; Arab. سليمان Suleiman in the Koran) - the third Jewish king, the legendary ruler of the united Kingdom of Israel in -928 BC. e. , during its peak period. Son of King David and Bathsheba (Batsheba), his co-ruler in -965 BC. e. During the reign of Solomon, the Temple of Jerusalem, the main shrine of Judaism, was built in Jerusalem.
Names of Solomon
Name Shlomo(Solomon) in Hebrew comes from the root "שלום" ( shalom- “peace”, meaning “not war”), as well as “שלם” ( shawl- “perfect”, “whole”). Solomon is also mentioned in the Bible under a number of other names. For example, it is called Yedidia("beloved of God or friend of God") is a symbolic name given to Solomon as a sign of God's favor towards his father David after his deep repentance regarding his adultery with Bathsheba. In the Haggadah, the names Agur, Bin, Yake, Lemuel, Itiel and Ukal are also attributed to King Solomon.
Biblical narrative
The Bible is the primary source used to justify the historicity of Solomon as a real person. In addition, his name is mentioned in the works of some authors of antiquity, as Josephus wrote about. Excluding biblical stories written down more than 400 years later [ ] after Solomon's death, no historical evidence of his existence has been discovered. Nevertheless, he is generally considered a historical figure. There is particularly detailed factual information on this reign in the Bible, with many personal names and numbers. The name of Solomon is associated mainly with the construction of the Jerusalem Temple, destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar II and several cities, the construction of which was also associated with his name. At the same time, a completely plausible historical outline is adjacent to obvious exaggerations. For later periods of Jewish history, Solomon's reign represented a kind of "golden age". As happens in such cases, all the blessings of the world were attributed to the “sun-like” king - wealth, women, remarkable intelligence.
Rise to power
End of the reign
According to the Bible, Solomon had seven hundred wives and three hundred concubines (1 Kings), among whom were foreigners. One of them, who by that time had become his beloved wife and had great influence on the king, convinced Solomon to build a pagan altar and worship her deities native land. For this, God was angry with him and promised many hardships to the people of Israel, but after the end of Solomon’s reign (since David was promised the prosperity of the country even under his son). Thus, the entire reign of Solomon passed quite calmly. Solomon died in the fortieth year of his reign. According to legend, this happened while he was overseeing the construction of a new altar. To avoid a mistake (assuming that this could be a lethargic dream), those close to him did not bury him until the worms began to sharpen his staff. Only then was he officially declared dead and buried. The enormous costs of building the temple and palace (the latter took twice as long to build as the temple) depleted the state treasury. Not only prisoners and slaves, but also ordinary subjects of the tsar served construction duty. Even during Solomon’s lifetime, uprisings of the conquered peoples (Edomites, Arameans) began; immediately after his death, an uprising broke out, as a result of which the single state split into two kingdoms (Israel and Judah).
Solomon in Islam
Image in art
The image of King Solomon inspired many poets and artists: for example, the German poet of the 18th century. F.-G. Klopstock dedicated a tragedy in verse to him, the artist Rubens painted the painting “The Judgment of Solomon,” Handel dedicated an oratorio to him, and Gounod an opera. A. I. Kuprin used the image of King Solomon and the motif of the “Song of Songs” in his story “Shulamith” (1908). Based on the corresponding legend, the peplum “Solomon and the Queen of Sheba” (1959) was filmed.
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Notes
Jeroboam I
Jero'am
Rehoboam
Rehovo'am
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Passage describing Solomon
- Mr. Adjutant, protect me. What is this? – the doctor shouted.- Please let this cart pass. Can't you see that this is a woman? - said Prince Andrei, driving up to the officer.
The officer looked at him and, without answering, turned back to the soldier: “I’ll go around them... Back!...
“Let me through, I’m telling you,” Prince Andrei repeated again, pursing his lips.
- And who are you? - the officer suddenly turned to him with drunken fury. - Who are you? Are you (he especially emphasized you) the boss, or what? I'm the boss here, not you. “You go back,” he repeated, “I’ll smash you into a piece of cake.”
The officer apparently liked this expression.
“He shaved the adjutant seriously,” a voice was heard from behind.
Prince Andrei saw that the officer was in that drunken fit of causeless rage in which people do not remember what they say. He saw that his intercession for the doctor’s wife in the wagon was filled with what he feared most in the world, what is called ridicule [ridiculous], but his instinct said something else. The officer didn't have time to finish last words when Prince Andrei, his face disfigured from rage, rode up to him and raised his whip:
- Please let me in!
The officer waved his hand and hurriedly drove away.
“It’s all from them, from the staff, it’s all a mess,” he grumbled. - Do as you please.
Prince Andrei hastily, without raising his eyes, rode away from the doctor's wife, who called him a savior, and, recalling with disgust the smallest details of this humiliating scene, galloped further to the village where, as he was told, the commander-in-chief was located.
Having entered the village, he got off his horse and went to the first house with the intention of resting at least for a minute, eating something and bringing into clarity all these offensive thoughts that tormented him. “This is a crowd of scoundrels, not an army,” he thought, approaching the window of the first house, when a familiar voice called him by name.
He looked back. Leaning out of a small window Beautiful face Nesvitsky. Nesvitsky, chewing something with his juicy mouth and waving his arms, called him to him.
- Bolkonsky, Bolkonsky! Don't you hear, or what? “Go quickly,” he shouted.
Entering the house, Prince Andrei saw Nesvitsky and another adjutant eating something. They hastily turned to Bolkonsky asking if he knew anything new. On their faces, so familiar to him, Prince Andrei read an expression of anxiety and concern. This expression was especially noticeable on Nesvitsky’s always laughing face.
-Where is the commander-in-chief? – asked Bolkonsky.
“Here, in that house,” answered the adjutant.
- Well, is it true that there is peace and surrender? – asked Nesvitsky.
- I'm asking you. I don’t know anything except that I got to you by force.
- What about us, brother? Horror! “I’m sorry, brother, they laughed at Mak, but it’s even worse for us,” Nesvitsky said. - Well, sit down and eat something.
“Now, prince, you won’t find any carts or anything, and your Peter, God knows where,” said another adjutant.
-Where is the main apartment?
– We’ll spend the night in Tsnaim.
“And I loaded everything I needed onto two horses,” said Nesvitsky, “and they made me excellent packs.” At least escape through the Bohemian mountains. It's bad, brother. Are you really unwell, why are you shuddering like that? - Nesvitsky asked, noticing how Prince Andrei twitched, as if from touching a Leyden jar.
“Nothing,” answered Prince Andrei.
At that moment he remembered his recent clash with the doctor’s wife and the Furshtat officer.
-What is the commander-in-chief doing here? - he asked.
“I don’t understand anything,” said Nesvitsky.
“All I understand is that everything is disgusting, disgusting and disgusting,” said Prince Andrei and went to the house where the commander-in-chief stood.
Passing by Kutuzov's carriage, the tortured horses of the retinue and the Cossacks speaking loudly among themselves, Prince Andrei entered the entryway. Kutuzov himself, as Prince Andrei was told, was in the hut with Prince Bagration and Weyrother. Weyrother was an Austrian general who replaced the murdered Schmit. In the entryway little Kozlovsky was squatting in front of the clerk. The clerk on an inverted tub, turning up the cuffs of his uniform, hastily wrote. Kozlovsky’s face was exhausted - he, apparently, had not slept at night either. He looked at Prince Andrei and did not even nod his head to him.
– Second line... Wrote it? - he continued, dictating to the clerk, - Kiev Grenadier, Podolsk...
“You won’t have time, your honor,” the clerk answered disrespectfully and angrily, looking back at Kozlovsky.
At that time, Kutuzov’s animatedly dissatisfied voice was heard from behind the door, interrupted by another, unfamiliar voice. By the sound of these voices, by the inattention with which Kozlovsky looked at him, by the irreverence of the exhausted clerk, by the fact that the clerk and Kozlovsky were sitting so close to the commander-in-chief on the floor near the tub, and by the fact that the Cossacks holding the horses laughed loudly under window of the house - from all this, Prince Andrei felt that something important and unfortunate was about to happen.
Prince Andrei urgently turned to Kozlovsky with questions.
“Now, prince,” said Kozlovsky. – Disposition to Bagration.
-What about capitulation?
- There is none; orders for battle have been made.
Prince Andrei headed towards the door from behind which voices were heard. But just as he wanted to open the door, the voices in the room fell silent, the door opened of its own accord, and Kutuzov, with his aquiline nose on his plump face, appeared on the threshold.
