CHAPTER XII.
GOD SAVE THE KING!
That was the shout, with the commencement of the new era, when the tallest man in the nation appeared in the midst of the people that had assembled at the call of Samuel ([1 Sam. x, 24]).
I will give a short chronology of this United Kingdom under three kings—Saul, David, and Solomon:
| Saul is made king | 1095 | ||
| Dies | 1055 | ||
| Rules over Israel about | 40 years | ||
| David born | 1085 | ||
| Kills Goliath | 1062 | ||
| Reigns in Hebron | 1055 | ||
| King over Israel | 1048 | ||
| Dies | 1016 | ||
| Rules over Israel about | 40 years | ||
| Solomon is born | 1036 | ||
| Is crowned king | 1015 | ||
| Lays foundation of Temple | 1012 | ||
| Dedicates the Temple | 1004 | ||
| Worships idols | 985 | ||
| Dies | 975 | ||
| Rules over Israel about | 40 years | ||
These figures may not be accurate. They are as near as the dates can be had. Josephus gives the dates as follows:
| Saul reigned with Samuel | 18 | years |
| After the death of Samuel | 22 | years,, |
| David lived | 70 | years,, |
| Reigned in Hebron | 7 | yrs 6m |
| Reigned,, in,, Jerusalem | 33 | years |
| Solomon lived | 94 | years,, |
| Having reigned | 80 | years,, |
There is a discrepancy somewhere. Something is wrong in dates, like most other facts in the Bible.
David was twenty-three years old when he killed Goliath. Solomon was twenty-one years old when he was crowned king; according to Josephus, fourteen years of age.