Books on King Solomon?

[BFranklin]

Does anyone know the best book I could get on King Solomon and the Temple of Solomon? I don't know much about him but I would like to start heading in that direction.

Thanks

[Nate-ForLiberty]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solomon

http://web.archive.org/web/20080115144348rn_1/www.vdu.lt/~ktv/solomon/


read free stuff first :)

[erowe1]

I wouldn't recommend any whole books just on Solomon. Anything that fills a whole book on him would either be full of fluff (such as if it's essentially a historical novel or a series of sermons), or else full of technical scholarly information (such as if it's a published dissertation of someone with a PhD in Ancient Near Eastern Studies, or the Hebrew Bible).

I would instead recommend that you read the relevant section of a good book on the history of biblical Israel. There are several that I could recommend.

My first choice is:
http://www.amazon.com/Kingdom-Priests-History-Testament-Israel/dp/0801031990/

If you want something with more of a critical bent, I would recommend this one (which is unfortunately pretty dated now):
http://www.amazon.com/History-Israel-John-Bright/dp/0664220681/

[Original_Intent]

Hmm that's interesting, because I just taught a Sunday School lesson on King Solomon day before yesterday.

Maybe the relevant portions of 1 Kings in the OT?

[Petar]

Isn't he the dude who was into "witchcraft"?

According to legend, the Templar excavated under Solomon's temple, and that is where they discovered all sorts of cabalistic sorcery type stuff, which they then adopted, hence the whole condemned for heresy by the Pope thing...

I cannot help but believe that the truth must be very close to that narrative, even if the Pope did also owe them a bunch of money.

[Bruno]

Off Topic Forum/Religion

[erowe1]

I cannot help but believe that the truth must be very close to that narrative.

Why is it that you cannot help to believe a story for which there is no evidence?

[Petar]

Why is it that you cannot help to believe a story for which there is no evidence?

Well, for one thing, the Bible even states that Solomon practiced "magic" and consulted with "witches".

And considering the fact that Jewish history also includes Cabalism, which is much older than the Torah, and goes right back to Babylon and Egypt, why should anyone be incredulous with the idea that the Jewish elite have always been involved with what is defined as occult by the Bible?

So considering the world that we live in, does anyone really doubt that this would even continue to this day?

And as for the Templar, we do know that Catholic Rome accused them of heresy, for what it's worth, (or not worth) but that is not the only thing that we know.

We also know that the Templar identity was adopted by Freemasons, and we know that Freemasonry uses rituals which can be defined as "occultic", and no doubt share a heritage in ancient mystery schools that would have commonality with the history of Jewish mysticism.

So given the nature of fraternal orders in history, I see no reason to doubt the Catholic Roman claim that the Templar practiced something that would have been similar to Mithraism, even if it was all too convenient for the Papal mafia.

Besides, the Templar were insane hypocrites.

They were in such an insane violent frenzy on their way to the "holy land", that they even murdered Catholics, for no discernible reason.

Does anyone really believe that they were just "too pure and holy" to have picked up some occultic practices during their stay in the middle-east?

Also, you may not actually realize how convenient Mithraic practices really are for military orders, Catholic Roman trials for heresy not withstanding.

[erowe1]

Well, for one thing, the Bible even states that Solomon practiced "magic" and consulted with "witches".


Where is that in the Bible?

[erowe1]

And considering the fact that Jewish history also includes Cabalism, which is much older than the Torah, and goes right back to Babylon and Egypt, why should anyone be incredulous with the idea that the Jewish elite have always been involved with what is defined as occult by the Bible?

What do you mean when you say the word "Jewish"? In what sense does it apply to Solomon? If you mean the sense that Solomon was of the tribe of Judah, that's true, but has nothing to do with Kaballah. If you mean "Jewish" in its usual sense of being part of the religion of rabbinic Judaism, of which Kaballah is a part, then it has nothing at all to do with Solomon, since that religion didn't exist when he lived.

Kaballah is not older than the Torah.

It is not a source for ancient Israelite history.

And I don't know whether any of its roots are from Egypt or Babylon, but I'm not sure what that would have to do with anything if true. It's not like Egypt and Babylon weren't still around long after Solomon. One of the Talmuds is the Babylonian Talmud, after all, but it wasn't composed until 1500 years after Solomon's day.

