Israel
722 BC Assyria captures Israel
This is the Northern kingdom.
Solomon was a monarch of ancient Israel and the son and successor of King David,
The hypothesized dates of Solomon's reign are from 970–931 BC
After his death, his son and successor Rehoboam would adopt a harsh policy,
leading to the splitting of the Kingdom to Israel in the north
and the Kingdom of Judah in the south.
Solomon built the First Temple in Jerusalem,
Solomon is portrayed as wealthy, wise and powerful,
numerous amulets and medallion seals dating from the Hellenistic period invoking his name.
The life of Solomon is primarily described in 2 Samuel, 1 Kings and 2 Chronicles.
Solomon was born in Jerusalem,
the second-born child of David and his wife Bathsheba (widow of Uriah the Hittite).
The first child (unnamed in that account), a son conceived adulterously during Uriah's lifetime,
had died seven days after birth, a judgment from God.
Solomon had three named full brothers born to Bathsheba: Nathan, Shammua, and Shobab,
besides six known older half-brothers born of as many mothers.
Solomon served as a peace offering between God and David,
due to David's adulterous relationship with Bathsheba.
In an effort to hide this sin,
David sent Bathsheba's husband, Uriah the Hittite, to battle,
and specifically to the front line wherein David ordered the commanding officer Joab
to withdraw support for Uriah in order to have him killed in battle by the enemy.
After he died, David was able to marry Bathsheba.
As punishment, the first child, who was conceived during the adulterous relationship, died.
In 1 Kings 1.39, Solomon was anointed by Zadok.
When David was old, "he could not get warm".
- 3 So they sought for a fair damsel throughout all the coasts of Israel,
- and found Abishag a Shunammite,
- and brought her to the king.
- 4 And the damsel was very fair,
- and cherished the king, and ministered to him:
- but the king knew her not.
While David was in this state, court factions were maneuvering for power.
Adonijah, David's heir apparent, acted to have himself declared king,
but was outmaneuvered by Bathsheba and the prophet Nathan,
who convinced David to proclaim Solomon king according to his earlier promise
despite Solomon's being younger than his brothers.
Solomon, as instructed by David, began his reign with an extensive purge,
including his father's chief general, Joab, among others,
and further consolidated his position by appointing friends throughout the administration,
including in religious positions as well as in civic and military posts.
He founded numerous colonies, some of which doubled as trading posts and military outposts.
Trade relationships were a focus of his administration.
In particular he continued his father's very profitable relationship
with the Phoenician king Hiram I of Tyre
they sent out joint expeditions to the lands of Tarshish and Ophir
to engage in the trade of luxury products, importing gold, silver, sandalwood,
pearls, ivory, apes, and peacocks.
Solomon is considered the most wealthy of the Israelite kings named in the Bible.
Solomon was most famous for his wisdom.
In 1 Kings he sacrificed to God, and God later appeared to him in a dream,
asking what Solomon wanted from God.
Solomon asked for wisdom in order to better rule and guide his people.
Pleased, God personally answered Solomon's prayer,
promising him great wisdom because he did not ask for self-serving rewards
like long life or the death of his enemies.
Judgement of Solomon; two women each lay claim to being the mother of the same child.
Solomon easily resolved the dispute by commanding the child to be cut in half
and shared between the two.
One woman promptly renounced her claim,
proving that she would rather give the child up than see it killed.
Solomon declared the woman who showed compassion to be the true mother,
entitled to the whole child.
Solomon is the author of several biblical books, including Proverbs, Ecclesiastes
The ancient Kingdom of Israel gained its highest splendour and wealth
during Solomon's reign of 40 years.
In a single year, according to 1 Kings 10.14,
Solomon collected tribute amounting to 666 talents (18,125 kilograms) of gold.
Solomon is described as surrounding himself with all the luxuries
and the 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 collecting materials for building a temple in Jerusalem
as a permanent home for Yahweh and the Ark of the Covenant.
Solomon is described as undertaking the construction of the temple,
with the help of an architect, also named Hiram, and other materials,
sent from King Hiram of Tyre.
After the completion of the temple,
he was engaged in the building of a royal palace on Ophel
(a hilly promontory in central Jerusalem).
This complex included buildings referred to as:
- The House (or Hall) of the Forest of Lebanon[32]
- The Hall or Porch of Pillars
- The Hall of the Throne or the Hall of Justice
as well as his own residence and a residence for his wife, Pharaoh's daughter.
Solomon's throne is said to have been spectacularly opulent and possessed moving parts,
making it one of the earliest mechanical devices in history.
Solomon also constructed great water works for the city,
and the Millo (Septuagint, Acra) for the defense of the city.
Solomon is also described as rebuilding cities elsewhere in Israel,
creating the port of Ezion-Geber,
and constructing Palmyra in the wilderness as a commercial depot and military outpost.
