife, and clearly the senior woman of his household once he took other wives, judging by the fact that he built her her own palace; since this thirteen years would end about 24 years into his 40-year reign, he undoubtedly had quite a few other wives by the time it was built.9. All of these stones were costly, according to the measurement of hewn stones, sawed with saws inside and out, the foundation as well as the coping, and on the outside as far as the large courtyard. David had set the Ammonites he conquered to the tasks of hewing wood and drawing water (2 Shmu'el 12:31). Would Shlomoh have retained them as slaves to do this work? 1 Kings 9:15-20 states that he used the remnants of the nations that Y'hoshua had conquered where not all were killed. Coping: the trim or molding on the eaves. The Hebrew term comes from the term for "handbreadth".10. And the foundation was of costly stones--large stones--stones ten cubits and eight cubits [long]. Costly: or precious, but there are no precious stones this big, so they could have been something like marble or just expensive limestone since they were so large. These would be twelve to fifteen feet (16 to 20 meters) long. Yeshayahu/Isa. 54:11 and Rev. 21:19 speak of the foundations of the whole city of Yerushalayim in days to come being built of such materials.11. And above were precious stones, according to the measurement of hewn stones, and cedar. 12. And the large courtyard on every side was [made up] of three rows of hewn stones, and a row of cut cedar beams, both for the inner courtyard of the House of YHWH and for the porch of the House. Or, cedar beams, and [it extended] to the inner courtyard... All of these buildings were part of the entire palace complex, and Josephus says there were also smaller outbuildings for cooking, dining, storage, etc. 13. Then King Shlomoh sent and brought Khiram from Tzor. 14. He was the son of a widow woman from the tribe of Nafthali, and his father was a man of Tzor, an engraver of bronze, and he was filled with all the skill and intelligence and knowledge to accomplish all the craftsmanship in bronze, so he came to King Shlomoh and carried out all of his craftsmanship. This is not the same Khiram who was the king of Tzor, but was probably younger than he and named for him when Khiram was already king. He correlates with both B'tzal'El and Aholiav, constructors of the Tabernacle (Ex. 31). His name is elsewhere written as Khuram, which is reminiscent of B'tzal'El's grandfather Khur, and bronze is a picture of judgment, the meaning of "Dan", whose tribe Aholiav was from. Khiram means "noble". Due to his mixed parentage, it is not certain that thos Khiram would be allowed to be part of the assembly of Israel, but he was celebrated for his expertise.15. That is, he formed the two pillars of bronze. The height of one pillar was 18 cubits, and a measuring-cord of 12 cubits went around the second pillar. The pillars were about 27 feet tall. I.e., the circumference of the pillar was 12 cubits, or 18 feet. This would make them about 6 feet (2 meters) in diameter. Somewhat different measurements are given in 2 Kings 25 and 2 Chronicles 3.16. And he made two capital-crowns, cast of molten bronze, to put on the tops of the pillars. Five cubits was the height of the one capital-crown; five cubits was also the height of the second capital-crown. 17. Nets of entwined chainwork festooned the capital-crowns that were on top of the pillars, seven for the one capital-crown, and seven for the second capital-crown. Festoons: or, twisted threads.18. When he fashioned the pillars, two rows went around on the one net to cover the capital-crowns that were on top of the pomegranates, and he did the same for the second capital-crown. Pillars: from a word for standing or enduring, and they often do live up to this by being all that is left when the roof and walls have crumbled. Yahsahu said he would make the overcomer like a pillar in His Father's household that would nevetr have to leave. (Rev. 3:12) The pomegranates: described in verse 20.19. And the capital-crowns that were on to of the pillars were fashioned like six-petalled flowers on the porch--four cubits. Six-petalled flowers: the identity is not precise, but it was probably daffodils, narcissus, or lilies. Four cubits: The capitals were each about 6 feet (2 meters) high.20. And also, above the capital-crowns on both of the pillars, corresponding to the hollow that crossed over the network, were 200 rows of pomegranates all around on the second capital-crown. 21. He stood the pillars up for the porch of the Temple. When he set up the pillar on the right, he called its name Yakhin. When he set up the pillar on the left, he called its name Boaz. For the porch: They apparently did not hold up the porch, but either stood on top of it or flanked its entrance--a common practice at that time, though its purpose is unknown. Yakhin means "He will establish". Boaz means "in Him is strength". Together, they would form a reminder to all who saw them that Israel's strength and security were actually in YHWH. Boaz was also, incidentally, the name of Shlomoh's great-grandfather, without whom neither he nor David would have existed. (Ruth 4:10) Moshe had sung of establishing the people on the mountain of YHWH's inheritance (Ex. 15:17), and the pillars would remind the people who might have been complaining about how much he taxed them to pay for these projects that this was actually commanded in the Torah, as his authority to do such a thing.22. And on the top of the pillars was workmanship of six-petalled flowers. Then the work on the pillars was complete.
This large basin was 15 feet in diameter. Rotated around: or, was round on every side. It was 45 feet in circumference.  24. Under its rim it was encircled by gourd-shaped [decorations] going all the way around it, ten per cubit, enclosing the "sea" from every side in two rows. The gourd-shapes were cast [in the mold] when it was cast.
25. It stood on top of twelve oxen, three facing north, three facing the west, three facing the south, and three facing the sunrise, with the "sea" was [set] on them from above, and all of their back ends were [turned] inward. This is how the twelve tribes (other than Levi) were laid out around the Tabernacle in the wilderness. (Numbers 2:3-31) It therefore symbolized the purification of all of the tribes of Israel.26. And it was as thick as an extended handbreadth, and its rim was crafted like the rim of the cup of the bloom of a six-petalled flower. It could hold 2,000 baths. Bath: a unit of liquid measure, equal to the dry measure of an eyfah (about 9 imperial gallons or 40 liters, so it could hold the equivalent of 80,000 coke bottles! Some rabbinical writings consider it half of this amount.) 27. Then he made ten bronze bases. Four by the cubit was the length of the one base, four by the cubit its width, and three by the cubit its height. Bases: The Hebrew word emphasizes that they would be firmly fixed and would stabilize what they upheld. As we will see, these "bases" held washbasins that could be rolled around to different areas of the Temple courts as needed.28. And this was the design of the base: they had valves, and the valves were between the joints. Valves: literally, something that closed up. Some translate it "side-panels".29. And on the valves that were between the joints [there were] lions, oxen, and kh'ruvim, and on the joints, a pedestal [to stabilize] what was above. And below the lions and oxen were ornaments of sunken workmanship, Pedestal: or, the same as. Sunken: or possibly, hanging.30. with four bronze wheels for each base, as well as bronze axles. And its four occurrences had sloping [supports] underneath the washbasin. The molten-cast sloping [supports] were across from each ornament. 31. And its mouth was on the inside of the crown a cubit above, and its mouth was round with the same workmanship, a cubit and half a cubit. On its mouth were also carvings, and their valves were square, not round. The same workmanship: The Temple Institute interprets (see painting at verse 24) this as meaning these washbasins were made in the same style as the much larger "sea", except that it had a lid that opened and closed by a hinge. They were smaller, portable versions of it--carts that could be filled from the large washbasin and used wherever needed in the courts of the Temple.32. And the four wheels were lower than the valves. The hubs of the wheels were on the base, and the height of one wheel was a cubit and a half. Hubs: or, axle-trees; literally, hands, so the Temple Institute interpreted them as having five spokes, like fingers.33. And the workmanship of the wheels was like the style of a chariot wheel--their hubs, their convex surfaces, their spokes, and what held them together were all of cast [metal]. 34. And the four sloping [supports went] toward the four corners of one base, and the supports were [part] of the base [itself]. 35. And the height of the top of the base was half a cubit, and it rotated all the way around, and on the top of the base, its hinges and its clasps came [directly] from it. Hinges: again, literally hands--i.e., tenons. Clasps: or, closers, the same word in Hebrew as "valves" above, but with a different purpose here, that of keeping the lids of the basin closed. Came from it: i.e., were cast as part of the same mold when the basin was being made.36. And on its hinge-plates and its clasps he engraved kh'ruvim, lions, and figures of palm trees, wherever there were blank spaces on each, with ornamentation all around. He left no part of them bare or undecorated!37. He made the ten bases like this; all of them had one [and the same] cast, one measurement, one shape. Shape: or size; literally, one cut.38. Then he made ten bronze washbasins. One washbasin held forty baths. The one basin [measured] four by the cubit. One washbasin [went] on top of one base, for [each of] the ten bases. 39. And he set five bases on the right shoulder of the House, and five on the shoulder on its left [side], and the "sea" he stationed eastward from the right shoulder of the House, toward the south. Toward the south: or, opposite the south (negev, which actually means the dry place, being also the name of the desert in the southern third of Israel). The "right" shoulder would therefore be from the perspective of inside the Temple facing out the front door. The Temple Institute's depiction of this "sea" actually has it in the northeast quadrant of the Temple courtyard for unknown reasons. 40. Then Khiram made the fire-pots and the shovels and the pitchers. Thus Khiram completed the production of all the craftsmanship that he made for King Shlomoh [for the] House of YHWH: Pitchers: literally, vessels to toss the blood of the slaughtered animals against the altar. They had a long handle and were pointed at the bottom so the priest could not set them down until after he had dashed the blood out of them, so that it would not coagulate while he forgetfully did something else en route to the altar.41. two pillars, the two bowls of the capital-crowns that were on top of the pillars, two nets to cover both bowls of the capital-crowns that were on top of the pillars, 42. 400 pomegranates for both of the nets (two rows of pomegranates for each net to cover both bowls of the capital-crowns that were on top of the pillars), 43. the ten bases and the ten washbasins on top of the bases, 44. and the one "sea" and the twelve oxen beneath the "sea", 45. as well as the fire-pots, the shovels, and the pitchers. And all of these implements that Khiram made for King Shlomoh [for the] House of YHWH [were of] smoothly-polished bronze. Smoothly-polished: from a term meaning to scour, push, wring out, or drive recklessly--i.e., burnished with very heavy friction! They would be extremely reflective. To be able to shine like this, we need the judgment of Torah and the sharpening of life in community.46. The king [had] them cast in the district of the Yarden in the compacted clay soil between Sukkoth and Tzarthan. Sukkoth was where Yaaqov had built stables for his animals, and Tzarthan was where the priests had stood in the river to stop the water flow while Y'hoshua led the whole nation across the Yarden into the Land. Thus this soil that was somehow best for the project was on the opposite side of the Yarden River from Yerushalayim, in present-day Jordan. The hard clay was somehow itself the mold, whether directly or indirectly, such as through wax casts being made first and then displaced with gold as the present-day Temple menorah was made. But techniques existed then that are not understood today.47. And Shlomoh left all the implements [unweighed] since they were very, very many; the weight of the bronze was not sought out. There was therefore no way to know the exact value of what was taken when the Temple was destroyed. (2 Kings 25) When judgmenbt (represented by bronze) is gone, nothing else can be properly measured. 48. Then Shlomoh prepared all the implements that were [for the] House of YHWH: the golden altar, the golden table on which the Bread of the Faces [would be set], 49. the five pure-gold lampstands on the right and five on the left in front of the oracle, and the golden blossoms, lamps, and tongs, So there were ten lamps in the Holy Place, probably smaller than the prescribed menorah, and possibly with only a single oil-pan on each, but others depict them as each having a trunk and six branches like it. There was a much larger space to light here than in the Tabernacle, which had only half its floor space and one third of its height.50. and the thresholds, snuffers, pitchers, hollow vessels, and fire-pans [were of] tightly-enclosed gold, while the hidden sockets for the doors of the innermost House, the Holy of Holies, [as well as] for the doors of the Temple building, [were of] gold.
It seems that Shlomoh did all this other work with his own wealth, not that which his father had earmarked for the Temple, so that there would be more resources left by which to keep all of this operating without ceasing. CHAPTER 81. Then Shlomoh called an assembly of all the elders of Israel and all the heads of the tribes, the leaders of the fathers belonging to the descendants of Israel unto King Shlomoh of Yerushalayim, in order to bring the ark of YHWH's covenant up from the City of David, which is Tzion.2. Then every man of Israel was gathered to King Shlomoh in the month of Ethanim (that is, the seventh month), at the festival. The festival: clearly Sukkoth, as this is the one during that month in which the men were already required to come to Yerushalayim anyway.3. When all of the elders of Israel had arrived, the priests picked up the ark 4. and brought the ark of YHWH and the Tent of Appointment up along with all the implements of the Holy Place that were in the tent, and the priests and Levites brought them up. The elders and leaders had probably come in advance of the rest of the people to break down the tent and possibly set it back up. The ark had been in a different tent, and we are not told either was ever set up near the Temple. The book of Maccabees tells us it was eventually stored in a cave in the Jordan River Valley along with the prophet Eliyahu's mantle, and the sit was not far from where Yochanan immersed, suggesting that he had actually found it and was literally wearing the mantle of the one in whose office Yahshua said he had come.5. Then Shlomoh the king and the whole congregation of Israel who had assembled thereupon with him [for the appointment] in the presence of the ark [were] slaughtering flock animals and cattle that [could] not be counted or numbered because they were so many. 6. Then the priests brought the ark of YHWH's covenant in to its place in the sanctuary of the House--into the Holy of Holies under the wings of the kh'ruvim, 7. because the kh'ruvim were spreading out both of their wings toward the place for the ark, and the kh'ruvim overshadowed the ark and its poles from above. 8. And they made the poles long [enough] for the heads of the poles to be seen from the Holy Place in front of the sanctuary, though they could not be seen outside, and they have been there until this day. Until this day: when this history was recorded by the scribe.9. There was nothing in the ark--only the two slabs--the stones which Moshe had deposited therein at Khorev when YHWH cut [a covenant] with the descendants of Israel during their departure from Egypt. What about the other items? There is some hint in the Torah that there were actually two "arks"--one of which possibly fit inside the other, since it was not overlaid with gold. This might only e that one rather than the larger, since Aharon's rod that budded and the omer of manna, which were also in it, are not mentioned. 10. Then what took place when the priests came out of the Holy Place [was] that the cloud filled the House of YHWH, 11. and the priests were not able to remain to minister due to the presence of the cloud, because the weightiness of YHWH had filled the House of YHWH. The same thing took place in Moshe's time (Ex. 40:34-35), so this would show the people that YHWH was placing the same stamp of approval on the Temple as He had with the Tabernacle, as some might have been wondering if He had actually commanded the construction this time. 12. Then Shlomoh said, "YHWH said He would dwell in the thick [dark] cloud. There seems to be a bit of humor in his voice as he begins with, "Well, He said He would do this!" to lighten up the gravity of their fear or frustration. In Deut. 5:22 the same term for "thick cloud" is used to describe the setting at Mt. Sinai when YHWH gave Moshe the commandments. But Shlomoh may be alluding to Psalm 18:11, written by his own father, which describes clouds and darkness in different terms but clearly alludes to similar circumstances relating to YHWH's presence. He demonstrated His presence and approval very vividly. This may be the first time this cloud was seen since Y'hoshua's time.13. "I have truly built You a lofty Home, a fixed place for You to dwell in for ages." A fixed place: It is well-founded on bedrock and on huge ashlar stones, many of which have not been moved even to our day. The actual place where the ark of the covenant sat is still visible as a rectangular cut in the rock which is exactly its size. These events also took place during the month of Ethanim, which means "endurance or permanence". So Shlomoh may have been alluding to that as well.14. Then the king turned to face [them] and blessed the whole congregation of Israel, and the whole congregation of Israel was standing, He would now have his back to the Temple--something rarely done out of respect for YHWH . But now he was acting in the opposite role--on behalf of the people as a representative of YHWH, whereas he had been in the opposite role prior to this point. The priests in the second Temple also turned away from the Temple to bless the people. The words of his blessing are not recorded, possibly because no one else was ever meant to use this particular blessing again. David had followed a similar pattern when blessing the people. (2 Shmu'el 6:18)15. so he said, "Blessed is YHWH, the Elohim of Israel, who spoke by His mouth with David my father, and has by His hand fulfilled [what He] said: 16. "'Since the day I brought My people Israel out from Egypt, I had not chosen a city out of all the tribes of Israel to build a house for My name to come to be there, but I did choose David to be over My people Israel.' 17. "But it was with the heart of David my father to build a House for the Name of YHWH, the Elohim of Israel. Note that it was not a house for YHWH Himself (see below), but a place for His Name to be highlighted. The site was already meaningful due to events in the lives of Avraham and Yaaqov. So why does it seem as if He did not choose it until David made it his capital? It seems Shlomoh's main purpose in invoking the "name above all names" at that time--that of the previous "messiah"--was to prove he was right in centralizing the worship of YHWH through slaughter. This was a political move--allowing slaughter to YHWH to b done only in the territory of Yehudah and Binyamin. There had been other worship sites--Giv'on and Shiloh being the primary ones--and many who marketed live animals to worshippers in them would be upset. People would also have to travel further from some points to worship here, possibly taking up to a week to arrive. Some of the priests would have to move permanently from the other Levitical cities, though David had set up an order for them to come serve in the Temple in shifts. Shlomoh is telling these people that it is not that their cities were so bad, but this was David's city. He is showing his authority (including verse 12) for making this move, which without YHWH's clear endorsement could have caused him major political problems.18. "So YHWH said to my father David, 'On account of the fact that it has come upon your heart to build a House for My Name, you have done rightly because it has been on your heart. 19. "'It's just [that] you will not [be the one to] build the House, because your son who will come forth from your loins--he will build the House for My Name.' David did not act disappointed about this, but kept working diligently to ensure that the project would get done.20. "So YHWH has brought the word that He spoke to reality, because I have arisen in the place of my father and am sitting on the throne of Israel, as YHWH said, and have been building the House for the Name of YHWH, the Elohim of Israel, Several other sons of David who were in line for the throne had died during his lifetime, so Shlomoh is especially grateful that at least one survived to carry out his father's wish. He is clearly awed and very conscious of being a fulfillment of prophecy, as should we as we recognize all the prophecies of the return of the Northern Kingdom of which we are a part today.21. "and I have set there a place for the ark in which [lies] the covenant of YHWH, which He cut with our ancestors when He brought them out from the Land of Egypt."
23. and said, "O YHWH, Elohim of Israel, there is no elohim like You in the heavens above or on the earth beneath, who keeps the covenant and [retains] kindness for Your servants who walk before Your face with their whole heart! All the other elohim "eat their worshippers for lunch", just wanting the attention their worship brings.24. "[You] who have kept [Your word] to Your servant, David my father, which You promised to him--You have both spoken with Your mouth and fulfilled [it] with Your hand, just as it is this day! 25. "So now, O YHWH, Elohim of Israel, safeguard for Your servant, David my father, that which You told him, saying, 'Not a man who belongs to you will be cut off from sitting on the throne of Israel before Me, if your sons will just guard their path, to walk before Me as you have walked before Me.' If: Just after the American Constitutional Convention in 1787, one of its architects, a Dr. Franklin (not Benjamin) was asked, "What have we got, a republic or a monarchy?" He answered, none too optimistically, "A republic--if you can keep it." We have the hope of something much better than a republic, but it is just as fragile, as it depends on our maintaining it. We were on the verge of having the Messianic Kingdom here in Shlomoh's day, but we could not keep it that time. 410 years later this Temple was destroyed. Yahshua's successors also lost hold of most of it. But YHWH is giving us another open door today, and we must "keep it" this time.26. "And now, O Elohim of Israel, please let Your word, which You spoke to Your servant David, my father, be upheld, 27. "since can Elohim really dwell on the earth? Indeed, the heavens and the heavens of heavens could not contain You; how much less this House that I have built?! The heavens: i.e., the sky that we can see, the atmosphere. Heavens of heavens: outer space, both what we can see and what we cannot, as well as the dimensions which we know exist but which we cannot fathom. How much less: the term in Hebrew (af) sounds like a nasal guffaw (being the word for "nose" as well)--since the very idea would be laughable if spoken seriously. And how much less again could one man's body contain all of YHWH?28. "Yet You have turned [Your face] toward the prayer of Your servant and toward his request for favor, O YHWH my Elohim, to listen to the [joyful] cry and the prayer that Your servant is interposing before You today Have turned Your face: i.e., shown respect for.29. "that Your eyes might be open toward this House night and day--toward the place of which You have said, 'My Name will [come to] be there', to listen to the prayer which Your servant will pray toward this place. The prayer: i.e., whatever prayer he might yet make in days to come. And since he does not specify that this refers to himself, though this is understood, but only says "Your servant", it can apply to any of YHWH's servants.30. "As You have heard Your servant's request for favor--and that of Your people Israel, when they will pray toward this place, then may You listen toward the place of Your dwelling in the heavens, and may You hear and forgive: This is the reason we turn toward Yerushalayim when we pray--not because it is magical or because YHWH is only there and not wherever we may be, but because Shlomoh prayed a special blessing on those who approach Him in that manner. He also suggests that there is a special connection between this place on earth and His dwelling place in the heavens.31. "[if] a man errs in regard to his fellow, and an oath is laid on him, [requiring] him to swear, and the oath comes before Your altar in this House, Comes before: i.e., if the case came all the way up through the lower courts, being too difficult for the rulers of 10, 50, 100, and 1,000, and had to be brought before the priests, who were the highest authorities on Torah law.32. "then may You hear [in] the heavens, and act, and bring justice to Your servants, to condemn the one who is wicked, and bring his way [of doing things back] on his own head, and to vindicate the one who is righteous, and to give to him in accordance with that to which he has a right. I.e., "give Your priestly judges the wisdom to rule rightly."33. "When your people Israel may be beaten before an enemy when they might sin against You, and they turn back toward You and raise their hands [in surrender] to Your Name, and judge themselves and beg You for favor in this House, 34. "then may You listen [from] the heavens and pardon the sin of Your people Israel, and bring them back to the Land that You gave to their ancestors. This is very pertinent to us today, as we are in a foreign land because of the sin of our ancestors. It behooves us all the more to turn our petitions toward that place if we cannot actually go there and pray for this very thing.35. "When the skies are restrained and there is no rain because they may have sinned against You, and they pray toward this place and raise their hands [in surrender] to Your Name, and turn away from their sin because You have afflicted them, Afflicted: or, humbled. This is the same term for what we are to do to our souls on Yom haKippurim (Lev. 16:29; 23:27) after the 40-day season of intensified repentance. It also means "become busy with your souls", and indeed YHWH did give us something to do to overcome the problems listed here and below. Sukkoth, which immediately follows, is the time to pray for rain in the Land. If we do not repent in season, we cannot expect Him to send rain in season. (Deut. 11:17)36. "then may You listen [from] the heavens and pardon the sin of Your servants and of Your people Israel, that You might direct them [toward] the right way in which they should walk, and provide rain on Your Land, which You have given to Your people as an inherited possession. Direct: teach, prod, shoot or cast. He does not just let them off the hook; there is a purpose for His forgiving.37. "If there is a famine in the Land, or a plague, or blight or mildew or [swarm of] locusts, if there should be consuming [larva], if its enemy has oppressed it within the land of its gates--any pestilence, any disease [there might be], Consuming larva: or, stripping young locust.38. "[and there results] any prayer or any request for favor that may come for any human being belonging to Your whole people Israel, who will each recognize the plague of his own heart and spread out [the palms of] his hands toward this House, Why does he brig up all these scenarios at what is meant to be a joyful time? Because he is a prophet, even if this simply means he understands where people's tendencies will carry them. This recognition is the real purpose YHWH sends us problems such as these--because there is already a worse problem right within us, and we need to acknowledge it before we dare to ask Him for relief. This plague is selfishness, and in a way better understood by the descendants of Avraham's concubines whom he sent with giftings to the east, much of the trouble in our lives directly emanates from where our hearts are--what we ignore, what we give weight to, what we embrace. We create our own problems. Therefore, we must see this House itself--though it could be walked into--as still being a model of the Kingdom. "What do these stones mean?" as Y'hoshua said the children would ask about another heap built as a witness. Its design teaches us how to bring selflessness to its fullness. This pattern is to overcome the pattern David said was laid out for the golden calf (Psalm 106), which has stayed with us.39. "then may You listen [in] the heavens, the place of Your dwelling, and pardon, and act, and give to each whose heart You know according to his habits (because You alone are acquainted with the heart of all the sons of Adam), Many peole who do not wish to change use the excuse that, "YHWH knows my heart". This verse tells us that the way He knows our hearts is by how we act.40. "so that they may revere You all the days that they are alive on the surface of the Land that You gave to our ancestors. Revere: fear, stand in awe of, respect.41. "And likewise toward the foreigner (he who is not from among Your people Israel, but has come from a distant land for the sake of Your Name-- Foreigner: in this case, he specifically had Khiram of Tzor in mind, because he could hardly refuse to allow those who had helped build the Temple to come there to worships! The term (nokri) means someone passing through the Land or who deals with Israel in some way. He might have a summer house in Israel, and is friendly toward her, but does not necessarily spend much of his time there, in contrast with a sojourner or exile (ger) living more or less permanently in the midst of Israel. 42. "since they will hear of Your great Name and Your firm hand and Your outstretched arm) when he has come and prayed toward this House-- 43. "may You hear [from] the heavens, the established place where You sit, and do according to all for which the stranger calls out to You, so that all the peoples of the earth may know Your Name so they can revere You just like Your people Israel and be aware that this House that I have built is called by Your Name. Name: implies one's reputation also. The stranger: This could have been an open door for idolatry to make inroads intro Israel, so he qualifies this in verse 41. But YHWH has worshippers who are not directly part of the covenant. He honors any who honor Him. The prophets uphold the idea that some foreigners will have high positions in the Kingdom if they prove abundantly loyal. (Compare Proverbs 17:2.) Yahshua alludes to this when he speaks of us letting our light shine. (Mat. 5:16)44. "When Your people goes out to battle against its enemy in the way that You have sent them and they pray to YHWH in the direction of the city that You have chosen and this House that I have built for Your Name, 45. "then may You hear their prayer and their plea for favor from the heavens, and carry out justice for them. Though YHWH never commanded that we pray toward Yerushalayim, this special blessing only applies to those who do. Carry out justice for them: or, prosecute their cause.46. "When they sin against You (for there is no man who does not miss the target) and You become exasperated with them and turn them over to the face of an enemy, and their captors take them away captive to the land of the enemy, [whether] far away or nearby, When: not "if"; Shlomoh assumes this will eventually take place, based on his familiarity with human nature. Exasperated: as in English, the Hebrew term stems from a word meaning to breathe hard. Far away or nearby: could also mean "later or sooner".47. "and they turn their hearts back [while still] there in the land where they have been taken captive, and repent and cry out to You for pity in the land of their exile, saying, 'We have erred, we have become crooked, we are guilty!' While still there in the land: This clearly applies to us. We cannot expect Him to bring us back to the Land unless we repent while outside it, for we must already be a set-apart people before we will be ready to live there a gain. Compare the nations who come from the ends of the earth who say, "Our fathers have inherited lies." (Yirmeyahu 16:19)48. "and they turn back to You with all their heart and with all their longing in the land of their enemies who have taken them captive, and pray to You in the direction of their Land, which You gave to their ancestors--the city that You have chosen and the House that I have built for Your Name-- 49. "then may You hear their prayer and their plea for favor from the heavens, and plead their cause, 50. "and forgive Your people who have sinned against You and [pardon] all their trespasses in which they have crossed the line against You, and grant them pity in the face of their captors, that they may have compassion on them, Grant them pity: as when the Egyptians donated many types of expensive items to the Israelites who were getting ready to leave. Nowadays we seldom feel overtly like captives, but in modern times the Jews under the Soviet state were specifically restrained from returning to the Land. Called the "refuseniks", they have stories of how when they demonstrated to YHWH that they wanted "with all their heart and with all their longing" to emigrate to Israel by giving up the prospect of a higher education so they would not be in demand in the "motherland" or went to other extremes to petition for the permits to leave for their true motherland--and were eventually granted pity, though sometimes not until after long hunger strikes.51. "since they are Your people and Your inherited possession, whom You brought out of Egypt--out from the iron-smelting forge-- 52. "so may Your eyes be open to Your servant's plea for favor and Your people Israel's cries for pity to hear them every [time] they call out to You, 53. "because You have separated them out to be an inherited possession for Yourself from all the peoples of the earth, as You promised by the hand of Moshe Your servant when You brought our ancestors out from Egypt, O Master YHWH!" Separated: divided from, withdrew from, and excluded everything else; from the same word for Havdallah, the time of making a distinction between the Sabbath and the rest of the week. We can therefore draw an analogy between Israel and the Sabbath, for we are meant to be a people that will bring YHWH rest, in contrast to all other nations. 54. And as Shlomoh finished praying to YHWH this whole intercession and request for favor, he rose up from bowing on his knees before the altar of YHWH with [the palms of] his hands spread [toward] the skies, 55. and he stood and blessed the whole congregation of Israel [with a] loud voice, saying, 56. "Blessed is YHWH, who has given rest to His people Israel, according to all that He promised! Not one word has failed of everything pleasant that He promised through Moshe His servant. Rest: or, a resting place. Failed: fallen or let drop. Indeed, until this building was complete, there did remain some unfinished business in the Torah. David had done what the prophet later told us to do: to give YHWH "no rest until He establishes Yerushalayim as a song of praise in the Land. (Yeshayahu/Isa. 62:7) Through Moshe: literally, by the hand of Moshe.57. "May YHWH our Elohim be with us as He was with our ancestors; may He not abandon us or let us go, He is still not resting on his laurels. He does not assume that this will take place automatically. Let us go: or set us free, let us loose. That does not sound like such a bad thing, but last time the sanctuary was about to be built, the people had loosened themselves--"thrown off restraints" (Ex. 32:25), so Shlomoh especially prayed that YHWH would not abandon them to their own natural inclinations. He knew all too well that true freedom only came from remaining within boundaries that had to be preserved and guarded carefully, or it would be lost very quickly.58. "so that [we may] incline our hearts toward Him, to walk in all His ways, and to guard His orders, His prescribed customs, and His principles of judgment, as He commanded our ancestors. 59. "And may these words which I have prayed before YHWH be near to YHWH our Elohim day and night to accomplish the vindication of His servant and the vindication of His people Israel--each day's matter on its day, Matter: or word. I.e., whatever word in His Torah applies to the particular day. Compare Yahshua's instruction to pray that YHWH would "give us today our bread for today" (Mat. 6:11) and Agur's request in Proverbs 30:8.60. "so that all the peoples of the earth might know that YHWH--He is Elohim; there is nothing more. 61. "So let your heart be completely with YHWH our Elohim, to walk in His prescribed customs and to preserve His orders as [they are] this day." The "your" here is plural. If only Shlomoh himself would have done what he told Israel to be sure to do! 62. Then the king and all who were with him made a slaughter before YHWH, 63. and Shlomoh did the slaughter of the peace offerings that were slaughtered unto YHWH--22,000 oxen, and 120,000 flock animals; thus the king and all the sons of Israel dedicated the House of YHWH. Peace offerings: literally, completenesses.64. On that day, the king set apart as holy the center of the courtyard that was in front of the House of YHWH, because he had carried out the ascending [offering] there, along with the tributes and the fat of the peace offerings, because the bronze altar that was in YHWH's presence was too small to contain the ascending [offerings], the tributes, and the fat of the peace offerings. The center: The whole complex was 500 cubits (750 feet or about 250 meters) square. Apparently until this point there was no division of the inner courts from outer ones as there was in the second Temple; all the invitees could apparently see the altar from where they watched. (v. 14) Or, this verse may even refer to designating an additional place for another altar or several more since one was not enough. This time they did not need to enlarge the altar space because there were too many sins to atone for, but because of the people's and especially Shlomoh's generosity.65. Now at that time Shlomoh carried out the Feast, and all of Israel along with him, a great congregation [gathered] from the entrance to Khamath to the River of Egypt, before YHWH our Elohim, seven days, then seven days--fourteen days [in all]. The first seven days may have been observed only by the elders mentioned in verse 1 before the rest of the people arrived. The Feast: that is, Sukkoth--though he extended it, possibly because there was so much meat to be eaten. Therefore, the seven previous days would have been a feast as well. Either Yom Kippur (five days before Sukkoth begins) was not observed that year since the sanctuary had not yet been dedicated, or it was not generally practiced at all since Y'hoshua's time, for this appears to be the first time the observance of even Sukkoth, the most joyful holy week, is mentioned since that time. Israel has generally done better at keeping the feasts in exile than while at peace in the Land!66. On the eighth day, he gave the people a sendoff, so they blessed the king and went to their tents rejoicing and pleased of heart for all the prosperity that YHWH had brought about for David His servant and for Israel His people. The eighth day is Shmini Atzereth, which means something like an "encore" or "affectionate farewell". And apparently they did have an encore, because 2 Chron. 7:10 tells us that he sent them away on the 23rd of the month, which would be the ninth day, as the feast starts the 15th. In the Jewish diaspora today, an extra day is added, called Simkhat Torah ("rejoicing in the instruction"), and the eighth day is therefore considered to last for 48 hours, as some other festivals are as well, partly because of the difficulty in past times of communicating quickly enough when the new moon was sighted in Israel. Tents: This shows that while a sukkah (temporary booth) would be built for a community, the people would not generally sleep in it, but would sleep in tents and just do the other ceremonies of Sukkoth in the sukkah. CHAPTER 91. Then what took place as Shlomoh was finishing the House of YHWH, the house of the king, and every desire of Shlomoh's that he took pleasure in doing,2. [was] that YHWH appeared to Shlomoh a second time, just as He had been seen by Him at Giv'on, 3. and YHWH said to him, "I have heard your prayer and your request for favor with which you have pleaded before Me. I have regarded this House that you have built as set apart, in order to set My Name there forever, and My eyes and My heart will be there [for] all the days. For all the days: including today, even with the Temple gone. This is even why the Dome of the Rock is there now. Christian Crusaders had started chipping away the bedrock under the site of the Holy of Holies and selling it off, but the Muslims put a stop to this; they are apparently the only ones YHWH saw as worthy to guard the site of His sanctuary until the Jews returned. But He also said His heart would remain there. But this is even true in a very tangible way, because the numerical value of the Hebrew word for "heart" is 32, and the 32 steps to the Temple complex from the south remain intact to this day. Forever, from YHWH's perspective, means not just forward in time from that point, back the full circle, for He does not live in a straight line. Anything He establishes will turn out to have always been established. Once we meet the Kingdom, it will somehow be as if it had always been the case. His desire to walk among His people was there even in the Garden of Eden, which was at the same site, and when the Temple has done its job at repairing what Adam shattered, those whose desire is for Him will be able to be back there with Him again.4. "And [as for] you, if you will walk before Me as your father David walked, with integrity of heart and uprightness, to do according to all the orders I have given you, and guard the customs I have prescribed and My [principles of] judgment, Integrity: or, completeness, innocence, simplicity. Uprightness: or straightness, levelness, evenness, without crookedness in any direction. Shlomoh needed frequent reminders to walk in YHWH's ways, and soon we will find out why.5. "then I will keep the throne of your dominion over Israel stable forever, just as I promised David your father, saying, 'Not a man of yours will be cut off from [sitting on] the throne of Israel.' This promise was contingent on his obedience; the one in verse 3 was not. Israel: in particular the part that was other than his own tribe of Yehudah, for he and Sha'ul and David had really been sitting on "two different thrones" simultaneously--that of Yehudah and that of Israel.6. "If you or your descendants keep turning back from [following] after Me and do not keep My commandments--My prescribed customs that I have put before you, but go and serve other elohim and prostrate yourselves to them, Keep turning back: i.e., not on just one occasion, but as a habit; others translate it as "turn back at all".7. "then I will cause Israel to be cut off from [being] upon the face of the ground that I have given them and the House that I have allowed to be set apart to My Name, and I will send [them] away from upon My face, and Israel will become a byword and a sharp taunt among all the peoples. Note the parallels between being "upon the face of the ground" and "upon the face of YHWH". Shlomoh was held responsible for what would become of the northern tribes as well. A sharp taunt: i.e., a verbal "jab". Amazingly, Israel (mistakenly used as a synonym for the Jews alone) became a byword even among those who used to be Israelite and forgot their identity!8. "As for this House, which is the highest, everyone who passes over it will be stunned and will whistle, and they will say, 'On account of what has YHWH done such a thing as this to this Land and to this House?' Passes over it: The only remaining parts of the Temple are indeed covered by flagstones now and people walk right over it, since it has been leveled so low. The Land, too, which was once "flowing with milk and honey", would become mostly desert and swamp for centuries. Only in our lifetime has this been significantly reversed.9. "And they will say, 'On account of the fact that they forsook YHWH their Elohim, who brought their ancestors out from the land of Egypt, and they took hold on other elohim and bowed down to them and served them; that's why YHWH has brought all this trouble on them." If we leave Him behind, we have to expect to leave His blessings behind as well; we cannot have it both ways. 10. Thus it was that by the end of twenty years, Shlomoh had built both of the houses--the House of YHWH and the king's palace. We are therefore halfway through Shlomoh's reign.11. Khiram the king of Tzor had assisted Shlomoh with cedar trees and with cypress trees, and with all the gold he wanted. At that time King Shlomoh began giving Khiram twenty cities in the district of the Galil. This is the first mention of the Galil (Galilee) by this name in Scripture.12. When Khiram came from Tzor to see the cities that Shlomoh had given him, they were not satisfactory in his eyes. Did Shlomoh have to give him peripheral land that was not actually Kanaan proper? Or were these cities more like diplomatic embassies or the permission to have a military or trading presence rather than an actual gift of all of the land around these cities as well.13. So he said, "What are these cities that you have given to me, my brother?" So they have been called "the district of Kavul" to this day. Kavul: in Phoenician, this means "displeasing", while in Hebrew it means, "bound, binding, or limitation" or even "sterile". To someone used to having a lot of trees around him, he might have found it both cramping and sterile to live in a city with no greenery, since that was generally left for outside the walls to make the most efficient use of a small space. Josephus says the area was not far from Tzor. This would make it easier to annex to his territory, being contiguous with it, and may be why Shlomoh chose these particular cities.14. But Khiram sent the king a hundred and twenty kikkar of gold. A kikkar (literally "circle" or "whirling") is 3,000 sanctuary sheqels (Ex. 38:25), so the total would have been 360,000 sheqels of gold. A sheqel is the equivalent of 220 grains; others say 320 barley-corns, or about ¾ of an ounce, judging from extant Maccabean sheqels. So the total weight, by this count, is 16,875 pounds (over 8 tons). Unless Khiram is acting like the buyer in Proverbs 20:14, he seems to be concerned lest someone see them and say Shlomoh gives gifts that one cannot do much with, making him look like a "heel", so he paid a high price for the cities so he could claim, "We bought these just to be nearer to Yerushalayim." It would be better for others to think the thought of donating something to his neighboring kingdom had simply never occurred to Shlomoh than to let them think he gave a gift that was really worthless. Being a righteous man, and used to the practice of doing something for another's name, Khiram was concerned about Shlomoh's reputation.15. And this is the reason [for] the labor force that King Shlomoh raised: to build the House of YHWH, his own house, the Millo, and the wall of Yerushalayim, as well as Khatzor, Megiddo, and Gezer. Reason: literally, word, affair, or matter. Millo: literally, the "filling-in", thought to be the "stepped-stone structure" found by archaeologists on the edge of the City of David, built to buttress the palace and eastern wall with added support. Khatzor: the former capital of the 13 Kanaanite kingdoms; as Shlomoh reinforced it, it had a moat 48 feet across, keeping enemy archers and slingers at a distance. Megiddo is a strategic crossroads where the only trade route from Egypt to Mesopotamia crosses a pass on Mt. Karmel into the Yezre'el Valley, the only plain extending all the way from the Yarden River to the Mediterranean Sea. Gezer was a very large city between the territories of Efrayim and Dan where the coastal plain begins to give way to the foothills, guarding the Beyth-Horon ascent, the only easy way to traverse the mountains to reach Yerushalayim.16. (Pharaoh the king of Egypt had gone up and captured Gezer, burnt it with fire, and slain the Kanaanites who were in the city, and given it as a sendoff [gift] to his daughter, the wife of Shlomoh.) Gezer was very hard to capture, having steep hills on all sides. (Compare Y'hoshua 16:10 and Judges 1:28.) Sendoff: i.e., a wedding dowry. How ironic that Egypt finally helped Israel with the job YHWH had given Israel when she came out of Egypt! They had previously been made forced laborers, but even David never drove them out.17. And Shlomoh rebuilt Gezer, [and fortified] Lower Beyth-Horon, 18. Baalath, and Thadmor in the uninhabited part of the Land, Baalath ("mistress") was in the original territory of Dan near the coast. Shlomoh had built Thadmor after his conquest of Khamath-Tzova (north of Levanon).19. as well as all the storage-cities that belonged to Shlomoh, his chariot-cities, the cities [for] the war-horses, and every pleasing thing that Shlomoh desired to build, in Yerushalayim, in Levanon, and in the whole territory of his dominion. 