Midrasz do Diwrej ha-jamim II 1:15
וַיִּתֵּ֨ן הַמֶּ֜לֶךְ אֶת־הַכֶּ֧סֶף וְאֶת־הַזָּהָ֛ב בִּירוּשָׁלִַ֖ם כָּאֲבָנִ֑ים וְאֵ֣ת הָאֲרָזִ֗ים נָתַ֛ן כַּשִּׁקְמִ֥ים אֲשֶׁר־בַּשְּׁפֵלָ֖ה לָרֹֽב׃
A król uczynił srebro i złoto, aby były w Jeruzalem jak kamienie, a cedry uczyniły go jak jawory, które są na Nizinie, na obfitość.
Kohelet Rabbah
Another matter: “Of laughter, I said it is confounded” – how confounding is laughter, as Rabbi Aḥa said that Shmuel said: Three are the matters with which the attribute of justice challenged [Solomon], and ultimately confounded and confused him. It is written: “He shall not have many wives” (Deuteronomy 17:17), and it is written [of Solomon]: “He had seven hundred wives, princesses, and three hundred concubines” (I Kings 11:3). It is written: “He shall not have many horses” (Deuteronomy 17:16), and it is written: “Solomon had forty thousand stables of horses” (I Kings 5:6). It is written: “And gold and silver he shall not amass greatly” (Deuteronomy 17:17), and it is written: “The king made the silver and the gold in Jerusalem as stones” (II Chronicles 1:2). Would they not have been stolen? Rabbi Yosei ben Rabbi Ḥanina said: There were ten-cubit stones and eight-cubit stones.6Thus, they were far too large to be moved without an apparatus operated by many people working together. It is taught in the name of Rabbi Shimon ben Yoḥai: Even the weights during the reign of Solomon were made of gold, as it is stated: “None of silver, as it was not considered anything during the reign of Solomon” (I Kings 10:21). The Holy One blessed be He said: ‘“And of joy, what does it accomplish?”7Solomon thought he could violate these proscriptions without sinning, but he eventually did sin (see I Kings, chap. 11). Consequently, God deprived him of his wealth and status. What is this crown doing in your hands? Descend from My throne.’ At that moment, an angel descended in the image of Solomon and sat on his throne. [Solomon] would circulate among the synagogues, the study halls, and the homes of the prominent leaders of Israel and say: “I am Kohelet, I was king [over Israel in Jerusalem]” (Ecclesiastes 1:12). They would strike him with a reed and place before him a bowl of grits.8They believed that the “real” Solomon was sitting on his throne and that this individual had lost his mind. At that moment he wept and said: “This was my portion from all my exertion” (Ecclesiastes 2:10).
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