Editing Solomon (section)

==Religious views==
===Judaism===
[[File:King Solomon in Old Age higher-contrast version.png|thumb|Solomon writing Proverbs ([[Gustave Doré]])]]
King Solomon sinned by acquiring many foreign wives and horses because he thought he knew the reason for the biblical prohibition and thought it did not apply to him.  When King Solomon married [[Pharaoh's daughter (wife of Solomon)|Pharaoh's daughter]], a sandbank formed which eventually formed the "great nation of Rome"—the nation that destroyed [[Herod's Temple]]. Solomon gradually lost more and more prestige until he became like a commoner. Some say he regained his status while others say he did not.  In the end, however, he is regarded as a righteous king and is especially praised for his diligence in building the Temple.<ref name="ReferenceA">{{Citation |title=Talmud Bavli |contribution=tractate Sanhendrin |page=21b}}</ref>

[[Adin Steinsaltz]] reads Solomon's wisdom as ''[[realpolitik]]''. His geopolitical success possible only by paying lip service to idolatrous practices without actually believing in them.  This set a terrible example for his subjects. Solomon assumed incorrectly that ordinary people would be as wise as himself and keep idolatry at arm's length.<ref>Steinsaltz, p. 158-9</ref>

King Josiah was also said to have had the [[Ark of the Covenant]], [[Aaron's rod]], vial of [[manna]] and the anointing oil placed within a hidden chamber which had been built by Solomon.<ref>Tosefta (''Sotah'' 13:1); cf. [[Babylonian Talmud]]: {{cite web |title=Keritot 5b:17-18 |url=https://www.sefaria.org/Keritot.5b.17-18?lang=bi |website=[[Sefaria]]|quote=17 The baraita continues: And also sequestered with the Ark was the chest that the Philistines sent as a gift to the God of Israel after they captured the Ark and were stricken by several plagues, as it is stated: "And put the jewels of gold that you return to Him for a guilt offering, in a coffer by its side, and send it away that it may go" (I Samuel 6:8). And who sequestered the Ark? Josiah, king of Judah, sequestered it, as it is stated: And the king said to the priests: Put the sacred Ark in the house that Solomon, the son of David, king of Israel, built (see II Chronicles 35:3). 18 And Rabbi Elazar says: How do we know that all these items needed to be sequestered together with the Ark? The halakha that the jar of manna was to be kept with the Ark is derived through a verbal analogy between the words "there" and "there." The word "there" is stated with regard to the Ark: "Where I will meet with you there" (Exodus 30:6), and it is also stated with regard to the manna: "And put there" (Exodus 16:33). 
}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.chabad.org/therebbe/article_cdo/aid/148171/jewish/A-Buried-Treasure-The-Entombment-of-the-Ark.htm|title=A Buried Treasure: The Entombment of the Ark|website=www.chabad.org}}</ref>

The ''[[Seder Olam Rabbah]]'' holds that Solomon's reign was not in 1000 BCE, but rather in the ninth century BCE, during which time he built the First Temple in 832 BCE.<ref>Seder Olam Rabba, Jerusalem 1971 (Hebrew)</ref> However, ''[[The Jewish Encyclopedia]]'' of 1906 gives the more common date of "971 to 931 BCE".<ref name=JE/>

=== Christianity ===
	
[[File:King-Solomon-Russian-icon.jpg|thumb|right|[[Russian Orthodox Church|Russian]] icon of King Solomon holding a model of the Temple (18th century, [[iconostasis]] of [[Kizhi]] monastery, Russia).]]

Christianity has traditionally accepted the historical existence of Solomon, though some modern Christian scholars have also questioned at least his authorship of those biblical texts ascribed to him. Such disputes tend to divide Christians into traditionalist and modernist camps.

Of the two [[Genealogy of Jesus|genealogies of Jesus]] given in the [[Gospel]]s, [[Gospel of Matthew|Matthew]] mentions Solomon, but [[Gospel of Luke|Luke]] does not. Some commentators see this as an issue that can be reconciled while others disagree. For instance, it has been suggested that Matthew is using Joseph's genealogy and Luke is using Mary's, but [[Darrell Bock]] states that this would be unprecedented, "especially when no other single woman appears in the line". Other suggestions include the use by one of the royal and the other of the natural line, one using the legal line and the other the physical line, or that Joseph was adopted.<ref>{{cite book|last=Bock |first=Darell|title=Luke |series=The NIV Application Commentary |year=1996|publisher=Zondervan|isbn=978-0-310-49330-3|page=124}}</ref>

Jesus refers to Solomon, using him for comparison in his admonition against worrying about life. This account is recorded in Matthew 6:29 and the parallel passage in Luke 12:27.
	
