 Book 7, chapters 14 and 15, of the Antiquities of the Jews, Volume 2. This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox.org, recording by Bill Mosley. The Antiquities of the Jews, Volume 2, by Flavius Josephus. Translated by William Whiston, Book 7, chapters 14 and 15, chapter 14, that David made great preparations for the house of God, and that, upon Adonijah's attempt to gain the kingdom, he appointed Solomon to reign. After the delivery of this prophecy the king commanded the strangers to be numbered, and they were found to be one hundred and eighty thousand. Of these he appointed four score thousand to be hewers of stone, and the rest of the multitude to carry the stones, and of them he set over the workmen three thousand and five hundred. He also prepared a great quantity of iron and brass for the work, with many, and those exceeding large, cedar trees, the Tyrians and Sedonians sending them to him, for he had sent to them for a supply of those trees, and he told his friends that these things were now prepared, that he might leave materials ready for the building of the temple to his son, who was to reign after him, and that he might not have them to seek then when he was very young, and by reason of his age unskillful in such matters, but might have them lying by him, and so might the more readily complete the work. So David called his son Solomon, and charged him, when he had received the kingdom, to build a temple to God, and said, I was willing to build God a temple myself, but he prohibited me because I was polluted with blood and wars. But he hath foretold that Solomon, my youngest son, should build him a temple, and should be called by that name, over whom he hath promised to take the like care as a father takes over his son, and that he would make the country of the Hebrews happy under him, and that not only in other respects, but by giving it peace and freedom from wars and from internal seditions, which are the greatest of all blessings. Since therefore, says he, thou wast ordained king by God himself, before thou was born endeavor to render thyself worthy of this his providence, as in other instances, so particularly in being religious and righteous and courageous. Keep thou also his commands and his laws, which he hath given us by Moses, and do not permit others to break them. Be zealous also to dedicate to God a temple which he hath chosen to be built under thy reign, nor be thou affrighted by the vastness of the work, nor set about it timorously, for I will make all things ready before I die, and take notice that there are already ten thousand talons of gold and a hundred thousand talons of silver collected together. I have also laid together brass and iron without number, an immense number of timber and stones. Moreover thou hast many ten thousand stone cutters and carpenters, and if thou shalt want anything further, do thou add somewhat of thine own. Wherefore, if thou performest this work, thou wilt be acceptable to God, and have him for thy patron. David also further exhorted the rulers of the people to assist his son in this building, and to attend to the divine service, when they should be free from all their misfortunes. For that they by this means should enjoy instead of them peace and a happy settlement, with which blessings God rewards such men as are religious and righteous. He also gave orders that when the temple should be once built they should put the ark therein with the holy vessels, and he assured them that they ought to have had a temple long ago if their fathers had not been negligent of God's commands, who had given it in charge, that when they had got the possession of this land they should build him a temple. Thus did David discourse to the governors and to his son. David was now in years, and his body, by length of time, was become cold and benumbed in so much that he could get no heat by covering himself with many clothes, and when the physicians came together they agreed to this advice, that a beautiful virgin, chosen out of the whole country, should sleep by the king's side, and that this damsel would communicate heat to him and be a remedy against his numbness. Now there was found in the city one woman of a superior beauty to all other women. Her name was Abishag, who, sleeping with the king, did know more than communicate warmth to him, for he was so old that he could not know her as a husband knows his wife. But of this woman we shall speak more presently. Now the fourth son of David was a beautiful young man and tall born to him of Haggath his wife. He was named Adonijah, and was in his disposition like to Absalom, and exalted himself as hoping to be king, and told his friends that he ought to take the government upon him. He also prepared many chariots and horses and fifty men to run before him. When his father saw this he did not reprove him, nor restrain him from his purpose, nor did he go so far as to ask wherefore he did so. Now Adonijah had for his assistants Joab, the captain of the army, and Abiyathar, the high priests, and the only persons that opposed him were Zedok, the high priests, and the prophet Nathan, and Benayah, who was captain of the guards, and Nishime, David's friend, with all the other most mighty men. Now Adonijah had prepared a supper out of the city, near the fountain that was in the king's paradise, and had invited all his brethren except Solomon, and had taken with him Joab, the captain of the army, and Abiyathar, and the rulers of the tribe of Judah, but had not invited to this feast either Zedok, the high priest, nor Nathan the prophet, nor Benayah, the captain of the guards, nor any of those of the contrary party. This matter was told by Nathan the prophet, Tubath Sheba, Solomon's mother, that Adonijah was king, and that David knew nothing of it, and he advised her to save herself and her son Solomon, and to go by herself to David and say to him that he had indeed sworn that Solomon should reign after him, and that in the meantime Adonijah had already taken the kingdom. He said that he, the prophet himself, would come after her, and when she had spoken thus to the king, would confirm what she had said. Finally Bathsheba agreed with Nathan and went in to the king and worshiped him, and when she had desired leave to speak with him she told him all things in the manner that Nathan had suggested to her, and related what a supper Adonijah had made, and who they were whom he had invited, Abiyathar and Joab the general, and David's sons accepting Solomon and his intimate friends. She'd also said that all the people had their eyes upon him to know whom he would choose for their king. She desired him also to consider how, after his departure, Adonijah, if he were king, would slay her and her son Solomon. Now as Bathsheba was speaking the keeper of the king's chambers told him that Nathan desired to see him, and when the king had commanded that he should be admitted he came in and asked him whether he had ordained Adonijah to be king, and delivered the government to him or not, for that he had made a splendid supper and invited all his sons, except Solomon, as also that he had invited Joab the captain of the host, and Abiyathar the high priest, who are feasting with applause and many joyful sounds of instruments, and wish that his kingdom may last forever, but he hath not invited me, nor Zedok the high priest, nor Baniah the captain of the guards, and it is but fit that all should know whether this be done by thy approbation or not. When Nathan had said thus the king commanded that they should call Bathsheba to him for she had gone out of the room when the prophet came, and when Bathsheba was come David said, I swear by the almighty God that thy son Solomon shall certainly be king, as I formerly swore, and that he shall sit upon my throne, and that this very day also. So Bathsheba worshiped him, and wished him a long life, and the king sent for Zedok the high priest, and Baniah the captain of the guards, and when they were come he ordered them to take with them Nathan the prophet, and all the armed men about the palace, and to set his son Solomon upon the king's mule, and to carry him out of the city to the fountain called Gihan, and to anoint him there with the holy oil, and to make him king. Thus he charged Zedok the high priest, and Nathan the prophet, to do, and commanded them to follow Solomon through the midst of the city, and to sound the trumpets, and wish aloud that Solomon the king may sit upon the royal throne for ever, and so all the people may know that he is ordained king by his father. He also gave Solomon a charge concerning his government, to rule the whole nation of the Hebrews, and particularly the tribe of Judah, religiously and righteously, and when Baniah had prayed to God to be favorable to Solomon, without any delay they set Solomon upon the mule, and brought him out of the city to the fountain, and anointed him with oil, and brought him into the city again, with acclamations and wishes that his kingdom might continue for a long time, and when they had introduced him into the king's house they set him upon the throne, were upon all the people betook themselves to make merry, and to celebrate a festival dancing and delighting themselves with musical pipes, till both the earth and the air echoed with the multitude of the instruments of music. Now when Adonijah and his guest perceived this noise, they were in disorder, and Joab the captain of the host said he was not pleased with these echoes and the sound of the trumpets, and when supper was set before them nobody tasted of it, but they were all very thoughtful what would be the matter. Then Jonathan the son of Abiyathar the High Priest came running to them, and when Adonijah saw the young man gladly, and said to him that he was a good messenger, he declared to them the whole matter about Solomon and the determination of King David. Hereupon both Adonijah and the guests rose hastily from the feast, and every one fled to their own homes, as Adonijah also, as afraid of the king for what he had done, became a supplicant to God and to cold of the horns of the altar which were prominent. It was also told Solomon that he had so done, and that he desired to receive assurances from him that he would not remember the injury he had done, and not inflict any severe punishment for it. Solomon answered very mildly and prudently that he forgave him this his offense, but said with awe that if he were found out in any attempt for new innovations that he would be the author of his own punishment. So he sent to him and raised him up from the place of his supplication, and when he was come to the king and had worshiped him the king bid him go away to his own house and have no suspicion of any harm and desired him to show himself a worthy man as what would tend to his own advantage. But David, being desirous of ordaining his son king of all the people, called together their rulers to Jerusalem with the priests and the Levites, and having first numbered the Levites, he found them to be thirty-eight thousand, from thirty years old to fifty, out of which he appointed twenty-three thousand to take care of the building of the temple, and out of the same six thousand to be judges of the people and scribes, four thousand for porters to the house