Remarks on a Coptic Sahidic Fragment of 3 Kingdoms, Previously Described as an Apocryphon of Solomon

The subject of this article is a Sahidic manuscript fragment kept in the Coptic Museum in Cairo (inv. no. 9253), which was edited by Henri Munier as an unknown apocryphon about King Solomon. According to the editio princeps, the text would be based on 3 Kgdms 3:3–13. Munier’s description of the content of the fragment led other scholars to mention it in their studies on the apocryphal literature related to King Solomon. A closer examination of the Cairo fragment, however, reveals that Munier was wrong in attributing the text to an unknown apocryphal writing. The authors of this article argue that it actually features portions of the Sahidic version of 3 Kgdms 3:4–6, 8–10. The Coptic biblical text is analyzed in relation with the parallel passage in the Septuagint.