World English Bible · The united kingdom
Psalms 136
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to , for he is good, for his endures . to the of gods, for his endures . to of lords, for his endures ; to him who alone does great wonders, for his endures ; to him who by understanding made , for his endures ; to him who spread out the earth above the waters, for his endures ; to him who made the great lights, for his endures ; the sun to rule by day, for his endures ; the moon and stars to rule by night, for his endures ; to him who struck down the , for his endures ; and brought out Israel from among them, for his endures ; with a strong hand, and with an outstretched arm, for his endures ; to him who divided apart, for his endures ; and made Israel to pass through the middle of it, for his endures ; but overthrew and his army in , for his endures ; to him who led his people through , for his endures ; to him who struck great kings, for his endures ; and killed mighty kings, for his endures ; king of the , for his endures ; king of , for his endures ; and gave their land as an , for his endures ; even a heritage to Israel his servant, for his endures ; who remembered us in our low estate, for his endures ; and has us from our , for his endures ; who gives food to every creature, for his endures . Oh to the of , for his endures .
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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