of God, and as many for singers to sing to the instruments which David had prepared as we have said already. He divided them into courses, and when he had separated the priests from them, he found of these priests twenty-four courses, sixteen of the house of Eliezer, and eight of that of Ithamar, and he ordained that one course should minister to God eight days from Sabbath to Sabbath. Thus were the courses distributed by Lot in the presence of David, and Zadok and Abayathar, the high priests, and of all the rulers, and that course which came up first was written down as the first, and accordingly the second, and so on, to the twenty-fourth, and this partition hath remained to this day. He also made twenty-four parts of the tribe of Levi, and when they cast lots, they came up in the same manner for their courses of eight days. He also honored the posterity of Moses, and made them the keepers of the treasures of God, and of the donations which the kings dedicated. He also ordained that all the tribe of Levi, as well as the priests, should serve God night and day as Moses had enjoined them. After this he parted the entire army into twelve parts, with their leaders and captains of hundreds, and commanders. Now every part had twenty-four thousand, which were ordered to wait upon Solomon by thirty days at a time from the first day till the last, with the captains of thousands and captains of hundreds. He also set rulers over every part, such as he knew to be good and righteous men. He set others also to take charge of the treasures, and of the villages, and of the fields, and of the beasts, whose names I do not think it necessary to mention. When David had ordered all these officers after the manner before mentioned, he called the rulers of the Hebrews and their heads of tribes and the officers over the several divisions and those that were appointed over every work and every possession, and standing upon a high pulpit. He said to the multitude as follows, My brethren and my people, I would have you know that I intended to build a house for God and prepared a large quantity of gold and a hundred thousand talents of silver. But God prohibited me by the prophet Nathan because of the wars I had on your account and because my right hand was polluted with the slaughter of our enemies. But he commanded that my son, who was to succeed me in the kingdom, should build a temple for him. Now therefore, since you know that of the twelve sons whom Jacob, our forefather, had, Judah was appointed to be king, and that I was preferred before my sixth brethren, and received the government from God, and that none of them were uneasy at it, so do I also desire that my sons be not seditious one against another. Now Solomon has received the kingdom, but to bear him cheerfully for their Lord, as knowing that God had chosen him, for it is not a grievous thing to obey even a foreigner as a ruler, if it be God's will. But it is fit to rejoice when a brother hath obtained that dignity, since the rest partake of it with him. And I pray that the promises of God may be fulfilled, and that this happiness which he hath promised to bestow upon king Solomon over all the country may continue therein for all time to come. And these promises, O son, will be firm and come to a happy end, if thou showest thyself to be a religious and a righteous man, and an observer of the laws of thy country, but if not expect adversity upon thy disobedience to them. Now when the king had said this, he left off, but gave the description and pattern of the building of the temple in the sight of them all to Solomon, of the foundations and of the chambers, inferior and superior, how many they were to be, and how large in height and in breadth, as also he determined the weight of the golden and silver vessels. Moreover he earnestly excited them with his words to use the utmost alacrity about the work. He exhorted the rulers also, and particularly the tribe of Levi, to assist him, both because of his youth and because God had chosen him to take care of the building of the temple and of the government of the kingdom. He also declared to them that the work would be easy and not very laborious to them, because he had prepared for it many talents of gold and more of silver, with timber, and a great many carpenters and stone-cutters, and a large quantity of emeralds, and all sorts of precious stones. And he said that even now he would give of the proper goods of his own dominion two hundred talents, and three hundred other talents of pure gold, for the most holy place, and for the chariot of God, the cherubim, which are to stand over and cover the ark. Now when David had done speaking there appeared great alacrity among the rulers and the priests and the Levites, who now contributed and made great and splendid promises for a future contribution, for they undertook to bring of gold five thousand talents and ten thousand drams, and of silver ten thousand talents, and many ten thousand talents of iron, and if any one had a precious stone he brought it, and bequeathed it to be put among the treasures of which Jekiel, one of the posterity of Moses, had the care. Upon this occasion all the people rejoiced, as in particular did David, when he saw the zeal and forward ambition of the rulers and the priests, and of all the rest, and he began to bless God with a loud voice, calling him the Father and Parent of the universe, and the author of human and divine things, with which he had adorned Solomon, the patron and guardian of the Hebrew nation, and of its happiness, and of that kingdom which he hath given his Son. Besides this he prayed for happiness to all the people, and to Solomon his Son, a sound and a righteous mind, and confirmed in all sorts of virtue, and then he commanded the multitude to bless God, upon which they all fell down upon the ground and worshiped him. They also gave thanks to David on account of all the blessings which they had received ever since he had taken the kingdom. On the next day he presented sacrifices to God, a thousand bullocks, and as many lambs, which they offered for burnt offerings. They also offered peace offerings and slew many ten thousand sacrifices, and the king feasted all day together with all the people, and they anointed Solomon a second time with the oil, and appointed him to be king, and Zadok to be the high priest of the whole multitude. And when they had brought Solomon to the royal palace, and had set him upon his father's throne, they were obedient to him from that day. CHAPTER XV What charge David gave to his son Solomon at the approach of his death, and how many things he left him for the building of the temple? A little afterward David also fell into a distemper by reason of his age, and perceiving that he was near to death, he called his son Solomon and discourse to him thus. I am now, O my son, going to my grave and to my father's, which is the common way which all men that now are, or shall be here after, must go, from which way it is no longer possible to return and to know anything that is done in this world. On which account I exhort thee, while I am still alive, though already very near to death, in the same manner as I have formally said in my advice to thee, to be righteous towards thy subjects and religious towards God, that hath given thee thy kingdom to observe his commands and his laws, which he hath sent us by Moses, and neither do thou out of favor nor flattery allow any lust or other passion to weigh with thee to disregard them, for if thou transgressest his laws, thou wilt lose the favor of God, and thou wilt turn away his providence from thee in all things. But if thou behave thyself, so as it behooves thee, and as I exhort thee, thou wilt preserve our kingdom to our family, and no other house will bear rule over the Hebrews but we ourselves for all ages. Be thou also mindful of the transgressions of Joab, the captain of the host, who hath slain two generals out of Envy, and those righteous and good men, Abner the son of Nair, and Amos the son of Jethar, whose death do thou avenge, as shall seem good to thee. Since Joab hath been too hard for me, and more potent than myself, and so hath escaped punishment hitherto. I also commit to thee the son of Barzili, the Gileadite, whom, in order to gratify me, thou shalt have in great honor, and take great care of, for we have not done good to him first, but we only repay that debt which we owe to his father for what he did to me in my flight. There is also Shime the son of Girah, of the tribe of Benjamin, who, after he had cast many reproaches upon me, when in my flight I was going to Mahana'im, met me at Jordan, and received assurances that he should then suffer nothing. Do thou now seek out for some just occasion, and punish him? When David had given these admonitions to his son about public affairs, and about his friends, and about those whom he knew to deserve punishment, he died, having lived seventy years, and reigned seven years and six months in Hebron over the tribe of Judah, and thirty-three years in Jerusalem over all the country. This man was of an excellent character, and was endowed with all virtues that were desirable in a king, and in one that had the preservation of so many tribes committed to him, for he was a man of valor and a very extraordinary degree, and went readily and first of all into dangers when he was to fight for his subjects, as exciting the soldiers to action by his own labors, and fighting for them, and not by commanding them in a despotic way. He was also of very great abilities in understanding and apprehension of present and future circumstances when he was to manage any affairs. He was prudent, and moderate, and kind to such as were under any calamities. He was righteous and humane, which are good qualities peculiarly fit for kings, nor was he guilty of any offence in the exercise of so great an authority, but in the business of the wife of Uriah. He also left behind him greater wealth than any other king, either of the Hebrews or of other nations, ever did. He was buried by his son Solomon in Jerusalem with great magnificence, and with all the other funeral pomp which kings used to be buried with, moreover he had great and immense wealth buried with him, the vastness of which may be easily conjectured at by what I shall now say. For a thousand and three hundred years afterward Hercannus, the High Priest, when he was besieged by Antiochus, that was called the Pius, the son of Demetrius, and was desirous of giving him money to get him to raise the siege and draw off his army, and having no other method of compassing the money, opened one room of David's sepulcher, and took out three thousand talents, and gave part of that some to Antiochus, and by this means caused the siege to be raised as we have informed the reader elsewhere. Nay, after him and that many years, Herod the King opened another room, and took away a great deal of money, and yet neither of them came at the coffins of the kings themselves, for their bodies were buried under the earth so artfully that they did not appear to even those that entered into their monuments. But so much shall suffice us to have said concerning these matters. End of book 7, chapters 14 and 15. Recording by Bill Mosley, Frelsburg, Texas, USA. Book 8, chapters 