World English Bible · The united kingdom
Psalms 4
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; on stringed instruments. A Psalm by . Answer me when I call, of my . Give me relief from my distress. Have mercy on me, and hear my . You sons of men, how long shall my be turned into dishonor? Will you love and seek after falsehood? . But know that has for himself him who is godly; will hear when I call to him. Stand in awe, and don't . Search your own on your bed, and be still. . Offer the of . Put your in . Many say, "Who will show us any good?" , let of your shine on us. You have put gladness in , more than when their grain and their are increased. In peace I will both lay myself down and sleep, for you alone, , make me live in safety.
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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