Solomon: The Lure of Wisdom

by Steven Weitzman

From the prizewinning Jewish Lives series, an intriguing and unconventional biography about one of the Bible's most elusive figures

Tradition has it that King Solomon knew everything there was to know—the mysteries of nature, of love, of God himself—but what do we know of him? Esteemed biblical scholar Steven Weitzman reintroduces readers to Solomon's story and its surprising influence in shaping Western culture, and he also examines what Solomon's life, wisdom, and writings have come to mean for Jews, Christians, and Muslims over the past two thousand years.

Weitzman's Solomon is populated by a colorful cast of ambitious characters—Byzantine emperors, explorers, rabbis, saints, scientists, poets, archaeologists, trial judges, reggae singers, and moviemakers among them—whose common goal is to unearth the truth about Solomon's life and wisdom. Filled with the Solomonic texts of the Bible, along with lesser–known magical texts and other writings, this book challenges both religious and secular assumptions. Even as it seeks to tell the story of ancient Israel's greatest ruler, this insightful book is also a meditation on the Solomonic desire to know all of life's secrets, and on the role of this desire in world history.

Genres: Judaism, Religion, Biography, History, Nonfiction

240 pages, Hardcover

First published March 29, 2011

About the author

Steven Weitzman is the Daniel E. Koshland Professor of Jewish Culture and Religion at Stanford University. He was awarded the Gustave O. Arlt Prize for Outstanding Scholarship in the Humanities for his first book, Song and Story in Biblical Narrative, and has received fellowships from the American Council of Learned Societies and the Yad-Hadiv Foundation. His other books include Surviving Sacrilege and The Jews: A History.

Reviews

[Amy Christensen · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was not what I expected and really was not what I was looking for. It was however, interesting and I will say thoughtfully written. It has however left me feeling that religion is a tool of subjugation and employed to keep a firm grip on the population by making them afraid of seeking what is beyond.

[Justin · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is a mixed bag of fascinating and fanciful reflections on the story of Solomon in Scripture and extra-biblical tradition. It's marked by erudition (which makes it worth reading) and unbelief (which demands discernment).

[John Eldreth · Rating 1 out of 5]

Perplexed

Most of the content of this book is spent surveying historical efforts to discover Solomon’s “true personality”, how he obtained his wealth and wisdom, and his influence upon subsequent individuals and cultures. The overarching theme of this book is the author’s perplexity that someone so rich, smart, and wise could, in the end, live a life that contradicted the moral and virtuous principles he had taught others. In turn I was perplexed the author did not mention the biblical answer to this question is that, despite man’s best efforts, he is a fallen (i.e. sinful) creature and consequently is capable of anything including self-deception. To quote Jeremiah 17:9, “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know  t?”.

[James Peterson · Rating 4 out of 5]

After studying the books attributed to Solomon (most recently, a Bible study through Ecclesiastes), it was very interesting to read this book from a historical and critical perspective, as the author attempted to reconstruct a life that has lots of biblical source material, but not as much outside of the Bible. To his credit, Weitzman does not completely discount the Bible’s portrayal of Solomon, but uses it as a basic outline of the King’s life, adding to it from rabbinical and other writings. The product was a brief biography that was interesting at times, a bit dry at others, but overall a good read.

[Eve · Rating 3 out of 5]

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