Solomon & The Temple

The weight of the gold Shlomo received annually came to twenty-two tons of gold,

besides that which came from sales taxes, customs duties and assessments collected by all the kings of the mixed peoples and by the district governors.

King Shlomo made 200 large shields of hammered gold; fifteen pounds of gold went into one shield.

He made 300 more shields of hammered gold, with three-and-three-quarters pounds going into one shield; the king put these in the House of the L'vanon Forest.

The king also made a large throne of ivory and overlaid it with the finest gold.

The throne had six steps, a back with a rounded top, arms on either side of the seat, two lions standing beside the arms,

and twelve more lions standing on each side of the six steps. Nothing like it had ever been made in any kingdom.

All King Shlomo's drinking vessels were of gold; and all the utensils in the House of the L'vanon Forest were of pure gold; none was of silver, for in Shlomo's time it was regarded as having little value.

The king had a fleet of large "Tarshish" ships along with Hiram's fleet; once every three years the "Tarshish" fleet came in, bringing gold, silver, ivory, apes and peacocks.

So King Shlomo surpassed all the kings on earth in both wealth and wisdom.

All the earth sought to have an audience with Shlomo, in order to hear his wisdom, which God had put in his heart.

Each one brought his present - articles of silver, articles of gold, clothing, armor, spices, horses and mules; and this continued year after year.

Shlomo amassed chariots and horsemen; he had 1,400 chariots and 12,000 horsemen; he assigned them to the chariot cities and to the king in Yerushalayim.

The king made silver in Yerushalayim as common as stones, and he made cedars as abundant as sycamore-fig trees are in the Sh'felah.

Shlomo's horses had been brought from Egypt and from Keveh, with the king's agents having bought them from the dealers in Keveh at the going price.

A chariot from Egypt cost fifteen pounds of silver shekels and a horse three-and-three quarters pounds [of shekels]; all the kings of the Hittim and the kings of Aram purchased them at these prices through Shlomo's agents.

King Shlomo loved many foreign women besides the daughter of Pharaoh. There were women from the Mo'avi, 'Amoni, Edomi, Tzidoni and Hitti -

nations about which ADONAI had said to the people of Isra'el, "You are not to go among them or they among you, because they will turn your hearts away toward their gods." But Shlomo was deeply attached to them by his love.

He had 700 wives, all princesses, and 300 concubines; and his wives turned his heart away.

For when Shlomo became old, his wives turned his heart away toward other gods; so that he was not wholehearted with ADONAI his God, as David his father had been.

For Shlomo followed 'Ashtoret the goddess of the Tzidoni and Milkom the abomination of the 'Amoni.

Thus Shlomo did what was evil in ADONAI's view and did not fully follow ADONAI, as David his father had done.

Shlomo built a high place for K'mosh the abomination of Mo'av on the hill on front of Yerushalayim, and another for Molekh the abomination of the people of 'Amon.

This is what he did for all his foreign wives, who then offered and sacrificed to their gods.

So ADONAI grew angry with Shlomo, because his heart had turned away from ADONAI the God of Isra'el, who had appeared to him twice