The reign of Sol'o-mon may be regarded as the culminating period in the
history of Is'ra-el. But, strictly speaking, the latter part of Da'vid's
reign and only the former part of Sol'o-mon's constitute "the golden age
of Is'ra-el"; for Sol'o-mon's later years manifested a decline, which
after his death rapidly grew to a fall.
I. =Sol'o-mon's Empire= embraced all the lands from the Red Sea to the
Eu-phra'tes, and from the Med-i-ter-ra'ne-an to the Syr'i-an desert,
except Phoe-ni'cia, which was isolated by the Leb'a-non mountains. 1.
Besides Pal'es-tine, he ruled over E'dom, Mo'ab, Am'mon, Syr'i-a (here
referring to the district having Da-mas'cus as its capital), Zo'bah, and
Ha'math. 2. On the Gulf of Ak'a-ba, E'zi-on-ge'ber was his southern port
(1 Kings 9. 26); on the Med-i-ter-ra'ne-an, Ga'za (Az'zah) was his
limit; in the extreme north, Tiph'sah, by the Eu-phra'tes (1 Kings 4.
24); in the desert, Tad'mor, afterward Pal-my'ra (1 Kings 9. 18).
II. =His Foreign Relations= were extensive, for the first and only time
in the history of Is'ra-el. 1. His earliest treaty was _with Tyre_
(Phoe-ni'cia), whose king had been his father's friend (1 Kings 5. 1).
(What this alliance brought to Sol'o-mon see 1 Kings 5. 6-10; 2 Chron.
2. 3-14.) 2. His relations _with E'gypt_: in commerce (1 Kings 10. 28,
29); in marriage, a bold departure from Is'ra-el-ite customs (1 Kings 3.
1). Perhaps Psalm 45 was written upon this event. 3. _With A-ra'bi-a_,
the land bordering on the southern end of the Red Sea (1 Kings 10. 1-10,
14. 15). 4. _With the Far East_, perhaps India, referred to in 1 Kings
9. 21-28. 5. _With the West_, perhaps as far as Spain, the Tar'shish of
1 Kings 10. 22.
III. =His Buildings.= No king of Is'ra-el ever built so many and so
great public works as did Sol'o-mon. Among these are named: