1 Kings 11
11
The Lord Punishes Solomon for Idolatry
1 King Solomon fell in love with many foreign women (besides Pharaoh’s daughter), including Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Sidonians, and Hittites. 2 They came from nations about which the Lord had warned the Israelites, “You must not establish friendly relations with them!#tn Heb “you must not go into them, and they must not go into you.” If you do, they will surely shift your allegiance to their gods.”#tn Heb “Surely they will bend your heart after their gods.” The words “if you do” are supplied in the translation for clarification. But Solomon was irresistibly attracted to them.#tn Heb “Solomon clung to them for love.” The pronominal suffix, translated “them,” is masculine here, even though it appears the foreign women are in view. Perhaps this is due to attraction to the masculine forms used of the nations earlier in the verse.
3 He had 700 royal wives#tn Heb “wives, princesses.” and 300 concubines;#sn Concubines were slave women in ancient Near Eastern societies who were the legal property of their master, but who could have legitimate sexual relations with their master. A concubine’s status was more elevated than a mere servant, but she was not free and did not have the legal rights of a free wife. The children of a concubine could, in some instances, become equal heirs with the children of the free wife. The usage in the present passage suggests that after the period of the Judges concubines may have become more of a royal prerogative (cf. also 2 Sam 21:10-14). his wives had a powerful influence over him.#tn Heb “his wives bent his heart.” 4 When Solomon became old, his wives shifted his allegiance to#tn Heb “bent his heart after.” other gods; he was not wholeheartedly devoted to the Lord his God, as his father David had been.#tn Heb “his heart was not complete with the Lord his God, like the heart of David his father.” 5 Solomon worshiped#tn Heb “walked after.” the Sidonian goddess Astarte and the detestable Ammonite god Milcom.#tn Heb “Milcom, the detestable thing of the Ammonites.” 6 Solomon did evil in the Lord’s sight;#tn Heb “in the eyes of the Lord.” he did not remain loyal to#tn The idiomatic statement reads in Hebrew, “he did not fill up after.” the Lord, like his father David had. 7 Furthermore,#tn Heb “then.” on the hill east of Jerusalem#sn The hill east of Jerusalem refers to the Mount of Olives.map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4. Solomon built a high place#sn A high place. The “high places” were places of worship that were naturally or artificially elevated (see 1 Kgs 3:2). for the detestable Moabite god Chemosh#tn Heb “Chemosh, the detestable thing of Moab.” and for the detestable Ammonite god Milcom.#tc The MT reads “Molech,” but Milcom must be intended (see vv. 5, 33). 8 He built high places for all his foreign wives so they could burn incense and make sacrifices to their gods.#tn Heb “and the same thing he did for all his foreign wives, [who] were burning incense and sacrificing to their gods.”
9 The Lord was angry with Solomon because he had shifted his allegiance#tn Heb “bent his heart.” away from the Lord, the God of Israel, who had appeared to him on two occasions#sn These two occasions are mentioned in 1 Kgs 3:5 and 9:2. 10 and had warned him about this very thing, so that he would not follow other gods.#tn Heb “and had commanded him concerning this thing not to walk after other gods.” But he did not obey#tn Or “keep.” the Lord’s command. 11 So the Lord said to Solomon, “Because you insist on doing these things and have not kept the covenantal rules I gave you,#tn Heb “Because this is with you, and you have not kept my covenant and my rules which I commanded you.” I will surely tear the kingdom away from you and give it to your servant. 12 However, for your father David’s sake I will not do this while you are alive. I will tear it away from your son’s hand instead. 13 But I will not tear away the entire kingdom; I will leave#tn Heb “give.” your son one tribe for my servant David’s sake and for the sake of my chosen city Jerusalem.”
