World English Bible · The united kingdom
1 Samuel 16
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said to , "How long will you mourn for , since I have rejected him from being king over Israel? Fill your with oil, and go. I will send you to the Bethlehemite, for I have provided a king for myself among his sons." said, "How can I go? If hears it, he will kill me." said, "Take a heifer with you, and say, 'I have come to to .' Call to the , and I will show you what you shall do. You shall anoint to me him whom I name to you." did that which spoke, and came to . The came to meet him trembling, and said, "Do you come peaceably?" He said, "Peaceably; I have come to to . yourselves, and come with me to the ." He and his sons, and called them to the . When they had come, he looked at , and said, "Surely is before him." But said to , "Don't look on , or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him; for I don't see as man sees. For man looks at the outward appearance, but looks at ." Then called , and made him pass before . He said, " has not chosen this one, either." Then made to pass by. He said, " has not chosen this one, either." made seven of his sons to pass before . said to , " has not chosen these." said to , "Are all your children here?" He said, "There yet the youngest. Behold, he is keeping the sheep." said to , "Send and get him, for we will not sit down until he comes here." He sent, and brought him in. Now he was ruddy, with a handsome and good appearance. said, "Arise! Anoint him, for this is he." Then took of oil and him in the middle of his brothers. Then came mightily on from that day forward. So rose up and went to . Now departed from , and an from troubled him. 15 servants said to him, "See now, an from troubles you. Let our now command your servants who are in front of you to seek out a man who is a skillful player on the harp. Then when the from is on you, he will play with his hand, and you will be well." 17 said to his servants, "Provide me now a man who can play well, and bring him to me." Then one of the young men answered and said, "Behold, I have seen a son of the Bethlehemite who is skillful in playing, a mighty man of valor, a man of war, prudent in speech, and a handsome person; and is with him." Therefore sent to , and said, "Send me your son, who is with the sheep." took a donkey loaded with bread, a container of , and a young goat, and sent them by his son to . came to and stood before him. He loved him greatly; and he became his armor bearer. 22 sent to , saying, "Please let stand before me, for he has in my sight." When from was on , took the harp and played with his hand; so was refreshed and was well, and the departed from him.
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The world at this moment · The united kingdom, 1050 BC to 931 BC ›
Saul, David, and Solomon. A rare window when both Egypt and Mesopotamia are weak, which is how a small kingdom in the corridor between them could briefly become a regional power.
- The power vacuum
- This is the whole political explanation for the united kingdom. Egypt is fragmented, Assyria is recovering but still local, the Hittites are gone, and nobody is in a position to object to a strong state in the corridor. It lasts about a century, and Israel's golden age fits exactly inside it.
- Phoenicia
- Tyre under Hiram is the commercial power of the coast, and supplies the cedar, the craftsmen, and the shipping for Solomon's building programme. The alliance is trade, not charity: Israel had grain and a land route, Tyre had timber and ships.
- Egypt
- Weak enough that a pharaoh gives a daughter in marriage to an Israelite king, which is the opposite of Egyptian practice in stronger centuries. Late in the era it recovers under a new house, and Shishak will invade within five years of Solomon's death.
- Further afield
- Greece is still in its dark age but beginning to recover, and will adopt the Phoenician alphabet within a century or two. Carthage is founded by settlers from Tyre by tradition in 814 BC. In the Americas the Olmec centre shifts to La Venta.