Solomon

Solomon (),, ; , ; Arabic: سُلَيْمَان, ', , ; , ; |name=solomon-names}} also called Jedidiah''',|label=none}}, Modern: , Tiberian: ''Yăḏīḏyāh'', "beloved of Yah"|name=jedidiah-names}} was the fourth monarch of the Kingdom of Israel and Judah, according to the Hebrew Bible and the Old Testament. The successor of his father David, he is described as having been the penultimate ruler of all Twelve Tribes of Israel under an amalgamated Israel and Judah. The hypothesized dates of Solomon's reign are from 970 to 931 BCE. According to the biblical narrative, after Solomon's death, his son and successor Rehoboam adopted harsh policies towards the northern Israelites, who then rejected the reign of the House of David and sought Jeroboam as their king. In the aftermath of Jeroboam's Revolt, the Israelites were split between the Kingdom of Israel in the north (Samaria) and the Kingdom of Judah in the south (Judea); the Bible depicts Rehoboam and the rest of Solomon's patrilineal descendants ruling over independent Judah alone.

A Jewish prophet, Solomon is portrayed as wealthy, wise, powerful, and a dedicated follower of Yahweh (God), as attested by the eponymous Solomon's Temple, which was the first Temple in Jerusalem. He is also the subject of many later references and legends, most notably in the Testament of Solomon, part of biblical apocrypha from the 1st century CE.

The historicity of Solomon is widely debated. Current scholarly consensus allows for a historical Solomon, but regards his reign as king over Israel and Judah in the 10th century BCE as uncertain and the biblical description of his apparent empire's lavishness as most probably a massive anachronistic exaggeration.

Solomon is also revered in Christianity and Islam. In the New Testament, he is portrayed as a teacher of wisdom, though excelled by Jesus of Nazareth, and as arrayed in glory, but excelled by "the lilies of the field". In the Quran, he is considered to be a major Islamic prophet. In mostly non-biblical circles, Solomon also came to be known as a magician and an exorcist, with numerous amulets and medallion seals dating from the Hellenistic period invoking his name. Provided by Wikipedia