Глава 3

Marriage of Solomon; his piety and wisdom. 1 Kings 3:1. [When the kingdom was established in the hands of Solomon,] Solomon became related to Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, and took Pharaoh's daughter for himself and brought her into the city of David until he built his house and the house of the Lord and the wall around Jerusalem. The pharaoh whose daughter Solomon married was probably one of the last representatives of the XXI, Tanit dynasty, the closest predecessor of Susakim-Shishak (1 Kings 11:40), the founder of the XXII Egyptian dynasty. The kinship alliance with Pharaoh gave Solomon and his country security from Egypt, and partly contributed to the expansion of the territory of Solomon’s possessions (1 Kings 9:16). From a religious point of view, this marriage seemed, according to the rabbis, a certain violation of the marriage prohibitions of the law (Ex. 34:16; Deut. 7:3), although the latter most closely concerned the Canaanites themselves; the rabbis thought to see in the daughter of Pharaoh a proselyte of Judaism - without support in the text; in any case, she did not bring Egyptian idolatry with her to Palestine (the latter is not mentioned among the foreign cults in Jerusalem under Solomon, 114–7). The "City of David" is the eastern hill of Jerusalem. David had already built walls around this part of the city (2 Sam. 5:7-9; cf. Ps. 50:20), while Solomon expanded the volume of the walls to include most of the city: this is the so-called “first wall” of Jerusalem (the second wall is Hezekiah and Manasseh). 1 Kings 3:2. The people were still offering sacrifices on the high places, for the house of the name of the Lord was not built until that time. 1 Kings 3:3. And Solomon loved the Lord, walking according to the statute of David his father; but he also offered sacrifices and incense on the heights. A general note about the state of worship in Israel in the first years of Solomon's reign (cf. 1 Kings 9:25): in the absence of one religious-national center - the church, sacrifices were made at various places consecrated by some historical events or memories (for example, in Gibeon, v. 4; (2 Chron. 1:3)). Sacrifices were performed “on the heights” Bamot, ἐπὶ τοῖς ὑψηλοῖς, in excelsis), Art. 2 (cf. 1 Kings 9:12; Am. 7:9; Mic. 1:5; Hos. 10:8; 2 Kings 12:3): according to the general custom of antiquity, service to the Divine was performed on heights, natural or artificial (“bamas”), which served as a symbol of the elevation of people to God. Before the construction of the church, such service to God through sacrifices in many different places was not reprehensible, which is why even the prophet Samuel performed it (1 Samuel 9:14); however, the law (Lev.17:4; Deut.12:5–6) was intended to protect Jews “from religious disunity, which could occur through the arbitrary selection of different places for worship” (Prof. Gulyaev, p. 146). Therefore, the sacred writer considers Solomon’s ministry on high not fully consistent with perfect love for God (v. 3, cf. Blessed Theodoret, vopr. 12). 1 Kings 3:4. And the king went to Gibeon to offer sacrifice there, for there was the main altar there. Solomon offered a thousand burnt offerings on that altar. One of the revered places of worship at this time was Gibeon, “for there was the main altar” (Heb. (gab) bama (gag) gedola), glav.: “height of greatness.” Gibeon was once the capital of the Hivites (Joshua 9:2,3,7,11:19), after the Levitical city in the tribe of Benjamin (Joshua 18:25,21:17), north of Gibeah and 1 1/4 geographical. miles from Jerusalem (I. Flav. Jewish Ancients. VII, 11, 7; Jewish War, II, 19, 1); according to Eusebius and Blessed. Jerome (Onomastic. 296), - 4 Roman miles west of Bethel; now the village of el-Dscbob of 40–50 houses, approx. 500 inhabitants (Robinson. Palastinall, 351). Here the Jews, upon entering Canaan, erected the tabernacle of Moses and the altar (1 Chronicles 16:39,21:29; 2 Chronicles 1:3). The peoples of the East usually had an abundance of sacrifices on ceremonial occasions (Herodot. I, 50; VII, 43). - “A thousand burnt offerings” - probably sacrifices in general, including sacrificial feasts for peace offerings; According to (2 Chronicles 1:3), many people went with Solomon to Gibeon, and the holiday lasted for several days. Without a doubt, there is no indication here of the priestly functions of the king, as some thought. 1 Kings 3:5. In Gibeon, the Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream at night, and God said: Ask what to give you. “The Lord appeared (nira)”: not in any image, but in the sense of a revelation in general that took place in a dream (v. 15, Blessed Theodoret, question 13). 1 Kings 3:6. And Solomon said: Thou hast done great kindness to thy servant David my father; and because he walked before You in truth and righteousness and with a sincere heart before You, You preserved this great mercy for him and gave him a son who would sit on his throne, as it is now; 1 Kings 3:7. and now, O Lord my God, Thou hast made Thy servant king in place of David my father; but I am a little boy, I know neither my exit nor my entrance; 1 Kings 3:8. and Your servant is among Your people, whom You have chosen, a people so numerous that in their multitude they cannot be numbered or surveyed; 1 Kings 3:9. Grant therefore to Thy servant a heart of understanding, to judge Thy people and to discern what is good and what is evil; for who is able to govern this multitude of Your people? “Wonderful are the words spoken by Solomon in prayer. For, remembering the blessings that his father had, and praising the Giver of them, he brought prayer for himself; (7-9 vv.)