Who is King Solomon really? History of King Solomon Tales of King Solomon.

Parable of King Maragora The Blessed One gave this parable to Narada. The Lord Jataka said to his beloved adviser, “Do you know the deeds of King Maraghor? Have you heard his name? And did you recognize his actions?” “I give you an assignment: gather a hundred faithful people and find resourcefulness to go around the earth

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. So, sometimes he is called Jedidiah (“beloved of God”) - a symbolic name given to Solomon as a sign of God's goodwill towards his father David, after his deep repentance in the story with Bathsheba.

The name of King Solomon is associated with many myths and legends, consider some of them.

Queen of Sheba.

Having heard about the wisdom and fabulous wealth of King Solomon, the legendary Queen of Sheba visited him to test his wisdom and make sure of his wealth (according to other sources, Solomon himself ordered her to come to him, having heard about the wonderful and rich country of Saba). The queen brought with her numerous gifts.
The state of Saba really existed on the Arabian Peninsula (it is mentioned in Assyrian manuscripts of the 8th century BC).

It prospered by growing and trading in spices and incense.

At that time, spices were worth their weight in gold and Saba successfully traded them with many states.
Trade routes passed through the territory of the Solomon kingdom and the passage of caravans depended on the will and disposition of the king.

This was the real reason for the visit of the Queen of Sheba.

There is an opinion that she was only a "delegate", "ambassador" of the country and was not a dynastic queen.

But only one equal in status could speak with the king, so the envoys were "issued" a temporary status for negotiating.
In later Muslim traditions, the name of the queen is found out - Bilkis. Folk legends gave a romantic touch to this visit.

King Solomon, struck by the beauty of Bilquis, inflamed with passion for her, she reciprocated, all questions about the advancement of caravans were settled and, upon returning home, at the right time, Bilquis gave birth to a boy named Menelik.

The Ethiopians claim that their imperial dynasty is descended from him.

Eastern legend about the Portrait of Solomon

The Queen of Sheba, amazed by the wisdom, the gift of divination and the personality of Solomon, decided to reveal the secret of his magical power.

Having set a goal, she sent her best painter to Solomon. When the painter returned with a portrait, the queen of Arabia gathered the best of the best sages and soothsayers, wise in the science of physiognomy, and asked them to determine the source of Solomon's wisdom and strength.

The queen, the sages answered, is a portrait of a cruel, arrogant, greedy person, obsessed with the desire for power and all the vices existing in the world.

The queen did not believe, and a dispute arose between the painter and the wise men: the wise men argued. That they could not be mistaken and the portrait was probably written inaccurately, while the painter claimed the opposite. Seeing the contradictions that had arisen, the Queen of Sheba decided to go to Solomon herself and resolve the doubts that tormented her.
Arriving at Solomon, she was convinced at first glance that the artist painted the portrait flawlessly.

Kneeling before the great man, the queen of Arabia asked him to clarify the contradictions:
- At first, until I saw you, I thought that the artist was mistaken, because my wise men are the most knowledgeable in the science of physiognomy. Now I am convinced that they are completely unworthy people and their wisdom is empty.

This is not so, - answered Solomon, - the wise men are right, for all the vices that they listed were really given to me by nature and even to a greater extent than they saw in the portrait. However, I struggled with them, gradually overcoming and dissolving them, until everything opposite became second nature to me. And therein lies my strength and my greatest pride….

Another legend.

King Solomon had heard that the Queen of Sheba had goat hooves, that is, under the image of a beautiful woman, the devil is hiding. To do this, he built a palace, the floor of which he made transparent, and launched fish into it. When he invited the queen to enter, she instinctively lifted the hem of her dress, afraid to wet it, thereby showing the king her legs. She had no hooves, but her legs were covered with thick hair. Solomon said, "Your beauty is the beauty of a woman, and your hair is the hair of a man. For a man it is beautiful, but for a woman it is considered a flaw."

Ring of King Solomon.

