---
title: "Jewish Antiquities · Ἰουδαϊκὴ ἀρχαιολογία"
author: "Josephus"
translator: "William Whiston"
languages: [grc, en]
shelf: "Second Temple"
section: 35 of 96
url: https://scriptura.si/works/josephus-jewish-antiquities-greek/35/
cite: "Josephus, tr. William Whiston, Jewish Antiquities · Ἰουδαϊκὴ ἀρχαιολογία, section 35. Scriptura (scriptura.si), https://scriptura.si/works/josephus-jewish-antiquities-greek/35/"
---

# Jewish Antiquities · Ἰουδαϊκὴ ἀρχαιολογία

*Josephus, tr. William Whiston*

The history of the Jews from the Creation to the eve of the revolt, in twenty books, with the passages on John the Baptist and Jesus: Niese’s Greek beside Whiston’s English.

> Greek: ed. Benedikt Niese, from the Perseus Digital Library (canonical-greekLit, tlg0526.tlg001, CC BY-SA 4.0).

> English: William Whiston, from the Perseus Digital Library (tlg0526.tlg001.perseus-eng2). Notes are not included.

> Rows follow the references the two texts share (books, chapters and sections), cut where both reach the end of a sentence.

## 35. Book VIII · sections 3–76

Source: https://scriptura.si/works/josephus-jewish-antiquities-greek/35/ · cite a paragraph as https://scriptura.si/works/josephus-jewish-antiquities-greek/35/#p-N

[¶0] 3. But Adonijah, who, while his father was living, attempted to gain possession of the government, came to the king’s mother Bathsheba, and saluted her with great civility; and when she asked him, whether he came to her as desiring her assistance in any thing or not, and bade him tell her if that were the case, for that she would cheerfully afford it him; he began to say, that she knew herself that the kingdom was his, both on account of his elder age, and of the disposition of the multitude, and that yet it was transferred to Solomon her son, according to the will of God. He also said that he was contented to be a servant under him, and was pleased with the present settlement; but he desired her to be a means of obtaining a favor from his brother to him, and to persuade him to bestow on him in marriage Abishag, who had indeed slept by his father, but, because his father was too old, he did not lie with her, and she was still a virgin. So Bathsheba promised him to afford him her assistance very earnestly, and to bring this marriage about, because the king would be willing to gratify him in such a thing, and because she would press it to him very earnestly. Accordingly he went away in hopes of succeeding in this match. So Solomon’s mother went presently to her son, to speak to him about what she had promised, upon Adonijah’s supplication to her. And when her son came forward to meet her, and embraced her, and when he had brought her into the house where his royal throne was set, he sat thereon, and bid them set another throne on the right hand for his mother. When Bathsheba was set down, she said, “O my son, grant me one request that I desire of thee, and do not any thing to me that is disagreeable or ungrateful, which thou wilt do if thou deniest me.” And when Solomon bid her to lay her commands upon him, because it was agreeable to his duty to grant her every thing she should ask, and complained that she did not at first begin her discourse with a firm expectation of obtaining what she desired, but had some suspicion of a denial, she entreated him to grant that his brother Adonijah might marry Abishag.

> Greek: 3. Ἀδωνίας δέ, ὃς καὶ τοῦ πατρὸς ἔτι ζῶντος ἐπεχείρησε τὴν ἀρχὴν κατασχεῖν, παρελθὼν πρὸς τὴν τοῦ βασιλέως μητέρα Βερσάβην καὶ φιλοφρόνως αὐτὴν ἀσπασάμενος, πυθομένης εἰ καὶ διὰ χρείαν τινὰ πρὸς αὐτὴν ἀφῖκται καὶ δηλοῦν κελευούσης ὡς ἡδέως παρεξομένης ἤρξατο λέγειν, ὅτι γινώσκει μὲν τὴν βασιλείαν καὶ αὐτὴ καὶ διὰ τὴν ἡλικίαν καὶ διὰ τὴν τοῦ πλήθους προαίρεσιν οὖσαν αὐτοῦ, μεταβάσης δὲ πρὸς Σολόμωνα τὸν υἱὸν αὐτῆς κατὰ τὴν τοῦ θεοῦ γνώμην στέργει καὶ ἀγαπᾷ τὴν ὑπʼ αὐτῷ δουλείαν καὶ τοῖς παροῦσιν [ἥδεται πράγμασιν]. ἐδεῖτο δʼ οὖν διακονῆσαι πρὸς τὸν ἀδελφὸν αὐτῷ καὶ πεῖσαι δοῦναι τὴν τῷ πατρὶ συγκοιμωμένην πρὸς γάμον αὐτῷ Ἀβισάκην· οὐ γὰρ πλησιάσαι τὸν πατέρα διὰ τὸ γῆρας αὐτῇ, μένειν δʼ ἔτι παρθένον. ἡ δὲ Βερσάβη καὶ διακονήσειν σπουδαίως ὑπέσχετο καὶ καταπράξεσθαι τὸν γάμον διʼ ἀμφότερα, τοῦ τε βασιλέως αὐτῷ χαρίσασθαί τι βουλησομένου καὶ δεησομένης αὐτῆς λιπαρῶς. καὶ ὁ μὲν εὔελπις ἀπαλλάττεται περὶ τοῦ γάμου, ἡ δὲ τοῦ Σολόμωνος μήτηρ εὐθὺς ὥρμησεν ἐπὶ τὸν υἱὸν διαλεξομένη περὶ ὧν Ἀδωνίᾳ δεηθέντι κατεπηγγείλατο. καὶ προϋπαντήσαντος αὐτῇ τοῦ παιδὸς καὶ περιπλακέντος, ἐπεὶ παρήγαγεν εἰς τὸν οἶκον, οὗ συνέβαινεν αὐτῷ κεῖσθαι τὸν βασιλικὸν θρόνον, καθίσας ἐκέλευσεν ἕτερον ἐκ δεξιῶν τεθῆναι τῇ μητρί. καθεσθεῖσα δʼ ἡ Βερσάβη μίαν, εἶπεν, ὦ παῖ, χάριν αἰτουμένῃ κατάνευσον καὶ μηδὲν ἐξ ἀρνήσεως δύσκολον μηδὲ σκυθρωπὸν ἀπεργάσῃ. τοῦ δὲ Σολόμωνος προστάττειν κελεύοντος, πάντα γὰρ ὅσιον εἶναι μητρὶ παρέχειν, καί τι προσμεμψαμένου τὴν ἀρχήν, ὅτι μὴ μετʼ ἐλπίδος ἤδη βεβαίας τοῦ τυχεῖν ὧν ἀξιοῖ ποιεῖται τοὺς λόγους ἀλλʼ ἄρνησιν ὑφορωμένη, δοῦναι τὴν παρθένον αὐτὸν Ἀβισάκην Ἀδωνίᾳ τἀδελφῷ πρὸς γάμον παρεκάλει.

[¶1] 9. But the king was greatly offended at these words, and sent away his mother, and said that Adonijah aimed at great things; and that he wondered that she did not desire him to yield up the kingdom to him, as to his elder brother, since she desired that he might marry Abishag; and that he had potent friends, Joab the captain of the host, and Abiathar the priest. So he called for Benaiah, the captain of the guards, and ordered him to slay his brother Adonijah. He also called for Abiathar the priest, and said to him, “I will not put thee to death because of those other hardships which thou hast endured with my father, and because of the ark which thou hast borne along with him; but I inflict this following punishment upon thee, because thou wast among Adonijah’s followers, and wast of his party. Do not thou continue here, nor come any more into my sight, but go to thine own town, and live on thy own fields, and there abide all thy life; for thou hast offended so greatly, that it is not just that thou shouldst retain thy dignity any longer.” For the forementioned cause, therefore, it was that the house of Ithamar was deprived of the sacerdotal dignity, as God had foretold to Eli, the grandfather of Abiathar. So it was transferred to the family of Phineas, to Zadok. Now those that were of the family of Phineas, but lived privately during the time that the high priesthood was transferred to the house of Ithamar, (of which family Eli was the first that received it,)were these that follow: Bukki, the son of Abishua the high priest; his son was Joatham; Joatham’s son was Meraioth; Meraioth’s son was Arophseus; Aropheus’s son was Ahitub; and Ahitub’s son was Zadok, who was first made high priest in the reign of David.