[erowe1]

And as for the Templar, we do know that Catholic Rome accused them of heresy, for what it's worth, (or not worth) but that is not the only thing that we know.

We also know that the Templar identity was adopted by Freemasons, and we know that Freemasonry uses rituals which can be defined as "occultic", and no doubt share a heritage in ancient mystery schools that would have commonality with the history of Jewish mysticism.

So given the nature of fraternal orders in history, I see no reason to doubt the Catholic Roman claim that the Templar practiced something that would have been similar to Mithraism, even if it was all too convenient for the Papal mafia.

Besides, the Templar were insane hypocrites.

They were in such an insane violent frenzy on their way to the "holy land", that they even murdered Catholics, for no discernible reason.

Does anyone really believe that they were just "too pure and holy" to have picked up some occultic practices during their stay in the middle-east?

Also, you may not actually realize how convenient Mithraic practices really are for military orders, Catholic Roman trials for heresy not withstanding.

What does any of that have to do with Solomon? Mithraism came much later than Solomon.

[Petar]

Where is that in the Bible?

Ok, I made a mistake there.

I cannot substantiate my claim that "the bible even says that Solomon practiced witchcraft".

I can however point to some Biblical sources describing his "idolatry", which is in fact an extremely similar concept.


According to 1*Kings 11:4 Solomon's "wives turned his heart after other gods", their own national deities, to whom Solomon built temples, thus incurring divine anger and retribution in the form of the division of the kingdom after Solomon's death. (1*Kings 11:9-13)
1*Kings 11 describes Solomon's descent into idolatry, particularly his turning after Ashtoreth, the goddess of the Sidonians, and after Milcom, the abomination of the Ammonites. In Deuteronomy 17:16-17, a king is commanded not to multiply horses, wives or gold. Solomon sins in all three of these areas. Solomon collects 666 talents of gold each year, (1*Kings 10:14) a huge amount of money for a small nation like Israel. Solomon gathers a large number of horses and chariots and even brings in horses from Egypt. Just as Deuteronomy 17 warns, collecting horses and chariots takes Israel back to Egypt. Finally, Solomon marries foreign women, and these women turn Solomon to other gods.
According to 1*Kings 11:9-13, it was because of these sins that "the Lord punishes Solomon by tearing the kingdom in two":

So aside from what is described in the Bible, there are also other ancient legends describing a very mystical character, including the legend of "Solomons Seal", which is fact a "hex"(ogram), and would later become the "Star Of David".


What do you mean when you say the word "Jewish"? In what sense does it apply to Solomon? If you mean the sense that Solomon was of the tribe of Judah, that's true, but has nothing to do with Kaballah. If you mean "Jewish" in its usual sense of being part of the religion of rabbinic Judaism, of which Kaballah is a part, then it has nothing at all to do with Solomon, since that religion didn't exist when he lived.

Kaballah is not older than the Torah.

It is not a source for ancient Israelite history.

And I don't know whether any of its roots are from Egypt or Babylon, but I'm not sure what that would have to do with anything if true. It's not like Egypt and Babylon weren't still around long after Solomon. One of the Talmuds is the Babylonian Talmud, after all, but it wasn't composed until 1500 years after Solomon's day.


What does any of that have to do with Solomon? Mithraism came much later than Solomon.

Solomon was of the tribe of Judah, and Cabalism has been with Jews since long before the Torah was.

The Torah was "handed down" since the days of Moses, while Cabalism has been passed on verbally, amongst the Jewish elite at least, since the "Garden of Eden" (according to their own legend).

So if not Cabalism, then what do you suppose was practiced by Jews before the days of Moses, when they were in Egypt, or earlier?

The significance of Egypt and Babylon is that "mystical", or "Cabalistic" Jews, were able to mix their own traditions with the mystery schools of these cultures, particularly during their times spent in "captivity" there.

The legends surrounding Solomon are one indication of the mingling of these cultures, so then if Solomon was also worshipping the Egyptian God Osiris for example, then that would have been something for the Templar to identify their apparent Mithraic-like rituals with, since Mithraism can be traced right back to the cult of Osiris anyway.

Also, it's not like excavating Solomons temple was the only probable way that the Templar likely picked up their occultism.

They were in the middle-east, and there was other groups for them to share forbidden knowledge with, such as Sufi Islam.

Why are "Shriner" Masons the "Ancient Arabic Order of the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine"?

