Biblical_account Solomon

1 biblical account

1.1 childhood
1.2 succession , administration
1.3 wisdom
1.4 wives , concubines
1.5 relationship queen of sheba
1.6 sins , punishment
1.7 enemies
1.8 death, succession of rehoboam, , kingdom division

biblical account

the life of solomon described in second book of samuel, , 1 chronicles , 1 kings. 2 names mean peaceful , friend of god , both appropriate story of rule.

childhood

solomon born in jerusalem, second born child of david , wife bathsheba, widow of uriah hittite. first child (unnamed in account), son conceived adulterously during uriah s lifetime, had died before solomon conceived punishment on account of death of uriah david s order. solomon had 3 named full brothers born of bathsheba, nathan, shammua, , shobab, besides 6 known older half-brothers born of many mothers.

succession , administration

the anointing of solomon cornelis de vos (c. 1630). according 1 kings 1:39, solomon anointed zadok.

according first book of kings, when david old, not warm . sought beautiful young woman throughout territory of israel, , found abishag shunamite, , brought king. young woman beautiful, , of service king , attended him, king knew not.

while david in state, court factions maneuvering power. david s heir apparent, adonijah, acted have himself declared king, outmaneuvered bathsheba , prophet nathan, convinced david proclaim solomon king according earlier promise (not recorded elsewhere in biblical narrative), despite solomon being younger brothers.

solomon, instructed david, began reign extensive purge, including father s chief general, joab, among others, , further consolidated position appointing friends throughout administration, including in religious positions in civic , military posts.

solomon expanded military strength, cavalry , chariot arms. founded numerous colonies, of doubled trading posts , military outposts.

trade relationships focus of administration. in particular continued father s profitable relationship phoenician king hiram of tyre (see wealth below); sent out joint expeditions lands of tarshish , ophir engage in trade of luxury products, importing gold, silver, sandalwood, pearls, ivory, apes , peacocks. solomon considered wealthy of israelite kings named in bible.

wisdom

luca giordano – dream of solomon – god promises solomon wisdom.

solomon biblical king famous wisdom. in 1 kings sacrificed god, , god later appeared him in dream asking solomon wanted god. solomon asked wisdom. pleased, god answered solomon s prayer, promising him great wisdom because did not ask self-serving rewards long life or death of enemies.

the judgment of solomon, painting on ceramic, castelli, 18th century, lille museum of fine arts

perhaps best known story of wisdom judgment of solomon; 2 women each lay claim being mother of same child. solomon resolved dispute commanding child cut in half , shared between two. 1 woman promptly renounced claim, proving rather give child see killed. solomon declared woman showed compassion true mother, entitled whole child.

solomon traditionally considered author of several biblical books, including not collections of proverbs, of ecclesiastes , song of solomon , later apocryphal book wisdom of solomon.

wives , concubines

according biblical account, solomon had 700 wives , 300 concubines. wives described foreign princesses, including pharaoh s daughter , women of moab, ammon, edom, sidon , of hittites. marriage pharoah s daughter appears have cemented political alliance egypt whereas clung other wives , concubines in love .

the wife mentioned name naamah ammonite, mother of solomon s successor, rehoboam. biblical narrative notes disapproval solomon permitted foreign wives import national deities, building temples ashtoreth , milcom.

relationship queen of sheba


the visit of queen of sheba king solomon , oil on canvas painting edward poynter, 1890



renaissance relief of queen of sheba meeting solomon – ghiberti s gates of paradise @ florence baptistry

in brief, unelaborated, , enigmatic passage, hebrew bible describes how fame of solomon s wisdom , wealth spread far , wide, so queen of sheba decided should meet him. queen described visiting number of gifts including gold, spices , precious stones. when solomon gave desire, whatsoever asked, left satisfied (1 kings 10:10).

whether passage provide brief token, foreign witness of solomon s wealth , wisdom, or whether there meant more significant queen s visit unknown; nevertheless visit of queen of sheba has become subject of numerous stories.

