Several versions make verses 13-18 a separate section, focusing on Solomon’s organization of forced labor from among his own people. Parola Del Signore: La Bibbia in Lingua Corrente and Bible en français courant say “Solomon organizes the forced labor” andParola Del Signore: La Bibbia in Lingua Corrente has “The [forced] conscription of the workers.” Contemporary English Version says more simply “Solomon’s Workers.” La Bible du Semeur calls this section “The preparations for the construction of the Temple.”

King Solomon raised a levy of forced labor: The Hebrew verb rendered raised a levy may be difficult to translate in certain languages. It is literally a causative form meaning “to cause to go up.” But the meaning of the whole clause is clearly that he forced people to work. But even words like “drafted” (Good News Translation) and “conscripted” (New Revised Standard Version, New American Bible) may prove troublesome to the translator. Some possible models are “… ordered people to cut logs” and “… compelled men to work for him without pay.”

For forced labor, see the comments at 1 Kgs 4.6. Some translations use the technical expression “corvée” (Traduction œcuménique de la Bible, De Vries, Gray). A “corvée” is unpaid labor that a subject is forced to provide to the person who rules over him.

The interpretation of this verse is difficult. It seems to mean that Solomon forced 30,000 Israelite men to work as forced laborers. The words rendered out of all Israel are most naturally read as meaning “from the Israelite people.” But since 1 Kgs 9.15-23 states explicitly that Solomon used only Canaanite people who continued to live among the Israelites as the forced laborers, that passage seems to contradict what verse 13 says here. Perhaps 1 Kgs 9.15-23 is referring to a permanent status as forced laborers for the Canaanite people (see 1 Kgs 9.21), while this forced labor among the Israelite people was only temporary. All Israel refers, as in 1 Kgs 4.7, to the northern kingdom of Israel.

Quoted with permission from Omanson, Roger L. and Ellington, John E. A Handbook on 1-2 Kings, Volume 1. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2008. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .