Text -- 1 Kings 11:9-43 (NET)

11:9 The Lord was angry with Solomon because he had shifted his allegiance away from the Lord, the God of Israel, who had appeared to him on two occasions 11:10 and had warned him about this very thing, so that he would not follow other gods. But he did not obey the Lord’s command. 11:11 So the Lord said to Solomon, “Because you insist on doing these things and have not kept the covenantal rules I gave you, I will surely tear the kingdom away from you and give it to your servant. 11:12 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. 11:13 But I will not tear away the entire kingdom; I will leave your son one tribe for my servant David’s sake and for the sake of my chosen city Jerusalem.” 11:14 The Lord brought against Solomon an enemy, Hadad the Edomite, a descendant of the Edomite king. 11:15 During David’s campaign against Edom, Joab, the commander of the army, while on a mission to bury the dead, killed every male in Edom. 11:16 For six months Joab and the entire Israelite army stayed there until they had exterminated every male in Edom. 11:17 Hadad, who was only a small boy at the time, escaped with some of his father’s Edomite servants and headed for Egypt. 11:18 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. 11:19 Pharaoh liked Hadad so well he gave him his sister-in-law (Queen Tahpenes’ sister) as a wife. 11:20 Tahpenes’ sister gave birth to his son, named Genubath. Tahpenes raised him in Pharaoh’s palace; Genubath grew up in Pharaoh’s palace among Pharaoh’s sons. 11:21 While in Egypt Hadad heard that David had passed away and that Joab, the commander of the army, was dead. So Hadad asked Pharaoh, “Give me permission to leave so I can return to my homeland.” 11:22 Pharaoh said to him, “What do you lack here that makes you want to go to your homeland?” Hadad replied, “Nothing, but please give me permission to leave.” 11:23 God also brought against Solomon another enemy, Rezon son of Eliada who had run away from his master, King Hadadezer of Zobah. 11:24 He gathered some men and organized a raiding band. When David tried to kill them, they went to Damascus, where they settled down and gained control of the city. 11:25 He was Israel’s enemy throughout Solomon’s reign and, like Hadad, caused trouble. He loathed Israel and ruled over Syria. 11:26 Jeroboam son of Nebat, one of Solomon’s servants, rebelled against the king. He was an Ephraimite from Zeredah whose mother was a widow named Zeruah. 11:27 This is what prompted him to rebel against the king: Solomon built a terrace and he closed up a gap in the wall of the city of his father David. 11:28 Jeroboam was a talented man; when Solomon saw that the young man was an accomplished worker, he made him the leader of the work crew from the tribe of Joseph. 11:29 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 was wearing a brand new robe, 11:30 and he grabbed the robe and tore it into twelve pieces. 11:31 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. 11:32 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. 11:33 I am taking the kingdom from him because they have abandoned me and worshiped the Sidonian goddess Astarte, the Moabite god Chemosh, and the Ammonite god Milcom. They have not followed my instructions by doing what I approve and obeying my rules and regulations, like Solomon’s father David did. 11:34 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. 11:35 I will take the kingdom from the hand of his son and give ten tribes to you. 11:36 I will leave his son one tribe so my servant David’s dynasty may continue to serve me in Jerusalem, the city I have chosen as my home. 11:37 I will select you; you will rule over all you desire to have and you will be king over Israel. 11:38 You must obey all I command you to do, follow my instructions, do what I approve, 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; I will give you Israel. 11:39 I will humiliate David’s descendants because of this, but not forever.” 11:40 Solomon tried to kill Jeroboam, but Jeroboam escaped to Egypt and found refuge with King Shishak of Egypt. He stayed in Egypt until Solomon died.

Solomon’s Reign Ends

11:41 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. 11:42 Solomon ruled over all Israel from Jerusalem for forty years. 11:43 Then Solomon passed away and was buried in the city of his father David. His son Rehoboam replaced him as king.

Commentary -- Word/Phrase Notes (per phrase)

Wesley: 1Ki 11:12

For my promise made to him, 2Sa 7:12-15.

Wesley: 1Ki 11:13

Benjamin was not entirely his, but part of it adhered to Jeroboam, as Bethel, 1Ki 12:29, and Hephron, 2Ch 13:19, both which were towns of Benjamin.

Wesley: 1Ki 11:15

By his army, to war against it.

Wesley: 1Ki 11:15

The Israelites who were slain in the battle, 2Sa 8:13-14, whom he honourably interred in some certain place, to which he is said to go up for that end. And this gave Hadad the opportunity of making his escape, whilst Joab and his men were employed in that solemnity.

Wesley: 1Ki 11:15

Or, and he smote, as it is in the Hebrew: which is here noted as the cause of Hadad's flight; he understood what Joab had done in part, and intended farther to do, even to kill all the males and therefore fled for his life.

Wesley: 1Ki 11:18

He fled at first with an intent to go into Egypt, but took Midian, a neighbouring country, in his way, and staid there a while, possibly 'till he had by some of his servants tried Pharaoh's mind, and prepared the way for his reception.

Wesley: 1Ki 11:18

Another country in the road from Edom to Egypt, where he hired men to attend him, that making his entrance there something like a prince, he might find more favour from that king and people.

Wesley: 1Ki 11:18

To support himself and his followers out of the profits of it.

Wesley: 1Ki 11:19

God so disposing his heart, that Hadad might be a scourge to Solomon for his impieties.

Wesley: 1Ki 11:21

Whom he feared as much as David himself.

Wesley: 1Ki 11:21

Whither accordingly he came; and was there, even from the beginning of Solomon's reign. And it is probable, by the near relation which was between his wife and Solomon's; and, by Pharaoh's intercession, he obtained his kingdom with condition of subjection and tribute to be paid by him to Solomon; which condition he kept 'till Solomon fell from God, and then began to be troublesome, and dangerous to his house and kingdom.

Wesley: 1Ki 11:23

When David had defeated him.

Wesley: 1Ki 11:23

A part of Syria, between Damascus and Euphrates.

Wesley: 1Ki 11:24

Of soldiers, who fled upon that defeat, 2Sa 10:18, and others who readily joined them, and lived by robbery; as many Arabians did.

Wesley: 1Ki 11:24

And took it, whilst Solomon was wallowing in luxury.

Wesley: 1Ki 11:25

He was a secret enemy, all that time; and when Solomon had forsaken God, he shewed himself openly.

Wesley: 1Ki 11:25

This infelicity was added to the former; whilst Hadad molested him in the south, Rezon threatened him in the north. But what hurt could Hadad or Rezon have done, to so powerful a king as Solomon, if he had not by sin made himself mean and weak? If God be on our side, we need not fear the greatest adversary. But if he be against us, he can make us fear the least: yea, the grasshopper shall be a burden.

Wesley: 1Ki 11:25

Over all that part of Syria, enlarging his empire the more, and thereby laying a foundation for much misery to Solomon's kingdom.

Wesley: 1Ki 11:28

The taxes and tributes.

Wesley: 1Ki 11:29

Probably to execute his charge.

Wesley: 1Ki 11:29

Having gone aside for private conference; for otherwise it is most likely that he had servants attending him, who, though they hear not the words, yet might see the action, and the rending of Jeroboam's coat; and thus it came to Solomon's ears, who being so wise, could easily understand the thing by what he heard of the action, especially when a prophet did it.

Wesley: 1Ki 11:39

For this cause, which I mentioned 1Ki 11:33.

Wesley: 1Ki 11:39

There shall a time come when the seed of David shall not be molested by the kingdom of Israel, but that kingdom shall be destroyed, and the kings of the house of David shall be uppermost, as it was in the days of Asa, Hezekiah and Judah. And at last the Messiah shall come, who shall unite together the broken sticks of Judah and Joseph, and rule over all the Jews and Gentiles too.

Wesley: 1Ki 11:40

To whose ears this had come.

Wesley: 1Ki 11:40

Solomon's brother - in - law, who yet might be jealous of him, or alienated from him, because he had taken so many other wives to his sister, might cast a greedy eye upon the great riches which Solomon had amassed together, and upon which, presently after Solomon's death, he laid violent hands, 2Ch 12:9.

Wesley: 1Ki 11:41

In the publick records, where the lives and actions of kings were registered from time to time, so this was only a political, not a sacred book.

Wesley: 1Ki 11:42

His reign was as long as his father's, but not his life; sin shortened his days.

Wesley: 1Ki 11:43

This expression is promiscuously used concerning good and bad; and signifies only, that they died as their fathers did. But did he repent before he died? This seems to be put out of dispute by the book of Ecclesiastes; written after his fall; as is evident, not only from the unanimous testimony of the Hebrew writers, but also, from the whole strain of that book, which was written long after he had finished all his works, and after he had liberally drunk of all sorts of sensual pleasures, and sadly experienced the bitter effects of his love of women, Ecc 7:17, &c. which makes it more than probable, that as David writ Psa. 51:1-19. So Solomon wrote this book as a publick testimony and profession of his repentance.

JFB: 1Ki 11:9-12

The divine appearance, first at Gibeon [1Ki 3:5], and then at Jerusalem [1Ki 9:2], after the dedication of the temple, with the warnings given him on both occasions [1Ki 3:11-14; 1Ki 9:3-9], had left Solomon inexcusable; and it was proper and necessary that on one who had been so signally favored with the gifts of Heaven, but who had grossly abused them, a terrible judgment should fall. The divine sentence was announced to him probably by Ahijah; but there was mercy mingled with judgment, in the circumstance, that it should not be inflicted on Solomon personally--and that a remnant of the kingdom should be spared--"for David's sake, and for Jerusalem's sake, which had been chosen" to put God's name there; not from a partial bias in favor of either, but that the divine promise might stand (2Sa 7:12-16).

JFB: 1Ki 11:13

There were left to Rehoboam the tribes of Judah, Benjamin, and Levi (2Ch 11:12-13); and multitudes of Israelites, who, after the schism of the kingdom, established their residence within the territory of Judah to enjoy the privileges of the true religion (1Ki 12:17). These are all reckoned as one tribe.|| 09123||1||12||0||@@SOLOMON'S ADVERSARIES.==== (1Ki. 11:14-40)

JFB: 1Ki 11:13

That is, permitted him, through the impulse of his own ambition, or revenge, to attack Israel. During the war of extermination, which Joab carried on in Edom (2Sa 8:13), this Hadad, of the royal family, a mere boy when rescued from the sword of the ruthless conqueror, was carried into Egypt, hospitably entertained, and became allied with the house of the Egyptian king. In after years, the thought of his native land and his lost kingdom taking possession of his mind, he, on learning the death of David and Joab, renounced the ease, possessions, and glory of his Egyptian residence, to return to Edom and attempt the recovery of his ancestral throne. The movements of this prince seem to have given much annoyance to the Hebrew government; but as he was defeated by the numerous and strong garrisons planted throughout the Edomite territory, Hadad seems to have offered his services to Rezon, another of Solomon's adversaries (1Ki 11:23-25). This man, who had been general of Hadadezer and, on the defeat of that great king, had successfully withdrawn a large force, went into the wilderness, led a predatory life, like Jephthah, David, and others, on the borders of the Syrian and Arabian deserts. Then, having acquired great power, he at length became king in Damascus, threw off the yoke, and was "the adversary of Israel all the days of Solomon." He was succeeded by Hadad, whose successors took the official title of Ben-hadad from him, the illustrious founder of the powerful kingdom of Damascene-Syria. These hostile neighbors, who had been long kept in check by the traditional fame of David's victories, took courage; and breaking out towards the latter end of Solomon's reign, they must have not only disturbed his kingdom by their inroads, but greatly crippled his revenue by stopping his lucrative traffic with Tadmor and the Euphrates.|| 09135||1||15||0||@Jeroboam==--This was an internal enemy of a still more formidable character. He was a young man of talent and energy, who, having been appointed by Solomon superintendent of the engineering works projected around Jerusalem, had risen into public notice, and on being informed by a very significant act of the prophet Ahijah of the royal destiny which, by divine appointment, awaited him, his mind took a new turn.

JFB: 1Ki 11:29

Rather, "wrapped up." The meaning is, "Ahijah, the Shilonite, the prophet, went and took a fit station in the way; and, in order that he might not be known, he wrapped himself up, so as closely to conceal himself, in a new garment, a surtout, which he afterwards tore in twelve pieces." Notwithstanding this privacy, the story, and the prediction connected with it [1Ki 11:30-39], probably reached the king's ears; and Jeroboam became a marked man [1Ki 11:40]. His aspiring ambition, impatient for the death of Solomon, led him to form plots and conspiracies, in consequence of which he was compelled to flee to Egypt. Though chosen of God, he would not wait the course of God's providence, and therefore incurred the penalty of death by his criminal rebellion. The heavy exactions and compulsory labor (1Ki 11:28) which Solomon latterly imposed upon his subjects, when his foreign resources began to fail, had prepared the greater part of the kingdom for a revolt under so popular a demagogue as Jeroboam.

JFB: 1Ki 11:40

He harbored and encouraged the rebellious refugee, and was of a different dynasty from the father-in-law of Solomon.

Clarke: 1Ki 11:9

The Lord was angry with Solomon - Had not this man’ s delinquency been strongly marked by the Divine disapprobation, it would have had a fatal effect on the morals of mankind. Vice is vice, no matter who commits it. And God is as much displeased with sin in Solomon as he can be with it in the most profligate, uneducated wretch. And although God sees the same sin in precisely the same degree of moral turpitude as to the act itself, yet there may be circumstances which greatly aggravate the offense, and subject the offender to greater punishment. Solomon was wise; he knew better; his understanding showed him the vanity as well as the wickedness of idolatry. God had appeared unto him twice, and thus given him the most direct proof of his being and of his providence. The promises of God had been fulfilled to him in the most remarkable manner, and in such a way as to prove that they came by a Divine counsel, and not by any kind of casualty. All these were aggravations of Solomon’ s crimes, as to their demerit; for the same crime has, in every case, the same degree of moral turpitude in the sight of God; but circumstances may so aggravate, as to require the offender to be more grievously punished; so the punishment may be legally increased where the crime is the same. Solomon deserved more punishment for his worship of Ashtaroth than any of the Sidonians did, though they performed precisely the same acts. The Sidonians had never known the true God; Solomon had been fully acquainted with him.

Clarke: 1Ki 11:11

Forasmuch as this is done of thee - Was not this another warning from the Lord? And might not Solomon have yet recovered himself? Was there not mercy in this message which he might have sought and found?

Clarke: 1Ki 11:13

Will give one tribe - for David my servant’ s sake - The line of the Messiah must be preserved. The prevailing lion must come out of the tribe of Judah: not only the tribe must be preserved, but the regal line and the regal right. All this must be done for the true David’ s sake: and this was undoubtedly what God had in view by thus miraculously preserving the tribe of Judah and the royal line, in the midst of so general a defection

Clarke: 1Ki 11:13

And for Jerusalem’ s sake - As David was a type of the Messiah, so was Jerusalem a type of the true Church: therefore the Old Jerusalem must be preserved in the hands of the tribe of Judah, till the true David should establish the New Jerusalem in the same land, and in the same city. And what a series of providences did it require to do all these things!

Clarke: 1Ki 11:14

The Lord stirred up an adversary - A satan, שטן . When he sent to Hiram to assist him in building the temple of the Lord, he could say, There was no satan, see 1Ki 5:4; and all his kingdom was in peace and security, - every man dwelt under his vine, and under his fig tree, 1Ki 4:25 : but now that he had turned away from God, three satans rise up against him at once, Hadad, Rezon, and Jeroboam.

Clarke: 1Ki 11:15

Was gone up to bury the slain - The slain Edomites; for Joab had in the course of six months exterminated all the males, except Hadad and his servants, who escaped to Egypt. Instead of bury the slain, the Targum has to take the spoils of the slain.

Clarke: 1Ki 11:17

Hadad being yet a little child - נער קטן naar katan , a little boy; one who was apprehensive of his danger, and could, with his father’ s servants, make his escape: not an infant.

Clarke: 1Ki 11:18

These arose out of Midian - They at first retired to Midian, which lay to the southwest of the Dead Sea. Not supposing themselves in safety there, they went afterwards to Paran in the south of Idumea, and getting a number of persons to join them in Paran, they went straight to Egypt, where we find Hadad became a favourite with Pharaoh, who gave him his sister-in-law to wife; and incorporated him and his family with his own.

Clarke: 1Ki 11:22

Let me go in any wise - It does not appear that he avowed his real intention to Pharaoh; for at this time there must have been peace between Israel and Egypt, Solomon having married the daughter of Pharaoh.

Clarke: 1Ki 11:23

Rezon the son of Eliadah - Thus God fulfilled his threatening by the prophet Nathan: If he commit iniquity, I will chasten him with the rod of men, and with the stripes of the children of men; 2Sa 7:14.

Clarke: 1Ki 11:24

And reigned in Damascus - Rezon was one of the captains of Hadadezer, whom David defeated. It seems that at this time Rezon escaped with his men; and; having lived, as is supposed, some time by plunder, he seized on Damascus, and reigned there till David took Damascus, when he subdued Syria, and drove out Rezon. But after Solomon’ s defection from God, Rezon, finding that God had departed from Israel, recovered Damascus; and joining with Hadad, harassed Solomon during the remaining part of his reign. But some think that Hadad and Rezon were the same person.

Clarke: 1Ki 11:26

Jeroboam the son of Nebat - From the context we learn that Jeroboam while a young man was employed by Solomon to superintend the improvements and buildings at Millo, and had so distinguished himself there by his industry and good conduct as to attract general notice, and to induce Solomon to set him over all the laborers employed in that work, belonging to the tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh, called here the house of Joseph. At first it appears that Solomon employed none of the Israelites in any drudgery; but it is likely that, as he grew profane, he grew tyrannical and oppressive: and at the works of Millo he changed his conduct; and there, in all probability, were the seeds of disaffection sown. And Jeroboam, being a clever and enterprising man, knew well how to avail himself of the general discontent.

Clarke: 1Ki 11:29

When Jeroboam went out of Jerusalem - On what errand he was going out of Jerusalem, we know not

Clarke: 1Ki 11:29

Ahijah the Shilonite - He was one of those who wrote the history of the reign of Solomon, as we find from 2Ch 9:29, and it is supposed that it was by him God spake twice to Solomon; and particularly delivered the message which we find in this chapter, 1Ki 11:11-13.

Clarke: 1Ki 11:31

Take thee ten pieces - The garment was the symbol of the kingdom of Israel; the twelve pieces the symbol of the twelve tribes; the ten pieces given to Jeroboam, of the ten tribes which should be given to him, and afterwards form the kingdom of Israel, ruling in Samaria, to distinguish it from the kingdom of Judah, ruling in Jerusalem.

Clarke: 1Ki 11:36

That David my servant may have a light alway - That his posterity may never fail, and the regal line never become extinct. This, as we have already seen, was in reference to the Messiah. He was not only David’ s light, but he was a light to enlighten the Gentiles.

Clarke: 1Ki 11:37

According to all that thy soul desireth - It appears from this that Jeroboam had affected the kingdom, and was seeking for an opportunity to seize on the government. God now tells him, by his prophet, what he shall have, and what he shall not have, in order to prevent him from attempting to seize on the whole kingdom, to the prejudice of the spiritual seed of David.

Clarke: 1Ki 11:38

And build thee a sure house - He would have continued his posterity on the throne of Israel, had he not by his wickedness forfeited the promises of God, and thrown himself out of the protection of the Most High.

Clarke: 1Ki 11:39

But not for ever - They shall be in affliction and distress till the Messiah come, who shall sit on the throne of David to order it and establish it in judgment and justice for ever. Jarchi says, on this verse

"When the Messiah comes, the kingdom shall be restored to the house of David.

Clarke: 1Ki 11:40

Sought - to kill Jeroboam - He thought by this means to prevent the punishment due to his crimes

Clarke: 1Ki 11:40

Unto Shishak king of Egypt - This is the first time we meet with the proper name of an Egyptian king, Pharaoh being the common name for all the sovereigns of that country. Some suppose that this Shishak was the Sesostris so renowned for his wars and his conquests. But it is likely that this king lived long before Solomon’ s time.

Clarke: 1Ki 11:41

The book of the acts of Solomon? - These acts were written by Nathan the prophet, Ahijah the Shilonite, and Iddo the seer; as we learn from 2Ch 9:29. Probably from these were the Books of Kings and Chronicles composed; but the original documents are long since lost.

Clarke: 1Ki 11:42

Solomon reigned - forty years - Josephus says fourscore years, which is sufficiently absurd. Calmet supposes him to have been eighteen years old when he came to the throne, and that he died A.M. 3029, aged fifty-eight years; and, when we consider the excess in which he lived, and the criminal passions which he must have indulged among his thousand wives, and their idolatrous and impure worship, this life was as long as could be reasonably expected.

Clarke: 1Ki 11:43

Solomon slept with his fathers - He died in almost the flower of his age, and, it appears unregretted. His government was no blessing to Israel; and laid, by its exactions and oppressions, the foundation of that schism which was so fatal to the unhappy people of Israel and Judah, and was the most powerful procuring cause of the miseries which have fallen upon the Jewish people from that time until now

I. It may now be necessary to give a more distinct outline of the character of this king

1. In his infancy and youth he had the high honor of being peculiarly loved by the Lord; and he had a name given him by the express authority of God himself, which to himself and others must ever call to remembrance this peculiar favor of the Most High

There is little doubt that he was a most amiable youth, and his whole conduct appeared to justify the high expectations that were formed of him

2. He ascended the Israelitish throne at a time the most favorable for the cultivation of those arts so necessary to the comfort and improvement of life. Among all the surrounding nations Israel had not one open enemy; there was neither adversary, nor evil occurrent, 1Ki 5:4. He had rest on every side, and from the universal and profound peace which he enjoyed, the very important name Jedidiah, "beloved of the Lord"which was given him by Divine authority was changed to that of Solomon, the Peaceable, 2Sa 12:24, 2Sa 12:25, which at once indicated the state of the country, and the character of his own mild, pacific mind

3. To the dying charge of his pious father relative to the building a temple for the Lord, he paid the most punctual attention. He was fond of architecture, as we may learn from the account that is given of his numerous buildings and improvements; and yet it does not appear that he at all excelled in architectural knowledge. Hiram, the amiable king of Tyre, and his excellent workmen, were the grand directors and executors of the whole. By his public buildings he doubtless rendered Jerusalem highly respectable; but his passion for such works was not on the whole an advantage to his subjects, as it obliged him to have recourse to a burdensome system of taxation, which at first oppressed and exasperated his people, and ultimately led to the fatal separation of Israel and Judah

4. That he improved the trade and commerce of his country is sufficiently evident: by his public buildings vast multitudes were employed; and knowledge in the most beneficial arts must have been greatly increased, and the spirit of industry highly cultivated

Commerce does not appear to have been much regarded, if even known, in Israel, previously to the days of Solomon. The most celebrated maritime power then in the world was that of the Tyrians. With great address and prudence he availed himself of their experience and commercial knowledge, sent his ships in company with theirs to make long and dangerous but lucrative voyages, and, by getting their sailors aboard of his own vessels, gained possession of their nautical skill, and also a knowledge of those safe ports in which they harboured, and of the rich countries with which they traded. His friendly alliance with the king of Tyre was a source of advantage to Israel, and might have been much more so had it been prudently managed. But after the time of Solomon we find it scarcely mentioned, and therefore it does not appear that the Jews continued to follow a track which had been so successfully opened to them; their endless contentions, and the ruinous wars of the two kingdoms, paralyzed all their commercial exertions: till at length all the maritime skill which they had acquired from the expert and industrious Tyrians, dwindled down to the puny art of managing a few boats on the internal lakes of their own country. Had it not been for the destructive feuds that reigned between the two kingdoms of Israel and Judah, that country might have become one of the best and richest maritime powers of either Asia or Europe. Their situation was grand and commanding, but their execrable jealousies deprived them of its advantages, exposed them to the aggressions of their enemies, and finally brought them to ruin

5. I have intimated that Solomon was truly pious in his youth; of this there can be no doubt; it was on this account that the Lord loved him, and his zeal in the cause of true religion, and high respect for the honor of God, are strong indications of such a frame of mind. Had we no other proof of this than his prayer for wisdom, and his prayer at the dedication of the temple, it would put the matter for ever beyond dispute, independently of the direct testimonies we have from God himself on the subject. He loved the worship and ordinances of God, and was a pattern to his subjects of the strictest attention to religious duties. He even exceeded the requisitions of the law in the multitude of his sacrifices, and was a careful observer of those annual festivals so necessary to preserve the memory of the principal facts of the Israelitish history, and those miraculous interventions of God in the behalf of that people

6. There can be no doubt that Solomon possessed the knowledge of governing well; of the importance of this knowledge he was duly aware, and this was the wisdom that he so particularly sought from God. "I am,"said he, "but a little child; I know not how to go out or come in; and thy servant is in the midst of a great people that cannot be counted for multitude. Give therefore thy servant an understanding heart to judge thy people, and that I may discern between good and bad; for who is able to judge this thy so great a people? And the speech pleased the Lord that Solomon had asked this thing;"1Ki 3:8-10. This wisdom he did receive from God; and he is here a pattern to all kings, who, as they are the vicegerents of the Lord, should earnestly seek that wisdom which is from above, that they may be able to know how to govern the people intrusted to their care; because, in every civil government, there are a multitude of things on which a king may be called to decide, concerning which neither the laws, nor the commonly received political maxims by which, in particular cases, the conduct of a governor is to be regulated, can give any specific direction

7. But the wisdom of Solomon was not confined to the art of government, he appears to have possessed a universal knowledge. The sages of the East were particularly distinguished by their accurate knowledge of human nature, from which they derived innumerable maxims for the regulation of man in every part of his moral conduct, and in all the relations in which he could possibly be placed. Hence their vast profusion of maxims, proverbs, instructive fables, apologues, enigmas, etc.; great collections of which still remain locked up in the languages of Asia, particularly the Sanscrit, Arabic, and Persian; besides those which, by the industry of learned men, have been translated and published in the languages of Europe. Much of this kind appears in the books of Wisdom and Ecclesiasticus in the Apocrypha, and in the very excellent collections of D’ Herbelot, Visdelou, and Galand, in the Bibliotheque Orientale. That Solomon possessed this wisdom in a very high degree, the book of Proverbs bears ample testimony, leaving Ecclesiastes for the present out of the consideration

8. As a poet, Solomon stands deservedly high, though of his one thousand and five poems not one, except the book of Song of Solomon, remains. This ode alone, taken in a literary point of view, is sufficient to raise any man to a high degree of poetic fame. It is a most interesting drama, where what Racine terms the genie createur , the creative genius, every where appears; in which the imagery, which is always borrowed from nature, is impressive and sublime; the characters accurately distinguished and defined, the strongest passion, in its purest and most vigorous workings, elegantly portrayed; and in which allusions the most delicate, to transactions of the tenderest complexion, while sufficiently described to make them intelligible, are nevertheless hidden from the eye of the gross vulgar by a tissue as light as a gossamer covering. Such is the nature of this inimitable ode, which, had it not been perverted by weak but well designing men to purposes to which it can never legitimately apply, would have ranked with the highest productions of the Epithalamian kind that ever came from the pen of man. But alas! for this exquisite poem, its true sense has been perverted; it has been forced to speak a language that was never intended, a language far from being honorable to the cause which it was brought to support, and subversive of the unity and simplicity of the ode itself. By a forced mode of interpretation it has been hackneyed to death, and allegorized to destruction. It is now little read, owing to the injudicious manner in which it has been interpreted

It was scarcely to be expected that the son of such a father should not, independently of inspiration, have caught a portion of the pure poetic fire. Though the spirit of poetry, strictly speaking, is not transmissible by ordinary generation, yet most celebrated poets have had poetical parents; but in many cases the talent has degenerated into that of music, and the spirit of poetry in the sire has become a mere musical instrument in the hands of the son. This however was not the case with the son of David, for though vastly inferior to his father in this gift, he had nevertheless the spirit and powers of a first-rate poet

9. His knowledge in natural history must have been very extensive; it is said, "He spake of trees, from the cedar that is in Lebanon even unto the hyssop that springeth out of the wall. He spake also of beasts, of fowls, of reptiles, and of fishes;"1Ki 4:33. All this knowledge has perished; his countrymen, the prophets excepted, were without taste, and took no pains to preserve what they did not relish. A man of such mental power and comprehension under the direction of Divine light must have spoken of things as they are. His doctrine therefore of generation and corruption, of nutrition, vegetation, production, aliments, tribes, classes, families, and habits, relative to the different subjects in botany, zoology, ornithology, entomology, and ichthyology, which are all evidently referred to here, must have been at once correct, instructive, and delightful. I have already lamented the labor it has cost our Rays, Tourneforts, Linnes, Buffons, Willoughbys, Swammerdams, and Bloschs, to regain those sciences which possibly were possessed in their highest degree by the Israelitish king, and which, alas! are all lost, except a few traces in the book of Ecclesiastes, if that work can be traced to so remote an age as that of Solomon

10. As a moral philosopher the author of the book of Ecclesiastes occupies no mean rank. At present we may consider this work as a production of Solomon, though this is disputed, and the question shall be considered in its proper place. This book contains such a fund of wisdom, applied to the regulation of life, and all referred to the proper end, that it most deservedly occupies a high place in Biblical ethics, and deserves the closest attention of every reader

11. The proofs of Solomon’ s vast wisdom, as brought into practical effect, lie in a very small compass, because his history in the Bible is short, his own writings in general lost, and the annals of his reign, as compiled by Nathan the prophet, Ahijah the Shilonite, and Iddo the seer, long since perished. The decision between the two harlots is almost the only instance

Of his interesting interview with the queen of Sheba, and the discussions into which they entered, we have only the fact stated, without the least detail of particulars. Those who have read the Concessus of Harari, or the Heetopadesa, of Veeshnoo Sarma, will regret that the conversations of the wisest of men, with probably the most intelligent of women, should have been lost to the world, which may be reasonably concluded to have been as far superior to the excellent works above referred to, as they are beyond the maxims of Rochefoucault, and the sayings of Madame Maintenon

12. The wisdom of the East has ever been celebrated; and if we may believe their own best writers, much of what they possess has been derived from Solomon. Encomiums of his wisdom are everywhere to be met with in the Asiatic writers; and his name is famous in every part of the East. Most of the oriental historians, poets, and philosophers, mention Soliman ben Daoud, "Solomon the son of David."They relate that he ascended the throne of Israel at the death of his father, when he was only twelve years of age, and that God subjected to his government, not only men, but good and evil spirits, the fowls of the air, and the winds of heaven. They agree with the sacred writers in stating that he employed seven years in building the temple at Jerusalem

Solomon’ s seal, and Solomon’ s ring, are highly celebrated by them, and to these they attribute a great variety of magical effects. They state that without his ring he had not the science of government; and having once lost it, he did not remount his throne for forty days, as being destitute of that wisdom without which he could not decide according to truth and equity. But these things are probably spoken allegorically by their oldest writers. Of the throne of this prince they speak in terms of the most profound admiration. I have met with the most minute description of its magnificence, its ivory, gold, and jewels, and an estimate of its cost in lacs of rupees! According to those writers it had 12,000 seats of gold on the right hand for patriarchs and prophets, and as many on the left for the doctors of the law, who assisted him in the distribution of justice

In various parts of the Koran Solomon is spoken of in terms of the highest respect, and is represented as a true believer; though, through the envy of demons, magic and sorcery were attributed to him. Mohammed speaks of this in the second surat of his Koran. The story, in sum, is this: The devils, by God’ s permission, having tempted Solomon without success, made use of the following stratagem to blast his reputation: they wrote several books of magic, and hid them under his throne; and, after his death, told the chief men that if they wished to know by what means Solomon had obtained absolute dominion over men, genii, and the winds, they should dig under his throne. This they did, and found the aforesaid books full of impious superstitions. The better sort would not learn these incantations; but the common people did, and published them as the genuine works of Solomon. From this imputation the Koran justifies him, by saying, Solomon was not an unbeliever, surat 2. From the wonder-working signet and ring of the Asiatics came the Clavicle of Solomon, so celebrated among the Jewish rabbins, and the Christian occult philosophers; for such things found in Cornelius Agrippa, and such like writers, are not late inventions, but have descended from a very remote antiquity, as the Koran and the various commentators on it sufficiently prove. See Calmet and Sale

The oriental traditions concerning this prince have been embodied in the Soliman Nameh of Ferdusi, in Persian, and in the Soliman Nameh of Uscobi, in Turkish. D’ Herbelot mentions one of these histories in Persian verse, containing 1571 couplets

Indeed, the traditions concerning the wonderful knowledge of Solomon, which abound so much in the East, are at least an indirect proof that many things relative to this prince have been preserved among them which are not mentioned in our sacred books, but which they have blended so miserably with fables that it is impossible now to distinguish the precious from the vile

Works attributed to Solomon have existed in different ages, from his time till the present. Eusebius states that Hezekiah, finding the Jews putting too much confidence in the books of Solomon, relative to cures and different occult arts, ordered them to be suppressed. Josephus positively says that Solomon did compose books of charms to cure diseases, and conjurations to expel demons, Antiq., lib. viii., cap. 2. He states farther, that a Jew named Eliezar cured several demoniacs in the presence of Vespasian, by reciting the charms which had been invented by Solomon. R. D. Kimchi speaks of a book of Solomon entitled The Cure of Diseases, which Genebrard supposes to be the same work of which Josephus speaks. And Origen speaks of conjurations which were used by the Jews in his time, and which they professed to derive from the books of Solomon

There are still extant books of this kind attributed to Solomon, such as The Enchantments, The Clavicle, The Ring, The Hygromantia, The New Moons, and The Shadows of Ideas; but these, as they now stand, are the inventions of quacks and impostors, and entitled to no regard. If there were any books containing the wisdom of Solomon, they are either irrecoverably lost, or exist in mutilated fragments among the Asiatic sages; and are disfigured by being connected with improbable tales, and pretended mantras or charms

II. Hitherto we have looked only at the bright side of Solomon’ s character: we must now take a much less satisfactory view of this singular man; one in whom every thing great, glorious, wise, and holy, and every thing little, mean, foolish and impious, predominated by turns. He forsook the God of his mercies in a great variety of ways

1. Whatever may be thought of the step in a political point of view, he most assuredly went out of the way of God’ s providence, and acted contrary to his law, in making affinity with Pharaoh’ s daughter. The sacred writers frequently refer to this; and it is never mentioned with approbation: it is rather associated with circumstances that place it in a reprehensible point of view. She was doubtless an idolater; and the question of her becoming a proselyte is far from being satisfactorily settled. I believe she was the first means of drawing off his heart from the true God

2. His expensive buildings obliging him to have recourse to a system of oppressive taxation, was another flaw in his character. Though with great zeal and honorable industry, and at great expense, he built a temple for the Lord, which he completed in seven years, yet the expense here was little in comparison of what was incurred by his own house, called the house of the forest of Lebanon, in which he spent incredible sums, and consumed nearly thirteen years; almost twice the time employed in building the temple at Jerusalem. This would have had no evil operation provided he had not been obliged to impose heavy taxes on his subjects, which produced an almost universal disaffection. Add to this, he had a most expensive household; one thousand women, part wives, part mistresses, would require immense riches to support their pomp and gratify their ambition. The people therefore justly complained of an establishment which, notwithstanding the riches brought into the country, must be both odious and oppressive

3. He began his reign by an inauspicious act, the death of his brother Adonijah. This was a sin against God and nature: and no art of man can ever wash out its guilt. If state policy required it, which is very questionable, what had that to do with the feelings of humanity, and the love of God? On no pretense whatever is Solomon justified in this act

4. His inordinate love of women. He had no doubt formed matrimonial alliances with all kingdoms and neighboring states, by taking their sisters and daughters to be his wives, to the fearful amount of no less than seven hundred! Politicians may endeavor to justify these acts by asserting, that in the Asiatic countries they were matters of a sound policy, rather than an argument of the prevalence of an irregular and unbridled passion. Let this stand for its value; but what can such apologists say for the additional three hundred concubines, for the taking of whom no such necessity can be pleaded? But even allowing that state policy might require such extensive alliances, what are we to say to the flagrant breaches of a most positive law of God? Most solemnly and most authoritatively had he said that his people should not give their daughters to the heathen, nor take the daughters of the heathen to be their wives; lest they should turn their hearts away from serving the Lord. In the face of this most positive declaration, Solomon took wives of the most idolatrous of the surrounding nations; who succeeded, according to what was foretold in turning his heart away from God

5. He became an idolater. He worshipped "Ashtaroth, the Venus of the Sidonians; Milcom, the abomination of the Ammonites; Chemosh, the abomination of the Moabites; and Molech, the abomination of the children of Ammon."He did more: he built a temple to each of these; "and to all the gods of all his strange wives which burned incense, and sacrificed unto their gods,"1Ki 11:5-8

6. By this time we may suppose that the light of God had entirely departed from his mind. He who knew so well the true God, now served him not; or, if he did, it was in conjunction with those idols, thus bringing the Supreme Being on a level with demons, or the figments of impure hearts and disordered fancies. We need not wonder at the tale of the mighty Samson betraying his life’ s secret in the lap of Delilah; or of the unconquerable Hercules handling the distaff among the maids of Omphale, queen of Lydia; when we see the son of David, the once well-beloved of the Lord, the wisest of human beings, for the love of his millenary of wives and concubines, erecting temples to devils, and burning incense to them that were no gods; not considering that an idol is nothing in the world. To what an indescribable state of blindness and fatuity must this man have been brought, before he could have been capable of such acts as these! O Lucifer, son of the morning, how art thou fallen

7. I have already hinted that Solomon’ s oppressive taxation laid the foundation of that discontent which shortly after his death produced the separation of Israel and Judah; also the long and ruinous wars which drenched these states in blood: and this was doubtless the cause that ten-twelfths of the Jewish people became idolaters; which crime was punished, by the just judgments of God, by the Babylonish captivity, which lasted seventy years; and by the carrying away of the ten Israelitish tribes by the Assyrians, who are lost from the map of the universe, and no longer numbered among the children of men

8. What greatly aggravates the whole of this most dismal tale is, that this strange defection from God, truth, reason, and common sense, was persisted in to his old age; or that in his old age, meaning undoubtedly his latter days, his wives turned away his heart from God. But his idolatry must have been of many years’ standing; he meddled with it in his connection with the princes of Egypt; each of his idolatrous wives in succession increased the propensity: to chastise him for this very idolatry the Lord stirred up an adversary unto him, Hadad, the Edomite, and Rezon, the son of Eliadah, who was an adversary to Israel all the days of Solomon, 1Ki 11:14-25, which surely intimates that this idolatry was not the sin merely of his old age; as to chastise him for it Rezon was an adversary to Israel all his days. And as Solomon reigned forty years, we may fairly presume that a principal part of that time was spent in idolatrous practices

9. This dismal account has a more dismal close still; for, in the same place in which we are informed of his apostasy, we are informed of his death, without the slightest intimation that he ever repented and turned to God. It is true that what is wanting in fact is supplied by conjecture; for it is firmly believed that "he did repent, and wrote the book of Ecclesiastes after his conversion, which is a decided proof of his repentance."I am sorry I cannot strengthen this opinion; of which I find not the shadow of a proof

1. The book of Ecclesiastes, though it speaks much of the vanity of the creatures, yet speaks little or nothing of the vanity or sin of idolatry

2. It is not the language of a man who was recovering from a state of the most awful backsliding. Is there any direct confession of sin in it? Is there any thing in it like the penitential confessions of his father, or like the lamentations of Jeremiah? Is there any where to be heard in it the sighing of a broken heart, or strong crying and tears to deprecate the justice and implore the mercy of a deeply offended God? Does it any where exhibit the language of a penitent, or expressions suitable to the state and circumstances of this supposed penitent king of Israel? Excellent as it is in its kind, is it any thing more than a valuable collection of experimental ethics, relative to the emptiness of the creature, and the folly of earthly pursuits and worldly anxieties

3. Nor is it even past doubt that Solomon wrote this book: it certainly does in several places bear evidences of times posterior to those of Solomon. Eminent scholars have discerned a deterioration in the style from the pure classical Hebrew, with an admixture of exotic terms that did not exist in the Hebrew language previously to the Babylonish captivity. But supposing that they are mistaken here, I still contend that it is not the language of a penitent soul

4. It has been supposed, that, as Solomon was a type of Christ, it is not likely that he has finally perished. To this I answer, (1). I know not that Solomon was a type of Christ. The reference to Son 3:7; Son 8:11, Son 8:12, is to me no proof whatever of the point. (2). Were it even otherwise, this would be no proof of his repentance, when the Scriptures are silent on the subject. The brazen serpent was a type of Christ, Joh 3:14, and was held in great veneration for a considerable time among the Jews; but when it became an incitement to idolatry, it was called nehushtan, a brazen trifle, taken down, and destroyed; 2Ki 18:4. Typical persons and typical things may perish as well as others; the antitype alone will infallibly remain

5. Finally, there seems every evidence that he died in his sins. His crimes were greatly aggravated: he forsook the Lord, who had appeared to him twice; his wives turned away his heart in his old age: there is not a single testimony in the Old or New Testament that intimates he died in a safe state. That awful denunciation of Divine justice stands point blank in the way of all contrary suppositions: "If thou forsake the Lord, he will cast thee off for ever,"1Ch 28:9. He did forsake the Lord; and he forsook him in his very last days; and there is no evidence that he ever again clave to him. Ergo

Reader, let him that standeth take heed lest he fall; not only foully but finally. Certainly, unconditional final perseverance will find little support in the case of Solomon. He was once most incontrovertibly in grace. He lost that grace and sinned most grievously against God. He was found in this state in his old age. He died, as far as the Scripture informs us, without repentance. Even the doubtfulness in which the bare letter of the Scripture leaves the eternal state of this man, is a blast of lightning to the syren song of "Once in grace, and still in grace;""Once a child, and a child for ever.

I shall close these observations with the account given by Abul Farage, an Arabic writer of the thirteenth century, in his work entitled The History of the Dynasties, p. 55. "But in this Solomon transgressed, because towards the end of his life he took other women of foreign nations besides the daughter of Pharaoh; nations with whom God had forbidden the children of Israel to form matrimonial alliances; but leaning towards their gods, he worshipped their idols. In the thirty-fourth year of his reign he built a house for idols in the mount which is opposite to Jerusalem; and the length of it was one hundred cubits, its breadth fifty, and its height thirty. He made also for himself golden shields, and a brazen sea, supported on the horns of brazen oxen. God reproved him for his infidelity, and gave him for punishment in this world that he took away from his son the greater part of the kingdom. Moreover, the duration of his reign was forty years; and he died without repentance, and was buried in the sepulcher of his father David.

For other particulars relative to the different transactions of this reign, the reader is referred to the notes in the order of their occurrence; and to those treatises which have been written on the probability that Solomon did or did not repent of his idolatry: and also to the notes on Ecclesiastes, where the subject will be again reviewed.

Defender: 1Ki 11:32

The reference indicates one tribe in addition to David's own tribe of Judah. That one tribe historically turned out to be the tribe of Benjamin. The other southern tribe, Simeon, had apparently migrated to the north along with Dan although many of the Simeonites had no doubt been incorporated into Judah."

TSK: 1Ki 11:9

angry : Exo 4:14; Num 12:9; Deu 3:26, Deu 9:8, Deu 9:20; 2Sa 6:7, 2Sa 11:27; 1Ch 21:7; Psa 78:58-60, Psa 90:7, Psa 90:8

his heart : 1Ki 11:2, 1Ki 11:3; Deu 7:4; Pro 4:23; Isa 29:13, Isa 29:14; Hos 4:11; 2Ti 4:10

which had appeared : 1Ki 3:5, 1Ki 9:2

TSK: 1Ki 11:10

commanded : 1Ki 6:12, 1Ki 6:13, 1Ki 9:4-7; 2Ch 7:17-22

TSK: 1Ki 11:11

is done of thee : Heb. is with thee

thou hast not : Isa 29:13, Isa 29:14

I will surely : 1Ki 11:31, 1Ki 12:15, 1Ki 12:16, 1Ki 12:20; Num 14:23, Num 14:35; 1Sa 2:30-32, 1Sa 13:13, 1Sa 13:14, 1Sa 15:26-28; 2Sa 12:9-12

TSK: 1Ki 11:12

in thy days : 1Ki 21:29; 2Ki 20:17, 2Ki 20:19, 2Ki 22:19, 2Ki 22:20

for David : 1Sa 9:4, 1Sa 9:5; Gen 12:2, Gen 19:29

I will rend it out : Exo 20:5

TSK: 1Ki 11:13

Howbeit : 1Ki 11:39; 2Sa 7:15, 2Sa 7:16; 1Ch 17:13, 1Ch 17:14; Psa 89:33-37

one tribe : 1Ki 11:35, 1Ki 11:36, 1Ki 12:20

for David : 1Ki 11:11, 1Ki 11:12, 1Ki 11:32; Deu 9:5; 2Ki 13:23, 2Ki 19:34; Psa 89:49, Psa 132:1, Psa 132:17; Isa 9:7; Jer 33:17-26; Luk 1:32, Luk 1:33

for Jerusalem’ s : Deu 12:5, Deu 12:11; 2Ki 21:4, 2Ki 23:27; Psa 132:13, Psa 132:14; Isa 14:32, Isa 62:1, Isa 62:7; Jer 33:15, Jer 33:16

TSK: 1Ki 11:14

the Lord : 1Ki 12:15; 1Sa 26:19; 2Sa 24:1; 1Ch 5:26; Isa 10:5, Isa 10:26, Isa 13:17

an adversary : 2Sa 7:14; Psa 89:30-34

TSK: 1Ki 11:15

when David : 2Sa 8:14; 1Ch 18:12, 1Ch 18:13; Psa 60:1 *title Psa 108:10

after he had : Gen 25:23, Gen 27:40; Num 24:18, Num 24:19; Deu 20:13; Mal 1:2, Mal 1:3

every male : Num 31:17

TSK: 1Ki 11:17

Hadad : Exo 2:1-10; 2Sa 4:4; 2Ki 11:2; Mat 2:13, Mat 2:14

a little child : Naar katon , rather, ""a little boy:""one who was apprehensive of his danger, and could, with his father’ s servants, make his escape.

TSK: 1Ki 11:18

Midian : Probably not the Midian east of the Red Sea, to which Moses fled (Exo 2:15, etc.) but the Midian east of the Dead Sea, and south of Moab. These Midianites, whose daughters seduced the Israelites to commit idolatry (Num 22:4, Num 22:7; Num 25:15; Num 31:2, etc.) were descendants of Midian, son of Abraham (Gen 25:2). Their capital city was called Midian, and its remains were to be seen in the time of Eusebius and Jeromecaps1 . icaps0 t was situated on the Arnon, south of the city Ar, or Areopolis. Gen 25:2, Gen 25:4; Num 22:4, Num 25:6, Num 25:14, Num 25:18

Paran : Probably the city of Paran, or the district around it, situated in the south of Idumea, and according to Eusebius, three days’ journey east from Elah or Elath, at the head of the eastern branch, or Elamitic gulf of the Red Sea. Gen 14:6, Gen 21:21; Num 10:12; Deu 1:1, Deu 33:2; Hab 3:3

TSK: 1Ki 11:19

found : Gen 39:4, Gen 39:21; Act 7:10, Act 7:21

that he gave : Gen 41:45

Tahpenes : Jer 43:7-9

TSK: 1Ki 11:20

weaned : Gen 21:7; 1Sa 1:24

TSK: 1Ki 11:21

Hadad : 1Ki 2:10, 1Ki 2:34; Exo 4:19; Mat 2:20

Let me depart : Heb. Send me away, Gen 45:24; Jos 2:21; 1Sa 9:26; 2Sa 3:21

TSK: 1Ki 11:22

But : Jer 2:31; Luk 22:35

Nothing : Heb. Not

let me go : 2Sa 18:22, 2Sa 18:23; Psa 37:8; Mar 14:31

TSK: 1Ki 11:23

God : 1Ki 11:14; 2Sa 16:11; Ezr 1:1; Isa 13:17, Isa 37:26, Isa 45:5; Eze 38:16

Hadadezer : 2Sa 8:3, 2Sa 10:8, 2Sa 10:15-18; 1Ch 18:3-9, 1Ch 19:6, 1Ch 19:16-19, Hadarezer, Psa 60:1 *title

TSK: 1Ki 11:24

to Damascus : 1Ki 19:15, 1Ki 20:34; Gen 14:15; Act 9:2

in Damascus : Damascus, called also Damesk, but generally El Sham, by the Arabs, is situated in a delightful plain, well watered by the Barrada, at the eastern foot of Antilibanus, being surrounded by the hills in the form of a triumphal arch, 136 miles n of Jerusalem, 195 s of Antioch, and 276 ssw of Diarbekir. It is a city of the highest antiquity, being at least as ancient as the time of Abrahamcaps1 . icaps0 t has been often captured, and several times demolished, but has always risen to splendour and dignity. The modern town is described by Maundrell as of a long, straight figure, it ends pointing nearly ne and sw It is very slender in the middle, but swells bigger at each end, especially at that to the ne According to Niebuhr, the walls are something less than a league and half in circumference; and the population is estimated at from 100,000 to 150,000.

TSK: 1Ki 11:25

all the days : 1Ki 5:4; 2Ch 15:2

abhorred : Gen 34:30; Deu 23:7; 2Sa 16:21; Psa 106:40; Zec 11:8

TSK: 1Ki 11:26

Jeroboam : 1Ki 11:11, 1Ki 11:28, 1Ki 12:2, 1Ki 12:20-24, 1Ki 13:1-10, 1Ki 14:16, 1Ki 15:30, 1Ki 16:3, 1Ki 21:22

an Ephrathite : Gen 35:16; Rth 1:2; 1Sa 1:1, 1Sa 17:12; 1Ch 2:19

Solomon’ s servant : 1Ki 9:22; 2Ch 13:6

TSK: 1Ki 11:27

lifted up : 2Sa 20:21; Pro 30:32; Isa 26:11

Solomon : 1Ki 9:15, 1Ki 9:24

repaired : Heb. closed, Amo 9:11

the breaches : Neh 4:7; Psa 60:2; Isa 22:9; Eze 13:5

the city : 2Sa 5:7

TSK: 1Ki 11:28

was industrious : Heb. did work, Pro 22:29

he made : 1Ki 5:16

charge : Heb. burden, Deu 1:12; Isa 14:25; Mat 11:30

the house : Jos 18:5; Jdg 1:22, Jdg 1:23; 2Sa 19:20; Amo 5:6; Zec 10:6

TSK: 1Ki 11:29

Ahijah : 1Ki 12:15, 1Ki 14:2; 2Ch 9:29

Shilonite : Jos 18:1

and they two : Gen 4:8; 2Sa 14:6

TSK: 1Ki 11:30

rent it : 1Sa 15:27, 1Sa 15:28, 1Sa 24:4, 1Sa 24:5

TSK: 1Ki 11:31

thus saith : 1Ki 11:11, 1Ki 11:12

TSK: 1Ki 11:32

he shall : 1Ki 12:20

for Jerusalem’ s sake : 1Ki 11:13

TSK: 1Ki 11:33

they have forsaken : 1Ki 11:9, 1Ki 3:14, 1Ki 6:12, 1Ki 6:13, 1Ki 9:5-7; 1Ch 28:9; 2Ch 15:2; Jer 2:13; Hos 4:17

Ashtoreth : 1Ki 11:5-8

TSK: 1Ki 11:34

Howbeit : 1Ki 11:12, 1Ki 11:13, 1Ki 11:31; Job 11:6; Psa 103:10; Hab 3:2

for David : Isa 55:3

TSK: 1Ki 11:35

I will take : Exo 20:5, Exo 20:6

will give : 1Ki 12:15-17, 1Ki 12:20; 2Ch 10:15-17

TSK: 1Ki 11:36

David : 1Ki 15:4; 2Sa 7:16, 2Sa 7:29, 2Sa 21:17; 2Ki 8:19; 2Ch 21:7; Psa 132:17; Jer 33:17-21; Amo 9:11, Amo 9:12; Luk 1:69, Luk 1:70, Luk 1:78, Luk 1:79; Act 15:16, Act 15:17

light : Heb. lamp, or candle

the city : 1Ki 11:13, 1Ki 9:3; Gal 4:25, Gal 4:26; Heb 12:22; Rev 21:10

TSK: 1Ki 11:37

according : 1Ki 11:26; Deu 14:26; 2Sa 3:21

TSK: 1Ki 11:38

if thou wilt : 1Ki 3:14, 1Ki 6:12, 1Ki 9:4, 1Ki 9:5; Exo 19:5; Deu 15:5; Zec 3:7

that I will : Deu 31:8; Jos 1:5

build the : 1Ki 14:7-14; 2Sa 7:11, 2Sa 7:16, 2Sa 7:26-29; 1Ch 17:10, 1Ch 17:24-27

TSK: 1Ki 11:39

afflict : 1Ki 12:16, 1Ki 14:8, 1Ki 14:25, 1Ki 14:26; Psa 89:38-45, Psa 89:49-51

not for ever : 1Ki 11:36; Psa 89:30-34; Isa 7:14, Isa 9:7, Isa 11:1-10; Jer 23:5, Jer 23:6; Lam 3:31, Lam 3:32; Luk 1:32, Luk 1:33, Luk 2:4, Luk 2:11

TSK: 1Ki 11:40

Solomon sought : 2Ch 16:10; Pro 21:30; Isa 14:24-27, Isa 46:10; Lam 3:37

Shishak : This is the first time we meet with the proper name of an Egyptian king in Scripture, Pharaoh being the general appellation for all the sovereigns of that country. Some are of opinion that Shishak is the same with the celebrated Sesostris of the Greek historians; but it is probable that this king lived long before Solomon’ s time. Usher thinks him to be Sesonchis, and places the beginning of his reign, am 3026, bc 978. 1Ki 14:25, 1Ki 14:26; 2Ch 12:2-9

TSK: 1Ki 11:41

rest : 2Ch 9:29-31

acts : or, words, or things

TSK: 1Ki 11:42

time : Heb. days

forty years : Josephus says fourscore years; which is sufficiently absurd. Calmet supposes him to have been 18 years old when he came to the throne, and 58 when he died. 1Ki 2:11

TSK: 1Ki 11:43

am 3029, bc 975

slept : 1Ki 1:21, 1Ki 14:20, 1Ki 15:8, 1Ki 15:24, 1Ki 16:6; Deu 31:16; 2Ki 16:20, 2Ki 20:21, 2Ki 21:18

buried : 1Ki 2:10, 1Ki 14:31; 2Ki 21:18, 2Ki 21:26; 2Ch 21:20, 2Ch 26:23, 2Ch 28:27; Jer 22:19

Rehoboam : 1Ch 3:10; 2Ch 9:31, 2Ch 13:7; Mat 1:5, Roboam

Commentary -- Word/Phrase Notes (per Verse)

Barnes: 1Ki 11:13

One tribe - i. e., (marginal reference) the tribe of Judah. Benjamin was looked upon as absorbed in Judah, so as not to be really a tribe in the same sense as the others. Still, in memory of the fact that the existing tribe of Judah was a double one 1Ki 12:2 l, the prophet Ahijah tore his garment into twelve parts, and kept back two from Jeroboam 1Ki 11:30-31.

Barnes: 1Ki 11:14

The writer has reserved for this place the various troubles of Solomon’ s reign, not allowing them to interrupt his previous narrative. He has, consequently, not followed chronological order. Hadad’ s 1Ki 11:23 and Rezon’ s opposition belong to the early years of Solomon’ s reign.

Hadad was a royal title (perhaps, the Syriac name for "the Sun") both in Syria and in Idumaea (compare Gen 36:35; 1Ch 1:51).

Barnes: 1Ki 11:15

The verse gives certain additional particulars of David’ s conquest of Edom (marginal references). Joab was left, or sent, to complete the subjugation of the country, with orders to exterminate all the grown male inhabitants. It was not very often that David acted with any extreme severity in his wars; but he may have considered himself justified by policy, as he certainly was by the letter of the Law Deu 20:13, in adopting this fierce course against Edom.

Was in Edom - Or, according to another reading, "smote"Edom.

The slain - Probably the Israelites who had fallen in the strnggle. Translate, "when ... Joab was gone up to bury the slain, and had smitten every male,"etc.

Barnes: 1Ki 11:16

Every male in Edom - i. e., every male whom he could find. As did Hadad and his company 1Ki 11:17, so others would escape in various directions. The Edomite nation was not destroyed on the occasion.

Barnes: 1Ki 11:18

Midian - A town in the south of Judah. Paran is the desert tract immediately to the south of Judaea, the modern desert of et-Tih.

Pharaoh - King of the twenty-first (Tanite) dynasty; probably he was Psusennes I, Manetho’ s second king. It appears to have been the policy of the Pharaohs about this time to make friends and contract alliances with their eastern neighbors.

Barnes: 1Ki 11:21

That Hadad should wait for the death of Joab before requesting leave to return to Idumaea shows how terrible an impression had been made by the severe measures which that commander had carried out twenty-five or thirty years previously 1Ki 11:16. The inability of refugees to depart from an Oriental court without the king’ s leave, and his unwillingness ordinarily to grant leave, are illustrated by many passages in the history of Persia.

Barnes: 1Ki 11:23

Rezon - Possibly the same as the Hezion of 1Ki 15:18; but probably one who interrupted the royal line of the Damascene Hadads, which was restored after his death. We may arrange the Damascus-kings of this period as follows:

RE-DO THE NEXT PARAGRAPH!

Hadadezer (or Hadad I), about 1040 B.C. (conquered by David).

Rezon (usurper) was contemporary with Solomon.

Hezion (Hadad II) was contemporary with Rehoboam.

Tabrimon (Hadad III) was contemporary with Abijam.

Ben-hadad (Hadad IV) was contemporary with Asa.

Barnes: 1Ki 11:24

And (they) reigned - A very slight emendation gives the sense, "they made him king at Damascus."

Barnes: 1Ki 11:26

Zereda - See Jdg 7:22.

Lifted up his hand against the king - i. e., "he rebelled."Compare marginal reference.

Barnes: 1Ki 11:27

Millo was probably fortified in Solomon’ s twenty-fourth or twenty-fifth year.

Barnes: 1Ki 11:28

A mighty man of valor - Here "a man of strength and activity."It is a vague term of commendation, the exact force of which must be fixed by the context. See Rth 2:1; 1Sa 9:1, etc.

Solomon made Jeroboam superintendent of all the forced labor ("the charge") exacted from his tribe - the tribe of Ephraim - during the time that he was building Millo and fortifying the city of Jerusalem 1Ki 9:15.

Barnes: 1Ki 11:29

At that time - Probably after Jeroboam’ s return from Egypt (see 1Ki 11:40).

The Shilonite - An inhabitant of Shiloh in Mount Ephraim, the earliest and most sacred of the Hebrew sanctuaries (Jos 18:10; Jdg 18:31; 1Sa 4:3, etc.)

Barnes: 1Ki 11:30

The first instance of the "acted parable."Generally this mode was adopted upon express divine command (see Jer 13:1-11; Eze 3:1-3). A connection may be traced between the type selected and the words of the announcement to Solomon (1Ki 11:11-13. Compare 1Sa 15:26-28).

Barnes: 1Ki 11:34

Translate - "Howbeit I will not take ought of the kingdom out of his hand."The context requires this sense.

Barnes: 1Ki 11:36

That David may have a light - Compare the marginal references. The exact meaning of the expression is doubtful. Perhaps the best explanation is, that "light"here is taken as the essential feature of a continuing "home."

Barnes: 1Ki 11:38

See the marginal references. To "build a sure house,"or "give a house,"is to give a continuity of offspring, and so secure the perpetuity of a family. The promise, it will be observed, is conditional; and as the condition was not complied with, it did not take effect (see 1Ki 14:8-14). The entire house of Jeroboam was destroyed by Baasha 1Ki 15:29.

Barnes: 1Ki 11:39

But not forever - David had been distinctly promised that God should never fail his seed, whatever their shortcomings Psa 89:28-37. The fulfillment of these promises was seen, partly in the Providence which maintained David’ s family in a royal position until Zerubbabel, but mainly in the preservation of his seed to the time fixed for the coming of Christ, and in the birth of Christ - the Eternal King - from one of David’ s descendants.

Barnes: 1Ki 11:40

Compare 1Ki 11:26. The announcement of Ahijah was followed within a little while by rebellion on the part of Jeroboam. As Solomon’ s luster faded, as his oppression became greater and its objects more selfish, and as a prospect of deliverance arose from the personal qualities of Jeroboam 1Ki 11:28, the tribe of Ephraim to which he belonged, again aspired after its old position (see Jos 17:14 note). Jeroboam, active, energetic, and ambitious, placed himself at their head. The step proved premature. The power of Solomon was too firmly fixed to be shaken; and the hopes of the Ephraimites had to be deferred until a fitter season.

The "exact"date of Jeroboam’ s flight into Egypt cannot be fixed. It was certainly not earlier than Solomon’ s twenty-fourth year, since it was after the building of Millo 1Ki 11:27. But it may have been several years later.

Shishak - This king is the first Pharaoh mentioned in Scripture who can be certainly identified with any known Egyptian monarch. He is the Sheshonk (Sheshonk I) of the monuments, and the Sesonchosis of Manetho. The Egyptian date for his accession is 980 or 983 B.C., which synchronizes, according to the ordinary Hebrew reckoning, with Solomon’ s 32nd or 35th year. Sheshonk I has left a record of his expedition against Judah, which accords well with what is related of Shishak 1Ki 14:25-26; 2Ch 12:2-4.

Barnes: 1Ki 11:41

The book of the acts of Solomon - See the marginal reference and Introduction.

Barnes: 1Ki 11:42

Josephus gave Solomon a reign of 80 years, either because he wished to increase the glory of his country’ s greatest king, or through his having a false reading in his copy of the Septuagint Version. It is, no doubt, remarkable that the three successive kings, Saul, David, and Solomon, should have each reigned forty years Act 13:21; 2Sa 5:4-5; but such numerical coincidences occur from time to time in exact history.

Poole: 1Ki 11:9

From the Lord God of Israel from the express command and from the worship of God; not that he wholly neglected God, but because God esteems all the worship of idols (though it be not exclusive of, but conjoined with his own worship) to be a forsaking of and departing from God, and ofttimes so calls it.

Which had appeared unto him to wit, in an extraordinary and most gracious and obliging manner.

Poole: 1Ki 11:11

The Lord said unto Solomon either by suggestion to his mind, or by appearance to him in a terrible manner, or by the prophet Ahijah, of whom 1Ki 11:29 .

I will surely rend I will violently take away. The word in the Hebrew is doubled, for the greater assurance of the thing.

To thy servant to one of thy servants and subjects, which was Jeroboam, 1Ki 11:26 , &c.

Poole: 1Ki 11:12

For David thy father’ s sake for the respect I bear to his memory, and for my promise sake made to him, 2Sa 7 .

Poole: 1Ki 11:13

How but one tribe , when he had both Judah and Benjamin, 2Ch 11:12 ?

Answ Either Benjamin is swallowed up in Judah, because it was comparatively very small, and their habitation much intermixed with that of Judah: or one , to wit, of that kingdom which he here threatens to rend away from him, i.e. of the kingdom of Israel, and that was Benjamin; one beside Judah, which was his own tribe: or but one , because Benjamin was not entirely his, but part of it adhered to Jeroboam, as Beth-el, 1Ki 12:29 , and Ephrain, 2Ch 13:19 , both which were towns of Benjamin, Jos 18:22 . Or if God promised to give one, and gave him two, I suppose that was no great injury to him.

For Jerusalem’ s sake not, surely, for its merits; but because he had chosen it, as it follows, to be the seat of his temple and worship; it being God’ s usual method

to give to him that hath and to continue and multiply favours to them whom he hath begun to favour.

Poole: 1Ki 11:15

When David was in Edom to wit, by his army, to war against it. See 1Ch 18:12,13 .

To bury the slain to wit, the Israelites which were slain in the battle, 2Sa 8:13,14 , whom he honourably inferred in some certain place, to which he is said to go up for that end. And this may be mentioned as that which gave Hadad the opportunity of making his escape, whilst Joab and his men were employed in that solemnity.

After he had smitten every male in Edom or, and he smote , &c., as it is in the Hebrew; which is here noted as the cause of Hadad’ s flight, he smote, &c. He understood what Joab had done in part, and intended further to do, even to kill all the males, and therefore fled for his life.

Poole: 1Ki 11:18

They arose out of Midian he fled at first with an intent to go into Egypt , as is said, 1Ki 11:17 , but took Midian, a neighbouring country, in his way, and staid there a while, possibly till he had by some of his servants tried Pharaoh’ s mind, and prepared the way for his reception.

Paran another country in the road from Edom to Egypt, where he hired men to attend him, that making his entrance there something like a prince, he might find more favour and respect from that king and people.

Appointed him victuals and gave him land, to support himself and his train out of the profits of it.

Poole: 1Ki 11:19

God so disposing his heart, that Hadad might be a scourge to Solomon for his impieties, which God foresaw long before they were done.

Poole: 1Ki 11:21

Joab the captain of the host whom he feared as much as David himself.

That I may go to mine own country whither accordingly he came, and was there even from the beginning of Solomon’ s reign; where he either lived as a private person, yet secretly working for the recovery of his crown when an opportunity was offered; or rather, by the near relation which was between his wife and Solomon’ s; and by Pharaoh’ s intercession he obtained his kingdom, with condition of subjection and tribute to be paid by him to Solomon; which condition he kept till Solomon fell from God, and then it seems he began to be troublesome to him, and dangerous to his house and kingdom.

Poole: 1Ki 11:23

When David had defeated him: see 2Sa 10:10 , &c.

Zobah a part of Syria between Damascus and Euphrates; of which see 1Sa 14:47 2Ch 8:3 Psa 60:1 .

Poole: 1Ki 11:24

Over a band to wit, of soldiers, who fled and dispersed themselves upon that defeat, 2Sa 10 , and others who readily joined themselves with them, and lived by robbery, as many Arabians did.

They went to Damascus when they were increased in number and strength, and took it, whilst Solomon was wallowing in luxury, and grown effeminate.

Poole: 1Ki 11:25

He was a secret enemy, watching all occasions to do them mischief cunningly and privately all that time; and when Solomon had forsaken God, and was forsaken by God, he showed himself more openly and maliciously.

Beside the mischief that Hadad did so the sense is, this infelicity was added to the former concerning Hadad, mentioned above, 1Ki 11:14 , &c. Whilst Hadad molested him in the south, Rezon threatened him in the north. But some understand this of Hadadezer, who is here called Hadad, by way of abbreviation, (which is not unusual in proper Hebrew names, as is well known,) and that for , or because of , (for the Hebrew particle eth is sometimes put for el , which oft signifies for , or because of , as Hebricians know,) the evil which befell Hadad , or Hadadezer, i.e. he bore a grudge against the Israelites from and ever since the slaughter that Joab made in Hadadezer’ s army, whereof he was a member, although he also took that occasion of making a defection from his master.

Reigned over Syria over all that part of Syria, enlarging his empire more and more, and thereby laying a foundation for much misery to Solomon’ s house and kingdom.

Poole: 1Ki 11:26

i.e. Rebelled against the king; not now and immediately in the person of Solomon himself, but in his son and successor, Rehoboam.

Poole: 1Ki 11:28

A mighty man of valour or, a man of great strength of body, or courage of mind , or both.

Industrious ingenious, and diligent, and active, and every way fit for business and for command.

Over all the charge i.e. the taxes and tributes which were to be gathered of the people by his power and authority.

Of the house of Joseph either of Ephraim and Manasseh, who were jointly comprehended under this name, Jos 17:17 ; or of Ephraim only, who elsewhere comes under that name, as 1Ch 5:1 Psa 78:67 Eze 37:6 . And it seems most probable that each tribe had a several ruler.

Poole: 1Ki 11:29

When Jeroboam went out of Jerusalem upon some occasion, possibly to execute his charge.

They two were alone in the field having gone aside thither for some private conference; for otherwise it is most likely that he had servants attending upon him, who, though they heard not the words, yet might see the action, and the rending of Jeroboam’ s coat; and thus it came to Solomon’ s ears, who being so acute and wise, could easily understand the thing by what he heard of the action, especially when a prophet did it.

Poole: 1Ki 11:31

Take thee ten pieces whence the kingdom of Israel is oft called the kingdom of the ten tribes; by which expression it may seem that David’ s posterity should have one tribe reserved out of the kingdom of Israel besides that of Judah, which because of its greatness and eminency, is commonly distinguished from Israel, and that not only after the division of the two kingdoms, but even before it, as 1Sa 11:8 2Sa 5:5 .

Poole: 1Ki 11:32

See Poole "1Ki 11:13"

Poole: 1Ki 11:33

They have forsaken me i.e. the king, and his concubines, and people, who easily followed his example, but were not at all excused by it.

Poole: 1Ki 11:34

The whole kingdom to wit, of Israel, that which I have designed for thee. Or rather, I will not take any thing , or part of the kingdom . For the Hebrew phrase lo col , which properly signifies not all , or not the whole , doth usually signify not any thing , as Deu 8:9 , thou shalt not want every thing , i.e. not any thing. So also Gen 4:15 23:6 39:23 Psa 49:17 143:2 , &c. The whole kingdom out of his hand ; he shall possess it whilst he lives, as it follows; and therefore thou shalt not yet attempt to invade it.

Because he kept my commandments and my statutes whereby he showeth that he doth not judge of men by some particular acts, but by their general purpose and course of life.

Poole: 1Ki 11:36

A light i.e. a son and successor, to preserve his name and memory, and to give light to the people in his stead. Kings are oft called

lights partly from their great splendour, and partly for the counsel and comfort which their people have or should have from them. Compare 2Sa 21:17 1Ki 15:4 Psa 132:17 .

Alway before me in my presence, which is in Jerusalem, and under my favour and protection.

Poole: 1Ki 11:37

I will take thee and place thee in the throne, as it follows.

According to all that thy soul desireth he secretly taxeth him for his ambitious and aspiring mind.

Poole: 1Ki 11:38

Build thee a sure house i.e. firmly settle thee and thy posterity in the throne, as this or the like phrase is used, 2Sa 7:16,27 ; but he doth not say he would do this for ever, as is there said of David’ s house 1Ki 11:16 .

Poole: 1Ki 11:39

For this for this cause, which I mentioned 1Ki 11:33 .

But not for ever there shall a time come when the seed of David shall not be thus molested by the kingdom of Israel, but that kingdom shall be destroyed, and the kings of the house of David shall be uppermost, as it was in the days of Asa Hezekiah, and Josiah. And at last the Messiah shall come, who shall unite together the broken sticks of Judah and Joseph, and rule over all the Jews and Gentiles too.

Poole: 1Ki 11:40

This might come to the ears of Solomon, either,

1. By Jeroboam himself, who might speak of this, either out of vain-glory and ostentation, or with design to prepare the people for his purpose. Or,

2. By the servants. See Poole "1Ki 11:29" .

Shishak king of Egypt who was either,

1. Solomon’ s brother-in-law, who yet might be jealous of, him, or alienated from him, because he had taken so many other wives to his sister, as is here noted, 1Ki 11:1 ; or might cast a greedy eye upon the great riches and glorious things which Solomon had amassed together, and upon which, presently after Solomon’ s death, he laid violent hands, 2Ch 12:9 . All this was known to Jeroboam, who therefore durst put himself into Shishak’ s protection; especially, considering how little such relations commonly signify in the affairs of princes; and withal, being made confident by God’ s promise of the kingdom. Or,

2. One of another line or house, to whom that crown might descend for want of issue.

Poole: 1Ki 11:41

In the public records, where the lives and actions of kings were registered from time to time. So this was only a political, but not a sacred book.

Poole: 1Ki 11:43

Slept with his fathers: this expression is promiscuously used concerning good and bad, and signifies only that they died as their fathers did. But hence interpreters question, whether Solomon was saved, or damned? That he was damned, some believe upon this only argument, that he died without repentance; which they gather,

1. Because his repentance is not mentioned in his history.

2. Because if he had repented, he would have abolished the monuments of idolatry which he had erected; which that he did not they gather from 2Ki 23:13 , of which (God assisting) I shall speak upon that place. But to the former many things may be said:

1. We read nothing of the repentance of Adam, Noah, after his drunkenness, Lot, Samson, Asa, &c.; shall we therefore conclude they were all damned? The silence of the Scripture is a very weak argument in matters of history.

2. If he did repent, yet the silence of the Scripture about it in this history was not without wise reasons; as, among others, that his eternal condition being thus far left doubtful, his example might have the greater influence for the terror and caution of future offenders.

3. His repentance is sufficiently implied in this, (to omit divers other passages,) that after Solomon’ s death the way of Solomon is mentioned with honour, and joined with the way of David, 2Ch 11:17 . But it seems to be put out of dispute by the Book of Ecclesiastes, which (by the general consent both of Jewish and Christian interpreters) was written by Solomon, and that after his fall, as is evident, not only from the unanimous testimony of the Hebrew writers, who thence conclude that he did repent, and was saved; but also from the whole strain of that book, which was written long after he had finished all his works, and after he had liberally drunk of all sorts of sensual pleasures, and sadly experienced the bitter effects of his love of women, Ecc 7:27 , &c; which makes it more than probable, that as David wrote Ps 51 , so Solomon wrote this book, as a public testimony and profession of his repentance. And this argument is so cogent, that those interpreters who are of the other opinion confess it, if Solomon did write this book after his fall, which they pretend he wrote before it; but they offer not any argument to prove it. And therefore we have reason to conclude that Solomon did repent, and was saved.

Haydock: 1Ki 11:9

Twice, or repeatedly. See chap. ix. 2. (Haydock) ---

He had appeared to him at Gabaon, and after the consecration of the temple, (Menochius) besides sending a prophet to him while he was building, chap. vi. 12. (Abulensis) ---

God was not content with giving him the general commandments: he had condescended to caution him in a most particular and earnest manner: (Haydock) so that his transgression is more horrible and ungrateful. (Calmet) ---

No doubt the priests and prophets had often besought him to alter his conduct; but the sinner is deaf, till God speak to his heart. (Salien, the year of the world 3054.)

Haydock: 1Ki 11:11

This. Literally and Hebrew, "Because thou hast this with thee." (Haydock) ---

Since this is thy conduct, and fixed determination, to abandon my service, I will also reject thee. The Lord spoke to him in a third vision, (Calmet) or by the mouth of Ahias, (Abulensis) who was likewise appointed to inform Jeroboam of his election to a part of the kingdom. (Salien, the year of the world 3059.)

Haydock: 1Ki 11:12

Sake. As David placed this son upon the throne, the disgrace would seem to revert on him. (Menochius) ---

Here we behold the reward of piety, and how desirable a thing it is to have saints for our parents. (Haydock)

Haydock: 1Ki 11:13

One tribe. Besides that of Juda, his own native tribe. (Challoner) ---

That of Benjamin had been so reduced, that it scarcely deserved the name of a tribe. It was also invariably connected with the adjoining tribe of Juda; as many of the other tribes, after the captivities of Assyria and Babylon, went by the common title of Jews. (Tirinus) ---

The Levites, and many of the Israelites, came to inhabit in the land of Juda, for the sake of the true religion, chap. xii. 17., and 2 Paralipomenon xi. 13, 16. Jeroboam banished the tribe of Levi from his dominions, that he might more easily introduce a change of religion among his subjects. The two kingdoms were thus almost equal in strength. (Calmet) ---

Chosen for the abode of holiness, and the seat of government. (Salien) ---

One tribe....and Jerusalem; which latter may denote the tribe of Benjamin. (Worthington)

Haydock: 1Ki 11:14

Adversary. Hebrew Satan. Nothing of this kind could molest him, while he continued faithful, chap. v. 4. But now he sees the arm of God stretched out, pressing him to repent. ---

Adad. Septuagint Ader. Josephus says that this prince solicited Pharao to let him return into his own country, after the death of Joab: but was prevailed upon to desist from the attempt, till the affairs of Solomon began to decline. He then endeavoured to get possession of the country; but, being repelled by the strong garrisons of the Hebrews, he went and joined Razar, (Hebrew Razon ) who had revolted against Aderezer; and made inroads into the dominions of Solomon, after he had conquered a part of Syria. (Antiquities viii. 7.) Others think that Solomon consented, at the entreaty of Pharao, that Adad should reign over Idumea, on his paying tribute; and that the latter attempted to throw off the yoke. (Salien) ---

But these particulars are uncertain, and Idumea was subject to the kings of Juda till the days of Joram, 2 Paralipomenon xxi. 8. (Calmet)

Haydock: 1Ki 11:15

In Edom, in the 15th year of his reign. (Salien) ---

Abisai was the general in this expedition, 2 Kings viii., and 1 Paralipomenon xviii. 12.

