At the end of twenty years, in which Sulayman1 had built the House of YAHWEH2, and his own house, 2Sulayman built the cities which Huram had given to him, and caused Bani-Israel to dwell there.
3Sulayman went to Hamath-Zobah, and prevailed against it. 4He built Tadmor in the wilderness, and all the store-cities, which he built in Hamath. 5Also he built Beth Horon the upper, and Beth Horon the lower, fortified cities, with walls, gates, and bars; 6and Baalath, and all the store-cities that Sulayman had, and all the cities for his chariots, and the cities for his horsemen, and all that Sulayman desired to build for his pleasure in Jerusalem, and in Lebanon, and in all the land of his dominion.
7As for all the people who were left of the Hittites, and the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites, who were not of Israel; 8of their children who were left after them in the land, whom Bani-Israel did not destroy, from them Sulayman conscripted slave labour to this day. 9But of Bani-Israel Sulayman made no servants for his work; but they were men of war, and chief of his captains, and rulers of his chariots and of his horsemen. 10These were the chief officers of King Sulayman, even two hundred fifty, who ruled over the people.
11Sulayman brought up the daughter of Firaun3 out of the city of Dawud4 to the house that he had built for her; for he said, “My wife shall not dwell in the house of Dawud king of Israel, because the places are holy, whereunto the ark of YAHWEH has come.”
12Then Sulayman offered burnt-offerings to YAHWEH on the altar of YAHWEH, which he had built before the porch, 13even as the duty of every day required, offering according to the commandment of Musa5, on the Sabbaths, and on the new moons, and on the set feasts, three times in the year, even in the Feast of Unleavened Bread, and in the Feast of Weeks, and in the Feast of Booths.
14He appointed, according to the ordinance of Dawud his father, the divisions of the priests to their service, and the Levites to their offices, to praise, and to minister before the priests, as the duty of every day required; the doorkeepers also by their divisions at every gate: for so had Dawud the man of God commanded. 15They did not depart from the commandment of the king to the priests and Levites concerning any matter, or concerning the treasures.
16Now all the work of Sulayman was accomplished, from the day of the foundation of the House of YAHWEH until it was finished. So the House of YAHWEH was completed.
17Then went Sulayman to Ezion Geber, and to Eloth, on the seashore in the land of Edom. 18Huram sent him by the hands of his servants ships, and servants who had knowledge of the sea; and they came with the servants of Sulayman to Ophir, and brought from there four hundred fifty talents of gold, and brought them to King Sulayman.
- 8:1 Sulayman, this Arabic name and the name Solomon are both derived from the Hebrew name Shlomo which means “peace.” ↩︎
- 8:1 YAHWEH, God’s personal Name revealed to Prophet Musa in the Taurat, Exodus 3:15: ‘God said moreover to Musa, “You shall tell Bani-Israel this, ‘YAHWEH, the God of your fathers, the God of Ibrahim, the God of Ishaq, and the God of Yaqub, has sent me to you.’ This is my Name forever, and this is how I am to be remembered to all generations.”’ ↩︎
- 3:11 Firaun, an Arabic term derived from the Hebrew title Pharaoh, used for the kings of ancient Egypt. ↩︎
- 3:11 Dawud, this Arabic name is derived from David (Hebrew) and means “Beloved.” ↩︎
- 3:13 Musa, this Arabic name is derived from the Hebrew name Moses meaning “to pull out” or “draw out” (of water); referring to the biblical story where he was rescued from the Nile River by Firaun’s daughter. ↩︎