Solomon and Pharaoh

As noted in my sermon outline earlier this week, there is an intriguing reversal going on with Solomon and Pharaoh in 1 Kings 9. Solomon does not wipe out the Canaanites (v. 20-21), but Pharaoh does (v. 16). On the other hand, Solomon is acting like a Pharaoh, not only in the obvious sense that he builds stables for his horses and chariots (v. 19; cf. Dt 17), but also in the fact that he builds “cities of storage” (v. 19; Heb. miscenot). This word is used only a handful of times in the Hebrew Bible, but the first is Exodus 1:11: The Hebrews “built for Pharaoh cities of storage Pithom and Raamses.” Perhaps this should be taken to mean that Israel has assumed a dominant position and no longer lives as slaves under the Egyptians; but it looks to be more an indication that Solomon is subtly returning Israel to an Egyptian-like state, setting up for the “Mosaic” deliverance under Jeroboam.