There is something interesting about the 20 cities Solomon gave Hiram.
They were all from the northern tribal territories.
Nothing in Judah territory was given to Hiram.
Additionally, there’s another interesting detail I wanna point out.
Look at this verse:
“At the end of twenty years, during which time Shlomo had built the house of ADONAI and his own palace, Shlomo built up the cities which Huram had given to Shlomo and had the people of Israel live there.” -2 Chronicles 8:1-2
So if we’re operating under the assumption that the cities mentioned here that Hiram gave to Solomon were the same 20 cities that Solomon had actually given to Hiram in 1st Kings 9:11, and that Hiram was just returning them, then it appears these cities, although in Hebrew territory, may have been occupied by Gentiles, most likely Canaanites.
Tom Bradford thinks they would’ve been peaceful Canaanites, however, who had given their allegiance to Solomon.
We do see other incidents when Solomon used non-Hebrew resources for his benefit.
In 1 Kings 9:20-21, he puts the Canaanites still living in the land to forced labor.
The greater Israelite society probably would not have protested that.
So if these cities were put up as security (Bradford’s theory, not mine), this might explain why Hiram was not pleased with the cities he got from Solomon.
It’s because they were Gentile-occupied cities, and he knew Solomon wouldn’t have valued them as much because of that.
On top of that, Solomon later built these cities up.
After that, what did Solomon do?
He moved Israelites in there.
That probably would’ve been a popular move among the general Israelite population.
It may also have been a way to calm down the tribes in the north.
They might have been ticked off big time that Solomon had offered some of their land to Hiram.
And we know the northern tribes had beef with Solomon’s heavy demands later on (1 Kings 12:4).
Or as Bradford puts it, politicians have always known how to spend other people’s money to help themselves.
Now, notice all the “may haves,” “probablys,” and “ifs” in there.
This goes back to what I said yesterday.
None of this is spelled out in the text.
It’s all speculation, even if reasonable speculation.
Alrighty, so what’s the takeaway for today?
Pay attention to all the little details, homie.
That’s your lesson!
Solomon handed over twenty cities from the north.
Nothing from Judah.
Seems like a small thing, right?
But keep that in your back pocket.
Because a few chapters from now, the northern tribes are gonna tell Solomon’s son they’re done carrying Judah’s load.
And then the kingdom splits in two.
My point is the cracks were showing way before the break.
Alrighty, I’ll leave it at that for today.
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