may thereby make a conjecture, and as it were, have a prospect of its magnitude.

This house was a large and curious edifice, which Solomon built for hearing causes, and taking cognizance of suits. It was sufficiently capacious to contain a great body of men; who would come together to have their causes determined. It was a hundred cubits long, fifty broad, and thirty high; supported by quadrangular pillars, which were all of cedar; but its roof was according to the Corinthian* order, with folding doors, and their adjoining pillars of equal magnitude, each fluted with three cavities; which building was at once firm and very ornamental. There was also another house so ordered, that its entire breadth was placed in the middle. It was quadrangular, and its breadth was thirty cubits; having a temple over against it, raised upon many pillars; in which temple there was a large and magnificent room, wherein the king sat in judgment. To this was joined another house that was built for his queen. There were other smaller edifices for diet, and for sleep, after public matters were over; and these were all floored with boards of cedar. Some of these Solomon built with stones of ten cubits; and lined the walls with other stones that were of great value; such as are dug out the earth for the ornaments of temples, and to make fine prospects in royal palaces; and which make the mines whence they are dug famous. Now the contexture of the curious workmanship of these stones was in three rows; but the fourth row was adorned with sculptures which represented trees, and all sorts of plants, with the shades

This mention of the Corinthian ornaments of architecture in Solomon's palace by Josephus, seems to be here set down by way of prolepsis. For although it appears to me, that the Grecian and Roman most ancient orders of architecture were taken from Solomon's temple, as from their original patterns; yet it is not so clear that the last and most ornamental order, the Corinthian, was so ancient. Although what the same Josephus says, Of the War, V. 5, that one of the gates of Herod's temple was built according to the rules of this Corinthian order, is no way improbable; that order being, without dispute, much older than the reign of Herod. However, upon some trial, I confess I have not hitherto been able fully to understand the structure of this palace of Solomon's either as described in our Bibles, or even with the additional help of this description here by Josephus. So I add no more notes about it. Only the reader may easily observe with me, that the measures of this first building in Josephus, 100 cubits long, and 50 cubits broad, are the very same with the area of the court of the tabernacle of Moses; and just half an Egyptian aroura or acre.

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that arose from their branches, and leaves that hung down from them. These trees and plants covered the stone that was beneath them, and their leaves were wrought so prodigously thin and subtile that you would think they were in motion. But the other part up to the roof was plastered over, and, as it were, embroidered with colours and pictures. He built other edifices for pleasure; as also very long cloisters, and those situate in an agreeable part of the palace; and among them a most noble dining-room for feastings, and full of such furniture as so fine a room ought to have for the conveniency of the guests, and where all the vessels were made of gold. Now it is very hard to reckon the magnitude, and the variety of the royal apartments; how many rooms there were of the largest sort, how many of a bigness inferior to those, and how many that were subterraneous and invisible; the curiosity of those that enjoyed the fresh air, and the groves for the most delightful prospect, for the avoiding the heat and the covering of their bodies. In a word, Solomon made the whole building entirely of white stone, and cedar wood, and gold, and silver. He also adorned the roofs and the walls with stones set in gold, and beautified them in the same manner as he had beautified the temple of God with the like stones. He also made himself a large throne of ivory,* constructed as a seat of justice, and having six steps to it. On every one of which stood, on each end of the step, two lions; two other lions standing above also, but at the sitting place of the throne, hands came out, and received the king; and when he sat backward, he rested on a half bullock, that looked towards his back, but still all was fastened together with gold.

When Solomon had completed all this in twenty† years' time, because Hiram, king of Tyre, had contributed a great deal of gold, and more silver, to these buildings; as also cedar wood, and pine wood; he rewarded Hiram with rich presents; corn he sent him also year by year, and wine, and oil; which were the principal things he stood in need of, because he inhabited an island, as we have already said. And besides these, he

* 1 Kings x. 18.

+ From an. 1052 to 1032, B. C.

granted him twenty cities of Galilee,* that lay not far from Tyre; which when Hiram went to, and viewed, and did not like the gift, he sent word to Solomon that he did not want such cities as they were. And after that time those cities were called the land of Cabul; which name, if it be interpreted according to the language of the Phoenicians, denotes what does not please Moreover the king of Tyre sent† sophisms and enigmatical sayings to Solomon, and desired he would return their solutions.