... In these words he showed the weakness of nature, and the imperfection of age, and the greatness of this power, and the danger of sinning in court, and the need for prudence, and intelligence in petition” (Blessed Theodoret, question 12). Recognizing the mercies of Jehovah to David in his life in general, and, in particular, in the granting of his throne to his son (v. 6), Solomon calls himself “a little child, knowing neither exit nor entrance” (v. 7), of course, in relation to his inexperience with the importance and severity of the tasks of ruling the people, and not because of Solomon’s actual short age (according to I. Flav., Jewish Ancients. VIII, 7, 8, Solomon at this time was 10 years old, according to some rabbis 12 years old); from the demolition (1 Kings 11:42) and (1 Kings 14:21) it is clear that at the beginning of his reign Solomon already had a one-year-old son, Rehoboam, who was at least 19–20 years old, and David (1 Kings 2:6, 9) called him ish hakam, “a wise man.” The expression “knowing neither the way in nor the way out” means the way of action and the direction of a person’s life in general (Deut. 31:2; Jer. 10:23; Ps. 120:8, etc.), but is mainly used about leadership in war (1 Sam. 18:13,16; 2 Sam. 3:25,5:2): here royal power is, first of all, leadership of the people in war, and in Art. 9 it is understood in the sense of mainly a judicial function (cf. v. 16); both sides were inseparably thought of in the Hebrew concept (as well as the Eastern one in general) of the king (cf. 1 Samuel 8:6,20; 2 Kings 15:2–4). 1 Kings 3:10. And the Lord was pleased that Solomon asked this. 1 Kings 3:11. And God said to him: because you asked for this and did not ask for a long life, did not ask for wealth, did not ask for the souls of your enemies, but asked for reason so that you could judge, - 1 Kings 3:12. Behold, I will do according to your word: behold, I have given you a wise and understanding heart, so that there was none like you before you, and after you there will not arise one like you; 1 Kings 3:13. and that which you did not ask I give you, both riches and glory, so that there will be no one like you among kings all your days; 1 Kings 3:14. and if you walk in My way, keeping My statutes and My commandments, as your father David walked, I will also prolong your days. Jehovah (instead of Adonai standing in the accepted text of Hebrews 10, in many texts: 1, 30, 85, 93, 96, 112, 113, 128, 145, 150, 154, 174, 250, stands Jehovah) graciously accepted Solomon’s request. “The Lord God, praising the request, granted what was asked and added everything else. The Lord legitimized this in the sacred Gospel. For he says: Seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all other things will be added to you (Matthew 6:33). God gave these gifts to Solomon and promised to make him worthy of all providence” (Blessed Theodoret, question 12). 1 Kings 3:15. And Solomon awoke, and behold, it was a dream. And he went to Jerusalem and stood [before the altar] before the ark of the covenant of the Lord, and offered burnt offerings and made peace offerings, and made a great feast for all his servants. “Rising from sleep, (Solomon) remembered the dream, and, realizing that it was God’s revelation, he returned to the capital, and before the ark of God he offered a sacrifice of thanksgiving” (Blessed Theodore, question 13). 1 Kings 3:16. Then two harlot women came to the king and stood before him. 1 Kings 3:17. And one woman said: Oh, my lord! This woman and I live in the same house; and I gave birth in her presence in this house; 1 Kings 3:18. On the third day after I gave birth, this woman also gave birth; and we were together, and there was no one else in the house with us; only the two of us were in the house; 1 Kings 3:19. and the woman's son died in the night, because she slept with him; 1 Kings 3:20. and she arose at night and took my son from me while I, your handmaid, was sleeping, and laid him to her breast, and she laid her dead son to my breast; 1 Kings 3:21. In the morning I got up to feed my son, and behold, he was dead; and when I looked at him in the morning, it was not my son whom I gave birth to. 1 Kings 3:22. And the other woman said: No, my son is alive, but your son is dead. And she told her: no, your son is dead, but mine is alive. And they spoke thus before the king. 1 Kings 3:23. And the king said: This one says: my son is alive, but your son is dead; and she says: no, your son is dead, but my son is alive. 1 Kings 3:24. And the king said: Give me a sword. And they brought the sword to the king. 1 Kings 3:25. And the king said, Cut the living child in two and give half to one and half to the other. 1 Kings 3:26. And that woman, whose son was alive, answered the king, for her whole inside was agitated with pity for her son: Oh, my lord! give her this child alive and do not kill him. And the other said: let it not be for me or for you, chop it down. 1 Kings 3:27. And the king answered and said: Give this living child, and do not kill him: she is his mother. 1 Kings 3:28. And all Israel heard of the judgment, as the king judged; and they began to fear the king, for they saw that the wisdom of God was in him to carry out judgment. What is stated here, according to the thought of the priest. writer, serves as evidence of the wisdom of Solomon, which he received from God (v. 12). “Why did the one who wrote this story include the tale of two harlots,” asks Blessed Theodoret (question 14). And he answers: “I intended to show the wisdom of the king. For it is indeed the task of a very wise mind to reveal the secret, to bring out the hidden, to leave the solution to nature and let it carry out its verdict. Soon the one who is a mother will be revealed, and the one who is not a mother will be exposed.” The incident itself could have been borrowed by the priest. a writer from tradition or from the “book of the works of Solomon” (1 Kings 11:41). The name “harlot” (Hebrew zonot, v. 16) has a general meaning - about extramarital cohabitation (cf. Joshua 2:1). According to EUR text. Art. 17–18, both women gave birth on the same day (so did I. Flavius, Jewish Ancients VIII, 2, 2); on the contrary, according to LXX, Vulg., Slavic-Russian, one gave birth after the other on the 3rd day. The wisdom of Solomon's judgment is not so much in its decisiveness and categoricalness, but in its deep knowledge of the human heart (v. 26). In form, the tsar’s decision, short and alien to any legal proceedings, seemed too simple: “with this decision, all the people secretly laughed at the tsar, who allegedly acted in this case completely childishly” (I. Flav. cit. m.). However, the obvious indisputability of the king’s decision convinced the people of his extreme wisdom and aroused the respectful fear of his subjects towards him (v. 28). You might be interested in: