What do Orthodox say about Solomon's Ring?

[rakovsky]

Byzantine Jerusalem in the 6th century hosted pilgrims who described clergy showing them Solomon's ring in the Martyrium of the Holy Sepulchre. The clergy also showed vessels in which Solomon put the demons after controlling them with the ring. What do Orthodox think about Solomon's Ring?

Deuteronomy 18:10-12 tells the Israelites:

• There shall not be found among you any one... that useth divination, or an observer of times, or an enchanter, or a witch.
  [*]Or a charmer, or a consulter with familiar spirits, or a wizard, or a necromancer.
  [*]For all that do these things are an abomination unto the Lord: and because of these abominations the Lord thy God doth drive them out from before thee.
  

Granted, according to at least one legend Solomon received the ring from God. Likewise, Divination would seem to be OK if it was from God, eg. the gift of prophecy.

In the Wisdom of Solomon 7:17-21, Solomon writes about his abilities from God:

• For he hath given me certain knowledge of the things that are, namely, to know how the world was made, and the operation of the elements:
• The beginning, ending, and midst of the times: the alterations of the turning of the sun, and the change of seasons:
• The circuits of years, and the positions of stars:
• The natures of living creatures, and the furies of wild beasts: the violence of winds[lit. spirits], and the reasonings of men: the diversities of plants and the virtues of roots:
• And all such things as are either secret or manifest, them I know.

Solomon's knowledge of times would go against the ban on "observers of times", except it says his ability was from God. The mention of stars recalls the legend of there being a star on the ring. Also, it says that Solomon knew the ways of "πνευμάτων" - the spirits, although the KJV translation says winds. Spirits fits the context, as it's listed between creatures and men.

The Bible lists local heathen groups that build Solomon's Temple, including those apparently who descended from the Nephillim (fallen gods in Genesis). But Solomon certainly didn't catch them in vessels!

The Bible doesn't mention Solomon's ring, although the Proverbs of Solomon 11:22 says: "As a ring of gold in a swine’s snout, So is a lovely woman who lacks discretion."
Swine were unclean, as were demons, ("unclean spirits"). And a ring in an animal's nose was used to control it. But isn't it a jump between that and Solomon's ring?

1 Kings 11:7 describes how Solomon turned to idolatry after building the Temple: "Then did Solomon build an high place for Chemosh, the abomination of Moab, in the hill that is before Jerusalem, and for Molech, the abomination of the children of Ammon."

A few centuries later, the prophet Amos (5:26) complained about the Israelites: "But ye have borne the tabernacle of your Moloch and Chiun(Kiun) your images, the star of your god, which ye made to yourselves."
Some scholars consider Kiun or Moloch to be Saturn and Kiun's/Saturn's star to be a hexagram, like it is sometimes claimed was on Solomon's ring.

 

[ArmyMatt]

personally I have no idea. didn't even know there was such a thing.

 

[seashale76]

personally I have no idea. didn't even know there was such a thing.

Me neither. This is the first I've ever heard of it.

 

[RobNJ]

Was this on The "History" Channel?
Did aliens bring it?

 

[Sword of the Lord]

I just watched a show called American Haunting where this was brought up and used. They spoke of its Pagan origins.

 

[rakovsky]

Was this on The "History" Channel?
Did aliens bring it?

It was not on the History Channel and I don't know if Aliens brought it. Since it isn't mentioned in the Old Testament, and not until 500-1000 years later, it could be made up.

 

[rakovsky]

I just watched a show called American Haunting where this was brought up and used. They spoke of its Pagan origins.

Mike,
Did you remember anything from the show about what they said?

I think it's questionable whether it had pagan origins. Some of the stories say he used it to build the Temple, and at that period naturally Solomon was not pagan. On the other hand, the idea of there being a pentagram or hexagram on the ring as some legends say suggests a possible pagan origin.

 

[rakovsky]

Archeologists found many (70?) vessels from 300-150 BC in Jerusalem with a pentagram and the Hebrew letters Y R Sh L M, spelling Jerusalem in Hebrew. You can see one of the artifacts here:
star-of-israel.org/images/jar.handle.y.r.s.l.m.jpg

And another here:
magicbay.ru/files/descr_img181.jpg
(You may post them, since I don't have enough posts to show images.)

Archeologists labeled this the seal of Jerusalem. The Testament of Solomon, written later, describes Solomon's ring as having a pentagram and using the ring to put demons in vessels. But these vessels are apparently from long after Solomon's time, so they probably aren't the same ones.

Flavius Josephus, the 1st century Jewish historian, wrote in Antiquities of the Jews (8:2:5):

God also enabled him to learn that skill which expels (or: of entering into communication with) demons, which is a science useful and sanative to men. He... left behind him the manner of using exorcisms (or: magical formulas), by which they drive away (or: bind) demons, so that they never return; and this method of cure is of great force unto this day; for I have seen a certain man of my own country, whose name was Eleazar, releasing people that were demoniacal in the presence of Vespasian, and his sons, and his captains, and the whole multitude of his soldiers. The manner of the cure was this: He put a ring that had a root of one of those sorts mentioned by Solomon to the nostrils of the demoniac, after which he drew out the demon through his nostrils; and when the man fell down immediately, he abjured him to return into him no more, making still mention of Solomon, and reciting the incantations which he composed.

