King Solomon and Yeshua
Jewish commentators disagree on the age at which Solomon ascended the throne. For example, RaSHI (RAbbi SHlomo Itzhaki; 1040�1105) argued that he was 12 years old. Josephus, (Antiquities VIII 7:8) says he was 14 years old. The Spanish scholar, Abravanel, (1437-1509 AD) argued that fathering a child at the age of 10 years old would have been extremely unlikely, and he placed Solomon's age at around 20 years old when he became King, and then died 40 years later around the age of 60. He based his calculations on 1Kings chapter 11:4, where we read:
"... when Solomon was old, his wives turned his heart after other gods..."
Abravanel claimed that Solomon would have had to be at least 60 years before the term old would be used. He argued that Solomon’s reference to himself as a little child (1Kings 3:7) before he became king, was a metaphor for being inexperienced rather than referring to his chronological age.
Fathering children at a very young age, though strange to us, seems to have been a fairly common occurrence in those times. In the Book of 2Kings (16:2 and 18:2) we read that Aḥaz was 20 years old when he came to the throne and reigned for 16 years (i.e 36 years old when he died). He was succeeded by his son Hezekiah who was then 25 years old � so Aḥaz must have been aged 11 when his son Hezekiah was born, and only 10 years old when he was conceived!
if we were to take RaSHi’s view that he was 12 at his coronation, Solomon was born around 848 BC, and died aged 52 in 796 BC, ruling as king for 40 years, known as a period in Israel’s history of unprecedented peace and prosperity. In Jewish tradition, he is considered the wisest of all men that has ever lived (Hebrew: ‘chacham mi'kol ha'adam�).
Shortly before his death, David appointed Solomon to succeed him as king with the following words often chosen by a father for a blessing at his son’s Bar Mitzvah:
"I go the way of all the earth. You shall be strong, therefore, and show yourself a man, and keep the charge of the Lord your God to walk in His ways, to keep His statutes and His commandments and His testimonies. As it is written in the Law of Moses, that you may prosper in all that you do and wherever you turn." (1 King 2:2-3)
The crowning achievement of Solomon's reign was the building of the temple that took seven years to complete, and subsequent dedication to the Lord:
"Behold, the heaven and heaven of heavens cannot contain You; how much less this house that I have built? Yet have regard for the prayer of Your servant, and for his supplication, O Lord my God, to listen to the cry and to the prayer, which Your servant prays before You today; that Your eyes may be open toward this house night and day, toward the place of which You have said, 'My name shall be there,' that You may listen to the prayer ... of your people Israel ..." (1 Kings 8:27-29)
We can make important connections between Solomon and Yeshua as we gather various strands together.
Yeshua was 12 years old when He accompanied his parents to Jerusalem for the feast of Pesach. On their return home, after one day’s journey, they discovered Him missing. It took three days of frantic searching until finally they discovered Him in the temple:
“After three days, they (Joseph and Mary) found Him (Yeshua) in the court of the Temple, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking questions. And all who heard him were astonished and overwhelmed with bewildered wonder at His intelligence and understanding and His replies.� (Luke chapter 2 verses 47-48)
I suggest that Luke may purposefully have added the detail of Yeshua’s age in this passage to make connections with Solomon the, ‘chacham mi'kol ha'adam� (Hebrew: wisest of all men that ever lived).
King David’s blessing and exhortation to Solomon (as referred to earlier) was not perfectly adhered to. We know that Solomon was lured in his later years by many of his wives to worship pagan gods. We also know that he slowly turned from being a humble man into a proud and cruel tyrant, which tragically led to a split in the kingdom under his son Rehoboam (1Kings chapter 12 verses 1-16). These things reveal to us that even the best of people are flawed and every bit in need of God’s grace and forgiveness and we would do well to take careful heed of this. Failing to do so has been the undoing of many.
In the childhood episode when Yeshua was 12 years old as recorded by Luke, we see a person who was a ‘type� of Solomon yet without sin, filled with such grace and wisdom that astounded and bewildered the teachers in the Temple Court. Twelve years earlier, Yeshua’s birth was proclaimed on earth as our Redeemer and King who would be crowned King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Here, we have recorded in the Gospel of Luke the only incident recorded of His childhood at this significant age.
