1 Kings 5:13

"And king Solomon raised a levy out of all Israel; and the levy was thirty thousand men. And he sent them to Lebanon, ten thousand a month by courses; a month they were in Lebanon, and two months at home: and Adoniram was over the men subject to taskwork. And Solomon had threescore and ten thousand that bare burdens, and fourscore thousand that were hewers in the mountains; Besides Solomon's chief officers that were over the work, three thousand and three hundred, who bare rule over the people who wrought in the work. And the king commanded, and they hewed out great stones, costly stones, to lay the foundation of the house with wrought stone. And Solomon's builders and Hiram's builders and the Gebalites did fashion them, and prepared the timber and the stones to build the house."

Here is a summary of the manpower required to build Solomon's Temple, the great burden of which was discharged by 150,000 slaves, who were remnants of the Canaanites whom Israel had enslaved rather than exterminating them as God had commanded. (See our commentary on Judges and Ruth for a full discussion of this shameful action on the part of Israel. (pp. 10-22).)

"Solomon raised a levy ... of thirty thousand men from all Israel" (1 Kings 5:13). All of these were able-bodied citizens of Israel who were thus conscripted for forced labor for a total of one fourth of each year! It should be remembered also, in this connection, that they no doubt bore the full share of the enormous tax burden in addition. Some have supposed that Solomon remunerated these men; but there is not a word in the text that supports such an improbable notion. Solomon referred to all of them contemptuously as "my servants." This type of forced labor had first been introduced in Israel by David (2 Samuel 20:24); but, as was also the case in the harem which David introduced, Solomon's excessive indulgence in both outstripped anything ever contemplated by David.

Regarding the forced labor on the part of the Israelites, Cook noted that, "They felt that this was a great oppression, and it was the chief cause of the revolt of the ten northern tribes following Solomon's death."[8]

"Adoniram was over the men subject to taskwork" (1 Kings 5:14). "The man thus placed over the levy was the same as Adoram (so-called in the days of David); and he came to be thoroughly detested in Israel (1 Kings 12:18)."[9]

We should not be particularly concerned with the variations in the numbers given for the supervisors in 2 Chronicles 2:17 as contrasted with here. "The total number in both accounts terminates at exactly 3,850; and the variations may be accounted for by the different classifications."[10]

"And (they) prepared the timber and the stones to build the house" (1 Kings 5:18). The foundation stones for Solomon's Temple have been the marvel of all who ever saw them. "Those great beveled or grooved stones, measuring twenty or thirty feet in length, and from five to six feet in breadth, may still be seen in the substructure of the ancient site of the Temple; and, in the judgment of the most competent observers, are actually the original stones employed by Solomon's workers `to lay the foundation of the house.'"[11]