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103-606: Solomon ( / ˈ s ɒ l ə m ə n / ), also called Jedidiah , was the fourth monarch of the Kingdom of Israel and Judah , according to the Hebrew Bible and the Old Testament . The successor of his father David , he is described as having been the penultimate ruler of all Twelve Tribes of Israel under an amalgamated Israel and Judah . The hypothesized dates of Solomon's reign are from 970 to 931 BCE. According to

206-713: A 'Dark Age' (Muhly 1998). 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. However, no material evidence indisputably of Solomon's reign has been found. Yigael Yadin 's excavations at Hazor , Megiddo , Beit Shean and Gezer uncovered structures that he and others have argued date from Solomon's reign, but others, such as Israel Finkelstein and Neil Silberman , argue that they should be dated to

309-425: A Low Chronology for the stratigraphy of Iron Age Israel. Finkelstein's model would push stratigraphic dates assigned by the conventional chronology by up to a century later, so Finkelstein concluded that much of the monumental architecture characterizing Israel in the 10th century BCE that biblical United Monarchy has been traditionally associated with instead belongs to the 9th century. Finkelstein wrote that "Accepting

412-459: A beautiful young woman throughout all the territory of Israel, and found Abishag the Shunamite , and brought her to the king. The young woman was very beautiful, and she was of service to the king and attended 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

515-580: A clay bulla , or inscribed seal, of Jehucal , son of Shelemiah, son of Shevi, an official mentioned at least twice in the Book of Jeremiah . In July 2008, she also found a second bulla, belonging to Gedaliah ben Pashhur, who is mentioned together with Jehucal in Jeremiah 38:1. Amihai Mazar called the find "something of a miracle." He has said that he believes the building may be the Fortress of Zion that David

618-468: A country under centralized governance but rather as tribal chiefdom over a small polity in Judah, disconnected from the north's Israelite tribes. The rival chronology of Israeli archaeologist Amihai Mazar places the relevant period beginning in the early 10th century BCE and ending in the mid-9th century BCE, addressing the problems of the traditional chronology while still aligning pertinent findings with

721-413: A difference of one year at most. Nathan (son of David) Nathan was the first child of Bathsheba that she was given the right to name. Her first child died as an infant before being given a name, and Shammuah and Shobab were given names by David and Nathan the prophet . Biblical writer Carl Hagensick suggests that she chose the name Nathan in honour of Nathan the prophet, her counselor. Nathan

824-466: 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. Perhaps the best known story of his wisdom is the Judgement of Solomon ; two women each lay claim to being the mother of

927-458: A political union between them existed, it might have had no practical effect on their relationship. In the biblical account, David embarks on successful military campaigns against the enemies of Judah and Israel and defeats such regional entities as the Philistines to secure his borders. Israel grows from kingdom to empire, its military and political sphere of influence expanding to control

1030-475: A polity extending as far north as Jezreel and as far south as Hebron and reaching a border with Gath, with a capital located in Gibeon rather than Jerusalem. According to Dever, such a polity is a united monarchy in its own right, ironically confirming the biblical tradition. In addition, he rejected the notion that Gibeon was the capital of such polity since there is "no clear archaeological evidence of occupation in

1133-547: Is Naamah the Ammonite , mother of Solomon's successor, Rehoboam . The biblical narrative notes with disapproval that Solomon permitted his foreign wives to import their national deities, building temples to Ashtoreth and Milcom . In the branch of literary analysis that examines the Bible, called higher criticism , the story of Solomon falling into idolatry by the influence of Pharaoh's daughter and his other foreign wives

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1236-400: Is "customarily seen as the handiwork of the 'deuteronomistic historian(s)' ", who are held to have written, compiled, or edited texts to legitimize the reforms of Hezekiah 's great-grandson, King Josiah who reigned from about 641 to 609 BCE (over 280 years after Solomon's death according to Bible scholars). Scholarly consensus in this field holds that "Solomon's wives/women were introduced in

1339-629: Is a son born to David and Bathsheba. The first book of the Books of Chronicles has a passage that states the sons of David born to him in Hebron , before recounting their sons and then nine more sons and one daughter of David who were also born to him in Jerusalem. 1 Chronicles 3:1-4 states "These were the sons of David born to him in Hebron: The firstborn was Amnon the son of Ahinoam of Jezreel;

1442-465: Is almost surely an anachronistic exaggeration. As for Solomon himself, scholars on both the maximalist and minimalist sides of the spectrum of biblical archeology generally agree that he probably existed. However, a historically accurate picture of the Davidic king is difficult to construct. According to some archaeologists, Solomon could have only been the monarch or chieftain of Judah, and that

