Wisdom, Power, Worship: Solomon’s Reign—1 Kings 1–12

FOLLOWING THE REMARKABLY frank and intimate views of Saul’s tortured mind and David’s troubled family, the account of Solomon may at first seem dry by comparison. For the most part, reports of palace intrigue end with the death of David (1 Kgs 2:10–11). The inside view of Solomon’s reign focuses on something that has played little or no role in the preceding royal accounts: the apparatus of monarchy. The chapters treated here include a list of royal officials and regional prefects (4:1–19), almost certainly the oldest official document in the Bible. Included also are detailed reports on requisitions of food for the royal banquet table and fodder for the royal stables (5:2–8 Heb., 4:22–28 Eng.). Banqueting was an essential vehicle of diplomacy in the ancient world,...