Failed Wisdom? The Irony of Solomon's Narrative in 1 Kings 3-11 as a Hermeneutical Lens for the Book of Ecclesiastes

The narrative of Solomon in 1 Kings 3–11 presents a theological irony: the king endowed with exceptional wisdom ultimately turns toward other gods. Drawing on the traditional attribution of Ecclesiastes to Solomon as an explicit hermeneutical presupposition, this study examines how that narrative irony may illuminate Ecclesiastes. Using a qualitative biblical-theological approach, the study combines close reading, narrative analysis, and intertextual interpretation of 1 Kings 3–11 and Ecclesiastes, supplemented by relevant scholarship. The analysis traces the contrast between Solomon’s reception of wisdom at Gibeon and his later apostasy, relates this tension to Ecclesiastes’ reflections on hebel, labor, and the limits of wisdom, and considers the concluding injunction to fear God (Eccl. 12:13–14). The findings suggest that, within a traditional Solomonic reading, the king’s narrative supplies a coherent interpretive framework for the book’s juxtaposition of human limitation and reverence for God. This proposal does not establish Solomonic authorship, prove a late-life repentance narrative, or exclude alternative readings. Further research might assess this approach against competing accounts of Qohelet’s literary persona and compare its treatment of wisdom with other biblical and ancient Near Eastern texts.