1 and 2 of the Antiquities of the Jews, volume 2. This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox.org. The Antiquities of the Jews, volume 2 by Flavius Josephus, translated by William Wiston. Book 8, chapters 1 and 2. Book 8, containing the interval of 163 years, from the death of David to the death of Ahab. Chapter 1. How Solomon, when he had received the kingdom, took off his enemies. We have already treated of David and his virtue and of the benefits he was the author of to his countrymen, of his wars also in battles which he managed with success and then died an old man in the forgoing book. And when Solomon his son, who was but a youth in age, had taken the kingdom and whom David had declared while he was alive the Lord of that people, according to God's will, when he sat upon the throne the whole body of the people made joyful acclamations to him as is usual at the beginning of a reign and wished that all his affairs might come to a blessed conclusion and that he might arrive at a great age and at the most happy state of affairs possible. But Adonijah, who, while his father was living, attempted to gain possession of the government, came to the king's mother Bathsheba and saluted her with great civility. And when she asked him whether he came to her as desiring her assistance in anything or not and made him tell her if that were the case, for that she would cheerfully afforded him, he began to say that she knew herself that the kingdom was his, both on account of his elder age and of the disposition of the multitude, and that yet it was transferred to Solomon her son according to the will of God. He also said that he was contented to be a servant under him and was pleased with the present settlement. But he desired her to be a means of obtaining a favor from his brother to him and to persuade him to bestow on him in marriage Abishag, who had indeed slept by his father, but because his father was too old he did not lie with her and she was still a virgin. So Bathsheba promised to afford him her assistance very earnestly and to bring this marriage about because the king would be willing to gratify him in such a thing and because she would press it to him very earnestly. Accordingly he went away in hopes of succeeding in this match. So Solomon's mother went presently to her son to speak to him about what she had promised upon Adonija's supplication to her. And when her son came forward to meet her and embraced her, and when he brought her into the house where his royal throne was set, he sat thereon and bid them set another throne on the right hand for his mother. When Bathsheba was set down, she said, O my son, grant me one request that I desire of thee, and do not anything to me that is disagreeable or ungrateful, which thou wilt do if thou deniest me. And when Solomon bid her to lay her commands upon him, because it was agreeable to his duty to grant her everything she should ask, and complained that she did not at first begin her discourse with a firm expectation of obtaining what she desired, but had some suspicion of a denial, she entreated him to grant that his brother Adonija might marry Abishag. But the king was greatly offended at these words and sent away his mother and said that Adonija aimed at great things, and that he wondered that she did not desire him to yield up the kingdom to him as to his elder brother, since she desired that he might marry Abishag, and that he had potent friends Joab the captain of the host and Abiathar the priest. So he called for Benaiya, the captain of the guards, and ordered him to slay his brother Adonija. He also called for Abiathar the priest and said to him, I will not put thee to death because of those other hardships which thou hast endured with my father, and because of the ark which thou hast borne along with him. But I inflict this following punishment upon thee because thou wast among Adonija's followers and wast of his party. Do not thou continue here, nor come any more into my sight, but go to thine own town and live on thy own fields, and there abide all thy life, for thou hast offended so greatly that it is not just that thou shouldst retain thy dignity any longer. For the forementioned cause, therefore, it was that the house of Ithamar was deprived of the sacerdotal dignity, as God had foretold to Eli the grandfather of Abiathar. So it was transferred to the family of Phineas to Zadok. Now those that were of the family of Phineas, but lived privately during the time that the high priesthood was transferred to the house of Ithamar, of which family Eli was the first that received it, were these that follow Buki, the son of Abishua, the high priest, his son Joatham, Joatham's son was Maryioth, Maryioth's son was Arophhesus, Arophhesus's son was Ahetub, and Ahetub's son was Zadok, who was first made high priest in the reign of David. Now when Joab, the captain of the host, heard of the slaughter of Adonija, he was greatly afraid, for he was a greater friend to him than to Solomon, and suspecting, not without reason, that he was in danger, on account of his favor to Adonija, he fled to the altar, and supposed he might procure safety thereby to himself because of the king's piety towards God. But when some told the king what Joab's supposal was, he sent Beneaia and commanded him to raise up from the altar and bring him to the judgment seat in order to make his defense. However, Joab said he would not leave the altar, but would die there rather than in another place. And when Beneaia had reported his answer to the king, Solomon commanded him to cut off his head there and let him take that as a punishment for those two captains of the host whom he had wickedly slain, and to bury his body, that his sins might never leave his family, but that himself and his father, by Joab's death, might be guiltless. And when Beneaia had done what he was commanded to do, he was himself appointed to be captain of the whole army. The king also made Zadok to be alone the high priest in the room of Abiathar, whom he had removed. But as to Shimei, Solomon commanded that he should build him a house and stay in Jerusalem and attend upon him, and should not have authority to go over the brook Kedron, and that if he disobeyed that command death should be his punishment. He also threatened him so terribly that he compelled him to take all oath that he would obey. Accordingly, Shimei said that he had reason to thank Solomon for giving him such an injunction, and added an oath that he would do as he bade him, and leaving his own country, he made his abode in Jerusalem. But three years afterwards, when he heard that two of his servants were run away from him and were in Gath, he went for his servants in haste, and when he was come back with them, the king perceived it, and was much displeased that he had condemned his commands, and what was more, had no regard to the oaths he had sworn to God. So he called him and said to him, Didst not thou swear never to leave me, nor to go out of this city to another? Thou shalt not therefore escape punishment for thy perjury, but I will punish thee, thou wicked wretch, both for this crime and for those wherewith thou didst abuse my father when he was in his flight, that thou mayst know that wicked men gain nothing at last, although they be not punished immediately upon their unjust practices. But that in all the time wherein they think themselves secure, because they have yet suffered nothing, their punishment increases, and is heavier upon them, and that to a greater degree than if they had been punished immediately upon the commission of their crimes. So Benaiah on the king's command slew Shimei. Chapter 2 Concerning the wife of Solomon, concerning his wisdom and riches, and concerning what he obtained of Hyrum for the building of the temple. Solomon, having already settled himself firmly in his kingdom and having brought his enemies to punishment, he married the daughter of Pharaoh, king of Egypt, and built the walls of Jerusalem much larger and stronger than those that had been before. And thenceforward he managed public affairs very peaceably. Nor was his youth any hindrance in the exercise of justice, or in the observation of the laws, or in the remembrance of what charges his father had given him at his death. But he discharged every duty with great accuracy that might have been expected from such as our age and of the greatest prudence. He now resolved to go to Hebron and sacrifice to God upon the brazen altar which was built by Moses. Accordingly he offered their burnt offerings in number a thousand, and when he had done this he thought he had paid great honor to God, for as he was asleep that very night God appeared to him and commanded him to ask of him some gifts which he was ready to give him as a reward for his piety. So Solomon asked of God what was most excellent and of the greatest worth in itself, what God would bestow with the greatest joy and what it was most profitable for man to receive. For he did not desire to have bestowed upon him either gold or silver or any other riches as a man and a youth might naturally have done. For these are things that generally are esteemed by most men as a loan of the greatest worth and the best gifts of God. But, said he, give me, O Lord, a sound mind and a good understanding whereby I may speak and judge the people according to truth and righteousness. With these petitions God was well pleased and promised to give him all those things that he had not mentioned in his option, riches, glory, victory over his enemies, and in the first place understanding and wisdom, and this in such a degree as no other mortal man neither kings nor ordinary persons ever had. He also promised to preserve the kingdom to his posterity for a very long time if he continued righteous and obedient to him and imitated his father in those things wherein he excelled. When Solomon heard this from God he presently leaped out of his bed, and when he had worshiped him he returned to Jerusalem, and after he had offered great sacrifices before the Tabernacle he feasted all his own family. In these days a hard cause came before him in judgment, which it was very difficult to find any end of, and I think it necessary to explain the fact about which the contest was that such as light upon my writings may know what a difficult cause Solomon was to determine, and those that are concerned in such matters may take the sagacity of the king for a pattern that they may the more easily give sentence about such questions. There were two women who were harlots in the course of their lives that came to him, of whom she that seemed to be injured began to speak first and said, oh king I and this other woman dwell together in one room. Now it came to pass that we both bore a son at the same hour of the same day, and on the third day this woman overlaid her son and killed it, and then took my son out of my bosom and removed him to herself, and as I was asleep she laid her dead son in my arms. Now when in the morning I was desirous to give the breast to my child I did not find my own, but saw the woman's dead child lying by me, for I considered it exactly and found it so to be. Hence it was that I demanded my son, and when I could not obtain him I have recourse my lord to thy assistance. For since we were alone, and there was nobody there that could convict her, she cares for nothing but perseveres in the stout denial of the fact. When this woman had told this her story the king asked the other woman what she had to say in contradiction to that story. But when she denied that she had done what was charged upon her, and said that it was her child that was living, and that it was her antagonist's child that was dead, and when no one could devise what judgment could be given, and the whole court were blind in their understanding, and could not tell how to find out this riddle, the king alone invented the following way how to discover it. He bade them bring in both the dead child and the living child, and sent one of his guards and commanded him to fetch a sword and draw it, and to cut both the children into two pieces, that each of the women might have half the living and half the dead child. Hereupon all the people privately laughed at the king, as no more than a youth. But in the meantime she that was the real mother of the living child cried out that he should not do so, but deliver that child to the other woman as her own. For she would be satisfied with the life of the child and with the sight of it, although it were esteemed to the other's child. But the other woman was ready to see the child divided, and was desirous moreover that the first woman should be tormented. When the king understood that both their words proceeded from the truth of their passions, he had judged the child to her that cried out to save it, for that she was the real mother of it, and he condemned the other as a wicked woman who had not only killed her own child, but was endeavoring to see her friend's child destroyed also. Now the multitude looked on this determination as a great sign and demonstration of the king's sagacity and wisdom, and after that day attended to him as to one that had a divine mind. Now the captains of his armies and officers appointed over the whole country were these. Over the lot of Ephraim was Euryse. Over the toparchy of Bethlehem was Dioclarus. Abinadab, who married Solomon's daughter, had the reign of Dora and the sea coast under him. The Great Plain was under Ben-Aiah, the son of Achalus. He also governed all the country as far as Jordan. Gaborus ruled over Gilead and Golanidus, and had under him the sixty great and fenced cities of Ag. Achinadab managed the affairs of all Galilee as far as Sidon, and had himself also married a daughter of Solomon's, whose name was Basima. Ben-Akhades had the sea coast about Arcee, as had Shaphat, Mount Tabor and Carmel, and the lower Galilee as far as the river Jordan. One man was appointed over all this country. Shimei was entrusted with the lot of Benjamin, and Gabores had the country beyond Jordan, over whom there was again one governor appointed. Now the people of the Hebrews, and particularly the tribe of Judah, received a wonderful increase when they betook themselves to husbandry and the cultivation of their grounds. For as they enjoyed peace, and were not distracted with wars and troubles, and having besides an abundant fruition of the most desirable liberty, everyone was busy in augmenting the product of their own lands, and making them worth more than they had formerly been. The king had also other rulers, who were over the land of Syria and of the Philistines, which reached from the river Euphrates to Egypt, and these collected his tributes of the nations. Now these contributed to the king's table, and to his supper every day, thirty Korai of fine flour and sixty of meal. As also ten fat oxen, and twenty oxen out of the pastures, and a hundred fat lambs. All these were besides what were taken by hunting hearts and buffaloes, and birds and fishes, which were brought to the king by foreigners day by day. Solomon had also so great a number of chariots, that the stalls of his horses for these chariots were forty thousand. And besides these he had twelve thousand horsemen, the one half of which waited upon the king in Jerusalem, and the rest were dispersed abroad and dwelt in the royal villages. But the same officer who provided for the king's expenses, supplied also the fodder for the horses, and still carried it to the place where the king abode at that time. Now the sagacity and wisdom which God had bestowed on Solomon was so great, that he exceeded the ancients, in so much that he was no way inferior to the Egyptians, who are said to have been beyond all men in understanding. Nay indeed, it is evident that their sagacity was very much inferior to that of the king's. He also excelled and distinguished himself in wisdom, above those who were most eminent among the Hebrews, at that time for shrewdness. Those I mean were Ethan, and Heman, and Chalcol, and Darda, the sons of Mayhol. He also composed books of odes and songs, a thousand and five, of parables and similitudes, three thousand, for he spake a parable upon every sort of tree, from the hyssop to the cedar, and in like manner also, about beasts, about all sorts of living creatures, whether upon the earth or in the seas or in the air. For he was not unacquainted with any of their natures, nor omitted inquiries about them, but described them all like a philosopher, and demonstrated his exquisite knowledge of their several properties. God also enabled him to learn that skill which expels demons, which is a science useful and sanative to men. He composed such incantations also, by which distempers are alleviated, and he left behind him the manner of using exorcisms, by which they drive away demons, so that they never return. And this method of cure is of great force unto this day, for I have seen a certain man of my own country, whose name was Eleazar, releasing people that were demoniacal in the presence of Vespasian, and his sons and his captains, and the whole multitude of his soldiers. The manner of the cure was this. He put a ring that had a foot of one of those sorts mentioned by Solomon to the nostrils of the demoniac, after which he drew out the demon through his nostrils. And when the man fell down immediately, he abjured him to return into him no more, making still mention of Solomon, and reciting the incantations which he composed. And when Eleazar would persuade and demonstrate to the spectators that he had such a power, he set a little way off a cup or basin full of water, and commanded the demon, as he went out of the man, to overturn it, and thereby to let the spectators know that he had left the man. And when this was done, the skill and wisdom of Solomon was shown very manifestly, for which reason it is that all men may know the vastness of Solomon's abilities, and how he was beloved of God, and that the extraordinary virtues of every kind with which this king was endowed may not be unknown to any people under the sun. For this reason, I say, it is that we have proceeded to speak so largely of these matters. Moreover, Hyrum, king of Tyre, when he had heard that Solomon succeeded to his father's kingdom, was very glad of it, for he was a friend of David's. So he sent ambassadors to him, and saluted him, and congratulated him on the present happy state of his affairs, upon which Solomon sent him an epistle, the contents of which here follow. Solomon to king Hyrum Know thou that my father would have built a temple to God, but was hindered by wars and continual expeditions, for he did not leave off to overthrow his enemies till he made them all subject to tribute. But I give thanks to God for the peace I at present enjoy, and on that account I am at leisure and designed to build a house to God, for God foretold to my father that such a house should be built by me. Wherefore, I desire thee to send some of thy subjects with mine to Mount Lebanon to cut down timber, for the Sidonians are more skillful than our people in cutting of wood. As for wages to the hewers of wood, I will pay whatsoever price thou shalt determine. When Hyrum had read this epistle, he was pleased with it, and wrote back this answer to Solomon. Hyrum to king Solomon It is fit to bless God that he hath committed thy father's government to thee, who art a wise man, and endowed with all virtues. As for myself, I rejoice at the condition thou art in, and will be subservient to thee, and all that thou sendest to me about. For when by my subjects I have cut down many and large trees of cedar and cypress wood, I will send them to sea, and will order my subjects to make floats of them, and to sail to what place soever of thy country thou shalt desire, and leave them there after which thy subjects may carry them to Jerusalem. But do thou take care to procure us corn for this timber, which we stand in need of, because we inhabit in an island. The copies of these epistles remain at this day, and are preserved not only in our books, but among the Tyrians also. In so much that if any one would know the certainty about them, he may desire of the keepers of the public records of Tyre to show him them, and he will find what is there set down to agree with what we have said. I have said so much out of a desire that my readers may know that we speak nothing but the truth, and do not compose a history out of some plausible relations which deceive men and please them at the same time, nor attempt to avoid examination, nor desire meant to believe us immediately, nor are we at liberty to depart from speaking truth which is the proper commendation of an historian, and yet be blameless. But we insist upon no admission of what we say, unless we be able to manifest its truth by demonstration and the strongest vouchers. Now King Solomon, as soon as this epistle of the King of Tyre was brought him, commended the readiness and goodwill he declared therein, and repaid him in what he desired, and sent him yearly twenty thousand quarry of wheat and as many baths of oil. Now the bath is able to contain seventy-two sexteries. He also sent him the same measure of wine. So the friendship between Hyrum and Solomon hereby increased more and more, and they swore to continue it forever. And the King appointed a tribute to be laid on all the people of thirty thousand laborers, whose work he rendered easy to them by prudently dividing it among them. For he made ten thousand cut timber in Mount Lebanon for one month, and then to come home and rest two months, until the time when the other twenty thousand had finished their task at the appointed time. And so afterward it came to pass that the first ten thousand returned to their work every fourth month. And it was Adorum who was over this tribute. There were also of the strangers who were left by David, who were to carry the stones and other materials seventy thousand, and of those that cut the stones eighty thousand. Of these three thousand and three hundred were rulers over the rest. He also enjoined them to cut out large stones for the foundations of the temple, and that they should fit them and unite them together in the mountain, and so bring them to the city. This was done not only by our own country workmen, but by those workmen whom Hiram sent also. This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox.org. The Antiquities of the Jews, Vol. 2 by Flavius Josephus, translated by William Winston, Book 8, Chapter 3 of the building of this temple. Solomon began to