Solomon's portfolio
Solomon's portfolio
Solomon's portfolio grew and made him wealthy for at two important reasons. First, he takes the risk of building a fleet of ships to send abroad with Israel's products, to trade for exotic products he can't buy in Israel: jewels, African animals and ivory, horses from what is not Turkey, and chariots from Egypt. The ships return every three years, loaded with gold, silver, and other goodies for the king. It was a risk, though. Another king built a fleet for the Red Sea and somehow lost them all at Ezion-geber, in or near the port of origin"Jehoshaphat had a fleet built in the style of Tarshish [7] ships. He wanted to send them to Ophir [8] to bring back some gold. But the ships didn’t make it far. They wrecked in Ezion-geber" (1 Kings 22:48).Solomon also made a bundle off of caravans and locals traveling through his land, which was the only good land bridge between Egypt and other Africa nations in the south with nations in the north and the east, including what are now Turkey, and Greece, Iraq, and Iran.
Queen of Sheba on a shopping spree
Some scholars say the Queen of Sheba came for more than curiosity and a desire to test Solomon's wisdom, as the Bible reports."The queen gave Solomon two and a half tons (4,000 kg) of gold and jewels. And she gave him more spices than Solomon or any other king of Israel ever got or would ever get again in one huge shipment" (1 Kings 10:10).It probably wasn't just a gift. In those times, gifts were reciprocated.
"King Solomon gave the queen of Sheba everything she said she wanted, with royal gifts on top of it. Then he sent her on her way back home" (1 Kings 10:13).For feature articles about the Bible
Stephen M. Miller's blog and YouTube channel
Solomon's international portfolio
Kings of Israel and Judah
Kings of Israel and Judah
All the kings of Israel and Judah
The united nation of Israel lasted only about 90 years, under three kings: Saul, David, and Solomon. After that, the northern tribes divorced the tribe of Judah. We could describe the parting as anything but a civil war. The wars came later. But when Solomon's son took the throne of Israel and threatened high taxes and more brutal repression, all the tribes that could leave did just that. All that King Rehoboam was left with was his own tribe of Judah; they couldn't go anywhere.Mostly kings not interested in God
Most kings—north and south—didn’t measure up to God’s lowest bar of acceptance. No kings in the north made the cut. In the south, godly kings included Asa and Jehoshaphat in 1 Kings and Jotham, Hezekiah, and Josiah in 2 Kings. Two of the worst were Ahab and his Queen Jezebel. Ahab’s death ends the book of 1 Kings. But Jezebel lives to die another day, as dog meat outside her Jezreel getaway palace (2 Kings 9). Instead of looking out the upstairs window at the chariot corps commander who had just assassinated her son, the king, she should have run home to Lebanon.Israel’s gilded age
King David secured peace in the region by defeating neighboring armies. Solomon inherited that peace and power. And he expanded it by adding subordinate nations as far north as the Euphrates River, on Turkey’s southern border. This was Israel’s golden age—40 years of peace and prosperity for everyone but those commoners Solomon drafted. He didn’t draft them for the army. He drafted them for building projects like hauling rocks and timber for his palace and for building cities to help fortify and defend the kingdom. That’s what did in his son. People asked King Rehoboam for a breather—some relief from the forced labor and high taxes. He said, “You think my father was heavy-handed. Compared to my heavy hand, my father was a pinky finger” (1 Kings 12:10).David’s kingdom of Judah
David's kingdom of Judah
David becomes king of his own tribe
The map of Israel and Judah changed after Philistines killed King Saul and most of his sons in battle. David's tribe of Judah crowned him king of the powerful tribe. The other tribes up north and east of the Jordan River stayed with Saul's son Ishbosheth. He was a weak king, easily intimated by his commanding general, who seems to have slept with one of the woman in the king's herem. Not kosher. Initially, the general, Abner, supported Ishbosheth. He even went to battle against David, to defend the crown for Saul's family. But Abner lost to David's forces, and would later broker a deal to join forces with David.Battle for Israel and Judah
That didn't work out so well, David's general, Joab, murdered him. It was revenge for Abner reluctantly killing Joab's brother in battle. After the battle, Joab's brother, Asahel, who "ran like a wild gazelle," targeted Abner, who was retreating for home.Asahel refused to fight anyone else. He kept eyes on his bullseye, the enemy commander running away. Abner looked back and yelled, “Is that you, Asahel?” He said, “You bet it’s me.” Abner said, “Go after one of these other men and take what you want.” Asahel kept gaining on him. Abner said, “Pick someone else. I don’t want to kill you. If I do, how could I ever face your brother Joab?” Asahel kept running. He ran right into the butt end of Abner’s spear. It bore through his stomach and broke through his back. Asahel, David’s nephew, dropped dead. When fellow warriors came to his body, they stood for a time in silence. (2 Samul 2:19-23)Before long, the map of Israel and Judah would change again. David would unite the tribes and use the force of his armies to pacify Israel's neighbors.
For other Bible versions see Bible Gateway. Website of Casual English Bible paraphraser and mapmaker, Stephen M. Miller.