Prince Andrei stood directly opposite Kutuzov; but from the expression of the commander-in-chief’s only seeing eye it was clear that thought and concern occupied him so much that it seemed to obscure his vision. He looked directly at the face of his adjutant and did not recognize him.
- Well, have you finished? – he turned to Kozlovsky.
- Right this second, Your Excellency.
Bagration, short, with oriental type hard and motionless face, dry, not yet an old man, went out to get the commander-in-chief.
“I have the honor to appear,” Prince Andrei repeated quite loudly, handing over the envelope.
- Oh, from Vienna? Fine. After, after!
Kutuzov went out with Bagration onto the porch.
“Well, prince, goodbye,” he said to Bagration. - Christ is with you. I bless you for this great feat.
Kutuzov's face suddenly softened, and tears appeared in his eyes. He pulled Bagration to him with his left hand, and with his right hand, on which there was a ring, apparently crossed him with a familiar gesture and offered him his plump cheek, instead of which Bagration kissed him on the neck.
- Christ is with you! – Kutuzov repeated and walked up to the carriage. “Sit down with me,” he said to Bolkonsky.
– Your Excellency, I would like to be useful here. Let me stay in the detachment of Prince Bagration.
“Sit down,” said Kutuzov and, noticing that Bolkonsky was hesitating, “I need good officers myself, I need them myself.”
They got into the carriage and drove in silence for several minutes.
“There is still a lot ahead, there will be a lot of things,” he said with an senile expression of insight, as if he understood everything that was happening in Bolkonsky’s soul. “If one tenth of his detachment comes tomorrow, I will thank God,” added Kutuzov, as if speaking to himself.
Prince Andrei looked at Kutuzov, and he involuntarily caught his eye, half an arshin away from him, the cleanly washed assemblies of the scar on Kutuzov’s temple, where the Izmail bullet pierced his head, and his leaking eye. “Yes, he has the right to talk so calmly about the death of these people!” thought Bolkonsky.
“That’s why I ask you to send me to this detachment,” he said.
Kutuzov did not answer. He seemed to have already forgotten what he had said and sat thoughtful. Five minutes later, smoothly rocking on the soft springs of the stroller, Kutuzov turned to Prince Andrei. There was no trace of excitement on his face. With subtle mockery, he asked Prince Andrei about the details of his meeting with the emperor, about the reviews he had heard at court about the Kremlin affair, and about some common women he knew.
Kutuzov, through his spy, received news on November 1 that put the army he commanded in an almost hopeless situation. The scout reported that the French in huge numbers, having crossed the Vienna bridge, headed towards Kutuzov’s route of communication with the troops coming from Russia. If Kutuzov had decided to stay in Krems, then Napoleon’s army of one and a half thousand would have cut him off from all communications, surrounded his exhausted army of forty thousand, and he would have been in Mack’s position near Ulm. If Kutuzov had decided to leave the road that led to communications with troops from Russia, then he would have had to enter without a road into the unknown lands of the Bohemian
mountains, defending themselves from superior enemy forces, and abandoning all hope of communication with Buxhoeveden. If Kutuzov had decided to retreat along the road from Krems to Olmutz to join forces with troops from Russia, then he risked being warned on this road by the French who had crossed the bridge in Vienna, and thus being forced to accept battle on the march, with all the burdens and convoys, and dealing with an enemy three times his size and surrounding him on both sides.
Kutuzov chose this last exit.
The French, as the spy reported, having crossed the bridge in Vienna, were marching in an intensified march towards Znaim, which lay on Kutuzov’s retreat route, more than a hundred miles ahead of him. To reach Znaim before the French meant to have great hope of saving the army; to allow the French to warn themselves in Znaim would probably mean exposing the entire army to a disgrace similar to that of Ulm, or to general destruction. But it was impossible to warn the French with their entire army. The French road from Vienna to Znaim was shorter and better than the Russian road from Krems to Znaim.
On the night of receiving the news, Kutuzov sent Bagration’s four-thousand-strong vanguard to the right over the mountains from the Kremlin-Znaim road to the Vienna-Znaim road. Bagration had to go through this transition without rest, stop facing Vienna and back to Znaim, and if he managed to warn the French, he had to delay them as long as he could. Kutuzov himself, with all his hardships, set out for Znaim.
Having walked with hungry, shoeless soldiers, without a road, through the mountains, on a stormy night forty-five miles, having lost a third of the stragglers, Bagration went to Gollabrun on the Vienna Znaim road several hours before the French approached Gollabrun from Vienna. Kutuzov had to walk another whole day with his convoys to reach Znaim, and therefore, in order to save the army, Bagration, with four thousand hungry, exhausted soldiers, had to hold off for a day the entire enemy army that met him in Gollabrun, which was obvious , impossible. But a strange fate made the impossible possible. The success of that deception, which gave the Vienna bridge into the hands of the French without a fight, prompted Murat to try to deceive Kutuzov in the same way. Murat, having met Bagration’s weak detachment on the Tsnaim road, thought that it was the entire army of Kutuzov. In order to undoubtedly crush this army, he waited for the troops that had fallen behind on the road from Vienna and for this purpose proposed a truce for three days, with the condition that both troops would not change their positions and would not move. Murat insisted that negotiations for peace were already underway and that, therefore, avoiding useless shedding of blood, he was offering a truce. The Austrian general Count Nostitz, who was stationed at the outposts, believed the words of the envoy Murat and retreated, revealing Bagration's detachment. Another envoy went to the Russian chain to announce the same news about peace negotiations and offer a truce to the Russian troops for three days. Bagration replied that he could not accept or not accept a truce, and with a report of the proposal made to him, he sent his adjutant to Kutuzov.
The truce for Kutuzov was the only way to gain time, give Bagration’s exhausted detachment a rest and allow convoys and loads to pass through (the movement of which was hidden from the French), although there was one extra march to Znaim. The offer of a truce provided the only and unexpected opportunity to save the army. Having received this news, Kutuzov immediately sent Adjutant General Wintzingerode, who was with him, to the enemy camp. Wintzingerode had to not only accept the truce, but also offer terms of surrender, and meanwhile Kutuzov sent his adjutants back to hurry as much as possible the movement of the convoys of the entire army along the Kremlin-Znaim road. The exhausted, hungry detachment of Bagration alone had to, covering this movement of the convoys and the entire army, remain motionless in front of an enemy eight times stronger.
Kutuzov's expectations came true both regarding the fact that the non-binding offers of surrender could give time for some of the convoys to pass through, and regarding the fact that Murat's mistake was to be revealed very soon. As soon as Bonaparte, who was in Schönbrunn, 25 versts from Gollabrun, received Murat’s report and the draft truce and capitulation, he saw the deception and wrote the following letter to Murat:
Au prince Murat. Schoenbrunn, 25 brumaire en 1805 a huit heures du matin.
“II m"est impossible de trouver des termes pour vous exprimer mon mecontentement. Vous ne commandez que mon avant garde et vous n"avez pas le droit de faire d"armistice sans mon ordre. Vous me faites perdre le fruit d"une campagne . Rompez l"armistice sur le champ et Mariechez a l"ennemi. Vous lui ferez declarer, que le general qui a signe cette capitulation, n"avait pas le droit de le faire, qu"il n"y a que l"Empereur de Russie qui ait ce droit.
“Toutes les fois cependant que l"Empereur de Russie ratifierait la dite convention, je la ratifierai; mais ce n"est qu"une ruse. Mariechez, detruisez l"armee russe... vous etes en position de prendre son bagage et son artiller.
"L"aide de camp de l"Empereur de Russie est un... Les officiers ne sont rien quand ils n"ont pas de pouvoirs: celui ci n"en avait point... Les Autrichiens se sont laisse jouer pour le passage du pont de Vienne , vous vous laissez jouer par un aide de camp de l"Empereur. Napoleon."
[To Prince Murat. Schönbrunn, 25 Brumaire 1805 8 am.
I can't find words to express my displeasure to you. You command only my vanguard and have no right to make a truce without my order. You are making me lose the fruits of an entire campaign. Immediately break the truce and go against the enemy. You will tell him that the general who signed this surrender did not have the right to do so, and no one has the right to do so, with the exception of the Russian emperor.
I gave him a name Solomon and promised that his reign would proceed in peace and tranquility (1 Chron. 22, 9-10). In addition, the Lord commanded through the prophet Nathan to name Solomon Yedidia(2 Kings 12:25).
