Daily Tanach Monday Sefer Melachim 1 Chapter 9: Cities built by King Solomon

1.      The taxes placed upon the nation to help with the various constructions:

• The following is the tax that King Shlomo levied to pay for the building of the temple and his palace, as well as for the building of the courtyard in the city of David known as the Milo, as well as for the building of the wall of Jerusalem, and for the building of the cities of Chatzor, Megido and Gazer.

2.      The city of Gezer:

• Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, had gone up to capture the city of Gezer and he burnt it with fire.
• He killed all the Canaanites who inhabited the city. He gave the city to his daughter, who was the wife of Solomon [as part of the dowry to give her husband Shlomo^[1]].

3.      Cities built by King Solomon:

• Shlomo built the city of Gazer and the lower Bet Choron, and the city of Baalas and Tadmor which was in the desert. He also built cities of storage, and cities of chariots [i.e. where the chariots were stored^[2]] and cities of riders. He built cities according to his wish in Jerusalem and in Lebanon and throughout all of his kingdom.

4.      The slaves and servants of King Solomon:

• The Gentile forced labor slaves: All the remaining people of the nations of the Amorites, Hittites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, the Jebusites who were not from the children of Israel, and were the surviving descendants of these nations who were unable to be annihilated, Shlomo made into slaves to perform forced labor for the kingdom until this very day.
• The Jewish servants: However, from amongst the Jewish people Shlomo took no slaves who had to perform forced labor, the generals of war and his personal servants and ministers and officers of his chariots and horsemen. There were 550 people who were appointed as ministers to watch over the work of the slaves and forced laborers. [They watched over the 70,000 slaves who worked in forced labor and the 80,000 who were involved in excavating stone from the mountain.^[3]]

5.      The home of the daughter of Pharaoh:

• The daughter of Pharaoh had left the palace in the city of David and went to live in a house that Shlomo built for her in the Milo.

6.      The offerings brought by Shlomo:

• Three times a year Shlomo would offer sacrifices of Olos and Shelamim on the altar that he had built for G-d. He also brought incense upon it. And so he completed the service of the temple.

7.      The ships of King Shlomo and their discovery of gold:

• King Shlomo built a ship in the area of Etziyon Gavar which is on the shore of the Red Sea by the land of Edom.
• Chiram sent his captains and sailors to travel together with the servants of Shlomo.
• They arrived to the area called Ofir, from which the excavated 420 Kikar of gold which they then brought to King Shlomo.

[1] Rashi 9:16

[2] Metzudos Tziyon 9:19

[3] Rashi 9:20