During Solomon's reign, Israel enjoyed great commercial prosperity,
with extensive traffic being carried on by land with Tyre, Egypt, and Arabia,
and by sea with Tarshish, Ophir, and South India.
Solomon had 700 wives and 300 concubines.
The wives were described as foreign princesses, including Pharaoh's daughter
and women of Moab, Ammon, Edom, Sidon and of the Hittites.
His marriage to Pharaoh's daughter appears to have cemented a political alliance with Egypt,
The only wife mentioned by name is Naamah the Ammonite, mother of Solomon's successor, Rehoboam.
Solomon permitted his foreign wives to import their national deities,
building temples to Ashtoreth and Milcom.
The fame of Solomon's wisdom and wealth reached even the far-off Queen of Sheba.
The queen is described as visiting with gifts including gold, spices and precious stones.
When Solomon gave her "all her desire, whatsoever she asked", she left satisfied 1 Kings 10.13
1 Kings 11.4 Solomon's "wives turned his heart after other gods",
their own national deities, to whom Solomon built temples,
thus incurring divine anger and retribution
in the form of the division of the kingdom after Solomon's death 1 Kings 11.9–13).
1 Kings 11 describes Solomon's descent into idolatry,
particularly his turning after Ashtoreth, the goddess of the Sidonians,
and after Milcom, the god of the Ammonites.
In Deuteronomy 17.16–17, a king is commanded not to multiply horses or wives,
neither greatly multiply to himself gold or silver.
Solomon sinned in all three of these areas.
In addition to his wives, he collected 666 talents of gold each year 1 Kings 10.14
He gathered multitudes of horses and chariots from as far as Egypt
and as Deuteronomy 17 warns, took Israel back to Egypt in spirit.
Solomon sinned by acquiring many foreign wives.
Solomon's descent into idolatry,
According to 1 Kings 11.30–34 and 1 Kings 11.9–13,
it was because of these sins that the Lord punished Solomon
by removing most of the tribes of Israel from rule by Solomon's house.
Jeroboam rules Israel and Rehoboam rules Judah
King Solomon is a central biblical figure,
was the builder of the First Temple in Jerusalem
and the last ruler of the united Kingdom of Israel.
After a reign of forty years 1 Kings 11.42
he died of natural causes
Upon Solomon's death, his son, Rehoboam, succeeded him,
but ten of the Tribes of Israel refused him as king,
splitting the monarchy into the northern Kingdom of Israel under Jeroboam,
while Rehoboam continued to reign over the smaller southern Kingdom of Judah.
Henceforth the two kingdoms were never again united.
Solomon is associated with the peak "golden age" of the independent Kingdom of Israel
and is a legendary source of judicial and religious wisdom.
The first-century Romano-Jewish scholar Josephus in Against Apion,
citing Tyrian court records and Menander,
gives a specific year during which King Hiram I of Tyre sent materials to Solomon
for the construction of the Temple.
In 2014, professor of anthropology Jimmy Hardin and his team
discovered six official clay bullae seals
at a site east of Gaza called Khirbet Summeily.
He states that these bullae are associated with an Iron Age II
A political entity typified by elite activities dated to the 10th century BC.
The bullae appear to be the only known examples that date to this period.
In his view, this lends general support to the historical veracity of David and Solomon
as recorded in the Hebrew biblical texts.
Temple Mount in Jerusalem
Little archaeological excavation has been done around the area known as the Temple Mount,
in what is thought to be the foundation of Solomon's Temple,
because attempts to do so are met with protests by Muslim authorities
Precious metals from Tarshish
The biblical passages that understand Tarshish as a source of King Solomon's great wealth in metals—
especially silver, but also gold, tin and iron Ezekiel 27
were linked to archaeological evidence from silver-hoards found in Phoenicia in 2013.
The metals from Tarshish were reportedly obtained by Solomon
in partnership with King Hiram of Phoenician Tyre Isaiah 23
and the fleets of Tarshish and ships that sailed in their service.
The silver hoards provide the first recognized material evidence
that agrees with the ancient texts concerning Solomon's kingdom and his wealth.
Possible evidence for the described wealth of Solomon and his kingdom
was discovered in ancient silver hoards,
which were found in Israel and Phoenicia and recognized for their importance in 2003.
The evidence from the hoards shows that the Levant was a center of wealth
in precious metals during the reigns of Solomon and Hiram,
and matches the texts that say the trade extended from Asia to the Atlantic Ocean.
Of the two genealogies of Jesus given in the Gospels,
Matthew mentions Solomon, but Luke does not.
Some commentators see this as an issue that can be reconciled while others disagree.
For instance, it has been suggested that Matthew is using Joseph's genealogy and Luke is using Mary's,
Jesus refers to Solomon, using him for comparison in his admonition against worrying about life.
This account is recorded in Matthew 6.29 and the parallel passage in Luke 12.27.
