The Testament of Solomon is an Old
Testament pseudepigraphical work
ascribed to King Solomon of Jerusalem. It
describes how Solomon was enabled to
build his Temple by commanding
demons by means of a magical ring
entrusted to him by the Archangel
Michael.
The issue of Jewish or Christian origin of
the Testament is difficult to determine on account of the syncretistic nature of
magic in general, but allusions in the
book suggest a Christian composition or
redaction. Though the Testament
contains what might be termed Jewish
elements, these are not sufficiently clear
to determine with certainty a Jewish
contribution to the work.

Scholarly opinion on when the Testament
was written varies widely. There is no
doubt that the Testament refers to
traditional content which is extremely
ancient, but dating the traditions
referred to in the Testament is not the
same as dating the Testament as a
particular text, and one needs to keep
this distinction in mind.


History
Despite the text's claim to have been a
first-hand account of King Solomon's
construction of the Temple of Jerusalem,
its original publication dates sometime
between the 1st and 5th centuries CE
over a thousand years after King
Solomon's death and the temple's
completion.


The real author or authors of the text
remain unknown. The text was originally
written in Greek and contains numerous
theological and magical themes ranging
from Christianity and Judaism to Greek
mythology and astrology that possibly
hint at a Christian writer with a Greek
background.
Contents


When a demon named Ornias harasses a
young lad (who is favored by Solomon) by
stealing half his pay and sucking out his
vitality through the thumb on his right
hand, Solomon prays in the temple and
receives from the archangel Michael a
ring with the seal of God (in the shape of
a Pentalpha) on it which will enable him
to command the demons (c.f. Seal of
Solomon). Solomon lends the ring to the
lad who, by throwing the ring at the
demon Ornias, stamps him with the seal
and brings him under control. Then
Solomon orders the demon Ornias to
take the ring and similarly imprint the
prince of demons who is Beelzebul.
With Beelzebul under his command


Solomon now has the entire race of
demons at his bidding to build the
temple. Beelzebul reveals he was
formerly the highest ranking angel in
Heaven.


In Chapter 18 the demons of the 36
decans appear with names that
sometimes seem to be conscious
distortions of the traditional names for
the decans and claim responsibility
mostly for various ailments and pains.
They provide the magical formulae by
which they may be banished. For
example, the thirty-third demon is Rhyx
Achoneoth who causes sore throat and
tonsilitis and can be driven off by writing
the word Leikourgos on ivy leaves and
heaping them into a pile.
Solomon's final demon encounter
involves sending a servant boy with his
ring to take captive a wind demon who is
harassing the land of Arabia. The boy is
to hold a wineskin against the wind with
the ring in front of it, and then tie up the
bag when it is full. The boy succeeds in
his task and returns with the wineskin.


The imprisoned demon calls himself
Ephippas, and it is by his power that a
cornerstone, thought to be too large to
lift, is raised into the entrance of the
temple.
Then Ephippas and another demon from
the Red Sea bring a miraculous column
made of something purple (translation
obscure) from out of the Red Sea. This
Red Sea demon reveals himself as
Amelouith who claimed to be the demon
who supported the Egyptian magicians
against Moses and who hardened
Pharaoh's heart but had been caught
with the Egyptian host when the sea
returned and held down by this pillar
until Ephippas came and together they
could lift it.


There follows a short conclusion in which
Solomon describes how he fell in love
with a Shunammite woman and agreed
to worship Remphan and Moloch


Solomon agrees to sacrifice to them, but
only sacrifices the blood of locust by
simply crushing them with his hand.
Immediately, the Spirit of God departs
from him, and he is made foolish and his
name a joke to both humans and
demons.
The Testament of Solomon presents the
Queen of Sheba as a witch, indicating
that the author had an awareness of
Jewish tradition, which had argued the
same.
Solomon concludes his text with a
warning to mankind. He reminds
mankind not to be like he was, to be
both aware of the present and the
future, and to understand the
consequences of your actions before you
act.


Christian themes
Perhaps the most intriguing Christian
theme found inside the text was during
King Solomon's encounter with the
demon Ephippas. While working on the
temple, Ephippas is asked by Solomon
why he is frustrated. The demon replies
that he is concerned over the only thing
that can truly take away his powers and
defeat him. It was going to be a man
born of a virgin who will be crucified on a
cross by the Romans prodded on by the
Jews. The "prediction" is an indication
that this story was circulated and
modified by Christians, if one employs
redaction criticism.[citation needed]



Greek mythology
The most obvious Greek influence is
Solomon's encounter with seven demons
who are sisters. They introduce
themselves to the King and describe their
home among the stars and Mount
Olympus. The seven demon-sisters
represent the Pleiades of Greek
mythology and their astrological
relationship.
Solomon also encounters a female
demon who has no limbs and a head full
of disheveled hair. It is argued that she
actually represents Medusa or a gorgon-
like creature from Greek mythology.


The demon Enepsigos recounts to King
Solomon at one point during the temple's
construction that he can take three
different physical forms, one of which
being the Greek Titan Kronos. Enepsigos
is also represented as a triple-faced
woman akin to Hecate and is likewise
astrologically associated with the sphere
of the moon.
Demons
Many of the demons in Solomon's
encounters are of Greek, Jewish,
Christian, Arabic, and other traditions.
Most of the rest of the work contains
Solomon's interviews with the demons,
some of whom are quite grotesque,
including one in the shape of a dog and
another who has no head and sees
through its breasts. Two demons
associated strongly with sexuality appear
amongst them - Asmodeus from the Book
of Tobit, and a female demon named
Obyzouth, identical to Lilith in all but
name, including the strangling of
newborn children. Most of the other
demons are otherwise unknown by name
from other works. The demon
Abezethibou is said to have hardened
pharaoh's heart, and not God

Further Readings here www.en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Testament_of_Solomon