Historical
Solomon Asks for Wisdom
3 Then Solomon made an alliance with Pharaoh king of Egypt by marriage, taking Pharaoh’s daughter, and bringing her to the city of David, until he finished building his own house, the House of Adonai, and the wall around Jerusalem. 2 The people, however, were still sacrificing on the high places, because there was no House built for the Name of Adonai until those days. 3 Now Solomon loved Adonai, walking in the statutes of his father David, except he kept sacrificing and burning incense on the high places. 4 So the king went to Gibeon to sacrifice there, for that was the great high place. Upon this very altar Solomon offered a thousand burnt offerings.
5 At Gibeon Adonai appeared to Solomon in a dream by night, and God said: “Ask for what should I give you?”[a]
6 Solomon said: “You have shown my father Your servant David great lovingkindness, as he walked before You in truth, righteousness and uprightness of heart toward You. Indeed, You have kept this great lovingkindness for him by giving him a son to sit on his throne, as it is today. 7 So now, Adonai my God, You have made Your servant king in my father David’s place. I am but a youth. I don’t know how to go out or come in. 8 Your servant is amid Your people, whom You have chosen—a great people, too numerous to be numbered or counted. 9 So give Your servant a mind of understanding to judge Your people, to discern between good and evil—for who is able to judge this great people of Yours?”
10 Now it was pleasing in the eyes of Adonai that Solomon requested this thing. 11 So God said to him: “Because you asked for this thing—and have not asked for yourself long life, nor asked for yourself riches, nor asked for the life of your enemies, but asked for yourself understanding to discern justice— 12 behold, I have done according to your words. I have given you a wise and discerning mind, so that there has been none like you before you, nor shall anyone like you arise after you. 13 Moreover I have also given you what you did not request—both riches and honor—so that no one among the kings will be like you all your days. 14 Furthermore, if you walk in My ways, keeping My statutes and My commandments, as your father David walked, then I will lengthen your days.”
15 Then Solomon awoke and took note of the dream. So he went to Jerusalem, stood before the ark of the covenant of the Lord, and offered up burnt offerings and fellowship offerings. Then he made a feast for all his courtiers.
Judging Between Two Women
16 Later two prostitutes came to the king and stood before him. 17 One woman said: “My lord, please! This woman and I live in the same house, and I delivered a child while she was in the house. 18 On the third day after I gave birth, this woman also gave birth to a child. While we were together with no one else with us in the house, just the two of us in the house, 19 this woman’s child died during the night, because she lay on top of him. 20 Then she got up in the middle of the night and took my son from my side while your handmaid was asleep. She laid him at her breast and laid her dead child at my breast. 21 When I rose in the morning to nurse my child, he had just died! But when I looked at him closely in the morning, I realized that he was not the son I had borne!”
22 But the other woman said, “No! For the living one is my son, and the dead one is your son!”
But the first woman said, “No! The dead one is your son and the living one is my son!” Thus they spoke before the king.
23 Then said the king: “The one says, ‘This is my son who is living, and your son is the dead,’ while the other says, ‘No, but your son is the dead one and my son is the living one.’”
24 Then the king said: “Bring me a sword.” So they brought a sword before the king. 25 Then the king said: “Divide the living child in two, and give half to the one and half to the other.”
26 Then the woman whose son was the living one spoke up to the king—for her heart grew tender for her son—and said, “My lord, please! Give her the living child! Only don’t kill him!”
But the other said, “It will be neither mine nor yours! Cut it in two!”
27 Then the king responded by saying, “Give her the living child and certainly don’t kill him. She is the mother.” 28 When all Israel heard of the verdict that the king had given, they were in awe of the king. For they saw that the wisdom of God was in him to administer justice.
Solomon’s Official Staff
4 Now King Solomon reigned over all Israel, 2 and these were his officials: Azariah son of Zadok, the kohen; 3 Elihoreph and Ahijah, sons of Shisha, scribes; Jehoshaphat son of Ahilud, the recorder; 4 Benaiah son of Jehoiada, in charge of the army; Zadok and Abiathar, kohanim; 5 Azariah son of Nathan, in charge of the officers; Zabud son of Nathan the kohen, the king’s personal attendant; 6 Ahishar, in charge of the household; Adoniram son of Abda in charge of the forced labor.
