In Chronicles, by contrast, while Solomon’s wisdom is barely indicated (‘Wisdom and knowledge are granted to you’, v. 12), his material wealth and honour are boundless: ‘such as none of the kings had who were before you, and none after you shall have the like’ (v. 12). Solomon’s greatest fame, and God’s choicest gift, is therefore not Solomon’s wisdom but his wealth – a feature which characterizes all of the narrative which follows.