14 The Lord brought#tn Or “raised up.” against Solomon an enemy, Hadad the Edomite, a descendant of the Edomite king. 15 During David’s campaign against Edom,#tn Heb “when David was [fighting (?)] with Edom.” Joab, the commander of the army, while on a mission to bury the dead, killed every male in Edom. 16 For six months Joab and the entire Israelite army#tn Heb “and all Israel.” stayed there until they had exterminated every male in Edom.#tn Heb “until he had cut off every male in Edom.” 17 Hadad,#tn The MT reads “Adad,” an alternate form of the name Hadad. who was only a small boy at the time, escaped with some of his father’s Edomite servants and headed for Egypt.#tn Heb “and Adad fled, he and Edomite men from the servants of his father, to go to Egypt, and Hadad was a small boy.” 18 They went from Midian to Paran; they took some men from Paran and went to Egypt. Pharaoh, king of Egypt, supplied him with a house and food and even assigned him some land.#tn Heb “and they arose from Midian and went to Paran and they took men with them from Paran and went to Egypt to Pharaoh king of Egypt and he gave to him a house and food and he said to him, and a land he gave to him.” Something seems to be accidentally omitted after “and he said to him.” 19 Pharaoh liked Hadad so well#tn Heb “and Hadad found great favor in the eyes of Pharaoh.” he gave him his sister-in-law (Queen Tahpenes’ sister) as a wife.#tn Heb “and he gave to him a wife, the sister of his wife, the sister of Tahpenes the queen.” 20 Tahpenes’ sister gave birth to his son,#tn Heb “bore him Genubath his son.” named Genubath. Tahpenes raised#tc The Hebrew text reads וַתִּגְמְלֵהוּ (vattigmÿlehu, “weaned him”) but a slight alteration of the consonantal text yields וַתִּגְדְלֵהוּ (vattigdÿlehu, “raised him”), which seems to make better sense. him in Pharaoh’s palace; Genubath grew up in Pharaoh’s palace among Pharaoh’s sons. 21 While in Egypt Hadad heard that David had passed away#tn Heb “lay down with his fathers.” and that Joab, the commander of the army, was dead. So Hadad asked Pharaoh, “Give me permission to leave#tn Heb “send me away.” so I can return to my homeland.” 22 Pharaoh said to him, “What do you lack here that makes you want to go to your homeland?”#tn Heb “Indeed what do you lack with me, that now you are seeking to go to your land?” Hadad replied,#tn Heb “and he said.” “Nothing, but please give me permission to leave.”#sn So Hadad asked Pharaoh… This lengthy description of Hadad’s exile in Egypt explains why Hadad wanted to oppose Solomon and supports the author’s thesis that his hostility to Solomon found its ultimate source in divine providence. Though Hadad enjoyed a comfortable life in Egypt, when the Lord raised him up (apparently stirring up his desire for vengeance) he decided to leave the comforts of Egypt and return to Edom.
23 God also brought against Solomon#tn Heb “him”; the referent (Solomon) has been specified in the translation for clarity. another enemy, Rezon son of Eliada who had run away from his master, King Hadadezer of Zobah. 24 He gathered some men and organized a raiding band.#tn Heb “and he was the officer of a raiding band.” When David tried to kill them,#tn The Hebrew text reads “when David killed them.” This phrase is traditionally joined with what precedes. The ancient Greek version does not reflect the phrase and some suggest that it has been misplaced from the end of v. 23. they went to Damascus, where they settled down and gained control of the city. 25 He was Israel’s enemy throughout Solomon’s reign and, like Hadad, caused trouble. He loathed#tn The construction (Qal of קוּץ + בְּ [quts + bet] preposition) is rare, but not without parallel (see Lev 20:23). Israel and ruled over Syria.
26 Jeroboam son of Nebat, one of Solomon’s servants, rebelled against#tn Heb “raised a hand against.” the king. He was an Ephraimite#tn Heb “Ephrathite,” which here refers to an Ephraimite (see HALOT 81 s.v. אֶפְרַיִם). from Zeredah whose mother was a widow named Zeruah. 27 This is what prompted him to rebel against the king:#tn Heb “this is the matter concerning which he raised a hand against the king.” Solomon built a terrace and he closed up a gap in the wall of the city of his father David.#sn The city of his father David. The phrase refers here to the fortress of Zion in Jerusalem, not to Bethlehem. See 2 Sam 5:7. 28 Jeroboam was a talented man;#tn Heb “man of strength.” when Solomon saw that the young man was an accomplished worker, he made him the leader of the work crew from the tribe#tn Heb “house.” of Joseph. 29 At that time, when Jeroboam had left Jerusalem, the prophet Ahijah the Shilonite met him on the road; the two of them were alone in the open country. Ahijah#tn The Hebrew text has simply “he,” making it a bit unclear whether Jeroboam or Ahijah is the subject, but in the Hebrew word order Ahijah is the nearer antecedent, and this is followed by the present translation. was wearing a brand new robe, 30 and he grabbed the robe#tn Heb “and Ahijah grabbed the new robe that was on him.” and tore it into twelve pieces. 31 Then he told Jeroboam, “Take ten pieces, for this is what the Lord God of Israel says: ‘Look, I am about to tear the kingdom from Solomon’s hand and I will give ten tribes to you. 32 He will retain one tribe, for my servant David’s sake and for the sake of Jerusalem, the city I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel. 33 I am taking the kingdom from him#tn The words “I am taking the kingdom from him” are supplied in the translation for clarification. because they have#tc This is the reading of the MT; the LXX, Syriac, and Vulgate read “he has.” abandoned me and worshiped the Sidonian goddess Astarte, the Moabite god Chemosh, and the Ammonite god Milcom. They have not followed my instructions#tn Heb “walked in my ways.” by doing what I approve and obeying my rules and regulations, like Solomon’s father David did.#tn Heb “by doing what is right in my eyes, my rules and my regulations, like David his father.” 34 I will not take the whole kingdom from his hand. I will allow him to be ruler for the rest of his life for the sake of my chosen servant David who kept my commandments and rules. 35 I will take the kingdom from the hand of his son and give ten tribes to you.#tn Heb “and I will give it to you, ten tribes.” 36 I will leave#tn Heb “give.” his son one tribe so my servant David’s dynasty may continue to serve me#tn Heb “so there might be a lamp for David my servant all the days before me in Jerusalem.” The metaphorical “lamp” symbolizes the Davidic dynasty. Because this imagery is unfamiliar to the modern reader, the translation “so my servant David’s dynasty may continue to serve me” has been used. in Jerusalem, the city I have chosen as my home.#tn Heb “so there might be a lamp for David my servant all the days before me in Jerusalem, the city which I have chosen for myself to put my name there.” 37 I will select#tn Heb “take.” you; you will rule over all you desire to have and you will be king over Israel. 38 You must obey#tn Heb “If you obey.” In the Hebrew text v. 38 is actually one long conditional sentence, which has been broken into two parts in the translation for stylistic purposes. all I command you to do, follow my instructions,#tn Heb “walk in my ways.” do what I approve,#tn Heb “do what is right in my eyes.” and keep my rules and commandments, like my servant David did. Then I will be with you and establish for you a lasting dynasty, as I did for David;#tn Heb “I will build for you a permanent house, like I built for David.” I will give you Israel. 39 I will humiliate David’s descendants because of this,#sn Because of this. Reference is made to the idolatry mentioned earlier. but not forever.”#tn Heb “but not all the days.” 40 Solomon tried to kill Jeroboam, but Jeroboam escaped to Egypt and found refuge with King Shishak of Egypt.#tn Heb “but Jeroboam arose and ran away to Egypt, to Shishak king of Egypt.” He stayed in Egypt until Solomon died.
Solomon’s Reign Ends
41 The rest of the events of Solomon’s reign, including all his accomplishments and his wise decisions, are recorded in the scroll called the Annals of Solomon.#tn Heb “As for the rest of the events of Solomon, and all which he did, and his wisdom, are they not written on the scroll of the events of Solomon?” 42 Solomon ruled over all Israel from Jerusalem#map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4. for forty years. 43 Then Solomon passed away#tn Heb “lay down with his fathers.” and was buried in the city of his father David.#sn The city of his father David. The phrase refers here to the fortress of Zion in Jerusalem, not to Bethlehem. See 2 Sam 5:7. His son Rehoboam replaced him as king.#tc Before this sentence the Old Greek translation includes the following words: “And it so happened that when Jeroboam son of Nebat heard – now he was in Egypt where he had fled from before Solomon and was residing in Egypt – he came straight to his city in the land of Sarira which is on mount Ephraim. And king Solomon slept with his fathers.”
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1996 - 2007 by Biblical Studies Press, LLC
1 Kings 11
11
Solomon’s Many Wives
1Now King Solomon loved many foreign women. Besides Pharaoh’s daughter, he married women from Moab, Ammon, Edom, Sidon, and from among the Hittites. 2The Lord had clearly instructed the people of Israel, “You must not marry them, because they will turn your hearts to their gods.” Yet Solomon insisted on loving them anyway. 3He had 700 wives of royal birth and 300 concubines. And in fact, they did turn his heart away from the Lord.
4In Solomon’s old age, they turned his heart to worship other gods instead of being completely faithful to the Lord his God, as his father, David, had been. 5Solomon worshiped Ashtoreth, the goddess of the Sidonians, and Molech,#11:5 Hebrew Milcom, a variant spelling of Molech; also in 11:33. the detestable god of the Ammonites. 6In this way, Solomon did what was evil in the Lord’s sight; he refused to follow the Lord completely, as his father, David, had done.
7On the Mount of Olives, east of Jerusalem,#11:7 Hebrew On the mountain east of Jerusalem. he even built a pagan shrine for Chemosh, the detestable god of Moab, and another for Molech, the detestable god of the Ammonites. 8Solomon built such shrines for all his foreign wives to use for burning incense and sacrificing to their gods.
