devise what judgment could be given, and the whole court were blind in their understanding, and could not tell how to find out this riddle; the king invented the following method of discovering it. He bade them bring in both the dead and the living child; and commanded one of his guards to fetch a sword, and to cut both the children into two pieces, that each of the women might have half the living and half the dead child. Hereupon all the people privately laughed at the king, as no more than a youth. But in the mean time the real mother of the living child cried out,* that he should not do so, but deliver that child to the other woman as her own; for she would be satisfied with the life of the child, and with the sight of it, although it were esteemed the other's child. But the other woman was ready to see the child divided, and was even desirous that the first woman should be tormented. When the

* Solomon knew at once that the only sign that would discover the truth, would be her affection, and compassion, and tenderness for her child; and there fore in order to distinguish between the two, his business was to make trial of this; and if we suppose, that when he commanded the child to be divided, he spake with a sedate countenance, and seeming earnestness, as the true mother's petition to the king makes it apparent that he did, then we may suppose farther, not only the two women, but all the people present, with horror and admiration, expecting the execution of the thing; which, when it ended in so just a decision, quite contrary to what they looked for, raised joy in every breast, and gave a more advantageous commendation to the judge: and yet Abarbinel, the Jewish commentator, thinks, that all this was no great proof of Solomon's extraordinary wisdom, nor could it beget that tear or reverence which the text says, 1 Kings iii. 28, it procured to his person. His opinion therefore is, that Solomon made a discovery of the truth antecedent to this experiment, that by observing the countenance, the manner of speech, and all the motions of the women, he discerned the secret of their hearts, and penetrated to the bottom of the business; and that his commanding the child to be divided afterwards, was only to notify to the company, what he before had discovered. However this be, it may not be improper, upon this occasion, to mention an instance or two out of profane history, of a singular address, though much inferior to this, in discovering such secrets as seemed to be past find. ing out. To this purpose, Suetonius, in his life of Claudian, chap. 15, tells us, how that emperor discovered a woman to be the mother of a young man, whom she whould not own for her son, by commanding her to be married to him; for the horror of committing incest obliged her to declare the truth: and, in like manner, Diodorus Siculus relates, how Ariopharnes, king of the Thracians, being appointed to arbitrate between three men, who all pretended to be sons of the king of the Cimmerians, and claimed the succession, found out the true son and heir, by ordering them to shoot each man his arrow into the dead king's body, which one of them refusing to do, was deemed the true claimant. Pool's Annotations, Patrick's and Calmet's Commentaries. B.

king understood that both their words proceeded from the truth of their passions, he adjudged the child to her who cried out for its preservation; for that she was the real mother; and he condemned the other as a wicked woman, who had not only killed her own child, but was willing to see her friend's child destroyed also. Now the multitude looked on this determination as a great demonstration of the king's sagacity and wisdom; and after that day attended to him, as to one that had a divine mind.*

Now the captains† of Solomon's armies, and officers appointed over the whole country, were these. Over the lot of Ephraim was Ures; over the toparchy of Bethlehem was Dioclerus. Abinadab, who married Solomon's daughter, had the region of Dora, and the sea coast under him. The great plain was under Benaiah the son of Achilus, who also governed all the country as far as Jordan. Gabaris ruled over Gilead, and Gaulanitis; and had under him the sixty great and fenced cities of Og. Achinadab managed the affairs of all Galilee, as far as Sidon; and had himself also married a daughter of Solomon, whose name was Basima. Banacates had the sea coast about Arce; as had Shaphat, mount Tabor and Carmel, and the lower Galilee, as far as the river Jordan; one man was appointed over all this country. Shimei was intrusted with the lot of Benjamin ; and Gabares had the country beyond Jordan; over whom there was again one governor appointed. Now the people of the Hebrews, and particularly the tribe of Judah, received a wonderful increase, when they betook themselves to husbandry, and the cultivation of their grounds. For as they enjoyed peace, and had besides an unbounded fruition of the most desirable liberty, every one was busy in augmenting the product of their own lands, and making them worth more than they had formerly been.

The king had also other rulers, who were over the land of

* 1 Kings iii. 28.

† Mr. Reland has treated of these prefects of provinces, and of their provinces, more exactly than any other and has compared our copies of 1 Kings iv, with Josephus very carefully; to whom I refer the learned reader. Palestina, tom. I. lib. I. chap. 29. Only we must note, that Josephus has but ten prefects, and that his names are different from these in our copies.

Syria, and of the Philistines, which reached from the river Euphrates to Egypt; and these collected his tributes of the nations. Now these contributed to the king's table, and to his supper every day thirty cori of fine flour, and sixty of meal; as also ten fat oxen, twenty oxen out of the pastures, and a hundred fat lambs; all these were besides what were taken by hunting, harts, buffaloes, birds, and fishes, which were brought to the king by foreigners every day. Solomon had also so great a number of chariots, that the stalls of his horses for these chariots were forty thousand;† and besides these he had twelve thousand horsemen: one half of which waited upon the king in Jerusalem, and were dispersed abroad, and dwelt in the royal villages. But the same officers who provided for the king's expenses, supplied also the fodder for the horses, and still carried it to the place where the king abode at that time.

