The Legendary Wealth of Solomon-- Part I

By Timothy S. Wilkinson

www.timothywilkinson.net

                King Solomon’s fabulous wealth has become the subject of myth, legend, fiction, and film. After all, no ancient historical ruler is described with anything near his wealth—Solomon’s rule was the pinnacle of Israel’s power, politically, economically, and geographically.

                So it is perhaps not surprising that many today view the Bible’s descriptions of Solomon’s opulent reign as exaggerations—especially in light of the tendency to doubt anything that comes from the Bible. But were the Bible writers exaggerating in 1 Kings Chapters 9 and 10? Could it possibly be true that:

• ·         Hiram regularly sent shipments of 450 talents of gold from Ophir
• ·         The Queen of Sheba gave Solomon a gift of 120 talents of gold, plus balsam oil and jewels
• ·         Solomon’s annual domestic revenue was 666 talents of gold
• ·         Solomon had 200 shields each plated with 600 shekels of gold and 300 bucklers each plated with 3 minas of gold
• ·         He sat on a throne of gold plated ivory
• ·         All his tableware was gold
• ·         His fleet of ships brought gold, silver, ivory, apes, and peacocks from Tarshish every three years
• ·         Rulers from all around brought him tribute in gold, silver, armor, balsam oil, horses, and mules
• ·         He had 1500 chariots and 12,000 chariot horses

How much wealth is this? It is a challenge to calculate the values of ancient monetary measurements. There are basically two approaches: (1) take the weight of the measurements and calculate their value based on today’s gold and silver prices or (2) figure out the purchasing power of a certain amount of, say, gold in Bible times and find the modern amount that has that same purchasing power.

The second method has some distinct advantages. In Jesus’ day, a laborer made one Greek denarius for 12 hours of work. Washington State, where I reside, currently has a minimum wage of about $8.50 per hour. Twelve hours of work would yield a laborer about $100—a modern value for the denarius. (Of course if we did the simpler—but less accurate—conversion to the value of the weight of a gold denarius today then it is worth $164).

Next we have to convert that to Hebrew currencies. A gold shekel weighs three times as much as a gold denarius, so the shekel would be worth $300. Using that as a standard we can find the values of other Old Testament amounts: the bekah ($15), the mina ($15,000), and the talent ($900,000).

Now the record of Solomon’s income starts to come into focus. His annual domestic revenue was just under $600 million. The regular shipments from Ophir were worth just over $400 million. His gift from the Queen of Sheba was worth about $108 million. The 200 shields and 300 bucklers hanging in his palace were worth about $52 million.

Once we factor in the monies and trade goods brought to him as tribute by kings from nations all around Israel, Solomon’s annual revenue can be conservatively estimated as $1 billion. That’s $2.7 million dollars a day, or $114,000 per hour, or $1,902 per minute, or $32 per second. Twenty-four hours a day. Three hundred and sixty-five days a year.

And that’s liquid revenue—not net worth.

Of course, Solomon started out his reign with the wealth that his father, David, had put aside for the construction of the Temple of Jehovah. David had accumulated roughly $187 billion before his death; some of this went into the Temple’s construction and the remainder into Solomon’s treasury. If you started spending $187 billion at the rate of $1 per second and did that continuously, day and night, it would take you 5,929 years to spend it all.

Are these mind-boggling amounts just the fancy of Hebrew chroniclers? Are they fantastical elements of an ancient myth? Or is there reason to believe that Solomon and the nation he ruled were truly this rich? 

Tomorrow’s blog will answer that question…

For more information about life in Bible times, check out my website at www.timothywilkinson.net.

Israelite Engineering

Israelite Engineering

By Timothy S. Wilkinson

www.timothywilkinson.net

            In 1 Kings chapter 7, verses 23 through 26 Jeremiah records a truly incredible feat of ancient engineering: “And he [King Hiram of Tyre] proceeded to make the molten sea [a sacred water reservoir] ten cubits (175 inches) from its one brim to its other brim, circular all around; and its height was five cubits (87 ½ inches), and it took a line of thirty cubits (525 inches) to circle all around it. And there were gourd-shaped ornaments down below its brim all around, encircling it, ten in a cubit, enclosing the sea all around, with two rows of the groud-shaped ornaments cast in its casting. It was standing upon twelve bulls, three facing north, and three facing west, and three facing south, and three facing east; and the sea was above them, and all their hind parts were toward the center. And its thickness was a handbreadth (3 inches); and its brim was like the workmanship of the brim of  a cup, a lily blossom. Two thousand bath measures (11,600 gallons) were what it could contain.” (New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures)

            Had the “sea” been filled to its brim, it actually could have held 17,400 gallons. Empty, it would have weighed well over 30 tons. “There can be little doubt that it was one of the greatest engineering works ever undertaken in the Hebrew nation,” says former technical officer at the National Research Council of Canada, Albert Zuidhof, in Biblical Archeologist.

            According to verses 45 and 46 of the same chapter of 1 Kings, Hiram cast the sea “in the clay mold.” Archaeologists believe this to be a variation of the lost wax method. A wax model of the piece was crafted upside-down over a completed core mold. The artisans then built up a mold (probably of clay) over the wax model, completely encapsulating it. When the mold was dry, the whole mass was heated in some way so that the wax would melt and drain out of tubes set in the mold for this purpose. The tubes were blocked up, and liquid bronze was poured into the mold from the top.