The number 12 in Scripture signifies governmental perfection. Scripture refers to Meshiach as one to whom:
“Of the increase of His government and of peace there shall be no end.�
Yeshua answered His parents prophetically to their question when they found Him after three days of searching everywhere:
“How is it that you had to look for Me? Did you not know that it is necessary for Me to be in My Father’s house and occupied with My Father’s business.� (Luke chapter 2 verse 49)
21 years later (3x7), Yeshua became the Paschal Lamb for us. The numbers three and seven are the Gematria for Divine perfection. The number 21 is full of significance:
The Divine Name ‘I AM THAT I AM � is God's memorial name. God provided two names in the Book of Exodus chapter 3 verse 14. The long form, I AM THAT I AM, and the short form, I AM (Ehyeh - aleph, heh, yud, heh, I AM) which has a gematria of 21.
There are 40 different hebrew words that occur in the Torah which have the Gematria of 21 (cf The Bible Wheel - )
Yeshua is our Pesach Azazel (sacrifice), our Redeemer, slain for our sins. He is the Temple made without hands who dwells with us, our Immanuel. He has become our ‘wisdom� as identified by Solomon in the Book of Proverbs chapter 8 and the Bridegroom in the Song of Solomon.
Yeshua walked in perfect obedience and humbled Himself even unto death by crucifixion, providing us with a means of reconciliation and restored fellowship with the divine. Only God Himself could have achieved this:
“He that knew no sin became sin for us that we might become the righteousness of God.�
Much could be said about Gematria as it affirms perfectly and authentically Scripture’s affirmation and declaration of Yeshua as Meshiach. Indeed, detailed and lengthy books have been written particularly in the past couple of decades about it from respected Christian scholars. Many still refer to the classic 19th century book, ‘Number in Scripture� by the evangelical theologian, E.W. Bullinger, but in this modern day there are patterns and sequences aided by computer technology that even he would have been astounded by! As a taster, here are one or two examples that serve as illustrations:
One type of encoded evidence is known as equidistant letter sequences, or ELS. One of the earliest references to this dates back to the 13th century by Rabbi Bachya ben Asher (1255-1340). More recently in the 1980’s, Professor Eliyahu Rips examined the Torah from the point of view of codes employing the aid of computers. (cf ‘Torahcode.us� for more information: )
When we employ this technique and combine ELS with Gematria, some extraordinary discoveries are revealed such as:
1. By adding every 7th Hebrew letter of Isaiah chapter 9 verse 6 (a well-known Messianic prophecy) totals 888, the gematria of Meshiach (30 + 50 + 400 + 5 + 6 + 6 + 90 + 1 + 300).

“For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; And the government will rest on His shoulders; And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.�
2. Adding every 7th Hebrew letter of Isaiah chapter 11 verse 1 (another Messianic prophecy) also totals 888 (200 + 10 + 200 + 5 + 10 + 6 + 40 + 200 + 3 + 8 + 1 + 5 + 200).
“And there shall come forth a shoot out of the stock of Jesse and a branch out of his roots shall grow and bear fruit.�
In the Book of Isaiah chapter 53, (Messianic chapter referring to Yeshua as the “Suffering Servant�) there are over 50 names that deal with Yeshua’s crucifixion as encoded in ELS. These include, Yeshua, the three Mary’s, the Disciples' names, Herod and Yeshua’s Cross. The probability of even one of these things being mere coincidence is extremely unlikely.
“When one considers this probability, along with that of the other tight groupings, one should be astonished. Starting with the fifth letter in the ninth word of Isaiah 53:11, and with a skip distance of -20, is "Ma 'al Yeshua Shmee ohz." The translation from Hebrew is,
"Exceedingly high, Yeshua is my strong name."
