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Revision as of 23:33, 10 May 2006
"Solomon" redirects here. For other uses, see Solomon (disambiguation).Solomon or Shlomo (Hebrew: שְׁלֹמֹה; Standard Hebrew: Šəlomo; Tiberian Hebrew: Šəlōmōh, meaning "peace"; Arabic: سليمان Sulayman) in the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament), also called Jedidiah, was the third king of the united ancient Kingdom of Israel (there was no Kingdom of Judah in his time). The Kingdom of Judah later had their own line of kings from Solomon.
Solomon was the builder of the first Temple in Jerusalem, also known as Solomon's Temple in Jerusalem. 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. He is also in a line of the greatest Kabbalah masters.
The name Solomon
The name Solomon (Shlomo) means "peaceful," or "complete", from the Hebrew Shelomoh (Arabic Sulaiman). 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.
The Biblical account
Solomon is David's second son by Bathsheba. In the Book of 2 Samuel (2 Sam 12:13-18), the prophet Nathan informs David that God has willed that his firstborn son must die, as punishment for David's method of execution of Uriah the Hittite due to David's secret relationship with Bathsheba, Uriah's wife, which was fornication (although whether or not it was adulterous is disputed Template:Fn.) . After praying and fasting for a week, David heard the news that his son had died, and comforted the grieving Bathsheba, who became pregnant with Solomon.
Succession
Solomon's history is recorded in 1 Kings 1–11 and 2 Chronicles 1–9. He succeeded his father (reigned circa 1011/1010 BC to 971/970 BC) on the throne in about 971 or 970 BC, not 1037 BC (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 10:13.
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 11:4, 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 there is written an account of an encounter between the newly crowned Solomon and the God of the Kingdom of Israel in which he offers Solomon anything he pleases. Solomon asks for "an understanding heart to judge thy people, that I may discern between good and bad: for who is able to judge this thy so great a people?" Pleased with his non-materialistic wish God tells him that not only will he receive a foundation in epistemology greater than any other man, but also great wealth, power and prosperity.
In 1 Kings 3:15-28 an account of Solomon's wisdom can be viewed as symbolic of the split in the Kingdom of Israel following the death of Solomon. In the story there are two new mothers, one of which who had smothered her baby during sleep and claimed the other woman's baby as her own. The problem is presented to King Solomon, who proposes the baby be split in half, each woman receiving one half of the child. The woman who was lying agrees to the "compromise," while the real mother immediately feels sympathy for her offspring. Rather than see her child killed, she says the baby belongs to the other woman. Solomon instantly gives the baby to the real mother, realizing that a true mother would compromise to see her offspring survive. This story is seen in exact parallel in the judicial decisions of Ooka Tadasuke of Japan. The tale itself remains a precautionary metaphor against the division of the kingdom into two as displayed by Larry Gonick in The Cartoon History of the Universe.
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). Their son Menelik I, according to Ethiopian tradition, would become 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
Blamed for his decline and fall from his high estate were his polygamy and his great wealth, causing him to become decadent and involved in various forms of idol worship which are contrary to the religious law. 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.
However, 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 :
R. Samuel b. Nahmani said in R. Jonathan's name: Whoever maintains that Solomon sinned is merely making an error... (Talmud Sabbath 56b)
Solomon in the Qur'an
Main article: SulaymanSolomon also appears in the Qur'an, where he is called Sulayman (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. Solomon was said to have under his rule not only people, but also hosts of hidden beings (i.e., jinn). Solomon is said to have been 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.
George Rawlinson's evaluation
"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."
Later legend
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 BC 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 BC, 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 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".
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 Islamic conquest of Spain, according to Ibn Abd-el-Hakem's History of the Conquest of Spain.
Solomon in fiction
- In the Divine Comedy the spirit of Solomon appears to Dante in the Heaven of the Sun with other religious scholars.
- 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 BC. 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.
- Isaac Rosenfeld also wrote a short story entitled 'King Solomon'.
Solomon in the arts
Handel composed an oratorio entitled Solomon in 1749. The story follows the basic Biblical plot.
| Preceded byDavid | King of Judah | Succeeded byRehoboam |
| Preceded byDavid | King of Israel | Succeeded byJeroboam |
Ernest Bloch composed a Hebraic Rhapsody for cello and orchestra entitled Schelomo, based off King Solomon.
Footnote
Template:Fnb According to Jewish law, the custom was that a soldier sent to the front lines, such as Bathsheba's husband, 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.
See also
External links
- Wars of King Solomon The Wars of King Solomon: Summaries and Studies: www.warsofisrael.com
- Jewish Encyclopeida (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