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.

Solomon's Return to Egypt in 1 Kings 1-12

My favourite biblical genre is Old Testament narrative, particularly that of Genesis and the books of Kings. Occasionally one comes across an article that demonstrates once again the exquisite literary art and subtlety of the these texts cause you to begin to frame sermons in your mind as you read them. Such an article is that  by Yong Ho Jeon, published in the latest edition of Tyndale Bulletin. Jeon summarises the fruits of the latest scholarship on 1 Kings 1-12 and brings together the best insights from this to demonstrate how the author incorporates the motifs of both "exodus" and "return to Egypt" into his description and critique of the reign of Solomon. The article will not be available online for 5 years, so here is a quote [from pp.31-32] to illustrate what I mean and hopefully, encourage you to obtain a copy of the full article:

The 'return to Egypt motif has been noticed only fragmentarily by some scholars who observe Solomon's becoming a 'Pharaoh', especially in chapter 9, where Solomon is described as imitating an Egyptian tyrant in implementing his enormous building project and [p.32] maintaining a standing army and forced labour system. In his building project, 'store cities', 'chariot cities', and 'cavalry cities' especially remind the reader of Egypt. Even though the Israelites do not go back to Egypt in a geographical sense, the Israelite kingdom itself is becoming an Egypt in a metaphorical sense. Additionally, the Israelites' complaint after Solomon's death (12:4), reveals, that Solomon loaded on them a heavy yoke and disciplined them with whips, that he exploited and oppressed them (12:4, 10-11, 14) just as Pharaoh had done to their ancestors (cf. 8:51); that is, the Israelites experienced a similar thing to their ancestors. In other words, they have been living in an 'Egypt' under Solomon's reign. However, in fact, the 'return to Egypt' motif is already observed in Solomon's becoming Pharaoh's son-in-law (3:1) at an early stage. The frequent mentions of 'Pharaoh's daughter' throughout the narrative (3:1; 7:8; 9:16, 24; 11:1), and, more directly, the mention of Solomon's making ships on the seashore of 'the Red Sea' (9:26) and sending his men to Egypt to buy Egyptian horses and chariots (10:28-29), betray the progressive development of the 'return to Egypt motif as the narrative unfolds. Furthermore, the fact that the leader of the northern ten tribes, Jeroboam, is portrayed as a new Moses who has escaped being killed by a tyrant (11:40), and at last succeeds in delivering his people from the heavy yoke of the tyrant (12:3-20), also shows that the previous condition of the Israelites was like the one to which the original Moses was sent by God to save his people.

Yong Ho Jeon, "The Retroactive Re-Evaluation Technique with Pharoah's Daughter and the Nature of Solomon's Corruption in 1 Kings 1-12," Tyndale Bulletin 62.1 (2011): 15-40.