Later on in 40:20-21, Ezekiel describes the north gate as have six chambers as well. Gezer was a main city of the south. 2021-02-06. But was the East Gate a six-chambered gate, identical to the ones at Hazor, Megiddo, and Gezer? Surely this was a sign of Solomon’s famous public works projects! From the notice in the next verse, it must have been in rebellion against Israel, perhaps in the early and more troubled days of Solomon; and was accordingly taken by the Egyptian army (which could easily march up the plain, and attack it therefrom). Yadin, who was fully aware of the fact that the most effective way to re-examine the results of an old excavation is to conduct new excavations, did what was possible under the circumstances. invariably renders it "Acra," or "the-citadel," a name always applied in the later history to the fortification on Mount Zion. So was he seven years in building it. While the HUC-Harvard excavation was going on, or shortly before, the great Israeli archaeologist Yigael Yadin re-examined Macalister's dating of the gate at Gezer (erroneously dated by Macalister to the Maccabean period) and attributed the Gezer gate, as well as the gates at Megiddo and Hazor, to Solomon in the 10th t century BCE. Hazor gate. How To Open Your Heart. Light, Fog, Bow. Judges 4:2 And the LORD sold them into the hand of Jabin king of Canaan, that reigned in Hazor; the captain of whose host was Sisera, which dwelt in Harosheth of the Gentiles. Three of these cities - Hazor, Megiddo, and Gezer - are mentioned explicitly as fortress-cities by the Book of Kings.I Kings 9:15 tells us, "This is the account of the forced labor which king Solomon levied to build the house of the Lord, and his own house, and Millo, and the wall of Jerusalem, and Hazor, and Megiddo, and Gezer. Solomon chose to fortify these cities because of their strategic importance: Hazor, in northern Israel, guarded the roads to Syria and Phoenicia; Megiddo commanded the trade routes that crossed near Jezreel that went up into northern Palestine or south into Philistia and Egypt; Gezer, near the southwest coast, was an old Canaanite city which Solomon used as a bulwark against the Philistines, subdued under David but still considered a threat.If 1 Kings 9:15 is accurate, we should find fortifications in these three cities dating from the time of Solomon. Six-chamber gate at Megiddo. 15 Now this is the account of the forced labor which King Solomon levied to build the house of the Lord, his own house, the Millo, the wall of Jerusalem, Hazor, Megiddo, and Gezer. 1 Kings 11:27 And this was the cause that he lifted up his hand against the king: Solomon built Millo, and repaired the breaches of the city of David his father. Though there is some debate on whether the proto-Ionic capitals were merely decorative or functional column-heads, there is a strong connection between the volutes found in Megiddo and those in Phoenicia of the same period. 2021-03-12. Only the three southern chambers remain today of the massive gate and can be seen in this photo. while Hazor had been taken by Joshua during the Conquest. Megiddo gate. Two basic assumptions formed the starting points of the new study: (a) that the Megiddo gate complex is Solomonic in date, and (b) that, as the gates of Hazor, Megiddo, and Gezer-all three well dated and contemporary-seemed to be identical in plan and measurements, they must have been connected to city walls similar in nature. 2 Archaeologists disagree as to the precise dating of the fortifications at Hazor, Megiddo and Gezer that likely inspired this Biblical reference, but most of the structures clearly belong to the Iron Age. Me, We, Everybody. We have written of Gezer elsewhere in this series. In the twentieth century, archaeologist Kathleen Kenyon (famous for her excavations at Jericho), identified the type of construction "of the character identified as Phoenician at Samaria, with irregularly projecting bosses having unequal margins on one, two, or three sides." It's Good to Be _____ 2021-02-22. Here is the account of the forced labor King Solomon conscripted to build the LORD’s temple, his own palace, the terraces, the wall of Jerusalem, and Hazor, Megiddo and Gezer. 