The third king of Israel in the Old Testament Book of Kings, that is Solomon.
Solomon is very famous as a wise man.
He is also famous for improving the internal affairs of the Kingdom of Israel and bringing prosperity.
However, in his later years, he had an image of being a corrupt king who enjoyed too much luxury.
If you would like to know more about Solomon,
Who was King Solomon? A summary of his personality and episodes in his life!
Please read this article first.
Here, I would like to introduce you to the legendary story of Solomon, "Seal of Solomon".
Before "Seal of Solomon"
"Seal of Solomon" is written in the "Testament of Solomon", which is considered one of the pseudepigraphic books.
Pseudographies are Judeo-Christian texts that are not included in the canonical or apocryphal texts of the Old Testament.
In the ancient church, it meant "a book with a false author's name".
However, it seems that the pseudonym also contained the negative connotation of heresy, as the interpretation of the book was later expanded as "a book whose contents are uncertain''.
Particularly interesting is that the pseudographies contain only documents related to the Old Testament and no New Testament equivalents.
In other words, the story of "Seal of Solomon" is not an official story recognized by the Church.
However, the fact that the story has been passed down through the millennia to the present day is amazing.
The Story of Seal of Solomon
The time was when Solomon was about to build the Temple in Jerusalem.
Hmmm. Construction is not going as smoothly as I would like. What should I do...!
Solomon was troubled because the temple he was building was not progressing as he had hoped.
All right, I have no choice but to pray to God. Let's climb the mountain and pray!
Solomon went up the mountain and prayed to Yahweh.
By the way, there is also an article about Yahweh.
What does Yahweh mean in religion?
God used to be called "Yahweh". What is Yahweh that is common to all religions of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam? It's a surprisingly deep story!
If you would like to read more about it, please click here.
Solomon was praying on a mountain when suddenly the Archangel Michael appeared with a dazzling light.
Mi-Michael-sama!
Solomon, I give you this.
Michael then offered a ring shining with gold.
With this ring you will seal up all the demons of the earth. And with its help you will be able to build Jerusalem.
In this way, Solomon was able to use the power of this ring to build a temple using many angels and demons.
Is Solomon a magician?
In the story of Seal of Solomon, Solomon was able to use the ring to conjure angels and demons.
The fact that he could conjure demons is not found in any of the Old Testament canonical texts.
At this point, I think it is quite understandable that it contains a bit of heretical content.
However, it seems that the story of Solomon's control over demons by his wisdom remained among the Jews during the Hellenistic period, just not in the Old Testament.
There is also a legend that this ring, given to Solomon by the archangel Michael, enables him to speak with animals.
In a sense, Solomon may have wanted to convey the message that by wearing this ring, he could use non-human beings (animals, angels, demons, etc.) as his messengers.
In this way, there are many legends of Solomon that transcend human skills.
The legend of Solomon as a great wise man has given rise to a variety of literature throughout the ages.
These are the books of sorcery called Grimoire, which were circulated from the Middle Ages onward.
The Grimoire described how magicians can summon evil spirits and demons (necromancy).
One of the most famous grimoires is "The Key of Solomon".
Solomon was at the forefront of popular books in the Middle Ages.