Solomon
|
Artist's depiction of Solomon's court (Ingobertus, c. 880) |
|
United Monarchy under Solomon |
Solomon (Latin name) or
Shlomo (
Hebrew:
שְׁלֹמֹ",
Standard Šəlomo
Tiberian Šəlōmōh;
Arabic:
سليمان, Sulayman; "peace") is a figure described in
Middle Eastern scriptures as a wise ruler of an empire, living perhaps around 1000 BCE.
The names "Shlomo" and "Solomon" are usually associated with the Biblical account of his life.
His father was named
David (Hebrew). In the
Hebrew Bible (
Old Testament) he is also called
Jedidiah and described as the third king of the
united Kingdom of Israel, prior to the split between the Northern
Kingdom of Israel and the Southern
Kingdom of Judah. Following the split, the kings of Judah were descended
patrilinealy from Solomon.
Solomon was the builder of the first
Temple in
Jerusalem, also known as
Solomon's Temple. He was renowned for his great wisdom, wealth, and power, but also blamed for his later pacifism toward his
converted wives in their
worship of other gods. He is the subject of many later legends. Some
Kabbalah masters claim to be his descendents.
Secular evidence about a historical figure comparable to Solomon, reported independently from the religious accounts, seems scarce and so far no substantial evidence has been found. However various inscriptions have been found and excavations are continuing.
The name Solomon (Shlomo) means "peaceful," or "complete", from the Hebrew
Shelomoh. The name given by God to Solomon in the Bible is Jedidiah, meaning "friend of God", (
2 Samuel 12:25), and some scholars have conjectured that Solomon is a "king name" taken either when he assumed the throne or upon his death.
Solomon's case is one of the few in the Bible where the name given by God does not stay with the character. Solomon's birth is considered a
grace from God, after the death of the previous child between
David and
Bathsheba.
Succession
Solomon was
David's second son by
Bathsheba [According to Jewish law, the custom was that a soldier sent to the front lines, such as Bathsheba's husband Uriah, would give his wife a retro-active "divorce" annulling their marriage were he to die or disappear, thus allowing the wife to remarry. This was a "loophole" that David and Bathsheba seem to have relied upon, and which has caused some to accuse them of "adultery" when in fact the legal status of Bathsheba's marriage was "suspended" and subject to question, according to the rabbinic commentators. No basis for this explanation is found in the Biblical account, where Uriah was not commanded to go to the front of the battle until after David had slept with Bathsheba.], and his declared heir to the throne. Solomon's history is recorded in 1
Kings 1–11 and 2
Chronicles 1–9. He succeeded his father (reigned circa 1011/1010 BCE to 971/970 BCE) on the throne in about 971 or 970 BCE, not 1037 BCE (1
Kings 6:1), according to
E. R. Thiele. His father chose him as his successor, passing over the claims of his elder sons, by women other than Bathsheba. His elevation to the throne took place before his father's death, and is hastened on mainly by Nathan and Bathsheba, in consequence of the rebellion of
Adonijah.
During his long reign of 40 years the Hebrew monarchy gained its highest splendor. This period has well been called the "
Augustan Age" of the Jewish annals. In a single year he collected tribute amounting to 666
talents of gold, according to 1
Kings 10:14.
The first half of his reign was, however, by far the brighter and more prosperous; the latter half was clouded by the
idolatries into which he fell, mainly, according to the scribes, from his intermarriages. According to 1
Kings 11:3, he had 700 wives and 300
concubines. As soon as he had settled himself in his kingdom, and arranged the affairs of his extensive empire, he entered into an alliance with
Egypt by a marriage with the daughter of the
Pharaoh.
Solomon's wisdom
In 1
Kings 3:5-14,
God visits the newly crowned King Solomon in a dream, and offers him anything he pleases. Solomon asks for "an understanding heart to judge Your people, to discern between good and evil - for who is able to judge this great people of Yours?" Pleased with his non-materialistic wish, God tells him that not only will he receive a greater intellect than any other man who will ever live, but also great wealth, along with widespread fame and respect.
A famous account of Solomon's wisdom is found in 1
Kings 3:16-28. Two new mothers approach Solomon, bringing with them a single baby boy. Each mother presents the same story - She and the other woman live together. One night, soon after the birth of their respective children, the other woman woke to find that she had smothered her own baby in her sleep. In anguish and jealousy, she took her dead son and exchanged it with the other's child. The following morning, the woman discovered the dead baby, and soon realized that it was not her own son, but the other's. After some deliberation, King Solomon calls for a sword to be brought before him. He declares that there is only one fair solution: the live son must be split in two, each woman receiving half of the child. Upon hearing this terrible verdict, the boy's true mother cries out, "Please, My Lord, give her the live child - do not kill him!" However, the liar, in her bitter jealousy, exclaims, "It shall be neither mine nor yours - divide it!' Solomon instantly gives the baby to the real mother, realizing that the true mother's instincts were to protect her child, while the liar revealed that her only motivation was jealousy. This story is in fact exactly paralleled in the judicial decisions of
Ooka Tadasuke of Japan and that of
Akbar and
Birbal of the Mughal Empire in India. The story can be viewed as symbolic of the split in the
United Monarchy following the death of Solomon.
