Page 242 - Bible History

THE ISRAELITES UNDER KING SOLOMON 215
Back of it there was the court with its fountains and gardens.
Solomon's neighbors did not annoy him till close to The
the end of his life. The empire built up by David ex- I
tended from the Euphrates to Egypt, and remained intact during the forty years of Solomon's reign. It was this reign .of peace that made Solomon's days the
golden age of the Kingdom of Israel.
Solomon protected his kingdom and his traders. He Sol!mon's
:r ­ Solomon carried on trade with the neighboring Solomon's
forti ed the Temple and palace and built the city of Tadmor to protect his caravans coming from the East. He erected fortresses in Asor to guard the northern frontier; in Mageddo to protect the Plain of Esdrelon; in the two Bethorons and Baalath; and in Gazer, to guard the Plain of Ajalon.
commar- countries. His contact with King Hiram taught him cial
the value of commerce, and now his caravan routes led vi to the Hittites, the Syrians, and the Babylonians. Egypt sent him horses and chariots. King Hiram built ships for him and he paid sailors from Sidon to
sail the . Some Jewish sailors from the tribes of Issachar and Nephtali were also on these ships.
He sent these ships from Ailath, a port on the Gulf of Akaba, to India for ivory and gold. Every third year he sent his ships with Hiram's to Tharsis in Spain for gold and silver.
4. SoLOMON's KINGDOM DECLINES
Solomon received great revenues from his caravans =s and ships. Wealth also came to him in the form of
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