This is one of the variants of the parable of Solomon's ring.
Despite his wisdom, King Solomon's life was not peaceful.

And once King Solomon turned for advice to the court sage with a request: -

- "Help me - a lot of things in this life can piss me off.

I am very subject to passions, and this hinders me!

To which the sage replied: "I know how to help you. Put on this ring - the phrase is engraved on it: " It will pass!" When strong anger or strong joy surges, look at this inscription and it will sober you up.

In this you will find salvation from passions!
Solomon followed the advice of the sage and found peace. But the moment came when, looking, as usual, at the ring, he did not calm down, but, on the contrary, lost his temper even more. He tore the ring off his finger and was about to throw it far into the pond, but suddenly noticed that there was some kind of inscription on the inside of the ring.

He looked up and read: "And this too shall pass..."

Another version of the legend:

One day, King Solomon was sitting in his palace and saw a man walking down the street, dressed in golden robes from head to toe.

Solomon called this man to him and asked:

- "Are you a robber?" To which he replied that he was a jeweler: -

- "And Jerusalem is a famous city, many wealthy people, kings and princes come here."

Then the king asked how much the jeweler earns from this? And he proudly replied that a lot. Then the king grinned and said that if this jeweler is so smart, then let him make a ring that makes sad people happy and happy people sad. And if after three days the ring is not ready, he orders the jeweler to be executed. No matter how talented the jeweler was, but on the third day he fearfully went to the king with a ring for him. At the threshold of the palace, he met Rahavam, the son of Solomon, and thought: "The son of a wise man is half of a wise man."

And he told Rahavam about his misfortune. To which he grinned, took a nail and scratched three Hebrew letters on three sides of the ring - Gimel, Zayin and Yod. And he said that with this you can safely go to the king.

Solomon turned the ring and immediately understood the meaning of the letters on the three sides of the ring in his own way - and their meaning is the abbreviation גם זו יעבור "This too shall pass." And as the ring spins, and all the time different letters protrude upwards, so the world spins, and the fate of a person spins in the same way. And thinking that now he is sitting on a high throne, surrounded by all the splendors, and this will pass, he immediately became sad. And when Ashmodai threw him to the ends of the world and Solomon had to wander for three years, then looking at the ring, he understood that this too would pass, and he became cheerful.

The third version of the legend:

In his youth, King Solomon was presented with a ring with the words that when it will be very difficult for him, whether it is sad, whether it is scary - let him remember the ring and hold it in his hands.

Solomon's wealth was not measured, one more ring - will it greatly increase it? …

Once in the kingdom of Solomon there was a crop failure. Pestilence and famine arose: not only children and women died, even the soldiers were exhausted. The king opened all his bins. He sent merchants to sell valuables from his treasury to buy bread and feed the people. Solomon was in turmoil - and suddenly he remembered the ring. The king took out the ring, held it in his hands ...

Nothing happened. Suddenly he noticed that there was an inscription on the ring. What is this? ancient signs... Solomon knew this forgotten language. " ALL WILL PASS", he read. …

Many years passed... King Solomon became known as a wise ruler. He got married and lived happily. His wife became his most sensitive and close assistant and adviser. And suddenly she died. Grief and longing seized the king. Neither dancers and songstresses, nor competitions of wrestlers amused him ... Sadness and loneliness.

Approaching old age. How to live with it?

He took the ring: "Everything passes"? Sadness gripped his heart. The king did not want to put up with these words: out of annoyance he threw the ring, it rolled - and something flashed on the inner surface. The king raised the ring and held it in his hands. For some reason, he had never seen such an inscription before: "THIS WILL PASS." … Many more years have passed. Solomon turned into an ancient old man.

The king understood that his days were numbered and while there was still some strength, he needed to give the last orders, have time to say goodbye to everyone, bless his successors and children. “Everything passes”, “This will also pass,” he remembered, grinning: that's all gone. Now the king did not part with the ring. It has already worn out, the old inscriptions have disappeared. With weakening eyes, he noticed: something appeared on the edge of the ring. What is it, some letters again?

