And he built Tadmor in the wilderness. — That is, Palmyra, in the wilderness, on the traders’ route between the coast and Thapsacuson the Euphrates. See 1 Kings 9:18, where Tamar or Tammor of the Heb. text is explained by the margin to mean Tadmor; and the epithet, “in the wilderness,” seems certainly to identify the two names. That Solomon was the founder of Palmyra is the tradition of the country to this day.
And all the store cities, which he built in Hamath. — 1 Kings 9:19 mentions these cities, but not their locality. They were no doubt “places of arms,” and served as outposts against the hostile neighbouring kingdom of Zobah-Damascus. (See 1 Kings 11:23-25.) So far as they lay on the caravan route, they would serve also as victualling stations. (Comp. 2 Chronicles 32:28.)