Antiquities of the Jews - Book 8

BOOK VIII

Containing a Period of One Hundred and Sixty-Three Years

From the Death of David to the Death of Ahab

CHAPTER 1

How Solomon, After Receiving the Kingdom, Removed His Enemies

In the previous book, we spoke of David, his virtue, and the good he did for his people. We also described his wars and battles, which he fought successfully, and his death in old age. After David died, his son Solomon, who was still young, took the kingdom. While David was alive, he had declared Solomon ruler over the people, according to God's will. When Solomon sat on the throne, all the people welcomed him with joyful shouts, as was customary at the start of a reign. They wished him success in all his affairs, a long life, and the greatest happiness.

Adonijah, who had tried to seize the government while his father was still alive, came to Bathsheba, the king's mother, and greeted her politely. She asked whether he had come to seek her help, and told him to speak freely if he had, since she would gladly assist him. Adonijah replied that she knew the kingdom should have been his, both because he was older and because the people favored him. Yet, by God's will, it had passed to her son Solomon. He said he accepted the new arrangement and was willing to serve his brother. He asked only that she speak to Solomon on his behalf and persuade him to let Adonijah marry Abishag. Though she had slept beside David, David had been too old to lie with her, and she remained a virgin.

Bathsheba promised earnestly to help him and arrange the marriage. She believed the king would grant his brother's request, especially if she pressed him strongly. Adonijah left, hopeful that the marriage would take place. Bathsheba went at once to Solomon to tell him what she had promised. Her son came forward to meet her, embraced her, and led her into the room where his royal throne stood. He sat on the throne and ordered another one placed at his right for his mother. After Bathsheba sat down, she said, "My son, grant me one request. Don't refuse me or do anything that would grieve me." Solomon told her to make her request, since it was his duty to grant whatever she asked. He wondered why she had begun by doubting that he would agree. Then she asked him to let his brother Adonijah marry Abishag.

The king was greatly angered by her request. He sent his mother away and said that Adonijah was reaching for too much. Solomon wondered why she had not asked him to give the kingdom to his older brother, since she was asking him to let Adonijah marry Abishag. Adonijah had powerful allies, Joab, commander of the army, and Abiathar the priest.

Solomon summoned Benaiah, commander of the guards, and ordered him to kill Adonijah. He also called for Abiathar and said, "I won't put you to death, because of the hardships you endured with my father and because you carried the ark with him. But I will punish you because you joined Adonijah and supported his cause. You must leave here and never appear before me again. Go to your own town, live on your fields, and remain there for the rest of your life. You have acted so wrongly that you can no longer keep your office."

For this reason, the house of Ithamar lost the high priesthood, just as God had foretold to Eli, Abiathar's grandfather. The office passed instead to Zadok, from the family of Phineas. The members of Phineas's family had lived in private during the time when the high priesthood belonged to the house of Ithamar, whose first high priest was Eli. Their line was as follows: Bukki, son of the high priest Abishua; Joatham, Bukki's son; Meraioth, Joatham's son; Aropheus, Meraioth's son; Ahitub, Aropheus's son; and Zadok, Ahitub's son. Zadok was the first of them to become high priest, during David's reign.

When Joab, commander of the army, heard that Adonijah had been killed, he was terrified. He had been closer to Adonijah than to Solomon and had good reason to fear punishment for supporting him. Joab fled to the altar, hoping that the king's reverence for God would protect him. When people told Solomon where Joab had gone, the king sent Benaiah and ordered him to bring Joab away from the altar and before the court, where he could answer for himself.

Joab refused to leave the altar. He said he would rather die there than anywhere else. Benaiah reported his answer to the king, and Solomon ordered him to cut off Joab's head at the altar. He was to punish Joab for the wrongful deaths of the two commanders Joab had killed. Solomon also ordered Benaiah to bury Joab's body, so that the guilt for Joab's crimes would not remain on his own house or his father's house. Benaiah carried out the command and was appointed commander of the whole army. The king also made Zadok the sole high priest in place of Abiathar, whom he had removed from office.

Solomon ordered Shimei to build himself a house and stay in Jerusalem, where he would remain under the king's authority. Shimei was forbidden to cross the brook Kidron. If he disobeyed, he would be put to death. Solomon warned him so severely that Shimei swore he would obey. He thanked Solomon for giving him this command, took an oath to keep it, left his own country, and settled in Jerusalem.

Three years later, Shimei heard that two of his servants had run away and were in Gath. He hurried there to retrieve them. When he returned with the servants, the king learned what he had done and was angry that Shimei had broken his command and shown no regard for the oath he had sworn to God. Solomon summoned him and said, "Didn't you swear that you would never leave me or go from this city to another? You won't escape punishment for breaking your oath. I will punish you, wicked man, for this and for the wrongs you did to my father when he was fleeing. You must learn that wicked people don't escape punishment forever. They may not suffer at once, but while they think they are safe, their punishment grows heavier than it would have been if they had been punished as soon as they committed their crimes." At the king's command, Benaiah killed Shimei.

CHAPTER 2

Solomon's Wife, Wisdom, and Riches, and What He Received from Hiram for Building the Temple

Solomon had secured his rule and punished his enemies. He married the daughter of Pharaoh, king of Egypt, and strengthened Jerusalem's walls, making them much larger and sturdier than before. From then on, he governed the kingdom in peace. His youth did not keep him from judging fairly, obeying the laws, or remembering the instructions his father had given him before he died. He carried out every duty with the care and good judgment expected of an older, wiser man.

Solomon decided to go to Hebron and offer sacrifices to God on the bronze altar that Moses had built. He offered a thousand burnt offerings, believing that he had shown great honor to God. That night, as he slept, God appeared to him and told him to ask for whatever gift he wished, as a reward for his devotion.

Solomon asked for the finest and most valuable gift, the one God would be most pleased to give and that would benefit people most. He did not ask for gold, silver, or other riches, though those are the things most people, especially the young, consider the greatest gifts from God. Instead, he said, "Lord, give me a sound mind and good judgment, so I may speak and judge your people with truth and justice."

God was pleased with Solomon's request. He promised to give him everything he had not asked for: riches, honor, and victory over his enemies. Above all, God would give him understanding and wisdom greater than that of any other person, whether king or commoner. God also promised to preserve the kingdom for Solomon's descendants for a long time, if Solomon remained righteous and obedient and followed his father's example in the matters where David had done well.

When Solomon heard God's words, he leaped out of bed. He worshiped God, then returned to Jerusalem. There he offered many sacrifices before the tabernacle and held a feast for his household.

Around this time, a difficult case came before Solomon. It was so hard to decide that I think I should explain the dispute, so readers may understand the challenge the king faced. Those who must judge such cases can also take Solomon's insight as an example.

Two women, both prostitutes, came before him. The woman who seemed to have been wronged spoke first.

"King, this woman and I live together in one room. We both gave birth to sons on the same day, at nearly the same hour. Three days later, she lay on her child and smothered him. Then, while I was asleep, she took my son from my arms and put her dead child beside me. In the morning, when I went to nurse the child, I saw that he was dead. But when I looked closely, I knew he was not my son. So I demanded my child, but she refused to give him back. My lord, I ask for your help. We were alone, with no one there to prove what happened, and she stubbornly denies it."

When she had finished, the king asked the other woman to answer. She denied the charge. She said the living child was hers and that the dead child belonged to her accuser. No one could see how to settle the dispute. The court was at a loss and could find no answer to the puzzle, but the king came up with a way to reveal the truth.

He ordered that both the dead child and the living one be brought before him. Then he sent for a guard and told him to draw his sword and cut the living child in two, giving half to each woman. The people quietly laughed at the king, thinking he was acting like a child himself.

But the true mother cried out, begging him not to kill the boy. She said the child should be given to the other woman, as long as he was allowed to live. The other woman, however, agreed to have the child divided and even wanted the first woman to suffer.

The king saw that their words revealed what they truly felt. He gave the child to the woman who had pleaded for his life, recognizing her as the real mother. He condemned the other woman as wicked, for she had not only killed her own child but had also tried to have her neighbor's child killed. The people regarded this judgment as proof of Solomon's great insight and wisdom. From that day on, they treated him as a man with divine understanding.

These were the captains of Solomon's army and the officers appointed over the country: Ures governed the territory of Ephraim; Dioclerus governed the district of Bethlehem; and Abinadab, who had married one of Solomon's daughters, ruled the region of Dora and the coast. Benaiah, son of Achilus, governed the Great Plain and all the country as far as the Jordan. Gabaris ruled Gilead and Gaulanitis, including the sixty great, fortified cities of Og. Achinadab governed all Galilee as far as Sidon. He too had married one of Solomon's daughters, whose name was Basima. Banacates governed the coast around Arce. Shaphat ruled Mount Tabor, Carmel, and Lower Galilee as far as the Jordan. One governor was appointed over that whole region. Shimei was entrusted with the territory of Benjamin, while Gabares governed the country beyond the Jordan, where another governor also served.

The Hebrew people, especially the tribe of Judah, prospered greatly as they turned to farming and tending their land. They lived in peace, free from the burdens of war and unrest, and enjoyed great freedom. Each person worked to improve his land and increase its produce.

Solomon also appointed other officers over Syria and the land of the Philistines, which stretched from the Euphrates River to Egypt. They collected tribute from the nations, and the tribute supplied the king's daily meals. Each day they provided thirty kori of fine flour and sixty kori of meal, as well as ten fat oxen, twenty oxen from the pasture, and a hundred fat lambs. These were in addition to the deer, buffalo, birds, and fish that foreigners brought to the king every day.

Solomon had a great many chariots, with stalls for forty thousand chariot horses. He also had twelve thousand horsemen. Half served the king in Jerusalem, while the rest lived in royal towns throughout the country. The officer responsible for the king's expenses also provided fodder for the horses, delivering it wherever the king was staying.

The wisdom and insight God had given Solomon were so great that he surpassed the men of earlier times. He was no less wise than the Egyptians, who were said to be the most intelligent people of all. In fact, their wisdom was far below his. Solomon also surpassed the cleverest Hebrews of his day, including Ethan, Heman, Chalcol, and Darda, the sons of Mahol.

He composed 1,005 books of odes and songs, and 3,000 parables and comparisons. He spoke about every kind of tree, from hyssop to cedar, and about every kind of animal and living creature on land, in the sea, and in the air. He understood their natures, studied them carefully, and described them like a philosopher, showing his knowledge of their different qualities.

God also taught Solomon how to drive out demons, a skill that could bring relief and healing to people. Solomon composed incantations that eased illnesses and left instructions for exorcisms that drove demons away and kept them from returning. This method of treatment is still used today. I myself saw a man from my own country named Eleazar drive demons out of people in the presence of Vespasian, his sons, his officers, and the assembled army.

Here is how Eleazar performed the cure. He put a ring containing a root of one of the kinds Solomon had described beneath the possessed man's nose. Then he drew the demon out through the man's nostrils. As soon as the man fell, Eleazar commanded the demon never to return, invoking Solomon and reciting the incantations Solomon had composed.

To show those watching that he had this power, Eleazar placed a cup or basin of water some distance away. As the demon left the man, Eleazar ordered it to overturn the vessel. When it did, the spectators knew the demon had left the man. In this way, Solomon's skill and wisdom were plainly shown.

I have described these matters at length so that everyone may know the extent of Solomon's abilities, how greatly God favored him, and that people everywhere may learn of the extraordinary gifts with which the king was endowed.

When Hiram, king of Tyre, heard that Solomon had succeeded his father on the throne, he was glad, because he had been a friend of David. He sent ambassadors to Solomon to greet him and congratulate him on the prosperous state of his kingdom. Solomon replied with a letter:

Solomon to King Hiram

"My father wished to build a temple for God, but wars and constant campaigns prevented him. He continued to defeat his enemies until he had made them all subject to tribute. I thank God that I now live in peace and have time to build a house for God. God foretold to my father that I would build this house. So I ask you to send some of your people with mine to Mount Lebanon to cut timber. The Sidonians are more skilled than our people at cutting wood. I will pay whatever price you set for the woodcutters."

Hiram was pleased when he read the letter, and sent this reply to Solomon:

Hiram to King Solomon

"Blessed be God, who has given your father's kingdom to you, a wise man with every virtue. I rejoice in your good fortune, and I will do all you ask. My people will cut down many large cedar and cypress trees. I will have them make rafts and send the timber by sea to whatever place in your country you choose. They will leave it there, and your people can carry it on to Jerusalem. In return, provide us with grain, for we need it because we live on an island."

Copies of these letters still exist today. They are preserved not only in our records but also among the Tyrians. Anyone who wants to check their authenticity can ask the keepers of Tyre's public records to show them. They will find that the letters agree with what I have written.