The king exposed the edge of the ring to the setting rays of the sun - the letters on the edge flashed: "NOTHING IS PASSING" Solomon read...

Mines of King Solomon.

After the publication of Henry Rider Haggard's King Solomon's Mines in 1885, many adventurers lost their peace and went in search of treasure. Haggard believed that King Solomon owned diamond and gold mines.
We know from the Old Testament that King Solomon had great wealth. It is said that every three years he sailed to the country of Ophir and brought back gold, mahogany, precious stones, monkeys and peacocks.

Scientists have tried to find out what Solomon took to Ophir in exchange for these riches and where this country is located. The location of the mysterious country has not yet been clarified. It is believed that this may be India, Madagascar, Somalia.
Most archaeologists are sure that King Solomon mined copper ore in his mines. In different places, "real mines of King Solomon" periodically appeared.

In the 1930s, it was suggested that the mines of Solomon were located in southern Jordan. And only at the beginning of our century, archaeologists found evidence that, indeed, the copper mines discovered on the territory of Jordan in the town of Khirbat en-Nahas could be the legendary mines of King Solomon.

Obviously, Solomon had a monopoly on the production of copper, which gave him the opportunity to make huge profits.

The appearance of Solomon

The legendary ruler of the united kingdom of Israel was born from King David and his beloved wife Bathsheba (Bat Sheva). The future king was named after Shlomo (Solomon), which in Hebrew means “peacemaker” (“shalom” - “peace”, “not war”, and “shalem” - “perfect”, “whole”).

During the reign of Solomon from 965 to 928 BC. called the heyday of the monarchy and Jewish power. During his 40-year reign, Solomon became famous as the wisest and most impassive ruler in the whole world, many legends and fairy tales are composed of his talent for foresight and sensitivity. It was Solomon who built the main shrine of Judaism - the Jerusalem Temple on Mount Zion, which his father David planned to build during his lifetime.

Solomon and David are also known as righteous, faithful kings who, by their devotion and innate wisdom, deserved to be the favorites of the Almighty. When Solomon was a little less than a year old, the king's close associate, the prophet Nathan, gave him the name Yedidya ("God's favorite" - Shmuel I 12, 25). After that, some are convinced that "Solomon" was just a nickname.

Meanwhile, Solomon was the youngest son of David. Two brothers, Amnon and Avshalom, died before reaching maturity, and the 4th son, Adonijah, became the eldest, and therefore the formalities required that he be the successor to the Israeli throne. David promised Bathsheba that he would make Solomon his successor, who would continue his dynasty and rule the entire state. Disappointed by the injustice of his father, Adonijah found support in the person of the military commander Yoav and the high priest Evyatar, who also believed that Adonijah had a greater right to the throne than Solomon. At the same time, Solomon's supporters argued that Adonijah was not the firstborn son of David, and therefore the king had the power to judge his sons according to his own will.

Without waiting for the death of David, the brothers entered the struggle. Adonijah, wishing to attract the people with a royally magnificent feast, surrounded himself with a large retinue of horsemen, started chariots and fifty runners. On the appointed day and hour, he gathered his close associates and arranged a bright celebration outside the city in honor of proclaiming himself the new king of the Israeli state. Solomon's mother found out about this and, with the help of the prophet Nathan, she managed to convince David not to hesitate and appoint Solomon as his successor on the same day. Together with the priest Zadok, the prophet Nathan, Bnayahu and a large detachment of the royal bodyguards, they all went to the source of Gihon, where the priest anointed Solomon to the kingdom. After the ritual was completed, the sounds of a horn were heard, the people shouted: "Long live the king!" Everyone who was present at the ceremony, or at least knew about it, perceived the will of the dying David as the will of the Almighty, and therefore hurried to escort the new king Solomon to the palace with music and jubilant cries.

Learning about the anointing of his brother to the kingdom, Adonijah was afraid of the revenge of Solomon and took refuge in the sanctuary, "grasping the horns of the altar." Solomon came to him and promised that he would not touch him if he behaved with dignity from now on.

