[Illustration:  377.jpg AN UPRIGHT OF A DOOR AT LACHISH]

     Drawn by Paucher-Gudin, from the drawing by Petrie.

The completion of the whole plan occupied thirteen years; at length both palace and temple were finished in the XVIIth year of the king’s reign.  Solomon, however, did not wait for the completion of the work to dedicate the sanctuary to God.  As soon as the inner court was ready, which was in his XIth year, he proceeded to transfer the ark to its new resting-place; it was raised upon a cubical base, and the long staves by which it had been carried were left in their rings, as was usual in the case of the sacred barks of the Egyptian deities.* The God of Israel thus took up His abode in the place in which He was henceforth to be honoured.  The sacrifices on the occasion of the dedication were innumerable, and continued for fourteen days, in the presence of the representatives of all Israel.  The ornate ceremonial and worship which had long been lavished on the deities of rival nations were now, for the first time, offered to the God of Israel.  The devout Hebrews who had come together from far and near returned to their respective tribes filled with admiration,** and their limited knowledge of art doubtless led them to consider their temple as unique in the world; in fact, it presented nothing remarkable either in proportion, arrangement, or in the variety and richness of its ornamentation and furniture.  Compared with the magnificent monuments of Egypt and Chaldaea, the work of Solomon was what the Hebrew kingdom appears to us among the empires of the ancient world—­a little temple suited to a little people.

     * 1 Kings viii. 6-8, and 2 Ghron. v. 7-9.

** 1 Kings vi. 37, 38 states that the foundations were laid in the IVth year of Solomon’s reign, in the month of Ziv, and that the temple was completed in the month of Bui in the XIth year; the work occupied seven years. 1 Kings vii. 1 adds that the construction of the palace lasted thirteen years; it went on for six years after the completion of the temple.  The account of the dedication (1 Kings viii.) contains a long prayer by Solomon, part of which (vers. 14- 66) is thought by certain critics to be of later date.  They contend that the original words of Solomon are confined to vers. 12 and 13.

The priests to whose care it was entrusted did not differ much from those whom David had gathered about him at the outset of the monarchy.  They in no way formed an hereditary caste confined to the limits of a rigid hierarchy; they admitted into their number—­at least up to a certain point—­men of varied extraction, who were either drawn by their own inclinations to the service of the altar, or had been dedicated to it by their parents from childhood.  He indeed was truly a priest “who said of his father and mother, ‘I have not seen him;’ neither did he acknowledge his brethren, nor knew he his own children.”  He was content, after renouncing these, to observe the law of God and keep His covenant, and to teach Jacob His judgments and Israel His law; he put incense before the Lord, and whole burnt offerings upon His altar.*