King Solomon and the Temple of Solomon Quotes

“The Babylonian army finally managed to breach the city wall that was protecting Jerusalem in 587 B.C., allowing them to swarm into the city.  There appears to have been a few months of negotiations between the Babylonians and the Judeans regarding terms of surrender, and during that time King Zedekiah fled under cover of night. ”
― Charles River Editors, King Solomon and the Temple of Solomon: The History of the Jewish King and His Temple

“The siege of Jerusalem lasted only two years, and it’s clear from Jeremiah’s prophecies that Nebuchadnezzar’s army was not only attacking Jerusalem itself but several of the fortified cities of Judah that were supporting it:  “…the army of the king of Babylon was fighting against Jerusalem and against all the cities of Judah that were left, Lachish and Azekah; for these were the only fortified cities of Judah that remained.” (Jer. 34:7). Archaeological finds also indicate that the Babylonians also destroyed the Judean towns of Beth Shemesh, Gezer, and Tell el-Hesi at this time. ”
― Charles River Editors, King Solomon and the Temple of Solomon: The History of the Jewish King and His Temple

“In 594 BCE, Zedekiah of Judah made a visit to Nebuchadnezzar in Babylon, most likely to assure him of his continued loyalty (Jer. 51:59), and the prophet Jeremiah, whose politics had always been pro-Babylonian, offered to help Zedekiah with this visit.  In great prophetic fashion, Jeremiah composed a letter containing an oracle about the ultimate destruction of Babylon (Jer. 51:1-58) and instructed Zedekiah to read the letter aloud and cast it into the Euphrates River, signifying with this act that any plans to destroy Babylon were doomed to fail (Jer. 51:61-64). In”
― Charles River Editors, King Solomon and the Temple of Solomon: The History of the Jewish King and His Temple

“It took Nebuchadnezzar a couple years to respond to Jehoikim’s rebellion, but in 597 BCE, Nebuchadnezzar returned to Jerusalem and laid siege to it, taking Jehoiachin (who had only three months prior inherited the throne from his father at the age of 18) prisoner. ”
― Charles River Editors, King Solomon and the Temple of Solomon: The History of the Jewish King and His Temple

“Once the doors of the temple were open, the priest’s day would begin, and the first task of the day was to feed YHWH breakfast in a three-part daily morning ritual (de Vaux, 1997, 449-50).  There was a whole burnt offering (translated as a “holocaust offering” in older translations) that the priest performed, most likely on the bronze altar in the hêkal.  The priest would cut the throat of a one-year old lamb without any blemishes and pour its blood around the altar.  The priest would then skin the lamb and cut it into four parts, which the priest then placed into the fire on top of the altar.  While one priest was doing this, another priest pulled bread, made with a particular recipe, from the oven and placed it on the table in the hêkal along with a jug of wine (de Vaux, 1997, 415-16).  A third priest took a shovel, scooped some charcoal out of the golden altar, sprinkled perfume onto the glowing embers and returned the scented coals to the altar (de Vaux, 1997, 423).  The priests then said their morning prayers, and one example of such a morning prayer appears in Psalm 5 (de Vaux, 1997, 458). After”
― Charles River Editors, King Solomon and the Temple of Solomon: The History of the Jewish King and His Temple

“In fact, the temple and the palace were so close that their respective inner courts shared a wall, and in one of Ezekiel’s prophetic oracles, YHWH chastises the people of Israel for this issue of proximity:  “The house of Israel shall no more defile my holy name, neither they nor their kings…When they placed their threshold by my threshold and their doorposts beside my doorposts, with only a wall between me and them…” (Ezek. 43:7-8). Again,”
― Charles River Editors, King Solomon and the Temple of Solomon: The History of the Jewish King and His Temple

“Therefore, the priestly writers shrunk them and incorporated them as part of the cover (sometimes incorrectly translated as “mercy seat”) of the Ark (Ex. 25:18).  They further changed the direction the cherubîm faced by turning them inwards to face each other and the Ark itself.  Their wings were no longer outstretched for flight but now pointed inwards, covering the Ark.”
― Charles River Editors, King Solomon and the Temple of Solomon: The History of the Jewish King and His Temple

“One of the most interesting aspects of Waterman’s theory is his explanation of the contents of the debîr. According to the Bible, this housed the cherubîm and the Ark of the Covenant, and there is no reason to think that these items were secondarily placed in the debîr.  Waterman argues that the cherubîm could not have represented the presence of YHWH anymore than the cherubîm guarding the Garden of Eden would have done so. ”
― Charles River Editors, King Solomon and the Temple of Solomon: The History of the Jewish King and His Temple

“During World War II, Waterman (1943) highlighted this fact and proposed an interesting theory regarding the original purpose of this structure.  He suggested that the Solomonic temple was not originally a temple at all but actually a treasury building for the administration. According to this theory, it was only later in Judean history that this treasury building was converted into use as a temple. ”
― Charles River Editors, King Solomon and the Temple of Solomon: The History of the Jewish King and His Temple

