Introduction
In this part of the chapter, we reach the heart of the matter: the Holy One, Blessed be He's response to Solomon regarding his request in the dream, followed by the description of Solomon's wealth, the abundance of chariots and horses, and the decision to build a House for the Name of Hashem and a palace for his kingdom. We will see how the Malbim explains all of this, and especially the fundamental question: does a person truly deserve reward and praise for what he requested in a dream?
"Because this was in your heart" - The Praise for the Dream
וַיֹּאמֶר אֱלֹהִים לִשְׁלֹמֹה יַעַן אֲשֶׁר הָיְתָה זֹאת עִם לְבָבֶךָ וְלֹא שָׁאַלְתָּ עֹשֶׁר נְכָסִים וְכָבוֹד וְאֵת נֶפֶשׁ שֹׂנְאֶיךָ וְגַם יָמִים רַבִּים לֹא שָׁאָלְתָּ וַתִּשְׁאַל לְךָ חָכְמָה וּמַדָּע אֲשֶׁר תִּשְׁפּוֹט אֶת עַמִּי אֲשֶׁר הִמְלַכְתִּיךָ עָלָיו׃ - And God said to Solomon, "Because this was in your heart, and you did not ask for riches, possessions, or honor, nor for the life of your enemies, nor did you ask for long life, but you asked for yourself wisdom and knowledge, that you may judge My people over whom I made you king."
The commentary attributed to Rashi explains: a person does not make such a request unless he has fear of Heaven in his heart, as it says, "And you shall discern from among all the people capable men, who fear God." "This was in your heart" indicates the fear of Heaven in your heart.
The Malbim notes a precision in the wording: in the Book of Kings it says, "Because you asked for this thing," whereas here it says, "Because this was in your heart." Why the difference? Because this entire request occurred in a dream. The Malbim already explained in his commentary on Shir HaShirim that one cannot say Solomon found favor in Hashem's eyes merely because he asked for wisdom in a nighttime dream. It is impossible to say that Hashem praises him and attributes merit to him for what he requested in a dream, since the thoughts that arise in a person's mind during a dream do not stem from intellect and free will, but solely from the faculty of imagination. Quite simply: what one requests in a dream is not an act of free choice, but the work of the imagination, and a person is praised only for deeds performed out of free choice, not for things that exist within him automatically and are independent of his choice.
If so, what is the praise of Solomon? The Malbim answers: the fact that in a dream he asked for this specific thing demonstrates that his heart was full of these thoughts while awake as well, and he constantly contemplated that Hashem grant him wisdom and knowledge. Therefore, his answer in the dream reflected what had already been established in his waking thoughts. This is the meaning of "Because this was in your heart" - this had already been settled in your heart for a long time, and so when you were asked, you drew it forth immediately. Something that was not already in your heart would never have been drawn out in a dream.
The Dream as a Compass for the Heart
As noted regarding the concept of dreams, in the name of Rabbi Tzadok HaKohen of Lublin, dreams serve as a compass: they reveal where the depths of a person's heart are submerged. Precisely because dreams are like a ship without a captain, they drift with the current - and you are the one who determines that current. In simple terms: if a person sees himself in a dream killing or striking someone, he should not say, "That is not me; I am incapable of such things." Rabbi Tzadok says: that is indeed you. "But in waking life I have never done such things!" In waking life you wrap yourself in many layers of cellophane, but in a dream you are uninhibited, since the intellect that is supposed to steer does not intervene. Many times a person would do things were it not for the social awkwardness, but his inner self has not changed: he desires those corrupt things, but he is held back by shame. In a dream this floats to the surface, because the filters of intellect and conscious awareness that hold things back are absent, and he sees himself doing the very things he thought about during the day. It turns out, then, that a dream is a mirror of a person's true reality, showing where the depths of his heart are immersed - specifically "the depths of his heart," of which he himself may be unaware.