9The Lord was very angry with Solomon, for his heart had turned away from the Lord, the God of Israel, who had appeared to him twice. 10He had warned Solomon specifically about worshiping other gods, but Solomon did not listen to the Lord’s command. 11So now the Lord said to him, “Since you have not kept my covenant and have disobeyed my decrees, I will surely tear the kingdom away from you and give it to one of your servants. 12But for the sake of your father, David, I will not do this while you are still alive. I will take the kingdom away from your son. 13And even so, I will not take away the entire kingdom; I will let him be king of one tribe, for the sake of my servant David and for the sake of Jerusalem, my chosen city.”
Solomon’s Adversaries
14Then the Lord raised up Hadad the Edomite, a member of Edom’s royal family, to be Solomon’s adversary. 15Years before, David had defeated Edom. Joab, his army commander, had stayed to bury some of the Israelite soldiers who had died in battle. While there, they killed every male in Edom. 16Joab and the army of Israel had stayed there for six months, killing them.
17But Hadad and a few of his father’s royal officials escaped and headed for Egypt. (Hadad was just a boy at the time.) 18They set out from Midian and went to Paran, where others joined them. Then they traveled to Egypt and went to Pharaoh, who gave them a home, food, and some land. 19Pharaoh grew very fond of Hadad, and he gave him his wife’s sister in marriage—the sister of Queen Tahpenes. 20She bore him a son named Genubath. Tahpenes raised him#11:20 As in Greek version; Hebrew reads weaned him. in Pharaoh’s palace among Pharaoh’s own sons.
21When the news reached Hadad in Egypt that David and his commander Joab were both dead, he said to Pharaoh, “Let me return to my own country.”
22“Why?” Pharaoh asked him. “What do you lack here that makes you want to go home?”
“Nothing,” he replied. “But even so, please let me return home.”
23God also raised up Rezon son of Eliada as Solomon’s adversary. Rezon had fled from his master, King Hadadezer of Zobah, 24and had become the leader of a gang of rebels. After David conquered Hadadezer, Rezon and his men fled to Damascus, where he became king. 25Rezon was Israel’s bitter adversary for the rest of Solomon’s reign, and he made trouble, just as Hadad did. Rezon hated Israel intensely and continued to reign in Aram.
Jeroboam Rebels against Solomon
26Another rebel leader was Jeroboam son of Nebat, one of Solomon’s own officials. He came from the town of Zeredah in Ephraim, and his mother was Zeruah, a widow.
27This is the story behind his rebellion. Solomon was rebuilding the supporting terraces#11:27 Hebrew the millo. The meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain. and repairing the walls of the city of his father, David. 28Jeroboam was a very capable young man, and when Solomon saw how industrious he was, he put him in charge of the labor force from the tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh, the descendants of Joseph.
29One day as Jeroboam was leaving Jerusalem, the prophet Ahijah from Shiloh met him along the way. Ahijah was wearing a new cloak. The two of them were alone in a field, 30and Ahijah took hold of the new cloak he was wearing and tore it into twelve pieces. 31Then he said to Jeroboam, “Take ten of these pieces, for this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘I am about to tear the kingdom from the hand of Solomon, and I will give ten of the tribes to you! 32But I will leave him one tribe for the sake of my servant David and for the sake of Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel. 33For Solomon has#11:33 As in Greek, Syriac, and Latin Vulgate; Hebrew reads For they have. abandoned me and worshiped Ashtoreth, the goddess of the Sidonians; Chemosh, the god of Moab; and Molech, the god of the Ammonites. He has not followed my ways and done what is pleasing in my sight. He has not obeyed my decrees and regulations as David his father did.
34“‘But I will not take the entire kingdom from Solomon at this time. For the sake of my servant David, the one whom I chose and who obeyed my commands and decrees, I will keep Solomon as leader for the rest of his life. 35But I will take the kingdom away from his son and give ten of the tribes to you. 36His son will have one tribe so that the descendants of David my servant will continue to reign, shining like a lamp in Jerusalem, the city I have chosen to be the place for my name. 37And I will place you on the throne of Israel, and you will rule over all that your heart desires. 38If you listen to what I tell you and follow my ways and do whatever I consider to be right, and if you obey my decrees and commands, as my servant David did, then I will always be with you. I will establish an enduring dynasty for you as I did for David, and I will give Israel to you. 39Because of Solomon’s sin I will punish the descendants of David—though not forever.’”
40Solomon tried to kill Jeroboam, but he fled to King Shishak of Egypt and stayed there until Solomon died.
Summary of Solomon’s Reign
41The rest of the events in Solomon’s reign, including all his deeds and his wisdom, are recorded in The Book of the Acts of Solomon. 42Solomon ruled in Jerusalem over all Israel for forty years. 43When he died, he was buried in the City of David, named for his father. Then his son Rehoboam became the next king.
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