I Kings 9:15-24 · Bible study
1 Kings 9:15-24 Commentary: Forced Labor and the Cost of Solomon's Kingdom
Hebrew · 8 what the commentators say
Meaning in one sentence
Solomon's massive building projects required a heavy levy and forced labor, sowing discontent that would split the kingdom, examined through archaeology
Research Summary
- Meaning: Solomon raised forced labor from Canaanite descendants to build an empire; the burden later fueled the kingdom’s split.
- Key words: Levy (H4522 mas), bondservice, bondmen (H5650 eved), Millo (H4407 Millo), chariotry.
- Main debate: Whether the 30,000 Israelites in 1 Ki 5:13 count as “bondmen” (v.22 uses eved; likely temporary vs. permanent status).
- Theological theme: Human ambition, even for God’s house, can oppress the weak; God alone builds without using people.
- Best use: Historical background for the divided monarchy; a cautionary tale on leadership and exploitation.
Translation Comparison
BSB Berean Standard Bible 2020
15This is the account of the forced labor that King Solomon imposed to build the house of the LORD, his own palace, the supporting terraces, and the wall of Jerusalem, as well as Hazor, Megiddo, and Gezer.
16Pharaoh king of Egypt had attacked and captured Gezer. He had set it on fire, killed the Canaanites who lived in the city, and given it as a dowry to his daughter, Solomon’s wife.
17So Solomon rebuilt Gezer, Lower Beth-horon,
18Baalath, and Tamar in the Wilderness of Judah,
19as well as all the store cities that Solomon had for his chariots and horses—whatever he desired to build in Jerusalem, Lebanon, and throughout the land of his dominion.
20As for all the people who remained of the Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites (the people who were not Israelites)—
21their descendants who remained in the land, those whom the Israelites were unable to devote to destruction—Solomon conscripted these people to be forced laborers, as they are to this day.
22But Solomon did not consign any of the Israelites to slavery, because they were his men of war, his servants, his officers, his captains, and the commanders of his chariots and cavalry.
23They were also the chief officers over Solomon’s projects: 550 supervisors over the people who did the work.
24As soon as Pharaoh’s daughter had come up from the City of David to the palace that Solomon had built for her, he built the supporting terraces.
WEB World English Bible 2000
15This is the reason of the forced labor which King Solomon conscripted: to build Yahweh’s house, his own house, Millo, Jerusalem’s wall, Hazor, Megiddo, and Gezer.
16Pharaoh king of Egypt had gone up, taken Gezer, burned it with fire, killed the Canaanites who lived in the city, and given it for a wedding gift to his daughter, Solomon’s wife.
17Solomon built in the land Gezer, Beth Horon the lower,
18Baalath, Tamar in the wilderness,
19all the storage cities that Solomon had, the cities for his chariots, the cities for his horsemen, and that which Solomon desired to build for his pleasure in Jerusalem, and in Lebanon, and in all the land of his dominion.
20As for all the people who were left of the Amorites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, who were not of the children of Israel—
21their children who were left after them in the land, whom the children of Israel were not able utterly to destroy—of them Solomon raised a levy of bondservants to this day.
22But of the children of Israel Solomon made no bondservants; but they were the men of war, his servants, his princes, his captains, and rulers of his chariots and of his horsemen.
23These were the five hundred fifty chief officers who were over Solomon’s work, who ruled over the people who labored in the work.
24But Pharaoh’s daughter came up out of David’s city to her house which Solomon had built for her. Then he built Millo.
KJV King James Version 1769
15And this is the reason of the levy which king Solomon raised; for to build the house of the Lord, and his own house, and Millo, and the wall of Jerusalem, and Hazor, and Megiddo, and Gezer.
16For Pharaoh king of Egypt had gone up, and taken Gezer, and burnt it with fire, and slain the Canaanites that dwelt in the city, and given it for a present unto his daughter, Solomon’s wife.
