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217 logue seemed so real to Solomon that when the conversation came to an end, Solomon was astounded that it was only a dream; and he did realize that what had taken place repre- sented a reality, with lasting effects: thereafter he was indeed endowed with extraordinary Wisdom and Understanding. In a verse that indicates familiarity with the Mesopotamia and Egyptian civilizations at that time, the Bible added that "the wisdom of Solomon was greater than the wisdom of all the Sons of the East and of all of the wisdom of Egypt." Whereas in the Sinai it was Yahweh who selected and instructed two artisans to carry out the intricate and artful architectural details, "filling up with the Spirit of Elohim, with wisdom and understanding and knowledge" Bezalel of the tribe of Judah and "putting wide wisdom in the heart" of Aholiab of the tribe of Dan, Solomon relied on the artisans of the Phoenician king of Tyre for the required experts. And when the Temple was completed, Solomon prayed to the Lord Yahweh that He accept the House as an eternal abode and as a place from which the prayers of Israel would be heard. It was then that Solomon had his second dream epiph- any: "Yahweh appeared unto Solomon for the second time, in the manner seen to him in Gibeon." Although the Temple in Jerusalem was literally called a "house" for the Lord, echoing the Sumerian term "E" for the temple-house, it is evident from the prayer of Solomon that he did not share the Mesopotamian view of temples as actual divine dwelling places, but rather as a sacred place for divine communication, a place where Man and God can hear each other, a permanent substitute for the desert Tent of Ap- pointment for the Divine Presence. No sooner had the priests brought the Ark of the Covenant into its place in the Holy of Holies, "the Dvir section of the Temple" and put it "under the wings of the Cherubim," than they had to leave hurriedly "on account of the cloud of Yahweh's Glory that filled the House." It was then that Solo- mon began his prayer, addressing "Yahweh, who would dwell in the dark cloud." "The heavens are thy dwelling place," Solomon said; "would Elohim then come to dwell on Earth? If the heaven and the highest heaven cannot contain thee, would this House that I have built?" Realizing that, Royal Dreams, Fateful Oracles