1545-505: Is also hotly debated. While the current consensus allows for a historical Solomon, it regards his reign as king over the United Monarchy in the tenth century BCE as uncertain and the biblical description of his apparent empire's lavishness as most probably a massive anachronistic exaggeration. According to the biblical account, on the succession of Solomon's son Rehoboam , the United Monarchy split into two separate kingdoms:

1648-606: Is also revered in Christianity and Islam . In the New Testament , he is portrayed as a teacher of wisdom, though excelled by Jesus of Nazareth , and as arrayed in glory, but excelled by "the lilies of the field ". In the Quran , he is considered to be a major Islamic prophet . In mostly non-biblical circles, Solomon also came to be known as a magician and an exorcist, with numerous amulets and medallion seals dating from

1751-522: Is consistent with the former existence of a unified state on its terrain." On August 4, 2005, archaeologist Eilat Mazar announced that she had discovered in Jerusalem what may have been the palace of King David . Now referred to as the Large Stone structure , Mazar's discovery consists of a public building she dated from the 10th century BCE, a copper scroll, pottery from the same period, and

1854-404: 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

1957-572: Is mentioned as the son of David in 2 Samuel 5:14 and in 1 Chronicles 3:5 and 14:4 . Throughout the Hebrew Bible, Nathan is referred to when listing the sons of David. First in 2 Samuel 5:14, "And these be the names of those that were born to him in Jerusalem; Shammuah, and Shobab, and Nathan, and Solomon," In 1 Chronicles 3:5 "And these were born to him in Jerusalem: Shimea, and Shobab, and Nathan, and Solomon, four, of Bathshua

2060-427: Is never named. It is therefore possible that he was called Shimea (or Shammua 1 Chronicles 14:4, and 2 Samuel 5:5 ) but equally possible, more likely even, that this is a surviving son, although the Bible does not mention him again. We also know from 2 Samuel 12:24 that Solomon was their second son. Assuming that Solomon is mentioned last as the most important, if the others are listed in order this would make Nathan

2163-451: Is no ultimate consensus between the different factions and scholarly disciplines concerned with the period as to when it is depicted as having begun or when it ended. Most biblical scholars follow either of the older chronologies established by American archaeologists William F. Albright and Edwin R. Thiele or the newer one by Israeli historian Gershon Galil . Thiele's chronology generally corresponds with Galil's chronology below, with

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2266-478: Is said to have been spectacularly opulent and possessed moving parts, making it one of the earliest mechanical devices in history. It is said that "Nothing like it (the throne) had ever been made for any other kingdom." Solomon also constructed great water works for the city, and the Millo ( Septuagint , Acra ) for the defense of the city. However, excavations of Jerusalem have discovered no monumental architecture from

2369-433: Is said to have captured. Other scholars are skeptical that the foundation walls are from David's palace. Garfinkel also claimed to have discovered David's palace in 2013, 25 kilometres away, at Khirbet Qeiyafa . Excavations at Khirbet Qeiyafa, an Iron Age site in Judah, found an urbanized settlement radiocarbon dated well before scholars such as Finkelstein suggest that urbanization had begun in Judah, which supports

2472-552: Is still there, guarded by a single dedicated priest. The claim of such a lineage and of possession of the Ark was an important source of legitimacy and prestige for the Ethiopian monarchy through the centuries, and had important and lasting effects on Ethiopian culture . The Ethiopian government and church deny all requests to view the alleged ark. Some classical-era Rabbis, attacking Solomon's moral character, have claimed instead that

2575-487: Is suggested in Scripture that this was 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. The biblical narrative shows that 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

2678-592: Is that Nathan is the ancestor of the Virgin Mary , while Solomon is the ancestor of Mary's husband Joseph . The blood curse on the line of Jeconiah who was a descendant in the line of Solomon, so the genealogy in Matthew is tainted with a blood curse from Jeconiah all the way to Joseph. No descendant of Jeconiah would qualify as King of Israel. Another explanation for these differences is yibbum , as offered by John of Damascus: "One ought also to observe this, that

2781-717: Is traditionally ascribed authorship of the Wisdom of Solomon which is included in the Scriptures of the Eastern Orthodox and Catholic Church, but is considered apocryphal in Protestant traditions. According to the Hebrew Bible, 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

2884-635: 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, Solomon is described in the biblical narrative as erecting many other buildings of importance in Jerusalem . For 13 years, 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: Solomon's throne