build the temple in the fourth year of his reign on the second month, which the Macedonians call Artemisius and the Hebrews Jure, five hundred and ninety-two years after the Exodus out of Egypt. But one thousand and twenty years from Abraham's coming out of Mesopotamia into Canaan, and after the Deluge, one thousand four hundred and forty years. And from Adam, the first man who was created, until Solomon built the temple, there had passed in all three thousand one hundred and two years. Now that year on which the temple began to be built was already the eleventh year of the reign of Hiram, but from the building of Tyre to the building of the temple there had passed two hundred and forty years. Now therefore the king laid the foundations of the temple very deep in the ground and the materials were strong stones and such as would resist the force of time. These were to unite themselves with the earth and become a basis and assure foundation for that superstructure which was to be erected over it. They were to be so strong in order to sustain with ease those vast superstructures and precious ornaments whose own weight was to be not less than the weight of those other high and heavy buildings which the king designed to be very ornamental and magnificent. They erected its entire body quite up to the roof of white stone. Its height was sixty cubits and its length was the same and its breadth twenty. There was another building erected over it equal to it in its measures so that the entire altitude of the temple was a hundred and twenty cubits. Its front was to the east. As to the porch they built it before the temple its length was twenty cubits and it was so ordered that it might agree with the breadth of the house and it had twelve cubits in latitude and its height was raised as high as a hundred and twenty cubits. He also built round about the temple thirty small rooms which might include the whole temple by their closeness one to another and by their number and outward position round it. He also made passages through them that they might come into on through another. Every one of these rooms had five cubits in breadth and the same in length but in height twenty. Above these there were other rooms and others above them equal both in their measures and number so that these reached to a height equal to the lower part of the house for the upper part had no buildings about it. The roof that was over the house was of cedar and truly every one of these rooms had a roof of their own and was not connected with the other rooms but for the other parts there was a covered roof come into them all and built with very long beams that passed through the rest and through the whole building so that the middle walls being strengthened by the same beams of timber might be thereby made firmer but as for that part of the roof that was under the beams it was made of the same materials and was all made smooth and had ornaments proper for roofs and plates of gold nailed upon them and as he enclosed the walls with boards of cedar so he fixed on them plates of gold which had sculptures upon them so that the whole temple shined and dazzled the eyes of such as entered by the splendor of the gold that was on every side of them now the whole structure of the temple was made with great skill of polished stones and those laid together so very harmoniously and smoothly that there appeared to the spectators no sign of any hammer or other instrument of architecture but as if without any use of them the entire materials had naturally united themselves together that the agreement of one part with another seemed rather to have been natural than to have arisen from the force of tools upon them the king also had a fine contrivance for an ascent to the upper room over the temple and that was by steps in the thickness of its wall for it had no large door on the east end as the lower house had but the entrances were by the sides through very small doors he also overlaid the temple both within and without with boards of cedar that were kept close together by thick chains so that this contrivance was in the nature of a support and a strength to the building now when the king had divided the temple into two parts he made the inner house of twenty cubits every way to be the most secret chamber but he appointed that of forty cubits to be the sanctuary and when he had cut a door place out of the wall he put there in doors of cedar and overlaid them with a great deal of gold that had sculptures upon it he also had veils of blue and purple and scarlet and the brightest and softest linen with the most curious flowers brought upon them which were to be drawn before those doors he also dedicated for the most secret place whose breadth was twenty cubits and length the same two cherubims of solid gold the height of each of them was five cubits they had each of them two wings stretched out as far as five cubits wherefore Solomon set them up not far from each other that with one wing they might touch the southern wall of the secret place and with another the northern their other wings which joined to each other were a covering to the ark which was set between them but nobody can tell or even conjecture what was the shape of these cherubims he also laid the floor of the temple with plates of gold and he added doors to the gate of the temple agreeable to the measure of the height of the wall but in breadth twenty cubits and on them he glued gold plates and to say all in one word he left no part of the temple neither internal nor external but what was covered with gold he also had curtains drawn over these doors in like manner as they were drawn over the inner doors of the most holy place but the porch of the temple had nothing of that sort now Solomon sent for an artificer out of Tyre whose name was Hyrum he was by birth of the tribe of Naftali on his mother's side for she was of that tribe but his father was Ur of the stock of the Israelites this man was skillful in all sorts of work but his chief skill lay in working in gold and silver and brass by whom were made all the mechanical works about the temple according to the will of Solomon moreover this Hyrum made two hollow pillars whose outsides were of brass and the thickness of the brass was four fingers breadth and the height of the pillars was 18 cubits and their circumference 12 cubits but there was cast with each of their chapeters lily work that stood upon the pillar and was elevated five cubits round about which there was a network interwoven with small palms made of brass and covered the lily work to this also were hung 200 pomegranates in two rows the one of these pillars he set at the entrance of the porch on the right hand and called it jacan and the other at the left hand and called it boos Solomon also cast a brazen sea whose figure was that of a hemisphere this brazen vessel was called a sea for its largeness for the laver was 10 feet in diameter and cast of the thickness of a palm its middle part rested on a short pillar that had 10 spirals round it and that pillar was 10 cubits in diameter there stood round about it 12 oxen that looked to the four winds of heaven three to each wind having their hinders parts depressed that so the hemispherical vessel might rest upon them which itself was also depressed round about inwardly now this sea contained 3000 baths he also made 10 brazen bases for so many quadrangular lavers the length of every one of these bases was five cubits and the breadth four cubits and the height six cubits this vessel was partly turned and was thus contrived there were four small quadrangular pillars that stood one at each corner these had the sides of the base fitted to them on each quarter they were parted into three parts every interval had a border fitted to support the laver upon which was engraven in one place a lion and in another place a bull and an eagle the small pillars had the same animals engraven that were engraven on the sides the whole work was elevated and stood upon four wheels which were also cast which had also knaves and fellows and were a foot and a half in diameter anyone who saw the spokes of the wheels how exactly they were turned and united to the sides of the bases and with what harmony they agreed to the fellows would wonder at them however their structure was this certain shoulders of hands stretched out held the corners above upon which rested a short spiral pillar that lay under the hollow part of the laver resting upon the four part of the eagle and the lion which were adapted to them in so much that those who viewed them would think they were of one piece between these were engravings of palm trees this was the construction of the ten bases he also made ten large round brass vessels which were the lavers themselves each of which contained forty baths for it had its height four cubits and its edges were as much distant from each other he also placed these lavers upon the ten bases that were called mechanoff and he set five of the lavers on the left side of the temple which was that side towards the north wind and as many on the right side towards the south but looking towards the east the same eastern way he also set the sea now he appointed the sea to be for washing the hands and the feet of the priests when they entered into the temple and were to ascend the altar but the lavers to cleanse the entrails of the beasts that were to be burnt offerings with their feet also he also made a brazen altar whose length was twenty cubits and its breadth the same and its height ten for the burnt offerings he also made all its vessels of brass the pots and the shovels and the basins and besides these the snuffers in the tongs and all its other vessels he made of brass and such brass as was in splendor and beauty like gold the king also dedicated a great number of tables but one that was large and made of gold upon which they set the loaves of god and he made ten thousand more that resembled them but were done after another manner upon which lay the vials in the cups those of gold were twenty thousand those of silver were forty thousand he also made ten thousand candlesticks according to the command of moses one of which he dedicated for the temple that it might burn in the daytime according to the law and one table with loaves upon it on the north side of the temple over against the candlestick for this he set on the south side but the golden altar stood between them all these vessels were contained in that part of the holy house which was forty cubits long and were before the veil of that most secret place wherein the ark was to be set the king also made pouring vessels in number eighty thousand and a hundred thousand golden vials and twice as many silver vials of golden dishes in order therein to offer needed fine flour at the altar there were eighty thousand and twice as many of silver of large basins also wherein they mixed fine flour with oil sixty thousand of gold and twice as many of silver of the measures like those which moses called the hin and the asteron a tenth deal there were twenty thousand of gold and twice as many of silver the golden sensors in which they carried the incense to the altar were twenty thousand the other sensors in which they carried fire from the great altar to the little altar within the temple were