Editing Solomon (section)

===Middle way===

Some scholars have charted a middle path between minimalist scholars like Finkelstein, Silberman, and Philip Davies<ref>Davies, Philip R. 1992. In Search of 'Ancient Israel': A Study in Biblical Origins. London: Bloomsbury Publishing, T and T Clark.</ref> (who believes that "Solomon is a totally invented character")<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.bibleodyssey.org/tools/video-gallery/d/david-and-solomon-davies |title=David and Solomon |website=www.bibleodyssey.org |language=en |access-date=2017-11-09 |archive-date=10 November 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171110114905/https://www.bibleodyssey.org/tools/video-gallery/d/david-and-solomon-davies  }}</ref> and maximalist scholars like Lemaire and Kitchen. For instance, the archaeologist [[Avraham Faust]] has argued that biblical depictions of Solomon date to later periods and do overstate his wealth, buildings, and kingdom, but that Solomon did have an [[acropolis]] and ruled over a polity larger than Jerusalem.<ref>Faust, Avraham. 2012. The Archaeology of Israelite Society in Iron Age II. Translated by Ruth Ludlum. Winona Lake, IN: Eisenbrauns.</ref> In particular, his archaeological research in regions near Jerusalem, like Sharon, finds commerce too great not to be supported by a polity and such regions probably were ruled loosely by Jerusalem.<ref>Faust, Avraham. 2007. "The Sharon and the Yarkon Basin in the Tenth Century BCE: Ecology, Settlement Patterns and Political Involvement". Israel Exploration Journal:65–82.</ref><ref>Faust, Avraham. 2017. "Jebus, the City of David, and Jerusalem: Jerusalem from the Iron{{nbsp}}I to the Neo-Babylonian Period [in Hebrew]." In Jerusalem: From its Beginning to the Ottoman Conquest, edited by Avraham Faust, J. Schwartz and E. Baruch, 35–72. Ramat Gan: Ingeborg Renner Center for Jerusalem Studies.</ref> Scholars like [[Lester Grabbe]] also believe that there must have been a ruler in Jerusalem during this period and that he likely built a temple, although the town was quite small.<ref>Grabbe, Lester L. 2016. 1 & 2 Kings: An Introduction and Study Guide: History and Story in Ancient Israel: Bloomsbury Publishing.</ref> [[William G. Dever]] argues that Solomon only reigned over Israel and did build a temple, but that descriptions of his lavishness and the other conquests are strongly exaggerated.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Dever|first=William G.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=39HoDwAAQBAJ|title=Has Archaeology Buried the Bible?|date=2020-08-18|publisher=Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing|isbn=978-1-4674-5949-5|language=en}}</ref>