2987-495: The Deuteronomistic history in the Hebrew Bible , a United Monarchy or United Kingdom of Israel existed under the reigns of Saul , Ish-bosheth , David , and Solomon , encompassing the territories of both the later kingdoms of Judah and Israel . Whether the United Monarchy existed—and, if so, to what extent—is a matter of ongoing academic debate. During the 1980s, some biblical scholars began to argue that

3090-506: The Hellenistic period invoking his name. The life of Solomon is primarily described in 2   Samuel , 1   Kings and 2   Chronicles . His two names are traditionally taken to mean " peaceful " and " friend of God ", both considered "predictive of the character of his reign". A 2023 textbook described three possibilities for the etymology of Solomon’s name: “compensation or a substitute,” “the ruler of peace,” or based on

3193-543: The Kingdom of Israel in the north, containing the cities of Shechem and Samaria ; and the Kingdom of Judah in the south, containing Jerusalem and the Jewish Temple . In the 1980s, a few biblical scholars began to assert that the archaeological evidence for an extensive kingdom before the late 8th century BCE is too weak, and that the methodology used to obtain the evidence is flawed. In 1995 and 1996, Israel Finkelstein published two papers where he proposed

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3296-643: The Omride period, more than a century after Solomon. According to Finkelstein and Silberman, authors of The Bible Unearthed : Archaeology's New Vision of Ancient Israel and the Origin of Its Sacred Texts , at the time of the kingdoms of David and Solomon, Jerusalem was populated by only a few hundred residents or less, which is insufficient for an empire stretching from the Euphrates to Eilath . According to The Bible Unearthed , archaeological evidence suggests that

3399-467: The Testament of Solomon , part of biblical apocrypha from the 1st century CE. The historicity of Solomon is widely debated. Current scholarly consensus allows for a historical Solomon, but regards his reign as king over Israel and Judah in the 10th century BCE as uncertain and the biblical description of his apparent empire's lavishness as most probably a massive anachronistic exaggeration . Solomon

3502-468: The united Kingdom of Israel . After a reign of forty years (1 Kings 11:42), he died of natural causes, at around 55 years of age. 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

3605-599: The 'Josianic' (customarily Dtr) edition of Kings as a theological construct to blame the schism [between Judah and the Northern Kingdom of Israel] on his misdeeds". In a brief, unelaborated, and enigmatic passage, the Hebrew Bible describes how 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 ). Whether

3708-553: The 10th century BCE, but they cite the fact that the earliest independent reference to the Kingdom of Israel dates to about 890 BCE and that to the Kingdom of Judah dates to about 750 BCE. Some see the united monarchy as fabricated during the Babylonian Exile transforming David and Solomon from local folk heroes into rulers of international status. Finkelstein has posited a potential United Monarchy under Jeroboam II in

3811-551: The 8th century BCE, whereas the former one was potentially invented during the reign of Josiah to justify his territorial expansion. Finkelstein's views have been strongly criticized by Amihai Mazar; in response, Mazar proposed the Modified Conventional Chronology, which places the beginning of the Iron IIA period in the early 10th century and its end in the mid-9th century, solving the problems of

3914-401: The Bible depicts Rehoboam and the rest of Solomon's patrilineal descendants ruling over independent Judah alone. A Jewish prophet , Solomon is portrayed as wealthy, wise, powerful, and a dedicated follower of Yahweh ( God ), as attested by the eponymous Solomon's Temple , which was the first Temple in Jerusalem . He is also the subject of many later references and legends, most notably in

4017-711: The Bible. In his book, The Forgotten Kingdom (2016), Israel Finkelstein considered that Saul, originally from the Benjamin territory, had gained power in his natal Gibeon region around the 10th century BCE and that he conquered Jerusalem in the south and Shechem to the north, creating a polity dangerous to Egypt's geopolitical intentions. So, Shoshenq I , from Egypt, invaded the territory and destroyed this new polity, and installed David of Bethlehem in Jerusalem (Judah) and Jeroboam I in Shechem (Israel) as small local rulers who were vassals of Egypt. Finkelstein concludes that

4120-467: The High Chronology while still dating the archeological discoveries to the 10th century BCE. Finkelstein's Low Chronology and views about the monarchy have received strong criticism from other scholars, including Amnon Ben-Tor , William G. Dever , Kenneth Kitchen , Doron Ben-Ami , Raz Kletter and Lawrence Stager . Though Amélie Kuhrt acknowledges that "there are no royal inscriptions from

4223-544: 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 finally able to marry Bathsheba. As punishment, the first child, who was conceived during the adulterous relationship, died. Solomon was born after David was forgiven. It is this reason why his name, which means peace,