* It is an express injunction which God gives the Israelites, that the land wherein the people had a right by divine lot and himself a right, as being the sole proprietor thereof, was not to be sold or alienated for ever, Lev. xxv. 23. How then, could Solomon, without violating this law, pretend to give Hiram twenty cities in the land of Galilee? Now to this some have replied, that Solomon did not give Hiram a property and perpetual right to those cities, but only assigned him the possession of them for a time, until the debt which he had contracted for the sev eral supplies he had from him, while he was building the temple, was satisfied. Others think that upon supposition that these cities were inhabited by Israelites, Solomon did not give Hiram, (as indeed he could not,) their particular possessions, but only his own royalties over them, (which he might justly do) and all the profits he received from them, which according to the taxes then imposed, 1 Kings xii. 4, were not inconsiderable. But there is no reason for these far-fetched solutions, when the Scripture expressly tells us, that these cities were not in the territories of Israel, nor inhabited at that time by the Israelites, 2 Chron. viii. 2. They were indeed some of them conquered by the king of Egypt, who gave them to Solomon as a portion with his daughter, and others by Solomon himself, who, as Selden observes (De Jure Nat. et Gen. lib. vi. cap. 16,) had "a right to dispose of those lands which he had conquered in voluntary war, without the consent of the senate." And this may be one reason why he gave these, rather than other cities, because these were certainly in his own power to give, when others perhaps were not. A learned author upon this subject, has given a quite different turn to the sense of the passage. For his opinion is, that Hiram did not return these cities, because he thought them not good enough, but because he was unwilling to receive so large a remuneration for the few good offices he had done Solomon, and was minded rather that his favours of this kind should be all gratuitous. He therefore makes the word Cabul, (which is the name that Hiram gives to the country where these cities stood,) a title of respect, and not of contempt; for he derives it from the Hebrew Chebes, which signifies a bond or chain, intimating that these two neighbouring kings had mutually bound themselves in a bond of friendship, Solomon by giving, and Hiram by returning the cities now under consideration. This is very pretty: but it is carrying the point of generosity in the king of Tyre a little too high, in my opinion, considering his acceptance of, if not express stipulation for, such a quantity of corn and oil, in lieu of the timber which he sent Solomon, 1 Kings v. 10, 11. Patrick's and Le Clerc's Commentaries, and Pool's Annotations. B.

Now so sagacious and understanding was Solomon, that none of these problems were too hard for him; but he conquered them all by his reasonings, and discovered their hidden meaning, and brought it to light. Menander also, one who translated the Tyrian archives out of the dialect of the Phoenicians into the Greek language, makes mention of these two kings, where he says: "When Abibalus was dead, his son Hiram received the kingdom from him: who when he had lived fiftythree years, reigned thirty-four. He raised a bank in a large place, and dedicated the golden pillar which is in Jupiter's temple. He also went and cut down materials of timber out of the mountain called Libanus, for the roofs of temples: and when he had pulled down the ancient temples, he both built the temple of Hercules, and that of Astarte; and he first set up the temple of Hercules in the Peritius; he also made an expedition against the Euchii or Titii,* who did not pay their tribute; and when he had subdued them to himself he returned. Under this king there was Abdemon, a youth in age; who always conquered the difficult problems which Solomon king of Jerusalem commanded him to explain." Dius also made mention of him, where he says, "When Abibalus was dead, his son Hiram reigned. He raised the eastern parts of the city higher, and made the city itself larger. He also joined the temple of Jupiter, which before stood by itself, to the city, by raising a bank in the middle between them; and he adorned it with donations of gold. Moreover he went up to mount Libanus, and cut down materials of wood for the building of the temples." He says also, that "Solomon, who was then king of Jerusalem, sent riddles to Hiram, and desired to receive the like from him; but that he who could not solve them should pay money to him that did solve them; and that Hiram accepted the conditions, and when he was not able to solve the riddles, he paid a great deal of money for his fine. But that he afterward did solve the posed riddles by the means of Abdemon, a man of Tyre: and that Hiram proposed other riddles; which when Solomon could not solve, he paid back a great deal of money to Hiram." This is it which Dius wrote.

*Probably the Tyrians.

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CHAP. VI.

OF THE FORTIFICATIONS OF JERUSALEM, THE ERECTION OF THE OTHER CITIES BY SOLOMON;. HIS SUBJUGATION OF SOME OF THE CANAANITES, AND HIS ENTERTAINMENT OF THE QUEEN OF EGYPT AND ETHIOPIA.

NOW* when the king saw that the walls of Jerusalem stood in need of being better secured, and made stronger; (for he thought the walls that encompassed Jerusalem ought to correspond with the dignity of the city ;) he both repaired them and made them higher, with great towers upon them; he also built cities which might be counted among the strongest, Hazor and Megiddo, and the third Gezer; which had indeed belonged to the Philistines; but Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, had made an expedition against it, and besieged it, and taken it by force; when he had slain all its inhabitants, he utterly overthrew it, aud gave it as a present to his daughter, who had been married to Solomon. For this reason the king rebuilt it, as a city that was naturally strong, and might be useful in wars, and the mutations of affairs that sometimes happen. Moreover he built two other cities not far from it; Beth-horon was the name of one of them, and Baalath of the other. He also built other cities that lay conveniently for these, in order to the enjoyment of pleasures and delicacies in them; such as were naturally of good temperature of the air, and agreeable for fruits ripe in their proper seasons and well watered with springs. Nay, Solomon went as far as the desert above Syria, and possessed himself of it, and built there a very large city, which was distant two day's journey from the upper Syria, and one day's journey from Euphrates, and six long days' journey from Babylon the great. Now the reason why this city lay so remote from the parts of Syria that are inhabited is this, that below there is no water to be had; and that it is in that place only that there are

† Ahout an. 1025.