2021-02-06. With the … But it must have been regained by its old possessors, and rebuilt, for it appears again under another Jabin in Judges 4. Because of the skill of the work and the similarity to other Phoenician sites, Yadin hypothesized that the ashlar masonry at these three sites was executed by Phoenician workmen using blocks quarried in Tyre. When does it really matter when some city gates were built?It must be recalled that the biblical skeptics, especially those of the Documentary Hypothesis school, tend to see the United Monarchy as a national myth and doubt the existence of Solomon entirely. That it was a part of the fortification of "the city of David" is clear by this passage, by 1Kings 9:24 and 1Kings 11:27, and by 2Chronicles 32:5; and the LXX. Judges 5:19 The kings came and fought, then fought the kings of Canaan in Taanach by the waters of Megiddo; they took no gain of money. It could easily be imagined that three gates could be built in a similar design by different builders at different times if that design were fashionable in a given period. This is clearly describing the ashlar masonry as seen at Gezer, Megiddo and Hazor. Hazor, Megiddo, and Gezer were three of the most important sites in the holy land. At this point, perhaps it seems we have strayed into a discussion that is purely academic. 40:6, 10). The current East Gate - known as the "Golden Gate" - dates from the time of Justinian, and the gate prior to that, of which only scattered ruins have been found, belongs to the late Second Temple period. But excavations at Jerusalem's east wall and East Gate have revealed striking similarities to the fortifications of the other cities we examined. Psalm 51:18 Do good in thy good pleasure unto Zion: build thou the walls of Jerusalem. But is there anything else linking these gates to Solomon's reign? And Then All of them Passed. In Ezekiel chapter 40, we read the following description of the old East Gate of Jerusalem: "And [the angel] came to the gate that looked toward the east, and he went up the steps thereof: and he measured the breadth of the threshold of the gate...And the little chambers of the gate that looked eastward were three on this side, and three on that side: all three were of one measure, and the fronts of one measure, on both parts" (Ezk. 2020-06-22. iOS Android Share. Its king was conquered by Joshua (Joshua 10:33; Joshua 12:12), and the city was allotted to the Levites in the territory of Ephraim (Joshua 21:17), but it remained unsubdued (Judges 1:29). 2020-12-09. If we return to our original verse, 1 Kings 9:15, we see that Gezer, Megiddo, and Hazor were not the only things Solomon fortified: "This is the account of the forced labor which king Solomon levied to build the house of the Lord, and his own house, and Millo, and the wall of Jerusalem, and Hazor, and Megiddo, and Gezer." It was evidently important, as commanding the great line of invasion through Hamath from the north. According to I Kings (9:15), King Solomon built Megiddo together with Hazor and Gezer. The Tyrian stones used at the temple are described "from foundations to coping and all the way out to the great courtyard...choice stones, hewn according to measure, smooth on all sides" (I Kings 7:9). There is no known archaeological remains of what this gate would have looked like in Solomon's time.That's not to say there is nothing to go on; there is one strong literary clue to the construction of the old East Gate, and this comes from the Book of Ezekiel. This would explain the Phoenician connection in some of the building materials and styles.Construction: More telling was the use of casemate construction. For the two first places, compare the marginal references and notes. South Star. Finklestein and Na'aman (Eisenbrauns: Winona Lake, IN), 2011[2]http://www.ritmeyer.com/2010/07/31/first-temple-period-wall-found-in-jerusalem-revisited/comment-page-1/#comment-33954, From Megiddo to Tamassos and Back: Putting the 'Proto-Ionic Capital' In Its Place, http://www.ritmeyer.com/2010/07/31/first-temple-period-wall-found-in-jerusalem-revisited/comment-page-1/#comment-33954. There is considerable disagreement on whether the gate of Megiddo in particular dates from the time of Solomon. But it was not subdued by them (Joshua 17:12-13; Judges 1:27-28), and, with Taanach, appears as a hostile city in the Song of Deborah (Judges 5:19). Warren found a heavy wall and courtyard dating from the time of Solomon that subsequently turned out to be identical to the one later excavated at Megiddo. The center chamber is filled with rocks but the first and third are open. Capitals: The Phoenician connection is strengthened by the presence of what are known as proto-Ionic capitals found in the ruins of Megiddo. 