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SOLOMON1 (loth century B.C.)
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See also:SOLOMON1 (loth See also:century B.C.) , the son of See also:David by Bathsheba, and his successor in the See also:kingdom of See also:Israel. The many floating and fragmentary notes of various See also:dates that have found a See also:place in the See also:account of his reign in the See also:book of See also:Kings (q.v.) show how much See also:Hebrew tradition was occupied with the monarch under whom the See also:throne of Israel reached its highest See also:glory; and that See also:time only magnified in popular See also:imagination the proportions of so striking a figure appears from the opinions entertained of him in subsequent writings. The magnificence and See also:wisdom of See also:Solomon (cf. Matt. vi. 29; See also:Luke xi. 31) and the splendour of his reign See also:present a vivid contrast to the troublous ages which precede and follow him, although the Biblical records prove, on closer inspection, to contain so many incongruous elements that it is very difficult to See also:form a just estimate of his See also:life and See also:character. A full account is given of the circumstances of the See also: The See also:episode forms the prelude to See also:family rivalries. David's first-See also:born, Amnon, perished at the hands of the third son, See also:Absalom, who lost his life in his revolt (2 Sam. xiii.–xx.). The second, Chileab, is not mentioned in the See also:history, and the See also:fate of the fourth, who regarded himself as the future king, is described in 1 Kings i., ii. Bathsheba, relying upon David's promise that Solomon should succeed him, vigorously advanced her son's claims with the support of Zadok the See also:priest, the military officer Benaiah, and David's bodyguard; See also:Adonijah, for his See also:part, had David's old priest See also:Abiathar, the See also:commander See also:Joab, and the men of See also:Judah. A more serious See also:breach could scarcely be imagined. The adherents of Solomon gained the See also:day, and with his accession a new regime was inaugurated, not, however, without bloodshed. Solomon's See also:age at his accession is not recorded. The tradition that he was only twelve (1 Kings ii. 12 See also:Septuagint; or fourteen, Jos. See also:Ant. viii. 7, 8) may See also:rest upon iii. 7 (" I am but a little child "; if this is not See also:hyperbole), or upon the See also:chronological See also:scheme embodied in 2 Sam. xiii. 23, 38, xiv. 28, xv. 7. It agrees with his subordinate position in portions of ch. i., but his See also:independent actions in ch. ii. suggest a more mature age, and according to xi. 42, xiv. 21, his son See also:Rehoboam was already born (but contrast again xii. 24 Septuagint, 2 Chron. xiii. 7). See further, Ency. Bib. See also:col. 4681, n. 5. ' Heb. Shelomoh, as though " his See also:peace "; but the true meaning is uncertain; See also:evidence for its connexion with the name of a See also:god is given by H. Winckler and Zimmern, Keilinscltr.tu. das AM Test., 3rd ed., pp. 224, 474 seq. The See also:English form follows the Zo 4jwv of N.T. and ,See also:Josephus; the See also:Lat. Salomo agrees with lsM.'pwv one of several variant forms shown in See also:MSS. of the LXX.). The acute observation that 2 Sam. ix.-ax.; 2 Kings i. ii. 1-9, 13 sqq., were evidently incorporated after the Deuteronomic redaction of the books of See also:Samuel (K. Budde, Samuel, p. xi.) is See also:con-firmed by the framework of Kings with its annalistic material similar to that preserved in 2 Sam. v.-viii., xxi.-xxiv. ; I Kings ii. 10-12. With this may belong iii. 3 (the compiler's See also:judgment) ; and especially v. 3 sqq., where reference is made to David's incessant See also:wars (2 Sam. viii.). That 2 Sam. ix.