SOLOMON’S EXALTED KINGDOM The era of king David, and of his son king Solomon, was considered the golden era in the Hebrew history. David was a warrior, and Solomon was fond of construction. David set the kingdom by his military strife, with a spirit of godliness; and Solomon built the temple, carried out commercial enterprises, and established a marine fleet. The outer world at that time has been the era of ‘Homer’, the start of the Greek history, when Egypt, Assyria, and Babylon were all extremely weak; whereas the kingdom of Israel was strong and prosperous, with its sparkling capital – Jerusalem – embracing the temple that was considered the greatest building on earth at the time. Great men from all over the world came to listen to Solomon’s wisdom, and to see his glory. The two chapters 9 and 10 came as an extension to chapter 4, that talked about Solomon’s authority, wealth, and wisdom. Here, we see Solomon cares for trade and great public enterprises. We see him enter into dealings with the king of Sidon, to use his marine fleet for trade in the Mediterranean Sea; He built his own fleet of ships at ‘Ezion Geber’, and came to hold in his hand the south route through Edom to the coast of Arabia, India, and Africa. He set His kingdom and steadfast it by commercial work full of peace. 1- Solomon’s second vision 1 -- 9 2- An exchange of gifts between Solomon and Hiram 10- - 14 3- Solomon’s works and constructions 15 -- 23 4- Pharaoh’s daughter in the city of David 16 -- 24 5- Offering annual sacrifices 25 6- Solomon’s marine fleet 26 – 28 https://coptic-treasures.com/ 1- SOLOMON’S SECOND VISION: “And it came to pass, when Solomon had finished building the house of the Lord and the king’s house, and all Solomon’s desire which he wanted to do, that the Lord appeared to Solomon the second time, as he had appeared to him at Gibeon. And the Lord said to him: ‘I have heard your prayer and your supplication that you have made before Me. I have sanctified this house which you have built to put My name there forever; and My eyes and My heart will be there perpetually” (1-3) Solomon built the temple, dedicating for building it all the possible energies and gifts, whether in Israel or in the Gentiles. He raised prayers, blessed the people, was blessed by the people; and celebrated together them. So far, it was the end of Solomon’s work; But it was God who sanctified the house, and by His love received their gift. He appeared to Solomon a second time as He had appeared to him when he started his reign. He proclaimed his presence in the house by putting His name in it; revealed an important fact, that His eyes and His heart are in it. We therefore cannot sanctify ourselves, but it is God who sanctifies us as holy temples for Himself, proclaims His dwelling inside us, and that His eyes and heart are toward our depths; pours all His love in us, cares even for the number of hairs on our heads; and that we are wholly dedicated to Him. It is the heart desire of every believer, and every true Theologian to be among those chosen who will enjoy seeing God in the eternal life, according to the proclamation by the apostle St. John, saying: “We shall see Him as He is” (1 John 3: 2); and yet in this same epistle, he says: “No one has seen God at any time” (1 John 4: 12). And the apostle Paul confirms, “dwelling in an unapproachable light, whom no man has seen or can see” (1 Timothy 6: 16). https://coptic-treasures.com/ While the Holy Book with its two testaments, confirms that man could never see the divine essence, we notice that the prophet Isaiah has enjoyed the divine presence (Isaiah 63: 9); that Jacob wrestled with God (Genesis 32: 24-30); that Moses spoke to God face to face, and the skin of his face shone by the splendor of the glory of God (Exodus 34: 29); And that the psalmist seeks from God to shine with His face on him (Psalm 4: 6; 31: 16; etc.); and in the New Testament in Romans 1: 19-20; 1 John 3: 1-2). In the second half of the second century, Fr. Theophilus of Antioch sent to his heathen friend Autolychus three books in which he explains the Christian dogma; and in the first seven chapters of the first book, he proclaimed the possibility of seeing God. Being asked by his friend: Show me God, he talked to him of the eschatological proclamation, according to which man can see God, who, alone is not prone to death, when man bears non-corruption in his body, as well as in his soul. This