Here are the twelve Hebrew letters of the phrase: zayin, ayin, yod, mem, shin, ayin, vav, shin, yod, lamed, ayin, mem. The chance probability of this sentence is 000000002 (about 413,000,000 to one). Here is the calculation: (2)(20)(5417)/(103.089)(25.314)(8.422)(12.35)(22.073)(25.314)(8.544)(22 073)(8.422)(14.707)(25.314)(1).�
(Information adapted from Mark Hines. cf for further information).
"... when Solomon was old, his wives turned his heart after other gods..."
Abravanel claimed that Solomon would have had to be at least 60 years before the term old would be used. He argued that Solomon’s reference to himself as a little child (1Kings 3:7) before he became king, was a metaphor for being inexperienced rather than referring to his chronological age.
Fathering children at a very young age, though strange to us, seems to have been a fairly common occurrence in those times. In the Book of 2Kings (16:2 and 18:2) we read that Aḥaz was 20 years old when he came to the throne and reigned for 16 years (i.e 36 years old when he died). He was succeeded by his son Hezekiah who was then 25 years old � so Aḥaz must have been aged 11 when his son Hezekiah was born, and only 10 years old when he was conceived!
if we were to take RaSHi’s view that he was 12 at his coronation, Solomon was born around 848 BC, and died aged 52 in 796 BC, ruling as king for 40 years, known as a period in Israel’s history of unprecedented peace and prosperity. In Jewish tradition, he is considered the wisest of all men that has ever lived (Hebrew: ‘chacham mi'kol ha'adam�).
Shortly before his death, David appointed Solomon to succeed him as king with the following words often chosen by a father for a blessing at his son’s Bar Mitzvah:
"I go the way of all the earth. You shall be strong, therefore, and show yourself a man, and keep the charge of the Lord your God to walk in His ways, to keep His statutes and His commandments and His testimonies. As it is written in the Law of Moses, that you may prosper in all that you do and wherever you turn." (1 King 2:2-3)
The crowning achievement of Solomon's reign was the building of the temple that took seven years to complete, and subsequent dedication to the Lord:
"Behold, the heaven and heaven of heavens cannot contain You; how much less this house that I have built? Yet have regard for the prayer of Your servant, and for his supplication, O Lord my God, to listen to the cry and to the prayer, which Your servant prays before You today; that Your eyes may be open toward this house night and day, toward the place of which You have said, 'My name shall be there,' that You may listen to the prayer ... of your people Israel ..." (1 Kings 8:27-29)
We can make important connections between Solomon and Yeshua as we gather various strands together.
Yeshua was 12 years old when He accompanied his parents to Jerusalem for the feast of Pesach. On their return home, after one day’s journey, they discovered Him missing. It took three days of frantic searching until finally they discovered Him in the temple:
“After three days, they (Joseph and Mary) found Him (Yeshua) in the court of the Temple, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking questions. And all who heard him were astonished and overwhelmed with bewildered wonder at His intelligence and understanding and His replies.� (Luke chapter 2 verses 47-48)
I suggest that Luke may purposefully have added the detail of Yeshua’s age in this passage to make connections with Solomon the, ‘chacham mi'kol ha'adam� (Hebrew: wisest of all men that ever lived).
King David’s blessing and exhortation to Solomon (as referred to earlier) was not perfectly adhered to. We know that Solomon was lured in his later years by many of his wives to worship pagan gods. We also know that he slowly turned from being a humble man into a proud and cruel tyrant, which tragically led to a split in the kingdom under his son Rehoboam (1Kings chapter 12 verses 1-16). These things reveal to us that even the best of people are flawed and every bit in need of God’s grace and forgiveness and we would do well to take careful heed of this. Failing to do so has been the undoing of many.
In the childhood episode when Yeshua was 12 years old as recorded by Luke, we see a person who was a ‘type� of Solomon yet without sin, filled with such grace and wisdom that astounded and bewildered the teachers in the Temple Court. Twelve years earlier, Yeshua’s birth was proclaimed on earth as our Redeemer and King who would be crowned King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Here, we have recorded in the Gospel of Luke the only incident recorded of His childhood at this significant age.
