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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486 ISAAC KALIMI
fourth and the youngest one. Following is a critical survey of sev-
eral ancient and modern approaches regarding these issues, and fi-
nally my own suggestion.
Presumably, in order to avoid these difficulties, the Syriac transla-
tor(s) deleted 3,5c. That is to say, instead of dealing with the problems,
the translator(s) made them nonexistent. There is no sign in the Tal-
mudic and Midrashic literature of the rabbis’ attempt to struggle with
these difficulties. Either they were not aware of these contradictions
or simply could not explain them. Later on, the Masoretic scribes put
zaqef-qatan on the word “four†in order to separate the number from
“Bathsheba†15, as if wishing to say that not all the “four†sons were
from Bathsheba.
In medieval times, David Kimchi (1160-1235) attempted to
solve the contradictions between Samuel-Kings and Chronicles. In
his commentary on 1 Chr 3,5, he suggests that the names of the
four sons in verse 5b are not listed according to chronological order
of their birth date, but rather the list runs from the youngest son to
the eldest – Solomon. But even if Kimchi is correct, his suggestion
solves only part of the problem, that is, Solomon was the eldest son
of Bathsheba. It does not solve the problem that Samuel counts one
surviving son of Bathsheba, while the Chronicler lists four. More-
over, why should one consider that the sons in verse 5b are listed
differently from those in 3,1-3 and 15-16 (or in any other place in
Chronicles or in the Hebrew Bible), where the names usually follow
chronological order?
In modern biblical scholarship, many exegetes fail either to admit
the contradictions under review 16 or to suggest any explanation to
solve them. For instance, Sara Japhet admits that “The appearance
here of Solomon as Bathsheba’s fourth son, while according to all our
Cf. T. WILLI, Chronik (BKAT 24/1; Neukirchen-Vluyn 2009) I, 111.
15
See for example, S. OETTLI, Die geschichtlichen Hagiographen (Chro-
16
nika, Esra, Nehemia, Ruth und Esther) und das Buch Daniel (Kurzgefasster
Kommentar zu den heiligen Schriften Alten und Neuen Testaments; Nörd-
lingen 1889) 22; W.E. BARNES, The Books of Chronicles (The Cambridge
Bible for Schools and Colleges; Cambridge 1899) 16; I. BENZINGER, Die Bü-
cher der Chronik – erklärt (Kurzer Hand-Commentar zum Alten Testament
20; Tübingen – Leipzig 1901) 11; CURTIS – MADSEN, Chronicles, 99-100;
H.G.M. WILLIAMSON, 1 and 2 Chronicles (The New Century Bible Commen-
tary; Grand Rapids, MI – London 1982) 56; R.L. BRAUN, 1 Chronicles (WBC
14; Waco, TX 1986) 50, among many others.
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