Solomon: Difference between revisions

| image = Simeon Solomon, King Solomon, 1872 inor Old1874, AgeNGA higher-contrast76152 version(cropped).pngjpg

| caption = ''King Solomon in Old Age'' (18661872)<br />[[GustaveSimeon DoréSolomon]]

'''Solomon''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|s|ɒ|l|ə|m|ə|n}}),{{efn|{{Hebrew name|שְׁלֹמֹה|[[Shlomo|Šlōmō]]|Šălōmō}}, {{literally|peaceful}};<ref>{{Cite book |last=Khan |first=Geoffrey |title=The Tiberian Pronunciation Tradition of Biblical Hebrew |volume= 1 |publisher=Open Book Publishers |year=2020 |isbn=978-1-78374-676-7 |page=305}}</ref> {{lang-syr|ܫܠܶܝܡܽܘܢ}}, {{Transliteration|syr|Šlēmūn}}; [[Arabic]]: سُلَيْمَان, ''{{transliteration|ar|ALA-LC|Sulaymān}}'', {{Transliteration|ar|Silimān}}, {{Transliteration|ar|Slemān}}; {{lang-el|Σολομών}}, {{Transliteration|el|Solomōn}}; {{lang-la|Salomon}}|name=solomon-names}} also called '''Jedidiah''',{{efn|[[Hebrew language|Hebrew:]] {{Lang-he|{{Script/Hebrew|יְדִידְיָהּ}}|label=none}}, [[Modern Hebrew|Modern]]: {{Transliteration|he|Yǝdīdyah}}, [[Tiberian Hebrew|Tiberian]]: ''Yăḏīḏyāh'', "beloved of [[Yahweh|Yah]]"|name=jedidiah-names}} was a [[Jews|Jewish]] monarch of [[History of ancient Israel and Judah|ancient Israel]] and the son and successor of [[King David]], according to the [[Hebrew Bible]] or [[Old Testament]].<ref>[[Books of Kings|Book of Kings]]: 1{{nbsp}} Kings 1–11; [[Books of Chronicles]]: 1{{nbsp}}Chronicles 28–29, 2{{nbsp}}Chronicles 1–9</ref><ref name="JewEnc">{{cite encyclopedia |year=1906 |title=Temple of Solomon |encyclopedia=Jewish Encyclopedia |url=http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/14310-temple-of-solomon |access-date=2018-10-24 |last=Barton |first=George A. |pages=98–101}}</ref> He is described as having been the penultimate ruler of an amalgamated [[Kingdom of Israel (united monarchy)|Israel and Judah]]. The hypothesized dates of Solomon's reign are from 970 to 931 BCE. AfterAccording to the Bible, after his death, his son and successor [[Rehoboam]] would adoptadopted a harsh policy towards the northern tribes, eventually leading to the splitting of the [[Israelites]] between the [[Kingdom of Israel (Samaria)|Kingdom of Israel]] in the north and the [[Kingdom of Judah]] in the south. Following the split, the biblical narrative depicts his [[Patrilineality#In the Bible|patrilineal descendants]] ruledruling over Judah alone.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Stefon |first1=Matt |title=Solomon king of Israel |url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Solomon |date=27 June 2023 |publisher=Britannica}}</ref>

The [[historicity]] of Solomon is hotly debated. Current [[Scientific consensus|consensus]] statesallows that regardless of whether or notfor a man namedhistorical Solomon, trulybut regards his reignedreign as king over [[Kingdom of Israel (united monarchy)|Israel and Judah]] in the tenth century BCE, as uncertain and the biblical description of his apparent empire's lavishness isas most probably an [[anachronistic]] exaggeration.{{Sfn|Finkelstein|Silberman|2006|page=20}}<ref name="Grabbe22">Grabbe, Lester. The Dawn of Israel: A History of Canaan in the Second Millennium BCE. 2023. T&T Clark. p. 255-259. “It is essentially a [[Oral literature|folktale]] about an Eastern potentate – it is royal legend or Königsnovelle.” “Thus, it looks difficult to discover much in the Solomon story that strikes the critical reader as likely to be historical.” “[T]he temple story has been inflated into a legendary extravaganza.” “[T]he Solomon story is the most problematic of those relating to the early Israelite kings, providing the thickest cloud of obscurity over the history that lies behind it.”</ref><ref name="De2021">{{cite journal |title=Solomon, Scripture, and Science: The Rise of the Judahite State in the 10th Century BCE |journal=Jerusalem Journal of Archaeology |volume=1 |pages=102–125 |last=Dever |first=William G. |year=2021 |doi=10.52486/01.00001.4 |issn=2788-8819 |doi-access=free }}</ref>

The conventional dates of Solomon's reign are derived from [[biblical chronology]] and are set from about '''968970 to 931''' [[Common Era|BCE]].<ref>E. Clarity, 2012, p. 305.</ref> Regarding the [[Davidic line|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 [[Archaeology|archaeologists]] to date its kings in a modern framework.<ref>{{cite journal

Jewish scribes say that Solomon's teacher was [[Shimei]] (son ofben 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 was his first descent into sin.<ref name=JE>{{Cite Jewish Encyclopedia |title=Solomon |url=http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/13842-solomon |first1=Emil G. |last1=Hirsch |first2=Ira Maurice |last2=Price |first3=Wilhelm |last3=Bacher |first4=M. |last4=Seligsohn |first5=Mary W. |last5=Montgomery |first6=Crawford Howell |last6=toy |author-link1=Emil G. Hirsch |author-link2=Ira Maurice Price |author-link3=Wilhelm Bacher |author-link4= Max Seligsohn |author-link5=Mary W. Montgomery |author-link6=Crawford Howell Toy |volume=11 |pages=436–448}}</ref>

The archaeological remains that are considered to date from the time of Solomon are notable for the fact that [[Canaan]]ite material culture appears to have continued unabated; there is a distinct lack of magnificent empire, or cultural development—indeeddevelopment. Indeed, comparing pottery from areas traditionally assigned to Israel with that of the [[Philistines]] points to the latter having been significantly more sophisticated.{{Citation needed|date=November 2020|reason=Iron Age I and early II sites associated with Philistia lack written language, except for a single inscription with 7 letters. It's a little dubious to argue without evidence that Canaanite cultural development exceeded that of Israel, since Israel was itself a Canaanite culture. If the time of Solomon is taken as approximately 1,000 BCE, then this is very near the earliest supported date of divergence of the Israelites into a distinct identity. It would be reasonable to assume that, in the time of Solomon, Israel was more of a subgroup within the Canaanite culture than a separate culture.

ButHowever, if we hypothetically push that date back and decide that Israel iswas already a separate polity by the time the Merneptah Stele was inscribed, a comparison to Philistia would be the worst example, since the Philistines appear to have been one of the least advanced Canaanite groups of the time. The lack of written language found in major archaeological sites suggestsuggests that they did not routinely use writing for administration, which suggests a lower ceiling on the complexity of their organization and the power of their "state".