In the [[Eastern Orthodox Church]], Solomon is commemorated as a [[saint]], with the title of "Righteous Prophet and King". His [[feast day]] is celebrated on the Sunday of the Holy Forefathers (two Sundays before the [[Great Feast]] of the [[Christmas|Nativity of the Lord]]).

The staunchly Catholic King [[Philip II of Spain]] sought to model himself after King Solomon. Statues of [[King David]] and Solomon stand on either side of the entrance to the [[basilica]] of [[El Escorial]], Philip's palace, and Solomon is also depicted in a great fresco at the center of El Escorial's library. Philip identified the warrior-king David with his own father [[Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor|Charles V]], and himself sought to emulate the thoughtful and logical character which he perceived in Solomon. Moreover, the structure of the Escorial was inspired by that of Solomon's Temple.<ref>{{Citation |first=René |last=Taylor |language=es|title=Arquitectura y Magia. Consideraciones sobre la Idea de El Escorial |trans-title=Architecture and magic. Considerations on the idea of the Escorial |publisher=Siruela |place=Madrid}}, enhanced from monograph in Rudolph Wittkower's 1968 festschrift.</ref><ref>{{Citation |contribution=Hermetism and the Mystical Architecture of the Society of Jesus |title=Baroque Art: The Jesuit Contribution |first1=Rudolf |last1=Wittkower |first2=Irma |last2=Jaffe}}</ref>

In the Christian [[Typology (theology)|typological interpretation]], Solomon is viewed as a foreshadowing of Jesus Christ. His wisdom, peaceful reign, and temple-building legacy are interpreted as analogous to Christ's person and mission.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Schmeling |first1=G.R. |title=The Typological Interpretation of the Old Testament |url=https://www.bible-researcher.com/schmeling.html |publisher=Bible Research |access-date=16 May 2025}}</ref>

===Islam===
[[File:Mausoleum of Nabi Suleman.JPG|thumb| [[:commons:Category:Kursi Suleiman|Throne of Solomon]], Aqsa Mosque compound, Jerusalem]]
{{Main article|Solomon in Islam}}

In [[Islam]], Solomon is also known as Sulaimān ibn Dāwūd, and is considered a prophet and a messenger of [[God in Islam|God]], as well as a divinely appointed monarch.<ref>{{qref|2|102|b=y}}</ref> Solomon inherited his position from his father as the prophetic King of the Israelites. Unlike in the Bible, according to Muslim tradition Solomon never participated in idolatry.<ref>Shalev-Eyni, Sarit. "Solomon, his demons and jongleurs: The meeting of Islamic, Judaic and Christian culture." Al-Masaq 18.2 (2006): 155.</ref>

The Quran ascribes to Solomon a great level of wisdom, knowledge and power.<ref name="Qur'an,27:15–19">{{qref|27|15-19|b=y}}</ref> He knew the [[language of the birds]] ({{langx|ar|منطق الطير|translit=manṭiq al-ṭayr}}).<ref name="Qur'an,27:15–19"/>

Solomon was also known in Islam to have other supernatural abilities bestowed upon him by God, like controlling the wind, ruling over the [[jinn]], enslaving [[div (mythology)|div]]s, and hearing the communication of [[ant]]s:
{{blockquote|And to Solomon ˹We subjected˺ the wind: its morning stride was a month's journey and so was its evening stride. And We caused a stream of molten copper to flow for him, and ˹We subjected˺ some of the jinn to work under him by his Lord's Will. And whoever of them deviated from Our command, We made them taste the torment of the blaze.|Surah Saba 34:12<ref>{{qref|34|12|c=y}}</ref>}} 
{{blockquote|And when they came across a valley of ants, an ant warned, "O ants! Go quickly into your homes so Solomon and his armies do not crush you, unknowingly."|Surah An-Naml 27:18-19<ref>{{qref|27|18-19|c=y}}</ref>}}

