Solomon

Solomon

Introduction

In our quest to discover the biblical chronology, we have traveled this far:

†      Unlike David, no date is given for Solomon’s birth, so we must attempt to ferret out a range of possible dates from the contextual events surrounding his birth, and from the narrative sequence.  That which is humanly possible also becomes an evaluative factor.

†      However, narrative sequences can always be distorted by literary devices, such as flashbacks: these open the door to judgement errors.  We know of instances where part of the narrative sequence is moved ahead to introduce or title a particular subject: in such cases, the prepositioned verses serve to emphasize the main point, theme, or topic of the subject matter.  We should make a mental underline of such verses, whenever they are found, so that they do not become lost in the more general discussion.

†      Our anchor point is still 1 Kings 6:1.  This is our true anchor: for Solomon necessarily connects with the Egyptian chronology in the Bubastite Portal gate at Karnak, five years after his death.[1]  Here, in 1 Kings 6:1, four years after his coronation, his ascension to the throne, he connects with Moses.  All chronologies are dependent on this anchor point; whether they subscribe to 440 years before, 480 years before, or some other date for Moses and the Exodus.

†      Dating will now become an increasingly more difficult task.  On the one hand, we naturally attempt to associate the dates of antiquity with our calendar.  That being said, our calendar runs from January to January, really for no good reason other than that the Romans willed it to be so: hence, in some respects, we remain trapped in Roman government and law.  On the other hand, the calendar of Israelite antiquity runs from Nissan to Nissan; Nissan approximates our March-April: so in one direction there is always a three to four month shift error; while in the other direction there would be an eight to ten month shift error.  The extra month of error is caused by the fact that the Israelite lunar-solar year is either twelve or thirteen months long: a fact that Israelites had to confront every two to three years in roughly a twenty-one year cycle.  This was not as big a deal as it might seem.  Nissan falls in early spring.  Since the Vernal Equinox comes roughly on March 20; when the days and nights became too far offset, the calendar was simply reset by adding an extra month.  The point of this discussion is not to introduce the reader to a detailed scientific discussion of the subject: for we have used crude approximations everywhere.[2]  The point is that the Israelite idea of a year, and the modern idea of a year are two vastly different things, being offset by about a quarter of a year.

†      Moreover, there is another claimant for the Israelite calendar: the Tishri to Tishri calendar.  This we reject as a modern invention,[3] since we have yet to find anything in Scripture that warrants such a modification of Torah.[4]  Any such hypothesis requires rigorous proof; we have yet to find any such proof.  Thus all such claims are cast aside until such a proof is forthcoming.  Old wives fables and urban legends are not evidence, and such false trails must be carefully removed from our thinking.[5]

†      In spite of such obstacles we confidently date Solomon’s reign from 970 to 930.  We understand from the above discussion that latent errors lurk within our confidence; yet, for our purposes the approximate dates may as well be absolute.  930/931 or 929/930 mean the same thing as 930 for all practical purposes; they simply indicate that some scholar thinks we’re at the edge of the new year.  Of what value is such knowledge, when we don’t even know if or when the thirteenth month was added?  We have reached the practical limit of our accuracy.  Minor errors, which are yet to be discovered by modern scholarship, will tend to shift the entire subject: Akkadian, Babylonian, Egyptian, Hittite, Israelite, Persian, Greek, Roman will all move, for the most part in unison.  Such discoveries are likely to be small, on the order of fine-tuning our precision.  We will still be unable to grasp, with any substantial feel, the real differences between an Israelite and a modern calendar: to do so we would have to change the way we think about time, adopting the ancient Israelite method completely; when we begin to behave as an Israelite, then we will begin to think like an Israelite.  Our approximate value is good to within half a year, nine months or so.  Still, we have no simple way to make it better.  After all, what is the point?

We continue with the life of Solomon.

Scripture

2 Samuel 5:14 KJV, “And these be the names of those that were born unto him [David] in Jerusalem; Shammuah, and Shobab, and Nathan, and Solomon,”

After David takes Jerusalem, his activities include: 3 months to bring up the Ark, separation from his wife Michal,[6] plans to build a temple,[7] the gift of the Davidic Covenant,[8] wars with the Philistines, Moab, Hadadezer, and Syria, kindness to Mephibosheth, disgrace of the Ammonite delegation, adultery with Bathsheba,[9] death of the child while young,[10] Nathan’s rebuke, all of which seem to take place before Solomon’s birth.[11]

2 Samuel 11:1 KJV, “And it came to pass, after the year was expired,[12] at the time when kings go forth to battle, that David sent Joab, and his servants with him, and all Israel; and they destroyed the children of Ammon, and besieged Rabbah. But David tarried still at Jerusalem.”

Since Solomon was born in Jerusalem, His date of birth is fixed as post 1003.  Since his birth is also after these other major events, after David’s sin with Bathsheba, after the death of his elder brother as a small child; Solomon’s birth comes most likely between 1000 and 995.  It is virtually impossible that Solomon’s birth be after 984; as we move from 995 toward 984 Solomon’s proposed birthdate becomes increasingly improbable.[13]

2 Samuel 12:24-25 KJV, “And David comforted Bathsheba his wife, and went in unto her, and lay with her: and she bare a son, and he called his name Solomon: and the Lord loved him.  And he sent by the hand of Nathan the prophet; and he called his name Jedidiah,[14] because of the Lord.”

Dating schemes for dating Solomon’s birth, based on the days since creation are pure mythological superstitions.

