However, not only Holy Bible is the main source of information about the life and reign of Solomon, the third Jewish king, the ruler of the united kingdom of Israel in the period of its highest prosperity, namely the tenth century BC. In addition, his name is mentioned in the writings of some authors of antiquity.
Solomon is the third Jewish king, the ruler of the united kingdom of Israel. And besides, Solomon is an integral character of both the Christian and Islamic religions, who left a deep mark on the culture different peoples. Shlomo, Solomon, Suleiman - this name in its various sounds is known not only to every Jew, Christian and Muslim, it is familiar to almost everyone, even those far from religion. Since this image has always attracted writers and poets, artists and sculptors who sang his wisdom and justice in their works and brought the life story of this amazing person to this day.
King David. Author: Gvechino. Solomon was the youngest son of King David, who before ascending the throne was a simple warrior under King Seoul. But having shown himself to be trustworthy, courageous and resourceful, he became the second Jewish king. And the mother was the beautiful Bathsheba, who at first sight conquered the king with her beauty. For her sake, David made big sin, for which he paid all his life: he took possession of her, and then sent her husband to certain death in order to take Bathsheba as his wife.
Bathsheba. (1832). Tretyakov Gallery. Author: Karl Bryullov. King David died at the age of 70, passing the throne to Solomon, although he was one of his younger sons. But that was the will of God.
King David hands over the scepter to Solomon. Author: Cornelis de Vos. Solomon was often credited with fantastic qualities: understanding the language of animals, power over genies. Scenes from the life and deeds of Solomon are found in miniatures of Byzantine manuscripts, in stained-glass windows and sculptures of medieval temples, on paintings, as well as in the works of writers.
"Everything passes"
Although great king Solomon had great wisdom and cunning, his life was not calm. It is said that the king wore magic ring, which in the storms of life brought him into balance and acted as an elixir that healed wounds. An inscription was carved on the ring: "Everything passes ...", which had a continuation on the inside: "This too will pass."
Ring of Solomon. Especially many legends have been preserved about his amazing witty decisions in various court cases. He always found a clever way out of a difficult or delicate situation. The Old Testament describes an event that formed the basis of the parable of a wise judge and a mother who was ready to give her own child just to save his life.
Judgment of King Solomon. (1854). Author: Nikolay Ge Once, two women came to King Solomon for advice, asking them to resolve their dispute. One of them said that they live in the same house, and that they had a baby each, whom both of them had recently given birth to. And last night, in a dream, a neighbor accidentally crushed her child and shifted the dead one to her, and she took her living son to her and now passes him off as her own. And that now this woman refutes this accusation and claims that the living child belongs to her. And while one was telling this story, the other was trying to prove in a dispute that the child was really hers.
Judgment of Solomon. (1710). Author: Louis Boulogne Jr. After listening to both of them, King Solomon ordered the sword to be brought, which was immediately executed. Without a moment's hesitation, King Solomon said:
"Let both be satisfied. Cut the living child in half and give each half of the baby."
One of the women, hearing his words, changed her face and pleaded:
"Give the child to my neighbor, she is his mother, just don't kill him!"
The other, on the contrary, agreed with the decision of the king:
"Chop it, let neither her nor me get it",
She said decisively.
Judgment of Slomon. (1854) Novgorod state museum. "Do not kill the child, but give it to the first woman: she is his real mother."
Of course, the wise king did not even think of destroying the baby, but in such a cunning way he found out which of the two was telling a lie.
Solomon always invested justice in any disputes in his decisions. Actually, from Solomon it went that the main figure of any court is the judge, and it is he who must determine the degree of guilt and punishment for the triumph of truth.
King Solomon in old age. Author: Gustave Dore To all the benefactors of King Solomon, he was also the author of a source of poetic skill - the book "Song of Songs" and a collection philosophical reflections- Books of Ecclesiastes. IN modern interpretation the rules of Solomon, verified by wisdom, look like this:
Passing by the poor - share.
Passing by the young - do not be angry.
Passing by the old ones - bow down.
Passing by cemeteries - sit down.
Passing memory - remember.
When you pass by your mother, stand up.
Passing by relatives - remember.
Passing by knowledge - take it.
Passing by laziness - shudder.
Passing by the idle - create.
Passing by the fallen - remember.
Passing by the wise - wait.
Passing stupid - do not listen.
Passing by happiness - rejoice.
Passing by the generous - have a bite.
Passing by honor - keep.
Passing by debt - do not hide.
Passing by the word - hold.
Passing by feelings - do not be shy.
Passing by women - do not flatter.
Passing by glory - do not amuse yourself.
Passing by the truth - do not lie.
