Solomon, then, king David’s heir, was firmly seated on his throne, and the Lord his God was with him, brought him to great renown.

And now he sent out his summons to the whole of Israel, to commander and captain and warrior chief, to all judges of the people and heads of their families,

and, with such great retinue, betook himself to the hill-sanctuary at Gabaon. Gabaon was still the resting-place of that tabernacle which God’s servant Moses fashioned, out in the desert, to be the witness of the divine covenant.

The ark of God had left it, first for Cariathiarim, then for the site in Jerusalem where David had brought it, giving it a tent of its own.

But the brazen altar which Beseleel made, Beseleel, son of Uri and grandson of Hur, was there still before the entrance of the Lord’s tabernacle. To it Solomon repaired, and the whole assembly with him;

on that brazen altar, before the tabernacle that bore witness of the Lord’s covenant, he offered a thousand victims in sacrifice.

That same night, the Lord appeared to him, bidding him choose what gift he would.

Thou hast been very merciful, Solomon answered, to my father David, in granting him a son to succeed him;

and now, Lord God, make good thy promise to him. Since thou hast made me king over thy people, a great people countless as the dust,

grant me wisdom and discernment in all my dealings with them. How else should a man sit in judgement over such a people as this, great as thy people is great?

And the Lord answered, For this choice thou hast made, thou shalt be rewarded. Thou didst not ask for riches or possessions, for glory, or vengeance upon thy enemies, or a long life. Thy prayer was for wisdom and discernment, to make thee a better judge for the subjects I have given thee.

Wisdom and discernment thou shalt have; and I will give thee riches and possession too, and such glory as never king shall have before or after thee.✻

So from the hill-sanctuary at Gabaon, from the entrance of that tabernacle which bears witness of the covenant, Solomon returned to Jerusalem. There he reigned over Israel,

and mustered a great force of chariots and of horsemen; a thousand and four hundred chariots, and horsemen twelve thousand; some of these were kept in towns set apart for stabling them, others in Jerusalem at the king’s side.

Silver he made as common in Jerusalem as stone, and cedars as plentiful as the sycamores that grow in the valleys.

And horses were brought to him from Egypt and from Coa, where his agents went to buy them for a fixed sum;

six hundred silver pieces for a chariot, and for a horse a hundred and fifty; the kingdoms of the Hethites, too, and the kings of Syria sold him horses at the same price.✻