The idea that Solomon's
wisdom is God-given is very important to various
Judeo-Christian beliefs. The biblical
Book of Proverbs, written by Solomon, is a
dogmatic guideline for
morality and
manners in many
Jewish and
Christian denominations. Some believe that Solomon also wrote the
biblical book of
Ecclesiastes.
Buildings and other works
He surrounded himself with all the luxuries and the external grandeur of an
Eastern monarch, and his government prospered. He entered into an alliance with
Hiram I, king of
Tyre, who in many ways greatly assisted him in his numerous undertakings. For some years before his death David was engaged in the active work of collecting materials for building a
temple in Jerusalem as a permanent abode for the
Ark of the Covenant. He had a thousand and four hundred chariots and twelve thousand horsemen.
After the completion of the temple, Solomon erected many other buildings of importance in
Jerusalem and in other parts of his kingdom. For the long space of thirteen years he was engaged in the erection of a royal palace on
Ophel. Solomon also constructed great works for the purpose of securing a plentiful supply of water for the city,
Millo (
Septuagint,
Acra) for the defense of the city, and
Tadmor in the wilderness as a commercial depot as well as a military outpost.
During his reign Israel enjoyed great commercial prosperity. Extensive traffic was carried on by land with
Tyre and
Egypt and
Arabia, and by sea with
Tarshish (
Spain),
Ophir and
South India and the coasts of
Africa. The royal magnificence and splendor of Solomon's court are unrivaled. Solomon was known for his wisdom and
proverbs. People came from far and near "to hear the wisdom of Solomon", including queen
Makedah or
Bilqis of
Sheba, (identified with a country in
Arabia Felix). According to Ethiopian tradition, their son
Menelik I became the first emperor of
Ethiopia. His thoughts are enshrined in
storytelling, though probably not all the clever thinking in the stories originates with the one man.
Decline and fall
He was very wealthy and some blame his luxurious lifestyle for his fall from righteousness. His sexual interests, with countless wives and concubines from all faiths, are also considered troublesome; some believe that this led to idolatry. Because of this idol worship, a prophet visits Solomon and tells him that after his death his kingdom would be split in two (
Israel and
Judah) and that his son,
Rehoboam, would suffer because of his sin. He died, after a reign of forty years, and was buried in Jerusalem.
According to the
Talmud, Solomon did not actually sin but rather he was blamed for not stopping the idol worship being done by his wives
[http://www.come-and-hear.com/shabbath/shabbath_56.html#PARTb]:
R. Samuel b. Nahmani said in R. Jonathan's name: Whoever maintains that Solomon sinned is merely making an error... (Talmud Sabbath 56b)
See Similarities between the Bible and the Qur'anSolomon also appears in the
Qur'an, where he is called
Sulayman, which is Solomon in Arabic (Sulaiman or Suleiman)(
Arabic: سليمان). The Qur'an refers to Solomon as the son of David, as a prophet and as a great ruler imparted by God with tremendous wisdom, favor, and special powers just like his father, David. The Quran states that Solomon had under his rule not only people, but also hosts of
Jinn. It also states that Solomon was able to understand the language of the birds and ants, and to see some of the hidden glory in the world that was not accessible to common human beings.
"The kingdom of Solomon," says
George Rawlinson, "is one of the most striking facts in Biblical history. A petty nation, which for hundreds of years has with difficulty maintained a separate existence in the midst of warlike tribes, each of which has in turn exercised dominion over it and oppressed it, is suddenly raised by the genius of a soldier-monarch to glory and greatness."
Rawlinson continues, "an empire is established which extends from the
Euphrates to the borders of Egypt, a distance of 450 miles; and this empire, rapidly constructed, enters almost immediately on a period of peace which lasts for half a century. Wealth, grandeur, architectural magnificence, artistic excellence, commercial enterprise, a position of dignity among the great nations of the earth, are enjoyed during this space, at the end of which there is a sudden collapse."
Rawlinson concludes, "the ruling nation is split in twain, the subject-races fall off, the pre-eminence lately gained being wholly lost, the scene of struggle, strife, oppression, recovery, inglorious submission, and desperate effort, re-commences."
To Solomon are attributed, by rabbinical tradition but not internally, the Biblical books of
Book of Proverbs, and the
Song of Solomon. Then comes the
Wisdom of Solomon, probably written in the
2nd century BCE where Solomon is portrayed as an
astronomer. Other books of
wisdom poetry attributed to Solomon are the "
Odes of Solomon" and the "
Psalms of Solomon".
