King Solomon had an ring with a seal and resisted harmful spirits.

I wish to thank Janet for replying with an interesting historic fact: that the legend of Solomon's ring existed in Islamic culture and became a magical practice in the West. In fact, the legend of Solomon's signet (ie. with a "sign") ring goes back at least to the story of the "Testament of Solomon", dating to the 1st-4th centuries AD and including Jewish and Christian elements.[1] Along with this, Janet writes that the legend circulated since the 1st century AD. Since this was about 1000 years after Solomon, I make a claim independent of the legends: that one should assume Solomon had a ring with a seal because contemporary kings and his Israelite predecessors did, regardless of the legends. Further, a seal on a ring merely refers to a marking or sign on the ring of any kind, and it is quite simple and easy for a ring to be marked in some way, so there is nothing particularly unlikely about having a design, mark, or other art on it.However, this raises an important issue. Since major sources do mention Solomon's ring, albeit centuries later, this widespread mention adds at least weak authority to the idea that he did. Josephus was a famous 1st century historian, and the Talmud is a central work of Rabbinical Judaism. The Testament of Solomon represented some ideas unique to Christianity, like the savior Emmanuel's crucifixion. Further, in the 4th-6th century AD, Christian pilgrims to Byzantine Jerusalem were shown what was said to be Solomon's ring. The pilgrim Egeria wrote how on good Friday there, "a deacon stands holding the ring of Solomon", and the faithful "gaze at the ring".[2] One may doubt whether the Byzantines had the real ring, but the deacons showing it on Good Friday, when they showed visitors the Cross, is a stamp of approval on the story. What is remarkable is the existence of the story among major Christian and Jewish traditions.Turning to King Solomon, the Bible shows that he knew about Spirits. 1 Samuel 16 mentions how God sent a bad spirit on King Saul, and Solomon's father David resisted the spirit's power in Saul by playing a harp so that Saul calmed down. 2 Chronicles 1 describes how God gave extensive wisdom to Solomon. And in the Wisdom of Solomon 7, Solomon says: I called upon God, and the spirit of wisdom came to me. [God] hath given me certain knowledge of... the furies of wild beasts: the violence of winds[Greek: "pneumaton"], and the reasonings of men: the diversities of plants and the virtues of roots: And all such things as are either secret or manifest, them I know. For wisdom, which is the worker of all things, taught me: for in her is an understanding spirit holy, one only, manifold, subtil, lively, clear, undefiled, plain, not subject to hurt, loving the thing that is good quick, which cannot be letted, ready to do good, Kind to man, steadfast, sure, free from care, having all power, overseeing all things, and going through all understanding, pure, and most subtil, spirits. For wisdom is more moving than any motion: she passeth and goeth through all things by reason of her pureness. For she is the breath of the power of God... It appears that wisdom is not just a concept, but also a "spirit". Wisdom has qualities and acts, helping people. The word "spirit" therefore does not necessarily mean a person or entity, but also something less concrete. The opposite of wisdom would be foolishness, and by asking for wisdom, Solomon effectively resisted the harmful spirit of foolishness. Where it says Solomon knew the violence of winds, the text is also translated as Solomon knowing the "strivings of spirits". This fits even better because the Greek word fits between beasts and men, and a spirit can be an entity, like a beast or human.Solomon was also aware of bad spirits, as he wrote in his Proverbs (16:2): "All the ways of a man are clean in his own eyes; but the Lord weigheth the spirits." That is, not all spirits are so good, and God judges them. A person should do good, and this results in a better judgment of spirit.He wrote in Proverbs 16:18: "Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall." Solomon knew about this, and by spelling this out it shows that he naturally would have tried to resist having a haughty spirit.His father David in particular made the prayer of Psalm 91to resist harmful spirits or demons: 1. He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. 5. Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night; nor for the arrow that flieth by day; 6. Nor for the pestilence that walketh in darkness; nor for the destruction that wasteth at noonday. 7. A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand; but it shall not come nigh thee. 12. They shall bear thee up in their hands, lest thou dash thy foot against a stone. 13. Thou shalt tread upon the lion and adder: the young lion and the dragon shalt thou trample under feet. The Canaanite plague deity, Rephesh, was called "Rephesh of the arrow", and it's notable that the Psalm means an arrow along with pestilence. In Habakkuk 3:5, rephesh (in Hebrew: "plague") is described walking before God. So this confirms that the Psalm is giving the image of a bad spirit that one does not fear, as he/she is protected by God. The prayer's mention of resisting an adder and the mythical, sometimes ethereal, "dragon" brings to mind spiritually resistance to dark, harmful entities. The Psalms were for the people Israel, and this is how they came into our Bible. Thus, Solomon would have known of it or other prayers against bad spirits, especially as his father wrote it.The Dead Sea Scrolls are some of the oldest copies of the Bible, and among them is a series of 4 Psalms against harmful spirits. One of them is Psalm 91. Another is a Psalm attributed to Solomon that is not in the Bible and is dedicated to resisting demons by using God's name Yahweh.[3]In summary, one should assume that Solomon owned a ring with a seal, and also conclude that he resisted harmful spirits. Solomon had a rich and plentiful treasury, so even if he did not wear a ring with a seal (ie. a mark, art, or design), he certainly had it in his treasury. The Bible repeatedly tells how his ruling Israelite predecessors and the ancient kings of his region wore signet (ie. seal) rings and used seals as symbols of their authority. The fact that there are later significant stories in Jewish and Christian traditions of Solomon using a signet ring to control, resist, or expel demons gives additional authority to this presumption.Finally, Solomon's awareness of spirits and his resistance to bad ones is shown and reflected in Proverbs and Psalms.1. http://www.earlyjewishwritings.com...2. http://www.ccel.org...3. http://judahgabriel.blogspot.com...