sheba typically identified saba, nation once spanning red sea on coasts of eritrea, somalia, ethiopia , yemen, in arabia felix. in rabbinical account (e.g. targum sheni), solomon accustomed ordering living creatures of world dance before him (rabbinical accounts solomon had been given control on living things yahweh), 1 day upon discovering mountain-cock or hoopoe (aramaic name: nagar tura) absent, summoned him, , bird told him had been searching somewhere new (see: colloquy of queen of sheba).

the bird had discovered land in east, exceedingly rich in gold, silver, , plants, capital called kitor , ruler queen of sheba, , bird, on own advice, sent solomon request queen s immediate attendance @ solomon s court.

an ethiopian account 14th century (kebra nagast) maintains queen of sheba had sexual relations king solomon , gave birth mai bella stream in province of hamasien, eritrea. ethiopian tradition has detailed account of affair. child son went on become menelik i, king of axum, , founded dynasty reign first jewish, christian empire of ethiopia 2,900+ years (less 1 usurpation episode, interval of c. 133 years until legitimate male heir regained crown) until haile selassie overthrown in 1974. menelik said practicing jew given replica of ark of covenant king solomon; and, moreover, original switched , went axum him , mother, , still there, guarded single priest charged caring artifact life s task.

the claim of such lineage , of possession of ark has been important source of legitimacy , prestige ethiopian monarchy throughout many centuries of existence, , had important , lasting effects on ethiopian culture whole. ethiopian government , church deny requests view alleged ark.

some classical-era rabbis, attacking solomon s moral character, have claimed instead child ancestor of nebuchadnezzar ii, destroyed solomon s temple 300 years later.

sins , punishment

vanity of vanities; vanity. old , meditative king solomon isaak asknaziy.

according 1 kings 11:4 solomon s wives turned heart after other gods , own national deities, whom solomon built temples, incurring divine anger , retribution in form of division of kingdom after solomon s death (1 kings 11:9–13). 1 kings 11 describes solomon s descent idolatry, particularly turning after ashtoreth, goddess of sidonians, , after milcom, abomination of ammonites. in deuteronomy 17:16–17, king commanded not multiply horses or wives, neither multiply himself gold or silver. solomon sins in 3 of these areas. solomon collects 666 talents of gold each year (1 kings 10:14), huge amount of money small nation israel. solomon gathers large number of horses , chariots , brings in horses egypt. deuteronomy 17 warns, collecting horses , chariots takes israel egypt. finally, solomon marries foreign women, , these women turn solomon other gods.

solomon sinned acquiring many foreign wives. solomon s descent idolatry, willem de poorter, rijksmuseum.

according 1 kings 11:30–34, because of these sins lord punishes solomon removing 10 of 12 tribes of israel israelites.

and lord angry solomon, because heart had turned away lord, god of israel, had appeared him twice , had commanded him concerning thing, should not go after other gods. did not keep lord commanded. therefore lord said solomon, since has been practice , have not kept covenant , statutes have commanded you, surely tear kingdom , give servant. yet sake of david father not in days, tear out of hand of son. however, not tear away kingdom, give 1 tribe son, sake of david servant , sake of jerusalem have chosen.

enemies

near end of life, solomon forced contend several enemies, including hadad of edom, rezon of zobah, , 1 of officials named jeroboam tribe of ephraim.

death, succession of rehoboam, , kingdom division

the united monarchy breaks up, jeroboam ruling on northern kingdom of israel (blue on map) , rehoboam ruling kingdom of judah south.

according hebrew bible, solomon last ruler of united kingdom of israel. dies of natural causes @ around 80 years of age. upon solomon s death, son, rehoboam, succeeds him. however, ten of tribes of israel refuse accept him king, splitting united monarchy in northern kingdom of israel under jeroboam, while rehoboam continues reign on smaller southern kingdom of judah. henceforth 2 kingdoms never again united.

cite error: there <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or {{efn}} templates on page, references not show without {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}} template or {{notelist}} template (see page).