Haydock: 1Ki 11:17

Boy. About five (Salien) or 12 years of age. (Pineda)

Haydock: 1Ki 11:18

Land, to maintain him (Josephus) out of the royal domains, (Calmet) of which the kings were possessed. (Didor. i. p. 46.) ---

He appointed him governor of some part of the country. (Vatable)

Haydock: 1Ki 11:19

Full. Septuagint, "elder sister of his wife Thekemina." (Haydock)

Haydock: 1Ki 11:23

Razon. He must have been now about 94 years old; unless this was the son of Aderezer's general. (Salien) (Menochius)

Haydock: 1Ki 11:24

Robbers, or (Hebrew and Septuagint) "a band" with whom he made depredations. (Haydock) ---

Damascus, with David's consent, on their admitting a garrison, (2 Kings viii. 6,) and consenting to pay tribute; (Menochius) or Razon might make himself master of this place, only after the apostacy of Solomon. His successors became very formidable to the Jews, particularly Razin, (4 Kings xv., and xvi.) who was slain by Theglathphalassar, 4 Kings v. 9. (Calmet)

Haydock: 1Ki 11:25

Solomon, after he once began. (Haydock) ---

Adad. Hebrew, "and with the evil of Adad, and he detested Israel." (Menochius) ---

Razon and Adad conspired to attack Solomon. (Haydock) ---

Adad may be the common name of the kings of Damascus. Some copies of the Septuagint do not speak of Razon, but continue the history of Adad, ver. 14. They also read Edom here instead of Aram, or Syria, which would remove the confusion. (Calmet) ---

Adad, Razon, and Jeroboam always oppugn Solomon after his fall; and signify the flesh, the world, and the devil. (Worthington)

Haydock: 1Ki 11:26

King, attempting to draw the people into rebellion, as he perceived that they were discontent with the buildings at Mello. He had a command over them; and though he was, for the present, obliged to save himself by flight, he had sown the seeds of rebellion by his discourses, in such a manner, that the imprudent answer of Roboam (Calmet) easily brought them to maturity. (Haydock)

Haydock: 1Ki 11:28

Joseph, Ephraim and Manasses. (Menochius) ---

He was of the former tribe. (Salien) ---

At first Solomon employed none of the Israelites to work, chap. ix. 22. But he afterwards oppressed them grievously. The king's right was to make his subjects cultivate his lands, &c., 1 Kings vii. 11. They did not pay money, (Matthew xvii. 24,) but wrought for the king. Hebrew, "he made him ruler over all the charge," (or levy.) (Haydock) ---

The Vulgate often uses the word tribute (Calmet) for sebel. Josephus believes that Jeroboam had the command over the forces of the house of Joseph: but he had rather the superintendency over the workmen. (Haydock)

Haydock: 1Ki 11:30

Parts. He speaks by his actions, (Menochius) thus foretelling what should happen, as was customary with the prophets, Osee i. 2., Jeremias xxvii. 2., Ezechiel xii. 7., and Acts xxi. 11. (Calmet) ---

This tended to make a deeper impression on the mind, (Haydock) and convince all, that what was spoken, was not in jest. (Worthington)

Haydock: 1Ki 11:34

Make, or permit him to reign. (Menochius)

Haydock: 1Ki 11:36

A lamp. Posterity, (2 Kings xxi. 17.) power, and glory, 4 Kings viii. 19.

Haydock: 1Ki 11:37

Desireth. It seems he was already disposed to revolt. (Calmet)

Haydock: 1Ki 11:38

Faithful house, which shall not be destroyed, nor lose the kingdom, for a long time. Jeroboam never complied with the condition. (Calmet)

Haydock: 1Ki 11:39

For this infidelity of Solomon, (Haydock) afflict, by raising up a rival. (Menochius) ---

For ever. Notwithstanding the wickedness of many of its princes, this family was to subsist, in a distinguished rank, till the coming of the Messias; that the completion of the promises might be more observable. (Calmet) ---

After 250 years, the throne of Israel was subverted. (Menochius)

Haydock: 1Ki 11:40

Therefore, being apprized of what had passed, as well as to prevent the farther attempts of Jeroboam. (Haydock) ---

Sesac. He is the first, whose proper name is given in Scripture. Whether he was of the same family, as the Pharao, whose daughter Solomon had married, cannot be ascertained. Marsham makes Sesac the same with the renowned Sesostris, the Sethosis of Manetho. But Usher thinks that Sesostris reigned immediately after the Israelites left Egypt; while Pezron, &c., suppose that Amenoplis, who was drowned, was even his grandson. (Calmet)

Haydock: 1Ki 11:41

Words, or transactions. (Haydock) ---

Book. This book is lost, with divers others mentioned in holy writ. (Challoner) ---

Nathan, Ahias, and Addo, composed these journals, 2 Paralipomenon ix. 29. (Haydock) ---

Similar works were kept at the courts of Persia and of Babylon, Esther vi. 1., and 1 Esdras vi. 2. Plutarch quotes the journal of Alexander; and Tacitus (An. iii.) informs us, that the smallest occurrences were specified in journals, at Rome, while things of greater importance were recorded in the annals. The books of days, are cited in the Paralipomenon, so that we cannot suppose that these journals are the same with that work. (Calmet) ---

God was pleased that those writings should not come down to us; so that we can only speak from conjecture of the repentance of Solomon. (Salien, the year of the world 3058.)

Haydock: 1Ki 11:42

Forty. Josephus says eighty; and some suppose, that the Scripture only specifies the years during which Solomon reigned virtuously. Pezron is the same opinion as Josephus. (Haydock) ---

Others contend that it is a manifest mistake. Immoderate pleasures hastened his old age and death, when he was about fifty-eight years old. All in him was great, whether we consider the virtues of his early days, or the vices of his old age. He falls from heaven into the abyss. His repentance is a problem. (Calmet)

Haydock: 1Ki 11:43

Solomon slept, &c. That is, died. He was then about fifty-eight years of age, having reigned forty years. (Challoner) ---

St. Chrysostom, at different times, seems to have entertained opposite opinions on this head, (Haydock) which has been a matter of controversy among the Fathers, as it is at present with us. We ought to adore and imitate, with trembling, the silence of Scripture. (Calmet) ---

Septuagint seem favourable to Solomon: (Proverbs xxiv. 32.) "At last I did penance, and looked forward, to embrace discipline." (Haydock) ---

But the Hebrew, Chaldean, and Vulgate have nothing similar. (Calmet) ---

Some think that the Book of Proverbs, as well as that of Ecclesiastes, was composed by him after his repentance; and that he expresses his sentiments of affliction and self-condemnation, (Proverbs xxx. 2.) and his opinion of all earthly gratifications, Ecclesiastes i. 2., &c. (Haydock) ---

Yet this dreadful uncertainty may serve to keep us all in humble fear, and teach us to work out our salvation with trembling. (Calmet) ---

If Solomon really repented, (Haydock) he might not have time or power to remove all the vestiges, and the very foundations of the idolatrous temples, which Ezechias also neglected in ruins, as no longer dangerous, and as so many monuments of the folly of Solomon. But Josias caused them to be entirely removed, 4 Kings xxii. 13. (Salien, the year of the world 3059.) The daughter of Pharao would probably imitate her beloved husband. (Pineda) ---

Sadoc seems to have departed this life about the same time with Solomon; as his son Achimaas, who had married Basemath, the king's daughter, succeeded him in the pontificate, at the commencement of Roboam's reign. (Chron.[Chronicles?] Min. Heb.[Hebrew?] Salien)

Gill: 1Ki 11:9

And the Lord was angry with Solomon, because his heart was turned from the Lord God of Israel,.... Or from the fear of him, as the Targum, which must in a great measure be cast off, or he could not have given in to idolatry in any shape as he did; for it was for that the Lord was displeased, the which nothing is more provoking to him, as may be often observed:

which had appeared unto him twice; once at Gibeon, and again after his prayer at the dedication of the temple, 1Ki 3:5, which is mentioned here as an aggravation of his sin, that he should fall into it, when the Lord had condescended to appear to him so graciously.

Gill: 1Ki 11:10

And had commanded him concerning this thing that he should not go after other gods,.... Which is another aggravation of his sin that it was against an express command of God, and was particularly given him, and he was warned to observe it, and threatened with evil should he break it:

but he kept not that which the Lord commanded: see 1Ki 9:5.

Gill: 1Ki 11:11

Wherefore the Lord said unto Solomon,.... Not in a vision, as before, but by a prophet; the Jews say ⁿ, Ahijah the Shilonite, which is probable, see 1Ki 11:29.

forasmuch as this is done of thee, that thou hast not kept my covenant and my statutes which I have commanded thee; but broke them by his idolatry:

I will surely rend the kingdom from thee, and I will give it to thy servant; meaning Jeroboam, who was not only a subject, but in office under him, 1Ki 11:26.

Gill: 1Ki 11:12

Notwithstanding in thy days I will not do it for David thy father's sake,.... Not for the merits of David, but the promises made to him, 2Sa 7:12,

but I will rend it out of the hand of thy son; and immediate successor, Rehoboam.

Gill: 1Ki 11:13

Howbeit, I will not rend away all the kingdom,.... The whole kingdom of Israel:

but will give one tribe to thy son; but it seems he had both Benjamin and Judah, and only ten tribes were rent from him; the reason of this mode of expression may be, either because he gave him one of the tribes of Israel, besides that of Judah, which was his own tribe; or only the tribe of Judah is meant, the whole tribe of Benjamin not being his, since Bethel, and some other places in that tribe, were in the possession of Jeroboam; or rather both these are called but one, because their inheritances lay together, and were mixed with one another; and particularly both had a share in the city of Jerusalem, and the kingdom always after the division went by the name of Judah only: and this tribe was given

for David my servant's sake; because of the promise to him, that there should not want one of his seed to sit on his throne, 1Ki 9:5.

and for Jerusalem's sake, whom I have chosen; to have the house of his sanctuary and worship in, and therefore thought fit to have one rule there, that, would have a regard to his service in it.

Gill: 1Ki 11:14

And the Lord stirred up an adversary unto Solomon, Hadad the Edomite,.... Though he did not take his kingdom from him for his sin, he chastised him with the rod of men, as he said he would; suffering one, and then another, to rise up and disturb his peace in his old age, see 2Sa 7:14.

he was of the king's seed in Edom; of the blood royal.

Gill: 1Ki 11:15

For it came to pass, when David was in Edom,.... Fighting with the Edomites, and subduing them, and putting garrisons in the land, 2Sa 8:14.

and Joab the captain of the host was gone up to bury the slain: the Israelites that fell in battle, or whom the Edomites afterwards, through stratagem and surprise, fell upon in their garrisons and destroyed, and which caused Joab to go thither to bury them, and take vengeance on the Edomites for it; or these were the Edomites slain by David and Joab; and it has been always reckoned a piece of humanity to bury the dead of an enemy, and is to the honour of the conqueror, see Eze 39:12 or to suffer the enemy to bury them themselves: it is said ^o, that Hercules was the first that brought up this practice, and that before they were left on the field, to be devoured by dogs; so they were in the times of the Trojan war, as appears by the writings of Homer; but burying them, in later times, was used by the Romans ^p and Greeks; and Josephus ^q delivers it as a law of Moses to bury enemies, and not suffer any dead to lie without partaking of the earth, nor to pass by or overlook any unburied; but from whence he took it, or grounds it upon, is not very evident; this is the first mention of it; though the Targum is,

"to strip the slain:''

after he had smitten every male in Edom; as he thought, intending to root out the name of them; being enraged at their falling upon the garrisons, if that was the case.

Gill: 1Ki 11:16

For six months did Joab remain with all Israel,.... With the whole army:

until he had cut off every male in Edom; as he supposed; for it was not fact, since after this they increased again, and became a powerful people, and had a king over them, and revolted from Judah, 2Ki 8:20.

Gill: 1Ki 11:17

That Hadad fled,.... While Joab was burying the slain:

he and certain Edomites of his father's servants with him; who either was a king, and these some of his officers and courtiers; or however was of the royal family, and had an equipage, and these some of them:

to go into Egypt; that was their view at first setting out, where they might hope for help, at least shelter:

Hadad being yet a little child; whom his father's servants hid, while Joab was making the slaughter he did, and took the opportunity of fleeing with him while he was burying the dead.

Gill: 1Ki 11:18

And they arose out of Midian,.... A country which lay in their way to Egypt, and where it seems they made some stay, and then departed:

and came to Paran; near to which was a wilderness of the same name, in which the Israelites wandered when they came out of Egypt, and which lay between Edom and Egypt:

and they took men with them out of Paran; either as guides and guards through the wilderness, or to make the better appearance before Pharaoh, and that they might meet with the better reception:

and they came to Egypt, unto Pharaoh king of Egypt; and told their case, and informed him who Hadad was: who, pitying an unfortunate young prince,

gave him an house; for him and his servants to dwell in:

and appointed him victuals; a daily provision for him and his men:

and gave him land; for his servants to cultivate, and from thence to raise a revenue for his support; the Jewish writers say he gave him cities to rule over; but as he was but a little child when he came, it cannot be thought that was done, at least directly.

Gill: 1Ki 11:19

And Hadad found great favour in the sight of Pharaoh,.... Perhaps for his comely personage, princely qualities, and good behaviour, as he grew up:

so that he gave him to wife the sister of his own wife, the sister of Tahpenes the queen; it seems the kings of Egypt used to marry their favourites to great personages; see Gen 41:45.

Gill: 1Ki 11:20

And the sister of Tahpenes bore him Genubath his son,.... Which signifies "stealth", and the name might be given in memory of himself being carried away by stealth from his own land:

whom Tahpenes weaned in Pharaoh's house: who was so fond of the child, that she took it, and weaned it for her in the king's palace:

and Genubath was in Pharaoh's household among the sons of Pharaoh; brought up among them, as if he was one of them.

Gill: 1Ki 11:21

And when Hadad heard in Egypt that David slept with his fathers,.... Was dead and buried, as the death of princes is soon known in other countries, and especially a king of such fame as David:

and that Joab the captain of the host was dead: whose name might be terrible to Hadad, because of the slaughter of men he had made in his country:

Hadad said unto Pharaoh, let me depart, that I may go to mine own country; with a view and an hope to recover it, now David and Joab were dead.

Gill: 1Ki 11:22

Then Pharaoh said unto him, but what hast thou lacked with me,.... Either of an equipage suitable to his birth and marriage, or of provisions for his household, or of honour and respect, or of any favour from him:

that, behold, thou seekest to go into thine own country? as if not well used where he was, or would be better provided for there:

and he answered, nothing; he wanted nothing at all, had all he could wish for:

howbeit, let me go in any wise: he had such an extreme desire to go, that he begged it might not be denied him on any account; whether he acquainted Pharaoh with his view in this request is not said, but it is probable he did, and it is certain Pharaoh gave him leave to go, see 1Ki 11:25.

Gill: 1Ki 11:23

And God stirred him up another adversary,.... One from the north, as the other was from the south:

Rezon, the son of Eliadah, which fled from his lord Hadadezer king of Zobah: when David fought with him; and this man seeing the battle go against his master, and that he was like to be worsted, deserted him and fled, see 2Sa 8:3.

Gill: 1Ki 11:24

And he gathered men unto him,.... Perhaps some of the scattered forces of his master:

and became captain over a band, when David slew them of Zobah; some that escaped enlisted under this man, and lived by plunder the remainder of David's reign, and so in the reign of Solomon unto his old age, when his heart was turned away from God to idols, by his wives:

and they went to Damascus, and dwelt therein, and reigned in Damascus; Rezon and his men went thither, not in David's time, for he put a garrison there, 2Sa 8:6 but towards the close of Solomon's days, and when Hadad set up in Edom, which gave him the hint to do the same at Damascus, of which he became king, and was the founder of that kingdom; after him there was a long race of kings there.

Gill: 1Ki 11:25

And he was an adversary to Israel all the days of Solomon,.... Not all the days of his life, see 1Ki 5:4, but all his days, from his first going into idolatry, to the end of his life:

beside the mischief that Hadad did; and which, whatever it was, was not done till this time; for either, when he got leave from Pharaoh to go into his country, he lay hid there, waiting an opportunity to seize upon it; or by means of Pharaoh he got himself to be king of it, through the permission of Solomon, paying a tribute to him; but when Solomon was grown old, he revolted and refused to pay it, and rebelled against him, and gave him much trouble:

and he abhorred Israel, and reigned over Syria; not Hadad, but Rezon; he had an aversion to them, was a thorn in their side, and gave them much trouble, as well as had them in contempt, and bid them defiance, having made himself not only master of Damascus, but of all Syria.

Gill: 1Ki 11:26

And Jeroboam the son of Nebat,.... According to some Jewish writers ^r, this was Sheba the son of Bichri; but, as Kimchi observes, he was of the tribe of Benjamin, this of Ephraim; and besides, his head was cut off, and thrown over the wall to Joab, 2Sa 20:1,

an Ephrathite of Zereda; some where in the tribe of Ephraim, but nowhere else mentioned. There was a famous Jewish doctor, before the times of Christ, of this place, as it seems, who was called Jose ben Joezer, a man of Zereda ^s:

Solomon's servant; not only his subject, but one that had been advanced by him to an office, and served under him, 1Ki 11:28,

whose mother's name was Zeruah, a widow woman; who very probably was supported by this her son, an industrious and ingenious man:

even he lifted up his hand against the king; either against Solomon, by reproaching and reproving him for some things he did; or rather against Rehoboam his son, which was very ungrateful.

Gill: 1Ki 11:27

And this was the cause that he lifted up his hand against the king,.... The occasion of it, his being advanced to some posts under Solomon, which elated him, and what passed between him and the prophet Ahijah, after related:

Solomon built Millo, and repaired the breaches of the city of David his father: in the oversight of which, it is supposed by the Jews, he employed this man, who reproached him for doing these works; building an house in Millo for Pharaoh's daughter, and stopping up the passage to the city of David, and the people's access thither upon occasion.

Gill: 1Ki 11:28

And the man Jeroboam was a mighty man of valour,.... A man of great strength of body, and fortitude of mind:

and Solomon seeing the young man that he was industrious; in what he was set about in the above buildings and repairs:

he made him ruler over all the charge of the house of Joseph; the tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh, to be a prince or a deputy governor of them; or rather to collect the king's tax from them, or the revenues of that part of the country, see Pro 22:29.