20. All the people who were left of the Emorites, the Khittites, the Prizzites, the Khiuites, or the Y'vusites--whichever were not of the sons of Israel-- These were all branches of the Kanaanites. (Gen/ 10:15ff; compare verse 16 above.)21. their descendants who were left after them in the Land, whom the descendants of Israel had not been able to devote to destruction--[these] Shlomoh raised up as a slave-labor force until this day. Y'hoshua had begun the task of conquering them, but his successors slacked off and let the status quo, which was adequate at first, remain the long-term reality. Since Israel missed the window when all these peoples were fearful of them, they were left in place and ended up cramping the Israelites. (Judges 1:27-34; 2:15-18) Either they had special talents that were too highly valued by the Israelites to "waste" (though YHWH had told them to), or they were the type of people who would fight hard if they saw themselves as being wiped out, but don't mind being slaves if they are allowed to live in their ancestral home. And being enslaved to Israel would put them in a far better position than they would be in if exiles anywhere else. Governments can get what they want from you if they allow you to keep the things or practices that are closest to your heart. The economy in time probably came to rely on them like the migrant workers and illegal immigrants of today. 2 Chron. 2:17 says they numbered 3,600 in David's census.22. But Shlomoh did not designate [anyone] from the sons of Israel as a slave, because they were the men of war, his servants, his captains, his third [ranking officers], and the overseers of his chariots and war-horses. Other accounts might disagree with this, and so would the men under Yarav'am at the time of Shlomoh's death; this may have been written by someone who had pragmatic reasons to take this political stance. This same scribe has already told us what he had demanded of his own people, but somehow this fit in a different category than slavery.23. These were the captains of those who were stationed over Shlomoh's work: 550 dominating the people who produced the craftsmanship. 24. Actually, Pharaoh's daughter went up out of the City of David to her house, which he had built for her--then he built the Millo! He may have realized she would not enjoy all the noise of the construction crew, or he thought some of the old palace might collapse in the process of the restructuring, so he took her out ahead of time. But 2 Chron. 8:11 gives us an additional reason: he was conscious of the fact that this was a political marriage and she was still a pagan who had not necessarily embraced YHWH, so she was not allowed to live in the palace of David where the ark of the covenant had been kept for some time, therefore rendering it a holy place of sorts. This could just have been an excuse to keep her as a wife, saying that since she had a palace of her own, she was not really part of his house, so his household was still holy.25. And Shlomoh offered up ascendings and completeness [offering]s three times during the year on the altar that he built to YHWH, and he offered incense on the one that was before YHWH. Thus the House was finished. The three occasions were the pilgrimage festivals when all Israel came up. (2 Chron. 8:12-13) Either this was a secondary altar hinted at in 8:64 or this is just speaking of Shlomoh's having paid for or supplied the animals to sacrifice, while the priests still actually carried out the slaughter, for we know that when King Uzziah tried to burn incense in the Temple, he was warned against usurping the priestly role, and when he ignored the warning, was struck with leprosy. (2 Chron. 26:19ff) These animals were meant to be taken from the people. Shlomoh may have been giving them a break, saying, in effect, "I know I have already burdened you with taxes and heavy labor, and I can afford this, so don't worry about providing these offerings." His intentions were probably not bad, but there were probably some political considerations to this largesse as well. They were benefiting from Egyptian generosity as well (v. 16), and there were some undercurrents of dissatisfaction brewing, but the people were less likely to rebel if Shlomoh was paying all the bills. But this could be taken too far. Maybe he should have only done this every other year, or every seven years, because the people would get out of practice and lose their skill at kosher slaughtering, and would also get used to this blessing and come to think of it as their right, and therefore become lazy, no longer wanting to do anything for themselves. 26. And King Shlomoh produced a fleet [of ships] at Etzion-Gever, which is beside Eloth on the shore of the Reed Sea in the territory of Edom. To allow Shlomoh to use their territory like this, the Edomites must have either been allies as well, or fearful enough of this superpower neighbor to let him have what he wanted (like the Guantanamo Bay base that the U.S. maintains in a nation it does not even trade with, because of its strategic location). Though he did not really need a navy as such, since no enemies were threatening him, he may have done military "maneuvers" in foreign waters just to "flex his muscle" and remind them that he was a force to be reckoned with. But the majority of this fleet was used for international trade, the extent of which we will see better in chapter 10. Etzion-Gever means "backbone of the strongman"--possibly due to a land formation in the mountains there. Eloth is the Eilat of today, at the southern tip of Israel on the northern coast of the eastern branch of the Reed Sea. From here ships could sail both east to the Indies and around the Cape of Africa to Britain, where we know Phoenicia had colonies early on to mine tin. But they might not have had to go so far. At that time there was also the equivalent of the Suez Canal already in place, having been built by Pharaoh Sesostris III around 400 years before this, and its channel is still traceable today. This would have been easily accessed from this port. Why would they not just depart from a port on the Mediterranean? Steve Collins points out that Shlomoh had a huge ore-smelting facility at Etzion-Gever, and "to import the ores in sufficient quantity to keep the blast furnaces operating, it made sense to base a large fleet at the site of the industrial activity". (The Origins and Empire of Ancient Israel)27. So Khiram sent his servants--sailors who knew the sea--into the fleet [to be] with Shlomoh's servants. Sailors: literally, men of ships. He sent seamen to share their expertise with his ally, for there were no better sailors in the world at that time than the "Phoenicians" (a later Greek term for any inhabitants of the Levant, and thus actually including Israel as well since it was part of this alliance). Chapter 10 will tell us more about what they did.28. And they came to Ofir and acquired gold from there--420 kikkar [in weight]--and brought it to Shlomoh the king. Ofir was also "Hebrew" territory, for Ofir was the grandson of Ever, who in turn was the grandson of Shem, though by this time that probably meant little to the Ofirites. His land was by this time in what is now southern Arabia (on the eastern shore of the Reed Sea). Except for the Greeks and Romans, ancient navies usually belonged to individual kings, so this was Shlomoh's personal navy, though he used it to benefit all of Israel. The gold of Ofir was of the finest quality, known everywhere in the ancient world much like French wine was a generation ago. It would have been like saying one bought a diamond from Tiffany's rather than from a run-of-the-mill jeweler. It was what every king wanted for his crown. The Ofirites apparently let him have all he wanted, since no one was as powerful as he was at that time, being the heir to what his father established (like the Vanderbilt or Rockefeller families of today) as well as the leader of the alliance that now included the Phoenicians, Israel, and Egypt. CHAPTER 101. The Queen of Sheva heard the report of Shlomoh to the reputation of YHWH, and she came to put him to the proof-test with difficult questions.Sheva: There are three possibilities in Scripture as to what this nation was. The first was a tribe in southern Arabia known as the Sabaeans, who robbed Iyov--another Hebrew nation (descendants of Ever through Yoqtan). The second is a nation descended from Avraham and Qeturah through Yoqshan--again, Semites. There was also a Kushite Sheva, a son of Raamah, a Khamitic people who could have then become the Ethiopians, as in one tradition, for we know that nation was well-established by the time of Moshe. All three are reiterated in 1 Chronicles, which also recounts this story, so we are left without any indication of which Sheva she ruled, except that the immediate context here is of Ofir, whose ancestor was a brother of the first listed above. (Gen. 10:28-29) This is also likely because this Sheva is listed in the table of 70 nations, which generally sets the tone for the whole of Scripture, but by the same token, so is the Kushite Sheva. Shlomoh must have been making it very clear that it was YHWH who had brought him this wealth and wisdom, not his own hand. She is one foreigner who came for the sake of YHWH's Name. (8:41) It was very unusual to have a female ruling a nation in that time, and it was also unusual for rulers to come themselves rather than sending representatives. (5:14-15) Velikovsky thinks Sheva may be a title rather than a nation in this case, and finds striking parallels with Hatshepsut, who was at that time Queen of both Egypt and Ethiopia. (Ages in Chaos)2. So she came to Yerushalayim with very great wealth: camels carrying spices, a very large amount of gold, and precious stones. When she had come to Shlomoh, she said to him everything that had come upon her heart. Wealth: or even, an army. Heb., khayil. She may be the prototype for his "capable woman" (eysheth khayil) in Proverbs 31.3. And Shlomoh brought all her matters out into the open; there was not one thing concealed from the king, which he did not make known to her. I.e., he solved all her riddles with no exceptions.4. When the Queen of Sheva saw all of Shlomoh's skill, and the House that he had built, 5. and the food [on] his table, and how his servants were situated, and the functioning of those who waited on him, and what they were dressed in, as well as his cupbearers and the stairway which he ascended [in the] House of YHWH, there was no breath left in her! Situated: seated, settled, or located. Functioning: or post, station, office, service, standing. In other words, they were extremely well-organized and operated like clockwork. Stairway: some render it "ascending (burnt) offering", but the verb form of "ascended" does not mean "caused to go up" as it should in such a case, but "went up". Breath: or, spirit. She appears to have been trying to show off, but what she found literally "took her breath away", and "burst her bubble".6. And she said to the king, "The report that I heard in my land about your words and your skill was true, 7. "though I did not believe the reports until I came and my eyes saw [it], but in fact the half was not told me! Believe: or trust. She seems to have been somewhat bored with her own servants and wanted someone to challenge her--as Shlomoh probably did as well.8. "How advanced your men are! How advanced your servants are--these who stand before you all the time, who hear your wisdom! If she was "blown away" by his wisdom in a few days, she could hardly imagine how wise his servants, who got to hear his sage advice so often, must have been. Advanced: or progressive, well-led on the right way, blessed. The Torah allowed him to do scientific tests on plants and animals that others might have worshipped and would therefore not interfere with.9. "May YHWH your Elohim, who took [such] pleasure in you [as] to allow you [to be] on the throne of Israel, be blessed! In YHWH's eternal love for Israel, He put you in place as king to accomplish right court-rulings and justice!" He put you in place: A gentle reminder from a foreigner that he should never forget where it all came from. Ancient peoples always saw different regions as being under a particular local elohim, and would attribute great progress in a particular region to that deity.10. And she gave the king 120 kikkar of gold and very many spices and precious stones; no such spice came as that which the Queen of Sheva gave to King Shlomoh, for [sheer] abundance. 120 kikkar: This is the same amount Khiram of Tzor had given him. It may have been a prescribed rate that expressed absolute surrender to a greater king.11. Also, the fleet of Khiram that had carried gold from Ofir brought very many sandalwood trees from Ofir, as well as precious stones, Sandalwood: a sweet-smelling wood native to southern India, which can grow to 20 feet in height and 4 feet in circumference. It has an antiseptic quality, and the outer layers are black while the inner ones are ruby red. It is easy to see why it would be considered some of the best wood and ideal for both building embellishments and decorative instruments:12. and the king made the sandalwood trees [into] a support for the House of YHWH, for the king's palace, and for lyres and harps for the singers. No equal to [these] sandalwood trees has ever come, nor have any been seen to this day. 13. And King Shlomoh gave the Queen of Sheva anything that delighted her that she asked for, besides that which Shlomoh gave her according to the royal hand. Then she turned [her face] and went to her land--she and her servants. The royal hand: Possibly a customary gift to diplomatic visitors, but "hand" has many idiomatic uses, including that of the reproductive organ. And indeed there is a strong tradition that he fathered her son, whose name was Menelek, who, the legend continues, became the patriarch of a line of Ethiopian kings that continued until Haile Selassie's overthrow by the Marxists in the mid-1970s. It may be that only DNA testing will show whether this is so or not. But the fact still remains that anyone who wants to become part of Israel's covenant with YHWH may do so, whatever his race. 14. Now the weight of the gold that came to Shlomoh in one year was 666 kikkar of gold, Considering the only other use of the number 666 in Scripture as the "mark of the beast", we have to wonder if this is what had the initial negative influence on King Shlomoh.15. besides [that which came] from the explorers, the merchandise of the traders, and all the kings of Arabia and the governors of the land. Explorers: more about this in verse 22.16. And King Shlomoh made 200 bucklers of hammered gold (600 [sheqels] of gold was piled up on [each] buckler) Buckler: a large shield which by etymology might have had spikes on it. Piled up: apparently hammered on in several layers, though this would not have been the case for the Temple menorah, which was to be hammered out of a single piece of gold.17. and 300 shields of hammered gold (each shield amounted to three minas), and the king assigned them [to] the House of the Forest of Levanon. A mina is fifty sheqels, and a sheqel is equivalent to about 11.3 grams, so each shield would weigh 6.78 kilograms (about 5 pounds) and each buckler 1.695 kg. (Encyclopedia Judaica) Others say that this was how a mina was measured in silver, whereas in gold it was 100 sheqels and 1/100 of a kikkar.They do not seem to have been used for battle, as gold would hardly stand up to iron weapons, but decorative--or these terms for "bucklers" and "shields" may have had secondary uses, as this building seems to have been more of a museum or even a zoo.18. And the king made a large throne of ivory and overlaid it with refined gold. Ivory: literally, tooth. (See note on verse 22.) Why did he not let the ivory's beauty be seen?19. The throne had six steps, and the revolving top of the throne [came] from behind, and [there were] arms on this [side] and that toward the place to sit, with two lions standing beside the arms, 20. and twelve lions standing there on the six steps, on either side; none like it has been made in any of the [other] dominions. 21. Also, all of King Shlomoh's drinking vessels were of gold, and all of the furnishings of the House of the Forest of Levanon were of tightly-joined gold; there was no silver. (It was not considered anything in the days of Shlomoh, Gold was so plentiful that silver had no special value at all!22. because the king had a fleet of Tarshish at sea along with one of Khiram's fleets. Every three years the fleet of Tarshish would come, carrying gold, silver, ivory, monkeys, and peacocks.) Tarshish: thought to be Tartessos in Spain, it was a port somewhere at the far western end of the Mediterranean or beyond. Steve Collins (in Israel's Lost Empires) identifies three possibilities for what this fleet was. It may have been a fleet based at Tartessos, but actually operated by the "Phoenician" alliance of Israel with Khiram and Egypt, for ancient Phoenician inscriptions found in the Americas reveal that "ships of Tarshish" with Semitic crews had made numerous voyages to the New World around this time. Spain would be a logical jumping-off point for such voyages. Tarshish may have therefore been a colony belonging to this alliance, as its language, according to Dr. Barry Fell, is clearly a dialect of the Hebrew-Phoenician language family. Archaeologist Dr. Cyrus Gordon thinks Tarshish may have even referred to ore-rich Mexico. A clan of the tribe of Binyamin was also named Tarshish (1 Chron. 7:10), and the crews of this fleet may have therefore been made up primarily of people from this clan. "Ships of Tarshish" may later have also come to refer to a class of large, ocean-going vessels first used by the "Phoenicians" (as Yehoshafat is said to have built a fleet of them at Etzion-Gever over a century later, 22:48). Young's Analytical Concordance states that one possible definition is "mighty ships fitted for long voyages", and Phoenician galleys were the world's largest at that time. Three years: the time it took Ferdinand Magellan's crew to circumnavigate the globe in 1519-1522, including time for exploration and trade, under conditions much more hostile than in Shlomoh's day, when the Phoenicians and Egyptians already had established trade routes in the Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian Oceans. So it is quite conceivable that they returned at such intervals for the same reason. Ivory: "tooth of [plural of a foreign word]". Both the Aramaic targum and LXX have "elephant teeth", the Aramaic using the same word used for elephant in modern Hebrew. Peacocks: Heb., tuki, the term is also used of a parrot in modern Hebrew, and was probably used of any large bird, because the English word "turkey" derives from it as well, being coined of an unfamiliar bird found in North America by Europeans who nearly chose Hebrew over English as the national language for their new nation.23. And King Shlomoh exceeded all the [other] kings of the earth for wealth and for wisdom, 24. and all the earth was seeking an audience with Shlomoh to hear his wisdom, which Elohim had allowed [to be] in his mind, 25. and they were each bringing his tribute--articles of silver, articles of gold, garments, weaponry, spices, horses, and mules, a year's matter in [that] year. Weaponry: or armor. A year's matter: thought to mean a particular set rate.26. Shlomoh also amassed chariotry and war-horses, and he had 1,400 chariots and 12,000 war-horses, and he stationed them in the chariot cities and with the king in Yerushalayim. 27. And the king made the silver in Yerushalayim as [common as] stones, and he made cedars like sycamore-fig trees in the Sh'felah for [sheer] numbers. Sh'felah: the foothills between the central mountain range and the coastal plain; literally, "that which falls", i.e., drops in elevation from the perspective of Yerushalayim. Compare the "streets of gold" in the New Yerushalayim.28. And the horses that belonged to Shlomoh were imported from Egypt and from Queh; the king's traders acquired them from Queh at a price! Queh: now in southern Turkey, it was in the province later known as Kilikia, of which the Apostle Paul's hometown of Tarsos was the capital. Traders: or merchants, traffickers.29. And a chariot exported from Egypt came up for 600 [sheqels] of silver and a horse for 150, and it was the same for all the kings of the Hittites and for the kings of Aram; they were being delivered by them. Aram: now Syria. It sounds as if the delivery price was as high as the purchase price. CHAPTER 111. But King Shlomoh loved many foreign women, both Pharaoh's daughter, [as well as] Moavitesses, Ammonitesses, Edomitesses, Tzidonians, and Hittites--2. from the nations that YHWH told the descendants of Israel, "You must not go in to them, and they must not come in to you; they will certainly cause your heart to be turned away after their elohim"--Shlomoh clung to them for [the sake of] love. Clung: The same term used in Gen 2:24 of a man leaving his father and mother and clinging to his wife. Clinging to the one means, in a sense, forsaking the other. To love these women, Shlomoh indeed had to leave behind the ways of his father David and his mother Bathsheva. And he had to forsake his other Father and Mother--YHWH and the Torah. Love: These marriages were not just the result of passing lust or even just for the sake of political alliances; he was actually attached to the foreign women. Contrast the men who came back with Ezra, who, when they heard the Torah, put away the pagan wives they had taken from the Land. (Ezra 10) David had also repented immediately when rebuked.3. He had both 700 wives--princesses--and 300 concubines! But his wives turned his heart away. Whether or not a prophet ever brought Shlomoh a rebuke about this, he should have known from the Torah he had made a copy of (Deut. 17:18) that an Israelite king was not to multiply wives for himself. (Deut. 17:17) It might have been better if he had married Israelite wives. But a thousand? Ten or twelve would have been allowable for a king. How many children did he have that he did not even known? He probably thought that if he was the wisest man in the world, and the wealthiest, he could certainly handle this. But there are many things we think we are ready for, but which are a slippery slope onto shaky ground, so YHWH forbade this practice. One need not be bitten by a snake to know it is poisonous, but as we see in Qoheleth (Ecclesiastes), he decided to try every experience he could possibly get, though he did not need many of them. If we cannot be honest with ourselves about the consequences our actions might have, we should at least ask advice from others.4. And indeed, in the time of Shlomoh's old age, his wives caused his heart to be turned after other elohim, and his heart was not completely with YHWH his Elohim like the heart of David his father. Old age: What a warning! We might think many temptations will disappear with age, but more often they do not, and we can never rest on the laurels of our youth.5. Shlomoh went after both Ashtoreth, the elohim of the Tzidonians and Milkom, the disgusting thing of the Ammonites. Elohim: in this case, a goddess, though the Hebrew term is no different. Tzidonians: Just because Khiram acknowledged YHWH did not mean his whole nation did, and apparently his Tzidonian wife remained pagan. It was allowable to have political shalom with this nation, but not to intermarry with it. (v. 2)6. Thus Shlomoh did what was evil in the eyes of YHWH, and did not [walk] fully after YHWH like David his father. Evil: What he did not was not even called rebellion, sin, or crookedness, but simply evil--the same term used for those whose conduct brought on the deluge in Noach's day. (Gen. 6:5) What a frightening thing to receive this assessment from YHWH Himself!7. Then Shlomoh built a cultic platform for Kh'mosh, the abomination of Moav, on the hill that faces Yerushalayim, and for Molekh, the abomination of the sons of Ammon. So the Ammonites, though descendants of Lot, were no longer even monotheists. (having another deity listed in v. 5) Kh'mosh means "the subduer" and Molekh, "the ruling one"--names meant to strike fear in their enemies, much like our sports teams today. The hill: not the Mount of Olives, but the one that would be called the Hill of Evil Counsel. Appropriately enough, this where the United Nations has its headquarters in Israel! It carries on the tradition Shlomoh began here of the spirit of many nations coming together, though they are not really agreed. The way this site was identified was through bones of infants being fond there in clay boxes.8. And he did the same for all his foreign wives who burned incense and made slaughters to their elohim. 9. So YHWH was fuming with Shlomoh because he had turned his heart aside from YHWH the Elohim of Israel, who had appeared to him twice Fuming: based on the Hebrew word for "nose". YHWH really harps on this, probably because Shlomo is the king, and he should have known better, and he was to be an example to his people of obedience. His sin was all the worse because YHWH had given this specific instruction to him in particular:10. and had given him orders about this [very] thing so [he would] avoid walking after other elohim, but he was not careful [to do] what YHWH had commanded him. 11. So YHWH said to Shlomoh, "On account of the fact that it has turned out this way with you, and you have not guarded My covenant or My prescribed customs--orders that I [placed] upon you--I will certainly tear the kingdom away from you and give it to your servant, He was no longer worthy to be king. A dynasty that was intended to continue forever was ruined after only one generation.12. "though I will not do it in your days, for the sake of David your father; I will tear it out of the hand of your son. There is a tension in YHWH's heart between His fond memories of David and distress over how his son turned out. He hesitates to punish the direct seed of someone who loves Him, no matter how evil they become. But He has to do something to curb it.13. "Only, I will not tear away the whole kingdom; I will allow your son one tribe for the sake of My servant David, and for the sake of Yerushalayim, which I have chosen."
15. What had taken place when David was in Edom, when Yo'av, the commander of the army, went up to bury the slain when he had been striking down every male in Edom 16. (because Yo'av had remained there six months with all of Israel until he had caused every male in Edom to be cut off), 17. [was] that Hadad had escaped--he and [some] Edomite men from among the servants of his father with him--to enter Egypt, while Hadad was a little lad. 18. As they rose up out of Midyan and entered Pa'aran, they took men with them out of Pa'aran and came into Egypt to Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, and he gave him a house and promised him bread; he also gave him land. 19. And Hadad found very much favor in the eyes of Pharaoh, and he gave him a wife--the sister of his own wife (the sister of Takhp'neys the ruling woman), It sounds as if this Pharaoh was quite young, but he is probably the one who later became Shlomoh's first father-in-law.20. and the sister of Takhp'neys bore him his son G'nuvath, and Takhp'neys weaned him right within the household of Pharaoh. That is, G'nuvath was in Pharaoh's household right among the sons of Pharaoh. 21. When Hadad heard in Egypt that David had lain down with his ancestors and that Yo'av, the commander of the army, was dead, Hadad said to Pharaoh, "Give me a sendoff so I can go to my land." 22. But Pharaoh said to him, "Because...? What are you lacking with me, that here you are seeking to go to your land?" And he said, "Nothing; still, send me off anyway." Nekhemyah assumed his master, the king of Persia, would feel insulted in the same way if he wished to leave. Hadad seemed to be dissatisfied despite all this special treatment. 23. Elohim also raised up as an adversary for him R'zon the son of Elyada, who fled from [being] with his master, Hadad'ezer the king of Tzovah R'zon means "honorable prince". Shlomoh now literally had trouble from the right hand (the south) and the left (the north).24. and gathered men around him and was captain of a marauding band. When David [started] to kill them, they went to Damaseq and lived in it. He even started to reign [as king] in Damaseq. 25. And he turned out to be an adversary to Israel all the days of Shlomoh, along with the trouble that Hadad [caused], and he loathed Israel while he was reigning over Aram.