Some authorities place Solomon’s birth as late as 982, based on obscure rabbinic traditions.  This makes Solomon 12 at coronation, which is improbable for three reasons: 1. No advisor is assigned to guide Solomon because of his supposed youth.  We ought not suppose that a precocious twelve-year-old is able to exhibit the maturity that Solomon actually exhibits in Scripture: Solomon comes to the throne “battle ready;” he requires no “maiden voyage.”  2. This forces lengthy events in David’s life to such a late date, that there is no time left to accomplish them.[15]  3. Twelve-year-old boys don’t generally have one-year-old sons that were conceived five years before their first marriage.[16]

Other authorities place Solomon’s birth at 999.  This is a very good date, which makes Solomon 29 at ascension and 69 at death.  Our date range suggests that Solomon is between 25 and 30 at ascension; between 65 and 70 at death.  Unfortunately, Scripture does not clarify the point.

2 Samuel 12:26 KJV, “And Joab fought against Rabbah of the children of Ammon, and took the royal city.”

The defeat of Ammon is said to take place after these events, which suggests that all of these are going on early in David’s Jerusalem reign, before the defeat of Ammon.

The time spanned from Tamar being raped until Absalom’s revolt was at least 11 years.  The span of David’s exile also took time; and after the death of Absalom, David was unable to return to Jerusalem immediately.[17]  This was followed by a three-year famine and David’s sinful census.  Since David chose the three-day-punishment option, the census does not impact our chronology to any extent.[18]

1 Kings 1 narrates Solomon’s coronation, which took place in 970, prior to David’s death.

1 Kings 1:38-39 KJV, “So Zadok the priest, and Nathan the prophet, and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, and the Cherethites, and the Pelethites, went down, and caused Solomon to ride upon king David's mule, and brought him to Gihon.  And Zadok the priest took an horn of oil out of the tabernacle, and anointed Solomon.  And they blew the trumpet; and all the people said, God save king Solomon.”

1 Kings 2 deals with unfinished business from David’s reign: Solomon executes Adonijah, his elder brother for sedition; he exiles Abiathar, the chief priest for assisting in Adonijah’s sedition; he executes Joab for participating in Adonijah’s sedition, as well as for the murders of Abner and Amasa; he executes Shimei for participating in Absalom’s insurrection, and for violating the terms of his confinement.

1 Kings 2:39 KJV, “And it came to pass at the end of three years, that two of the servants of Shimei ran away unto Achish son of Maachah king of Gath. And they told Shimei, saying, Behold, thy servants be in Gath.”

Passage	M	E	G	B	V
1 K 2:39 a	3	---	3	3	3
1 K 2:39 b	2	---	2	2	---

 

It seems likely that the text for E was lost; that 3 & 2 are good numbers; yet, the actual number of slaves is in slight doubt, because of V.

1 Kings 3:1 KJV, “And Solomon made affinity with Pharaoh king of Egypt, and took Pharaoh's daughter, and brought her into the city of David, until he had made an end of building his own house, and the house of the Lord, and the wall of Jerusalem round about.”[19]

This pharaoh is most likely Sheshonk, royal king of the Ma.[20]  This marriage may be highly symbolic, relating more to, “Out of Egypt have I called my son,” than to anything else.[21]  Pesah remains the feast of the newyear.

1 Kings 3:7 KJV, “And now, O Lord my God, thou hast made thy servant king instead of David my father: and I am but a little child: I know not how to go out or come in.”

This comment, made in the middle of Solomon’s prophetic conversation with Yahweh at Gibeon, may support the idea that Solomon is only a twelve year old child.  We may not be certain; yet, it seems unlikely.  Or it may be nothing more than a humble figure of speech made by a 25 to 30 year-old man, still rather young to be saddled with all the duties of national and spiritual leadership.  By age thirty, David is toughened by hardship, persecution, and endless war: his worst enemies have been Saul, Michal, Absalom, and Joab.  Solomon, has lived in the sheltered life of the palace, except for the possible flight from Absalom: he has no real life experience, he has no real enemies.

1 Kings 5:11 KJV (1 Kings 5:25 in Greek and M), “And Solomon gave Hiram twenty thousand measures of wheat for food to his household, and twenty measures of pure oil: thus gave Solomon to Hiram year by year.”

Passage	M	E	G	B	V
1 K 5:11 a	20,000	20,000	20,000	20,000	20,000
1 K 5:11 b	20	20,000	20,000	20,000	20

 

These numbers may well be identical: 1 kor may be 1,000 baths in liquid measurement, we are not certain.

This appears to be the means by which Solomon paid Hiram for stone, wood, and other materials; for skilled labor; as well as for gold, silver, and other imported treasures.

1 Kings 6:1 KJV, “And it came to pass in the four hundred and eightieth year after the children of Israel were come out of the land of Egypt, in the fourth year of Solomon's reign over Israel, in the month Zif, which is the second month, that he began to build the house of the Lord.”

Passage	M	E	G	B	V
1 K 6:1 a	480	440	440	440	480
1 K 6:1 b	4	4	4	4	4
1 K 6:1 c	2	2	2	2	2
1 K 6:1 d	1 K 6:37	4	4	4	1 K 6:37
1 K 6:1 e	1 K 6:37	2	2	2	1 K 6:37
1 K 6:1 f	1 K 6:38	11	11	11	1 K 6:38
1 K 6:1 g	1 K 6:38	8	8	8	1 K 6:38

 

1 Kings 6:1 Brenton, “And it came to pass in the four hundred and fortieth year after the departure of the children of Israel out of Egypt, in the fourth year and second month of the reign of king Solomon over Israel, that the king commanded that they should take great [and] costly stones for the foundation of the house, and hewn stones.  And the men of Solomon, and the men of Chiram hewed [the stones], and laid them [for a foundation]. In the fourth year he laid the foundation of the house of the Lord, in the month Ziu, even in the second month.[22]  In the eleventh year, in the month Baal, this [is] the eighth month,[23] the house was completed according to all its plan, and according to all its arrangement.”

