Solomon

Etymology

From 'shalom' (שָׁלוֹם), meaning peace, wholeness, completeness. Also called Jedidiah ('beloved of the Lord') by God through Nathan. David named him Solomon because God promised to give Israel peace during his reign.

Who they were

Solomon was David's son by Bathsheba — born after tragedy, named peace, called beloved by God. When he became king, God appeared to him in a dream and offered him anything. Solomon asked for wisdom — 'a discerning heart to govern your people and to distinguish between right and wrong' — and God was pleased. He gave Solomon wisdom, and wealth and honour besides. Solomon's wisdom became legendary: the two women claiming the same baby, the trading alliances with Hiram of Tyre, the visit of the Queen of Sheba who came to test him and left overwhelmed. He built the temple in Jerusalem — the project David had dreamed of but was not permitted to complete — a structure of such beauty that when God's glory filled it, the priests could not stand to minister. He is traditionally credited with Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and the Song of Songs — wisdom literature that spans practical advice, existential crisis, and erotic love poetry. But Solomon's story does not end in glory. His many foreign wives 'turned his heart after other gods,' and he built shrines to the gods of Moab and Ammon. God told him the kingdom would be torn from his son. After his death, the united monarchy split — ten tribes to the north, two to the south — and never reunited. Solomon's name means peace, but his reign ended in division. His life is the Bible's most sustained meditation on the gap between wisdom and obedience — he knew what was right, and did not do it.

Family

Father

David

Mother

Bathsheba

Character qualities

• Extraordinary wisdom
• Administrative genius
• Architectural vision
• Capacity for devotion and compromise
• Final unfaithfulness

Key verse

1 Kings 3:9

Where they appear

Themes

Variants & related forms

Sol · Shlomo · Salomon · Sulaiman

Related names