2021-03-12. (Pharaoh king of Egypt had attacked and captured Gezer. And recall, according to the Scriptures, most of King Solomon's large building projects were carried out by Tyrian workmen loaned from King Hiram of Tyre and using materials imported from Phoenicia. Part of this consolidation consisted in fortifying many of the cities of Israel. Hence it was fortified by Solomon, and probably the native inhabitants were dispossessed. However, other archaeologists have since adopted a … Casemate wall construction was a method of reinforcing a wall by building two walls back to back and connecting them with inverted blocks that spanned the depth of both walls at various intervals. A similar gate at Lachish gate may also date to this period, but many archaeologists think it was built later, in the 9th century. Download More Episodes. These rooms were presumably store rooms or guard houses of some sort.Dimensions: Finally, each gate guardhouse measures 48 feet in width. While there are inscriptions indisputably referring to kings such as Hezekiah, Omri, Ahab, Jeroboam II and even some fragmentary mentions of King David, the historical record has been silent on King Solomon. This fact, as well as the archaeological evidence and the reference in 1 Kgs. If Gezer, Megiddo, and Hazor were parts of the same building program as Jerusalem, we should see similar construction at Jerusalem as these other cities.Jerusalem is obviously bigger than these other cities and was already significantly fortified during the time of David. The first archaeologist to excavate at all three sites was the Israeli Yigael Yadin, who carried out a series of excavations at all three cities between 1957 and 1970. 2020-12-03. Scientifically, combined with the discoveries of the Megiddo Gate in the 1930's and the Hazor Gate in the 1950's, the discovery of the city gate of Gezer completed … Whoever designed them seems to have used a single set of plans on all three sites.Thus far we can surmise that the gates of these three cities were (a) built by a single builder or as part of a single building program, and (b) that their style and design is synonymous with 10th century Israelite architecture, and (c) that there is strong evidence of Phoenician craftsmen and materials at work in these constructions, keeping with the narrative of 1 Kings, which notes that Solomon and Hiram had a treaty by which Phoenicia lent Israel skilled craftsmen, timber, and stone for Solomon's grandiose building projects, and that this Phoenician oversight of Israelite construction went on "year after year" of Solomon's reign (1 Kings. The connection between Hazor, Megiddo and Gezer is reflected in 1 Kings 9:15, where the Bible talks about Solomon's building activities: "This was the purpose of the forced labour which Solomon imposed, it was to build the house of the lord, his own palace, the Millo, and the wall of Jerusalem, and [to fortify] Hazor, Megiddo, anf Gezer. This invited the kind of traffic through the neighborhood that could be dangerous. Many archaeologists believe Megiddo has solid evidence of walls and building from the 10th century BC days of Solomon's kingdom. But to have the structures meet the same dimensions suggests not only that they were built in the same style, but that they were built using the same blue prints. It is known as the Gezer Calendar. And 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. Hazor, Megiddo, and Gezer were three of the most important sites in the holy land. South Star. These common factors, in addition to the measurements of the guardhouses, suggest whoever built the walls of Jerusalem also built the gates of Gezer, Megiddo, and Hazor. Since the east wall and its vanished East Gate (which we know from Ezekiel to have had six chambers like the others) dated from the time of Solomon, it follows that the gates of Hazor, Megiddo, and Gezer likewise were constructed during the reign of Solomon, which is in fact what 1 Kings 9:15 tells us.The thesis is not uncontested, however. In fact there is, and it is found in Jerusalem in the old City of David. Hazor itself was burned, the only city in that area built on a mound to be so treated. Megiddo lay in the great plain of Jezreel or Esdraelon, the battle-field of Northern Palestine, commanding some of the passes from it into the hill country of Manasseh, to which tribe it was assigned after the conquest (Joshua 17:11). Megiddo was taken by the Israelites sometime during the period of the Judges (c. 1150 B.C.) More Episodes. It is believed Solomon constructed this gate and built two more like it at Gezer and Hazor … --These cities were all of important geographical positions, and all had belonged to the subject races. Warren also discovered a tower, which has come to be known as the "Projecting Tower" or also the "Extra Tower." From the derivation of the word it is possible that the work was the raising a high fortification of earth crowned with a wall, where the hill of Zion slopes down unto the valley known subsequently as the Tyrop?on. 2021-01-23. He had set it on fire. At that time the city had become the center of a royal province of the United Monarchy. The settlement was exposed in limited areas where a few houses were discovered. 