Did Solomon Really Marry a Pharaoh's Daughter?

1 Kings 3:1a
“And Solomon made affinity with pharaoh king of Egypt, and took pharaoh’s daughter, and brought her to the city of David….”

Scripture notes several times that King Solomon married a pharaoh’s daughter in the tenth century B.C. His dowry for this marriage was the city of Gezer, which he received from the pharaoh.

Many Egyptologists and biblical critics have claimed that this was simply impossible. They base their argument on a 14th century B.C. Egyptian inscription. The inscription shows a pharaoh speaking with his daughter with the caption, “From of old no [Egyptian] king’s daughter has been given to anyone.” However, in 1 Kings 11:19-20 we read of a pharaoh giving his sister-in-law in marriage to an Edomite prince. This took place just a few years before Solomon’s reign. Extra-biblical sources tell of another pharaoh who gave his daughter to a Libyan noble later in Solomon’s reign. We would have to conclude that the Egyptian royal traditions in the 14th century B.C. had changed by the tenth century B.C. After all, that is 400 years later.

While many scholars doubt that the Bible presents history accurately, believers know that the Bible presents us with the story of our salvation. That salvation is based on real people and real events in history. So we thank God that He has given us an accurate account of how our salvation came about, beginning in Genesis.

Prayer:
Father, I thank You that Your Word is true and that it reveals Your forgiving love for me in Your Son, Jesus Christ. Amen.

Notes:
Biblical Archaeology Review, 9-10/01. pp. 32-37, Kenneth A. Kitchen, “How We Know When Solomon Ruled.” Photo: Gezer stone steles, known as the Gezer Platform. Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license.