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4326-469: The Lord said to Solomon, "Since this has been your practice and you have not kept my covenant and my statutes that I have commanded you, I will surely tear the kingdom from you and will give it to your servant. Yet for the sake of David your father I will not do it in your days, but I will tear it out of the hand of your son. However, I will not tear away all the kingdom, but I will give one tribe to your son, for

4429-548: The Low Chronology means stripping the United Monarchy of monumental buildings, including ashlar masonry and proto-Ionic capitals" According to Finkelstein and Neil Silberman , the authors of The Bible Unearthed , ideas of a united monarchy is not accurate history but "creative expressions of a powerful religious reform movement" that are possibly "based on certain historical kernels." Finkelstein and Silberman accept that David and Solomon were real kings of Judah around

4532-792: The Middle-Euphrates etc. occurred in the mid-8th century BCE, placing a possible visit from the Queen of Sheba to Jerusalem around this time—some 250 years later than the timeframe traditionally given for king Solomon's reign. Seventeen years later, traces of cinnamon were found in Phoenician clay flasks from three small sites in the Israeli coastal plain dating from the 10th century BCE. The authors suggested that trade routes with South Asia existed much earlier than previously thought. Kingdom of Israel (united monarchy) According to

4635-575: The Phoenician king Hiram I of Tyre (see 'wealth' below); 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 the biblical king most famous for his wisdom. In 1   Kings he sacrificed to God, and God later appeared to him in

4738-486: The administration, including in religious positions as well as in civic and military posts. It is said that Solomon ascended to the throne when he was only about fifteen. Solomon greatly expanded his military strength, especially the cavalry and chariot arms. 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

4841-425: The archaeological evidence for an extensive kingdom before the late 8th century BCE is too weak, and that the methodology used to obtain the evidence is flawed. Scholars remain divided among those who support the historicity of the biblical narrative, those who doubt or dismiss it, and those who support the kingdom's theoretical existence while maintaining that the biblical narrative is exaggerated. Proponents of

4944-409: The area of what is now northern Ethiopia and Eritrea. In a Rabbinical account (e.g. Targum Sheni , Colloquy of the Queen of Sheba ), Solomon was accustomed to ordering animals to dance before him (a power granted by God), and upon summoning the mountain-cock or hoopoe (Aramaic name: nagar tura ), the bird told him it had discovered a land in the east, rich in gold, silver, and plants, whose capital

5047-499: The authors of the Bible suppressed the achievements of the Omrides (whom the Hebrew Bible describes as being polytheist ), and instead pushed them back to a supposed golden age of Judaism and monotheists, and devotees of Yahweh . Some Biblical minimalists like Thomas L. Thompson go further, arguing that Jerusalem became a city and capable of being a state capital only in the mid-7th century. Likewise, Finkelstein and others consider

5150-455: The biblical Eglon ) had uncovered an elite house (which he referred to as "the governor's residency"), whose foundations were dated by carbon-14 analysis in the late 11th–10th century BCE, the time usually ascribed to Saul, David and Solomon. Such dating would strengthen the thesis that a centralized state existed at the time of David. According to mainstream source criticism , several contrasting source texts were spliced together to produce

5253-455: The biblical account, 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, whereas he clung to his other wives and concubines "in love". The only wife mentioned by name

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5356-511: The biblical narrative, after Solomon's death, his son and successor Rehoboam adopted harsh policies towards the northern Israelites , who then rejected the reign of the House of David and sought Jeroboam as their king. In the aftermath of Jeroboam's Revolt , the Israelites were split between the Kingdom of Israel in the north ( Samaria ) and the Kingdom of Judah in the south ( Judea );

5459-409: The building programme. However, Israel Finkelstein's Low Chronology would propose to date them to the 9th century BCE. Yigael Yadin later concluded that the stables that had been believed to have served Solomon's vast collection of horses were built by King Ahab in the 9th century BCE. Following Solomon's death in c.  926 BCE , tensions between the northern part of Israel, containing

5562-435: The child was an ancestor of Nebuchadnezzar II , who destroyed Solomon's temple some 300 years later. Jewish scribes say that Solomon's teacher was Shimei ben Gera , and while he lived, he prevented Solomon from marrying foreign wives. The Talmud says at Ber. 8a: "For as long as Shimei the son of Gera was alive Solomon did not marry the daughter of Pharaoh" (see also Midrash Tehillim to Ps. 3:1). Solomon's execution of Shimei

