Solomon
Cameron Webber
All about Solomon
The third king of ancient Israel. He ruled from about 965 B.C. until his death. Solomon was the son of King David and Bathsheba. David had unified Israel and conquered many of its neighboring states. Solomon ruled this extensive kingdom, apparently without using military force.
Information about Solomon came directly from the bible. He was an international leader who reorganized and developed the large kingdom his father had conquered. Solomon apparently ruled with great diplomacy and personal wisdom. His reputation as a wise man probably comes from his skill in dealing with a variety of people in various difficult situations. According to a tradition that developed after the Biblical period, he composed many songs and proverbs as well as three books of the Hebrew Bible—Ecclesiastes, Proverbs, and the Song of Solomon.
He reorganized the various government departments his father had established. He also organized Israel into 12 districts, appointing his own prefect (governor) for each one. Solomon helped establish peace on Israel's borders. According to the Bible, he carried out this policy by marrying or taking as mistresses many women from nearby states.
Solomon's Children
In the hebrew Bible there is a story that tells about how King Solomon ruled between two women, both claiming to be the mother of the child by tricking the families to reveal their true feelings. Two young women who lived in the same house and who both had an infant son came to Solomon for a judgment. One of the women claimed that the other, after accidentally smothering her own son while sleeping,
had exchanged the two children to make it appear that the living child was hers. The other woman denied this and so both women claimed to be the mother of the living son and said that the dead boy belonged to the other.
After some deliberation, King Solomon called for a sword to be brought before him. He declared that there was only one fair solution: the live son must be split in two, each woman receiving half of the child.
Upon hearing this terrible verdict, the boy's true mother cried out, "Oh Lord, give the baby to her, just don't kill him!" The liar, in her bitter jealousy, exclaimed, "It shall be neither mine nor yours—divide it!"
The king declared the first mother as the true mother and gave her the baby. King Solomon's judgment became known throughout all of Israel and was considered an example of profound wisdom.