Now the sagacity and wisdom which God had bestowed on Solomon was so great, that he exceeded the ancients: insomuch that he was no way inferior to the Egyptians, who are said to have been beyond all men in understanding; nay indeed it is evident that their sagacity was very much inferior to that of the king's. He also distinguished himself in wisdom above those who were most eminent among the Hebrews at that time for shrewdness. Those I mean were Ethan, Heman, Chalcol, and Darda, the sons of Mahol. He also composed books of Odes and Songs, in number a thousand and five; and of Parables and Similitudes three thousand. For he spake a parable

* It may not be amiss to compare the daily furniture of Solomon's table, here set down, and 1 Kings iv. 22, 23, with the like daily furniture of Nehemiah, the governor's table, after the Jews were come back from Babylon; and to remember withal, that Nehemiah was now building the walls of Jerusalem, and maintained more than usual above one hundred and fifty considerable men every day; and that, because the nation was then very poor, at his own charges also; without laying any burden upon the people. "Now that which was prepared for me daily was one ox, and six choice sheep. Also fowls were prepared for me. And once in ten days a store of all sorts of wine; and yet for all this I required not the bread of the governor, because the bondage was heavy upon this people." Ne. hem. v. 18. See the whole context, v. 14, 19. Nor did the governor's usual allowance of forty shekels of silver a day, v. 15, amount to 51. a day; nor to 18007. a year. Nor does it indeed appear that under the judges, or under Samuel the prophet, there was any such public allowance to these governors at all. Those great charges upon the public for maintaining courts came in with kings, as God had foretold. 1 Sam. viii. 11-18.

+ Four thousand, 2 Chron. ix. 25, which I suppose to be the true number.

upon every sort of tree, from the hyssop to the cedar and in like manner also about beasts, about all sorts of living creatures, whether upon the earth, or in the seas, or in the air. For he was not unacquainted with any of their natures; nor omitted inquiries about them; but described them all like a philosopher, and demonstrated his exquisite knowledge of their several properties. God also enabled him to learn that skill which expels demons,† which is a useful science to men. He composed such incantations also by which distempers are alleviated: and left behind him the manner of using exorcisms, by which they drive away demons; so that they never return, and this method of cure is of great force until this day. For I have seen a certain man of my own country, whose name was Eleazar, releasing the people that were demoniacal in the presence

The several books which treated of the nature and virtue of animals, as well as plants, are supposed to have been lost in the Babylonish captivity; but Eusebius, as he is quoted by Anastatius, informs us, that King Hezekiah, seeing the abuse which his subjects made of Solomon's works, by placing too much confidence in remedies which he prescribed, and the natural secrets which he discovered, thought proper to suppress them all. Notwithstanding this, since his time, many books, concerning the secrets of magic, medicine, and enchantments, have ap peared under the name of this prince; and several pieces have been quoted, such as The Instructions of Solomon to his son Rehoboam; The Testament of Solomon; The Books of the Throne of Solomon; The Books of Magic, composed by the demons, under the name of Solomon; The Clavicula, or key of Solomon ; The Ring of Solomon; the Contradiction of Solomon, &c. which were most of them very wicked and pernicious tracts, to which the authors prefixed this great name to give them credit and sanction. It is somewhat strange, however, that Josephus should inform us, that Solomon composed books of enchantments, and several manners of exorcims, or of driving away devils, so that they could return no more; and that he should farther assure us, that himself had seen experi• ments of it by one Eleazar, a Jew, who, in the presence of Vespasian, his sons, and the officers of his army, cured several that were possessed. Jewish Antiq. lib. 8. c. 2. Calmet's Dictionary, under the word Solomon. B.

+ Some pretended fragments of these books of conjurations of Solomon are still extant in Fabricius's Cod. Pseudepigr. Vet. Test. page 1054. Though I entire. ly differ from Josephus, in this opinion, that such books and arts of Solomon were parts of that wisdom which was imparted to him by God in his younger days. They must rather have belonged to such profane but curious arts as we find mentioned, Acts xix. 13, 20, and had been derived from the idolatry and su perstition of heathen wives and concubines, in his old age; when he had forsaken God, and God had forsaken him, and given him up to demoniacal delusions. Nor does Josephus's strange account of the root Baara, Of the war, VII. 6, seem to be other than that of its magical use in such conjurations. As for the following histo. ry it confirms what Christ says, Matt. xii. 27, If I by Beelzebub cast out demons, by whom do your sons cast them out?

of Vespasian, and his sons, and his captains, and the multitude of his soldiers: and the manner of the cure was this; he put a ring that had a root of one of those sorts mentioned by Solomon to the nostrils of the demoniac, after which he drew out the demon through his nostrils: and when the man fell down, he adjured him to return into him no more; making still mention of Solomon, and reciting the incantations which he composed. And when Eleazar would demonstrate to the spectators, that he had such a power, he set a little way off a cup or bason full of water, and commanded the demon, as he went out of the man, to overturn it: and thereby let the spectators know that he had left the man. And when this was done, the skill and wisdom of Solomon was shewn very manifestly. For which reason it is that all men may know the vastness of Solomon's abilities, and how he was beloved of God, and that the extraordinary virtues of every kind with which this king was endowed may not be unknown to any people under the sun; for this reason, I say, it is that we have proceeded to speak so largely of these matters.

Now Hiram, king of Tyre, when he heard that Solomon succeeded to his father's kingdom, was very glad, for he was a friend of David's. So he sent ambassadors to him, and congratulated him on the present happy state of affairs. Upon which Solomon sent him an epistle, the contents of which were as follows:

SOLOMON TO KING HIRAM,

"KNOW thou that my father would have built a temple to God; but was hindered by wars and continual expeditions; for he did not leave off to overthrow his enemies, till he made them all subject to tribute. But I give thanks to God for the peace I at present enjoy; and on that account I am at leisure, and de

* These epistles of Solomon and Hiram are those in 1 Kings v. 3-9, and as enlarged in 2 Chron. ii. 2-16, but here given us by Josephus in his own words. They are also extant in Eusebius's Præparat. Evangel. IX. 33, but greatly disguised by Eupolemus, from whom Eusebius had those copies. Which Eupolemus, for a heathen, knew a considerable deal of Jewish affairs; though in a very imperfect manner. Nor are his other accounts of Jewish history to be compared with the more accurate ones in Josephus.