There is only one significant divergence here: is the correct number 480 or 440?  Since this is an extremely important chronological number, we have given it full and careful consideration elsewhere.  Our final conclusion is that 440 is correct because it makes a near perfect match with Egyptian chronology possible.  The first 4 & 2 do not diverge at all.  The remaining four numbers only appear to diverge because M has relocated them at 1 Kings 6:37 and 38.

1 Kings 6:7 KJV, “And the house, when it was in building, was built of stone made ready before it was brought thither: so that there was neither hammer nor axe nor any tool of iron heard in the house, while it was in building.”

1 Kings 6:37 KJV, “In the fourth year was the foundation of the house of the Lord laid, in the month Zif (2nd).”

Passage	M	E	G	B	V
1 K 6:37 a	4	1 K 6:1	1 K 6:1	1 K 6:1	4
1 K 6:37 b	Zif	1 K 6:1	1 K 6:1	1 K 6:1	Zio

 

1 Kings 6:38 KJV, “And in the eleventh year, in the month Bul, which is the eighth month, was the house finished throughout all the parts thereof, and according to all the fashion of it. So was he seven years in building it.”

Passage	M	E	G	B	V
1 K 6:38 a	11	1 K 6:1 f	1 K 6:1 f	1 K 6:1 f	11
1 K 6:38 b	8	1 K 6:1 g	1 K 6:1 g	1 K 6:1 g	8
1 K 6:38 c	7	---	---	---	7

 

1 Kings 7:1 KJV, “But Solomon was building his own house thirteen years, and he finished all his house.”

Passage	M	E	G	B	V
1 K 7:1 a	13	1 K 7:38	1 K 7:38	1 K 7:38	13

 

1 Kings 7:38 Brenton, “And Solomon built a house for himself in thirteen years.”

Passage	M	E	G	B	V
1 K 7:38 a	1 K 7:1	13	13	13	1 K 7:1

 

1 Kings 7 describes the building of Solomon’s temple in great magnificence.  This is popularly disputed: in part because no remains of the temple itself have been discovered.  1. That being said, it was necessary to construct foundations to level the mountain top, which formed the temple platform.  These are at least as old as Herod (19 BC).  It makes no sense that these would be repaired or extended if there were no predecessor.  2. The existence of six-chambered gates may not all date to Solomon’s era.  While it is impossible to say exactly which of these structures Solomon built himself; it is equally impossible to claim that none of them, nor any of their surroundings were in existence during Solomon’s lifetime.[24]  3. A massive palace has been uncovered which dates prior to the Solomonic era when evaluated with the latest radiocarbon methods: evidence that the Jebusites were already a significant civilization when David conquered them.[25]  4. The Ethiopian legends claim direct descent from Solomon.[26]  5. The evidence for the existence of large amounts of hacksilber[27] is Solomonic and points to massive trade with Spain and Sardinia.  These five lines of evidence disclose a civilization of great magnificence, power, and wealth centered in Jerusalem circa 1010 to 930, and beyond: if not David and Solomon, then who?  Why would anyone invent a pseudonymous history to hide a real kingdom or empire?[28]

1 Kings 8:1 KJV, “Then Solomon assembled the elders of Israel, and all the heads of the tribes, the chief of the fathers of the children of Israel, unto king Solomon in Jerusalem, that they might bring up the ark of the covenant of the Lord out of the city of David, which is Zion.”  No data was found in KJV.  However,

1 Kings 8:1 Brenton, “And it came to pass when Solomon had finished building the house of the Lord and his own house after twenty years, then king Solomon assembled all the elders of Israel in Sion, to bring the ark of the covenant of the Lord out of the city of David, this is Sion.”

Passage	M	E	G	B	V
1 K 8:1 a	---	20	20	20	---

 

A partial corresponding match is found at 1 Kings 9:10.  However, the two verses apply to two different events, which may or may not have taken place at the same time: 1. The bringing of the Ark from the City of David to the Temple.  2. The gift of cities to Hiram.

It was unlikely that the Ark was moved as long as the confusion, filth, and noise of construction continued.  This suggests that the actual installation took place in Solomon’s twenty-fourth or twenty-fifth year,[29] when all construction was complete.

1 Kings 8:2 KJV, “And all the men of Israel assembled themselves unto king Solomon at the feast in the month Ethanim[30], which is the seventh month.”

Passage	M	E	G	B	V
1 K 8:2 a	7	Athanin	Athanin	Athanin	7

 

While the numeral 7 is not repeated, the word Athanin[31] is present.  Since Athanin is the 7th month, repetition of the numeral is redundant.

This means that the Ark’s installation was coordinated with Sukkot of the twentieth, or twenty-first year after Solomon’s marriage to Pharaoh’s daughter: hence the twenty-fourth, or twenty-fifth year of Solomon’s reign.

1 Kings 9:10 KJV, “And it came to pass at the end of twenty years, when Solomon had built the two houses, the house of the Lord, and the king's house,”

Passage	M	E	G	B	V
1 K 9:10 a	20	20	20	20	20
1 K 9:10 b	2	2	2	2	2

 

There are good reason for the construction of the house of Yahweh and the house of Solomon not to proceed at the same time; all of them have to do with logistics: the amount of materials, mixture of materials and design, and the like.  The sure way to keep things in order was to complete one job before starting another.

