Solomon

Israeli king (r. c. 961-930 b.c.e.)

• Born: c. 991 b.c.e.
• Birthplace: Jerusalem, Israel
• Died: c. 930 b.c.e.
• Place of death: Jerusalem, Israel

Through the application of his famous wisdom and the construction of the Temple, Solomon not only made a major contribution to the Judeo-Christian tradition but also forged the twelve tribes of Israel into a true nation, giving them an identity that would survive succeeding dispersions and persecutions.

Early Life

Solomon (SAHL-oh-muhn) was the second child born to King David and Bathsheba and the fifth of David’s sons. Although the sources are silent about Solomon’s childhood, it is known that the prophet Nathan, who had enormous court influence, was his tutor. Accordingly, Solomon would have received a very thorough grounding in Jewish civil and religious teachings. His position at the court was enhanced by his mother, a remarkably intelligent figure with influence over the king.

Although David had promised the throne to Solomon, David’s eldest surviving son, Adonijah, harbored the ambition to be king, an ambition that to him seemed perfectly justifiable. His older brothers, Amnon, Absalom, and Chileab, had died, so should not the throne naturally devolve to the next oldest son? In order for him to secure the throne for himself, however, Adonijah needed allies. Through intrigue, he gained the support of his other brothers; of Joab, the commander of the army; and of Abiathar, the high priest in Jerusalem. These were powerful people, but Solomon had an even more potent group backing his claim. These included Zadok, the high priest at Gilbeah, Benaiah, commander of David’s mercenaries (David’s “Mighty Men,” who had fought with him since the king’s early days and had never lost a campaign), Nathan, and Bathsheba.

To have any hope of success, Adonijah, then, had to act boldly before Solomon was consecrated king. As David lay on his sickbed, Adonijah, with an escort of fifty men and his supporters, had himself anointed king in the royal gardens at Enrogel. Nathan quickly learned of this and, alarmed, informed Bathsheba. It was vital that David reaffirm his oath concerning Solomon and have him anointed king immediately, or Solomon and his supporters would be killed. Confronted by Nathan and Bathsheba with Adonijah’s acts, David ordered Benaiah and the royal troops to escort Solomon on the king’s donkey and to have him anointed king by Zadok. When Adonijah and his followers realized that this had occurred, their coup attempt collapsed. His guests scattered, and Adonijah fled to the sanctuary altar and would not leave until Solomon promised not to harm him.

Solomon was now king. Shortly before David died, he advised Solomon on how to deal with his enemies, counseling him to stay true to the Lord’s commandments. It was useful advice, for Adonijah quickly tried another tactic. Through Bathsheba, he asked Solomon’s permission to marry Abishag, who was a member of David’s harem. If this marriage were permitted, it would establish Adonijah’s rightful claim to the throne. Solomon reacted swiftly. Adonijah was immediately executed, as was Joab. Abiathar was removed from his priestly office and exiled to Anathoth, fulfilling the prophecy regarding Eli’s descendants (1 Sam. 2:27-37). Three years later, Shimei, an opponent whom Solomon had confined to Jerusalem, violated the terms of his punishment and was executed.

Life’s Work

With his throne now secure, Solomon could concentrate on consolidating his kingdom, in order to secure the empire that his father had created. To achieve this end, Solomon initiated a sophisticated program based on three policies: There would be no further territorial conquests for the Israelite empire, he would take advantage of the economic opportunities presented by Israel’s strategic location, and he would build the Temple in Jerusalem to provide a unifying political and spiritual focal point for his people.

Although there were no significant foreign threats during his reign, Solomon realized that to attain his goals he needed to secure his borders through a combination of peaceful dealings with his neighbors and a modernized army at home. Accordingly, he launched a bold foreign policy initiative: an alliance with Egypt. After some difficult negotiations, the alliance was confirmed by Solomon’s marriage to Pharaoh Siamon’s daughter—a clear indication of the importance Egypt gave to the alliance, for Egyptian princesses were rarely given in marriage to foreign potentates. Solomon received the fortified city of Gezer as a dowry after the pharaoh had plundered it. The land route for the transport of goods from Phoenicia to Egypt thus secured was mutually beneficial for Egypt and Israel. The main advantage with which this alliance provided Solomon, however, was that it gave him access to Egypt’s building expertise and military technology: chariots, horses, and technical advisers to train the Israelites in their proper use.