This passage is a translation by Protestant theologian William Whiston. The three alternate translations in parentheses are from a Russian translation. The passage in the Wisdom of Solomon 7 mentioning the "ways of the spirits" (πνευμάτων βία&#962 also says that Solomon knew the "virtues of roots." In Josephus' passage, Eleazar's touching the ring to the demoniac's nose has a similarity to Solomon's proverb about a ring in a swine's nose, although the two images are not the same.

The Talmud is a collection of rabbinic and pharisaic commentaries from the 6th century and earlier. It describes Solomon using a ring, with God's name written on it, to control demons. (eg. in tractate Gittin 68).

The Testament of Solomon was probably written in the 1st-4th centuries AD. It was written in Greek, exists only in Christian sources, and contains clearly Christian ideas, so it was probably either written or redacted by a Byzantine Christian. One example of such ideas occurs when the demon Ephippas says:

we shall lead astray the inhabited world for a long season, until the Son of God is stretched upon the cross. [His] mother shall not have contact with man [and His name] is Emmanuel.

In the Testament, Solomon writes:

grace was given to me from the Lord Sabaoth by Michael his archangel. [He brought me] a little ring, having a seal consisting of an engraved stone, and said to me: "Take, O Solomon, king, son of David, the gift which the Lord God has sent thee, the highest Sabaoth. With it thou shalt lock up all demons of the earth, male and female; and with their help thou shalt build up Jerusalem. thou [must] wear this seal of God. And this engraving of the seal of the ring sent thee is a Pentalpha.

A Russian commentor explains that a Pentalpha is a combination of five ancient Hebrew Alephs. The ancient Hebrew letter Aleph from Solomon's time (10th century BC) looked like a sideways capital "A", with the middle bar sticking out on either side. Five Alephs combined look like a pentagram. Here is a diagram of the development of the Hebrew Aleph:
freehebrewandgreekbible.files.wordpress.com/2013/01/3_letters_al.gif?w=540

Solomon ordered a youth suffering from a demon to throw the ring at him, saying: 'In the name of God, King Solomon calls thee hither.' The demon submitted, and followed Solomon's instructions to throw the ring at Beelzebub, the demons' leader, who in turn submitted to Solomon. In the Testament, Solomon enslaved more demons with the ring and after they built the Temple for him, he put them in vessels.

In any case, it's questionable if the story suggests that the ring was detrimental to Solomon. In the middle of the Testament, for example, the demon says: "Wherefore, O King Solomon, thy time is evil, and thy years short and evil". Plus, the Testament ends with Solomon marrying a follower of Moloch on the condition that he sacrifice 5 locusts to Moloch, after which he builds temples for idols. He concludes:

I then, wretch that I am, followed her advice, and the glory of God quite departed from me; and my spirit was darkened, and I became the sport of idols and demons. Wherefore I wrote out this Testament, that ye who get possession of it may pity, and attend to the last things, and not to the first.

 

[Gxg (G²)]

1 Kings 11:7 describes how Solomon turned to idolatry after building the Temple: "Then did Solomon build an high place for Chemosh, the abomination of Moab, in the hill that is before Jerusalem, and for Molech, the abomination of the children of Ammon."

A few centuries later, the prophet Amos (5:26) complained about the Israelites: "But ye have borne the tabernacle of your Moloch and Chiun(Kiun) your images, the star of your god, which ye made to yourselves."
Some scholars consider Kiun or Moloch to be Saturn and Kiun's/Saturn's star to be a hexagram, like it is sometimes claimed was on Solomon's ring.

Truthfully,

It's funny you mentioned what you did since what you said was something I remember discussing with my friend once before when he said he was investigating the world of the Occult - based on things he had read on what Solomon was doing - and he made reference to the Testament of Solomon as basis for his actions and I ended up having to share with him that just because Solomon did certain things doesn't mean it was appropriate or the best to do at all.

For it seems possible that one can be a prophet of God and yet be corrupt at the same time. Balaam was a prophet who the Lord spoke to ..and as a prophet, he often would be able to do things others would not even though not fully approved of by the Lord.

2 Peter 2:15
They have left the straight way and wandered off to follow the way of Balaam son of Bezer, who loved the wages of wickedness.

Jude 1:11
Woe to them! They have taken the way of Cain; they have rushed for profit into Balaam’s error; they have been destroyed in Korah’s rebellion.

​

The Way of Balaam is one of someone who wants to get paid at any costs even when the Lord says no.....as he cursed the Israelites/was denied in doing so at the Word of the Lord (as he was a rouge prophet)---and when Baalam couldn't curse them via God, he taught King Balak (who offered A LOT of money) to seduce the Israelites through sexual immorality so that they'd open themselves up to being cursed. As suggested elsewhere, there's an excellent sermon on the issue (if choosing to right click here ) on Jude that really helps to explain things

On corruption with prophet ability, Consider Numbers 15:31:

Because he has despised the word of the LORD and has broken his commandment, that person shall be utterly cut off; his iniquity shall be on him.
​

Here despising the word of Yahweh is equivalent to breaking the commandment that was given to the people of Israel. Again, we read in Numbers 24:12-14:

12And Balaam said to Balak, "Did I not tell your messengers whom you sent to me, 13 'If Balak should give me his house full of silver and gold, I would not be able to go beyond the word of the LORD, to do either good or bad of my own will. What the LORD speaks, that will I speak'?"
​

Balaam himself was able to make legitimate prophetic declarations that would greatly impact people, yet in many ways he was a renegade and one who pimped his gift/sold himself out for profit ($$$$$)....and although gifted by the Lord, his abilities became tainted. And yet Balaam himself prophesied on BEHALF of Israel.

