Why Did Solomon, The Wisest King of All, Go Overboard on Taxing His People?

 Nsadene Goldfoot                                     

 Solomon, known for his wisdom, making a decision about which woman was the real mother.

It's always bothered me that King Solomon, who ruled Israel from 961 to 920 BCE, with the reputation of being so  wise, was not politically savvy and taxed his people so much, even forcing them to work more than the expected amount, in order to get the Temple built?  "Solomon’s revenue came primarily from the agricultural surpluses produced by a rural population and from income derived from tolls received from caravans transiting through the kingdom and from commercial ventures."

The Exodus, according to Gentile figures, took place from about 1579 or 1578 BCE.  An astronomer ventured a date of 1445 BCE.  According to our Jewish time as recorded in the Torah, whenever it started, it took 40 years to move over 600,000 people from Egypt to Canaan, and that Moses started the trek at the age of 80 years.  

The Israelites entered the land with Joshua as Moses died at age 120 just outside of Canaan.  The people went through many judges before realizing that their known world had kings, and they were ready for their own.  Saul became their first king, and then David,  and finally David's son, Solomon.   David desires to construct a temple to G-d in which to house the Ark but, because he shed much blood, G-d denies David the opportunity to do so.

David dies at the age of about 70 after reigning for 40 years, and on his deathbed counsels Solomon to walk in the ways of G-d and to take revenge on his enemies.

Solomon was able to build the Temple and get it finished before he died.  480 years had passed between the  arrival of the Israelites and the plans of Moses for the Temple and actually getting the Temple built.  

Solomon had some problems to take care of first before starting the big project.  He was the the son of David and  Bathsheba, and was able to be crowned king before David had died with the help of his mother and Nathan, the prophet.  Solomon was not the first son, and had to take the throne before the eldest, Adonijah, expected to do so who may have not wanted to build the Temple.  

"Adonijah, 4th son of David was born at Hebron during the long conflict between David and the House of Saul. In 1 Kings, he briefly proclaimed himself king of Israel during the terminal illness of his father David. This happened after Absalom's (3rd son of David)'s death.  He had the support of Joab and Abiathar, the high priest, but was unsuccessful.  Later he sought to marry Abishag, David's concubine, but Solomon regarded this as an act of rebellion and had him killed.  (I Kings 1-2).  Absalom had killed his half-brother, Amnon to avenge the rape of is sister, Tamar.  He also started a rebellion against his brother, David.

         Solomon's Palace

Solomon had the plans laid down by Moses but had to get architects and builders sent him by Hiram of Tyre.  Hiram sent cedar-wood and craftsmen for Solomon's palace. He also contributed wood, gold and craftsmen to Solomon's Temple and residences, as well as sailors to his Red Sea fleet, receiving in exchange wheat, oil, and 20 Galilean cities.  Hiram was also the Tyrian metalworker, responsible for the metal-fittings of Solomon's Temple.   The work was completed in the 11th year of Solomon's reign. and ensured the central position of Jerusalem in the kingdom.  We know today that Tyre was the area of Lebanon.  

Tyre was on an island off the shore of Phoenicia.  It had a great harbor and was the rival of Sidon. Unfortunately, kings Hiram and Solomon jointly exploited the commerce between Elath and Ophir via the Red Sea.  Then their Tyrian princess Jezebel married Israel's king Ahab, and the religious and cultural influence of Tyre penetrated to Israel and even to Judah.

Solomon divided the country  into 12 districts and then built a series of fortresses, store-cities and chariot-cities such as Megiddo and Hazor.   "Solomon’s massive building program is described in 1 Kings chapters 6 to 9. When Solomon became king after the death of David, he chose not to expand the borders of the kingdom he inherited from his father. Thanks to the stable government Solomon received from the hands of David, he was able to embark on an ambitious building program that lasted twenty years."                                

To develop trade and commerce, he built a harbor at Elath on the Red Sea and, together with Hiram, sent a great fleet, the ships of Tarshish, to the land of Ophir.  From Ophir, Solomon imported precious stones and other valuables.  Ophir was famous for its gold and reached via Ezion-geber.  Where was Ophir?  Guesses have been an island in the Red Sea, north Africa, the east coast of the Arabian peninsula, and India.  

By today’s standards, Solomon was reputed to have a personal fortune in excess of $60 trillion. Much of this came in the form of pure gold. By the end of his sovereignty, estimations indicated that he owned 500 tons of gold. Modern gold usually comes in the form of bullion. But King Solomon used a portion of his gold to fashion items such as shields, cups, and plates.

There are several theories on the location of King Solomon’s mines, some more credible than others. Archaeologists have found copper mines in Israel and Jordan. They have claimed that those were really King Solomon’s mines and the source of his wealth. However, the search still continues for lack of conclusive evidence.

King Solomon’s temple, built in the mid 10th century BCE, was bedecked in gold. At his palace, builders constructed his throne from a combination of gold and other precious material, ivory. A gold footstool rested at its base. Leading up to his golden throne, a dozen life-size replicas of lions formed a guard of honor on six steps.

  Queen of Sheba meeting Solomon

He accumulated great wealth for the country by receiving gifts from foreign monarchs, such as what the Queen of Sheba had brought to him who herself came with a large retinue to visit Solomon because she had heard so much about him.  

In addition, trade prospered with neighboring states.  Large smelting furnaces in the southern areas produced copper and iron. 

 The royal house and court were built up with oriental magnificence, and large buildings housed the royal family and harem which consisted of 1,000 wives and concubines.  

Politically, Solomon rested on his father's achievements;  the realm extended from Egypt to the Euphrates River where Abraham had lived in Ur, and it was the most active realm in the entire region.  

Culturally, the arts of historiography, parable, and elegant writing were developed, and several biblical works such as the Song of songs, Ecclesiastes, and Psalm 72 were later attributed to Solomon, who himself achieved a widespread reputation for his wisdom. Otherwise, it's understood that David had written the Psalms.

Despite all these successes, the 1st signs of the country's deterioration can be traced back to his reign. "At the beginning of his building projects, forced labor was only imposed on the remnant of the Canaanite population:  “All the people left from the Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites (these peoples were not Israelites), that is, their descendants remaining in the land, whom the Israelites could not exterminate–these Solomon conscripted for his slave labor force, as it is to this day” (1 Kings 9:20-21)" According to Deuteronomy 20:11, when the people of Israel entered the land of Canaan, they were supposed to conquer the Canaanites and submit them to serve you..."" “It shall be that if it responds to you in peace and opens for you, then the entire people found within it shall be as tribute for you, and they shall serve you." 

 The forced labor connected with the extensive building program that impoverished the country.   Several subject peoples, such as the Edomites and Arameans, began to revolt, and there is evidence of malcontent inside Israel.  these problems came to a head with Solomon's death in 920 BCE which was quickly succeeded by territorial loss and internal division. "King Solomon was born, according to the Bible, around 990 B.C.E.  King Solomon is believed to have died in 931 B.C.E. This means that King Solomon was somewhere around fifty-nine years old at the time of his death.". 

Judah's land included the wee Benjamin and Shimon, also so small it was inside of Judah.  

Evidently, Solomon was so intent on finishing the temple that he didn't notice the effect his high taxation had on his people .  It shows that one can never be too wise.  No doubt that Solomon had a very high IQ, but that doesn't mean one excels in all ways.  He was deficient in noticing how his decisions had an affect on his subjects.

However, that's pretty hard to swallow today that he wasn't aware of the attitude of the workers.  Jeroboam, the king' superintendent of the forced labor, surely must have told him of their problems with working and paying taxes and such.  Jeroboam even led the revolt against Solomon and became the king of Israel when they separated. Solomon had taken the task upon him and was one to see it through to the end, regardless of any hardships.  Either it was an ego problem or a religious and ego problem of a promise he made.  

Jeroboam was of the tribe of Ephraim, an Ephraimite, a very important tribe among the 12.  He saw that the influence of the Jerusalem Temple was very strong on the northern Tribes, so he thought he must combat the influence.  To do this he set up new shrines at Bethel and Dan with a similar cult but centering round the symbols of golden calves.  This was considered by the Bible and talmudic sources as sinning and causing Israel to sin.  It was completely against Mosaic teaching.  Why he chose to do such things in Samaria is beyond understanding.  He should have known better.  It shows that Solomon saw the northern tribes leaning toward the other surrounding religions in their environment and were becoming influenced as to what was going on at the moment, forgetting Moses and his teaching.  Maybe that's why Solomon was adamant about finishing the Temple.  Two thoughts here about why Solomon and his son kept the high taxes and forced labor in order to finish the Temple on time before his death.  

This led to the split between the 10 northern tribes not going along with Judea who included part of Simeon and Benjamin in their population.  The Big North vs the South Civil War; cousins fighting cousins.  The 2 kings that emerged were Solomon's son, Jeroboam 933-912 BCE  (who had continued his father's taxation schedule) and Rehoboam (933-917 BCE). 

Update to conclusion: thanks to frank discussion with son.1pm.  

Resource:

The New Standard Jewish Encyclopedia

Tanakh,(Old Testament)  Stone Edition

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David#:~:text=David%20rules%20as%20king%20of,eldest%20surviving%20son%20with%20Haggith.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adonijah#:~:text=Adonijah%20was%20born%20at%20Hebron,throne%20to%20his%20brother%20Solomon.

https://www.historicmysteries.com/lost-mine-ophir/

https://www.gotquestions.org/Jedidiah-in-the-Bible.html

https://claudemariottini.com/2014/02/18/forced-labor-under-solomon/