002_cudworth_co_498_523 13/02/15 11:26 Pagina 512 512 TROY D. CUDWORTH shapes this episode to demonstrate that Solomon continued to build his labor force like David by enlisting the help of foreigners such as Hiram and his servants (vv. 1-15), and also the resident aliens in the land of Israel (vv. 16-17). In other words, the Chron- icler mentions these extra workers in addition to all Israel (i.e. not to the exclusion of all Israel) as a means of illustrating the great amount of labor that went into the temple’s construction and, hence, its greater glory. 2. The problem of 2 Chr 8,9 and 10,4 On the surface level, the text in 2 Chr 8,7-10 appears more dif- ficult. Verse 9 reads, “But from the children of Israel Solomon made no slaves (~ydb[) for his work, for they were soldiers, his com- manders, his captains, and commanders of his chariots and his horsemen”. How can the statements made in 8,9 and 10,4 make sense together? As a preliminary point, it is worth noting that the Chronicler has borrowed both texts from 1 Kings, yet no scholar (to my knowledge) has suggested that the people have made an il- legitimate claim there (cf. 1 Kgs 9,22; 12,4). Additionally, Klein concedes that if we take the MT of 2 Chr 8,9 which includes the relative pronoun rXa, then the text would concede that Solomon did in fact submit Israelites to forced labor. However, along with most commentators and English translations, he takes into account several other textual witnesses that leave it out 45. Perhaps the broad range of meanings for the root db[ has caused the most difficulty for finding coherence between the accounts in 2 Chr 8,9 and 10,4, from the very positive (“servant”) as with David in the dynastic oracle (e.g. 1 Chr 17,4) to the extremely negative (“slave”) as in 2 Chr 8,9a. For the latter, the Chronicler confirms that Solomon did not oppress his own people with slave-labor, but imposed such work on non-Israelites. In contrast, the list of roles in 2 Chr 8,9b (i.e. soldiers, his commanders, etc.) does not present an exhaustive list of assignments the Israelites received but asserts that Solomon chose his leaders from his own people (cf. v. 10, “And these were the chief officers […] 250 who ruled over the people”). Hence, 2 Chr 8,7-10 focuses on the highest and lowest ranks to as- 45 Cf. KLEIN, 2 Chronicles, 116, n. 11.