Solomon loved God and walked according to his father's rules. The prophet Nathan is called his teacher. Thanks to Nathan's intervention, young Solomon was anointed king and proclaimed king during his father's lifetime. The solemn anointing, by the will of King David, was performed by the prophet Nathan and the priest Zadok in Gion (3 Kings 1, 32 -40). Before his death, David ordered Solomon to use the materials he had collected to build the temple of God (1 Chron. 22:6-16). He also left a testament to the heir to be firm and courageous, to keep the covenant of the Lord God and to give appropriate retribution and reward to David’s opponents and associates (1 Kings 2:1-9).
Solomon's ascension to the throne thwarted the first attempt at accession by his older brother, Adonijah. However, Adonijah soon turned to the young king with a request to give him Abishag, the girl who looked after the aged David, as his wife, hoping with her help to fulfill his ambitions. Solomon saw in this request a new encroachment on the throne, and according to his will, Adonijah was killed. The main military leader Joab, who supported Adonijah, was also killed, and the high priest Abiathar was exiled to Anathoth; their places were taken by the military commander Benaiah and the high priest Zadok (1 Kings 2, 12 -35).
In the year of Solomon’s accession, Naamah the Ammonite gave birth to a son and future heir, Rehoboam (1 Kings 14:21). At the same time, the young king strengthened his power by marrying the daughter of the Egyptian pharaoh (1 Kings 3:1), receiving the city of Gezer as a dowry - an exceptional case in the annals of Egypt, indicating recognition of the power of the Kingdom of Israel.
Finally, Solomon’s most important step to strengthen his power was making a sacrifice to God. In that era, in the absence of a temple, “the people still offered sacrifices on the high places” (3 Kings 3:2), which is why Solomon went to Gibeon, where the main altar was located, to offer a sacrifice to God there. Here the Lord appeared to him in a night dream and said: “Ask what I can give you” (1 Kings 3:5). Solomon confessed himself to be a “little child” before the greatness of God’s people, and asked for himself “an understanding heart to judge Your people and discern what is good and what is evil” (1 Kings 3:7-9). He also asked for “wisdom and knowledge, that I might be able to go out and enter before this people” (2 Chron. 1:10). The answer was pleasing to the Lord, and He gave Solomon:
"a wise and understanding heart, so that there was no one like you before you, and after you there will not arise one like you; [...] and wealth and glory, so that there will be no one like you among kings all your days. And if you walk in My way, keeping My statutes and My commandments, as your father David walked, I will prolong your days."(3 Kings 3:11-14).
Wisdom of Solomon
Although Solomon was granted numerous gifts of God, the first among them was the gift of reason. Soon the king showed his wisdom in the trial of two harlot women who gave birth to babies at the same time, one of whom died at night while they were sleeping in the same house. To resolve their dispute about who owned the surviving baby, the king ordered the child to be cut in two and given half to each. Then one woman agreed, and the other - the real mother - prayed that the child should be given to another woman, but left alive. So the king established the truth and gave the child to his mother. The fame of Solomon's judgment spread throughout Israel and strengthened his power: people “began to fear the king, for they saw that the wisdom of God was in him to carry out judgment” (1 Kings 3:16-28).
Solomon's wisdom was "above the wisdom of all the children of the east and all the wisdom of the Egyptians [...] and his name was in glory among all the surrounding nations" (1 Kings 4, 30-31). An outstanding gift became a force that attracted and conquered the first people of other countries. Foreign kings, having heard about Solomon's wisdom, sought to meet him personally. Impressed by his intelligence, they presented him with generous gifts, becoming his free tributaries (1 Kings 10:24-25). A striking example is the Queen of Sheba - that is, the ruler of the remote Sabaean kingdom, who, taking with her especially abundant gifts, came to test Solomon and found him even wiser and richer than rumor had imagined him to be (1 Kings 10, 1-3; 2 Par 9, 1 -12).
Solomon is called the author of 3000 parables and 1005 songs (1 Kings 4:32), some of which were included in the canon of Holy Scripture.
The Rise of Solomon's Kingdom
The internal structure of the kingdom was ordered. The creation of the administrative apparatus, which began during the reign of David, continued. The list of Solomon's officials includes scribes, a scribe, a military commander, priests, a king's friend, a chief over the officers (regional governors), a chief over the royal house, and a chief over taxes (1 Kings 4:1-7). The entire state, with the exception of the inheritance of Judah, was divided into twelve regions, each of which was ruled by a special governor (1 Kings 4, 7 -19). To protect the vast kingdom, a permanent mobile army of 1,400 war chariots and 12,000 horsemen was created; 4 thousand stalls were built for horses and chariots (2 Chronicles 1, 14; 9, 25).
The Israelites under Solomon, “numbered as the sand by the sea, ate, drank and were merry” (1 Kings 4:20). The people lived calmly and in abundance, “every man under his own vineyard and under his own fig tree” (1 Kings 4:25). Israel achieved such material prosperity that gold and silver in Jerusalem were equal in price to a simple stone, and cedars to sycamore trees (2 Chron. 9, 27). At the same time, labor service was imposed on the people (1 Kings 5:13), and the Canaanites remaining in the country were converted into quit-rent laborers and low-level overseers.
Tsar Builder
The most notable material monuments of Solomon's kingdom were its numerous buildings, the most important of which was the majestic temple of God in Jerusalem. In fulfillment of God's command and father's covenant, in 480 after the exodus of the Jews from Egypt, in the fourth year of his reign (3 Kings 6:1), Solomon undertook the construction of the temple. Construction work lasted seven years and involved many tens of thousands of people. When the work on the construction of the temple was completed, Solomon put the silver, gold and things dedicated by David into its treasuries, after which he convened the leaders of the people to transfer the Ark of the Covenant from Zion to the temple (1 Kings 7, 51; 8, 1). Having solemnly placed the ark in a new place, the king blessed the people and led them in prayer to God and in making a sacrifice (1 Kings 8, 54 -55, 62). The Lord accepted and consecrated the new temple.
After completing the temple, Solomon began to build his luxurious palace, which took the next 13 years (1 Kings 7:1). He also built a wall around Jerusalem and a palace for his Egyptian wife, the daughter of Pharaoh, due to which Jerusalem expanded to the north. Biblical narrative confirmed archaeological finds, also testifies to the construction of garrison cities where the chariot army was stationed, and casemate cities throughout the kingdom and, possibly, in the border areas in Hammat (1 Kings 9, 17-19; 2 Chron 8, 2-6). Public buildings, powerful city walls, four-column gates were built - parts of this urban planning program are evident in Gatsor, Megiddo, Bethsamis, Tel Bet Mirsim, Gezer. The characteristic structure of a four-room Israeli house built of cut stone has taken shape.
Decline of Solomon's kingdom
The prosperity of Israel under Solomon was a consequence of the blessing of God received by the king at the beginning of his reign. However, over time, devotion to the Creator began to weaken in Solomon’s heart. When, after the completion of the construction of the temple and palace, the Lord appeared to him for the second time, the words of God sounded a formidable warning against the worship of foreign gods (1 Kings 9, 1-9; 2 Chron 7, 11-22). But the king could not resist the temptation and over time fell into idolatry, since his heart was corrupted by the numerous foreign women whom he fell in love with. The king had 700 wives and 300 concubines - in addition to the Egyptian princess, among them were Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Sidonians and Hittites - and under their influence Solomon began to build temples and worship false gods - Ashtoreth, Milcom, Hamus and Moloch ( 3 Kings 11, 1 -10).
Then the Lord informed Solomon that, for the king’s unfaithfulness, He would take away his kingdom. However, for the sake of David, God decided to show His judgment on Solomon after his death, leaving one tribe for his descendants (1 Kings 11, 11-13). The will of God was also confirmed by the prophecy of Ahijah the Silomite (3 Kings 11, 29 -39).
Not only external enemies, Ader and Razon, rose up against Solomon, but also internal ones, Jeroboam. The king failed to kill the rebel, who fled to Egypt. Meanwhile, the social ground for the withdrawal of the northern tribes from the royal house was prepared by duties and taxes, which the Israelites called “cruel work” and “a heavy yoke” (1 Kings 12:4), as well as the luxury of the royal court and the privileged position of the tribe of Judah. If we accept the dating of the book of Ecclesiastes in recent years life of Solomon, it appears as evidence that the king who sinned, according to the word of St. Philaret of Chernigov, " did not remain without repentance, and the truth in the soul of Solomon was not eclipsed". Theme of vanity worldly life and the consciousness of “the only thing needed” act as the epitaph of the wise king:
Let us listen to the essence of everything: fear God and keep His commandments, because this is everything for man.(Ecclesiastes 12, 13)
On the other hand, the Venerable Joseph of Volotsk, although he calls Solomon “wise,” says that the king “ died in sins" .
