ABSTRACT
This chapter examines how ancient readers relied upon a constructed Solomonic biography and their belief that Solomon had written Ecclesiastes to help make sense of it. The statement in 1 Kings 5 of Solomon's scholarly output quoted above was the catalyst for the creation of many Solomonic texts and legends. In commenting on a line from Ecclesiastes where Qohelet speaks of testing everything with wisdom, the equation between Qohelet and the description of Solomon in 1 Kings 5 is made. Solomonic attribution occurs elsewhere within the biblical canon. The other main biblical texts attributed to Solomon are, of course, the Song of Songs and Proverbs. Readers have used Proverbs, Song of Songs, Ecclesiastes, and the biographical data in 1 Kings to construct a life of Solomon. This constructed biography was then used to help interpret the works, mainly by placing them in a chronological order corresponding to events in Solomon's life.
