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Matthew Henry

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - 1 Kings 11:1-8

This is a sad story, and very surprising, of Solomon's defection and degeneracy. I. Let us enquire into the occasions and particulars of it. Shall Solomon fall, that was the beauty of Israel, and so great a blessing of his generation? Yes, it is too true, and the scripture is faithful in relating it, and repeating it, and referring to it long after, Neh. 13:26. There was no king like Solomon who was beloved of his God, yet even him did outlandish women cause to sin. There is the summary of his... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - 1 Kings 11:1

But King Solomon loved many strange women ,.... His love was a lustful and not a lawful one, and of women who were not only of foreign countries, but not his lawful wives, and these many: together with the daughter of Pharaoh ; besides her, or as he loved her, and perhaps more; his sin was not that he loved her who was his lawful wife, but others with her; it is very probable she was a proselytess, and had no hand in turning him to idolatry, since we read not of any high place built for... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - 1 Kings 11:1

Many strange women - That is, idolaters; together with the daughter of Pharaoh: she was also one of those strange women and an idolater. But many think she became a proselyte to the Jewish religion; of this there is no evidence. read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - 1 Kings 11:1

EXPOSITION SOLOMON 'S DEFECTION .—The observant reader will have already remarked in this history some intimations of Solomon's approaching fall. Among these are, first, the repeated warnings which are addressed to him, especially in 1 Kings 9:6-9 , and, second, his repeated transgressions of the law by which he ruled. We have already heard of the multiplication of silver and gold ( 1 Kings 10:14-25 ), in defiance of Deuteronomy 17:17 , and of the multiplication of horses ( ... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - 1 Kings 11:1-8

The Fall of a King. Solomon was a king of men. Not only was he supreme civil ruler of his nation, he was also chief in wisdom and knowledge, and distinguished in the favour of God ( Nehemiah 13:26 ). This moral royalty is open to all. The prize is nobler than that of the most glittering "corruptible crown." From this kingship Solomon fell, though he retained the throne of the nation. The rascal often lurks in the heart that is under an anointed face. Let us consider— I. THE ... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - 1 Kings 11:1-8

Solomon's Sin. I. THE SIN . 1 . Its nature . He not only aided his wives to continue their idolatrous worship, he himself participated in it. He went after strange gods, seeking their favour and observing their ordinances. The worship of Jehovah was not discarded, but delight in the true God was gone, and the flame of that loving zeal for God's commandments died away: his heart was not perfect with the Lord his God. The worship now offered in the temple was the lingering... read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - 1 Kings 11:1

In noticing successively Solomon’s excessive accumulation of silver and gold 1 Kings 10:14-25, his multiplication of horses 1 Kings 10:26-29, and his multiplication of wives, the writer has in mind the warning of Moses against these three forms of princely ostentation, all alike forbidden to an Israelite monarch (marginal reference).Zidonians - i. e., Phoenician women. A tradition states that Solomon married a daughter of Hiram, king of Tyre. read more

Joseph Benson

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - 1 Kings 11:1

1 Kings 11:1. King Solomon loved many strange women It was not a fault in him that he married Pharaoh’s daughter; she being a proselyte, as is generally supposed, to the Jewish religion. But in marrying so many other women besides, he committed two sins against the law; one in multiplying wives, and another in marrying those of strange nations, who still retained their idolatrous religion; which was expressly against the law, as the next verse declares. read more

Donald C. Fleming

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

E.W. Bullinger

E.W. Bullinger's Companion Bible Notes - 1 Kings 11:1

strange = foreign. Note the frequent reference to these in the Book of Proverbs. Note the three steps in Solomon's fall: wealth, weapons, and women. Compare Deuteronomy 17:16-17 , where note the items in which Solomon failed. read more

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