“Alan Millard (1981, 5-18), however, has made a thorough study of the use of gold and wealth in general in the ancient Near East, and his conclusions were that the descriptions of Solomon’s wealth and that of the temple are entirely in keeping with the use and accumulation of wealth in ancient times.  He wrote, “There are no grounds for dismissing Solomon’s glory as exaggeration or legend in the history and culture of the ancient world. Solomon could well have ruled in Jerusalem exactly as 1 Kings describes him, seated on his ivory throne, worshipping at the golden Temple.” (Millard, 1981, 17). ”
― Charles River Editors, King Solomon and the Temple of Solomon: The History of the Jewish King and His Temple

“Stager then concludes his discussion of the Solomonic kingdom with the following remark: “With an accurate chronology established by Egyptian sources through Shishak’s campaign in Palestine in 925 B.C.E., an adequate understanding of what statehood entails through historically generated typologies, rich symbols from biblical and inscriptional sources, and a ripe field of archaeological remains from these symbols, we can declare with some confidence that the United Monarchy of Israel already existed by the 10th century B.C.E. and flourished even after its division.” (Stager, 2003, 71).”
― Charles River Editors, King Solomon and the Temple of Solomon: The History of the Jewish King and His Temple

“The Deuteronomistic Historian credits all of Solomon’s extra-Yahwistic worship activities to the influence of his foreign wives, but this was likely a theological coping mechanism.  Solomon was likely comfortable worshipping Chemosh and Molech alongside YHWH and his Asherah throughout his reign without thinking twice about it (1 Kgs. 11:7-8).  Such syncretistic practices were probably common in Greater Israel during the 10th century. Chapter”
― Charles River Editors, King Solomon and the Temple of Solomon: The History of the Jewish King and His Temple

“This theological construct contains the following tenets: 1) YHWH chose Jerusalem specifically as the city for his immediate presence on earth; 2) YHWH appointed David and his descendants to rule from Jerusalem forever; 3) the temple in Jerusalem functions as the center of the cult of YHWH; 4) the Davidic king performs an intermediary role between YHWH and the people; and 5) the continuation of the Davidic dynasty and the protection of Jerusalem are both dependent upon the continued faithfulness of the king and his people to YHWH (Miller and Hayes, 1986, 203).  In addition to this “oracle of Nathan,” this theology is evident in Solomon’s prayer (1 Kgs. 8:46-53) and most poignantly in a number of the psalms (Ps. 2; 18; 20; 21; 45; 46; 48; 72; 76; 84; 87; 101; 110; 121; 122).  Jerusalem becomes the cosmic center of the universe, where YHWH sits upon his throne reigning as king over creation. ”
― Charles River Editors, King Solomon and the Temple of Solomon: The History of the Jewish King and His Temple

“The second oracle (2 Sam. 7:8-16) takes a different tact.  Rather than appealing to the past as justification for denying David’s request, it looks to the future.  In this oracle, YHWH explains to David that he will not build a house for YHWH, rather YHWH will build a house for him.  This juxtaposition makes use of a play on words in Hebrew, where the Hebrew word for house (bayit) can convey both a “temple” and a “dynasty.”  Because David is the recipient of an everlasting dynasty, he will not be the one to build the temple for YHWH.  Many scholars consider this second “oracle of Nathan” to be the origin of messianic thought in Israel (Jones, 1990, 59-60).”
― Charles River Editors, King Solomon and the Temple of Solomon: The History of the Jewish King and His Temple

“The Pharaoh involved in the marriage alliance with Solomon would have been either Siamun or his son, Psusennes II.  In either case, Pharaoh Shoshenq I (Shishak) begins a different (the 22nd) dynasty altogether and would not necessarily have honored any alliances made by his predecessors (Kuhrt, 1995, 624). Putting”
― Charles River Editors, King Solomon and the Temple of Solomon: The History of the Jewish King and His Temple

“On the one hand, Solomon’s marriage to the daughter of the Egyptian Pharaoh is mentioned no less than five times in the narrative of 1 Kings 3-11, with each mention having a very distinct context and appearing archival in nature.  She is mentioned: 1) in relation to Solomon’s alliance with the Egyptian Pharaoh (1 Kgs. 3:1); 2) in a description of the construction of the royal palace (1 Kgs. 7:8); 3) in relation to the Egyptian conquest of Gezer and its subsequent absorption into Greater Israel (1 Kgs. 9:16); 4) in a description of building activities throughout Jerusalem (1 Kgs. 9:24); and 5) in a list of Solomon’s wives (1 Kgs. 11:1). ”
― Charles River Editors, King Solomon and the Temple of Solomon: The History of the Jewish King and His Temple

“In these Ethiopian traditions, the Queen of Sheba did not just visit Solomon to verbally spar with him but also marry him.  The basis for this is that the Hebrew word used in 1 Kings 10:2 (bw’) translated to “came to Solomon,” which can also be used as a technical term for coitus (Ullendorff, 1974, 106).  The purpose of the Kebra Negast was to cast Ethiopia as the legitimate heir of Israel as the chosen people of God having received the Ark of the Covenant in Aksum where it was transferred from Jerusalem.  Menelik, the son of Solomon and the Queen of Sheba, founded the Solomonic dynasty of Ethiopia. ”
― Charles River Editors, King Solomon and the Temple of Solomon: The History of the Jewish King and His Temple

