Microthreads (two five-tweet groups)

The parallels between King Solomon's construction of the temple and YHWH's creation of the cosmos are well documented, but I noticed a few more things today. (I'm sure these, too are documented in a book I've not read.)

King Solomon is able to act as the Creative Force only after he is imbued with a supernatural wisdom (1 Kings 3), though this role is shared by King Hiram of Tyre; 1 Kings 7:46 is especially interesting!

King Solomon also plays the role of the primeval Man. After the temple is built, YHWH appears to King Solomon, assuring him he will never lack a son to sit on the throne of Israel provided they remain faithful his commands (cf. Genesis 2:15-17).

Shortly thereafter, the Queen of Sheba comes calling and tests King Solomon with questions (and riddles, as say the legends) which he is able to answer. He completes the test and is rewarded (contra Adam). But it is at this point the symmetry begins to blur.

The divine wisdom Adam possessed enabling him to name the animals (Genesis 2:19f) is ascribed to King Solomon in 4:33f; the downfall relating to wives is likewise out of order, placed in 1 Kings 11, after the 'temptation' narrative in ch. 10.

End of Part the First.

The second microthread was removed because it was even worse than I had initially thought. Instead, I'll augment the original thread with another few tweets.

In their introduction to the Song of Songs, Ariel and Chana Bloch observe the Eden-like conditions where lions, leopards, deer, and gazelle live alongside man in harmony.

And here the hermeneutic of first words is helpful and illuminates further: Adam's first recorded words are more or less a song praising his wife. And if King Solomon didn't write the Song himself, it was either written for him or about him.

As an aside, King Solomon's first words in 1 Kings 1:52 are startling when read with reference to the Primeval Man; which, he is since, as the Son of David, he is a type of Christ.