World English Bible · The united kingdom
2 Samuel 6
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again gathered together all the chosen men of Israel, thirty thousand. arose and went with all the people who were with him from , to bring up from there ark, which is called by the Name, even the name of of Armies who sits above the . They set ark on a new cart, and brought it out of house that was on the hill; and Uzzah and , the sons of , drove the new cart. They brought it out of house which was in the hill, with ark; and went before the ark. and all the played before with all kinds of instruments made of cypress wood, with harps, with stringed instruments, with tambourines, with castanets, and with cymbals. When they came to the of Nacon, Uzzah reached for ark and took hold of it, for the cattle stumbled. burned against Uzzah, and struck him there for his error; and he there by ark. was displeased because had broken out against Uzzah; and he called that place Uzzah to this day. was afraid of that day; and he said, "How could ark come to me?" So would not move ark to be with him in city; but carried it aside into the house. ark remained in the house three months; and and all his house. King was told, " has the house of , and all that belongs to him, because of ark." So went and brought up ark from the house of into city with joy. When those who bore ark had gone six paces, he an ox and a fattened calf. danced before with all his might; and was clothed in a linen . So and all the brought up ark with shouting and with the sound of the . As ark came into city, the daughter of looked out through the window and saw King leaping and dancing before ; and she despised him in her . They brought in ark, and set it in its place in the middle of the tent that had pitched for it; and offered and before . When had finished the and the , he the people in the name of of Armies. He gave to all the people, even among the whole multitude of Israel, both to men and women, to everyone a of bread, dates, and raisins. So all the people departed, each to his own house. Then returned to his household. the daughter of came out to meet , and said, "How the king of Israel was today, who uncovered himself today in the eyes of his servants' maids, as one of the fellows shamelessly uncovers himself!" said to , "It was before , who chose me above your , and above all his house, to appoint me prince over the people of , over Israel. Therefore I will celebrate before . I will be yet more undignified than this, and will be worthless in my own sight. But the maids of whom you have spoken will me." the daughter of had no child to the day of her .
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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.