17And Solomon built Gezer, and Beth–horon the nether,
18And Baalath, and Tadmor in the wilderness, in the land,
19And all the cities of store that Solomon had, and cities for his chariots, and cities for his horsemen, and that which Solomon desired to build in Jerusalem, and in Lebanon, and in all the land of his dominion.
20And all the people that were left of the Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites, which were not of the children of Israel,
21Their children that were left after them in the land, whom the children of Israel also were not able utterly to destroy, upon those did Solomon levy a tribute of bondservice unto this day.
22But of the children of Israel did Solomon make no bondmen: but they were men of war, and his servants, and his princes, and his captains, and rulers of his chariots, and his horsemen.
23These were the chief of the officers that were over Solomon’s work, five hundred and fifty, which bare rule over the people that wrought in the work.
24But Pharaoh’s daughter came up out of the city of David unto her house which Solomon had built for her: then did he build Millo.
ASV American Standard Version 1901
15And this is the reason of the levy which king Solomon raised, to build the house of Jehovah, and his own house, and Millo, and the wall of Jerusalem, and Hazor, and Megiddo, and Gezer.
16Pharaoh king of Egypt had gone up, and taken Gezer, and burnt it with fire, and slain the Canaanites that dwelt in the city, and given it for a portion unto his daughter, Solomon’s wife.
17And Solomon built Gezer, and Beth-horon the nether,
18and Baalath, and Tamar in the wilderness, in the land,
19and all the store-cities that Solomon had, and the cities for his chariots, and the cities for his horsemen, and that which Solomon desired to build for his pleasure in Jerusalem, and in Lebanon, and in all the land of his dominion.
20As for all the people that were left of the Amorites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, who were not of the children of Israel;
21their children that were left after them in the land, whom the children of Israel were not able utterly to destroy, of them did Solomon raise a levy of bondservants unto this day.
22But of the children of Israel did Solomon make no bondservants; but they were the men of war, and his servants, and his princes, and his captains, and rulers of his chariots and of his horsemen.
23These were the chief officers that were over Solomon’s work, five hundred and fifty, who bare rule over the people that wrought in the work.
24But Pharaoh’s daughter came up out of the city of David unto her house which Solomon had built for her: then did he build Millo.
YLT Young's Literal Translation 1898
15And this is the matter of the tribute that king Solomon hath lifted up, to build the house of Jehovah, and his own house, and Millo, and the wall of Jerusalem, and Hazor, and Megiddo, and Gezer,
16(Pharaoh king of Egypt hath gone up and doth capture Gezer, and doth burn it with fire, and the Canaanite who is dwelling in the city he hath slain, and giveth it with presents to his daughter, wife of Solomon.)
17And Solomon buildeth Gezer, and Beth-Horon the lower,
18and Baalath, and Tadmor in the wilderness, in the land;
19and all the cities of stores that king Solomon hath, and the cities of the chariots, and the cities of the horsemen, and the desire of Solomon that he desired to build in Jerusalem, and in Lebanon, and in all the land of his dominion.
20The whole of the people that is left of the Amorite, the Hittite, the Perizzite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite, who are not of the sons of Israel--
21their sons who are left behind them in the land, whom the sons of Israel have not been able to devote--he hath even lifted up on them a tribute of service unto this day.
22And out of the sons of Israel Solomon hath not appointed a servant, for they are the men of war, and his servants, and his heads, and his captains, and the heads of his chariots, and his horsemen.
23These are the heads of the officers who are over the work of Solomon, fifty and five hundred, those ruling among the people who are labouring in the work.
24Only, the daughter of Pharaoh went up out of the city of David unto her house that Solomon built for her; then he built Millo.
Darby Darby Bible 1890
15And this is the account of the levy which king Solomon raised, to build the house of Jehovah, and his own house, and Millo, and the wall of Jerusalem, and Hazor, and Megiddo, and Gezer.
