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39. How They Made the Son of Solomon King
Këbra Nagast
And after this the priests went up to the Tabernacle, and O what calamity, and terror, and grief were there for them when they did not find the Tabernacle of the Covenant of God and its holy things, but only an empty case resting upon the place where the Tabernacle had stood! Then they knew that of a certainty the son of King Solomon had taken it away. And they searched and made an examination into the number of the priests who were among the tribes of Israel, but they were not able to find those priests whom the young man had taken with him, and thus it became clear to them that the sin lay with them (i.e. the four priests).
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And behold, the priests and the elders of Israel went to Solomon the King, and they were weeping and sorrowing because of the absence of the Tabernacle of the Covenant of God from its Holy Shrine, and they said unto Solomon, “It is thou who hast commanded thy son to take the Tabernacle.” And Solomon wept and cried out in pain, and displayed exceedingly great sorrow, and he swore an oath to them, saying that he had not given his son permission to do this thing, and that he had not bidden him farewell, and that he knew nothing whatsoever about his departure or when it took place. And the priests and elders answered, saying, “May the King live! If this thing hath taken place without thy wish and without thy permission, despatch thou with us armed soldiers that we may pursue him and take from him the holy Tabernacle of the Covenant of God, so that we may bring it back to His sacred House.” And Solomon gave them soldiers, and money, and provisions, and they set out in quest of the young man, and they rode on their way continuously for forty days. And they found merchants riding towards them on their return journey, and they enquired of them concerning the Tabernacle, and whether they had seen it. And the merchants answered them, saying, “We have seen a great king and his numerous soldiers, and the Box of the Covenant of God was with them. And they
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