King Solomon
Israelite King Solomon wrote about the "Pools of Heshbon" in Song of Solomon

     According to the Bible, Solomon reigned as the third king of Israel, and the second king of what had become a unified nation in Palestine. It is possible, though not corroborated by extra-biblical evidence, that his kingdom could have included the city of Heshbon, which may be present in the lower layers of Tell Hesban in present day Jordan. There is some debate as to when (some would say “if”) Solomon reigned. First century B.C.E. Jewish historian Flavius Josephus claimed that he did exist and that he was referenced in ancient Phoenician documents, but those documents are not, to our knowledge, still in existence. It seems that his reign may have fallen in the 10th century B.C.E.
     Three books of the Bible – Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and Song of Solomon – are attributed to Solomon, although there is a considerable debate about whether or not he authored them. Among Christians and Jews it is generally accepted that Solomon wrote Song of Solomon. In Song of Solomon 7:3,4 Solomon tells his lover: “Your two breasts are like two fawns, twins of a gazelle. Your neck is like an ivory tower. Your eyes are pools in Heshbon, by the gate of Bath-rabbim.” It would seem that the pools of Heshbon were first of all, very beautiful, and secondly, familiar to Solomon. He may have spent time in Heshbon. In fact, there is one theory, proposed by James A. Sauer, that the pools were built during the time of Solomon. This theory is based on archaeological findings at the site of Hesban, which include significant reservoirs dated to the Iron Age and built with a precision and expertise characteristic of a public works program undertaken by a centralized government.
     Heshbon had been, according to the Biblical record, a stronghold for the Amorites in past centuries and may have, in the time of Solomon, been an important center. “Bath-rabbim” means “Gate of the crowded city” in Hebrew.  One might cautiously infer from this place name that the town was of some size and importance.

 

 

-A.G.

 

 


Bibliography:

Geoffrey W. Bromiley, ed. International Standard Bible Encyclopedia: A-D. (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1979).

Lowel K. Handy, ed. The Age of Solomon: Scholarship at the Turn of the Millennium. (Leiden, Netherlands: Brill Academic Publishers, 1997).

James A. Sauer, “The Pottery at Hesban and Its Relationships to the History of Jordan: An Interim Hesban Pottery Report, 1993” in Hesban After 25 Years, ed. David Merling and Lawrence T. Geraty (Berrien Springs, MI: The Institute of Archaeology/Siegrfried H. Horn Archaeological Museum, 1994).

Song of Solomon 7.3,4 (New Revised Standard Version).

Rabbi Joseph Telushkin, Jewish Literacy: The Most Important Things to Know About the Jewish Religion, Its People, and Its History. (New York: HarperCollins Publishers Inc., 1991).