Solomon
Description
Solomon, also called Jedidiah, was a king of ancient Israel. The successor of his father David, he is described as the penultimate ruler of all Twelve Tribes of Israel under a united Israel and Judah. His reign is hypothesized to have lasted from c. 970–931 BCE. According to the biblical narrative, his reign brought commercial prosperity through alliances and trade, but his accumulation of wealth, horses, and foreign wives, many of whom introduced idolatry, led to divine punishment. After Solomon's death, his son Rehoboam’s harsh policies led the northern Israelites to reject the Davidic line and follow Jeroboam, splitting the kingdom into Israel in the north and Judah in the south, according to the Hebrew Bible.
Facts
| Reign | c. 970–931 BCE (hypothesised) |
| Predecessor | David |
| Successor | Rehoboam |
| Born | 11th–10th century BCE, Jerusalem, Kingdom of Israel and Judah |
| Spouse | 700 wives of royal birth and 300 concubines, including: Naamah Pharaoh's daughter |
| Issue | 3 (recorded): Rehoboam Taphath Basemath |
| Dynasty | House of David |
| Father | David |
| Mother | Bathsheba |
| Religion | Yahwism |
Life & work in brief
Summarised by section — one row per topic, for fast reading.
| Work / contribution | Significance |
|---|---|
| Biblical account | The life of Solomon is primarily described in 2 Samuel, 1 Kings and 2 Chronicles. |
| Apocryphal or deuterocanonical texts | Rabbinical tradition attributes the Book of Wisdom (included within the Septuagint and recognized as part of a biblical canon by the Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox Church, Oriental Orthodox Churches, and Church of the East) to Solomon, although this book was probably written in the 2nd century BCE. |
| Historicity | As with most biblical personages in the middle era of Israelite society, the historicity of Solomon is hotly debated. |
| Religious views | King Solomon sinned by acquiring many foreign wives and horses because he thought he knew the reason for the biblical prohibition and thought it did not apply to him. |
| Legends | A well-known story in the collection One Thousand and One Nights describes a genie who had displeased King Solomon and was punished by being locked in a bottle and thrown into the sea. |
| Freemasonry | Masonic rituals refer to King Solomon and the building of his Temple. |
| Places | The Solomon Islands, a country and archipelago in Melanesia, were named for King Solomon by the Spanish navigator Álvaro de Mendaña, who became the first European to see the islands in 1568. |