It is often cited regarding the nature of dreams that many great sages would dream at night and wake up in the morning to write down: this was the difficulty posed to me in my dream, and this was my resolution - an entire dialogue. Rabbi Tzadok HaKohen himself authored a work titled Resisei Lailah, in which he records novellae of Torah revealed to him in dreams. Similarly, Rav Ovadia Yosef would place a pen and paper beside his bed, and it is told that he would wake up, write down what had been revealed to him, and go back to sleep. When a person is immersed in Torah, in his dream he sees Torah; but when he is immersed in vanity, in his dream he sees himself making money or committing sins. Wherever a person truly is, that is where his dreams are.
Instinctive Action Reveals the Inner Self
It has often been said that the very actions one performs by instinct are what demonstrate the inner self. A story is told of Rav Yerucham of Mir, who once was traveling on a train. As he boarded, a glove dropped onto the platform and the door immediately closed. He noticed the glove, but he could not pick it up, as the train had already begun to move. It is related that within a split second, he opened the window and tossed the second glove toward it. Quite logical - but at which station would the rest of us have thought of that? For Rav Yerucham, it took a split second. He did not need to travel through several stations before the penny dropped, because when one lives with the drive to benefit others, he immediately thinks: What will I do with a single glove, and what will the person who finds it do with a single glove? At least let one person enjoy a pair of gloves. Someone who does not constantly live this way might reach this sensible conclusion, but it will take him time; whereas someone who lives this way constantly - for him it is instinct, and in the moment of testing it bursts forth from within him.
And so it was with Shlomo: we see that he lived with these thoughts all day long, the yearning to merit wisdom and knowledge. Therefore, the moment he was asked in the dream, he had a ready answer. He drew it out instinctively, as something he had contemplated for a long time. Thus, "Because this was in your heart" - this had already been in your heart from before.
"Wisdom and knowledge are granted to you" - Everything is Included in Wisdom
הַחָכְמָה וְהַמַּדָּע נָתוּן לָךְ וְעֹשֶׁר וּנְכָסִים וְכָבוֹד אֶתֶּן לָךְ אֲשֶׁר לֹא הָיָה כֵן לַמְּלָכִים אֲשֶׁר לְפָנֶיךָ וְאַחֲרֶיךָ לֹא יִהְיֶה כֵּן׃ - "Wisdom and knowledge are granted to you; and wealth, possessions, and honor I will give you, such as no kings had who were before you, nor shall any after you have the like."
"Wisdom and knowledge are granted to you" - as you asked; "and wealth, possessions, and honor I will give you" - the commentary attributed to Rashi explains: and this is what you did not ask for. That is to say, I will give you both what you requested and what you did not request. And that which is stated, "such as no kings had who were before you, nor shall any after you have the like" - refers back to the wealth and honor.
In truth, the wealth, honor, and length of days are all contingent upon the wisdom I give you, as it says, "Length of days is in her right hand; in her left hand are riches and honor." And that which is said, "King Shlomo surpassed all the kings of the earth in riches and wisdom" - he merited all of this through the wisdom the Holy One, blessed be He, placed within him. Dei bah, kulah bah: if one possesses this, one possesses everything.
"And Shlomo Came to the High Place That Was at Giv'on, to Jerusalem"
וַיָּבֹא שְׁלֹמֹה לַבָּמָה אֲשֶׁר בְּגִבְעוֹן יְרוּשָׁלַיִם מִלִּפְנֵי אֹהֶל מוֹעֵד וַיִּמְלֹךְ עַל יִשְׂרָאֵל׃ - "And Shlomo came from the high place that was at Giv'on to Jerusalem, from before the Tent of Meeting, and he reigned over Israel."
The Malbim explains: We have already seen above that Shlomo took the copper altar that was at Giv'on, dismantled the Tent of Meeting, and brought it to Jerusalem. Therefore, the wording of the verse means: he came from before the Tent of Meeting to Jerusalem, and there - in Jerusalem - was already the high place that had been at Giv'on, since he had transferred the high place of Giv'on to Jerusalem.
