1 Kings 9:20

Study note

Setting — The narrator describes Solomon’s administrative actions during his reign, specifically detailing the demographic status of the land after the initial conquest. This verse functions as a transitional clause introducing the non-Israelite groups who survived the earlier campaigns.

The words — The phrase כָּל־הָעָם הַנּוֹתָר (kol-ha-'am ha-no.Tar) translates literally as "all the people who remained." It isolates a specific population segment that was neither expelled nor incorporated into Israel.

The thread — The same list of Canaanite nations appears in Genesis 15:19 and Exodus 23:23, establishing the original inhabitants of the promised territory. Exodus 23:28 further notes that God would drive them out gradually rather than all at once.

Why it lands — The text requires the reader to acknowledge that the conquest was incomplete and that these surviving groups were later conscripted into forced labor under Solomon’s rule. It demands a clear distinction between Israelite identity and the non-Israelite populations who remained in the land.

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.