Gill: 1Ki 11:29

And it came to pass at that time, when Jeroboam went out of Jerusalem,.... Either to enter upon his new office: or having been with Solomon to pay in the revenues, and to make up his accounts with him was going back to the country to do the duty of his office:

that the prophet Ahijah the Shilonite found him in the way; not accidentally, but purposely was in the way to meet him, and converse with him; this prophet was of the city of Shiloh, and where was now his abode, see 1Ki 14:2.

and he had clad himself with a new garment; not Jeroboam, but the prophet, and that by the direction of the Lord, for the following purpose:

and they two were alone in the field: it is possible Jeroboam might have some servants with him; but Ahijah desiring some private conversation with him, he sent them onwards, or bid them stay at some distance; who yet might be capable of observing what was done, though not of hearing what was said; or otherwise how should Solomon come to the knowledge of it? 1Ki 11:40.

Gill: 1Ki 11:30

And Ahijah caught the new garment that was on him,.... This looks as if it was Jeroboam's garment, having got a new one to appear before the king in; though the sense may be this, that the prophet took hold of his own garment that was upon himself:

and rent it in twelve pieces; as symbolical of the twelve tribes of Israel.

Gill: 1Ki 11:31

And he said to Jeroboam, take thee ten pieces,.... Of the twelve, an emblem of the ten tribes he was to have:

for thus saith the Lord God of Israel, behold, I will rend the kingdom out of the hand of Solomon; that is, out of his family:

and will give ten tribes unto thee; to rule over.

Gill: 1Ki 11:32

But he shall have one tribe for my servant David's sake,.... See Gill on 1Ki 11:13.

Gill: 1Ki 11:33

Because that they have forsaken me,.... My worship, as the Targum; both Solomon and the children of Israel following his example; which is not to be wondered at, considering how prone they always were to idolatry:

and have worshipped Ashtoreth the goddess of the Zidonians, Chemosh the god of the Moabites, and Milcom the god of the children of Ammon; of which deities; see Gill on 1Ki 11:5, 1Ki 11:7.

and have not walked in my ways, to do that which is right in mine eyes, and to keep my statutes and my judgments, as did David his father; the several laws of God relating to religious worship especially, which David was a strict observer of; and therefore Solomon, having such a pattern before him, was the more blameworthy.

Gill: 1Ki 11:34

Howbeit, I will not take the kingdom out of his hand,.... Not any part of it, 1Ki 11:12,

but I will make him prince all the days of his life; that is, he shall continue to hold the government of all the tribes so long as he lives:

for David my servant's sake, whom I chose, because he kept my commandments and my statutes; see 1Ki 11:12, or was well pleased with, as the Targum; for keeping the commands of God from right principles, and with right views, is well pleasing to him.

Gill: 1Ki 11:35

But I will take the kingdom out of his son's hand,.... All but the tribes of Judah and Benjamin:

and will give it unto thee, even ten tribes: signified by ten pieces of the rent garment he had given him, 1Ki 11:31.

Gill: 1Ki 11:36

And unto his son will I give one tribe,.... Judah and Benjamin reckoned as one; See Gill on 1Ki 11:13, that David my servant may have a light always before me in Jerusalem, the city which I have chosen me to put my name there; or a kingdom, as the Targum; or an illustrious prince, a successor, shining in royal majesty and glory, to guide and direct, cheer and comfort, the people of Israel; be an honour to David's family, and a means of continuing the pure worship of God in the temple at Jerusalem; see 2Sa 21:17.

Gill: 1Ki 11:37

And I will take thee,.... From the low estate in which he was, to be king:

and thou shall reign according to all that thy soul desireth; he being ambitious of the kingdom, and having already formed in his mind some designs upon it:

and shall be king over Israel; the ten tribes.

Gill: 1Ki 11:38

And it shall be, if thou wilt hearken unto all that I command thee,.... And be obedient thereunto:

and wilt walk in my ways; directed to in the law of Moses:

and do that is right in my sight, to keep my statutes, and my commandments; those particularly respecting divine worship:

as David my servant did; who very diligently and constantly attended to the ordinances of religion:

that I will be with thee; to guide and direct, protect and defend, prosper and succeed:

and build thee a sure house, as I built for David; continue the succession of the kingdom in his posterity:

and will give Israel unto thee; to rule over them.

Gill: 1Ki 11:39

And I will for this afflict the seed of David,.... For the idolatry Solomon had been guilty of, and connived at:

but not for ever; for when the ten tribes were carried captive, the kingdom of Judah flourished under Hezekiah, Josiah, &c. and though the tribe of Judah was carried captive, yet it returned after seventy years captivity, and had rulers over it of the seed of David; and especially to the Messiah has God given the throne of his father David, of whose kingdom there will he no end, Luk 1:32, and Jarchi's note on the text is,

"for in the days of the Messiah the kingdom shall return to it,''

the seed of David; and Abarbinel says, of a truth, at the coming of our Messiah, this prophecy will be fulfilled; but the true Messiah is come already, in whom it is fulfilled; see Kimchi and Abendana, who refer to Eze 37:19.

Gill: 1Ki 11:40

Solomon sought therefore to kill Jeroboam,.... Which is another instance of his folly, to seek to detest the counsel of God, when he himself was assured by the Lord the kingdom should be rent, and given to his servant, 1Ki 11:11 and especially if he was informed of what passed between Ahijah and Jeroboam, as it should seem by this he was; either through Ahijah's making no secret of it, or through Jeroboam not being able to keep his own counsel, or through the report of the servants what they saw done, 1Ki 11:29, which Solomon would easily understand:

and Jeroboam arose and fled into Egypt; the common sanctuary of persons in distress in those days:

unto Shishak king of Egypt; either the father in law or the brother in law of Solomon, or one of another family, on whom the kingdom devolved; and who might not have any good respect for Solomon, and therefore Jeroboam thought himself safe with him: this is the only king of Egypt, in Scripture, that is called by his own name, and not Pharaoh; he is generally supposed to be the same with the Sesostris of Herodotus ^t, and the Vexoris or Vexosis of Justin ^u; and the rather he may be meant, since, according to Herodotus ^w, he was the only king of Egypt that ruled over the Ethiopians: and Strabo says ^x he was the first that subdued Ethiopia and the country of the Troglodytes; also Diodorus Siculus affirms ^y, that he fought with the Ethiopians dwelling to the south, and obliged them to pay tribute; out of which countries Shishak brought many with him in his expedition against Jerusalem, 2Ch 12:2.

and was in Egypt until the death of Solomon; not daring to return till that time, and then he did.

Gill: 1Ki 11:41

And the rest of the acts of Solomon, and all that he did, and his wisdom, are they not written in the book of the acts of Solomon? Either written by himself, as Kimchi suggests, though not in being; or by some chronologer or historiographer employed by him in writing the most memorable things that happened in his reign; or by several prophets, as in 2Ch 9:29 out of which the inspired writer of this book took what he was directed to by the Lord to be transmitted to future ages.

Gill: 1Ki 11:42

And the time that Solomon reigned in Jerusalem, over all Israel, was forty years. The same says Eupolemus ^z, an Heathen writer, who makes him to live but fifty two years; which is the common tradition of the Jews, who suppose he was but twelve years of age when he began to reign; which is to be confuted from the age of his son Rehoboam, see 1Ki 14:21. Josephus ^a, on the other hand, makes him to live to too great an age, who says that he reigned eighty years, and lived to ninety four.

Gill: 1Ki 11:43

And Solomon slept with his fathers,.... Died as they did:

and was buried in the city of David his father; not in Bethlehem, but Zion, 1Ki 2:10.

and Rehoboam his son reigned in his stead; of whom more in the following chapter. Though nothing is said of Solomon's repentance, there is no doubt but he was a good man, repented of his sins, and was saved; as may be concluded from the commendations of him after his death, 2Ch 11:17 from the promise of God that he made, that his mercy should not depart from him, though he chastised him, 2Sa 7:14 from his being an inspired writer, who were all holy men, 2Pe 1:20, and especially from his writing the book of Ecclesiastes after his fall, which contains a full acknowledgment of all his evils, a recantation of them, and repentance for them. Abulpharagius ^b, an Arabic writer, rashly asserts that he died without repentance.

Commentary -- Verse Notes / Footnotes

NET Notes: 1Ki 11:9

¹ tn Heb “bent his heart.”

² sn These two occasions are mentioned in 1 Kgs 3:5 and 9:2.

NET Notes: 1Ki 11:10

¹ tn Heb “and had commanded him concerning this thing not to walk after other gods.”

² tn Or “keep.”

NET Notes: 1Ki 11:11

¹ tn Heb “Because this is with you, and you have not kept my covenant and my rules which I commanded you.”

NET Notes: 1Ki 11:13

¹ tn Heb “give.”

NET Notes: 1Ki 11:14

¹ tn Or “raised up.”

NET Notes: 1Ki 11:15

¹ tn Heb “when David was [fighting (?)] with Edom.”

NET Notes: 1Ki 11:16

¹ tn Heb “and all Israel.”

² tn Heb “until he had cut off every male in Edom.”

NET Notes: 1Ki 11:17

¹ tn The MT reads “Adad,” an alternate form of the name Hadad.

² 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.”

NET Notes: 1Ki 11:18

¹ 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.”

NET Notes: 1Ki 11:19

¹ tn Heb “and Hadad found great favor in the eyes of Pharaoh.”

² tn Heb “and he gave to him a wife, the sister of his wife, the sister of Tahpenes the queen.”

NET Notes: 1Ki 11:20

¹ tn Heb “bore him Genubath his son.”

² 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.

NET Notes: 1Ki 11:21

¹ tn Heb “lay down with his fathers.”

² tn Heb “send me away.”

NET Notes: 1Ki 11:22

¹ tn Heb “Indeed what do you lack with me, that now you are seeking to go to your land?”

² tn Heb “and he said.”

³ 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.

NET Notes: 1Ki 11:23

¹ tn Heb “him”; the referent (Solomon) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

NET Notes: 1Ki 11:24

¹ tn Heb “and he was the officer of a raiding band.”

² 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.

NET Notes: 1Ki 11:25

¹ tn The construction (Qal of קוּץ + בְּ [quts + bet] preposition) is rare, but not without parallel (see Lev 20:23).

NET Notes: 1Ki 11:26

¹ tn Heb “raised a hand against.”

² tn Heb “Ephrathite,” which here refers to an Ephraimite (see HALOT 81 s.v. אֶפְרַיִם).

NET Notes: 1Ki 11:27

¹ tn Heb “this is the matter concerning which he raised a hand against the king.”

² 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.

NET Notes: 1Ki 11:28

¹ tn Heb “man of strength.”

² tn Heb “house.”

NET Notes: 1Ki 11:29

¹ 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.

NET Notes: 1Ki 11:30

¹ tn Heb “and Ahijah grabbed the new robe that was on him.”

NET Notes: 1Ki 11:33

¹ tn The words “I am taking the kingdom from him” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

² tc This is the reading of the MT; the LXX, Syriac, and Vulgate read “he has.”

³ tn Heb “walked in my ways.”

⁴ tn Heb “by doing what is right in my eyes, my rules and my regulations, like David his father.”

NET Notes: 1Ki 11:35

¹ tn Heb “and I will give it to you, ten tribes.”

NET Notes: 1Ki 11:36

¹ tn Heb “give.”

² 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.

³ 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.”

NET Notes: 1Ki 11:37

¹ tn Heb “take.”

NET Notes: 1Ki 11:38

¹ 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.

² tn Heb “walk in my ways.”

³ tn Heb “do what is right in my eyes.”

⁴ tn Heb “I will build for you a permanent house, like I built for David.”

NET Notes: 1Ki 11:39

¹ sn Because of this. Reference is made to the idolatry mentioned earlier.

² tn Heb “but not all the days.”

NET Notes: 1Ki 11:40

¹ tn Heb “but Jeroboam arose and ran away to Egypt, to Shishak king of Egypt.”

NET Notes: 1Ki 11:41

¹ 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?”

NET Notes: 1Ki 11:42

¹ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

NET Notes: 1Ki 11:43

¹ tn Heb “lay down with his fathers.”

² 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.

³ 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.”

Geneva Bible: 1Ki 11:11

Wherefore the LORD said unto Solomon, Forasmuch as ^{( f )} this is done of thee, and thou hast not kept my covenant and my statutes, which I have commanded thee, I will surely rend the kingdom from thee, and will give it to thy servant.

^{( f )} That you have forsaken me and worshipped idols.

Geneva Bible: 1Ki 11:13

Howbeit I will not rend away all the kingdom; [but] will give one ^{( g )} tribe to thy son for David my servant's sake, and for Jerusalem's sake which I have chosen.

^{( g )} Because the tribes of Judah and Benjamin had their possessions mixed, they are here taken as one tribe.

Geneva Bible: 1Ki 11:14

And the LORD stirred up an adversary unto Solomon, Hadad the Edomite: he [was] of the king's ^{( h )} seed in Edom.

^{( h )} Of the king of Edom's stock.

Geneva Bible: 1Ki 11:15

For it came to pass, when David was in Edom, and Joab the captain of the host was gone up to bury the ^{( i )} slain, after he had smitten every male in Edom;

^{( i )} Of the Edomites.

Geneva Bible: 1Ki 11:17

That Hadad ^{( k )} fled, he and certain Edomites of his father's servants with him, to go into Egypt; Hadad [being] yet a little child.

^{( k )} Thus God reserved this idolater as scourge to punish his people's sins.

Geneva Bible: 1Ki 11:19

And Hadad ^{( l )} found great favour in the sight of Pharaoh, so that he gave him to wife the sister of his own wife, the sister of Tahpenes the queen.

^{( l )} God brought him honour, that his power might be more able to compass his enterprises against Solomon's house.

Geneva Bible: 1Ki 11:23

And God stirred him up [another] adversary, Rezon the son of Eliadah, which ^{( m )} fled from his lord Hadadezer king of Zobah:

^{( m )} When David had defeated Hadadezer and his army.

Geneva Bible: 1Ki 11:24

And he gathered men unto him, and became captain over a band, when David slew them [of Zobah]: and they went to Damascus, and dwelt therein, ^{( n )} and reigned in Damascus.

^{( n )} That is, the men whom he had gathered to him.

Geneva Bible: 1Ki 11:28

And the man Jeroboam [was] a mighty man of valour: and Solomon seeing the young man that he was industrious, he made him ^{( o )} ruler over all the charge of the house of Joseph.

^{( o )} He was overseer of Solomon's works for the tribe of Ephraim and Manasseh.

Geneva Bible: 1Ki 11:30

And Ahijah caught the new garment that [was] on him, and ^{( p )} rent it [in] twelve pieces:

^{( p )} By these visible signs the prophets would more deeply print their message into the hearts of those to whom they were sent.

Geneva Bible: 1Ki 11:36

And unto his son will I give one tribe, that David my servant may have a ^{( q )} light alway before me in Jerusalem, the city which I have chosen me to put my name there.

^{( q )} He refers to the Messiah, who would be the bright star that would shine through all the world.

Geneva Bible: 1Ki 11:39

And I will ^{( r )} for this afflict the seed of David, ^{( s )} but not for ever.

^{( r )} For this idolatry that Solomon has committed.

^{( s )} For the whole spiritual kingdom was restored in the Messiah.

Geneva Bible: 1Ki 11:41

And the rest of the acts of Solomon, and all that he did, and his wisdom, [are] they not written in the ^{( t )} book of the acts of Solomon?

^{( t )} Which it is thought was lost in their captivity.

Commentary -- Verse Range Notes

TSK Synopsis: 1Ki 11:1-43

1 Solomon's wives and concubines.

4 In his old age they draw him to idolatry.

9 God threatens him.

14 Solomon's adversaries were Hadad, who was entertained in Egypt;

23 Rezon, who reigned in Damascus;

26 and Jeroboam, to whom Ahijah prophesied.

41 Solomon's acts, reign, and death. Rehoboam succeeds him.

MHCC: 1Ki 11:9-13

The Lord told Solomon, it is likely by a prophet, what he must expect for his apostacy. Though we have reason to hope that he repented, and found mercy, yet the Holy Ghost did not expressly record it, but left it doubtful, as a warning to others not to sin. The guilt may be taken away, but not the reproach; that will remain. Thus it must remain uncertain to us till the day of judgment, whether or not Solomon was left to suffer the everlasting displeasure of an offended God.

MHCC: 1Ki 11:14-25

While Solomon kept close to God and to his duty, there was no enemy to give him uneasiness; but here we have an account of two. If against us, he can make us fear even the least, and the very grasshopper shall be a burden. Though they were moved by principles of ambition or revenge, God used them to correct Solomon.

MHCC: 1Ki 11:26-40

In telling the reason why God rent the kingdom from the house of Solomon, Ahijah warned Jeroboam to take heed of sinning away his preferment. Yet the house of David must be supported; out of it the Messiah would arise. Solomon sought to kill his successor. Had not he taught others, that whatever devices are in men's hearts, the counsel of the Lord shall stand? Yet he himself thinks to defeat that counsel. Jeroboam withdrew into Egypt, and was content to live in exile and obscurity for awhile, being sure of a kingdom at last. Shall not we be content, who have a better kingdom in reserve?

MHCC: 1Ki 11:41-43

Solomon's reign was as long as his father's, but his life was not so. Sin shortened his days. If the world, with all its advantages, could satisfy the soul, and afford real joy, Solomon would have found it so. But he was disappointed in all, and to warn us, has left this record of all earthly enjoyments, " Vanity and vexation of spirit." The New Testament declares that one greater than Solomon is come to reign over us, and to possess the throne of his father David. May we not see something of Christ's excellency faintly represented to us in this figure?

Matthew Henry: 1Ki 11:9-13

Here is, I. God's anger against Solomon for his sin. The thing he did displeased the Lord. Time was then the Lord loved Solomon (2Sa 12:24) and delighted in him (1Ki 10:9), but now the Lord was angry with Solomon (1Ki 11:9), for there was in his sin, 1. The most base ingratitude that could be. He turned from the Lord who had appeared unto him twice, once before he began to build the temple (1Ki 3:5) and once after he had dedicated it, 1Ki 9:2. God keeps account of the gracious visits he makes us, whether we do or no, knows how often he has appeared to us and for us, and will remember it against us if we turn from him. God's appearing to Solomon was such a sensible confirmation of his faith as should have for ever prevented his worshipping any other god; it was also such a distinguishing favour, and put such an honour upon him, as he ought never to have forgotten, especially considering what God said to him in both these appearances. 2. The most wilful disobedience. This was the very thing concerning which God had commanded him - that he should not go after other gods, yet he was not restrained by such an express admonition, 1Ki 11:10. Those who have dominion over men are apt to forget God's dominion over them; and, while they demand obedience from their inferiors, to deny it to him who is the Supreme.

