Ashtoreth. Compare Judges 2:13 . 1Sa 7:3 ; 1 Samuel 12:10 ; 1 Samuel 31:10 . Milcom. Same as Malcham, the Aramaic pronunciation of Molech (1 Kings 11:7 ). See Zephaniah 1:5 . Translated "their king" (Jeremiah 49:1 .Amos 1:15; Amos 1:15 ). abomination. The word used for an idol by Figure of speech Metonymy (of Effect), because of Jehovah's hatred which it produced. Compare 2 Kings 23:13 .Daniel 9:27 . read more
evil = the evil. Hebrew. ra'a' . App-44 . read more
5-7. Ashtoreth—Astarte, Milcom—Molech, and Chemosh—He built altars for these three; but, although he is described ( :-) as doing the same for "all his strange wives," there is no evidence that they had idols distinct from these; and there is no trace whatever of Egyptian idolatry. read more
Solomon’s foreign wives 11:1-8The writer’s condemnation of Solomon in 1 Kings 11:1-2 rests on Deuteronomy 23:3-9 as well as Deuteronomy 7:3-4. The phraseology goes back to Deuteronomy 23:3-9 and the motive to Deuteronomy 7:3-4 (cf. Exodus 23:31-33; Exodus 34:15-16; Ezra 9:1; Nehemiah 13:26). Solomon’s foreign wives were of two categories: Canaanites prohibited in Deuteronomy 7, and women from other nations prohibited in Deuteronomy 23. [Note: See Shaye Cohen, "Solomon and the Daughter of... read more
4. Solomon’s apostasy ch. 11The writer brought Solomon’s weaknesses and sins, to which he only hinted previously, into the light in this chapter. Solomon had sown some seeds of departure from God and His Word early in his reign. They bore bitter fruit as he grew older. read more
Solomon’s Errors and their Consequences. His DeathThis chapter furnishes an account of Solomon’s marriages with numerous foreign princesses, and traces the evil effect of such in the toleration of idolatry, which provoked the Lord’s anger. This was manifested in the growth of opposition abroad and disaffection at home, so that an otherwise brilliant reign had a cloudy ending.3. Seven hundred wives] The Persian king Darius Codomannus is said to have had, besides his own wife, 329 concubines. 4.... read more
(1-8) The defection of Solomon is distinctly traced to his polygamy, contracting numerous marriages with “strange women.” Polygamy is also attributed to David (see 2 Samuel 3:2-5; 2 Samuel 15:16), marking perhaps the characteristic temperament of voluptuousness, which seduced him into his great sin; but it was carried out by Solomon on a scale corresponding to the magnificence of his kingdom, and probably had in his case the political object of alliance with neighbouring or tributary kings. We... read more
(5) Ashtoreth (or, Astarte).—The goddess of the Zidonians, and possibly the Hittites, corresponding to Baal, the great Tyrian god, and representing the receptive and productive, as Baal the active and originative, power in Nature. As usual in all phases of Natureworship, Ashtoreth is variously represented, sometimes by the moon, sometimes by the planet Venus (like the Assyrian Ishtar, which seems a form of the same name)—in either case regarded as “the queen of heaven.” (See Jeremiah 44:17;... read more
Solomon and Toleration 1 Kings 11:6-8 I. There is a proverb that tells us that 'no one became thoroughly bad all at once,' 'Nemo repente fit turpissimus'. And so it was with Solomon; as the stream of his career sweeps by us in Holy Scripture, windows, as it were, are opened for us through which we gaze out on that sunny flood, so full of promise, carrying on its bosom such rich opportunities and varied treasures, and we note that as it gets wider it loses its pure beauty, as it gets deeper it... read more
Get Bible verse every day in your inbox
Read on Mobile
Bridgeway Bible Commentary - 1 Kings 11:1-43
Solomon’s idolatry (11:1-43)Although some of Solomon’s marriages were for political purposes, most of his wives and concubines were probably given to him as gifts. These women usually brought their gods into Israel, and Solomon’s weakness in worshipping these gods led finally to his downfall (11:1-8). God’s judgment on Solomon and Israel was to bring the long-standing friction between northerners and southerners to a climax in the division of the kingdom. Only Solomon’s tribe Judah (which had... read more