I've been reading through the books of history in the Scriptures, and here's (as far as I can tell) a very interesting set of statistics about Solomon.
700 wives, 300 concubines, one child (Rehoboam) named.
One son indicates he wasn't totally sterile. What happened to others that ought to have been conceived? Did Solomon mimic Onan to prevent further alliances, or did he do the same to prevent the offering of his children to Molech, or....were some children born, but sacrificed to Molech?
Solomon also seems to have (see Ecclesiastes) dreaded handing over his estate to Rehoboam. One might guess that in all his (pagan) attentions to his wives, he neglected to raise up his own son in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.
We won't know this side of Heaven, but the questions raised here should be very sobering to us.
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These points do not brighten my already dim view of Solomon.
It seems very possible that Solomon had many children and that the Biblical writer, for whatever reason, named only one of them. It wouldn't be the first time in the Bible that a writer neglects to name many of a father's children (cf. Adam). I'm not sure that we need to posit "children that ought to have been conceived" but weren't.
Agreed that it's not a logical slam dunk, but it's odd that a biographer as intent on charting the glories of Solomon's reign would neglect to mention his children.
I'm guessing it means something.
Interesting. I'm rather loathe to draw even tentative conclusions from silence, but it does stand out that there was no apparent struggle for succession from WITHIN the family. Considering David's family, it IS what you would have expected if there were multiple male offspring. And considering the detail in which the struggle for succession is described, one would think that if there had been in intra-familial struggle, it would have been mentioned.
But having said that, I think it might be reasonable to posit no other sons, but speculating on why seems a lot shakier. One can, after all, be "not entirely sterile" and yet not successfully father many sons, even with many wives. I'd be a lot more comfortable with the supposition that God withheld that blessing while showering him with more material ones for an instructive purpose, than with speculating about what unmentioned sins he may or may not have committed.
Of course, that he only had one mentioned son from so many wives may have meant that he kept on trying and trying and trying...
And that only one of the wives managed to get a visitor into the harem...
Keep in mind, Mark, that God promised something to David's seed, which is counted through Solomon. A visitor to the harem would negate that promise.
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