—xx., &c., had previously been omitted by the Deuteronomic redactor himself (Budde) cannot be proved. These See also:post-Deuteronomic narratives preserve older material, but with several traces of revision, so that I Kings i. ii. now narrate both the end of David's reign and the rise of Solomon (see I. Benzinger's commentary on Kings, p. xi.; C. Holzhey, See also:Buch d. K(Mige, p. 17). The latter, however, is their present aim, and some See also:attempt appears to have been made in them to exculpate one whose accession finds a Judaean parallel in See also:Jehoram (2 Chron. xxi. 1—4). Thus it has been held that David's charges (ii. 1—9) were written to absolve Solomon, and there is little See also:probability in the See also:story that Adonijah after his See also:pardon really requested the hand of Abishag (ii. 13-25), since in See also:Oriental ideas this would be at once viewed as a distinct encroachment upon Solomon's rights as heir (cf. W. R. See also: He is also credited with an See also:interest in See also:botany and natural history (iv. 33), and later Jewish See also:legend improved this by ascribing to him lordship over all beasts and birds and the See also:power of understanding their speech. To this it added the See also:sovereignty over demons, from a wrong See also:interpretation of See also:Eccles. ii. 8 (see See also:Lane, Arabian Nights, introd., n. 21, and ch. 1, n. 25). As his fame spread abroad, See also:people came to hear his wisdom, and costly presents were showered upon him. The sequel was the visit of the See also:Queen of Sheba (I Kings iv. 29-34; x.). The interesting narrative appears in another See also:light when we consider Solomon's commercial activity and the trading intercourse between See also:Palestine and See also:south See also:Arabia.2 His wealth was in proportion to his wisdom. Trading journeys .were conducted with Phoenician help to See also:Ophir and Tarshish. With the See also:horse-breeding districts of the See also:north he traded in horses and chariots (x. 28 seq.; see See also:MIZRAIM), and See also:gold accumulated in such enormous quantities that the income for one See also:year may be reckoned at about £4,100,000 in See also:weight (x. II seq., 14 sqq.). See also:Silver was regarded as stones; the See also:precious cedars of See also:Lebanon as sycamores. His See also:realm extended from Tiphsah (See also:Thapsacus) on the See also:Euphrates to the See also:borders of Egypt (iv. 21, 24), and it agrees with this that he gains important conquests in the north (2 Chron. viii. 3 seq.; but see 1 Kings ix. 18). He maintained a very large See also:harem (xi.), and among his wives was the daughter of an See also:Egyptian See also:Pharaoh. For his distinguished con-sort, who brought See also:Gezer as a See also:dowry, a See also:special See also:palace was built (iii. 1, ix. 16, 24), and this was only one of many See also:building enter-prises. The description of the magnificent See also:temple of See also:Jerusalem, 1 For See also:parallels, see R. See also:Flint in See also:Hastings's Did. Bib. iv. 562, n. 1. For the Pompeian See also:wall-See also:painting representing Solomon's judgment (the figures are pygmies!), see A. Jeremias, Altes Test. See also:im Lichte d. alt. ()mats 2nd ed., p. 492 seq. (with See also:illustration and references). 2 For See also:Mahommedan stories of Solomon, the See also:hoopoe and the queen of Sheba, see the See also:Koran, Sur. See also:xxvii., which closely follows the second See also:Targum to See also:Esther i. 2, where the Jewish fables may be read in full. On this story, see also J. Ha16vy, E°See also:cole pratique See also:des hautes etudes (1905), pp. 5-24, and the See also:Chinese parallel in the Mittheilungen of the See also:Berlin Seminar for Oriental See also:Languages (1904), vii. i. pp. 117—172. For the See also:late legends of Solomon see M. Granbaum, Neue Beitrage zur semit. See also:Sage, pp. 198—237 (See also:Leiden, 1893) ; G. Salzberger, See also:Die Salomo-Sage in der semitischen Literatur (Berlin, 1907).which occupies considerable space in Solomon's history (v.–viii.), appears in more elaborate form in the chronicler's later See also:work. The detailed See also:record stands in contrast to the brief account of his other buildings, e.g. the palace, which, from an Oriental point of view, was of the first importance (vii. 1-12). But the Temple and palace were adjoining buildings, separated only by a wall (cf. Ezek. xlii. 20, xliii. 