eschatological vision has to be preceded and prepared for by a vision of faith, which man enjoys in this present life, when he bears an inner purity, through which he can see by his insight the unseen things: [If you say: ‘Show me your God’, I shall respond, saying: ‘Show me your man, and I shall show you my God’; … Prove to me that the eyes of your soul are able to see, and the ears of your heart are able to hear; For God could be seen by those who are able to see Him; those whose souls’ eyes are open. … O man, the eyes of your soul have become blind by your sins and evil]. What does man see through the present vision of faith? … He does not see mental meditations, nor expects seen visions; … but – according to Fr.. Theophilus – he sees God through the works of His love, His care, and His ordinance of the whole creation, and of man himself. In other words, man does not encounter God to recognize His essence, nor to satisfy his mind with philosophical and theoretical theologies, but he encounter Him on a personal level; namely, he enters with Him in ‘a personal experience with the Holy Trinity’. https://coptic-treasures.com/ [Do you say to me: Can you show me how God looks? Hear this, O man! … God’s appearance is inexpressible; for it is not seen by the physical eyes. In His glory, greatness, highness, He is unperceivable; In power, in wisdom, and in goodness, He is incomparable; And in compassion, He is unutterable Calling Him is ‘Light’, I refer to His work; Calling Him ‘The Word’, I refer to His authority. Calling Him ‘Mind’, I refer to His wisdom. Calling Him ‘Spirit’, I refer to His breath. Calling Him ‘Care’, I refer to His goodness. Calling Him ‘kingdom’, I refer to His glory. Calling Him ‘the Lord’, I refer to Him as a Judge. Calling Him ‘the Judge’, I refer to Him as ‘Just’ Calling Him ‘A Father’, I refer to Him as the source of everything. Calling Him ‘Fire’, I refer to His wrath]. “Now if You walk before Me as Your father David walked, in integrity of heart, and in uprightness, to do according to all that I have commanded you, and if you keep My statutes and My judgments, then I will establish the throne of your kingdom over Israel forever, as I promised David your father, saying, ‘You shall not fail to have a man on the throne of Israel’. But if you or your sons at all turn from following Me, and do not keep My commandments and My statutes which I have set before you, but go and serve other gods and worship them, then I will cut off Israel from the land which I have given them; and this house which I have sanctified for my name, I will cast out of My sight https://coptic-treasures.com/ . Israel will be a proverb and a byword among all peoples. And this house will become a heap of ruin, everyone who passes by it will be astonished, and will hiss and say, ‘Why has the Lord done thus to this land and to this house?” (5-8) God warns them against apostasy from Him through denying faith, or disobeying His commandment, which would be a practical atheism, for which the punishment would be double. (1) The people would be cut off from the Land that God has given them, which is a symbol of the heavenly Canaan, where it is not befitting of anyone defiled to dwell, or anything unclean to be found. So it would be natural for the holy land, not to receive whoever does not keep its sanctity, by God’s work in him. By His love, God called us to enter into the holy land – His church, His holy body. Whoever does not respond to the work of His Holy Spirit, will have himself cut off the church, even if he occupies a prominent place of leadership. Hence, according to the scholar Origen, there are many in the church who are actually outside it. (2) He casts out of His sight the house which He has sanctified for His name; For the Holy One desires to have His people enjoy holiness to partake of His feature. He receives the house they have built to be a sanctuary for Him; Yet if that house loses its goal, which is the sanctification of the people of God, God will cast it out of His sight. What preoccupies God’s mind is ‘the holy people’, living in a holy land, and practicing worship in a holy house. That house, which was a magnificent example of glory; established upon a high mountain, testifying by its beauty and splendor to the presence of God https://coptic-treasures.com/ among His people; Now, with the people’s rejection of the divine presence, it will be “a proverb and a byword among