I have included these details because I want my readers to know that I tell the truth. I do not build a history out of stories that merely sound convincing, stories that deceive and entertain people at the same time. I do not try to avoid being questioned, or ask readers to believe me without proof. A historian's chief duty is to tell the truth, and he cannot excuse himself from that duty. I ask no one to accept my account unless I can show that it is true through clear evidence and the strongest testimony.

As soon as Solomon received Hiram's letter, he praised the king's willingness and goodwill. He paid him what he had requested, sending him twenty thousand kori of wheat each year, along with the same amount of oil and wine. A bath held seventy-two sextaries. The friendship between Hiram and Solomon grew stronger, and the two kings swore to remain friends for life.

Solomon also imposed a labor duty on the people, requiring thirty thousand men to work. He made the burden easier by dividing the labor among them. Ten thousand men cut timber on Mount Lebanon for one month, then returned home to rest for two months while the other twenty thousand completed their turn. In this way, the first group returned to work every fourth month. Adoram was in charge of the labor duty.

From among the foreigners David had left behind, seventy thousand carried stones and other materials, and eighty thousand cut stone. Three thousand three hundred officers supervised the workers. Solomon ordered them to cut large stones for the temple's foundations, shape and fit them together on the mountain, and then carry them to the city. Both the local workers and the men Hiram sent took part in this work.

CHAPTER 3

Of the Building of This Temple

Solomon began building the temple in the fourth year of his reign, in the second month, which the Macedonians call Artemisius and the Hebrews call Jur. This was 592 years after the Israelites left Egypt, 1,020 years after Abraham came from Mesopotamia into Canaan, and 1,440 years after the Flood. From the creation of Adam, the first man, until Solomon began building the temple, 3,102 years had passed. The year construction began was the eleventh year of Hiram's reign. Tyre had been founded 240 years before the temple was built.

The king laid the temple's foundations deep in the ground, using strong stones that could withstand the passage of time. They were meant to join firmly with the earth and provide a secure base for the structure above them. The foundations had to support the great weight of the building and its costly decorations, as well as the other tall, heavy structures Solomon planned to build around it.

The temple's walls were made entirely of white stone and rose to the roof. The building was sixty cubits high and sixty cubits long, and twenty cubits wide. Another structure was built above it, equal in size, bringing the temple's full height to 120 cubits. Its entrance faced east.

A porch stood in front of the temple. It was twenty cubits long, the same width as the temple, and twelve cubits deep. It rose to a height of 120 cubits. Around the temple, Solomon built thirty small rooms, arranged close together so that they surrounded the entire building. Passages connected the rooms, allowing people to move from one to another. Each room was five cubits wide, five cubits long, and twenty cubits high. Another set of rooms stood above them, with a third set above that. Each level had the same number of rooms and the same dimensions. Together, the rooms reached the height of the lower part of the temple, while the upper part had no rooms around it.

The temple roof was made of cedar. Each of the surrounding rooms had its own separate roof, but the rooms also shared a larger covered roof, built with long beams that ran through the structure. These beams strengthened the middle walls and made the building firmer. The ceiling beneath the beams was made of the same material, smoothed and decorated for a roof, then covered with nailed-on gold plates.

Cedar boards covered the walls, and Solomon fixed sculpted gold plates over them. The gold shone throughout the temple and dazzled the eyes of those who entered. The entire structure was made with great skill from polished stones, fitted together so smoothly that no marks from a hammer or other tool could be seen. The stones seemed to have joined naturally, each fitting perfectly with the next.

Solomon also devised a way to reach the upper room above the temple. Steps ran through the thickness of the wall. Unlike the lower temple, the upper room had no large door at the east end. Its entrances were on the sides, through very small doors. Solomon lined the temple inside and out with cedar boards, holding them tightly in place with thick chains. This helped support and strengthen the building.

Solomon divided the temple into two parts. The inner room, twenty cubits in every direction, was the most sacred chamber. The outer room, forty cubits long, was the sanctuary. He cut a doorway through the wall and fitted it with cedar doors covered in finely worked gold. In front of these doors, he hung curtains of blue, purple, scarlet, and the finest, softest linen, embroidered with carefully worked flowers.

In the most sacred chamber, which was twenty cubits wide and twenty cubits long, Solomon placed two cherubim made of solid gold. Each stood five cubits high and had two outstretched wings, each five cubits long. Solomon set them some distance apart. One wing of each touched a side wall of the chamber, while their other wings met above the ark, which stood between them. No one can say, or even guess, what these cherubim looked like.

Solomon covered the temple floor with gold plates. He also fitted doors to the temple entrance. They matched the height of the wall and were twenty cubits wide, and he covered them with gold plates. In short, every part of the temple, inside and out, was covered with gold. Curtains hung in front of these doors, as they did before the doors of the most sacred chamber. The porch had no curtains.

Solomon sent for a craftsman from Tyre named Hiram. His mother belonged to the tribe of Naphtali, and his father, Ur, was descended from the Israelites. Hiram was skilled in many kinds of work, especially in gold, silver, and brass. At Solomon's direction, he made the temple's metal furnishings and other works.

Hiram made two hollow pillars with brass outer walls. The brass was four fingers thick. Each pillar was eighteen cubits high and twelve cubits around. On top of each was a capital decorated with lily-shaped work, rising five cubits above the pillar. Brass network, woven with small palm designs, surrounded and covered the lily work. Two hundred pomegranates hung from each capital, arranged in two rows.

Solomon placed one pillar on the right side of the porch entrance and named it Jachin. He placed the other on the left and named it Booz.

Solomon also cast a great brass basin shaped like half a sphere. Because of its size, it was called the Sea. It measured ten feet across and was a palm's breadth thick. The middle rested on a short column ten cubits in diameter, which had ten spiral bands around it.

Twelve oxen stood beneath the Sea, facing the four directions, three toward each direction. Their hindquarters were lowered so the hemispherical basin could rest on their backs. The basin also curved inward around its lower part. It held 3,000 baths.

Solomon made ten brass stands for ten square basins. Each stand was five cubits long, four cubits wide, and six cubits high. Each had four small square pillars, one at each corner, with the sides of the stand fitted between them. The sides were divided into three sections, and each section had a rim to support a basin. Lions, bulls, and eagles were engraved on the sides, and the same figures were carved on the small pillars.

Each stand rested on four cast-brass wheels, complete with hubs and rims. The wheels were a cubit and a half in diameter. Anyone who saw how neatly their spokes were shaped and joined to the sides of the stands, and how precisely they fitted the rims, would wonder at the work.

The corners of each stand were held up by projecting supports shaped like hands. Above them lay a short, spiral column beneath the hollow part of the basin. The column rested on the front parts of figures of lions and eagles, which were fitted to it so closely that they appeared to be one piece. Palm trees were engraved between these figures. This was how the ten stands were made.

Solomon also cast ten large, round brass basins. Each held forty baths, stood four cubits high, and had a rim four cubits across. He placed each basin on one of the ten stands, called Mechonoth. Five basins stood on the temple's north side and five on its south side, all facing east. The Sea also faced east.

The Sea was used by the priests to wash their hands and feet when they entered the temple and went up to the altar. The basins were used to wash the entrails and feet of the animals offered as burnt offerings.

Solomon made a brass altar twenty cubits long, twenty cubits wide, and ten cubits high, for the burnt offerings. He made all its utensils of brass: the pots, shovels, basins, snuffers, tongs, and every other tool. The brass was so bright and beautiful that it looked like gold.

The king also set aside many tables. One large table was made of gold, and the sacred loaves were placed on it. He made another 10,000 tables of a different kind, for the bowls and cups. There were 20,000 gold vessels and 40,000 silver ones.

Solomon made 10,000 lampstands according to the command given to Moses. He dedicated one for the temple, where it was to burn during the day as the law required. He placed the table with the loaves on the north side of the temple, opposite the lampstand, which stood on the south side. The golden altar stood between them. All these furnishings were in the forty-cubit-long part of the sanctuary, in front of the veil that screened the innermost room where the ark was to be placed.

The king made 80,000 pouring vessels, 100,000 gold cups, and twice as many silver cups. He also made 80,000 gold dishes for offering kneaded fine flour at the altar, and twice as many silver dishes. For mixing fine flour with oil, he made 60,000 large gold basins and twice as many silver ones.

There were 20,000 gold measures like those Moses called the Hin and the Assaron, or tenth measure, and twice as many silver measures. Solomon made 20,000 gold censers for carrying incense to the altar. He also made 50,000 other censers for carrying fire from the great altar to the smaller altar inside the temple.

The garments for the high priest included long robes, the oracle, and precious stones. There were a thousand such sets. The crown bearing the name of God, written by Moses, was only one, and it had remained to that day. Solomon also made 10,000 linen garments with purple belts for the priests, 200,000 trumpets according to the command given to Moses, and 200,000 linen garments for the Levite singers. He made 40,000 musical instruments used to sing hymns, called Nablee and Cindree, or psalteries and harps. They were made of electrum, the finest brass.

Solomon made all these things in honor of God. He spared no expense in adorning the temple and gave generously. He placed the furnishings in God's treasuries.

Around the temple, he built a partition called Gison in the Hebrew tongue and Thrigcos in Greek. It stood three cubits high and kept the crowds from entering the temple, showing that the area was open only to the priests.

Beyond this court, Solomon built a square temple with large, broad cloisters. Its very tall gates faced the four directions, and each was shut with golden doors. All the people who were ritually clean and kept the laws could enter this temple.

Beyond it, Solomon built another temple, so magnificent that no description can do it justice. It was hard to believe even when seen. He filled great valleys with earth. They were so deep that anyone who looked down into them felt pain. He raised the ground by 400 cubits until it reached the height of the mountain where the temple stood. In this way, the outer temple, which lay open to the sky, was level with the temple itself.

He surrounded this outer temple with a double row of cloisters, raised on pillars of solid stone. Their roofs were cedar, smoothed and finished to suit the great height of the buildings. All the doors of this temple were made of silver.

CHAPTER 4

How Solomon Brought the Ark into the Temple, Prayed to God, and Offered Public Sacrifices

When King Solomon had completed these great and beautiful buildings, and had placed his gifts in the temple, seven years had passed. He had shown the wealth and energy he devoted to the work. Anyone who saw the temple might have thought it would take an immense amount of time to finish, and would have been amazed that such a great work was completed so quickly.

Solomon then sent word to the rulers and elders of the Hebrews. He ordered all the people to gather in Jerusalem, both to see the temple he had built and to bring the ark of God into it. His invitation was carried throughout the land, and the people assembled in the seventh month. Our people call this month Thisri, while the Macedonians call it Hyperberetoets. The Feast of Tabernacles fell at the same time. The Hebrews held this feast as one of their holiest and most important celebrations.

They brought the ark, the tabernacle that Moses had set up, and all the vessels used in the service and sacrifices of God into the temple. The king, the people, and the Levites went before them. They covered the way with sacrifices and drink offerings, and with the blood of many victims. They burned so much incense that the air all around was filled with its pleasant fragrance. People far away could smell it, and took it as a sign that God was present and had chosen to dwell with them in this newly built and consecrated place.

The people did not tire of singing hymns and dancing until they reached the temple. In this way they brought in the ark. When they were ready to place it in the innermost sanctuary, the rest of the people left. Only the priests who carried the ark remained, and they set it between the two cherubim. Their wings, made by the craftsman to meet over the ark, covered it like a tent or a dome.

The ark held nothing but the two stone tablets on which God had engraved the Ten Commandments and spoken them to Moses on Mount Sinai. The priests placed the lampstand, the table, and the golden altar in the temple, in front of the innermost sanctuary, in the same places where they had stood in the tabernacle. They continued the daily sacrifices. Solomon placed the bronze altar in front of the temple, opposite the entrance, so that it could be seen when the doors were open, along with the sacred ceremonies and the many offerings. They gathered all the remaining vessels and placed them inside the temple.

As soon as the priests had arranged everything around the ark and gone out, a thick cloud came down and spread gently through the temple. It was a calm, even cloud, not the heavy kind that brings winter rain. It grew so dark inside that one priest could not see another. Yet it gave everyone a clear and glorious sign that God had come down into the temple and was pleased to dwell there.

The people fixed their thoughts on this sight. Solomon, who had been sitting, rose and addressed God in words he believed suited the divine nature and were fitting for a human being to offer. He said:

"O Lord, you have an eternal dwelling, a place you made for yourself through your own works. We know that this is heaven, the air, the earth, and the sea. You pass through all of them, yet none can contain you. I have built this temple for you and for your name, so that when we offer sacrifices and carry out sacred rites, we may send our prayers upward and trust that you are present, not far from what belongs to you.

"You see and hear all things, and even now, though you have chosen to dwell here, you do not turn away from the care of anyone. You are near to all people, and especially to those who call on you, by night or by day."

