King Solomon
The Wisest King
Around 970 BC, the young son of David and Bathsheba ascended the throne of a united Israel and inaugurated the most splendid reign in the ancient Near East. Solomon — diplomat, builder, poet, sage — constructed the First Temple in Jerusalem, forged trade networks from the Red Sea to Phoenicia, received the Queen of Sheba, composed three thousand proverbs and a thousand songs, and presided over an era of unprecedented peace and prosperity. His reign is also a cautionary tale: the wisest king in history let foreign wives turn his heart from the God who had granted him wisdom, and the kingdom he built was torn apart within weeks of his death.
“Vanity of vanities; all is vanity.”
c. 990–931 BC
Born in Jerusalem as the son of King David and Bathsheba. God named him Jedidiah — 'beloved of the Lord.' Ascended the throne at approximately twenty and reigned forty years before his death triggered the kingdom's division.
7 years
Built the First Temple in Jerusalem from the fourth to the eleventh year of his reign — a structure of dressed stone, Lebanese cedar, and gold that housed the Ark of the Covenant for nearly four centuries.
666 talents
Roughly twenty-five tons of gold per year, excluding trade revenues, merchant taxes, and tribute from subject peoples. Silver became 'as common as stones' in Jerusalem during his reign.
3,000+
Traditionally credited with three thousand proverbs and one thousand and five songs. Three books in the Hebrew Bible bear his name: Proverbs, Song of Songs, and Ecclesiastes.
Building the First Temple, legendary wisdom, the Judgment of Solomon, trade empire, Proverbs and Ecclesiastes
Defining Events
The Judgment of Solomon
Two women claimed the same living child. Solomon called for a sword and ordered the baby divided — knowing the true mother would rather surrender her son than see him killed. When one woman cried out to spare the child, Solomon gave the baby to her. The judgment became the archetypal test of wisdom, and 'all Israel stood in awe, for they perceived that the wisdom of God was in him.'
The First Temple Dedicated
After seven years of construction involving 180,000 labourers, Solomon dedicated the Temple with sacrifices beyond counting. The kavod — the glory of the Lord — descended as a cloud so thick the priests could not stand to minister. Solomon knelt before the altar and prayed the longest prayer in the Hebrew Bible, asking God to hear all who would come to this house.
The Visit of the Queen of Sheba
A queen from southwestern Arabia crossed fifteen hundred miles of desert to test Solomon with hard questions and see his kingdom for herself. When she saw the Temple, the palace, the court, and the wisdom of the king, 'there was no more breath in her.' She gave Solomon 120 talents of gold and spices in unprecedented quantities. Ethiopian tradition holds that their union produced Menelik I, founder of the Solomonic dynasty.
Timeline
Born in Jerusalem
Born as the second son of David and Bathsheba, after the death of their first child. God sent word through Nathan the prophet to name him Jedidiah — 'beloved of the Lord' — a sign of divine favour after the scandal of his parents' union.
Anointed King at the Gihon Spring
When David's eldest surviving son Adonijah attempted a coup, Bathsheba and Nathan the prophet intervened. David ordered Solomon mounted on the royal mule and anointed at the Gihon Spring by Zadok the priest. The people shouted 'Long live King Solomon!' and the earth split with the noise.
Secures the Throne
Following David's deathbed instructions, Solomon executed Adonijah after a second bid for power, banished the priest Abiathar, and had Joab killed at the altar for his murders of Abner and Amasa. Shimei was confined to Jerusalem and later executed for violating the terms.
The Dream at Gibeon
At the great high place of Gibeon, God appeared to Solomon in a dream and offered him anything. Solomon asked for a 'listening heart' — lev shome'a — to govern justly. God granted wisdom and added wealth and honour beyond any king's. The Judgment of the Two Mothers followed shortly after, establishing Solomon's reputation across Israel.
Temple Construction Begins
In the fourth year of his reign, in the month of Ziv, Solomon began building the Temple on Mount Moriah. Hiram of Tyre supplied cedar and cypress from Lebanon; 180,000 labourers worked in rotating shifts. No sound of hammer or chisel was heard at the site — all stone was dressed at the quarry.
Temple Completed and Dedicated
After seven years, the Temple was finished. Solomon assembled all Israel, the priests carried the Ark into the Holy of Holies, and the glory of the Lord filled the house as a cloud. Fire came down from heaven. Solomon prayed the great dedicatory prayer and held a fourteen-day festival.
The Queen of Sheba Visits
The queen crossed 1,500 miles of desert from southern Arabia with camels bearing gold, spices, and precious stones. She tested Solomon with hard questions, was overwhelmed by his wisdom and wealth, and gave him 120 talents of gold. 'The half was not told me,' she said.
Height of the Trade Empire
Solomon's fleet at Ezion-geber, crewed by Phoenician sailors, sailed to Ophir and returned with gold, ivory, apes, and peacocks. He brokered horse and chariot sales between Egypt and the Hittites. Annual gold revenue reached 666 talents. Silver became as common as stones in Jerusalem.
The Turning Point
Solomon's seven hundred wives and three hundred concubines turned his heart after foreign gods. He built high places for Chemosh of Moab and Molech of Ammon on the Mount of Olives, in sight of the Temple. God appeared a second time — not with an offer, but with judgment: the kingdom would be torn from his son's hand.
Death and Division
Solomon died after forty years on the throne and was buried in the City of David. His son Rehoboam refused the northern tribes' plea for lighter burdens, and the kingdom split: ten tribes followed Jeroboam, one remained with the house of David. Within five years, Pharaoh Shishak plundered the Temple.
Key Figures
Hiram of Tyre
King of the Phoenician city-state of Tyre, who had been David's ally and became Solomon's indispensable partner. Hiram supplied the cedar and cypress timber for the Temple, provided the master craftsman Huram-abi for the bronze work, and contributed experienced sailors for Solomon's Red Sea fleet. In exchange, Solomon sent twenty thousand cors of wheat and twenty cors of beaten oil annually — the agricultural surplus of Israel traded for the resources of the Phoenician coast. Their alliance made both kingdoms rich.
The Queen of Sheba
A queen from the incense-trading kingdom of Saba in southwestern Arabia, who crossed fifteen hundred miles of desert to test Solomon's wisdom and negotiate trade agreements. She arrived with a vast retinue bearing gold, spices, and precious stones, and left declaring that 'the half was not told me.' Ethiopian tradition identifies her as Makeda and claims she bore Solomon a son, Menelik I, who founded the Solomonic dynasty that ruled Ethiopia until 1974.
The Legacy of King Solomon
Solomon's legacy is the central paradox of the Hebrew Bible: the wisest man who ever lived made the most catastrophic mistake a king of Israel could make. He built the Temple — the dwelling place of God on earth — and then built shrines to foreign gods on the hill opposite it. He composed three thousand proverbs on the art of righteous living and then violated the most fundamental commandment of the law. He asked God for a listening heart and then stopped listening.
Yet the wisdom endured. The Proverbs are still taught. The Song of Songs is still read on Passover. Ecclesiastes — that brutally honest meditation on the vanity of human striving — is still read on the Feast of Tabernacles, the same festival during which Solomon dedicated the Temple three thousand years ago. The words outlasted the gold. Read his story in his own words — the first-person ePub brings you inside Solomon's mind, from the Gihon Spring to the high places on the Mount of Olives.
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