            Many researchers have doubted whether or not the ancient Israelites had the technological and engineering skill to make such a casting. Heating, transporting, and pouring 30 tons of molten bronze is no small feat, and probably required some sort of a custom furnace made just for the job. The casting was done all at once, and the pressures generated inside the mold would have been tremendous.

            There is evidence, though, that Iron Age Israelites had developed remarkable engineering abilities. Water systems excavated at Hazor, Gibeon, Megiddo, and Jerusalem all attest to their skill.

            The Siloam tunnel was constructed to bring water from the Gihon spring in the Kidron Valley (outside the wall) into the city of Jerusalem. The tunnel slices through 130 feet of solid rock.

            The so-called “Hezekiah’s tunnel” is even more impressive. By Hezekiah’s day the Gihon spring had become even more unprotected from a besieging army. The king had the spring enclosed in rock to block access (or even visibility) from outside the wall. Then he commissioned the construction of a new tunnel to bring the water into the city. The tunnel remains to this day: 1,749 feet cut straight through the bedrock. Near its center one of the workers inscribed the following:

[…when] (the tunnel) was driven through. And this was the way in which it was cut through: While […] (were) still […] axe(s), each man toward his fellow, and while there were still three cubits to be cut through, [there was heard] the voice of a man calling to his fellow for there was an overlap in the rock on the right [and on the left]. And when the tunnel was driven through, the quarrymen hewed (the rock), each man toward his fellow, axe against axe; and the water flowed from the spring toward the reservoir for 1,200 cubits, and the height of the rock above the head(s) of the quarrymen was 100 cubits. (J. B. Pritchard (ed)., Ancient Near Eastern Texts (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1969), p. 321).

           

The project involved the removal of 850 cubic yards of rock. Two teams, digging from opposite sides, met in the middle, only a little less than a foot out of alignment with one another. This would be an impressive feat with modern equipment, let alone Iron Age tools! Some researchers are convinced the builders used tapping sounds from above to guide the diggers, but the truth remains a mystery. What we do know for a fact is that ancient Israelite engineers had skills beyond what we might expect of the time period. We do well not to underestimate their abilities.

Parallelisms

Parallelisms
By Timothy S. Wilkinson
www.timothywilkinson.net

Hebrew poetry is constructed on an entirely different concept than the English structure we are familiar with. In English we use repeated sounds (alliteration and rhyme) and syllabic rhythms (meter) to capture a meaning deeper than the words alone can convey. In Hebrew, poets relied upon poetic parallelism. This is the repetition of a concept in such a way that each appearance of the concept in the poem adds another layer to its meaning.

In synonymous parallelisms, the second line repeats some part of the previous line in words that elucidate it:
To Jehovah belong the earth and that which fills it,
The productive land and those dwelling in it.


Antithetic parallelism makes use of contrasting thoughts:
For evildoers themselves will be cut off,
But those hoping in Jehovah are the ones that will possess the earth.


Synthetic parallelism uses additional lines to expand on an idea:
The law of Jehovah is perfect,
bringing back the soul
The reminder of Jehovah is trustworthy,
making the inexperienced one wise.


Perhaps in a future article I will write in more detail about these and other (emblematic, stairlike, and introverted) parallelisms. I bring these up here just to illustrate how ancient Hebrew writers might approach a subject in their prose.

The prophet Samuel used this type of parallel structuring in the composition of his books to powerful effect. An example of this can be seen in the introductions of the first two kings of Israel: Saul and David.

In 1 Samuel 9:2, Saul is introduced to us as being 'handsome and tall.' Chapter 16 verses 6,7 show Samuel once again choosing the 'handsome and tall' one as king, but Jehovah tells him instead to [reject the tall, Saul-like king and] choose the small, handsome one (verse 12).

In Chapter 9 verse 21 Saul declares his unworthiness to be king. In Chapter 16 verse 11, David's humble standing is such that even his own father and brothers have not found him worthy of consideration. Nevertheless, Saul is anointed with oil in a very non-public fashion--which leads to problems with his kingship being recognized later on (10:1). David is also anointed with oil (16:13) inside his father's house--and the appointment remains secret for some time.

Immediately after Saul's anointing, he is filled with the spirit of God (10:9-12). When David is anointed, he too is filled with this spirit (vs. 14)--a spirit that leaves Saul (vs. 13).

In Chapter 10 verse 3, following his anointing Saul is sent on a short journey during which he will acquire three items: a kid of the goats, loaves of bread, and wine. Chapter 16 verse 20 shows us David traveling after his anointing, carrying a kid of the goats, loaves of bread, and wine.

Both coronation accounts end with the same triumphant note: in Chapter 11 Saul saves his people from imminent danger by defeating Nahash and the Ammonite army. In Chapter 17, David outdoes his forebear by defeating the Philistine giant, Goliath and driving their army from the field.

Samuel calls attention to these parallels to set up a sort of psychological "echo" in his readers' minds. Though we do not consciously notice the pattern, it nevertheless has a ring of familiarity. We accept David wholeheartedly as the new king--not just because Samuel tells us to, but because he has made use of the subconscious power of a mini-archetype to convince us.