seekeroftruth
Well-Known Member
2 Chronicles 8:1 At the end of twenty years, during which Solomon built the temple of the Lordand his own palace, 2 Solomon rebuilt the villages that Hiram[a] had given him, and settled Israelites in them. 3 Solomon then went to Hamath Zobah and captured it.4 He also built up Tadmor in the desert and all the store cities he had built in Hamath. 5 He rebuilt Upper Beth Horon and Lower Beth Horon as fortified cities, with walls and with gates and bars, 6 as well as Baalath and all his store cities, and all the cities for his chariots and for his horses(b)—whatever he desired to build in Jerusalem, in Lebanon and throughout all the territory he ruled.
7 There were still people left from the Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites (these people were not Israelites). 8 Solomon conscripted the descendants of all these people remaining in the land—whom the Israelites had not destroyed—to serve as slave labor, as it is to this day. 9 But Solomon did not make slaves of the Israelites for his work; they were his fighting men, commanders of his captains, and commanders of his chariots and charioteers.10 They were also King Solomon’s chief officials—two hundred and fifty officials supervising the men.
a. 2 Chronicles 8:2 Hebrew Huram, a variant of Hiram; also in verse 18
b. 2 Chronicles 8:6 Or charioteers
So... anyone who was not a direct descendant of Jacob [Israel] was subject to becoming Slave Labor. AND Solomon is raising the number of chariots and horses..... that has been a no no..... when did it change?
This is from the enduringword.com site.
He also built… He built… and all that Solomon desired to build in Jerusalem: This passage reflects Solomon’s great heart and ambition as a builder. He energetically settled new cities and built storage cities, fortifications, chariot cities, and cities of the cavalry.
i. A problem comes in reconciling the mention of the cities that Hiram gave to Solomon, because 1 Kings 9:11-14 indicates that they were given by Solomon to Hiram. “While textual disturbance is possible, it seems more probable that they had been returned to Solomon, either because they were unacceptable (1 Kings 9:12-13) or because they had been collateral for a loan (1 Kings 9:14).” (Selman)
ii. Sadly, this new emphasis on chariots and cavalry shows that Solomon did not take God’s word as seriously as he should. In Deuteronomy 17:16, God spoke specifically to the future kings of Israel: But he shall not multiply horses for himself. It would be much better if Solomon had the heart reflected in Psalm 20:7: Some trust in chariots, and some in horses; but we will remember the name of the LORD our God.
From these Solomon raised forced labor: Solomon’s practice of using the people of neighboring conquered nations as forced labor is also described in 1 Kings 5:15-18.
Solomon did not make the children of Israel servants for his work: Israelites were used for the work of building the temple and Solomon’s palace, but they were not forced labor (1 Kings 5:13-14). They were often used in the management of the forced labor (who ruled over the people).
The easy English site draws a map.Solomon had given 20 towns to Hiram. These towns were in Galilee. Solomon may have given them to Hiram in payment of debts. These towns were in Israel but Israelites did not live in them. When Hiram came to see these towns, he was not happy with them (1 Kings 9:11-13). It seems that Solomon took back the towns from Hiram. Then Solomon improved the towns and he sent Israelites to live in them.
Solomon was powerful and he had a large army. But there is a record of only one battle. He fought against the region called Hamath Zobah. This region was to the north of Israel. Hamath and Zobah had been separate regions. The two regions had become one. King Tou of Hamath had been a friend of David. David defeated their enemy, who was the king of Zobah (1 Chronicles 18:9). It seems that the people in Hamath Zobah decided to oppose Solomon. So, he sent his army to bring that region under his control.
Tadmor was on the trade route between the sea and Babylon. It was about 125 miles (200 kilometres) to the north and east of Damascus city. Solomon built this town. Therefore, he had control of the trade that passed along this route. Many centuries later, Tadmor had a new name: Palmyra.
Solomon built the towns in the region called Hamath to store his goods.
The two Beth Horons were on the border between the areas of Ephraim and Benjamin. They were on a main road. It led to the port called Joppa. Therefore, from these towns, Solomon had control of the trade route.
Baalath was in the area that the tribe of Dan originally received (Joshua 19:44). It is also called Kiriath Jearim (Joshua 15:9).
The people called Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites were in the country years before. They were there before the Israelites came. Those people who remained after the Israelites came became slave workers under Solomon. But he did not make any Israelites into slaves.
It appears.... just like David amassed the $4 Billion erector set for the Temple, he also secured the majority of the nation for Solomon as well. I wonder... just how much did Solomon resent his father for the death of his brother after the affair David had with Bathsheba? Solomon and David seem to be from different worlds.