At the conclusion of the Book of Genesis, Jacob gathers his sons around his death-bed to tell them what will befall them "at the end of the days" (Gen 49:1). Judah, the anointed leader (the Hebrew word Messiah refers to the King anointed ) over his brothers, will eternally wield the "scepter" of rulership, into the period of Shiloh (Messiahship or Peace) when all the nations will surround him (See Gen 49:8-11). But the most explicit reference is in regardss to the situation with Balak, which strikingly builds upon our previous sources. The Gentile prophet, Balaam, was hired by King Balak of Moab to curse the newly freed, "invincible" Israelites, but Balaam cannot curse those blessed of God, "whose "blessers will be blessed and whose cursers will be cursed". (Numbers 24:9) Balaam then declares to Balak what Israel will do to Moab "at the end of the days,…when a star shall shoot forth from Jacob and the Judean scepter (shevet) from Israel, who shall crush the nobles of Moab . . . Israel will emerge victorious…. Amalek's end shall be eternal destruction". (Numbers 24:17-20)

What is especially noteworthy about Balaam's prophecy is that it is preceded by his assessment of the encampment of Israel: "How goodly (tov, morally and ethically excellent) are your tents, O Jacob, your dwelling houses, Israel" (Numbers 24;5,6).

He clearly sees their cleanliness, their modesty and their sanctity. As long as they are worthy, they must be blessed by God; this is Balaam's unmistakable message to Balak, as well as to subsequent Jewish and world history. He also does not see the star "Messiah" as arriving immediately, "Messiah now". Much the opposite, "I see him, but not now; I behold him, but not near— a star shall come out of Jacob, and a scepter shall rise out of Israel; it shall crush the borderlands of Moab, and the territory of all the Shethites. Edom will become a possession, Seir a possession of its enemies, while Israel does valiantly". (Numbers 24: 17-20).

Even with that being the case, Balaam appears elsewhere in the Bible, painted in the darkest colors. He was killed later ( Numbers 31:7-9 )...and just after Balaam’s story in Numbers comes that of the Midianite women who seduced the men of Israel to idolatry. Jewish tradition saw the shadowy hand of Balaam behind this (as Numbers 31:15-17/Numbers 31 /Revelation 2:13-15 note how he wanted to get paid and found a "wrap around" plan to seduce the Israelites/open them up to being cursed where he couldn't pronounce a curse on them).

2 Peter 2:14-16
They have left the straight way and wandered off to follow the way of Balaam son of Bezer, who loved the wages of wickedness.

​

The New Testament authors invoke Balaam’s memory when they speak of false prophecy and those who lead others astray...or others who are apostate and yet still able to do things, just as Christ noted in Matthew 7:21-23 /Matthew 7 that even others were able to do the miraculous and yet never had real relationship.

It's not beyond scripture to note where godly/righteous men were used of the Lord to do amazing things and yet themselves fell into gross immorality---even though the Lord still worked through them.


And thus, with Solomon, it seems the same was present.

Solomon himself did the same in I Kings 11 when he brought in extensive amounts of gods/goddesses and their arts into the heart of Israel, setting the stage for an extensive apostasy and allowing himself to turn away from the Lord....something that angered the Lord even though Solomon was good with it in his quest for knowledge ( Ecclessiastes 2).

What Solomon did is something that was present even in the Jewish culture...and many other similar examples.

Acts 19 is another example of that reality which needs to be considered.

Acts 19:6
God did extraordinary miracles through Paul, 12 so that even handkerchiefs and aprons that had touched him were taken to the sick, and their illnesses were cured and the evil spirits left them.

13 Some Jews who went around driving out evil spirits tried to invoke the name of the Lord Jesus over those who were demon-possessed. They would say, “In the name of the Jesus whom Paul preaches, I command you to come out.” 14 Seven sons of Sceva, a Jewish chief priest, were doing this. 15 One day the evil spirit answered them, “Jesus I know, and Paul I know about, but who are you?” 16 Then the man who had the evil spirit jumped on them and overpowered them all. He gave them such a beating that they ran out of the house naked and bleeding.

17 When this became known to the Jews and Greeks living in Ephesus, they were all seized with fear, and the name of the Lord Jesus was held in high honor. 18 Many of those who believed now came and openly confessed what they had done. 19 A number who had practiced sorcery brought their scrolls together and burned them publicly.
​

On Acts 19:11-16, with those casting out in the name of Christ, the Jewish exorcists later got beat up when the demons played the game they were trying back at them. Of course, that doesn't mean that it was fake when they exorcists cast out demons. Josephus speaks of King Solomon's having learned to do so. As he said:

that skill which expels demons...And he left behind him the manner of using exorcisms, by which they drive away demons so that they never return, and this method of cure is of great force unto this day. Indeed, I have see a certain man of my own country, whose name was El'azar, realizing people who were demoniacal in the presence of Vespasian, his sons, his captains and the whole multitude of soldiers. The manner of cure was this: he put a ring that had a root of one of those sorts mentioned by Solomon to the nostrils of the demoniac, after which he drew out the demon through his nosstrils....."