all peoples”. After being a climax in glory, it will become a climax in reproach. That was what God allowed for His house when the worshippers persisted on defilement; which actually happened in the days of ‘Hezekiah’ (2 Chronicles 29; Micah 6: 16), as warned by the prophet Jeremiah (Jeremiah 18: 16; 19: 18); when the temple was destroyed in the years 586/585 B.C. on the hands of the Babylonians. And when it was rebuilt in the days of Zerubbabel, and again in the days of Herod, it did not resume its prior glory (3) Saying: “According to all I have commanded you”, In keeping the commandments with the uprightness of heart, We accept the whole law of Christ; We know no half way; We accept the new life with its spiritual heavenly law; We understand the secrets of the Old and the New Testaments and their statutes, not on the level of the deadly letter, but on that of the Spirit who edifies; By that we may say: “Then I would not be ashamed when I look into all Your commandments” (Psalm 119: 6). + As long as we say that the prophets are the ways, When we read the statutes, the laws, and the prophets, we would walk uprightly along the way in the Lord; We would understand and perceive His ways; And we would never be ashamed; when we have it our way to keep the commandments of God.. (The scholar Origen) + He who keeps one commandment and not another, would be betraying all the commandments, by insulting God who has provided and bound all of them together. For He who said: “You shall not commit adultery”, also said, “You shall not steal”. Therefore, if you steal, you would be breaking the https://coptic-treasures.com/ whole law. He who keeps all the commandments would not be ashamed on the awesome day of judgment. (Onesimus, bishop of Jerusalem) If disobedience of the commandment has brought our early parents into shame; when Adam said, “I heard the sound of You in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked, and I hid myself” (Genesis 3: 10); The obedience of the Lord Christ on the cross has taken the curse away from the believers, cast the shame away, and opened the gates of paradise even before the repentant robber. He who disobeys the commandment enters into reproach and shame; and he who intends to obey them, completely and not partly, will reap the fruit of glory, be clothed in the wedding garment, and joyfully sing: “Then I would not be ashamed when I look into all Your commandments”. For the commandment is a bond with the divine Word who grants him splendor and glory before the Father, His angels, and His saints; and grants him awe, and dominion to trample upon the serpents and scorpions, and all the power of the enemy. “Then they will answer, ‘Because they forsook the Lord their God, who brought their fathers out of the land of Egypt, and have embraced other gods, and worshipped them and served them; therefore the Lord has brought all this calamity on them” (9) According to ‘Lactantuis’, these divine words are a prophecy concerning the destruction of the temple. And he also says: [Those things happened through God, because of the crucifixion of Christ, as previously proclaimed to Solomon; … For what calamity, are those who crucified their Lord, who came for their salvation, unworthy of]. https://coptic-treasures.com/ 2- AN EXCHANGE OF GIFTS BETWEEN SOLOMON AND HIRAM: (10 – 14) “Now it happened at the end of twenty years, when Solomon had built the two houses, the house of the Lord and the king’s house” (10) Perceiving what his son will have of cleverness and ability to build, beside what the great possibilities he put at his disposal; David drew his son’s attention to the fact that human cleverness or material possibilities are not enough to consummate the building, but, “Unless the Lord builds the house, they labor in vain who build it” *Psalm 127: 1). David wrote this psalm to direct his son’s heart to God, for whom he is working to build His house; so as to make him keep his heart in the hands of God. Starting the work, building the house of the Lord, leaning upon the divine arm, God accompanied him, not only in building the temple, but even in building his own house with all its annexes; Starting with what is God’s, God supported him in what is his own. The order of building came to reveal the wisdom of Solomon: 1- The temple of the Lord; by which he presented the firstfruit of his constructive works to the account of the Lord Himself. 