The Bible Book

120

S

olomon is one of the Bible’s

most charismatic figures.

His 40-year reign is widely

regarded as a golden age, but

it is during the first 20 years,

when he builds the First Temple,

that he proves himself as a glorious

monarch and faithful servant

of God. He fulfills his father King

IN BRIEF

PA S SAGE

1 Kings 3

THEME

God’s wisdom through

Solomon

SETTING

c.962–922 bce

Jerusalem, the capital

city of Israel.

KEY FIGURES

King Solomon The son

of David and Bathsheba,

Solomon rules Israel from

around 962 to 922 bce. He

is wise, just, and devout.

King David The father of

Solomon and the second

king of Israel.

Two unknown women

Described as prostitutes,

the women ask Solomon to

decide which of them is the

rightful mother of a baby.

Queen of Sheba Her visit

to Solomon is described in

one brief biblical passage

(1 Kings 10:1–13) but has

intrigued readers of the

Bible for centuries.

Zadok The first high priest

to serve in the Temple.

CUT THE LIVING

CHILD IN TWO,

AND GIVE HALF

TO ONE AND HALF

TO THE OTHER

1 KINGS 3:25, THE WISDOM OF SOLOMON

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121

See also: The Ark and the Tabernacle 86–87 ■ David and Bathsheba 118–19 ■ The Fall of Jerusalem 128–31 ■

Rebuilding Jerusalem 133

David’s dream of building God’s

First Temple and he turns Israel

into one of the wealthiest and most

powerful nations in the world by

expanding trade and executing

a program of construction.

From father to son

In around 970 bce, King David

passes the throne of a unified Israel

to Solomon, his surviving son by

Bathsheba. David exhorts his son

to love and obey God so that the

kingdom will prosper and their

descendants will always be kings

(1 Kings 2:2–4). Solomon follows

his father’s advice.

A little later (3:5), God appears

to Solomon in a dream and says

He will give the young king

anything he desires. Modestly,

Solomon asks only for a discerning

heart and wisdom to distinguish

between right and wrong. Pleased

by this response, God grants the

wish, and also bestows long life,

wealth, and power “so that in your

lifetime you will have no equal

among kings” (3:13).

The wisdom of Solomon

As God has promised, Solomon

is all-powerful and famously wise.

He puts his wisdom to good use

when two women claim to be

the mother of the same baby. The

women, both prostitutes, come

before Solomon to plead their case.

Their story is that they live in the

same house and recently gave

birth within days of each other.

One woman claims the other

has accidentally smothered her

child by lying on it and then

swapped the dead child for her

living infant. Legally, the case is

highly contentious. There are no

witnesses nor any evidence, other

than the word of one woman

against the other. Both women are

vehement in their protestations of

affection for the child.

After listening to both women,

Solomon devises a judgment that

is simple but effective. He calls for

a sword and gives orders to divide

the child so that each woman can

have half. One woman readily

agrees while the other, horrified,

pleads for the child’s life. If only

THE HISTORICAL BOOKS

The Judgment of Solomon

(1649) by Nicolas Poussin depicts the

moment Solomon delivers his ruling.

The balance of colour and form in the

composition mirrors the justice of

God and Solomon.

the baby can live, she will willingly

give him up to her rival, who does

not realize that she has exposed the

emptiness of her claim by agreeing

to the grisly solution. Solomon

orders that the baby be handed to

the woman who has given him up,

saying, “Do not kill him; she is his

mother” (1 Kings 3:27).

Building God’s Temple

Solomon achieves much during his

reign—he fortifies the kingdom,

builds a palace, and constructs a

fleet of ships to boost maritime

trade. His crowning achievement

is the construction of God’s First

Temple, which takes seven years to

complete. This Temple will be the

dwelling of God and a safe home

for the Ark of the Covenant. It

supersedes the Tabernacle, built

during the time of Moses and ❯❯

God gave Solomon

wisdom and very great

insight, and a breadth

of understanding as

measureless as the sand

on the seashore.

1 Kings 4:29

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