INTRODUCTION.

I.

THE LIFE OF SOLOMON.

Solomon, (Hebrew, Septuagint Zalopov, New Testament and Josephus, Zolopov, Vulgate, Solomon,) was the son of King David by his favorite wife Bathsheba, the widow of the faithful and heroic patriot Uriah. He was born in Jerusalem, B. C. 1035. The import of his name (pacific) is strikingly significant of the peaceful character of his disposition, and of his long, tranquil, and prosperous reign. High expectations were formed respecting him antecedently to his birth, in consequence of his having been the subject of the following remarkable prediction delivered to his father David. "Behold, a son shall be born to thee, who shall be a man of rest; and I will give him rest from all his enemies round about; for his name shall be Solomon; and I will give peace and quietness unto Israel in his days. He shall build a house for my name; and he shall be my son, and I will be his father; and I will establish the throne of his kingdom over Israel forever." (1 Chron. 22: 9, 10.) As soon as he was brought into the world, the prophet Nathan was commissioned to declare to David the divine favor towards the child, and to give him a surname expressive of that regard. "He called his name Jedediah (i. e. the beloved of Jehovah) because of the Lord." (2 Sam. 12: 25.) With regard to his early years and the education he then received we are not particularly informed; but it can hardly be supposed that a child of so much promise was neglected by such a man as David; and the youthful piety, the intellectual cul

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ture and literary attainments of Solomon, clearly evince that both his moral and mental education were early and carefully attended to. The will of God that Solomon should be the successor of his royal father on the throne of Israel, had been distinctly announced by the prophet Nathan. But circumstances arose not long before the death of David which rendered it necessary that some public demonstration should be made in reference to that important matter, and that the proper steps should be immediately taken by the king to secure the succession to his favorite son. Those evils began to develop themselves which are inseparable from Oriental monarchies, where polygamy prevails, and where among children from many wives of different ranks, no certain rule of succession is established. Factions began to divide the royal household and even the priesthood. Adonijah, the eldest son of the king by his wife Haggith, relying on the right of primogeniture which fell to him by the death of his elder brothers Absalom and Amnon, directed his ambition towards the throne, which he presumed would in the course of nature soon become vacant. His pretensions were seconded by Joab, whose counsel had heretofore decided many of the principal measures of government, and whose influence with the army, at the head of which he was placed, was with great confidence relied upon. Abiathar, the high priest, also espoused his cause, who necessarily from his official position possessed great influence both with the priesthood and the people at large. With the head of the army and the head of the Church on his side, it is not surprising that Adonijah felt quite sanguine of success; and becoming impatient of delay, he invited his political and personal friends to a sumptuous banquet for the purpose of devising measures to secure his succession. Intelligence of Adonijah's treasonable proceedings having reached the court of David, the king, by the advice of Nathan and the solicitation of Bathsheba, resolved on the immediate inauguration of Solomon. Accordingly he instructed Nathan the prophet, and Zadok, one of the heads of the priesthood, to place themselves under the protection of Benaiah, the son of Jehoiada, the faithful commander of his body-guard, and with a chosen band of reliable troops to

proceed forthwith to Gihon, a fountain near Jerusalem, where the people were accustomed to resort, and there anoint Solomon king. Adonijah, ignorant of his father's intentions, was not aroused to a sense of his guilt and danger, till the return of his rival to the city amid the acclamations of the multitude. He was still engaged in the ceremonial of the feast, exulting in the anticipated success of his schemes, when from the sudden change of affairs, he first learned that by his conduct he had rendered himself obnoxious to the charge of treason and usurpation. Impelled by his fears, he instantly fled for protection to the altar of daily sacrifice, which had been erected by David near the ark on Mount Zion,-the tabernacle of Moses being still in Gibeon. He hoped to find refuge at that sacred place from the doom which impended over him for the sacred altar was a privileged place, not by the enactment of law, but by the custom of all nations. On being re-assured by a message from Solomon, he presented himself before the young king and did homage to him; who dismissed him with peremptory orders to keep himself quiet and secluded at his own house.