After this solemn prayer, he turned to the people and spoke of God's power and care. God had shown David, Solomon's father, what would happen. Some of those things had already come to pass, and the rest would certainly happen in time. God had also told David what Solomon would be called before he was born. He had foretold that Solomon would become king after his father's death and build a temple for him. Since the people could now see that this had happened just as God had promised, Solomon urged them to bless God. He told them to trust him because they had seen his words fulfilled, and never to doubt that the promises he had made for their future happiness would also come to pass.

When Solomon had finished speaking to the people, he turned again toward the temple and raised his right hand. He said:

"Human beings can never repay God fully for the blessings he gives them. The Divine One needs nothing and is beyond all such repayment. But you have made us superior to the other animals, O Lord, and so we ought to bless your majesty. We must thank you for what you have given my family and the Hebrew people. What better means have we to seek your favor when you are angry with us, or to keep your goodwill, than our voice? We receive our voice from the air, and we know that through the air it rises toward you.

"First, I thank you for my father, whom you raised from humble beginnings to such great happiness. Then I thank you for myself, because you have fulfilled every promise you made to this day. I ask you now to grant us whatever you have the power to give those you favor. Let our family grow through all ages, as you promised my father David, both during his life and after his death. Let our kingdom endure, and let his descendants inherit it one after another for ten thousand generations.

"Do not withhold these blessings from us. Give my children the virtue in which you delight. I also humbly ask you to send some portion of your Spirit to dwell in this temple, so that you may show that you are with us on earth. The whole heavens, and all that they contain, are only a small dwelling for you. This poor temple is far smaller. Still, I ask you to keep it as your own house and protect it from our enemies forever. Care for it as your possession.

"If this people sin and you punish them with famine, plague, or any other affliction that you send upon those who break your holy laws, and if they all come to this temple to beg you for deliverance, hear their prayers from your house. Have mercy on them and rescue them from their troubles.

"I ask this help not only for the Hebrews when they are in distress. If anyone comes here from any part of the world, turns away from sin, and asks your pardon, then pardon that person and hear the prayer. In this way all people will learn that you were pleased to have this house built for you. They will also see that we are not unfriendly to those outside our people, nor do we treat them as enemies. We want you to give your help to all people and let them share in your blessings."

When Solomon had said this, he threw himself on the ground and worshipped for a long time. Then he rose and brought sacrifices to the altar. He covered it with unblemished victims, and God plainly showed that he had accepted the offerings with pleasure. Fire rushed down from the sky before everyone's eyes, seized the sacrifices, and consumed them.

When the people saw this divine sign, they believed it proved that God dwelt in the temple. They rejoiced, fell to the ground, and worshipped. Solomon began to bless God and urged the people to do the same. They had clear signs of God's favor, he said, and should pray that these signs would continue. They should ask God to keep their hearts free from wickedness, and to help them live in righteousness and worship him faithfully. They should continue to obey the commandments God had given them through Moses. If they did so, the Hebrew people would be happy and the most blessed among all nations.

Solomon also urged them to remember that they must preserve their blessings in the same way they had gained them, and make them greater than before. It was not enough to think they had received these blessings because of their piety and righteousness. They had to continue in that way of life if they wanted to keep them. It is easier for people to gain what they lack than to hold on to what they have gained without committing sins that could bring it to ruin.

After speaking to the people, the king dismissed the assembly. But first he completed all the offerings for himself and for the Hebrews. He sacrificed twenty-two thousand oxen and a hundred and twenty thousand sheep. That day, the temple received its first sacrificial victims, and all the Hebrews, together with their wives and children, feasted there.

The king also celebrated the Feast of Tabernacles in great splendor before the temple. The feast lasted twice seven days, and he celebrated it with all the people.

When all the ceremonies had been completed and nothing required for the worship of God had been left undone, the king sent the people home. Each person thanked him for his care and for the works he had done on their behalf. They prayed that God would preserve Solomon as their king for a long time. They returned to their homes joyfully, celebrating and singing hymns to God. Their happiness made them forget the hardship of the journey.

They had brought the ark into the temple, seen its size and beauty, shared in the many sacrifices, and taken part in the festivals. Then each person returned to his own city.

That night, a dream told the king that God had heard his prayers. God would protect the temple and continue to dwell there, provided Solomon's descendants and all the people lived righteously. The dream also told Solomon that if he followed the teachings his father had given him, God would raise him to great honor and happiness. His descendants would then rule that country and the tribe of Judah forever.

But if Solomon betrayed the laws, forgot them, and turned to the worship of foreign gods, God would destroy him and his family to the roots. No member of his family would remain. God would no longer protect the people of Israel from hardship, but would bring upon them countless wars and disasters. He would drive them from the land he had given their ancestors and make them live as strangers in other lands. He would let their enemies burn and plunder the temple that had just been built, and overthrow the city. Their sufferings would become a proverb, so terrible that their neighbors would find them hard to believe. When those neighbors heard of Israel's misery, they would ask why God had turned against the Hebrews, a people he had raised to such glory and wealth.

The survivors would answer by confessing their sins and admitting that they had broken the laws of their people. This account has been handed down in writing as the words God spoke to Solomon in his sleep.

CHAPTER 5

How Solomon Built a Costly and Splendid Royal Palace, and Solved the Riddles Hiram Sent Him

After the temple was built, as we have already said, it was finished in seven years. The king then laid the foundation of his palace, which took thirteen years to complete. Solomon was not as eager to build the palace as he had been to build the temple. Though the temple was a great work that called for extraordinary effort, God, for whom it was made, helped it along, and it was finished in the time already mentioned. The palace was far less important than the temple. Its materials had not been gathered and prepared so far in advance, nor had they been readied with the same care. It was a home for kings, not a house for God, and so it took longer to finish.

Still, the palace was built with great splendor, as befitted the prosperity of the Hebrews and their king. I must describe its full design and arrangement, so that those who read this book may form an idea of its size and appearance.

The palace was a large and finely built structure, supported by many pillars. Solomon built it as a place where a crowd could gather to hear cases and have disputes settled. It was spacious enough for a great number of people who came to have their cases judged. The building was one hundred cubits long, fifty cubits wide, and thirty cubits high. It rested on square cedar pillars. Its roof was made in the Corinthian style, with folding doors and pillars beside them, all of the same size. Each pillar had three fluted grooves. The building was both strong and handsome.

There was another building whose full width lay at its center. It was square, thirty cubits wide, and had a temple-like structure opposite it, raised on massive pillars. Inside was a large and splendid hall where the king sat in judgment. Beside it stood another house built for the queen. There were also smaller buildings for dining and sleeping after the public business of the day. All of them had cedar-board floors.

Solomon built some parts of the palace with stones ten cubits long. He lined the walls with other stones that had been sawn and were highly prized. Such stones were dug from the earth and used to decorate temples and create fine views in royal palaces. The mines that produced them were famous.

The walls were made in three rows of these carefully worked stones. The fourth row drew the eye with its carvings of trees and plants, their branches casting shade and their leaves hanging down. The trees and plants covered the stone beneath them, and the leaves were carved so thinly and finely that they seemed to move. The rest of the wall, up to the roof, was covered with plaster and decorated with colors and pictures.

Solomon also built other places for pleasure, including long covered walkways in pleasant parts of the palace. Among them was a splendid dining hall for feasts and drinking. It was filled with gold and with all the furnishings such a fine room needed for its guests. Every vessel in it was made of gold.

It is hard to count all the royal apartments and describe their variety: the largest rooms, the smaller ones, the underground rooms hidden from view, the open-air spaces, and the groves that offered pleasant views, shade from the heat, and shelter for those who rested there. In short, Solomon built the whole palace of white stone, cedar wood, gold, and silver. He decorated its roofs and walls with stones set in gold, just as he had adorned the temple of God.

He also made himself an enormous ivory throne, designed as a seat of judgment. Six steps led up to it. At either end of each step stood two lions, and two more lions stood above them. At the seat of the throne, hands reached out to receive the king. When he leaned back, he rested against half of a bull, with its face turned toward him. The whole throne was joined together with gold.

Solomon completed all this work in twenty years. King Hiram of Tyre had supplied much gold, even more silver, and cedar and pine wood for the buildings. Solomon repaid him with rich gifts. Each year he also sent Hiram grain, wine, and oil, the main provisions he needed because he lived on an island, as we have already said.

Solomon also gave Hiram twenty cities in Galilee, not far from Tyre. When Hiram visited them and saw what he had been given, he was displeased. He sent word to Solomon that he had no use for such cities. From then on, the area was called the land of Cabul. In the Phoenician language, the name means "what does not please."

The king of Tyre also sent Solomon riddles and puzzles, asking him to solve them and explain their hidden meanings. Solomon was so wise and understanding that none of the problems was too difficult for him. He solved them all, worked out their meaning, and made it plain.

Menander, who translated the Tyrian records from Phoenician into Greek, also mentions these two kings. He writes:

"When Abibalus died, his son Hiram succeeded him as king. Hiram lived fifty-three years and reigned thirty-four. He raised an embankment in the great square and dedicated the golden pillar in the temple of Jupiter. He also went to Mount Lebanon and cut timber for the roofs of the temples. After pulling down the old temples, he built the temples of Hercules and Astarte. He first established the temple of Hercules in the month of Peritius. He also marched against the Euchii, or Titii, who had refused to pay tribute. After conquering them, he returned. During Hiram's reign, a young man named Abdemon repeatedly solved the difficult problems that Solomon, king of Jerusalem, sent for him to explain."

Dius also mentions Hiram. He writes:

"When Abibalus died, his son Hiram became king. He raised the eastern part of the city and made the city itself larger. He also joined the temple of Jupiter, which had stood apart from the city, to the city by building an embankment between them. He decorated it with gifts of gold. He went up to Mount Lebanon and cut timber for the construction of the temples."

Dius also says that Solomon, who was then king of Jerusalem, sent riddles to Hiram and asked him to send riddles in return. They agreed that whoever failed to solve a riddle would pay money to the one who solved it. Hiram accepted the terms, but when he could not answer Solomon's riddles, he paid a large sum as a penalty. Later, with the help of Abdemon, a Tyrian, Hiram solved the riddles. He then sent riddles to Solomon, who could not solve them, and had to repay Hiram a large sum of money. This is what Dius wrote.

CHAPTER 6

How Solomon Strengthened Jerusalem, Built Great Cities, Brought Some Canaanites Under His Rule, and Received the Queen of Egypt and Ethiopia

When the king saw that Jerusalem's walls needed stronger defenses, he repaired them and raised them higher, adding great towers. He believed the walls surrounding Jerusalem should match the city's dignity. He also built three cities known for their strength: Hazor, Megiddo, and Gezer.

Gezer had once belonged to the Philistines. Pharaoh, king of Egypt, had marched against it, laid siege to it, and captured it by force. He killed all its inhabitants, destroyed the city, and gave it to his daughter, who had married Solomon. Solomon rebuilt it because its natural position made it a strong city, useful in war and in times of trouble.

He also built two other cities nearby. One was called Beth-horon, and the other Baalath. He built more cities in places well suited for comfort and pleasure, where the air was mild, fruit ripened in its proper season, and springs provided plenty of water.

Solomon went as far as the desert above Syria and took possession of it. There he built a great city, two days' journey from Upper Syria, one day's journey from the Euphrates, and six long days' journey from great Babylon. The city stood so far from the settled parts of Syria because there was no water in the land below it. Only there could springs and wells be found. After building the city and surrounding it with strong walls, Solomon named it Tadmor. The Syrians still call it by that name, while the Greeks call it Palmyra.

While Solomon was building these cities, someone might ask why all the kings of Egypt, from Menes, who built Memphis long before Abraham, through Solomon's time, were called Pharaohs. More than 1,300 years passed between Menes and Solomon. I think it is worth explaining this, so the reason for the name will be clear.

In the Egyptian language, Pharaoh means "king." I suppose that the kings were given other names at birth, but took the title Pharaoh when they came to the throne, since it expressed their authority. The same thing happened with the kings of Alexandria. Though they had other names before becoming kings, they took the name Ptolemy after the first king of that line. Roman emperors, too, had different names at birth but were called Caesars because of their rank and power. Their imperial title replaced the names their fathers had given them.

I also suppose that Herodotus of Halicarnassus did not give the names of the 330 kings of Egypt who ruled after Menes because they were all commonly called Pharaohs. When a queen later ruled, however, he called her Nicaule by name. The kings were all men and shared the title Pharaoh, but a woman did not bear that title, so Herodotus gave her name.

From our own books, I have learned that after Pharaoh, Solomon's father-in-law, no other king of Egypt used that name. It was after this time that the queen of Egypt and Ethiopia came to Solomon, as I will relate shortly. I have mentioned these matters to show that our books and the Egyptian books agree on many points.

King Solomon also brought under his rule the remaining Canaanites who had not yet submitted to him. They lived in Mount Lebanon and as far as the city of Hamath. He made them pay tribute and each year selected some of them for the lowest kinds of service. They worked in his household and in the fields.

