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Home , Ahasuerus, Solomon

The Form of the of King , Peace be upon Him

Textual History

The Form of the Throne of King Solomon seems to appear first in Jellinek publi- cations of Beit HaMidrasch. There are clearly parallels to Abba Gurion and much material from the Targum literature to , yet this version seems particular to Jellinek.

Literary Introduction

The text of the midrash, The Form of the Throne of King Solomon, Peace be upon Him, is enclosed within a larger literary inclusio. At the opening, the people of Israel protest to against King : How can it be that this wicked one will sit upon it (i.e., Solomon’s throne)? At the end, we understand Ahasuerus’ thwarted desire to sit on Solomon’s throne, and his settling to sit on a mere replica. In between, we learn he is compelled to import craftspeople from and Alexandria whose initial effort to fashion a replica of Solomon’s throne ends in failure. Their second attempt results in the production of a lovely throne [:2] but—alas!—not one that measures up to: The Form of the Throne of King Solomon. Between the two literary poles of desire and reality, the midrash unfolds the historic fate of King Solomon’s throne and its spectacular construction. A see-saw of historic events details the afterlives of the fabled royal seat: took it to ; the Assyrian overthrew the Egyptian and captured it; in the days of King , brought it back to Egypt; Nebuchadnezzar of hauled it to Riblah; and trans- ported it to . Those who took possession of the throne did not fare well. Nebuchadnezzar and Darius the Mede were struck and maimed by the mov- ing parts of this ingeniously constructed throne and Pharaoh Neco’s is midrashically linked to the Hebrew root, nkh-to strike, smite and he is forever- after called, Pharaoh the Gimp. The enchantments of the throne are phantasmagoric. There are numerous sets of steps; dazzling inlaid floors of precious stones and metals; golden doves, silver crocodiles, and fearsome lions; animal and avian automata are at every turn to guide the true king to the throne. The lions had moral precepts from

© koninklijke brill nv, leiden, ���7 | doi ��.��63/9789004331334_010 The Form of the Throne of King Solomon, Peace be upon Him 127 the inscribed on their paws, to remind the king of his duty to be a just monarch.298 Imposters found these devices treacherous impediments that would wound and maim them. The purpose of these enchantments and awe- inspiring mechanisms of the fabled throne was to chasten witnesses and urge them to testify truthfully. Ultimately, the throne serves to exalt the stature of Torah’s law, and aggrandizes the Solomon who serves as its eponym.

The Text with Annotation

Our Sages of blessed memory said:299 At the Ahasuerus sat on the throne of his kingdom, he sought to sit on the Throne that Solomon fashioned through the great skill and intel- ligence of The Holy One. Israel said before The Holy One, “Sovereign of the Universe, in the place where King Solomon sat and judged Israel—as it says [I Chronicles 29:23]: Then Solomon sat on the Throne of Adonai to rule, over Israel—How can it be that this wicked one will sit upon it? Do this for the sake of Your Name, and do not let the Throne of your Glory be debased!” Our Sages of blessed memory asked, “How is it that the Throne of Gold was found in Media?” Our Sages of blessed memory answered:300 After the of Solomon, Shishak, King of Egypt, went up against the and took Solomon’s Throne in exchange for the ketubah of his daughter, and he brought it down to Egypt, as it is written [II Chronicles 12:2]: In the fifth year [of King ] King Shishak of Egypt marched against . And after that, Sennacherib went up against [Egypt] and brought back the Throne from the land of Egypt and brought it back to the Land of Israel, because he was seeking to wage war with them. In that same campaign Sennacherib fell to the hand of Israel, and they took his money as booty and returned the

298 Cf. Exodus 23:3; Deuteronomy 16:19. 299 Midrash Abba Gurion begins with the citation of the verse from Esther: At that moment, as he sat. As mentioned in our introduction, there are many parallels between the “throne” sections of that midrash and our work; we will highlight the significant differences. Midrash Abba Gurion, as found in Jellinek, Beit HaMidrasch, 1:1. 300 Abba Gurion, in place of this rabbinical rhetorical device, has the following:  [ 14:21] [Do not spurn us, for the sake of Your Name,] Do not dishonor the Throne of Your Glory, [Remember: do not violate Your covenant with us.] And how did the throne come into his [Ahasuerus’] hands?