> Greek: 9. Λαβὼν δὲ πρὸς ὀργὴν ὁ βασιλεὺς τὸν λόγον ἀποπέμπεται μὲν τὴν μητέρα μειζόνων ὀρέγεσθαι πραγμάτων εἰπὼν Ἀδωνίαν καὶ θαυμάζειν, πῶς οὐ παραχωρῆσαι καὶ τῆς βασιλείας ὡς πρεσβυτέρῳ παρακαλεῖ τὸν γάμον αὐτῷ τὸν Ἀβισάκης αἰτουμένη φίλους ἔχοντι δυνατοὺς Ἰώαβον τὸν στρατηγὸν καὶ Ἀβιάθαρον τὸν ἱερέα, μεταπεμψάμενος δὲ Βαναίαν τὸν ἐπὶ τῶν σωματοφυλάκων ἀποκτεῖναι προσέταξεν αὐτῷ τὸν ἀδελφὸν Ἀδωνίαν. καλέσας δὲ τὸν Ἀβιάθαρον τὸν ἱερέα θανάτου μέν, εἶπε, ῥύεταί σε τά τε ἄλλα ὅσα τῷ πατρὶ συνέκαμες καὶ ἡ κιβωτός, ἣν σὺν αὐτῷ μετήνεγκας. ταύτην δέ σοι τὴν τιμωρίαν ἐπιτίθημι ταξαμένῳ μετὰ Ἀδωνία καὶ τὰ ἐκείνου φρονήσαντι· μήτε ἐνθάδε ἴσθι μήτε εἰς ὄψιν ἀπάντα τὴν ἐμήν, ἀλλʼ εἰς τὴν πατρίδα πορευθεὶς ἐν τοῖς ἀγροῖς ζῆθι καὶ τοῦτον ἄχρι τελευτῆς ἔχε τὸν βίον ἁμαρτὼν τοῦ μηκέτʼ εἶναι δικαίως ἐν ἀξίᾳ. καταλύεται μὲν οὖν ἀπὸ τῆς ἱερατικῆς τιμῆς ὁ Ἰθαμάρου οἶκος διὰ τὴν προειρημένην αἰτίαν, καθὼς καὶ τῷ Ἀβιαθάρου πάππῳ προεῖπεν ὁ θεὸς Ἠλεί, μετέβη δʼ εἰς τὸ Φιναάσου γένος πρὸς Σάδωκον. οἱ δὲ ἰδιωτεύσαντες ἐκ τοῦ Φιναάσου γένους καθʼ ὃν καιρὸν εἰς τὸν Ἰθαμάρου οἶκον ἡ ἀρχιερωσύνη μετῆλθεν Ἠλεὶ πρώτου ταύτην παραλαβόντος ἦσαν οὗτοι· ὁ τοῦ ἀρχιερέως Ἰησοῦ υἱὸς Βοκίας, τούτου δὲ Ἰώθαμος, Ἰωθάμου δὲ Μαραίωθος, Μαραιώθου δὲ Ἀροφαῖος, Ἀροφαίου δὲ Ἀχίτωβος, Ἀχιτώβου δὲ Σάδωκος, ὃς πρῶτος ἐπὶ Δαυίδου τοῦ βασιλέως ἀρχιερεὺς ἐγένετο.

[¶2] 13. Now when Joab the captain of the host heard of the slaughter of Adonijah, he was greatly afraid, for he was a greater friend to him than to Solomon; and suspecting, not without reason, that he was in danger, on account of his favor to Adonijah, he fled to the altar, and supposed he might procure safety thereby to himself, because of the king’s piety towards God. But when some told the king what Joab’s supposal was, he sent Benaiah, and commanded him to raise him up from the altar, and bring him to the judgment-seat, in order to make his defense. However, Joab said he would not leave the altar, but would die there rather than in another place. And when Benaiah had reported his answer to the king, Solomon commanded him to cut off his head there and let him take that as a punishment for those two captains of the host whom he had wickedly slain, and to bury his body, that his sins might never leave his family, but that himself and his father, by Joab’s death, might be guiltless. And when Benaiah had done what he was commanded to do, he was himself appointed to be captain of the whole army. The king also made Zadok to be alone the high priest, in the room of Abiathar, whom he had removed.

> Greek: 13. Ἰώαβος δὲ ὁ στρατηγὸς τὴν ἀναίρεσιν ἀκούσας Ἀδωνία περιδεὴς ἐγένετο, φίλος γὰρ ἦν αὐτῷ μᾶλλον ἢ τῷ βασιλεῖ Σολόμωνι, καὶ κίνδυνον ἐκ τούτου διὰ τὴν πρὸς ἐκεῖνον εὔνοιαν οὐκ ἀλόγως ὑποπτεύων καταφεύγει μὲν ἐπὶ τὸ θυσιαστήριον, ἀσφάλειαν δὲ ἐνόμιζεν αὑτῷ ποριεῖν ἐκ τῆς πρὸς τὸν θεὸν εὐσεβείας τοῦ βασιλέως. ὁ δὲ ἀπαγγειλάντων αὐτῷ τινων τὴν Ἰωάβου γνώμην πέμψας Βαναίαν ἐκέλευσεν ἀναστήσαντα ἄγειν ἐπὶ τὸ δικαστήριον ὡς ἀπολογησόμενον. Ἰώαβος δὲ οὐκ ἔφη καταλείψειν τὸ ἱερόν, ἀλλʼ αὐτοῦ τεθνήξεσθαι μᾶλλον ἢ ἐν ἑτέρῳ χωρίῳ. Βαναίου δὲ τὴν ἀπόκρισιν αὐτοῦ τῷ βασιλεῖ δηλώσαντος προσέταξεν ὁ Σολόμων ἐκεῖ τὴν κεφαλὴν αὐτοῦ ἀποτεμεῖν, καθὼς βούλεται, καὶ ταύτην λαβεῖν τὴν δίκην ὑπὲρ τῶν δύο στρατηγῶν, οὓς ὁ Ἰώαβος ἀνοσίως ἀπέκτεινε, θάψαι δʼ αὐτοῦ τὸ σῶμα, ὅπως τὰ μὲν ἁμαρτήματα μηδέποτε καταλείπῃ τὸ γένος τὸ ἐκείνου, τῆς δὲ Ἰωάβου τελευτῆς αὐτός τε καὶ ὁ πατὴρ ἀθῷοι τυγχάνωσι. καὶ Βαναίας μὲν τὰ κελευσθέντα ποιήσας αὐτὸς ἀποδείκνυται στρατηγὸς πάσης τῆς δυνάμεως, Σάδωκον δὲ ποιεῖ μόνον ἀρχιερέα ὁ βασιλεὺς εἰς τὸν Ἀβιαθάρου τόπον, ὃν μετεστήσατο.

[¶3] 17. But as to Shimei, Solomon commanded that he should build him a house, and stay at Jerusalem, and attend upon him, and should not have authority to go over the brook Cedron; and that if he disobeyed that command, death should be his punishment. He also threatened him so terribly, that he compelled him to take all oath that he would obey. Accordingly Shimei said that he had reason to thank Solomon for giving him such an injunction; and added an oath, that he would do as he bade him; and leaving his own country, he made his abode in Jerusalem. But three years afterwards, when he heard that two of his servants were run away from him, and were in Gath, he went for his servants in haste; and when he was come back with them, the king perceived it, and was much displeased that he had contemned his commands, and, what was more, had no regard to the oaths he had sworn to God; so he called him, and said to him, “Didst not thou swear never to leave me, nor to go out of this city to another? Thou shalt not therefore escape punishment for thy perjury, but I will punish thee, thou wicked wretch, both for this crime, and for those wherewith thou didst abuse my father when he was in his flight, that thou mayst know that wicked men gain nothing at last, although they be not punished immediately upon their unjust practices; but that in all the time wherein they think themselves secure, because they have yet suffered nothing, their punishment increases, and is heavier upon them, and that to a greater degree than if they had been punished immediately upon the commission of their crimes.” So Benaiah, on the king’s command, slew Shimei.

> Greek: 17. Σουμουίσῳ δὲ προσέταξεν οἰκίαν οἰκοδομήσαντι μένειν ἐν Ἱεροσολύμοις αὐτῷ προσεδρεύοντι καὶ μὴ διαβαίνειν τὸν χειμάρρουν Κεδρῶνα ἔχειν ἐξουσίαν, παρακούσαντι δὲ τούτων θάνατον ἔσεσθαι τὸ πρόστιμον. τῷ δὲ μεγέθει τῆς ἀπειλῆς καὶ ὅρκους αὐτῷ προσηνάγκασε ποιήσασθαι. Σουμούισος δὲ χαίρειν οἷς προσέταξεν αὐτῷ Σολόμων φήσας καὶ ταῦτα ποιήσειν προσομόσας καταλιπὼν τὴν πατρίδα τὴν διατριβὴν ἐν τοῖς Ἱεροσολύμοις ἐποιεῖτο. διελθόντων δὲ τριῶν ἐτῶν ἀκούσας δύο δούλους ἀποδράντας αὐτὸν ἐν Γίττῃ τυγχάνοντας ὥρμησεν ἐπὶ τοὺς οἰκέτας. ἐπανελθόντος δὲ μετʼ αὐτῶν ὁ βασιλεὺς αἰσθόμενος, ὡς καὶ τῶν ἐντολῶν αὐτοῦ καταφρονήσαντος καὶ τὸ μεῖζον τῶν ὅρκων τοῦ θεοῦ μηδεμίαν ποιησαμένου φροντίδα, χαλεπῶς εἶχε καὶ καλέσας αὐτόν οὐ σύ, φησίν, ὤμοσας μὴ καταλείψειν ἐμὲ μηδʼ ἐξελεύσεσθαί ποτʼ ἐκ ταύτης τῆς πόλεως εἰς ἄλλην; οὔκουν ἀποδράσῃ τὴν τῆς ἐπιορκίας δίκην, ἀλλὰ καὶ ταύτης καὶ ὧν τὸν πατέρα μου παρὰ τὴν φυγὴν ὕβρισας τιμωρήσομαί σε πονηρὸν γενόμενον, ἵνα γνῷς ὅτι κερδαίνουσι μὲν οὐδὲν οἱ κακοὶ μὴ παρʼ αὐτὰ τἀδικήματα κολασθέντες, ἀλλὰ παντὶ τῷ χρόνῳ ᾧ νομίζουσιν ἀδεεῖς εἶναι μηδὲν πεπονθότες αὔξεται καὶ γίνεται μείζων ἡ κόλασις αὐτοῖς ἧς ἂν παραυτίκα πλημμελήσαντες ἔδοσαν. καὶ Σουμούισον μὲν κελευσθεὶς Βαναίας ἀπέκτεινεν.