The Hebrews were not put to such lowly work. Since God had placed so many nations under their rule, it would have made little sense to force their own people into such service instead of those nations. The Israelites served in the army, wore armor, and took charge of the chariots and horses rather than living as slaves.

Solomon appointed 550 overseers over the Canaanites who had been assigned these household duties. The overseers were responsible to the king for them and taught them the work and skills he required.

The king also built many ships at Ezion-geber, on the Gulf of the Red Sea. The place is now called Berenice and lies not far from the city of Eloth. The land had once belonged to the Jews. It became useful for shipping through gifts from Hiram, king of Tyre, who sent enough men to serve as pilots and skilled sailors.

Solomon ordered these men to sail with his own officers to the land once called Ophir, now called the Aurea Chersonesus, which belongs to India, and bring back gold. They gathered 400 talents of gold and returned to the king.

At that time, a woman ruled Egypt and Ethiopia. She was eager to learn about wisdom and was remarkable in other ways as well. When she heard of Solomon's virtue and wisdom, she wanted to meet him. The reports that reached her each day stirred her to go and see for herself rather than rely on what others said. Reports can give a false impression when they depend entirely on the trustworthiness of the people who tell them.

She decided to visit Solomon and test his wisdom by asking difficult questions and asking him to explain their hidden meaning. She came to Jerusalem with a splendid retinue and rich gifts. Camels carried gold, many kinds of spices, and precious stones.

The king welcomed her warmly and was eager to please her. He quickly understood the meaning of her difficult questions and answered them sooner than anyone expected. The queen was astonished by Solomon's wisdom and found it greater in person than the reports had led her to believe.

She was especially struck by the size and beauty of his royal palace and by the order of its rooms, which showed the king's good judgment. She was no less amazed by the house called the Forest of Lebanon, by the splendor of his daily table, and by the care taken in preparing and serving the food. She admired the clothing of the servants who attended him and the skill and order with which they carried out their duties.

The daily sacrifices offered to God impressed her just as much. She saw how carefully the priests and Levites carried them out. As she watched these things day after day, her amazement grew so great that she could not hide it. She told the king openly how strongly everything had affected her. Then she said:

"King, everything we heard about you reached us with some doubt. But what we were told about your good fortune, your wisdom and judgment, and the prosperity of your kingdom was true. Even so, the reports described your happiness in far lesser terms than what I now see with my own eyes. The stories could only make us listen and imagine. Seeing these things for myself has shown me their full greatness.

"I did not believe the reports because the things they described seemed so numerous and magnificent. Now I see that they are greater still. Your people are fortunate, as are your servants and friends, who stand before you and hear your wisdom every day. We should bless God, who has loved this land and its people enough to make you their king."

After the queen had spoken of how greatly Solomon had impressed her, she showed her feelings through the gifts she gave him. She presented him with twenty talents of gold, a vast quantity of spices, and precious stones. (They say that we still have the root of the balsam that grows in our country because this woman gave it to us.)

Solomon, in turn, gave her many fine gifts. Most of all, he granted whatever she asked for, for there was nothing she wanted that he refused her. He was generous by nature and showed the breadth of his spirit by giving her all she desired.

After the queen of Ethiopia had received what I have described and presented the king with the gifts she had brought, she returned to her own kingdom.

CHAPTER 7

How Solomon Grew Rich and Fell Desperately in Love with Women; How God, Angered by Him, Raised Up Hadad and Jeroboam Against Him; and How Solomon Died

Around this time, precious stones and pine wood were brought to the king from a country called the Aurea Chersonesus. Solomon used the wood to support the Temple and the palace, and to make musical instruments, including harps and psalteries for the Levites to use in their hymns to God. The wood brought to him then was larger and finer than any that had been brought before.

No one should suppose that these trees were like the pines now sold under that name. Merchants call other kinds of wood pine to make them seem more desirable to buyers. The trees we are speaking of looked like fig trees, though their wood was whiter and more lustrous. I have explained the difference so that no one will mistake these kinds of wood or misunderstand what a genuine pine tree is. It seemed fitting to describe the wood and the uses Solomon made of it.

The gold brought to Solomon weighed six hundred and sixty-six talents. That amount did not include the gold brought by merchants or the gifts given to him by the rulers of districts and the kings of Arabia. He also made two hundred gold targets, each weighing six hundred shekels, and three hundred shields, each weighing three pounds of gold. He had them placed in the building called the Forest of Lebanon.

Solomon also had cups made of gold and precious stones for entertaining his guests, and they were decorated with great skill. All his other vessels and furnishings were made of gold, since silver was not used in buying or selling at that time. The king had many ships on the sea of Tarsus. He ordered them to carry all kinds of goods to the most distant nations. In exchange, they brought him silver and gold, as well as large quantities of ivory, Ethiopians, and apes. Each voyage, both there and back, took three years.

Solomon's fame spread through all the neighboring countries. His virtue and wisdom were so widely praised that kings everywhere wanted to see him. The reports seemed almost too great to believe, so they showed their respect by sending him gifts. These included vessels of gold and silver, purple garments, many kinds of spices, horses, chariots, and as many mules for his carriages as they could find that were strong and handsome enough to please the king.

The gifts of horses and chariots added more than four hundred chariots to his collection, which had already numbered a thousand. His horses increased by two thousand, bringing the total to twenty thousand. They were trained to look splendid and run swiftly, and none could compare with them for beauty or speed.

Their riders added to their impressive appearance. They were young men in the prime of life, tall and strong, with long hair hanging down. They wore garments of Tyrian purple, and each day gold dust was sprinkled on their hair, so that their heads shone in the sunlight. The king rode in a chariot among them. The young men were armed and carried bows. Solomon wore a white garment and usually set out from the city in the morning.

About fifty furlongs from Jerusalem was a place called Etham, a pleasant spot with fine gardens and plenty of flowing water. Solomon often rode there in the morning, seated high in his chariot.

Solomon was wise in all things and took great care to have everything done with elegance. He did not neglect the roads. Along the roads leading to Jerusalem, the royal city, he laid a causeway of black stone, both to make travel easier and to show the wealth and strength of his government.

He also arranged his chariots in an orderly way, keeping a certain number in each city and a few close to himself. He called those places the cities of his chariots. In Jerusalem, silver became as plentiful as stones in the streets. Solomon also planted so many cedar trees in the plains of Judea, where they had not grown before, that they seemed as common as sycamore trees.

He ordered the Egyptian merchants who brought him goods to sell him a chariot with a pair of horses for six hundred drachmae of silver. He then sent these chariots to the kings of Syria and to the kings beyond the Euphrates.

Solomon had become the most glorious of kings and the most beloved by God. In wisdom and wealth, he surpassed every Hebrew ruler before him. Yet he did not remain in this happy state until his death. He abandoned the laws of his fathers and came to an end very different from what the earlier account of his life might have led us to expect.

He became consumed by his love of women and gave himself over to his desires. He was not satisfied with women from his own country, but married many from foreign nations, including Sidonians, Tyrians, Ammonites, and Edomites. In doing so, he broke the law of Moses, which forbade the Jews to marry those who were not of their own people. He also began to worship their gods, hoping to please his wives and show his love for them.

Moses had warned the people against marrying women from other nations. He feared they would be drawn into foreign customs, abandon their own God, and worship other gods. Solomon disregarded those warnings and gave himself over to foolish pleasures. He married seven hundred wives, daughters of princes and other notable men, and had three hundred concubines, in addition to the daughter of the king of Egypt. Before long, he was ruled by these women and began to follow their customs. To show them his love, he had to live according to the laws of their countries.

As he grew older, his judgment weakened, and he no longer remembered the laws of his own people. He showed even greater contempt for his God and continued to honor the gods introduced through his marriages.

Even before this, Solomon had sinned against the law. He made bronze oxen to support the bronze sea, and lions to stand around his throne, though such things were not in keeping with piety. He knew the example his father had set and the great reputation David had earned through his devotion to God. Yet he did not follow David's example, even though God had appeared to him twice in dreams and urged him to imitate his father.

So Solomon died without honor. God sent a prophet to tell him that his wicked deeds had not escaped notice, and that he would not enjoy their benefits for long. The kingdom would not be taken from Solomon while he was alive, because God had promised David that his son would succeed him. But after Solomon's death, God would take the kingdom from his son. He would not remove every tribe from him, but would give ten tribes to one of Solomon's servants and leave only two for David's grandson. God would do this for David's sake, because David had loved him, and for the sake of Jerusalem, where God's Temple would stand.

When Solomon heard this, he was distressed and greatly troubled by the prospect that nearly all his good fortune would turn to misery. Not long after the prophet foretold what would happen, God raised up an enemy against him named Hadad, who had his own reason for hating Solomon.

Hadad was of Edomite royal blood. When Joab, David's commander, laid waste to Edom and killed every grown man able to bear arms, Hadad escaped. Joab had carried out this destruction for six months. Hadad fled to Pharaoh, king of Egypt, who welcomed him, gave him a place to live, and provided him with land to supply his needs.

When Hadad grew up, Pharaoh became very fond of him. He gave him his wife's sister, Tahpenes, in marriage, and they had a son who was raised with the king's children.

After hearing in Egypt that both David and Joab had died, Hadad asked Pharaoh to let him return to his own country. Pharaoh asked what he wanted there and what hardship had made him wish to leave. Hadad kept asking to be allowed to go, but Pharaoh did not grant his request at once.

Later, when Solomon's fortunes began to decline because of his sins and God's anger against him, Pharaoh allowed Hadad to return to Edom. Hadad could not persuade the people to abandon Solomon, since they were held in check by many garrisons and could not safely rise against him. So Hadad left Edom and went to Syria.

There he met Rezon, who had fled from his master, Hadadezer, king of Zobah. Rezon had become a robber and already had a band of men with him. Hadad joined him, took control of part of Syria, and became its king. He also raided the land of Israel, causing considerable damage and plundering it during Solomon's lifetime. This was the trouble Hadad brought upon the Hebrews.

Another man of Solomon's own people also rose against him. His name was Jeroboam, son of Nebat, and he had reason to expect a rise in power because of a prophecy made to him long before.

Jeroboam's father died when he was a child, and his mother raised him. Solomon saw that he was energetic and bold, so he appointed him overseer of the walls he was building around Jerusalem. Jeroboam took such good care of the work that the king was pleased with him and made him governor of the tribe of Joseph.

Around that time, as Jeroboam was leaving Jerusalem, he met a prophet from the city of Shiloh named Ahijah. The prophet greeted him and led him aside to a quiet place where no one else was present. There he tore his garment into twelve pieces and told Jeroboam to take ten of them.

Ahijah then explained that this was God's will. God would divide Solomon's kingdom and give ten tribes to Jeroboam. Solomon's son would keep the tribe beside Judah, because of God's promise to David and his descendants. God would take ten tribes from Solomon because he had sinned by giving himself over to women and their gods. Jeroboam now knew why God had turned away from Solomon.

The prophet's words filled Jeroboam with hope. He was a young man, quick-tempered and ambitious, and he could not remain quiet. Though he held an important position in the government, he remembered what Ahijah had revealed to him and tried to persuade the people to abandon Solomon, stir up unrest, and transfer the kingdom to him.

When Solomon learned of Jeroboam's plans and betrayal, he tried to capture and kill him. But Jeroboam was warned in time and fled to Shishak, king of Egypt. He stayed there until Solomon died. In this way, he escaped harm at Solomon's hands and remained alive to claim the kingdom.

Solomon died in old age. He had reigned for eighty years and lived to be ninety-four. He was buried in Jerusalem. In happiness, wealth, and wisdom, he had surpassed every other king, except that as he grew older, women led him astray and he broke the law. I will speak on another occasion about these sins and the troubles they brought upon the Hebrews.

CHAPTER 8

How, After Solomon's Death, the People Forsook His Son Rehoboam and Made Jeroboam King over the Ten Tribes

After Solomon died, his son Rehoboam succeeded him as king. Rehoboam was born to Naamah, an Ammonite woman. The leaders of the people at once sent to Egypt for Jeroboam. When he arrived at Shechem, Rehoboam came there as well, intending to declare himself king before the Israelites, who had gathered in the city.

The people's leaders and Jeroboam went before Rehoboam and asked him to treat them more gently than his father had. They had borne a heavy burden, they said, and would gladly serve Rehoboam if he ruled them with restraint. Their service would then come from affection rather than fear. Rehoboam told them to return in three days, when he would give them his answer.

His delay raised their suspicions. Since he had not given them a favorable answer at once, they feared he would refuse their request. They thought he should have answered kindly without delay, especially since he was young. Still, they hoped that his decision to consult others, rather than immediately deny them, meant their request might be granted.

Rehoboam called his father's advisers and asked what answer he should give the people. They offered the counsel of men who knew how a crowd might be won over. They urged him to speak with humility, not with the pride expected of a king. If he did so, the people would submit to him willingly, since subjects prefer a king who treats them as equals.

Rehoboam rejected this sound and useful advice, though it would have served him well as he was about to become king. I believe God caused him to reject what was best. He then called the young men who had grown up with him, told them what the elders had advised, and asked what they thought he should say.

The young men told him to answer the people this way: "My little finger is thicker than my father's loins. If my father treated you harshly, I will treat you more harshly still. If he punished you with whips, I will punish you with scorpions." Neither their youth nor God's will allowed them to recognize the better course. Rehoboam approved their advice, believing it suited his royal authority.

On the third day, the people gathered, eager to hear the king's answer. They expected him to speak kindly. Instead, Rehoboam dismissed the elders' counsel and answered them as the young men had advised. This happened so that what Ahijah had foretold would come to pass.

The king's words struck the people like a hammer. They were so distressed that it seemed they had already suffered the punishment he threatened. Their anger rose, and they cried out, "From this day forward, we have no part in David or his descendants." They added, "We leave Rehoboam only the temple his father built." Then they threatened to abandon him.

Their anger lasted, and they would not be appeased. Rehoboam sent Adoram, who was in charge of the tribute, to calm them and persuade them to forgive any rash or painful words the king had spoken in his youth. But the people refused to listen. They stoned Adoram to death.

When Rehoboam saw what had happened, he feared that the people meant to stone him as well. He hurried into his chariot and fled to Jerusalem. The tribes of Judah and Benjamin made him king, but the rest of the people forsook David's descendants and appointed Jeroboam to rule them.

Rehoboam, Solomon's son, gathered a great assembly from the two tribes that remained loyal to him. He was ready to choose 180,000 of his best soldiers and march against Jeroboam and his people, hoping to force them into his service. But God sent the prophet Shemaiah to forbid the war. It was wrong, he said, for brothers of the same nation to fight one another. He also told Rehoboam that the people's revolt had happened according to God's purpose. So Rehoboam abandoned the expedition.

I will first relate the deeds of Jeroboam, king of Israel, and then tell what happened to Rehoboam, king of the two tribes. In this way, the history will remain in proper order.

Jeroboam built a palace in Shechem and lived there. He also built another palace at Penuel. As the Feast of Tabernacles drew near, Jeroboam began to fear that the people would go to Jerusalem to worship God and celebrate the festival. He thought they might be won over by the temple and its worship, leave him, and return to their former kings. If that happened, he feared he would lose his life.

So Jeroboam devised a plan. He made two golden calves and built a small temple for each, one in Bethel and the other in Dan, near the sources of the Lesser Jordan. He placed one calf in each temple. Then he gathered the ten tribes under his rule and addressed them:

"My countrymen, you know that God is present everywhere. There is no single place where he alone dwells. He hears and sees those who worship him wherever they are. So I don't think you should make the long journey to Jerusalem, a city of your enemies, to worship him. A man built that temple. I have also made two golden calves and dedicated them to the same God. One stands in Bethel, the other in Dan. Those who live closer to either city can go there and worship God.

"I will appoint priests and Levites from among you, so you won't need the tribe of Levi or the sons of Aaron. Anyone who wishes to become a priest may bring God a bull and a ram, just as they say Aaron, the first priest, did."

In this way, Jeroboam deceived the people and led them away from the worship of their ancestors and against their laws. This was the beginning of the Hebrews' troubles. It led to their defeat by foreign nations and their captivity. I will tell of these events in their proper place.

When the Feast of Tabernacles was near, Jeroboam wanted to celebrate it at Bethel, just as the two tribes celebrated it in Jerusalem. He built an altar before the calf and took the office of high priest for himself. Then he went up to the altar with his priests. As he was about to offer sacrifices and burnt offerings before the people, God sent a prophet named Jadon from Jerusalem.

Jadon stood among the crowd, where the king could hear him, and spoke to the altar: "God declares that a man named Josiah, from the house of David, will be born. He will kill the false priests who serve at this altar, and he will burn the bones of these deceivers, impostors, and wicked men upon it. To show the people that these things will come to pass, I give them a sign. This altar will break apart at once, and all the fat of the sacrifices upon it will spill to the ground."

When the prophet finished speaking, Jeroboam became furious. He stretched out his hand and ordered his men to seize Jadon. But the hand he had stretched out grew weak, and he could not draw it back. It withered and hung limp, like a dead hand. The altar also broke apart, and everything upon it spilled out, just as the prophet had said.

The king then understood that Jadon spoke the truth and had knowledge from God. He begged him to pray that God would restore his right hand. Jadon prayed, and the king's hand returned to its former state. Rehoboam was glad to have his hand restored and invited the prophet to eat with him. But Jadon said he could not enter the king's house or eat bread or drink water in that city, because God had forbidden him to do so. God had also commanded him not to return by the same road he had taken to come there. He had to go back another way.

The king marveled at the prophet's discipline, but he himself was afraid, suspecting that his fortunes would soon take a turn for the worse.

CHAPTER 9

How Jadon the Prophet Was Persuaded by Another False Prophet to Return to Bethel, and Was Later Killed by a Lion. How the Wicked Prophet Persuaded the King and Turned His Mind Away from God

There was a wicked man in that city who was a false prophet. Jeroboam held him in high regard, though the prophet deceived him with flattering words. The man was confined to his bed because of the weakness of old age. His sons told him about the prophet who had come from Jerusalem, the signs he had performed, and how Jeroboam's right hand had been restored through the prophet's prayer after it had become powerless.

The false prophet feared that the king would value this stranger more than him and give him greater honor. So he ordered his sons to saddle his donkey and make ready for the journey. They quickly did as he asked, and he rode after the prophet. When he caught up with Jadon, who was resting beneath a large, shady oak, he greeted him. Then he complained that Jadon had not come to his house to share a meal.

Jadon replied that God had forbidden him to eat or drink in that city. But the false prophet answered, "God certainly did not forbid me to set food before you. I am a prophet, as you are, and I worship God as you do. He has sent me to bring you to my house and welcome you as my guest."

Jadon believed the false prophet's words and went back with him. While they were eating together, God appeared to Jadon and told him he would be punished for disobeying His command. God also told him what the punishment would be: as he traveled, a lion would meet him and tear him apart, and he would not be buried in the tombs of his fathers. These things happened, as I suppose, so Jeroboam would not trust Jadon's words after he had been shown to be disobedient.

As Jadon traveled again toward Jerusalem, a lion attacked him, pulled him from his donkey, and killed him. The lion did not harm the donkey. It stayed beside the animal and guarded both it and the prophet's body. Some travelers saw what had happened and reported it in the city to the false prophet. He sent his sons to bring the body back, then held a costly funeral for Jadon.

He also told his sons to bury him beside Jadon. He said that everything Jadon had foretold against the city, the altar, the priests, and the false prophets would come true. If he was buried beside Jadon, he said, he would not be mistreated after death, since their bones would lie together.

After carrying out the funeral rites and giving these instructions to his sons, the wicked man went to Jeroboam. He said, "Why are you so troubled by the words of that foolish fellow?" The king told him what had happened at the altar and to his own hand, and called Jadon a man of God and a great prophet.

The false prophet used a wicked trick to undermine the king's belief. With plausible words, he tried to explain away the signs. He claimed that the king's hand had grown weak from the effort of supporting the sacrifices, and that it had recovered after resting. As for the altar, he said it was new and had been loaded with many large sacrifices, so it broke apart and fell beneath their weight. He also told the king that the man who had foretold these things had died, and argued that Jadon could not have been a prophet or spoken with the authority of one.

In this way, he persuaded the king and turned his mind completely away from God. He led Jeroboam away from righteous and holy deeds and encouraged him to continue in his wicked ways. Jeroboam became so hostile to God and so great a sinner that each day he looked for new ways to commit evil, each worse than what he had done before. This is enough for now about Jeroboam.

CHAPTER 10

How God Punished Rehoboam for His Impiety Through Shishak, King of Egypt

Rehoboam, Solomon's son, ruled over the two tribes, as we said before. He built many large, fortified cities: Bethlehem, Etare, Tekoa, Bethzur, Shoco, Adullam, Ipan, Maresha, Ziph, Adorlam, Lachish, Azekah, Zorah, Aijalon, and Hebron. He first built these in the territory of Judah. He also built other large cities in Benjamin, surrounded them with walls, and placed garrisons and commanders in each one. He stored great quantities of grain, wine, and oil in them, along with all the other provisions needed for their people. He also supplied each city with shields and spears for many tens of thousands of men.

The priests and Levites throughout Israel, along with any righteous people among the people, gathered around Rehoboam after leaving their own cities. They went to Jerusalem to worship God, for they refused to be forced to worship the calves Jeroboam had made. Their support strengthened Rehoboam's kingdom for three years.

Rehoboam first married a woman from his own family, and she bore him three children. He then married another woman of his family, Maachah, the daughter of Absalom and Tamar. She bore him a son named Abijah. Rehoboam had many other children by other wives, but he loved Maachah more than all the rest. He had eighteen wives and thirty concubines, and fathered twenty-eight sons and sixty daughters. He chose Abijah, Maachah's son, to succeed him as king, and he had already placed the royal treasures and the strongest cities in his care.

I cannot help thinking that a kingdom's growth and prosperity often lead people into wrongdoing and sin. When Rehoboam saw his kingdom grow so great, he turned from the right path and began to act unjustly and irreverently. He scorned the worship of God, until the people followed his wicked example. This often happens: when rulers fall into sin, their subjects follow them. The people abandon their own decent way of life, which might have shamed their rulers for their excesses, and instead copy their wickedness as though it were virtue. For people cannot show that they approve of their kings' actions unless they act the same way.

The same thing happened among Rehoboam's subjects. When he became impious and disobedient to God, they made no effort to remain righteous, lest they offend him. So God sent Shishak, king of Egypt, to punish them for their unjust conduct toward Him. Herodotus was mistaken about this king and attributed his deeds to Sesostris. In the fifth year of Rehoboam's reign, Shishak invaded Judea with many tens of thousands of men. His army included 1,200 chariots, 60,000 horsemen, and 400,000 foot soldiers. Most of them were Libyans and Ethiopians. Shishak invaded the Hebrews' land and captured Rehoboam's strongest cities without a battle. After placing garrisons in them, he came at last to Jerusalem.

Shishak's army shut Rehoboam and the people with him inside Jerusalem. They prayed to God for victory and deliverance, but they could not persuade Him to help them. The prophet Shemaiah told them that God threatened to abandon them because they had abandoned His worship. At once, they were filled with fear. Seeing no way to escape, they all confessed that God was right to turn away from them, since they had acted impiously toward Him and had allowed His laws to fall into disorder.

When God saw their repentance and heard them confess their sins, He told the prophet that He would not destroy them. He would, however, make them servants to the Egyptians, so they might learn whether it was easier to serve men or God.

Shishak took the city without a battle, for Rehoboam was afraid and let him enter. But Shishak did not keep the terms he had agreed to. He plundered the Temple, emptied the treasuries of God and the king, and carried off countless thousands of pieces of gold and silver, leaving nothing behind. He also took the golden bucklers and shields Solomon had made. He even took the golden quivers David had captured from the king of Zobah and dedicated to God. After he had done all this, he returned to his own kingdom.

Herodotus of Halicarnassus refers to this expedition, though he gives the king the wrong name. He says Shishak also made war against many other nations, subdued Syria of Palestine, and took its people captive without a battle. It is clear that he meant to say our nation was subdued by Shishak. Herodotus says that the king set up pillars in the lands of those who surrendered without a fight, and carved on them the private parts of women. Rehoboam had surrendered our city without a battle.

Herodotus also says that the Ethiopians learned circumcision from the Egyptians. He adds that the Phoenicians and Syrians who live in Palestine admit they learned the practice from the Egyptians. But it is clear that none of the Syrians in Palestine are circumcised except our own people. On such matters, however, let each person say what he thinks best.

After Shishak left, King Rehoboam made bronze bucklers and shields to replace the gold ones, and gave the same number to the guards of the royal palace. He undertook no wars or other public deeds that might have brought him glory. Instead, he ruled in peace, though not without fear, for he remained an enemy of Jeroboam.

Rehoboam lived to the age of fifty-seven and reigned for seventeen years. He was proud and foolish by nature, and lost part of his kingdom because he refused to listen to his father's advisers. They buried him in Jerusalem, in the tombs of the kings. His son Abijah succeeded him in the kingdom, in the eighteenth year of Jeroboam's rule over the ten tribes. That is how these events ended.

We must now tell the story of Jeroboam and how his life came to an end. He never stopped offending God. Every day, he set up altars on the high mountains and continued to appoint priests from among the people.