Tz'redah: This fortress town was in the territory of Menashe, but it sounds as if Yarav'am was from the tribe of Efrayim and simply living on Menashe's adjoining tribal land for some reason.27. And this is the matter [for] which he lifted up his hand against the king: Shlomoh had built the Millo, closing up a breach of his father, David's city. Breach: There is no record of an enemy having breached David's wall, so it may have collapsed when he built the large palace there, under the weight of the new building which taxed the old Y'vusite wall's foundations too heavily.28. And the man Yarav'am was a hero of the army. When Shlomoh noticed the young man because he got the work done, and he appointed him overseer of the whole burden of the House of Yoseyf. Got the work done: i.e., he was industrious. House of Yoseyf: This is why Yarav'am revolted: Shlomoh did not include his own tribe in the forced labor. Besides building the Temple, he was building a "shrine" to Yehudah and belittling the Northern Kingdom. He was presenting David only as a Jew, not as an Israelite. As overseer of the forced laborers, Yarav'am knew their plight better than anyone else, and he apparently earned their trust by alleviating the difficulties of the projects Shlomoh dreamed up without being aware of the nuts and bolts of what all it involved.29. And what took place at that time [was that] as Yarav'am was leaving Yerushalayim, the prophet Akhiyah the Shilonite met him on the road. Now he had clothed himself with a new garment, and the two of them were alone in the field. He was from Shiloh, one of the places where the Tabernacle had rested for many years. It is not clear whether Yarav'am or Akhiyah was the one wearing the new garment.30. Then Akhiyah took hold of the new garment that was on him, and started tearing it into twelve pieces. 31. And he said to Yarav'am, "Take ten pieces for yourself. This is what YHWH, Elohim of Israel, says: 'Watch! I am tearing the dominion from the hand of Shlomoh and giving you the ten tribes. The ten: apparently it was clear to him which ten these were. Like the garment, this unified nation was essentially new. Most people owned only one or two garments at a time in that day, so a new one would be especially valued.32. "'But the one tribe will be his for the sake of My servant David and for the sake of Yerushalayim, the city which I have chosen from [among] all the tribes of Israel, He said the same thing YHWH had told Shlomoh privately, so Akhiyah was a true prophet who heard from Him. The one tribe could not be Levi, because they belonged strictly to YHWH, not to either side of the conflict. One reason many Levites are actively reaching out to the Northern Kingdom now may be that they are not actually Jews. Yehudah took responsibility for Binyamin when he went to Egypt, though he was Yoseyf's only full-blooded brother, and in chapter 12 we will see Binyamites fighting for Yehudah, so this may be the "one tribe" if another besides Yehudah is actually meant. (12:20 suggests that it is not.) Binyamin has therefore been a special link between the two Kingdoms, and may constitute many who are considered Jews--especially Orthodox--yet who acknowledge Yahshua as Messiah. This also shows how much importance YHWH places on Yerushalayim, which the Palestinians are trying to make their capital.33. "because they have abandoned Me and bow themselves down to Ashtoreth the elohim of the Tzidonians, to Khemosh the elohim of Moav, and to Milkom the elohim of the sons of Ammon, and have not walked in My ways (in order to do what is upright in My eyes) or My prescribed customs or My procedures of judgment, like David his father. 34. "Now, I will not take the whole kingdom out of his hand because I will let him be ruler all the days of his life for the sake of My servant David, whom I chose, who guarded My commands and My prescribed customs. 35. "But I will take the dominion out of his son's hand and give you the ten tribes. 36. "And to his son I will allot one tribe, so that David My servant may always have a candle in My presence for all time in Yerushalayim, the city that I have chosen for Myself in order to set My Name there. 37. "Then I will fetch you, and you will reign according to all that your soul may crave, and you will become king over Israel. Note that he does not say "all Israel" any longer.38. "And it will turn out--if you obey everything about which I give you orders, and walk in My ways and do what is upright in My sight, to guard My prescribed customs and My orders as David My servant did--that I will be with you and will build a firmly-established household for you like [the one] I built for David, and will entrust Israel to you. Entrust Israel: What a huge responsibility! And what a precedent to compare to--David's! He was not perfect, but had been perfectly motivated. But this was a big "if". All was contingent on his keeping things the way David had set them, and Shlomoh was already letting that slip away. If Yarav'am slipped, he was not promised a dynasty as David had been.39. "And for the sake of this I will suppress the seed of David, but certainly not for all time!" Suppress: humble, lower, restrain, afflict in the sense of disciplining. 40. Then Shlomoh tried to put Yarav'am to death, so Yarav'am got up and fled to Egypt. Egypt was the closest country for him to flee to which would not extradite him, as he knew from the precedent of Hadad above, and he also retraced the steps of his ancestors as well as, symbolically, the descendants of the people whom he would rule. But Egypt was the one country Israel was specifically forbidden from going to for help. (Deut. 17:16; compare Yeshayahu 31:1) How did Shlomoh know Yarav'am was a threat? No one had been present when Akhiyah gave him the message. He must have put two and two together, knowing that one called his servant would receive part of his kingdom, and who was more of a servant to him than Yarav'am? (v. 28) 41. Now the rest of Shlomoh's words and all that he did--that is, his wisdom--aren't they written in the Book of the Affairs of Shlomoh? Words...affairs: or matters; the word is the same in both cases. To the best of our knowledge, this book is no longer extant.42. And the days that Shlomoh reigned in Yerushalayim over all of Israel [totaled] 40 years; 43. then Shlomoh lay down with his ancestors and was buried in the city of David, his father, and Rehav'am his son reigned in his place.
1. And Rehav'am went to Sh'khem because all of Israel had come [to] Sh'khem to make him king. Sh'khem is the special property of Yoseyf, and the place where Y'hoshua had spoken the curses and blessings over those who kept and broke the Torah respectively. Either Shlomoh had told him nothing about YHWH's rescinding of the ten tribes from him, or he was acting in outright defiance of it, wanting what was not his, like the man after whom that city was named. (Gen. 34:2) Yaaqov had buried idols there rather than burning them, and now they were re-emerging.2. As it turned out, when Yarav'am the son of N'vat heard [about it], he was still in Egypt, where he had fled from the presence of Shlomoh the king and dwelt in Egypt, 3. they sent and summoned him, so Yarav'am and the whole congregation of Israel came and spoke to Rehav'am, saying, 4. "Your father made our yoke stiff, so now you should lighten some of the stiff servitude of your father, and some of his heavy yoke that he had laid on us; then we will serve you." Stiff: hard, burdensome, severe. When many people are angry about the same thing, it brings a kind of unity. Yarav'am was a "labor union leader" who had gone from being the "boss's lackey" to being a thorn in his side, because the "management" was not dealing properly with the labor force. YHWH gave him this "campaign platform" as leverage. Was he sincere in hoping Rehav'am would repent and preserve the union? It does not appear that Yarav'am was given this position because he was any more righteous, but because he was the more convenient of two evils.5. So he told them, "Go [away] for three more days, then return to me."
7. And they spoke to him to say, "If you [are] to be a servant to this people today, you will serve them and be responsive to them, and speak beneficial words to them, then they will be your servants all the days [of your life]." These are the words of those who had experienced forty years of Shlomoh's rulership and probably were very familiar with David's as well, having lived long enough to see the vicissitudes of other nations and the results of their political moves. Among men, they would be the wisest available, but even they may have only been emphasizing the fact that the Northern tribes were a huge tax base, and if he went easier on them, he would have their favor. What is blatantly missing is enquiring from the priests or prophets about what YHWH Himself wants him to do. Apparently his father had not been an example to him in this regard late enough in his life for Rehav'am to even consider this a viable option.8. But he ignored the counsel of the elders [by] which they advised him, and consulted with the generation that had grown up with him, who were standing before him, Generation: literally, born ones--his own contemporaries, his cronies who would be giddy with the new level of authority that Shlomoh's death had brought him.9. and said to them, "What do you recommend when we bring a word back to this people who have spoken to me, saying, 'Lighten some of the yoke that your father had laid upon us'? He said "we" to them, seeming to allow them a share in the spoils, rather than "I" as he did with the elders, for he spoke like a statesman before them, but with his "punk buddies", he seems to have the mocking tone of a smart aleck. He is really only looking for "yes-men" to tell him it is all right to do what he already wants to do, so he can prove what a "big man" he is. So he finds the weakest link and tries to get numbers on his side.10. So the boys who had grown up with him spoke to him, saying, "This is how you should speak to this people who have spoken to you, saying, 'Your father made our yoke heavy, so you lighten it from on top of us!' This is what you should say to them: 'My little [finger] is thicker than my father's thigh! Thigh: or possibly waist.11. "'And now, my father loaded you down with a heavy yoke, but I will add to your yoke! My father disciplined you with whips, but I will discipline you with scorpions!'" Their advice was to crack down on these "rebels" and "show them who was boss" by being tougher still on them, like Pharaoh did, reasoning that if they still had energy to complain, they were not busy enough. It is one thing to begin with a strong hand against one's enemies, as Shlomoh did, deterring many other potential enemies from rising up at all. But it is quite another to be so heavy-handed against those one is called to serve, if their concerns are reasonable. After all, they did not ask for his yoke to be taken away altogether. 12. So Yarav'am and all the people came to Rehav'am on the third day, just as the king had spoken, saying, "Come back to me on the third day." 13. And the king answered the people harshly, and repudiated the counsel [by] which the elders had advised him, Like most teenagers, he placed no value on the experience of his forbears. He had not even learned wisdom from his father, for his mother was not Torah. (See note on v. 14.)14. and spoke to them in line with the advice of the "boys", saying, "My father made your yoke heavy, but I will add to your yoke! My father disciplined you with whips, but I will discipline you with scorpions!" Thus he admits that the king of Yehudah had been beating his fellow Israelites, keeping them in line with a whip. Their fear was taught by men (Yeshayahu/Isa. 29:13); it was not genuine, nor were these contributors to the Temple doing so out of willingness as for the Tabernacle. (Ex. 36) The scribe may have been simply trying to save his neck when he said Shlomoh enslaved no Israelites (9:22), but maybe he had simply found a loophole through the fact that the "forced labor" is a different term than the Hebrew word for "slave". While this might have worsened only after Shlomoh considered Yarav'am a threat, still an Israelite is to be enslaved only if his debt is too high to pay any other way, and he is to be treated like one of the family. (Ex. 21:2ff) Instead, Shlomoh "became Pharaoh". Rehav'am was most likely the son of Pharaoh's daughter, Shlomoh's first wife. In that case, he was pagan and might never have even worshipped YHWH. Shlomoh brought the whole nation "back to Egypt"! But I will: This was a direct insult to his father, and whether or not Shlomoh commanded any respect late in life, still the noble thing for his son to do would be to honor his father. While Shlomoh's ways did need improving upon, when he said, "I can do better than my father" in this roundabout way, he was not thinking about repenting for his father's sins.15. Thus the king did not heed the people, because [the] turn of events was from YHWH, in order to make His saying stand firm, which YHWH had spoken via Akhiyah the Shilonite to Yarav'am the son of N'vat. Turn of events: or, revolution. 16. When all of Israel saw that the king was not listening to then, they sent word back to the king, saying, "What part do we have in David? And [there is] no share [of inheritance for us] in the son of Yishai! To your tents, O Israel! Look at your house now, O David!" So Israel went to its tents. vTo your tents: i.e., "Of course you know this means war!" This was a repetition of what had taken place when David was not acting as king (2 Shmu'el 21), but he repented; Rehav'am did not. It was not David himself they were repudiating, but what his descendant had made of his once-glorious household by turning it inward in a selfish way. Israel's punishment for breaking the covenant was to be cut in two like the animals divided at the covenant ratification ceremony, for they symbolize that one is calling upon himself a curse, saying, "If I do not keep my part of the agreement, may I become like these animals!" The blame for this split--and even our descent into paganism--lies with Yehudah, not Efrayim, because it was a result not of rebellion but of Shlomoh's turning to idolatry. So it was Yehudah's--and most directly the descendants of Shlomoh's-- responsibility to make amends for this. When Yahshua came to reunite the tribes of Israel, he, as heir to David's throne, in making amends for Shlomoh's and Rehav'am's failures in this regard, said, "Come to me, all who labor and are heavily-loaded, and I will give you rest! Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and well-grounded in what I desire, and you will find rest for your souls." (Mat. 11:28-29) He was certainly thinking of this incident when he said that. The last phrase also echoes Yirmeyahu 6:16, in which YHWH promises rest for the soul of the one who seeks the ancient/eternal path. And Yahshua was certainly bringing that to those from the Northern Kingdom who had gone off into idolatry and exile, but it could also be translated, "an intermission so you can catch your breath"--which is exactly what these people were asking for. He then added, "for My yoke fits pleasantly, and the load I [will ask you to carry] is easy to bear." (11:30) His own fellow Jews at the time of the Second Temple were laden heavily with halakhah that was given the same weight as Torah in many people's minds, being based not on simply building a fence around the Torah, but on fences around fences around fences, and it was too much for any but the very wealthy to sustain. They, too, needed his interpretation of the Torah, which cut to the heart of the matter and emphasized the fact that it was all about loving YHWH and one's fellow, not about being spectacularly religious. But his followers, when the time had fully come to start bringing the descendants of the exiled northern tribes back into Torah, also recognized that they should not lay too heavy a burden on them, but rather let them start with the essentials and build their Torah-keeping muscles at a healthy pace until they could handle the heavier loads that would necessarily come as they matured. (Acts 15:19-21)17. As for the descendants of Israel who were living in the cities of Yehudah, Rehav'am exercised dominion over them. 18. And King Rehav'am sent Adoram, who was over the forced labor, and all Israel stoned him with [building] stones, so that he died. So King Rehav'am pressed hard to get up into his chariot and escape to Yerushalayim. Forced labor: or, enforced tribute, levy of taxes, serfdom. Building stones: how ironic, when it was building projects he had forced on them. They used against him the only thing he provided them with. Pressed hard: i.e., rushed.19. And Israel has been in revolt against the House of David to this day. House of David: See note on v. 26. We could still say the same today, though finally it is coming to an end.20. As it turned out, when all of Israel heard that Yarav'am had come back, they sent and summoned him to the assembly, and they made him king over all of Israel. None followed after the House of David except the tribe of Yehudah alone. They declared him king of the whole nation, apparently including Yehudah, unless now Yehudah was specifically excluded from the definition of "Israel".21. When Rehav'am arrived at Yerushalayim, he assembled the whole House of Yehudah along with [some from the] tribe of Binyamin--180,000 select makers of war--to fight with the House of Israel, to bring the dominion back to Rehav'am the son of Shlomoh. It would have appeared that the way Yarav'am only received ten tribes was that Shim'on was intermingled with Yehudah in its land, having received only cities, not territory. This is probably "the descendants of Israel who were living in the cities of Yehudah" in verse 17. But the "one tribe" that Rehav'am was granted may have been Binyamin instead, in which case Shim'on must have dissipated among the rest of the northern kingdom after revolting along with them (v. 18). But it may be that from Binyamin he only had these warriors, as that tribe was especially noted for its warriors. Considering that a few generations ago only 600 men were left of Binyamin, it is unlikely that this 180,000 is speaking only of Binyamin, but probably includes Yehudah's warriors as well. The Temple was in Binyamin's land--just across the border from Yerushalayim--so it is logical that they would fight along with the tribe that held it. One thing Yarav'am did not inherit was Shlomoh's riches, and the southern kingdom is still prosperous enough to muster more men than the ten northern tribes. Most of David's army had been mercenaries, and many of these may have also been foreigners. Edom and other states that David and Shlomoh had made vassals would have contributed, being much like the residents of Puerto Rico today--"independent" but still considered "Americans".22. But the word of Elohim came to Shma'yah the man of Elohim, saying, Shma'yah means "Hear, O YHWH!" But he was telling Rehav'am just the opposite: "You had better listen to YHWH!"23. "Tell Rehav'am the son of Shlomoh, the king of Yehudah, and the whole House of Yehudah and Binyamin and the rest of the people, 24. "'This is what YHWH says: "Do not go up or fight with your brothers, the House of Israel. Each of you return to his house, because this thing has come from Me."'" So they obeyed the word of YHWH, and turned back to leave, in accordance with YHWH's word. Either Shma'yah's name had its desired effect, or he was already well enough respected that no one questioned the fact that he was YHWH's spokesman. Return to his house: This might even include those from the Northern Kingdom living in the South or were willing to fight for it because the Temple was there. 25. And Yarav'am fortified Sh'khem in the mountains of Efrayim and lived in it, then he went out from there and fortified P'nu-El. P'nu-El was where Yaaqov wrestled with the messenger. (Gen. 32:31) Like Gid'on (Judges 8), he was retracing Yaaqov's steps.26. But Yarav'am said in his heart, "Now the dominion may revert to the House of David! Now: after Rehav'am decided to obey YHWH and forego the battle, there would be peace between the two peoples, and they might decide to settle their differences more fully and reunite. He is running off of paranoia: "What if...?" He is getting ahead of any real need, worrying about something that would never have taken place if he let today be today and simply obeyed YHWH. YHWH gave him his reign, and He would preserve it. But Yarav'am is beginning to credit the people with putting him in power instead, so He no longer trusts YHWH with something that was never his concern before, but has been given to him only for the sake of all of Israel. This leads to his thinking that he has the authority to change the laws YHWH laid down at Mt. Sinai. House of David: The idiom most commonly used for Yehudah at that time, as evidenced even by an inscription found at the tel of the city of Dan at the extreme north of Israel in the 1990s, which would be one of the places that would especially be Yerushalayim's rival. (v. 29)27. "If this people goes up to carry out slaughterings in the House of YHWH at Yerushalayim, the heart of this people may turn back to their master--to Rehav'am, the king of Yehudah, and they will kill me and go back to Rehav'am, [the] king of Yehudah!" In peacetime there would be access to Yerushalayim for all of Israel. Yarav'am's heart was already becoming corrupted by power. He was no longer as concerned for the spiritual welfare of the people he started out to serve as with holding onto the position that was now his, though by calling Rehav'am "their master", he seems to even be calling into question his own legitimacy as king--yet he still wants to retain the position!28. So the king devised a plan [within himself] and made two golden calves, and he told them, "It is too much for you to go up to Yerushalayim; here are your elohim, O Israel, which brought you up out of the land of Egypt!" Devised a plan: or "took counsel", but it does not say with whom. Just like Aharon, he (knowingly or not) symbolized through the golden calves the immaturity of his own reasoning and that which he would bring about in the hearts of his people once they stopped having full access to the Torah. And of course two calves are better than one! It is too much: He encouraged them to take the easy way (just like Efrayim's masses today), and therefore they grew weaker.29. And he placed the one in Beyth-El, and the [other] one he put in Dan, Beyth-El is on the border between Binyamin and Efrayim; the name ("house of Elohim") makes it obvious why he would choose that location. YDan is at the extreme north of the Land, so those who lived in that sector could go as far from Yerushalayim as they still could go within their own Land--a major political statement. But Dan was also a watering-stop on the only trade route from Egypt to Mesopotamia, at the narrow pass that leads into Levanon, so it would also derive much pagan influence from all the peoples who passed through it; YHWH had intended for Israel to be the influence on the peoples who passed through their Land instead.30. and this matter became a missing of the target, because the people went before the one all the way to Dan, The one: It seems that the people did not do much with the calf at Beyth-El, but that they all went all the way to Dan--as far as they could get from Yerushalayim and still be within their own Land.31. and he made a house of cultic platforms, and made priests of the fringes of the people, who were not from the sons of Levi. This was the second missing of the target (after the idolatry itself)--the repudiation of the restriction YHWH had put on who could be His priests. Were these "fringes" the riff-raff--the "lunatic fringe" as we might say today? Or were the Levites simply remembering how many of them had died because of the golden calf, and telling the people to "get their own priests" if they were going to worship idols?32. And Yarav'am produced a festival in the eighth month on the fifteenth day of the month, like the festival that was in Yehudah, and he made [an ascending offering] go up on the altar, and did the same at Beyth-El, to make a slaughtering to the salves that he had fashioned. And he stationed at Beyth-El priests of the cultic platforms that he had made. 33. And he [offered] up [a sacrifice] atop the altar that he had made in Beyth-El on the fifteenth day of the eighth month--in the month that he had determined in his own heart. Thus he made a feast for the descendants of Israel and offered up on the altar for incense. He may have thought that because it was allowable for someone to do the Passover slaughter a month late (if he was ritually impure or on a journey), then it must be equally allowable to celebrate Sukkoth a month late, for no reason except to be different. But YHWH only said this of Passover. The Northern Kingdom has continued to substitute other days for those YHWH has ordained, again following the tugging of our own hearts, whether for emotional or logical reasons--anything but obeying His actual commands. CHAPTER 131. Then, lo and behold, a man of Elohim came from Yehudah to Beyth-El by the word of YHWH while Yarav'am was standing atop the altar to burn incense.From Yehudah's territory, Beyth-El was only about a mile across the Beyth-Horon Descent, which at that time constituted the border between Yehudah and Israel. He thus was only sent to his audience's "front door" and was not meant to fully enter its house. (v. 9) Avraham had built an altar here (Gen. 12:8), which Yarav'am may have thought was all the precedent he needed. The two altars were at the extreme northern and southern parts of the Kingdom of Israel, as if they were guarding the land. The historian Josephus, (Antiquities of the Jews, 8:9:1), who apparently had access to more detailed traditions about this story, says that this took place during the feast of pseudo-Sukkoth that Yarav'am had initiated, and that he took it upon himself to be high priest.2. And he uttered a loud proclamation about the altar by the word of YHWH, and said, "O Altar! Altar! This is what YHWH says: 'Watch! A son will be born to the House of David. Yoshiyahu is his name, and he will slaughter on you the priests of the cultic platforms who are burning incense on you, and they will burn human bones on you!'" Yarav'am reigned from approximately 930 to 909 B.C.E. Yoshiyahu (who was king from 639 through 609 B.C.E.) would thus not come on the scene until 300 years later (which would already be after the dispersion of the Northern Kingdom, indicating that Yehudah would at least have access to the area after the Assyrian Empire was weakening), so this story would have to be passed down from generation to generation and be remembered. One wonders why none of the kings in the line of David named his son Yoshiyahu sooner, unless the prophecy was not known to Yehudah until later. It may have been given as a sign, or as an assignment, or both. Human bones: literally, bones of Adam. Nothing would be more defiling to an altar connected with YHWH. But bones are a picture of the House of Israel in particular (Y'hezq'El 37), and their being consumed forebodes the fact that it would completely cease to be a nation for an extremely long time. The story of what Yoshiyahu did is found in 2 Kings 23:14ff.3. And on that day he provided a [miraculous] sign, to say, "This is the sign that YHWH has pronounced: Look! The altar [will] be torn apart and the ashes that are on it [will] be spilled out." Ashes: Josephus renders it, "the fat of the sacrifices". The physical cause might have been the gravitational pull of the planet Mars, which would (until 701 B.C.E.) cross earth's orbit and cause major cataclysms during what are now called March and October, and the latter would line up with the timing of this incident in the eighth month.4. Then what took place when King Yarav'am heard the word of the man of Elohim, which he proclaimed in regard to the altar, was that he stretched out his hand from atop the altar, to say, "Arrest him!" But his hand, which he had stretched out against him, withered, and he was not able to draw it back to himself. Withered: or dried up. But there is a play on words here, because the Hebrew word for "arrest" (or "seize") is realized as tif-sh, while "withered" is tiyvash. Yarav'am had employed his hand against YHWH, and would not use it righteously, so YHWH took away its "license to operate". This is reminiscent of David's vow, "If I forget you, O Yerushalayim [the very thing Yarav'am was trying to make his subjects do], may my right hand forget [its skills]." (Psalm 137:5) The eighth month was also when the Deluge of Noakh took place, and that is the first time these Hebrew words "stretch out" and "draw back" are used together (when he sent out the dove). So we should compare the two incidents. Like Noakh, Yarav'am was given a covenant, but when he reached out to take something he did not deserve, his hand, rather than the flood waters, is what dried up.5. And the altar was torn apart and the ashes spilt out from the altar, according to the sign that the man of Elohim had given according to the word of YHWH. This would not only ruin the altar, but apparently ritually defile it as well. Normally, ashes are to be removed from the altar (Ex. 27:5; Lev. 1:16) and poured outside the camp (Lev. 4:12) in a ritually-pure place (Lev. 6:11). In some cases, the high priest would do so, while in other cases the Levites would. (Num. 4:13) The ashes of the red heifer had to be gathered by someone who was ritually pure. This was a sign that they could see immediately to show that the prophecy of the altar's demise would also be reliable. So like Pharaoh, Yarav'am received two proofs. The question now was whether Yarav'am would accept this judgment or defiantly try to rebuild it. The fact that human bones would be burned on it (v. 2) tells us that it must have been repaired. 6. Then the king responded and said to the man of Elohim, "Please, beg the face of YHWH your Elohim, and intervene on my behalf, so my hand can come back to me!" So the man of Elohim begged the presence of YHWH, and the man's hand retracted to him, and it was like [it had been] at first. Like Pharaoh, he asked for prayer when he began to feel YHWH's judgment. Your Elohim: He does not claim YHWH as his own, though he was undoubtedly calling the two golden calves "YHWH" as Aharon did.7. And the king said to the man of Elohim, "Come home with me, and refresh yourself, so I can give you a reward." Refresh: or sustain. Reward: or, gift. (He may have meant it as a bribe, but maybe it was only out of appreciation.8. But the man of Elohim said to the king, "If you were to give me half of your house, I would not come with you, nor will I eat bread or drink water in this place! Elisha likewise refused a gift from Naaman the Syrian (2 Kings 5:15-16), because the term for "reward" in v. 6 can also mean "bribe", which can blind the righteous. (Ex. 23:8) In any case, Israelite are forbidden to eat what is connected with pagqn slaughterings. (Ex. 34:15) The place was not worthy of a servant of YHWH; it was defiled by the worship of demons, and to eat there would be like ratifying a false covenant.9. "Because the same [thing] has been commanded me by the word of YHWH, saying, 'You must not eat bread or drink water, or go back on the road by which you came.'" He needed to set an example to the Northern Kingdom of changing course and going in a different direction.10. So he went by a different road, and did not return by the way on which he came to Beyth-El.
