While Bath-sheba's first child by David had passed on in infancy, she later bore him other sons, of whom the most famed was Solomon. Raised in the royal palace, he must have observed his father's skillful handling of many trying situations assailing him during his later years — rebellion, treachery, and civil war. Thus when Solomon became king, he had already been trained in the school of experience. We read in I Kings 2:12, "Then sat Solomon upon the throne of David his father; and his kingdom was established greatly."
David was a warrior king; but Solomon, whose very name implies peace, seems to have turned his attention to the maintenance of his realm and to a wide program of building, including various royal residences, cities and walls for national defense (see I Kings 7:1-12; 9:15-19).
But of all Solomon's projects, the most famous was the temple at Jerusalem, planned by David but deferred by God's direction to the less warlike reign of his son. David had amassed quantities of building materials for use when the work actually began: hewn stones for the walls, cedar lumber in abundance, brass hinges and iron nails (see I Chron. 22:1-6).
