The Ultimate Greatness Of Solomon (1 Kings 10:23-29).
The author concludes his description of the magnificence of Solomon by indicating the impact that he made on the ancient world, both in reputation and in arms dealing. The build up has been intentional. He wanted it to be seen how gracious YHWH had been to Solomon, giving him a name in the world as He had given David (2 Samuel 7:9), and making him supremely wealthy and powerful. But as we have also seen he continually leaves us to recognise the cracks that there were on the surface, because unlike David, Solomon's heart was not fully right towards God, something that he will shortly emphasise. Thus he expects us to be aware of where all this is leading, to the collapse and disintegration of the kingdom. It was not simply unstinted admiration of Solomon. In the future kings would be judged not by the standard of Solomon, but by the standard of David.
Analysis.
a So king Solomon exceeded all the kings of the earth in riches and in wisdom, and all the earth sought the presence of Solomon, to hear his wisdom, which God had put in his heart (1 Kings 10:23-24).
b And they brought every man his tribute, vessels of silver, and vessels of gold, and raiment, and armour, and spices, horses, and mules, a rate year by year (1 Kings 10:25).
c And Solomon gathered together chariots and horsemen, and he had a thousand and four hundred chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen, which he bestowed in the chariot cities, and with the king at Jerusalem (1 Kings 10:26).
b And the king made silver to be in Jerusalem as stones, and cedars made he to be as the sycamore trees that are in the lowland, for abundance (1 Kings 10:27).
a And the horses which Solomon had, were brought out of Egypt and Kue, and the king's merchants received them from Kue at a price, and a chariot came up and went out of Egypt for six hundred shekels of silver, and a horse for a hundred and fifty, and so for all the kings of the Hittites, and for the kings of Syria, did they bring them out by their means (1 Kings 10:28-29).
Note that in ‘a' Solomon's great wealth and wisdom is exalted, and in the parallel this is revealed in his arms dealing whereby he cornered the market in chariots and horses. In ‘b' the vassal nations of Israel constantly brought in to Solomon a stream of tribute, and in the parallel the result was that silver and cedar wood became so abundant that they could be compared numerically with stones and common sycamore trees. Central in ‘c' is a description of Solomon's own armed might in terms of chariots.
Central to this passage is the fact that Solomon trust was now firmly in chariots and horsemen (contrast Psalms 20:7). This was what his greatness and wisdom had led him to, armed might and global arms-dealing. The chariot is, in fact, rarely looked on with favour in the Biblical narratives, being usually in the hands of Israel's enemies, and in Kings such chariots are seen as in direct contrast with the heavenly chariots of YHWH which protect His people (2 Kings 2:11-12; 2 Kings 6:17; 2 Kings 7:6; 2 Kings 13:14; compare Psalms 68:17). The prophetic attitude was that men were to trust in YHWH rather than in chariots (Deuteronomy 20:1; Psalms 20:7; Psalms 46:9; Psalms 76:6; and see especially Isaiah 2:6-7; Isaiah 31:1; Isaiah 31:3; Micah 5:10), and there are no grounds for thinking that the prophetic writer here saw it any differently (he would be familiar with Isaiah and Micah, and with the Psalms). Thus what appeared to be Solomon's high point was really in the writer's view also his low point. He no longer trusted in YHWH, he trusted in chariots.
‘ So king Solomon exceeded all the kings of the earth in riches and in wisdom. And all the earth sought the presence of Solomon, to hear his wisdom, which God had put in his heart.'
All that has gone before has led up to this point. The presentation of the wealth and glory of Solomon has reached its zenith, (although, as we have seen, along the way the prophet has constantly drawn out the cracks behind the facade). Clearly the comparison is in terms of the world as it was then known in Palestine, the Ancient Near East. There was no king around who could compare with Solomon for riches and for wisdom. His superiority in both areas was widely acknowledged. He truly had a great name among ‘the kings of the earth' (i.e. of surrounding nations). And all acknowledged that he had special wisdom from God, and came to learn from him. He was a kind of father figure, almost a Messianic figure, to the nations.
‘ And they brought every man his tribute, vessels of silver, and vessels of gold, and raiment, and armour, and spices, horses, and mules, a rate year by year.'
And those riches grew year by year, as vassal nations and subjects owned his overlordship and brought their tribute in silver and gold and splendid clothing, and armour, and spices, and horses, and mules (a highly valued article in those days). And they did it as their liability was assessed year by year.
‘ And Solomon gathered together chariots and horsemen, and he had a thousand and four hundred chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen, which he bestowed in the chariot cities, and with the king at Jerusalem.'
Solomon had also reached the high point militarily speaking. He had one large unit and four smaller units of chariots, together with twelve units of ‘horsemen' to man the chariots and care for the horses. These were spread around the chariot cities, with a fair proportion being with the king in Jerusalem. This was where his trust now lay.
‘ And the king made silver to be in Jerusalem as stones, and cedars made he to be as the sycamore trees that are in the lowland, for abundance.'
Such was the prosperity of Israel, and especially of Jerusalem, that silver had a common value with stones (it was not much accounted of - 1 Kings 10:21), while valuable cedarwood was as common as the local ‘sycamore trees' (large well-rooted spreading trees which produced an inferior kind of fig and grew in abundance, while having little value).
‘ And the horses which Solomon had, were brought out of Egypt and Kue, and the king's merchants received them from Kue at a price.'
Having seen the potential of the chariot with its horses, and spotting a gap in the market, Solomon, in partnership with Pharaoh as a result of his special relationship with the Pharaoh through his wife, brought to Israel horses from both Egypt and Kue, the latter bought by his merchants at an agreed price (the former would be supplied in accordance with the partnership agreement). Kue was just north of the Taurus and was famous for horse-breeding.
‘ And a chariot came up and went out of Egypt for six hundred shekels of silver, and a horse for a hundred and fifty; and so for all the kings of the Hittites, and for the kings of Syria, did they bring them out by their means.'
The partnership then sold Egyptian chariots for six hundred shekels of silver, and sold on the horses at one hundred and fifty shekels each, to the kings of the Hittites (seven city states in Syria which we know perpetuated the name of the Hittites, including Carchemish and Hamath) and to the kings of Aram, the Aramaean states. (The Assyrians and Babylonians knew Syria and Palestine as a whole as ‘Hatti-land'). This had the advantage of building up buffer states against anyone who might encroach from the north. It was also very profitable.
The chariots appear very expensive, but they may have been special ceremonial chariots intended for royalty and suitably furbished, or ‘chariot' may have signified the complete set up, a chariot with its three horses (two to draw it and one led). The prices of the horses as trained chariot horses were not excessive. A letter from Mari in 18th century BC refers to horses bought at 300 shekels apiece, while at Ugarit a horse was bought for the royal stud for 200 shekels.
Thus the mighty Solomon had become an international arms dealer, with his focus on chariots and horses. This was what his wisdom had brought him to. We must remember that the prophetic writer was aware of the inveighing of the prophets against such activities and knew what all this had come to, and as he copied down what he found in the state annals it must have been with a grieved heart. Indeed this portrayal of Solomon's power and glory would now be followed by an indication of his follies and the reason for the total failure of his kingdom.
We might set what we have seen about Solomon in this chapter in contrast with Paul's words in 2 Corinthians 3:17-18. ‘We look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are unseen, for the things which are seen are temporal, the things which are unseen are eternal.' It was that lesson of which Elisha was aware (2 Kings 6:17).