What was the relationship between Solomon and Jesus?
Matthew names Solomon in the genealogy of Jesus, as the son of David. Matthew 1:6-7
They are connected in 2 ways:
1. Ancestor of Jesus
What the Bible says
Matthew 1:6
And Jesse begot David the king. And David the king begot Solomon, of her that had been the wife of Urias.
Douay-Rheims Bible (Challoner revision), public domain.
Did you know?
Luke follows another line: it goes through Nathan, another son of David, and not through Solomon. Luke 3:31
2. Greater than Solomon
Jesus recalled that the queen of the south came from far away to hear the wisdom of Solomon. And he said that someone greater than Solomon was there. Matthew 12:42; 1 Kings 10:1
What the Bible says
1 Kings 10:1
And the queen of Saba, having; heard of the fame of Solomon in the name of the Lord, came to try him with hard questions.
Matthew 12:42
The queen of the south shall rise in judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: because she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and behold a greater than Solomon here.
Douay-Rheims Bible (Challoner revision), public domain.
What the Church teaches
The Catechism says that only because Jesus is God can he say that he is “greater than Solomon.”
Catechism 590 · Catechism of the Catholic Church
Did you know?
Jesus also said that not even Solomon in all his splendor was clothed like a lily of the field. Matthew 6:29