After the death of David, Solomon did not delay in order to justify and strengthen his authority - every action of the king caused only admiration for his mind and insight. Meanwhile, Adonijah was trying to get his way: he asked the mother-queen for blessings for marriage with Avishag - Solomon's concubine. In the popular mind, such a gesture could become a reasonable basis for proclaiming him king, since Adonijah was not only the brother and close associate of Solomon, but also possessed his woman. Without any passion and jealousy, and, as he himself believed, keeping his promise to execute his brother in case of bad behavior, Solomon ordered Adoniah to be hanged. After this execution, Solomon decided once and for all to get rid of the remaining "well-wishers" - a follower of Adonijah Yoav and an old enemy of the Davidic dynasty, Shimi, a relative of Shauliai. Yoava immediately tried to hide in the sanctuary, but Bnayahu quickly found and killed him.

The new composition of the government of King Solomon consisted of three high priests, the commander of the troops, the minister of taxation, the head of the royal administration and the head of 12 governors, as well as several court chroniclers. As already mentioned, Solomon was not subject to a blind thirst for revenge, and there are practically no documents in history confirming the use of the death penalty by the king. In relation to Yoab and Shimi, Solomon only fulfilled David's will. Solomon made Bnayaga the new commander of the troops, after which, feeling completely confident, he set about solving strategic problems.

Foreign policy

The united kingdom of Israel (Israel and Judea) occupied a fairly large territory, being a significant and influential state in Asia. Solomon decided to start the development strategy of the state with the establishment and strengthening of friendly relations with neighbors. Thus, mighty Egypt could promise to secure Israel's southern border. By marrying the daughter of an Egyptian pharaoh, Solomon not only ended the half-thousand-year enmity between the Jews and Egyptians, but also received from the pharaoh the Canaanite Gezer he had previously conquered as a dowry.
Further, Solomon took up the renewal of relations with David's longtime friend, the Phoenician king Hiram, the northern neighbor of the kingdom of Israel. It was rumored that in order to get closer to neighboring peoples and strengthen his power, Solomon took as his wife the Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Sidonians and Hittites, who belonged to the noble families of these peoples.

The kings of different countries brought gifts of gold, silver, robes, weapons and cattle to Solomon. Solomon's wealth was so great that "he made silver in Jerusalem equal to stones, and made cedars equal to sycamore trees" (Mlahim I 2:10, 27). But most of all, the king loved horses, he even introduced cavalry and chariots into the Jewish army - the first in the history of the state.

Despite the improvement in foreign policy, the population of the kingdom of Israel remained dissatisfied with Solomon's polygamy, mainly because women introduced the pagan cultures of their states into the royal house, and the king, they say, was tolerant of this. For example, when Solomon built a temple on the Mount of Olives for the Moabite god Kmosh and the Ammonite god Moloch, rumors began to circulate among the prophets and people faithful to the God of Israel that the king was growing old, allowing idolatry in his state. They also said that luxury and an idle lifestyle corrupted the heart of Solomon, and he went on about his concubines. The king is doubly condemned for moving away from the God of Israel, because, according to the Torah, the Almighty twice honored Solomon with divine revelation. For the first time, even before the construction of the Temple, on the night before the ritual of sacrifice in Givon, God appeared to Solomon in a dream and offered to ask him for whatever he pleases. Solomon could have taken the opportunity to ask for at least longevity or victory over enemies, not to mention wealth, but he asked only for wisdom and the ability to manage his people. The generous God promised him both wisdom, and wealth and glory, and if he fulfills the commandments, then longevity. After the completion of the Temple, God again visited Solomon, saying that he had heeded his prayer for the consecration of the Temple, and that he would protect the Davidic dynasty only if all the sons remained faithful to Him. Otherwise, the Temple will be rejected and the people expelled from the country.

When Solomon, befuddled by his many wives, estranged from the Almighty and "took the path of idolatry," God took away power over Israel from the king's son, leaving him only power over Judah.

