Millo

Biblical Text

Millo appears mainly in connection with the City of David in Jerusalem.

• David: After David captured the stronghold of the Jebusites, he called it the City of David. He then "built round about from Millo and inward" (2 Samuel 5:9). 1 Chronicles records that David built the city round about, starting from Millo, and that Joab repaired the rest of the city (1 Chronicles 11:8).
• Solomon: Solomon raised a levy (a force of conscripted laborers) to build the temple, his own house, Millo, the wall of Jerusalem, and Hazor, Megiddo, and Gezer (1 Kings 9:15). After the daughter of Pharaoh, king of Egypt, moved into her new house, he also built Millo (1 Kings 9:24).
• Jeroboam: 1 Kings presents the period when Solomon built Millo and repaired the breaches of the City of David as the setting in which Jeroboam lifted up his hand against the king (1 Kings 11:27–28). Jeroboam had been placed in charge of the laborers from the house of Joseph on this project.
• Joash: Joash, king of Judah, was slain by his servants in a conspiracy "in the house of Millo, which goeth down to Silla" (2 Kings 12:20).
• Hezekiah: In preparation for the Assyrian invasion, Hezekiah repaired the wall, built another wall outside it, and "repaired Millo in the city of David" (2 Chronicles 32:5).

The same word also appears in Judges, which records that the men of Shechem and "all the house of Millo" made Abimelech king (Judges 9:6, 9:20). This is generally understood to refer to a place at Shechem, distinct from the Millo in Jerusalem.

Background and Meaning of the Word

The name Millo derives from the same root as the Hebrew verb "to fill" (male) and is commonly interpreted as "filling" or "that which is filled." For this reason, scholars generally understand it as a retaining structure or terrace (a leveled platform) created by filling a slope or valley with earth and stone. On this view, it was a structure that extended and supported the ground so that buildings or walls could be erected on it. Some, however, regard it as a defensive installation such as a fortress or citadel.

The wording of 2 Samuel 5:9 can be read as indicating that Millo already existed before David, that is, in the Jebusite period. The fact that successive kings after David repeatedly worked on it suggests that it was a structure requiring long-term maintenance.

Questions of Location

A large stepped stone structure has been excavated on the eastern slope of the City of David, and some scholars connect it with the biblical Millo. However, opinions differ widely regarding its date of construction, its function, and its relationship to the time of David and Solomon. The precise location and form of Millo have not yet been established. It is also unclear whether the "house of Millo" where Joash died is the same place as the Millo of the City of David.

Significance in the Whole of Scripture

Millo does not appear in the New Testament. In the Old Testament, Millo is consistently mentioned in connection with building and defending the City of David, that is, Zion. It is therefore read as part of the record of the kings' construction and fortification of the capital. Some interpreters note that Solomon's building of Millo is linked to the account of Jeroboam's rebellion. This interpretation sees discontent over forced labor as one of the factors behind the later division of the kingdom.