Solomon and the Beginnings of Wisdom in Israel

Abstract

The traditional connection of the name of Solomon with books of Hebrew wisdom and poetry raises a series of related problems. It is quite out of the question that the king was in fact the composer of the whole book of Proverbs, of Ecclesiastes and Wisdom, of psalms canonical and extra-canonical: how then did his name come to be attached to them? The traditional connection of the name of Solomon with Israelite gnomic literature rests on two biblical foundations: the descriptive narratives in 1 Reg. v 9-14 and x 1-10, 13, 23-24; and the titles in Prov. i 1, x 1 and xxv 1. This chapter examines this biblical evidence closely to see if it merits the confidence or the scepticism with which it has been viewed by different scholars. It also notes certain general considerations of historical probability which appear to support the biblical tradition. Keywords: biblical tradition; Hebrew wisdom; Israelite gnomic literature; Proverbs; psalms; Solomon

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