The Wisdom of King Solomon - Part 2

Date of publication on LinkedIn: 7th April 2025

In our previous post, we considered whether Forensic statement and Linguistic Analysis could be applied to ancient texts and whether it might allow for further insight when applied for example to the Bible?

Using the below passage as an example, we asked whether it was indicative of potential trouble or whether if everything in the palace and high places was rosy?

As a reminder, below is the text from 1 Kings 3 v 1-4 in the NIV:

3 Solomon made an alliance with Pharaoh king of Egypt and married his daughter. He brought her to the City of David until he finished building his palace and the temple of the LORD, and the wall around Jerusalem. 2 The people, however, were still sacrificing at the high places, because a temple had not yet been built for the Name of the LORD. 3 Solomon showed his love for the LORD by walking according to the instructions given him by his father David, except that he offered sacrifices and burned incense on the high places. 4 The king went to Gibeon to offer sacrifices, for that was the most important high place, and Solomon offered a thousand burnt offerings on that altar.

In any analysis, we have to be mindful of context. In this instance, sacrificing at high places was forbidden in the law of Moses (Deuteronomy 12:1-14).

We also have to consider who the author of the book of 1 Kings was. Authorship of both Kings 1 and 2 is attributed to the prophet Jeremiah. We are mindful that this is not Solomon himself writing but someone else writing an account of his life.

Order often speaks to priority and the author here notes Solomon’s marriage to the Pharaoh’s daughter first. This was a key event as it symbolised a unity between Israel and Egypt and signified Israel’s growing power. It may also have indicated the weakness of the Egyptian kingdom at this time.

Following this, the author notes that ‘he brought her to the City of David until he finished building his palace and the temple of the Lord.’ The priority being the palace and then the temple of the Lord.

We would question if there is any significance to the palace being placed before the temple? the latter according to the passage was the most important. The temple took seven years to build and was completed before work on the palace started which in turn took thirteen years to build, almost twice as long. The palace was larger than the temple.

The order could be indicative of the fact the author says, ‘he (Solomon) brought her to the city of David until he finished building his palace and the temple of the Lord.” This would make sense as the palace was finished second, some 20 years after the marriage.

Could there be another reason which might give some insight into the authors thoughts? It could be to express a questioning of priorities:

Solomon Builds the Temple (1 Kings)

6 38 In the eleventh year in the month of Bul, the eighth month, the temple was finished in all its details according to its specifications. He had spent seven years building it.

Solomon Builds His Palace (1 Kings)

7 It took Solomon thirteen years, however, to complete the construction of his palace.

This could also be borne out by what the author writes in verse 2, ‘2 The people, however, were still sacrificing at the high places, because a temple had not yet been built for the Name of the LORD.’

In addition, the author contrasts Solomon’s love for the Lord with the following in verse 3, ‘except that he offered sacrifices and burned incense on the high places.’ This contradicted the law of Moses and could signal the authors disapproval.

The author is consistent in writing, ‘It took Solomon, thirteen years however, to complete the construction of his palace.’

At the end of the book, we realise that despite taking an Egyptian wife, many foreign wives were responsible for further proliferation of the high places and the turning of his (Solomon’s) heart away from the Lord. (11:1-8)

We must always consider context and ask questions of the text before rushing to conclusions. It is in applying principle evenly and consistently and not rushing to conclusions which provides for a successful outcome.

Reference to written article (if appropriate): https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1%20Kings%203&version=NIV

All blog subjects are identified, validated and written by the DDL Team. See www.ddlltd.com for more on Deception Detection Lab Ltd.