The Figure of Solomon in Jewish, Christian and Islamic Tradition: King, Sage, and Architect

281 Pages·2012·5.76 MB·English

by  Joseph Verheyden

The Figure of Solomon in Jewish,
Christian and Islamic Tradition
Themes in
Biblical Narrative
Jewish and Christian Traditions
Editorial Board
George H. van Kooten
Robert A. Kugler
Loren T. Stuckenbruck
Advisory Board
Reinhard Feldmeier
Judith Lieu
Florentino García Martínez
Hindy Najman
Martti Nissinen
Ed Noort
VOLUME 16
The titles published in this series are listed at brill.com/tbn
The Figure of Solomon in Jewish,
Christian and Islamic Tradition
King, Sage and Architect
Edited by
Joseph Verheyden
LEIDEN • BOSTON
2013
Cover illustration: Maurits Sabbe Library, Faculty of Theology and Religious Studies, KU Leuven:
Biblia Sacra, dat is de geheele Heylighe Schriftvre bedeylt in ‘t Out en Nieu Testament, [Amsterdam]:
by Pieter Iacopsz Paets, 1657, p. 431 (woodcut by Christoffel van Sichem).
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ISSN 1388-3909
ISBN 978-90-04-24232-6 (hardback)
ISBN 978-90-04-24291-3 (e-book)
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CONTENTS
Introduction  ..................................................................................................... 1
The Rise of Solomon in the Ancient Israelite Historiography  .......... 7
Isaac Kalimi
Solomon in History and Tradition  ............................................................. 45
Pekka Särkiö
Der Tempel Salomos im Kontext der Ikonographie und der
archäologischen Funde  ............................................................................ 57
Wolfgang Zwickel
Josephus on Solomon  .................................................................................... 85
Joseph Verheyden
Solomon and Magic  ....................................................................................... 107
Pablo A. Torijano
Solomon in Rabbinic Literature  ................................................................. 127
Gerhard Langer
King Solomon in the New Testament and Jewish Tradition  ............. 143
Albert L.A. Hogeterp
Salomo, Christus und die Oden Salomos  ................................................. 165
Tobias Nicklas
Solomon as a True Exorcist: The Testament of Solomon in
Its Cultural Setting ..................................................................................... 183
Peter Busch
Solomon in Egyptian Gnosticism  .............................................................. 197
Jacques van der Vliet
vi contents
Solomon in Ethiopian Tradition  ................................................................ 219
Witold Witakowski and Ewa Balicka-Witakowska
The Ikhwān aṣ-Ṣafā⁠ʾ on King-Prophet Solomon  .................................... 241
Jules Janssens
Index of Names  ................................................................................................ 255
Index of Biblical References  ........................................................................ 260
Index of Other References  ........................................................................... 269
IntroductIon
Solomon—king, sage, architect, and later on also magician—is one of the
more complex and fascinating characters in the history of Israel. As a king
he is second only to david. As the king who gave Israel its temple he is
unsurpassed. As the prototype of the sage (or the wise king) his name lives
on in numerous biblical and pseudepigraphical writings. As the magician
of later tradition he has established himself as a model for many other
aspirants in this field.
this volume contains the proceedings of an international conference
on Solomon that was held at the Faculty of theology and religious Studies
of the university of Leuven, September 30–october 2, 2009 and brought
together specialists in various fields of Jewish, early christian, Eastern
christian, and Islamic studies who all have illustrated how Solomon was
put in the picture in these traditions.
A number of essays is dedicated to texts and documents that should be
dealt with in any good study on Solomon. But the volume also contains
essays that offer a less common take on the subject. the starting point are
of course the core passages in 1 Kgs 3–11 and their parallel in 2 chr 2–11.
these texts are studied in particular by Isaac Kalimi and Pekka Särkiö.
Kalimi focuses on the accounts of Solomon’s succession to the throne.
the story as told in 1 Kgs 1–2 is that of a ‘classic’ power struggle, in which
all those supporting Solomon do so as much for their own benefit as for
any idealistic purpose. nathan, the chief conspirator, is duly rewarded
for his support and intriguing, as are his comrades-in-arms, Zadok and
Benaiah. It is a very ‘down-to-earth’ story. the chronicler, on the other
hand, tries to emend this perspective and turns Solomon into a divinely
chosen king and a fully legitimate heir to the throne. there was no need
for any intrigue. Solomon’ succession to the throne was a most harmoni-
ous event. the accounts of the new king’s coronation reflect this quite
different approach. In the deuteronomistic version Solomon succeeds
to his father. In the more solemn chronistic account he is put on “the
throne of the Lord”: theocracy and monarchy go hand in hand. Kalimi
finds in it an indication that the notion of God’s kingship is all but a late
one, as some have argued. In the same line, the chronicler is foremost
interested in the religious, rather than in the political, aspect in david’s
testament, because it gives him a good opportunity to go on emphasising
2 introduction
the divinely ordained perspective in dealing with Solomon’s rise to power.