Just and wise king

Many still consider Solomon to be the personification of wisdom, that there is even a saying: “He who sees Solomon in a dream can hope to become wise” (Berakhot 57 b). When resolving any issues, the king did not need to interrogate witnesses, since at one glance at the conflicting parties he understood who was right and who was not. His wisdom also manifested itself in the fact that Solomon, wanting to spread the Torah throughout the country, built synagogues and schools. However, the king did not differ in arrogance either: when it was necessary to determine the leap year, he invited 7 learned elders to himself, “in whose presence he remained silent” (Shemot Rabbah, 15, 20).

Famous legends about Solomon also serve as an indicator of his insight and intelligence. Once, two women came to the king for court, who could not share the baby among themselves - both said that this was her child. Solomon, without hesitation, ordered the baby to be cut in half, so that each woman would get a piece. The first said: "Chop, and let no one get it," to which the second exclaimed, "Give it to her, but don't kill him!" Solomon decided the court in favor of the second woman, giving the child to her, because. she was his mother.

The equally famous legend of the Ring of Solomon is interpreted in different ways. Once the king turned to the court sage for help. Solomon complained that his life was turbulent, the passions boiling around distracted him from politics, he lacked composure, and wisdom did not always help to cope with anger and annoyance. The court sage presented the king with a ring engraved with the phrase “This will pass”, and said that the next time he felt an uncontrollable influx of emotions, he looked at the ring and he would feel better. The king was delighted with the philosophical gift, but soon the day came when, after reading the inscription “Everything will pass”, he could not calm down. The ruler took the ring off his finger and was about to throw it away, but then on the back of the ring he saw another inscription "This too shall pass."

The second version of the legend tells that once Solomon, sitting in his palace, saw a man in the street, dressed from head to toe in gold. The king called him to him and asked what he was doing and how he could afford such chic clothes. The man proudly replied that he was a jeweler, and he earns quite well in his craft. The king grinned and gave the jeweler a task: that in three days he would forge a golden ring for him, which would bring joy to sad people, and sadness to joyful people. And if he does not complete the task, he will be executed. Three days later, the young jeweler, shaking with fear, entered the palace of Solomon and met the king's son Rahavam. The jeweler thought, "The son of a sage is half of a sage," and dared to ask Rahavam for advice. Rahavam just smirked, took a nail and scratched three Hebrew letters on three sides of the ring: Gimel, Zayin and Yod.

Turning the ring, Solomon immediately understood the meaning of the letters, the abbreviation גם זו יעבור is interpreted as "This too shall pass." The king imagined that now he was sitting in his palace, surrounded by all the benefits that one could wish for, and tomorrow everything could change. This thought made Solomon sad. When Ashmodai threw him to the ends of the world, and Solomon had to wander for three years, looking at the ring, he understood that this too would pass, and this understanding gave him strength.

The greatness and splendor of the reign of Solomon

Legends say that during the entire reign of David's son Shlomo, the disk of the moon in the sky did not decrease, so that good always prevailed over evil. Solomon was so smart, powerful and great that he managed to subjugate all animals, birds, angels and demons. Demons delivered precious stones to Solomon's palace, angels guarded them. With the help of a magic ring, on which the name of the God of Israel was engraved, Solomon learned from the angels many secrets about the world. Solomon also knew the language of beasts and animals: they all obeyed his authority. Peacocks and various exotic birds roamed freely around the palace.

The throne of King Solomon deserves special attention. In the Second Targum to the book of Esther (1. p.) it is said that 12 golden lions and the same number of golden eagles sat opposite each other on the steps of the throne of the king of Israel. At the top of the throne is a golden image of a dove with a dovecote in its claws as a symbol of the superiority of Israel over the pagans. There was also a golden candlestick with fourteen candle cups, seven of which were engraved with the names of the saints: Adam, Noah, Shem, Abraham, Yitzhak, Jacob and Job, and seven others with the names of Levi, Keat, Amram, Moshe, Aaron, Eldad and Khur. Twenty-four vines attached above the throne created a shadow over Solomon's head. As it is said in the Targum, when the king ascended the throne, the lions extended their paws with the help of a mechanical device so that Solomon could lean on them. In addition, the throne itself moved at the request of the king. When Solomon, ascending the throne, reached the last step, the eagles lifted him up and seated him on a chair.