[¶4] 21. SOLOMON having already settled himself firmly in his kingdom, and having brought his enemies to punishment, he married the daughter of Pharaoh king of Egypt, and built the walls of Jerusalem much larger and stronger than those that had been before, and thenceforward he managed public affairs very peaceably. Nor was his youth any hinderance in the exercise of justice, or in the observation of the laws, or in the remembrance of what charges his father had given him at his death; but he discharged every duty with great accuracy, that might have been expected from such as are aged, and of the greatest prudence. He now resolved to go to Hebron, and sacrifice to God upon the brazen altar that was built by Moses. Accordingly he offered there burnt-offerings, in number a thousand; and when he had done this, he thought he had paid great honor to God; for as he was asleep that very night God appeared to him, and commanded him to ask of him some gifts which he was ready to give him as a reward for his piety. So Solomon asked of God what was most excellent, and of the greatest worth in itself, what God would bestow with the greatest. joy, and what it was most profitable for man to receive; for he did not desire to have bestowed upon him either gold or silver, or any other riches, as a man and a youth might naturally have done, for these are the things that generally are esteemed by most men, as alone of the greatest worth, and the best gifts of God; but, said he, “Give me, O Lord, a sound mind, and a good understanding, whereby I may speak and judge the people according to truth and righteousness.” With these petitions God was well pleased; and promised to give him all those things that he had not mentioned in his option, riches, glory, victory over his enemies; and, in the first place, understanding and wisdom, and this in such a degree as no other mortal man, neither kings nor ordinary persons, ever had. He also promised to preserve the kingdom to his posterity for a very long time, if he continued righteous and obedient to him, and imitated his father in those things wherein he excelled. When Solomon heard this from God, he presently leaped out of his bed; and when he had worshipped him, he returned to Jerusalem; and after he had offered great sacrifices before the tabernacle, he feasted all his own family.

> Greek: 21. Ἤδη δὲ τὴν βασιλείαν βεβαίως ἔχων Σολόμων καὶ τῶν ἐχθρῶν κεκολασμένων ἄγεται τὴν Φαραώθου τοῦ τῶν Αἰγυπτίων βασιλέως θυγατέρα· καὶ κατασκευάσας τὰ τείχη [τῶν] Ἱεροσολύμων πολλῷ μείζω καὶ ὀχυρώτερα τῶν πρόσθεν ὄντων διεῖπε τὰ πράγματα λοιπὸν ἐπὶ πολλῆς εἰρήνης μηδʼ ὑπὸ τῆς νεότητος πρός τε δικαιοσύνην καὶ φυλακὴν τῶν νόμων καὶ μνήμην ὧν ὁ πατὴρ τελευτῶν ἐπέστειλε βλαπτόμενος, ἀλλὰ πάνθʼ ὅσα οἱ τοῖς χρόνοις προβεβηκότες καὶ πρὸς τὸ φρονεῖν ἀκμάζοντες μετὰ πολλῆς ἀκριβείας ἐπιτελῶν. ἔγνω δʼ εἰς Γιβρῶνα παραγενόμενος ἐπὶ τοῦ χαλκέου θυσιαστηρίου τοῦ κατασκευασθέντος ὑπὸ Μουσείου θῦσαι τῷ θεῷ καὶ χίλια τὸν ἀριθμὸν ὡλοκαύτωσεν ἱερεῖα. τοῦτο δὲ ποιήσας μεγάλως ἔδοξε τὸν θεὸν τετιμηκέναι· φανεὶς γὰρ αὐτῷ κατὰ τοὺς ὕπνους ἐκείνης τῆς νυκτὸς ἐκέλευσεν αἱρεῖσθαι, τίνας ἀντὶ τῆς εὐσεβείας παράσχῃ δωρεὰς αὐτῷ. Σολόμων δὲ τὰ κάλλιστα καὶ μέγιστα καὶ θεῷ παρασχεῖν ἥδιστα καὶ λαβεῖν ἀνθρώπῳ συμφορώτατα τὸν θεὸν ᾔτησεν· οὐ γὰρ χρυσὸν οὐδʼ ἄργυρον οὐδὲ τὸν ἄλλον πλοῦτον ὡς ἄνθρωπος καὶ νέος ἠξίωσεν αὑτῷ προσγενέσθαι, ταῦτα γὰρ σχεδὸν νενόμισται παρὰ τοῖς πλείστοις μόνα σπουδῆς ἄξια καὶ θεοῦ δῶρα εἶναι, ἀλλὰ δός μοι φησί, δέσποτα, νοῦν ὑγιῆ καὶ φρόνησιν ἀγαθήν, οἷς ἂν τὸν λαὸν τἀληθῆ καὶ τὰ δίκαια λαβὼν κρίνοιμι. τούτοις ἥσθη τοῖς αἰτήμασιν ὁ θεὸς καὶ τά τε ἄλλα πάνθʼ ὧν οὐκ ἐμνήσθη παρὰ τὴν ἐκλογὴν δώσειν ἐπηγγείλατο πλοῦτον δόξαν νίκην πολεμίων, καὶ πρὸ πάντων σύνεσιν καὶ σοφίαν οἵαν οὐκ ἄλλος τις ἀνθρώπων ἔσχεν οὔτε βασιλέων οὔτʼ ἰδιωτῶν, φυλάξειν τε καὶ τοῖς ἐκγόνοις αὐτοῦ τὴν βασιλείαν ἐπὶ πλεῖστον ὑπισχνεῖτο χρόνον, ἂν δίκαιός τε ὢν διαμένῃ καὶ πειθόμενος αὐτῷ καὶ τὸν πατέρα μιμούμενος ἐν οἷς ἦν ἄριστος. ταῦτα τοῦ θεοῦ Σολόμων ἀκούσας ἀνεπήδησεν εὐθὺς ἐκ τῆς κοίτης καὶ προσκυνήσας αὐτὸν ὑπέστρεψεν εἰς Ἱεροσόλυμα, καὶ πρὸ τῆς σκηνῆς μεγάλας ἐπιτελέσας θυσίας κατευωχεῖ τοὺς Ἰουδαίους ἅπαντας.

[¶5] 26. In these days a hard cause came before him in judgment, which it was very difficult to find any end of; and I think it necessary to explain the fact about which the contest was, that such as light upon my writings may know what a difficult cause Solomon was to determine, and those that are concerned in such matters may take this sagacity of the king for a pattern, that they may the more easily give sentence about such questions. There were two women, who were harlots in the course of their lives, that came to him; of whom she that seemed to be injured began to speak first, and said, “O king, I and this other woman dwell together in one room. Now it came to pass that we both bore a son at the same hour of the same day; and on the third day this woman overlaid her son, and killed it, and then took my son out of my bosom, and removed him to herself, and as I was asleep she laid her dead son in my arms. Now, when in the morning I was desirous to give the breast to the child, I did not find my own, but saw the woman’s dead child lying by me; for I considered it exactly, and found it so to be. Hence it was that I demanded my son, and when I could not obtain him, I have recourse, my lord, to thy assistance; for since we were alone, and there was nobody there that could convict her, she cares for nothing, but perseveres in the stout denial of the fact.” When this woman had told this her story, the king asked the other woman what she had to say in contradiction to that story. But when she denied that she had done what was charged upon her, and said that it was her child that was living, and that it was her antagonist’s child that was dead, and when no one could 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 alone invented the following way how to discover it. He bade them bring in both the dead child and the living child; and sent one of his guards, and commanded him to fetch a sword, and draw it, 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, she that was 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 desirous, moreover, that the first woman should be tormented. When the king understood that both their words proceeded from the truth of their passions, he adjudged the child to her that cried out to save it, for that she was the real mother of it; and he condemned the other as a wicked woman, who had not only killed her own child, but was endeavoring to see her friend’s child destroyed also. Now the multitude looked on this determination as a great sign and demonstration of the king’s sagacity and wisdom, and after that day attended to him as to one that had a divine mind.

