📖 Biblical Definition
David and Bathsheba's son, third king of unified Israel (970-930 BC). The Lord appeared to Solomon at Gibeon and offered him whatever he asked; he asked for wisdom to govern, and the Lord gave him wisdom plus riches and honor unsurpassed. He built the first temple in Jerusalem (1 Kgs 6-8), composed three thousand proverbs and a thousand and five songs (1 Kgs 4:32), and reigned in unprecedented prosperity. His decline began with seven hundred wives and three hundred concubines, many foreign idolaters, who turned his heart away from the Lord (1 Kgs 11:4); the kingdom was divided after his death.
📜 Webster 1828 Definition
SOLOMON, n.
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A scriptural proper name; the third king of unified Israel.
📖 Key Scripture
1 Kings 3:9 — "Give therefore thy servant an understanding heart to judge thy people, that I may discern between good and bad."
1 Kings 4:29 — "God gave Solomon wisdom and understanding exceeding much."
1 Kings 11:4 — "For it came to pass, when Solomon was old, that his wives turned away his heart after other gods."
Ecclesiastes 1:2 — "Vanity of vanities, saith the Preacher, vanity of vanities; all is vanity."
⚠️ Modern Corruption
Modern Christianity celebrates Solomon's wisdom; the same wisdom did not save him from foreign wives.
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Solomon's ending is one of the most sobering biographies in Scripture. The wisest man who ever lived (apart from Christ) ended in idolatry, polygamy on a vast scale, and a divided kingdom. The wisdom that built the temple did not save him from his harem; the writer of Proverbs ignored his own counsel about strange women.
Modern Christianity often celebrates Solomon's wisdom in isolation from his decline. Both must be held. The smartest man fails at the same place ordinary men fail — sexual compromise and divided heart. Build a hedge around your marriage and the Lord. Read Proverbs and live it; do not be a Solomon who wrote wisdom and failed to obey it.
🔗 Greek & Hebrew Roots
Hebrew/Greek roots below.
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H8010 — Shlomo — Solomon; peaceable
Usage
"Modern Christianity celebrates Solomon's wisdom; the wisdom did not save him from foreign wives."
"The wisest man failed at the place ordinary men fail."
"Build a hedge around marriage and the Lord; live what Proverbs teaches."