There are even better reasons that Solomon’s house be completed before the Ark is moved.  In Israelite government, the king has no independent authority, his authority derives exclusively from Yahweh: the two must remain inseparable.  Since the Ark and Solomon both dwell in the City of David, it stands to reason that neither can move, until both are able to move.  The king must be at the complete disposal of Yahweh and immediately available to Yahweh’s summons.  Now we see the significance of the twenty years more clearly.  Neither the Ark nor Solomon took up new residence until Solomon’s twenty-fourth or twenty-fifth year: they were always inseparably linked as God and king.  The breach of later kings in separating themselves from Yahweh is a cosmic disaster.  The only question remaining is whether the timing of Sukkot permitted the celebration in the twenty-fourth or twenty-fifth year.

1 Kings 9:16 KJV, “For Pharaoh king of Egypt had gone up, and taken Gezer, and burnt it with fire, and slain the Canaanites that dwelt in the city, and given it for a present unto his daughter, Solomon's wife.”[32]

There is one pharaoh from this era with the military prowess to destroy Gezer; namely, Shishak (Sheshonk).

1 Kings 9:25 KJV, “And three times in a year did Solomon offer burnt offerings and peace offerings upon the altar which he built unto the Lord, and he burnt incense upon the altar that was before the Lord. So he finished the house.”[33]

Passage	M	E	G	B	V
1 K 9:25 a	3	---	---	---	3

 

Verses 9:15-25 do not exist in the Septuagint.  This is another instance where a scribe appears to have added irrelevant notes to Scripture.

1 Kings 10:1 KJV, “And when the queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon concerning the name of the Lord, she came to prove him with hard questions.”

1 Kings 10:22 KJV, “For the king had at sea a navy of Tharshish with the navy of Hiram: once in three years came the navy of Tharshish, bringing gold, and silver, ivory, and apes, and peacocks.”[34]

Passage	M	E	G	B	V
1 K 10:22 a	1	1	1	1	1
1 K 10:22 b	3	3	3	3	3

 

1 Kings 11:11 KJV, “Wherefore the Lord said unto Solomon, Forasmuch as this is done of thee, and thou hast not kept my covenant and my statutes, which I have commanded thee, I will surely rend the kingdom from thee, and will give it to thy servant.”

1 Kings 11:26 KJV, “And Jeroboam the son of Nebat, an Ephrathite of Zereda, Solomon's servant, whose mother's name was Zeruah, a widow woman, even he lifted up his hand against the king.”

This verse is evidently the introductory verse for the subject matter that follows, which is explanatory in nature.  Jeroboam revolted: here is the narrative of sequential history, fundamental causes, and ultimate outcome.

1 Kings 11:28 KJV, “And the man Jeroboam was a mighty man of valour: and Solomon seeing the young man that he was industrious, he made him ruler over all the charge of the house of Joseph.”

1 Kings 11:31 KJV, “And he [Ahijah] said to Jeroboam, Take thee ten pieces: for thus saith the Lord, the God of Israel, Behold, I will rend the kingdom out of the hand of Solomon, and will give ten tribes to thee:”

Passage	M	E	G	B	V
1 K 11:31 a	10	10	10	10	10

 

The rending of the kingdom was God’s punishment for Solomon’s sin; it was not a political plan concocted by Jeroboam.  Solomon set it up by appointing Jeroboam to a place of high authority.  Solomon caused it by his incessant idolatry.

1 Kings 11:40 KJV, “Solomon sought therefore to kill Jeroboam. And Jeroboam arose, and fled into Egypt, unto Shishak king of Egypt, and was in Egypt until the death of Solomon.”

Evidently, the Kingdom of Israel is already in place, operating as a division of Solomon’s empire.  Jeroboam’s brief exile, just prior to Solomon’s death, does little to disrupt the affairs of the Kingdom of Israel: specifically, their chronological clock may already be in place.

1 Kings 11:42 KJV, “And the time that Solomon reigned in Jerusalem over all Israel was forty years.”

Passage	M	E	G	B	V
1 K 11:42 a	40	40	40	40	40

 

2 Kings 23:13 KJV, “And the high places that were before Jerusalem, which were on the right hand of the mount of corruption, which Solomon the king of Israel had builded for Ashtoreth the abomination of the Zidonians, and for Chemosh the abomination of the Moabites, and for Milcom the abomination of the children of Ammon, did the king [Josiah] defile.”

1 Chronicles 14:4 KJV, “Now these are the names of his children which he had in Jerusalem; Shammua, and Shobab, Nathan, and Solomon,”

1 Chronicles 20:1 KJV, “And it came to pass, that after the year was expired, at the time that kings go out to battle, Joab led forth the power of the army, and wasted the country of the children of Ammon, and came and besieged Rabbah. But David tarried at Jerusalem. And Joab smote Rabbah, and destroyed it.”

1 Chronicles 22 narrates David’s instructions to Solomon for the temple construction.

1 Chronicles 23:1 KJV, “So when David was old and full of days, he made Solomon his son king over Israel.”

1 Chronicles 26:31 KJV, “Among the Hebronites was Jerijah the chief, even among the Hebronites, according to the generations of his fathers. In the fortieth year of the reign of David they were sought for, and there were found among them mighty men of valour at Jazer of Gilead.”

Passage	M	E	G	B	V
1 C 26:31 a	40	40	40	40	40

 

This establishes a distinct trans-Jordan government entity just prior to David’s death.[35]

1 Chronicles 29:23 KJV, “Then Solomon sat on the throne of the Lord as king instead of David his father, and prospered; and all Israel obeyed him.”