7 seq.), and it cannot be said that the former had originally the prominence now ascribed to it. Nor can the accounts given by Deuteronomic writers of its significance for the religious See also:worship of Israel be used for an estimate of contemporary See also:religion (v. 1-6, viii.). Whatever David had instituted at Jerusalem, it is at See also:Gibeon that Solomon observed the opening sacrificial ceremonies, and there he received the divine See also:revelation, " for that was the See also:great high-place " (iii. 4 sqq.). Though this is justified by a late writer (iii. 2), subsequent history shows that the high-places, like the altars to See also:heathen deities in Jerusalem itself, See also:long remained undisturbed; it was the Deuteronomic See also:reformation, ascribed to See also:Josiah, which marked the great advance in the religion of Yahweh, and under its See also:influence the history of the See also:monarchy has been compiled. Moreover, with the emphasis which is laid upon the Jerusalem Temple is to be associated the new superiority of Zadok, the traditional ancestor of the Zadokites, the Jerusalem priests, whose supremacy over the other Levitical families only enters into the history of a much later age (see See also:LEVITES). In fact, Solomon, the pious See also:saint, is not the 3oiomon of the earlier writings. See also:Political, commercial and matrimonial alliances inevitably See also:left their See also:mark upon See also:national religion, and the introduction of See also:foreign cults which ensued is characteristically viewed as an See also:apostasy from Yahweh of which he was guilty in his old age? The Deuteronomic writer finds in it the cause of the subsequent separation of the two kingdoms (xi. 1-13), and he connects it with certain See also:external troubles which prove to have affected the whole course of his reign. The See also:general impression of Solomon's position in history is in fact seriously disturbed when the composite writings are closely viewed. On the one See also:side we see genial See also:internal conditions prevailing in the See also:land (iv. 20, 25), or the exalted position of the Israelites as officials and overseers, while the remnant of the pre-Israelite inhabitants serve in labour gangs (ix. 20 sqq.). On the other hand is the See also:mass of toiling Israelites, whose oppressed See also:condition is a prelude to the later dissensions (1 Kings v. 13 sqq.; cf. r Kings xii.; see the divergent tradition in 2 Chron. ii.). The description of Solomon's See also:administration not only ignores the tribal divisions which See also:play an important part in the separation of Israel from Judah (xii. 16; cf. 2 Sam. xix. 43-xx. 2), but represents a kingdom of modest dimensions in which Judah apparently is not included. Some north Judaean cities might be named (iv. 9 seq.), but south Judah and See also:Hebron the seat of David's See also:early power find no place, and it would seem as though the See also:district which had shared in the revolt of Adonijah was freed from the See also:duty of furnishing supplies. But the document has intricate textual peculiarities and may be the Judaean See also:adaptation of a See also:list originally written from the standpoint of the north-Israelite monarchy. Further See also:speculation is caused when it is found that Solomon fortifies such cities as Megiddo, Beth-horon and Tamar, and that the Egyptian Pharaoh had slain the Canaanites of Gezer (ix. 15 sqq.). We learn, also, that See also:Hadad, a See also:young Edomite See also:prince, had escaped the sanguinary See also:campaign in the reign of David (2 Sam. viii. 13 seq.), and had taken See also:refuge in Egypt. He was kindly received by Pharaoh, who gave him the See also:sister of his queen Tahpenes to wife. On David's death he returned and ruled over See also:Edom, thus not merely controlling the See also:port of Elath and the See also:trade-routes, but even (according to the Septuagint) oppressing Israel (xi. 14-22, 25, see Septuagint on v. 22) .4 Moreover, an Aramaean dependant ' On the relation between trade and religion in old Oriental life, see the valuable remarks by G. A. Smith, Ency. Bib. col. 5157 seq. * The narrative contains composite features (see the literature cited in See also:article KINGS). There is a curious resemblance between one form of the story and the Septuagint account of the rise of See also:Jeroboam (q.v.). of Hadadezer, king of Zobah, to the north of Palestine (see David's See also:war, 2 Sam. viii. 3 sqq., x. 6 