CHAPTER 11

The Death of Jeroboam's Son; Jeroboam's Defeat by Abijah, Who Died Soon After and Was Succeeded by Asa; and Baasha's Destruction of Nadab and the House of Jeroboam

Before long, God brought the punishment for Jeroboam's wicked deeds upon him and his whole family. One of Jeroboam's sons, named Abijah, was sick. Jeroboam told his wife to put aside her royal clothes, dress like an ordinary woman, and go to the prophet Ahijah. Ahijah was known for foretelling the future, and he had been the one who told Jeroboam that he would become king. Jeroboam instructed his wife to ask about their son as though she were a stranger, and to find out whether he would recover.

She did as her husband told her. She changed her clothes and went to Shiloh, where Ahijah lived. As she approached his house, Ahijah's eyes were dim with age. But God appeared to him and told him that Jeroboam's wife was coming, and what he should say to her. When she entered, disguised as an ordinary woman, he called out, "Come in, wife of Jeroboam. Why are you hiding yourself? You cannot hide from God. He has appeared to me and told me that you are coming, and he has given me a message for you."

Ahijah told her to return to her husband and say, "I made you great when you were small, when you were nothing. I tore the kingdom from the house of David and gave it to you. But you have forgotten these gifts. You have turned away from my worship, made idols of metal, and honored them. So I will bring you down and destroy your whole house. Your family will become food for dogs and birds. A king appointed over this people will soon arise, and not one of Jeroboam's family will remain.

"The people, too, will suffer the same punishment. They will be driven from this good land and scattered beyond the Euphrates, because they have followed their king's wicked ways, worshiped the gods he made, and forsaken my sacrifices. Now hurry back to your husband and give him this message. As you enter the city, your son will die. But he will be buried with the mourning of all the people, for he is the only one in Jeroboam's family who has shown goodness."

After Ahijah had foretold these things, the woman hurried away, distraught and grieving for her son, whose death was near. She was in great sorrow, yet she hastened home because of her husband. The faster she went, the sooner she would find her son dead, but she had no choice but to hurry. When she returned, she found that the child had died, just as the prophet had said. Then she told the king all that had happened.

Jeroboam paid no heed to these warnings. Instead, he gathered a large army and marched against Abijah, the son of Rehoboam, who had succeeded his father as king of the two tribes. Jeroboam thought little of Abijah because he was young. But when Abijah heard that Jeroboam was coming against him, he was not afraid. Though young, he was brave and confident, beyond what his age or his enemy expected.

Abijah gathered an army from the two tribes and met Jeroboam at Mount Zemaraim. He camped near Jeroboam's forces and prepared for battle. Abijah had four hundred thousand soldiers, while Jeroboam's army was twice as large. As the two armies stood ready to fight, Abijah went to a high place, raised his hand, and called for everyone, including Jeroboam, to listen in silence.

When they were quiet, he said, "God promised that David and his descendants would rule over you forever, and you know this. I wonder, then, why you have turned against my father and joined his servant Jeroboam. Now you have come to fight against those whom God appointed to rule, and to take away the kingdom they still hold. Jeroboam already holds most of it unjustly. I do not believe he will keep it much longer. When he suffers the punishment God has chosen for his past deeds, he will stop breaking God's laws and harming him, as he has continued to do and has persuaded you to do as well.

"My father treated you unjustly only in that he did not speak to you in the way you wanted. He did this because he followed the advice of wicked men. You claimed to be angry with him, but you really turned away from God and his laws. You should have forgiven a young man who had little experience ruling a people, even if he spoke harshly or made mistakes because of his youth and lack of experience. You should have done this for the sake of his father Solomon and the benefits you received from him. People should overlook the faults of a father's children because of the good the father has done. But you gave no thought to this then, and you give no thought to it now. Instead, you have come against us with a great army.

"What do you trust to bring you victory? These golden calves and the altars on the high places? They show your disobedience, not true worship. Or do you trust in the size of your army? Even tens of thousands of soldiers cannot prevail in an unjust war. Our surest hope against our enemies is righteousness and devotion to God. We have kept the laws from the beginning and worshiped our own God, who was not made by human hands from perishable matter, nor created by a wicked king to deceive the people. He made all things and is their beginning and end. I urge you even now to repent, choose better counsel, and abandon this war. Remember the laws of your people, and consider what has brought you to the happy state you now enjoy."

This was Abijah's speech to the people. While he was still speaking, Jeroboam secretly sent soldiers around to surround Abijah from parts of the camp that had gone unnoticed. Once Abijah was trapped among his enemies, his army became afraid and lost heart. But Abijah encouraged them and urged them to put their trust in God, reminding them that they were not beyond God's help.

They all cried out to God for help. The priests sounded their trumpets, the people shouted, and they attacked their enemies. God broke the strength and courage of Jeroboam's army and gave Abijah's forces the victory. It was a great and famous victory. Jeroboam's army suffered a slaughter unlike any recorded in a war among the Greeks or the other peoples. Five hundred thousand of his soldiers were killed. Abijah's men captured the strongest cities by force and plundered them. They also took Bethel and its surrounding towns, along with Jeshanah and its surrounding towns.

After this defeat, Jeroboam never recovered his strength during Abijah's lifetime. Yet Abijah did not live much longer. He ruled for only three years and was buried in Jerusalem, in the tombs of his ancestors. He left twenty-two sons and sixteen daughters, born to him by fourteen wives. His son Asa succeeded him as king. Asa's mother was Michaiah. During his reign, the land of Israel had peace for ten years.

This is what has come down to us about Abijah, son of Rehoboam, son of Solomon. Jeroboam, king of the ten tribes, died after ruling for twenty-two years. His son Nadab succeeded him in the second year of Asa's reign. Nadab ruled for two years and followed his father's example of wickedness and disobedience.

During those two years, Nadab marched against Gibbethon, a Philistine city, and laid siege to it. While he was there, one of his companions, Baasha son of Ahijah, conspired against him and killed him. Baasha took the kingdom and destroyed the entire house of Jeroboam. What God had foretold came to pass: some of Jeroboam's relatives who died in the city were torn apart and eaten by dogs, while others who died in the fields were torn apart and eaten by birds. So the house of Jeroboam received the punishment it deserved for his disobedience and wicked deeds.

CHAPTER 12

How Zerah, King of Ethiopia, Was Defeated by Asa; How Asa Sought Help from the King of Damascus When Baasha Made War Against Him; and How Zimri Took the Kingdom After Baasha's House Was Destroyed, Followed by Ahab, Baasha's Son

Asa, king of Jerusalem, was a man of good character who honored God. He did nothing, and made no plans, except in keeping with the laws. He reformed his kingdom, removed what was wicked, and cleansed the land of every impurity.

Asa had an army of chosen men. From the tribe of Judah, three hundred thousand men carried shields and spears. From the tribe of Benjamin, two hundred and fifty thousand carried shields and bows.

When Asa had ruled for ten years, Zerah, king of Ethiopia, marched against him with a great army: nine hundred thousand foot soldiers, one hundred thousand horsemen, and three hundred chariots. Zerah came as far as Mareshah, a city in the territory of Judah. Asa went out to meet him and drew up his army in the Valley of Zephathah, near the city.

When Asa saw how numerous the Ethiopian army was, he called on God for victory and asked him to strike down many thousands of the enemy. "I trust in no one but you," he said. "Your help can make the smaller army stronger than the larger, and the weaker stronger than the more powerful. With your help alone, I dare to face Zerah and fight him."

As Asa spoke, God gave him a sign that he would win. Asa entered the battle with confidence, encouraged by what God had promised, and killed many of the Ethiopians. When their army fled, he pursued them as far as the country of Gerar. Once the killing had ended, Asa's men took the spoils, for they had already captured the city of Gerar. They carried away much gold and silver, along with other plunder, camels, cattle, and flocks of sheep.

After God had granted Asa and his army such a victory and so much wealth, they returned to Jerusalem. On the way, a prophet named Azariah met them and asked them to stop for a while. He told them that God had given them victory because they had acted righteously, honored him, and followed his will. If they continued to live this way, God would help them defeat their enemies and live in peace. But if they turned away from worshiping him, the opposite would happen. A time would come when no true prophet could be found among them, and no priest would give them a true answer from the oracle. Their cities would be destroyed, and their people scattered across the earth, living as strangers and wanderers.

Azariah urged them to do what was right while they still had time, and not to lose God's favor. When the king and the people heard this, they rejoiced. Together and individually, they took great care to live righteously. The king also sent men throughout the countryside to make sure the people obeyed the laws.

Such was the state of affairs under Asa, king of the two tribes. I now return to Baasha, who ruled the larger part of the Israelites. He had killed Nadab, son of Jeroboam, and taken the kingdom. Baasha lived in Tirzah, which he made his capital, and ruled for twenty-four years.

He became more wicked and impious than Jeroboam and his son. He brought great harm on the people and acted against God. God sent the prophet Jehu to warn him that his whole family would be destroyed, and that the same disasters would fall on his house as had destroyed Jeroboam's. God had made Baasha king, but Baasha had repaid him poorly. He had failed to rule the people with justice and devotion, though such conduct would have brought happiness to them and pleased God.

Instead, Baasha followed the example of the wicked Jeroboam. Though Jeroboam was dead, Baasha carried on his evil ways. Jehu told him that he would suffer the same disaster because he had committed the same wrongs.

Baasha heard what would happen to him and his family, but he did not change his ways. He continued to grow worse until his death. He neither repented of his past actions nor sought God's forgiveness. Like a man who has begun a task for which he expects a reward, Baasha continued his work without pause. When the prophet foretold the ruin of his family and the destruction of his house, Baasha acted as though these were good things. He seemed to take pride in wickedness, and each day worked harder at it.

At last, Baasha led his army against Ramah, an important city forty furlongs from Jerusalem. He captured the city and fortified it, intending to leave a garrison there. From Ramah, his men could raid the territory ruled by Asa and bring harm to his kingdom.

Asa feared what the enemy might do. He considered how much damage the garrison at Ramah could bring to his land, then sent ambassadors to the king of Damascus with gold and silver. He asked for help and reminded the king that their families had been friends for generations.

The king gladly accepted the money, made a treaty with Asa, and broke his alliance with Baasha. He sent his commanders against the cities under Baasha's rule and ordered them to attack. They burned some cities and plundered others, including Ijon, Dan, and Abelmain, along with many more.

When the king of Israel heard what had happened, he stopped building and fortifying Ramah. He returned at once to help his people, who were now under attack. Asa took the building materials Baasha had gathered for Ramah and used them to build two strong cities there, Geba and Mizpah. After this, Baasha had no time to make further attacks on Asa. He died and was buried in Tirzah.

His son Elah took the throne. After ruling for two years, he was killed by Zimri, the commander of half his army. Elah was at Arza, in the house of his steward, when Zimri persuaded some of the horsemen under his command to attack him. They killed Elah while he was without his armed guards and captains, who were all away besieging Gibbethon, a Philistine city.

After Zimri, the army commander, killed Elah, he took the kingdom for himself. In keeping with Jehu's prophecy, he killed all the members of Baasha's family. Baasha's house was completely destroyed because of his impiety, just as Jeroboam's house had been destroyed.

The army besieging Gibbethon heard that the king had been killed and that Zimri had taken the throne. They chose their general, Omri, as king. Omri withdrew his army from Gibbethon, marched to Tirzah, where the royal palace stood, and attacked the city. His men took it by force.

When Zimri saw that no one was defending the city, he fled into the innermost part of the palace. He set it on fire and died in the flames. He had ruled for only seven days.

The people of Israel then split into two groups. One side wanted Tibni as king, while the other supported Omri. The people who favored Omri defeated Tibni's supporters, and Omri ruled over all the people.

Omri became king in the thirtieth year of Asa's reign and ruled for twelve years. For six years he ruled from Tirzah. He spent the rest of his reign in a city called Semareon, known to the Greeks as Samaria. Omri named it Semareon after Semer, who sold him the mountain on which he built the city.

Omri was no better than the kings who had ruled before him. He was worse than they were. They all tried, through their daily wicked acts, to turn the people away from God. For this reason, God allowed one of them to be killed by another, and not one person from their families remained. Omri died in Samaria, and his son Ahab succeeded him.

These events show God's concern for human affairs. He loves good people, hates the wicked, and brings their families to ruin. Many kings of Israel and their households were destroyed in a short time, one after another, because of their sins and wickedness.

Asa, king of Jerusalem and ruler of the two tribes, lived to a long and blessed old age through God's favor. He was pious and righteous, and died happily after ruling for forty-one years. His son Jehoshaphat, born to Asa's wife Azubah, succeeded him. Everyone agreed that Jehoshaphat followed the example of his forefather David in courage and devotion. But there is no need for us to say more about his reign here.

