SOLOMON
(sol'-o-mun)

Solomon was the son of David and Bath-sheba, and became the 3rd king of Israel.

He was named by his mother, but Nathan and his father, David, called him Jedidiah, which means "loved of Yahweh." The name "Solomon" is derived from the root meaning "to be quiet" or "peaceful," and Solomon was the least warlike of all the kings of Israel or Judah.  

Solomon succeeded David his father as king of Israel. Solomon's rise met with widespread approval from the people, but David's officials were slow to accept the new king. They did warm up considerably, however, when they realized David was determined to anoint Solomon as his heir.  Bath-sheba and Nathan, the prophet, visited David while on his deathbed and informed him that Adonijah had proclaimed himself King of Israel against his will.  Solomon was anointed at Gihon and entered Jerusalem as King.

Solomon allowed Adonijah to live until he petitioned Bath-sheba to ask the King for the hand of Abishag, a former concubine of King David, in marriage.  Adonijah was put to death by Benaiah the son of Jehoiada. Solomon also dispatched the other treasonous cohorts of Adonijah in the same way.  With the removal of his rival and their chief supporters, Solomon's throne was then secured. 

According to the chronology in 1 Kings 11:42, Solomon was about 20 years old when he was crowned.  He assumed leadership of Israel at a time of great material and spiritual prosperity.  During his 40-year reign (970-930 B. C.), he expanded his kingdom until it covered about 50,000 square miles-- from Egypt in the south to Syria in the north to the borders of Mesopotamia in the east.

One of the first things Solomon did as king was to go to Gibeon to offer sacrifices to the Lord.  God appeared to the new king at night and asked him, "What shall I give thee?" Solomon asked for an understanding heart to judge the people of Israel and the ability to tell good from evil.  God not only granted Solomon's request, but He also promised him riches and honor if he would walk in the steps of his father. (1 Kin. 3:4-15).

Solomon enlarged and expanded Israel's government.  He divided the country into 12 districts, each of which was responsible for providing the court with regular supplies, with a supply officer in charge of each district. As the years passed, Solomon reached a level of prosperity that had never existed in Israel's history.