1 Kings 9:24 But 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. Renowned Israeli archaeologist David Ussishkin considers the ruins of Megiddo's gate to date from the time of Ahab, based on certain topographical considerations relating to the construction. [1] All of this suggests that the great building projects of the Solomonic era were carried out under the auspices of Phoenician engineers, exactly as Scripture suggests. Josephus, in describing the works of Solomon, merely says that he made the walls of David higher and stronger, and built towers on them. This would not mean that Solomon did not build the gate of Megiddo, however, only that the current ruins are not Solomonic in origin. While casemate is not indigenous to Phoenicia, the style of casemate found at our three cities also points to a Phoenician connection. What does all this mean? Casemate was extremely common in Israel during the 10th century and is believed to be further evidence of Phoenician influence. 1 Kings 9:21 Their 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. It could be objected that these gates are part of Ezekiel's vision and do not necessarily reflect the historical reality of Solomon's temple; this is a valid point, but it also must be noted that most scholars, Protestant and Catholic, all hold that the basic structure of the temple in Ezekiel's vision is patterned on the historical Temple of Solomon. It fell to King Solomon to consolidate the kingdom that his father David had won by the sword. A 13th century BCE amulet, various scarabs and cylinder seals were also found on the site. Hazor, Megiddo, and Gezer.--These cities were all of important geographical positions, and all had belonged to the subject races. Solomonic Gates: Hazor, Megiddo, Gezer Despite the vast trove of archaeological data that has come to light in the past century in Israel, solid historical evidence of the existence of King Solomon has continued to elude archaeologists and scholars. According to the Hebrew Bible, Gezer was one of the great cities fortified by Solomon, in addition to Jerusalem, Megiddo, and Hazor (1 Kings 9:15–17). Jos 11:1-13) Although later assigned to the tribe of Naphtali (Jos 19:32, 35, 36), Hazor, in the time of Deborah and Barak, was the seat of another powerful Canaanite king also called Jabin. "The following verse tells us that the last of these cities, Gezer, was conquered by the Pharaoh of Egypt - probably Pharaoh Siamun - who had "come up and captured Gezer; he destroyed it by fire, killed the Canaanites who dwelt in the town, and gave it as dowry to his daughter, Solomon's wife" (v. 16). 2020-11-20. Joshua 11:1 And it came to pass, when Jabin king of Hazor had heard those things, that he sent to Jobab king of Madon, and to the king of Shimron, and to the king of Achshaph. It fell to King Solomon to consolidate the kingdom that his father David had won by the sword. "Solomon's use of Phoenician masons is undoubted", Kenyon added [2].In addition to this, an example of the proto-Ionic capital was also found at the East Gate, reinforcing its connection to Solomon, the masons of Hiram, and our three other cities. If so, is there compelling evidence that they date from Solomon's reign (970-931 B.C.)? While David was a king of war, Solomon was a king of peace. Although half of the gate at Megiddo is now missing, the existing half and previous archaeological information matches this gate with the others at Hazor and Gezer. In other words, the gates of Hazor, Megiddo, and Gezer seem to have been part of the same building project. The construction of this wall matches the construction style and building materials of the gates of Hazor, Megiddo, and Gezer, thus placing them in the mid-10th century as well. These gates are a remarkable testimony to Solomon’s building activity as described in 1 Kings 9:15. Grezer or Gazer, was near Bethlehem, close to the maritime plain. Archaeologists have uncovered a six-chambered gate at Hazor, which is nearly identical in size and design to gates at Megiddo and Gezer. This is reminiscent of what the Old Testament notes about the type of masonry used in Solomon's construction projects. 2 Kg.9:15, Solomon fortifies Hazor, Megiddo and Gezer; 2 Kg.15:29, Tiglath-Pileser destroys Hazor in 732 BC. This is particularly impressive. Judges 9:6,20 And all the men of Shechem gathered together, and all the house of Millo, and went, and made Abimelech king, by the plain of the pillar that was in Shechem…. The importance of Gezer appears from Joshua 10:33; Joshua 12:12, etc. Hazor was in the north, on high ground near the waters of Merom. 