16— Pharaoh king of Egypt had gone up and taken Gezer, and burned it with fire, and slain the Canaanites that dwelt in the city, and given it as a dowry to his daughter, Solomon's wife.
17— And Solomon built Gezer, and lower Beth-horon,
18and Baalath, and Tadmor in the wilderness, in the land,
19and all the store-cities that Solomon had, and cities for chariots, and cities for the horsemen, and that which Solomon desired to build in Jerusalem, and on Lebanon, and in all the land of his dominion.
20All the people that were left of the Amorites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, who were not of the children of Israel,
21their children that were left after them in the land, whom the children of Israel were not able utterly to destroy, upon them did Solomon impose a tribute of bondservice until this day.
22But of the children of Israel did Solomon make no bondmen; but they were men of war, and his servants, and his chiefs, and his captains, and captains of his chariots, and his horsemen.
23These were the chief superintendents that were over Solomon's work, five hundred and fifty, that ruled over the people that wrought in the work.
24But Pharaoh's daughter came up out of the city of David to her house which he had built for her: then he built Millo.
Douay-Rheims Douay-Rheims Bible 1899
15This is the sum of the expenses, which king Solomon offered to build the house of the Lord, and his own house, and Mello, and the wall of Jerusalem, and Heser, and Mageddo, and Gazer.
16Pharao, the king of Egypt, came up and took Gazer, and burnt it with fire: and slew the Chanaanite that dwelt in the city, and gave it for a dowry to his daughter, Solomon's wife.
17So Solomon built Gazer, and Bethhoron the nether,
18And Baalath, and Palmira, in the land of the wilderness.
19And all the towns that belonged to himself, and were not walled, he fortified; the cities also of the chariots, and the cities of the horsemen, and whatsoever he had a mind to build in Jerusalem, and in Libanus, and in all the land of his dominion.
20All the people that were left of the Amorrhites, and Hethites, and Pherezites, and Hevites, and Jebusites, that are not of the children of Israel:
21Their children, that were left in the land; to wit, such as the children of Israel had not been able to destroy, Solomon made tributary unto this day.
22But of the children of Israel, Solomon made not any to be bondmen, but they were warriors, and his servants, and his princes, and captains, and overseers of the chariots and horses.
23And there were five hundred and fifty chief officers set over all the works of Solomon, and they had people under them, and had charge over the appointed works.
24And the daughter of Pharao came up out of the city of David to her house, which Solomon had built for her: then did he build Mello.
Verse in Context
Original Language (Biblical Hebrew)
Old Testament · Biblical Hebrew · I Kings 9:15
Source: STEPBible TAGNT/TEHB (CC-BY 4.0). Click or tap a morphology code to see the full parsing.
Scholars' Consensus
Commentators across traditions agree that this passage explains why Solomon raised a levy of forced labor (Hebrew mas) and what it paid for. Clarke and Matthew Henry note that the debt to Hiram of Tyre (vv. 11, 14) was a likely trigger: when Hiram refused the Galilean cities, Solomon needed funds, so he turned to heavy taxation and conscripted labor. The text draws a sharp line between Israelites, who were not made bondmen but served as soldiers, officials, and chariot commanders (v.22), and the descendants of the Canaanite nations, who were reduced to permanent bondage (v.21). Barnes observes that the relocation of Pharaoh’s daughter out of David’s city (v.24) reflects Solomon’s sensitivity to the holiness of the area near the temple. The Cambridge Bible and Lange highlight that this system of forced labor, while presented as a response to need, would later be cited by the northern tribes as the direct cause of their rebellion under Rehoboam (1 Ki 12:4).
How settled is the interpretation?
Interpretive difficulty: Medium
Main views:
- Two-tier labor system: v.22 clearly states Israelites were not made bondmen, while v.21 says Canaanites were; this view takes the text at face value, reconciling 1 Ki 5:13 as temporary service.