With this, what is written in Melachim is resolved: "And Shlomo awoke, and behold, it was a dream; and he came to Jerusalem... and offered up burnt offerings and offered peace offerings." There, the commentators are greatly puzzled: Shlomo had gone to Giv'on to offer burnt offerings on the copper altar, and there Hashem appeared to him in a divine revelation - if so, he should have sacrificed the offerings in Giv'on! Why did he return to Jerusalem and sacrifice on an individual altar (bamat yachid), which seemingly is not according to the Torah? You have the Tent of Meeting in Giv'on, sacrifice there! To this Ezra comes and says: Know that Shlomo was indeed sacrificing in Jerusalem at the Tent of Meeting that was from Giv'on. How so? For he had moved the altar from Giv'on to Jerusalem. When you see him sacrificing now in Jerusalem, it means he brought the high place that was at Giv'on to Jerusalem, and there, upon the copper altar, he sacrifices. In truth, even sacrificing on an individual altar was permitted after the Mishkan of Shiloh was destroyed, as private high places were permitted from the destruction of Shiloh until the Beit HaMikdash was built.
Why Ezra Skips the Judgment of the Two Women
The Malbim explains: There is another narrative that appears there in Melachim which Ezra HaSofer skips in Divrei HaYamim - the story of the two women who came before Shlomo for judgment, "Divide the living child in two," through which Shlomo's wisdom became renowned. And the reason, as we said earlier, is that Ezra writes here only novel details; regarding matters where nothing new is added beyond the account in the Book of Melachim, he sees no need to repeat them, and therefore he skipped this matter.
Chariots and Horsemen - Arranging the Numbers in Order
וַיֶּאֱסֹף שְׁלֹמֹה רֶכֶב וּפָרָשִׁים וַיְהִי לוֹ אֶלֶף וְאַרְבַּע מֵאוֹת רֶכֶב וּשְׁנֵים עָשָׂר אֶלֶף פָּרָשִׁים וַיַּנִּיחֵם בְּעָרֵי הָרֶכֶב וְעִם הַמֶּלֶךְ בִּירוּשָׁלָיִם׃ - And Solomon gathered chariots and horsemen; and he had a thousand and four hundred chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen, and he placed them in the chariot cities and with the king in Jerusalem.
"Chariots" (rechev) refers to the chariots themselves, and "horsemen" (parashim) are the riders who manned them. He had 1,400 chariots and, corresponding to them, 12,000 horsemen to ride in them. He stationed them in designated cities known as "the chariot cities," and some remained with the king in Jerusalem.
The Malbim explains: In the Book of Kings (I Kings 5:6), it is written, "And Solomon had forty thousand stalls of horses for his chariots," whereas here it ostensibly says he had only 1,400 chariots and 12,000 horsemen - which does not come close to that immense number. Nor do we reach that figure from the later verse here, "And they brought up and exported a chariot from Egypt for six hundred silver pieces, and a horse for a hundred and fifty..." Ezra therefore comes to resolve this apparent contradiction. In Kings, the details are not presented chronologically: there, the text opens with the large number and concludes with the smaller number, leaving the reader wondering how many he truly had. Ezra arranges the account in chronological order: initially Solomon had a modest amount, and over time he continued acquiring horses until he reached forty thousand stalls of horses for the cavalry forces. Ezra therefore begins with the 1,400 and progresses from there toward the larger number.
"The Silver and the Gold in Jerusalem as Stones"
וַיִּתֵּן הַמֶּלֶךְ אֶת הַכֶּסֶף וְאֶת הַזָּהָב בִּירוּשָׁלַיִם כָּאֲבָנִים וְאֵת הָאֲרָזִים נָתַן כַּשִּׁקְמִים אֲשֶׁר בַּשְּׁפֵלָה לָרֹב׃ - And the king made the silver and the gold in Jerusalem as stones, and cedars he made as the sycamore trees that are in the lowland, in abundance.
Because of the sheer abundance of silver and gold, he had no hesitation in scattering them throughout Jerusalem or crafting tables and chairs from them - the silver and gold were treated like mere stones. The Radak comments that the verse is not speaking of their intrinsic value, but rather of their immense quantity. That is, the text is not stating what the silver and gold were worth, but that they were so plentiful, expressing this by way of poetic hyperbole.
The Midrash asks: "As stones" - and they were not stolen? If a person walks down the street and spots a precious gem, does he not slip it into his pocket? There is a well-known anecdote that the Netanya municipality once placed decorative planters along the road dividers, filled with greenery and flowers, only to discover later that people apparently assumed these were for public taking. The planters disappeared, turning up in various private homes and gardens, on the assumption that the municipality had provided them for the public good. Yet even setting aside such cases, thieves have existed in every generation. The Torah discusses thieves at length, and there were certainly thieves in Solomon's time as well. How, then, could precious stones be left lying around in Jerusalem without people pocketing them and walking away?
To answer this, the Radak cites the teaching of Chazal: Rabbi Yose said that these were stones of ten cubits and stones of eight cubits. These were massive stones. A person could hardly bring heavy machinery to haul such a stone away - perhaps today one could, but in those days, stones measuring eight or ten cubits were simply too large and heavy for anyone to carry off for himself.
Why the Verse Repeats in Chapter 9
The Malbim notes that this verse appears again later, in chapter 9, verse 27. Through this repetition, the text conveys what Chazal expounded to resolve an apparent contradiction: In I Kings 10, it says, "there was no silver; it was not accounted as anything in the days of Solomon." Yet on the other hand, it says he made silver as stones - and stones still have some value! Was silver considered nothing at all, or was it like stones, which still retain value? The Gemara explains that the stage where silver was "as stones" occurred after Solomon married the daughter of Pharaoh. Initially, the wealth was so immense that silver was deemed completely insignificant. But once he married Pharaoh's daughter, an element of deficiency was introduced; consequently, the abundance diminished somewhat, and silver was merely "as stones" - that is, no longer quite as ubiquitous as it had been at first.
Therefore, explains the Malbim, Ezra repeats the verse in chapter 9, verse 27, in order to present events in their proper chronological sequence. Here, at the beginning of Solomon's reign, the narrative mentions the 1,400 chariots, so one should not assume that silver was merely "as stones" from the very start. At the outset of his reign, the prosperity was even greater; only later in his reign, after he married Pharaoh's daughter, did his wealth diminish relatively, so that silver was regarded as stones. To clarify this chronology, Ezra repeats the verse in chapter 9: know that it was due to this decline that silver became like stones, whereas prior to that, silver was not accounted as anything at all.
"And Solomon's Export of Horses Was from Egypt"
וּמוֹצָא הַסּוּסִים אֲשֶׁר לִשְׁלֹמֹה מִמִּצְרָיִם וּמִקְוֵא סֹחֲרֵי הַמֶּלֶךְ מִקְוֵא יִקְחוּ בִּמְחִיר׃ - And the export of horses that Solomon had was from Egypt and from a gathering; the king's merchants would acquire a gathering at a price.
The Radak cites in the name of his father that Pharaoh provided Solomon with trade outlets and profits in Egypt, meaning he enabled him to profit there by granting him the status of chief purchaser, a sort of franchise holder for the sale of horses in Egypt. This is what is meant by the statement that he would buy the "gathering of the king's merchants": mikveh is an expression of gathering, the place where the king's merchants gathered, like the gathering of waters. In the Book of Melachim, mikveh is spelled with a heh, whereas here it is spelled with an alef; this is not surprising, since the guttural letters Alef, Heh, Chet, and Ayin are pronounced from the throat and frequently interchange. Thus, "the gathering of the king's merchants" was the central hub where all the royal merchants assembled, and Solomon acquired this exclusive right. Pharaoh, his father-in-law, arranged a reliable income for his son-in-law by designating this place as the source where Solomon would serve as the principal buyer.
The Metzudat Tzion notes that the Targum leaves the word mikveh untranslated as a proper noun, indicating that in the Targum's view it is the name of a region called "Kue," with the prefixed letter mem meaning "from" - that he purchased horses from Kue.
