Pharaoh's Daughter (wife of Solomon) - Parallels With Amenhotep III and Sitamun

Parallels With Amenhotep III and Sitamun

A contemporary theory among some modern archaeologists and biblical scholars is that the stories in the Hebrew scriptures about the range and power of the United Kingdom of Israel are exaggerated by its authors. Charles Pope outlines the work of Ahmed Osman in support of one aspect of this theory, "that the story of Solomon was patterned specifically after the life of Amenhotep III." The article points out that “To be consistent with the pattern of other great Bronze and Iron Age cultures in the ancient Near East (Egyptian, Babylonian, Assyrian, and Hittite), it would be expected that numerous documents, art, and inscriptions on buildings or public monuments would have been left by such a great king or by his descendants later in honor of him. Yet no article of any kind bearing his name has ever been found.” At Gezer "The name of Solomon was not found, but the cartouche of the 18th Dynasty Pharaoh Amenhotep III instead... It was during Amenhotep III's reign that Gezer and other major Palestine cities were refortified as royal Egyptian garrisons, and endowed with fine temples and palaces." While no record of an Egyptian princess being given to a foreigner exists outside the Bible, "It was customary and obligatory for Amenhotep III to marry 'the daughter of Pharaoh' in order to secure the throne. This is precisely what was done when he was married to Sitamun, the daughter of his father, Pharaoh Thutmose IV."

Amenhotep III’s “harem included two princesses from Babylon, two princesses from Syria, two princesses from Mitanni, and like Solomon's harem, it included a princess from each of the seven nations listed in 1 Kings 11:1. As the mightiest king of the Middle East, Amenhotep did not send any of his own daughters to other kings in exchange, nor did any other Pharaoh of this dynasty (or likely any other throughout Egypt's history). He specifically denied a request by the king of Babylon for an Egyptian wife. Importantly, the Bible emphasizes Solomon's Egyptian bride, but does not mention that Solomon had any Hebrew wives. Rehoboam, who is said to have succeeded Solomon, was the son of an Ammonite princess.”

As Amenhotep III entered his old age, "The long years of indulgence had taken their toll and he had many ailments. As a compassionate gesture, his Mitanni brother-in-law sent him an idol of the goddess Ishtar". Similarly the story of Solomon describes him in his old age being influenced by foreign religion through members of his family.

Other parallels are presented and the article concludes, "Solomon is said to have had 'a thousand and four hundred' chariots (1 Kings 1:26). This represents a prodigious army by ancient standards, and one which could only have been amassed over a long period of time by an established civilization. Yet we are told that only five years after the great King Solomon's death, the Egyptian Pharaoh Shishak and his allies invaded Judah and captured its fortified cities with little or no military resistance (2 Chron. 12). The Bible adds that Jerusalem itself was spared only after delivering up the entirety of King Solomon's accumulated wealth to Shishak. The rapidness with which Solomon's empire was established, as described by the Bible, and the ease with which it shortly thereafter submitted to a foreign power is also not consistent with the pattern set by other great ancient civilizations."