- All Israel enslaved (de facto): 1 Ki 5:13 says Solomon raised a levy from all Israel; the word ‘bondmen’ in 9:22 is argued to be a technical legal term, not describing actual conditions—the burden was the same.
- Tadmor as Palmyra vs. Tamar in Judah: The Ketiv/Qere variation and 2 Chr 8:4 are the central evidence; geography and context favor one or the other.
What is clear: The building projects required a massive workforce that included both Israelites (on rotating shifts) and Canaanites (as permanent bondservants), and this system created the grievance that later split the kingdom.
What Scholars Agree and Debate
| Topic | Agreed | Debated |
|---|---|---|
| Nature of forced labor on Israelites | Both 1 Ki 5:13 and 9:22 agree that some form of service was required of all tribes. | Some interpreters (e.g., Cambridge Bible) see the 30,000 as temporary shift-workers, not slaves; others note the language of ‘bondmen’ in 9:22 may be a legal distinction (permanent vs seasonal). The text does not fully resolve the tension. |
| Identity of ‘Tadmor’ in verse 18 | The Ketiv/Qere shows a variant: Tamar (written) vs. Tadmor (read). Both are cities. | Most commentators (Barnes, Clarke) identify Tadmor with Palmyra in Syria, based on 2 Chr 8:4. Others, reading Tamar, locate it in the Judean wilderness (near the Dead Sea), matching the phrase ‘in the wilderness, in the land’. |
| Number of chief officers: 550 vs. 250 | Both numbers appear in different accounts of Solomon’s workforce. | 1 Ki 9:23 says 550; 2 Chr 8:10 says 250. Gill and others suggest the 550 includes all levels, while 250 are the top supervisors over Israelites only. Others see a textual discrepancy. |
| Pharaoh’s daughter and Millo (v.24) | The relocation from David’s city to her own house cleared the way to build Millo. | Barnes argues it was for holiness (the ark was near); others (Lange) see it as a logistical move. The timing implies she lived in David’s city for years before moving. |
Historical & Cultural Context
The reign of Solomon (c. 970, 931 BC) was a time of unprecedented building and diplomacy. His marriage to Pharaoh’s daughter cemented an alliance with Egypt, then the regional superpower. When Pharaoh captured Gezer, he gave it as a dowry, a strategic city that had never been fully taken from the Canaanites (Josh 16:10; Judg 1:29). Solomon rebuilt Gezer as part of a network of fortified cities stretching from Hazor in the north to Tamar in the south, including chariot cities and storage depots. The scale was immense: the temple, the palace, Millo (perhaps a fortress or terrace system on the Ophel), and the wall of Jerusalem.
The forced labor levied on the Canaanite remnants was consistent with ancient Near Eastern practice. Monarchs often used conquered peoples as a corvée. But the Deuteronomistic historian (likely the author of 1 Kings) is careful to note that Israelites were not made bondmen, though earlier in 1 Kings 5:13, 14 we read that Solomon conscripted 30,000 men from all Israel to work in Lebanon in shifts. Commentators like the Cambridge Bible reconcile this by arguing that such service was temporary and rotational, not permanent enslavement. Still, the burden was heavy. The prophet Ahijah would later tear Jeroboam’s garment as a sign that the ten northern tribes would break away (1 Ki 11:29, 31), and the people’s protest at Rehoboam’s coronation explicitly cited Solomon’s “hard yoke” (1 Ki 12:4). This passage, then, is not merely a building inventory; it is the record of a kingdom’s growing internal pressure, a crack in the golden age that would split the nation.
Textual Notes
The supplied sources note two primary textual features. First, in verse 18 the Ketiv (consonantal text) reads “Tamar,” while the Qere (reading tradition) has “Tadmor.” The majority of commentators follow the Qere and identify the place with the well-known Palmyra in Syria, supported by 2 Chronicles 8:4. Second, the number of chief officers in verse 23 (550) differs from the 250 given in 2 Chronicles 8:10; Gill suggests the 550 includes a broader class of overseers. No other significant variants are discussed in the consulted materials.