1 Kings 4:12 Baana the son of Ahilud; to him pertained Taanach and Megiddo, and all Bethshean, which is by Zartanah beneath Jezreel, from Bethshean to Abelmeholah, even unto the place that is beyond Jokneam: Joshua 17:11 And Manasseh had in Issachar and in Asher Bethshean and her towns, and Ibleam and her towns, and the inhabitants of Dor and her towns, and the inhabitants of Endor and her towns, and the inhabitants of Taanach and her towns, and the inhabitants of Megiddo and her towns, even three countries. Thus, two questions need to be answered: Is there evidence of fortifications in these cities? Gezer was a main city of the south. The amulet bears the cartouches —or official royal monikers— of the Egyptian Pharaohs Thutmose III and Ramses II. Here is the account of the forced labor King Solomon conscripted to build the LORD's temple, his own palace, the supporting terraces, the wall of Jerusalem, and Hazor, Megiddo and Gezer. It was situated on the great maritime plain, and commanded the ordinary line of approach from Egypt, which was along this low region. The building works enumerated are, first in Jerusalem, then in various parts of the country of critical importance, either for war or for commerce. He killed its Canaanite inhabitants and then gave it as a wedding gift to his daughter, Solomon’s wife. Joshua 19:36 And Adamah, and Ramah, and Hazor. It had been the city of Jabin, head of the northern confederacy (Joshua 11:1). In this essay we will look at three such sites: the so-called "Solomonic Gates" of Hazor, Megiddo, and Gezer. Despite the vast trove of archaeological data that has come to light in the past century in Israel, solid historical evidence of the existence of King Solomon has continued to elude archaeologists and scholars. See: "From Megiddo to Tamassos and Back: Putting the 'Proto-Ionic Capital' In Its Place" Fire Signals of Lachish, ed. gates at all three sites, scholars have suggested that the fortifications at Hazor, Megiddo, and Gezer date to the 10th century BCE, that is, the time of King Solomon's reign. It was part of a system of settlements around the Hula Valley, including Abel Beth Maachah, Dan and Kedesh. In other words, casemate construction, as found at Gezer, Megiddo, Hazor and other Solomonic era sites. Millo, or (as it always has the definite article), "the Millo." Hazor and Gezer, at Megiddo it was impossible to carry out new excavations in the area of the gates. After the great victory over this confederacy, Joshua burnt Hazor (Joshua 11:13), and the territory was assigned to Naphtali (Joshua 19:36). He had set it on fire. Hazor, Megiddo, and Gezer. The Solomonic Gates refer to the three gates in three cities of Hazor, Megiddo and Gezer mentioned in the first book of the Kings, where it is told that King Solomon built the fortifications to protect these cities from the on-coming military attacks. Light, Fog, Bow. And Then All of them Passed. Israel was situated on the "land bridge" which connected three continents and across which a major international trade route ran. It was Yadin who first noted that the gates in each city were not only of identical construction but almost of identical layout. Hazor was in the north, on high ground near the waters of Merom. So some archaeologists and biblical scholars were downright giddy at the discovery of somewhat similar six-chambered gates at Hazor, Megiddo and Gezer. Gezer is a prominent 33-acre (13-ha) site that overlooked the Aijalon Valley and the road leading through it to Jerusalem. It was Yadin who first noted that the gates in each city were not only of identical construction but almost of identical layout. Though the majority of the capitals were found in Megiddo (13), one has also been found in Gezer and two in Hazor.Design: Each gate is a "six-room" gate; that is, the structure of the gate contains three chambers on each side of the structure, for a total of six rooms. 16 (Pharaoh king of Egypt had attacked and captured Gezer. Middle Bronze Tower. Sets on the international highway from Israel through Syria to Babylon. Me, We, Everybody - Part 3. Gezer is mentioned in a well-known passage in the Hebrew Bible that states that Solomon used forced labor “to build the wall of Jerusalem, Hazor, Megiddo, [and] Gezer” (1 Kings 9:15). Gezer gate. Some of the similarities include:Masonry: All three gates used ashlar masonry, which is a kind of cut block found throughout ancient Israel. His conquest of the city is affirmed both in his inscriptions at the Temple at Karnak and in a stele erected at the site. The Egyptian Pharaoh Shishak took Megiddo in the second half of the 10th century. The east wall of Jerusalem excavated by Charles Warren in the 1860's dates from the time of Solomon. 