World English Bible · The united kingdom

Psalms 132

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A . , remember and all his affliction, how he to , and to the Mighty One of : "Surely I will not come into the structure of my house, nor go up into my bed; I will not give sleep to my eyes, or slumber to my eyelids, until I find out a place for , a dwelling for the Mighty One of ." Behold, we heard of it in . We found it in the field of Jaar. "We will go into his . We will at ." Arise, , into your , you, and the ark of your strength. Let your priests be clothed with . Let your shout for joy! For sake, don't turn away the of your . has to in truth. He will not turn from it: "I will set the fruit of your body on your . If your children will keep my , my that I will teach them, their children also will sit on your more." For has chosen . He has it for his habitation. "This is my . I will live here, for I have it. I will abundantly her provision. I will satisfy her with bread. I will also clothe her priests with . Her will shout aloud for joy. I will make of to bud there. I have ordained a lamp for my . I will clothe his with , but on himself, his will shine."

A public domain modern English translation, free to read and share. Notes and cards are EKLI’s own.

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.
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