“He recognized that horses represented a prized commodity for military leaders, so he began to import horses from an area west and southwest of the Amanus Mountains called Kue and Muṣri (1 Kgs. 10:28).  The latter area appears as Miṣraim in the Hebrew text, which is the Hebrew name for Egypt, but Egypt makes little sense in this context.  Kue and Muṣri form a standard word pair in Assyrian records and are neighboring regions (May, 1984, 136). ”
― Charles River Editors, King Solomon and the Temple of Solomon: The History of the Jewish King and His Temple

“Although cargo shipments of precious metals as described here seem quite fanciful to modern ears, archaeologists recently excavated a shipwreck at Uluburun with a shipload of copper and tin ingots that dates from the Canaanite Late Bronze period hundreds of years prior to Solomon’s activities (Brody, 2002, 65). ”
― Charles River Editors, King Solomon and the Temple of Solomon: The History of the Jewish King and His Temple

“This title is a Hebrew word meaning “collector” or “assembler,” and while the Protestant Reformers used the term “preacher” to translate this title, it more likely refers to this individual as a “collector” of proverbs (Crenshaw, 1992, 271).  At the outset of the book (1:12-2:26) this individual engages in a royal experiment, the background of which is clearly intended to be that of Solomon.  So here the author has gone one step further from tacking Solomon’s name onto a work to intentionally writing from the perspective of Solomon. Another”
― Charles River Editors, King Solomon and the Temple of Solomon: The History of the Jewish King and His Temple

“The title of this work in Hebrew begins with “The Song of Songs,” which means “the best song” or “the sublime song.”  The title continues with “The Song of Songs, which is ‘to/of’ Solomon” that produces the English title “Song of Solomon.”  The Hebrew of the book, much like the Psalms and the book of Job, does not allow for precise dating (Murphy, 1992, 150).  The book is a collection of Hebrew love songs and Solomon’s many wives, and the mention of his name in the book accounts for his association with this book. ”
― Charles River Editors, King Solomon and the Temple of Solomon: The History of the Jewish King and His Temple

“Two psalms in particular contained in the collection of Psalms of the “sons of Korah,” the professional class of temple singers; Psalms 88 and 89 bear ascriptions to Ethan and Heman respectively.  In this case, both of these figures bear the title “Ezrahite.”  According to William Albright, this term designates an “aborigine” or a “member of a pre-Israelite family” (Albright, 1942, 127, 210).  The reason why these two men must have been contemporaries of Solomon rather than predecessors is because Psalm 89, attributed to Heman, is a royal psalm mentioning David and the Davidic royal line explicitly. ”
― Charles River Editors, King Solomon and the Temple of Solomon: The History of the Jewish King and His Temple

“According to Scripture, Solomon was in Gibeon making his usual sacrifices (1 Kgs. 3:4).  While he was there, YHWH appeared to him in a dream and asked what he wanted (1 Kgs. 3:5).  Solomon responded, “Give your servant therefore an understanding mind to govern your people, able to discern between good and evil.” (1 Kgs. 3:9).  This request pleased the Lord so much that he not only granted Solomon’s request for “understanding” and “discernment” but also added, “I give you also what you have not asked, both riches and honor all your life;”
― Charles River Editors, King Solomon and the Temple of Solomon: The History of the Jewish King and His Temple

“In other words, Nathan had Bathsheba play on David’s faulty memory.  A common coping mechanism for people with dementia or Alzheimer’s like symptoms is to claim to remember things that others indicate that they should remember. ”
― Charles River Editors, King Solomon and the Temple of Solomon: The History of the Jewish King and His Temple

“Solomon grew up in the royal palace of his father David with about 20 half-brothers and sisters, a large number due to the fact that David had offspring with at least 7 women.”
― Charles River Editors, King Solomon and the Temple of Solomon: The History of the Jewish King and His Temple

“But then there is Bathsheba’s statement in 1 Kings 1:17: “She said to him [David], ‘My lord, you swore to your servant by YHWH your God, saying: Your son Solomon shall succeed me as king, and he shall sit on my throne.’” This adds a less savory perspective to the story.  Randall Bailey has argued that this statement, made by Bathsheba before David has made any official gestures indicating his choice of Solomon as his successor, indicates that this dynastic choice was a precondition Bathsheba set before she would marry David. ”
― Charles River Editors, King Solomon and the Temple of Solomon: The History of the Jewish King and His Temple

“According to Menander’s history, as preserved by Josephus, Hiram began his reign 155 years before the founding of Carthage, and according to the Greek historian Timaeus, Carthage was founded in 814 B.C.  This sets the beginning of Hiram’s reign at 969 B.C. (Liver, 1953, 116).  Josephus then dates the beginning of the construction of Solomon’s temple to either the 11th (according to Against Apion i 126) or the 12th (according to Jewish Antiquities viii 62) years of Hiram’s reign. ”
― Charles River Editors, King Solomon and the Temple of Solomon: The History of the Jewish King and His Temple