Solomon died after reigning in Jerusalem over all Israel for forty years, and was buried in Zion (1 Kings 11:42-43). The throne passed to his son Rehoboam, but then Jeroboam returned and led a successful uprising of 10 tribes against Judah. Thus, God’s judgment over the house of David and the Jewish people was expressed in the division of the kingdom into Israel (North) and Judah (South), which were no longer destined to unite and achieve their former power.
The death of Solomon and the division of the unified kingdom is usually attributed to the period between and around the year BC. Since the Holy Scripture indicates the duration of his reign - 40 years, his accession is dated accordingly - in years. Opinions differ much more about Solomon's lifespan. As a result, the authors of significant studies about Solomon present different versions of the dating. For example, Kaplinsky dates the birth to the year, the accession to the year, and the death and division of the kingdom to the year BC. . Dubnov believes that Solomon lived 64 years. The version about Solomon's accession to the throne at the age of twelve is found in the Armenian historian Moses of Khoren. The ancient historian Josephus stands apart, claiming that Solomon lived for 90 years, of which he reigned for 80 years.
Memory
The significance of Solomon, his deeds and his era made his name unforgettable for a number of reasons. The one whose name proclaimed him the king of “peace” is a prototype of Christ - God’s great King-Peacemaker. Solomon occupies a unique place as the first builder of the temple of God in history. His illustrious wisdom - the main gift Solomon asked from God - is revealed in the Holy Scriptures as his most stable attribute. Jesus, the son of Sirach, extols Solomon:
How wise you were in your youth and, like a river, full of intelligence! Your soul covered the earth, and you filled it with mysterious parables; your name spread to the distant islands, and you were loved for your peace; Countries marveled at you for your songs and sayings, for your parables and explanations.(Sir 47, 16 -19)
The Holy Scriptures contain a fairly extensive narrative about Solomon - in the Third Book of Kings, ch. 1-11 and in 2 Chronicles, ch. 1-9; the lost Book of Solomon’s works is also known (3 Kings 11, 41). The Bible also includes four books associated with Solomon's name: Proverbs, Wisdom, Ecclesiastes, and Song of Songs. Although Solomon's authorship of some of these texts is not in dispute, they reveal the depth of wisdom, edification, and prophetic gifts that are traditionally attributed to this king. The significance of Solomon explains the appearance of other writings that began to be signed with his name (pseudepigrapha) - such as the Psalms of Solomon and the Songs of Solomon. At the time of the incarnation of the Lord Jesus Christ, the image of Solomon among the Jews was a widely accepted standard of wisdom and glory. This recognition determines the power of the Lord’s words when He says that He is “greater than Solomon” (Matt. 12:42; Luke 11:31), and when He points out that “and Solomon in all his glory was not dressed like any from the lilies of the field (Matt. 6:29).
The New Testament Church, as the canon of worship and iconography was formed, more accurately comprehended the place of Solomon in the life of the people of God. In his Great Canon, St. Andrew of Crete speaks impartially about Solomon:
"Solomon, wonderful and full of grace and wisdom, having sometimes done this evil thing before God, depart from Him [...] I am drawn by the pleasures of my passions, having become defiled, alas for me, the healer of wisdom, the guardian of prodigal women, and strange from God"(Tuesday, canto 7).
Although Solomon's apostasy from the faith was not a complete falling away, the Church does not glorify him for his godly life, like all other honest forefathers. In the sequence of the Week of Saints, other forefathers are mentioned repeatedly, with specific indications of the characteristics of their feat, but Solomon is mentioned only once: " Let us praise Adam, Abel, Seth [...] David and Solomon"(luminous).
Solomon. The indicated word means peaceful. Solomon was the tenth son of David and was born from Bathsheba, who was first the wife of Uriah, in 1033 BC (). The name Solomon was given to him by his parents, according to the prophecy of Nathan, as a sign of the return to them of the peace and mercy of God and to commemorate his peaceful reign, in opposition to the warlike reign of David (). The Lord loved the newborn child, etc. Nathan, according to the word of the Lord, named him Iedidiah- beloved by God (). About the childhood and youth of the son of Bathsheba, priest. The writer does not transmit any information. Judging by deep love, shown by David to his future successor, and those solemn covenants with which he obliged him, transferring to him royal power - covenants, the implementation of which undoubtedly required great intelligence and great learning, one can unmistakably assume that Solomon was fully educated and trained in all the then the wisdom of Israel and that his mind, moreover, was deeply infused wisdom from above.
When David grew old, entered old age(), Adonijah, his eldest son, made an attempt to ascend the throne of his father. In this enterprise he was assisted by Joab, the chief commander of the army, and the high priest. Abiathar, as the head of the church due to his high position, enjoyed great influence among Israel. Joab and Abiathar were, of course, well aware that they were living in a period of transition and that a new order of things was coming in which their power and influence could easily increase. Adonijah suspected Bathsheba’s son, and when he invited the other brothers to the supposed royal wedding, he did not send an invitation to Solomon: he probably already knew about his father’s intentions and about the Divine will not in his favor. The prophet Nathan, foreseeing the disasters that could result from this plan, immediately advised Bathsheba to go to her elderly royal husband and remind him of his oath to make Solomon heir to his throne. The queen went to David, and thanks to her intense requests, measures were taken in a timely manner to destroy Adonijah’s treacherous encroachment on the throne. In order to warn something similar in the future, David immediately ordered Benaiah, an experienced military leader, Zadok the high priest, Nathan the prophet to bring Solomon to the stream Gion, anoint him with myrrh and proclaim him before the people as the future king of the Israelites. All this was done exactly. And they blew the trumpet and all the people shouted, “Long live King Solomon.” The joyful sounds of trumpets that were heard in the city were soon heard by Adonijah and his accomplices, who immediately fled in fear, expressed repentance and took an oath to the future king. The time approached for David to die, and so he, calling Solomon to him, urged him to carefully preserve purity of heart and justice both in his own person and in the management of affairs; gave him detailed instructions regarding the structure of the temple to Jehovah, ordered him to punish Joab for the murder of Abner and Amasa, as well as Shimei for the cruel curses he had once uttered against the head of the king. Soon after, the aged king slept with his fathers, and Solomon became the only king in Israel. Strictly fulfilling the will of his father and in order to ensure peace for his kingdom, the young king first of all took the opportunity to free his kingdom from the most powerful enemies: for this purpose, Adonijah, Abishag, the last concubine in the house of David, Joab and Shimei were killed, the high priest. Abiathar was defrocked and banished to Anathoth, a city of refuge in the tribe of Benjamin. In accordance with eastern customs, Solomon took the daughter of Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, as his wife and brought her into the house of David - an event that, although it was a violation of the law, was celebrated even then with extraordinary luxury (Ps. XLIV). Solomon found it necessary to abandon for a time the wicked idolatry of some of his subjects, who even to this day had not yet completely freed themselves from idolatry, but offered sacrifices and incense on the high places. And although he himself loved the Lord and walked according to the statute of David his father, but he also offered sacrifices and incense on the high places(). Before the construction of the temple, the shrine, which enjoyed great reverence from the people, was located in Gibeon, where there stood a copper altar and an altar made by Moses in the desert. Solomon came here during one of the solemn meetings and here he offered a thousand burnt offerings to the Lord God on this altar. The Lord appeared to him in a dream at night and said to him: ask what to give you? The young king, with a deep sense of humility and submission to the will of God, asked himself only one thing - a reasonable heart, in order to fairly judge and govern the numerous people entrusted to his governance. And it pleased the Lord, notes the holy writer, that Solomon asked for this. He was given from the Lord a wise and understanding heart and, in addition, wealth and glory, much more than his predecessors had. Solomon then returned to Jerusalem and offered a thanksgiving sacrifice to the Lord before the Ark of the Covenant. And he made a great feast for all his servants ().
Having fully established himself on the throne and fully prepared to fulfill his difficult duties, David’s successor now appears before us as the wise ruler of the chosen 12 tribes. Since the acts of the glorious reign of Solomon, set out in III book. Kings (III-XI), and in II book. Steam. (IX), with a few distinguished exceptions, are fragmentary, we will make a brief sketch of I) - the wisdom of Solomon, II) - his wealth, III) - his reign and his personal character.
