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When was Solomon’s First Temple in Jerusalem completed?

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Peter Paul Rubens: The Judgment of Solomon — Solomon *The Judgment of Solomon*, oil on canvas by Peter Paul Rubens, c. 1617; in the Statens Museum for Kunst (National Gallery of Denmark), Copenhagen.

According to the biblical account, the First Temple of Jerusalem was constructed during the reign of Solomon and was completed in 957 bce.1

While the Bible attributes this construction to Solomon, it is important to note that material evidence for his reign remains a subject of scholarly debate. Some researchers argue that the archaeological record suggests the Temple may have emerged more than a century later than the traditional biblical timeline.2