Solomon
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Solomon or Shlomo (Hebrew: שְׁלֹמֹה; Standard Hebrew: Šəlomo; Tiberian Hebrew: Šəlōmōh, meaning "peace") in the Tanakh (Old Testament), is the third king of Israel (including Judah), builder of the temple in Jerusalem, renowned for his great wisdom and wealth and power, but also blamed for falling away from worshipping the Hebrew God only. He is the subject of many later legends. He is also in a line of the biggest Kabbalah masters, legendary kabbalists.
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The name Solomon
The name Solomon (Shlomo) means "peaceful," from the Hebrew "Shelomoh" (Arabic "Suleiman"). The name given by God to Solomon in the Bible is Jedidiah (meaning "loved by God"), and some scholars have conjectured that Solomon is a "king name" taken either when he assumed the throne or upon his death. The name Solomon could relate to the peace Israel experienced during Solomon's reign (1 Chronicles 22:7-9)
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 Bible, the prophet Nathan informs David that God has willed that his firstborn son must die, as punishment for David's murder of Uriah the Hittite, and his adultery1 with Uriah' wife Bathsheba. [1] (http://bible.cc/2_samuel/12-14.htm). 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 Chr. 1–9. He succeeded his father on the throne in about 1037 BCE (1 Kings 6:1). 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 splendour. 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 11:3, 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 Pharaoh.
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.
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 defence 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 Spain and South India and the coasts of Africa. The royal magnificence and splendour 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 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.
Solomon also appears in the Qur'an, whererin he is called Sulayman (see Similarities between the Bible and the Qur'an).
A picture of the Temple
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Footnote
Note 1: 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" annuling 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.
George Rawlinson's Evaluation
"The kingdom of Solomon," says George Rawlinson, "is one of the most striking facts in the 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 Proverbs, Ecclesiastes and 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 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 Arabic 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. This child would eventually inherit her throne with the new rank and title of Menelik I, Emperor of Ethiopia. The dynasty he would establish would reign in Ethiopia with few interruptions until the overthrow of Emperor Haile Selassie in 1974.
Solomon in non-Biblical fiction
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 acquistion. 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.
| Preceded by: David | King of united Israel | Succeeded by: Rehoboam and Jeroboam |
See also
External links
- Jewish Encyclopeida (http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/view.jsp?artid=894&letter=S) (1901-1905)
- Catholic Encyclopedia: Solomon (http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/14135b.htm) entry by Gabriel Oussani (1913)
- Web links on Solomon (http://www.vdu.lt/~ktv/solomon)
de:Salomo fr:Salomon he:שלמה המלך ja:ソロモン王 ko:솔로몬 왕 nl:Salomo nn:Sjelomo I av Israel pl:Salomon (król Izraela) ru:Соломон sk:Šalamún sv:Salomo