sqq.), deserted his See also:lord, raised a See also:band of followers and eventually captured See also:Damascus, where he established a new See also:dynasty. Like Hadad, " he was an adversary to Israel all the days of Solomon " (xi. 23-25). To these notices must also be added the cession of territory in north Palestine to Hiram, king of See also:Phoenicia (ix. II). It is parenthetically explained as See also:payment for building materials, which, how-ever, are otherwise accounted for (v. 6, i1); or it was sold for 120 talents of gold (nearly £750,000 See also:sterling), presumably to assist Solomon in continuing his varied enterprises—but the true nature of the transaction has been obscured, although the consequences involved in the loss of the territory are unmistakable. If these situations can with difficulty find a place in our picture of Solomon's might, it is clear that some of them form the natural introduction to the subsequent history, when his death brought internal discontent to a See also:head, when the north under jeroboam refused See also:allegiance to the south, and when the divided monarchy enters upon its eventful career by the side of the independent states of Edom, Damascus and Phoenicia. It is now generally recognized in histories of the Old Testament that a proper estimate of Solomon's reign cannot start from narratives which represent the views of Deuteronomic writers, although, in so far as late narratives may rest upon older material more in accordance with the circumstances of their age, attempts are made to present reconstructions from a See also:combination of various elements. Among the See also:recent See also:critical attempts to recover the underlying traditions may be mentioned those of T. K. See also:Cheyne (Ency. Bib., See also:art. " Solomon ") and H. Winckler (Keilinschr. u. d. Altc Test., 3rd. ed., pp. 233 sqq.). But, in general, where the traditions are manifestly in a later form they are in agreement with later backgrounds, and it is questionable whether earlier forms can be safely recovered when it is held that they have been rewritten or when the See also:historical See also:kernel has been buried in legend or myth. It is impossible not to be struck with the growing development of the Israelite tribes after the invasion of Palestine, their strong position under David, the sudden expansion of the Hebrew monarchy under Solomon, and the subsequent slow decay, and this, indeed, is the picture as it presented itself to the last writers who found in the glories of the past both See also:consolation for the present and grounds for future hopes. But this is not the See also:original picture, and, since very contradictory representations of Solomon's reign can be clearly discerned, it is necessary in the 'first instance to view them in the light of an independent examination of the history of the preceding and following periods where, again, serious fluctuation of standpoint is found. Much therefore depends upon the estimate which is formed of the position of David (q.v.). See also See also:JEws: History, § 7 seq ; PALESTINE: Old Testament History. On Solomon's relation to philosophical and proverbial literature, see See also:PROVERBS. Another aspect of his character appears in the remarkable " See also:Song of Solomon," on which see See also:CANTICLES. Still another phase is represented in the See also:monologue of See also:Ecclesiastes (q.v.) In the Book of Wisdom, again, the See also:composition of an Egyptian Hellenist, who from internal evidence is judged to have lived somewhat earlier than See also:Philo, Solomon is introduced uttering words of admonition, imbued with the spirit of See also:Greek philosophers, to heathen sovereigns. The so-called Psalter of Solomon, on the other hand, a collection of Pharisee See also:psalms written in Hebrew soon after the taking of Jerusalem by See also:Pompey, and preserved to us only in a Greek version, has nothing to do with Solomon or the traditional conception of his See also:person, and seems to owe its name to a transcriber who thus distinguished these newer pieces from the older " Psalms of David " (see SOLOMON, PSALMS or). (S. A. Additional information and CommentsThere are no comments yet for this article.
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