--Antiquities of the Jews 8:2:5
​

One can read the Testament of Solomon for more information, which describes many of Solomon's explorations into magic----much of it, again, due to what happened in I Kings 11 /Nehemiah 13:25-27 when he began to become more and more idolatrous due to his many wives/their gods whom he followed.

Exorcism of demons is a theme in the Talmud. In medieval Jewish literature, the term "dibbuk" becomes commoner. There are descriptions of Jewish exorcisms dating from the present century. Given that demons are regarded as real and not imaginary phenomena (Matthew 4:1, Matthew 4:24, Matthew 9:34, Matthew 11:20-21, Mark 5:11-17, etc), it is at times surprising that it is sometimes possible to use magical means, that is, demonic means, to expel them.

If aware of what often goes on in NeoPaganism and Wicca, the issue makes more sense----as many young adults getting involved in it have realized how there's a system in which one can learn to manipulate other spiritual entities in the spiritual realm...even when those entities are not concerned with our welfare. ...and doing Youth Ministry, this is something I've seen often. Apparently, there is some degree of order even in the demonic hierarchy (Ephesians 6:1-10, Daniel 9-10, etc)---and some demonic powers can expel other demonic powers.....with the rules of the system allowing for others to do certain things outside of God's rule.

Of course, as Jesus made clear, "a house divided against itself cannot stand" (Matthew 12:22-29). Alongside this comes the reality of how there are demons that do not respond to the means used by exorcists but only to prayer (Mark 9:14-29). What was occurring in Acts 19 with the Jewish exorcists using the "name of the Lord Jesus" was a matter of them belieiving that the name itself had magical powers. They were attempting to use the Messiah as a means to their own ends rather than realizing that Jesus himself is always the end and never the means to other ends.

When they came to the demon-possessed man and said "I exorcise you demons by Jesus, whom Paul is proclaiming", its obvious that the exorcists had noticed that those who spoke of their faith in him had power (Mark 16:20)---even though they knew nothing of Jesus. They were power-hungry like Simeon in Acts 8:19 , but they did not understand that power comes from the HOLY Spirit (Acts 1:8), who is given only to those putting their trust in Yeshua as Messiah, Lord and Savior. When used by those with such trust, His name is powerful in expelling demons (Acts 3:6, Acts 9:34, Mark 16:17-18).

Demons know who Jesus is and recognize his power, as seen in Matthew 8:29. Concerning how many of the Ephesians engaged in exorcism and occult practices for profit, its interesting to see how the sons of Sceva were impressed by Paul's work and how the power he had was more powerful than theirs....yet they forgot to realize how one cannot control or duplicate God's power. For one cannot call on the name of the Lord without knowing the person...for the power to change people is in the person of Jesus Christ. It cannot be tapped by reciting His name like a magic charm...for He works His power only through those he chooses. And as seen in Acts 19:18-19, those who don't remeber that will get hurt.

The demon beat the men senseless when they tried to keep up the act. ....and God used the occassion for great gain for the church. For Ephesus was a center for black magic and other occult practices. The people sought spells to give them wealth, happiness and success in marriage. Superstition and sorcery were commonplace....even though God clearly forbid such practices (Deuteronomy 18:9-13). Acts 19:16-20 shows how the magic being exposed for its weakness was used to spread the Word of the Lord greatly, with many repenting of the dark arts. This still happens today when it comes to others renoucing of dark, occcultuiic practices that they may use t harm others...including things such as the magic arts

 

[rakovsky]

Gxg (G²),

Thanks for your reply. It sounds like you are saying it was detrimental for Solomon. It makes sense that for a normal person dealing with demons seems dangerous. On the other hand, some holy people have done this.

 

[rakovsky]

In Matthew 12, the pharisees say about Christ: "This fellow doth not cast out devils, but by Beelzebub the prince of the devils."

Jesus' response is: "if I by Beelzebub cast out devils, by whom do your children cast them out? therefore they shall be your judges."

Later, Jesus comments: "behold, a greater than Solomon is here." And then Jesus explains a bit about demons.

Jesus' comment: "if I by Beelzebub cast out devils, by whom do your children cast them out?" Brings to mind Josephus' comment that some Jews were casting out demons and trying to follow Solomon in doing so, since in the Testament of Solomon, the king used Beelzebub's power to control lesser demons.

Origen the church father comments on another passage, Matthew 26:63: "it is customary to adjure demons with adjurations written by Solomon. But they themselves who use these adjurations sometimes use books not properly constituted; indeed they even adjure demons wth some books taken from Hebrew."

This brings to mind the Testament of Solomon again: normally you would expect Jews to use Solomon's adjurations from Hebrew books because Solomon wrote in Hebrew. By saying that Solomon's proper books were in Greek, Origen must have had in mind certain books that he considered proper. And Solomon's Testament was in fact only in Greek.

In Revelations 13 we read a prophecy

• that no one may buy or sell except one who has the mark or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.
• Here is wisdom. Let him who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man: His number is 666.