I. Wisdom of Solomon. Solomon's mind possessed all the principles on which true wisdom is based - that is, sound judgment, extensive memory, a huge store of knowledge and skillful application of it to business. The wise resolution of a dispute between two mothers regarding a living and a dead baby, a dispute that took place in his presence, reveals in him a clear and accurate understanding of the feelings of the human heart and deep wisdom (). The sound principles that guided him in administrative matters aroused deep respect and fear for such a wise judge. It is impossible not to notice that judicial duties at that time constituted one of the most important departments of the royal government; and so we read in the Bible that Solomon, already at the beginning of his reign, he made a porch with a throne from which he judged, he made a porch for the judgment seat(), on which he sat and resolved numerous litigations that arose among his subjects. His various knowledge in various matters was truly amazing. And there was the wisdom of Solomon, notes the priest. writer, above the wisdom of all the sons of the East, and all the wisdom of the Egyptians. He was wiser than all people(IV, 30, 31). He spoke three thousand proverbs, and his song was a thousand and five (v. 32). His knowledge was very diverse. According to the priest. writer, and he spoke of trees from the cedar that is in Lebanon to the hyssop that grows out of the wall; spoke about animals, and birds, and reptiles, and fish(). In addition to this enormous scientific knowledge and the above written works, Solomon compiled the following books: Song of Songs, Proverbs and Ecclesiastes, undoubtedly written by him under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. The fame of his extraordinary wisdom, naturally, could not be limited to the narrow borders of Judea. Between all the neighboring peoples and far, far away, even to the borders of Arabia, various amazing stories were transmitted about Solomon. And they came from all nations to hear the wisdom of Solomon(IV, 34). Hearing about the wisdom and glory of Solomon, the Queen of Sheba, or the South, came to Jerusalem with very great wealth to test him with riddles, and talked with him about everything that was in her heart. And Solomon explained to her all her words, and there was nothing unknown to Solomon that he would not explain to her.(X, 1–3). And so, I haven’t even been told half of the abundance of your wisdom, exclaimed the queen of distant Savea, parting with him, you surpass the rumors I've heard().
II. Solomon's Wealth. During the reign of Solomon, everything obviously favored the increase of his wealth in enormous quantities. Judah and Israel lived happily under their fig tree. There were no wars yet. Taxes from the neighboring peoples he defeated, the fruits of native activity - agricultural and pastoral, and all the acquisitions that came from the large trade that developed, abundantly filled Solomon's treasuries. From the last of these sources, the acquisitions were truly enormous. Trade relations were carried out with Tire, Arabia, Egypt, very likely with Babylon and, perhaps, also with India. He had a fleet in the Indian Ocean, which during one sea voyage gave him 400 talents of gold, and another in the Mediterranean Sea, trading with Tarshish and bringing him various precious metals. He also had trading warehouses in Palmyra and Balbec for overseas trade. The inhabitants of the desert will fall before him, exclaims the psalmist, and his enemies will lick the ashes. The kings of Tarshish and the islands will bring him tribute; the kings of Arabia and Sheba will present him with gifts(Ps. LXXI, 9–10). From these various countries and cities were exported large quantities of gold and silver, also ivory, red and other precious trees, fabrics, horses, monkeys and chariots, besides spice plants and other valuable articles of trade. Another abundant source of increasing wealth was the fame of his wisdom, which he acquired among all other nations. Numerous visitors from all over the earth gathered to visit him, the wisest of people, and each brought him gifts every year as a sign of their deep respect - namely, silver and gold vessels, military supplies, clothes and fragrant spices, horses and mules. And it is very likely that the various marital relationships that Solomon entered into with various royal daughters greatly increased his personal wealth. Thus, his wealth became so great that silver in Jerusalem was equivalent to a simple stone, and cedars, due to their abundance, became equivalent to sycamore trees. Solomon's household expenses reached enormous proportions. His lifestyle for many years was extremely luxurious: 700 wives and 300 concubines with a large retinue of eunuchs and other servants, of course, required huge daily expenses for their food (). Sacrifices of oxen and sheep brought by King Jehovah on various solemn occasions () could only be made by a person who owned unlimited sums of money.
At the same time, we do not mention the large expenses that he incurred for the construction of various heights, altars for smoking incense, etc., to which his foreign wives inclined his heart. During his reign, Solomon erected many different beautiful buildings, and the most magnificent of them, of course, was the temple to Jehovah, which he erected on the city of Moriah (see). He also built a magnificent palace for himself - a house made of wood from the Lebanese forest, a vestibule with a throne for judgment made of ivory and overlaid with pure gold (), and outside the walls of the city of Judah - a palace for Pharaoh's daughter. He also erected many other cities and buildings, smaller in size and not so richly decorated (). The material from which temples and palaces were built was always very valuable; it was sometimes delivered from the most distant countries, and the costs spent on their construction apparently exceeded all likelihood.
III. Reign of Solomon. And Judah and Israel lived, notes the priest. writer on the reign of Solomon, numerous as the sand by the sea, calmly, every one under his vineyard and under his fig tree, from Dan to Beersheba, all the days of Solomon(). Solomon divided this huge territory into 12 regions, which, however, did not correspond to the 12 tribes of Israel, and over each of them he placed a special guard, who in turn were supposed to deliver monthly food supplies for the maintenance of the royal court (). The long peace during his reign and the unparalleled welfare of his subjects gained Solomon and his kingdom a special loud glory and fame above all the kings and kingdoms of the earth. Truly, his reign was considered the golden age of Jewish history. Unfortunately, the following years of Solomon's reign did not correspond to the first years of his reign. Forgetting the King of Heaven, he did not properly heed the voice of the Lord, who warned him after the consecration of the temple, was carried away by the external splendor of his kingdom, abandoned or at least deviated from the faith of his fathers, began to serve Astarte, the deity of Sidon, and Milcom, the abomination Ammonite. Unheard-of and unparalleled luxury reigned at court, and his harem contained up to 700 wives and 300 concubines, mostly pagans from the surrounding nations - Moabites, Ammonites, etc. In addition, he imposed his heavy yoke and intense labor on the people. and the attachment of the people to such a sovereign has now become impossible. The people gradually became alienated from the house of David, and the seeds of rebellion were sown abundantly, which subsequently led to the disastrous division of the kingdom. Moreover, during Solomon’s lifetime, various trials and shocks began to befall him. In Idumea, long ago brought into subjection by David, Ader was now established, royal family Edomite During the conquest of the Edomites by David and the beating of them by his military commander Joab, Ader, while still a youth, with some other Edomites who served under his father, fled to Egypt, here he was favorably received by Pharaoh and gained great favor from him. Now, having heard about the death of David and Joab, he asked Pharaoh for his release, returned to his land and established himself in it. Another enemy of Israel in Solomon's day was Razon. He was a subject of Adraazar, the king of Suva, but he fled from him and during the defeat of Adraazar by David, having gathered around him a gang of free people, he settled in Damascus and ruled there, and with his raids he caused a lot of harm to Israel. But a particularly dangerous enemy for Solomon was his subject Jeroboam. He was from the tribe of Ephraim, from the city of Tsartan, and temporarily worked on the fortifications that Solomon made in the city of David. Noticing his courage and efficiency, Solomon made him overseer of the quitrents from the house of Joseph. Once Jeroboam went out of the city; The prophet Ahijah met him on the road. Having taken off new clothes which was on him, Ahijah tore it into 12 pieces and, commanding Jeroboam to take 10 of them, said to him: Thus says the Lord of Israel: Behold, I am tearing the kingdom out of the hand of Solomon, and I am giving you 10 tribes because they forsook Me and began to worship Ashtoreth, Chemosh, and Milcom. However, I will not take the kingdom away from Solomon himself; While he lives, he will remain king for the sake of David My servant, whom I have chosen and who kept My commandments, and I will take the kingdom out of the hands of his son; I will give you 10 tribes, but I will leave him one tribe, so that the lamp of David My servant may remain before Me all the days. So I appoint you to be king over Israel. If you keep all that I command you and do My commandments, like My servant David, then I will be with you and will strengthen your house like the house of David.. Jeroboam did not have enough obedience to the higher election to leave his future to God's will, and began to strive to take possession of the throne himself; but Solomon, having learned about this, sought to destroy him, and he fled to Egypt to Susakim, the king of Egypt, and remained there until the death of Solomon (). The reproof from the lips of the prophet and the various trials of the last time of Solomon’s reign could not, of course, fail to have a beneficial effect on him. The Lord himself promised David that He would be a father to his son, and if he acted badly, He would punish him with the blows of the sons of men, but He would not take His mercy from him, as He took it from Saul (). Book Ecclesiastes, written by Solomon in the advanced years of his life, makes it clear that he now really understood the vanity of everything earthly, all the pleasures of the world and all earthly labors and human efforts, and therefore he himself sought and taught others only in God and in the fulfillment of His commandments to seek the true for yourself peace and happiness (12, 13).
