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.
01_Biblica_1_E_Kalimi_Layout 1 30/01/13 13:15 Pagina 494
494 ISAAC KALIMI
2. The Name “Yedidyah†in Psalms, Nehemiah, Chronicles, and
Josephus
Though the exact time of Psalm 127 is unknown, it seems that
it was composed in the First Temple period, and at some time was
ascribed to King Solomon (verse 1a). The words anv wdydyl !ty !k
(“for truly to his beloved he gives sleepâ€) 40 in verse 2 probably al-
ludes to the name “Yedidyah†in 2 Sam 12,25.
The name Yedidyah is also alluded to in Nehemiah 41. Contrary
to the Chronicler who omits any clues to Solomon’s sins, the author
of this late biblical historical composition states that King Solomon
was led astray by foreign women (Neh 13,26a), as is recounted in
the Deuteronomistic history (1 Kgs 11,1-13; 2 Kgs 23,13) 42. Ac-
cording to this verse in Nehemiah, Solomon sinned despite the fact
that he was “beloved to his God†(hyh wyhlal bwhaw, Neh 13,26b).
This phrase clearly refers to “the Lord loved him†and the name
Yedidyah in 2 Sam 12,24-25, though the name itself does not ap-
pear in Nehemiah.
As already mentioned above (see §I), the Chronicler does not
use the theophoric name “Yedidyah†in his book. In addition to the
explanation that we suggested there, one can clarify this issue also
as follows: for the Chronicler, David and Bathsheba’s fourth child
had only one name, i.e., Solomon. This name had been given to the
child directly by the Lord with His special blessing, even before he
was born. So, the Chronicler has no need to refer to the name
Yedidyah that has been given to the new-born child by the prophet
Nathan (2 Sam 12,25).
Interestingly, also Josephus does not mention the name Yedidyah.
In the Jewish Antiquity 7.158 he writes: “ … and she conceived and
On the word anv, see the discussion in F.L. HOSSFELD – E. ZENGER,
40
Psalmen 101-150 (HThKAT; Freiburg im B. – Basel – Wien 2008) 528-529.
In 2 Kgs 22,1 “Jedidiah†appears as a female name ― the name of King
41
Josiah’s mother.
The author of Neh 13,26 could refer only to the Deuteronomistic history
42
which in this case served his purpose well. In any case, he could not refer to
Chronicles, because the Chronistic history did not exist yet. Moreover, even
if one would assume that Chronicles had existed, still the Chronicler does not
mention any sin of Solomon. See KALIMI, Reshaping of Ancient Israelite His-
tory, 8-9; ID., “The Date of the Book of Chroniclesâ€, An Ancient Israelite
Historian, 41-65, esp. 54-56.
© Gregorian Biblical Press 2012 - Tutti i diritti riservati
FOLLOW US