5665-682: The cities of Shechem and Samaria , and the southern Kingdom of Judah , which contained Jerusalem. The Kingdom of Israel (or the Northern Kingdom or Samaria) existed as an independent state until 722 BCE when it was conquered by the Neo-Assyrian Empire . The Kingdom of Judah (or the Southern Kingdom) existed as an independent state until 586 BCE when it was conquered by the Neo-Babylonian Empire . Many alternative chronologies have been suggested, and there

5768-627: The claimed size of Solomon's temple implausible. André Lemaire states in Ancient Israel: From Abraham to the Roman Destruction of the Temple that the principal points of the biblical tradition of Solomon are generally trustworthy, although elsewhere he writes that he could find no substantiating archaeological evidence that supports the Queen of Sheba's visit to king Solomon, saying that the earliest records of trans-Arabian caravan voyages from Tayma and Sheba unto

5871-468: The current Books of Samuel. The most prominent sections in the early parts of the first book come from a pro-monarchical source and from an anti-monarchical source. By identifying both sources, two separate accounts can be reconstructed. The anti-monarchical source describes Samuel , having thoroughly routed the Philistines , as begrudgingly accepting the people's demand for a ruler and appointing Saul by cleromancy . The pro-monarchical source describes

5974-409: The daughter of Ammiel:" The last specific mention of Nathan appears in 1 Chronicles 14:4 "Now these are the names of his children which he had in Jerusalem; Shammua, and Shobab, Nathan, and Solomon," There are also instances in the Hebrew Bible where the name Nathan is mentioned, but it is unknown whether it is referring to Nathan the prophet or Nathan the son of David. One instance of this appears in

6077-481: The deified evening star Shalim . The conventional dates of Solomon's reign are derived from biblical chronology and are set from about 970 to 931 BCE . Regarding the Davidic dynasty , to which King Solomon belongs, its chronology can be checked against datable Babylonian and Assyrian records at a few points, and these correspondences have allowed archaeologists to date its kings in a modern framework. According to

6180-513: The discovery of part of the ancient city walls around the City of David, which she believes dates to the tenth century BCE. According to Mazar, "It's the most significant construction we have from First Temple days in Israel," and "It means that at that time, the 10th century, in Jerusalem, there was a regime capable of carrying out such construction." The 10th century is the period the Bible describes as

6283-586: The divinely-appointed birth of Saul (a single word being changed by a later editor so that it referred to Samuel) and his leading of an army to victory over the Ammonites , which resulted in the people clamouring for him to lead them against the Philistines when he is appointed king. Many scholars believe that the Books of Samuel exhibit too many anachronisms to have been a contemporary account. For example,

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6386-556: The early pseudoepigraphical work called the Testament of Solomon with its elaborate and grotesque demonology . As with most biblical personages in the middle era of Israelite society, the historicity of Solomon is hotly debated. Current consensus states that regardless of whether or not a man named Solomon truly reigned as king over the Judean hills in the tenth century BCE, the biblical description of his apparent empire's lavishness

6489-419: The era, and no remains of either the Temple or Solomon's palace have been found. 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. Although the location of the port of Ezion-Geber is known, no remains have ever been found. More archaeological success has been achieved with

6592-676: The establishment of a monarchy by anointing Saul. In the Second Book of Samuel , Saul's disobedience prompts Yahweh to curtail his reign and to hand his kingdom over to another dynasty, leading to Saul's death in battle against the Philistines. His heir Ish-bosheth rules for only two years before being assassinated. Though David was only the King of Judah, he ends the conspiracy and is appointed King of Israel in Ish-bosheth's place. Some textual critics and biblical scholars suggest that David

6695-581: The existence of an urbanized kingdom in the 10th century BCE. The Israel Antiquities Authority stated, "The excavations at Khirbat Qeiyafa reveal an urban society that existed in Judah already in the late eleventh century BCE. It can no longer be argued that the Kingdom of Judah developed only in the late eighth century BCE or at some other later date." The techniques and interpretations to reach some conclusions related to Khirbet Qeiyafa have been criticized by some scholars, such as Finkelstein and Alexander Fantalkin. In 2010, archaeologist Eilat Mazar announced

6798-480: The first book of the Book of Kings . In 1 Kings 4:5 it states "Azariah son of Nathan—in charge of the district governors;" when listing the chief officials of Israel under the reign of Solomon. The passage does not specify if it is the son of Nathan the prophet or Nathan the son of David. In the New Testament , the genealogy of Jesus according to the Gospel of Luke traces Jesus' lineage back to King David through

