Solomon life is described in the fact that he was the wisest king. He asked God for wisdom, and Solomon built the First Temple/Solomon’s Temple in Jerusalem. And he also wrote three thousand parables.
Solomon life is introduced to the reader as the life of a son of the illegitimate connection between King David and Bathsheba. But if the first child of the two’s bond dies as God’s punishment, the second, Solomon, lives and – what becomes very important is that the Lord God loved this one. Incidentally, his birth name was even Jedidiah, which means beloved of the Lord. Solomon is also said to have loved the Lord, acting according to his father’s law.
According to biblical accounts, King Solomon reigned during Israel’s “Golden Age” and was the wealthiest and wisest man ever living on earth. King David has 8 wives; because of this, Solomon had many brothers and sisters, such as Natan, Avesalom, Adonia, and Shobab. Nepheg, Elishua, Japhia, and Stream.
Who was Solomon’s first wife?
Solomon life points to the idea that he had a lot of wives he had a harem. But Pharaoh’s daughter was Solomon’s first wife, the most important one. Her name was Naamah. This king was the smartest and the one with the richest sexual life. Solomon life happened during his reign for 40 years, during which time, according to the Old Testament, he “loved many unknown women”. And he had around 700 wives and, in addition, around 300 mistresses. Yet he managed to have only one heir. It is said that this was the curse of the gods for his debauchery.
Solomon becomes king
Solomon’s reign coincides with a period of great progress for the kingdom of Israel. David, his father, reaches the pinnacle of Israelite military power, conquering vast territories and subduing far more powerful kingdoms through skillful maneuvering, often tough politics and iron discipline. But Solomon, at the time of his father’s death, is still a child, with little understanding of the politics of the state, the diplomacy he must show, the people he must call on, the way he must behave to keep intact the immense legacy he received from the skillful King David.
A well-known and very famous parable from the Old Testament refers to the judgment of King Solomon. Two women came to Solomon, each claiming that she was the mother of a small child and claiming it. Solomon, who was reputed to be a great sage, decided to do justice by cutting the child in two and giving each woman a share. The false mother rejoiced at the decision, while the true mother burst into tears and said she would rather give up the child than have it killed. So Solomon revealed who the real mother of the child was.
What did Solomon ask God for?
Solomon asks for discernment and wisdom at the expense of every other gift. In the face of young Solomon’s shrewd request. God is obvious that is the answer to Solomon: “Because you have asked this, and have not asked for long Solomon life, nor asked for wealth, nor asked for the souls of your enemies, but have asked for wisdom, that you may know how to judge, behold.
I will do according to your word; behold, I will give you a wise and understanding mind, such as was not like you before you, neither shall it arise after you. And I will also give you that which you have not asked for: wealth and glory so that none of the kings will be like you all your days. And if you will walk in my way, to keep my statutes and my judgments, as David your father walked, I will increase your days also.”
Read also: What does the Bible say about King David?
How old was Solomon when he asked for wisdom?
The proof about Solomon’s age is not concluded. His age is not recorded anywhere. But wisdom is a quality attributed more to the elderly. Perhaps because it is itself an amalgam of culture, personal experience, and permanently refined intelligence. All of which are found at their peak in old age rather than in youth. But King Solomon is an exception in this respect, for his wisdom was a gift received directly from God. Because he asked Him to offer him wisdom instead of all the treasures on this earth.
God appeared to Solomon
It happened right after Solomon had finished building the Temple. God appeared to Solomon the second time, at Gibeon. He told him he have heard his prayers and things that he prayed about, and He has fulfilled all of them. Solomon’s Temple that he built or the First Temple in Jerusalem was the holy place of the ancient Jews. According to biblical sources, it was built by Solomon on Mount Moriah, identified with the Temple Mount today.
This Temple was the holy place of the ancient Hebrews, 20 meters wide and 30 meters high. According to the biblical account, Solomon’s Temple was destroyed by the Babylonians, and during Persian rule, the emperor Cyrus the Great allowed the Jews to repair it. The world’s most famous sanctuary is this Temple.
Teachings of Solomon
- A house and a fortune are an inheritance from parents, and a wise woman is a gift from God.
- He who heeds the commandment preserves his soul, but he who despises the word will die.
- He who pities the poor lends to the Lord, and He will reward him for his good deed.
- More precious is the poor that walked in his righteousness, than a rich man that is cunning-lipped and foolish.
- Ignorance of soul is not good, and he who walks quickly fails.
- It is not good for the foolish to live in pleasure, much less for a servant to rule over princes.
- Wisdom appeases a man’s anger, and his fame is the forgiveness of faults. 12. The anger of a king is like the roaring of a lion, and his goodwill is like dew on the grass.
- A disobedient son is his father’s misfortune, and a woman’s strife a continual gutter.
Read also: What did Solomon do? Was Solomon wise?
Fall of Solomon
The first cause of Solomon’s fall was his disobedience to the Law of Deuteronomy, which forbade marriage to foreign women. The bottom line is that “women humbled his heart.
In addition to intermarriage, forbidden by Deuteronomy, Solomon sinned even more grievously by idolatry.
Solomon no longer deserves his name, the Deuteronomist would like to point out, because he turned away from worshipping the true God. In the Deuteronomistic story, Solomon’s sin is also punished by God allowing enemies’ rise.
Solomon’s rehabilitation can also be traced in the Septuagint if compared with the Hebrew text. Solomon’s figure is magnified to the maximum. If, for example, according to the Hebrew text Solomon composed 1,005 songs. Solomon is not addressed to prayers, but he appears iconographically as an Old Testament saint who through shadow and unfulfillment prefigured Christ and wrote under divine inspiration biblical books.
If you enjoyed this article, I recommend you to check our Trivia Section to test your knowledge about Solomon’s wisdom and life.