II. Reign of Solomon.
1. His Vision: It was apparently at the very beginning of his reign that Solomon made his famous choice of a "hearing heart," i.e. an obedient heart, in preference to riches or long life. The vision took place at Gibeon (<2 Chr 1:7>, but in <1 Kin 3:4> f the ancient versions read "upon the altar that was in Gibeon. And the Lord appeared," etc.). The life of Solomon was a curious commentary on his early resolution. One of the first acts of his reign was apparently, in the style of the true oriental monarch, to build himself a new palace, that of his father being inadequate for his requirements. In regard to politics, however, the events of Solomon's reign may be regarded as an endorsement of his choice. Under him alone was the kingdom of Israel a great world-power, fit almost to rank beside Assyria and Egypt. Never again were the bounds of Israel so wide; never again were north and south united in one great nation. There is no doubt that the credit of this result is due to the wisdom of Solomon.
2. His Policy: Solomon was by nature an unwarlike person, and his whole policy was in the direction of peace. He disbanded the above-mentioned foreign legion, the Cherethites and Pelethites, who had done such good service as bodyguard to his father. All his officers seem to have been mediocre persons who would not be likely to force his hand, as Joab had done that of David <2 Sam 3:39>. Even the fortification of Jerusalem and of the frontier towns was undertaken with a view to repel attack, not for the purposes of offence. Solomon did, no doubt, strengthen the army, especially the cavalry arm <1 Kin 4:26; 10:26>, but he never made any use of this, and perhaps it existed largely on paper. At any rate Solomon seems to have been rather a breeder of and dealer in horse-flesh than a soldier. He appears also to have had a fine collection of armor <10:25>, but much of it was made of gold (<10:16> f) and was intended for show, not for use. Both in his reputation for wisdom and in his aversion to war Solomon bears a striking resemblance to King James VI of Scotland and I of England, as depicted by the hand of Sir Waiter Scott. It was fortunate for him that both the neighboring great powers were for the time in a decadent state, otherwise the history of the kingdom of Israel would have ended almost before it had begun. On the other hand, it has been remarked that if. Solomon had had anything like the military genius of David and his enthusiasm for the religion of Yahweh, he might have extended the arms of Israel from the Nile to the Tigris and anticipated the advent of Islam. But his whole idea was to secure himself in peace, to amass wealth and indulge his love of grandeur with more than oriental splendor.
3. Its Results: Solomon, in fact, was living on the achievements and reputation of his father, who laid the basis of security and peace on which the commercial genius of Solomon could raise the magnificent structure which he did. But he took the clay from the foundations in order to build the walls. The Hebrews were a military people and in that consisted their life. Solomon withdrew their energies from their natural bent and turned them to cornmerce, for which they were not yet ripe. Their soul rebelled under the irksome drudgery of an industry of which they did not reap the fruits. Solomon had in fact reduced a free people to slavery, and concentrated the wealth of the whole country in the capital. As soon as he was out of the way, his country subjects threw off the yoke and laid claim to their ancient freedom. His son found himself left with the city and a territory as small as an English county.
4. Alliance with Tyre: Solomon's chief ally was Hiram, the king of Tyre, probably the friend and ally of David, who is to be distinguished from Hiram the artificer of <1 Kin 7:13> ff. Hiram the king entered into a treaty with Solomon which was to the advantage of both parties. Hiram supplied Solomon with cedar and pine wood from Lebanon, as well as with skilled artisans for his building. Tyrian sailors were also drafted into the ships of Solomon, the Hebrews not being used to the sea (<1 Kin 9:26> f), besides which Phoenician ships sailed along with those of Solomon. The advantages which Hiram received in return were that the Red Sea was open to his merchantmen, and he also received large supplies of corn and oil from the land of Israel (<1 Kin 5:11> corrected by Septuagint and <2 Chr 2:10>). At the conclusion of the building of the palace and Temple, which occupied 20 years, Solomon presented Hiram with 20 villages (<1 Kin 9:11>; the converse, <2 Chr 8:2>), and Hiram made Solomon a return present of gold (<1 Kin 9:14>; omitted in 2 Ch).
5. Alliance with Egypt: Second to Hiram was the Pharaoh of Egypt, whose daughter Solomon married, receiving as her dower the town of Gezer <1 Kin 9:16>. This Pharaoh is not named in the Old Testament. This alliance with Egypt led to the introduction of horses into Israel (<10:28> f), though David had already made a beginning on a small scale <2 Sam 8:4>. Both these alliances lasted throughout the reign. There is no mention of an alliance with the eastern power, which was then in a decadent state.
6. Domestic Troubles: It was probably nearer the beginning than the end of Solomon's reign that political trouble broke out within the realm. When David had annexed the territory of the Edomites at the cost of the butchery of the male population (compare <2 Sam 8:14; Ps 60>, title) one of the young princes of the reigning house effected his escape, and sought and found an asylum in Egypt, where he rose to occupy a high station. No sooner had he heard of the death of David and Joab than he returned to his native country and there stirred up disaffections against Solomon (<1 Kin 11:14> ff; see HADAD), without, however, restoring independence to Edom <1 Kin 9:26>. A second occasion of disaffection arose through a prophet having foretold that the successor of Solomon would have one of the Israelite tribes only and that the other ten clans would be under Solomon's master of works whom he had set over them. This officer also took refuge in Egypt and was protected by Shishak. He remained there until the death of Solomon (<1 Kin 11:26> ff). A third adversary was Rezon who had fled from his master the king of Zobah <1 Kin 11:23>, and who established himself at Damascus and rounded a dynasty which was long a thorn in the side of Israel. These domestic troubles are regarded as a consequence of the falling away of Solomon from the path of rectitude, but this seems to be but a kind of anticipative consequence, that is, if it was not till the end of his reign that Solomon fell into idolatry and polytheism <1 Kin 11:4>.
III. His Buildings.
1. The Temple: The great undertaking of the reign of Solomon was, of course, THE TEMPLE (which see), which was at first probably considered as the Chapel Royal and an adjunct of the palace. The Temple was begun in the 4th year of the reign and finished in the 11th, the work of the building occupying 7« years (<1 Kin 6; 7:13> ff). The delay in beginning is remarkable, if the material were all ready to hand <1 Chr 22>. Worship there was inaugurated with fitting ceremony and prayers <1 Kin 8>.
2. The Palace: To Solomon, however, his own palace was perhaps a more interesting undertaking. It at any rate occupied more time, in fact 13 years <1 Kin 7:1-12; 9:10; 2 Chr 8:1>, the time of building both palace and Temple being 20 years. Possibly the building of the palace occupied the first four years of the reign and was then intermitted and resumed after the completion of the Temple; but of this there is no indication in the text. It was called the House of the Forest of Lebanon from the fact that it was lined with cedar wood <1 Kin 7:2>. A description of it is given in <1 Kin 7:1-12>.
3. Other Buildings: Solomon also rebuilt the wall of the city and the citadel (see JERUSALEM; MILLO). He likewise erected castles at the vulnerable points of the frontiers-- Hazor, Megiddo and Gezer <1 Kin 9:15>, lower Beth-horon and BAALATH (which see). According to the Qere of <1 Kin 9:18> and the ancient versions as well as <2 Chr 8:4>, he was the founder of Tadmor (Palmyra); but the Kethibh of <1 Kin 9:18> reads Tamar (compare <Ezek 47:19>). Some of the remains of buildings recently discovered at Megiddo and Gezer may go back to the time of Solomon.
4. The Corvee: Solomon could not have built on the scale he did with the resources ordinarily at the command of a free ruler. Accordingly we find that one of the institutions fostered by him was the corvee, or forced labor. No doubt something of the kind always had existed <Josh 9:21> and still exists in all despotic governments. Thus the people of a village will be called on to repair the neighboring roads, especially when the Pasha is making a progress in the neighborhood. But Solomon made the thing permanent and national <1 Kin 5:13-15; 9:15>. The immediate purpose of the levy was to supply laborers for work in the Lebanon in connection with his building operations. Thus 30,000 men were raised and drafted, 10,000 at a time, to the Lebanon, where they remained for a month, thus having two months out of every three at home. But even when the immediate cause had ceased, the practice once introduced was kept up and it became one of the chief grievances which levi to the dismemberment of the kingdom (<1 Kin 12:18>, Adoram = Adoniram; compare <2 Sam 20:24>), for hitherto the corvee had been confined to foreign slaves taken in war <1 Kin 9:21>. It is said the higher posts were reserved for Israelites, the laborers being foreigners <9:22>, that is, the Israelites acted as foremen. Some of the foreign slaves seem to have formed a guild in connection with the Temple which lasted down to the time of the exile (<Ezra 2:55-57; Neh 7:57-59>; see NETHINIM).
IV. His Character.-- In Solomon we have the type of a Turkish sultan, rather than a king of Israel. The Hebrew kings, whether of Israel or Judah, were, in theory at least, elective monarchs like the kings of Poland.
1. Personal Qualities: If one happened to be a strong ruler, he managed to establish his family it might be, for three or even four generations. In the case of the Judaean dynasty the personality of the first king made such a deep impression upon the heart of the people that the question of a change of dynasty there never became pressing. But Solomon would probably have usurped the crown if he had not inherited it, and once on the throne he became a thoroughgoing despot. All political power was taken out of the hands of the sheiks, although outward respect was still paid to them <1 Kin 8:1>, and placed in the hands of officers who were simply creatures of Solomon. The resources of the nation were expended, not on works of public utility, but on the personal aggrandizement of the monarch (<1 Kin 10:18> ff). In the means he took to gratify his passions he showed himself to be little better than a savage and if he did not commit such great crimes as David, it was perhaps because he had no occasion, or because he employed greater cunning in working out his ends.
2. Wisdom: The wisdom for which Solomon is so celebrated was not of a very high order; it was nothing more than practical shrewdness, or knowledge of the world and of human nature. The common example of it is that given in <1 Kin 3:16> ff, to which there are innumerable parallels in Indian, Greek and other literatures. The same worldly wisdom lies at the back of the Book of Proverbs, and there is no reason why a collection of these should not have been made by Solomon just as it is more likely that he was a composer of verses than that he was not <1 Kin 4:32>. The statement that he had breadth of heart <4:29> indicates that there was nothing known which did not come within his ken.
