Big Dreams and Broken Promises: Solomon's Treaty with Hiram in Its International Context

Abstract

Opinions remain divided over whether the Hebrew term běrît in 1 Kgs 5:12 refers to a preexilic idea rooted in Israel's past or a postexilic idea reformulating Israel's past. Both positions harbor elements of truth, yet the repeated occurrence of the words kittu ("treaty"), raḫâmu ("love"), aḫḫûtu ("brotherhood"), māmītu ("oath-treaty"), and epēšu šulmu ("make peace") in the Amarna Letters implies an entire history of covenant-making prior to Solomon's treaty with Hiram. To imagine this relationship as having no history prior to the fifth century B.C. is to deny the witness of history itself, particularly as evidenced in the Amarna texts.