SOLOMON (Hebrew, Shelomoh, the Prince of Peace), son of David, King of Israel, by Bathsheba, formerly the wife of Uriah, was appointed by David to be his successor in preference to his elder brothers. By his remarkable judicial de cisions and his completion of the political institutions of David Solomon gained the respect and admiration of his people; while by the building of the temple, which gave to the Hebrew worship a magnifi cence it had not hitherto possessed, he bound the nation more strongly to his throne. The wealth of Solomon, accumu lated by a prudent use of the treasures inherited from his father; by successful commerce; by a careful administration of the royal revenues; and by an increase of taxes, enabled him to meet the ex penses of erecting the temple, building palaces, cities, and fortifications, and of supporting the extravagance of a luxuri ous court. Fortune long seemed to favor this great king; and Israel, in the fulness of its prosperity, scarcely perceived that he was continually becoming more des potic. Contrary to the laws of Moses,
he admitted foreign women to his harem; and from love of them he was weak enough in his old age to permit the free practice of their idolatrous worship and even to take part in it himself. Toward the close of his reign troubles arose in consequence of these delinquencies, and the growing discontent, coming to a head after his death, resulted in the division of the kingdom, which his feeble son Rehoboam could not prevent. The 40 years' reign of Solomon is still celebrated among the Jews, for its splendor and its happy tranquillity, as one of the brightest periods of their history. The writings attributed to Solomon are "The Book of Proverbs," "Ecclesiastes," and the "Song of Solomon," with the apocryphal book the "Wisdom of Solomon"; but modern criticism has decided that only a portion of the "Book of Proverbs" can be referred to Solomon.