2- His royal house or palace, in which he felt a sense of stare stability. 3- The house of the Pharaoh’s daughter, namely, the wing of women, for familial stability. 4- The cities of storehouses to keep the produce and crops; and stables for the horses. 5- Resorts in Lebanon for the sake of his own pleasure of hunting and relaxation. https://coptic-treasures.com/ The order of construction came as such: The dwelling of God among His people; The state stability; the familial stability; the economic benefits; and the pleasure items. “(Hiram the king of Tyre has supplied with cedar and cypress and gold as much as he desired), that king Solomon then gave Hiram twenty cities in the land of Galilee” (11) In the fifth chapter we read about the treaty between Solomon and Hiram; Now this chapter reveals the fulfillment of that treaty in an atmosphere of friendship, love, openness, and fairness: a- On his side, Hiram fulfilled what he pledged of providing Solomon with everything he desired (11) b- Solomon gave Hiram twenty small cities in the land of Galilee (11). It so seems that those cities were not within the portion of any of the tribes, but beyond the frontier of Asher (Joshua 19: 27); that remained in the hands of their inhabitants, until Solomon came, took them over, and gave them to Hiram (2 Samuel 24: 7); (who was not pleased with them) It so seems that Solomon presented those cities, which, according to the Historian Josephus were located north-west of the land of Galilee, to Hiram, not to possess perpetually as a part of his kingdom, but to use as he desires until the wages of the workers are paid. “Then Hiram went from Tyre to see the cities which Solomon has given him, but they did not please him. So he said, ‘What kind of cities are these which you have given me, my brother?’ And he called them the land of Cabul, https://coptic-treasures.com/ as they are to this day” (12-13) According to Josephus, the Jewish historian, they were called ‘Cabul’, a Phoenician word meaning (fruitless); and were taken back later by Solomon from Hiram in exchange of specific gifts, probably plenty of agricultural crops; and were repaired and inhabited by Israelites. Some may wonder, those twenty cities, presented by Solomon to Hiram, with which Hiram was not pleased, were they actually valueless; or was Hiram an opportunist trying to get a better bargain?. To this, according to some scholars, those cities were not valueless, nor Hiram was an opportunist; but although that land had its agricultural value, Hiram’s men of trade had no agricultural experience, nor had any desire to enter into that business. … The way those who have a marine fleet, and wide international trade relationships, often wonder how can man be content in doing agricultural business like the inhabitants of Cabul were;. Likewise those working in agriculture, would never dream of confronting the risky and dangerous work on board ships however profitable it may be. … God granted every man, as well as every people, what would bring them pleasure and comfort. Finding that Hiram was not pleased with his gift, Solomon probably made it up for him by more plentiful agricultural crops, or paid the wages of his men in gold, after he finished his construction works. It is obvious from the book of Joshua 19: 27, that there has been a province by the name of Cabul, a part of the promised land, on the border of the portion of the tribe Asher. That is why some translate the word, meaning (Frontier or border), as it came in the Septuagint version. “Then Hiram sent the king one hundred and twenty talents of gold” (14) https://coptic-treasures.com/ It so seems that this sum was a loan from Hiram to king Solomon to help him consummate his projects beside the building of the temple, Although his father left much to him to build the temple, and Solomon collected more as annual tax from the nations submitted to him, yet his multitude of projects were so expensive that even his own people were heavily burdened as well: -- They offered gifts for building the temple -- They presented much of their own agricultural produce to pay wages to Hiram’s men who partook of the work. -- They partook of the expenses of building the royal palace and its annexes. -- They partook of the expenses of building the king’s storehouses and new cities. -- They partook of paying back the loan taken by Solomon from Hiram. -- They partook of paying back the wages of Hiram’s men, when he was not pleased with the twenty cities given to him by Solomon. 