{"id":62135,"date":"2019-09-02T08:03:59","date_gmt":"2019-09-02T05:03:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/?p=62135"},"modified":"2023-03-28T18:10:35","modified_gmt":"2023-03-28T15:10:35","slug":"solomon-tainted-from-start-to-finish","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/solomon-tainted-from-start-to-finish\/","title":{"rendered":"Solomon: Tainted From Start To Finish?"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[281],"tags":[429,363,400,838],"acf":{"old_id":"62135","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":33692,"related_cahpter":"298","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content":{"description":"Solomon\u2019s dual loyalties make him vulnerable","content":"

In addressing the theme of foreign wives, one wife in particular is highlighted from the very outset of Solomon’s reign:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Solomon allied himself with Pharaoh king of Egypt, and he took the daughter of Pharaoh as his wife, bringing her to the city of David until he had completed his house and God’s house…. And Solomon loved God…. (3:1-3)\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

This marriage is the opening detail about Solomon following his initial struggle for the throne and the defeat of his rivals. At this early stage, the verses emphasize Solomon’s love of God, informing us that his religious orientation is extremely positive. Yet the prominent marriage to Pharaoh’s daughter seems ominous. From this point on, she interjects into the storyline regularly in 7:7-8, 9:16, 9:24, and 11:1.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

By making their marriage the opening (3:1) and closing (11:1) note of the Solomon narrative, the Bible is tainting Solomon from start to finish. In its uniquely creative style, the Midrash proposes that the day of the dedication of the Temple was in fact the day of Solomon’s wedding to Pharaoh’s daughter (Lev. Rabba 12:1).\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Yudan said: All seven years of building the Temple, Solomon never drank wine. When he built it and married the daughter of Pharaoh, that night he drank wine. And there were two dances: One was the celebration of the building of the Temple, and the other was the celebration of Pharaoh\u2019s daughter. God said: \u201cWhose should I find acceptable, these or those?\u201d At that moment, He considered destroying Jerusalem\u2026.<\/span><\/p>\n

It is unlikely that Solomon’s wedding actually coincided with the Temple dedication, but by superimposing one upon the other, the Midrash vividly expresses Solomon’s two-mindedness.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Similarly, in recording the marriage to Pharaoh’s daughter at the very outset of the Solomon narrative, the book of Kings asserts that these competing loves contend for his heart from the earliest moment. Solomon seeks to balance the two, but he does not know which dance to dance, which party to attend.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Solomon is caught between clashing forces. Seeking to influence the world, he instigates a benevolent foreign policy, extending a hand in partnership to each country of his empire. The daughter of Pharaoh represents Egypt, Solomon’s most powerful ally, symbolizing the power, trade, and international influence that appeal to his imperial mind. However, the world around Solomon is not neutral; it is pagan. He seeks to export monotheism, but he soon discovers that there is a cultural two-way street. His wives import a devastating idolatrous culture, which in time, “in his old age,” overwhelms him. As we noted in the introduction, the book of Kings examines history from the vantage point of the Temple’s demise, probing the causes of its destruction. The Midrash depicts God as contemplating the Temple’s destruction from its very beginnings, as if to label the Temple fundamentally flawed. Solomon’s marriages further threaten his greatest achievement.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Alex Israel, 1 Kings: Torn in Two<\/em>, Maggid Books, 2013, Punishment\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","image":{"ID":61437,"id":61437,"title":"alex israel - kings 1","filename":"alex-israel-kings-1.jpg","filesize":0,"url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/alex-israel-kings-1.jpg","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/adonijahs-scheme-to-ascend-the-throne\/alex-israel-kings-1\/","alt":"","author":"7","description":"","caption":"","name":"alex-israel-kings-1","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":61414,"date":"2019-08-19 12:13:44","modified":"2019-08-19 12:13:53","menu_order":0,"mime_type":"image\/jpeg","type":"image","subtype":"jpeg","icon":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-includes\/images\/media\/default.png","width":1020,"height":1304,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/alex-israel-kings-1-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/alex-israel-kings-1-235x300.jpg","medium-width":235,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/alex-israel-kings-1-768x982.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":982,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/alex-israel-kings-1-801x1024.jpg","large-width":801,"large-height":1024,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/alex-israel-kings-1.jpg","1536x1536-width":1020,"1536x1536-height":1304,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/alex-israel-kings-1.jpg","2048x2048-width":1020,"2048x2048-height":1304,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/alex-israel-kings-1-939x1200.jpg","post_full_size-width":939,"post_full_size-height":1200,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/alex-israel-kings-1-329x420.jpg","home_baner-width":329,"home_baner-height":420}},"embedded_video":"","video_duration":"","show_fb_comments":true,"credit_media":""},"tile":{"top_caption":"Excerpts from: 1 Kings - 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