The Reign of Solomon
Part One
The reign of Sol´o-mon may be regarded as the culminating period in the history of Is´ra-el. But, strictly speaking, the latter part of Da´vid's reign and only the former part of Sol´o-mon's constitute "the golden age of Is´ra-el"; for Sol´o-mon's later years manifested a decline, which after his death rapidly grew to a fall.
I. Sol´o-mon's Empire embraced all the lands from the Red Sea to the Eu-phra´tes, and from the Med-i-ter-ra´ne-an to the Syr´i-an desert, except Phœ-ni´cia, which was isolated by the Leb´a-non mountains. 1. Besides Pal´es-tine, he ruled over E´dom, Mo´ab, Am´mon, Syr´i-a (here referring to the district having Da-mas´cus as its capital), Zo´bah, and Ha´math. 2. On the Gulf of Ak´a-ba, E´zi-on-ge´ber was his southern port (1 Kings 9. 26); on the Med-i-ter-ra´ne-an, Ga´za (Az´zah) was his limit; in the extreme north, Tiph´sah, by the Eu-phra´tes (1 Kings 4. 24); in the desert, Tad´mor, afterward Pal-my´ra (1 Kings 9. 18).
II. His Foreign Relations were extensive, for the first and only time in the history of Is´ra-el. 1. His earliest treaty was with Tyre (Phœ-ni´cia), whose king had been his father's friend (1 Kings 5. 1). (What this alliance brought to Sol´o-mon see 1 Kings 5. 6-10; 2 Chron. 2. 3-14.) 2. His relations with E´gypt: in commerce (1 Kings 10. 28, 29); in marriage, a bold departure from Is´ra-el-ite customs (1 Kings 3. 1). Perhaps Psalm 45 was written upon this event. 3. With A-ra´bi-a, the land bordering on the southern end of the Red Sea (1 Kings 10. 1-10, 14. 15). 4. With the Far East, perhaps India, referred to in 1 Kings 9. 21-28. 5. With the West, perhaps as far as Spain, the Tar´shish of 1 Kings 10. 22.
III. His Buildings. No king of Is´ra-el ever built so many and so great public works as did Sol´o-mon. Among these are named:
1. The temple, on Mount Mo-ri´ah, to be described later.
2. His own palace, south of the temple precincts, on the slope of O´phel and Mo-ri´ah. This consisted of several buildings, as follows: 1.) The House of the Forest of Leb´a-non, so called because of its many columns of cedar; this was the forecourt, or entrance. 2.) The Porch to the Palace. 3.) The Throne Hall. 4.) The King's Palace. 5.) The Queen's Palace, or Harem.
3. His fortified cities, forming a cordon around his kingdom. (See the lists of these in 1 Kings 9. 17-19.)