Solomon could now proceed to modernize his army. This involved creating a large chariot force of fourteen hundred chariots and twelve thousand horsemen and constructing forts with stables at strategic points around the kingdom. For example, excavations at the thirteen-acre site at Megiddo, which controlled the vital highway running through the Plain of Esdraelon between Egypt and Syria, show that this fortress could house 450 horses and 150 chariots. Similar fortresses were apparently built at Beth-horon, Baalath, Hamath-zobah, and Tadmor.

Solomon also cemented relations with Hiram of Tyre. Tyre was a vital maritime city with colonies in Cyprus, Sicily, Sardinia, and southern Spain. Hemmed in by the LebanonMountains, Tyre had to depend on commerce for survival. Solomon needed cedar lumber as well as skilled artisans and architects from Tyre for his building projects; in return, Hiram received food and protection for his city.

Solomon’s political program required not only safe borders backed by a military force capable of protecting important trade routes but also a firm revenue base. To meet this need, Solomon divided the nation into twelve districts. The official in charge of each district had to provide the supplies for the central government for one month of the year. The rest of the time, he collected and stored the necessary provisions. The required items for a single day’s supply for the king and his court are enumerated in 1 Kings 4:22-23; though the list appears excessive, it is similar to the daily victual lists for other kingdoms in Mesopotamia.

Central to Solomon’s overall policy was his building program. He built not only forts and cities but also ports, mines, highways, and shipyards. Solomon is most famous, however, for two major projects completed by the middle of his reign: the construction of the royal palace and of the Temple. These two undertakings played a major role in his plan of consolidation. The palace, which in addition to the king’s personal residence included the complex of buildings housing the various governmental offices, took thirteen years to complete. Cedar, gold, ivory, and silver were liberally used; the resulting grandeur was a source of national pride. The building that was the cornerstone of Solomon’s political program, however, was the Temple.

The erection of the Temple was the most important event in the Israelites’ religious history since they had left the Sinai; accordingly, Solomon must have overseen every detail of construction. With a work force of 150,000 men, the project took seven years. The Bible gives a very detailed description of the finished Temple. Though it was once thought that it was a unique structure in the ancient world, recent archaeological finds have revealed that the Temple was quite similar to other temples in Mesopotamia.

It is difficult to overstate the deep significance of the Temple for Israel. Moses had prophesied that a kingdom would be created; with the construction of the Temple, divine confirmation of the Davidic throne was established. Thus, Solomon, by the act of building the Temple, firmly cemented his mandate to rule. Further, by placing the ark in the Temple, he focused the religious fervor of his people on the Temple, making Jerusalem their holy city and their national center. Solomon also was able to control the Temple and therefore gained a reputation for piety.

While the Bible says much about the Temple, it gives little space to discussion of the commercial ventures of Solomon. These played a significant part, however, in financing his other programs, and archaeological evidence indicates that they were extensive. Solomon was the middleman in the region’s lucrative horse and chariot market. His involvement in and control of the major caravan routes passing through the Negev have been well documented. Excavations at Ezion-geber have shown that Solomon was also very involved in shipping and shipbuilding. His ships carried copper and iron ore (and their related products) dug from his mines throughout the Wadi al-’Araba (biblical Arabah) as far as Yemen and Ethiopia, returning with gold, silver, ivory, and monkeys.

His shrewd commercial activities made Solomon incredibly wealthy. Eager to meet this legendary and successful king, other rulers came to Jerusalem bearing gifts and riches to establish relations with Solomon. The Queen of Sheba may have come to learn his wisdom, but she also wanted to create trade relations with Israel.

Solomon’s power and grandeur were believed to have arisen from his exceptional wisdom. The Bible states that immediately after Solomon assumed the throne, the Lord, appearing to him in a dream, granted his request for wisdom and added that he would also receive riches, honor, and long life, as long as he obeyed the Lord’s commandments. Eventually, Solomon became world renowned for his sagacity. His decision regarding the two women fighting over the custody of one living child is an example of his judicial wisdom. Because Solomon’s reign was a time of peace, literature and scholarship flourished. Much of Israel’s history, up to that point preserved orally, was set down in writing during this period. Solomon is credited with the authorship of the Song of Songs, the Book of Proverbs, and Ecclesiastes. While there is some question regarding Solomon’s authorship of the Song of Songs, there is little doubt that he did write most of Proverbs, and the weight of evidence leans toward him as the author of Ecclesiastes. These works of genius, stamped with the character of Solomon, reveal a deep spiritual insight and have formed a vital part of the Judeo-Christian tradition.