3- SOLOMON’S WORKS AND CONSTRUCTIONS: (15 – 23) “And this is the reason for the labor force which king Solomon raised: to build the house of the Lord, his own house, the Millo, the walls of Jerusalem, Hazor, Megiddo, and Gezer” (15) As the walls of the city of David, namely, His Millo or stronghold (2 Samuel 5: 9; 1 Chronicles 11: 8), have deteriorated after about 50 years of its building, Solomon was committed to renew them (1 kings 11: 27). Hazor, Megiddo, and Gezer were of the most important locations in the promised land: https://coptic-treasures.com/ Gezer: a Hebrew name, meaning, (portion, or the bride’s dowry), the name of a Canaanite old city whose history goes back to nearly 3000 years; about 18 miles west of Jerusalem; a prominent city, a connecting center to Egypt, because of its location on the route to Jaffa, and of a very important strategic position on the route to Maris, the main route that connects between Egypt and Mesopotamia, close to Lechich, to the lower Beth Horon (Joshua 10: 33; 16: 3), and to Tell Jezer; Known nowadays as ‘Abu Shusha’. It was never defeated by the Israelites, was never without its original inhabitants, who seem to have some kind of independence, till the days of Solomon; was a portion of the tribe of Ephraim (1 Chronicles 7: 28); then was chosen as a city of the Levites (Joshua 21: 1-21; 1 Chronicles 6: 27).. It was taken over by the Philistines (2 Samuel 5: 25; 1 Chronicles 20: 4); and by the Pharaoh of Egypt who presented it as a dowry to his daughter when she was married to king Solomon (1 Kings 9: 16); which was a custom among kings that the father of the bride presents a city as a dowry for his daughter married to another king. And being located on a public route from Jaffa to Jerusalem and Gibeon, it had to be fortified, which was done by king Solomon, who made it a military and commercial center (9: 15, 16). It was an important stronghold in the Jewish wars; was destroyed by the Assyrians; fortified by the Maccabees during their wars (1 Kings 9: 52), and was taken over by Simon the Maccabee after besieging it. “(Pharaoh king of Egypt has gone up and taken Gezer and burnt it with fire, had killed the Canaanites who dwelt in the city, and had given it as a dowry to his daughter, Solomon’s wife (16) “And Solomon built Gezer, Lower Beth Horon, Baalath, and Tadmor in the wilderness, in the land of Judah” (17-18) https://coptic-treasures.com/ As Beth Horon or Beit Vr. Tachta, also had a prominent location like Gezer, it had to be fortified. Tadmor, well known by many scholars as the same city known by the name ‘Palmyra’; on account of that the word ‘Tadmor’ is derived from the word (Tamr, Tamor, or Tamar), namely, (dates) in both Arabic and Hebrew languages.. After taking it over, Alexander the Great called it ‘Palmyra’, namely, (the city of Palms). Its remains is full of pillars, temples, decorated tombs, and the great temple of the sun. A very old city in the desert, has been one of the most beautiful cities in the world, south of Judea (Ezekiel 47: 19; 48: 28); 140 miles, north-east of Damascus, and 120 miles west of the River Euphrates. The remains of Palmyra, extending nowadays about a mile and a half, reveal the greatness and exaltation of Solomon; like a fertile oasis, surrounded by barren desert on all sides. The modern village of Tadmor, within the walls of the great temple of the sun, and its remains, no place is equal to it in width and beauty, in all Syria, except for Baalbak; its rich supply of water runs below it in old tunnels, and its greatest springs run in a natural channel beneath the mountain south of the city. Most of its tombs are outside the city, tops in craftsmanship, and some of them are built in the shape of towers, and include mummies like those in the tombs of Egypt. The city was full of statutes. Located between Syria and Mesopotamia, it had its commercial importance before the days of Solomon, who fortified it, for commercial interest, and to be a defense stronghold against any attack from north Asia. According to John of Antioch, Nebuchadnezar, on his way to put Jerusalem under siege, destroyed the city. https://coptic-treasures.com/ The discoveries by the University of Chicago concerning Megiddo, reveal a region filled with the remains of stables since the days of Solomon. Such a stable has been very extensive, could accommodate between 300 and 500 