6901-509: The gap in Israelite history after the events described in Deuteronomy . Canaan State of Israel (1948–present) According to the biblical account, the united monarchy was formed when the elders of Israel expressed the desire for a king. God and Samuel seem to have a distaste for the monarchy, with God telling Samuel that "[Israel has] rejected me, that I should not be king over them." However, Samuel still proceeds with

7004-648: 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 ), a huge amount for a small nation like Israel. He gathered multitudes of horses and chariots from as far as Egypt, and as Deuteronomy 17 warns, took Israel back to Egypt in spirit. According to 1 Kings 11:30–34 and 1 Kings 11:9–13 , it

7107-486: The kingdom of Israel at the time of Solomon was little more than a small city state, and so it is implausible that Solomon received tribute as large as 666 talents of gold per year. Although both Finkelstein and Silberman accept that David and Solomon were real inhabitants of Judah about the 10th century BCE, they claim that the earliest independent reference to the Kingdom of Israel is about 890 BCE, and for Judah about 750 BCE. They suggest that because of religious prejudice,

7210-459: The kingdom's existence traditionally date it to between c.  1047 BCE and c.  930 BCE . In the 1990s, Israeli archaeologist Israel Finkelstein contended that existing archaeological evidence for the United Monarchy in the 10th century BCE should be dated to the 9th century BCE. This model placed the biblical kingdom in Iron Age I , suggesting that it was not functioning as

7313-417: The kings of Egypt and Tyre . The Gnostic Apocalypse of Adam , which may date to the 1st or 2nd century, refers to a legend in which Solomon sends out an army of demons to seek a virgin who had fled from him, perhaps the earliest surviving mention of the later common tale that Solomon controlled demons and made them his slaves. This tradition of Solomon's control over demons appears fully elaborated in

7416-426: The law was that when a man died without seed, this man's brother should take to wife the wife of the dead man and raise up seed to his brother." From this he proposes it is possible that "when Mathan died, Melchi, who was of the lineage of Nathan and the son of Levi and brother of Panther, married the wife of Mathan. It was she who was the mother of Jacob, and from her Melchi begot Heli. Thus, Jacob and Heli were born of

7519-714: The line of Nathan, while the Gospel of Matthew traces it through Solomon, the line of Joseph, his legal father. Specifically, in Luke 3:31 the genealogy of Jesus according to Luke, Jesus' lineage connects to Nathan through the biblical figure Heli , the son of Matthat. Meanwhile, the Gospel of Matthew makes no mention of Nathan. Rather, in Matthew 1:16 Jesus' lineage is connected to Jacob which eventually relates Jesus to Solomon rather than Nathan. One conventional explanation for these differences, from as early as John of Damascus ,

7622-410: The line of Nathan." One other explanation frequently proposed by modern scholars is that biblical genealogy is often based on theology rather than factual history. For example, the title "Son of God" is used frequently. However, this title would not have been used in the earliest Gospel writings. This explains the differences in genealogies, as Matthew and Luke wrote for different audiences. Nathan

7725-599: The major cities Solomon is said to have strengthened or rebuilt, for example, Hazor , Megiddo and Gezer . These all have substantial ancient remains, including impressive six-chambered gates, and ashlar palaces; however it is no longer the scholarly consensus that these structures date to the time, according to the Bible, when Solomon ruled. According to the Bible, 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 . According to

7828-592: The memory of a united monarchy was inspired by Saul's conquered territory serving first the ideal of a great united monarchy ruled by a northern king in the times of Jeroboam II and next to the idea of a united monarchy ruled from Jerusalem. In an article on the Biblical Archaeology Review , William G. Dever strongly criticized Finkelstein's theory, calling it full of "numerous errors, misrepresentations, over-simplifications and contradictions." Dever noted that Finkelstein proposes that Saul ruled

7931-531: The monarchy of Saul, the capital is in Gibeah . After Saul's death, Ish-bosheth rules over the Kingdom of Israel from Mahanaim , and David establishes the capital of the Kingdom of Judah in Hebron . After the civil war with Saul, David forges a powerful and unified Israelite monarchy and rules from c. 1000 to 961 BCE. Some modern archaeologists, however, believe that the two distinct cultures and geographic entities of Judah and Israel continued uninterrupted, and if

8034-512: The most widely used chronology, based on that by the Old Testament professor Edwin R. Thiele , the death of Solomon and the division of his kingdom would have occurred in the fall of 931 BCE. 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. It

8137-408: The northern kingdom was a separate development. Such positions have been criticized by other archaeologists and scholars, who argue that a united monarchy did exist in the 10th century BCE, while agreeing that the biblical account contains exaggerations. Historical evidence of King Solomon other than the biblical accounts has been so minimal that some scholars have understood the period of his reign as