3. Learning: The word "wisdom," however, is used also in another connection, namely, in the sense of theoretical knowledge or book leaning, especially in the department of natural history. It is not to be supposed that Solomon had any scientific knowledge of botany or zoology, but he may have collected the facts of observation, a task in which the Oriental, who cannot generalize, excels. The wisdom and understanding <1 Kin 4:29> for which Solomon was famous would consist largely in stories about beasts and trees like the well-known Fables of Pilpai. They included also the "wisdom" for which Egypt was famous <4:30>, that is, occult science. It results from this last statement that Solomon appears in post-Biblical and Arabian literature as a magician.
4. Trade and Commerce: Solomon was very literally a merchant prince. He not only encouraged and protected commerce, but engaged in it himself. He was in fact the predominant, if not sole, partner in a great trading concern, which was nothing less than the Israelite nation. One of his enterprises was the horse trade with Egypt. His agents bought up horses which were again sold to the kings of the Hittites and the Aramaeans. The prices paid are mentioned <1 Kin 10:29>. The best of these Solomon no doubt retained for his own cavalry <1 Kin 10:26>. Another commodity imported from that country was linen yarn (<1 Kin 10:28> the King James Version). The navy which Solomon built at the head of the Gulf of Akaba was not at all for military, but purely commercial ends. They were ships of Tarshish, that is, merchant ships, not ships to Tarshish, as <2 Chr 9:21>. They traded to OPHIR (which see), from which they brought gold; silver, ivory, apes and peacocks, the round voyage lasting 3 years (<1 Kin 9:26> ff; <10:22>). Special mention is made of "almug" <10:11> or "algum" (<2 Chr 9:10> f) trees (which see). The visit of the Queen of Sheba would point to the overland caravan routes from the Yemen being then open <1 Kin 10:15>. What with direct imports and the result of sales, silver and cedar wood became very plentiful in the capital <10:27>.
5. Officers of State: The list of Solomon's officers of state is given in <1 Kin 4:2> ff. These included a priest, two secretaries, a recorder, a commander-in-chief, a chief commissariat officer, a chief shepherd (if we may read ro`eh for re'eh), a master of the household, and the head of the corvee. The list should be compared with those of David's officers (<2 Sam 8:16> ff; <20:23> ff). There is much resemblance, but we can see that the machine of state was becoming more complicated. The bodyguard of foreign mercenaries was abolished and the captain Benaiah promoted to be commander-in-chief. Two scribes were required instead of one. Twelve commissariat officers were appointed whose duty it was to forward from their districts the supplies for the royal household and stables. The list of these officials, a very curious one, is given in <1 Kin 4:7> ff. It is to be noted that the 12 districts into which the country was divided did not coincide with the territories of the 12 tribes. It may be remarked that Solomon seems as far as possible to have retained the old servants of his father. It will be noticed also that in all the lists there is mention of more than one priest. These "priests" retained some of their original functions, since they acted as prognosticators and diviners.
6. Wives: Solomon's principal wife was naturally the daughter of Pharaoh; it was for her that his palace was built <1 Kin 3:1; 7:8; 9:16,24>. But in addition to her he established marriage relations with the neighboring peoples. In some cases the object was no doubt to cement an alliance, as with the Zidonians and Hittites and the other nationalities <11:1>, some of which were forbidden to Israelites <Deut 7:3>. It may be that the daughter of Pharaoh was childless or died a considerable time before Solomon, but his favorite wife was latterly a granddaughter of Nahash, the Ammonite king (<1 Kin 14:21> Septuagint), and it was her son who succeeded to the throne. Many of Solomon's wives were no doubt daughters of wealthy or powerful citizens who wished by an alliance with the king to strengthen their own positions. Yet we do not read of his marrying an Israelite wife. According to the Arabian story Bilqis, the Queen of Sheba who visited Solomon (<1 Kin 10:1> ff),. was also married to him. He appears to have had only one son; we are not told of any other than Rehoboam. His daughters were married to his own officers <1 Kin 4:11,15>.
7. Revenues: Solomon is said to have started his reign with a capital sum of 100,000 talents of gold and a million talents of silver, a sum greater than the national debt of Great Britain. Even so, this huge sum was ear-marked for the building of the Temple <1 Chr 22:14>. His income was, for one year, at any rate, 666 talents of gold <1 Kin 10:14>, or about twenty million dollars. This seems an immense sum, but it probably was not so much as it looks. The great mass of the people were too poor to have any commodities which they could exchange for gold. Its principal use was for the decoration of buildings. Its purchasing power was probably small, because so few could afford to buy it. It was in the same category as the precious stones which are of great rarity, but which are of no value unless there is a demand for them. In the time of Solomon there was no useful purpose to which gold could be put in preference to any other metal.
8. Literary Works: It is not easy to believe that the age of Solomon, so glorious in other respects, had not a literature to correspond. Yet the reign of the sultan Ismail in Morocco, whom Solomon much resembles, might be cited in favor of such a supposition. Solomon himself is stated to have composed 3,000 animal stories and 1,005 songs <1 Kin 4:32>. In the Old Testament the following are ascribed to him: three collections of Proverbs, <Prov 1:1> ff; <10:1> ff; <25:1> ff; The Song of Songs; <Psalms 72> and 127; Ecclesiastes (although Solomon is not named). In <Prov 25:1> the men of Hezekiah are said to have copied out the following proverbs.
LITERATURE.-- The relative portions of the histories by Ewald, Stanley (who follows Ewald), Renan, Wellhausen and Kittel; also H. Winckler, Alttestamentliche Untersuchungen; and the commentaries on the Books of Kings and Chronicles.
THOMAS HUNTER WEIR
(from International Standard Bible Encylopaedia, Electronic Database Copyright (C) 1996 by Biblesoft)