The Quran says:
{{blockquote|They ˹instead˺ followed the magic promoted by the devils during the reign of Solomon. Never did Solomon disbelieve, rather the devils disbelieved. They taught magic to the people, along with what had been revealed to the two angels, [[Harut and Marut|Hârût and Mârût]], in Babylon. The two angels never taught anyone without saying, "We are only a test ˹for you˺, so do not abandon ˹your˺ faith." Yet people learned ˹magic˺ that caused a rift ˹even˺ between husband and wife; although their magic could not harm anyone except by Allah's Will. They learned what harmed them and did not benefit them—although they already knew that whoever buys into magic would have no share in the Hereafter. Miserable indeed was the price for which they sold their souls, if only they knew!|Surah Al-Bagara 2:102<ref>{{qref|2|102|c=y}}</ref>}}
The Quran makes a reference to a "puppet" posing as Solomon in exegetical literature understood as a jinni or demon, who escaped captivity and took over his kingdom.<ref>Robert Lebling ''Legends of the Fire Spirits: Jinn and Genies from Arabia to Zanzibar'' I.B.Tauris 2010 {{ISBN|978-0-857-73063-3}}</ref> Solomon's loss of his throne to the demons has been understood in Islamic spirituality to represent a human losing its soul to demonic passion.<ref>{{cite web|author=Moiseeva Anna Vladimirovna |title=Prophet Sulaimān V Klassische Persische Poesie: Semantik Und Struktur Des Bildes {{!}} Orientalistik {{!}} Afrikanistik (volume 3|year= 2020|url=https://cyberleninka.ru/article/n/prorok-sulaym-n-v-klassicheskoy-persidskoy-poezii-semantika-i-struktura-obraza |website=[[CyberLeninka]]|accessdate=October 14, 2021}}</ref> [[Attar of Nishapur]] writes: "If you bind the ''div'' (demon), you will set out for the royal pavilion with Solomon" and "You have no command over your self's kingdom, for in your case the ''div'' is in the place of Solomon".<ref>Hamori, Andras. On the Art of Medieval Arabic Literature. USA: Princeton University Press, 2015. p. 158</ref>

Solomon's gifts are often used [[allegorical]]ly in popular literature. The demons taking over Solomon's kingdom mirrors [[Sufi cosmology|the Sufi concept of the mind]] giving in to evil urges.<ref>Hamori,&nbsp;Andras.&nbsp;On the Art of Medieval Arabic Literature.&nbsp;USA:&nbsp;Princeton University Press,&nbsp;2015. p. 158</ref> The ant is depicted as a wise creature, revealing to Solomon the reason behind his gift to control the wind and his name.<ref name=Peacock>{{Cite book |first1=A.C.S.|last1=Peacock|title=Islam, Literature and Society in Mongol Anatolia|publisher= Cambridge University Press| date=2019|doi= 10.1017/9781108582124|isbn=978-1-108-58212-4|s2cid=211657444}}</ref>

During the [[Islamization of Iran]], Solomon became merged with [[Jamshid]], a great king from [[Persian mythology]], about who similar attributes are ascribed to.<ref>Eva Orthmann, Anna Kollatz The Ceremonial of Audience: Transcultural Approaches Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 11.11.2019 isbn 978-3-847-00887-3 p. 155</ref>

===Baháʼí  Faith===
In the [[Baháʼí Faith]], Solomon is regarded as one of the lesser prophets along with David, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, along with others.<ref>{{Citation |title=An Introduction to the Baha'i Faith |page=108 |first=Peter |last=Smith |year=2008}}</ref> Baháʼís see Solomon as a prophet who was sent by God to address the issues of his time.<ref>{{Citation |title=My God! Our God? |page=176 |first1=E Joseph III |last1=Steier |first2=Dianne H |last2=Timmering |year=2008}}</ref> Baha'ullah wrote about Solomon in the ''Hidden Words''.<ref>{{Citation |title=The Comity and Grace of Method: Essays in Honor of Edmund F. Perry |page=399 |first1=Thomas |last1=Ryba |first2=George D |last2=Bond |first3=Herman |last3=Tull |year=2004}}</ref> He also mentions Solomon in the ''Tablet of Wisdom'', where he is depicted as a contemporary of [[Pythagoras]].<ref>{{Citation |title=The Baha'i Faith in America |page=160 |first=William |last=Garlington |year=2005}}</ref>