II. The message he sent him hereupon (1Ki 11:11): The Lord said unto Solomon (it is likely by a prophet) that he must expect to smart for his apostasy. And here, 1. The sentence is just, that, since he had revolted from God, part of his kingdom should revolt from his family; he had given God's glory to the creature, and therefore God would give his crown to his servant: " I will rend the kingdom from thee, in thy posterity, and will give it to thy servant, who shall bear rule over much of that for which thou hast laboured."This was a great mortification to Solomon, who pleased himself no doubt with the prospect of the entail of his rich kingdom upon his heirs for ever. Sin brings ruin upon families, cuts off entails, alienates estates, and lays men's honour in the dust. 2. Yet the mitigations of it are very kind, for David's sake (1Ki 11:12, 1Ki 11:13), that is, for the sake of the promise made to David. Thus all the favour God shows to man is for Christ's sake, and for the sake of the covenant made with him. The kingdom shall be rent from Solomon's house, but, (1.) Not immediately. Solomon shall not live to see it done, but it shall be rent out of the hand of his son, a son that was born to him by one of his strange wives, for his mother was an Ammonitess (1Ki 14:31) and probably had been a promoter of idolatry. What comfort can a man take in leaving children and an estate behind him if he do not leave a blessing behind him? Yet, if judgments be coming, it is a favour to us if they come not in our days, as 2Ki 20:19. (2.) Not wholly. One tribe, that of Judah, the strongest and most numerous, shall remain to the house of David (1Ki 11:13), for Jerusalem's sake, which David built, and for the sake of the temple there, which Solomon built; these shall not go into other hands. Solomon did not quickly nor wholly turn away from God; therefore God did not quickly nor wholly take the kingdom from him.

Upon this message which God graciously sent to Solomon, to awaken his conscience and bring him to repentance, we have reason to hope that he humbled himself before God, confessed his sin, begged pardon, and returned to his duty, that he then published his repentance in the book of Ecclesiastes, where he bitterly laments his own folly and madness (Ecc 7:25, Ecc 7:26), and warns others to take heed of the like evil courses, and to fear God and keep his commandments, in consideration of the judgment to come, which, it is likely, had made him tremble, as it did Felix. That penitential sermon was as true an indication of a heart broken for sin and turned from it as David's penitential psalms were, though of another nature. God's grace in his people works variously. Thus, though Solomon fell, he was not utterly cast down; what God had said to David concerning him was fulfilled: I will chasten him with the rod of men, but my mercy shall not depart from him, 2Sa 7:14, 2Sa 7:15. Though God may suffer those whom he loves to fall into sin, he will not suffer them to lie still in it. Solomon's defection, though it was much his reproach and a great blemish to his personal character, yet did not so far break in upon the character of his reign but that it was afterwards made the pattern of a good reign, 2Ch 11:17, where the kings are said to have done well, while they walked in the way of David and Solomon. But, though we have all this reason to hope he repented and found mercy, yet the Holy Ghost did not think fit expressly to record his recovery, but left it doubtful, for warning to others not to sin upon presumption of repenting, for it is but a peradventure whether God will give them repentance, or, if he do, whether he will give the evidence of it to themselves or others. Great sinners may recover themselves and have the benefit of their repentance, and yet be denied both the comfort and credit of it; the guilt may be taken away, and yet not the reproach.

Matthew Henry: 1Ki 11:14-25

While Solomon kept closely to God and to his duty there was no adversary nor evil occurrent (1Ki 5:4), nothing to create him any disturbance or uneasiness in the least; but here we have an account of two adversaries that appeared against him, inconsiderable, and that could not have done any thing worth taking notice of if Solomon had not first made God his enemy. What hurt could Hadad or Rezon have done to so great and powerful a king as Solomon was if he had not, by sin, made himself mean and weak? And then those little people menace and insult him. If God be on our side, we need not fear the greatest adversary; but, if he be against us, he can made us fear the least, and the very grasshopper shall be a burden. Observe,

I. Both these adversaries God stirred up, 1Ki 11:14, 1Ki 11:23. Though they themselves were moved by principles of ambition or revenge, God made use of them to serve his design of correcting Solomon. The principal judgment threatened was deferred, namely, the rending of the kingdom from him, but he himself was made to fee the smart of the rod, for his greater humiliation. Note, Whoever are, in any way, adversaries to us, we must take notice of the hand of God stirring them up to be so, as he bade Shimei curse David; we must look through the instruments of our trouble to the author of it and hear the Lord's controversy in it.

II. Both these adversaries had the origin of their enmity to Solomon and Israel laid in David's time, and in his conquests of their respective countries, 1Ki 11:15, 1Ki 11:24. Solomon had the benefit and advantage of his father's successes both in the enlargement of his dominion and the increase of his treasure, and would never have known any thing but the benefit of them if he had kept closely to God; but now he finds evils to balance the advantages, and that David had made himself enemies, who were thorns in his sides. Those that are too free in giving provocation ought to consider that perhaps it may be remembered in time to come and returned with interest to theirs after them; having so few friends in this world, it is our wisdom not to make ourselves more enemies than we needs must.

1. Hadad, an Edomite, was an adversary to Solomon. We are not told what he did against him, nor which way he gave him disturbance, only, in general, that he was an adversary to him: but we are told, (1.) What induced him to bear Solomon a grudge. David had conquered Edom, 2Sa 8:14. Joab put all the males to the sword, 1Ki 11:15, 1Ki 11:16. A terrible execution he made, avenging on Edom their old enmity to Israel, yet perhaps with too great a severity. From this general slaughter, while Joab was burying the slain (for he left not any alive of their own people to bury them, and buried they must be, or they would be an annoyance to the country, Eze 39:12), Hadad, a branch of the royal family, then a little child, was taken and preserved by some of the king's servants, and conveyed to Egypt, 1Ki 11:17. They halted by the way, in Midian first, and then in Paran, where they furnished themselves with men, not to fight for them or force their passage, but to attend them, that their young master might go into Egypt with an equipage agreeable to his quality. There he was kindly sheltered and entertained by Pharaoh, as a distressed prince, as well provided for, and so recommended himself that, in process of time, he married the queen's sister (1Ki 11:19), and by her had a child, which the queen herself conceived such a kindness for that she brought him up in Pharaoh's house, among the king's children. (2.) What enabled him to do Solomon a mischief. Upon the death of David and Joab, he returned to his own country, in which, it should seem, he settled and remained quiet while Solomon continued wise and watchful for the public good, but from which he had opportunity of making inroads upon Israel when Solomon, having sinned away his wisdom as Samson did his strength (and in the same way), grew careless of public affairs, was off his guard himself, and had forfeited the divine protection. What vexation Hadad gave to Solomon we are not here told, but only how loth Pharaoh was to part with him and how earnestly he solicited his stay (1Ki 11:22): What hast thou lacked with me? "Nothing,"says Hadad; "but let me go to my own country, my native air, my native soil."Peter Martyr has a pious reflection upon this: "Heaven is our home, and we ought to keep up a holy affection to that, and desire towards it, even when the world, the place of our banishment, smiles most upon us."Does it ask, What have you lacked, that you are so willing to be gone? We may answer, "Nothing that the world can do for us; but still let us go thither, where our hope, and honour, and treasure are."

2. Rezon, a Syrian, was another adversary to Solomon. When David conquered the Syrians, he headed the remains, lived at large by spoil and rapine, till Solomon grew careless, and then he got possession of Damascus, reigned there (1Ki 11:24) and over the country about (1Ki 11:25), and he created troubles to Israel, probably in conjunction with Hadad, all the days of Solomon (namely, after his apostasy), or he was an enemy to Israel during all Solomon's reign, and upon all occasions vented his then impotent malice against them, but till Solomon's revolt, when his defence had departed from him, he could not do them any mischief. It is said of him that he abhorred Israel. Other princes loved and admired Israel and Solomon, and courted their friendship, but here was one that abhorred them. The greatest and best of princes and people, however much they may in general be respected, will yet perhaps be hated and abhorred by some.

Matthew Henry: 1Ki 11:26-40

We have here the first mention of that infamous name Jeroboam the son of Nebat, that made Israel to sin; he is here brought upon the stage as an adversary to Solomon, whom God had expressly told (1Ki 11:11) that he would give the greatest part of his kingdom to his servant, and Jeroboam was the man. We have here an account,

I. Of his extraction, 1Ki 11:26. He was of the tribe of Ephraim, he next in honour to Judah. His mother was a widow, to whom Providence had made up the loss of a husband in a son that was active and ingenious, and (we may suppose) a great support and comfort to her.

II. Of his elevation. It was Solomon's wisdom, when he had work to do, to employ proper persons in it. He observed Jeroboam to be a very industrious young man, one that minded his business, took a pleasure in it, and did it with all his might, and therefore he gradually advanced him, till at length he made him receiver-general for the two tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh, or perhaps put him into an office equivalent to that of lord-lieutenant of those two counties, for he was ruler of the burden, or tribute, that is, either of the taxes or of the militia of the house of Joseph. Note, Industry is the way to preferment. Seest thou a man diligent in his business, that will take care and pains, and go through with it? he shall stand before kings, and not always be on the level with mean men. Observe a difference between David, and both his predecessor and his successor: when Saul saw a valiant man he took him to himself (1Sa 14:52); when Solomon saw an industrious man he preferred him; but David's eyes were upon the faithful in the land, that they might dwell with him: if he saw a godly man, he preferred him, for he was a man after God's own heart, whose countenance beholds the upright.

III. Of his designation to the government of the ten tribes after the death of Solomon. Some think he was himself plotting against Solomon, and contriving to rise to the throne, that he was turbulent and aspiring. The Jews say that when he was employed by Solomon in building Millo he took opportunities of reflecting upon Solomon as oppressive to his people, and suggesting that which would alienate them from his government. It is not indeed probable that he should say much to that purport, for Solomon would have got notice of it, and it would have hindered his preferment; but it is plainly intimated that he had it in his thoughts, for the prophet tells him (1Ki 11:37), Thou shalt reign according to all that thy soul desireth. But this was the cause, or rather this was the story, of the lifting up of his hand against the king: Solomon made him ruler over the tribes of Joseph, and, as he was going to take possession of his government, he was told by a prophet in God's name that he should be king, which emboldened him to aim high, and in some instances to oppose the king and give him vexation. 1. The prophet by whom this message was sent was Ahijah of Shiloh; we shall read of him again, 1Ki 14:2. It seems, Shiloh was not so perfectly forsaken and forgotten of God but that, in remembrance of the former days, it was blessed with a prophet. He delivered his message to Jeroboam in the way, his servants being probably ordered to retire, as in a like case (1Sa 9:27), when Samuel delivered his message to Saul. God's word was not the less sacred and sure for being delivered to him thus obscurely, under a hedge it may be. 2. The sign by which it was represented to him was the rending of a garment into twelve pieces, and giving him ten, 1Ki 11:30, 1Ki 11:31. It is not certain whether the garment was Jeroboam's, as is commonly taken for granted, or Ahijah's, which is more probable: He (that is, the prophet) had clad himself with a new garment, on purpose that he might with it give him a sign. The rending of the kingdom from Saul was signified by the rending of Samuel's mantle, not Saul's, 1Sa 15:27, 1Sa 15:28. And it was more significant to give Jeroboam ten pieces of that which was not his own before than of that which was. The prophets, both true and false, used such signs, even in the New Testament, as Agabus, Act 21:10, Act 21:11. 3. The message itself, which is very particular, (1.) He assures him that he shall be king over ten of the twelve tribes of Israel, 1Ki 11:31. The meanness of his extraction and employment shall be no hindrance to his advancement, when the God of Israel says (by whom kings reign), I will give ten tribes unto thee. (2.) He tells him the reason; not for his good character or deserts, but for the chastising of Solomon's apostasy: "Because he, and his family, and many of his people with him, have forsaken me, and worshipped other gods, "1Ki 11:33. It was because they had done ill, not because he was likely to do much better. Thus Israel must know that it is not for their righteousness that they are made masters of Canaan, but for the wickedness of the Canaanites, Deu 9:4. Jeroboam did not deserve so good a post, but Israel deserved so bad a prince. In telling him that the reason why he rent the kingdom from the house of Solomon was because they had forsaken God, he warns him to take heed of sinning away his preferment in like manner. (3.) He limits his expectations to the ten tribes only, and to them in reversion after the death of Solomon, lest he should aim at the whole and give immediate disturbance to Solomon's government. He is here told, [1.] That two tribes (called here one tribe, because little Benjamin was in a manner lost in the thousands of Judah) should remain sure to the house of David, and he must never make any attempt upon them: He shall have one tribe (1Ki 11:32), and again (1Ki 11:36), That David may have a lamp, that is, a shining name and memory (Psa 132:17), and his family, as a royal family, may not be extinct. He must not think that David was rejected, as Saul was. No, God would not take his loving-kindness from him, as he did from Saul. The house of David must be supported and kept in reputation, for all this, because out of it the Messiah must arise. Destroy it not, for that blessing is in it. [2.] That Solomon must keep possession during his life, 1Ki 11:34, 1Ki 11:35. Jeroboam therefore must not offer to dethrone him, but wait with patience till his day shall come to fall. Solomon shall be prince, all the days of his life, not for his own sake (he had forfeited his crown to the justice of God), but for David my servant's sake, because he kept my commandments. Children that do not tread in their parents' steps yet often fare the better in this world for their good parents' piety. (4.) He gives him to understand that he will be upon his good behaviour. The grant of the crown must run quamdiu se bene gesserit - during good behaviour. "If thou wilt do what is right in my sight, I will build thee a sure house, and not otherwise"(1Ki 11:38), intimating that, if he forsook God, even his advancement to the throne would in time lay his family in the dust; whereas the seed of David, though afflicted, should not be afflicted for ever (1Ki 11:39), but should flourish again, as it did in many of the illustrious kings of Judah, who reigned in glory when Jeroboam's family was extirpated.

IV. Jeroboam's flight into Egypt, 1Ki 11:40. In some way or other Solomon came to know of all this, probably from Jeroboam's own talk of it; he could not conceal it as Saul did, nor keep his own counsel; if he had, he might have staid in his country, and been preparing there for his future advancement; but letting it be known, 1. Solomon foolishly sought to kill his successor. Had not he taught others that, whatever devices are in men's hearts, the counsel of the Lord shall stand? And yet does he himself think to defeat that counsel? 2. Jeroboam prudently withdrew into Egypt. Though God's promise would have secured him any where, yet he would use means for his own preservation, and was content to live in exile and obscurity for a while, being sure of a kingdom at last. And shall not we be so, who have a better kingdom in reserve?

Matthew Henry: 1Ki 11:41-43

We have here the conclusion of Solomon's story, and in it, 1. Reference is had to another history then extant, but (not being divinely inspired) since lost, the Book of the Acts of Solomon, 1Ki 11:41. Probably this book was written by a chronologer or historiographer, whom Solomon employed to write his annals, out of which the sacred writer extracted what God saw fit to transmit to the church. 2. A summary of the years of his reign (1Ki 11:42): He reigned in Jerusalem (not, as his father, part of his time in Hebron and part in Jerusalem), over all Israel (not as his son, and his father in the beginning of his time, over Judah only), forty years. His reign was as long as his father's, but not his life. Sin shortened his days. 3. His death and burial, and his successor, 1Ki 11:43. (1.) He followed his fathers to the grave, slept with them, and was buried in David's burying-place, with honour no doubt. (2.) His son followed him in the throne. Thus the graves are filling with the generations that go off, and houses are filling with those that are growing up. As the grave cries, "Give, give,"so land is never lost for want of an heir.

Keil-Delitzsch: 1Ki 11:1-13

The idolatry into which Solomon fell in his old age appears so strange in a king so wise and God-fearing as Solomon showed himself to be at the dedication of the temple, that many have been quite unable to reconcile the two, and have endeavoured to show either that Solomon's worship of idols was psychologically impossible, or that the knowledge of God and the piety attributed to him are unhistorical. But great wisdom and a refined knowledge of God are not a defence against the folly of idolatry, since this has its roots in the heart, and springs from sensual desires and the lust of the flesh. The cause assigned in the biblical account for Solomon's falling away from the Lord, is that he loved many strange, i.e., foreign or heathen, wives, who turned his heart from Jehovah to their own gods in his old age. Consequently the falling away did not take place suddenly, but gradually, as Solomon got old, and was not a complete renunciation of the worship of Jehovah, to whom he offered solemn sacrifices three times a year, and that certainly to the day of his death (1Ki 9:25), but consisted simply in the fact that his heart was no longer thoroughly devoted to the Lord (1Ki 11:4), and that he inclined towards the idols of his foreign wives and built them altars (1Ki 11:5-8); that is to say, it consisted merely in a syncretic mixture of Jehovah-worship and idolatry, by which the worship which should be paid solely and exclusively to the true God was not only injured, but was even turned into idolatry itself, Jehovah the only true God being placed on a level with the worthless gods of the heathen. - Love to foreign wives no doubt presupposed an inclination to foreign customs; it was not, however, idolatry in itself, but was still reconcilable with that sincere worship of Jehovah which is attributed to Solomon in the earlier years of his reign. At the same time it was a rock on which living faith and true adherence to the Lord might at last suffer shipwreck. And we may even infer from the repeated warnings of God (1Ki 3:14; 1Ki 6:12; 1Ki 9:4), that from the earliest years of his reign Solomon was in danger of falling into idolatry. This danger did, indeed, spring in his case from his inclination to foreign customs; but this inclination was again influenced by many of the circumstances of his reign, which we must regard as contributing more remotely to his eventual fall. And among the first of these we must place the splendour and glory of his reign. Through long and severe conflicts David had succeeded in conquering all the enemies of Israel, and had not only helped his people to peace and prosperity, but had also raised the kingdom to great power and glory. And Solomon inherited these fruits of his father's reign. Under the blessings of peace he was not only able to carry out the work of building a splendid temple, which his father had urged upon him, but was also able, by a wise use of the sources already existing and by opening new ones, still further to increase the treasures which he had collected, and thereby to exalt the splendour of his kingdom. The treaty with Hiram of Tyre, which enabled him to execute the intended state buildings in Jerusalem, was followed by alliances for the establishment of a widespread commerce both by sea and land, through which ever increasing treasures of gold and silver, and other costly goods, were brought to the king. As this accumulation of riches helped to nourish his inclination to a love of show, and created a kind of luxury which was hardly reconcilable with the simplicity of manners and the piety of a servant of God, so the foreign trade led to a toleration of heathen customs and religious views which could not fail to detract from the reverence paid to Jehovah, however little the trade with foreigners might be in itself at variance with the nature of the Old Testament kingdom of God. And again, even the great wisdom of king Solomon might also become a rock endangering his life of faith, not so much in the manner suggested by J. J. Hess ( Gesch. Dav. u. Sal . ii. p. 413), namely, that an excessive thirst for inquiry might easily seduce him from the open and clearer regions of the kingdom of truth into the darker ones of the kingdom of lies, i.e., of magic, and so lead him to the paths of superstition; as because the widespread fame of his wisdom brought distinguished and wise men from distant lands to Jerusalem and into alliance with the king, and their homage flattered the vanity of the human heart, and led to a greater and greater toleration of heathen ways. But these things are none of them blamed in the Scriptures, because they did not of necessity lead to idolatry, but might simply give an indirect impulse to it, by lessening the wall of partition between the worship of the true God and that of heathen deities, and making apostasy a possible thing. The Lord Himself had promised and had given Solomon wisdom, riches, and glory above all other kings for the glorification of his kingdom; and these gifts of God merely contributed to estrange his heart from the true God for the simple reason, that Solomon forgot the commandments of the Lord and suffered himself to be besotted by the lusts of the flesh, not only so as to love many foreign wives, but so as also to take to himself wives from the nations with which Israel was not to enter into any close relationship whatever.

