Solomon, pt. 2

Nearly all that is known about Solomon comes from the Bible, I and II Kings, II Chronicles, vrs. 1-9, II Samuel, I and II Kings, and Matthew. There are different accounts of the time he reigned as king of Israel, but it was around 965 B.C. to 925 B.C. when he died, probably of exhaustion. His reign lasted for 40 years and he was the third ancient king of Israel. His wisdom is proverbial and there is very, very little to see archeologically as proof he existed. Israel reached its height of power in his reign, 1000 B.C. It was the greatest it has ever been. He was also named Jedidiah (beloved of the Lord). You should know that his father, David, was God's greatest love. It was through him that God bestowed so much to Solomon and gave him such wisdom. He commanded a salary of 666 talents of gold a year. That is 39,960 lbs. of gold! Let's see, gold is 12oo.oo an ounce right now, 16 oz. in a pound. One ton is 2000 lbs. You get the idea. He was famous as a wise and evenhanded judge. He reign was peaceful. He is infamous historically and fictionally. His kingdom stretched from Tiphsah on the Euphrates to the Philistine Gaza on the southwestern border. Upon his death, the Northern state succeeded and split his kingdom in two.

Solomon authored Ecclesiastes in his later years, Proverbs in his middle years, and the Song of Solomon in his youth. There are other books in the Jewish faith claimed to be authored by him. 3000 parables and 1500 poems according to the Bible, I Kings, Chapter 3: 5-14. There are accounts of Solomon (Suleiman) in the Qur'an and many fictional stories, including 1001 Arabian Nights. The story of the Genie he commanded to a bottle because of his dislike for him was sealed with the Seal of Solomon. It is said he had command over demons and animals and bid them to do his work. There is a story that he died in a position, kneeling at his staff, which kept the Jinn (Genies) working on a building project. They did not realize he was dead until a worm at at the staff and when he fell, they were upset at having worked that extra time. There is a story he had command of a worm which carved the building blocks out of rock.

Solomon married outside of his faith to secure peace to daughters of the kings of Ammon, Moab, Sidon and Heth against God's wishes (it is said God spoke to him twice on the matter) and Solomon acted as though he was above the law and God. It got him in to trouble. It is probably why there are other accounts of him outside of the Bible as well. There is particular detail to his relationship with the Queen of Sheba. It is said they had a child and Ethiopia has been a strong center as a Jewish and Christian center ever since. It is said he gave this son the Ark of the Covenant as a gift, which is still housed in Ethiopia. They refuse any offers to view this icon. I wish God had spoke to me in my matters. I think I might have listened, but who knows. He was a man and we should remember that as we sift through legend.

He needed the money because he expanded Israel to its greatest territory. That is one reason he had so many wives. He married many of these women to make peace to territories that would not have happened otherwise. His most known marriage is to Pharaoh's daughter. They consider that a weakness of Egypt in that Pharaoh did not allow foreign marriages but it gave him the finest builders he needed to build that kingdom. It secured trade routes and copper iron mining endeavors there and kept the peace during his reign. There was a political change in Egypt half through his reign and it changed the relationship between Egypt and Israel. Egypt granted asylum to Jeroboam, one of Solomon's enemy. Because of the extensive building, he taxed the people quite heavily. He divided Israel in to 12 districts, but not in accord to the area of the 12 tribes of Israel. Each district had a court, officials and an office to see to the taxation. His biggest accomplishments were the Temple of the Ark of the Covenant and his own palace which took 13 years to build. He also fortified Jerusalem from attackers with defense walls. The Wailing Wall or the Western Wall is the last remnant of this structure built 3000 yrs. ago. The sacredness to the Jewish people is in touching a wall that Solomon had built. It was their greatest time as a country and has not reached this stature since. He enslaved many people to bid his building program and taxed the people heavily. Though there was peace, there was much disgruntlement. His chief builder was Hiram, which the Masons can be directly traced to.

He was a brilliant and sometimes a ruthless leader. He had mines and refining smelts, a fleet of ships, a trade route of caravans on the spice route. His wealth grew considerably from his industries. This may have developed the spice route which is still visible by satellite, he amassed a large amount of horses (which was forbidden by Jewish law, also). From the Jewish perspective, he had too many wives and horses. When he married the daughter of Pharaoh, a sandbank formed and out it grew the "great nation of Rome" who destroyed the second Temple. Solomon lost more and more prestige until he became a commoner. Some say he regained his status and some say he did not.

From the Christian perspective, Solomon turned his heart toward other god's of national deities to whom Solomon built temples, persuaded by wives from the regions forbidden. This incurred the wrath of God, who waited until his death because of David, to divide the kingdom in half when his son Rehoboam refused to ease the taxation from the northern states. Near the end of his life, Solomon contended with several enemies including Hadam of Edom, Rezon of Zobah and Jeroboam, one of his officials.

There is much to read about Solomon and condensed accounting of these different perspectives can be found at Answer.com. I have rambled a bit to blog this information, I apologize. There is much more to write about, his meeting with the Queen of Sheba, his throne and the Islamic Solomon, but I will return to that later in the blog. I hope you are finding this of value. I find it interesting to better understand who Solomon was. God bless us, everyone.