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Matthew Henry

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - 1 Kings 3:1-4

We are here told concerning Solomon, I. Something that was unquestionably good, for which he is to be praised and in which he is to be imitated. 1. He loved the Lord, 1 Kgs. 3:3. Particular notice was taken of God's love to him, 2 Sam. 12:24. He had his name from it: Jedidiah?beloved of the Lord. And here we find he returned that love, as John, the beloved disciple, was most full of love. Solomon was a wise man, a rich man; yet the brightest encomium of him is that which is the character of... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - 1 Kings 3:1

And Solomon made affinity with Pharaoh king of Egypt ,.... Pharaoh was a common name of the kings of Egypt, of whom no mention is made in Scripture from the times of Moses until this time; which may seem strange, when it is considered that that kingdom was a potent one, and near the land of Canaan; but it was governed by a race of kings in this period of time, of whom, as Diodorus Siculus F9 Bibliothec. l. 1. p. 42. says, there is nothing worthy of relation. The name of this Pharaoh,... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - 1 Kings 3:2

Only the people sacrificed in high places ,.... On the tops of their houses, on hills and mountains, and particularly at the high place in Gibeon, where the tabernacle was: because there was no house built unto the name of the Lord until those days ; to which they were obliged to repair as afterwards, and there offer their sacrifices, as the Lord had commanded, Deuteronomy 12:5 . read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - 1 Kings 3:1

Solomon made affinity with Pharaoh - This was no doubt a political measure in order to strengthen his kingdom, and on the same ground he continued his alliance with the king of Tyre; and these were among the most powerful of his neighbors. But should political considerations prevail over express laws of God? God had strictly forbidden his people to form alliances with heathenish women, lest they should lead their hearts away from him into idolatry. Let us hear the law: Neither shalt... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - 1 Kings 3:2

The people sacrificed in high places - Could there be any sin in this, or was it unlawful till after the temple was built? for prophets, judges, the kings which preceded Solomon, and Solomon himself, sacrificed on high places, such as Gibeon, Gilgal, Shiloh, Hebron, Kirjath-jearim, etc. But after the temple was erected, it was sinful to offer sacrifices in any other place; yet here it is introduced as being morally wrong, and it is introduced, 1 Kings 3:3 , as being an... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - 1 Kings 3:1

EXPOSITION THE BEGINNING OF SOLOMON 'S REIGN .—In the preceding chapter we have seen the establishment of Solomon's rule (verse 46) by the removal of internal foes, i.e; of disaffected and rebellious subjects. In this we see him strengthening his position by an external alliance, by a marriage with an Egyptian princess. This event, however, is related here, not because the historian had this connexion of ideas in his mind, but probably because the marriage came next in... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - 1 Kings 3:2

Only [The word perhaps signifies "that there was one exception to the flourishing condition of things which the writer has been describing" (Rawlinson), though the people are nowhere blamed for sacrificing on the high places, and Solomon's sacrifice at "the great high place "was full of blessing. The idea rather is that just as he was obliged to bring his Egyptian wife into the city of David, because his palace was not yet finished, so the people were compelled to sacrifice on the high... read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - 1 Kings 3:1

What Pharaoh is meant is uncertain. It must have been a predecessor of Shishak (or Sheshonk), who invaded Judaea more than 40 years later 1 Kings 14:25; and probabilities are in favor, not of Psusennes II, the last king of Manetho’s 21st dynasty, but of Psinaces, the predecessor of Psusennes. This, the Tanite dynasty, had become very weak, especially toward its close, from where we may conceive how gladly it would ally itself with the powerful house of David. The Jews were not forbidden to... read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - 1 Kings 3:2

The word “only” introduces a contrast. The writer means to say that there was one exception to the flourishing condition of things which he has been describing, namely, that “the people sacrificed in high-places.” (Compare the next verse.) The Law did not forbid “high-places” directly, but only by implication. It required the utter destruction of all the high-places which had been polluted by idolatrous rites Deuteronomy 12:2; and the injunction to offer sacrifices nowhere except at the door of... read more

Joseph Benson

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - 1 Kings 3:1

1 Kings 3:1. Solomon made affinity with Pharaoh As being a powerful neighbour. And took Pharaoh’s daughter To wife, which was not unlawful, if she was first instructed in, and made a proselyte to, the Jewish religion, as, in all probability, she was. For Solomon was not yet fallen from God, but loved the Lord, and walked in the statutes of David, (1 Kings 3:3,) and therefore would not have married a gross idolater, which would have been directly contrary to God’s law, and most... read more

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