1Ki 11:1-2

Solomon's Love of Many Wives and Idolatry. - 1Ki 11:1, 1Ki 11:2.

"Solomon loved many foreign wives, and that along with the daughter of Pharaoh." ואת־בּת פ , standing as it does between נכריּות ר נשׁים and מואביּות , cannot mean "and especially the daughter of P.,"as Thenius follows the earlier commentators in supposing, but must mean, as in 1Ki 11:25, "and that with, or along with,"i.e., actually beside the daughter of Pharaoh. She is thereby distinguished from the foreign wives who turned away Solomon's heart from the Lord, so that the blame pronounced upon those marriages does not apply to his marriage to the Egyptian princess (see at 1Ki 3:1). All that is blamed is that, in opposition to the command in Deu 17:17, Solomon loved (1) many foreign wives, and (2) Moabitish, Ammonitish, and other wives, of the nations with whom the Israelites were not to intermarry. All that the law expressly prohibited was marriage with Canaanitish women (Deu 7:1-3; Exo 34:16); consequently the words "of the nations,"etc., are not to be taken as referring merely to the Sidonian and Hittite women (J. D. Mich.); but this prohibition is extended here to all the tribes enumerated in 1Ki 11:2, just as in Ezr 9:2., 1Ki 10:3; Neh 13:23; not from a rigour surpassing the law, but in accordance with the spirit of the law, namely, because the reason appended to the law, ne in idololatriam a superstitiosis mulieribus pellicerentur (Clericus), applied to all these nations. The Moabites and Ammonites, moreover, were not to be received into the congregation at all, not even to the tenth generation, and of the Edomites only the children in the third generation were to be received (Deu 23:4, Deu 23:8-9). There was all the less reason, therefore, for permitting marriages with them, that is to say, so long as they retained their nationality or their heathen ways. The words בּכם ... לא־תבאוּ are connected in form with Jos 23:12, but, like the latter, they really rest upon Exo 34:16 and Deu 7:1-3. In the last clause בּהם is used with peculiar emphasis: Solomon clave to these nations, of which God had said such things, to love, i.e., to enter into the relation of love or into the marriage relation, with them. דּבק is used of the attachment of a man to his wife (Gen 2:4) and also to Jehovah (Deu 4:4; Deu 10:20, etc.).

1Ki 11:3-8

1Ki 11:3-8 carry out still further what has been already stated. In 1Ki 11:3 the taking of many wives is first explained. He had seven hundred שׂרות נשׁים , women of the first rank, who were exalted into princesses, and three hundred concubines. These are in any case round numbers, that is to say, numbers which simply approximate to the reality, and are not to be understood as affirming that Solomon had all these wives and concubines at the same time, but as including all the women who were received into his harem during the whole of his reign, whereas the sixty queens and eighty concubines mentioned in Son 6:8 are to be understood as having been present in the court at one time. Even in this respect Solomon sought to equal the rulers of other nations, if not to surpass them.

(Note: Nevertheless these numbers, especially that of the wives whowere raised to the rank of princesses, appear sufficiently large tosuggest the possibility of an error in the numeral letters, althoughOriental rulers carried this custom to a very great length, as forexample Darius Codomannus, of whom it is related that he took withhim 360 pellices on his expedition against Alexander (see Curtius, iii. 3, 24; Athen. Deipnos . iii. 1).

- These women "inclined his heart,"i.e., determined the inclination of his heart.

1Ki 11:4

In the time of old age, when the flesh gained the supremacy over the spirit, they turned his heart to other gods, so that it was no longer wholly with Jehovah, his God. שׁלם , integer , i.e., entirely devoted to the Lord (cf. 1Ki 8:61), like the heart of David his father, who had indeed grievously sinned, but had not fallen into idolatry.

1Ki 11:5-7

He walked after the Ashtaroth, etc. According to 1Ki 11:7, the idolatry here condemned consisted in the fact that he built altars to the deities of all his foreign wives, upon which they offered incense and sacrifice to their idols. It is not stated that he himself also offered sacrifice to these idols. But even the building of altars for idols was a participation in idolatry which was irreconcilable with true fidelity to the Lord. עשׁתּרת , Astarte, was the chief female deity of all the Canaanitish tribes; her worship was also transplanted from Tyre to Carthage, where it flourished greatly. She was a moon-goddess, whom the Greeks and Romans called sometimes Aphrodite , sometimes Urania , Σεληναίη , Coelestis , and Juno (see the Comm. on Jdg 2:13). מלכּם , which is called מלך (without the article) in 1Ki 11:7, and מלכּם in Jer 49:1, Jer 49:3, and Amo 1:15, the abomination of the Ammonites, must not be confounded with the Molech ( המּלך , always with the article) of the early Canaanites, to whom children were offered in sacrifice in the valley of Benhinnom from the time of Ahaz onwards (see the Comm. on Lev 18:21), since they had both of them their separate places of worship in Jerusalem (cf. 2Ki 23:10, 2Ki 23:13), and nothing is ever said about the offering of children in sacrifice to Milcom; although the want of information prevents us from determining the precise distinction between the two. Milcom was at any rate related to the Chemosh of the Moabites mentioned in 1Ki 11:7; for Chemosh is also described as a god of the Ammonites in Jdg 11:24, whereas everywhere else he is called the god of the Moabites (Num 21:29; Amo 1:15, etc.). Chemosh was a sun-god, who was worshipped as king of his people and as a god of war, and as such is depicted upon coins with a sword, lance, and shield in his hands, and with two torches by his side (see at Num 21:29). The enumeration of the different idols is incomplete; Chemosh being omitted in 1Ki 11:5, and Astarte, to whom Solomon also built an altar in Jerusalem, according to 2Ki 23:13, in 1Ki 11:7. Still this incompleteness does not warrant our filling up the supposed gaps by emendations of the text. וגו/ .txe הרע ויּעשׂ , as in Jdg 2:11; Jdg 3:7, etc. יי אהרי מלּא , a pregnant expression for יי אח ללכת מלּא , as in Num 14:24; Num 32:11-12, etc. - These places of sacrifice ( בּמה , see at 1Ki 3:2) Solomon built upon the mountain in front, i.e., to the east, of Jerusalem, and, according to the more precise account in 2Ki 23:13, to the right, that is to say, on the southern side, of the Mount of Corruption, - in other words, upon the southern peak of the Mount of Olives; and consequently this peak has been called in church tradition from the time of Brocardus onwards, either Mons Offensionis , after the Vulgate rendering of המּשׁחית הר in 2Ki 23:13, or Mons Scandali , Mount of Offence (vid., Rob. Pal . i. 565 and 566).

1Ki 11:8

"So did he for all his foreign wives,"viz., built altars for their gods; for instance, in addition to those already named, he also built an altar for Astarte. These three altars, which are only mentioned in the complete account in 2Ki 23:13, were sufficient for all the deities of the foreign wives. For the Hittites and Edomites do not appear to have had any deities of their own that were peculiar to themselves. The Hittites no doubt worshipped Astarte in common with the Sidonians, and the Edomites probably worshipped Milcom. In the whole of the Old Testament the only place in which gods of the Edomite are mentioned is in 2Ch 25:20, and there no names are given. Of course we must except Pharaoh's daughter, according to 1Ki 11:1, and the remarks already made in connection with that verse; for she brought no idolatrous worship to Jerusalem, and consequently even in later times we do not find the slightest trace of Egyptian idolatry in Jerusalem and Judah.

(Note: From the fact that these places of sacrifice still existed even inthe time of Josiah, notwithstanding the reforms of Asa, Jehoshaphat,Joash, and Hezekiah, which rooted out all public idolatry, at least inJerusalem, Movers infers ( Phöniz . ii. 3, p. 207), and that not withoutreason, that there was an essential difference between these sacredplaces and the other seats of Israelitish idolatry which wereexterminated, namely, that in their national character they were alsothe places of worship for the foreigners settled in and near Jerusalem,e.g., the Sidonian, Ammonitish, and Moabitish merchants, which wereunder the protection of treaties, since this is the only ground onwhich we can satisfactorily explain their undisturbed continuance atJerusalem. But this would not preclude their having been built bySolomon for the worship of his foreign wives; on the other hand, it ismuch easier to explain their being built in the front of Jerusalem, andopposite to the temple of Jehovah, if from the very first regard washad to the foreigners who visited Jerusalem. The objection offered byThenius to this view, which Bertheau had already adopted ( zur Gesch. der. Isr . p. 323), has been shown by Böttcher ( N. exeg. Aehrenl . ii. p. 95) to be utterly untenable.)

Burning incense ( מקטירות ) is mentioned before sacrificing ( מזבּחות ), because vegetable offerings took precedence of animal sacrifices in the nature-worship of Hither Asia (vid., Bähr, Symbolik , ii. pp. 237ff.).

1Ki 11:9-13

Through this apostasy from the Lord his God, who had appeared to him twice (1Ki 3:5. and 1Ki 9:2.) and had warned him against idolatry ( וצוּה is a continuation of the participle הנּראה ), Solomon drew down upon himself the anger of Jehovah. The emphasis lies upon the fact that God had appeared to him Himself for the purpose of warning him, and had not merely caused him to be warned by prophets, as Theodoret has explained. In consequence of this, the following announcement is made to him, no doubt through the medium of a prophet, possibly Ahijah (1Ki 11:29): "Because this has come into thy mind, and thou hast not kept my covenant, ... I will tear the kingdom from thee and give it to thy servant; nevertheless I will not do it in thy lifetime for thy father David's sake: howbeit I will not tear away the whole kingdom; one tribe I will give to thy son."In this double limitation of the threatened forfeiture of the kingdom there is clearly manifested the goodness of God ( δείκνυσι τὴν ἄμετρον ἀγαθότητα - Theodoret); not, however, with reference to Solomon, who had forfeited the divine mercy through his idolatry, but with regard to David and the selection of Jerusalem: that is to say, not from any special preference for David and Jerusalem, but in order that the promise made to David (2 Sam 7), and the choice of Jerusalem as the place where His name should be revealed which was connected with that promise, might stand immoveably as an act of grace, which no sin of men could overturn (vid., 1Ki 11:36). For אחד שׁבט see the Comm. on 1Ki 11:31, 1Ki 11:32.

Keil-Delitzsch: 1Ki 11:14-40

Solomon's Opponents. - Although the punishment with which Solomon was threatened for his apostasy was not to be inflicted till after his death, the Lord raised up several adversaries even during his lifetime, who endangered the peace of his kingdom, and were to serve as constant reminders that he owed his throne and his peaceable rule over the whole of the kingdom inherited from his father solely to the mercy, the fidelity, and the long-suffering of God. - The rising up of Hadad and Rezon took place even before the commencement of Solomon's idolatry, but it is brought by יהוה ויּקם (1Ki 11:14) into logical connection with the punishment with which he is threatened in consequence of that idolatry, because it was not till a later period that it produced any perceptible effect upon his government, yet it ought from the very first to have preserved him from self-security.

1Ki 11:14-22

The first adversary was Hadad the Edomite, a man of royal birth. The name הדד ( אדד in 1Ki 11:17, according to an interchange of ה and א which is by no means rare) was also borne by a prae-Mosaic king of Edom (Gen 36:35), from which we may see that it was not an uncommon name in the royal family of the Edomites. But the conjecture of Ewald and Thenius, that our Hadad was a grandson of Hadar, the last of the kings mentioned there, is quite a groundless one, since it rests upon the false assumption that Hadar (called Hadad in the Chronicles by mistake) reigned in the time of David (see the Comm. on Gen 36:31.). הוּא before בּאדום stands in the place of the relative אשׁר : "of royal seed he = who was of the royal seed in Edom"(cf. Ewald, § 332, a .).

1Ki 11:15-17

When David had to do with the Edomites, ... Hadad fled. את היה is analogous to עם היה , to have to do with any one, though in a hostile sense, as in the phrase to go to war with ( את ) a person, whereas עם היה generally means to be upon the side of any one. The correctness of the reading בּהיוה is confirmed by all the ancient versions, which have simply paraphrased the meaning in different ways. For Böttcher has already shown that the lxx did not read בּהכּות , as Thenius supposes. The words from בּעלות to the end of 1Ki 11:16 form explanatory circumstantial clauses. On the circumstance itself, compare 2Sa 8:13-14, with the explanation given there. "The slain,"whom Joab went to bury, were probably not the Israelites who had fallen in the battle in the Salt valley (2Sa 8:13), but those who had been slain on the invasion of the land by the Edomites, and still remained unburied. After their burial Joab defeated the Edomites in the valley of Salt, and remained six months in Edom till he had cut off every male. "All Israel"is the whole of the Israelitish army. "Every male"is of course only the men capable of bearing arms, who fell into the hands of the Israelites; for "Hadad and others fled, and the whole of the Idumaean race was not extinct"(Clericus). Then Hadad fled, while yet a little boy, with some of his father's Edomitish servants, to go to Egypt, going first of all to Midian and thence to Paran. The country of Midian cannot be more precisely defined, inasmuch as we meet with Midianites sometimes in the peninsula of Sinai on the eastern side of the Elanitic Gulf, where Edrisi and Abulfeda mention a city of Madian (see at Exo 2:15), and sometimes on the east of the Moabitish territory (see at Num 22:4 and Jdg 6:1). Here, at any rate, we must think of the neighbourhood of the Elanitic Gulf, though not necessarily of the city of Madian, five days' journey to the south of Aela; and probably of the country to which Moses fled from Egypt. Paran is the desert of that name between the mountains of Sinai and the south of Canaan (see at Num 10:12), through which the Haj route from Egypt by Elath to Mecca still runs. Hadad would be obliged to take the road by Elath in order to go to Egypt, even if he had taken refuge with the Midianites on the east of Moab and Edom.

1Ki 11:18-20

From Paran they took men with them as guides through the desert. Thus Hadad came to Egypt, where Pharaoh received him hospitably, and gave them a house and maintenance ( לחם ), and also assigned him land ( ארץ ) to cultivate for the support of the fugitives who had come with him, and eventually, as he found great favour in his eyes, gave him for a wife the sister of his own wife, queen Tachpenes , who bare him a son, Genubath . This son was weaned by Tachpenes in the royal palace, and then brought up among (with) the children of Pharaoh, the royal princes. According to Rosellini and Wilkinson (Ges. Thes . p. 1500), Tachpenes was also the name of a female deity of Egypt. The wife of Pharaoh is called הגּבירה , i.e., the mistress among the king's wives, as being the principal consort. In the case of the kings of Judah this title is given to the king's mother, probably as the president in the harem, whose place was taken by the reigning queen after her death. The weaning, probably a family festival as among the Hebrews (Gen 21:8) and other ancient nations (vid., Dougtaei Analecta ss . i. 22f.), was carried out by the queen in the palace, because the boy was to be thereby adopted among the royal children, to be brought up with them.

1Ki 11:21-22

When Hadad heard in Egypt of the death of David and Joab, he asked permission of Pharaoh to return to his own country. Pharaoh replied, "What is there lacking to thee with me?"This answer was a pure expression of love and attachment to Hadad, and involved the request that he would remain. But Hadad answered, "No, but let me go."We are not told that Pharaoh then let him go, but this must be supplied; just as in Num 10:32 we are not told what Hobab eventually did in consequence of Moses' request, but it has to be supplied from the context. The return of Hadad to his native land is clearly to be inferred from the fact that, according to 1Ki 11:14, 1Ki 11:25, he rose up as an adversary of Solomon.

(Note: The lxx have supplied what is missing e conjectura : καὶ ἀνέστρεψεν Ἄδερ (i.e., Hadad) εἰς τὴν γῆν αὐτοῦ· αὑτὴ ἡ κακία ἥν ἐποίησεν Ἄδερ· καὶ ἐβαρυθύμησεν Ἰσραήλ, καὶ ἐβασίλευσεν ἐν γῇ Ἐδώμ . Thenius proposes to alter the Hebrew text accordingly,and draws this conclusion, that "shortly after the accession ofSolomon, Hadad, having returned from Egypt, wrested from thepower of the Israelites the greatest part of Edom, probably the truemountain-land of Edom, so that certain places situated in the plain,particularly Ezion-geber, remained in the hands of the Israelites, andintercourse could be maintained with that port through the Arabah ,even though not quite without disturbance."This conclusion, which isdescribed as "historical,"is indeed at variance with 1Ki 22:48,according to which Edom had no king even in the time ofJehoshaphat, but only a vicegerent, and also with 2Ki 8:20,according to which it was not till the reign of Jehoshaphat's sonJoram that Edom fell away from Judah. But this discrepancy Theniussets aside by the remark at 1Ki 22:48, that in Jehoshaphat's timethe family of Hadad had probably died out, and Jehoshaphat prudentlyavailed himself of the disputes which arose concerning the successionto enforce Judah's right of supremacy over Edom, and to appoint firsta vicegerent and then a new king, though perhaps one not absolutelydependent upon him. But this conjecture as to the relation in which Jehoshaphat stood to Edom is proved to be an imaginary fiction by the fact that, although this history does indeed mention a revolt of the Edomites from Judah (2 Chron 20; see at 1Ki 22:48), it not only says nothing whatever about the dying out of the royal family of Hadad or about disputes concerning the succession, but it does not even hint at them.- But with regard to the additions made to this passage by the lxx, to which even Ewald ( Gesch . iii. p. 276) attributes historical worth, though without building upon them such confident historical combinations as Thenius, we may easily convince ourselves of their critical worthlessness, if we only pass our eye over the whole section (1Ki 11:14-25), instead of merely singling out those readings of the lxx which support our preconceived opinions, and overlooking all the rest, after the thoroughly unscientific mode of criticism adopted by a Thenius or Böttcher. For example, the lxx have connected together the two accounts respecting the adversaries Hadad and Rezon who rose up against Solomon (1Ki 11:14 and 1Ki 11:23), which are separated in the Hebrew text, and have interpolated what is sated concerning Rezon in 1Ki 11:23 and 1Ki 11:24 after האדמי in 1Ki 11:14, and consequently have been obliged to alter וגו שׂטן ויהי in 1Ki 11:25 into καὶ ἦσαν Σατάν , because they had previously cited Hadad and Rezon as adversaries, whereas in the Hebrew text these words apply to Rezon alone. But the rest of 1Ki 11:25, namely the words from ואת־רעה onwards, they have not given till the close of 1Ki 11:22 (lxx); and in order to connect this with what precedes, they have interpolated the words καὶ ἀνέστρεψεν Ἄδερ εἰς τὴν γῆν αὐτοῦ . The Alexandrians were induced to resort to this intertwining of the accounts concerning Hadad and Rezon, which are kept separate in the Hebrew text, partly by the fact that Hadad and Rezon are introduced as adversaries of Solomon with the very same words (1Ki 11:14 and 1Ki 11:23), but more especially by the fact that in 1Ki 11:25 of the Hebrew text the injury done to Solomon by Hadad is merely referred to in a supplementary manner in connection with Rezon's enterprise, and indeed is inserted parenthetically within the account of the latter. The Alexandrian translators did not know what to make of this, because they did not understand ואת־הרעה and took ואת for זאת , αὕτη ἡ κακία . With this reading ויּקץ which follows was necessarily understood as referring to Hadad; and as Hadad was an Edomite, על־ארם ויּמלך had to be altered into ