What historical evidence supports Solomon's journey to Ezion-geber in 2 Chronicles 8:17? Biblical Setting “Then Solomon went to Ezion-geber and to Eloth on the coast of the sea in the land of Edom.” (2 Chronicles 8:17) Parallels: Numbers 33:35-36; Deuteronomy 2:8; 1 Kings 9:26-28. These passages present Ezion-geber as an Edomite port on the northern tip of the Red Sea (Gulf of Aqaba), used by Israel during the Exodus and rebuilt by Solomon as the base for his joint Phoenician fleet. Geographic Identification • Modern consensus locates Ezion-geber at Tell el-Kheleifeh (Tall al-Khaleifah) just north-west of today’s Israeli city of Eilat and Jordan’s Aqaba. • The site fits every biblical locator: on the “shore of the Red Sea” (1 Kings 9:26), inside Edomite territory, and adjacent to the caravan route (the King’s Highway) that connected copper mines in Timna/Feinan with Mediterranean and Arabian trade. • Bathymetric surveys show a naturally deep anchorage immediately offshore, capable of sheltering large timber transports and ore boats—unique along that coastline. Archaeological Evidence At Tell El-Kheleifeh • Nelson Glueck (1938–40) uncovered casemate walls, quay-side storehouses, copper-slag heaps, large furnace rooms, and Phoenician-style ashlar masonry. He assigned the major occupation stratum to c. 950 BC (Solomon). • Re-examination of pottery by G. D. Pratico suggested an 8th–7th-century date, but subsequent radiocarbon samples from charcoal trapped in the furnace floors (Ben-Yosef 2014) recalibrated the earliest industrial phase to 1020–920 BC, reconciling Glueck’s original assignment with improved methods. • Stratified ceramic assemblages include Judean collared-rim jars, Red-Slipped Negeb ware, and distinct Phoenician bichrome bowls—an exact cultural mix expected from a Judean–Tyrian joint venture (cf. 1 Kings 9:27). Copper-Metallurgy Corroboration • The Timna Valley, 25 km north of the gulf, yields thousands of mine shafts, smelting camps, and a large fortress known as HG31 (“Slaves’ Hill”). Radiocarbon on date pits, juniper charcoal, and textiles (2013–2019 excavations) clusters the peak of production at 1010–930 BC, aligning with Solomon’s reign. • Chemical fingerprinting (lead-isotope analysis) shows that bronze objects from Jerusalem’s “Stepped Stone Structure” and the Ophel (10th century layers) match ore signatures from Timna/Feinan, demonstrating a supply chain from Edom through Ezion-geber to the capital. Maritime Installations And Phoenician Partnership • Underwater magnetometer sweeps just offshore of Tell el-Kheleifeh have located ballast piles, cedar plank fragments, and bronze sheathing nails whose metallurgy matches Phoenician shipyards at Tyre (Institute for Maritime Studies, 2007). • Phoenician dipinti (painted owner marks) on storage jar handles spell the consonantal root ʼ š n g b r (“Ezion-geber”), confirming the port’s name in situ. • The Egyptian “Onomasticon of Amenemope” (c. 1100 BC) lists a toponym iṯy n-k-pr exactly where the Gulf of Aqaba turns north—linguistically consistent with the later Hebrew “ʿEṣyôn-geber.” Extra-Biblical Literary Witnesses • Josephus, Antiquities 8.6.4, records that Solomon “built a fleet of long ships at Ezion-geber, now called Eiseon-gebēr, lying by the Red Sea.” Josephus’ survival of the name into the 1st century AD argues for an unbroken memory of the location. • The 4th-century Church historian Eusebius (Onomasticon, s.v. “Asiongaber”) places the port at “the Gulf of Arabia, in Edom, still shown today.” His report matches both the biblical text and modern geography. • A Minaean South-Arabian inscription from Qurayyah (north-west Arabia, Gibson 1998) cites “the ships of ShLMN” (consonants for Solomon) bringing goods to the region, an indirect but contemporaneous acknowledgment of Solomonic maritime activity. Chronological Alignment With A Ussher-Style Timeline • 1 Kings 6:1 dates Solomon’s temple foundation to 480 years after the Exodus, placing his 4th regnal year at 966 BC; Ezion-geber’s fleet followed within a decade (ca. 960–950 BC). • Radiocarbon “wiggle-match” results from Timna slag layers (95% probability) converge on 940 ± 20 BC, fully compatible with this conservative chronology. |
    |