King Solomon

After the death of King David, his son Solomon

became king. The name Solomon means "peace" in

the Hebrew language and King Solomon brought

peace to his people.

King Solomon was known as a wise man. One story

about his wisdom is about two women who came

to the king for a decision. Both woman claimed that

they were the mother of a baby. Solomon ordered

his soldiers to cut the baby in half so that the women

could share the baby. One woman accepted the

king's decision. The second woman cried out that

the other woman could have the baby to spare the

baby's life. Solomon gave the baby to the

second woman because he knew that the real

mother would not allow her baby to be cut in half.

"The Judgement of Solomon" by Gustav Dore

King Solomon is said to have written many proverbs

(wise sayings) as well as the Book of

Ecclesiastes and the Song of Songs. One of his

proverbs is "He who walks honestly

walks securely, but he whose ways

are crooked will fare badly."

What does that mean to you?

King Solomon made wise business dealings with

the Pharoah of Egypt and other rulers. He found

other countries to trade with Israel to increase

the wealth of his people.

Unfortunately, he also started many building projects.

These projects were so expensive that the Israelites

had to pay heavy taxes. The people were also

angry when King Solomon ordered men of Israel to

work on these buildings without any pay.

The ruins of King Solomon's fort at Megiddo

The ruins of the horse stalls and feeding troughs at Megiddo

Secret passage to a spring that supplied water to Megiddo.

King Solomon's engineers dug this 165 foot long tunnel under the city.

The most popular and most beautiful of King

Solomon's building projects was the main temple

in Jerusalem. The temple was very important to

the Israelites because it was their main place to

worship their God.

Solomon's Temple

The temple was not a large building. It was 120 feet

long, 40 feet wide and 60 feet high according

to the Bible. It was made with great beauty. The

outer doors were covered with ivory. The walls

of the holiest rooms were decorated with gold.

It became a symbol of the Jewish faith.

Most of the magnificent temple

was destroyed by the Babylonians

in 586 B.C.

Today the "Wailing Wall" in Jerusalem is an

important religious place for people from all over

the world. Is it really part of King Solomon's

temple?