Any clues?

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/e/ef/Shriners.png

[erowe1]

So aside from what is described in the Bible, there are also other ancient legends much later legends that have absolutely no historical foundation describing a very mystical character, including the legend of "Solomons Seal", which is fact a "hex"(ogram), and would later become the "Star Of David".


Fixed it.

Yes, Solomon, like most of Israel and Judah's kings, was involved in idolatry, which is occult. But when it comes to historical information about him and what he did, including that aspect, all we have is what's in the Bible. There's no other source out there that has any possibility of going back to Solomon's time. There are tons of later legends about every character of the Bible, most of which came about by various scribes, rabbis, religious leaders, wandering teachers, parents, and others just filling in details with stories that answer questions the Bible doesn't answer, or inventing ancient support for some belief they want to propound. None of those much later legends have anything to do with the actual Solomon of history.

Truth be told, from a historian's perspective, even what is recorded about Solomon in the Bible is subject to a great deal of criticism. And different scholars place varying degrees of trust in it. But it's the oldest and best record we have. If we can't learn something about Solomon from those records, then we can't learn it anywhere else.

[Petar]

Fixed it.

Yes, Solomon, like most of Israel and Judah's kings, was involved in idolatry, which is occult. But when it comes to historical information about him and what he did, including that aspect, all we have is what's in the Bible. There's no other source out there that has any possibility of going back to Solomon's time. There are tons of later legends about every character of the Bible, most of which came about by various scribes, rabbis, religious leaders, wandering teachers, parents, and others just filling in details with stories that answer questions the Bible doesn't answer, or inventing ancient support for some belief they want to propound. None of those much later legends have anything to do with the actual Solomon of history.

Truth be told, from a historian's perspective, even what is recorded about Solomon in the Bible is subject to a great deal of criticism. And different scholars place varying degrees of trust in it. But it's the oldest and best record we have. If we can't learn something about Solomon from those records, then we can't learn it anywhere else.

Well, maybe you are right, maybe the other legends surrounding Solomon are much more recent, so therefore lack even more theoretical credibility than the Bible does.

In any event, I think that we can agree that there more than likely was a "King Solomon", and he does appear to have had hundreds of wives and concubines from other Kingdoms.

Therefore, the Biblical claim that he also worshipped other Gods does seem likely, and that is pretty much the crux of this whole debate I think.

[Prince Arthur]

Does anyone know the best book I could get on King Solomon and the Temple of Solomon? I don't know much about him but I would like to start heading in that direction.

Thanks

The KNIGHTS TEMPLAR (Order of Solomon's Temple) (founded 1118) were sent on the Crusades to metaphorically capture the ‘ARK of the COVENANT’ (kept in SOLOMON’s TEMPLE).

The ‘ARK of the COVENANT’ can be re-interpreted as the ‘CONTRACT of the ARCH’ and is pretty much what modern Freemasonry is all about.


https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51004037702_2b2d1dfc5b_o.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/2kH42so)HierARCHical Structure of Freemasonry - the Contract of the ARCH (https://flic.kr/p/2kH42so) by Prince Arthur (https://www.flickr.com/photos/142603527@N02/), on Flickr


The Knights Templar (Order of Solomon's Temple) still exist to this day in the modern structure of Freemasonry and they stand on the top step of the YORK RITE of Freemasonry.

The following PDF document and photo links may be of interest:

https://pubastrology.files.wordpress.com/2021/09/noahs-ark-of-the-covenant-revision-5.pdf
_https://pubastrology.files.wordpress.com/2021/09/noahs-ark-of-the-covenant-revision-5.pdf
https://flickr.com/photos/142603527@N02/albums/72157718418440952

https://pubastrology.files.wordpress.com/2020/06/new-world-order-of-the-knights-of-the-garter-v2_6.pdf
_https://pubastrology.files.wordpress.com/2020/06/new-world-order-of-the-knights-of-the-garter-v2_6.pdf
https://www.flickr.com/photos/142603527@N02/albums/72157716798817413

Also, Knights Trivia Quiz link (MS Powerpoint) to test how much you really know about Knights (ancient and modern).
https://pubastrology.files.wordpress.com/2021/10/quiz-knight-part-1-v1.ppsx

https://pubastrology.files.wordpress.com/2021/10/quiz-knight-part-1-v1.ppsx