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The Wealth Of Solomon

Labour Costs

There are five clues from the Bible indicating that Solomon treated his Canaanite labour force generously and humanely.

1. God did not want his house built by force or with blood (1 Chr 28:2-3). A house built by oppressing the Canaanites would be no better. It would not have pleased God. Since the Bible tells us God blessed the first temple with his glory (1 Kg 8:10), we can only assume the house was built justly. God held the Israelites to their contract with the Gibeonites (Jsh 9:16-27, 2 Sam 21:1-6). How much more would he hold them to the proper construction of his house?
   
   
2. David paid Araunah the Jebusite for the land on which to built the temple (2 Sam 24:18-24). He could have taken it since he was king, and the Jebusites were only a conquered people.
   
   
3. Solomon was very wise (1 Kg 4:29, 11:11). A look through the book of Proverbs tells us he was a humane man. He would have known that mistreating subjugated peoples would lead to future problems. The Bible makes no mention of these subjugated peoples rebelling later, not even when the kings of Judah and Israel were weak. (Only the peoples outside of Israel proper rebelled: Philistines, Ammonites, Moabites, etceteras.) Since the Bible accurately records the faults even of good rulers, we can assume it is truthful here as well. The Canaanites were not enslaved into oblivion.
   
   
4. David had many foreigners working for him, some in very high positions: Uriah the Hittite (2 Sam 11:3), Ittai the Gittite a man from Gath (2 Sam 18:21), and even a Cushite (2 Sam 6:10-11). Israel was quite international in outlook. One good example was Obededom, a Levite who took care of the ark (2 Sam 6:10-11). This man was a Gittite (i.e. from Gath). His name meant “worker of Edom,” or “worker of red,” as in dyeing cloth. It could also mean he once was a Levite who lived in Edom, went to Gath, and later chose to follow David. Racism as we know it, did not exist.
   
   
5. The greatest clue comes from Deut 15:12-18, which is about 450 years before Solomon (see Study 1). The cost of a slave is set at half that of a hired servant, or one eighth of a shekel. Compare with the upkeep of a slave miner in ancient Athens at 1 obol, or one twelfth of a shekel. The Bible’s cost, which is 1000 years before Athens is much higher. God himself set a high standard for the humane treatment of slaves. The Bible’s idea of slavery is completely different from ours. Solomon did use the Canaanites for labour, but he was probably very persuasive and followed the Mosaic Law.
   
   
6. The Mosaic Law concerning the redemption of Hebrew slaves makes it clear that no “citizen” could ever be enslaved in perpetuity. Even if no one redeems them, they are released in the 7th year. Non-Hebrew slaves are the only slaves that can be kept beyond the 7th year, but there was no law against redeeming them! A Canaanite who managed to store up enough money could easily redeem him or herself.
   
   

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