Historicity Solomon

an engraving, judgment of solomon, gustave doré (19th century)

historical evidence of king solomon other biblical accounts has been minimal scholars have understood period of reign dark age (muhly 1998). josephus in against apion, citing tyrian court records , menander, gives specific year during king hiram of tyre sent materials solomon construction of temple. however, no material evidence indisputably of solomon s reign has been found. yigael yadin s excavations @ hazor, megiddo, beit shean , gezer uncovered structures , others have argued date solomon s reign, others, such israel finkelstein , neil silberman, argue should dated omride period, more century after solomon.

solomon s wealth , wisdom, in 1 kings 3:12–13, illustration bible card published 1896 providence lithograph company.

according finkelstein , silberman, authors of bible unearthed: archaeology s new vision of ancient israel , origin of sacred texts, @ time of kingdoms of david , solomon, jerusalem populated few hundred residents or less, insufficient empire stretching euphrates eilath. according bible unearthed, archaeological evidence suggests kingdom of israel @ time of solomon little more small city state, , implausible solomon received tribute large 666 talents of gold per year. although both finkelstein , silberman accept david , solomon real inhabitants of judah 10th century bce, claim earliest independent reference kingdom of israel 890 bce, , judah 750 bce. suggest because of religious prejudice, authors of bible suppressed achievements of omrides (whom hebrew bible describes being polytheist), , instead pushed them supposed golden age of judaism , monotheists, , devotees of yahweh. biblical minimalists thomas l. thompson go further, arguing jerusalem became city , capable of being state capital in mid-7th century. likewise, finkelstein , others consider claimed size of solomon s temple implausible.

these views criticized william g. dever, , andré lemaire, among others. lemaire states in ancient israel: abraham roman destruction of temple principal points of biblical tradition of solomon trustworthy, although elsewhere writes find no substantiating archaeological evidence supports queen of sheba s visit king solomon, saying earliest records of trans-arabian caravan voyages tayma , sheba unto middle-euphrates &c. occurred in mid-8th century bce, placing possible visit queen of sheba jerusalem around time – 250 years later timeframe traditionally given king solomon s reign. kenneth kitchen argues solomon ruled on comparatively wealthy mini-empire , rather small city-state, , considers 666 gold talents modest amount of money. kitchen calculates on 30 years, such kingdom might have accumulated 500 tons of gold, small compared other examples, such 1,180 tons of gold alexander great took susa. kitchen , others consider temple of solomon reasonable , typically sized structure region @ time. dever states have direct bronze , iron age parallels every feature of solomonic temple described in hebrew bible .

some scholars have charted middle path between minimalist scholars finkelstein, silberman, , philip davies (who believes “solomon totally invented character”) on 1 hand, , maximalist scholars dever, lemaire, , kitchen on other hand. instance, archaeologist avraham faust has argued biblical depictions of solomon date later periods , overstate wealth, buildings, , kingdom, solomon did have acropolis , ruled on polity larger jerusalem. in particular, archaeological research in regions near jerusalem, sharon, finds commerce great not supported polity , such regions ruled loosely jerusalem. scholars lester grabbe believe there must have been ruler in jerusalem during period , built temple, although town quite small.

the archaeological remains considered date time of solomon notable fact canaanite material culture appears have continued unabated; there distinct lack of magnificent empire, or cultural development – indeed comparing pottery areas traditionally assigned israel of philistines points latter having been more sophisticated. however, there lack of physical evidence of existence, despite archaeological work in area. not unexpected because area devastated babylonians, rebuilt , destroyed several times. little archaeological excavation has been done around area known temple mount, in thought foundation of solomon s temple, because attempts met protest muslims.

from critical point of view, solomon s building of temple yahweh should not considered act of particular devotion yahweh because solomon described building places of worship number of other deities. scholars , historians argue solomon s apparent initial devotion yahweh, described in passages such dedication prayer (1 kings 8:14–66), written later, after jerusalem had become religious centre of kingdom, replacing locations such shiloh , bethel. scholars believe passages such these in books of kings not written same authors wrote rest of text, instead deuteronomist. such views have been challenged other historians maintain there evidence these passages in kings derived official court records @ time of solomon , other writings of time incorporated canonical books of kings.

the biblical passages understand tarshish source of king solomon s great wealth in metals – silver, gold, tin , iron (ezekiel 27) – linked archaeological evidence silver-hoards found in phoenicia in 2013. metals tarshish reportedly obtained solomon in partnership king hiram of phoenician tyre (isaiah 23), , fleets of tarshish-ships sailed in service, , silver-hoards provide first recognized material evidence agrees ancient texts concerning solomon s kingdom , wealth (see wealth below).

possible evidence described wealth of solomon , kingdom discovered in ancient silver-hoards, found in israel , phoenicia , recognized importance in 2003. evidence hoards shows levant center of wealth in precious metals during reign of solomon , hiram, , matches texts trade extended asia atlantic ocean.

chronology

the conventional dates of solomon s reign derived biblical chronology c. 970 931 bce. regarding davidic dynasty king solomon belongs, chronology can checked against datable babylonian , assyrian records @ few points, , these correspondences have allowed archeologists date kings in modern framework. according used chronology, based on edwin r. thiele, death of solomon , division of kingdom have occurred in spring of 931 bce.