2 Samuel 12:24

THE BIRTH OF SOLOMON

"Then David comforted his wife Bathsheba, and went in to her, and lay with her; and she bore a son, and he called his name Solomon. And the Lord loved him, and sent a message by Nathan the prophet; so he called his name Jedidiah, because of the Lord."

"He called his name Solomon" (2 Samuel 12:24). "Solomon means peaceable, the name given to him upon the occasion of his circumcision. The name Jedidiah was given by the Lord; it comes from the same root as the name David and means "to love." This God-given name was a prophecy of the child's succession to the throne of David and of the glorious reign of Solomon, all of which God actually brought to pass."[19]

In answer to the question of why Solomon was chosen by the Lord, Payne has this logical answer: "Solomon was the oldest son to be born in Jerusalem by a wife of David, as opposed to a concubine."[20]

We include here also a statement by Porter, because it is interesting and not because of any certainty about what is stated.

2 Samuel 12:25 is not very clear as it stands in the RSV; and Mauchline (p. 256) says that the first clause could be rendered, and committed him to the care of Nathan the prophet. Thus, Nathan became Solomon's tutor and gave him the name Jedidiah, which means, "beloved of God."[21]