Significance

The final years of Solomon’s reign present an interesting historical problem. Chapter 11 of 1 Kings makes it clear that Solomon, king of Israel, recipient of godly wisdom, vast wealth, and international recognition, ended his reign amid predictions of failure. Indeed, immediately after his death, the kingdom was split into the kingdoms of Israel and Judah. Some of the causes that have been advanced to explain the stresses that finally fractured Solomon’s empire include the increasing bureaucratization of government, the excessive taxes needed to support Solomon’s programs, the use of Israelites for forced labor, the unequal distribution of wealth, and the Israelites’ inability to identify fully with their king’s vision of a united Israelite state. According to the biblical interpretation, however, these problems were only symptoms of the disease. The root cause was Solomon’s religious apostasy.

Early in his reign Solomon had followed the Lord’s commandments, but eventually he fell into disobedience in two important areas. First, he violated the command not to take foreign wives (Deut. 17:17). At the height of his power he reputedly had seven hundred wives and three hundred concubines. The wives were usually taken for diplomatic or political reasons, but concubines were given as sexual gifts that Solomon could have refused but did not. These wives and concubines were his downfall, for in his efforts to please them, Solomon fell into idolatry.

Solomon not only tolerated idolatry but indeed officially recognized it. He gave official sanction for the worship of the fertility goddess Ashtoreth (Astarte) and constructed altars near Jerusalem for the worship of Moloch and Chemosh. During his reign, a valley just outside Jerusalem became known as the site of child sacrifices to Moloch; its name, Gê Hinnom, in later years was rendered Gehenna, which became a synonym for the word “hell.”

Such religious apostasy, then, clearly moved Solomon away from the sound principles of rule that had governed the first half of his reign and induced him to adopt methods that in the eyes of his people undermined the legitimacy of his vision of a permanent, unified state. As a result, Solomon suffered rebellion at home by Jeroboam, son of Nebat, and the loss of various parts of his realm, and the welfare and prosperity of the kingdom would be endangered.

Despite his failings, however, Solomon was a great king. Without his efforts, one of the great achievements of history would have been impossible: that despite unprecedented persecutions, invasions, and sufferings, the Jews would retain their distinct national identity. Furthermore, Solomon’s contributions to the Old Testament have proved to be a valuable legacy to countless generations and must be counted as one of the pillars of Western civilization.

The Kings of Israel

c. 1020-1000

• Saul

1000-c. 962 c.

• David

c. 961-930

• Solomon

Bibliography

Barker, Kenneth, ed. The Full Life Study Bible. Grand Rapids, Mich.: Zondervan, 1990. In this edition, each book is preceded by a detailed introduction, and there are verse-by-verse explanations on each page. There are also indexes, essays, notes, time lines, maps, and charts. For an excellent archaeological supplement, see the Thompson Chain-Reference Bible, also published by Zondervan.

Beers, V. Gilbert. The Nation Divides. Vol. 12 in The Book of Life. Grand Rapids, Mich.: Zondervan, 1980. Beers combines the accounts of 1 Kings and 2 Chronicles to provide a cogent picture of Solomon and his times. Includes excellent photographs and illustrations. The text brings the period and people alive for the reader.

Maly, Eugene H. The World of David and Solomon. Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-Hall, 1966. Consistently cited by later works, this book makes excellent use of twentieth century archaeological findings and interpretations. The chapter on Solomon provides valuable insights into his political program and commercial activities. Includes bibliographies at the end of each chapter and an index.

Schultz, Samuel J. The Old Testament Speaks: Old Testament History and Literature. San Francisco: Harper & Row, 1990. This is an outstanding book in which to begin one’s research on Solomon. Makes use of other scholarly works and archaeological revelations to fill in the biblical gaps.

Shah, Tahir. In Search of King Solomon’s Mines. London: John Murray, 2002. This book takes up the search for King Solomon’s astonishing wealth, using as leads the Septuagint, the earliest form of the Bible, as well as geological, geographical, and folkloric sources.

Thieberger, Frederick. King Solomon. Oxford: East and West Library, 1947. Remains one of the few books in English that focus exclusively on Solomon. The author did not have the benefit of later archaeological discoveries, but he does depend greatly on the extensive textual research into the Old Testament that was done in Germany in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. For that alone the book is worthwhile. Includes extensive notes and index.

Torijano, Pablo A. Solomon the Esoteric King: From King to Magnus, Development of a Tradition. Boston: Brill, 2002. Examines the esoteric characterization of King Solomon that became popular in some currents of Judaism and Christianity in Late Antiquity.