The exact skin tone of King Solomon is uncertain due to the lack of concrete evidence in historical records. The Bible, including the Song of Solomon, provides vague descriptions, leading to interpretations that suggest Solomon may have had a darker complexion. Some references in the Bible and historical sources also indicate a diverse range of skin tones among ancient Israelites, with intermarriage between different tribes and neighboring peoples. However, no evidence supports the claim that King Solomon was black. This topic remains a matter of interpretation and debate among scholars today.
-> See also: How Old Was Solomon When He Became King?
Biblical References on King Solomon’s Skin Color
The Bible identifies Solomon as the offspring of King David and Bathsheba but doesn’t clearly specify his skin color. Because the Bible is vague on King Solomon’s physical appearance and racial background. While Solomon’s skin tone is never explicitly stated in the Song of Solomon, certain words imply that Solomon may have had a black or dark complexion.
I Am Black
The claim that King Solomon was black is based mostly on a reinterpretation of the Bible. Those in favor of the claim often use Song of Solomon 1:5, which begins, “I am black, but comely…” The passage continues with the likening of the black color to tents and curtains.
… O ye daughters of Jerusalem, as the tents of Kedar, as the curtains of Solomon. Look not upon me, because I am black, because the sun hath looked upon me…
Song of Solomon 5-6
Some have countered, however, that the bride Shulamite, not King Solomon, is the one speaking in this passage. According to this, it is part of a conversation between a woman from Shunem, and a groom.
White and Ruddy
Song of Solomon 5:10 also uses the word “ruddy” to characterize Solomon. The word “ruddy” is used many times in the Bible to characterize a person’s health, youth, and vitality. However, according to research by Jordi Ferrer i Serra on early translations of Hebrew, in ancient Hebrew, the word for “ruddy” meant more of a brown. An etymological connection to ‘dirt’ (אֲדָמָה) would also be clearer in this case.
It’s quite likely that people like David, Solomon, or Jesus had a much darker skin tone than conventionally thought. Many of the Israelite locals had deeper complexion tones, and the population overall was rather diverse.
My beloved is white and ruddy…
Song of Solomon 5:10
Since “white” is often employed in the Bible to describe a youthful, energetic aspect, this is not indicative of a particular skin tone. The Hebrews, who traditionally had dark skin, valued a clean complexion highly.
Skin Color of the Judah Tribe
In Jeremiah 14:2, the Judah tribe is described as “they are black unto the ground…” Solomon and his father David were also from the Judah tribe and according to some, this verse refers to the tribe’s overall black or dark skin color. According to others, it’s not a description of how they seem; rather, it’s a metaphor for grief and despair.
Judah mourneth, and the gates thereof languish; they are black unto the ground…
Jeremiah 14:2 KJV
However, it is also worth noting that Jesus was from the Judah tribe and Revelation 1:15 reads for Jesus, “And his feet like unto fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace.” This can be inferred as meaning that Jesus’ skin was dark colored, or it is again a symbolic meaning representing his strength and endurance.
Bushy Hair Locks
According to Song of Solomon 5:11, Solomon’s (or God’s) hair locks were “bushy” and black as a raven. It is usually most common for people of African origin to have naturally curly or kinky hair.
Another verse from Revelation 1:14 about Jesus (of the same Judah tribe) reads that his hair was wool-like. Woolly and bushy hairs describe the typical hair of black people today. But this once again comes down to personal interpretation of the words. According to some, this comparison is based on color, not feel.
“His head and his hairs were white like wool…”
Revelation 1:14
Was Solomon’s Mother Bathsheba Black?
The fact that Solomon’s mother Bathsheba was a member of the Canaanite tribe of Gilonite suggests to some that King Solomon was black. Both the Gilonites and the Hittites, another Canaanite people, traced their ancestry back to Ham, son of Noah, which may have originated in Africa. Several theories dating back to the 17th century link the given name Ham to a Hebrew word meaning “burned,” “black,” or “hot.”