They: The reference changes from singular to plural midstream in Hebrew. Prophet: We must not miss the fact that the text does not tell us whose prophet he was. That he was a prophet does not automatically mean he was holy or righteous, but only that he had access to things that are in the spirit world, and sometimes this would even include the words of YHWH. Yahshua warns us to beware of false prophets. (Mat. 7:15)12. And their father said to them, "Where is this [man]? [By] what road did he go?" And his sons had seen [on which] road the man of Elohim who came from Yehudah had gone. 13. So he told his sons, "Saddle the donkey for me!" And they saddled the donkey for him, and he mounted it. 14. And he went after the man of Elohim, and found him sitting under the terebinth tree. And he said to him, "Are you the man of Elohim who has come from Yehudah?" And he said, "[That's] me!" The...tree: No antecedent reference to a terebinth at that location can be found elsewhere in Scripture.15. So he said, "Come home with me, and eat bread!" 16. But he said, "I can't go back with you or come with you, nor may I eat [any] bread or drink [any] water with you in this place, 17. "because a word came to me through the word of YHWH, "You must not eat bread or drink water there, nor may you turn back to go on the [same] road by which you walked into it."
What was his motive? To test him? Or to get him in trouble? Josephus tells us this false prophet was held in high esteem by Yarav'am, and, being weak and ill, feared that "Yadon" would now be held in higher esteem by Yarav'am because he had proven a man whose words held true. But since he identified himself with the younger prophet and used YHWH's name, he trusted him, especially deferring to him since he was his elder and would thus hold some authority in his eyes. He never seems to have considered that someone might lie in YHWH's Name. Could he also have been the unnamed person who gave Yarav'am counsel to make the altars in the first place (12:28)? In any case, if the worship here ceased, according to the young prophet's advice, the elder would lose respect from his townspeople.19. So he went back with him and at bread in his house and drank water. 20. But what came about while they were sitting at the table [was] that a word came [from] YHWH to the prophet who had brought him back, 21. and he summoned the man of Elohim who had come from Yehudah, saying, "This is what YHWH says: 'Because you have rebelled against the mouth of YHWH, and have not guarded the order [by] which YHWH your Elohim commanded you, Guarded: Apparently he thought YHWH had changed his mind, or else he was just glad for an excuse to do what his stomach was telling him to do, but he did not seem to even puzzle over the contradiction. Because the prophet seemed to be on YHWH's side instead of clearly in conflict with Him like Yarav'am, who offered the same invitation, he now let down his guard. This is how confusing much prophecy that goes on in the name even of YHWH is today, when YHWH's instruction is so lightly guarded. He could clearly hear from YHWH, but because of some faulty assumption in his own mind, the message became garbled.22. "'and you went back and ate bread and drank water in the place of which He told you, "You must not eat bread or drink water", your corpse will not make it to the grave of your ancestors.'" The place: He was outside the land in which the Torah was still more prevalent, and he was not meant to feed off the place he has just cursed; he was only there to deliver a warning and a sign. Not make it to the grave of your ancestors: This would be a much more drastic punishment than mere death. It meant great shame, and was one form of being "cut off from his people". Yaaqov, Yoseyf, Moshe, and Aharon were all "gathered to their fathers"; this man who knew the right thing to do and did not do it lost his heritage and his inheritance--a picture of the whole Northern Kingdom against whom he had railed at first. He was a prime example of those who start off faithful, then grow slack, and die in their sin. (Y'hezq'El 3:18-20)23. And what took place after he ate bread and after he drank was that he saddled the donkey for him--for the prophet whom he had brought back-- He: that is, the elder prophet.24. and he left. Then a lion found him on the road and killed him, and his corpse was cast off in the pathway, and the donkey [kept] standing beside it, and the lion [kept] standing beside the corpse! He: the younger prophet is now the antecedent. In the pathway: likely to be trampled underfoot, adding insult to injury. Donkeys often show up with prophets in Scripture, even Avraham, who also heard from YHWH.25. As men were passing by, lo and behold, they saw the corpse thrown [down] on the road, and the lion standing beside the corpse, and they came and talked intensely about it in the city where the elder prophet lived. 26. When the prophet who had brought him back from the journey heard it, he said, "He is the man of Elohim who rebelled against the mouth of YHWH, so YHWH gave him over to the lion, and it tore him [in pieces] and killed him, according to the word of YHWH that He spoke to him!" Those who know YHWH's will the best are held most accountable for what they do with His words. But the other prophet makes no mention of his own hand in the prophet's disobedience! And he had not been the channel for all of these "words" from YHWH; all he told him was that he would not be buried with his ancestors. But Leviticus 26:21-22 had warned long before this that unrepentant Israel would have wild beasts sent among them to make the highways desolate, so this strange scene is direct testimony to the veracity of YHWH's threat.27. So he spoke to his sons, saying, "Saddle up the donkey for me!" So they saddled it, 28. and he went and found his corpse thrown [down] on the road, with the donkey and the lion standing near the corpse, and the lion had not eaten the corpse, nor had it torn apart the donkey. The lion was clearly not there because it was hungry. It was an executioner for YHWH, and this made it clear to all who passed by that the only reason it had killed him was because of who he was and what he had done. This prophet provided another sign even in his death, though he was on the wrong side of it this time, and it burned him. The lion has long been a symbol of Yehudah (Gen. 49:9), so the lion was there to make sure he did not return to Yehudah, from which he had come, but was buried outside its territory. The lion also represents the fact that YHWH had restrained Yehudah from battling against Israel. In mercy it stood by to protect the body from any other scavengers, just as the Son of man (also from Yehudah) said he was the one who scattered Israel (Mat. 13:37) and he would be the one to regather her. (Luqa 19:10)29. So the prophet took up the corpse of the man of Elohim and laid it [gently] on the donkey, and brought him back, and he came to the elder prophet's city to bewail and bury him. Josephus says he made a funeral for him at great expense.30. And he laid his corpse in his own tomb, and they wailed over him, "Alas, my brother!" Brother: his fellow prophet. Since he himself had a reputation of being a false prophet, who "kissed up" to the king, this would also tarnish the reputation of the younger prophet, who would thus be associated with him. Once he had disobeyed and was among the dead, they were indeed brothers. But one must wonder from this part of the story whether he did not have some regrets about his part in tempting the man of Elohim to sin, for as Yoseyf of Ramathayim buried Yahshua in his own tomb, there seems to have been some admission that he was more deserving of honor than he, since he did affirm that his words would come true, whatever turn his later actions took.31. And what he did after he buried him was that he said to his sons, "When I die, you must bury me in the tomb in which the man of Elohim is buried; lay my bones beside his, 32. "because the word that he proclaimed by the word of YHWH about the altar that is in Beyth-El, and about all the houses of the cultic platforms that are in the cities of Shomron, will by all means come about." Shomron: or Samaria, the region south of the Yezre'el Valley, west of the Yarden River, and north of Binyamin. Shomron, the capital city as such, had not yet been built. This took place under the reign of Omri. (Probably because of this, the Northern Kingdom was for as long time called "the house of Omri".) Josephus adds that he thought that if he were buried with this true prophet, he would receive no injurious treatment after his death (i.e., for being a false prophet), since the bones of the two men could then no longer be distinguished. And indeed, being in this tomb spared his bones from being among those burned by Yoshiyahu. (2 Kings 23:17-18) He says the younger prophet's name was Yadon. Another writing called the Constitutions calls him Adonais. But this is speculation; his name is left out of the Book of Life, and so was the elder prophet's. 33. After this event, Yarav'am [still] did not repent from his evil way, but went back and made priests of the cultic platforms from the fringe of the people. He filled the hand of whoever wished [to do the job] and they became priests of the cultic platform. Even those who went only by tradition rather than Torah still knew this was not appropriate. Josephus says the false prophet went and asked Yarav'am why he listened to the words of the prophet who had been so dishonored. When Yarav'am told him about his withered hand, the false prophet tried to persuade him that it had only been worn out by the labor involved in the multitude of sacrifices he had offered, and that its restoration came only because he had rested for some time. He also said the altar, being new and untested, had cracked under the weight of the abundance and size of the sacrifices laid on it. How could he explain away the lion that did not eat the prophet or the donkey? He could give credit to his two golden calves for preventing the lion from acting like a typical lion, just as "Jesus" is put into contexts and given credit for things with which he had no direct connection. (Not to diminish any true prophecies about the real Yahshua, for he is worthy of much honor, but he was still only the vessel YHWH chose to use; YHWH was the one who did the work. We do not drink the glass, but its contents.) Like their Christian descendants, they were worshipping these calves as YHWH, not as the Ba'als yet, but the effect was the same. In any case, Yarav'am took the mauling by the lion as discrediting the man of Elohim, since his own prophet had still managed to overcome the prophet who had made his hand wither and his altar break apart. He therefore took this as an excuse and a license to follow the course he preferred. Afterward, Josephus says, Yarav'am kept trying to come up with more and more new ways to "make improvements" on the Torah. So YHWH gave him what he asked for, turning him over to the table that he had set for himself.34. And this thing became a missing of the target [for the] House of Yarav'am--[enough] to bring it to desolation and destruction from off the face of the earth. I.e., this was the last straw, the filling of the cup of wrath. This incident, in which a man of Yehudah brought a message against the North and then died in that territory, would certainly drive the wedge between the two kingdoms deeper. There is much in this account that foreshadows the history of the Northern Kingdom, including lying prophets who defend "righteous idolatry", crystallized in Christianity, the religion of the majority of the Northern Kingdom today. Aharon had said his golden calf was the elohim who brought Israel out of Egypt, but now Israel has two golden calves, so the rift now is between the Temple and those who worship more than one elohim, thinking both are YHWH. What could better foreshadow the deification of Yahshua? Our refusal to repent of this eventually "gained" us a third deity as well. No benefit came to anyone in this story, unless we who read it now learn from it and go in the opposite direction. CHAPTER 141. At that time, Aviyah the son of Yarav'am became ill,Aviyah means "YHWH is my Father"! Yet even his own father was not acting according to this worldview.2. and Yarav'am said to his wife, "Please get up and disguise yourself so they will not know that you are Yarav'am's wife, and walk to Shiloh. [Go] see Akhiyah the prophet there. He spoke about my becoming king over this people. Now he thinks about YHWH's prophet--only when he is in trouble! Disguise: or simply, change. He assumed the prophet knew he was not worthy to ask anything from the Elohim he had abandoned, since, unlike David, he had not repented when rebuked, but he might have compassion on the plight of a poor stranger. Since he had had a favorable report from this prophet the first time, he seemed to be expecting the same again.3. "So take in your hand ten [loaves of] bread, along with biscuits and a bottle of honey when you come to him. He will tell you what will befall the lad." This is reminiscent of the twelve loaves of the Bread of the Faces in the Tabernacle when all of Israel was united. Yarav'am had authority over ten of the tribes they represented. Biscuits: from a word meaning "easily crumbled". Again this (again maybe inadvertently) speaks of the condition of the Northern Kingdom--it was crumbling. And the honey might have been a plea to find a way to glue it together (since the word comes from a rot meaning sticky or gummy), or it may have been like a bribe to "sweeten up" the prophet so he would answer in the way Yarav'am wanted. Sha'ul also brought a gift when he was going to inquire of a prophet; prophets did not require payment when they came to deliver a word from YHWH, but it only seemed right to honor one who spoke for YHWH when asking for a favor. He was worthy of his hire, for he had to eat as well.4. So Yarav'am's wife did just that--she got up and walked to Shiloh and entered the home of Akhiyah. Now Akhiyahu was unable to see, because his eyes were fixed due to his age. Akhiyahu: Yarav'am had spoken of him using the shorter version of his name. This might mean he was implying familiarity or informality.5. But YHWH told Akhiyahu, "Pay attention! Yarav'am's wife is coming and will request something from you for her son, since he is sick. You must say thus and so to her. And when she comes, she will be making herself out to be a stranger." He did not need his eyesight, for YHWH revealed her ruse.6. So it was that as Akhiyahu heard the sound of her feet coming in the entrance, he said to her, "Come in, wife of Yarav'am! Why is it that you are making yourself out to be a stranger, when I am sent to you with [a] severe [message]? She seemed unwilling to face up to her guilt (or at least the guilt of her husband.--though the consequence would be the same either way)7. "Go say to Yarav'am, 'This is what YHWH, Elohim of Israel, says: "Because I raised you up from among the people to let you [be] ruler over My people Israel, Elohim of Israel: He emphasized His ownership of the people Yarav'am is merely called to shepherd for Him, while in fact he is acting as if he has the right to decide what to do with them.8. "'"even tearing the sovereignty away from the House of David to give it to you, but you have not turned out [to be] like My servant David, who guarded My commandments and walked after Me with all of his heart to do only what was right in My eyes. YHWH is saying, "You have not turned out to be worth what I had to do to My friend; I had to treat him badly to make things work for you to salvage the other tribes, but it was all a waste!"9. "'"And you have caused more evil to take effect than all who had come before you, and went and fashioned for yourself other elohim and cast-metal images in order to anger Me, and you have thrown Me away behind your back! More evil than all before: While Sha'ul consulted a witch, he did so privately, and did not worship idols. David had only two major sins on his record, and only one of them directly affected the whole nation. And while Shlomoh let his wives worship whatever they wanted, he never abandoned YHWH's Temple. In contrast, Yarav'am was telling his subjects to forsake the place where YHWH had set His Name.10. "'"Therefore watch Me [as I am the one] bringing trouble on the House of Yarav'am. And when I have cut off whoever [there is] in Israel belonging to Yarav'am [who] urinates on a wall, [whether he is] shut away or out in the open, I will burn away what is left of the House of Yarav'am just as one burns away the dung until it is consumed. Urinates on a wall: that is, any male, but the choice of words reflects the fact that Yarav'am deserved no honor, for he had insulted the special attention YHWH had given him by having the audacity to ignore His clearly-stated intentions, and so his sons are insulted in return. Wall: This term is generally used of a place deserving reverence, such as a city or temple. Urinating on it would certainly defile it if we compare Deut. 23:12-14. This phrase was also used by David about Naval (1 Shmu'el 25:22), YHWH uses the same language regarding Baasha (16:11), and Eliyahu does concerning Akhav (21:21). The meaning is that he will have no posterity. Dung: YHWH uses the most distasteful terms about the man He chose to rule Israel, because of the stench he has caused in YHWH's nostrils, which was as bad as excrement to Him. He leaves him no dignity at all. Shut away: It was common to hide an heir to the throne whose life was threatened (Deut. 32"36; 2 Kings 11:2; 14:26; Mat. 2:13-15)11. "'"Anyone belonging to Yarav'am who dies in the city, the dogs will eat, and whoever dies in the field, the birds of the skies will consume, because YHWH has spoken."' Izevel and her sons would suffer the same dishonor. (21:23-24)12. "Now [as for] you, get up and go to your home. When your feet enter the city, the boy will die, 13. "and all of Israel will lament him and bury him, because [of all those] belonging to Yarav'am, only this [one] will come to the grave, because among the House of Yarav'am, [only] in him was there found something right toward YHWH, Elohim of Israel. He was the only one among Yarav'am's sons who would receive a decent burial. (Compare v. 11 and 15:29 below.) The others would have no honor, and there are even hints in Jewish tradition that being buried with one's fathers means one would be resurrected sooner if among the righteous. We are not told what it was that YHWH found worthy in Aviyah; it may have been nothing but his name. "Even a child is known by his doings, if they are pure or right." (Prov. 20:11) Yet YHWH looks on the household as a whole entity, and because the head was evil, the sins of the father were visited on the innocent son. Now matter how righteous his wife or son may have been, YHWH looked to the head when He judged a house. This is a great warning for us, especially as heads of households.14. "And YHWH has raised up for Himself a king over Israel, who will cut off the House of Yarav'am. This is the day. And what? Even now. House: in this case, it signifies a dynasty.15. "And YHWH has struck Israel as the stalk sways in the water, and uprooted Israel out of this pleasant Land that He gave to their ancestors, and scattered them across the river, because they have made their Asherim, provoking YHWH to anger. As the stalk sways in the water: This may mean it would be an easy task for YHWH to bring this about. Across the river: not just the Yarden, but probably the Ferath (Euphrates) in particular, because that was what Avram had originally crossed. "Across" is from the same word from which "Hebrew" comes, so YHWH was giving a harsh sentence here. Since Israel was acting as if Avram had never crossed over, He was going to send them back to where he came from. He "un-hebraicized" them. Maybe then we would notice our plight and repent.16. "And He will give Israel up on account of the guilt of Yarav'am, which he wrongly [perpetrated], by which he caused Israel to go off track." On account of: literally "on the rolling". I.e., the ball Yarav'am started rolling has picked up momentum, and this is the result. He himself never made Asherim (v. 15); he only perverted the true worship rather than intending to change it altogether. But his compromise with the golden calves led others to feel they had a license to do so. 17. So Yarav'am's wife got up and left, and came into Tirtzah. When she arrived at the threshold of the house, the lad died. Tirtzah was about twelve miles north of Shiloh, just beyond Sh'khem. It means "place of delight", and was apparently the city Yarav'am had chosen as his capital. The similar word, tirtzakh ("you shall murder") might apply better in this case, though, because she might have avoided her son's death by staying away from the city and sending a messenger instead. (v. 12)18. So they buried him, and all of Israel mourned for him, in agreement with the word of YHWH, which He spoke by the hand of His servant Akhiyah the prophet. 19. And the rest of the affairs of Yarav'am--how he fought and how he reigned--[you can] see them written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel. Chronicles: literally, "words/matters of the days".20. And the days that Yarav'am reigned were twenty-two years, then he lay down with his ancestors, and his son Nadav began to reign in his place.