The number 12 in Scripture signifies governmental perfection. Scripture refers to Meshiach as one to whom:
“Of the increase of His government and of peace there shall be no end.�
Yeshua answered His parents prophetically to their question when they found Him after three days of searching everywhere:
“How is it that you had to look for Me? Did you not know that it is necessary for Me to be in My Father’s house and occupied with My Father’s business.� (Luke chapter 2 verse 49)
21 years later (3x7), Yeshua became the Paschal Lamb for us. The numbers three and seven are the Gematria for Divine perfection. The number 21 is full of significance:
The Divine Name ‘I AM THAT I AM � is God's memorial name. God provided two names in the Book of Exodus chapter 3 verse 14. The long form, I AM THAT I AM, and the short form, I AM (Ehyeh - aleph, heh, yud, heh, I AM) which has a gematria of 21.
There are 40 different hebrew words that occur in the Torah which have the Gematria of 21 (cf The Bible Wheel - )
Yeshua is our Pesach Azazel (sacrifice), our Redeemer, slain for our sins. He is the Temple made without hands who dwells with us, our Immanuel. He has become our ‘wisdom� as identified by Solomon in the Book of Proverbs chapter 8 and the Bridegroom in the Song of Solomon.
Yeshua walked in perfect obedience and humbled Himself even unto death by crucifixion, providing us with a means of reconciliation and restored fellowship with the divine. Only God Himself could have achieved this:
“He that knew no sin became sin for us that we might become the righteousness of God.�
Much could be said about Gematria as it affirms perfectly and authentically Scripture’s affirmation and declaration of Yeshua as Meshiach. Indeed, detailed and lengthy books have been written particularly in the past couple of decades about it from respected Christian scholars. Many still refer to the classic 19th century book, ‘Number in Scripture� by the evangelical theologian, E.W. Bullinger, but in this modern day there are patterns and sequences aided by computer technology that even he would have been astounded by! As a taster, here are one or two examples that serve as illustrations:
One type of encoded evidence is known as equidistant letter sequences, or ELS. One of the earliest references to this dates back to the 13th century by Rabbi Bachya ben Asher (1255-1340). More recently in the 1980’s, Professor Eliyahu Rips examined the Torah from the point of view of codes employing the aid of computers. (cf ‘Torahcode.us� for more information: )
When we employ this technique and combine ELS with Gematria, some extraordinary discoveries are revealed such as:
1. By adding every 7th Hebrew letter of Isaiah chapter 9 verse 6 (a well-known Messianic prophecy) totals 888, the gematria of Meshiach (30 + 50 + 400 + 5 + 6 + 6 + 90 + 1 + 300).

“For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; And the government will rest on His shoulders; And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.�
2. Adding every 7th Hebrew letter of Isaiah chapter 11 verse 1 (another Messianic prophecy) also totals 888 (200 + 10 + 200 + 5 + 10 + 6 + 40 + 200 + 3 + 8 + 1 + 5 + 200).
“And there shall come forth a shoot out of the stock of Jesse and a branch out of his roots shall grow and bear fruit.�
In the Book of Isaiah chapter 53, (Messianic chapter referring to Yeshua as the “Suffering Servant�) there are over 50 names that deal with Yeshua’s crucifixion as encoded in ELS. These include, Yeshua, the three Mary’s, the Disciples' names, Herod and Yeshua’s Cross. The probability of even one of these things being mere coincidence is extremely unlikely.
“When one considers this probability, along with that of the other tight groupings, one should be astonished. Starting with the fifth letter in the ninth word of Isaiah 53:11, and with a skip distance of -20, is "Ma 'al Yeshua Shmee ohz." The translation from Hebrew is,
"Exceedingly high, Yeshua is my strong name."
Here are the twelve Hebrew letters of the phrase: zayin, ayin, yod, mem, shin, ayin, vav, shin, yod, lamed, ayin, mem. The chance probability of this sentence is 000000002 (about 413,000,000 to one). Here is the calculation: (2)(20)(5417)/(103.089)(25.314)(8.422)(12.35)(22.073)(25.314)(8.544)(22 073)(8.422)(14.707)(25.314)(1).�
(Information adapted from Mark Hines. cf for further information).
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