"As for the other events of Solomon’s reign—all he did and the wisdom he displayed—are they not written in the book of the annals of Solomon?" -1Kings 11:41

 

     Unfortunately, this article brings us no closer or further away from the truth than if it had never been written, which perhaps is the point.

     The fact that a missing book is mentioned in the Scriptures is remarkable in itself. It raises all kinds of questions- Was the book inspired? Is there new or relevant information included in it? Is its mere reference enough, or is it a book that may yet be discovered? Would it be simply interesting to read, or is it vital to our understanding? Is it actually missing or is it included in scripture by another name or in another book? The possibilities are intriguing.

     A similar situation is described in relation to David's kingship.

 

     "As for the events of King David’s reign, from beginning to end, they are written in the records of Samuel the seer, the records of Nathan the prophet and the records of Gad the seer, together with the details of his reign and power, and the circumstances that surrounded him and Israel and the kingdoms of all the other lands." -1Chronicles 29:29, 30

 

     These writings of Nathan and Gad may not be missing at all, but likely refer to the Biblical books of First and Second Samuel. It is believed that Samuel wrote most of First Samuel, but that it was completed after he died by Nathan and Gad, who also wrote Second Samuel. This would be the same Nathan who confronted King David about sinning with Bathsheba. Nathan is also credited among the writers of the royal household of Solomon.

     Other books attributed to the prophet Nathan are 'Nathan the Prophet' and the 'History of Nathan the Prophet', and these may also be the so-called Acts of Solomon, but that isn't known for sure. They may refer to the same text, but they are sometimes distinguished from one another. Some suggest they were lost during the Israelite exile in Babylon (which we might contend was even more important than Exodus, regarding our salvation). It is also possible that those texts were simply renamed Second Samuel.

     Concerning the book of the annals of Solomon- it may also be referred to as the book of Acts of Solomon, or the Book of Chronicles of Solomon (which is not to be confused with either of the Biblical books of Chronicles)- we read this salient clue:

 

     "As for the other events of Solomon’s reign, from beginning to end, are they not written in the records of Nathan the prophet, in the prophecy of Ahijah the Shilonite and in the visions of Iddo the seer concerning Jeroboam son of Nebat?" -2Chronicles 9:29

 

     The prophet Ahijah was also a secretary in the administrative office of King Solomon. It's possible he was the author of a book of Acts of Solomon. Then again, the prophet Iddo was the author of other lost texts as well, so we can't be sure. Another possibility is that such a book, missing or not, would not add or detract much from what was already written and handed down to us. However, just knowing that more information existed and might still be discovered one day is an exciting possibility.