In conclusion about Solomon, we note here that no matter how great were his falls and errors, the main source of which was his blind passion for women and vanity, the wisdom of the first years of his reign and his divinely inspired writings will forever remain a school of wisdom and virtue for all people. In addition to the book of Ecclesiastes, Solomon left us a book Proverbs And Song of Songs. The book bears his name Wisdom, but despite all its highly instructive content, it belongs to a later time and is not found Hebrew. The book of the Song of Songs, according to the general interpretation of the Church Fathers, mysteriously depicts the love that unites God with man and Christ with every believing soul. IN Proverbs, or in his allegories and short sayings, Solomon teaches youth wisdom, piety, faithful fulfillment of their duties and the happiness of life, placing it in virtue. Solomon has so many wonderful lessons for all ages and conditions! How many wise lessons for kings! How many most edifying pieces of advice, rules and instructions regarding public positions and family life, for husbands and wives, for children and parents, for nobles and servants, for young men and old men, regarding wealth and poverty, purity of heart and frankness, work and rest, piety and fear of God, justice and justice, moderation and abstinence, frugality and extravagance, mercy and charity, goodness and meekness, prudence and wisdom, love and compassion for everyone, compassion for the animals themselves! It is also impossible not to notice that the age of Solomon was the most favorable in general for the sciences and arts. The art of construction, smelting, the art of engraving precious stones, metal processing, gilding, and sculptural art have received significant improvements. The construction of the temple, royal palaces and their rich decoration, elegant works of gold, ivory and carved wood, musical instruments of all kinds - all this encouraged and developed the artistic spirit of the people. Architecture appeared in more elegant and refined forms, in keeping with taste. Sciences also stood at a high level. Astronomy became a practical science and was not slow to make significant progress. Solomon also had extensive knowledge of medicine. He also wrote treatises on all animals, birds, trees, plants, which, unfortunately, have not reached us, but which at that time should have shed their light on the state of science. Navigation and seafaring were supposed to lead to various observations and discoveries and also have great importance for geography, astronomy and history, introducing various other peoples and their manners and customs. In the New Testament, the name of Solomon is mentioned several times by Jesus Christ. So, speaking about the beauty and splendor of the lily of the field, the Lord said that and Solomon in all his glory did not dress like any of them(). At another time, the Lord, reproaching the scribes and Pharisees who were looking for signs from Him, reminds them of the extraordinary wisdom of Solomon, known to everyone, saying this: the queen of the south will rise up in judgment with this generation and condemn it; for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and behold, there is more Solomon here(Matt. ChP, 42).
Solomon (Hebrew: שְׁלֹמֹה, Shlomo; Greek: Σαλωμών, Σολωμών in the Septuagint; Latin: Solomon in the Vulgate; Arabic: سليمان Suleiman in the Koran) - the third Jewish king b, legendary ruler of the united Kingdom of Israel in 965-928 BC n. e., during its peak period. Son of King David and Bathsheba (Bat Sheva), his co-ruler in 967-965 BC. e. During the reign of Solomon, the Jerusalem Temple, the main shrine of Judaism, was built in Jerusalem.
The name Shlomo (Solomon) in Hebrew comes from the root “שלום” (shalom - “peace”, meaning “not war”), as well as “שלם” (shalem - “perfect”, “whole”).
Solomon is also mentioned in the Bible under a number of other names. For example, he is called Jedidiah ("beloved of God or friend of God"), a symbolic name given to Solomon as a sign of God's favor towards his father David after his deep repentance regarding his adultery with Bathsheba.
In the Haggadah, the names Agur, Bin, Yake, Lemuel, Itiel and Ukal are also attributed to King Solomon.
The Bible is the primary source used to justify the historicity of Solomon as a real person. In addition, his name is mentioned in the works of some ancient authors, as Josephus Flavius wrote about.
Apart from biblical accounts written down more than 400 years after Solomon's death, no historical evidence of his existence has been found. Nevertheless, he is generally considered a historical figure. There is particularly detailed factual information on this reign in the Bible, with many personal names and numbers. The name of Solomon is associated mainly with the construction of the Jerusalem Temple, destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar II, and several cities, the construction of which was also associated with his name.
At the same time, a completely plausible historical outline is adjacent to obvious exaggerations. For later periods of Jewish history, the reign of Solomon represented a kind of “golden age.” As happens in such cases, all the blessings of the world were attributed to the “sun-like” king - wealth, women, remarkable intelligence.
King David intended to transfer the throne to Solomon, although he was one of his younger sons. When David became decrepit, his other son, Adonijah, tried to usurp power. He entered into a conspiracy with the high priest Abiathar and the commander of the troops Joab, and, taking advantage of David’s weakness, declared himself the successor to the throne, scheduling a magnificent coronation.
Solomon's mother, Bathsheba, as well as the prophet Nathan (Nathan) notified David about this. Adonijah fled and hid in the Tabernacle, grasping “the horns of the altar” (1 Kings 1:51); after his repentance, Solomon pardoned him. After coming to power, Solomon dealt with the other participants in the conspiracy. So, Solomon temporarily removed Abiathar from the priesthood and executed Joab, who tried to hide on the run. The executor of both executions, Benaiah, was appointed by Solomon as the new commander of the troops.
God gave Solomon kingship on the condition that he would not deviate from serving God. In exchange for this promise, God endowed Solomon with unprecedented wisdom and patience.
The basis of Solomon's wealth was the trade route from Egypt to Damascus that passed through his domain. He was not a warlike ruler, although the states of Israel and Judah, united under his rule, occupied a significant territory. Solomon maintained friendly relations with the Phoenician king Hiram. Great building projects left him indebted to Hiram. To pay off the debt, Solomon was forced to cede to him villages in the south of his lands.
According to the biblical narrative, having learned about the wisdom and glory of Solomon, the ruler of the Sabaean kingdom came to Solomon “to test him with riddles.” In response, Solomon also gifted the queen, giving “everything she wanted and asked for.” After this visit, according to the Bible, unprecedented prosperity began in Israel. 666 talents of gold came to King Solomon per year. Subsequently, the story of the Queen of Sheba became overgrown with numerous legends, even to the point of speculation about her love affair with Solomon. The Christian rulers of Ethiopia considered themselves descended from this connection (see Solomon dynasty).
It is believed that Solomon ended half a thousand years of hostility between Jews and Egyptians by taking his daughter as his first wife Egyptian pharaoh.
According to the Bible, Solomon had seven hundred wives and three hundred concubines (1 Kings 11:3), among whom were foreigners. One of them, who by that time had become his beloved wife and had great influence on the king, convinced Solomon to build a pagan altar and worship the deities of her native land. For this, God was angry with him and promised many hardships to the people of Israel, but after the end of Solomon’s reign. Thus, the entire reign of Solomon passed quite calmly.
Solomon died in 928 BC. e. at the age of 62 years. According to legend, this happened while he was overseeing the construction of a new altar. To avoid a mistake (assuming that this could be a lethargic dream), those close to him did not bury him until the worms began to sharpen his staff. Only then was he officially declared dead and buried.
The enormous costs of building the temple and palace (the latter took twice as long to build as the temple) depleted the state treasury. Not only prisoners and slaves, but also ordinary subjects of the tsar served construction duty. Even during Solomon’s lifetime, uprisings of the conquered peoples (Edomites, Arameans) began; immediately after his death, an uprising broke out, as a result of which the single state split into two kingdoms (Israel and Judah).
According to the Koran, Suleiman (Suleiman) was the son of the prophet Daoud. From his father, he learned a lot of knowledge and was chosen by Allah as a prophet, and he was given mystical power over many creatures, including jinn. He ruled a huge kingdom that extended to Yemen in the south. In Islamic tradition, Suleiman is known for his wisdom and justice. He is considered a model ruler. It is no coincidence that many Muslim monarchs bore his name.
The Islamic tradition has some parallels with the Haggadah, where Solomon is presented as "the wisest of men who could speak to the beasts, and they obeyed him." In the Jewish tradition there is a motif of humility of this proud king.
According to legend, under Solomon the sign of his father David became state seal. In Islam, the six-pointed star is called the Star of Solomon. At the same time, medieval mystics called the pentagram (five-pointed star) the Seal of Solomon. It is believed that the Star of Solomon formed the basis of the Maltese cross of the Knights of St. John.
In occult teachings (magic, alchemy, Kabbalah, etc.), the pentacle with the name “Star of Solomon” is considered a 12-pointed star. Due to the larger number of rays, a circle is formed in the center of the star. Often a symbol was inscribed in it, thanks to which the pentacle was believed to help in intellectual work and enhance talents.
