Solomon was born in Jerusalem c970 BC. He was the second born child of King David of Israel and his wife Bathsheba, widow of Uriah the Hittite.
Nathan the Prophet called him Jedidiah 'beloved of the Lord.'
Towards the end of David's life, Adonijah, the Israeli king's oldest surviving son, tried to set himself up as his successor, or at least as regent. Nathan rallied Zadok, the High Priest and Benaiah, commander of the standing army, and they proclaimed Solomon king.
David did not live long after this and Solomon began to reign in his own right about 970 BC.
The Tabernacle was still at Gibeon, and it was while worshiping there that Solomon had a vision, in which God offered him any gift of his choice. He asked for an understanding heart. Solomon's request was answered, for his wisdom and judgments became famous.
Solomon's only military campaign was against Hamath, but he fortified the borders, mainly against Rezin and Hadad of Damascus and Edom.
Solomon fulfilled his father's desire to build the first Temple in Jerusalem, using much of the material which David had gathered for the purpose. It took seven years to build and he played a prominent part in its dedication and renewed his promises. After this Jerusalem became the great sacred city of the Jews.
He was the author of several Old Testament books; Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs, much of Proverbs and two of the Psalms (72 and 127).
After completing the Temple, Solomon then built a palace for himself which took almost twice as long.
He chose his advisers and subordinates with discretion. Solomon reorganized local government and organised a considerable commerce with neighboring countries and even with those far distance.
One account of the daily provisions of King Solomon revealed they consisted of 30 kors (6,700 litres) of fine flour and 60 kors (13,500 litres) of meal, 10 fatted oxen, 20 pasture-fed oxen, and 100 sheep and goats, besides deer and gazelles, roebucks and fatted geese. Cattle were imported from east of the Jordan River, and fatted geese from Egypt.
The fame of Solomon's wisdom and wealth spread far and wide, so much so that the Queen of Sheba decided that she should make a twelve-hundred-mile journey to meet him to develop and maintain trade relations. The queen is described as visiting with a number of gifts including gold, spices and precious stones. When she arrived in Jerusalem she was overwhelmed by the fare of his table, and the service of his attendants.
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.
King Solomon, according to 1 Kings 11 in the Old Testament, had 700 wives and 300 concubines. Many of the women were foreigners and Solomon was enticed away from the austerity of Jehovah worship into easier and more congenial practices. He was punished for this by God.
His luxurious way of living made heavy taxation necessary and this was resented by the ten tribes of the North, who complained that all the revenues were being poured into Judah and Jerusalem. This was one of the causes of a split in the country on Solomon's death, when the ten tribes refused to accept his son Rehoboam, and elected their own king Jeroboam.
Solomon reigned for about 40 years before he died c 931 BC aged 58–59. After his death, Israel was split into a Northern Kingdom, Samaria, and Southern Kingdom, Judea.
In 1748 George Frideric Handel wrote his oratorio Solomon. Its libretto is based on the biblical stories of the wise King Solomon and is attributed to Newburgh Hamilton. Its most famous piece is "The Arrival of the Queen of Sheba."
Source Collins Dictionary of The Bible
Nathan the Prophet called him Jedidiah 'beloved of the Lord.'
Towards the end of David's life, Adonijah, the Israeli king's oldest surviving son, tried to set himself up as his successor, or at least as regent. Nathan rallied Zadok, the High Priest and Benaiah, commander of the standing army, and they proclaimed Solomon king.
 |
| The Anointing of Solomon by Cornelis de Vos (c. 1630). |
David did not live long after this and Solomon began to reign in his own right about 970 BC.
The Tabernacle was still at Gibeon, and it was while worshiping there that Solomon had a vision, in which God offered him any gift of his choice. He asked for an understanding heart. Solomon's request was answered, for his wisdom and judgments became famous.
Solomon's only military campaign was against Hamath, but he fortified the borders, mainly against Rezin and Hadad of Damascus and Edom.
Solomon fulfilled his father's desire to build the first Temple in Jerusalem, using much of the material which David had gathered for the purpose. It took seven years to build and he played a prominent part in its dedication and renewed his promises. After this Jerusalem became the great sacred city of the Jews.
 |
| Artist's interpretation of the First Temple in Jerusalem. By Israel Truths |
He was the author of several Old Testament books; Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs, much of Proverbs and two of the Psalms (72 and 127).
After completing the Temple, Solomon then built a palace for himself which took almost twice as long.
He chose his advisers and subordinates with discretion. Solomon reorganized local government and organised a considerable commerce with neighboring countries and even with those far distance.
One account of the daily provisions of King Solomon revealed they consisted of 30 kors (6,700 litres) of fine flour and 60 kors (13,500 litres) of meal, 10 fatted oxen, 20 pasture-fed oxen, and 100 sheep and goats, besides deer and gazelles, roebucks and fatted geese. Cattle were imported from east of the Jordan River, and fatted geese from Egypt.
The fame of Solomon's wisdom and wealth spread far and wide, so much so that the Queen of Sheba decided that she should make a twelve-hundred-mile journey to meet him to develop and maintain trade relations. The queen is described as visiting with a number of gifts including gold, spices and precious stones. When she arrived in Jerusalem she was overwhelmed by the fare of his table, and the service of his attendants.
 |
| The Visit of the Queen of Sheba to King Solomon',by Edward Poynter, 1890 |
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.
King Solomon, according to 1 Kings 11 in the Old Testament, had 700 wives and 300 concubines. Many of the women were foreigners and Solomon was enticed away from the austerity of Jehovah worship into easier and more congenial practices. He was punished for this by God.
His luxurious way of living made heavy taxation necessary and this was resented by the ten tribes of the North, who complained that all the revenues were being poured into Judah and Jerusalem. This was one of the causes of a split in the country on Solomon's death, when the ten tribes refused to accept his son Rehoboam, and elected their own king Jeroboam.
 |
| By Oldtidens_Israel_&_Judea. |
Solomon reigned for about 40 years before he died c 931 BC aged 58–59. After his death, Israel was split into a Northern Kingdom, Samaria, and Southern Kingdom, Judea.
In 1748 George Frideric Handel wrote his oratorio Solomon. Its libretto is based on the biblical stories of the wise King Solomon and is attributed to Newburgh Hamilton. Its most famous piece is "The Arrival of the Queen of Sheba."
Source Collins Dictionary of The Bible
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