When David perceived his end approaching, overwhelmed with solicitude for the continued prosperity of that kingdom, which he had been the instrument under divine providence of raising to the highest pitch of grandeur and power, he gave a private audience to his son Solomon, and impressed upon him the necessity of a serious and fixed attention to religion and to the conscientious and upright discharge of the important duties belonging to his elevated and responsible station; assuring him at the same time, that this course of conduct was the only way in which he could expect to enjoy the approbation and continued support of the Almighty. (1 Kg. 2: 1-4.) He further gave him directions in regard to the course he should pursue towards certain influential but discontented and dangerous individuals, who would be near his person. He commended to his friendship and patronage the sons of Barzillai the Gileadite, in grateful acknowledgment of the kindness and hospitality received from that family during the rebellion of Absalom. Joab was the most fearless soldier of Israel; but his fierce temper

David had never been able to control. He apprehended, therefore, great inconvenience and hazard to his youthful successor, should this brave, but insolent, murderous, and disaffected leader be permitted to prosecute his ambitious schemes. David, accordingly, recommended Solomon to watch with the utmost vigilance the motions of his restless cousin, and on the first indications of disaffection, to put an end to his life.

Shimei, also, the son of Gera, was pointed out to Solomon as a profane and faithless wretch, who could not be trusted, and who had deserved the severest punishment for imprecating curses on his sovereign in the day of his adversity. David, indeed, had pledged his word to Shimei, not to put him to death; but this promise was not to be obligatory on his successor, should circumstances transpire to justify the infliction of the extreme penalty of the law upon him. Having thus provided for the security of the succession according to his wishes, the maintenance of the law, and of the dignity and prosperity of the national religion, David expired, having reigned forty years over the flourishing and powerful monarchy of which he may be regarded as the founder.

Solomon, the third and last of the Hebrew kings whose sovereignty extended over the twelve tribes of Israel, ascended the throne B. C. 1015, at the age of twenty years. He assumed the reins of government under the most favorεble circumstances, with every conceivable advantage, and the most encouraging appearances and prospects. Soon after his accession the king was furnished at least with a plausible pretext, if not a clearly justifiable cause for removing the influential chiefs, against whom his father had warned him, Solomon has been severely censured by some writers for the course he pursued towards these men. But when viewed from the right stand-point, it will not, I apprehend, exhibit the aspect of tyrannical cruelty and barbarity which has been ascribed to it. The government of Israel at that time, like the governments of most Eastern nations at the present day, was not that of a free republic, nor of a limited monarchy; but it was an absolute despotism. The king, in the

discharge of his high prerogatives, was amenable to no earthly tribunal, and had no other check on his authority than the law of God as given to Moses. And the course adopted by Solomon to insure the stability of his throne from internal faction, however different it may have been from that pursued by Western Christian nations in modern times, was precisely that which is customarily pursued in similar circumstances by all the monarchs of the East. And its necessity was no doubt believed to be correctly founded in the known temperament and character of eastern people. By exhibiting firmness of mind, decision of purpose and promptness of action, the severe punishment of a few individuals may have prevented, and doubtless did prevent, the sacrifice of many lives. The antecedents of all these men were such as to warrant the young king in regarding them as capable of devising any plot for their own aggrandisement, and their influence with all classes of citizens was, from their position, so great that a favorable opportunity alone was wanted to carry into execution any treasonable measures they might resolve upon. Adonijah, Solomon's half brother, had already, as we have seen, attempted to seize the reins of government, for which he had received only a conditional pardon. It was confidently believed that he still meditated the attainment of the object of his ambition, notwithstanding the ill-success which attended his former attempt. A secret conspiracy between him and Joab was still evidently in existence, though the extent of that conspiracy was unknown. It is not improbable that Abishag, the youngest and most beautiful of David's wives, was a party to that conspiracy, and designed by the bestowment of her hand upon Adonijah to strengthen his claims to the throne.

The whole Harem of an eastern monarch was a part of the regal succession, and when Adonijah solicited Abishag in marriage through Bathsheba, Solomon regarded the act as treasonable in itself, and only another scheme of his to accomplish his cherished design. The king viewed it as a matter of political expediency at least, to frustrate the supposed plot, by immediately removing the rebellious subject, and accordingly gave orders to Benaiah, who had been raised to