1 Chronicles 29:27 KJV, “And the time that he [David] reigned over Israel was forty years; seven years reigned he in Hebron, and thirty and three years reigned he in Jerusalem.”

Passage	M	E	G	B	V
1 C 29:27 a	40	40	40	40	40
1 C 29:27 b	7	7	7	7	7
1 C 29:27 c	33	33	33	33	33

 

2 Chronicles 3:2 KJV, “And he began to build in the second day of the second month, in the fourth year of his reign.

Passage	M	E	G	B	V
2 C 3:2 a	2	---	---	---	---
2 C 3:2 b	2	2	2	2	2
2 C 3:2 c	4	4	4	4	4

 

2 Chronicles 5:3 KJV, “Wherefore all the men of Israel assembled themselves unto the king in the feast which was in the seventh month.”

Passage	M	E	G	B	V
2 C 5:3 a	7	7	7	7	7

 

2 Chronicles 7:8 KJV, “Also at the same time Solomon kept the feast seven days, and all Israel with him, a very great congregation, from the entering in of Hamath unto the river of Egypt.”

Passage	M	E	G	B	V
2 C 7:8 a	7	7	7	7	7

 

2 Chronicles 7:9 KJV, “And in the eighth day they made a solemn assembly: for they kept the dedication of the altar seven days, and the feast seven days.”

Passage	M	E	G	B	V
2 C 7:9 a	8	8	8	8	8
2 C 7:9 b	7	7	7	7	7
2 C 7:9 c	7	---	---	---	7

 

2 Chronicles 7:10 KJV, “And on the three and twentieth day of the seventh month he sent the people away into their tents, glad and merry in heart for the goodness that the Lord had shewed unto David, and to Solomon, and to Israel his people.”

Passage	M	E	G	B	V
2 C 7:10 a	23	23	23	23	23
2 C 7:10 b	7	7	7	7	7

 

2 Chronicles 8:1 KJV, “And it came to pass at the end of twenty years, wherein Solomon had built the house of the Lord, and his own house,”

Passage	M	E	G	B	V
2 C 8:1 a	20	20	20	20	20

 

2 Chronicles 8:11 KJV, “And Solomon brought up the daughter of Pharaoh out of the city of David unto the house that he had built for her: for he said, My wife shall not dwell in the house of David king of Israel, because the places are holy, whereunto the ark of the Lord hath come.”

This statement is disjointed.  If Solomon indeed married pharaoh’s daughter twenty years previously, she has been living with the Ark in the city of David, in the house of king David for twenty years.  How is this not an absurd denial of reality?[36]

2 Chronicles 8:13 KJV, “Even after a certain rate every day, offering according to the commandment of Moses, on the sabbaths, and on the new moons, and on the solemn feasts, three times in the year, even in the feast of unleavened bread, and in the feast of weeks, and in the feast of tabernacles.”[37]

Passage	M	E	G	B	V
2 C 8:13 a	3	3	3	3	3

 

Three feasts are celebrated: HaMatzot (Pesah), Shavuot, and Sukkot; one to remember the Lex Redemptio of sacrifice in Christ, one to remember the coming of the Holy Ghost in Lex Orandi, one to remember that Lex Credendi requires a difficult pilgrimage, all three prior to arrival at Lex Vivendi and the eternal rest of God.

2 Chronicles 9:1 KJV, “And when the queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon, she came to prove Solomon with hard questions at Jerusalem, with a very great company, and camels that bare spices, and gold in abundance, and precious stones: and when she was come to Solomon, she communed with him of all that was in her heart.”

2 Chronicles 9:21 KJV, “For the king's ships went to Tarshish with the servants of Huram: every three years once came the ships of Tarshish bringing gold, and silver, ivory, and apes, and peacocks.”[38]

Passage	M	E	G	B	V
2 C 9:21 a	1	1	1	1	1
2 C 9:21 b	3	3	3	3	3

 

2 Chronicles 9:30 KJV, “And Solomon reigned in Jerusalem over all Israel forty years.”

Passage	M	E	G	B	V
2 C 9:30 a	40	40	40	40	40

The Start

Finding a starting place for the life of Solomon begins with the Bubastite Portal gate at Karnak.  The date is 925: it is five years after Solomon’s death.  So allowing for all the various calendar variations, we conclude that Solomon died in 930.  Since Solomon reigned for forty years, we suppose that he was coronated and ascended to the throne in 970.  We do not have the exact year of his birth.  The texts involved in reaching this point are sound in any language.

Summary

†      Birth, 2 Samuel 12:24-25.................................... 1000-995

†      Marriage to Naamah..................................................... 972

†      Birth of Rehoboam....................................................... 971

†      Trans-Jordan (Moab?) established as a distinct government
entity, 1 Chronicles 26:31............................................ 970

†      Adonijah’s challenge to the throne, 1 Kings 1

†      Coronation, 1 Kings 1:38-39; 1 Chronicles 29:23....... 970

†      Adonijah’s execution, 1 Kings 2

†      Abiathar’s exile, 1 Kings 2

†      Joab’s execution, 1 Kings 2

†      Shimei’s confinement, 1 Kings 2................................. 970

†      Three years pass, 1 Kings 2:39

†      Shimei’s execution, 1 Kings 2...................................... 967

†      Marriage to Pharaoh’s daughter, 1 Kings 3:1............... 967

†      One year passes, Deuteronomy 24:5

†      Temple construction begins, 1 Kings 6:1; 2 Chronicles 3:2
...................................................................................... 966

