Professional paper
Salomon – The Life and Work of a King
Karlo Višaticki
orcid.org/0000-0003-4683-4812
; Catholic Faculty of Theology, J. J. Strossmayer University of Osijek, Đakovo, Croatia
Ankica Golik
Abstract
The article aims to present Solomon, the king of Israel, whose history is shown to us in the two Books of Kings, and also partly in the Books of Chronicles that contains more recent texts. The article is structured in nine parts. The first part delineates the historical framework based on biblical sources. The second part shows Solomon's birth, and the third part describes his rise to power. The fourth part speaks of Solomon as a builder, and the fifth and sixth part depict his diplomatic abilities. The seventh part pictures Solomon as an immodest and wasteful king, and the eighth shows Solomon as a trader. The ninth part portrays Solomon as a wise man, who will become a paradigm of the Old Testament wise man, and the end of the article illustrates Solomon’s demise and the disintegration of the kingdom.
What we find in the biblical texts is mainly the result of later reflections and speaks more about the circumstances at the time when the texts were written, rather than about the actual, or supposed time, the tenth pre-Christian century, when, as historians generally agree, the historic Solomon lived and worked, but in a much more modest form than described by the biblical texts. Solomon was made a paradigm worthy of following in almost all segments. The people who lived in difficult circumstances needed to be reminded of their "great", glorified past, and thus be given hope for the future.
Keywords
Israel; the United Monarchy; David; Solomon; Solomon's reign
Hrčak ID:
93677
URI
Publication date:
31.12.2012.
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