Solomon was helped in all matters by angels, demons, animals, birds, and the Almighty himself. He was never alone, and could always rely not only on his wisdom, but also on otherworldly forces. So, for example, angels helped the king in the construction of the Temple - legends tell how miraculously heavy stones themselves rose up and lay down in the right place.

According to most sources, Solomon reigned for about 37 years and died at the age of 52 while overseeing the construction of a new altar. The king's associates did not immediately begin to bury him in the hope that the ruler simply fell into a lethargic sleep. When the worms began to sharpen the royal staff, Solomon was finally declared dead and buried with full honors.

Even during his lifetime, the God of Israel was angry with Solomon for his involvement in pagan cultures and the identification of idolatry with the Almighty, promising his people many troubles and hardships. After the death of the king, part of the conquered peoples organized a violent uprising, as a result of which the united state of Israel broke up into 2 parts - the kingdoms of Israel and Judah.

"Ask what to give you." During the reign of Solomon, the son of David, the whole country enjoyed peace and prosperity. This time is called the "golden age" of Israel.

Shortly after Solomon became king, he made a rich sacrifice to Yahweh. At night, the king dreamed of God, who said to him: "Ask what to give you." Solomon warmly thanked the Lord for all the mercies granted to himself and his father David, and asked: “Give Your servant an understanding heart to judge Your people and discern what is good and what is evil.” God was very pleased with the modesty of the new king and He said: “Because you asked for this and did not ask yourself a long life, did not ask for wealth, did not ask for the souls of your enemies, but asked for your mind to be able to judge, I will do according to the word yours. Behold, I give you a wise and understanding heart, so that there was none like you before you, nor will there be after you. And what you did not ask, I give you: both wealth and glory, so that there will be no one like you among kings all your days.” God added to this that if Solomon follows the example of his father David in everything, he will live a long and happy life.

"Give her this child alive." Waking up, Solomon again made a magnificent sacrifice and arranged a rich feast. But during the feast, an unexpected event occurred: two women came with a tiny child and asked the king to judge them.

It turned out that they both live in the same house and both gave birth to a boy. One of the boys died during the night. His mother woke up, quietly took a living boy for herself, and placed a dead one on a sleeping neighbor. When everything was discovered in the morning, the deceiver refused to give her son to the real mother and claimed that this was her own child. They continued to bicker before the king, so that it was impossible to tell who was telling the truth and who was lying.

Then the king ordered a sword to be brought and said: "Cut the living child in two and give half to one and half to the other." One woman pleaded in horror: “Oh, my lord! Give her this child alive and do not kill him!” The other calmly said: “Let it be neither for me nor for you, chop.”

The king pointed to the one who begged to spare the child, and said: “Give this a living child and do not kill him; she is his mother.”

From that time on, Solomon began to be feared in Israel, as they were convinced that nothing could be hidden from his wisdom.

Temple of the Lord. In the fourth year of his reign, Solomon sent people to his father's friend, King Hiram of Tyre, asking for help in building a house for the Lord. Solomon made an alliance with Hiram, and they agreed that Hiram would help cut cedars and cypresses in the Lebanese mountains, and Solomon would supply him with wheat and olive oil.

All the grown men of Israel worked to build a house for God. Some, under the guidance of Phoenician masters, cut down trees, others mined stone, others built the temple itself, and others supervised the work.