David’s kingdom
David's kingdom
2 SAMUEL 8
DAVID THE CONQUEROR
DAVID DEFEATS PHILISTINES, MOAB
Later, David attacked a group of Philistines and captured their town of Gath and the outlying communities. He also defeated the army of the neighboring country of Moab. He executed two out of every three soldiers he captured. David ordered them to lie on the ground. Then he stretched a rope over them. He let the soldiers under one length of rope live. Then he executed the unlucky soldiers under the next two lengths of rope.SYRIANS FALL TO DAVID
David also killed the Syrian king of Zobah. His name was Hadadezer, the son of Rehob. The king was on his way to strengthen his position along a river. David captured 1,700 cavalrymen and 20,000 infantrymen. He crippled most of their horses by cutting the hamstring tendons in the thighs. But he spared enough to pull 100 chariots. In the battle, Arameans from Damascus came to reinforce Hadadezer’s army. David killed 22,000 of them. Then David set up Israelite outposts in the Aramean territory and the people paid taxes to Israel, as tribute to a superior nation. David always won. God saw to it.GOLD AND SILVER RESERVED FOR SACRED USE
David confiscated the ceremonial gold shields of Hadadezer’s officials and brought them to Jerusalem David took a lot of bronze from the towns of Betah and Berothai. King Toi from the city of Hamath heard David crushed the entire army of Hadadezer. He was happy about that because he had fought Hadadezer many times. Toi sent his son Joram to congratulate King David and to bring him gifts of gold, silver, and bronze. David reserved these gifts for sacred use, dedicated to the LORD. He did that for all the gold, silver, and bronze he collected from the surrounding nations: Moab, Ammon, the Philistines, Amalek, and from King Hadadezer of Zobah.BECOMING THE FAMOUS CONQUEROR
David was making a name for himself. He killed 18,000 people of Edom in Salt Valley. He set up outposts throughout Edom and the people did whatever David ordered them to do. They served Israel. David won battles wherever he fought. God saw to it. For other Bible versions see Bible Gateway.Map of Samuel’s world
Map of Samuel's world
Map of Samuel's world
God picks three longshot characters to star in the stories of 1 Samuel, which we track on 3D-style maps customized for each Bible chapter. Those three men—Samuel, Saul, and David—are longshots in the sense that if God ever bets on a horserace, he’ll pick the one with the worst odds. It seems God likes to win big. And he likes to make a splash that people will notice. These stories are action dramas about the morphing of Israel’s 12 tribes into one united nation under God.Mapping Samuel's story
It all begins with Samuel as a longshot baby born to an infertile woman. Once he’s able to eat solid food, his mother gives him back to God. She takes him to the worship center, where he’s raised by Eli, a priest who did a bad job raising his own two sons. They grew up to become corrupt priests. But somehow, Samuel grew into a wonderful priest and prophet.Tracking Saul
Israel’s first king, Saul, was a shy donkey herder until Samuel anointed him king—a job Saul didn’t want. When Samuel called in Israel’s tribal leaders and announced Saul as king, Saul wasn’t there. He was hiding among the baggage of the travelers. It seems a fair guess he was hanging with the donkeys who had hauled the baggage. King Saul made two huge mistakes. He disobeyed God’s strict orders. And he got insanely jealous of David’s popularity. He seemed to devote more time to hunting David than to preparing for the threat of Philistines living next door, along the coastland. David never showed any desire to kill Saul. Philistines killed him and three of his sons.Tracking David
The Goliath Killer was the last son of nine—the runt of a shepherd’s family at a time when shepherds had only one way to go on the social ladder. Up. When the famous prophet and priest Samuel came to meet the family so he could anoint a future king, David’s dad called in all his sons but David. The youngest stayed with the livestock until Samuel insisted on meeting him, too. By the last chapter in the book, Samuel and Saul are dead. So, David is no longer a refugee on the run from the king. He’s an experienced raider of non-Israelite towns. And he shares the livestock he takes with his friends and the leaders of his own tribe of Judah. That sets him up for the story that continues in 2 Samuel, when those friends will crown him king of Judah. Other tribes will follow later, to make him king of all Israel.ONE BOOK SPLIT IN TWO
First and Second Samuel were written as one book. But it was too long to fit on a single scroll. So, when Jewish scholars translated it into the international language of the day, Greek, in the decades before Jesus was born, they split it into two books. They did the same with the books of Kings and Chronicles. The story begins here, in 1 Samuel 1. So do the Bible maps of Samuel's world. To compare the story to other Bible versions, try Bible Gateway.Samuel's World
Map of Hosea’s world
Map of Hosea's world
Map of Hosea's world of Israel and Judah and surrounding countries in the mid-700s BC.
Map Jerusalem falls
Map Jerusalem falls
Map Micah 3, Jerusalem Falls.
9 Listen to me you rulers of Jacob’s people,
You leaders of Israel
You crooks who poison justice,
And cheat fairness.
10 You have built Jerusalem
In the blood of my people.
You have built my sacred Zion[2]
On the solid rock of evil.
11 Your judges settle cases for a bribe.
Priests will teach you if you pay.
Prophets will advise you for a fee.
Yet they all have the nerve
To invoke God’s support.
They say,
“Absolutely, the LORD is with us
Nobody’s going to hurt us.”
12 Tell it to Jerusalem
When it’s a plowed field.
This city is coming down,
Collapsing into a pile of rocky ruins.
The stately Temple Mount, abandoned,
Will grow into a wooded hilltop.
Micah 3:9-12
Map Jerusalem Falls
Map of Micah’s world
Map of Micah's world
Map of Micah's world of Israel and Judah and surrounding countries in the 700s BC.