41 years old: This would mean he had already been born a year before Shlomoh took the throne (for he reigned 40 years). Prior to this we had only heard that he had married Pharaoh's daughter after he became king, and it seemed she had been his first wife. This is the first we have been told about Naamah. Her name means "pleasantness", yet she was from a people YHWH had told Israel not to marry. (11:1-2) This also tells us that Rehav'am died at least five years before Yarav'am did. We seem to be changing subjects here, but not really. There is only one Israel in covenant with YHWH, and though the Kingdom split, what one part of it did could not help but eventually affect the other. The Northern Kingdom seemed to be getting away with their sin, and it was allowing them better relationships with neighboring lands, so the Southern Kingdom appeared to have an excuse, just as Christianity's compromises spawned the atmosphere for Conservative Judaism and the Reform variety (which we could almost call "Jewish Methodism"). When we are slack, Yehudah often tends to be too. On the other hand, when we act more righteously, we give Yehudah an easier context in which to fulfill her calling. Like a seesaw, we cannot move one side without moving the other.22. And Yehudah did what was evil in the eyes of YHWH, and they provoked Him to jealous [anger] more than their ancestors ever did, by their sins [in] which they missed the target. This evil seems to be a direct result of Shlomoh's wife, the mother of the crown prince, being a pagan. The king's mother was always a more influential woman in the kingdom than the king's wife.23. They even built for themselves cultic platforms and sacred poles and Asherim on every lofty hill and under every flourishing tree. Sacred poles: phallic symbols much like the obelisks we see today, based on Egyptian architecture, but possibly of a rougher, less geometric style. Asherim were similar--male images meant to be consorts with the goddess Asherah.24. And there even came to be a male temple prostitute in the Land, and they carried out the same disgusting practices [that] the Gentiles that YHWH had dispossessed from before [the faces of] the sons of Israel [had done]. In the Land: that is, YHWH's own property! This only two generations after David! This was the last straw. 25. So what took place in the fifth year of King Rehav'am, Shoshaq the King of Egypt came up against Yerushalayim, Shoshaq: also known as Shishak or Sheshonq I, who reigned c. 945-924 B.C.E. He is the one who had harbored Yarav'am when he was fugitive from Shlomoh (11:29-40). This attack took place in 925 B.C.E. 2 Chronicles 12 gives much more detail about this story, showing that the downward spiral began after Yarav'am's kingdom was settled or established. He began to think he, rather than YHWH, had established it. He had not resolved in his heart to seek YHWH. (12:14) He might not have made his own copy of the Torah as he was commanded to. (Deut. 17:18) So Shoshaq came with 1,200 chariots, 60,000 horsemen, and countless soldiers, including foreign mercenaries.26. and he seized the treasures of the House of YHWH and the treasuries of the house of the king--indeed, he took it all. And he was taking all the golden shields that Shlomoh had made. 27. So to replace them Rehav'am made shields of bronze and entrusted them into the hand of the captains of the runners who guarded the entrance to the house of the king. Bronze: a symbol of obstinacy (Yeshayahu 48:4), which Rehav'am exhibited by the fact that he did replace them quickly with whatever resources he had, rather than waiting on YHWH to show him how to reverse his actions. He had a tradition to maintain.28. And it turned out that whenever the king went into the House of YHWH, the runners would pick them up and return them to the runners' room. Was this to guard the king or to keep them hidden so they would not be known to Shoshaq? Or was Rehav'am ashamed to have this sign of defiance of YHWH's judgment in sight when he did go to pray?29. And the rest of the words of Rehav'am and all that he did--aren't they written in the book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Yehudah? 2 Chron. 12:15 also refers to the records of Shemayah the prophet (possibly the writer of this account here) and genealogies kept by Iddo the seer.30. And there was war between Rehav'am and Yarav'am continuously. Continuously: literally, all the days. Just because YHWH had told him not to take the northern tribes back did not keep Rehav'am from taking "pot shots" at Yarav'am just to irritate him, chastise him, or remind him that not all of Israel was his. And the Northern Kingdom kept retaliating for centuries after it dissipated throughout the world but gained the upper hand over Yehudah and forgot it was the Northern Kingdom.31. When Rehav'am lay down with his ancestors, he was buried with his ancestors in the City of David, and his mother's name was Naamah the Ammonitess. Then his son Aviyam began to reign in his place. Aviyam means "My father is the sea", or possibly "father of the sea"--possibly a reference to his being a seafarer in his own right, though the alliance with Khiram the "Phoenician" king remained with the Northern Kingdom rather than the southern. He probably still had a fleet at Etzion-Gever on the shore of the Gulf of Aqaba. Some think this was just a scribal error for Aviyah, though the error would have to have been made numerous times. CHAPTER 15[Year 3087 from creation; 913 B.C.E.]1. Now in the eighteenth year of King Yarav'am the son of N'vat, Aviyam became king over Yehudah. Aviyam: 2 Chronicles 13 calls him Aviyah.2. He reigned for three years in Yerushalayim, and his mother's name was Maakhah the daughter of Avishalom, Maakhah was also the name of the mother of Avshalom and one of the parents of Akhish, king of Gath in David's time. The name means "oppression". 2 Chronicles calls her Mikhayah, which means "Who is like YHWH?" It is more likely that this is her real name, and that this scribe changed her name to reflect her actions, or it may have been a name by which many called her during her lifetime. She indeed was most likely the one pressuring her son to act the way he did.3. and he walked in all the errors which his father committed before him, and his heart was not completely with YHWH his Elohim, as the heart of his ancestor David [was], His father Rehav'am had passed on to him things that kept him from being fully dedicated to YHWH. His heart did seem to be partly for YHWH, because, according to 2 Chron., he castigated the Northern Kingdom for doing away with the Levitical priests and at least called on YHWH when cornered in a battle with Israel (see v. 7), and YHWH did save him and struck down Yarav'am. But he tried to get the Northern Kingdom to reject Yarav'am, when YHWH had said the division was His idea.4. though for David's sake YHWH his Elohim gave him a candle in Yerushalayim, to establish his son after him and to allow Yerushalayim to endure, Candle: or simply, lamp or light. The dynasty was allowed to continue on the merit of David alone and because YHWH had chosen this place. This warns us that if we are allowed to remain in a position, it does not necessarily mean YHWH likes the way we are doing things.5. as David had done what was straight in the eyes of YHWH, and did not turn aside from anything that He ordered all the days of his life, [except] only in the matter of Uriyah the Hittite. The story of the latter is found in 2 Shmu'el 11. He does not gloss over this without comment, though David is held up throughout the chapter as the standard of character, seemingly the best that can be expected from a human being. One wonders why he did not also mention the matter of the failure to take up the half-sheqel Temple tax when taking his census; it may be that because Israel procured the Temple Mount from Gentiles due to this error, YHWH did not regard it with as much disapproval as his having killed Bath-sheva's husband.6. And war kept breaking out between Rehav'am and Yarav'am all the days of his life. This must mean "between the dynasties of Rehav'am and Yarav'am", as Rehav'am was already dead. All the days: not literally every day, but for his whole lifetime.7. And the rest of the words of Aviyam, and all that he did, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Yehudah? Then a war started between Aviyam and Yarav'am, There is also more about Aviyam in the records of the prophet Iddo (2 Chron. 13:22), which we no longer have. The chronicles listed here do not appear to be the same as the books we have that are called "First and Second Chronicles" (Divrey ha-Yamim), for the latter follows much the same pattern as Kings, alternating between the two kingdoms in a more-or-less chronological order, rather than dividing the records between the two kingdoms.8. then Aviyam lay down with his ancestors, and they buried him in the City of David, and his son Asa became king in his place. It appears to be saying that he died in the battle with Yarav'am, possibly even killed by Yarav'am himself. But 2 Chronicles gives a very different outcome.[Year 3089/3090 from creation; 911/910 B.C.E.] 9. Now Asa became king over Yehudah in the twentieth year Yarav'am was king of Israel, Asa's name seems to mean "healer", based on a word for regaining strength. In any case, this is definitely what his reign meant for Yehudah. Asa was one of 22 sons, and had 16 sisters, for his father had 14 wives. The twentieth year: This only seems to be two years into Aviyam's reign (v. 1), but the record does not tell us how many months into his third year Aviyam died, and Aviyam probably did not become king on the very first day of Yarav'am's eighteenth year.10. and reigned forty-one years in Yerushalayim. Though his mother's name was Maakhah the daughter of Avishalom, He reigned a year longer than either David or Shlomoh, possibly because the reforms listed below took his first year, and YHWH rewarded him with a full forty years after that. Maakhah: He is said to have the same mother his father had; it is possible that "mother" here means his paternal grandmother, though she may have been the one who actually raised him. If she was this old, her political influence was all the more entrenched.11. Asa did what was straight in the eyes of YHWH, like David his ancestor. YHWH does not seem to expect that anyone could do a better job than David, but being grouped with him was enough of a reward. We see periodic repentance among the kings of Yehudah, but very rarely in Israel.12. And he made the male temple prostitutes cross over out of the Land, and abolished all the rolling-images that his ancestors had made. One wonders why he only banished the cult prostitutes rather than killing them. The answer is probably that, rather than being from the Kanaanites, which the Israelites were instructed to destroy, they were from the Ammonite people (across the Yarden River; see chapter 14), and had probably been invited into the Land by Asa's own father, so they were essentially guests, so he could hardly kill them.13. And he even deposed his mother Maakhah from being the ruling woman, as she had made a shocking thing for the Asherah. Asa also cut down her shocking thing and burned it in the Qidron Valley. Shocking: or horrifying, from a word meaning "to shudder". For a Jewish man to do this to his mother was a real act of chutzpah! Deposing her must have come as a shock to her, for her idolatrous actions must have seemed just a matter of course for her, but he held up YHWH's standard against it, and found it very crooked. But he was actually honoring his mother better by doing the right thing than by doing what she would have preferred. For the Asherah: or possibly, to serve as the Asherah, but Asherah was considered a consort of the god Ba'al, so it was most likely one of the phallic symbols pagans in the region often set up "for the sake of" their goddesses. After these things were gotten rid of, the Land was undisturbed for ten years. (2 Chron. 14:1) He therefore showed his gratitude to YHWH for this respite by fortifying the cities so that what YHWH had given would be even better guarded. In his fifteenth year, a million-strong army from Kush (possibly Ethiopia) attacked, far outnumbering Yehudah, and in his distress, Asa called on YHWH for help, and the enemy was not only routed, but left him with much plunder. After this there was again peace for 20 years.14. But the cultic platforms were not removed; nonetheless, Asa's heart was completely with YHWH all of his days. Cultic platforms: 2 Chronicles 14:5 tells us more detail: he DID remove them from the cities of Yehudah; it was Israel (the Northern Kingdom) from which he did not succeed in removing them. (2 Chronicles 15:17) That was where the influence had come from for these evils he had to remove. He rid his own Land of the problems, but did not destroy their source. Some attempt to do so may have been why he was at war with Israel (v. 16).15. And he brought the things his father had dedicated and the things he [himself] had dedicated into the House of YHWH--silver and gold and utensils. Utensils: or containers, implements, vessels, or even weapons.16. But there was war between Asa and Baasha the king of Israel all of their days. Asa managed to capture some cities in the mountains of Efrayim. Many from Israel people also defected to Yehudah when they saw that YHWH was with them. (2 Chron. 15:8-9)17. That is, Baasha, king of Israel, went up against Yehudah and started rebuilding Ramah to prevent Asa, king of Yehudah from having a way out or a way in. Ramah (the prophet Shmu'el's hometown and burial place, per 1 Shmu'el 25:1) is in the mountains of Binyamin between Beyth-El and Yerushalayim, right along the border with Efrayim. It literally says "the Ramah", so it might refer simply to a generic place with high altitude rather than the particular town by that name. Rebuilt: or fortified; possibly even blocked off with a wall--"the great wall of Israel". Baasha means "a stench".18. So Asa took all the silver and gold that remained in the treasuries of the House of YHWH, and [he took] the treasures of the king's palace, and entrusted them into the hand of his servants, and King Asa sent them to Ben-Hadad the son of Tavrimon, the son of Khezion, the king of Aram, who lived at Damaseq, saying, Ben-Hadad: literally, son of Hadad, but he was the son of Tavrimon ("Rimmon--the great pomegranate--is beneficent"), so "son" in the former case is figurative, for Hadad was not only the name of a former king, but of the "mighty one" the Syrians worshipped. His name simply means "mighty"!19. "[Let there be] a treaty between you and me, between my father and your father! Look, I have sent you a gift of silver and gold; go, nullify your treaty with Baasha, king of Israel, so he will get up from [being] on top of me!" He felt so desperate that he thought he had to scrape for resources wherever he could, and apparently he never fully regarded his donation (v. 15) as a gift, but continued to think he had the right to use it for purposes other than YHWH's. If YHWH had not provided him with other resources, it meant YHWH did not intend for the battle to be won by greater military strength, but in the same way he had won the battle 20 years before.20. And Ben-Hadad listened to the king, Asa, and sent the captains of the armies that he had against the cities of Israel, and attacked Iyon and Dan and Avel Beyth-Maakhah, and all of Kinneroth in addition to all of Nafthali. Iyon was right at the northern border of Israel where the trade route enters from the mountain pass through Levanon. Dan is the next town, and Avel Beyth-Maakhah (called Tel Abil today) was just across the river from it. Kinneroth would be the area around the "Sea of Galilee", or the northernmost town on it at that time, not far from where Ginnosar is today. The whole area between them is Nafthali's territory--from the Huleh Valley west up the mountains which are partly in Levanon today.21. And it turned out that when Baasha heard, he did stop rebuilding Ramah and stayed at Tirtzah. Stop: The term means to leave unfinished, not just pause like a "Sabbath".22. So the king, Asa, summoned all of Yehudah (no one was exempted), and they carried away the stones of Ramah and its timbers, with which Baasha had built, and with them King Asa reinforced Geva of Binyamin and Mitzpah. Notice that it was Yehudah who took the initiative in breaking down the wall between the two kingdoms which the House of Yoseyf had started building. Geva and Mitzpah flank Ramah, each only a mile or two away, but on his side of the border, so he would not have very far to bring them, but now it would be Israel that would be inhibited from crossing over rather than Yehudah.23. Now the rest of the words of Asa and all his heroism and all that he accomplished, as well as the cities that he built, aren't they inscribed on the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Yehudah? Except [that] toward the time of his old age he was diseased in his feet. Built: or, fortified. Diseased: or, weakened. This may be idiomatic for his falling slack in his observance of the feasts of YHWH, which are called "feet" in Exodus 23:14. In any case, he did become weaker in his trust in YHWH, because YHWH held him accountable for not having done what he did when the Kushites attacked, and sent a prophet to rebuke him. If he was hesitant to ask YHWH to back him against his own brothers, he should have at least inquired. Instead of repenting, he put the prophet in prison, and began to oppress others of the people. (2 Chron. 16:7ff) His diseased feet seem to be YHWH's answer to this, but even then he sought relief from physicians rather than asking what YHWH was trying to tell him through this. Was he too used to being in power? The higher one ascends, the more delicate the balance, and while we may outgrow some temptations, they are replaced by stronger ones. If a priest had diseased feet, he would no longer be able to serve as a priest, and this seems to have symbolized the fact that Asa had outlived his usefulness. [Year 3130 from creation; 870 B.C.E.] 24. Then Asa lay down with his fathers and was buried in the City of David, his ancestor, and his son Y'hoshafat became king in his place. Y'hoshafat had three years of co-regency with Asa before the latter died, probably beginning his reign when Asa became infirm. That is, like Shlomoh, he was probably crowned king while his father was still living. This type of practice explains why the recorded lengths of the kings' reigns could not seem to fit with the number of years allowed by both Scriptural statements as to total time lapse between events and the secular historical record. It is also unlikely that many kings began or ended their reigns on the first or last day of the year, but a portion of a year is counted as "his third year", for example. [Year 3090/3091 from creation; 910/909 B.C.E.] 25. Now Nadav, the son of Yarav'am had become king over Israel in year two of Asa, the king of Yehudah, and he reigned over Israel for two years. This is a flashback to events prior to those described in verses 16-22.26. And he did what was wrong in the eyes of YHWH, and walked in the way of his father and in his sin by which he caused Israel to miss the target.
27. Then Baasha the son of Akhiyah, who belonged to the House of Yissakhar, conspired against him, and Baasha attacked him at Gibthon, which belonged to the Filistines, when Nadav and all of Israel were laying siege to Gibthon. Josephus says it was all the more reprehensible because Baasha had been Nadav's friend. His father is not the same Akhiyah who was the prophet in the time of Yarav'am (who appears again in v. 29 below), who was from Shiloh, making him most likely an Efrayimite. There are nine different people by the name Akhiyah in Scripture. The name means "YHWH is my kinsman." Gibthon means "highest hill". Laying siege: literally, cramping.28. And Baasha killed him in year three of Asa, king of Yehudah, and became king in his place. 29. And what took place as he became king [was that] he struck down the whole house of Yarav'am; he did not spare anyone [who was] breathing who belonged to Yarav'am until he had exterminated him, in accordance with the word of YHWH, which He had spoken by the hand of His servant Akhiyah the Shilonite 30. in regard to the sins of Yara'vam that he perpetrated when he caused Israel to sin in the vexation to which he provoked YHWH, the Elohim of Israel. Josephus says the dogs and birds indeed ate them, as had been prophesied.31. And the rest of the words of Nadav and all that he accomplished--aren't they written in the book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel? 32. And there was war between Asa and Baasha the king of Israel all of their days. This is an exact repetition of verse 16 in the verse that is its double. 33. [Beginning] in year three of Asa, the king of Yehudah, Baasha the son of Akhiyah reigned over all of Israel at Tirtzah for twenty-four years. 34. But he did what was wrong in YHWH's eyes, and walked in the way of Yarav'am and in his sin by which he caused Israel to miss the target. This simple refrain is repeated, and no matter what great physical accomplishments Baasha might have had, this was the bottom line from YHWH's standpoint, and he counted for nothing. CHAPTER 161. Then the word of YHWH came to Yehu the son of Khanani about Baasha, to say,Yehu means "He is YHWH". Khanani is the seer who was sent to rebuke Asa when he trusted in a foreign army rather than in YHWH. (2 Chron. 16; see 15:23 above.)2. "Since I raised you out of the dust and allowed you [to be] ruler over My people Israel, but you have been walking in the way of Yarav'am and making the people of Israel miss the target, provoking Me to anger with their errors, Out of the dust: i.e., from being obscure or unknown. But this also reminds us of Adam, who was literally raised up from the dust, and also only given a simple rule to follow, yet also did not follow it, and also lost headship over the dominion YHWH had put under him.3. "watch Me burn away behind Baasha and behind his household, and I will make your house like the house of Yarav'am the son of N'vat. Behind Baasha: has a chronological sense in Hebrew as well, hence probably signifying his posterity.4. "[Of those] belonging to Baasha, whoever dies in the city, the dogs will eat, and whoever of his dies in the field, the fowls of the skies will eat." Baasha's name means "to stink", yet though his stench was strong to YHWH, Baasha himself got used to it, so YHWH had to send someone to point out him how bad he smelled. But if it was not already too late, according to Josephus, Baasha did not care what the prophet said, and made no effort at all to change his ways, and it almost seemed as if it was his goal to become worse and worse. (Antiquities of the Jews 8:12:3)5. Now the rest of the words of Baasha, as well as what he accomplished and his heroism, aren't they recorded in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel? Though he admits Baasha was heroic in some sense and had some noteworthy deeds, it seems that recalling what they were would only bring sadness to the hearer once they know how he turned out in the end, so the scribe seems to be trying to get his own account of Baasha over with as quickly as possible, referring the reader elsewhere if he is really interested. He was a loser in YHWH's eyes, no matter what else he may have accomplished, so it was tiresome to prolong the account.6. When Baasha lay down with his ancestors, he was buried in Tirtzah, and his son Elah became king in his place.
