And Solomon numbered all the strangers that were in the land of Israel, after the numbering wherewith David his father had numbered them; and they were found an hundred and fifty thousand and three thousand and six hundred.
Solomon numbered all the strangers ... - (see the notes at 1 Kings 5:13; 1 Kings 5:18.) In addition to what was said in the passage just referred to, of the abject and depressed condition of the numerous war-captives or slaves (cf. 1 Kings 9:21-23), there was a vast number of foreigners resident in Israel, who without being fully incorporated with the nation by circumcision, yet believed in the unity of the Divine Being, and conformed to the appointed ritual of Yahweh (see Poli Synopsis). Some idea, first, of the prodigious multitude of these sojourners may be gathered from the fact, that 153,000 were deemed fit to be employed in the erection of the temple, and secondly, of their character for intelligence and integrity, that about 4,000 were selected to be overseers of various departments of the work. This influx of strangers into Israel began when the nation was rising into importance during the judicial administration of Samuel and the regal sway of David (1 Chronicles 22:2). But a fresh and greatly-increased impulse was given to this immigration from the surrounding countries, when the fame of Solomon attracted princes and ambassadors from distant lands, and multitudes of the people followed their example in flocking to a kingdom which was, in the wise king's day, the center of knowledge and wisdom, of commercial activity, and of encouragement in many of the useful as well as liberal arts.