Passing by sinners - hope.
Passing by passion - go away.
Passing by a quarrel - do not quarrel.
Passing by flattery - be silent.
Passing by conscience - be afraid.
Passing by drunkenness - do not drink.
Passing by anger - humble yourself.
Passing by grief - cry.
Passing by the pain - take heart.
Passing by lies - do not be silent.
Passing by a thief - do not sneak.
Passing by impudent - say.
Passing by the orphans - spend money.
Passing by the authorities - do not believe.
Passing by death - do not be afraid.
Passing by life - live.
Passing by God - open up.
Idolatry of Solomon. (1668). Author: Giovanni Pissarro However, as they say, "there is a hole for an old woman"... According to the scriptures of the Bible, Solomon was very loving and had seven hundred wives and three hundred concubines. And in his declining years, it so happened that Solomon, for the sake of one of his beloved wives, built a pagan altar and several temples in Jerusalem, thereby violating the vow given to God - to serve him faithfully.
King Solomon brings sacrifice to idols. (17th century). Author: Sebastian Bourdon. It was this vow that was the key to the wisdom, wealth and glory of Solomon. The wrath of the Almighty affected the well-being of the united kingdom, and soon after the death of the 52-year-old king, an economic and political crisis began, after which the country split into two parts.
We often hear the phrase - Solomon's solution", which became catch phrase. From the depths of centuries, the image has reached our days King Solomon as a character in many legends and parables. In all legends, he appears as the wisest of people and a fair judge, famous for his cunning. However, there are still disputes among historians: some believe that the son of David really lived, others are sure that the wise ruler is a biblical falsification.
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And besides, Solomon is an integral character of both the Christian and Islamic religions, who left a deep mark in the culture of different peoples. Shlomo, Solomon, Suleiman - this name in its various sounds is known not only to every Jew, Christian and Muslim, it is familiar to almost everyone, even those far from religion. Since this image has always attracted writers and poets, artists and sculptors who sang his wisdom and justice in their works and brought the life story of this amazing person to this day.
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King David died at the age of 70, passing the throne to Solomon, although he was one of his younger sons. But that was the will of God.
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Especially many legends have been preserved about his amazing witty decisions in various court cases. He always found a clever way out of a difficult or delicate situation. The Old Testament describes an event that formed the basis of the parable of a wise judge and a mother who was ready to give her own child just to save his life.
Judgment of Solomon - righteous, wise judgment
May both be happy. Cut a living child in half and give each half of the baby."
One of the women, hearing his words, changed her face and pleaded: "Give the child to my neighbor, she is his mother, just don't kill him!" The other, on the contrary, agreed with the decision of the king: "Chop it, let neither her nor me get it" she said decisively.
Do not kill the child, but give it to the first woman: she is his real mother. " Of course, the wise king did not even think of destroying the baby, but in such a cunning way he found out which of the two was telling a lie.
Solomon always invested justice in any disputes in his decisions. Actually, from Solomon it went that the main figure of any court is the judge, and it is he who must determine the degree of guilt and punishment for the triumph of truth.
Rules of life of the great king Solomon. Wisdom proven for centuries
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However, as they say,"старуху бывает проруха"... Согласно писаниям Библии, Соломон был весьма любвиобилен и имел семьсот жен и триста наложниц. И на склоне лет случилось так, что Соломон в угоду одной из любимых жен, построил языческий жертвенник и несколько капищ в Иерусалиме, нарушив тем самым обет данный Богу - служить ему верой и правдой.!}
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One of the biblical images, shrouded in many myths and legends, still causes desperate disputes among researchers. Who is she, this mysterious woman who she was to Christ, and why the past of a harlot was attributed to her - in the review.
Before understanding and defining the meaning and meaning of the expression "Judgement of Solomon", let's plunge into the very ancient history and turn to the Bible for help to find out who Solomon was and what he was so famous for. And here it should immediately be noted that the name Solomon (Shlomo) is translated from Hebrew as “peacemaker”.
Only one statement about Solomon and his judgment is worth a lot and it sounds like this: “The main thing is wisdom, acquire wisdom and with all your possessions acquire understanding. Appreciate her highly, and she will exalt you."
King Solomon
Solomon was the third king of the Jews, whose reign dates from about 967-928 BC. He was also the son of Bathsheba. Even at birth, the prophet Nathan singled him out of all the sons of David, who later became the most intelligent and impassive ruler. It was he who built the First on He had a talent for foresight and was very sensitive, so many legends and fairy tales are associated with his name.