The construction took seven years. In appearance, the temple turned out to be not very large: sixty cubits long, twenty wide and thirty high [height of a modern five-story building]; but he struck with the richness and beauty of the decoration. From the inside, the house of Yahweh was lined with cedar, the floors were made of cypress. In the depths of the temple, a special room was fenced off, which was called the “Holy of Holies”: for the ark of the covenant. Above, two olive-wood cherubs stretched their mighty wings. The whole temple was decorated with gold plates and wood carvings covered with gold. Gold chains were stretched out in front of the Holy of Holies. Many items for worship were also made of gold.

Near the temple, a “copper sea” cast from copper was installed - a huge vessel resembling a lily flower in shape. From one end to the other, the “sea of ​​copper” was one hundred and ten cubits, five cubits deep. The vessel was filled to the brim with water and stood on twelve copper oxen. Before entering the temple, the priests washed their hands and feet in it.

Yahweh's warning. When the ark of the covenant was solemnly brought into the built temple and Solomon turned to God, asking for his mercy for the people of Israel and for himself, God appeared to him again, praised the temple and confirmed: if the Israelites and Solomon himself worship only Him, then the descendants of David will rule Israel forever. Further, Yahweh sternly warned: “If you and your sons depart from Me and do not keep My commandments and My ordinances that I have given you, and go and begin to serve other gods and worship them, then I will destroy Israel from the face of the earth, which I have given him, and the temple which I have consecrated to my name, I will put away from my presence, and Israel shall be a parable and a laughing stock of all nations. And about this high temple, everyone who passes by it will be horrified and whistle, and will say: “Why did the Lord do this to this earth and this temple?” And they will say: “Because they forsook the Lord their God, who brought their fathers out of the land of Egypt, and accepted other gods, and worshiped them, and served them, for this the Lord brought all this disaster upon them.”

Solomon's palace The royal palace built under David seemed old and cramped to Solomon, and he decided to build himself a new one. Construction lasted thirteen years. Solomon's house turned out to be even more imposing than the house of Yahweh: a hundred cubits long, fifty wide and thirty high. The palace had three floors and was built of huge stone slabs and cedar. The palace had two outbuildings: a covered courtyard (the roof was supported by huge cedar pillars) with a front porch; the second extension was intended for the performance of judicial cases - there was a throne on which Solomon sat when he had to judge his subjects.

Inside the palace was decorated with two hundred large shields forged of gold, and three hundred smaller golden shields. In the main hall on a dais stood a large throne made of ivory and gold, six steps led up to it. The throne was guarded by two statues of lions, and two more lions reared on each step. All the dishes in the palace were gold, even silver was not used - it seemed to the king too cheap.

The power and wealth of Solomon. Under Solomon, the kingdom of Israel extended from the Euphrates to the borders of Egypt. His peace was guarded by a strong army: one thousand four hundred war chariots, twelve thousand horsemen, a huge number of infantry. The king bought horses and chariots in Egypt and Arabia.

Solomon equipped merchant ships to distant lands: one of the ships sailed along the Red Sea to the mysterious country of Ophir for gold, precious stones and mahogany [scientists believe that this country was somewhere on the east coast of Africa]; another ship sailed from Tire every three years across the Mediterranean to distant Tarshish [ancient kingdom in present-day Spain] and brought from there gold, silver, ivory, even monkeys and peacocks for the royal menagerie. The king preferred not to fight, but to trade with all countries. He was fabulously wealthy: 666 talents a year entered his treasury alone. [talent is an ancient measure of weight, about 30 kg].

"Cleave your heart to the teaching." Solomon was considered the wisest man in the world, he knew everything about everything, and people from near and far countries came to listen to him, marvel at his mind. Many sayings of Solomon are useful for us to know.

He taught that only constant work allows a person to live well, and idleness leads to poverty: “Sleep a little, take a nap, lie down a little with folded hands, and your poverty will come like a passerby, and your need, like a robber” [those. completely unexpected for you].

The king believed that a person should study all his life: "Close your heart to learning and your ears to clever words." It is the attitude to knowledge that distinguishes the wise from the fool: "The heart of the wise acquires knowledge, and the ear of the wise seeks knowledge."

