As David aged, the urgency was to appoint the next king. In accordance to the Davidic covenant, the throne had to be passed on to the son of David. This matter had to be settled swiftly and decisively when David was still alive to avoid a civil war when his sons battled for the throne. Eventually, Solomon the son of Bathsheba was appointed king of Israel. This section discusses the Solomon’s succession, wisdom and reign.
1. Solomon's Succession (1 Kings 1-2)
The transition of the kingship from David to his son was far from smooth. The succession to the throne of David was shrouded in plots and counter-plots. The two sons of David who were vying for the throne were Adonijah and Solomon. The stage was set for a battle of wits to get the favour
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The extent of Solomon’s rule, military resources, wealth and prestige represented the pinnacle of Israel’s power (1 Kings 4:21) (Davies 2011:49). Solomon worked hard at establishing political alliances, strengthening military defences, expanding economic ventures and building the Temple. Firstly, Solomon expanded Israel’s territories through his astute political and economic manoeuvring. His first political alliance was made with Egypt and sealed through marriage with Pharaoh’s daughter (1 Kings 3:1) (Unger 1954:118). This arrangement resulted in the growth of Solomon’s harem to mammoth proportion (1 Kings 11:1-3). These wives and concubines also turned the heart of Solomon away from God (1 Kings 11:4-8). On the economic front, Solomon established an alliance with king Hiram I of the maritime nation of Phoenicia (1 Kings 5:1-12) (Unger 1954:114). Tyre would be instrumental in supplying Israel with much of the building material for Solomon’s ambitious building projects. Secondly, Solomon spent much time and resources to strengthen his military defences. He fortified key cities like Jerusalem, Hazor, Megiddo and Gezer (1 Kings 9:15-19). Solomon had 4000 stalls for his horses, 1400 chariots and 12000 charioteers (1 Kings 10:26) (Hens-Pizza 2006:52; Brindle 1984:223). Thirdly, Israel was strategically located on the north-south land routes from …show more content…
He had allowed his own appetites and wisdom to rise above God’s revealed purposes (Davies 2011:56). This slide into apostasy was a gradual process. It all started with Solomon’s pragmatic policies that compromised on the standards set by the Sinai covenant. Solomon’s covenant failure had dire consequences. There were four areas where the policies of Solomon had gone beyond covenant stipulations. Firstly, Solomon’s building projects, military establishment and administrative structure were exerting great stress on the national budget (Bright 1981:220). Secondly, Solomon had to fund his spending with extensive and burdensome taxation (Bright 1981:221; Unger 1954:115). The country was organized into twelve administrative districts for taxation purposes (1 Kings 4:7-19). Each district were responsible for one month of the court’s expenses per year (1 Kings 4:27). However, Solomon did not include Judah, who apparently enjoyed a tax-free status (Brindle 1984:226). This would be a further cause of tribal discontent. Thirdly, Solomon’s building projects needed a large amount of labour. To make up for the shortage, Solomon conscripted the Israelites as labourers in Lebanon felling timber (1 Kings 5:13-14) (Bright 1981:222). The number was a startling 30000 people! (Lasor et al. 1982:154) This was aggravated by the fact that Solomon sold twenty towns in northern Galilee to king Hiram of Tyre
One of the first points the author makes is that the area of the Levant is often called the "Promised Land", yet this term is not found in the biblical texts. He then goes on to explain that this term was simply give to the area based on the happenings in Genesis 15: 18-19, where God makes a covenant with Abram giving him the land. The area described in this biblical text is that from the River of Egypt (Nile) to the great river, the River Euphrates. Rainey and Notley go on to divide the area of the Levant into three parts, which are Egypt, The Northern Levant (Syria/Lebanon), and the Southern Levant (The Land of Canaan/ which becomes Israel). The authors go on to explain each of these areas by both the people living in them and the geographical placement and their topographical descriptions. Also, the authors expand on the area further in their description of Israel by including the areas of the Rift Valley and the Transjordan mountain range. By using the above explanations the authors explained the placements of major towns, travel routes, and the limitations to the accessibility of the areas. As far as travel is concerned the basic rule to follow is the path of least resistance and quickness in getting from one place to the next, as well the accessibility of water. These factors also came into play with the city placements as well, which were positioned in places of easy defense of the area and roads, while being as close to water as possible.
Solomon, a slave, had been a leader when he worked in the cotton fields in the South. One day he decided to fly back to Africa with his youngest son, Jake, leaving behind his wife Ryna and their twenty other children.
