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The Foreign Names Written Into Zion's Register

Solomon counted 153,600 foreigners to build the Temple. Midrash Tehillim heard Psalm 87 in those numbers: a deed done for Israel earns a birth record in Zion.

Curated by Arthur · Told by Maggid ·
Table of Contents
  1. The Clerk's Line That Became a Verdict
  2. Solomon Counted the Hands Before God Counted the Hearts
  3. What Zion's Register Actually Measures
  4. Jethro's Plea and the Logic of the Register

The Clerk's Line That Became a Verdict

Hiram of Tyre sent cedar wood and craftsmen. He sent a letter full of diplomatic courtesy and a man named Hirom, a Tyrian bronze-worker of extraordinary skill, to cast the twin pillars and the great sea of the Temple. He never converted. He kept his own gods. And yet when the rabbis read Psalm 87, they found his name written somewhere unexpected.

The psalm contains what sounds at first like a census notation: "The Lord shall count in the register of the peoples, this one was born there." A clerk's line. A bureaucratic phrase. But in Midrash Tehillim's reading, that phrase opens onto something much stranger than a census. The born there is not about mothers and midwives. It is about a single decisive act performed at the right moment in the right direction.

Solomon Counted the Hands Before God Counted the Hearts

When Solomon began the Temple in the fourth year of his reign, he conducted his own census first. The numbers are in Chronicles and they are precise: 153,600 resident foreigners living inside the land of Israel. He assigned 70,000 to carry burdens and 80,000 to cut stone in the hills and 3,600 to oversee the work. Josephus, writing centuries later in his account of Jewish history, adds that the construction proceeded in total silence. The stones were cut and shaped elsewhere and fitted together on the site without the sound of chisel or hammer. The Temple rose from the ground as though it had assembled itself.

Those 153,600 men were not Israelites. They were not under the covenant. They had not been at Sinai. They carried limestone and swung axes and fitted ashlar courses into place, and then they went back to wherever they came from when the work was done. Solomon's census counted their hands. Psalm 87 records a different accounting.

What Zion's Register Actually Measures

Midrash Tehillim makes the claim plain: nations that help Israel return to their land are counted with Israel, as if born alongside them at the same hour. The claim is narrow. It is not a general statement about the goodness of all peoples. It is specifically about the act of helping Israel in a moment of need. The standard is a deed, not a doctrine.

This is why the register is so startling. Birth is the most fixed and unchosen thing about a person. A register of birth is the deepest kind of record, the one that cannot be altered by later failure or later success. To be counted as born in Zion is to have one's help for Israel engraved in the most permanent category the psalm can imagine.

The Mekhilta DeRabbi Yishmael draws the principle back further, to the Battle of Deborah. Meroz, a town that could have sent fighters to help God's warriors and did not, was cursed by the angel of the Lord. The curse of Meroz is the negative image of the blessing in Psalm 87. Those who rise against Israel rise against God. Those who help Israel help God. The register has two columns.

Jethro's Plea and the Logic of the Register

The Targum Jonathan on Exodus 18 turns Jethro's visit to the wilderness into a conversion story with a specific plea. Jethro does not simply offer administrative advice about appointing judges. He asks to be accepted into the covenant. He says to Moses: receive me for the sake of your wife and her sons if not for my own sake. He is negotiating entry. He understands that there is a register, that names can be added, that the door is not shut.

Moses came out from under the cloud of glory to greet him. That detail matters: Moses was living inside God's protective cloud and had to leave it to receive a non-Israelite. The gesture is not condescension. It is acknowledgment that something real is crossing the threshold. Jethro's counsel and his conversion are two aspects of the same act. He helped Israel find its administrative shape in the wilderness. Psalm 87 would say his name was already in the register before Moses came out to meet him.

The Temple stones fit together in silence. The 153,600 men went home. The register remained open.

ZionNationsSolomonTempleJethroRedemption
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From the tradition

Sources

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The texts this telling draws on, in full. Open a card to read inline, or expand it for a wider, quieter read.

Midrash Tehillim 87:7Midrash Tehillim

Midrash Tehillim reads (Psalm 87:6) as a startling claim: nations that help Israel can be counted as born in Zion.

(Psalm 87:6) states: "The Lord shall count in the register of the peoples: 'This one was born there.'" What does this even mean? The Midrash, along with a passage in the Talmud (Megillah 14a), suggests a beautiful and radical idea: that those nations who help Israel return to their land will be counted with Israel. They're not just allies, but almost reborn alongside them, sharing in a renewed destiny. "This one was born there," the verse declares, punctuated by a resounding "Selah" – a word often interpreted as a pause, a moment for reflection. A moment to let that powerful idea sink in.

The Midrash doesn't stop there. It then shifts to another line in Psalm 87, linking it to the idea of constant renewal and song. "And they sing like the flowing of springs in you."

Rabbi Yehuda, son of Rabbi Simon, quoting Rabbi Meir, offers a stunning image: just as a wellspring constantly gushes forth fresh water, so too does Israel sing a new song every hour. a continuous, never-ending stream of joy and praise. It's not a one-time performance, but a constant expression of life and faith.

