Page 47 - Biblical Backgrounds

Solomon succeeded David to the throne.
There was an attempt to take the throne and
put Adonijah, David’s oldest son, who still
lived, on it. Solomon did not initially want to
put Adonijah to death for the attempt.
Adonijah then asked for their father’s
concubine. This could be viewed as the
chance to gain another claim to the throne.
When Solomon heard this, he saw through
the plan of Adonijah and had him put to
death.

Solomon would expand the land and greatly
increase the wealth of Israel. Unfortunately,
he would be the last king of the United
Monarchy. After his reign, there would be
civil division, two kingdoms, the Northern Kingdom would go into exile, and eventually, the Southern
Kingdom would as well.

King Approximate Dates of Reign Length of Reign
Saul Around 1050-1010 BCE 42 years (Some scholars say 22)
David Around 1010-970 BCE 40 years
Solomon Around 970-931 BCE 40 years

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It is important to remember that these dates are approximate. The issue of the length of Saul’s reign is
rooted in a possible textual variant. One variant makes the length of the reign 42 years, and the other
22.
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Government during the United Monarchy:

As mentioned already, the government structure was in a state of transition. The primary transition was
from theocracy to the monarchy. Then from king to king. In between, however, there were multiple
points of friction. This transition was anything but seamless. In fact, it was problematic at times. God did
not approve of giving the Israelites a king, even though he did so. Saul was not a man of character; he
was a man of impressive stature. David was a man after God’s own heart who failed and abused the
authority given to him at times. Solomon was excessive and thought wisdom could protect him from it.
We have already discussed the judges of Israel, so let us briefly look at the transitions between the
judges and Saul, the conflicts over kingship, and the ongoing battles with other people groups.

91 Andrew E. Hill and John H. Walton, A Survey of the Old Testament, 3rd ed. (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Zondervan
Publishing House, 2009), 263.
92 Israel, Finkelstein. Y. Amit, E. Ben Zvi, I. Finkelstein and O. Lipschits (eds.), “The Last Labayu: King Saul and the
Expansion of the First North Israelite Territorial Entity” in Essays on Ancient Israel in its Near Eastern
Context, A Tribute to Nadav Na'aman, Winona Lake 2006. 173.
https://www.academia.edu/1070440/The_Last_Labayu_King_Saul_and_the_Expansion_of_the_First_Nor
th_Israelite_Territorial_Entity

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