מלכים א, פרק ט׳, פסוק י״ז

King Solomon undertook major construction projects across his kingdom, developing various cities for different reasons based on their unique circumstances. The reconstruction of Gezer, for example, was a matter of necessary recovery. Because the king of Egypt had previously attacked, burned, and completely ruined the area, Solomon had to rebuild the city from the ground up [מצודת דוד].

The work done on Lower Beth-horon followed a different pattern, which helps clarify an apparent historical contradiction. Another historical record states that Solomon built both Upper and Lower Beth-horon as massive fortress cities, complete with walls, doors, and heavy bars. To reconcile these accounts, it is understood that the construction of Lower Beth-horon occurred in two distinct stages. At first, the city lay in ruins, and Solomon simply rebuilt it as a standard residential area for people to live in. Only during a later phase did he upgrade the city. At that point, he fortified it alongside Upper Beth-horon, transforming both into heavily protected military strongholds [מלבי״ם].