Solomon as the New Adam in 1 Kings 1-11

As I was working on updating the table of contents for the Westminster Theological Journal, I came across an article that demonstrated that Yong Ho Jeon's article on the Exodus motif in 1 Kings 1-11 in no way exhausts all that can be said about the passage. John A. Davies ["'Discerning Between Good and Evil? Solomon as a New Adam in 1 Kings," Westminster Theological Journal 73.1 (Spring 2011): 39-57] argues that the author contrasts Solomon with a number of biblical characters, notable Adam. Here is his conclusion in part from page 56:

Many of the observations made above are subtle (and that is a feature of the literary artistry of the Kings narrative) and points of comparison could be made, of course, between Adam and many other biblical characters, particularly its kings, any of whom could aspire to represent the promised royal seed of Gen 3:15. However, the cumulative effect seems unmistakable: Solomon, like Adam, had everything going for him—unprecedented (and unrepeated) dominion, lavish resources, personal divine revelation and instruction, and the prospect of life to the full lived in obedient dependence on God's wisdom. As with Adam, a lot rested on his shoulders. His obedience or disobedience affected not just himself but was to have far-reaching implications for the people of God. With Solomon on the throne, the exodus could be perceived to be complete and the promised rest for God's people ushered in. A restored humanity in all their created dignity could be discerned in the figure of Solomon. We look for him to exercise his God-given privileges and functions and to mediate these to the people through his wisdom-inspired rule. His direct access to God's revelation and his role in facilitating the restoration and access of others through the restored Eden of the temple all point to the glory of what it is to be the image of God. The writer wants us at one level to be impressed, as were Solomon's contemporaries. In his combination of the creational roles of prophet, priest, and king in a way not observed before or after in the OT, Solomon was greater than all who were before him or who came after him in the estimation of the writer of Kings (1 Kgs 3:12). We perceive Solomon as the nearest we come to an ideal ruler and mediator conceived in human terms. Solomon's greatness, and that of his kingdom, outstrips that of his illustrious father in most respects.

But if Solomon is the new Adam, then he has followed the primal man in his failure to live as those invited to share God's space must live. He has set his own appetites and his autonomous wisdom above God's revealed purposes for him and his people. I have not argued that Solomon experiences a "Fall" at a specific moment, though the organization of the material warrants us in seeing a gathering pace of the negative evaluation as the account spirals down to its nadir. Rather, through much of the account, the paradise ideal (and it always is an unrealized ideal) of his reign and the sober reality are held in tension. Solomon's is a tragically marred greatness, lacking precisely the attribute of covenant faithfulness seen in his father, David, of which the writer of Kings constantly reminds us—his unswerving devotion to Yahweh (1 Kgs 3:6,14; 9:4; 11:4, 6, 33, 34, 38).

This fascinating article would repay reading in full.