David and Solomon

Saul’s successor, David, expanded the Kingdom of Israel as far as the Red Sea and the Euphrates River. David also established Jerusalem as the capital of the Israelites. This ancient settlement in the arid mountains of Judaea, 35 miles (56 km) east of the Mediterranean and 15 miles (24 km) to the west of the Dead Sea, was founded around 3000 BCE. It was a possession of the Egyptians around 1800 BCE, and in the Amarna Letters, a collection of Egyptian diplomatic correspondence from around 1400 BCE, it was called Uru-Salem (meaning

This I7th-century-CE engraving by Merian Matthaus the Elder depicts the return of the Ark of the Covenant. The Ark was said to contain the stone tablets on which the Ten Commandments were written.

This relief shows the Assyrian king Sennacherib laying siege to the city of Jerusalem.

“City of Peace”). When David captured the city around 1000 BCE, it was— according to biblical accounts—a stronghold of a Canaanite people called the Jebusites.

David made Jerusalem the center of the Israelite religion. The city consisted of two hills separated by a ravine. Most of the people lived on the western hill, while David established his own royal quarters on the eastern hill, which became known as Zion. David intended to build a great temple and palace, but he died before he could bring the plans to fruition. However, his son King Solomon, using the best Phoenician architects and craftsmen and the finest materials from Lebanon, constructed a superb temple and palace complex in the mid-10th century BCE.

Solomon allied himself with the Phoenician king Hiram ofTyre, who sent a merchant fleet to Ophir (possibly modern Arabia) every three years. Hiram sent sailors and shipbuilders, while Solomon provided the harbor of Ezion-Geber (Elat) on the eastern arm of the Red Sea, conquered in King David’s reign, and traded with Seba (probably southern Arabia). The arrangement enabled Solomon to procure the means to maintain a magnificent court during the highest point of power and importance for ancient Israel and its monarchy.