1 Kings 7:1 But Solomon was building his own house thirteen years, and he finished all his house. Now it was fortified, and is named subsequently as an Israelite city (2Kings 9:27; 2Kings 23:29). With that said, it seems that a large monumental structure dated to the following Middle Bronze Age per… 5:11).Well and good. If that is indeed the case, though, I wonder why there isn’t a gate like that at Jerusalem, Solomon’s capital city? 1 Kings 9:10 And it came to pass at the end of twenty years, when Solomon had built the two houses, the house of the LORD, and the king's house. The tell was identified as biblical Gezer in 1871 by C. Clermont-Ganneau who, two years later, found the first of many boundary stones inscribed with the city’s name. Gezer is an ancient city and archaeological site located in central Israel where the central mountains meet the northern Shephelah, about 10 km southeast of the city of Ramleh. Me, We, Everybody - Part 2 . It could easily be imagined that three gates could be built in a similar design by different builders at different times if that design were fashionable in a given period. "Archaeologists discovered similar building features at these three cities [Hazor, Megiddo, and Gezer] that conclusively date their construction to the 10th century BC; this is of tremendous importance for demonstrating the historical accuracy of the Biblical account of Solomon’s building projects. Based on these finds, Early Bronze Age Hazor was not a significant settlement. He killed its Canaanite inhabitants and then gave it as a wedding gift to his daughter, Solomon’s wife. The Hebrew word seems to signify "piling up," or "heaping up," and its most simple meaning would be a "fortified mound." The east wall of Jerusalem was actually excavated back in the 1860's by archaeologist Charles Warren. If the gates of Gezer, Megiddo, an Hazor were in fact built during the mid-10th century, they attest not only to the existence of Solomon (to whom Scripture clearly attributes their construction), but to the existence of a powerful and centralized monarchy in the Israel in the mid-10th century - a political entity with enough wealth to import Phoenician craftsmen and fortify massive cities from one end of the kingdom to the other based on what appears to be a single blueprint.In other words, it testifies to the existence, power, and splendor of the Solomonic kingdom.NOTES [1] Archaeologist Norma Franklin, who is skeptical of the Solomonic dating of the gates of Hazor, Megiddo, and Gezer, and who disputes that the proto-Ionic capitals were ever set atop actual columns, nevertheless admits that the voluted design of these capitals is of Phoenician origin. —Jg 4:2, 17; 1Sa 12:9. From the mention, however, in Judges 9:6; Judges 9:20, of the "house of Millo," in connection with the men of Shechem, it has been supposed to be a Canaanitish word; and it is possible that "the Millo" of Jerusalem may have been the name of a quarter of the old Jebusite city, especially as it is first used in connection with the narrative of its capture (2Samuel 5:9; 1Chronicles 11:8). It was situated on the great maritime plain, and commanded the ordinary line … How To Open Your Heart. This has prompted some skeptics to assert that Solomon is nothing more than a Jewish fable; in fact, some will go so far as to deny that there ever was a United Monarchy, and this supposition is in turn used to cast doubt upon everything the Bible says of the events prior to the 9th century. 2020-12-24. For the two first places, compare the marginal references and notes. The Solomonic Gate and wall complex at Tel Gezer was the third Solomonic Gate discovered. This is generally admitted. Hazor, Megiddo, and Gezer . This is based on the size of an early medieval guardhouse that is believed to stand on the foundations of the Solomonic guardhouse. “Here is the account of the forced labor King Solomon conscripted to build the Lord’s temple, his own palace, the terraces, the wall of Jerusalem, and Hazor, Megiddo and Gezer. A capital is the head of a column, and the proto-Ionic capitals of Megiddo are a kind of voluted design that prefigures the later Ionic capital familiar to students of Greek history. It had been the city of Jabin, head of the northern confederacy (Joshua 11:1). This tower and the massive wall were part of the ancient East Gate. 1 Kings 5:13 And king Solomon raised a levy out of all Israel; and the levy was thirty thousand men. 2020-06-22. In July 2017, archaeologists discovered skeletal remains of a family of three, one of the adults and a child wearing earrings, believed to have been killed during an Egyptian invasion in the 13th-century BCE. While Ussishkin's argument has some considerable merit, it does fail to address the similarity between the gates of Megiddo and those of Gezer, Hazor and Jerusalem, all of which are generally agreed to date from the time of Solomon. “Now this is the account of the forced labor which King Solomon levied to build the house of Yahweh, his own house, the citadel, the wall of Jerusalem, Hazor, Megiddo, and Gezer” (1 Kings 9:15).