Chapter 15.
WHAT CHARGE DAVID GAVE TO HIS SON SOLOMON AT THE APPROACH
OF HIS DEATH, AND HOW MANY THINGS HE LEFT HIM FOR THE BUILDING OF THE TEMPLE.FJAJ 7.94
1. A LITTLE afterward David also fell into a distemper, by reason of
his age; and perceiving that he was near to death, he called his son Solomon,
and discoursed to him thus: "I am now, O my son, going to my grave,
and to my fathers, which is the common way which all men that now are,
or shall be hereafter, must go; from which way it is no longer possible
to return, and to know any thing that is done in this world
On which account
I exhort thee, while I am still alive, though already very near to death,
in the same manner as I have formerly said in my advice to thee, to be
righteous towards thy subjects, and religious towards God, that hath given
thee thy kingdom; to observe his commands and his laws, which he hath sent
us by Moses; and neither do thou out of favor nor flattery allow any lust
or other passion to weigh with thee to disregard them; for if thou transgressest
his laws, thou wilt lose the favor of God, and thou wilt turn away his
providence from thee in all things; but if thou behave thyself so as it
behooves thee, and as I exhort thee, thou wilt preserve our kingdom to
our family, and no other house will bear rule over the Hebrews but we ourselves
for all ages
Be thou also mindful of the transgressions of Joab, (26)
David is here greatly blamed by some for recommending Joab and Shimei to
be punished by Solomon, if he could find a proper occasion, after he had
borne with the first a long while, and seemed to have pardoned the other
entirely, which Solomon executed accordingly; yet I cannot discern any
fault either in David or Solomon in these cases. Joab's murder of Abner
and Amasa were very barbarous, and could not properly be forgiven either
by David or Solomon; for a dispensing power in kings for the crime of willful
murder is warranted by no law of God, nay, is directly against it every
where; nor is it, for certain, in the power of men to grant such a prerogative
to any of their kings; though Joab was so nearly related to David, and
so potent in the army under a warlike administration, that David durst
not himself put him to death, 2 Samuel 3:39; 19:7. Shimei's cursing the
Lord's anointed, and this without any just cause, was the highest act of
treason against God and his anointed king, and justly deserved death; and
though David could forgive treason against himself, yet had he done no
more in the case of Shimei than promised him that he would not then, on
the day of his return and reinauguration, or upon that occasion, himself
put him to death, 2 Samuel 19:22; and he swore to him no further, ver.
23, as the words are in Josephus, than that he would not then put him to
death, which he performed; nor was Solomon under any obligation to spare
such a traitor.
the captain of the host, who hath slain two generals out of envy, and those
righteous and good men, Abner the son of Ner, and Amasa the son of Jether;
whose death do thou avenge as shall seem good to thee, since Joab hath
been too hard for me, and more potent than myself, and so hath escaped
punishment hitherto
I also commit to thee the son of Barzillai the Gileadite,
whom, in order to gratify me, thou shalt have in great honor, and take
great care of; for we have not done good to him first, but we only repay
that debt which we owe to his father for what he did to me in my flight.
There is also Shimei the son of Gera, of the tribe of Benjamin, who, after
he had cast many reproaches upon me, when, in my flight, I was going to
Mahanaim, met me at Jordan, and received assurances that he should then
suffer nothing
Do thou now seek out for some just occasion, and punish
him."FJAJ 7.95
2. When David had given these admonitions to his son about public affairs,
and about his friends, and about those whom he knew to deserve punishment,
he died, having lived seventy years, and reigned seven years and six months
in Hebron over the tribe of Judah, and thirty-three years in Jerusalem
over all the country
This man was of an excellent character, and was endowed
with all virtues that were desirable in a king, and in one that had the
preservation of so many tribes committed to him; for he was a man of valor
in a very extraordinary degree, and went readily and first of all into
dangers, when he was to fight for his subjects, as exciting the soldiers
to action by his own labors, and fighting for them, and not by commanding
them in a despotic way
He was also of very great abilities in understanding,
and apprehension of present and future circumstances, when he was to manage
any affairs
He was prudent and moderate, and kind to such as were under
any calamities; he was righteous and humane, which are good qualities,
peculiarly fit for kings; nor was he guilty of any offense in the exercise
of so great an authority, but in the business of the wife of Uriah
He
also left behind him greater wealth than any other king, either of the
Hebrews or, of other nations, ever did.FJAJ 7.96
3. He was buried by his son Solomon, in Jerusalem, with great magnificence,
and with all the other funeral pomp which kings used to be buried with;
moreover, he had great and immense wealth buried with him, the vastness
of which may be easily conjectured at by what I shall now say; for a thousand
and three hundred years afterward Hyrcanus the high priest, when he was
besieged by Antiochus, that was called the Pious, the son of Demetrius,
and was desirous of giving him money to get him to raise the siege and
draw off his army, and having no other method of compassing the money,
opened one room of David's sepulcher, and took out three thousand talents,
and gave part of that sum to Antiochus; and by this means caused the siege
to be raised, as we have informed the reader elsewhere
Nay, after him,
and that many years, Herod the king opened another room, and took away
a great deal of money, and yet neither of them came at the coffins of the
kings themselves, for their bodies were buried under the earth so artfully,
that they did not appear to even those that entered into their monuments.
But so much shall suffice us to have said concerning these matters.FJAJ 7.97