> Greek: 26. Ταύταις δὲ ταῖς ἡμέραις κρίσις ἐπʼ αὐτὸν ἤχθη δυσχερής, ἧς τὸ τέλος εὑρεῖν ἦν ἐπίπονον· τὸ δὲ πρᾶγμα περὶ οὗ συνέβαινεν εἶναι τὴν δίκην ἀναγκαῖον ἡγησάμην δηλῶσαι, ἵνα τοῖς ἐντυγχάνουσι τό τε δύσκολον τῆς κρίσεως γνώριμον ὑπάρξῃ, καὶ τοιούτων μεταξὺ πραγμάτων γενόμενοι λάβωσιν ὥσπερ ἐξ εἰκόνος τῆς τοῦ βασιλέως ἀγχινοίας τὸ ῥᾳδίως ἀποφαίνεσθαι περὶ τῶν ζητουμένων δυνηθῆναι. δύο γυναῖκες ἑταῖραι τὸν βίον ἧκον ἐπʼ αὐτόν, ὧν ἡ ἀδικεῖσθαι δοκοῦσα πρώτη λέγειν ἤρξατο· οἰκῶ μέν, εἶπεν, ὦ βασιλεῦ, μετὰ ταύτης ἐν ἑνὶ δωματίῳ, συνέβη δʼ ἀμφοτέραις ἡμῖν ἐπὶ μιᾶς ἡμέρας ἀποτεκεῖν κατὰ τὴν αὐτὴν ὥραν ἄρρενα παιδία. τρίτης δὲ ἡμέρας διελθούσης ἐπικοιμηθεῖσα τῷ αὑτῆς παιδίῳ αὕτη τοῦτο μὲν ἀποκτείνει, βαστάσασα δὲ τοὐμὸν ἐκ τῶν γονάτων πρὸς αὑτὴν μεταφέρει καὶ τὸ νεκρὸν ἐμοῦ κοιμωμένης εἰς τὰς ἀγκάλας μου τίθησι. πρωῒ δὲ θηλὴν ὀρέξαι βουλομένη τῷ παιδίῳ τὸ μὲν ἐμὸν οὐχ εὗρον, τὸ δὲ ταύτης νεκρὸν ὁρῶ μοι παρακείμενον· ἀκριβῶς γὰρ κατανοήσασα τοῦτο ἐπέγνων· ὅθεν ἀπαιτῶ τὸν ἐμὸν υἱὸν καὶ οὐκ ἀπολαμβάνουσα καταπέφευγα, δέσποτα, ἐπὶ τὴν παρὰ σοῦ βοήθειαν· τῷ γὰρ εἶναι μόνας καὶ μηδένα τὸν ἐλέγξαι δυνάμενον φοβεῖσθαι καταφρονοῦσα ἰσχυρῶς ἀρνουμένη παραμένει. ταῦτʼ εἰπούσης ὁ βασιλεὺς ἀνέκρινε τὴν ἑτέραν, τί τοῖς εἰρημένοις ἀντιλέγειν ἔχει. τῆς δὲ ἀρνουμένης τοῦτο πεποιηκέναι, τὸ δὲ παιδίον ζῆν τὸ αὑτῆς λεγούσης, τὸ δὲ τῆς ἀντιδίκου τεθνηκέναι, μηδενὸς ἐπινοοῦντος τὴν κρίσιν ἀλλʼ ὥσπερ ἐπʼ αἰνίγματι περὶ τὴν εὕρεσιν αὐτοῦ πάντων τῇ διανοίᾳ τετυφλωμένων μόνος ὁ βασιλεὺς ἐπενόησέ τι τοιοῦτον· κελεύσας κομισθῆναι καὶ τὸ νεκρὸν καὶ τὸ ζῶν παιδίον μεταπέμπεταί τινα τῶν σωματοφυλάκων καὶ σπασάμενον ἐκέλευσε τὴν μάχαιραν ἀμφότερα διχοτομῆσαι τὰ παιδία, ὅπως ἑκάτεραι λάβωσιν ἀνὰ ἥμισυ τοῦ τε ζῶντος καὶ τοῦ τετελευτηκότος. ἐπὶ τούτῳ πᾶς μὲν ὁ λαὸς λανθάνων ἐχλεύαζεν ὡς μειράκιον τὸν βασιλέα, μεταξὺ δὲ τῆς μὲν ἀπαιτούσης καὶ ἀληθοῦς μητρὸς ἀνακραγούσης τοῦτο μὴ ποιεῖν ἀλλὰ παραδιδόναι τῇ ἑτέρᾳ τὸ παιδίον ὡς ἐκείνης, ἀρκεῖσθαι γὰρ τῷ ζῆν αὐτὸ καὶ βλέπειν μόνον κἂν ἀλλότριον δοκῇ, τῆς δʼ ἑτέρας ἑτοίμως ἐχούσης διαιρούμενον ἰδεῖν τὸ παιδίον καὶ προσέτι βασανισθῆναι καὶ αὐτὴν ἀξιούσης, ὁ βασιλεὺς ἐπιγνοὺς τὰς ἑκατέρων φωνὰς ἀπὸ τῆς ἀληθείας γεγενημένας τῇ μὲν ἀνακραγούσῃ τὸ παιδίον προσέκρινε, μητέρα γὰρ αὐτὴν ἀληθῶς εἶναι, τῆς δὲ ἄλλης κατέγνω πονηρίαν τό τε ἴδιον ἀποκτεινάσης καὶ τὸ τῆς φίλης σπουδαζούσης ἀπολλύμενον θεάσασθαι. τοῦτο μέγα δεῖγμα καὶ τεκμήριον τῆς τοῦ βασιλέως φρονήσεως καὶ σοφίας ἐνόμιζε τὸ πλῆθος, κἀξ ἐκείνης τὸ λοιπὸν τῆς ἡμέρας ὡς θείαν ἔχοντι διάνοιαν αὐτῷ προσεῖχον.

[¶6] 35. Now the captains of his 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; he 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’s, whose name was Basima; Banacates had the seacoast 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 were not distracted with wars and troubles, and having, besides, an abundant 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.

> Greek: 35. Στρατηγοὶ δʼ αὐτῷ καὶ ἡγεμόνες ἦσαν τῆς χώρας ἁπάσης οἵδε· τῆς μὲν Ἐφραίμου κληρουχίας Οὔρης· ἐπὶ δὲ τῆς Βιθιέμες τοπαρχίας ἦν Διόκληρος· τὴν δὲ τῶν Δώρων καὶ τὴν παραλίαν Ἀβινάδαβος εἶχεν ὑπʼ αὐτῷ γεγαμηκὼς τὴν Σολόμωνος θυγατέρα· τὸ δὲ μέγα πεδίον ἦν ὑπὸ Βαναίᾳ τῷ Ἀχίλου παιδί, προσεπῆρχε δὲ καὶ τῆς ἄχρι Ἰορδάνου πάσης· τὴν δὲ Γαλαδῖτιν καὶ Γαυλανῖτιν ἕως τοῦ Λιβάνου ὄρους καὶ πόλεις ἑξήκοντα μεγάλας καὶ ὀχυρωτάτας ἔχων ὑφʼ αὑτὸν Γαβάρης διεῖπεν· Ἀχινάδαβος δὲ τῆς Γαλιλαίας ὅλης ἄχρι Σιδῶνος ἐπετρόπευε συνοικῶν καὶ αὐτὸς θυγατρὶ Σολόμωνος Βασίμα τοὔνομα· τὴν δὲ περὶ Ἀκὴν παραλίαν εἶχε Βανακάτης· Σαφάτης δὲ τὸ Ἰταβύριον ὄρος καὶ Καρμήλιον καὶ τὴν κάτω Γαλιλαίαν ἄχρι τοῦ ποταμοῦ Ἰορδάνου χώραν ἐπὶ τούτῳ πᾶσαν ἐπετέτραπτο· Σουμούις δὲ τὴν τῆς Βενιαμίδος κληρουχίαν ἐγκεχείριστο· Γαβάρης δὲ εἶχε τὴν πέραν τοῦ Ἰορδάνου χώραν· ἐπὶ δὲ τούτων εἷς πάλιν ἄρχων ἀποδέδεικτο. θαυμαστὴν δʼ ἐπίδοσιν ἔλαβεν ὅ τε τῶν Ἑβραίων λαὸς καὶ ἡ Ἰούδα φυλὴ πρὸς γεωργίαν τραπέντων καὶ τὴν τῆς γῆς ἐπιμέλειαν· εἰρήνης γὰρ ἀπολαύοντες καὶ πολέμοις καὶ ταραχαῖς μὴ περισπώμενοι καὶ προσέτι τῆς ποθεινοτάτης ἐλευθερίας ἀκρατῶς ἐμφορούμενοι πρὸς τῷ συναύξειν ἕκαστος τὰ οἰκεῖα καὶ ποιεῖν ἄξια πλείονος ὑπῆρχεν.

[¶7] 39. The king had also other rulers, who were over the land of 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, and twenty oxen out of the pastures, and a hundred fat lambs; all these were besides what were taken by hunting harts and buffaloes, and birds and fishes, which were brought to the king by foreigners day by day. Solomon had also so great a number of chariots, that the stalls of his horses for those chariots were forty thousand; and besides these he had twelve thousand horsemen, the one half of which waited upon the king in Jerusalem, and the rest were dispersed abroad, and dwelt in the royal villages; but the same officer 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.

