2 Chronicles 1
Solomon gets rich, wise, strong
Solomon preps to contact God
1 Kings 3:1-15 1King Solomon took firm control of his kingdom. The LORD God was on his side. That much was clear because Solomon kept getting stronger. [1]
2Solomon called a huge meeting of all the nation’s leaders: judges, family leaders, each commander of 1,000 men, and each commander of 100 men. He called in all the leaders. 3Solomon took the entire group to a hilltop in the neighboring town of Gibeon, [2] where priests in earlier times had set up the tent worship center. This was the famous Tabernacle that Moses established when Hebrew ancestors of the Israelites spent a generation in the barren [3] land. 4But the Box of Law that held the Ten Commandments wasn’t in that worship center anymore. Israelites stored it in the town of Kiriath-jearim until David brought it to Jerusalem and pitched a tent for it.
5Israel’s sacrificial altar stood outside the Gibeon tent. A bronzeworker made the altar from wood and plated it in bronze. His name was Bezalel, son of Uri and grandson of Hur. Solomon and Israel’s leaders went to the worship center to hear from God. 6Solomon walked over to the altar and began sacrificing 1,000 animals as burnt offerings [4] to God. Solomon’s big wish
7When Solomon went to sleep later that day, God appeared to him [5] and asked, “What would you like me to do for you?”
8Solomon told God, “You loved my father, David. And you’re still doing it because you’ve made a king out of his son. That’s why I sit on Israel’s throne today. 9I’d like you to carry through on the promises you made to my dad. You’ve already made me the king of a nation with so many people we couldn’t begin to count them all. We might as well count sand grains on the beach. 10So, what I need now is savvy—the wisdom it’ll take to lead this great nation. I especially need to be able to recognize the difference between right and wrong. LORD, who on earth could handle the job of governing all these people?”
11God told Solomon, “You didn’t ask for a long life or wealth. And thank you for not asking me to kill your enemies. Instead, you asked for the wisdom to know the difference between right and wrong. 12Well, I’m giving it to you now—wisdom in a bigger dose than I’ve given anyone before you or after. But there’s more. I’m giving you what you could have asked for but didn’t. You’re going to be richer and more respected than any other king around.”
13Solomon left Gibeon’s hilltop worship center and returned to Jerusalem, the capital out of which he ruled Israel. Rich Solomon’s chariot corps 1 Kings 10:26-29 14Solomon established Israel’s cavalry and chariot corps. He had 1,400 chariots and 12,000 horses. He stationed them in Jerusalem and in towns scattered around the nation.
15For people visiting Jerusalem, silver seemed as common as stone. And imported cedar from Lebanon seemed as common as sycamore from the local Judean foothills.
16Solomon bought imported Turkish horses from the regions of Musri and Kue. [6] 17His merchants were also able to buy a chariot imported from Egypt for 15 pounds of silver. And they could buy a horse for about 4 pounds of silver. [7] Then they resold some of these to Hittite and Syrian kings. 
Footnotes
11:1Solomon more than doubled the size of Jerusalem when he added the Temple complex, his palace, and other adjacent buildings as a northern extension to the City of David. David’s Jerusalem was built on just the lower part of the ridge above the Kidron Valley. Solomon pushed the boundary of the city higher on the ridge. David’s Jerusalem was about 6 hectares, which translates into about 15 acres. That’s about a dozen football fields with end zones. Solomon’s Jerusalem was about 13 hectares, or 32 acres, more than two dozen football fields.
21:3Gibeon has been identified with a dirt mount of ruins called Tel el-Jib less than a day’s walk west of Jericho. For one reason, archaeologists found jar handles stamped “Gibeon.” The city was on hills overlooking the Jordan River Valley, about 16 miles (25 km) away. Gibeon was one kilometer higher (over half a mile) than the Jericho plains. Gibeon elevation: 2,425 feet, 739 meters. Elevation of Jericho: -846 feet, -258 meters. Gibeon’s ruins are now on the northern outskirts of today’s Jerusalem. But in Solomon’s time, it was about seven miles north, roughly a two-hour walk. The headline about this city came from centuries before Solomon. Gibeon citizens survived the Israelite invasion by tricking Joshua into a peace treaty (Joshua 9). They said they lived in a faraway land. We could call it the Land of Fibbers, not too far away.
31:3Many scholars call the land a wilderness. But that can suggest a forest, and the land between Egypt and Israel is more like the badlands or a scenic plot on the moon.
41:6Some scholars say the numbers are an exaggeration, perhaps to emphasize Solomon’s love for God. Burnt offerings were the most common animal sacrifice. Worshipers burned the entire animal. See Leviticus 1.
51:7These dreams were sometimes known more literally as “visions of the night” (Zechariah 1:8; Job 33:4). But in daylight, they were often described as a trance (Acts 10:10).
61:16The kingdom of Musri and the city of Kue were both in what is now central and southern Turkey. Kue was near the Apostle Paul’s hometown of Tarsus. Some ancient Bible versions say the horses came from Egypt and Kue.
71:17That’s about nine kilograms of silver for a chariot and a horse. It was 600 shekels and 150 shekels in Hebrew weight. Shekels came in different kinds of metal and different weights. There was a heavy shekel that weighed about 11.5 grams or .4 ounces. This was sometimes called the King’s Shekel or the Royal Shekel. That’s the measure we use here. Some scholars say this was also the weight used in the Israelite worship center and later in the Jerusalem Temple. The lighter shekel weighed about 9.5 grams or .33 ounces. Some scholars say this was probably the shekel accepted at the worship center.
Discussion Questions
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Maps/Guides
Jerusalem, Solomon's kilometer
Solomon's kingdom growsSolomon's 12 administrative districts
Jerusalem and cities northwardSolomon's Galilee
Kings of Israel and JudahSolomon's international portfolioVideos
2Solomon called a huge meeting of all the nation’s leaders: judges, family leaders, each commander of 1,000 men, and each commander of 100 men. He called in all the leaders. 3Solomon took the entire group to a hilltop in the neighboring town of Gibeon, [2] where priests in earlier times had set up the tent worship center. This was the famous Tabernacle that Moses established when Hebrew ancestors of the Israelites spent a generation in the barren [3] land. 4But the Box of Law that held the Ten Commandments wasn’t in that worship center anymore. Israelites stored it in the town of Kiriath-jearim until David brought it to Jerusalem and pitched a tent for it.
5Israel’s sacrificial altar stood outside the Gibeon tent. A bronzeworker made the altar from wood and plated it in bronze. His name was Bezalel, son of Uri and grandson of Hur. Solomon and Israel’s leaders went to the worship center to hear from God. 6Solomon walked over to the altar and began sacrificing 1,000 animals as burnt offerings [4] to God.
Solomon’s big wish
7When Solomon went to sleep later that day, God appeared to him [5] and asked, “What would you like me to do for you?”8Solomon told God, “You loved my father, David. And you’re still doing it because you’ve made a king out of his son. That’s why I sit on Israel’s throne today. 9I’d like you to carry through on the promises you made to my dad. You’ve already made me the king of a nation with so many people we couldn’t begin to count them all. We might as well count sand grains on the beach. 10So, what I need now is savvy—the wisdom it’ll take to lead this great nation. I especially need to be able to recognize the difference between right and wrong. LORD, who on earth could handle the job of governing all these people?”
11God told Solomon, “You didn’t ask for a long life or wealth. And thank you for not asking me to kill your enemies. Instead, you asked for the wisdom to know the difference between right and wrong. 12Well, I’m giving it to you now—wisdom in a bigger dose than I’ve given anyone before you or after. But there’s more. I’m giving you what you could have asked for but didn’t. You’re going to be richer and more respected than any other king around.”