The Midrash then adds another layer, noting that both men and women participate in this song. "Just as men sing a song, so too do women sing a song, as it is written, 'All the springs in you.'" Everyone has a voice, everyone contributes to the harmony. This idea of shared participation echoes the earlier point about nations joining in Israel's story.

To further illustrate this point, the Midrash references the Song of Songs (4:12): "A locked garden is my sister, my bride; a locked garden, a sealed spring." This evocative imagery connects the idea of the "sealed spring" with intimacy, beauty, and potential. It implies that within each of us, and within the collective experience of Israel, lies a hidden source of song and renewal, waiting to be unlocked and shared. The Song of Songs, or Shir HaShirim, is often interpreted allegorically as the love between God and Israel.

So, what can we take away from this? The Midrash invites us to consider our own connection to the larger story, to see ourselves as part of something ancient and ever-evolving. It suggests that kindness and support can lead to a deeper belonging, and that within each of us lies a wellspring of song, waiting to be released. Maybe, just maybe, we are all part of that song, singing in our own way, contributing to the beautiful, flowing melody of existence.

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Antiquities VIII.3-4Antiquities of the Jews (Josephus)

Not a single hammer blow was heard during the entire construction. According to Josephus, Solomon's Temple rose from the earth in total silence, the massive stones fitted together so perfectly that spectators could find no chisel mark, no trace of any tool. It looked as though the materials had fused together on their own.

The project began in the fourth year of Solomon's reign, 592 years after the Exodus from Egypt. The foundation stones were sunk deep into the ground, chosen specifically to resist the decay of centuries. The main structure rose sixty cubits high, built entirely of white stone, with a matching upper story that brought the total height to 120 cubits. Thirty small chambers wrapped around the exterior, stacked in three tiers, connected by internal passageways.

Inside, Solomon divided the Temple into two chambers. The inner sanctum, twenty cubits in every direction, housed two cherubim of solid gold, each five cubits tall, their wings stretching wall to wall. Between them sat the Ark. Every surface, floor to ceiling, was overlaid with gold plates carved with elaborate sculptures. Cedar boards lined the walls, fastened by thick chains hidden within the structure.

The numbers Josephus reports are staggering. Twenty thousand golden cups. Forty thousand silver ones. Eighty thousand golden dishes for the altar. Fifty thousand golden censers. Two hundred thousand trumpets. The priestly garments alone numbered ten thousand. Solomon commissioned an artisan named Hiram from Tyre, who cast two enormous hollow bronze pillars for the porch, one called Jachin, the other Boaz. And a great bronze basin called "the Sea," resting on twelve bronze oxen facing the four winds.

When the Ark finally entered the inner sanctum, a thick cloud descended into the Temple, so dense that the priests could not see one another. Solomon understood this as the visible presence of God. He rose and prayed, not only for Israel but for any person from any nation who might come to this place seeking mercy. Fire then fell from heaven and consumed the sacrifices on the altar in full view of the people. Solomon offered 22,000 oxen and 120,000 sheep. The celebration lasted fourteen days.

That night, God appeared to Solomon in a dream. The promise was conditional: if Solomon and his descendants obeyed the Torah, the dynasty and the Temple would endure forever. But if they turned to foreign gods, God would uproot the nation, burn the Temple, and scatter the people until their suffering became a proverb among the nations (1 Kings 9:6-9).

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Against Apion 18:1Against Apion

Josephus defends the antiquity of the Jewish people by reaching outside Jewish records.

Josephus, defending the antiquity of the Jewish people, calls upon a historian named Menander of Ephesus as a witness. Menander, you see, wrote about the deeds of the Greeks and barbarians under the Tyrian kings, meticulously researching their history from their own records. Think of him as an ancient investigative journalist!

When Menander chronicled the kings of Tyre, he arrived at Hirom (often called Hiram), a figure also prominent in the Hebrew Bible in connection with King Solomon. Menander states: "Upon the death of Abibalus, his son Hirom took the kingdom; he lived fifty-three years, and reigned thirty-four." Not bad. A good long life! According to Menander, Hirom "raised a bank on that called the Broad Place, and dedicated that golden pillar which is in Jupiter's temple; he also went and cut down timber from the mountain called Libanus, and got timber Of cedar for the roofs of the temples. He also pulled down the old temples, and built new ones; besides this, he consecrated the temples of Hercules and of Astarte." The Phoenician goddess Astarte, by the way, is also known as Ishtar or Ashtoreth in other cultures.

Fascinatingly, Menander adds a detail about Hirom's reign: "Under this king there was a younger son of Abdemon, who mastered the problems which Solomon king of Jerusalem had recommended to be solved." It's a tantalizing glimpse into an intellectual exchange between the kingdoms of Tyre and Jerusalem. Imagine the riddles and philosophical questions being debated!