†      Seven years pass

†      Temple construction ends, 1 Kings 6:38...................... 959

†      Residence construction begins, 1 Kings 7:1................. 959

†      Thirteen years pass

†      Residence construction ends, 1 Kings 7:38; 2 Chronicles 8:1
...................................................................................... 946

†      Feast of Sukkot, 2 Chronicles 5:3; 7:8-10 [39]

†      Installation of the Ark, 1 Kings 8:1; 9:10.................... 946

†      Queen of Sheba visits, 1 Kings 10:1; 2 Chronicles 9:1

†      Solomon punished, 1 Kings 11:11

†      Jeroboam elevated to power................................. circa 931

†      Israel established as a distinct government entity,
1 Kings 11:28...................................................... circa 931

†      Jeroboam accused of treason, 1 Kings 11:26....... circa 931

†      Jeroboam seeks asylum, 1 Kings 11:40............... circa 931

†      Solomon’s death, 1 Kings 11:42; 2 Chronicles 9:30
...................................................................................... 930

Gleaning

A great deal of David’s early life is consumed with children.  When David is not consumed by wars, and recovery of the Ark, he is a family man.  Even after he receives the covenant promise, his life focus is on the Son.  Yet, the later part of David’s life changes to a focus on the much anticipated temple: he collects materials for it, he organizes the priests and Levites for its service, he leaves design plans for it, he gives specific instructions to Solomon for its construction.  In many ways it is David’s temple.

No wonder then that Solomon has little time for family life.  His early life focus is consumed with the temple, with building, and with wealth.  Even though he has 1000 wives, there is little evidence that he cohabited with any of them.  Solomon is a peace winning politician.  The presence of a foreign daughter in his harem guarantees the continued loyalty of that foreign power: else his daughter might be executed.  Yet, no children are mentioned.  Offspring of pharaoh’s daughter are not even named, indicating that none exist.  History knows of only two sons: Rehoboam, the son of Naamah, and Menelik I, the son of Sheba’s queen.  Until Solomon is perverted by idolatry, he is all about the temple.

We see then, David’s life is dominated by the Son; while, Solomon’s life is dominated by the Temple.  Yet, wonder of wonders, when we discover the reality of each, they are both the same thing: Christ and His Church.

Conclusion

Solomon’s chronology will be stripped to its bare essentials and presented vertically.

†      Birth.................................................................... 1000-995

†      Trans-Jordan (Moab?) established................................ 970

†      Coronation.................................................................... 970

†      Temple construction.............................................. 966-959

†      Residence construction......................................... 959-946

†      Ark installed................................................................. 946

†      Israel established.................................................. circa 931

†      Solomon’s death........................................................... 930

†      Sheshonk...................................................................... 925

[40]

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[1] 1 Kings 14:25; 2 Chronicles 12:2, 5

[2] http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Judaism/calendar.html

[3] Post 586 BC

[4] Exodus 12:2

[5] While the first of the following articles provides an intriguing possible explanation for the “extra six months” of David’s reign in Hebron, no other evidence is provided outside of opinion, and the narrative of the “extra six months,” which remains unexplained in the Bible.  David, who was loyal to Torah all of his life has no motive to make such a change, and if he had made it, why would Israel revert to a Nissan calendar, when Israel was the nation in violation of Torah?  This is far more likely to be an Israelite accommodation to the Macedonian calendar, introduced after the reign of Alexander the Great, long after 516.  Did scribes alter the Scripture to bring it into alignment with the Macedonian calendar?  Well, that’s another puzzle to solve, isn’t it?  The last articles present a variety of arguments, some of which maintain that the origin of the Tishri calendar was due to Babylonian influence; and that its appearance in Jewish literature does not exist prior to the Mishna (circa 200 AD).  These later evidences seem fatal to the existence of a Tishri Calendar prior to 586.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tishri-years

http://www.jewfaq.org/holiday1.htm

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rosh_Hashanah

http://www.history.com/topics/holidays/rosh-hashanah-history

[6] This cannot be good.  Michal’s jealousy of God Himself, her malice and obstinacy remove the possibility of affection and romance from David’s life.  David’s other wives were marriages of convenience and necessity; Michal is David’s young love.  As she removes herself from David’s life, she opens the potential for lust with Bathsheba.  Although David’s relationship with God is very strong, we observe much brokenness at the human dimension; as we see brokenness increasing in David’s life, we understand that these are wounds that can only be healed by Christ.  Father, forgive us: for we don’t realize [know] what we are doing.

[7] God rejects these plans, specifically because there is too much brokenness in David’s life in the horizontal or human dimension: David is a man of bloodshed, strife, and war.  Even though David is noted for peace seeking, he fails to find much peace in life.  The temple can only be built by the Son.  Although, Solomon creates a physical model in an earthly temple, he fails miserably at temple building.  Eventually, we realize that this temple of God is Christ Himself, a temple which He builds from living stones.

[8] David cannot save himself; only God can redeem him from the predicament in which he finds himself.

[9] In the midst of endless strife, David immediately shatters the covenant he has just been given: seemingly beyond repair (Psalm 89, especially verses 38-52)

[10] Most likely the child is unweaned, possibly from birth to four years of age.  Since nursing tends to suppress ovulation, we ought not to assume that Bathsheba is able to conceive immediately.  In the narrative sequence the child dies; David stops morning, which suggests that David was not sexually active as long as the child was ill; David comforts Bathsheba; Bathsheba conceives Solomon.  In our numerical analysis we have proposed that Solomon’s conception follows the birth of his elder, sickly brother immediately, allowing only three months in one year (1003-1002) for the bringing of the Ark, nine months in the next year (1002-1001) for gestation of the unnamed baby, and nine months in the third year (1001-1000) for Solomon’s gestation: this is not necessarily the case, so more time could have passed.  On the other hand, the narrative, from the adultery onward, suggests a rush of events.