Yehu did what YHWH sent him to do. (v. 1) Struck it down: that is, by killing Nadav and the other sons of Yarav'am. But didn't YHWH want this done anyway? In verse 2, YHWH took credit for raising Baasha to his throne, possibly because he had fulfilled the prophecy about what would become of Yarav'am's household. So why was YHWH angered by the fact that he did so? He may have simply been taking advantage of a convenient prophecy (if he knew about it at all) to do what he wanted to do. He did what David would not dare to do: he lfted a hand against one YHWH had anointed. Just because YHWH said it would occur does not mean he had a right to do it! And though he carried out YHWH's wish of cutting off Yarav'am's posterity, this new management" made no improvement at all in Israel's condition. He turned out to be propagating Yarav'am's ways even though he was from a different lineage, so to YHWH, promoting him was nothing but a waste. If he had not continued in the same sin and if he had remembered and given credit to the One who put him in his position, striking down Yarav'am's line might not have been held against him. But while there are many who complain about those in power, there are few who really do anything to remedy the situation. So the moral here may be, "Do not complain about the errors of those YHWH has chosen unless you are willing to fix the problem and do better."
8. In the twenty-sixth year of the years of Asa, king of Yehudah, Elah the son of Baasha became king over Israel in Tirtzah, [reigning] two years. 9. Then his servant Zimri, captain of half of the chariots, conspired against him while he was in Tirtzah drinking [himself] drunk in the home of Artza, who was over the house in Tirtzah. King Shlomoh had written, "It is not for kings to drink [much] wine or...strong drink, lest they...forget the decree [that has been enacted] and pervert justice..." (Prov. 31:4-5) Here we see another reason a king should not become so dissipated: it gives an easy occasion to anyone who wants to overthrow them!10. That is, Zimri came inside and struck him down and killed him in the twenty-seventh year of Asa, the king of Yehudah, and became king in his place. Zimri means "my music"--a temptation in itself, for music is an other-worldly thing that is nonetheless found in this world, and people are often tempted to worship and serve it rather than using it as a means to worship YHWH. Even as we use it, we must hold it at arm's length, lest it use us in return. But his name could also be read as "singing my own praise", which he was doing by grabbing the throne rather than being given it. Note how the dynasties keep being cut off barely into the second generation and the rule transferred to another bloodline completely.11. Now what took place was that upon his accession, as he sat on his throne, he struck down the whole house of Baasha; he did not leave to him one who urinates against a wall, either kinsman or companion. Kinsman: the same word used for the kinsman-redeemer; thus, no one could come back and avenge Baasha. Companion: or friend; literally, one who eats from the same pasture.12. That is, Zimri exterminated the whole household of Baasha, according to the word that He had spoken to Baasha by the hand of the prophet Yehu 13. to [address] all the sins of Baasha and the sins of Elah his son, in which they missed the target and in which they caused Israel to miss the target, provoking YHWH, the Elohim of Israel, to anger with their empty [actions]. Elah means "an oak" or "Terebinth", i.e., a huge, mighty tree. It seems that in his father's eyes, he was slated to become a great leader. But these high hopes were dashed. We are not told what Elah's particular sins were, but the worst part was that his bad example made the rest of the people think they had a license to be slack about the Torah as well. Are our actions leading others astray?14. And the rest of the words of Elah, as well as what he accomplished, aren't they recorded in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel? In his case "heroism" is not mentioned as it was for his father. He did not even have that redeeming factor. 15. In the twenty-seventh year of the years of Asa, king of Yehudah, Zimri reigned for seven days at Tirtzah while the people were camped against Gibthon, which belonged to the Filistines. Contrast the many years of Asa's reign with the few days or years of all these kings in the North. In all, six Israelite kings died during the reign of this one king of Yehudah. Even the time frames are calculated based on Yehudah, the kingdom that was at least sometimes righteous (though the scribes who wrote this book were probably from Yehudah as well). In Proverbs 28:2, Shlomoh had written, "For the transgression of the Land, many are the princes thereof, but by a man of understanding and knowledge, stability will be prolonged." This is exactly what took place here. Gibthon: They were still besieging this city as they had been doing when Baasha killed Nadav 24 years earlier. Or they may have left it off at that time and resumed the attempt now. In any case, though the two kingdoms of Israel were at war with one another, at times they were still doing what they were supposed to in ridding the Land of foreign powers--but they still perpetuated their paganism, so what was the difference in the outcome?16. When the people who were encamped heard it said, "Zimri has made a conspiracy and has even struck down the king!", all of Israel made Omri the captain of the army king over Israel that [very] day in the camp. Either they missed the part about Zimri taking the throne for himself, or they knew there was a gap to be filled but did not like the idea of Zimri being king. They may have even liked Baasha enough to resent his assassin. In any case, this "democracy" in the people making the choice was anarchy to Israel, like the children who now think they should have as much authority in schools as their teachers.17. So Omri, and all of Israel with him, went up from Gibthon, and laid siege to Tirtzah. Again, their siege of Gibthon was interrupted. Would they ever capture that city? Omri means "My binding together (as in sheaves)", and is related to the omer of manna and what is counted from the Feast of Unleavened Bread through Shavuoth, as well as the name of the city of 'Amorrah (Gomorrah). Which would he turn out to be like? Interestingly, we are not told the name of Omri's father here or anywhere else in Scripture, though there are two other men named Omri, whose father's names we do know. This may mean his father was so evil that YHWH wrote him out of the record--possibly for no other reason than the way his son turned out.18. And what took place when Zimri saw that the city had been captured, he went into the elevated fortress of the king's house, and burned the palace down with fire over himself, and died He of all people knew how strong his army was, and he saw no way out. He did not seem to even have the will to fight or reason with the people, so he may have either thought his guilt was too severe to be remedied or simply expected no justice from a "lynch mob". Such an elevated palace, as far inside the city as possible and additionally fortified, has been found at Lakhish.19. on account of his sins by which he missed the target in order to do what was evil in the eyes of YHWH, to walk in the ways of Yarav'am, causing Israel to err. Very little is recorded about him, but this one major act of his clearly displeased YHWH as well, taking away Israel's respect for law and order.20. Now the rest of the matters of Zimri as well as the conspiracy that he pulled together, aren't they recorded in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel?
Thivni means "my intelligence"; Ginath means "protection". There is still more division in the camp. The "democracy" is carried a step further, to majority rule:22. But the people who went after Omri had a firmer grip than the people who [went] after Thivni the son of Ginath, so Thivni died, and Omri became king. Thivni died: Such a matter-of-fact way of stating the fact that no one who challenged the winner would be allowed to remain a threat! There was no mere conceding of the victory to the stronger; he would not be allowed to regroup and try a second time. It was all or nothing; someone had to be very committed to make such a bid for power. [c. year 3120 from creation; 880 B.C.E.] 23. [Beginning] in year thirty-one of the years of Asa, king of Yehudah, Omri reigned over Israel for twelve years. He reigned six years in Tirtzah, Up to five of these years (beginning around 885 B.C.E.) may have been consumed by the struggle between Thivni and Omri. (Compare verse 29.) No details at all about Thivni are given in 2 Chronicles either.24. then he bought the mountain of Shomron from Shemer with two kikkars of silver, and fortified the mountain and called the name of the city that he had built [based] on the name of Shemer, proprietor of the hill: Shomron. 25. But Omri did what was evil in the eyes of YHWH more than all who [came] before him, 26. and he walked completely in the way of Yarav'am the son of N'vat and in his own sin by which he caused Israel to sin to [the point of] provoking YHWH, the Elohim of Israel, to anger with their empty [actions]. Empty actions: or, vain imaginations, possibly an indirect reference to idols (which offer a vain hope).27. Now the rest of the matters of Omri that he perpetrated, as well as his heroic [deed] that he accomplished, aren't they recorded on the Scroll of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel? 28. When Omri lay down with his ancestors, he was buried at Shomron, and his son Akh'av began to reign in his place. Akh'av means "father's brother". 29. Now Akh'av the son of Omri became king of Israel in year thirty-eight of the years of Asa, the king of Yehudah, and Akh'av the son of Omri reigned over Israel in Shomron twenty-two years. This is now the fourth dynasty within a mere 51 years, but this one would last longer than its predecessors, possibly only because YHWH was beginning to give His people over to the ways they had chosen over and over since they were not listening to any of His warnings or rebukes. As the southern kingdom was known to most as "the House of David", so the northern kingdom came to be known as "the House of Omri". This is a major "footprint" that enables us to trace the wanderings of the northern tribes in later years. According to Steve Collins, the Assyrian name for Omri (which begins with the guttural consonant 'ayin in Hebrew) was Khumri, and in their writings this designated the Israelites, excluding the Jews. Aylett Sammes, a 17th-century historian, wrote that the ancient British people called themselves "Kumero", "Cymro", and "Kumeri", and their Celtic language derived mainly from the Phoenician. The Welsh still call themselves Kymry, and their land was for some time called Cambria, which later came to be called Cumberland. Dell Griffin also points out that the migrating Israelites who called themselves by the name of Omri found it easy to mingle with the Gomeri tribe in what is now Turkey because of the similarity of their name. This may be why YHWH had Hoshea marry a prostitute whose name also was Gomer, as He was speaking to the unfaithfulness of the "House of Omri". This is a bad name, any connection with which we must overcome.30. And Akh'av did what was wrong in the eyes of YHWH more than all who had been before him. It just keeps getting worse and worse. None of this would have been necessary if Israel had not insisted on having a king like the other nations had. (1 Shmu'el 8:5) The people sometimes kept asking YHWH for help, yet were looking to other things besides Him for their satisfaction. This is the root of the problem even now.31. Now, [as if it] was a [mere] trifle that he walked in the sins of Yarav'am the son of N'vat, what he did was take a wife--Izevel the daughter of Ethbaal, king of the Tzidonians, and served the Baal and bowed himself to it. Walked in the sins: i.e., continued to use the idolatrous altars that he had set up and continued to celebrate the festival he had created. In the same way, whoever counts and observes Sunday as a day of worship is walking in the sins of Constantine. They did not have to come up with any new ideas of how to sin--though we will see that Akhav did that as well. (Josephus wrote that he "contrived other absurd objects of worship".) Now we have moved from a twisted form of the worship of YHWH--in a way He did not ask for--to actually serving a different elohim. There is a play on Akh'av's father-in-law's name (Ethbaal) in the phrase that follows it: in Hebrew it reads, v'yaavad eth-haBaal... The king's name means "with Baal", and Izevel means "exalted island" or "exalted coast". She was probably named in proud celebration of her home city, Tzidon, one of the two great coastal cities of what came to be called "Phoenicia" (now in Lebanon), not literally raised in elevation, but made extremely wealthy and powerful by their superior oceangoing vessels and their monopoly on trade beyond the Strait of Gibraltar. Its twin city, Tzor, was actually built on an island. In Hebrew it could also read, "Ey-zevel" ("Where is the exaltation?"), and which way it was to be taken would depend on the choices she would make. Their two names are both related to the more familiar name, Beel-zevul ("Baal/the owner is exalted"), often identified with haSatan. It is often confused with Beel-zebub, a Filistine deity, "master of the flies", worshipped because it ostensibly kept the population of flies in check. An Israelite king would later consult it when he was ill. (2 Kings 1:2)32. And he raised up an altar to Baal in the temple of Baal, which he built in Shomron. Now he was also walking in the sins of Shlomoh, who built temples to foreign deities alongside YHWH's. Shomron later became an idiom for the Northern Kingdom, being its capital, though it represented the height of evil and rivalry with Yerushalayim.33. Then Akh'av made the Asherah, and continued to do more [and more] to provoke YHWH, the Elohim of Israel, to anger than all of the kings of Israel who were before him. 34. In his days, Khi'El the Beyth-Elite rebuilt Y'rikho. With Aviram his firstborn, he laid its foundation, and with S'guv, his youngest, he stood its doors up, according to the word of YHWH, which He had spoken by the hand of Y'hoshua the son of Nun. This is an allusion back to Y'hoshua 6:26, when Y'hoshua made the people swear, "Cursed before YHWH is [any] man who may raise up and rebuilt this city, Y'rikho. May he lay the foundation with his firstborn, and with his youngest may he stand its gates up!" Aviram means "my father is the exalted one". S'guv means "inaccessibly high"--as if both were out of reach of this curse. One might wonder whether great stones literally fell on his sons, burying them in the very walls or gates of the city. The word for "rebuilt" has its root in the word for "son", so he sacrificed the "building blocks" of his own household in order to fulfill whatever advantage this rebuilding seemed to hold for him. For centuries no one else dared to do it, but now, because of a general atmosphere of doing what is right in one's own eyes and being connected with whatever we wanted, the nation has deteriorated to the point that Y'hoshua's prophetic word is considered just some old superstition, part of the "old ways" from which this people that sought "modernity" wanted to distance itself--a great warning to us again today. CHAPTER 171. Then Eliyahu the Thishbite, from among the sojourners of Gil'ad, told Akh'av, "[As surely as] YHWH, the Elohim of Israel, before whom I have been standing, is alive, if there will be [any] dew or rain these years, [it will only be] if [it is] by the mouth of my word!"When it seems things can hardly get worse for the Northern Kingdom, finally there is a change in the air! But it will not be pleasant at first; the kingship's cup is full (16:33), and it is time for chastisement to begin. Thishbite (Heb., Thishbi) may refer to someone from a town east of the Yarden. But Thishbi appears to be related to the word "sojourners" (thoshvey). Without the vowel points, there is no difference in spelling, so it may be intended simply to read, "Eliyahu of the sojourners". Gil'ad was not actually part of Israel proper, though it was given to Gad because it was requested as a pastureland. So Eliyahu came to Akh'av as somewhat of an outsider; the king had probably not seen him before. At any rate, he came from outside the mainstream of the culture by this time, like his antitype Yochanan the Immerser (Mat. 11:14), who came out of the wilderness identifying people as sinners in need of repentance. The events of 16:34 took place immediately before Eliyahu came on the public scene. Seeing this prophecy fulfilled may have even been a catalyst that helped him find the confidence to go ahead and dare to prophesy the message he had been given. His message was in the structural form of an oath in Hebrew. Dew was part of the blessings given by both Yitzhaq and Moshe, to Yaaqov and Yoseyf in particular. (Gen. 27:28; Deut. 33:13) Rain is compared to teaching from YHWH. (Deut. 32:2) These blessings were being suspended as YHWH had said they would be if Israel refused to obey His commandments. (Deut. 28:15, 24)2. Then the word of YHWH came to him to say, 3. "Go away from this [place] and turn yourself eastward, and hide yourself in the Wadi Krith, which faces the Yarden. Wadi Krith: or possibly simply, "cut-off river bed", hinting that it was a place already conducive to concealment. It is in Eliyahu's home territory of Gil'ad, very close to the ruins of the city of Pella (now in Jordan), which is where the followers of Yaaqov, Yahshua's brother, also found refuge during the rebellion against Rome which resulted in the destruction of the Temple--another time of YHWH's severe correction on His people. Gil'ad was a place of great sustenance (Num. 32), and thus the famine took longer to affect this area.4. "And [this is how it] will be: you can drink from the brook, and I have commanded the ravens to sustain you there." 5. So he went and did what YHWH had said; he went and stayed in the Wadi Krith, which faces the Yarden, 6. with the ravens bringing him bread and meat in the morning, and bread and meat in the evening, and he would drink from the brook. There is a problem here. What ravens brought would almost certainly have been torn meat (which is not kosher). This would have been plentiful as animals were dying from the famine. The rabbis say that it is more important to preserve life than to keep every detail of Torah if straits are so dire. And the only consequence is that he would be ritually impure if he did so (Lev. 17:15), and would have to bathe himself and his clothing each time he did so. He had the running brook there for that, but he would have been constantly getting back into a state of uncleanness. Of course, he could not go to the Temple at this time anyway. But unless this was meant to be a commentary on the condition Israel was in, YHWH's prophet would most likely refuse to eat torn meat (Ex. 22:31; Lev. 7:24), especially since he was also given bread. Ravens are also very intelligent, as birds go, and if they know someone is obtaining food they have sequestered, they will change their patterns rather than repeating the same mistakes. The word for raven means "dark" or "dusky". But with different vowel pointing, it is the same word as that for "Arabs", who are also dark but not black. That term means "mixed". At this very same site Arabs do serve kosher meat and delicious puffed flatbread today, and the fact that they came twice per day suggests strongly that these were not ravens at all, but Bedouin herdsmen coming to water their flocks, and paying the man they perceived as guarding their water source. Interestingly, from Pella, the Yezre'el Valley, which Hoshea linked with Elohim's scattering and sowing of the Northern Kingdom, can be seen across the Yarden. Since the spirit of Eliyahu is that of the restoration of all things (compare Mal. 4:5 and Mat. 17:11-12 with Luqa 1:17), and the area of Gil'ad will not be overtaken by the King of the North, who will take the Holy Land (Dani'el 11:13-17, 41). This may be prophetic of the harboring of those who leave the Land to be protected elsewhere when the same scenario is repeated. (Mat. 24:15-16)7. But eventually the brook finally dried up, because no rain came on the land. Even this spring dried up, because the aquifer was not being replenished. It was at this time that the later-mighty city of Carthage grew rapidly, as it was a colony founded by the Phoenicians, which included both the kingdom of Tzor and Tzidon and Israel. Thousands of Israelites left the Land at this time and emigrated there permanently. The original name of the city was Kiryath-Khadashah ("new town") in Hebrew. (Steve Collins) they decided that survival was more important than staying in the place YHWH had given them and trying to discern the reason YHWH was not sending rain, since He told us it would be plentiful when we were pleasing to Him. (Lev. 26:4) There was no desire to repent. They thought this was nothing but a natural phenomenon, but Gershon Ferency, a descendant of Aharon, points out that the rain in Israel is not so regular as the flooding patterns in Egypt, and therefore is more directly tied to Israel's prayers. The Torah also ties it directly to our obedience, so when it ceases, it is no mere accident. It is the same even in our exile. When trouble comes, it means YHWH wants our attention on something particular, and we need to find out what it is and respond accordingly. But their foreheads were stubborn like brass (compare Yeshayahu/Isa. 48:4), so YHWH made the skies brass and turned the rain into dust in response. (Deut. 28:23-24)8. Then the word of YHWH came to him to say, 9. "Get up [and] go to Tzarfath, which belongs to Tzidon, and stay there; indeed, I have ordered a woman there--a widow--to sustain you." Tzarfath was a port city between Tzidon and Tzor, and thus expected to be a place of greater supply, but the famine had hit here too. But YHWH was concerned for widows and orphans, as always, and He chose a roundabout way to provide for them. In modern Hebrew Tzarfath is the name for France, which was also colonized by the Tzidonians and some Israelites with them. There may be some prophetic significance to this as well, considering Ovadyah 20.10. So he got up and went to Tzarfath, and as he came to the entrance of the city, sure enough, there was a woman, a widow, feverishly gathering sticks. So he called to her and said, "Please get me a little water in the container so that I can drink!" He could tell she was a widow because widows wore some sort of distinctive clothing. (Gen. 38:14; 2 Shmu'el 14:2-5) He was using the same test Avraham's servant did when seeking a wife for Yitzhaq, trying to make sure this was the right widow. Yahshua also used the same request to get the attention of a woman in Samaria. (Yochanan 4) This woman did not hesitate, but neither did she voluntarily go the extra mile as Rivqah had, so she had to be taught the fullness of what hospitality is. But this is a prophetic parallel as well:11. As she went to bring it, he called to her and said to "please bring me a piece of bread in your hand!" Piece of bread: the same word as what Avraham promised to his esteemed guests, but actually brought them much more. (Gen. 18:5) It is therefore clear that he is trying to determine if she is a daughter of Avraham. Yahshua also told his students not to take provisions when traveling with his message, because those who were worthy to host them would prove it by their willingness to feed them. (Mat. 10:10-13)12. But she said, "[As surely as] YHWH your Elohim lives, if I have a cake [at all], it is only a handful of meal in a jar and a little oil in a jug, and as you see, I am gathering a couple of sticks so I can go and prepare it for myself and for my son, so that we can eat it and die!" She somehow recognized that he was a servant of YHWH. Was it simply because she knew he was Israelite by his appearance, or was she told by YHWH that a prophet would be coming to her? She was quite possibly an Israelitess herself, for already there was much intermingling between Israel and the Tzidonians, and a Tzidonian husband might have moved her up there to get married. This seems to be borne out in verse 18. A handful of flour and the same amount of oil is what belongs to YHWH when Israelites bring a contribution to the priests. (Lev. 2:1-3) But one part of the term for "handful" is melo, which is what Efrayim and Menashe are called--the "fullness of the Gentiles" (Gen. 48:19). Two sticks: also a clear symbol of the two houses of Israel (Y'hezq'El 37:16-17) She is therefore a clear picture of us, who were also unaccustomed to the hospitality our ancestors were known for because we were in the wrong place. Her flour was not the refined kind, because until Eliyahu came to her, she was out of the context of a community in which her potential to be made into bread worthy of YHWH could not be realized. But when the spirit of Eliyahu comes upon the Northern Kingdom, the bread of remembrance can appear again. (Lev. 2:2) This is the spirit of the restoration of all things that is YHWH's great move in our time.13. But Eliyah said to her, "Do not be afraid. Go, do as you said. But just make me a little cake from there first, and bring it out to me, then prepare [some] for yourself and your son afterwards, Eliyah: The spelling is diminished here to follow the Hebrew original. The reason is unclear.14. "because this is what YHWH, Elohim of Israel, says: 'The jar of meal will not run out, nor will the jug of oil diminish until [the] day YHWH provides rain upon the face of the ground.'" This would be like the manna, which YHWH kept bringing until there was a natural supply available. (Y'hoshua 5:12)15. So she went and did according to the word of Eliyahu, and she ate--along with him and her household [for] days! Once she stopped making excuses and walked in the promise while there was still no bread to the natural eye, the provision came. She had to give up her security to sustain YHWH's servant first, just as ideally our firstfruits are to sustain the officiators in His sanctuary before we partake of our increase. There was no Temple accessible to her, as it is not available to us either, but like this YHWH offers us parallel occasions to seek first His Kingdom instead of seeking what we will eat, as the Gentiles do--and when we do, He provides for us as He promised. (Mat. 6:33) Especially while we are in exile, getting the Kingdom back up and running is first priority.16. And the jar of meal did not run out, nor did the jug of oil diminish, just as YHWH had said by the hand of Eliyahu. Now her oil was increased (cf. Deut. 7:11-13), and every meal could be a "grain offering" by giving some to the prophet first. But his oil was also being increased as he saw YHWH's miraculous works, for he had bigger tests to come which would require all the confidence in YHWH that he could muster.
