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Solomon's temple and harem

Posted By: Naomi
Date: Monday, 13 May 2002, at 6:20 p.m.

In Response To: Re: Etymology of "Solomon" (Charles Pope)

Charles

In Joyce Tyldesley's 1998 book entitled "Nefertiti", in the chapter 'The Imperial Family', is the following: "Towards the end of his reign Amenhotep [III] established a cult to a deified form of himself, 'Amenhotep, Lord of Nubia'. Tiy gradually became regarded as the female counterpart of this semi-divine king until a temple was dedicated to her at Sedeinga in Nubia, the complement of her husband's fortified temple at nearby Soleb."

It occurred to me that SoLeB and the SaLeM of Jerusalem are not much different linguistically since [b] and [m] are both bilabial sounds. Not that I'm suggesting this temple corresponded to 'Solomon's Temple' mentioned in 1 Kings 6. But the more I look into it, the more it seems that a little change here and there with names is how the Hebrew scribes made some famous historical details "theirs".

I always thought that Solomon's 700 wives, princesses, and 300 concubines (1 Kings 11:3) was a huge exaggeration for any ruler, no matter how rich, but Tyldesley also points out that "the harem of Amenhotep III, as befitted the ruler of a vast empire, was enormous, and throughout his reign the king took a keen interest in increasing its numbers so that by his death it housed well over 1,000 women."

Naomi

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