CHAPTER 13

How Ahab, After Taking Jezebel as His Wife, Became More Wicked Than All the Kings Before Him; The Deeds of the Prophet Elijah and the Fate of Naboth

Ahab, king of Israel, lived in Samaria and ruled for twenty-two years. He followed the conduct of the kings who had come before him, but added new evils of his own. He copied their wicked ways and their offenses against God, especially the sins of Jeroboam. Ahab worshipped the calves Jeroboam had made, and he introduced other foolish objects of worship as well.

Ahab also married Jezebel, daughter of Ethbaal, king of the Tyrians and Sidonians. From her he learned to worship foreign gods. Jezebel was a bold and forceful woman, and she gave herself over to great wickedness. She built a temple to the Tyrian god they called Belus and planted a grove of many kinds of trees. She also appointed priests and false prophets to serve that god. Ahab kept many such men around him, and in his madness and wickedness he surpassed every king who had ruled before him.

At that time, a prophet of Almighty God came to Ahab. He was from Thesbon, a region in Gilead, and he told the king that God had declared no rain or dew would fall on the land for several years, until the prophet himself appeared again. After confirming this with an oath, he left for the southern region and settled beside a brook. He drank from its water, and ravens brought him food every day.

When the brook dried up because of the lack of rain, the prophet went to Zarephath, a city between Sidon and Tyre. God had commanded him to go there, saying that a widow would provide for him. As he approached the city, he saw a woman gathering sticks with her own hands. God told him that she was the woman who would feed him.

The prophet greeted her and asked her to bring him some water. As she went to get it, he called after her and asked her to bring him a piece of bread, too. She swore that she had nothing at home except a handful of flour and a little oil. She was gathering sticks so she could make a small loaf for herself and her son. After they ate it, she said, they would have nothing left and would die of hunger.

The prophet told her to be brave and trust that things would improve. He asked her to make him a small cake first, and bring it to him, saying that her jar of flour and jug of oil would not run out until God sent rain. She went and made the cake. She gave some to the prophet, and shared what remained with herself and her son. The flour and oil lasted until the drought ended.

Menander also mentions this drought in his account of Ethbaal, king of the Tyrians. He writes: "Under him there was a shortage of rain from the month Hyperberetmus until the month Hyperberetmus of the following year. But when he made supplications, great thunder came." Menander adds that Ethbaal built the city of Botrys in Phoenicia and the city of Auza in Libya. His account refers to the drought during Ahab's reign, when Ethbaal also ruled the Tyrians, as Menander tells us.

The woman who had provided for the prophet had a son who fell ill and died. She came to the prophet in tears, beating her breast with her hands and crying out in her grief. She complained that he had come to her to accuse her of her sins, and that her son had died because of it.

The prophet told her not to lose hope. He asked her to give him the boy, promising to return him to her alive. She handed her son to him, and he carried him to the upper room where he lived. There he laid the boy on his bed and cried out to God. He said it was unjust to repay the woman, who had welcomed and cared for him, by taking her son away. He prayed that God would return the child's soul to him and bring him back to life.

God took pity on the mother and granted the prophet's request, so that it would not seem he had come to her only to bring harm. The child came back to life, to everyone's surprise. His mother thanked the prophet and said she now knew for certain that God spoke through him.

Some time later, Elijah came to King Ahab, as God had commanded, to tell him that rain was coming. The famine had spread across the whole country, and there was little food to sustain anyone. Even the land produced too little grass to feed the king's horses and other animals. This happened after the widow's son at Zarephath had recovered.

Ahab called for Obadiah, the steward of his livestock, and told him to search the springs and streams. If he found any grass, he was to cut it and save it for the animals. Ahab had already sent people throughout the land to search for Elijah, but they had not found him. So he told Obadiah to go with him. They agreed to take different roads, with Obadiah going one way and the king the other.

When Queen Jezebel had been killing the prophets, Obadiah had hidden one hundred of them. He gave them only bread and water, but kept them alive and concealed. While Obadiah was traveling alone, Elijah met him. Obadiah asked who he was, and when Elijah told him, Obadiah bowed before him.

Elijah told Obadiah to go to the king and say that he was there and ready to meet him. Obadiah replied, "What have I done to you, that you send me to a man who wants to kill you and has searched the whole land for you? Surely you know that the king has left no place unsearched. If his men found you, he would have you put to death."

Obadiah said he feared that God's spirit might carry Elijah away again, to some other place. Then, if the king sent him to find Elijah and he could not, Ahab would kill him. He asked Elijah to spare him, and reminded him that he had protected the prophets of God. When Jezebel killed the others, he had hidden one hundred of them and kept them fed.

Elijah told him not to be afraid. He swore that he would appear before Ahab that very day, and Obadiah should go and tell the king.

Obadiah told Ahab that Elijah was there, and the king went to meet him. In anger, Ahab asked whether Elijah was the man who had brought trouble upon the people of Israel and caused the drought. Elijah answered plainly that he was not to blame. Ahab and his family had brought this suffering upon themselves by bringing foreign gods into the land and worshipping them, while abandoning their own God, the only true God, and showing no regard for him.

Elijah then told Ahab to gather all the people at Mount Carmel, along with his prophets, the prophets of Jezebel, and the prophets of the groves, about four hundred men. Ahab sent for them, and they gathered at the mountain. Elijah stood among them and asked, "How long will you keep changing your minds? If you believe that the God of your own people is the true God, follow him and obey his commands. But if you believe the foreign gods are worthy of worship, then follow them."

The people did not answer. Elijah proposed a test of the power of their gods and of Israel's God. He said that he, the only prophet of God, would take a young bull, kill it as a sacrifice, and lay it on pieces of wood without lighting a fire. The prophets of the foreign gods were to do the same, then call on their gods to set the wood alight. The people agreed that this would show them who was the true God.

Elijah let the prophets choose a bull first. They killed it, placed it on the wood, and called on their gods. Nothing happened. Elijah mocked them and told them to shout louder. Perhaps, he said, their god was traveling or asleep. The prophets called out from morning until noon. They cut themselves with swords and spears, following their custom, but still nothing happened.

When it was time for Elijah to make his offering, he told the prophets to step back and asked the people to come closer and watch. He did not want anyone to think he had secretly hidden fire among the wood. He took twelve stones, one for each tribe of the people of Israel, and built an altar. He dug a deep trench around it, laid the wood on the altar, and placed the pieces of the sacrifice on top.

Then he told the people to fill four barrels with water from the spring and pour it over the altar. They did so until the water ran down over the altar and filled the trench. When all was ready, Elijah prayed to God, asking him to reveal his power to a people who had been led astray for a long time. At once, fire came down from heaven before the people. It consumed the sacrifice and the wood, and even the water was burned away until the ground was dry.

When the Israelites saw this, they fell to the ground and worshipped the one God. They called him the great and only true God, and said that the other gods were nothing more than names invented by men's wicked and foolish minds. They seized the foreign prophets and, at Elijah's command, put them to death.

Elijah told the king to go and eat without worry, for God would soon send rain. Ahab left, while Elijah climbed to the highest part of Mount Carmel. He sat on the ground and bent forward with his head between his knees. He told his servant to go to a high place and look toward the sea. If he saw a cloud, he was to report it, for the sky had been clear until then.

The servant went up several times and returned each time to say he had seen nothing. On the seventh visit, he reported a small black cloud in the sky, no larger than a man's foot. When Elijah heard this, he sent word to Ahab to return to the city before the rain began. Ahab went to Jezreel. Soon the sky grew dark with clouds, a strong wind swept over the land, and heavy rain fell. The spirit of God came upon Elijah, and he ran ahead of the king's chariot to Jezreel, a city in the territory of Issachar.

When Jezebel heard what Elijah had done and that he had killed her prophets, she was furious. She sent messengers to threaten his life, saying she would kill him just as he had killed her prophets. Elijah was afraid and fled to Beersheba, near the border of Judah and Edom. He left his servant there and went on alone into the wilderness.

There he prayed to die. He said he was no better than his ancestors and had no reason to wish for a longer life after they were gone. Then he lay down and slept beneath a tree. Someone woke him, and when he got up, he found food and water beside him. He ate, regained his strength, and went to Mount Sinai, where, according to the story, Moses received God's laws. Elijah found a hollow cave and made his home there.

A voice came to him from somewhere he could not see and asked why he had come there and left the city. Elijah answered that he had killed the prophets of foreign gods and persuaded the people that the God they had worshipped from the beginning was the only God. Now the king's wife was seeking him to punish him.

Another voice told him to come out the following day and learn what he should do. The next day, Elijah left the cave. He heard an earthquake and saw the bright light of a fire. Afterward, when all was quiet, a divine voice told him not to be troubled by his circumstances, because none of his enemies would have power over him.

The voice ordered Elijah to return home. He was to appoint Jehu, son of Nimshi, king over the people of Israel; Hazael, king over the Syrians in Damascus; and Elisha, from the city of Abel, as prophet in his place. Some of the wicked people would be killed by Hazael, and others by Jehu.

Elijah obeyed and returned to the land of Israel. There he found Elisha, son of Shaphat, plowing with others who drove twelve yoke of oxen. Elijah came to him and threw his own cloak over him. Elisha at once began to prophesy and left his oxen to follow Elijah.

Elisha asked permission to say farewell to his parents. Elijah gave him leave, and after taking his leave, Elisha returned and followed him. From then on, he served as Elijah's disciple and companion throughout the rest of the prophet's life. This is the account of the matters concerning Elijah.

A man named Naboth lived in Jezreel. His vineyard lay beside the king's land, and Ahab wanted to buy it so he could join the two properties and make one estate. He offered to pay whatever Naboth asked. If Naboth preferred, Ahab said, he could have another vineyard in exchange.

Naboth refused. He said he would keep the land he had inherited from his father. Ahab was upset, as though Naboth had wronged him by refusing to give up his own property. He would not wash or eat. When Jezebel asked why he was troubled and would take neither lunch nor dinner, Ahab told her how Naboth had refused his request, even though he had spoken to him courteously and offered him a fair exchange.

Jezebel told him not to grieve over it. He should get up, wash, and eat as usual. She would see that Naboth was punished. She immediately wrote letters in Ahab's name to the rulers of Jezreel. She ordered them to proclaim a fast and gather the people. They were to seat Naboth in front of the assembly because he came from an important family. Then they were to find two bold men to accuse him of cursing God and the king. Once they had given their testimony, Naboth was to be stoned to death.

The rulers did as Jezebel had instructed. They accused Naboth of cursing God and King Ahab, and he was put to death by stoning. Jezebel then told Ahab to take possession of Naboth's vineyard, without paying for it. Ahab was pleased by what had happened. He rose at once from his bed and went to see the vineyard.

But God was furious at Ahab's actions. He sent the prophet Elijah to Naboth's field to tell the king that he had unjustly killed its rightful owner. When Elijah came to him, Ahab said that Elijah could do whatever he wished to him. Ahab knew that he had been caught in his crime and thought it shameful.

Elijah told him, "In the very place where dogs licked up Naboth's blood, they will lick up your blood and your wife's blood, too. Your whole family will perish, because you have committed a cruel crime and unjustly killed one of your own people, against the laws of your country."

Ahab was sorry for what he had done and repented. He put on sackcloth, went barefoot, and refused to eat. He confessed his sins and tried to appease God. God then told the prophet that, because Ahab had repented of his crimes, the punishment would not come upon his family while Ahab was still alive. But God would carry out the threat against Ahab's son. Elijah delivered this message to the king.

CHAPTER 14

How Hadad, King of Damascus and Syria, Made Two Campaigns Against Ahab and Was Defeated

While Ahab's affairs stood in this condition, Benhadad, son of Hadad and king of Syria and Damascus, gathered an army from throughout his country. He also secured the help of thirty-two kings from beyond the Euphrates. Then he marched against Ahab.

Ahab's army was no match for Benhadad's, so he did not draw it up for battle. Instead, he moved everything in the land into his strongest cities and stayed in Samaria. The city's walls were very strong, and it seemed difficult to take by other means as well. The Syrian king brought his army to Samaria, surrounded the city, and laid siege to it. He sent a herald to Ahab, asking permission to send ambassadors and tell him what he wanted.

Ahab agreed, and the ambassadors came with their king's message: Ahab's wealth, children, and wives belonged to Benhadad. If Ahab accepted the terms and allowed Benhadad to take whatever he wanted, the Syrian king would withdraw his army and end the siege.

Ahab sent the ambassadors back with this reply: "Tell your king that I and all I own are his."

When Benhadad heard the answer, he sent the ambassadors back a second time. Since Ahab had admitted that everything he owned belonged to Benhadad, the king now demanded permission to send his servants the next day. They would search Ahab's palace and the homes of his friends and relatives. They could take anything they found valuable, leaving only what they did not want.

Ahab was taken aback by this second demand. He gathered the people and told them, "For your safety and peace, I was ready to give up my wives and children and all my possessions, because that was what the Syrian king demanded in his first message. Now he wants to send his servants to search all our homes and take everything of value. He is looking for a reason to make war against us. He knows I would spare nothing of my own for your sake, so he's using these insulting terms about you to start a war. Still, I will do whatever you think is right."

