Bible Issues

The Wealth Of Solomon

Conclusion

Perhaps the most perceptive statement concerning Solomon came from Jesus (Matthew 6:28-29). Even the lilies of the field were more glorious than Solomon. Was Jesus simply speaking of spiritual values, or did he know something we do not? I believe Jesus knew exactly what he was saying, spiritually and materially. The spiritual aspect has been examined by many. This section will attempt a material explanation.

The Bible states that Solomon was wealthier and had more honour and possessions than all the kings before him, and that none of the kings after him would be his equal (1 Kings 3:13, 2 Chronicles 1:12). Was this true?

Solomon had a total of 172997.643 gold talents over his 40 year reign. Each talent contained 10,000 gold shekels. Every shekel weighed 132 grains. There are 480 grains per troy ounce of gold. 172997.663 x 10000 x 132 / 480 =475743518.3 troy ounces of gold. (Price of gold per troy ounce on July 2, 1999 AD: $264.10 US) 475743518.3 x $264.10 =$125,643,863,200

126 billion dollars! Solomon's 40 years of income could hardly equal the nations of today. The Canadian federal government spends over 100 billion a year. There are even individuals today who exceed Solomon's income. But not one of them is a king, and not one of them equal his wisdom, glory and honour.

Even so, Solomon did not match a single flower of the field. Why? He was rich, but this came from hard work and much thought. We cannot examine his wisdom. Little remains of his written works. But we can examine his work recorded in the Bible.

The first clue is from 1 Kings 10:21, and reiterated in 2 Chronicles 9:20. Silver was not used in Solomon's house. This does not mean silver was not used in the country! 2 Chronicles 9:27 says that silver was very common in Jerusalem. It does not say that silver and gold were common throughout the country. Now why would silver be common in Jerusalem? This is because Jerusalem was the end collection point of taxes. There was so much silver the ancient Hebrews could no longer count it. To manage this huge sum, Solomon counted every 27 silver talents as 1 gold talent. This was easier than counting millions of shekels of silver.

Solomon was not a miser. If he was a miser, and he hoarded all the silver and gold, what would the people use? They would be forced to use copper, or bronze. The Bible would not have been silent had Solomon been the greatest miser of all time. Israel would have rebelled long ago.

Our study confirms the fact that Solomon was not a miser. He spent most of the silver and gold he took in.

This would leave Solomon with a small surplus of only 273.208 gold talents after 40 years. He spent 93.4% of all money on his nation, either paying people directly or indirectly. Solomon was not a miser. He was circulating the silver and gold within his nation.

Two verses hint at Israel's normal economic output (2 Kings 15:19, 2 Kings 23:33). The first verse records Menahem, king of Israel, paying Pul of Assyria tribute: 1000 silver talents. He taxed all the wealthy of Israel, 50 shekels each to raise this money. The second verse is of Pharaoh Neco imposing a tribute upon Judah: 1 gold talent, and 100 silver talents. Would these conquerors have been satisfied with so little had Israel been capable of producing a hundred times as much gold and silver? This has to be the normal economic output of ancient Israel and Judah.

What Solomon did was unlike any other king in history. No king before or after him duplicated his work. In fact, what he did then, is what modern nations have only recently learned to do. And even today, many governments have no idea what they are doing, and do it imperfectly.

Solomon used silver and gold as a tool to unify a tribal people and build a nation. Even after the division of the kingdom, the two nations never divided back into tribal units. Today governments use interest rates, currency controls, and central banks. Solomon succeeded 3000 years ago in an agricultural world, in a tribal country not known for anything other than simple products (see: Nation Building), with cities considered worthless by the king of Tyre (1 Kings 9:10-13). He succeeded because his father David had amassed an incredible amount of gold and silver during his conquests.

He raised silver, probably through general taxation, and then used it to put the nation to work. He redistributed wealth, giving everyone opportunity if they would work. It strengthened the country. Israel became one of the first nations to leap out of the Bronze Age collapse. In doing so, Israel became the economic centre of the ancient world, attracting more trade, greater wealth.

Three verses trace the progress of economic development. 1 Kings 4:34 provides the start. Solomon's wisdom attracted the right people to do the work.

1 Kings 10:4-5 describes the Queen of Sheba's visit. She lists 8 items that amazed her: the pervasiveness of Solomon's wisdom, the houses he built, the abundance and variety of food, the number of his officers, the number of servants, their uniforms, the number of cup bearers (more officials), and Solomon's burnt offerings. Half of the items mentioned dealt with people.

Had Solomon hired thousands of people, dressed them up and had them stand around with nothing to do, the Queen of Sheba would not have wondered at his wisdom, but at his sanity. The Bible would have told us he was the most wasteful king ever. What astonished the Queen of Sheba was the organization and activity. Everywhere she inquired, people told her it was according to Solomon's plan. Extra fields were planted, more herds were pastured, and suddenly there were resources for nation building. The most amazing thing she saw was a king expending everything he had for the benefit of his people. Thousands of people had titles, jobs and useful work. No other king or kingdom had ever done such a thing.

The final verse is 1 Kings 12:4. Israel later complained to Rehoboam (Solomon's son and successor), that they worked too hard under his father. One wonders how this is possible if Solomon had given all the hard work to the Canaanites. If they were only complaining about high taxes, they would have clearly said so.

What this new generation conveniently forgot was that they became rich and powerful on Solomon's generous wages. Solomon did tax their wages, but they benefited from the world's first organized economy. They became powerful enough to challenge the new king! They did not understand the wisdom it took to maintain a nation (especially the way Solomon had set it up). They now had money, and all they wanted to do was protect their own interests.

(This pattern is seen throughout world history where the rich forget their poor origins, including the benevolent state that protected their beginnings. People start believing their own efforts made them rich.)

It didn't help that Rehoboam was completely unlike his father. It didn't help that his plans probably did include slave labour. All he remembered was Solomon's power of command.

Solomon did not equal the lilies of the field because the lilies survive generation after generation. He had to work and think. Near the end of his life he realized this and lamented that all his work was futile (see Ecclesiastes). He saw that no successor would be able to maintain what he had done. The gold was gone. Not only was his son incapable, but he saw the ingratitude of the nation's new rich and noble class. This grieved him sorely.

The Bible tells us Solomon's fears came true. With his death came the end of his wisdom, the division of the kingdom and the end of the organized economy. In one generation Israel and Judah sank backwards, leaving leadership of the ancient world to other nations. People returned to their tribal ways. Individual cities became the foci of their regions. The power and glory of Israel faded from history.