How did the Hebrews live under King Solomon?

Answer 1

Archaeologists estimate that the city of Jerusalem had no more than 2000 inhabitants in total, at the time attributed to King Solomon. Yet, 1 Kings 11:3 says that he had 700 wives and 300 concubines, which must have included every female person in the entire city. If these figures are even close to correct, all the men of Jerusalem must have lived in voluntary celibacy.

The Bible also says that when Rehoboam succeeded his father, Solomon, the people of Israel in the north of his kingdom rose up in rebellion because they were unwilling to continue with the heavy tax burden that Solomon had unwisely imposed. According to the Bible, the people of Judah, in the south, made no such complaint, but for the people in the north life under Solomon would seem to have been intolerable.

Answer 2

According to tradition, the 40-year era of King Solomon was a time of peace and prosperity (1 Kings 4:20). The Hebrew Bible does not provide very much detail about the daily lives of the citizens since the function of the Prophets was to point out sins, not to describe successes.

The tax burden that the people later complained about was not an impediment to the happiness during Solomon's time, since they saw it as understandable, given Solomon's vast projects (chief among them the construction of the First Temple).

According to traditional chronology, Solomon reigned from 836 BCE to 796 BCE, not 160 years earlier as believed by academic scholars.

See also:Traditional timeline

Debunking Bible-criticism

Archaeology and the Hebrew Bible