fifty thousand the sacerdotal garments which belonged to the high priest with the long robes and the oracle and the precious stones were a thousand but the crown upon which moses wrote the name of god was only one and hath remained to this very day he also made ten thousand sacerdotal garments of fine linen with purple girdles for every priest and two hundred thousand trumpets according to the command of moses also two hundred thousand garments of fine linen for the singers that were levites and he made musical instruments and such as were invented for singing of hymns called nably and cindery salteries and harps which were made of electrum the finest brass forty thousand solemn made all these things for the honor of god with great variety and magnificence sparing no cost but using all possible liberality in adorning the temple and these things he dedicated to the treasures of god he also placed a partition round about the temple which in our tongue we call gason but is called trig cos by the greeks and he raced it up to the height of three cubits and it was for the exclusion of the multitude from coming into the temple and showing that it was a place that was free and open only for the priests he also built beyond this court a temple whose figure was that of a quadrangle and directed for it great and broad cloisters this was entered into by very high gates each of which had its front exposed to one of the four winds and were shut by golden doors into this temple all the people entered that were distinguished from the rest by being pure and observant of the laws but he made that temple which was beyond this a wonderful one indeed and such as exceeds all description in words nay if i may so say is hardly believed upon sight for when he had filled up great valleys with earth which on account of their immense depth could not be looked on when you bended down to see them without pain and had elevated the ground four hundred cubits he made it to be on a level with the top of the mountain on which the temple was built and by this means the outmost temple which was exposed to the air was even with the temple itself he encompassed this also with a building of a double row of cloisters which stood on high upon pillars of native stone while the roofs were of cedar and were polished in a manner proper for such high roots but he made all the doors of this temple of silver end of book eight chapter three book eight chapters four and five of the antiquities of the jews volume two this is a libra vox recording all libra vox recordings are in the public domain for more information or to volunteer please visit libra vox.org the antiquities of the jews volume two by flavius josephus translated by william wisten book eight chapters four and five chapter four how solomon removed the ark into the temple how he made supplication to god and offered public sacrifices to him when king solomon had finished these works these large and beautiful buildings and had laid up his donations in the temple and all this in the interval of seven years and had given a demonstration of his riches and alacrity therein in so much that anyone who saw it would have thought it must have been an immense time eric could have been finished and would be surprised that so much should be finished in so short a time short i mean if compared with the greatness of the work he also wrote to the rulers and elders of the hebrews and ordered all the people to gather themselves together to jerusalem both to see the temple which he had built and to remove the ark of god into it and when this invitation of the whole body of the people to come to jerusalem was everywhere carried abroad it was the seventh month before they came together which month is by our countrymen called the siri but by the mastodonians hyperbarotoids the feast of tabernacles happened to fall at the same time which was celebrated by the hebrews as a most holy and most eminent feast so they carried the ark in the tabernacle which moses had pitched and all the vessels that were for ministration to the sacrifices of god and removed them to the temple the king himself and all the people and the levites went before rendering the ground moist with sacrifices and drink offerings and the blood of a great number of oblations and burning an immense quantity of incense and this till the very air itself everywhere round about was so full of these odors that it met in a most agreeable manner persons at a great distance and was an indication of god's presence and as men's opinion was of his habitation with them in this newly built and consecrated place for they did not grow weary either of singing hymns or of dancing until they came to the temple and in this manner did they carry the ark but when they should transfer it to the most secret place the rest of the multitude went away and only those priests that carried it said it between the two cherubim's each embracing it with their wings for so were they framed by the artificer they covered it as under a tent or a cupola now the ark contained nothing else but these two tables of stones that preserved the 10 commandments which god spake to moses in mount cyanide and which were engraved upon them but they set the candlestick and the table and the golden altar in the temple before the most secret place in the very same places wherein they stood till that time in the tabernacle so they offered up the daily sacrifices but for the brazen altar Solomon said it before the temple over against the door that when the door was opened it might be exposed to sight and the sacred salemnities and the richness of the sacrifices might be then seen and all the rest of the vessels they gathered together and put them within the temple now as soon as the priests had put all things in order about the ark and were gone out there came down a thick cloud and stood there and spread itself after a gentle manner into the temple such a cloud it was as was diffused and temperate not such a rough one as we see full of rain in the winter season this cloud so dark into the place that one priest could not discern another but it afforded to the minds of all a visible image and glorious appearance of gods having descended into this temple and of his having gladly pitched his tabernacle therein so these men were intent upon this thought but Solomon rose up for he was sitting before and used such words to god as he thought agreeable to the divine nature to receive and fit for him to give for he said thou hast an eternal house oh lord and such a one as thou hast created for thyself out of thine own works we know it to be the heaven and the air and the earth and the sea which thou pervaded nor art thou contained within their limits i have indeed built this temple to thee and thy name that from thence when we sacrifice and perform sacred operations we may send our prayers up into the air and may constantly believe that thou art present and art not remote from what is thine own for neither when thou seeest all things and hearest all things nor now when it pleases thee to dwell here thus thou leave the care of all men but rather thou art very near to them all but especially thou art present to those that address themselves to thee whether by night or by day when he had thus solemnly addressed himself to god he converted his discourse to the multitude and strongly represented the power and providence of god to them how he had shown all things that were come to pass to david his father as many of those things had already come to pass and the rest would certainly come to pass hereafter and how he had given him his name and told to david what he should be called before he was born and foretold that when he should be king after his father's death he should build him a temple which since they saw accomplished according to his prediction he required them to bless god and by believing him from the sight of what they had seen accomplished never to despair of anything that he had promised for the future in order to their happiness or suspect that it would not come to pass when the king had thus discoursed to the multitude he looked again towards the temple and lifting up his right hand to the multitude he said it is not possible by what men can do to return sufficient thanks to god for his benefits bestowed upon them for the deity stands in need of nothing and is above any such requital but so far as we have been made superior oh lord to other animals by thee it becomes us to bless thy majesty and it is necessary for us to return the thanks for what thou hast bestowed upon our house and on the Hebrew people for with what other instrument can we better appease thee when thou art angry at us or more properly preserve thy favor than with our voice which as we have it from the air so do we know that by that air it ascends upwards towards thee I therefore ought myself to return the thanks thereby in the first place concerning my father whom thou hast raised from obscurity unto so great joy and in the next place concerning myself since thou hast performed all that thou hast promised unto this very day and I beseech thee for the time to come to afford us whatsoever thou oh god has power to bestow on such as thou dost esteem and to augment our house for all ages as thou hast promised to David my father to do both in his lifetime and at his death that our kingdom shall continue and that his posterity should successively receive it to ten thousand generations do not thou therefore fail to give us these blessings and to bestow on my children that virtue in which thou delightest and besides all this I humbly beseech thee that thou wilt let some portion of thy spirit come down and inhabit in this temple that thou mayest appear to be with us upon earth as to thyself the entire heavens and the immensity of the things that are therein are but a small habitation for thee much more is this poor temple so but I entreat thee to keep it as thine own house from being destroyed by our enemies forever and to take care of it as thine own possession but if this people be found to have sinned and they're upon afflicted by thee with any plague because of their sin as with dearth or pestilence or any other affliction which thou usest to inflict on those that transgress any of thy holy laws and if they fly all of them to this temple beseeching thee and begging of time to deliver them then do thou hear their prayers as being within thine house and have mercy upon them and deliver them from their afflictions name or over this help is what I implore of thee not for the Hebrews only when they are in distress but when they shall come hither from any ends of the world whatsoever and shall return from their sins and implore thy pardon do thou then pardon them and hear their prayer for hereby all shall learn that thou thyself was pleased with the building of this house for thee and that we are not ourselves of an unsociable nature nor behave ourselves like enemies to such as are not of our own people but are willing that thy assistance should be communicated by thee to all men in common and that they may have the enjoyment of thy benefits bestowed upon them. When Solomon had said this and had cast himself upon the ground and worshipped a long time he rose up and brought sacrifices to the altar and when he had filled