In reading the Kebra Negast, there were a few things that really stood out to me. The first was its reinforcement of the importance of eloquent speech in order to be considered truly wise. It is mentioned in the Kebra Negast that Solomon was given wisdom by God and made to be in the likeness of God, but that is not what the Queen and everyone else praises him for. The Merchant of the Queen that visited Solomon did not mention his likeness to God, but his eloquence of speech: "He opened his mouth in parables, and his words were sweeter than the purest honey; his whole [behavior] was admirable, and his whole aspect pleasant." In the queen's encounter with Solomon the first thing she noticed was "... the eloquence of his speech." Even though Solomon was truly wise and favored by God, he was admired for his eloquent speech. This fact helps reinforce the point that Nate made in his blog about Dr Dino (Kent Hovind): Though the cause a person stands for may be completely ridiculous he can still gain support because of his ability to speak well... it is better to sound right than to be right. St. Augustine knew this when he wrote On Christian Teaching.He explicitly emphasized that a professor of religion/knowledge needs to be eloquent in speech or else his point will not be heard.
Despite Solomon being an instrument of God, it surprised me how independent he was. In the psalms there was a lot of psalms written as cries for help. They were written to ask God to come down from his throne and smite all of Israel's enemies and provide Israel with abundant resources for a prosperous life. Solomon's prayers to God had a different tone than the ones in the Psalms. Solomon "... Did not ask for victory over his enemy, and he did not ask for riches and fame, but he asked God to give him wisdom and understanding whereby he might rule his people." Instead of asking God to do everything for him, Solomon asked God to give him the tools to get the job done by himself. The Kebra Negast, I think, has a bit more faith in humanity than the psalms show. Perhaps since Solomon was "the image of God" he wasn't technically human, but even the creation of a God-like human is a changed image from what the Psalms portray.
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I think it is interesting that you drew a connection between my post about Dr. Dino, Augustine's On Christian Teaching, and the Kebra Negast. I think that Augustine specifically mentions that wisdom is to be desired over eloquence, but the two are often intertwined; this certainly seems to be the situation with King Solomon. Speaking of the ability of eloquent and charismatic individuals to influence group actions, my 2nd post for this week focuses on the Mormon Church (Joseph Smith)... if you haven't seen the South Park episode you should check it out. It was nice to read your post man, and I definitely agree; it is good to share ideas, and I enjoy reading what goes through your head.
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