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BIBLE ARCHITECTURE: JERUSALEM - Solomon's city BIBLE WOMEN: BATHSHEBA - The palace coup |
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BIBLE PEOPLE - THEIR STORIES |
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SOLOMON
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PEOPLE
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THE
STRUGGLE FOR THE CROWN Solomon was the son of King David, born to a commoner who was seduced by David - David adopted the 'I came, I saw, I conquered' approach to Solomon's mother Bathsheba, even though she was married to one of his top soldiers at the time. Solomon may or may not have had an elder brother - there were always whispers about his legitimacy, and the story of an elder brother who died as an infant may have been an attempt to scotch this rumor. The practice of primogeniture, where the eldest son automatically gained the throne after the death of the king, was not firmly established, and Solomon grew up in a highly competitive court. Each woman vied to have her son gain precedence over the other sons of the king. Several sons older than Solomon had already died under violent circumstances by the time he reached his teens - Absalom, Amnon - but most people expected Adonijah, the eldest remaining son, to succeed David. The power bloc behind Solomon had other
ideas. Led by Bathsheba and Nathan, they gained the backing of sections of
the priesthood and, more importantly, King David's mercenary troops. When
David lost his authority and Adonijah sought to take over the throne,
Solomon's political backers made a counter-move. First they placed Solomon
on the throne, and then they executed Adonijah . Supporters of Adonijah
were liquidated. SOLOMON'S PRAYER FOR WISDOM During the early years of his reign, Solomon's grip on power was not strong. Fortunately he was an exceptionally shrewd young man, and took steps to consolidate his power. He began to develop a mythology around his relationship with God, and one example of this is the story of the dream he had, where God appeared to him and asked him what he wanted. Instead of riches or power, Solomon asked for 'an understanding mind to govern your people, able to discern between good and evil'. God was pleased with Solomon's answer, and promised him not only wisdom as he had requested, but long life, riches and honor. SOLOMON'S JUDGMENT Solomon also cultivated the idea that he was exceptionally wise. Immediately after the account of the dream is the story of his famous judgment on the two prostitutes who came to him asking for a decision on their dispute. Each of them had born a baby, but one of the babies had died. The woman who had the dead baby claimed the other woman had stolen her living child and substituted the dead one. The other woman denied this, and claimed the living child as her own. Both of them stuck to their respective story, and asked that Solomon decide who should have the living child. Solomon responded by asking for a sword, then he made as if to cut the living child in two. Each woman, he said, could have half a child each. The woman who was the real mother was terrified that her child would be killed, and offered to give it to the other. The other woman stood her ground, 'It shall be neither mine nor yours; divide it.' Solomon told the court to give the living baby to the first woman - she was obviously the child's mother. The Bible comments that 'all Israel stood in awe of the king because they saw the wisdom of God in him'. THE QUEEN OF SHEBA The population of Israel had almost doubled since the period of King Saul, and Israel was now in the mainstream of near-eastern trade and diplomacy. The story of the visit of the Queen of Sheba is meant to illustrate this. It reflects the commercial relationship between Solomon's Israel and south-western Arabia.
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'Solomon asked for a sword, then made as if to cut the living child in two. Each woman, he said, could have half a child each.' |
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_____________________________________ The Queen's subjects had established an expanding kingdom along the spice and incense routes leading through Israel to Mesopotamia - and of course Solomon controlled parts of these routes. Unfortunately, the much-famed meeting between the voluptuous Queen and the King renowned for his wisdom was essentially a business conference romanticized by the biblical writers. BUILDING THE TEMPLE AND PALACE Perhaps Solomon's most famous achievement was
the building of the Temple in Jerusalem. The massive platform on which it
was built still survives. This Temple, which was part of an elaborate
palace complex, is described in detail in the Bible. It was an impressive
building, modeled on the sanctuary at Shiloh and built by Phoenicians -
Hiram of Tyre sent cedar and fir-wood, as well as architects, overseers
and labor teams, in exchange for grain and olive oil. This foreign influence was also evident in worship in the Jerusalem shrine. Solomon, who was only half-Israelite, leaned towards a fusion of Israelite and Canaanite practices. Certainly he worshipped Jahweh, but he also prayed to Canaanite and foreign deities as well: Ashtoreth of Sidon, Chemosh of the Moabites, Moloch of the Ammonites. The Bible blames Solomon's foreign wives and concubines for this, but it is probably truer to say that Solomon aimed to build bridges between his Canaanite and Israelite subjects as a way of unifying his nation. After all, he governed a nation of mixed race and religion, and a large part of Solomon's 'wisdom' may have been his ability to juggle these competing groups. DECLINING YEARS In the last part of his reign this ability seems to have deserted him. The relationship with Israel's neighbor Edom soured, and warfare began to drain the resources of the kingdom. Solomon had taxed both rich and poor with as much disinterested enthusiasm as any modern government, but now the worm began to turn. At home, the priests of Jahweh became increasingly hostile as they saw their own power eroded. They looked for an alternative king and found it in Jeroboam, who subsequently led a rebellion against Solomon. The rebellion was put down and Jeroboam fled to Egypt, but it would flare up again later, displacing Solomon's son Rehoboam who lacked the ability of his father. At Solomon's death, the kingdom lay poised for change - and change is what it got. The United Kingdom of Solomon split apart when he died. Not for a thousand years would it again be unified.
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_____________________________________________________________________________ BIBLE
REFERENCE
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PEOPLE
IN THE STORY
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FAMOUS
QUOTES
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INTERESTING WEBSITES - stories, pictures, reconstructions King
in sex romp with naked woman!!! Bathing
on the roof - houses in ancient Israel War
in ancient Israel - Solomon's mother Bathsheba was from a military family Archaeological
finds connected to the story of David Solomon's
capital city, embellished by him The saga of David:
Solomon lived in a long shadow Solomon
born in questionable circumstances - David blots his copy-book with
Bathsheba _________________________________________________________________________________________________
ACTIVITIES AND FOCUS QUESTIONS An
Apple a Day
Solomon's
Dream
In
depth study of one person's story In
your presentation (approximately 10 minutes), answer the following questions: 1.
What are the main events of the person's life? 2. What were their main qualities? What made them stand out from the crowd? 3.
What obstacles did they face? 4.
How did they use their abilities to do God’s work? 5. Which part of their story appeals to you most? Why? You must include three short quotations from the Bible texts to illustrate the points you are making.
Focus
Questions
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