Solomon's judgment was always fair and wise. There is a legend that when God, having appeared to him in a dream, promised to fulfill any of his desires, Solomon asked himself a reasonable heart in order to correctly judge his people and be able to distinguish between good and evil. Solomon became a peaceful king, for forty years of his reign there was not a single big war. He was an excellent diplomat, trader and builder, during his time chariots, cavalry and a merchant fleet appeared in the Jewish army. He fortified and rebuilt his Jerusalem, which began to be buried in luxury and wealth. King Solomon made silver equivalent to ordinary stones.
The price of disobedience
But, like any king, he also made mistakes, and therefore, after his death, his state fell apart. One of the reasons was the construction by the king of temples and pagan idols for his many wives, who were often from different races and religions. He even swore to participate personally in some pagan cults.
The Midrash Oral Torah describes that when King Solomon married his daughter Egyptian pharaoh, then the archangel Gabriel descended from heaven to earth and stuck his pole into the depths of the sea, on this place Rome was subsequently built, which in the future will conquer Jerusalem.
The biblical "Book of Kings" says that at the end of his life, God again appeared before Solomon and told him that he would tear away his kingdom from him, since he did not fulfill His covenants and charters, but during his lifetime he would not do this because of his father David. After the death of Solomon, his once strong and powerful kingdom broke up into two weak states of Israel and Judah, which began to fight among themselves.
Judgment of Solomon: meaning
There is such a popular expression among the people - "Solomon's judgment" or "Solomon's decision." It implies a quick, witty and at the same time unexpected decision that helps to deftly get out of some difficult and very controversial situation. This phraseologism "judgment of Solomon" is used in the meaning of "swift and wise."
Examples of Solomon's Wise Decisions
One day Solomon began to judge two women who could not share a baby between them. They lived in the same house, and at almost the same time they had a baby. At night, one of the women fell asleep with her child, and he died. Then she took a living child from another and transferred her dead one to her. The next morning a fierce dispute arose between the women. So they came to the judgment of Solomon. He, having listened to their story, ordered to cut the child in half and distribute the halves to the mothers. One of the women immediately decided: it would be better if no one gets it. Another prayed not to kill the baby, and immediately allowed another woman to take the child, if only he would remain alive. By defining in it real mother, King Solomon immediately ordered the child to be given to this woman.
Help of the pharaoh
One day, Solomon took the daughter of Pharaoh as his wife when he was building the Holy of Holies - a temple to his Lord, and once decided to send an ambassador to his father-in-law with a request to help him. Pharaoh immediately sent to Solomon to help six hundred people who, according to the horoscope, had death. Thus, he wanted to test the wisdom of the Israelite king. Solomon, seeing them from afar, ordered shrouds to be sewn for them, and then he assigned his ambassador to them and told his father-in-law that if he had nothing to bury his dead, then here are their robes and let him bury them at his place.
Solomon's Trial of the Three Brothers
The dying father called his three sons to give his final orders regarding the inheritance. They came to him, and he told them that he had a treasure buried somewhere in the ground, there were three vessels, standing friend on another. Let the elder go to the upper vessel, the next one to the middle one, and the lower one to the younger one. When the father died, they unearthed the treasure and saw that the first vessel was filled with gold, the second with bones, and the third with earth. The brothers, horrified, began to argue over the gold and could not share it. Then they decided to come to Solomon, so that he would justly resolve them.
The court of Solomon, as always, was very wise, he commanded to give the gold to the elder brother, the cattle and servants to the middle one, and the vineyards, grain and fields to the younger. And told them that their father was smart person, since he so competently divided everything between them during his lifetime.
Expression "Solomon's solution " denotes a wise act, a decision, and if taken in a broad sense, then wisdom.Who is Solomon?
Solomon was the king of Israel in 965 - 928 years BC. official history it is customary to consider this period of Israel the most prosperous and rich. Perhaps for this reason, first in the history of the Jewish people, and then in the history of other countries of the world, Solomon entered as one of the wisest rulers of the world. Even the very name of this Jewish king became a household name and means " wisdom"(see what the Star of David symbol means)."Solomonic solutions" examples
Once, two middle-aged women came to the court of this wise ruler, who challenged each other's child.These two ladies lived under the same roof and each of them had a baby. Recently, while going to bed, one of them accidentally crushed her child, and upon learning of this she decided to replace her dead child, taking a healthy one from her neighbor. Then Solomon exclaimed, bring the sword here , it is necessary to cut the child in half in order to give each part of it.
One of the women shouted: "Give it to her, just don't kill it," and the other exclaimed: "Chop it, let no one get it."
According to these words, the wise Jew understood who the true mother was and gave him to the first lady.
Researchers believe that Solomon wrote several works, including the Books of Solomon's Parables, the Books of Ecclesiastes, and the Song of Solomon books.
Wise sayings of Solomon
- A despondent spirit dries up the bones, but a merry heart is beneficial, like healing.
- The prudent is attentive to their ways, and a fool believes every word.
- He who sleeps during the harvest is a dissolute son; he who gathers during the summer is a wise son.
- It is better to live in desert lands than with an angry and quarrelsome wife.
- What happens to the wicked is what they deserve the righteous, and the righteous overtakes what the wicked would deserve.
King Solomon's Mines
It is generally accepted that King Solomon was fabulously rich. This was facilitated by his excellent household skills. He bought horses in Cilicia (according to Wikipedia, this place is located on southeast Asia) and sold them profitably to Egypt and Mesopotamia, and in Egypt he bought war chariots and resold them to other countries. almost a monopoly and received huge profits.I found the following information online:
The expression "Solomon's decision" came to us from ancient legends. The Jewish king Solomon son of David was known as a great sage. Many legends were composed about his cunning, but most of them describe his wisdom and ingenuity in resolving disputes and judicial affairs.
Once two women came to Solomon, who were arguing over whose child. Solomon decided to cut the child in half and give each woman half. That woman, who was a liar, easily agreed to this decision. And the mother, horrified, said: "It is better to give my rival the child alive." Thus, the real mother was found.
This is where it came from that “Solomon's court” is the most fair and wise, “Solomon's decision” is original, witty, finding a way out of any delicate situation.
In connection with this story, I want to raise a few questions for discussion:
The king, after all, decided to cut the child in half and give half to each woman? So? Both women took his decision not as a joke, but as a royal decision, because the king had even already ordered to bring him a sword. So why was his “royal decision” not carried out? Did King Solomon really want to cut the child in half? I think the king was wise enough not to want it. And if so, then we are not dealing with a "royal decision", but with a well-thought-out provocation for a deliberately expected reaction. So we come to the conclusion that the so-called "Solomonic decision" is not in fact a judicial decision, but is simply a judicial "provocative trick" to expose the deception. So?
What is the point of a liar taking on the burden of caring for someone else's child? If she just wanted to satisfy the instinct of motherhood after losing her own child, then she could only take on the role of a nurse for another child (after all, both women lived in the same house). After all, being a mother is a big responsibility. There must be fairly strong motives for taking on this responsibility. But, on the other hand, this same deceiver agreed with the "king's decision" to kill the child. How can it be both at the same time?
Regarding these two questions, about a year ago I listened to a lecture by a rabbi from Israel who came to Germany. Are you interested in knowing the answers to these questions? Do you want to know what he said?
I quote for reference an excerpt from the Russian translation (Old Testament):
Two women came to the king and stood before him. And one woman said:
Oh my lord! This woman and I live in the same house. And I gave birth with her in this house. On the third day after I gave birth, this woman also gave birth. And we were together, and there was no stranger with us in the house; only we two were in the house. And the woman's son died in the night, for she slept him. And she got up in the night, and took my son from me, when I, your servant, was sleeping, and laid him on her breast, and she laid her dead son on my breast. In the morning I got up to feed my son, and behold, he was dead. And when I looked at him in the morning, it was not my son, whom I gave birth to.
And another woman said:
- No, my son is alive, and your son is dead.
And she told her:
- No, your son is dead, but mine is alive.
And they spoke thus before the king.
And the king said:
This one says: "My son is alive, and your son is dead"; and she says: "No, your son is dead, and my son is alive." And the king said, give me the sword.
And they brought the sword to the king. And the king said:
- Cut the living child in two and give half to one and half to the other.
And that woman, whose son was alive, answered the king, for her whole inwardness was agitated from pity for her son:
- Oh, my lord! Give her this child alive and do not kill him.
And the other said:
- Let there be neither me nor you, chop.
And the king answered and said:
- Give this living child and do not kill him. She is his mother.
And all Israel heard of the judgment, as the king judged; and they began to fear the king, for they saw that the wisdom of God was in him to execute judgment.
(1 Kings 3:16-28)
Solomon (dr. Heb. שְׁלֹמֹה , Shlomo; Greek Σαλωμών, Σολωμών in the Septuagint; lat. Solomon in the Vulgate; Arab. سليمان Suleiman in the Koran) - the third Jewish king, the legendary ruler of the united kingdom of Israel in 965-928 BC. e., during its heyday. The son of King David and Bathsheba (Bat Sheva), his co-ruler in 967-965 BC. e. During the reign of Solomon in Jerusalem, the Jerusalem Temple was built - the main shrine of Judaism.