horses. At the end of the detailed description of those stables, Wood, and Dawkes, said that the world has never seen a more glorified and haughtier city in the old and contemporary eras, not only as far as its buildings and location are concerned, but concerning the celebrities who graduated from it, like Longinus, and queen Zenobia (Zeinab, or Zabaa), who made it the capital of her kingdom , before Orlis destroyed it in the year 273 B.C. Baalath (Bata), a Samite name, meaning (a lady), a city within the portion of Dan (Joshua 19: 44), its location is unknown now, although, according to some, it was south of Palestine, close to Shepelah (2 Chronicles 8: 5), called by the name ‘Aver, On’ (Amos 1: 5); And according to Josephus, it was not far from Gezer, and it was therefore, not Baalbak. “And all the storage cities that Solomon had, cities for his chariots, and cities for his cavalry, and whatever Solomon desired to build in Jerusalem, in Lebanon, and in the land of his dominion” (19) The storage cities were specially built to put in them in the food provisions of the state, construction materials, and military equipments. They were signs of the wealth of the country, its economic prosperity, its military might, and political glory. Those cities were for the storage of the provisions of the army, most probably in the north (2 Chronicles 8: 4; 16: 4); and for the provisions of men of the state, at the times of affliction (2 Chronicles 17: 12; 32: 28); the way Pharaoh built storage cities in the land of Gasaan (Exodus 1: 11). Located on the commercial routes, they were also used to support the travelers and their beasts of burden. https://coptic-treasures.com/ Israel was divided into 12 sections, each of which had to provide a portion of the provisions to Jerusalem, or to the royal palace; which was not directly done, but through the storage cities. The Israelites, as slaves, built storages cities in Egypt, like Phethom and Raamses (Exodus 1: 11). Jehoshaphat and Hezekiah, likewise, built storage cities during the reigns Saying: “And whatever Solomon desired to build in Jerusalem, in Lebanon, and in the land of his dominion”, reveals how difficult it was to count the multitude of constructions done by the king. “All the people who were left of the Amorites, the Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites, who were not of the children of Israel, that is their descendants who were left in the land after them, whom the children of Israel had not been able to destroy completely – from those Solomon raised forced labor, as it is to this day. But of the children of Israel Solomon made no forced labor, because they were men of war and his servants, his officers, his captains, commanders of his chariots, and his cavalry” (20 – 22) Once Sesostris, king of Egypt, came back from war, he built several temples all over Egypt, using in their building not a single Egyptian citizen, but the captives of war. And on the walls of every temple the words: [No Egyptian citizen worked in building this temple] were inscribed. It so seems that Solomon did the same in his establishments. Hiring 30,000 Israelites for a period of one month, followed by two months rest, was not counted as forced labor, nor servitude; as all what preoccupied https://coptic-treasures.com/ Solomon’s heart was to let his people live in a spirit of freedom, to have from them men of war, princes, civil, and military leaders. “Others were chiefs of the officials who were over Solomon’s work, five hundred and fifty, who ruled over the people who did the work” (23). 4- PHARAOH’S DAUGHTER IN THE CITY OF DAVID: (24 – 26) “But Pharaoh’s daughter came up from the city of David to her house which Solomon has built for her. Then he built the Millo” (24) Solomon did not feel comfortable about having Pharaoh’s daughter living in David’s house on Mount Zion, very close to the temple. For he considered the location of the temple as being a holy place, on account of the presence of the ark of the Lord in it. His own house was on the other side of the mount, probably opposite to the temple, separated by Tyropoeum Valley. 