Chapters 1-3: Transition from David to Solomon
David is old and even refuses a virgin his courtiers “bring” to his bed for warmth. His son Adonijah gets Joav’s support and proclaims himself king. Nathan the prophet advises Bathsheba to get David to reconfirm that he promised their son Solomon would be king. Nathan proclaims Solomon as king. Adonijah is afraid and makes Solomon promise not to hurt him, which he does, on condition that he behaves worthily.
King David advises Solomon to keep YHWH’s commandments, to take revenge on Joav (for killing Abner and Amasa), to reward Barzilai and to take revenge on Shimei (thereby circumventing David’s promise to spare him, see 2 Samuel for all these). David dies. Adonijah gets Bathsheba to ask Solomon on his behalf if he can marry David’s concubine. Angry at the insolence, Solomon has Adonijah killed, as well as Joav. Solomon tells Shimei that he’ll be safe as long as he doesn’t leave Jerusalem. He obeys until he goes to fetch his runaway slaves. On his return, Solomon executes him.
YHWH appears to Solomon asking what he wants as king. Solomon wants wisdom and knowledge. YHWH is pleased he asked for this and not long life, riches etc. YHWH says he’ll grant him those as well as a reward. Two prostitutes come to Solomon with a baby, each claiming it is hers. Solomon asks for a sword so he can cut the baby in two, giving half to each woman. One of them is fine that nobody will get it in the end. The other says she’d rather give up the child than have it die. Solomon gives her the child, deducing the child was hers. His fame for being wise.
Chapters 4-11: Solomon’s reign
The officials and wealth of Solomon’s reign are. He establishes a major kingdom, writes 3000 proverbs and has people come from all over the world to hear him lecture on various topics. He asks King Hiram of Tyre (a friend of David’s) to supply cedars for YHWH’s Temple. To finance the empire, Solomon taxes the public heavily, both in wealth and labour.
The measurements of the Temple and the details of all the ornaments are given. He the Temple and his palace, all with the help of king Hiram. Solomon makes an inauguration ceremony for all of Israel. The Ark is brought into the Temple. YHWH’s cloud that has followed the Ark (see Exodus) spreads over the Temple. Solomon makes a speech, praising YHWH for making this possible, asking YHWH to be swayed to mercy by the sacrifices Israel will make at the Temple, asking YHWH to grant everything a non-Israelite asks for at the Temple (Solomon is sure YHWH’s fame will spread outside of Israel too) and to be gracious when Israel sins. A week of sacrifices and celebrations follows.
YHWH tells Solomon that if he follows the commandments, YHWH will keep his promise to David to establish his dynasty forever. Of not then YHWH will rout Solomon (in essence “overturning” the promise) and destroy Israel. Solomon conquers and enslaves many neighbouring Canaanite people. The queen of Sheba hears of Solomon’s fame and comes to test his knowledge, bringing lavish gifts. She is impressed and gives even more wealth; Solomon becomes the wisest and wealthiest king in the world, with an ivory throne coated in gold.
Solomon marries many non-Israelite women including Canaanites, contrary to YHWH’s commandment: Pharaoh’s daughter and 700 others (plus 300 concubines). When he gets old, his wives turn his loyalty from YHWH and he worships other gods too, and builds shrines for them. YHWH tells Solomon that because of this he will tear the kingdom from him. For David’s sake, YHWH will wait until Solomon dies and only do it to his son.
YHWH sends two Canaanite armies against Solomon, both led by commanders who escaped being killed by David years ago. Solomon appoints a man called Jeroboam over the “forced labour projects”. Jeroboam meets Ahijah the prophet, who tells him YHWH will make Jeroboam ruler over 10 of the tribes. The other 2 tribes will still be led by David’s dynasty, to honour YHWH’s promise. If Jeroboam does right, YHWH will keep his dynasty forever as well. Solomon finds out and tries to have Jeroboam killed. Jeroboam flees to Egypt remaining there while Solomon reigns. Solomon dies. His son Rehoboam succeeds him.
Chapter 12-Chapter 16 v28: The kingdom’s split, succession of kings
Jeroboam returns to Israel and publicly asks Rehoboam to ease the people’s tax/labour burdens. Rehoboam’s old advisors say he should do it to win the people’s hearts. Some young men however tell him to say to the people “whereas my father flogged you with whips I will flog you with scorpions”. Rehoboam follows the latter advice. Israel rejects his kingship and chooses Jeroboam. Only the tribe of Judah (and Benjamin which is a small area inside Judah) remains loyal to Rehoboam. Rehoboam wants to wage war on the other tribes but YHWH’s prophet tells him no, since this is only YHWH’s punishment [for his father’s sins].
To stop his subjects from going to the Temple in Judah and potentially being swayed by Rehoboam, Jeroboam builds two golden calves as religious alternatives inside his territory. A prophet from Judah is there and denounces the altar. Jeroboam orders him siezed but YHWH paralyses Jeroboam’s arm. He asks the prophet to intercede with YHWH and the arm is healed. The prophet refuses a meal with Jeroboam (saying YHWH told him not to eat anything on the way) and leaves. On his way back, another prophet offers him a meal. When he refuses, the 2nd prophet lies that YHWH told him to offer the meal. The 1st prophet agrees, at which point the lying prophet conveys YHWH’s anger at his original decree being disobeyed. The entrapped prophet is then killed by a lion.
