25 Details About the Life of Solomon -- 'A' to 'Z' Quiz

Answer: Adonijah

Solomon ordered the execution of his half-brother Adonijah, who had unsuccessfully attempted to become king when David was elderly and frail.

Solomon had spared Adonijah's life when he initially ascended to the throne. Adonijah's deadly mistake, however, was when he sought permission from Solomon to marry Abishag, a beautiful young maiden who had been assigned to take care of David in his latter years.

The request to marry Abishag appears to have been the last straw and Solomon ordered the execution of his half-brother.

1 Kings 2:23-25, in the NKJV Bible, states: "Then King Solomon swore by the LORD, saying, 'May God do so to me, and more also, if Adonijah has not spoken this word against his own life! Now therefore, as the LORD lives, who has confirmed me and set me on the throne of David my father, and who has established a house for me, as He promised, Adonijah shall be put to death today!' So King Solomon sent by the hand of Benaiah the son of Jehoiada; and he struck him down, and he died."

Notes in the NKJV Study Bible suggest Adonijah's request came with serious ramifications. "Taking a member of the king's harem would normally be interpreted as a claim to the throne," the notes state.

Solomon was the son of Bathsheba and Adonijah was the son of Haggith, according to Scripture.

Answer: False

False. To the contrary, Scripture tells of Bathsheba taking action to ensure Solomon would become king, rather than Adonijah. In fact, had she not taken action, there would have been a very real possibility that Solomon would never have been king. By being the mother of the king, Bathsheba would, in all probability, be the most powerful woman in Israel.

Playing a key role in the matter was Nathan the prophet who advised Bathsheba about strategy needed to ensure Solomon would beat out Adonijah to wear David's crown. The account of Nathan and Bathsheba working behind the scenes in favor of Solomon can be found in 1 King 1.

Answer: Lebanon

Lebanon, of course, is famous for its cedars and has a cedar tree depicted on its flag. The cedar tree appears on a white background between two red horizontal bars. The fifth chapter of 1 Kings tells of Solomon importing cedars from Lebanon for the construction of a temple to honor the LORD.

The seventh chapter of 1 Kings tells of Solomon constructing other buildings with one known as the House of the Forest of Lebanon.

Answer: True

Yes, Solomon married the Pharaoh's daughter. 1 Kings 3:1 states: "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." The woman's name is not given, however. Notes in the NIV Study Bible state: "It appears likely Solomon established his marriage alliance with either Siamun or Psusennes II, the last kings of the 21st Egyptian dynasty (the first Egyptian pharaoh mentioned by name in the OT is Shishak -- 1 Kings 11:40; 14:25-26 -- who established the 22nd Egyptian dynasty c. 945 B.C.)" The notes go on to state: "Such an alliance attests Egyptian recognition of the growing importance and strength of the Israelite state. 1 Kings 9:16 indicates that the pharaoh gave his daughter the Canaanite town of Gezer as her dowry at the time of her marriage to Solomon."

Answer: True

There definitely was peace in the land compared to before and after Solomon's reign.

1 Kings 4:25 in the NKJV states: "And Judah and Israel dwelt safely, each man under his vine and his fig tree, from Dan as far as Beersheba, all the days of Solomon." Or, as the Easy to Read Bible states: "During Solomon's life everyone in Judah and Israel, all the way from Dan to Beersheba, lived in peace and security. The people were at peace sitting under their own fig trees and grapevines."

What's more important, Israelites were at peace with each other. Previously, the country was ruled by David and during his reign there were two bloody civil wars as well as continuous feuding with neighboring nations. After Solomon died, Israel would be plunged into yet another civil war with the northern ten tribes going one way and Judah the other way.

However, in the final years of Solomon's reign, Scripture tells of God raising up adversaries of the Israel. Solomon's decision to worship the gods of his foreign wives came with a costly price, Scripture indicates. (See 1 Kings 11:14-40.) Nevertheless, many historians refer to Solomon's reign as the golden era for the Israelites.

Answer: Abiathar

Solomon deposed Abiathar as high priest because he took part in a failed attempt to make Adonijah king of Israel in place of David. In 1 Kings 2:26-27, Solomon is quoted as telling Abiathar what he had done was worthy of death. "But I will not put you to death at this time, because you carried the ark of the LORD God before my father David, and because you were afflicted every time my father was afflicted," Solomon told Abiathar, as per the NKJV. Scripture states Abiathar was banished to Anathoth, his hometown.

The removal of Abiathar is reported in the same chapter in which Solomon ordered the execution of Adonijah and Joab, another supporter of Adonijah as king.

According to the Web site Christiananswers.net, this is the only historical instance of the removal of a high priest.

