World English Bible · The united kingdom
2 Chronicles 9
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When the queen of heard of the fame of , she came to with hard questions at , with a very great caravan, including camels that bore spices, gold in abundance, and precious stones. When she had come to , she talked with him about all that was in her . answered all her questions. There wasn't anything hidden from which he didn't tell her. When the queen of had seen the of , the house that he had built, the food of his table, the seating of his servants, the attendance of his ministers, their clothing, his bearers and their clothing, and his ascent by which he went up to house, there was no more in her. She said to the king, "It was a true report that I heard in my own land of your acts and of your . However I didn't their words until I came, and my eyes had seen it; and behold half of the greatness of your wasn't told me. You exceed the fame that I heard! Happy are your men, and happy are these your servants, who stand continually before you and hear your . be your , who delighted in you and set you on his to be king for your , because your loved Israel, to establish them . Therefore he made you king over them, to do justice and ." She gave the king one hundred and twenty of gold, spices in great abundance, and precious stones. There was never before such spice as the queen of gave to King . The servants of Huram and the servants of , who brought gold from , also brought algum trees and precious stones. The king used algum tree wood to make terraces for house and for the king's house, and harps and stringed instruments for the singers. There were none like these seen before in the land of Judah. King gave to the queen of all her , whatever she asked, more than that which she had brought to the king. So she turned and went to her own land, she and her servants. Now the weight of gold that came to in one year was six hundred sixty-six of gold, in addition to that which the traders and merchants brought. All the kings of and the governors of the country brought gold and silver to . King made two hundred large shields of beaten gold. Six hundred of beaten gold went to one large shield. He made three hundred shields of beaten gold. Three hundred of gold went to one shield. The king put them in the House of the Forest of . Moreover the king made a great of ivory, and overlaid it with pure gold. There were six steps to , with a of gold, which were fastened to , and armrests on either side by the place of the seat, and two lions standing beside the armrests. Twelve lions stood there on the one side and on the other on the six steps. There was nothing like it made in any other kingdom. All King drinking vessels were of gold, and all the vessels of the House of the Forest of were of pure gold. Silver was not considered valuable in the days of . For the king had ships that went to with Huram's servants. Once every three years, the ships of came bringing gold, silver, ivory, apes, and peacocks. So King exceeded all the kings of the earth in riches and . All the kings of the earth sought the of to hear his , which had put in . They each brought tribute: vessels of silver, vessels of gold, clothing, armor, spices, horses, and mules every year. had four thousand stalls for horses and chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen that he stationed in the chariot cities and with the king at . He ruled over all the kings from even to the land of the , and to the border of . The king made silver as common in as stones, and he made cedars to be as abundant as the sycamore trees that are in the lowland. They brought horses for out of and out of all lands. Now the rest of the acts of , first and last, aren't they written in the history of the , and in the of the Shilonite, and in the of the concerning Jeroboam the son of ? reigned in over all Israel forty years. slept with his fathers, and he was buried in his city; and his son reigned in his place.
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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.