the biblical accounts thus offer two quite different versions of the way
in which Solomon conquered the throne; as such, they already indicate
that here is a quite controversial figure. things would not really change
afterwards.
Pekka Särkiö opens with a broad survey of the major developments that
have taken place in studying the history of Israel’s kings over the past two
decades. there is first of all the still on-going debate between minimalists
and maximalists in assessing the credibility of the biblical accounts. there
is further also the equally still on-going debate on the place of archaeology
in biblical studies and its relation to literary studies. third, and linked to
the previous, is the complex question of dating the archaeological evi-
dence ascribed to the early monarchy. Solomon, his reign, his building
activity, and the accounts about him, take a central place in this whole
discussion. Särkiö then concentrates on the account in 1 Kgs of Solomon’s
rise to power and that of his ‘sin’ (1 Kgs 11:1–8). In particular, he draws
attention to the fact that in both accounts a crucial role is given to ‘foreign
women’. Indeed, it is thanks to Bathseba, herself of canaanite descent,
that Solomon makes it to the throne; and it is his harem, which included
women of non-Jewish descent, that made him give up obeying the Law. As
Särkiö indicates, this was more than a sorry mistake by an overconfident
ruler; it turned Solomon into the very counter-model of the pious Jew. He
broke the covenant, and Israel would suffer badly by it.
Wolfgang Zwickel studies the biblical accounts on Solomon’s temple in
1 Kgs 6–7 at the background of the iconographical and archaeological evi-
dence. the temple was above all a project aimed at furthering the prestige
of the ruler. Architecture is a means amongst others to present oneself as
a king and act accordingly. Politics rather than religion are at play, but the
latter are of course not completely absent, for the temple project also cut
in stone what Israel was expected to do in matters of religion. God and
king work together for the benefit of the people; or so it was intended.
Israel finally has become a nation in its own right, with its own ‘national’
God, a royal dynasty of its own, and a population that identifies itself with
both God and king; or so, once more, it was intended.
the reception or recuperation of Solomon in later Jewish literature is
studied from various perspectives. Joseph Verheyden focuses on Flavius
Josephus’ retelling of the biblical account in his Antiquitates (8.1–212). It
is an account full of ambiguities and dissonances. Solomon is praised into
the heavens, apparently only to make his fall yet more instructive and
impressive. He is portrayed as the kind and modest king, but one who
introduction 3
seems to lose his temper a more than one occasion. He is a man gifted
with great intellect and a sound sense of judgement, yet he also dabbles
in magic—a feature that is anxiously left aside in the biblical accounts.
He is eulogised for his piety, but it proves to be a calculated piety if it
clashes with politics. He wants to be a just king, as his father had hoped
for, but justice, too, occasionally has to yield to political shrewdness and
even vengeance. He is a brave soldier, but he never fought a battle. He is
the most fortunate king Israel has ever known, wealthy and glorious, yet
he seems to have forgotten about his good intentions to share this wealth
with his people. And in his old age Solomon blows it all and ends his life
an apostate. Why did Josephus take this path? the one explanation that
readily springs to mind is that Josephus is catering to an audience that
was but all too well aware of the vicissitudes of life at the court and could
find out for themselves that in this respect things were not so different in
other cultures.
Pablo torijano studies the way Solomon is portrayed in Jewish magi-
cal texts. Indeed, as is well known, Solomon was a most popular figure
in this kind of literature. torijano illustrates from several examples how
this ‘non-conventional’ Solomon almost overshadowed the biblical king,
in power and popularity. Solomon proves to be not just a magician, but
also an astrologer, and one who can be invoked for many purposes. His
name can be found on bowls and amulets, in magical papyri, and in a
whole series of mostly fairly unknown works that are ascribed to him or
have him act as their protagonist. this whole body of texts and fragments
contributed in no little way also to blur the borderlines between various
cultures and to make Solomon a character of primary importance also
outside the Jewish-christian orbit.
As one might expect, Solomon’s name is not lacking in rabbinic litera-
ture. Gerhard Langer studies this corpus and demonstrates that Solomon
is above all presented and remembered as a wise man, yet without obscur-
ing the fact that he had his shadowy side, as a result of which he lost the
almost messianic aura he tried to claim for himself. It made him a most
useful tool for formulating occasional criticism of contemporary leaders
of the community. Langer singles out for special attention the interest of
the rabbis in the etymology of Solomon’s name; his claim to be the ruler of
the world; his throne, the description of which is closely linked to his role
as judge and protector of the torah; his power over the demons, which is
connected both with the construction of the temple and the king’s failures
and sins; and finally, his legendary wisdom which fascinated the rabbis no
less than other readers of the biblical accounts.