Bible Strands
1 Kings 5:13
Then King Solomon conscripted a labor force of 30,000 men from all Israel.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The narrator records Solomon’s administrative action immediately following his receipt of divine wisdom and the ratification of a treaty with Hiram. The words — מַס (mas) denotes a state-imposed forced labor levy, and וַיַּעַל (va.ya'al) literally means "he raised" or "he conscripted" a draft of men. The thread — This conscription policy recurs in 1 Kings 4:6 with Adoniram’s appointment and is formally cataloged in 1 Kings 9:15 as the labor imposed for the temple and royal palace. Why it lands — The text demands recognition of Solomon’s centralized state machinery, where national resources and human labor are systematically organized to fund royal building projects.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
And king Solomon raised a levy out of all Israel; and the levy was thirty thousand men.
Cross-references
- 1 Kings 9:15 This 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.
- 1 Kings 4:6 Ahishar was in charge of the palace; and Adoniram son of Abda was in charge of the forced labor.