What do I have to do with you: literally, "What is for me and for you?" My crookedness: possibly the very act of marrying a Tzidonian man. (11:1-2) The dying son had been the fruit of that sin.19. So he told her, "Give me your son." And he took him from her bosom and brought him up into the rooftop chamber where he was staying, and laid him on his own bed. Rooftop chamber: or, upper room, loft. But this was a common way to house guests, or simply a place for the family to stay cooler when sleeping in the hotter months. Since the lower level of the house is where some animals were kept and would be much hotter from the cooking that went on there, the rooftop chamber would be the best room in the house. So very quickly she has caught on to the hospitality that Eliyahu had to initially coax out of her. She thus proved to be a true Israelite. With a dead boy on it, his bed would be defiled and he and everything in his room would be ritually unclean for seven days. (Numbers 19:13-14) But YHWH would even take care of this problem.20. And he called out to YHWH and said, "O YHWH my Elohim! Have you even brought trouble on the widow with whom I am finding hospitality, to let her son die?" Even: He expected trouble for himself in such a climate, but he knew the principle that Yahshua put into words, that whoever shows hospitality to a prophet should receive a prophet's reward. (Mat. 10:41) So like Yahshua, he asked that this "cup might pass from him". Like Yahshua, he prayed three times:21. Then he stretched himself out over the boy three times, then called out to YHWH and said, "O YHWH my Elohim, please let the boy's life come back into him!" His life: literally, his inhaling. The three prayers (like those Dani'el practiced daily) represent a cycle like the three major pilgrimage festivals of the year. The woman was right in recognizing that judgment was coming upon her because she had started walking in the spirit of Eliyahu. When we take on the restoration of all things YHWH has established as eternal, the people we are related to begin to "die off". The only way to revive them is to teach them this cycle, because if they truly begin to walk in them, they will be unable to miss YHWH's primary truths.22. And YHWH listened to the voice of Eliyahu, and the boy's life came back into him, and he survived. Like a man Yahshua healed, this boy's sickness was chiefly for the purpose of showing YHWH's power. (Yochanan 11:4) As we who are restoring the ancient practices to our part of Israel intercede and obey fully, we can have this hope that YHWH will again listen to us and revive the sons of the Northern Kingdom.23. So Eliyahu picked the boy up and brought him down from the rooftop chamber into the house, and gave him to his mother. And Eliyahu said, "Look, your son is alive!" Alive: or thriving. Again, Eliyahu's own confidence in YHWH received a large boost.24. And the woman said to Eliyahu, "Now I have come to be sure of this, that you are a man of Elohim, and that the word of YHWH in your mouth is true!" She apparently still had some doubts after the flour and oil kept flowing. Maybe she thought he was secretly replacing it for her between uses. (Consider the wording of v. 16, if a comma were added before "by", though the last phrase is a common idiom.) It may be that everyone was just suspicious of everyone at that time, thinking they were just trying to find ways to persuade others to give them a meal, since everyone was starving. Or, because of the many different things being worshipped in that day, much confusion had resulted she needed to be sure of who was really the one providing for her. But this second miracle was one he could not fake! Yahshua's resurrection after three days was also the evidence the Northern Kingdom needed to be persuaded to return to the measure of restoration that was available in his day. But note that Yahshua was not the first to raise a widow's son from the dead. He was not the first to take a little bread and multiply it greatly. But we do not see this woman worshipping Eliyahu as if he were YHWH. Her response is the proper one--to recognize that he is a representative of YHWH and needs to be heeded as such. And despite what Christians have done with the New Testament in the meantime, that is exactly the same response we see people giving to Yahshua therein. (Mat. 9:8; 15:31; Luqa 23:47) CHAPTER 181. And it came about after many days that the word of YHWH came to Eliyahu in the third year, to say, "Go, present yourself to Akh'av, so that I can provide rain upon the face of the ground."YHWH already had the solution ready, but there had to be a certain level of response from the representative of the nation first.2. So Eliyahu went to present himself to Akh'av. Now the famine had a firm grip in Shomron. Shomron might have held out longer because it normally receives plentiful rain, being on the side of the mountains that received the precipitation when the clouds passed over the ridge. But now things were becoming desperate, but YHWH often receives a better response from His people when they are hungry than when they are sated.3. And Akh'av had summoned Ovadyahu, who was over the household. (Now Ovadyahu had come to fear YHWH very much, Ovadyahu means "servant of YHWH". This is not the same as the prophet Ovadyah(u). There are 13 different men with this name in Scripture.4. and what had taken place when Izevel had cut off the prophets of YHWH, was that Ovadyahu had taken a hundred prophets, and had them withdraw, fifty men [in each group], into the cave, and sustained them with bread and water.) The Midrash says he divided them into two groups in case on group was found, so that at least one group could survive. He would have gotten this idea from Yaaqov's dividing his family into two groups when he felt threatened by Esau. (Gen. 32) It is amazing that someone of Ovadyahu's caliber would be working for a king like Akh'av, if he had a choice, but he was put in this position to keep these prophets alive. He may have even worshipped YHWH secretly, considering his location. He may have put them in caves because it was common for pagan worship to take place in caves, and so this might be the last place one would expect to find the prophets of YHWH.5. And Akh'av said to Ovadyahu, "Go throughout the Land to all the springs of waters and all the wadis; maybe we can find [enough] grass to keep horse and mule alive, and not [have to] cut off any of the livestock." Wadis: The Arabic name commonly used in the Land today for usually-dry riverbeds that have seasonal streams run through them, and which therefore might have some remaining water beneath them. The horse was a symbol of power and the mule a picture of sovereignty, and this symbolized the fact that he was placing both of these before the flocks (symbolic of the people he governed). Horses were the military might of the day, and he did not want to reduce their numbers. Cut off: possibly slaughter them for food, and this seems to even suggest that they would feed the horses and mules with the meat from the flocks; or it may simply mean they would have to reduce their numbers by turning some of them loose, so that the little remaining vegetation might be able to keep the rest of them alive. But notice that by this last-ditch effort Akh'av is still trying to "cheat" YHWH by finding his own way out of his troubles rather than admitting he was wrong and needed to repent and find out what YHWH's solution would be.6. So they divided up the Land for themselves, to go through it; Akh'av went one way by himself, and Ovadyahu went [another] way by himself. Divided: in the sense of apportioning out shares. Akh'av may have gone himself because he did not trust anyone else to do it, but assumed they would use any resources they found for their own sakes and never report back to him. Or he may simply have wanted to get away from his contentious, demanding wife for a while!7. But what took place as Ovadyahu was on the way was that here came Eliyahu to meet him. When he recognized him, he fell on his face and said, "Is that you, my master Eliyahu?" 8. And he said to him, "I [myself]! Go and tell your master, 'Look! Eliyahu is there!'"
12. "And what will occur is that when I leave your side, the spirit of YHWH will carry you I don't know where, and when I come and report [it] to Akh'av, he won't find you, and he will murder me. Now your servant has feared YHWH since my youth.
15. So Eliyahu said, "[As surely as] YHWH [Commander] of Armies, before Whom I stand, is alive, [do so], because I will appear to him today."
16. So Ovadyahu went to meet Akh'av, and reported [it] to him, so Akh'av went to meet Eliyahu.
17. And it turned out that as Akh'av looked at Eliyahu, he said, "Are you the one who is the troubler of Israel?!"
19. "So now send and gather all of Israel to me at Mount Karmel, along with the 450 prophets of the Baal and 400 prophets of the Asherah, who eat at Izevel's table."
36. And it turned out that at [the time for] making the offering ascend, Eliyahu the prophet approached and said, "O YHWH, Elohim of Avraham, Yitzhaq, and Israel, today make it known that You are Elohim in Israel, and [that] I am Your servant, and [that] by Your words I have done all these things!
40. And Eliyahu told them, "Arrest the prophets of Baal! Don't let a man of them [be allowed to] escape!" So they caught them, and Eliyahu brought them down to the Qishon [River] Valley and slaughtered them there.
2. Izevel sent a messenger to Eliyahu, saying, "May the gods do the same [to me] and more so, if tomorrow at the same time I have not made your life like the life of one of them!"
14. So he said, "I have been intensely zealous to be jealous for YHWH, Elohim of Armies, because the descendants of Israel have abandoned Your covenant! They have torn down Your altars and murdered Your prophets with the sword, and I myself—I alone—remain, and now they have started seeking to take my life [too]!"
3. "'Your silver and your gold, it belongs to me. And your wives and your children—those that are of any value—they are mine [now].'"
6. "'therefore at about the [same] time tomorrow I will send my servants to you, and when they have searched through your house and the houses of your servants, what will take place [is that] anything that is desirable in your eyes, they will put in their hand and take away.'"
8. So all the elders of the Land and all the people said to him, "Do not obey and do not yield."
9. So he said to the messengers of Ben-Hadad, "Tell my master the king, everything that you sent to your servant the first [time], I will do, but this thing I am not able to do." So the messengers went and took word back to him.
18. So he said, "If they have come out for peace, take them alive, and if they have come out to fight, take them alive!"
30. And those who remained at Afeq fled into the city, and the wall fell down on top of 27,000 men from those who were left, and Ben-Hadad escaped and made it into the city, into a room within a room.
34. And he said, "The cities that my father took from your father, I am returning, and you can make streets for yourself in Damaseq, as my father made in Shomron. Then I promise I will let you go." So he cut a covenant with him and sent him away.
38. Then the prophet went and waited for the king by the road, while disguising himself with bandages over his eyes.
42. So he told him, "This is what YHWH says: 'Because you have let go from your hand the man I had designated as to be completely [destroyed], it will be your life for his life, and your people in the place of his people!'"
12. They called a fast, and seated Navoth at the head of the people,
14. So they sent [word] to Izevel to say, "Navoth has been stoned, and is dead."
18. "Arise! Go down to meet Akh'av the king of Israel, who is in Shomron. There he is in Navoth's vineyard, to which he has gone down to seize possession of it."
25. "Only, there has been no one like Akh'av, who has sold himself to do what is wrong in the eyes of YHWH, as Izevel his wife incited him.
26. "And he has done extremely abhorrent [things] to go after [rolling] idols, just like all that the Emorites did, whom YHWH disinherited from before the face of the sons of Israel."
29. "Have you seen how Akh'av has been brought into subjection due to My presence? Because he has been humbled before Me, I will not cause the trouble to come in his days; I will bring the trouble on his house in the days of his son."
13. Now the messenger who had gone to summon Mikhayahu spoke to him, saying, "Please look here. The words of the prophets, [with] one mouth, are favorable toward the king. Please let your word be like the word of one of them and speak favorably."
14. But Mikhayahu said, "[As surely as] YHWH is alive, whatever YHWH tells me, that is what I will speak."
19. Then he said, "Therefore, listen to the word of YHWH: I saw YHWH sitting on His throne, and the whole army of the heavens was standing by Him on His right hand and on His left.
20. "And YHWH said, 'Who will entice Akh'av so that he will go up and fall in Ramoth-Gil'ad?' And this one said such-and-such, and that one said such-and-such.
22. "And he said, 'I will go out and become a fraudulent spirit in the mouth of all of his prophets.' And He said, 'You may entice him, and you will also be able to accomplish it, so go and do just that.'
23. "So now, indeed, YHWH has allowed a fraudulent spirit in the mouth of all of these your prophets, and YHWH has decreed trouble concerning you!"
27. "and say, 'This is what the king says: "Put this one in the house of restriction and feed him bread of oppression and water of oppression until I come in peace."'"
33. And when the commanders of the chariots realized that he was not the king of Israel, they turned back from [chasing] after him.
38. But when they rinsed out the chariot above the pool of Shomron, the dogs started licking up his blood, as well as when they washed the [pieces of his] armor, according to the word that YHWH had spoken.
40. When Akh'av lay down with his ancestors, his son Akhazyah became king in his place.
42. and Y'hoshafat was 35 years old when he began to reign, and he reigned 25 years in Yerushalayim, and his mother's name was 'Azuvah the daughter of Shilkhi.
44. The only exception was that they did not take away the cultic platforms; the people were still making slaughters and burning incense at the cultic platforms.
47. He even burned away from the Land the rest of the male temple prostitutes who were left in the days of his father.
53. and he did what was evil in YHWH's eyes and walked in the way of his father and in the way of his mother, as well as in the way of Yarav'am the son of N'vat, who had caused Israel to miss the target--
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Cedars, again, were more like redwoods, which grow very tall (some reaching over 100 meters) and straight and have a wide girth as well. (See note on v. 13) Y'hezq'el 31:3 supports this, saying the cedar tree grew taller than any other. The root word for "cedar" in Hebrew means "firm". These were no ordinary trees, and so required people of special skill. Israel had a different calling and therefore did not have time to specialize in this area as well, and there was really no need, since none of the trees in Israel itself grew this big. Psalm 92:12 compares the growth of the righteous to the Cedars of Levanon. They did not grow as well in Israel; there, sycamores were usually used where durable wood was needed, but for the Temple of YHWH, Shlomoh wanted the best available anywhere. It has been found that inhaling the scent of cedar enhances concentration, allowing one to meditate more effectively. This would especially be helpful when the high priest needed to remember perfectly al the steps he had to perform in the Holy of Holies on Yom Kippur. Cedar was the only wood besides acacia used in the Tabernacle, but there it was not for building but for ceremonies involving lepers, cleansing of houses, and the burning of the red heifer for its ashes, which would in turn be used in other ceremonies. So this may be another reason he chose this type of wood. He also knew Khiram had sent such wood for his father's palace (2 Shmu'el 5:11), and could see its quality firsthand there. Shlomoh also gave Khiram 20 cities as payment. (9:11) But contrast his purchase of these supplies with the way the Tabernacle was built--out of freewill offerings from plunder gotten when leaving Egypt. 
The place: 2 Chron. 2:16 specifies that this "place" was Yafo (Joppa). It is also thought that because of the wetter climate Israel had at that time until the 6-degree axis shift in 701 B.C.E. (evidenced by the difference in orientation of this Temple and the second), the Ayalon Valley had a perennial river whose mouth was at Yafo, and that Shlomoh could have the rafts brought much closer to Yerushalayim thereby than can be done by way of water today. The rafts may have been made of the cypresses, being a lighter-weight wood. Provide food: He does not ask for gold or jewels, but only what will be needed to sustain such a labor force. He would not even ask for meat, but simply for the ingredients for bread (v. 25), the most basic necessity--carbohydrates for hard-working woodcutters. He seems to have dropped everything, even taking his subjects away from their own fields--essentially putting his own kingdom on hold--in order to have such a major part in building YHWH's Temple. He did the opposite of those after the exile. (Khaggai 1:4) Another reason he requested this food was that wheat fields require great amounts of land to produce a little bit of bread, and Levanon is made up largely of mountains, many of them snow-capped, which is a wonderful climate for the trees, but does not lend itself well to farming, especially grain crops. His country may not have been capable of growing as much as they would need to feed so many laborers, but Israel could.
Apparently there was a separate wall of the building housing the side-chambers which sat directly beside the wall of the Temple proper, but was not actually connected to it. It got narrower with each level, withdrawing toward the main structure, so that the next level could rest on the one beneath it without having to support it with beams that would require cutting into the Temple proper to insert them firmly. 
This helped to accomplish the intent of verse 6--that the structure itself not fasten to the Temple, for which they might need to cut niches in its walls to attach it; these beams could rest on the part of the lower level that jutted out further from the Temple, providing a ledge to support them. Josephus said each of the larger rooms had a roof of its own, not connected to one another, but for these, a common roof covered them all, and it was built with very long beams that passed through the rest so the middle walls would be made firmer by their strength. The impression one gets when seeing the shape of the whole complex of buildings here is that of a crouched lion, and indeed Yerushalayim was later affectionately called Ariel ("lion of Elohim", Yeshayahu/Isa. 29:1).
37. In the fourth year, the foundation of the House of YHWH was laid, in the month of Ziu,
This building, which was larger than the Temple and the same size as the courtyard of the Tabernacle, may have been built to commemorate where he got the materials for the Temple, or to celebrate the Phoenician alliance which included himself and Khiram. All through ancient history, many powerful nations conquered Levanon for access to these trees, but Shlomoh obtained them in a respectful and respectable way--by paying for them. By Roman Emperor Hadrian's time (about 100 years after Yahshua's death), the forests were already so depleted that he felt it necessary to cordon off a large area as a forest preserve. The modern Lebanese have done so again. The building also could have served as somewhat of a museum to exhibit his great knowledge of horticulture. (5:13) It was later used to house shields and vessels of gold. (10:17-21) The Aramaic targum Pseudo-Jonathan calls it "a house for the cooling of kings", and Rashi describes it as a "summer house made for air". Radak explains that it was common for kings to have summer homes in the forests because it was cooler there; apparently Shlomoh brought the forest to him, for a careful study of the Hebrew terms by Israeli botanist Nogah Reuveni shows that these "cut cedar beams" were probably ramified limbs amputated from trees with their needles still on them, bracketed horizontally into the cedar pillars to simulate live cedars. Josephus indeed says the pillars were embellished to look like trees with their leaves so subtly crafted that they appeared to be moving. 
At both ends of each framed "see-through" passage between the rows of "trees" were opposing mirrors that would reflect the "trees" endlessly back and forth, giving the illusion of being in an infinite forest--astounding the diplomatic and trade delegations that would visit Yerushalayim, leaving an indelible impression. (Hareuveni)
In the sight of: denotes in front of, across from, or opposite, at a distance from, but conspicuously visible to. There would not have been a wall between the altar and the courtyard where the people stood, as there was in the Second Temple.
Rebuilt: or fortified. The photo shows the six-chambered gate built by King Shlomoh. Beyth-Horon is further into the foothills along the road from Gezer to Yerushalayim, near where the higher mountains begin. This pass was always strategic (being significant in the wars of the Maccabees and even during Israel's War of Independence in 1948--the only way an army coming from this direction could access Yerushalayim). An army would have to fight its way past these cities to be able to get to the capital.
Storage-cities: or collection-points. Cities for the war-horses: Megiddo was one of these. The photo shows a manger there that was used for Shlomoh's horses. It sounds as if some of his building projects were right in Levanon, the source of the timber, as well.
This full moon is in the mid-to-late autumn, but it is a whole month after Sukkoth. This allowed any who did wish to go to Yerushalayim if they so wished. This tells us also that, probably since Shlomoh had dedicated the Temple, Sukkoth was indeed being celebrated in this generation, though according to Nekhemyah 8:17, no one built a sukkah during the approximately 1,000 years between Y'hoshua's and Nekhemyah's day (of which this incident falls right near the midpoint). Yarav'am may have even built some, recycling what Yehudah had neglected and making it seem like something new and different, and therefore attractive. It may be best that we make a point of not doing anything special on that day, to keep it common and not holy in any way. The base of this altar and the cultic platform complex at Dan has been unearthed and cleared by archaeologists, and a full-size frame "outline" of the altar has been built on top of it (see photo)--possibly to remind the returning House of Israel of our potential to fail and to warn us away from it. 
Shomron means "the most guarded" or "great watchman", and Shemer, based on the same root, means "preserved" or "kept" (related to the word for the dregs at the bottom of a wine bottle). This city (known as Samaria in English) was about 6 miles due west of Tirtzah, and just across Mt. Eval from Sh'khem, which is 5 miles to its southeast. Recall that Mt. Eval was the mountain of cursing in Y'hoshua's day (Deut. 11:29; Y'hoshua 8). He picked the wrong side on which to build his capital, and the rest is history. A kikkar is 3,000 sheqels, and a sheqel of silver is the equivalent of about 10 grams. So this would have been 60 kg., or 125 lbs., of silver. At today's prices, this would be almost $30,000.
Shomron is here used as an idiom for all of Israel, for he either was no longer living in Shomron, or had a second palace here at Yizre'el, which is on the northern slope of Mt. Gilboa at the southern edge of the Yizre'el Valley, about 17 miles north of Shomron and eight miles east of Megiddo. (Photo shows the view from tel Yizre'el.) There are again vineyards in the vicinity. Navoth means "fruits", from a word for "germination" and "flourishing". This is an auspicious name for a vintner.