Reception History
This passage has been read in several ways across the centuries. Jewish interpreters of the rabbinic period saw in the forced labor a failure of Israel to fully possess the Land, the Canaanites left among them became a perpetual ‘thorn in the side’ as warned in Numbers 33:55. Early Christian writers like Origen allegorized Solomon’s building as the work of Christ building the Church, with the Canaanite laborers representing subdued passions. The Protestant Reformers (e.g., Matthew Henry, 1710) focused on the moral lesson: Solomon’s glory came at the cost of his people’s freedom, a warning that even the best human kingdoms can become oppressive. In modern scholarship, the passage is a key dataset for understanding state formation in ancient Israel, showing how monument-building required a complex labor bureaucracy and how that bureaucracy sowed the seeds of political collapse.
Preaching This Verse
Three-point outline
- Greatness requires resources. Solomon’s Temple and palace were magnificent, but they came at a staggering human cost. The levy touched every corner of his dominion.
- Not all burdens are equal. The text insists that Israelites served as free warriors and officials, while Canaanites were bound to hard labor. This distinction was both a privilege and a seed of resentment, privilege seldom remains unresented.
- What we build can outlast us in ways we don’t expect. The same projects that glorified Solomon later became the grievance that tore the kingdom in two. Our labors, even good ones, can have unintended consequences.
Five-point outline
- Why the levy? The immediate cause: a debt to Hiram that could not be settled with real estate (vv. 11, 14).
- What was built? A massive portfolio: Temple, palace, Millo, Jerusalem’s wall, Hazor, Megiddo, Gezer, Lower Beth-horon, Baalath, Tamar, storage cities, chariot cities, and pleasure gardens.
- Who worked? Canaanite descendants became bondservants; Israelites kept arms and rank.
- Who managed? 550 chief officers oversaw the labor, a bureaucracy that controlled the kingdom’s workforce (v.23).
- What changed? Pharaoh’s daughter moved to her own house, clearing David’s city for the Millo project (v.24). This detail underscores that the holy precinct was freed from foreign residence.
Illustration hooks
- A small town builds a new high school with state-of-the-art facilities, but the bond measure raises taxes so high that longtime residents can no longer afford to stay. The achievement itself becomes a source of bitterness.
- A business owner takes on debt to expand, then pushes employees to work longer hours without overtime to meet the payments. Profits rise, but loyalty erodes.
- A nation undertakes a major infrastructure project (a dam, a highway). It benefits the economy, but the workers are migrant laborers with few rights. The gap between citizen and non-citizen grows visible.
Questions your congregation is asking
- If the kingdom was so wealthy under Solomon, why did he need forced labor at all?
- Was Solomon violating the law by enslaving the Canaanites, or was he just finishing what Joshua started?
- How does this passage help us understand the later conflict between Rehoboam and Jeroboam?
Leading a Discussion
This passage pulls back the curtain on the engine that powered Solomon’s golden age. It is a story of ambition, labor, and divided people. The questions below will help your group move from what the text says to what it asks of us today.
Discussion questions
- Read 1 Kings 9:15, 19. What projects does Solomon build, and why might each one matter to a nation’s security and economy?
- Verse 16 tells us Pharaoh gave Gezer as a wedding gift. What does that detail reveal about the political alliances of the era? How does intermarriage with foreign powers shape Israel’s story?
- Verses 20, 21 describe the descendants of the Canaanites being made “bondservants.” Compare this with God’s command to destroy the Canaanite nations (Deut 20:16, 18). Does the text approve or merely report their survival?
- Verse 22 states that Solomon made no Israelites bondmen. Yet 1 Kings 5:13 says he raised a levy of 30,000 men from all Israel. How would you reconcile these statements? What does this tension teach us about reading Scripture carefully?