> Greek: 39. Ἦσαν δὲ καὶ ἕτεροι τῷ βασιλεῖ ἡγεμόνες, οἳ τῆς τε Σύρων γῆς καὶ τῶν ἀλλοφύλων ἥτις ἦν ἀπʼ Εὐφράτου ποταμοῦ διήκουσα μέχρι τῆς Αἰγυπτίων ἐπῆρχον ἐκλέγοντες αὐτῷ φόρους παρὰ τῶν ἐθνῶν. συνετέλουν δὲ καὶ τῇ τραπέζῃ καθʼ ἡμέραν καὶ τῷ δείπνῳ τοῦ βασιλέως σεμιδάλεως μὲν κόρους τριάκοντα, ἀλεύρου δὲ ξ, σιτιστοὺς δὲ βόας δέκα καὶ νομάδας βόας εἴκοσι, σιτιστοὺς δὲ ἄρνας ἑκατόν. ταῦτα πάντα πάρεξ τῶν ἀπʼ ἄγρας ἐλάφων λέγω καὶ βουβάλων καὶ τῶν πετεινῶν καὶ ἰχθύων ἐκομίζετο καθʼ ἡμέραν βασιλεῖ παρὰ τῶν ἀλλοφύλων. τοσοῦτον δὲ πλῆθος ἦν ἁρμάτων Σολόμωνι, ὡς τέσσαρας εἶναι μυριάδας φατνῶν τῶν ὑποζευγνυμένων ἵππων· χωρὶς δὲ τούτων ἦσαν ἱππεῖς δισχίλιοι καὶ μύριοι, ὧν οἱ μὲν ἡμίσεις τῷ βασιλεῖ προσήδρευον ἐν Ἱεροσολύμοις, οἱ δὲ λοιποὶ κατὰ τὰς βασιλικὰς διεσπαρμένοι κώμας ἐν αὐταῖς κατέμενον. ὁ δʼ αὐτὸς ἡγεμὼν ὁ τὴν τοῦ βασιλέως δαπάνην πεπιστευμένος καὶ τοῖς ἵπποις ἐχορήγει τὰ ἐπιτήδεια συγκομίζων εἰς ὃν ὁ βασιλεὺς διέτριβε τόπον.

[¶8] 42. 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 excelled and distinguished himself in wisdom above those who were most eminent among the Hebrews at that time for shrewdness; those I mean were Ethan, and Heman, and Chalcol, and Darda, the sons of Mahol. He also composed books of odes and songs a thousand and five, of parables and similitudes three thousand; for he spake a parable 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 science useful and sanative to men. He composed such incantations also by which distempers are alleviated. And he 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 unto this day; for I have seen a certain man of my own country, whose name was Eleazar, releasing people that were demoniacal in the presence of Vespasian, and his sons, and his captains, and the whole multitude of his soldiers. The manner of the cure was this: He put a ring that had a Foot 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 immediately, he abjured him to return into him no more, making still mention of Solomon, and reciting the incantations which he composed. And when Eleazar would persuade and demonstrate to the spectators that he had such a power, he set a little way off a cup or basin full of water, and commanded the demon, as he went out of the man, to overturn it, and thereby to let the spectators know that he had left the man; and when this was done, the skill and wisdom of Solomon was shown 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.

> Greek: 42. Τοσαύτη δʼ ἦν ἣν ὁ θεὸς παρέσχε Σολόμωνι φρόνησιν καὶ σοφίαν, ὡς τούς τε ἀρχαίους ὑπερβάλλειν ἀνθρώπους καὶ μηδὲ τοὺς Αἰγυπτίους, οἳ πάντων συνέσει διενεγκεῖν λέγονται, συγκρινομένους λείπεσθαι παρʼ ὀλίγον, ἀλλὰ πλεῖστον ἀφεστηκότας τῆς τοῦ βασιλέως φρονήσεως ἐλέγχεσθαι. ὑπερῆρε δὲ καὶ διήνεγκε σοφίᾳ καὶ τῶν κατὰ τὸν αὐτὸν καιρὸν δόξαν ἐχόντων παρὰ τοῖς Ἑβραίοις ἐπὶ δεινότητι, ὧν οὐ παρελεύσομαι τὰ ὀνόματα· ἦσαν δὲ Ἄθανος καὶ Αἱμανὸς καὶ Χάλκεος καὶ Δάρδανος υἱοὶ Ἡμάωνος. συνετάξατο δὲ καὶ βιβλία περὶ ᾠδῶν καὶ μελῶν πέντε πρὸς τοῖς χιλίοις καὶ παραβολῶν καὶ εἰκόνων βίβλους τρισχιλίας· καθʼ ἕκαστον γὰρ εἶδος δένδρου παραβολὴν εἶπεν ἀπὸ ὑσσώπου ἕως κέδρου, τὸν αὐτὸν δὲ τρόπον καὶ περὶ κτηνῶν καὶ τῶν ἐπιγείων ἁπάντων ζῴων καὶ τῶν νηκτῶν καὶ τῶν ἀερίων· οὐδεμίαν γὰρ φύσιν ἠγνόησεν οὐδὲ παρῆλθεν ἀνεξέταστον, ἀλλʼ ἐν πάσαις ἐφιλοσόφησε καὶ τὴν ἐπιστήμην τῶν ἐν αὐταῖς ἰδιωμάτων ἄκραν ἐπεδείξατο. παρέσχε δʼ αὐτῷ μαθεῖν ὁ θεὸς καὶ τὴν κατὰ τῶν δαιμόνων τέχνην εἰς ὠφέλειαν καὶ θεραπείαν τοῖς ἀνθρώποις· ἐπῳδάς τε συνταξάμενος αἷς παρηγορεῖται τὰ νοσήματα καὶ τρόπους ἐξορκώσεων κατέλιπεν, οἷς οἱ ἐνδούμενοι τὰ δαιμόνια ὡς μηκέτʼ ἐπανελθεῖν ἐκδιώξουσι. καὶ αὕτη μέχρι νῦν παρʼ ἡμῖν ἡ θεραπεία πλεῖστον ἰσχύει· ἱστόρησα γάρ τινα Ἐλεάζαρον τῶν ὁμοφύλων Οὐεσπασιανοῦ παρόντος καὶ τῶν υἱῶν αὐτοῦ καὶ χιλιάρχων καὶ ἄλλου στρατιωτικοῦ πλήθους ὑπὸ τῶν δαιμονίων λαμβανομένους ἀπολύοντα τούτων. ὁ δὲ τρόπος τῆς θεραπείας τοιοῦτος ἦν· προσφέρων ταῖς ῥισὶ τοῦ δαιμονιζομένου τὸν δακτύλιον ἔχοντα ὑπὸ τῇ σφραγῖδι ῥίζαν ἐξ ὧν ὑπέδειξε Σολόμων ἔπειτα ἐξεῖλκεν ὀσφρομένῳ διὰ τῶν μυκτήρων τὸ δαιμόνιον, καὶ πεσόντος εὐθὺς τἀνθρώπου μηκέτʼ εἰς αὐτὸν ἐπανήξειν ὥρκου, Σολόμωνός τε μεμνημένος καὶ τὰς ἐπῳδὰς ἃς συνέθηκεν ἐκεῖνος ἐπιλέγων. βουλόμενος δὲ πεῖσαι καὶ παραστῆσαι τοῖς παρατυγχάνουσιν ὁ Ἐλεάζαρος, ὅτι ταύτην ἔχει τὴν ἰσχύν, ἐτίθει μικρὸν ἔμπροσθεν ἤτοι ποτήριον πλῆρες ὕδατος ἢ ποδόνιπτρον καὶ τῷ δαιμονίῳ προσέταττεν ἐξιὸν τἀνθρώπου ταῦτα ἀνατρέψαι καὶ παρασχεῖν ἐπιγνῶναι τοῖς ὁρῶσιν, ὅτι καταλέλοιπε τὸν ἄνθρωπον. γινομένου δὲ τούτου σαφὴς ἡ Σολόμωνος καθίστατο σύνεσις καὶ σοφία διʼ ἣν, ἵνα γνῶσιν ἅπαντες αὐτοῦ τὸ μεγαλεῖον τῆς φύσεως καὶ τὸ θεοφιλὲς καὶ λάθῃ μηδένα τῶν ὑπὸ τὸν ἥλιον ἡ τοῦ βασιλέως περὶ πᾶν εἶδος ἀρετῆς ὑπερβολή, περὶ τούτων εἰπεῖν προήχθημεν.

[¶9] 50. Moreover Hiram, king of Tyre, when he had heard that Solonion succeeded to his father’s kingdom, was very glad of it, for he was a friend of David’s. So he sent ambassadors to him, and saluted him, and congratulated him on the present happy state of his affairs. Upon which Solomon sent him an epistle, the contents of which here follow: 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 design to build a house to God, for God foretold to my father that such a house should he built by me; wherefore I desire thee to send some of thy subjects with mine to Mount Lebanon to cut down timber, for the Sidonians are more skillful than our people in cutting of wood. As for wages to the hewers of wood, I will pay whatsoever price thou shalt determine.”

> Greek: 50. Ὁ δὲ τῶν Τυρίων βασιλεὺς Εἴρωμος ἀκούσας ὅτι Σολόμων τὴν τοῦ πατρὸς διεδέξατο βασιλείαν ὑπερήσθη, φίλος γὰρ ἐτύγχανε τῷ Δαυίδῃ, καὶ πέμψας πρὸς αὐτὸν ἠσπάζετό τε καὶ συνέχαιρεν ἐπὶ τοῖς παροῦσιν ἀγαθοῖς. ἀποστέλλει δὲ πρὸς αὐτὸν Σολόμων γράμματα δηλοῦντα τάδε· βασιλεὺς Σολόμων Εἱρώμῳ βασιλεῖ. ἴσθι μου τὸν πατέρα βουληθέντα κατασκευάσαι τῷ θεῷ ναὸν ὑπὸ τῶν πολέμων καὶ τῶν συνεχῶν στρατειῶν κεκωλυμένον· οὐ γὰρ ἐπαύσατο πρότερον τοὺς ἐχθροὺς καταστρεφόμενος πρὶν ἢ πάντας αὐτοὺς φόρων ὑποτελεῖς πεποιηκέναι. ἐγὼ δὲ χάριν οἶδα τῷ θεῷ τῆς παρούσης εἰρήνης καὶ διὰ ταύτην εὐσχολῶν οἰκοδομῆσαι τῷ θεῷ βούλομαι τὸν οἶκον· καὶ γὰρ ὑπʼ ἐμοῦ τοῦτον ἔσεσθαι τῷ πατρί μου προεῖπεν ὁ θεός. διὸ παρακαλῶ σε συμπέμψαι τινὰς τοῖς ἐμοῖς εἰς Λίβανον τὸ ὄρος κόψοντας ξύλα· πρὸς γὰρ τομὴν ὕλης ἐπιστημονέστερον ἔχουσι τῶν ἡμετέρων οἱ Σιδώνιοι. μισθὸν δʼ ὃν ἂν ὁρίσῃς ἐγὼ τοῖς ὑλουργοῖς παρέξω.