13Solomon left Gibeon’s hilltop worship center and returned to Jerusalem, the capital out of which he ruled Israel.
Rich Solomon’s chariot corps 1 Kings 10:26-29 14Solomon established Israel’s cavalry and chariot corps. He had 1,400 chariots and 12,000 horses. He stationed them in Jerusalem and in towns scattered around the nation.
15For people visiting Jerusalem, silver seemed as common as stone. And imported cedar from Lebanon seemed as common as sycamore from the local Judean foothills.
16Solomon bought imported Turkish horses from the regions of Musri and Kue. [6] 17His merchants were also able to buy a chariot imported from Egypt for 15 pounds of silver. And they could buy a horse for about 4 pounds of silver. [7] Then they resold some of these to Hittite and Syrian kings.
15For people visiting Jerusalem, silver seemed as common as stone. And imported cedar from Lebanon seemed as common as sycamore from the local Judean foothills.
16Solomon bought imported Turkish horses from the regions of Musri and Kue. [6] 17His merchants were also able to buy a chariot imported from Egypt for 15 pounds of silver. And they could buy a horse for about 4 pounds of silver. [7] Then they resold some of these to Hittite and Syrian kings.
Footnotes
Solomon more than doubled the size of Jerusalem when he added the Temple complex, his palace, and other adjacent buildings as a northern extension to the City of David. David’s Jerusalem was built on just the lower part of the ridge above the Kidron Valley. Solomon pushed the boundary of the city higher on the ridge. David’s Jerusalem was about 6 hectares, which translates into about 15 acres. That’s about a dozen football fields with end zones. Solomon’s Jerusalem was about 13 hectares, or 32 acres, more than two dozen football fields.
Gibeon has been identified with a dirt mount of ruins called Tel el-Jib less than a day’s walk west of Jericho. For one reason, archaeologists found jar handles stamped “Gibeon.” The city was on hills overlooking the Jordan River Valley, about 16 miles (25 km) away. Gibeon was one kilometer higher (over half a mile) than the Jericho plains. Gibeon elevation: 2,425 feet, 739 meters. Elevation of Jericho: -846 feet, -258 meters. Gibeon’s ruins are now on the northern outskirts of today’s Jerusalem. But in Solomon’s time, it was about seven miles north, roughly a two-hour walk. The headline about this city came from centuries before Solomon. Gibeon citizens survived the Israelite invasion by tricking Joshua into a peace treaty (Joshua 9). They said they lived in a faraway land. We could call it the Land of Fibbers, not too far away.
Many scholars call the land a wilderness. But that can suggest a forest, and the land between Egypt and Israel is more like the badlands or a scenic plot on the moon.
Some scholars say the numbers are an exaggeration, perhaps to emphasize Solomon’s love for God. Burnt offerings were the most common animal sacrifice. Worshipers burned the entire animal. See Leviticus 1.
These dreams were sometimes known more literally as “visions of the night” (Zechariah 1:8; Job 33:4). But in daylight, they were often described as a trance (Acts 10:10).
The kingdom of Musri and the city of Kue were both in what is now central and southern Turkey. Kue was near the Apostle Paul’s hometown of Tarsus. Some ancient Bible versions say the horses came from Egypt and Kue.
That’s about nine kilograms of silver for a chariot and a horse. It was 600 shekels and 150 shekels in Hebrew weight. Shekels came in different kinds of metal and different weights. There was a heavy shekel that weighed about 11.5 grams or .4 ounces. This was sometimes called the King’s Shekel or the Royal Shekel. That’s the measure we use here. Some scholars say this was also the weight used in the Israelite worship center and later in the Jerusalem Temple. The lighter shekel weighed about 9.5 grams or .33 ounces. Some scholars say this was probably the shekel accepted at the worship center.
Discussion Questions
- Sorry, there are currently no questions for this chapter.
Maps/Guides