What we can say with assurance is that all of these many activities in David’s life must fit into the timespan from 1003 to 970, a space of only 33 years.  Many of these activities, particularly activities concerning Absalom carry their own times.  The years of birth events from the adultery, the 11 years concerning Absalom, and a 3 year famine reduce the available years from 33 to 16: the remainder of David’s active life must be compressed into that 16-year, brief timespan.

[11] As Solomon comes to the kingdom, he comes to an already broken kingdom: he does not improve the kingdom’s condition, he breaks it even more.

[12] This plainly states that another year has expired.  Hence it is now 1002 or later, Bathsheba’s first gestation is not yet begun.  The baby will be born and die no earlier than 1001.  Even if Solomon is conceived immediately, he cannot be born before 1000.

[13] At 995 Solomon would be twenty-five when he first grasps the reigns of government.  At 985 he would be only fourteen: the date derives from the proposed bar mitzvah at twelve, followed by immediate marriage to Naamah, followed by the immediate conception of Rehoboam, followed by the birth of Rehoboam, followed by Solomon’s coronation when Rehoboam is a one-year-old baby.  This, we suggest is highly improbable.  The closer we approach age twenty-five for Solomon, the more reasonable such a scenario becomes.

[14] The name means, “friend of Yahweh.”

[15] The eleven years of strife with Absalom and a three-year famine must all be compressed into twelve years (11 + 3 = 14???); else we must suppose that some or all of them took place before Solomon was born.  This also implies that David took his good old time before getting around to comforting Bathsheba after the loss of their first child (1000 – 982 = 18???).  Otherwise, we are forced to assume that the narrative events are all out of sequence; that David’s adultery with Bathsheba did not occur until late in David’s life, in his mid fifties (70 – 12 – 3 = 55???).  Strictly speaking, none of these things is impossible, they simply seem far fetched.

[16] If accurate, this means that Solomon was a father one year before his ascension; hence, he was married to Naamah two years before his ascension (1 Kings 14:21).  Solomon is reported to have fathered only two children: Rehoboam and Menelik I, King of Axum, predecessor to the Ethiopian throne.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solomon

This creates several problems for us.  1. Is Rehoboam’s age falsely reported: in error in all witnesses?  2. Is Naamah Solomon’s first wife?  3. Do a few years pass, after Solomon’s death, before Rehoboam takes the throne?  4. Why is there no progeny from pharaoh’s daughter?  5. With one thousand wives and concubines, why are there not many more children?  6. Why are all of Solomon’s concerns with empire, temple, and wealth; virtually none are devoted to family?  7. It would seem that Proverbs is addressed specifically to Rehoboam: is it?

We might prefer possibility three because it makes a great deal of sense that after Solomon’s death, the coronation of Rehoboam may have been delayed because of the strife with Jeroboam.  When the dispute settles it appears that Jeroboam was already ipso facto king of Israel.  This eliminates the existence of the David-Solomon United Kingdom.  The formation, legalization of an entirely new kingdom, and consequent coronation may have taken a while.

On the other hand, no such period is mentioned: which leaves us with the harsh reality that Solomon is married two years before he becomes king, and immediately fathers Rehoboam.  Certainly, a ten-year-old boy did not father a child, did he?

[17] At least another year

[18] Still, a census conducted by mule back, over a sizeable kingdom, can scarcely be conducted in less than another year, can it?  We have allowed no time for such events.

[19] Why should marriage take precedence over the temple construction?  Very likely because the order of creation requires it.  Adam cannot build Eden without Eve.  Solomon cannot build the kingdom without pharaoh’s daughter.  Because she is not an Israelite her identity is shrouded in mystery.  Even so, this great and royal queen of the Ma is the queen of Israel, she is afforded her own castle and throne.  She appears in the literature of Israel as a queen appears in Egyptian monuments: the equal of pharaoh.  In the mystery, the pagan world is being lifted up to God, and invited into The Church.  This mysterious woman may also be Solomon’s first human love and could form much of the subject matter of Song of Solomon, which Solomon could have written in her honor.

Solomon gives her the year of uninterrupted marriage required by Torah (Deuteronomy 24:5).  After the three-year period involving Shimei (970-967), this year (967-966) explains why temple construction was not begun until 966, which is the fourth year.  Simply put, life in the horizontal or human dimension must be put right before reaching up to God in the vertical dimension (Matthew 5:24).

In spite of all of this, we are shocked to learn that Rehoboam is forty-one-years old at his own coronation.  This implies that he was one-year old at his father’s coronation.  So Rehoboam may have been born in 971.  Given a normal gestation he would have been conceived in 972.  This indicates that the marriage to Naamah was in 972 or before: at least five years prior to Solomon’s official state marriage to the Meshwesh queen.  So is Naamah the secret love of Solomon’s young life, his child bride?  Is Naamah the subject of Song of Solomon?  Or, is Song of Solomon really written to impress a Meshwesh pharaoh that his daughter is being well treated?  The mystery only gets more puzzling.