[¶10] 53. When Hiram had read this epistle, he was pleased with it; and wrote back this answer to Solomon. HIRAM TO KING SOLOMON. “It is fit to bless God that he hath committed thy father’s government to thee, who art a wise man, and endowed with all virtues. As for myself, I rejoice at the condition thou art in, and will be subservient to thee in all that thou sendest to me about; for when by my subjects I have cut down many and large trees of cedar and cypress wood, I will send them to sea, and will order my subjects to make floats of them, and to sail to what place soever of thy country thou shalt desire, and leave them there, after which thy subjects may carry them to Jerusalem. But do thou take care to procure us corn for this timber, which we stand in need of, because we inhabit in an island.”

> Greek: 53. Ἀναγνοὺς δὲ τὴν ἐπιστολὴν Εἵρωμος καὶ τοῖς ἐπεσταλμένοις ἡσθεὶς ἀντιγράφει τῷ Σολόμωνι· βασιλεὺς Εἵρωμος βασιλεῖ Σολόμωνι. τὸν μὲν θεὸν εὐλογεῖν ἄξιον, ὅτι σοι τὴν πατρῴαν παρέδωκεν ἡγεμονίαν ἀνδρὶ σοφῷ καὶ πᾶσαν ἀρετὴν ἔχοντι, ἐγὼ δὲ τούτοις ἡδόμενος ἅπαντα ὑπουργήσω τὰ ἐπεσταλμένα· τεμὼν γὰρ ξύλα πολλὰ καὶ μεγάλα κέδρου τε καὶ κυπαρίσσου διὰ τῶν ἐμῶν καταπέμψω ἐπὶ θάλασσαν καὶ κελεύσω τοὺς ἐμοὺς σχεδίαν πηξαμένους εἰς ὃν ἂν βουληθῇς τόπον τῆς σαυτοῦ χώρας πλεύσαντας ἀποθέσθαι· ἔπειθʼ οἱ σοὶ διακομίσουσιν εἰς Ἱεροσόλυμα. ὅπως δὲ καὶ σὺ παράσχῃς ἡμῖν ἀντὶ τούτων σῖτον, οὗ διὰ τὸ νῆσον οἰκεῖν δεόμεθα, φρόντισον.

[¶11] 55. The copies of these epistles remain at this day, and are preserved not only in our books, but among the Tyrians also; insomuch that if any one would know the certainty about them, he may desire of the keepers of the public records of Tyre to show him them, and he will find what is there set down to agree with what we have said. I have said so much out of a desire that my readers may know that we speak nothing but the truth, and do not compose a history out of some plausible relations, which deceive men and please them at the same time, nor attempt to avoid examination, nor desire men to believe us immediately; nor are we at liberty to depart from speaking truth, which is the proper commendation of an historian, and yet be blameless: but we insist upon no admission of what we say, unless we be able to manifest its truth by demonstration, and the strongest vouchers.

> Greek: 55. Διαμένει δὲ ἄχρι τῆς τήμερον τὰ τῶν ἐπιστολῶν τούτων ἀντίγραφα οὐκ ἐν τοῖς ἡμετέροις μόνον σωζόμενα βιβλίοις ἀλλὰ καὶ παρὰ Τυρίοις, ὥστε εἴ τις ἐθελήσειε τὸ ἀκριβὲς μαθεῖν, δεηθεὶς τῶν ἐπὶ τοῦ Τυρίων γραμματοφυλακείου δημοσίων εὕροι συμφωνοῦντα τοῖς εἰρημένοις ὑφʼ ἡμῶν τὰ παρʼ ἐκείνοις. ταῦτα μὲν οὖν διεξῆλθον βουλόμενος γνῶναι τοὺς ἐντευξομένους, ὅτι μηδὲν μᾶλλον ἔξω τῆς ἀληθείας λέγομεν, μηδὲ πιθανοῖς τισι καὶ πρὸς ἀπάτην καὶ τέρψιν ἐπαγωγοῖς τὴν ἱστορίαν διαλαμβάνοντες τὴν μὲν ἐξέτασιν φεύγειν πειρώμεθα, πιστεύεσθαι δʼ εὐθὺς ἀξιοῦμεν, οὐδὲ συγκεχωρημένον ἡμῖν κατεξανισταμένοις τοῦ πρέποντος τῇ πραγματείᾳ ἀθῴοις ὑπάρχειν, ἀλλὰ μηδεμιᾶς ἀποδοχῆς τυγχάνειν παρακαλοῦντες, ἂν μὴ μετὰ ἀποδείξεως καὶ τεκμηρίων ἰσχυρῶν ἐμφανίζειν δυνώμεθα τὴν ἀλήθειαν.

[¶12] 57. Now king Solomon, as soon as this epistle of the king of Tyre was brought him, commended the readiness and good-will he declared therein, and repaid him in what he desired, and sent him yearly twenty thousand cori of wheat, and as many baths of oil: now the bath is able to contain seventy-two sextaries. He also sent him the same measure of wine. So the friendship between Hiram and Solomon hereby increased more and more; and they swore to continue it for ever. And the king appointed a tribute to be laid on all the people, of thirty thousand laborers, whose work he rendered easy to them by prudently dividing it among them; for he made ten thousand cut timber in Mount Lebanon for one month; and then to come home, and rest two months, until the time when the other twenty thousand had finished their task at the appointed time; and so afterward it came to pass that the first ten thousand returned to their work every fourth month: and it was Adoram who was over this tribute. There were also of the strangers who were left by David, who were to carry the stones and other materials, seventy thousand; and of those that cut the stones, eighty thousand. Of these three thousand and three hundred were rulers over the rest. He also enjoined them to cut out large stones for the foundations of the temple, and that they should fit them and unite them together in the mountain, and so bring them to the city. This was done not only by our own country workmen, but by those workmen whom Hiram sent also.

> Greek: 57. Ὁ δὲ βασιλεὺς Σολόμων ὡς ἐκομίσθη τὰ παρὰ Τυρίων βασιλέως γράμματα τήν τε προθυμίαν αὐτοῦ καὶ τὴν εὔνοιαν ἐπῄνεσε καὶ οἷς ἠξίωσε τούτοις αὐτὸν ἠμείψατο, σίτου μὲν αὐτῷ κατʼ ἔτος πέμψας δισμυρίους κόρους καὶ τοσούτους ἐλαίου βάτους, ὁ δὲ βάτος δύναται ξέστας ἑβδομήκοντα δύο· τὸ δʼ αὐτὸ μέτρον καὶ οἴνου παρεῖχεν. ἡ μὲν οὖν Εἱρώμου φιλία καὶ Σολόμωνος ἀπὸ τούτων ἔτι μᾶλλον ηὔξησε καὶ διαμένειν ὤμοσαν εἰς ἅπαν. ὁ δὲ βασιλεὺς ἐπέταξε παντὶ τῷ λαῷ φόρον ἐργάτας τρισμυρίους, οἷς ἄπονον τὴν ἐργασίαν κατέστησε μερίσας αὐτὴν συνετῶς· μυρίους γὰρ ἐποίησε κόπτοντας ἐπὶ μῆνα ἕνα ἐν Λιβάνῳ ὄρει δύο μῆνας ἀναπαύεσθαι παραγινομένους ἐπὶ τὰ οἰκεῖα, μέχρις οὗ πάλιν οἱ δισμύριοι τὴν ἐργασίαν ἀναπληρώσωσι κατὰ τὸν ὡρισμένον χρόνον ἔπειθʼ οὕτως συνέβαινε τοῖς πρώτοις μυρίοις διὰ τετάρτου μηνὸς ἀπαντᾶν ἐπὶ τὸ ἔργον. ἐγεγόνει δʼ ἐπίτροπος τοῦ φόρου τούτου Ἀδώραμος. ἦσαν δʼ ἐκ τῶν παροίκων οὓς Δαυίδης καταλελοίπει τῶν μὲν παρακομιζόντων τὴν λιθίαν καὶ τὴν ἄλλην ὕλην ἑπτὰ μυριάδες, τῶν δὲ λατομούντων ὀκτάκις μύριοι, τούτων δʼ ἐπιστάται τρισχίλιοι καὶ τριακόσιοι. προστετάχει δὲ λίθους μὲν αὐτοῖς τέμνειν μεγάλους εἰς τοὺς τοῦ ναοῦ θεμελίους, ἁρμόσαντας δὲ πρῶτον καὶ συνδήσαντας ἐν τῷ ὄρει κατακομίζειν οὕτως εἰς τὴν πόλιν. ἐγίνετο δὲ ταῦτʼ οὐ παρὰ τῶν οἰκοδόμων τῶν ἐγχωρίων μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ ὧν ὁ Εἵρωμος ἔπεμψε τεχνιτῶν.

