Solomon’s Splendor
Arguably one of the most famous monarchs in history, in the pages of the Hebrew Bible King Solomon’s reign is described as a Golden Age for the Kingdom of Israel. Following decades of wars with neighboring nations and political turmoil within, Solomon’s peaceful rule free from conflict led to a time when “Israel and Judah lived in safety, from Dan to Beersheba, every man under his own vine and fig tree.” (1 Kings 4:25) This Pax Solomonica allowed Solomon to focus his attention on his famous building projects and the various economic and diplomatic pursuits mentioned within the biblical texts. In this collection we have gathered together intriguing articles that investigate the claims of Solomon’s splendor made by the biblical authors and look at the reign of this most famous king within its historical contexts.
Articles
Those who read the Biblical text and make a subjective judgment as to its reliability often conclude—and understandably so—that the descriptions of Solomon’s gold are gross exaggerations. The quantity of gold the Bible claims for King Solomon is simply unbelievable, even unimaginable! Take, for example, the Jerusalem Temple that Solomon built for Israel’s […]
Ever wonder how scholars date the reigns of the Israelite kings but were too embarrassed to ask? If so, this is the article for you. The short answer is that scholars use a variety of approaches and data from numerous sources to deduce regnal years. Take, for example, the reign of King Solomon, […]
Southern Arabia is 1,200 miles south of Israel. Naturally, skepticism about the reality of trade between South Arabia and Israel in ancient times seems justified. Yet the Bible documents this trade quite extensively—most famously in the supposed affair between King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba. And the land of Sheba is referred to […]
Although the Bible gives a detailed description of Solomon’s Temple, we have no physical remains of the building destroyed by the Babylonians in 586 B.C.E. Thanks to the recent excavation of several hitherto-unknown ancient Near Eastern temples, however, archaeologists are shedding new light on similarities and differences between these temples and King Solomon’s structure.
For some, archaeology proves that David and Solomon ruled over a powerful kingdom made up of walled, well-fortified cities and towns, places like Megiddo, Hazor, Gezer, and more recently, Khirbet Qeiyafa. For others, the same archaeology shows that their kingdom wasn’t much of a kingdom at all—and certainly nothing like the great power described in […]
Departments
King Solomon was famous for his wisdom and, among other things, his many marital and extramarital relationships. His harem is numbered at 700 wives and 300 concubines (1 Kings 11:3)—surely an exaggeration. According to 1 Kings 11, he also took foreign wives, some of whom, claim the biblical writers, led him to idolatry. It is […]