5- OFFERING ANNUAL SACRIFICES: (25) “Now, three times a year, Solomon offered burnt offerings and peace offerings on the altar which he had built for the Lord, and he burned incense with them on the altar that was before the Lord. So he finished the temple” (25) Solomon was keen on offering burnt offerings and peace offerings to the Lord, three times a year; namely, on the major feasts of the Passover, the Pentecost, and the Tabernacles, beside the sacrifices he kept on offering every now and then. He did not stop at building the temple and the altar, but he felt the need for the sacrifice to realize the reconciliation with God. The living spiritual leader, beside the ministry of others, does not disregard his own need for ministry. https://coptic-treasures.com/ After building the temple, no more sacrifices were offered on the high places (1 Kings 3: 2). Now, Solomon offers burnt offerings and peace offerings on the altar which he built for the Lord, three times a year. “So he finished the temple” The building was consummated, not by stones, wood, costly furniture, of gold, silver, and bronze, but by the continuous offering of sacrifices; for that work would only be consummated by the divine presence among the people; which could not be realized except through offering the sacrifice. 6- SOLOMON’S MARINE FLEET: (26 – 28) “King Solomon also built a fleet of ships at Ezion Geber, which is near Elath, on the shore of the Red Sea, in the land of Edom” (26) Solomon built this fleet for trade with Arabia, India, and the eastern coast of Africa. Ezion Geber is located at the far end of the Golf of Aqaba in the Red Sea. Beside their remains discovered by Dr. Nelson Glueck of the American School of eastern studies: there were remains of metal furnaces, crucibles, refinery labs, and storehouses of bronze and iron; and close to them were diverse products of nails, arrow heads, fish hooks, etc. “Then Hiram sent his servants with the fleet, seamen who knew he sea, to work with the servants of Solomon” (27) Hiram sent his servants who had experience in ship-building and navigation, which the Israelites lacked at that time. At Ezion Geber the men of Tyre built the ships, The commercial relationships between the southern coast of Arabia, and India was very old, going back to pre-Solomon era. Whereas through the relationships https://coptic-treasures.com/ between Arabia and the opposite coast of Ethiopia, the African produce reached Arabia; and is therefore, much older than that between Arabia and India. “An they went to Ophir and acquired 420 talents of gold from there, and brought it to king Solomon” (28) The literal translation of verse 26 indicate that it was only one commercial ship that Solomon built, rather than a whole fleet. The trade with Ophir was probably stable before, whether on the hands of the Phoenicians or the Egyptians. And when Solomon decided to partake of that trade, Egypt already had her fleet in the other arm of the Red Sea that extended to the southern regions since long time. Ophir the name of land called after the son of Jactan who settled down in south Arabia, (Yemen nowadays), whose name came together with Havilah and Jobabs (Genesis 10: 29). That region was famed for gold (1 Chronicles 29: 4; Job 22: 24; 28: 16; Psalm 45: 9; Isaiah 13: 12). Solomon and Hiram sent a commercial fleet from Ezion Geber on the Gulf of Aqaba to Ophir, which brought forth gold, almug wood, and precious stones (9: 26-28; 10: 11). According to some, Ophir was located on the eastern coast of Africa, or in India beyond the River Ganges; But most probably it was in Yemen, close to the land of the Cebians. While, according to others, the name ‘Ophir’ was generally given to the southern regions of the seas of Africa, Arabia, and India, according to others it concerns those of Ceylon. ----------------------------- https://coptic-treasures.com/ AN INSPIRATION FROM 1 KINGS 9 GRANT ME, O LORD, TO SEE YOU + Solomon enjoyed seeing You twice: In Gibeon, when he became king; And after the temple was built. Grant me to see You, since You have set me a king; And Your Holy Spirit sanctifies my depths a dwelling place for You. Let Your eyes and heart be in my depths, all the days of my sojourn; For You are my gladness, righteousness, and sanctification. + Your transfiguration in me teaches me to be friendly with my brethren; To deal with love, together with openness with my brethren; As Solomon was with Hiram; + Appear to me, for all my energies build Your house in me; Solomon used forced labor from all nations around him; They all worked in submission; + Your appearance to him encouraged him to build his commercial fleet; All what his hands stretched to do was successful; You are the secret of my success.
Welcome