[¶13] 61. SOLOMON began to build the temple in the fourth year of his reign, on the second month, which the Macedonians call Artemisius, and the Hebrews Jur, five hundred and ninety-two years after the Exodus out of Egypt; but one thousand and twenty years from Abraham’s coming out of Mesopotamia into Canaan, and after the deluge one thousand four hundred and forty years; and from Adam, the first man who was created, until Solomon built the temple, there had passed in all three thousand one hundred and two years. Now that year on which the temple began to be built was already the eleventh year of the reign of Hiram; but from the building of Tyre to the building of the temple, there had passed two hundred and forty years.

> Greek: 61. Τῆς δʼ οἰκοδομίας τοῦ ναοῦ Σολόμων ἤρξατο τέταρτον ἔτος ἤδη τῆς βασιλείας ἔχων μηνὶ δευτέρῳ, ὃν Μακεδόνες μὲν Ἀρτεμίσιον καλοῦσιν Ἑβραῖοι δὲ Ἰάρ, μετὰ ἔτη πεντακόσια καὶ ἐνενήκοντα καὶ δύο τῆς ἀπʼ Αἰγύπτου τῶν Ἰσραηλιτῶν ἐξόδου, μετὰ δὲ χίλια καὶ εἴκοσι ἔτη τῆς Ἁβράμου εἰς τὴν Χαναναίαν ἐκ τῆς Μεσοποταμίας ἀφίξεως, ἀπὸ δὲ τῆς ἐπομβρίας μετὰ χίλια καὶ τετρακόσια καὶ τεσσαράκοντα· ἀπὸ δὲ τοῦ πρώτου γεννηθέντος Ἀδάμου ἕως οὗ τὸν ναὸν ᾠκοδόμησε Σολόμων διεληλύθει τὰ πάντα ἔτη τρισχίλια καὶ ἑκατὸν δύο. καθʼ ὃν δὲ ὁ ναὸς ἤρξατο οἰκοδομεῖσθαι χρόνον, κατʼ ἐκεῖνον ἔτος ἤδη τῆς ἐν Τύρῳ βασιλείας ἑνδέκατον ἐνειστήκει Εἱρώμῳ, τῆς δὲ οἰκήσεως εἰς τὴν οἰκοδομίαν τοῦ ναοῦ διεγεγόνει χρόνος ἐτῶν τεσσαράκοντα καὶ διακοσίων.

[¶14] 63. Now, therefore, the king laid the foundations of the temple very deep in the ground, and the materials were strong stones, and such as would resist the force of time; these were to unite themselves with the earth, and become a basis and a sure foundation for that superstructure which was to be erected over it; they were to be so strong, in order to sustain with ease those vast superstructures and precious ornaments, whose own weight was to be not less than the weight of those other high and heavy buildings which the king designed to be very ornamental and magnificent. They erected its entire body, quite up to the roof, of white stone; its height was sixty cubits, and its length was the same, and its breadth twenty. There was another building erected over it, equal to it in its measures; so that the entire altitude of the temple was a hundred and twenty cubits. Its front was to the east. As to the porch, they built it before the temple; its length was twenty cubits, and it was so ordered that it might agree with the breadth of the house; and it had twelve cubits in latitude, and its height was raised as high as a hundred and twenty cubits. He also built round about the temple thirty small rooms, which might include the whole temple, by their closeness one to another, and by their number and outward position round it. He also made passages through them, that they might come into on through another. Every one of these rooms had five cubits in breadth, and the same in length, but in height twenty. Above these there were other rooms, and others above them, equal, both in their measures and number; so that these reached to a height equal to the lower part of the house; for the upper part had no buildings about it. The roof that was over the house was of cedar; and truly every one of these rooms had a roof of their own, that was not connected with the other rooms; but for the other parts, there was a covered roof common to them all, and built with very long beams, that passed through the rest, and rough the whole building, that so the middle walls, being strengthened by the same beams of timber, might be thereby made firmer: but as for that part of the roof that was under the beams, it was made of the same materials, and was all made smooth, and had ornaments proper for roofs, and plates of gold nailed upon them. And as he enclosed the walls with boards of cedar, so he fixed on them plates of gold, which had sculptures upon them; so that the whole temple shined, and dazzled the eyes of such as entered, by the splendor of the gold that was on every side of them, Now the whole structure of the temple was made with great skill of polished stones, and those laid together so very harmoniously and smoothly, that there appeared to the spectators no sign of any hammer, or other instrument of architecture; but as if, without any use of them, the entire materials had naturally united themselves together, that the agreement of one part with another seemed rather to have been natural, than to have arisen from the force of tools upon them. The king also had a fine contrivance for an ascent to the upper room over the temple, and that was by steps in the thickness of its wall; for it had no large door on the east end, as the lower house had, but the entrances were by the sides, through very small doors. He also overlaid the temple, both within and without, with boards of cedar, that were kept close together by thick chains, so that this contrivance was in the nature of a support and a strength to the building.

> Greek: 63. Βάλλεται μὲν οὖν τῷ ναῷ θεμελίους ὁ βασιλεὺς ἐπὶ μήκιστον τῆς γῆς βάθος ὕλης λίθων ἰσχυρᾶς καὶ πρὸς χρόνον ἀντέχειν δυναμένης, οἳ τῇ τε γῇ συμφυέντες ἔμελλον ἔδαφος καὶ ἔρεισμα τῆς ἐποικοδομησομένης κατασκευῆς ἔσεσθαι καὶ διὰ τὴν κάτωθεν ἰσχὺν οἴσειν ἀπόνως μέγεθός τε τῶν ἐπικεισομένων καὶ κάλλους πολυτέλειαν, ᾗ βάρος ἔμελλεν οὐχ ἧττον εἶναι τῶν ἄλλων ὅσα πρὸς ὕψος καὶ πρὸς ὄγκον κόσμου τε χάριν καὶ μεγαλουργίας ἐπενοεῖτο. ἀνήγαγε δὲ αὐτὸν ἄχρι τῆς ὀροφῆς ἐκ λευκοῦ λίθου πεποιημένον. τὸ μὲν οὖν ὕψος ἦν ἑξήκοντα πηχῶν, τῶν δʼ αὐτῶν καὶ τὸ μῆκος, εὖρος δʼ εἴκοσι. κατὰ τούτου δὲ ἄλλος ἦν ἐγηγερμένος ἴσος τοῖς μέτροις, ὥστε εἶναι τὸ πᾶν ὕψος τῷ ναῷ πηχῶν ἑκατὸν καὶ εἴκοσι· τέτραπτο δὲ πρὸς τὴν ἀνατολήν. τὸ δὲ προνάιον αὐτοῦ προύστησαν ἐπὶ πήχεις μὲν εἴκοσι τὸ μῆκος πρὸς τὸ εὖρος τοῦ οἴκου τεταμένον, ἔχον δὲ πλάτος πήχεις δέκα καὶ εἰς ὕψος δὲ ἀνεγηγερμένον πηχῶν ἑκατὸν καὶ εἴκοσι. περιῳκοδόμησε δὲ τὸν ναὸν ἐν κύκλῳ τριάκοντα βραχέσιν οἴκοις, οἳ συνοχή τε τοῦ παντὸς ἔμελλον ἔσεσθαι διὰ πυκνότητα καὶ πλῆθος ἔξωθεν περικείμενοι, καὶ δὴ καὶ τὰς εἰσόδους αὐτοῖς διʼ ἀλλήλων κατεσκεύασεν. ἕκαστος δὲ τῶν οἴκων τούτων εὖρος μὲν εἶχε πέντε πήχεις, μῆκος δὲ τοὺς αὐτούς, ὕψος δὲ εἴκοσιν. ἐπῳκοδόμηντο δὲ τούτοις ἄνωθεν ἕτεροι οἶκοι καὶ πάλιν ἄλλοι κατʼ αὐτῶν ἴσοι καὶ τοῖς μέτροις καὶ τῷ ἀριθμῷ, ὡς τὸ πᾶν ὕψος αὐτοὺς λαβεῖν τῷ κάτωθεν οἴκῳ παραπλήσιον· ὁ γὰρ ὑπερῷος οὐκ ἦν περιῳκοδομημένος. ὄροφος δὲ αὐτοῖς ἐπεβέβλητο κέδρου καὶ τοῖς μὲν οἴκοις ἴδιος ἦν οὗτος ἑκάστῳ πρὸς τοὺς πλησίον οὐ συνάπτων, τοῖς δʼ ἄλλοις ὑπῆρχεν ἡ στέγη κοινὴ διʼ ἀλλήλων δεδομημένη μηκίσταις δοκοῖς καὶ διηκούσαις ἁπάντων, ὡς τοὺς μέσους τοίχους ὑπὸ τῶν αὐτῶν συγκρατουμένους ξύλων ἐρρωμενεστέρους διὰ τοῦτο γίνεσθαι. τὴν δὲ ὑπὸ τὰς δοκοὺς στέγην τῆς αὐτῆς ὕλης ἐβάλετο πᾶσαν ἐξεσμένην εἰς φατνώματα καὶ προσκόλλησιν χρυσοῦ. τοὺς δὲ τοίχους κεδρίναις διαλαβὼν σανίσι χρυσὸν αὐταῖς ἐνετόρευσεν, ὥστε στίλβειν ἅπαντα τὸν ναὸν καὶ περιλάμπεσθαι τὰς ὄψεις τῶν εἰσιόντων ὑπὸ τῆς αὐγῆς τοῦ χρυσοῦ πανταχόθεν φερομένης. ἡ δʼ ὅλη τοῦ ναοῦ οἰκοδομία κατὰ πολλὴν τέχνην ἐκ λίθων ἀκροτόμων ἐγένετο συντεθέντων ἁρμονίως πάνυ καὶ λείως, ὡς μήτε σφύρας μήτε ἄλλου τινὸς ἐργαλείου τεκτονικοῦ τοῖς κατανοοῦσιν ἐργασίαν δηλοῦσθαι, ἀλλὰ δίχα τῆς τούτων χρήσεως πᾶσαν ἡρμόσθαι τὴν ὕλην προσφυῶς, ὡς ἑκούσιον τὴν ἁρμονίαν αὐτῆς δοκεῖν μᾶλλον ἢ τῆς τῶν ἐργαλείων ἀνάγκης. ἐφιλοτέχνησε δὲ ὁ βασιλεὺς ἄνοδον εἰς τὸν ὑπερῷον οἶκον διὰ τοῦ εὔρους τοῦ τοίχου· οὐ γὰρ εἶχε θύραν μεγάλην κατὰ τῆς ἀνατολῆς ὡς εἶχεν ὁ κάτωθεν οἶκος, ἀλλʼ ἐκ τῶν πλευρῶν ἦσαν εἴσοδοι διὰ μικρῶν πάνυ θυρῶν. διέλαβε δὲ τὸν ναὸν καὶ ἔνδοθεν καὶ ἔξωθεν ξύλοις κεδρίνοις ἁλύσεσι παχείαις συνδεδεμένοις, ὥστε ἀντʼ ὀχυρωμάτων καὶ ῥώμης τοῦτο εἶναι.

