How Old Was Solomon When He Became King?

Name: Minnie
Question: How old was Solomon when he began his reign? I know you can’t put a for sure answer to it, but get as close as you can. Thank you Minnie

Answer: Thank you for the question Minnie.

Unfortunately, the Bible does not tell us how old Solomon was when he became king. However, we can approximate Solomon’s age from what we know about Scripture.

Let’s see what we can come up with.

Solomon Became King At What Age?

Solomon called himself “a little child” in 1 Kings 3:7, but what did he mean?

Let’s read it together.

1 Kings 3:7
And now, O LORD my God, thou hast made thy servant king instead of David my father: and I am but a little child: I know not how to go out or come in.

This was simply a figure of speech that meant Solomon was not very wise, as he was a young man when he obtained the throne.

The phrase “I know not how to go out or come in” also reflects a lack of experience and understanding. This is something Solomon would need to lead “a great people, that cannot be numbered nor counted for multitude”, (1 Kings 3:8).

Solomon’s youth becomes clear as he asked God for “an understanding heart to judge thy people, that I may discern between good and bad,” (1 Kings 3:9).

Now that we understand that, let’s try to dial in Solomon’s age.

Scripture tells us, Solomon’s father was David who took the throne at age 30. David went on to reign for 40 years until his death at the age of 70, (2 Samuel 5:4-5). That was the time when Solomon inherited the throne and became king, (1 Kings 2:10-12).

We also know, Solomon was not born until later in David’s life when he met Bathsheba (Solomon’s mother) in Jerusalem, (2 Samuel 11:1-3).

So how old was David when he met Bathsheba and they conceived Solomon?

50, maybe 45?

It stands to reason then, Solomon became king of Israel when he was 20-25 years old.