1In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. 2The earth was formless and empty. Darkness was on the surface of the deep and God’s Spirit was hovering over the surface of the waters.

3God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. 4God saw the light, and saw that it was good. God divided the light from the darkness. 5God called the light “day”, and the darkness he called “night”. There was evening and there was morning, the first day.

6God said, “Let there be an expanse in the middle of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters.” 7God made the expanse, and divided the waters which were under the expanse from the waters which were above the expanse; and it was so. 8God called the expanse “sky”. There was evening and there was morning, a second day.

9God said, “Let the waters under the sky be gathered together to one place, and let the dry land appear;” and it was so. 10God called the dry land “earth”, and the gathering together of the waters he called “seas”. God saw that it was good. 11God said, “Let the earth yield grass, herbs yielding seeds, and fruit trees bearing fruit after their kind, with their seeds in it, on the earth;” and it was so. 12The earth yielded grass, herbs yielding seed after their kind, and trees bearing fruit, with their seeds in it, after their kind; and God saw that it was good. 13There was evening and there was morning, a third day.

14God said, “Let there be lights in the expanse of the sky to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs to mark seasons, days, and years; 15and let them be for lights in the expanse of the sky to give light on the earth;” and it was so. 16God made the two great lights: the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night. He also made the stars. 17God set them in the expanse of the sky to give light to the earth, 18and to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness. God saw that it was good. 19There was evening and there was morning, a fourth day.

20God said, “Let the waters abound with living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth in the open expanse of the sky.” 21God created the large sea creatures and every living creature that moves, with which the waters swarmed, after their kind, and every winged bird after its kind. God saw that it was good. 22God blessed them, saying, “Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth.” 23There was evening and there was morning, a fifth day.

24God said, “Let the earth produce living creatures after their kind, livestock, creeping things, and animals of the earth after their kind;” and it was so. 25God made the animals of the earth after their kind, and the livestock after their kind, and everything that creeps on the ground after its kind. God saw that it was good.

26God said, “Let’s make man in our image, after our likeness. Let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the sky, and over the livestock, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” 27God created man in his own image. In God’s image he created him; male and female he created them. 28God blessed them. God said to them, “Be fruitful, multiply, fill the earth, and subdue it. Have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the sky, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” 29God said, “Behold, I have given you every herb yielding seed, which is on the surface of all the earth, and every tree, which bears fruit yielding seed. It will be your food. 30To every animal of the earth, and to every bird of the sky, and to everything that creeps on the earth, in which there is life, I have given every green herb for food;” and it was so.

31God saw everything that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. There was evening and there was morning, a sixth day.

Person

Solomon

Also called Jedidiah

Lived: 1035 BC – 975 BC (approximate)
Born: Jerusalem
Died: Jerusalem

Father David

Mother Bathsheba

Spouse Naamah

Children Basmath Rehoboam Taphath

Siblings Japhia Jerimoth Eliada Eliphalet Elpalet Elishama Elishua Ibhar Nathan Nepheg Nogah Shammua Shobab Tamar

Biography | R. Mark Musser

King David's son, Solomon, was born of Bathsheba (2 Sam 5:14). Solomon reigned in Jerusalem over all of Israel for 40 years circa 971-931 B.C. Solomon was graciously blessed by God to become the wisest man ever to live. (1 Kings 3:1-15; Eccl 2:9) Being the kingly son of David, Solomon also received the benefits of the Davidic Covenant. (1 Chr 17:1-27; Ps 89) He and his kingdom of peace (1 Kings 4:20-25) thus became a Messianic type of God's coming eschatological kingdom prophesied throughout the Old Testament (Isa 2:1-4; 11:1-10) - the very kingdom offered by Jesus to the nation of Israel in the New Testament. (Mark 1:14-15; Luke 1:29-33) Solomon also built the first Jerusalem Temple that remained until the time of the Babylonian invasion when King Nebuchadnezzar destroyed it in 586 B.C. (1-2 Kings) Solomon became a prolific author of Scripture who wrote much of the book of Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Solomon, Psalms 72, and Psalms 127. According to Jewish tradition, the final version of the book of Job may also have been put together by Solomon and/or during the time of his administration. Solomon's reign was internationally renowned at the time for being a most glorious kingdom so that Israel became a Messianic light to the nations. (1 Kings 10; 2 Chr 9:22) Late in life, however, Solomon contradicted his own wisdom by disobeying the Lord. In disobedience to the Torah, Solomon multiplied horses, wives, and gold for himself. (Deut 17:14-20; 2 Chr 9:13-28) Worst of all, he imported idolatry into Israel through his international marriage alliances. (1 Kings 11:1-8) His secular kingdom pursuits also dulled his earlier spirituality. (Eccl 2:1-7) Because of Solomon's disobedience, God divided the great unity achieved by King David, but waited until after his death to do so (1 Kings 11-12). After Solomon's death, Israel will be divided between the north and south, between what was called the northern kingdom of Israel/Ephraim and the southern kingdom of Judah.

Person & place data: Theographic Bible Metadata by Robert Rouse (Viz.Bible), CC BY-SA 4.0.