Answer: Great-great grandmother

According to Scripture, Ruth was Solomon's great-great-grandmother. Ruth 4:20-22 states Ruth and Boaz were the parents of Obed, who was the father of Jesse who was the father of David. David, of course, was the father of Solomon. In other words, Ruth and Boaz were Solomon's great-great grandparents. For Christians, the lineage is also reported in the genealogy of Christ in Matthew 1.

Answer: 700 wives/princesses and 300 concubines

Solomon, according to Scripture, had seven hundred wives/princesses and three hundred concubines. According to Scripture, Solomon had "many" foreign wives who led him astray with him worshiping other gods.

1 Kings 11:1-8 explains things this way in the NKJV:
"But King Solomon loved many foreign women, as well as the daughter of Pharaoh: women of the Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Sidonians, and Hittites -- from the nations of whom the LORD had said to the children of Israel, 'You shall not intermarry with them, nor they with you. Surely they will turn away your hearts after their gods.' Solomon clung to these in love. And he had seven hundred wives, princesses, and three hundred concubines; and his wives turned away his heart. For it was so, when Solomon was old, that his wives turned his heart after other gods; and his heart was not loyal to the LORD his God, as was the heart of his father David. For Solomon went after Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians, and after Milcom the abomination of the Ammonites. Solomon did evil in the sight of the LORD, and did not fully follow the LORD, as did his father David. Then Solomon built a high place for Chemosh the abomination of Moab, on the hill that is east of Jerusalem, and for Molech the abomination of the people of Ammon. And he did likewise for all his foreign wives, who burned incense and sacrificed to their gods."

Answer: Two women both claiming the same baby as their own.

Solomon won acclaim for his judgment involving two women who both claimed the same baby as their own. According to Scripture, his judgment was rendered just after Solomon requested wisdom from God. To settle the dispute, Solomon suggested the baby should be cut in half. The real mother was horrified at such a thought while the fake mother thought it was a workable solution. When Solomon saw the reaction of the women, he ruled the baby should be given to the woman who was horrified at the thought of her baby being cut in two.

1 King 3:16-28 in the NKJV explains things this way"
"Now two women who were harlots came to the king, and stood before him. And one woman said, 'O my lord, this woman and I dwell in the same house; and I gave birth while she was in the house. Then it happened, the third day after I had given birth, that this woman also gave birth. And we were together; no one was with us in the house, except the two of us in the house. And this woman's son died in the night, because she lay on him. So she arose in the middle of the night and took my son from my side, while your maidservant slept, and laid him in her bosom, and laid her dead child in my bosom. And when I rose in the morning to nurse my son, there he was, dead. But when I had examined him in the morning, indeed, he was not my son whom I had borne.'

"Then the other woman said, 'No! But the living one is my son, and the dead one is your son.'

"And the first woman said, 'No! But the dead one is your son, and the living one is my son.'

"Thus they spoke before the king.

"And the king said, 'The one says, 'This is my son, who lives, and your son is the dead one'; and the other says, 'No! But your son is the dead one, and my son is the living one.' Then the king said, 'Bring me a sword.' So they brought a sword before the king. And the king said, 'Divide the living child in two, and give half to one, and half to the other.'

"Then the woman whose son was living spoke to the king, for she yearned with compassion for her son; and she said, 'O my lord, give her the living child, and by no means kill him!'

"But the other said, 'Let him be neither mine nor yours, but divide him.'

"So the king answered and said, 'Give the first woman the living child, and by no means kill him; she is his mother.'

"And all Israel heard of the judgment which the king had rendered; and they feared the king, for they saw that the wisdom of God was in him to administer justice."

Answer: Joab

Joab is the correct answer. According to 2 Samuel 2:10, Joab was the son of David's brother Zeruiah, making him his nephew and a cousin of Solomon. The ever-obedient son fulfilled his father's wish and Joab was executed.

It's a bit of a long story, but David was upset with Joab for a number of reasons, not the least of which being he killed Absalom in a civil war battle. However, Joab also had killed Abner and Amasa and then on top of all this, he supported a bid by Adonijah to become king when David was elderly and frail. (See information in answer section to Question 1.)

Information in the NKJV Study Bible gives this account of David's disgust with Joab: "David's parting advice {to Solomon} singled out some problems that had not been resolved. The bold, headstrong Joab had murdered two generals (2 Samuel 3:27 and 20:10) and David's son Absalom (2 Samuel 18:14); he had also joined Adonijah's ill-fated conspiracy."

The notes go on to state Joab had lived a long time without requital for his "wicked deeds" and the aged king knew that Joab would likely "continue to be a problem to Solomon even as they had been to him."

Even though Absalom was prepared to kill David in his bid to become king, Scripture reports David was deeply distressed when Joab killed him in battle. (2 Samuel 18:33)

Answer: Song of Solomon

The verse is from the Song of Solomon, Scripture telling of a love affair between a young country girl and the king. The girl is not identified. She is simply called 'the 'Shulamite'. The king in the passage is none other than Solomon, according to tradition.

"Jewish scholars around the time of the birth Christ interpreted the book allegorically, stating that it describes the love of God for Israel," notes in the NKJV Study Bible state. "Similarly, some Christians have taught that the book speaks of the mystical relationship of the Lord Jesus Christ, and His bride, the church."

Even though the book is called the Song of Solomon, some modern theologians are disputing the belief Solomon was the author. For example, notes in the NKJV Study Bible have this to say about the authorship of the Song of Solomon: "Some have argued that the references to Solomon may only be a stylistic device and the author may have been from a latter period. The arguments for this are inconclusive. But the fact Solomon was known for his wisdom and poetry (see 1 Kings 4:29-34) partially substantiates his authorship of this book."

Answer: 40 years

According to 1 Kings 11:42, Solomon ruled over Israel for forty years. The common belief is he became king when he was about twenty years old, replacing his father David.

In a nutshell, Solomon's reign is often referred to as the golden era of the Israelites. His reign was known for prosperity and for peace. He was known far and wide for his wisdom and wealth. However, according to Scripture, Solomon started worshiping false gods along with his many foreign wives and the nation started to decline. Prior to his death, Scripture tells of God raising up adversaries against Solomon and Israel. (See 1 Kings 11:14-40.)

Answer: False

There is no record in Scripture of Solomon playing any musical instrument. It is possible he played some musical instruments, but it's not documented. As a result, the answer to this question has to be 'false'. For the record, 2 Kings does not have 26 chapters.

It ends at 25:25 with a passage telling about Jehoiachin being released from prison. What's more, the exploits of Solomon are documented in 1 Kings, not 2 Kings.

Answer: Jedidiah

Jedidiah is the correct answer. 2 Samuel 12:25 states the LORD loved Solomon and after he was born "sent word through Nathan the prophet to name him Jedidiah". For whatever reason, the name never stuck. According to Wikipedia, Jedidiah means beloved of the LORD.

A number of years later, Nathan would be instrumental in making sure Solomon would become king. According to the first chapter of 1 Kings, he joined forces with Bathsheba to torpedo plans for Adonijah to become king and to make certain Solomon would ascend to the throne, replacing David. 1 Kings 1:8, 11 states he was a confidant to both David and Solomon.

The 34th chapter of 1 Kings tells of "Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet" anointing Solomon king over Israel.

On top of all this, 2 Chronicles 9:29 goes on to tell of Nathan recording the various events in Solomon's life. The verse in the NIV states: "As for the other events of Solomon's reign, from beginning to end, are they not written in the records of Nathan the prophet, in the prophecy of Ahijah the Shilonite and in the visions of Iddo the seer concerning Jeroboam son of Nebat?"

Answer: Naamah

Naamah is the correct answer. She was the mother of Rheoboam, an Ammonitess, as per 1 Kings 14:21. However, not much is known about her as she is mentioned in only passing reference. She is, however, the only wife who is identified.

Rheoboam would become king after Solomon's death.

Answer: 2

Solomon is credited with writing two of the Psalms -- Numbers 72 and 127. Incidentally, it appears to be next to impossible to come up with the exact number of Psalms written by David. The numbers vary, with different Web sites giving a different total for David's contributions. However, the consensus appears to be that David wrote more than 70 Psalms. Adding to the confusion, a number of Psalms do not have any credit line. Psalm 72 and 127, however, bear Solomon's name.

Answer: About 4 1/2 tons or about 4 metric tons

Make no mistake about it. The Queen of Sheba gave Solomon a massive amount of gold. With gold selling currently at about $1,175 US an ounce, 4.5 tons (or 144,000 ounces) would be worth about $170 million U.S. And that's just some of the booty she gave him. Scripture says the Queen of Sheba arrived in Jerusalem with "a very great caravan" that, in addition to gold, also carried spices and large quantities of precious stones.

1 Kings 10:10 states "there never again came such abundance of spices as the Queen of Sheba gave to King Solomon."

She, of course, was dazzled by Solomon's wisdom and immense prominence, and according to Scripture, she traveled to Jerusalem to see for herself what all the talk was about.

According to notes in the NKJV Study Bible, Sheba was located in southwestern Arabia, present-day Yemen.