I know there are multiple explanations for this. One of the two other Biblical stories mentioning the number is in 1 Kings 10:11,14:

• Also, the ships of Hiram, which brought gold from Ophir, brought great quantities of almug wood and precious stones from Ophir.
  [*]The weight of gold that came to Solomon yearly was six hundred and sixty-six talents of gold

It isn't clear if all the gold came from Hiram or this was just the total amount of gold coming from anywhere. In any case, the context of this passage is the building of the Temple with Hiram's assistance. You can also notice with Revelations 13 is about buying and selling, which is often thought of in terms of gold, which is mentioned in 1 Kings 10. So perhaps there is a connection between the mark of the beast, exchange, the building of the Temple, and the gold used for it.

Another claim about 666 is that it could be a hexagram (eg. 6 sides, 6 angles, 6 points). And it is sometimes claimed that Solomon's ring is that it had a pentagram or hexagram. On the other hand, Revelations 13 said that 666 is the number of a man. The Testament of Solomon, on the other hand, says that 644 is the number of Emmanuel, and the name Emmanuel in Greek adds up to 644, so maybe it is a name that matches 666, rather than a geometrical object.

 

[Gxg (G²)]

Gxg (G²),

Thanks for your reply..

Not a problem....and if interested, for other good sources of info concerning what you noted, I'd suggest the following:

• Magic in Slavia Orthodoxa - Dumbarton Oaks
• King Solomon’s medals - Archaeology, Culture, and other Religions
• Understanding the Differences between the Star of David and the Seal of Solomon
• The Social Side of Aitia: Demons, Seals, and Recipes in the Testament of Solomon and Late Antique Apotropaic Practices

It sounds like you are saying it was detrimental for Solomon. It makes sense that for a normal person dealing with demons seems dangerous. On the other hand, some holy people have done this

To clarify...


Whether or not Holy people have done certain things doesn't necessarily equate to the thing done being Holy in the ultimate sense - and that is what was being said in the earlier response. For it is plain that Solomon did certain actions that are noted in earlier works from antiquity that the saints were familiar with (specifically, the Old Testament pseudepigrapha) - but one must be careful of developing fascination with them as if it was the Lord's will for believers to be involved in such actions.

Even with possession of Holy Objects, when in idolatry, there was a dynamic that happened in scripture where the Lord noted others ended up placing themselves in danger thinking the object alone was what helped them when their idolatry itself ended up ruining them...and making even good objects of no effect. In Numbers 21:8-10 / Numbers 21 , THE SAME staff that was told to the people by the Lord to be built had become something that was needing to be destroyed by the time of Hezekiah since people in his day began to worship it, as seen in 2 Kings 18:3-5 / 2 Kings 18 , yet the Lord references Himself in it in John 3 when discussing all looking unto Him, as they were commanded to do with the bronze serpent, were to be saved.

John 3:14
Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up,
John 3:13-15 / John 3
​

And with objects, although they can have Biblical purpose, they can be corrupted.

To be clear, I am NOT saying Solomon's Ring ever was proven to be an object of the Lord that was to be sought after/prized - there's simply not enough information on the issue.....and far too much on his idolatry for it to be trusted. Also, I'm NOT saying that it's automatically wrong (as many assume) to use objects that Holy men/women and priests have utilized when it comes to exorcism (i.e. Holy Water, blessing Exorcized/Holy salt , etc.) - for the OT and NT already show where that has been acceptable (As shared here and here) - and I've participated in such actions myself when going to the homes of church members with priest and praying blessings over the home and dealing with evil spirits present in the house.

However, not all objects others seek to use have ever been done with Biblical precedent nor done for the right reasons - and in light of the idolatry Solomon fell into and the magic he was involved with (already forbidden by the Lord), IMHO, there are things he did which I see little reason others need to be focused upon......and other things within the NT which may be more noteworthy.

Often in the OT, the Lord worked IN SPITE of what others did...and we often look back at an action done assuming that the ends justified the means - rather than simply seeing a recording of how things were done/what was allowed by the Lord, rather than examining if it was forbidden and the Lord instead chose to overlook it for a time. I've yet to see within the Law of God that using demons to construct the House of the Lord was something the Lord looked favorably upon when he already noted how he wanted things to go down...

For the Ring was something Solomon seemed to utilize when he was NOT serving the Lord/already full of idolatry in his life (even after the Lord gave Him wisdom since he was already married to a Daughter of Egypt according to 1 Kings 3:1-3 /1 Kings 9:15-17 /2 Chronicles 8:10-12 - against the rules of the Law in Deuteronomy 17 (and keep in mind - this was not Solomon's first marriage since 1 Kings 14:21 tells us that his son Rehoboam came to the throne when he was 41 years old, and 1 Kings 11:42 tells us that Solomon reigned 40 years...meaning that Rehoboam was born to his mother - a wife of Solomon named Naamah the Amonitess in 1 Kings 14:20-22/2 Chronicles 12:12-14 - before he came to the throne and before he married this daughter of Pharaoh). And the issue of pagan women was later noted in the Scripture via the Book of Nehemiah, as Nehemiah was angry and frustrated because the people of Israel married with the pagan nations around them. And in rebuking the guilty, Nehemiah remembered Solomon's bad example:

So I contended with them and cursed them, struck some of them and pulled out their hair, and made them swear by God, saying, "You shall not give your daughters as wives to their sons, nor take their daughters for your sons or yourselves. Did not Solomon king of Israel sin by these things? Yet among many nations there was no king like him, who was beloved of his God; and God made him king over all Israel. Nevertheless pagan women caused even him to sin. Should we then hear of your doing all this great evil, transgressing against our God by marrying pagan women?" (Nehemiah 13:25-27)


​

[/quote]

 

[ma2000]

Byzantine Jerusalem in the 6th century hosted pilgrims who described clergy showing them Solomon's ring in the Martyrium of the Holy Sepulchre. The clergy also showed vessels in which Solomon put the demons after controlling them with the ring.

