Facts about Solomon
Construction of the Temple took seven years to complete, while Solomon's palace took thirteen.
Historians understand this to be a description of Solomon's cosmopolitan court, where wise men from many nations would gather—wisdom being an international movement for the education of nobility.
Despite this bloody beginning, the rest of Solomon's reign is remarkably peaceful until near its close.
Later, Jeroboam would go on to become the first king of the northern Kingdom of Israel, while Solomon's son Rehoboam would rule over the southern Kingdom of Judah.
Solomon's birth is considered a grace from God, after the death of the previous child between David and Bathsheba.
Jesus himself refers to both Solomon's wisdom and his splendor (Matthew 6:29; 12:42).
Talmudic authorities, too, focus on Solomon's weakness for women and his sin of idolatry.
Other works supposedly about or by Solomon, some of which are deemed heretical, are included in the New Testament Apocrypha (see The Solomon of Legend below).
Men of all nations came to listen to Solomon's wisdom, sent by all the kings of the world" (1 Kings 4:33–34).
The Qur'an repeats the tradition that Isaac was given to Sarah when she and Abraham were old.
The work usually referred to as the Song of Solomon, is in reality entitled "Song of Songs."
The Book of Proverbs, a collection of wisdom sayings, is most likely to have a kernel dating from Solomon's time.
A great number of non-biblical works are also attributed to Solomon, notably the deutero-canonical Wisdom of Solomon and the Psalms of Solomon.
Solomon's early enthronement is hastened in consequence of the attempt of David's eldest surviving son, Adonijah, to usurp the kingship.
During Solomon's long reign of 40 years, the Hebrew monarchy reached its greatest splendor.
Solomon's next action is to form an alliance with the king of Egypt, taking the Pharaoh’s daughter as his primary wife to seal the bargain.
Historians who accept the historicity of Solomon's empire give more credence to passages from the Book of Kings which seem to reflect actual court documents.
Later Solomon cedes to Hiram 20 towns in Galilee, with which Hiram was not satisfied (1 Kings 9).
The romantic notion that it is a love song composed by Solomon for his Egyptian wife is attractive, but unlikely.
In Christian tradition, Solomon is viewed as a great king of Israel who reigned in peace with godly wisdom with the tragic exception of his worshiping foreign deities.
Solomon grants him clemency, if "he shows himself to be a worthy man" (1 Kings 1).
The Bible describes the young Solomon as being committed to "walk in ways… as it is written in the Law of Moses" (1 Kings 2:3).
Solomon's building of the Temple makes him a forerunner of Jesus, the descendant of David who would himself be the true Temple.
Some rabbis esteem Solomon so highly that they deny that he fell into idolatry, claiming instead that he only failed to restrain his wives from the practice.
The idea that Solomon's wisdom is God-given is important to various Judeo-Christian beliefs.
Despite the view of "sacred history" that attributes the division of Solomon's kingdom to religious apostasy, his honoring of "foreign" deities could be seen as natural, or even a manifestation of his wisdom.
Solomon's case is one of the few in the Bible where the name given by God does not stay with the character.
After the first 20 years of Solomon's reign are finished, not only is his kingdom firmly established, but his glory is unparalleled throughout the world.
The division of Israel after Solomon's death would bring this favorable condition to an abrupt end.
Impressed by tales of his wisdom, the wonderfully rich Queen of Sheba visits with generous gifts of gold and spices, and Solomon in turn gives her "all she desired" (1 Kings 10).
Instead, Solomon conscripts slaves from among the non-Israelite tribes of Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites (1 Kings 9).
Near death, David charges Solomon to follow God's commands "as written in the Law of Moses."
A political reading of the Book of Kings gives another reason for Solomon's decline and the fall of his kingdom: excessive taxation and political misjudgments.
One reason for the paucity of evidence for Solomon's empire may be the relative weakness of the surrounding nations in his day.
Only a year later, when the jinn had completed the task, was Solomon's death recognized.
The Catholic Bible includes the Wisdom of Solomon in the approved Old Testament Apocrypha.
Many believe that Solomon also wrote the biblical book of Ecclesiastes in which there is established a sense of the vanity of man's feeble accomplishments, characterized as "a striving after wind."
According to the Bible, Solomon was the builder of the first Temple in Jerusalem, also known as Solomon's Temple.
Finally, orbits can decay or develop via the emission of heat absorbed from sunlight shone on the body.
Perhaps Solomon was providentially situated so that the messianic hope that Israel could stand as the "Kingdom of God" and a "light to the nations" could have been achieved in his day.
The idea that the historical Solomon penned these works is viewed with a high degree of skepticism.
The story of Solomon's wise ruling in the case of the two women follows immediately after this, as evidence of God's boon of great wisdom.
The Jewish historian Eupolemus, who wrote around 157 B.C.E., included copies of apocryphal letters exchanged between Solomon and the kings of Egypt and Tyre.
The rest of Solomon's reign as described in the Book of Kings is far less bright and prosperous, as his fatal flaw, namely his weakness for women, manifests.
The sacred historian declares that God now turns against Solomon, mobilizing the Edomite prince Hadad and the Aramean leader Rezon against him.
One can speculate what might have been, had Solomon not fallen into idolatry and had his policies been more successful.
Solomon is an important, if controversial figure, in Judaism and occupies a very important part in rabbinical legend.
Solomon is one of the ancestors of Jesus Christ listed in Matthew 1.
The name Solomon (Shlomo) means "peaceful," or "complete," from the Hebrew Shelomoh.
New finds of remains of massive structures that can be dated to the time of David and Solomon indicate that much evidence from that era remains to be uncovered.
The Bible says that Solomon was a prolific writer of proverbs and other works.
The first proverb in the collection, as well as the opening verse of Proverb 10, provides the heading: "The Proverbs of Solomon."
The biblical Book of Proverbs, ascribed to Solomon, is a practical guide to morality and manners in various Jewish and Christian denominations.
Arabic tradition, unlike its Jewish counterpart, makes much of Solomon's ability as a warrior, especially his love for horses.
Solomon engaged in extensive trade on land with Tyre, Egypt, and Arabia and by sea with Tarshish (Spain), Ophir, South India, and Africa.
Solomon orders the disputed infant to be brought forth and commands his aides to hack it into two equal pieces.
Hence, Solomon's empire, strengthened by its alliance with the Phoenicians, was in an unusually favorable situation to exercise hegemony over the ancient world.
Solomon erected many other buildings of importance in Jerusalem and in other parts of his kingdom.
The Bible describes Solomon as a great imperial potentate, who "ruled over all the kingdoms from the River to the land of the Philistines, as far as the border of Egypt."
Solomon, who sought to make his court the most accomplished and up-to-date of any in the world, may have been a collector more than an author.
The name given by God to Solomon through the prophet Nathan is Jedidiah, meaning "friend of God" (2 Samuel 12:25).
Solomon was said to have under his rule not only people, but also hosts of invisible beings (i.e., jinn).
The Bible is quite specific as to the number of Solomon's literary works and the extent of his wisdom: "He spoke three thousand proverbs and his songs numbered a thousand and five.
Solomon's mastery of demons is a common element in later Jewish and Arabic mythology legends, and is often attributed to possession of the magic ring called the "Seal of Solomon."