Answer: Rehoboam

Rehoboam replaced Solomon as king. Scripture reports he got off to a bad start when he ignored the advice of his father's advisers and followed the advice of young men he had grown up with, as per 1 Kings 12. And from there things got worse. The ten northern tribes broke away and before long Rehoboam was left ruling over a much smaller domain than his father Solomon and his grandfather David. According to 1 Kings 14:21, Rehoboam was forty-one years old when he became king and he reigned for seventeen turbulent years.

He was succeeded by his son Abijah.

Answer: Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Solomon

Solomon is credited with writing a major portion of Proverbs, as well as all of Ecclesiastes and Song of Solomon. On top this, he is also credited with writing two of the Psalms.

However, some modern theologians dispute Solomon's authorship of Ecclesiastes and Song of Solomon. For example, notes in the NKJV Study Bible have this to say about the authorship of the Song of Solomon: "Some have argued that the references to Solomon may only be a stylistic device and the author may have been from a latter period. The arguments for this are inconclusive. But the fact Solomon was known for his wisdom and poetry (see 1 Kings 4:29-34) partially substantiates his authorship of this book."

Answer: Twenty

It took twenty years to build the temple as well as the royal palace, as per 1 Kings 9:10.

According to notes in the NKJV Study Bible, Solomon constructed the temple on Mount Moriah, north of the ancient City of David. The temple was built according to plans David received from the LORD and passed on to Solomon. (1 Chronicles 28:11-13, 19).

Chapters 5, 6, 7 and 8 of 1 Kings tells of details involved in the construction of the temple as well as the gala dedication ceremony that marked its completion.

Answer: Proverbs

Proverbs is the correct answer with the passage in question coming from Chapter 14, Verse 8 and 9. The book of Proverbs is one of the most popular in the Hebrew Bible and the Old Testament. In a nutshell, the book is packed with witty sayings and many Jews and Christians believe it offers good practical advice.

Most of the proverbs were written by Solomon. However, chapter 30 was written by Agur and Proverbs 31:1-9 was written by Lemuel.

Answer: Ecclesiastes

The correct answer is Ecclesiastes with the words found in the second verse of the first chapter.

Notes in the NKJV Study Bible have these points to make about use of the word 'vanity': "The word 'vanity' means 'breath' or 'vapor' and thus speaks of life as 'quickly passing'. Where ever we read the word 'vanity' in Ecclesiastes, we should think not of what is 'meaningless.' but of what is 'quickly passing'. This is one of the key terms in the Book of Ecclesiastes, for it is found 38 times there. The teaching of the Preacher is to realize that life is a fleeting thing that needs to be savored and enjoyed as a gift from God."

Answer: In a dream at night

The correct answer is in a dream at night. It might come as a surprise to some that Solomon didn't make the request in a prayer in the traditional sense.

Here's how Solomon's request for wisdom is documented in 1 Kings 3:5-14, in the NKJV:
"At Gibeon the LORD appeared to Solomon in a dream by night; and God said, 'Ask! What shall I give you?'

"And Solomon said: 'You have shown great mercy to Your servant David my father, because he walked before You in truth, in righteousness, and in uprightness of heart with You; You have continued this great kindness for him, and You have given him a son to sit on his throne, as it is this day. Now, O LORD my God, You have made Your servant king instead of my father David, but I am a little child; I do not know how to go out or come in. And Your servant is in the midst of Your people whom You have chosen, a great people, too numerous to be numbered or counted. Therefore give to Your servant an understanding heart to judge Your people, that I may discern between good and evil. For who is able to judge this great people of Yours?'

"The speech pleased the LORD, that Solomon had asked this thing. Then God said to him: 'Because you have asked this thing, and have not asked long life for yourself, nor have asked riches for yourself, nor have asked the life of your enemies, but have asked for yourself understanding to discern justice, behold, I have done according to your words; see, I have given you a wise and understanding heart, so that there has not been anyone like you before you, nor shall any like you arise after you. And I have also given you what you have not asked: both riches and honor, so that there shall not be anyone like you among the kings all your days. So if you walk in My ways, to keep My statutes and My commandments, as your father David walked, then I will lengthen your days'."

Answer: a young gazelle or stag

The correct answer is a young gazelle or stag. The verse in question comes from Song of Solomon 2:17. The term like a roe or young hart is also used in Song of Solomon 2:9. Both the NKJV and NIV Bibles use the words young gazelle and stag.

Answer: Zadok

Zadok is the correct answer. Scripture tells of Zadok anointing Solomon as king, replacing David, as per 1 King 1:8-45. The story doesn't end here, however. Solomon was highly perturbed Abiathar the high priest had been a supporter of Adonijah to replace David as king and even told him he should have been killed, as per 1 Kings 2:26-27. (See answer to Question No. 6 for more information.) Later, Solomon ousted Abiathar as the high priest and rewarded Zadok with the honor of being high priest, as per 1 Kings 2:35.