Writing and Rewriting the Story of Solomon in Ancient Israel

Solomon's image as a wise king and the founder of Jerusalem Temple has become a fixture of Jewish, Christian, and Islamic literature. Yet, there are essential differences between the portraits of Solomon that are presented in the Hebrew Bible. In this volume, Isaac Kalimi explores these differences, which reflect divergent historical contexts, theological and didactic concepts, stylistic and literary techniques, and compositional methods among the biblical historians. He highlights the uniqueness of each portrayal of Solomon - his character, birth, early life, ascension, and temple-building - through a close comparison of the early and late biblical historiographies. Whereas the authors of Samuel-Kings stay closely to their sources and offer an apology for Solomon's kingship, including its more questionable aspects, the Chronicler freely rewrites his sources in order to present the life of Solomon as he wished it to be. The volume will serve scholars and students seeking to understand biblical texts within their ancient Near Eastern contexts.

Part I. Introduction, Sources and Historical Background: 1. An introduction; 2. Sources – epigraphical, archaeological, and biblical; 3. Challenging recent dismissals of the United Monarchy; 4. Solomon's Kingdom – historical evaluation and case studies; Part II. Solomon's Birth, Rise, and Temple-Building: Literary and Historiographical Observations: 5. Solomon's birth story and its setting in 2 Samuel 10-12 – redaction history versus compositional unity; 6. Love of God and apologia for a king – Solomon as the Lord's beloved king in biblical text and ancient Near Eastern contexts; 7. Solomon's birth and names in Second temple period literature; 8. Solomon's pre-monarchic life in biblical historiography; 9. Solomon's physical appearance and leadership in biblical historiography; 10. Solomon's succession to the throne – history and contrasting historiographies; 11. The coronation of Solomon, David's testament and its implementation; 12. 'Why is the city in an uproar?' – Solomon's coronation story in its biblical context; 13. Solomon's temple-building and its divine approval in the early and late biblical historiographies; 14. Writing and rewriting the story of Solomon.

Isaac Kalimi is Gutenberg-Research University-Professor in Hebrew Bible Studies and Ancient Israelite History, and Fellow of the Gutenberg Forschungskolleg at Johannes Gutenberg Universität Mainz, Germany, Foreign Member of the Belgian Royal Academy for Overseas Sciences, and Honorary Member of the Scandinavian Society for Iranian Studies. Kalimi is one of the world's leading scholars in his field. He is also regarded as a pioneer of intercultural and interdisciplinary scientific exchange between Jewish and Christian theologies. Kalimi has published numerous books and articles, including The Reshaping of Ancient Israelite History in Chronicles (2005, reprinted 2012; recipient of the 2006 R. B. Y. Scott Book Award, by the Canadian Society of Biblical Studies), An Ancient Israelite Historian (2005), The Retelling of Chronicles in Jewish Tradition and Literature (2009), Fighting Over the Bible (2017), Untersuchungen zur Jüdischen Schriftauslegung und Theologie (2018), and Metathesis in the Hebrew Bible (2018).