Isaac Kalimi, «King Solomon: His Birth and Names in the Second Temple Period Literature», Vol. 93 (2012) 481-499
In Chronicles Solomon is represented as one who was born under normal circumstances. He appears in the center of David’s nineteen descendants, and as the youngest of Bathsheba’s four sons, but still gained the kingship. The name «Solomon» was given to the child by God prior to his birth and He elected him as king. The root of the name was interpreted twice, but there is no mention of «Yedidyah». The allusions to or ignorance of the name «Yedidyah» in Psalms, Nehemiah, Chronicles, and Josephus, as well as the question if «Qoheleth» is Solomon’s third name, are also discussed.
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484 ISAAC KALIMI
everyone dies for his own sin(s) 9. The Chronicler has adopted the
justice and retribution principle that is well expressed by the
prophets Jeremiah and Ezekiel. Jeremiah states: “In those days they
shall say no more, the fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the chil-
dren’s teeth are set on edge. But everyone shall die for his own ini-
quity; every man who eats sour grapes, his teeth shall be set on
edge†(Jer 31,28-29; cf. Ezek 18,2). Ezekiel clearly expresses: “The
soul that sins, shall die. The son shall not bear the iniquity of the
father, neither shall the father bear the iniquity of the son; the righ-
teousness of the righteous shall be upon him, and the wickedness
of the wicked shall be upon him†(Ezek 18,20; see also Deut 24,16;
2 Kgs 14,6 // 2 Chr 25,4) 10.
As a result of the omission of the text from 2 Sam 11,1c–12,25,
though the reader of Chronicles has been informed about Solomon’s
birth, he is not provided with any information about the circum-
stances that led to it 11. The presentation of Solomon in the list of
David’s sons who were born in Jerusalem (1 Chr 3,5-9) leads the
reader to believe that Solomon was born under normal circum-
stances, just as in the cases of the other sons of David and many
other individuals mentioned in the genealogical lists which were
registered before 3,5-9 and after (1 Chr 1,1–3,4 and 3,10–9,44).
As mentioned above, the Chronicler does not record the birth
and death of Bathsheba’s first child (2 Sam 11,27; 12,13-23). But
he also does not report any details regarding the birth of the second
Similarly, Solomon’s sins caused the division of his kingdom (1 Kgs
9
11,11-13), which took place not in Solomon’s time but after his death and
hurt his son, Rehoboam; see also 1 Kgs 15,29-30; 16,12.13.
For this theological concept in Chronicles, see J. WELLHAUSEN, Prole-
10
gomena zur Geschichte Israels (Berlin 21883) 197-205, = ID., Prolegomena to
the History of Ancient Israel (Gloucester, MA 1973) 203-210; R.B. DILLARD,
“Reward and Punishment in Chronicles: The Theology of Immediate Retribu-
tionâ€, WTJ 46 (1984) 164-172. For further bibliography on this issue, see I.
KALIMI, The Books of Chronicles. A Classified Bibliography (Simor Bible Bib-
liography 1; Jerusalem 1990) 95-96. Nonetheless, the Chronicler does not sys-
tematically imply this method in his book; see for instance, 2 Chronicles 25
and 32; and cf. W. RUDOLPH, Chronikbücher (HAT 21; Tübingen 21955) xix.
Thus, the Chronicler also excluded from his book the “Court Story†of
11
Solomon’s succession which is recounted in 1 Kings 1-2. See I. KALIMI, “The
Rise of Solomon in the Ancient Israelite Historiographyâ€, The Figure of
Solomon in Jewish, Christian and Islamic Tradition. King, Sage and Architect
(ed. J. VERHEYDEN) (Themes in Biblical Narrative 16; Leiden 2013) 7-44.
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