it with unblemished victims he most evidently discovered that God had with pleasure accepted of all that he had sacrificed to him for there came a fire running out of the air and rushed with violence upon the altar in the sight of all and caught hold of and consumed the sacrifices. Now when this divine appearance was seen the people supposed it to be a demonstration of God's abode in the temple and were pleased with it and fell down upon the ground and worshipped upon which the king began to bless God and exhorted the multitude to do the same as now having sufficient indications of God's favorable disposition to them and to pray that they might always have the like indications from him and that he would preserve in them a mind pure from all wickedness in righteousness and religious worship and that they might continue in the observation of those precepts which God had given them by Moses because by that means the Hebrew nation would be happy and indeed the most blessed of all nations among all mankind. He exhorted them also to be mindful that by what methods they had attained their present good things by the same they must preserve them sure to themselves and make them greater and more than they were at present for that it was not sufficient for them to suppose they had received them on account of their piety and righteousness but that they had no other way of preserving them for the time to come for that it is not so great a thing for men to acquire somewhat which they want as to preserve what they have acquired and to be guilty of no sin whereby it may be hurt. So when the king had spoken thus to the multitude he dissolved the congregation but not until he had completed his oblations both for himself and for the Hebrews in so much that he sacrificed twenty and two thousand oxen and a hundred and twenty thousand sheep for then it was that the temple did first of all taste of the victims and all the Hebrews with their wives and children feasted therein. Nay, besides this the king then observed splendidly and magnificently the feast which is called the Feast of Tabernacles before the temple for twice seven days and he then feasted together with all the people. When all these salimnities were abundantly satisfied and nothing was omitted that concerned the divine worship the king dismissed them and they every one went to their own homes giving thanks to the king for the care he had taken of them and the works he had done for them and praying to God to preserve Solomon to be their king for a long time. They also took their journey home with rejoicing and making merry and singing hymns to God and indeed the pleasure they enjoyed took away the sense of the pains they all underwent in their journey home. So when they had brought the ark into the temple and had seen its greatness and how fine it was and had been partakers of the many sacrifices that had been offered and of the festivals that had been solemnized they every one returned to their own cities but a dream that appeared to the king in his sleep informed him that God had heard his prayers and that he would not only preserve the temple but would always abide in it that is in case his posterity and the whole multitude would be righteous and for himself it said that if he continued according to the admonitions of his father he would advance him to an immense degree of dignity and happiness and that then his posterity should be kings of that country of the tribe of Judah forever but that still if he should be found a betrayer of the ordinances of the law and forget them and turn away to the worship of strange gods he would cut him off by the roots and would neither suffer any remainder of his family to continue nor would overlook the people of Israel or preserve them any longer from afflictions but would utterly destroy them with ten thousand wars and misfortunes would cast them out of the land which he had given their fathers and make them sojourners in strange lands and deliver that temple which was now built to be burnt and spoiled by their enemies and that city to be utterly overthrown by the hands of their enemies and make their miseries deserve to be a proverb and such as should very hardly be credited for their stupendous magnitude till their neighbors when they should hear of them should wonder at their calamities and very earnestly inquire for the occasion why the Hebrews who had been so far advanced by God to such glory and wealth should be then so hated by him and that the answer that should be made by the remainder of the people should be by confessing their sins and their transgression of the laws of their country accordingly we have it transmitted to us in writing that thus did God speak to Solomon in his sleep chapter 5 how Solomon built himself a royal palace very costly and splendid and how he solved the riddles which were sent him by Hyrum after the building of the temple which as we have before said was finished in seven years the king laid the foundation of his palace which he did not finish under 13 years for he was not equally zealous in the building of this palace as he had been about the temple for as to that though it was a great work and required wonderful and surprising application yet God for whom it was made so far cooperated there with that it was finished in the four mentioned number of years but the palace which was a building much inferior in dignity to the temple both on account that its materials had not been so long beforehand gotten ready nor had been so zealously prepared and on account that this was only a habitation for kings and not for God it was longer in finishing however this building was raised so magnificently as suited the happy state of the Hebrews and of the king thereof but it is necessary that I describe the entire structure and disposition of the parts that so those that light upon this book may thereby make a conjecture and as it were have a prospect of its magnitude this house was a large and curious building and was supported by many pillars which Solomon built to contain a multitude for hearing causes and taking cognizance of suits it was sufficiently capacious to contain a great body of men who would come together to have their causes determined it was a hundred cubits long and fifty broad and thirty high supported by quadrangular pillars which were all of cedar but its roof was according to the Corinthian order with folding doors and their adjoining pillars of equal magnitude each fluted with three cavities which building as at once firm and very ornamental there was also another house so ordered that its entire breadth was placed in the middle it was quadrangular and its breadth was thirty cubits having a temple over against it raised upon massy pillars in which temple there was a large and very glorious room wherein the king sat in judgment to this was joined another house that was built for his queen there were other smaller edifices for diet and for sleep after public matters were over and these were all floored with boards of cedar some of these Solomon built with stones of ten cubits and Wayne skitted the walls with other stones that were sod and were of great value such as our dug out of the earth for the ornaments of temples and to make fine prospects in royal palaces in which make the mines once they are dug famous now the contextual of the curious workmanship of these stones was in three rows but the fourth row would make one admire its sculptures whereby were represented trees and all sorts of plants with the shades that arose from their branches and leaves that hung down from them those trees and plants covered the stone that was beneath them and their leaves were wrought so prodigious thin and subtle that you would think they were in motion but the other part up to their roof was plastered over and as it were embroidered with colors and pictures he more over built other edifices for pleasure as also very long cloisters and those situate in an agreeable place of the palace and among them a most glorious dining room for feastings and competitions and full of gold and such other furniture as so fine a room ought to have for the convenience of the guests and where all the vessels were made of gold now it is very hard to reckon up the magnitude and the variety of the royal apartments how many rooms there were of the largest sort how many of a bigness inferior to those and how many that were subterraneous and invisible the curiosity of those that enjoyed the fresh air and the gross for the most delightful prospect for the avoiding of heat and covering of their bodies and to say all in brief Solomon made the whole building entirely of white stone and cedar wood and gold and silver he also adorned the roofs and walls with stone set in gold and beautified them thereby in the same manner as he had beautified the temple of God with the like stones he also made himself a throne of prodigious bigness of ivory constructed as a seat of justice and having six steps to it on every one of which stood on each end of the step two lions two other lions standing above also but at the sitting place of the throne hands came out and received the king and when he sat backward he rested on half a bullock that looked towards his back but still all was fastened together with gold when Solomon had completed all this in 20 years time because Hyrum king of Tyre had contributed a great deal of gold and more silver to these buildings as also cedar wood and pinewood he also rewarded Hyrum with rich presence corn he sent him also year by year and wine and oil which were the principal things that he stood in need of because he inhabited an island as we have already said and besides these he granted him certain cities of Galilee 20 in number that laid not far from Tyre which when Hyrum went to and viewed and did not like the gift he sent word to Solomon that he did not want such cities as they were and after that time these cities were called the land of Kabul which name if it be interpreted according to the language of the Phoenicians denotes what does not please moreover the king of Tyre sent sophisms and enigmatic sayings to Solomon and desired he would solve them and free them from the ambiguity that was in them now so sagacious and understanding was Solomon that none of these problems were too hard for him but he conquered them all by his reasonings and discovered their hidden meaning and brought it to light Menander also one who translated the Tyrian archives out of the dialect of the Phoenicians into the Greek language makes mention of these two kings where he says thus when Abba ballas was dead his son Hyrum received the kingdom from him who when he had lived 53 years rained 34 he raised a bank in the large place and dedicated the golden pillar which is in Jupiter's temple he also went and cut down materials of timber out of the mountain called libanus for the roof of temples and when he had pulled down the ancient temples he both built the temple of Hercules and that of Astardy and he first set up the temple of Hercules in the month Parateus he also made an expedition against the Ukii or Titii who did not pay their tribute and when he had subdued them to himself he returned under this king there was Abdemon a very youth in age who always conquered the difficult problems which