The image of King Solomon inspired many poets and artists: for example, the German poet of the 18th century. F.-G. Klopstock dedicated a tragedy in verse to him, the artist Rubens painted the painting “The Judgment of Solomon,” Handel dedicated an oratorio to him, and Gounod an opera. used the image of King Solomon and the motif of the “Song of Songs” in his story “Shulamith” (1908). Based on the corresponding legend, the peplum “Solomon and the Queen of Sheba” (1959) was filmed.
Name: Solomon
Date of Birth: in 1011 BC uh
Date of death: in 928 BC uh
Age: 62 years old
Place of Birth: Jerusalem
A place of death: Jerusalem
Activity: King of the Kingdom of Israel
Family status: was married
King Solomon - biography
The name Solomon, Shlomo, that is, “peaceful,” under which the son went down in history, was given to him by his mother. His other name, which the prophet Nathan gave him at birth, was Jedidiah - “favorite of God.”
There are many people in history who are not quite deservedly known as great sages. But only Solomon, the king of Israel, although he committed many sins, managed to become a saint of three religions at once.
Solomon was fabulously lucky. To begin with, the vast majority of his contemporaries do not even have their names left, and we know almost everything about his life and deeds. After all, the books of Kings telling about him were included in Holy Scripture. although there is nothing particularly sacred about them. Here is what, for example, it tells about the events preceding the birth of little Prince Solomon in the family of King David:
“One evening, David, getting out of bed, was walking on the roof of the king’s house and saw a woman bathing from the roof; and that woman was very beautiful. And David sent to find out who this woman was? And they said to him, This is Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah the Hittite. David sent servants to take her; and she came to him, and he slept with her.”
To get rid of the beauty’s husband, King David ordered him to be sent on a military campaign and gave instructions; “Put Uriah where the strongest battle will be and retreat from him so that he will be defeated and die.” When Urin died, the king was able to marry Bathsheba, and in due course they had a son.
The king’s treacherous act could not be hidden, and a scandal broke out in Jerusalem. The prophet Nathan openly cursed the house of David, dooming it to fratricidal strife. In addition, he predicted that the baby born to Bathsheba would die. And so it happened. David then repented before the Lord, and Nathan declared that he was forgiven. Soon the beautiful Bathsheba gave birth to a second son, named Solomon, or Shlomo, from the word “shalom”, that is, peace.
This name was not chosen by chance: peace was the main thing that the king dreamed of then, exhausted from the struggle with the warlike people of the Philistines and other enemies, external and internal. By the time the prince was born, in the mid-900s BC, the kingdom, which was called either Israel or Judah, occupied less than half of the territory of present-day Israel. Every piece of land had to be fought for, often exterminating all its inhabitants. For example, after conquering the country of the Ammonites, David “put them under saws, under iron threshers, under iron axes, and threw them into kilns.”
By the time Solomon was born, forty-year-old King David already had two dozen offspring from different wives. Naturally, they accepted another heir without enthusiasm, and they did not treat each other like brothers. Shortly after Solomon was born, his older brother Amnon raped sister Tamar, his father forgave him. but another brother, Absalom. stood up for his sister's honor and ordered his servants to kill Amnon. After this, the prince fled to a neighboring country, but three years later David forgave him and even declared him the official heir.
But Absalom did not want to wait - he had long considered himself worthy of the throne, for he was the strongest and most handsome young man in Israel. The Bible writes that his luxurious hair, when he cut it once a year, weighed two hundred shekels - 2.4 kg. Having charmed or bribed many Israelis with generous gifts, he one fine day declared himself king. David, not wanting to fight with his son, went with his guard beyond the Jordan, but Absalom decided to get rid of his father once and for all. He and his followers caught up with David in the Forest of Ephraim, and his father had to start a battle. His seasoned fighters quickly put Absalom's inexperienced warriors to flight. The prince himself, while running away, got his hair entangled in the branches of a tree and was pierced by arrows.
The king’s worries did not end there - now the next eldest son, Adonijah, began to lay claim to the throne. In addition, in Israel, the northern half of the kingdom, a certain Sheba raised an uprising, and the Philistines again attacked from the west. David again defeated all his enemies, but he was already nearly seventy, and his iron health - in his youth he defeated the giant Goliath with one throw of a stone - was greatly weakened. At night he could not get warm, and the elders found a beautiful maiden named Avisaga for him. so that she would warm the king at night. - but he, the Bible explains, “knew it not.”
It seems that David's health was not at all good. Realizing this, his entourage divided into two factions: the commander-in-chief Joab and the high priest Abiathar wanted to place Adonijah on the throne, and the prophet Nathan and Bathsheba, who still owned the king’s heart, supported Solomon. Adonijah, confident of victory, had already appointed his coronation, but Bathsheba entered the king’s chambers and reminded him of the promise given to her: “Did you not, my lord the king, swear to your servant, saying: “Your son Solomon will be king after me”? Why did Adonijah reign?" And David appointed 18-year-old Solomon as his successor.
Adonijah, having learned that all his intrigues to become king were in vain, ran, fearing reprisals, to the temple and grabbed the horns of the altar, made in the form of a bull's head - this meant that he was asking for protection from God. He was forgiven, but David soon died, and Adonijah again tried to make his way to power. Here Solomon’s patience ran out, and he ordered the faithful general Vanei to kill Adonijah. At the same time, Joab was killed, although he also tried to find refuge at the altar. But Solomon spared the high priest Abiathar, telling him: “You are worthy of death, but at the present time I will not kill you.”
“And Solomon sat on the throne of his father David,” the Bible laconically writes. During the coronation, the new high priest Zadok anointed sacred world the forehead of the king, dressed in a linen dress embroidered with gold and a scarlet cloak. The Levites at this time sang the psalm: “I have anointed My King over Zion, My holy mountain.” As usual, the people were given bread and meat from lambs that were roasted right there. When the celebrations were over, it was time to get down to business.
A government was created consisting of Vanei, Minister of Finance Adoniram, Minister of the Court Ahisar and Minister of Police Azaria. With them, the king began to carry out his reforms, about which, oddly enough, we know almost nothing. The Bible is not a history book, and its compilers were primarily interested in moral tales and miracles. Solomon had plenty of the first in his life, but the legends attributed him with plenty of the second.
The first miracle happened at the beginning of his reign - as was customary, Solomon went to the sanctuary in Gibeon and spent the night there, and God, appearing to him in a dream, asked: “What can I give you?” The king asked for wisdom for himself, and the Almighty liked it so much that he gave Solomon not only wisdom, but also wealth and glory: “So there was no one like you before you, and after you there will not arise one like you.”
The king proved his wisdom by marrying the daughter of the Egyptian pharaoh: this ended the many years of enmity between the Jews and Egypt, which arose during the time of Moses. The princess gave birth to Solomon's daughters, who received the Egyptian names Basemat and Tafat. True, it was not she who became the king’s first wife, but Abishag, who warmed his father; the young people must have become close during David’s lifetime.
The Bible says: “And God gave Solomon wisdom and very great understanding, and a broad mind, like the sand on the seashore. And the wisdom of Solomon was greater than the wisdom of all the children of the east and all the wisdom of the Egyptians.” Unlike David, the king practically did not wage wars, but at the same time managed to expand the territory of Israel from the Nile to the Euphrates.
Most often this was done through marriages: he married the daughters of neighboring kings, after whose death - sometimes cleverly arranged - he took over their possessions. Since the “kings” of that time were only the elders of nomadic tribes or tiny towns, and in Palestine alone there were about three hundred of them, Solomon’s harem continually grew. According to the Bible, he had seven hundred wives and three hundred concubines.
The king’s wisdom was also evident in this. that he decided to unite his people common cause- namely, the construction of a new grandiose temple, where it was supposed to place the Ark of the Covenant (aron ha-brit) - the greatest shrine, inside of which the tablets received by Moses from the Lord himself were kept. David moved the ark from Gibeon to Jerusalem and wanted to build a worthy container for it, but did not have time. Now Solomon entered into an agreement with the king of Phoenician Tire, Hiram, in whose country the Lebanese cedars, famous throughout the Middle East, grew.
In exchange for the cedar wood, he agreed to give Hiram every year a large number of oils, meat and grains. 30 thousand people were sent to Tire to harvest wood; another 150 thousand residents of Israel mined stones in the mountains and transported them to Jerusalem. Almost all healthy men were forced to build the temple. The construction lasted 7 years, and a famous legend is associated with it about the chief mason, whose name was either Hiram, like the king, or Adoniram, like Solomon’s minister. He refused to reveal the secrets of his craft and was killed for it. Hiram's heirs allegedly founded the brotherhood of "free masons" (Freemasons) to protect the secrets, making its emblems the compass, square and sheer tools of the master and at the same time the instruments of his murder.
