1 Kings 11:41 says:
Now the rest of the acts of Solomon and whatever he did, and his wisdom, are they not written in the book of the acts of Solomon?
What is the biblical and historical background to this "book of the acts of Solomon" and have any manuscripts been found to support the existence of additional information about what Solomon did? Or are such writings apocryphal?
Well... to my understanding the book of the "Acts of Solomon" is lost. But not in a terrible way. It was used as the basis for the book of Kings... so the information that was important for scripture remains.
From what I know, this book was a more political group of texts.
The Lord became angry with Solomon because his heart had turned away from the Lord, the God of Israel, who had appeared to him twice. Although he had forbidden Solomon to follow other gods, Solomon did not keep the Lord’s command. So the Lord said to Solomon, “Since this is your attitude and you have not kept my covenant and my decrees, which I commanded you, I will most certainly tear the kingdom away from you and give it to one of your subordinates […] 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 acts of Solomon? Solomon reigned in Jerusalem over all Israel forty years. Then he rested with his ancestors and was buried in the city of David his father. (1 Kings 11:9-11, 41-43)
Notice that, right before his death, the text states that there were “other events of Solomon’s reign” in which he apparently “displayed wisdom,” which are recorded in the famously lost “Acts of Solomon.” Obviously we don’t know what is written about Solomon’s latter days in this lost work, however given Scripture tells us that he exercised wisdom during this time, I speculate that this is when Solomon wrote the books of Ecclesiastes and Job. -Why is King Solomon a Saint?
The Acts of Solomon This is referenced once, in the summary at the end of the reign of Solomon. “Now the rest of the acts of Solomon, all that he did as well as his wisdom, are they not written in the Book of the Acts of Solomon” (1 Kings 11:41). It was the source of information for the author of the Book of Kings about the reign of Solomon. It contained the court records of the significant political events, as well as records of his wisdom, and other biographical material. It could also have included a copy of the treaty between Solomon and Hiram of Tyre.
It was still in existence when the Book of Kings was compiled, but probably destroyed along with the Annals of the Kings of Judah when Jerusalem was captured or destroyed by the Babylonians. - JulienSpriggs
The book of the Acts of Solomon, also known as the book of the Annals of Solomon, was a written source of information about Solomon’s life and administration, which was used by the writer of what Christians list in the Hebrew scriptures as 1 and 2 Kings. The book of the Annals of Solomon is mentioned in 1 Kings 11:4. However, the author of 1 and 2 Kings used a variety of sources in compiling the history of the monarchy. For example:
The book of the Annals of the kings of Israel: A record of the reigns of the kings of the northern kingdom (not to be confused with the canonical book of 1 and 2 Chronicles, which was written later than 1 and 2 Kings, and contains the history of the kings of Judah only). 1 Kings 14:19: "The other events of Jeroboam’s reign, his wars and how he ruled, are written in the book of the Annals of the kings of Israel."
The book of the Annals of the kings of Judah: A record of the reigns of the kings of Judah, similar to that of the kings of the northern kingdoms. 1 Kings 14:29: "As for the other events of Rehoboam’s reign, and all he did, are they not written in the book of the annals of the kings of Judah?" See also 1 Kings 15:7 and 23.
There are many references to other writings, e.g., the records of Samuel the seer, the records of Nathan the prophet, and the records of Gad the seer (1 Chronicles 29:29), the events of Uzziah’s reign (2 Chronicles 26:22). There is no telling if they still exist, yet we have all that we need in the inspired books of the Old Testament.
Solomon is traditionally attributed as the author of the Song of Solomon (or Song of Songs) as suggested by the opening line and references to his name throughout the book. In 1 Kings 4:32, King Solomon’s body of writing is mentioned: “He composed some 3,000 proverbs and wrote 1,005 songs.”
Regarding the book of the Acts of Solomon mentioned in 1 Kings 11:41, we do not know where this book is and what else Solomon did according to it.
A book called ‘The Wisdom of Solomon' is based on an ancient manuscript known as the Muratorian fragment which says it was written by “the friends of Solomon in his honor.” It is widely accepted that Solomon did not write the book, which dates back to the 1st or 2nd century B.C., centuries after his death. https://www.gotquestions.org/Wisdom-of-Solomon.html
Nearly 1,500 years after the death of Solomon, another book appeared called the ‘Testament of Solomon’, claiming to record his supernatural adventures, e.g. Solomon’s enslavement of demons and his building of the temple through the power of a magic ring. The stories in the Testament of Solomon intermingle Greek, Egyptian, and Christian spiritual ideas. A type of medical alchemy is also in this writing. Demons speaking with Solomon take the blame for certain ailments and relate spells that can be used to remove their power. This text does not agree with inspired Scripture and were not accepted in any sense by the early church. Jewish scholars considered it fictional, as well. Source: https://www.gotquestions.org/Testament-of-Solomon.html
Answer: We do not know what happened to 'the book of the Acts of Solomon'. However, we know that the book ‘the Wisdom of Solomon’ and ‘the Testament of Solomon’ are both rejected as uninspired by God, are contradictory to Bible truth and theology, as well as being written long after the death of Solomon.
