The Accession of Solomon
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Solomon succeeded to the throne of David ahead of his time. He had been tenth in line for succession, but upon the death of David he outmaneuvered the tribal choice and his other half-brothers and took the throne. The accession of Solomon set a pattern for the establishment of royal authority over Israel--a legitimate saint would anoint the new king; the king would set his capital in a new city (in this case Jerusalem); and the king would establish a cult under royal patronage. David was depicted as a devout man who did heroic things. The persona of Solomon as developed in the scriptures is subtly different from this, though Solomon is also seen as a benevolent and successful ruler.The writers of the biblical accounts had interests other than strictly depicting history, and they allowed their interests in one ruler or another to determine the degree of attention they would lavish on each. The compilers of Genesis-II Kings, for instance, were not as interested in Saul's reign as they were in David's so that we are told very little about Saul's kingdom (Miller and Hayes 129). Solomon and his reign are presented in somewhat different ways according to which chronicler is considered. Solomon's reign might be seen as the "golden age" of Israelite and Judean history, and he is depicted in Genesis-II Kings as exceedingly wise, exceptionally wealthy, and extremely powerful as a ruler. The Chronicler neutralizes all the negative aspects of Solomon's reign and elaborate on h
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es, and horses and mules (1 Kings 10:24-25).
Solomon also loved many foreign women (1 Kings 11:1), and in this regard he was led into a major fault because these women turned his head to other gods. He even built sanctuaries to some of them, angering Yahweh, who then sent adversaries against Solomon.
The Genesis-II Kings version of the story of Solomon is characterized by editorial exaggeration, and one problem is that this is the most convincing source of information available. The historical Solomon has to be found in the materials in 1 Kings 1-11. The opening chapters of 1 Kings tell of the palace intrigue surrounding Solomon's accession to the throne and includes the narrative of David's rule of Jerusalem and of the troubles which plagued his reign. The chapters also indicate that David selected Solomon for his successor, and it is indicated that Adonijah brings about his own downfall by showing that he still has designs on the throne. Another block of material tells of Solomon's cultic activities, including his building program. There are clear reasons for these passages about the cultic activities, for the Judahite editors of this account. These descriptions emphasize the following points:
1) Jerusalem is the appro
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Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 1585
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page)
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