The Malbim explains: what is written here regarding "the export of horses" was also recorded out of chronological order in the Book of Melachim, because this applied only at the outset. Initially, he had only 1,400 chariots, but later on, Egyptian horses alone did not suffice for his needs. Ezra therefore notes here that at the beginning of his reign he established horse stables and imported horses from Egypt and all other lands as well, not exclusively from there, as we will see in the following verse.
The word mikveh, explains the Malbim, refers to a place where choice horses were bred and where many horses were gathered, which is why it was called by that name. The king's merchants would take a "gathering at a price" - they did not buy individual horses, but rather purchased the entire mikveh as a unit, namely, the whole collection of horses. He sold them wholesale rather than individually; whoever made a purchase acquired an entire stable along with every horse in it. All horses born there subsequently belonged to Solomon's merchants, and through this they were also able to raise the price, since they held the exclusive franchise and the offspring continued to multiply from his stock. Because the monopoly was his, he had the power to set the price.
The Prices of the Chariot and the Horse
וַיַּעֲלוּ וַיּוֹצִיאוּ מִמִּצְרַיִם מֶרְכָּבָה בְּשֵׁשׁ מֵאוֹת כֶּסֶף וְסוּס בַּחֲמִשִּׁים וּמֵאָה וְכֵן לְכָל מַלְכֵי הַחִתִּים וּמַלְכֵי אֲרָם בְּיָדָם יוֹצִיאוּ׃ - And they brought up and exported from Egypt a chariot for six hundred pieces of silver, and a horse for a hundred and fifty; and so for all the kings of the Hittites and the kings of Aram, they exported through their hands.
The Radak observes: from here we learn that a chariot team consisted of four horses. A complete chariot cost 600 pieces of silver, while a single horse cost 150, which indicates that there were four horses per chariot.
"And so for all the kings of the Hittites and the kings of Aram, they exported through their hands" - what is meant by "through their hands"? Under their authority. All the foreign kings exported horses from Egypt through the merchants who purchased from King Solomon, and they operated under their sanction. Their permission was required, since the exclusive rights belonged to them.
"A House for the Name of Hashem and a House for His Kingdom"
וַיֹּאמֶר שְׁלֹמֹה לִבְנוֹת בַּיִת לְשֵׁם יְהֹוָה וּבַיִת לְמַלְכוּתוֹ׃ - And Solomon resolved to build a house for the name of Hashem, and a house for his kingdom.
This verse, the Malbim explains, was added by Ezra to teach us an important insight. Regarding the construction of the House of Hashem, we have already seen that David had prepared cedar trees in great abundance. Solomon had no actual need to appeal to Hiram of the Sidonian region to send him cedars from Lebanon for the construction of the Beit HaMikdash, for his father had already provided more than enough cedars. Nor was there any need to enlist additional burden bearers and stonecutters in the mountain beyond what David had already organized, as recorded in I Chronicles chapter 22.
If so, what does Ezra add for us? He tells you: Know that Shlomo wanted to build a house for the Name of Hashem and also a house for his kingdom. It was the house for his kingdom that now necessitated additional laborers, additional cedars, and craftsmen - for the cedars and artisans that David prepared for the construction of the Beis HaMikdash were not sufficient for the construction of Shlomo's own house as well.
In summary:
We saw in this section that the praise Shlomo received was not for what he requested in the dream - for a dream is not a matter of free choice and earns no reward - but for the fact that "this was in your heart": the request for wisdom was constantly present in his heart while awake, and therefore it surfaced in his dream. A dream is a compass that reveals where the depths of a person's heart are invested, and instinctive reactions likewise reveal one's inner essence, as in the story of Rav Yerucham of Mir with the glove. In the merit of wisdom, Shlomo naturally received wealth, honor, and long life as well - "if you acquire this, you acquire everything." We also saw how Ezra arranges matters in their precise historical progression: the transfer of the high place from Giv'on to Yerushalayim, the numbers of chariots and horses that steadily increased, and the silver being considered as stones only after he married the daughter of Pharaoh. Finally, Scripture teaches us that the need for additional cedars and craftsmen was not for the House of Hashem - since David had already prepared everything - but for the house of Shlomo's kingdom.