SUMMARY
Solomon’s legendary wisdom is presented as a gift from God.
ANALYSIS
Some have wondered at how wise Solomon’s marriage to Pharaoh’s daughter might have been, but this incident is lifted up to demonstrate Solomon’s greatness. In the ancient Near East the lesser of two kings would offer a daughter in marriage to the greater king, or his son, as a way of sealing the treaty (3:1-2). It is astonishing, then, that mighty Pharaoh, King of Egypt, offers his daughter to SolomonThird king of Israel who was known for wisdom and building the first Temple. More! Unfortunately, this brief notice also foreshadows one cause of Solomon’s eventual downfall, his weak faith in light of his wives’ foreign religions (1 Kings 11:9-10). Solomon’s gift of wisdomWisdom encompasses the qualities of experience, knowledge, and good judgment. The Old Testament book of Proverbs, which sometimes invokes a Woman as the personification of Wisdom, is a collection of aphorisms and moral teachings. Along with other biblical passages, it teaches, "The fear of the... More is similarly double-edged. While his modest request for wisdom above anything else is appropriately lauded, his lack of wisdom with regard to his own family both echoes his father’s inability and augurs his final days. Intriguingly, the first time that Solomon is called wise, it is by that very father. DavidSecond king of Israel, David united the northern and southern kingdoms. More invokes Solomon’s wisdom as one of the reasons the son should commit murder on the aged king’s behalf (1 Kings 2:6, 9).
Finally, Solomon was prudent in seeking a nontribal organizational principle, the lack of which had caused David such difficulty. The price tag on Solomon’s political reforms, however, was excessive, and the taxation, as well as more serious means of paying for the government, eventually resulted in the division of the nation upon his death.