The completed temple was a huge building, which, according to theologians, could accommodate up to 50 thousand worshipers. In the center of the temple was the “holy of holies” (Davir), where an ark was installed on a stone pedestal, guarded by gilded statues of cherubs - not angels, but winged ones bulls five meters high. The temple was destroyed in 586 BC. Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar II, but before that the ark mysteriously disappeared.
Mystery lovers are still looking for it, like the other ark, Noah's. A new temple was built after the return of the Jews from Babylonian captivity, but was also destroyed, this time by the Romans. Today only one wall remains of him - the famous Wailing Wall, and of all the treasures of Solomon listed in the Bible, only the golden garnet, which the king gave to the high priest Zadok, has survived.
Israel under Solomon grew rich through agriculture and trade. The king's annual income was 666 talents - almost 23 tons of gold. The royal court consumed every day “thirty cows (cor = 220 liters) of wheat flour and sixty cows of other flour, ten fattened oxen and twenty oxen from pasture, and one hundred sheep, besides deer, and chamois, and saigas, and fattened birds.” “Silver was worth nothing in the days of Solomon,” says the Bible.
During excavations in Jerusalem, many cups for cosmetics, mirrors, hair pins, and jugs for imported incense were found - this proves that the ladies of the court vigilantly followed fashion. In the border city of Megiddo, archaeologists found huge stables - it seems that Solomon organized the supply of horses from Asia to Egypt, where the pharaoh's army urgently needed them. The king established the mining and smelting of copper, and also built a large fleet, which sailed to the country of Ophir every three years, bringing gold and valuable wood from there.
Scientists are still arguing where this Ophir was located and what relation the famous Queen of Sheba (Sheba) has to him, who arrived to Solomon “with very great wealth,” wanting to “test the king with riddles.” The ancient kingdom of Saba was located in Yemen; in Ethiopia, the queen is considered their countrywoman, but the Bible hints that she came specifically from Ophir. The queen came to test Solomon's wisdom and was so delighted that she handed him all the riches she had brought with her.
The biblical story ends here, but legends say that the beautiful Sheba, or Bilqis, as she is called in the Koran, fell in love with the king, and they did not marry only because the queen’s legs - or even all of her - were thickly covered with hair. This did not prevent, however, the queen from giving birth to Solomon’s son Menelik, who allegedly founded the dynasty of the Ethiopian Negus. In one of the churches in Ethiopia, according to rumors, the Ark of the Covenant is still kept, which the queen took with her - maybe that’s why it disappeared from Jerusalem?
The Bible does not list Solomon’s wars and other glorious deeds, besides the construction of the Temple - perhaps this was the main evidence of his wisdom. But the king was engaged in intensive literary creativity: “And he spoke three thousand parables, and his songs were a thousand and five; and he spoke about trees. .. and about animals, and about birds, and about reptiles, and about fish.” Last words.
misunderstood, later gave rise to the belief that Solomon understood the language of animals and birds.
Many legends have been preserved - Jewish, Christian, Muslim - about the wise deeds of Solomon. The most famous story is that when two women argued over a child - each insisted that she was his mother - the king ordered the boy to be cut in half and given half to each. The one who screamed in horror: “Give it to her, just don’t kill her!” - and was recognized as her own mother. No less famous is the story of the ring with the inscription: “Everything passes,” which was given to Solomon by one wise man. He said: “In difficult times, look at this ring and you will be comforted.”
The king did just that, but one day. looking at the ring, he only became more angry and tore it off his finger to throw it into the pond. Then on inside ring, he read the inscription: “This too shall pass.” Sometimes this story is continued: having grown old, the king grieved, realizing that the ring was telling the truth, and suddenly noticed a barely noticeable inscription on his rib. which read: “Nothing passes.”
Many such stories are contained in the biblical books The Proverbs of Solomon and the Wisdom of Solomon, the author of which is considered to be the king, although, most likely, this is a product of collective creativity. It is unlikely that another book belongs to him - the famous Ecclesiastes (“Speaking in the Assembly”). Bitter thoughts about the vanity of all things could, of course, belong to the aged king, but scientists found Persian and Aramaic words in the book, proving that it was written several centuries later.
Solomon is also credited with the “Song of Songs” (“Shir Ha-shirim”), a great book about love, which in a pious interpretation is interpreted as love for God. But is it? “Oh, you are beautiful, my beloved, you are beautiful! your dove eyes under your curls; your hair is like a herd of goats coming down from Mount Schlaad... Your lips are like a scarlet ribbon, and your lips are kind: like halves of a pomegranate apple are your cheeks under your curls... Your two breasts are like the twins of a young chamois grazing among the lilies "
Yes, Solomon could write something like this to one of his lovers, but he would hardly have dared to turn such sublime eroticism to the Almighty. In addition, half of the “Song of Songs” was written from the girl’s point of view - most likely, this is a collection of ancient wedding songs, wisely included in the Bible and thanks to this, preserved for the benefit of all lovers.
Already in the Middle Ages, many other works were attributed to Solomon - mostly occult and magical. Astrologers and alchemists, in order not to be accused of heresy, declared the king, recognized as a saint, as their patron. He supposedly had a wonderful throne guarded by golden animals, a flying carpet and a ring with the secret name of God engraved on it - with its help it was possible to command angels and demons. The five-pointed star, or pentagram, was nicknamed the “seal of Solomon” - according to legend, he stood at its center when he summoned the spirits.
One of the experiments ended sadly: the demon Asmodeus threw the king into the desert. from where he managed to get out only after three years, while the unclean one, who took his form, ruled in his place. In Islamic legends, Solomon (Suleiman ibn Daoud) is more fortunate: he commands an entire army of genies, and naughty ones, such as the genie Hottabych, beloved by Soviet children, from the book of Lazar Lagin. plants in jugs.
In fact, Solomon's power was not so great. For some time now, the king’s income did not cover his expenses. Having owed the Tyrian ruler Hiram a huge sum, he was forced to give him 20 cities. The population, oppressed by taxes, grumbled - especially the Israelis, who were more numerous than the inhabitants of Judea, but much poorer. Their fellow countryman Jeroboam, who held a prominent position in the royal administration, rebelled and then fled to Egypt, where he was warmly received by Pharaoh Shusakim. Another threat was the bandit Razon, who captured Damascus and became king there, constantly attacking the northern lands of Israel.
Solomon's numerous wives caused him no less trouble. And the point was not that they, as often happened in the royal harems, were intriguing. promoting their children as heirs. Solomon was not as prolific as his father: we know only one of his sons, Rehoboam. son of Naamah the Ammonite. This solved the problem of inheritance, but another problem arose, which the Bible writes about: “When Solomon was old, his wives turned his heart toward other gods, and his heart was not completely devoted to the Lord his God...
And Solomon began to serve Ashtoreth, the deity of Sidon, and Milcom, the abomination of the Ammonites... Then Solomon built a temple for Chemosh, the abomination of Moab, on the mountain that is before Jerusalem, and for Molech, the abomination of the Ammonites. He did this for all his foreign wives, who burned incense and made sacrifices to their gods.” It seems that the king decided that serving his native deities would distract his faithful from intrigues, but for the temple servants this was not an argument.
They conveyed to Solomon the verdict of an angry God: “Because this is how you do it, and you have not kept My covenant and My statutes, which I commanded you. I will tear the kingdom away from you and give it to your servant.” The king was sad, but decided not to upset the seductive foreign women - they were his last consolation in old age, full of sorrows and illnesses. Old age in those days came early - Solomon died when he was only 62 years old. According to another legend, he ordered not to bury him until the worms began to sharpen his staff, made of sycamore. When this happened, he was declared dead and buried in a rich tomb on Mount Zion next to David.
After the death of the king, the returning Jeroboam started a rebellion in Israel. The legal heir, Rehoboam, retained power only over Judea and Jerusalem. The kingdom of Israel was divided in two, and both parts plunged into chaos palace coups, riots and foreign invasions. Against this background, Solomon's reign seemed especially peaceful and happy - that is why the king began to be considered an unsurpassed sage.
He himself would hardly have agreed with such a definition and, looking at the disappointing results of his reign, he could well have uttered the sad words put into his mouth by the author of the book of Ecclesiastes: “I have given my heart to know wisdom and to know madness and stupidity: I have learned , that this too is languor of spirit: because in much wisdom there is much sorrow: and whoever increases knowledge increases sorrow.”