Do you have a source for this?

 

[rakovsky]

Gxg (G²),

Your source was pretty interesting:

• King Solomon’s medals - Archaeology, Culture, and other Religions

What specific works were you thinking of when you wrote:

For it is plain that Solomon did certain actions that are noted that the saints were familiar with (specifically, the Old Testament pseudepigrapha)

Did you have in mind works describing him dealing with demons?

I thought you made other very good points too. The two main reasons why I wanted to go into the subject was 1. because it made me a bit uncomfortable to read that the ring was shown to pilgrims right after the holy cross was, and also because I see that the seal of Solomon might be an occult symbol, which is scary. So I am a bit confused about it.

 

[rakovsky]

Ma2000 asked a good question about more information on the ring's use in the Byzantine period.

The 4th century pilgrim Egeria writes in her Diary how on Good Friday in the Martyrium of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, right after people kiss the True Cross: "a deacon stands holding the ring of Solomon and the horn from which the kings were anointed; they kiss the horn also and gaze at the ring _______ less than a second _______ all the people are passing through up to the sixth hour." The Martyrium where this occurred was at Golgotha, and such relics were kept there.

One interesting question for me is what she wrote in the blanks, which are each no more than a few words long. The translations of Egeria's diary that we have do not say what was in the blanks. Perhaps even the original if it was passed down is no longer legible there. One possibility, if what we have is just copies, is that it mentioned demons and they did not want to copy this. I considered this a possibility because another work, the Breviary, does mention the demons at this point in its description.

It could be that they only looked at the ring for such a short time because it could be harmful, or else because there were just alot of people waiting in the line for the Good Friday service.

The Jerusalem Breviary (Breviarius de Hieroslyma), written by a 6th century pilgrim, said that in the Martyrium at Golgotha "the horn is deposed, David and Solomon are anointed by; further that ring, Solomon sealed demons by, and it's made by amber.” (in Latin, the passage says here: “et ille anulus ibidem, unde Salomon sigillavit demones, et est de electro.”)
The Breviary says that elsewhere in the Basilica of the Holy Sepulchre, pilgrims were shown the vessels in which Solomon had sealed the demons.

GXG pointed out an interesting, short movie called King Solomon’s Medals, which focused on the Franciscans' museum in Jerusalem. (fmc-terrasanta.org/en/archaeology-culture-and-other-religions.html?vid=3586) The movie showed a copy of the Testament of Solomon, as well as early Christian medals showing Solomon on a horse conquering demons. The movie also showed the ruins of a church or sanctuary dedicated to "Solomon the Subduer of Demons". The movie says that this church of Solomon had this kind of images of Solomon, and that they were probably moved to the Martyrium of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre when it was built.

Later, in the 15th century, a Byzantine text called the Magical Treatise of Solomon, also called the Hygromanteia, appeared and featured the ring. One person writes about its description of Solomon's ring:

In the Magical Treatise of Solomon -- a Byzantine text which may be the prototype of the Key of Solomon -- it is generally made of beeswax (only one manuscript gives instructions for a silver ring). Drawings show it as having a face on which is engraved a hexagram (or alternately a pentalpha).

groups.yahoo.com/group/solomonic/message/3023
(pentalpha = pentagram)

 

[inconsequential]

Could the demons have pretended to be controlled by the ring to decieve him? I've seen this happen many times, typically to draw the person deeper into error. I'm not saying it was the case with Solomon but if he was already in idolatry, it could help draw him deeper.

 

[ma2000]

Dear Ravovski, I only write because I have read into your posts an unhealthy interest in the occult and that you got some things wrong.

I’m not interested in the occult and I don’t care what some esoteric writers have said about various topics such as magical artifacts. I think that you should focus more on God rather than on magic. However, I’ll give my 2 cents.

You ask what is the Church’s attitude toward Solomon’s Ring. The truth is that the Church doesn't know about it because we don't have it. So there is no official attitude. There are, of course, holy relics that cast out demons. But my view it's that this isn't the case. The reason for it is that it is mentioned mainly in writings connected with the occult or the accounts are of occult practices. Also the ring is mentioned much later than Solomon lived so they are not necessarily trustworthy. So my view is that if the ring actually existed, then it was just a normal ring, not holy, nor occult. But it is the basis of an occult practice or legend that has something negative to it.

My main concern is the use in Byzantine Jerusalem. That is why I asked for sources, because when dealing with esoteric or occult, many sources are not trustworthy.

You are right when you cite from Deuteronomy that divination, enchanting, consulting spirits is not pleasing for the Lord. So if Solomon did such things, it sure wasn't pleasing the Lord. But we don't really have reliable sources for connecting Solomon with the occult. In my view such reliable sources would be the Bible or early esteemed Jewish or Christian writers. It is true that in the Bible Solomon is connected with idolatry and that might lead to occult, but we don't know for sure.

at least one legend Solomon received the ring from God

– that's not a reliable source.