Alexander began his military campaign and his rule much where his father left off. Whether or not it was his aim, this created a sense of normality for the men that was part of his father’s regime. Alexander’s position as a warrior-king who stood side-by-side among his men also served to create respect among his peers. Gradually, as Alexander conquered more Persian land, he began to adopt the policies of Persian rulers. Alexander’s change in policy extended beyond just political roles, he gave consideration to the local gods in many of the lands that he conquered. Eventually, Alexander brought people in from the conquered nations to serve under him.
In the beginning of the movie, we see the lavish life the Egyptians live. To complete this life style they have slaves building their city. Hebrew slaves will build Ramses city. As stated in Exodus,
We see from this passage that Solomon is a loving devoted husband and father. He understands the relationship between a father and his children. Solomon appears through this writings to have been a good father.
Society-Peasants and farmers made up the bulk of the population however the land was owned by the pharaoh or one of the temples which were very wealthy. Peasants were also subjected to tax labor and were at times required to do public projects such as irrigation or construction
With that I think you can conclude that Solomon became very psychotic near the closing of the novel and its unknown why this man took so much inclination in killing his own kind but its sick and
Thus, in the travelling phase, Solomon reluctantly held onto his old identity. In doing so, Solomon still lived by rejecting the slavers attempt to kill off his old
One contributing factor for the exile’s choice to remain in Babylon was the quality and level of social life that they experienced while in Babylon. Many of them maintained their identity and status within the Babylonian settlements. This suggests a well-developed social structure among the Hebrew exiles (Blenkinsopp 152). They also had the benefit of personal freedom and the ability to manage their own community life. An example of this are the “elders of the diaspora”, who aided the leader of the exiles, ex-king Jehoiachin, in conducting community affairs. The presence of elders among the Hebrew exiles suggests that the settlements within Babylon governed themselves similarly to pre-exilic urban existence, even to the point of maintaining gatherings for decisions and the hearing of prophets (Smith 97). The exiles were also allowed to live according to their own customs, were able to purchase property, and could even own slaves (Hayes 483). Some of the exiles may have actually had other Hebrews as slaves since the their laws allowed them to...
The book of 2 Samuel tells the story of King David and his rise to power, as well as reign- the good and the bad. The focus here will be on 2 Samuel, chapters eleven through thirteen, which depict some of the darker times in David’s rule.
Soon after the Akkadians came the Amorites. They were also known as the old Babylonians. They built the city of Babylon and made it one of the biggest trade centers in the Middle East. Hammurabi was the King of the Amorites and was famous for the code of Hammurabi.
He was beaten multiple times and he still worked the next day because he knew if he would not have been out working he would be killed and his pride would die. He had to fight through some other difficult obstacles throughout the years of being in the South. On the last plantation he was at there was a young woman named Patzy, and she asked Solomon to take her to the river so he could drown her. But he knew that was wrong so he told her no and that she would find a way out. Patzy was at another plantation because she was getting soap, but her master told her not to go there anymore.
These monuments include the pyramids of Egypt and fortified cities seen across the world. These kings dealt with war, organized strong armies, and even led their troops into battle for their nation. They treated their people with the same loving heart that God treats His people with. The people are willing to follow their king because they know of the love he has for his nation and his people. Similarly, this shows the Hebrew culture as being a nation willing to follow. They had structure and a set guideline of who would rule and keep their people in order. This kept the nation from being chaotic and having no design, thus
The first wise men brought frankincense, which was a resin. The Quinquereme of Ninevah traveled to Ophir, to retrieve goods such as ivory, sandalwood, cedarwood, and sweet white wine (line 5). It is not stated where Ophir was, but it was thought to be located in present day Saudi Arabia (Hochman). These goods were retrieved from Ophir every three years and used in King Solomon’s throne and kingdom. Sandalwood was used to build and support Solomon’s lavish temple (Hochman). In the building of Solomon’s throne slavery was important, but the slaves began to resent him later on, which greatly affected the king’s son. Masefield makes a point in the poem t...
The book King Solomon’s Advice, authored by Walter L. Porter, is a detailed study of the wisdom and advice of Solomon. The author sets forth to present the advice of Solomon, by interjecting his own thoughts and then backing what he states with the words of Solomon, or another Biblical author. The author states that he does not desire to speak much on the subjects, but rather allow the Bible to speak, with only a few comments from himself. He [the author] states that he hopes the information contained in his book will be worthwhile and usable for others. Thus, the author’s main focus is to present a detailed book illustrating the advice of Solomon in an understandable and east use format.