In Defense of King Solomon of Israel

 Nadene Goldfoot                                              

King Solomon's history can be found in the Jewish Tanakh (Old Testament) under I Kings, 1 Chronicles, II Samuel, II Chronicles, Songs, Psalms. 

His father, King David, had had 4 or 6 wives.  The first, Michal, had no children, and Abigail, the second, had 3:  Adonijah, Daniel "Kileab", and Chileab.  Bathsheba had 4:  Solomon, Shammua, Shobab, and Nathan. Maachah Fromgeshur had 1: Absalom the Third, and Merab had none that I know of.   I've probably missed a few.  I did.   The Bible names nineteen sons and one daughter, Tamar (1 Chronicles 3:1–9). If we count the son who died in infancy after having been conceived through David’s adulterous relationship with Bathsheba (2 Samuel 12:16–23), David had at least twenty-one children by his wives, plus an unknown number by his many concubines.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pOYA9u-dYDQ  The song, David, melech Yisrael.  

Solomon, King of Israel reigned from  (961-920 BCE) was born 2,982 years ago in Jerusalem.  He was the son of David, King of Israel and Bathsheba.  He succeeded to the throne before his father's death through the interceding of his mother, Bathsheba and the prophet, Nathan.  Nathan had announced to David that his royal house would be perpetually established but also prevented him from building a permanent Temple in Jerusalem.  As a protagonist of moral values, he charged David with responsibility for the death of Uriah the Hittite, Bathsheba's husband.  Later, he was prominent in securing the succession for Solomon.  Nathan wrote a chronicle of David's reign in I chronicles 29:29, which was probably one of the main sources for the Book of Samuel.                       

Solomon did have his half-brother, Adonijah, David's 4th son,  removed along with other potentially dangerous individuals to his position as King. As it happened, Adonijah claimed the succession to the throne after Absalom's death.  Joab and Abiathar supported his claim, but they were unsuccessful.  Adonijah later tried to marry Abishag, David's concubine, who ministered to David in his old age.  She was a Shunammite maiden.  Adonijah, wanting to marry her was taken as making a claim to the throne. Solomon regarded this as an act of rebellion and had him killed. 

                                                 

The ark of the Covenant was a chest in which the 2 Tablets of the Law were kept.  Its exact description is given in (Exod. 25:10-22).  It was made of Acacia wood, both inlaid and covered with gold.  

   It was Solomon who built the Temple to house the ARK OF THE COVENANT.  Hiram of Tyre, Lebanon helped him by selling him the cedar trees needed in building such an edifice.  Hiram also sent him architects and builders, though it was G-d who gave him strict instructions on building the Temple.

                                             

                          Solomon consulting with Hiram, builder

The work was completed in the 11th year of Solomon's reign and ensured the central position of Jerusalem in the kingdom.  Administratively, Solomon divided the country into 12 districts and constructed a series of fortresses, store-cities, and chariot-cities which were like Megiddo and Hazor. To develop trade and commerce, he built a harbor at Elath on the Red Sea and together with Hiram, sent a great fleet of "ships of Tarshish" to the land of OPHIR.

                                             

 Another source of wealth consisted of gifts from foreign monarchs such as the Queen of Sheba who herself came with a large retinue to visit Solomon.  She came to Jerusalem "with a very great retinue, with camels bearing spices, and very much gold, and precious stones" (I Kings 10:2). "Never again came such an abundance of spices" (10:10; II Chron. 9:1–9) as those she gave to Solomon. She came "to prove him with hard questions", which Solomon answered to her satisfaction. In addition, trade prospered with neighboring states.  Large smelting furnaces in the Southern areas produced copper and iron.  The royal house and court were built up with oriental magnificence, and sumptuous buildings housed the royal family and harem consisting of 1,000 wives and concubines.  That's one good way he kept peace with other countries; marrying their daughters, an act copied by other royal families such as England later but not to that extent. 

                                                 

    Having the wisdom to know how to find the real mother  Strikingly, Solomon made the wisest decision of his life before he received his special blessing: he chose to request wisdom. In his crucial dream, he responds to the divine offer by asking God for “an understanding mind to judge Your people, to distinguish between good and bad; for who can judge this vast people of Yours?” (I Kings 3:9). God responds by praising Solomon for requesting “discernment in dispensing justice. ... I grant you a wise and discerning mind; there has never been anyone like you before, nor will anyone like you arise again” (I Kings 3:12). Two chapters later, we are provided a more extensive definition: The Lord endowed Solomon with wisdom and discernment in great measure with understanding as vast as the sands on the seashore. Solomon’s wisdom was greater than the wisdom of all the Kedemites and than all the wisdom of the Egyptians. He was the wisest of all men… He composed three thousand proverbs, and his songs numbered one thousand and five. He discoursed about trees, from the cedar in Lebanon to the hyssop that grows out of the wall; and he discoursed about beasts, birds, creeping things, and fishes (I Kings 5:9-13).

Politically, Solomon rested on David's achievements;  the realm extended from Egypt to the Euphrates and was the most energetic in the entire region.  In the cultural sphere, the arts of historiography, parables, and elegant writing were developed and several biblical works such as the Song of Songs, Ecclesiastes, Psalms 72 of them were later attributed to Solomon, who himself achieved a widespread reputation for his wisdom. David wrote at least 75 of them.                                                    

Despite all these successes, the 1st signs of the country's subsequent deterioration can be traced back to his reign.  The forced labor connected with the extensive building program impoverished the country.  Several subject peoples, such as the Edomites and Arameans, began to revolt, and there is evidence of malcontent inside Israel.  These problems came to a head with Solomon's death, which was quickly succeeded by territorial loss and internal division of Israel and Judah.  

Resource:

The new Standard Jewish Encyclopedia

https://www.gotquestions.org/David-children.html

file:///C:/Users/Home.DELL.000/Downloads/10.1515_9781618117915-010%20(1).pdf (wisdom).

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Melech_Yisrael#:~:text=David%20Melech%20Yisrael%20(Hebrew%3A%20%D7%93%D7%95%D7%93,which%20are%20repeated%20many%20times.

https://www.gotquestions.org/Psalms-David.html