Solomon - Topics

Proverbs is assigned to Solomon but names Agur and Lemuel as authors too Solomon's advice to his son opens Proverbs: how much of it is actually about money Ecclesiastes is traditionally read as Solomon's late confession of disillusionment Solomon's many wives and the text that blamed them for his apostasy Solomon built the temple with Phoenician craftsmen: did wisdom come from Hiram too Solomon's dream at Gibeon: he asked for a discerning heart and got wealth anyway The judgment of the two harlots and the living child is a trick not a law Solomon asking for a discerning heart rather than long life or riches Solomon's apostasy is recorded in Kings and quietly passed over in Chronicles The seal of Solomon became a talisman long after the biblical text stopped mentioning it Solomon and the queen of Sheba: a queen testing a king with riddles Ethiopian tradition makes Solomon the father of Menelik and the source of a dynasty The Quran calls Solomon a prophet who understood the speech of birds The Testament of Solomon turns him into a magician who commands demons Was Solomon's wisdom a personal gift or an administrative advantage for a new kingdom Solomon asked for a listening heart instead of long life or riches The Wisdom of Solomon was written in Greek by someone pretending to be Solomon