SOLOMON, or, in Hebrew, Shelomoh, was the son of David and third king of Israel and Judah (c. 960–920 BCE). During Solomon's reign the united kingdom reached its greatest extent and height of prosperity. The account of this reign, in 1 Kings 1–11, is in its present form a collage of various historical and literary sources. Solomon's accession to the throne (1 Kgs. 1–2), portrayed as the result of palace intrigue and a struggle for power between two sons of David and their supporters, is part of the so-called court history of David. The hand of the Deuteronomistic historian, the author of the larger history of the monarchy in Kings, may be seen in his treatment of the theophany in 1 Kings 3:1–15 and its parallel in 9:1–9, in the account of the building of the Temple and its dedication (chapters 5–8), and in Solomon's failures and God's rejection of his rule over the northern state of...