8240-559: The passage is simply to provide a brief foreign witness of Solomon's wealth and wisdom, or whether the visit is meant to have more significance, is unknown; nevertheless the Queen of Sheba has become the subject of numerous stories. Sheba is typically identified as Saba , a nation once spanning the Red Sea on the coasts of what are now Eritrea , Somalia , Ethiopia and Yemen , in Arabia Felix ; although other sources place it in

8343-504: The reign of King Solomon . Not all archaeologists agree with Mazar, and archaeologist Aren Maeir is dubious about such claims and Mazar's dating. In the Jewish Study Bible (2014), Oded Lipschits states the concept of United Monarchy should be abandoned, while Aren Maeir believes there is insufficient evidence in support of the United Monarchy. In August 2015, Israeli archaeologists discovered massive fortifications in

8446-763: The role of David in the development of ancient Israel. In his books, Beyond the Texts (2018) and Has Archeology Buried the Bible? (2020), William G. Dever has defended the historicity of the United Monarchy, maintaining that the reigns of Saul, David and Solomon are "reasonably well attested." Similar arguments were advanced by Amihai Mazar in two essays written in 2010 and 2013, which point toward archaeological evidence emerged from excavation sites in Jerusalem by Eilat Mazar and in Khirbet Qeiyafa by Yosef Garfinkel . In 2018, archaeologist Avraham Faust announced that his excavations at Tel 'Eton (believed to be

8549-468: The ruins of the ancient city of Gath , supposed birthplace of Goliath . The size of the fortifications shows that Gath was a large city in the 10th century BCE, perhaps the largest in Canaan at the time. The professor leading the dig, Aren Maeir , estimated that Gath was as much as four times the size of contemporary Jerusalem, which cast doubt that David's kingdom could have been as powerful as described in

8652-467: The sake of David my servant and for the sake of Jerusalem that I have chosen. Near the end of his life, Solomon was beset by several enemies, including Hadad of Edom , Rezon of Zobah , and his own official Jeroboam of the tribe of Ephraim . King Solomon is a central biblical figure, who, according to the Hebrew Bible , was the builder of the First Temple in Jerusalem and the last ruler of

8755-474: 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 has traditionally been considered the author of several biblical books, including Proverbs , Ecclesiastes , and Song of Songs . He

8858-399: The same mother, but Jacob was of the lineage of Solomon, while Heli was of the lineage of Nathan. Heli, however, who was of the lineage of Nathan, died childless, and his brother Jacob, who was of the lineage of Solomon, took his wife and raised up seed for his brother and begot Joseph. So, while Joseph was by nature a son of Jacob of the descent of Solomon, he was by law son of Heli, who was of

8961-509: The second, Daniel the son of Abigail of Carmel; the third, Absalom the son of Maakah daughter of Talmai king of Geshur; the fourth, Adonijah the son of Haggith; the fifth, Shephatiah the son of Abital; and the sixth, Ithream, by his wife Eglah. These six were born to David in Hebron, where he reigned seven years and six months." It then lists 4 sons of David and Bathsheba. However we know that their first son died. In 2 Samuel 11 this son

9064-413: The ten northern tribes, and the southern section, dominated by Jerusalem and the southern tribes, reached a boiling point. When Solomon's son and successor Rehoboam dealt tactlessly with economic complaints of the northern tribes, in about 930 BCE (there are differences of opinion as to the actual year), the Kingdom of Israel and Judah splits into two kingdoms: the northern Kingdom of Israel , which included

9167-540: The tenth century, much less monumental architecture." Dever went as far as to dismiss Finkelstein's theory as "a product of his fantasy, stemmed by his obsession to prove that Saul, David and Solomon were not real kings and that the United Monarchy is an invention of a Judahite-biased biblical writer." Dever concluded by stating that "Finkelstein has not discovered a forgotten kingdom. He had invented it. The careful reader will nevertheless gain some insights into Israel—Israel Finkelstein, that is." Another more moderate review

9270-502: The text mentions later armour (1 Samuel 17:4–7, 38–39; 25:13), the use of camels (1 Samuel 30:17), cavalry (as distinct from chariotry ) (1 Samuel 13:5, 2 Samuel 1:6), and iron picks and axes (as if they were prevalent) (2 Samuel 12:31). Most scholars believe that the text of the Books of Samuel was compiled in the 8th century BCE - rather than in the 10th century when most of the events described took place - based on historical and legendary sources. The narrative served primarily to fill

