There is perhaps no building of the ancient world which has excited so much attention since the time of its destruction as the Temple which Solomon [Shlomo -- from Shalom] built at Jerusalem, and its successor temple as rebuilt by Herod. Its spoils were considered worthy of forming the principal illustration of one of the most beautiful of Roman triumphal arches, and Justinian's highest architectural ambition was that he might surpass it. Throughout the Middle Ages it influenced to a considerable degree the forms of Christian churches, and its peculiarities were the watchwords and rallying-points of all associations of builders. Since the revival of learning in the 16th century its arrangements have employed the pens of numberless learned antiquarians, and architects of every country have wasted their science in trying to reproduce its forms.

Solomon's Temple was set upon the "rock" of Mount Moriah, looking east over the Valley of Kidron. It took seven years to build, was built with huge gangs of forced labor, and was constructed without the sound of a hammer or axe or any tool of iron. Though relatively small in size, there was a manifest magnificence to it. Its three parts were the porch or hall [elam], the holy place or shrine [hekal], and the holy of holies -- the inner sanctum [devir]. Its notable twin pillars are something of a mystery. Free-standing, covered with brass, the pillars had names Jachin and Boaz.

It was within the holy of holies that the Ark of the Covenant was preserved, and the Mercy Seat. The holy of holies was a perfect cube, twenty cubits by twenty cubits by twenty cubits. Between this innermost sanctum and the holy place was a double veil of finest material, elaborately embroidered. The outer of the veils was open at the north, the inner at the south. The high priest entered at the appointed time, once a year, on the day of atonement. Within the Ark was contained the record or testament of the Lord.

After the Babylonian captivity and the rebuilding of the temple [587 BC] the holy of holies was empty except for the large stone on which the high priest sprinkled the sacrificial blood once a year, on the day of atonement.

The Temple's chief craftsman and designer-architect was a mixed blood Israelite named Hiram Abiff, truly a man of mystery, gifted with occult skills and esoteric knowledge. He it was who cast the bronze furnishings and ornate decorations for the new temple of Solomon. Biblically, the little we know or the rest we can infer, Hiram's mother was Israelite (of Naphtali), his father a man of Tyre. History knows him as the widow's son, an artificer in brass and copper. Hiram lived or at least temporarily worked in clay banks in the plain of the Jordan between Succoth and Zarthan.

The builders made lavish use of the gold of Ophir and Parvaim. From the east it glittered in the morning sun like the sanctuary of an El Dorado. The accumulated gold and silver available to Solomon from his inheritance from David must have been (in present value) in the billions of dollars. Along with the Temple -- with its crenellated battlements -- as well as government buildings -- his palace and court and harem, Solomon was turning Jerusalem into a veritable show-case throughout the ancient world, much of its style along Punic-Phœnician lines.

Solomon embarked on vast commercial enterprises, created a merchant navy which plied the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean -- including, we are told, India herself. His port was Elath, by Ezion-Geber, with its rich copper deposits nearby, which he exploited on a large scale. On land his merchants monopolized the caravan trade in horses between Syria (Aram) and Egypt and the kingdoms of the Nile.

The sea trade with India is a tantalizing mystery. Even 1000 years BC, India was the wealthiest nation on earth. Fabulous jewels were stowed there; there were caves full of them, gold and treasures horded in cold, underground vaults (reputedly guarded by dragons and other real or mythical creatures); there were jewels glittering in temples and on every image. Jewels, spices, silks -- even in the days of Marco Polo, even in the times of Vasco da Gama and Cristopher Colombus, the vast wealth of the East inspired the imagination of seekers whose quests would turn the world upside down.

The Biblical Hebrew account of Solomon [Shlomo -- from Shalom] gives us the following glimpse.

• And God gave Solomon wisdom and understanding exceeding much, and largeness of heart, even as the sand that is on the sea shore.
• And Solomon's wisdom excelled the wisdom of all the children of the east country, and all the wisdom of Egypt.
• For he was wiser than all men; than Ethan the Ezrahite, and Heman, and Chalcol, and Darda, the sons of Mahol: and his fame was in all nations round about.
• And he spake three thousand proverbs: and his songs were a thousand and five.
• And he spake of trees, from the cedar tree that is in Lebanon even unto the hyssop that springeth out of the wall: he spake also of beasts, and of fowl, and of creeping things, and of fishes.
• And there came of all people to hear the wisdom of Solomon, from all kings of the earth, which had heard of his wisdom.
• And Hiram king of Tyre sent his servants unto Solomon; for he had heard that they had anointed him king in the room of his father: for Hiram was ever a lover of David.
• And Solomon sent to Hiram, saying,
• Thou knowest how that David my father could not build an house unto the name of the LORD his God for the wars which were about him on every side, until the LORD put them under the soles of his feet.
• But now the LORD my God hath given me rest on every side, so that there is neither adversary nor evil occurrent.
• And, behold, I purpose to build an house unto the name of the LORD my God, as the LORD spake unto David my father, saying, Thy son, whom I will set upon thy throne in thy room, he shall build an house unto my name.
• Now therefore command thou that they hew me cedar trees out of Lebanon; and my servants shall be with thy servants: and unto thee will I give hire for thy servants according to all that thou shalt appoint: for thou knowest that there is not among us any that can skill to hew timber like unto the Sidonians.
• And it came to pass, when Hiram heard the words of Solomon, that he rejoiced greatly, and said,
• Blessed be the LORD this day, which hath given unto David a wise son over this great people.

History gives us a background to reigns of these mighty kings.
(Will Durant's "Our Oriental Heritage" )

Phœnicia
Nourished by trade and skillfully governed by a mercantile aristocracy too clever in diplomacy and finance to waste their fortune in war, the cities of Phœnicia rose to a place among the richest and most powerful in the world. Byblos thought itself the oldest of all cities; the god El had founded it at the beginning of time. Because Papyrus was one of the principal articles of its trade, the Greeks took the name of the city as their word for book - biblos - and from their word for books named our Bible - ta biblia.

Greatest of the Phœnician cities was Tyre -- i.e, the rock -- built upon an island several miles off the coast. It, like Sidon, began as a fortress, but its splendid harbor and its security from attack soon made it the metropolis of Phœnicia, a cosmoplitan bedlam of merchants and slaves from the whole Mediterranean world.