After being married to Uriah the Hittite, David reportedly took Bathsheba as his wife. Bathsheba’s ancestry traces back to her grandpa Ahithophel; hence, there is some speculation that she was a Hamite. The Book of Genesis is the original source for this term (Hamite), which refers to Noah’s son Ham’s offspring. The Hebrew word for Ham possibly comes from the Egyptian word ḥm for servant or majesty or kmt for Egypt.
-> See also: King Solomon’s Net Worth: How Rich Was the King of Israel?
Was Solomon’s Son Rehoboam Black?
The Bible confirms that King Solomon’s first wife was a Pharaoh’s daughter and that they had a son called Rehoboam. After Solomon’s death, his son Rehoboam became king. The color of Rehoboam’s complexion is not specified in the records. According to the Hebrew Bible, his mother was an Ammonite called Naamah. The Ammonites were a Semitic tribe that settled east of Jordan. Mainly dark-skinned people live in the same area today.
Why Is Solomon Portrayed as a White Person Instead of Brown or Black?
The Ashkenazi, who make up the majority of lighter-skinned Jews today, lived over a thousand years in Eastern Europe, where they absorbed the region’s genetic makeup. The same factor accounts for the dark complexion of Ethiopian Jews. Solomon likely wasn’t pale because of the low likelihood of him having Eastern European or Ethiopian ancestry.
However, religious characters like Solomon or Jesus are typically portrayed in a way that belies their Afro-Asian roots. Although most European and Middle Eastern accounts have tried to hide the truth, the King James Version and other ancient scriptures make clear that Solomon’s bride was a black woman. She has been called Moorish, swarthy, or dark-skinned in earlier works.
Many current Israelis are descended from Europeans and North Asians, making them genetically different from Ethiopians, Egyptians, or Tuaregs who share links with ancient Israelites. The ancient cultures’ identities were reshaped to conform to European colonial interests after they were conquered.
Similar to the whitewashing of Jesus, who was not white but a brown or black man, Solomon underwent a similar reformation. The term “black” is still an oversimplified term to describe people like Solomon and Jesus.
The Skin Tone of Israelites at the Time of King Solomon
After reorganizing his kingdom, Solomon divided it into 12 regions, not respecting ethnic lines. He maintained his father’s habit of marrying women from a wide variety of tribes and countries. The indigenous people were still living there throughout Solomon’s reign. The Israelites under Solomon’s rule were a powerful country, but the Bible says they weren’t yet a “company of nations,” suggesting that they weren’t yet made up of all the many peoples that Abraham had been promised.
There were many different tribes and peoples spread out over the area at the time. Although the Israelites were the most numerous, other peoples, such as the Canaanites and the Philistines also called the land home. The precise skin tone of the Israelites during the reign of King Solomon, circa 1000 BC, is unknown. Some linguistic and historical evidence, however, shows that ancient Israelites may have had a darker skin tone than is often assumed.
For instance, Hebrew has been identified by linguists as one of the first examples of an Afro-Asiatic language family. The ancient Israelites intermarried with the dark-skinned Hamitic Egyptians for generations before the Exodus. Some have taken this to mean that ancient Israelites, including King Solomon, would have had a darker complexion.
Were Any of the 12 Tribes of Solomon Black?
- Reuben
- Simeon
- Levi
- Judah
- Dan
- Naphtali
- Gad
- Asher
- Issachar
- Zebulun
- Joseph
- Benjamin
The twelve tribes of Israel were the backbone of the Kingdom of Israel during Solomon’s reign. There is no clear record of their racial makeup; however, there are some references.
The Midrash suggests that members of the Simeon and Levi tribes were disproportionately white (bohakanim). Israelites (the Jews of Judah) are said to be mostly of an intermediate type of coloring, neither dark like a “Cushi” (a dark-skinned person of African descent) nor light like a “Germani” (a name for a person of European descent), according to a Talmudic Mishnah (Negaim 2:1).
The African Hebrew Israelites are a religious and ethnic minority in Israel today. Their official name is the African Hebrew Israelite Nation of Jerusalem, although they are also known as Black Hebrew Israelites and Black Israelites. Members of this group claim to be descended from Israel’s original twelve tribes.
