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received him and placed him upon his seat. As soon as he was seated, a great eagle set the royal crown upon his head. Thereupon a huge snake rolled itself up against the machin- ery, forcing the lions and eagles upward until they en- circled the head of the king. A golden dove flew down from a pillar, took the sacred scroll out of a casket, and gave it to the king, so that he might obey the injunction of the Scriptures, to have the law with him and read therein all the days of his life. Above the throne twenty-four vines interlaced, forming a shady arbor over the head of the king, and sweet aromatic perfumes exhaled from two golden lions, while Solomon made the ascent to his seat upon the throne."
It was the task of seven heralds to keep Solomon reminded of his duties as king and judge. The first one of the her- alds approached him when he set foot on the first step of the throne, and began to recite the law for kings, " He shall not multiply wives to himself." At the second step, the second herald reminded him, " He shall not multiply horses to him- self " ; at the third, the next one of the heralds said, " Neither shall he greatly multiply to himself silver and gold." At the fourth step, he was told by the fourth herald, "Thou shalt not wrest judgment"; at the fifth step, by the fifth herald, " Thou shalt not respect persons," and at the sixth, by the sixth herald, " Neither shalt thou take a gift." Finally, when he was about to seat himself upon the throne, the seventh herald cried out : " Know be- fore whom thou standest." 70
The throne did not remain long in the possession of the Israelites. During the life of Rehoboam, the son of Solo- mon, it was carried to Egypt. Shishak, the father-in-law of