9373-474: The time of Saul, David, and Solomon. Mazar's chronology and the traditional one have been fairly widely accepted, though there is no current consensus on the topic. Recent archaeological discoveries by Israeli archaeologists Eilat Mazar and Yosef Garfinkel in Jerusalem and Khirbet Qeiyafa , respectively, seem to support the existence of the United Monarchy, but the dating and identifications are not universally accepted. The historicity of Solomon and his rule

9476-451: The time of the united monarchy (indeed very little written material altogether) and not a single contemporary reference to either David or Solomon," she concludes, "Against this must be set the evidence for substantial development and growth at several sites, which is plausibly related to the tenth century." Kenneth Kitchen ( University of Liverpool ) reaches a similar conclusion, arguing that "the physical archaeology of tenth-century Canaan

9579-539: 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. According to Jewish tradition, King Solomon wrote three books of the Bible : The Hebrew word לשלמה appears in the title of two hymns (72 and 127) in the Psalms . This Hebrew word means "to Solomon", but it can also be translated as "by Solomon", thus suggesting to some that Solomon wrote

9682-687: The two psalms. Rabbinical tradition attributes the Book of Wisdom (included within the Septuagint ) to Solomon, although this book was probably written in the 2nd century BCE. In this work, Solomon is portrayed as an astronomer . Other books of wisdom poetry such as the Odes of Solomon and the Psalms of Solomon also bear his name. The Jewish historian Eupolemus , who wrote about 157 BCE, included copies of apocryphal letters exchanged between Solomon and

9785-761: The weaker client states of Philistia , Moab , Edom and Ammon , with Aramaean city-states Aram-Zobah and Aram-Damascus becoming vassal states. David is succeeded by his son Solomon, who obtains the throne in a somewhat-disreputable manner from the rival claimant Adonijah , his elder brother. Like David's Palace , Solomon's temple is designed and built with the assistance of Tyrian architects, skilled labourers, money, jewels, cedar and other goods obtained in exchange for land ceded to Tyre . Solomon goes on to rebuild numerous significant cities, including Megiddo , Hazor and Gezer . Some scholars have attributed aspects of archaeological remains excavated from these sites, including six-chambered gates and ashlar palaces, to

9888-474: Was a son who became Menelik I , King of Axum , and founded a dynasty that would reign as the Jewish, then Christian, Empire of Ethiopia which lasted 2900 years until Haile Selassie was overthrown in 1974. Menelik was said to be a practicing Jew who was given a replica of the Ark of the Covenant by King Solomon; and, moreover, that the original Ark was switched and went to Axum with him and his mother, and

9991-453: Was because of these sins that the Lord punished Solomon by removing most of the tribes of Israel from rule by Solomon's house. And the Lord was angry with Solomon, because his heart had turned away from the Lord, the God of Israel, who had appeared to him twice and had commanded him concerning this thing, that he should not go after other gods. But he did not keep what the Lord commanded. Therefore

10094-468: Was called Kitor and whose ruler was the Queen of Sheba. Solomon then sent the bird to request the queen's visit. An Ethiopian account from the 14th century ( Kebra Nagast ) maintains that the Queen of Sheba had sexual relations with King Solomon and gave birth beside the Mai Bella stream in the province of Hamasien , Eritrea . The Ethiopian tradition has a detailed account of the affair . The child

10197-588: Was chosen. Some historians cited that Nathan the Prophet brought up Solomon as his father was busy governing the realm. This could also be attributed to the notion that the prophet held great influence over David because he knew of his adultery , which was considered a grievous offense under the Mosaic Law . According to the First Book of Kings , when David was old, "he could not get warm". "So they sought

10300-403: Was his first descent into sin. According to 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 ,

10403-451: Was outmaneuvered by Bathsheba and the biblical prophet Nathan, who convinced David to proclaim Solomon king according to his earlier promise (not recorded elsewhere in the biblical narrative), 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

10506-536: Was responsible for the assassination and that his innocence was a later invention to legitimize his actions. Israel rebels against David and crowns David's son Absalom . David is forced into exile east of the Jordan River but eventually launches a successful counterattack, which results in the death of Absalom. Having retaken Judah and asserted control over Israel, David returns west of the Jordan. Throughout

10609-534: Was written in the same magazine by Aaron Burke: Burke described Finkelstein's book as "ambitious" and praised its literary style but did not accept his conclusions: according to Burke, Finkelstein's thesis is mainly based on his proposed Low Chronology, ignoring the criticism that it has received from scholars like Amihai Mazar , Christopher Bronk Ramsey and others, and engages in several speculations that archeology, biblical and extrabiblical sources cannot prove. He also criticized him for persistently trying to downgrade

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