KING SOLOMON

Solomon (10th c. B.C.E.) King of the Israelites, son of David, and builder of the Temple of Jerusalem. According to lore, King Solomon was among the early great magicians. He possessed great powers and commanded an army of DEMONS called djinn. Numerous handbooks of magic are credited to him. (See Grimoires.)

Solomon gained great wisdom and supernatural knowledge when he took the throne following his father’s death. 1 Kings 3:5 tells how the Lord appeared to him in a dream and told him to “Ask what I shall give you.” Solomon asked for an understanding mind for governing and for discernment between good and evil. Pleased that he did not asked for wealth, God granted his requests. The gift was not without a caveat, however. In another vision, the Lord said that Solomon’s house would prosper as long as the commandments were kept and no other gods were worshiped. Otherwise, God would ruin the kingdom.

Solomon became famous for his great wisdom. In the fourth year of his reign, he built the Temple of Jerusalem. According to lore, he enslaved an army of demons with the help of a magical RING given to him by the Archangel Michael.

Forty years into his reign, Solomon had acquired 700 wives and princesses and 300 concubines. Some of his wives convinced him to worship pagan deities, especially the goddess Ashtoreth. God sent adversaries against him but decided not to take his kingdom away. Instead, God took it away from all but one of his sons.

Descriptions of Solomon’s magical powers and feats are described in pseudepigraphal and apochryphal texts such as the Testament of Solomon, Odes of Solomon, Psalms of Solomon, and Wisdom of Solomon. Josephus’s Antiquities credits Solomon with writing 1,500 books of odes and songs and 3,000 books of parables and similitudes, and he knew how to exorcise demons. The SEFER RAZIEL, a magical text based on Hebrew angel lore, says that Solomon received the book from the line of patriarchs and obtained his wisdom from it.

Solomon was popular among early Christians, who inscribed his name on Amulets, Talismans, and lintels and in numerous incantations for protection against and removal of demons. His magical seal is a HEXAGRAM, called the SEAL OF SOLOMON.

SEE ALSO:

• Demonology Glossary
• Demonology

FURTHER READING:

• The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha. Vols. 1 & 2. James H. Charlesworth, ed. New York: Doubleday, 1983; 1985.

SOURCE:

The Encyclopedia of Magic and Alchemy Written by Rosemary Ellen Guiley Copyright © 2006 by Visionary Living, Inc.

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