In 1 Kings 8:22 Solomon prays before “all the congregation of Israel”. If we were to take this phrase literally, we might imagine Solomon straining to be heard by hundreds of thousands of people. In fact, the composition of this congregation is carefully explained in v1: it was made up of the elders of Israel and [...]
Answers about Solomon
The short answer is that we do not know. The reason to believe that Solomon is not saved is that he turned against God, for example: 1Ki 11:4 For when Solomon was old his wives turned away his heart after other gods, and his heart was not wholly true to the LORD his God, as [...]
The only place where “lily of the valley” occurs in the Bible is in Song of Solomon 2:1: I am a rose of Sharon, a lily of the valleys. Here, Solomon’s lover is using a beautiful flower as a metaphor for herself. Solomon takes up the metaphor in response: As a lily among brambles, so [...]
The number 666 is the number of the beast in Revelation, the last book of the Bible: This calls for wisdom: let the one who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man, and his number is 666. (Revelation 13:18) The “beast” in Revelation is a symbol [...]
There are many lessons we can take from the life of Solomon. Here is a highlight: God made King Solomon an incredible offer, “Ask what I shall give you.” (1 Kings 3:5). If you were in his position and could ask for anything, what would you ask for? Solomon, with endless possibilities before him, asked for [...]
There is no way of knowing. Taphath and Basemath (or Basmath KJV) are only mentioned once each in the Bible (1 Kings 4:11,15) and then it is only to tell us who they married. We know that Solomon’s son Rehoboam was 41 years old when Solomon died (1 Kings 14:21), and that Solomon died when in his [...]
The age of Solomon when he began to reign is unknown. However, we can work out some dates and establish an approximate age. The following dates are explained in The Times (chapter 3) 1041BC David born 1011BC David starts to reign, age 30 (2 Samuel 5:4-5) 971BC David dies, age 70 (1 Kings 2:11) 971BC Solomon starts [...]
This event is recorded in 1 Kings 3:16-28. It was a brilliant method of finding out who really cared for the baby (1 Kings 3:26-27) and is an example of Solomon’s great wisdom, which he received from God (1 Kings 3:12,28).