The people urged Ahab to reject all of Benhadad's demands, despise him, and prepare for battle. Ahab sent the ambassadors back with his answer: he was still willing to accept the first terms, for the sake of the people, but he would not agree to the new demand. Then he dismissed them.

When Benhadad heard Ahab's reply, he was furious. He sent ambassadors to Ahab for a third time and threatened that his army would raise a mound higher than the walls Ahab trusted so much. Each of his men, he said, would need to carry only a handful of earth. He meant to show how large his army was and frighten Ahab.

Ahab answered, "A man should not boast while putting on his armor. Let him boast after he has won the battle."

The ambassadors returned to Benhadad, who was feasting with the thirty-two kings. After hearing Ahab's answer, he ordered his men to surround the city with siege lines, raise an embankment, and press the attack in every way.

Ahab and his people were terrified. But a prophet came to the king and told him that God had promised to defeat the great army before him. When Ahab asked who would win the victory, the prophet replied, "The sons of the princes, under your command. They are inexperienced in war, but you will lead them."

Ahab called for the princes' sons and found that there were 232 of them. When he learned that the Syrian king was feasting and resting, he opened the gates and sent them out. The sentries reported this to Benhadad, who ordered his men to seize the Israelites whether they had come out to fight or in peace.

Ahab had another army ready inside the walls. The princes' sons attacked the Syrian guards and killed many of them, then chased the rest back toward the camp. When the king of Israel saw that they were winning, he sent out the rest of his army. The Syrians had not expected the Israelites to attack, and Ahab's men caught them without armor and drunk. They fled the camp, leaving their armor behind. Benhadad escaped only with difficulty, riding away on horseback.

Ahab pursued the Syrians for a long distance. He plundered their camp, which held great wealth, including a large amount of gold and silver. He also took Benhadad's chariots and horses and returned to the city.

The prophet warned Ahab to keep his army ready, because the Syrian king would come against him again the following year. Ahab made preparations for another attack.

After escaping with as much of his army as he could save, Benhadad asked his advisers how he could make another campaign against Israel. They told him not to fight the Israelites in the hills, because their God was powerful in those places. They believed that was why the Syrians had recently been defeated. Instead, they advised him to meet Israel in the plain, where they thought they could win.

They also told him to send the allied kings home but keep their soldiers. He should appoint captains in place of the kings and raise a new army in Syria to replace those killed in battle. He should also gather more horses and chariots. Benhadad agreed that this was good advice and followed it.

At the start of spring, Benhadad gathered his army and marched against the Hebrews. He came to a city called Aphek and camped in the great plain. Ahab went out to meet him and set up camp opposite the Syrians. His army was very small compared with the enemy's.

The prophet came to Ahab again and told him that God would give him victory. This would show that God's power was not limited to the mountains, as the Syrians believed, but extended to the plains as well.

The two armies remained in their camps for seven days. On the seventh day, the Syrians came out and formed their battle line. Ahab brought out his army, and the two sides fought bravely. Ahab's men drove the Syrians into flight, pursued them, and killed many. The Syrians were also crushed by their own chariots and by one another. Only a few escaped to Aphek, where the city's walls collapsed on them and killed twenty-seven thousand men. Another hundred thousand were killed in the battle.

Benhadad fled with some of his most trusted servants and hid in a cellar underground. His servants told him that the kings of Israel were merciful men. They advised him to follow the usual custom of asking for mercy, and said Ahab might spare him if they were allowed to approach. Benhadad agreed.

They went to Ahab wearing sackcloth and ropes around their heads, the old Syrian way of pleading for mercy. They told him that Benhadad begged him to spare his life and promised to serve him from then on.

Ahab replied that he was glad Benhadad was alive and had not been hurt in the battle. He promised to treat him with the same honor and kindness a man would show his brother. The servants received Ahab's oath that Benhadad would come to no harm, then brought him out of the cellar and led him to Ahab, who was sitting in his chariot.

Benhadad bowed before him. Ahab took him by the hand, helped him into the chariot, kissed him, and told him to take heart, since no harm would come to him. Benhadad thanked Ahab and promised to remember his kindness for the rest of his life. He also promised to return the Israelite cities taken by earlier Syrian kings and to let Ahab's people come to Damascus, just as Benhadad's ancestors had been allowed to come to Samaria.

They sealed the agreement with oaths. Ahab gave Benhadad many gifts and sent him back to his own kingdom. This ended Benhadad's war against Ahab and the Israelites.

A prophet named Micaiah came to one of the Israelites and told him to strike him on the head, saying this would please God. When the man refused, the prophet warned him that because he had disobeyed God's command, a lion would kill him. The man later met that fate.

Then the prophet went to another man and gave him the same command. This man struck him and wounded his head. The prophet bound the wound, went to the king, and said, "I was one of your soldiers. An officer put a prisoner in my care, but the prisoner escaped. The officer told me that if I let him get away, he would kill me."

Ahab replied that the man deserved to die. The prophet then removed the bandage from his head, and Ahab recognized him as Micaiah. The prophet had used this story to prepare the king for what he was about to say. He told Ahab that God would punish him for letting Benhadad escape, though Benhadad had blasphemed against God. Ahab himself would die at Benhadad's hands, and his people would die at the hands of Benhadad's army.

Ahab grew angry and ordered Micaiah to be put in prison. Troubled by the prophet's words, he returned to his house.

CHAPTER 15

Jehoshaphat, King of Jerusalem, and Ahab's Campaign Against the Syrians, in Which Jehoshaphat Helped Him but Ahab Was Defeated and Killed

These were the circumstances of Ahab. I will now return to Jehoshaphat, king of Jerusalem. After enlarging his kingdom, he placed garrisons in the cities of the lands under his rule. He also stationed troops in the cities of Ephraim that his grandfather Abijah had taken from Jeroboam, who then ruled the ten tribes.

God favored and helped Jehoshaphat because he was righteous and devoted to religion. Each day, he sought to do something pleasing to God. The kings around him honored him with gifts, and his wealth grew immense. His renown also rose to great heights.

In the third year of his reign, Jehoshaphat called together the rulers of the land and the priests. He ordered them to travel through the country, city by city, and teach the people the laws of Moses. They were to urge everyone to obey those laws and serve God faithfully. The people welcomed this command, and nothing mattered more to them than keeping the laws.

The neighboring nations continued to respect Jehoshaphat and remained at peace with him. The Philistines paid him their regular tribute. Each year, the Arabians sent him three hundred and sixty lambs and the same number of young goats. He strengthened many important cities and prepared a great army, well supplied with weapons, to face his enemies.

His army included three hundred thousand armed men from the tribe of Judah, commanded by Adnah. John commanded another two hundred thousand. He also led the forces of Benjamin, which included two hundred thousand archers. A third commander, Jehozabad, had one hundred and eighty thousand armed men under him. These troops were ready to serve the king, in addition to those he stationed in the strongest cities.

Jehoshaphat arranged for his son Jehoram to marry Athaliah, the daughter of Ahab, king of the ten tribes. Some time later, Jehoshaphat went to Samaria, where Ahab welcomed him warmly. Ahab gave a splendid feast for Jehoshaphat and the army with him, providing plenty of grain, wine, and meat.

Ahab asked Jehoshaphat to join him in a war against the king of Syria. He wanted to recover Ramoth in Gilead, a city that had belonged to his father before the king of Syria's father took it. Jehoshaphat promised to help, for his army was no smaller than Ahab's. He then called his troops from Jerusalem to Samaria.

The two kings left the city and sat on separate thrones, each giving orders to his own army. Jehoshaphat asked Ahab to summon any prophets who might be there and seek their advice about the campaign. At that time, Ahab and the king of Syria had been at peace for three years, ever since Ahab had captured him.

Ahab called about four hundred of his own prophets and asked them to inquire of God whether he would grant him victory over Benhadad and help him capture the city that had led to the war. The prophets advised him to go ahead. They said he would defeat the king of Syria and bring him under his control again.

Jehoshaphat recognized from their words that these men were false prophets. He asked Ahab whether there was another prophet, one who served the true God, who could give them more reliable knowledge of what lay ahead.

Ahab replied that there was such a prophet, but he hated him because he always foretold trouble. The prophet had said that Ahab would be defeated and killed by the king of Syria. For this reason, Ahab had imprisoned him. His name was Micaiah, son of Imlah.

At Jehoshaphat's request, Ahab sent a eunuch to bring Micaiah. On the way, the eunuch told him that all the other prophets had predicted victory for the king. Micaiah answered that he could not speak falsely against God. He had to tell the king whatever God revealed to him.

When Micaiah came before Ahab, the king made him swear to speak the truth. Micaiah said that God had shown him the Israelites fleeing from the Syrians and scattering across the mountains, like a flock of sheep whose shepherd had been killed. God had also revealed that the Israelites would return home safely, but Ahab alone would die in battle.

Ahab turned to Jehoshaphat and said, "I told you how this man feels about me. He always prophesies evil." Micaiah replied that the king must listen to everything God had foretold. The other prophets were lying when they urged him to go to war and promised victory. Ahab would fight, he said, and be killed.

Ahab was troubled and unsure what to do. Then Zedekiah, one of the false prophets, stepped forward and urged him not to listen to Micaiah, who spoke no truth. To prove his point, Zedekiah recalled what Elijah, a greater prophet than Micaiah, had foretold. Elijah had said that dogs would lick Ahab's blood in the city of Jezreel, at the place where Naboth had been stoned to death at Ahab's command. Since Micaiah contradicted Elijah and said Ahab would die far away, Zedekiah claimed, Micaiah was plainly a liar.

"You will soon learn whether he is a true prophet and has the power of God's Spirit," Zedekiah added. "I will strike him, and he can make my hand wither, as Jadon caused King Jeroboam's hand to wither when Jeroboam tried to seize him. I suppose you have heard about that."

Zedekiah struck Micaiah, but no harm came to him. Ahab took heart and readily led his army against the king of Syria. As I see it, fate had already overcome him. It made him believe the false prophets rather than the true one, so that he would meet his end.

Zedekiah then made horns of iron and told Ahab that God had given him these signs. With them, he said, Ahab would defeat all Syria. Micaiah answered that within a few days Zedekiah would be hiding from one secret room to another, trying to escape punishment for his lies.

The king ordered that Micaiah be taken away and guarded by Amon, the city governor. He was to be given nothing but bread and water.

Ahab and Jehoshaphat, king of Jerusalem, took their armies and marched to Ramoth, in Gilead. When the king of Syria heard of their campaign, he brought his army out to meet them and camped near Ramoth.

Ahab and Jehoshaphat had agreed that Ahab would take off his royal robes, while Jehoshaphat would wear Ahab's clothing and stand before the army. In this way, they hoped to defeat Micaiah's prediction.

But Ahab's fate found him even without his royal robes. Benhadad, king of Syria, had ordered his commanders to kill no one but the king of Israel. When the Syrians joined battle with the Israelites, they saw Jehoshaphat at the front of the army and thought he was Ahab. They rushed at him and surrounded him. But when they came close and realized he was not the king of Israel, they turned back.

The battle lasted from morning until late in the day, and the Syrians had the advantage. Still, they killed no one, because their king had ordered them to target Ahab alone. They searched for him but could not find him.

Then a young nobleman in King Benhadad's service, named Naaman, drew his bow and shot at the enemy. His arrow struck Ahab through his breastplate and wounded him in the lungs. Ahab decided not to reveal his injury to the army, fearing that his men would flee. He told his charioteer to turn back and carry him out of the battle, for he had been gravely wounded.

Ahab stayed in his chariot and endured the pain until sunset. Then he lost consciousness and died.

When night came, the Syrian army withdrew to its camp. After the camp herald announced that Ahab was dead, the Syrians returned home. Ahab's body was taken to Samaria and buried there.

His chariot was washed at the spring of Jezreel, and the water was stained with the king's blood. There, the people saw that Elijah's prophecy had come true: dogs licked Ahab's blood, and prostitutes continued to wash themselves in the spring. Yet Ahab had died at Ramoth, just as Micaiah had foretold.

The prophecies about Ahab came to pass, as both prophets had said. From this, we should form a high opinion of God and honor and worship him everywhere. We should never prefer what is pleasant to hear over what is true. Nothing is more useful than the gift of prophecy and the knowledge of future events that comes from it, for through prophecy God shows people what they should avoid.

Ahab's fate also teaches us to consider the power of destiny. No one can escape it, even when they know what is coming. It works its way into the human mind, tempting people with hopes they want to believe, until it leads them to the place where it will overcome them. Ahab was deceived in this way. He rejected those who foretold his defeat and trusted those who told him what he wished to hear. Then he was killed, and his son Ahaziah succeeded him.