7 Solomon had twelve officers over all Israel, who provided food for the king and his household; each had to make provision for a month in the year. 8 These were their names: Ben-Hur, in the hill-country of Ephraim; 9 Ben-Deker, in Makaz, Shaalbim, Beth-shemesh, and Elon-beth-hanan; 10 Ben-Hesed, in Arubboth (his were Socoh and all the land of Hehper); 11 Ben-Abinadab in all the height of Dor (Taphath, Solomon’s daughter was his wife); 12 Baana son of Ahilud, in Taanach and Megiddo, and all Beth-shean which is beside Zarethan below Jezreel, from Beth-shean to Abel-meholah as far as beyond Jokmeam; 13 Ben-Geber, in Ramot-Gilead (his were the villages of Jair son of Manasseh, which are in Gilead, and also his were the region of Argob, which is in Bashan, 60 great cities with walls and bronze bars); 14 Ahinadab son of Iddo, in Mahanaim; 15 Ahimaaz, in Naphtali (he also took Basemath, Solomon’s daughter, as wife); 16 Baana son of Hushai, in Asher and Bealoth; 17 Jehoshaphat son of Paruah, in Issachar; 18 Shimei son of Ela, in Benjamin; 19 Geber son of Uri, in the land of Gilead, the country of Sihon king of the Amorites and of Og king of Bashan; and one who was the officer in the land.
20 Judah and Israel were as numerous as the sand by the sea in abundance, eating and drinking and rejoicing.
Wealth and Wisdom
5 Now Solomon ruled over all the kingdoms from the River to the land of the Philistines up to the border of Egypt. They brought tribute and served Solomon all the days of his life. 2 Solomon’s provision for one day was 30 measures of fine flour, 60 measures of meal, 3 10 fat oxen, 20 pasture-fed oxen, 100 sheep, beside deer, gazelles, roebucks and fatted geese. [b] 4 For he had dominion over the entire region west of the River, from Tiphsah even to Gaza, over all the kings west of the River; and he had shalom on all sides around him. 5 So Judah and Israel lived securely, every man under his vine and under his fig tree, from Dan to Beersheba, all the days of Solomon.
6 Solomon had 40,000 stalls of horses for his chariots, and 12,000 horsemen. 7 So those officers provided food for King Solomon and all who came to King Solomon’s table, each in his month. They let nothing be lacking. 8 They also brought barley and straw for the horses and swift steeds to the place where it should be, each according to his charge.
9 God gave Solomon wisdom and discernment in great measure, and a breadth of understanding as vast as the sand on the seashore. 10 Solomon’s wisdom surpassed the wisdom of all the sons of the east and all the wisdom of Egypt. 11 For he was wiser than all men—than Ethan the Ezrahite, or Heman, Calcol and Darda, sons of Mahol—and his fame was in all the surrounding nations. 12 He also composed 3,000 proverbs and his songs were 1,005. 13 He also spoke about trees, from the cedar in Lebanon to the hyssop that grows out of the wall, and he spoke about beasts, birds, creeping things and fish. 14 People came from everywhere to hear the wisdom of Solomon—from all kings of the earth who had heard of his wisdom.
Hiram Offers Materials
15 Then King Hiram of Tyre sent his servants to Solomon, when he heard that they had anointed him king in place of his father, for Hiram was always a friend of David. 16 So Solomon sent word to Hiram saying: 17 “You know how my father David could not build a House for the Name of Adonai his God because of the wars around him on every side, until Adonai put them under the soles of my feet. 18 But now Adonai my God has given me rest on every side; there is neither adversary nor bad incident. 19 So behold, I intend to build a House for the Name of Adonai my God, as Adonai spoke to my father David saying: ‘Your son, whom I will set upon your throne in your place, he will build the House for My Name.’
20 “So now, command that they cut cedars from Lebanon for me. My servants will be with your servants, and I will give you wages for your servants according to whatever you say; for as you know, there is none among us who knows how to cut timber like the Sidonians.”
21 When Hiram heard Solomon’s words, he rejoiced greatly and said: “Blessed be Adonai today, who has given to David a wise son over this great people.” 22 So Hiram sent word to Solomon saying: “I have heard the message that you sent to me. I will do all you desire concerning the cedar and cypress timber. 23 My servants shall bring them down from Lebanon to the sea, and I will make them into rafts to go by sea to the place that you indicate to me. There I will break them up and you will carry them away. Then you will accomplish my desire by giving food for my household.”
24 So Hiram kept providing Solomon with cedar and cypress timber, as much as he desired, 25 and Solomon gave Hiram 20,000 measures of wheat for food for his household and 20 measures of beaten oil. Thus Solomon would give to Hiram year by year. 26 Adonai gave Solomon wisdom as He promised him, so there was shalom between Hiram and Solomon, and the two of them cut a covenant.
27 King Solomon also imposed forced laborers from all Israel—the levy was 30,000 men. 28 He sent them to Lebanon, in shifts of 10,000 a month: they would stay a month in Lebanon, then two months at home. Adoniram was over the forced labor. 29 Solomon had 70,000 porters, and 80,000 stonecutters in the mountains, 30 besides Solomon’s chief officers that were over the work—3,300 who supervised the people who were doing the work. 31 Then the king commanded, and they quarried great stones, costly stones, to lay the foundation of the House with cut stones. 32 So Solomon’s builders and Hiram’s builders along with the Gebalites cut them, and prepared the timber and the stones to build the House.
Tree of Life (TLV) Translation of the Bible. Copyright © 2015 by The Messianic Jewish Family Bible Society.