- The chapter ends with Pharaoh’s daughter moving out of David’s city (v.24). Barnes suggests this was to preserve the holiness of the temple area. How do small decisions of placement or priority reflect our worship and devotion?
- If you were an Israelite farmer called up for a month of labor in Lebanon (5:14), how might you have felt? What would you have said to your children about King Solomon?
- Where in our own communities do we see a gap between those who benefit from a project and those who carry the burden? How does the gospel address that imbalance?
Word Study
The key original-language words in this verse. Select any word for its full lexicon entry — meaning, every occurrence in Scripture, and related words.
Cross-References
Source: Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (TSK, public domain)
| Joshua 10:33 | Then Horam king of Gezer came up to help Lachish; and Joshua struck him and his people, until he had left him no one remaining. |
| Joshua 11:1 | When Jabin king of Hazor heard of it, he sent to Jobab king of Madon, to the king of Shimron, to the king of Achshaph, |
| Joshua 16:10 | They didn’t drive out the Canaanites who lived in Gezer; but the Canaanites dwell in the territory of Ephraim to this day, and have become servants to do forced labor. |
| Joshua 17:11 | Manasseh had three heights in Issachar, in Asher Beth Shean and its towns, and Ibleam and its towns, and the inhabitants of Dor and its towns, and the inhabitants of Endor and its towns, and the inhabitants of Taanach and its towns, and the inhabitants of Megiddo and its towns. |
| Joshua 19:36 | Adamah, Ramah, Hazor, |
| Joshua 21:21 | They gave them Shechem with its pasture lands in the hill country of Ephraim, the city of refuge for the man slayer, and Gezer with its pasture lands, |
| Judges 1:29 | Ephraim didn’t drive out the Canaanites who lived in Gezer, but the Canaanites lived in Gezer among them. |
| Judges 4:2 | Yahweh sold them into the hand of Jabin king of Canaan, who reigned in Hazor; the captain of whose army was Sisera, who lived in Harosheth of the Gentiles. |
Interlinear and lexical data from STEPBible (CC BY 4.0). Cross-reference data from OpenBible.info (CC BY 4.0). Commentaries are public domain.
For personal reflection
Read the devotional page — prayer, application, and "for families"
What the Commentators Say
6 public-domain commentaries, condensed into plain language.
Adam Clarke's Commentary Methodist/Wesleyan 1826
Clarke highlights the burden Solomon’s grand projects placed on his people, noting that the heavy tax to repay Hiram later fueled the rebellion under Rehoboam. He also observes that Solomon forced non-Israelites into hard labor, sparing his own subjects, much like the Egyptian king Sesostris used captives.
Barnes' Notes on the Bible Protestant 1832
Barnes identifies the specific cities Solomon fortified, noting that Gezer had remained unconquered until Pharaoh captured it and gave it as dowry. He also draws attention to why Solomon moved Pharaoh's daughter out of David's palace, regarding the temple area as holy and unsuitable for her residence.
Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges Anglican 1880
The Cambridge Bible commentary highlights the distinction between Solomon's strategic fortifications, such as Hazor and Megiddo, and his later projects built for personal pleasure. It also stresses that the forced labor for Canaanites was perpetual slave service, while the Israelite
Geneva Bible Notes Reformed 1599
The Geneva Notes explain that Solomon raised tribute specifically to fund his building projects, not for personal gain. They also note that only the surviving Canaanites were made tributaries, while the Israelites remained free and served as soldiers, officials, and overseers of the work.
Gill's Exposition of the Bible Baptist 1748
Gill emphasizes that Solomon's levy for his extensive building projects fell only on the surviving Canaanite populations,
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Commentary Protestant 1871
JFB explains that Solomon's levy was necessary because of the many massive building projects he undertook. Each fortified city served a specific strategic purpose: Megiddo guarded the main caravan route, Gezer was a dowry from Pharaoh, and Tadmor protected against northern invaders. The Canaanites performed the hard labor while Israelites served in honorable positions.