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Meredith Craig

Phil Oliver, Instructor

PHIL 1030- 001

26 September 2018

Philosophy of King Solomon

King Solomon, also known as Qohelet (literally meaning “gatherer” in Hebrew, but

translated to mean “preacher”), was revered as a man of great wisdom, a theist, and the author of

the books of Ecclesiastes​ and most of ​Proverbs​ in the Christian Holy Bible. Proverbs

summarized the way a man should live to be wise, while Ecclesiastes, written much later in

Solomon’s life, was spent mourning the indulgences of the “vanity” he pursued. The two books

present wisdom and the pursuit of wisdom in very different lights. The life of Solomon, and his

philosophy during his life were an evolving process, which makes the context of his life in

conjunction with his philosophy of life endearing.

Proverbs begins with the heading “The Beginning of Knowledge” signifying exactly

what the book will be about: wisdom and knowledge. To King Solomon, revered at the wisest

man of his time, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; fools despise wisdom and

instruction,” as he states in Proverbs 1:7. His attitude towards the pursuit of wisdom, or his

philosophy, is hopeful and fresh. Solomon takes the stance that following the law of the Jewish

God and fearing him- or revering his authority as God- was the only way to live a life of wisdom.

He also argues that any person who is not a fool should chase wisdom. In other words, following

the laws of God would be to “walk in the way of good and keep to the paths of the righteous,”

(Proverbs 2:20). The wisdom he pursues is not all of religious significance though; it is a book of
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wisdom in how to get the most full life out of our numbered days, exploring the ways to have

productive friendships and the way to work.

Despite Solomon’s concession that the best way to live a wise life is to follow the law of

God, he falls away from his own suggestions for the pursuit of “vanity.” Essentially he turns to a

life of hedonism- pursuing any pleasure that meets his eye. Solomon chased things that were

contrary to God’s law- obnoxious and meaningless worldly possessions, and therefore brought

destruction to his life. In Deuteronomy 17:17, for example, God commands the kings that they

“must not take many wives, or his heart will be led astray. He must not accumulate large

amounts of silver and gold.” Solomon lived a life quite antithetical to that, claiming 700 wives

and 300 concubines and accumulating more wealth than any other Israelite king. This vanity,

which Solomon then goes on to warn about in Ecclesiastes, was dangerous and destructive.

In contrast with the book of Proverbs, the book of Ecclesiastes begins with the heading

“Everything is Meaningless”- the antithesis of what you would expect to find in a book that is

said to contain the meaning of life. Jennifer Hecht, the author of ​Doubt, ​calls Ecclesiastes a sort

of anomaly for a holy book or “out of sync”. It’s discussion of doubt towards the meaning of life

and wisdom seems antithetical to the principles of the Bible on first glance.​ ​But the beauty in

Ecclesiastes, and the Bible as a whole, is that the flaws and the doubts of each author are

included in the narrative. In the book of Ecclesiastes, Solomon reflects on a life that was “​long

on experience but short on lasting rewards​.” Solomon writes: “Then I applied myself to the

understanding of wisdom, and also of madness and folly, but I learned that this, too, is a chasing

after the wind,” in ​Ecclesiastes 1:17​. After living a long life of chasing the wind after whatever

sort of pleasure he wanted, Solomon faced an existential crisis at the end of his life- questioning
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if his life really had a purpose at all. His doubt according to Hecht, is doubt of “providence,

justice and righteousness.” Solomon mourns for the way he lived the middle of his life, full of

vanity. In short, Solomon came to the understanding that a life without God is worthless,

regardless of what you learn or study or experience.

Ecclesiastes is essentially a return to the principles of Proverbs and a clarification of them

after a long life of rebellion towards those principles. Life is unfair, our circumstances will not

feel just, but the best thing we can do is “do good and be happy while we live.” Qohelet is

broken and mangled over what has come of his life in a lot of ways. The worthlessness he feels

causes him to mourn for days of greater purpose. Solomon looks back onto his life and sees the

ruin he has created for himself by abandoning the wisdom he has once pursued enumerated in

Proverbs- the fear of the Lord. At first glance, he seems to be rejecting the idea of the Jewish

God altogether, questioning justice and righteousness, but when taken in complete context from

the whole Biblical narrative, he is really just questioning humans and their pursuit of uselessness.

But the inclusion of these doubts are an important, unique aspect of the Bible’s honesty about the

nature of humans.

According the the Aristotelian notion of teleology, the purpose of wisdom is to lead us to

the unmoved mover, in this case, the God of the Bible. Solomon begins to adopt a teleological

view of philosophy- that everything has a purpose, and the purpose of wisdom is that it is a tool

given to humans to know their Creator more fully. Although contradictory to many other views

of philosophy, and many philosophers who found philosophy worthwhile without a discussion of

the gods, Solomon, reflecting on his life, comes to the conclusion that wisdom does not have any

value without God because the beginning of wisdom is the fear of God, and without God wisdom
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is meaningless. To Solomon wisdom is essentially just another vanity if it is not being pursued in

the context of knowing his God and living a better life.

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Works Cited

Swindoll, Charles. “Ecclesiastes.” Book of Exodus Overview - Insight for Living Ministries,

Insight for Living Ministries,

www.insight.org/resources/bible/the-wisdom-books/ecclesiastes.

The Bible.​ Today's New International Version. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2005. Print.