A person must be able to behave and always maintain restraint: "A patient person has a lot of intelligence, and an irritable one shows stupidity." You need to listen to what others say about you: “A good name is better than great wealth, and good fame is better than silver and gold.” At the same time, you can’t be boastful: “Let another praise you, and not your mouth, a stranger, and not your tongue.”

Friendship plays a big role in life. In order to acquire it, one must be friendly to others: “Whoever wants to have friends must be friendly himself.” But in friendship it is impossible to be intrusive and annoying: “Do not let your friend enter the house more often, so that he does not get bored with you and hate you.”

You can’t treat people badly and do evil to them - bad deeds eventually destroy the one who does them: “Whoever digs a hole will fall into it, and whoever rolls a stone up, he will return to him.”

We must pity those who are unlucky in life and, if possible, help them: "He who gives to the poor will not become poor."

Queen of Sheba. The queen of the distant kingdom of Sheba, located in the south of Arabia, learned about the wisdom of Solomon. She, too, was a wise woman, and besides, a curious one, and decided to check whether the Israeli king was really as smart as they say about him.

Through the waterless desert, a heavily loaded caravan of camels set off for distant Palestine. The journey lasted for many days, and one day the inhabitants of Jerusalem saw a magnificent procession that was heading towards the royal palace.

Solomon received the Queen of Sheba, they talked for a long time, the queen asked him all the riddles that she knew, “and Solomon explained to her all her words, and there was nothing unfamiliar to the king that he would not explain to her.” The queen, admiring the mind and charm of Solomon, the luxury of his palace, the beauty of his servants, could no longer restrain herself and exclaimed: “It is true that I heard in my land about your deeds and your wisdom! But I did not believe the words until I came, and my eyes saw: and behold, not half was told to me. You have more wisdom and wealth than I heard. Happy are thy people, and happy are these thy servants who always stand before thee and hear thy wisdom! Blessed be the Lord your God, who deigned to place you on the throne of Israel! The Lord, out of his eternal love for Israel, has made you a king to do justice and justice.”

The Queen of Sheba gave Solomon one hundred and twenty talents of gold, precious stones and a lot of incense. [So called aromatic substances extracted from certain plants that grew only in the south of Arabia; they cost much more than gold.] Solomon did not remain in debt: he presented the queen with rich gifts, and, in addition, gave everything that she liked and that she asked for. After a warm farewell, the queen with her servants set off on her return journey.

"King Solomon loved many foreign women." Despite his wisdom, Solomon could not keep the word he gave God to serve only Him alone. The fact is that in ancient times the power of the king was also judged by the number of his wives. Neighboring rulers respected Solomon very much, even the powerful Egyptian pharaoh considered it an honor to intermarry with him and gave his daughter to Solomon. In addition to the Egyptian princess, Solomon had many other wives. According to the Bible, “King Solomon loved many foreign women, besides Pharaoh's daughter, and he had seven hundred wives, and his wives corrupted his heart. During the old age of Solomon's wife, his heart was inclined to other gods, and his heart was not completely devoted to the Lord his God, as the heart of David, his father. For his numerous foreign wives, Solomon built temples of their gods, and he himself began to worship not only Yahweh, but also foreign deities.

Wrath of Yahweh. Then the enraged Yahweh said to Solomon: “Because this is done with you, and you have not kept My covenant, I will tear the kingdom from you and give it to your servant. But in your days I will not do this for the sake of David your father; I will tear him out of the hand of your son. And I will not uproot the whole kingdom; I will give one tribe to your son for the sake of David my servant, and for the sake of Jerusalem, which I have chosen.”

And so it happened. Solomon ruled for forty years, like David, and after his death, the united kingdom of Israel fell apart. The northern part of Palestine retained the name of Israel, the capital of this state was the city of Samaria. In the place of the southern half of the kingdom of Solomon, there remained a state called Judea - after the name of the tribe of the descendants of Judah, the son of Jacob. Jerusalem remained the capital of Judah, where the descendants of David and Solomon ruled.