What does 1 Kings 11:42 mean?

Solomon's ending inclusio—a passage bounded by the same phrase at the beginning and the end—includes the duration of his reign, as is tradition. Some scholars doubt the clear reading of the text because of the unusual symmetry. David was king in Hebron for seven years and in Jerusalem for thirty-three: forty years total. Paul claims that Saul reigned for forty years (Acts 13:21), although he may be rounding the number since a corrected translation of 1 Samuel 13:1 says forty-two. The chance that three kings in a row all reigned for exactly forty years is unlikely, but possible. The wording "over all Israel" might be to compare David's split reign to Solomon's reign over the whole nation.

First Kings 1—11 divides Solomon's reign into sections. For four years, he establishes his kingdom, gains wisdom, and prepares supplies (1 Kings 2:1—6:1). For seven years, he builds the temple structure (1 Kings 6:2–38). In the next thirteen years, Solomon oversees the temple furnishings and constructs his palace and government buildings (1 Kings 7).

Solomon's final sixteen years aren't so neatly laid out. He increases in wealth and honor—and wives—while decreasing in faithfulness. In the last years of his life, he follows those wives into horrible idolatry. He even builds shrines to demon-gods just east of the temple of Yahweh (1 Kings 11:1–8). Because of that sin, God will take over half the nation from his son (1 Kings 12:16–24). Even so, Solomon's kingship stands out in all of Israel's history as a golden season of peace, prosperity, and joy in Israel.

We can set the dates of Solomon's reign with a fair amount of certainty. The scholar Edwin R. Thiele compared history, math, and astronomy and presented a timeline that has yet to be disproved. It's based on The Assyrian Eponym Chronicles that lists noteworthy events each year. The fulcrum is the eclipse that occurred in 763 BC; Theile compared it to the tribute King Jehu gave to Shalmaneser III twelve years later. Using the complicated biblical accounts of when one king was crowned compared to another, Thiele placed Solomon's coronation in 971 BC.

What we don't know is if, in any of his early years, Solomon co-reigned with David. David hastily crowned Solomon in 1 Kings 1:38–40 but did so again more formally in 1 Chronicles 29:22. It's unclear how much of the work in 1 Chronicles 22—27 David accomplished between those two coronations or how long it took. At any rate, the year in which Solomon dies and Rehoboam becomes king is about 931 BC.