Solomon

Solomon was the son of King David and the third king of Israel, famed in the ancient world for his wisdom. The Orthodox Church in America dates him to roughly 972 to 932 BC, says he reigned forty years, and that he built the palace and the Temple at Jerusalem. The Church honours him as one of the saints of the Old Testament and as an ancestor of the Lord according to the flesh. His life is told mainly in the books of Kings and Chronicles.

Accession and the gift of wisdom

Solomon was the son of David and Bathsheba. Already in his father's lifetime he was anointed king, in place of his brother Adonijah, who coveted the throne. Early in his reign God appeared to him in a dream at Gibeon and told him to ask for whatever he wished. Solomon asked neither for riches, nor long life, nor the death of his enemies, but for a wise heart to judge the people. This request pleased God, who gave him, besides wisdom, riches and glory.

Scripture recounts his judgment between two women disputing over a child, in which the king found the true mother by her love. His fame spread far, and the queen of Sheba came to hear him. His rule stretched from the Euphrates to the land of the Philistines and the border of Egypt, and Judah and Israel lived at peace, each under their own vine and fig tree.

The Temple

Solomon's greatest work was the building of the Temple in Jerusalem, which his father had wished to build but was not permitted to. The work took seven years, with cedar wood brought from Lebanon through Hiram, king of Tyre. After the dedication the priests brought the ark of the covenant into the Holy of Holies, and the glory of the Lord filled the house like a cloud. In his prayer before all the people, Solomon asked that God hear anyone who prays in that place, even the stranger who comes from afar. The Lord appeared to him a second time and said that He had hallowed this house so that His name might be there forever.

The books of wisdom

Tradition ascribes to him Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, the Song of Songs and the Wisdom of Solomon. Scripture says he spoke three thousand proverbs, and his songs numbered a thousand and five. The Orthodox Church in America notes that he may have written parts of these books, while much of the material was probably transmitted orally. Christ mentions him in the Gospel, citing his glory and wisdom (Matthew 6:29; 12:42).

Fall and repentance

Scripture does not hide that toward old age Solomon, to please his foreign wives, built shrines for their idols and so drew down God's anger. Adversaries rose against him, such as Hadad the Edomite and Rezon, and the prophet Ahijah told Jeroboam that he would receive ten tribes. Saint Philaret of Chernigov holds that Solomon was not without repentance, and sees it in the words of Ecclesiastes: "Vanity of vanities" and "Fear God and keep His commandments".

He reigned forty years, slept with his fathers and was buried in the city of David. His son Rehoboam succeeded him, and ten tribes broke away from him.

Commemoration

Solomon is commemorated on the Sunday of the Holy Forefathers, before the Nativity of the Lord. His name also appears in the genealogy of the Lord in the Gospel of Matthew.