Moreover, 1 Chronicles 4:18 hides this intriguing phrase, “And these are the sons of Bithiah the daughter of Pharaoh, which Mered took.”  Yet, no sons are listed, either before or after this phrase.  Nor does it seem to have any real logical connection.  The name “Bithiah” is not otherwise known in the Bible or in history.  The names Mered and Ezra are equally obscure, before the rise of Ezra (circa 516).  Chronicles does not discuss Solomon’s marriage to a Meshwesh queen until 2 Chronicles 8:11; and then, only in an offhanded remark.  It is strange that the narrative of Kings should place such great emphasis on pharaoh’s daughter, while Chronicles seems to have a deliberate de-emphasis.  This 1 Chronicles 4:18 phrase may hide real historical information, yet what?  Related legends are quite fanciful.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bithiah

[20] There are several reasons for this being a Ma (Meshwesh) relationship.  The Mizraim generally opposed such marital relationships and commonly refused them.  The Mizraim were no longer much of a power in Egypt.  The Ma had the military prowess to pull this off, and Sheshonk was the general who could muster it.  According to 1 Kings 9:16 he had flattened Gezer just for a wedding present: no small military achievement.

[21] Hosea 11:1; Matthew 2:15

[22] Construction would not normally begin until Pesah was over, and the new moon sacrifices were completed.

[23] This indicates one, yet not both, of two things: 1. Sukkot was included as the final act of completion.  2. Ceremonies, especially the installation of the Ark, were not begun until a year later at Sukkot.

[24] Focus on the massive six-chambered gates has distracted attention from the total evidence present at these massive sites.

[25] Earlier reports of radiocarbon dating of palace artifacts to a post Solomonic age are mistaken.  These results were not calibrated, and are thus over a hundred years too late.  When properly calibrated, these same radiocarbon results show a date prior to David; hence a Jebusite palace, which is exactly what Scripture claims.

[26] If this is mythic fiction, it will come as a great surprise to the Ethiopian people.

[27] This last piece of evidence may be the most important piece of evidence; by itself it establishes considerable evidence of Solomon’s glory.  Unfortunately, Christine Thompson is not widely known in the archaeological community.  Several other scholars also share her name.  We believe that the Christine Thompson we seek is on the faculty at University of Akron.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hacksilver

http://intarch.ac.uk/journal/issue35/thompson_index.html

http://works.bepress.com/christine_thompson/

[28] Very many scholars, including some within The Church, claim that events prior to 516 are basically mythic fabrications to justify the existence of the Jewish nation after 516.  They claim that very little of the biblical narrative prior to 1200 has any basis in fact whatsoever.  In support of such wild conjectures they hypothesize that Scripture did not develop as its internal narrative suggests; but rather that scribes constructed the narrative from source documents: J (950), E (850), D (600), and P (500).  The more rabid of these theorists insist that the kingdom period from 1010 to 930 has little or no basis in fact.  As fresh evidence is discovered with time, theories denying the kingdom period lose credibility.  That being said, there is still widespread denial that anything prior to 1200 is historic.  There also appears to be a dominant preference for Egyptian archaeological evidence over Mesopotamian archaeological evidence.  Evidence should be received and evaluated without bias, and undue presuppositional opinion.  Hypotheses, must be weighed on the basis of evidence.  Hypotheses, must not be presumed as true, with the evidence thereby being reshaped to fit the presumed mold.

[29] The sum of 3 (the years to deal with Shimei), 1 (the honeymoon with pharaoh’s daughter, 7 (the temple construction), 13 (the residence construction): 3 + 1 + 7 + 13 = 24.  Whether the installation ceremony was included in completion, or a separate act after completion, makes two dates possible.

[30] This is the archaic name for the seventh month, predecessor to Tishri, literally, “in the moon of Ethanim, in the dance (feast) of the seventh new [moon or month].”  This is the first inkling of anything that would suggest the existence of a Tishri calendar: it in no way constitutes a proof.  The celebration of the Ark installation naturally falls at Sukkot, since it reaches the rest of Yahweh after a long, hard journey.  It is not a sufficient cause for establishing a new calendar.

[31] Athanin is a transliteration of Ethanim.  The absence of the explanatory seven suggests that the meaning was still known in the time of LXX; yet, because Hebrew had become a dead language, it required an explanatory note by the time of V.

[32] It would be unlikely for a Mizraim pharaoh to attack Canaanites, they were natural allies; on the other hand a Meshwesh pharaoh would have no hesitancy in doing so, they were natural adversaries.  Still this verse is not found in LXX.

[33] See 2 Chronicles 8:13.

[34] See 2 Chronicles 9:21.

[35] What shall such a region be called?  The obvious natural name is Moab: David has Moabite ancestry, and good reasons for them to be partially self-governing.  This adds new meaning to statements that “Moab revolted:” not the revolt of the ancient kingdom of Moab, but an internecine struggle between Israelite tribes, the trans-Jordan tribes being termed “Moab,” which has become an eponymous toponym.

[36] Actually, this is more than denial; it appears to be an outright contradiction.  This is not the only place where the Israelites have been willing to add to Scripture in order to cover up a perceived moral defect (see Judges 18:30, where the name Manasseh is substituted for Moses to hide the perceived family disgrace and shame).  1 Kings 3:1; 7:8; 9:16, 24

[37] See 1 Kings 9:25.

[38] See 1 Kings 10:22.

[39] Here we suppose that the final act, installing the Ark, took place in Solomon’s twenty-fourth year of reign; alternately, Solomon’s twenty-fifth year of reign is a possibility.

[40] If you have been blessed or helped by any of these meditations, please repost, share, or use any of them as you wish.  No rights are reserved.  They are designed and intended for your free participation.  They were freely received, and are freely given.  No other permission is required for their use.