The reign of the ancient Israelite King Solomon is examined. Included: his affair with the Queen of Sheba; the mystery of the Ark of the Covenant; and his legendary wisdom. (Biblical Mysteries EP35) Solomon (Hebrew: שְׁלֹמֹה, Modern Shlomo Tiberian Šəlōmō ISO 259-3 Šlomo; Arabic: سليمان‎ Sulaymān, also colloquially: Silimān; Greek: Σολομών Solomōn), also called Jedidiah (Hebrew יְדִידְיָהּ), was, according to the Book of Kings, the Book of Chronicles, Hidden Words and the Qur'an a king of Israel and the son of David. The conventional dates of Solomon's reign are circa 970 to 931 BC. He is described as the third king of the United Monarchy, and the final king before the northern Kingdom of Israel and the southern Kingdom of Judah split. Following the split, his patrilineal descendants ruled over Judah alone. According to the Talmud, Solomon is one of the 48 prophets. In the Qur'an, he is considered a major prophet, and Muslims generally refer to him by the Arabic variant Sulayman, son of David. The Hebrew Bible credits Solomon as the builder of the First Temple in Jerusalem and portrays him as great in wisdom, wealth, and power, but ultimately as a king whose sin, including idolatry and turning away from Yahweh, leads to the kingdom's being torn in two during the reign of his son Rehoboam. Solomon is the subject of many other later references and legends, most notably in the 1st-century apocryphal work known as the Testament of Solomon. In later years, Solomon also came to be known as a magician and an exorcist, with numerous amulets and medallion seals dating from the Hellenistic period invoking his name. Succession According to the biblical First Book of Kings, when David was old, "he could not get warm." "So they sought for a beautiful young woman throughout all the territory of Israel, and found Abishag the Shunammite, and brought her to the king. The young woman was very beautiful, and she was of service to the king and attended to him, but the king knew her not." While David was in this state, his fourth son Adonijah, heir apparent to the throne after the death of his elder brothers Amnon and Absalom, acted to have himself declared king, but Bathsheba, a wife of David and Solomon's mother, along with the prophet Nathan, convinced David to proclaim Solomon king. Adonijah fled and took refuge at the altar, and received pardon for his conduct from Solomon on the condition that he show himself "a worthy man." (1 Kings 1:5-53) Adonijah asked to marry Abishag the Shunammite, but Solomon disallowed that, although Bathsheba now pleaded on Adonijah's behalf. He was then seized and put to death (1 Kings 2:13-25). As made clear in the earlier story of Absalom's rebellion, to possess the royal harem was in this society tantamount to claiming the throne; this applied even to a woman who had shared the bed of a king advanced in age, though she had no intimate relations with King David. David's general Joab was killed, in accord with David's deathbed request to Solomon, because he had killed generals Abner and Amasa during a peace (2 Samuel 20:8-13; 1 Kings 2:5). David's priest Abiathar was exiled by Solomon because he had sided with Adonijah. Abiathar is a descendent of Eli, which has important prophetic significance. (1 Kings 2:27) Shimei was confined to Jerusalem and killed three years later, when he went to Gath to retrieve some runaway servants, in part because he had cursed David when David's son Absalom rebelled against David. (1 Kings 2:1-46) In a brief, unelaborated, and enigmatic passage, the Hebrew Bible describes how the fame of Solomon's wisdom and wealth spread far and wide, so much so that the queen of Sheba decided that she should meet him. The queen is described as visiting with a number of gifts including gold, spices and precious stones. When Solomon gave her "all her desire, whatsoever she asked," she left satisfied

• published: 12 Dec 2013
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