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Testament of Solomon

The ancient text detailing Solomon's construction of the Temple and his encounters with demons. A complete digital edition for study and reference.

Why we built it

The Testament of Solomon survives as a Greek text in which the king builds the Temple with a ring that binds demons to the work. It is read by students of second-temple literature, of demonology, and of how illness was explained before germ theory. The existing digital copies are scans with running heads and no verse numbering. This edition keeps the Charles numbering, names each chapter after the demon it introduces, puts the source note beside the chapter, and adds narration so the text can be listened to as well as cited.

How it works

The Charles translation is set chapter by chapter with the numbering students cite, and each chapter is titled after the demon it introduces — Ornias, Beelzebub, Asmodeus — so the index doubles as a guide to who appears where.

A textual note beside each chapter names the source edition, and narration reads every chapter aloud. Search finds a name or a passage across the whole text and jumps straight to the verse.

What it does

The Charles translation

F. C. Conybeare's translation as edited by R. H. Charles in 1913, with the chapter numbering students cite.

Chapter titles that name the demon

Chapters are listed by their subject — Ornias, Beelzebub, Asmodeus — so the index doubles as a guide to who appears where.

Narration

Audio for every chapter, started from the chapter header.

Commentary per chapter

A textual note beside each chapter, citing the source edition, so the reading is not mistaken for a modern one.

Search

Find a name or a passage across the whole text and jump to the verse.

Inside the app

Captured from the running product — no mock-ups.

The Testament of Solomon front page, with reading, search and narration
The Testament of Solomon front page, with reading, search and narration
Chapter 2, Onias the Demon, with the commentary panel
Chapter 2, Onias the Demon, with the commentary panel

On a phone

The Testament of Solomon front page on a phone
The Testament of Solomon front page on a phone
Chapter 2 on a phone
Chapter 2 on a phone

What it does not do

A limit named before you open the app is worth more than a feature list that never mentions one.

  • It is one translation. The Greek text and its apparatus are not included.
  • The commentary and the demonology are historical and textual material, not medical or spiritual advice.
  • It is a web edition only.