Solomon king of Jerusalem commanded him to explain Dius also makes mention of him where he says thus when Abba ballas was dead his son Hyrum reigned he raised the eastern parts of the city higher and made the city itself larger he also joined the temple of Jupiter which before stood by itself to the city by raising a bank in the middle between them and he adorned it with donations of gold moreover he went up to Mount libanus and cut down materials of wood for the building of the temples he says also that Solomon who was then king of Jerusalem sent riddles to Hyrum and desired to receive the light from him but that he who could not solve them should pay money to them that did solve them and that Hyrum accepted the conditions and when he was not able to solve the riddles proposed by Solomon he paid a great deal of money for his fine but that he afterward did solve the proposed riddles by means of Abdemon a man of tire and that Hyrum proposed other riddles which when Solomon could not solve he paid back a great deal of money to Hyrum this it is which Dius wrote end of book 8 chapters 4 and 5 book 8 chapter 6 of the antiquities of the Jews volume 2 this is a LibriVox recording all LibriVox recordings are in the public domain for more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org the antiquities of the Jews volume 2 by Flavius Josephus translated by William Weston book 8 chapter 6 chapter 6 how Solomon fortified the city of Jerusalem and built great cities and how he brought some of the Canaanites into subjection and entertain the Queen of Egypt and of Ethiopia now when the king saw that the walls of Jerusalem stood in need of being better secured and made stronger for he thought the walls that encompassed Jerusalem ought to correspond to the dignity of the city he both repaired them and made them higher with great towers upon them he also built cities which might be counted among the strongest Hazor and Megiddo and the third Gazer which had indeed belonged to the Philistines but Pharaoh the king of Egypt had made an expedition against it and besieged it and taken it by force and when he had slain all its inhabitants he utterly overthrew it and gave it as a present to his daughter who had been married to Solomon for which reason the king rebuilt it as a city that was naturally strong and might be useful in wars and the mutations of affairs that sometimes happen moreover he built two other cities not far from it Beth Horan was the name of one of them and Bailoth of the other he also built other cities that lay conveniently for these in order to the enjoyment of pleasures and delicacies in them such as were naturally of a good temperature of the air and agreeable for fruits ripe in their proper seasons and well watered with springs nay Solomon went as far as the desert above Syria and possessed himself of it and built there a very great city which was distant two days journey from Upper Syria and one day's journey from Euphrates and six long days journey from Babylon the great now the reason why this city lay so remote from the parts of Syria that are inhabited is this that below there is no water to be had and that it is in that place only that there are springs and pits of water when he had therefore built this city and encompassed it with very strong walls he gave it the name of tad more and that is the name it is still called by at this day among the Syrians but the Greeks name it palm ira now Solomon the king was at this time engaged in building these cities but if any inquire why all the kings of Egypt from many's who built Memphis and was many years earlier than our forefather Abraham until Solomon where the interval was more than one thousand three hundred years were called Pharaoh's and took it from one Pharaoh that lived after the kings of that interval I think it necessary to inform them of it and this in order to cure their ignorance and to make the occasion of that name manifest Pharaoh in the Egyptian tongue signifies a king but I suppose they made use of other names from their childhood but when they were made kings they changed them into the name which in their own tongue denoted their authority for this it was also that the kings of Alexandria who were called formerly by other names when they took the kingdom were called Ptolemy's from their first king the Roman emperors also were from their nativity called by other names but are styled Caesar's their empire and their dignity imposing that name upon them and not suffering them to continue in those names which their fathers gave them I suppose also that Herodotus of Helicarnassus when he said there were three hundred and thirty kings of Egypt after many's who built Memphis did therefore not tell us their names because they were in common called Pharaoh's for when after their death there was a queen reigned he calls her by her name Nicaole as thereby declaring that while the kings were of the male line and so admitted of the same nature while a woman did not admit the same he did therefore set down that her name which she could not naturally have as for myself I have discovered from our own books that after Pharaoh the father-in-law of Solomon no other king of Egypt did any longer use that name and that it was after that time when the forenamed queen of Egypt and Ethiopia came to Solomon concerning whom we shall inform the reader presently but I have now made mention of these things that I may prove that our books and those of the Egyptians agree together in many things but King Solomon subdued to himself the remnant of the Canaanites that had not before submitted to him those I mean that dwelt in Mount Lebanon and as far as the city Hamath and ordered them to pay tribute he also chose out of them every year such as were to serve him in the meanest offices and to do his domestic works and to follow husbandry for none of the Hebrews were servants in such low employments nor was it reasonable that when God had brought so many nations under their power they should depress their own people to such mean offices of life rather than those nations while all the Israelites were concerned in warlike affairs and were in armor and were set over the chariots and the horses rather than leading the life of slaves he appointed also 550 rulers over those Canaanites who were reduced to such domestic slavery who received the entire care of them from the king and instructed them in those labors and operations wherein he wanted their assistance moreover the king built many ships in the Egyptian Bay of the Red Sea in a certain place called Ezion Gaber it is now called Baranese and is not far from the city Eloth this country belonged formerly to the Jews and became useful for shipping from the donations of Hyrum king of Tyre for he sent a sufficient number of men thither for pilots and such as were skillful in navigation to whom Solomon gave this command that they should go along with his own stewards to the land that was of old called Ophir but now the Aurea Chersonesis which belongs to India to fetch him gold and when they had gathered 400 talents together they returned to the king again there was then a woman queen of Egypt in Ethiopia she was inquisitive into philosophy and one that on other accounts also was to be admired when this queen heard of the virtue and prudence of Solomon she had a great mind to see him and the reports that went every day abroad induced her to come to him she being desirous to be satisfied by her own experience and not by a bare hearing for reports thus heard are likely enough to comply with a false opinion while they wholly depend on the credit of the relators so she resolved to come to him and that especially in order to have a trial of his wisdom while she proposed questions a very great difficulty and in treated that he would solve their hidden meaning accordingly she came to Jerusalem with great splendor and rich furniture for she brought with her camels laden with gold with several sorts of sweet spices and with precious stones now upon the king's kind reception of her he both showed a great desire to please her and easily comprehending in his mind the meaning of the curious questions she propounded to him he resolved them sooner than anybody could have expected so she was amazed at the wisdom of Solomon and discovered that it was more excellent upon trial than what she had heard by report beforehand and especially she was surprised at the finest and largeness of his royal palace and not less so at the good order of the apartments where she observed that the king had therein shown great wisdom but she was beyond measure astonished at the house which was called the forest of Lebanon as also at the magnificence of his daily table and the circumstances of its preparation and ministration with the apparel of his servants that waited and the skillful and decent management of their attendance nor was she less affected with those daily sacrifices which were offered to God and the careful management which the priests and Levites used about them when she saw this done every day she was in the greatest admiration imaginable in so much that she was not able to contain the surprise she was in but openly confessed how wonderfully she was affected for she proceeded to discourse with the king and thereby owned that she was overcome with admiration at the things before related and said all things indeed o king that come to our knowledge by report come with uncertainty as to our belief of them but as to those good things that to thee appertain both such as thou thyself possessist I mean wisdom and prudence and the happiness thou hast from thy kingdom certainly the same that came to us was no falsity it was not only a true report but it related thy happiness after a much lower manner than I now see it to be before my eyes for as for the report it only attempted to persuade our hearing but did not so make known the dignity of the things themselves as does the sight of them and being present among them I indeed who did not believe what was reported by reason of the multitude and grandeur of the things I inquired about do see them to be much more numerous than they were reported to be accordingly I esteem the Hebrew people as well as thy servants and friends to be happy who enjoy thy presence and hear thy wisdom every day continually one would therefore bless God who have so loved this country and those that inhabit therein as to make thee king over them now when the queen had thus demonstrated in words how deeply the king had affected her her disposition was known by certain presence for she gave him twenty talents of gold and an immense quantity of spices and precious stones they say also that we possess the root of that balsam which our country still bears by this woman's gift Solomon also repaid her with many good things and principally by bestowing upon her what she chose of her own inclination for there was nothing that she desired which he denied her and as he was very generous and liberal in his own temper so did he show the greatness of his soul in bestowing on her what she herself desired of him so when this queen of Ethiopia had obtained what we have already given an account of and had again communicated to the king what she brought with her she returned to her own kingdom end of book eight chapter six