Jeroboam’s son becomes sick. Jeroboam sends his wife in disguise across the border to Shiloh in Judah, to ask Ahijah what will happen. The prophet says YHWH is angry that Jeroboam has not kept his commandments and has acted even worse than the previous rulers, therefore all his household will be killed and devoured by dogs. Jeroboam’s wife returns and their son dies. Jeroboam dies and is succeeded by his son Nadab. Meanwhile, Judah under Rehoboam also engages in idolatry and makes YHWH very angry. Jerusalem is raided by the king of Egypt and all the treasures king Solomon had amassed are carried off. Rehoboam dies and is succeeded by his son Abijam.
Abijam also sins but YHWH keeps him out of loyalty to David. He’s followed by Asa, who follows YHWH and partially bans idolatry. Nadab (king of Israel) sins like his father and is assassinated by Baasha who becomes king. Israel attacks Judah. Asa bribes the king of Aram to switch allegiance from Israel to Judah and is able to stop Baasha’s advance. Baasha dies and is succeeded by his son Elah. However, YHWH vows to destroy Baasha’s dynasty. Elah’s army officer Zimri betrays and kills him becoming king and killing all of Baasha’s relatives. Because of Elah’s treason, some of Israel supports another man called Omri as king. There is a civil war which Omri wins. Omri is succeeded by his son Ahab.
Chapter 16 v29-Chapter 22: King Ahab vs Elijah the prophet
Ahab is even more displeasing to YHWH. He marries Jezebel, daughter of the Phonecian king and builds a temple to Baal. The prophet Elijah tells Ahab there will be a drought because of Ahab’s sins. Elijah flees to a wadi with water with ravens bringing him food. When the wadi dries up, YHWH tells Elijah to go to another town where a widow will feed him. He is received generously but then the widow’s son dies. The widow is dismayed, thinking Elijah’s visit turned YHWH’s attention onto her sins and caused YHWH to kill her son. Elijah cries out to YHWH who resurrects the child.
Meanwhile, Jezebel is killing off YHWH’s prophets. The prophet Ovadiah hides 100 prophets in a cave and feeds them. Ahab asks Ovadiah to search for water throughout the land to keep the animals alive. YHWH tells Elijah to speak to Ahab. Elijah meets Ovadiah and asks Ovadiah to present him to Ahab. Ovadiah thinks this will get him killed but Elijah reassures him. Ahab calls Elijah the troubler of Israel. Elijah retorts that it’s Ahab who brought trouble by worshipping Baal. Elijah asks Ahab to summon all of Israel (along with all the prophets of Baal) at Mount Carmel to find out once and for all who is the true god in Israel.
Elijah sets up an altar with a sacrifice to YHWH asking 450 priests of Baal to set up an identical one beside it. The test is to see which one gets consumed by fire. The priests of Baal pray and cut themselves to no avail. Elijah mocks them that perhaps Baal is asleep or on a journey. Elijah pours water over the altar to make it clear it will be a miracle. He calls out to YHWH who sends a fire; the public is convinced. Elijah has the prophets of Baal killed. The drought ends.
Jezebel wants to kill Elijah so he flees again. When on the run, YHWH shows his full presence to Elijah in the wind, earthquake and fire. YHWH tells Elijah to annoint Jehu as the new king of Israel and Elisha as the prophet to succeed him — and that Jehu and Elisha will kill everyone in Israel (ie. excluding Judah) except the 7000 who have not bent knee to Baal. Elisha is a small boy, who after kissing his parents goodbye becomes Elijah’s attendant.
Ben-hadad (the king of Aram) besieges Israel and demands all of Ahab’s money, wives and children. Desperate to escape the siege, Ahab agrees. Ben-hadad demands even more so Ahab refuses. Ahab drives Ben-hadad’s army back. Ben-hadad’s advisors say the Israelites won in the mountains because YHWH is a mountain god, they should do better on the plains. However the Israelites win on the plains too. Ben-hadad resorts to begging for his life and returning all the towns his father conquered in exchange for peace.
A prophet wants to make a point to Ahab. He asks a stranger to strike him. The stranger refuses. The prophet curses him and the man’s eaten by a lion. The next one strikes the prophet so that he appears wounded from battle. The prophet comes to Ahab and makes up a tale about being asked to guard a man (under penalty of death) and letting him get away. Ahab says the man already knows his own verdict. The prophet says Ahab is that man, for letting Ben-hadad (who YHWH has doomed) escape with his life; for this YHWH will kill him.
A man called Navot owns a beautiful vineyard near Ahab’s palace. Ahab asks Navot for it. Navot doesn’t want to give away his ancestral land. Ahab sulks; Jezebel finds out and tells him she’ll get the vineyard. She sends a letter to the elders of Navot’s town ordering them to get two witnesses to perjure themselves that Navot cursed YHWH and the king and have him tried and executed. Ahab takes over the vineyard. Elijah finds out and tells Ahab YHWH’s message: in the same place the dogs lapped Navot’s blood, they will lap Ahab’s blood too and his dynasty will be overthrown. Ahab repents and YHWH postpones the dynasty’s downfall until after Ahab dies.
Ahab teams up with Jehoshaphat (king of Judah) to attack Aram but first decides to ask his prophets. All of them say he will succeed except Micaiah who says Ahab will die in battle. Ahab threatens Micaiah but he maintains he cannot but speak what YHWH told him. Micaiah says he saw YHWH ask his angels to lie to the other prophets about the battle’s outcome in order to get Ahab killed — this is why the other prophets said Ahab will succeed. Ahab imprisons Micaiah but is then killed on the battlefield by a stray arrow. He is succeeded by his son Ahaziah.
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