Troublesome Topic: Solomon’s Many Accomplishments

Metallurgy

According to the book Aligning with Heaven by David Herzog, Solomon expanded iron production into the largest iron production process in the ancient near east, making Ezion Geber, on the shores of the red sea, in the land of Edom which Solomon controlled, the “Pittsburgh of old Palestine.” In Ezion Geber have been found the remains of what was obviously a large blast furnace using something similar to what we call the Bessemer system which was “discovered” in either 1851 or 1856, depending on whom you credit. Predecessors of the Bessemer systems were possibly in existence as early as the 11^th century or even the 9^th century in China and other parts of East Asia. But Solomon predated them by over 2000 years!

Maritime Trade

David made a treaty with Phonecia and Solomon continued with that treaty. King Hiram provided sailors that travelled with the servants of Solomon and taught them everything they needed to know regarding maritime navigation and travel. King Solomon had the financial resources to set up an operation large enough to build lots of ships relatively quickly, something which had previously been a slow process. The Phoenicians brought to the partnership their expertise at sea and their established trade routes. It is reasonable to assume that this partnership further expanded the trade that the Phoenicians had already been doing and established new trading posts in areas the Phoenicians had not yet visited. King Solomon’s demand for large quantities of metals of various types fueled a rapid expansion in maritime trade.

I Kings 9:26-27 says that Solomon built a fleet of ships at Ezion Geber, near Elath in the land of Edom. This was on the shore of what we now call the Gulf of Aqaba. If one draws a line from the Sea of Galilee, along the Jordan River, through the dead sea and following almost straight until he hits water, he would arrive at Elath (Elat today) and the Gulf of Aqaba. Ships leaving from this port would have exited the gulf into what today is called the Red Sea and then into the Indian ocean. 

Phoenician ships were known to carry on trade throughout the Mediterranean, Africa, Europe, the British Isles, Asia, India, and even the new world. Archeology has uncovered writing identified as Phoenician in places like New Hampshire’s Mystery hill. Another possible North American site where King Solomon and Phoenicians may have traded for copper is in Lake Superior. (Of course there were no locks at that time to help them get their big ships around Niagara falls, so they would have had to use an alternative method of getting the copper around Niagara falls. One method would be to use boats that stayed in the Great lakes and brought the copper to the Niagara area, and then carried the cargo over land around the Niagara falls and reloaded it onto the seafaring ships of Solomon’s fleet. Almost anything is possible when you have the kind of money Solomon had. Over 5,000 ancient copper mine workings have been discovered on the northern shores of Lake Superior and on Ile Royale. It is estimated that over 500 million pounds of metallic copper were removed from this area, and no one knows where it went. Solomon gathered or mined so much bronze and iron that they did not even weigh and record it the way they recorded other metals. Bronze is 20% tin and 80% copper. Where did Solomon get all that copper? We do not know, but Lake Superior is one place from which a great quantity of copper was removed and it does not appear to have been used by any group of people on this continent.

Solomon brought Gold from Ophir. Where was Ophir? No one seems to know even though many have tried to figure that out. We do know that it was a place reached by ship, not by land, meaning it was not anywhere close to Israel. The best thing would be to leave the location of Ophir a mystery. What does Ophir mean? I can’t find a good answer to that either.

The fleet of ships manned by Phoenician and Israelite sailors took trips that lasted 3 years, and brought back gold from Ophir, silver, ivory, apes and baboons, and algum wood (Sandlewood) (I Kings 10:22 and II Chron 9:21). Sandalwood grows naturally in South East Asia, apes and baboons would have to come from Africa (or possibly South America). Large quantities of gold could have had to come from South Africa (ancient Annunaki gold) or from the Olmecs of Mexico, or the precursors to the Mayans in Central America. He could have sent out two fleets, one going East and one going West, but he did not; he sent out one fleet to gather all that stuff on a trip that took three years each time. My guess is that the fleet circumnavigated the world each trip. Magellan took 3 years and 1 month for his trip.

I Kings 10:22 tells us that the fleet of Solomon and Hiram that made these three-year voyages were “ships of Tarshish.” That may mean they were of the style of the ships from Tarshish, i.e. large trading vessels (the phrase “ships of Tarshish” was used to indicate trading vessels), or it may mean they left from Tarshish, and from there sailed to places that were even further away. If the latter were intended, it would have caused amazement in the people of that day because Tarshish was about as far away as someone could get while traveling by sea. Tarshish was probably at the other end of the Mediterranean Sea and most people did not realize there were oceans beyond that. It is thought that Jonah went to Tarshish because that was as far away as he could get by purchasing passage on a ship. But Solomon and Hiram knew there was much more beyond the Mediterranean Sea and for that reason they were held in awe.

Food Production

During King Solomon’s day Israel was self-sufficient regarding food, and even exported food products.

Scientific Research

I King 4:33 indicates that Solomon had studied and was able to describe various types of plant life and many types of animals. The fact that this statement is included in the narrative of his life indicates that his knowledge about such things went well beyond that of the common man. The Israelites were mostly herdsmen so they knew a great deal about sheep and goats. They also knew quite a bit about a number of other animals that were common to them. But Solomon had studied and understood about many types of animals. That is why he had apes and baboons and other such animals brought from far away places.

Architecture

Solomon didn’t just throw buildings together. He appears to have been a good architect who carefully planned out every aspect of the palaces he built. All of them were designed to create a sense of awe in those who entered them.

Poetry and Music

His father had been a warrior-poet, Solomon was a scholarly judge. Like his father, he knew music well and helped improve the musical part of the worship experience at the temple. He wrote 1005 psalms.

Diplomacy

It should go without saying that Solomon was an expert in diplomacy and negotiations. No one could beat him or trick him at the negotiation table.

In summary, Israel was a powerhouse in terms of food production, metallurgy, maritime travel, international trade, and probably the size of its army. Solomon personally was unbeatable in negotiations, was a master at writing poetry and music, was an excellent architect and knowledgeable about many aspects of science. 

The next lesson is: Solomon and Shuly