The Book of
Ecclesiastes internally claims to be written by "The son of David, King in Jerusalem." (NET) The author of the Book of
Ecclesiastes never actually refers to himself as Solomon, only as
Qoheleth "The Teacher," the actual authorship of the book of
Ecclesiastes is still in dispute. Internal evidence, such a large quantity of Persian loan words, tends to lend modern critical scholarship to the conclusion that this book is a product of the Persian period and not of original Solomonic authorship.
The Jewish historian
Eupolemus, who wrote about
157 BCE, included copies of
apocryphal letters exchanged between Solomon and the kings of
Egypt and
Tyre.
The
Gnostic Apocalypse of Adam, which may date to the
1st or
2nd century, refers to a legend in which Solomon sends out an army of
demons to seek a virgin who had fled from him, perhaps the earliest surviving mention of the later common tale that Solomon controlled demons and made them his slaves. This tradition of Solomon's control over demons appears fully elaborated in the early
Gnostic-Christian work called the "
Testament of Solomon" with its elaborate and grotesque
demonology.
Solomon's mastery of demons is a common element in later
Jewish and
Arab legends, and is often attributed to possession of a
magic ring called the "
Seal of Solomon". Another cited item is
The key of King Solomon.
The ancient Imperial legend of
Ethiopia, as told in the
Kebra Nagast, maintains that the
Queen of Sheba returned to her realm from her Biblical visit to Solomon, pregnant with his child, and giving birth to a son by the Mai Bella stream in the province of
Hamasien,
Eritrea. This child would eventually inherit her throne with the new rank and title of
Menelik I, Emperor of
Abyssinia. The dynasty he would establish would reign in
Abyssinia with few interruptions until the overthrow of Emperor
Haile Selassie in 1974.
The
Table of Solomon was said to be held in
Toledo, Spain during
the Visigothic rule and was part of the loot taken by
Tarik ibn Ziyad during the
Umayyad Conquest of Iberia, according to
Ibn Abd-el-Hakem's
History of the Conquest of Spain.
*In
The Conference of the Birds, the main character, the
hoopoe is the hoopoe who spoke with Prophet
Suleiman in the
Qur'an, in verses 20-27 of Surah
an-Naml (27).
*In
The Divine Comedy the spirit of Solomon appears to
Dante Alighieri in the Heaven of the Sun with other exemplars of inspired wisdom.
*
King Solomon's Mines.
**King Solomon's Mines is also a famous
Walt Disney comic story featuring the character
Uncle Scrooge, written and drawn by
Carl Barks.
*The
Toni Morrison novel
Song of Solomon makes allusions to Solomon.
*The
Star Trek: The Original Series episode "
Requiem for Methuselah" indicated that Solomon was an immortal man named Flint, born in
Mesopotamia in the year 3834 BCE. His wealth, power, and knowledge were the result of centuries of acquisition. Other identities included
Lazarus,
Merlin,
Leonardo Da Vinci and
Johannes Brahms. Flint was portrayed in the episode by actor
James Daly.
*Solomon is one of the patrons of the superhero
Captain Marvel.
*In
Neal Stephenson's
The Baroque Cycle, alchemists like
Isaac Newton believe that Solomon created a kind of "heavier" gold with mystical properties and that it ended in the
Solomon Islands where it was found by Spanish discoverers.
*The demon
Bartimaeus in the fictional series Bartimaeus trilogy y Jonathan Stroud mentions one of his notable achievements as having talked at length with King Solomon.
Handel composed an oratorio entitled
Solomon in 1749. The story follows the basic Biblical plot.
Ernest Bloch composed a Hebraic Rhapsody for cello and orchestra entitled Schelomo, based off King Solomon.
*
Kingdom of Israel*
Kingdom of Judah*
David*
Kabbalah*Israel Finkelstein, Neil Asher Silberman:
David and Solomon: In Search of the Bible's Sacred Kings and the Roots of the Western Tradition (Free Press, 2006) ISBN 0743243625
*Israel Finkelstein, Neil Asher Silberman:
The Bible Unearthed: Archaeology's New Vision of Ancient Israel and the Origin of Its Sacred Texts (Free Press, 2001) ISBN 0684869128
*William G. Dever:
Who Were the Early Israelites and Where Did They Come From? (Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2003) ISBN 0802809758
*
Wars of King Solomon The Wars of King Solomon: Summaries and Studies: www.warsofisrael.com
*
Jewish Encyclopedia (1901-1905)
*
Catholic Encyclopedia: Solomon entry by Gabriel Oussani (1913)
*
Most comprehensive collection of King Solomon links on the web initiative / draft project for global portal