So, what’s the big deal? Why is Josephus bringing this up? Well, Josephus is building a timeline. He wants to establish just how ancient the Jewish people are. Menander provides a chronological sequence from Hirom to the founding of Carthage, the great Phoenician city in North Africa. Menander continues by listing the successors of Hirom: "Upon the death of Hirom, Baleazarus his son took the kingdom; he lived forty-three years, and reigned seven years: after him succeeded his son Abdastartus; he lived twenty-nine years, and reigned nine years. Now four sons of his nurse plotted against him and slew him, the eldest of whom reigned twelve years: after them came Astartus, the son of Deleastartus; he lived fifty-four years, and reigned twelve years: after him came his brother Aserymus; he lived fifty-four years, and reigned nine years: he was slain by his brother Pheles, who took the kingdom and reigned but eight months, though he lived fifty years: he was slain by Ithobalus, the priest of Astarte, who reigned thirty-two years, and lived sixty-eight years: he was succeeded by his son Badezorus, who lived forty-five years, and reigned six years: he was succeeded by Matgenus his son; he lived thirty-two years, and reigned nine years: Pygmalion succeeded him; he lived fifty-six years, and reigned forty-seven years. Now in the seventh year of his reign, his sister fled away from him, and built the city Carthage in Libya."

According to Menander's calculation, the time from Hirom’s reign to the founding of Carthage is 155 years and 8 months. Since the Temple in Jerusalem was built in the twelfth year of Hirom’s reign, that means there were 143 years and 8 months between the Temple's construction and Carthage's founding.

Josephus triumphantly asks, "Wherefore, what occasion is there for alleging any more testimonies out of the Phoenician histories [on the behalf of our nation], since what I have said is so thoroughly confirmed already?" He argues that his point – the antiquity of the Jewish people – is proven. "And to be sure our ancestors came into this country long before the building of the temple; for it was not till we had gotten possession of the whole land by war that we built our temple. And this is the point that I have clearly proved out of our sacred writings in my Antiquities."

It’s a powerful argument, built on careful sourcing and a desire to set the record straight. Josephus isn't just telling us history; he's actively shaping it, defending his people's place in the world. And in doing so, he reminds us that history is never a passive recounting of events, but an ongoing process of interpretation and, sometimes, passionate advocacy.

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Mekhilta Tractate Shirah 6:5Mekhilta DeRabbi Yishmael

All who help Israel, help, as it were, the Holy One Blessed be He, viz. (Judges 5:23) "Curse Meroz, said the angel of the L–rd. Curse bitterly its dwellers. For they came not to the aid of the L–rd, to the aid of the L–rd among the warriors." He who rises up against Your children rises up against You. And who were they (who rose up against Him?) (Genesis 14:9) "Kedarlaomer and Tidal king of Goyim, etc." (Ibid. 15) "And he (Avram) deployed against them at night, he and his servants, and he smote them." And thus is it written (Isaiah 41:2-3) "Who roused (the exemplar of) righteousness, (i.e. Avram) from the east, summoned him to His service? … He pursues them. He passes on, unscathed." And thus is it written (Psalms 110:1-5) "This is the word of the L–rd to my master (David). Sit at My right hand until I make your foes your footstool. The sceptre of your strength will the L–rd send from Zion. Your people will offer themselves on the day of (the gathering of) your army. The L–rd has sworn and He will not retract … The L–rd is at your right hand, etc." You magnified Yourself greatly against Pharaoh and his army, viz. (Exodus 14:7) "And he (Pharaoh) took six hundred choice chariots, etc.", (Ibid. 15:4) "The chariots of Pharaoh and his host He cast into the sea."

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Targum Jonathan on Exodus 18Targum Jonathan

In the Hebrew Bible, Jethro visits Moses in the wilderness, gives advice about delegating judges, and leaves. The Targum Jonathan on (Exodus 18) transforms this administrative visit into a dramatic conversion story.

The Targum says Jethro announced to Moses: "I, thy father-in-law Jethro, have come to thee to be a proselyte; and if thou wilt not receive me on my own account, receive me for the sake of thy wife and of her two sons who are with her." This is a plea. Jethro was not casually visiting. He was asking to join the covenant, and he offered his family connection as leverage in case Moses hesitated.

Moses "came forth from under the cloud of glory" to greet him. The Targum specifies that Moses was living inside God's protective cloud, and he had to leave it to meet a non-Israelite. He then "kissed him and made him a proselyte." The Hebrew says Moses bowed and kissed him. The Targum adds the conversion, turning a greeting into a religious ceremony.

They entered "the tabernacle, the house of instruction," a detail absent from the Hebrew. The meeting happened in a place of Torah study, not just any tent. Jethro's famous theological declaration, "Now I know that the Lord is greater than all gods," gets a pointed addition in the Targum: "for by the very thing by which the Mizraee wickedly would have punished Israel by drowning them in the sea, upon themselves came the punishment." God used Egypt's own weapon against them. This is the Targum's principle of measure-for-measure justice.

Jethro's judicial advice also expands. He told Moses to teach the people "the prayer they are to offer in the house of congregation, the manner of visiting the sick, of burying the dead, of being fruitful in doing good." These are recognizable rabbinic mitzvot (commandments), projected into the wilderness. The chapter ends with Jethro departing and converting "all the children of his land." He did not just become a proselyte. He became a missionary.

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