So Solomon rebuilt the city of Gezer.) He also built up the towns of Lower Beth-horon,
Parallel translations
- WEB Solomon built in the land Gezer, Beth Horon the lower,
- KJV And Solomon built Gezer, and Bethhoron the nether,
- BSB So Solomon rebuilt Gezer, Lower Beth-horon,
- NKJV And Solomon built Gezer, Lower Beth Horon,
- NASB So Solomon rebuilt Gezer and the lower Beth-horon,
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Solomon fortified key cities, including Gezer and Lower Beth Horon, to secure his kingdom. It shows the breadth of his building program beyond the temple and palace.
Overview
After completing the temple and royal palace, Solomon strengthened strategic sites that guarded trade routes and military approaches to the central highlands. Gezer had recently been given to him as a dowry (v.16), and Beth Horon controlled a vital pass toward Jerusalem. These projects reflect the peace and prosperity God had granted, fulfilling part of the promised rest in the land, yet they also foreshadow the heavy burdens that would later strain the nation.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 5
- Josh 16:3and it went down westward to the border of the Japhletites, to the border of Beth Horon the lower, and on to Gezer; and ended at the sea.
- Josh 21:22Kibzaim with its suburbs, and Beth Horon with its suburbs: four cities.
- Josh 19:44Eltekeh, Gibbethon, Baalath,
- Josh 10:10Yahweh confused them before Israel. He killed them with a great slaughter at Gibeon, and chased them by the way of the ascent of Beth Horon, and struck them to Azekah and to Makkedah.
- 2 Chr 8:4–18He built Tadmor in the wilderness, and all the storage cities, which he built in Hamath.
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Christ at the center
Solomon's glory, wisdom, and temple where God's presence dwells are a shadow of the greater Son of David — 'one greater than Solomon is here' — and of the true Temple, Christ himself.
How 1 Kings 9:17 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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