[¶15] 71. Now when the king had divided the temple into two parts, he made the inner house of twenty cubits [every way], to be the most secret chamber, but he appointed that of forty cubits to be the sanctuary; and when he had cut a door-place out of the wall, he put therein doors of Cedar, and overlaid them with a great deal of gold, that had sculptures upon it. He also had veils of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and the brightest and softest linen, with the most curious flowers wrought upon them, which were to be drawn before those doors. He also dedicated for the most secret place, whose breadth was twenty cubits, and length the same, two cherubims of solid gold; the height of each of them was five cubits they had each of them two wings stretched out as far as five cubits; wherefore Solomon set them up not far from each other, that with one wing they might touch the southern wall of the secret place, and with another the northern: their other wings, which joined to each other, were a covering to the ark, which was set between them; but nobody can tell, or even conjecture, what was the shape of these cherubims. He also laid the floor of the temple with plates of gold; and he added doors to the gate of the temple, agreeable to the measure of the height of the wall, but in breadth twenty cubits, and on them he glued gold plates. And, to say all in one word, he left no part of the temple, neither internal nor external, but what was covered with gold. He also had curtains drawn over these doors in like manner as they were drawn over the inner doors of the most holy place; but the porch of the temple had nothing of that sort.

> Greek: 71. Διελὼν δὲ τὸν ναὸν εἰς δύο τὸν μὲν ἔνδοθεν οἶκον εἴκοσι πηχῶν ἐποίησεν ἄδυτον, τὸν δὲ τεσσαράκοντα πηχῶν ἅγιον ναὸν ἀπέδειξεν. ἐκτεμὼν δὲ τὸν μέσον τοῖχον θύρας ἐπέστησε κεδρίνας χρυσὸν πολὺν αὐταῖς ἐνεργασάμενος καὶ τορείαν ποικίλην. κατεπέτασε δὲ ταύτας ὕφεσιν εὐανθεστάτοις ἐξ ὑακίνθου καὶ πορφύρας καὶ κόκκου πεποιημένοις, οὐ μὴν ἀλλὰ καὶ βύσσου λαμπροτάτης καὶ μαλακωτάτης. ἀνέθηκε δὲ εἰς τὸ ἄδυτον εἴκοσι πηχῶν τὸ εὖρος τῶν δʼ αὐτῶν καὶ τὸ μῆκος δύο Χερουβεῖς ὁλοχρύσους πηχῶν ἑκατέραν τὸ ὕψος πέντε, δύο δʼ ἦσαν ἑκατέρᾳ πτέρυγες ἐπὶ πέντε πήχεις ἐκτεταμέναι. διὸ καὶ οὐ μακρὰν ἀλλήλων αὐτὰς ἀνέστησεν, ἵνα τῶν πτερύγων τῇ μὲν ἅπτωνται τοῦ κατὰ νότον κειμένου τοίχου τοῦ ἀδύτου, τῇ δὲ κατὰ βορέαν, αἱ δʼ ἄλλαι πτέρυγες αὑταῖς συνάπτουσαι τεθείσῃ μεταξὺ αὐτῶν τῇ κιβωτῷ σκέπη τυγχάνωσι. τὰς δὲ Χερουβεῖς οὐδεὶς ὁποῖαί τινές εἰσιν εἰπεῖν οὐδʼ εἰκάσαι δύναται. κατέστρωσε δὲ καὶ τοῦ ναοῦ τὸ ἔδαφος ἐλάσμασι χρυσοῦ, ἐπέθηκε δὲ καὶ τῷ πυλῶνι τοῦ ναοῦ θύρας πρὸς τὸ ὕψος τοῦ τοίχου συμμεμετρημένας εὖρος ἐχούσας πηχῶν εἴκοσι, καὶ ταύτας κατεκόλλησε χρυσῷ. συνελόντι δʼ εἰπεῖν οὐδὲν εἴασε τοῦ ναοῦ μέρος οὔτε ἔξωθεν οὔτε ἔνδοθεν, ὃ μὴ χρυσὸς ἦν. κατεπέτασε δὲ καὶ ταύτας τὰς θύρας ὁμοίως ταῖς ἐνδοτέρω καταπετάσμασιν. ἡ δὲ τοῦ προναΐου πύλη τούτων οὐδὲν εἶχε.

[¶16] 76. Now Solomon sent for an artificer out of Tyre, whose name was Hiram; he was by birth of the tribe of Naphtali, on the mother’s side, (for she was of that tribe,) but his father was Ur, of the stock of the Israelites. This man was skillful in all sorts of work; but his chief skill lay in working in gold, and silver, and brass; by whom were made all the mechanical works about the temple, according to the will of Solomon. Moreover, this Hiram made two [hollow] pillars, whose outsides were of brass, and the thickness of the brass was four fingers’ breadth, and the height of the pillars was eighteen cubits and their circumference twelve cubits; but there was cast with each of their chapiters lily-work that stood upon the pillar, and it was elevated five cubits, round about which there was net-work interwoven with small palms, made of brass, and covered the lily-work. To this also were hung two hundred pomegranates, in two rows. The one of these pillars he set at the entrance of the porch on the right hand, and called it Jachin and the other at the left hand, and called it Booz.

> Greek: 76. Μεταπέμπεται δʼ ἐκ Τύρου Σολόμων παρὰ Εἱρώμου τεχνίτην Χείρωμον ὄνομα μητρὸς μὲν ὄντα Νεφθαλίτιδος τὸ γένος, ἐκ γὰρ ταύτης ὑπῆρχε τῆς φυλῆς, πατρὸς δὲ Οὐρίου γένος Ἰσραηλίτου. οὗτος ἅπαντος μὲν ἐπιστημόνως εἶχεν ἔργου, μάλιστα δὲ τεχνίτης ἦν χρυσὸν ἐργάζεσθαι καὶ ἄργυρον καὶ χαλκόν, ὑφʼ οὗ δὴ καὶ πάντα κατὰ τὴν τοῦ βασιλέως βούλησιν τὰ περὶ τὸν ναὸν ἐμηχανήθη. κατεσκεύασε δὲ ὁ Χείρωμος οὗτος καὶ στύλους δύο χαλκοῦς ἔσωθεν τὸ πάχος τεσσάρων δακτύλων. ἦν δὲ τὸ μὲν ὕψος τοῖς κίοσιν ὀκτωκαίδεκα πήχεων, ἡ δὲ περίμετρος δέκα καὶ δύο πηχῶν· χωνευτὸν δʼ ἐφʼ ἑκατέρᾳ κεφαλῇ κρίνον ἐφειστήκει τὸ ὕψος ἐπὶ πέντε πήχεις ἐγηγερμένον, ᾧ περιέκειτο δίκτυον ἐλάτῃ χαλκέᾳ περιπεπλεγμένον καλύπτον τὰ κρίνα. τούτου δὲ ἀπήρτηντο κατὰ διστιχίαν καὶ ῥοιαὶ διακόσιαι. τούτων τῶν κιόνων τὸν μὲν ἕτερον κατὰ τὴν δεξιὰν ἔστησε τοῦ προπυλαίου παραστάδα καλέσας αὐτὸν Ἰαχείν, τὸν δʼ ἕτερον κατὰ τὸ ἀριστερὸν ὀνομάσας αὐτὸν Ἀβαίζ.