著者

石田 友雄

出版者

一般社団法人 日本オリエント学会

雑誌

オリエント (ISSN:00305219)

巻号頁・発行日

vol.27, no.2, pp.1-12, 1984

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The concluding section of the “Succession Narrative” in 1 Kings 1-2 is an apologetic composition from the early days of Solomon, aiming at legitimatizing not only his irregular succession but also his purge of his adversaries. Two conflicting elements in the Solomonic legitimation are blended in the congratulation offered to David by his servants on the occasion of Solomon's accession:“May your God make the name of Solomon more famous than yours, and make his throne greater than your throne” (1 Kings 1:37, 47). The words imply that, though Solomon legitimately succeeded to the throne of David, he assumed a critical attitude toward the old regime of David. We can find a comparative analogue of this double structure of the Solomonic legitimation in a propagandistic inscription of Kilamuwa, king of Y'DY-Sam'al, in the latter half of the ninth century B. C. It offers a close parallel to the Solomonic legitimation in the following three items: a) the emphasis on the father's throne as the foundation of the legitimate kingship; b) the negative evaluation to his father; c) the establishment of the kingship based on the restoration of social justice or order. Besides, a historical analysis of the Kilamuwa inscription shows that the pattern of the royal succession in the early monarchies in Y'DY-Sam'al provides us a remarkable parallel to that of transfer of the royal throne in early Israel. The characterization of the first five kings in both kingdoms is summarized as the following chart. The comparison indicates that there were common features in the political development in the early, inexperienced monarchies in the national kingdoms of Syro-Palestine at the beginning of the first millennium B. C.