The Nephillim were the offspring of the sons of God, traditionally identified in EO and OO as the sons of Seth, with the daughters of men, traditionally identified in EO and OO as the daughters of Cain.

The Bible doesn't mention Solomon's ring, although the Proverbs of Solomon 11:22 says: "As a ring of gold in a swine's snout, So is a lovely woman who lacks discretion." Swine were unclean, as were demons, ("unclean spirits"). And a ring in an animal's nose was used to control it. But isn't it a jump between that and Solomon's ring?

I am from Romania and I grew up on a farm. The reason why they put rings or wires in the pigs' noses is that they don't dig in the ground, because that's what they do. It has nothing to do with controlling the pig. That proverb has nothing to do with controlling devils or unclean spirits. The proverb could be explained like this: a lovely woman who lacks discretion is as ugly as a pig with a golden ring.

When you quote Flavius Josephus, I think the correct translation is „expels” because it is consistent with what happens next. Eleazar touching the nose of the demoniac with a ring has nothing to do with the proverb of Solomon, as I explained above.

It seems that the first writings about connections made between Solomon and demons date from the first century AD. That's about 9 centuries after Solomon's death. That doesn't make them very trustworthy. These include the Apocalypse of Adam and the Testament of Solomon.

The most important thing that shows the Testament of Solomon is a fake, in my opinion, meaning that yes, it was written between first and fifth century, but what it actually says is a fake is that Solomon orders Ornias to imprint the prince of demons with the ring which makes him control all demons. That really makes this writing look like a fairytale and the prince of demons look like a fool, which he isn't.

In Matthew 12, the pharisees say about Christ: "This fellow doth not cast out devils, but by Beelzebub the prince of the devils."
Jesus' response is: "if I by Beelzebub cast out devils, by whom do your children cast them out? therefore they shall be your judges."
Later, Jesus comments: "behold, a greater than Solomon is here." And then Jesus explains a bit about demons.
Jesus' comment: "if I by Beelzebub cast out devils, by whom do your children cast them out?" Brings to mind Josephus' comment that some Jews were casting out demons and trying to follow Solomon in doing so, since in the Testament of Solomon, the king used Beelzebub's power to control lesser demons.

Jesus' comment: "if I by Beelzebub cast out devils, by whom do your children cast them out?" is interpreted by EO as referring to the Apostles who were from the Jews, so they were their children, and already had received the gift to cast out demons. You can read that in Saint Theofilact’s commentary on Matthew. When Jesus later comments about Solomon, it has nothing to do with demons, but with the fact that the Jews didn't listen to Jesus' words.

Now I'll talk about the sources.

I don’t from where you took the translation of Egeria’s Diary, but I found this one:
Egeria - George E. Gingras

The translation of the text you mention is this one:

As soon as they have kissed the cross and passed on through, deacon, who is standing, holds out the ring of Solomon and the phial with which the kings were anointed. They kiss the phial and venerate the ring from more or less the second hour; and thus until the sixth hour all the people pass through, entering through one door, exiting through another.

There are the following footnotes:

385 On the ring of Solomon and the phial, cf. Bludau 143. According to legend, the ring revealed to Solomon the past, present, and future. It is mentioned in the Babylonian Talmud in the story of Solomon and Asmodeus (ca. AD 500). Anthony of Piacenza and the author of the Breviarius de Hierosolyma also refer to the ring and the phial.
386 The manuscript is defective at this point, and I have translated the emended text as given in Franceschini-Weber: . . . anulum de hora plus minus secunda; ac sic ergo. . . . This is essentially the correction proposed by Cholodniak. The Arezzo manuscript has a blank space with room for about twelve letters after anulum, then there are three words, minus secunda feria (though the feria has been erased), and then there is another blank space with room for about seven letters. Gamurrini, Geyer, and Heraeus made no attempt to restore the manuscript reading.

As I understand, “secunda” refers to a number and not to a second, 1/60 of a minute. Especially since measuring seconds was added in modern times. This is also how Gingras translated it. So it doesn't say they looked at the ring for only a second, but maybe during the second hour in the day (about 8 am).

I couldn't find the Breviary online. But anyway, here's my view:

King Solomon may or may not have dealt with controlling and casting out demons. However, it somehow becomes a traditional Jewish practice to “cast out” demons using a ring with some kind of plant root. This was somehow linked with Solomon during those nine centuries and the ring of Solomon becomes an important relic in the newly formed Christian communities. Then someone fabricates a story about King Solomon that goes along with the legends that are already circulating and also includes the Pleiades and the Medusa in it. Then this story circulates and somehow they find a ring that did or did not belong to Solomon and because King Solomon is important for Christians, it becomes a holy relic and it is displayed in Jerusalem. Then the pilgrims who have already heard about the Testament of Solomon see the ring and venerate it. Then somehow this ring is lost or the church thinks it's a fraud or a cursed object and they don't show it to the pilgrims anymore. And that's about it.

I found this entry in the Jewish Encyclopedia that might be helpful:
SOLOMON, SEAL OF - JewishEncyclopedia.com

According to it, the legend was mainly spread by Arabic writers.

Sorry for the long post.. Hope it helps! God bless!

 

[rakovsky]

Could the demons have pretended to be controlled by the ring to decieve him? I've seen this happen many times, typically to draw the person deeper into error. I'm not saying it was the case with Solomon but if he was already in idolatry, it could help draw him deeper.

According to the legends Solomon was not yet known to be idolatrous, because he used the ring for building the Temple. According to the Testament of Solomon, the ring was a gift from God.

But as to your question, I don't see why not, especially if things were different than what I just mentioned. Anyway, I don't see why you would be wrong to apply your "lesson" to cases where the ring's symbol was used. We saw in Acts that some pharisees tried to cleanse demons in the name of Jesus whom Paul preaches and they were overcome. So two important things would be to have the correct adjuration and also to have right faith. It's doubtful that alot of people who try to use weird powers or experiment have faith that they are doing it in a moral way for moral reasons. Perhaps that can apply to the "Mad Scientist" image as well.

 

[rakovsky]

Ma2000,

You made interesting observations.

There are, of course, holy relics that cast out demons.

Are there a few that comes to mind? The True Cross is one that comes to mind for me.

You commented:

Also the ring is mentioned much later than Solomon lived so they are not necessarily trustworthy. So my view is that if the ring actually existed, then it was just a normal ring, not holy, nor occult.

Well, it would not be a surprise if an ancient ruler had at least one ring. On the other hand, if Solomon really did use a ring to control demons, why wouldn't this become known in Old Testament times and written down?

If the Temple was made by demons, then why wouldn't the Israelite scribes note that when they wrote the Bible? Would it be an embarrassment? I don't they would hide it for that reason, because there are enough embarrassments in the Old Testament that they included.

I am confused when you write: "The Nephillim were the offspring of the sons of God". Didn't God only have one Son? This is one reason why it made more sense to me that they were considered sons of divine beings (ie angels)

As for the part about rings in pigs' noses, the ring controls them in that it acts on them to stop them from digging, like you said. But anyway, I think you are making a good point, because Solomon wanted digging to occur, regarding the Temple.

As to the correct translation of Josephus, a different translation in English (by Thackeray) says: "And God granted him knowledge of the art used against demons for the benefit and healing of men. He also composed incantations by which illnesses are relieved, and left behind forms of exorcisms with which those possessed by demons drive them out, never to return."

Whiston says "expels", the Russian translation says "communicate with" (obschenie)

You wrote:

Jesus' comment: "if I by Beelzebub cast out devils, by whom do your children cast them out?" is interpreted by EO as referring to the Apostles who were from the Jews, so they were their children, and already had received the gift to cast out demons. You can read that in Saint Theofilact’s commentary on Matthew.

I am doubtful about this.
If Jesus meant "if I by Beelzebub cast out devils, by whom do your children my Apostles cast them out?" Then the pharisees could just claim that the Christian Apostles were using Beelzebub too.

Jesus' comment has more force if the pharisees' followers were claiming to use Beelzebub to cast them out.

Instead, it makes more sense that Jesus is saying this is a case of the pot calling the kettle black. Jesus often portrayed the pharisees as hypocrites too.

You made a good suggestion about the words in the blanks in Egeria's Diary, since the blanks were relatively short (8 letter), so it was probably not very deep.

somehow they find a ring that did or did not belong to Solomon and because King Solomon is important for Christians, it becomes a holy relic and it is displayed in Jerusalem.

Sure, why not?

Thanks, bro.

 

[rakovsky]

As Ma2000 pointed out in his last post, Arabic writers expanded on the theme even further.

There are also legends about Solomon using the ring to communicate with animals, and about how a demon took it and Solomon later found it in a fish. One of the most common stories is that it had the words "This will pass" on it", and that Solomon looked at this whenever he was upset. I do not know where those legends came from, but they could be from Sufi Muslim sources.

Father Maxim Kapsun, who runs an Orthodox educational series, answered a question about the meaning of the writing on Solomon's ring. He explained that there was a phrase written on the inner side of the finger-ring, that when there was a difficult situation, Solomon threw the ring and read "And this will pass too." Fr. Maxim said:

The idea is that whatever position he was in, however difficulty it was, this will all pass. Every story has its end. Therefore you are in the world only temporarily and no sorrow, work, happiness, or anyting else does not happen constantly. It is always changing with opposing things, because sins* are in this world and there is no stability.

*I am not completely sure what he said in this lecture, but anyway i will give the link to it below.

Recently, Russian news announced that a group of young artists in Tyumen made a huge sculpture of the ring with the words "It will pass" on it. The city put it in one of their public squares. They said it's supposed to make people's lives better and reconcile people when they walk through it.

The ring does not have a pentagram. Although this story about the words "It will pass" does not mention demons, in King Saul's case a bad spirit entered him and made him ill-mannered and angry. It would make sense that the supposed words on Solomon's ring in this legend would be calming Solomon's "demons."

One of the news reports in Russian is below:
nashgorod.ru/news/news58955.html

Perhaps an analogy would help to better see the Church's position on this topic of the ring. St. Dmitri of Rostov wrote in his biography of St. John of Novgorod that the latter once trapped a demon, turned it into a horse, and rode it to Jerusalem. This suggests that theoretically it is acceptable for a holy person to make a demon do work to a good end. However, it would be strange to see such a horse.

Maxim Kapsun's lecture in Russian on Solomon's ring
youtube.com/watch?v=9zM5Yy-ZiF8