King Solomon's Ring and the 72 Demons: Is It in the Bible?

The Bible never mentions King Solomon's ring or the 72 demons. Scripture describes Solomon as a king whom God gave extraordinary wisdom, and who later turned away from God after other gods. The idea of a magic ring that let him command demons came centuries later, from Jewish legend, early Christian-era writings and, much later, occult books. The famous list of 72 demons comes from a 17th-century book of magic.

Here is what the Bible says about Solomon, and how the legend grew.

What the Bible Says About Solomon's Wisdom

Solomon's wisdom began with a prayer. When God asked what he wanted, he asked for this:

Give therefore thy servant an understanding heart to judge thy people, that I may discern between good and bad: for who is able to judge this thy so great a people?

1 Kings 3:9 (KJV)

God granted it:

And God gave Solomon wisdom and understanding exceeding much, and largeness of heart, even as the sand that is on the sea shore. And Solomon's wisdom excelled the wisdom of all the children of the east country, and all the wisdom of Egypt.

1 Kings 4:29–30 (KJV)

The Bible describes what that wisdom looked like:

And he spake three thousand proverbs: and his songs were a thousand and five. And he spake of trees, from the cedar tree that is in Lebanon even unto the hyssop that springeth out of the wall: he spake also of beasts, and of fowl, and of creeping things, and of fishes.

1 Kings 4:32–33 (KJV)

Proverbs, songs, and knowledge of plants and animals. There is nothing about spirits, seals or rings.

Solomon's Fall

The Bible is also honest about how Solomon's life ended:

For it came to pass, when Solomon was old, that his wives turned away his heart after other gods: and his heart was not perfect with the LORD his God, as was the heart of David his father.

1 Kings 11:4 (KJV)

He built shrines for Ashtoreth, Milcom, Chemosh and Molech (1 Kings 11:5–8). That is the real dark side of Solomon's story: not control over demons, but a divided heart.

How the Ring Legend Grew

The legend developed in stages:

1. Josephus (1st century AD). The Jewish historian wrote that God gave Solomon skill in expelling demons. He described a Jewish exorcist named Eleazar who used a ring holding a root "of one of those sorts mentioned by Solomon" (Antiquities 8.2.5).
2. The Testament of Solomon (probably early centuries AD). This text says the archangel Michael gave Solomon a ring engraved with a seal, which he used to command demons to help build the temple.
3. Islamic and medieval stories told of Solomon's power over the jinn and of a ring that was stolen and recovered. The "Seal of Solomon" became a common symbol.
4. The Lesser Key of Solomon (17th century). Its first section, the Ars Goetia, lists 72 spirits with ranks and instructions for summoning them. This is the source of the "72 demons."

Each stage added detail. None of it comes from the Bible.

What the Bible Says About Such Practices

Scripture is direct about trying to control or consult spirits:

There shall not be found among you any one that maketh his son or his daughter to pass through the fire, or that useth divination, or an observer of times, or an enchanter, or a witch, Or a charmer, or a consulter with familiar spirits, or a wizard, or a necromancer. For all that do these things are an abomination unto the LORD: and because of these abominations the LORD thy God doth drive them out from before thee.

Deuteronomy 18:10–12 (KJV)

In Ephesus, new believers made a costly break with these practices:

Many of them also which used curious arts brought their books together, and burned them before all men: and they counted the price of them, and found it fifty thousand pieces of silver.

Acts 19:19 (KJV)

The Bible never treats power over spirits as something to seek through rituals or objects.

Authority Over Evil Belongs to Christ

In the New Testament, demons are cast out by Jesus' word, not by seals or spells. James gives the simple instruction: "Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you" (James 4:7). And Jesus pointed to himself as greater than Solomon:

The queen of the south shall rise up in the judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: for she came from the uttermost parts of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and, behold, a greater than Solomon is here.

Matthew 12:42 (KJV)

The legend imagines a Solomon who mastered evil spirits. The Bible shows a wise king who could not master his own heart, and points to a greater King who defeated evil completely. For more on the fallen angels in Scripture, see who fell with Lucifer?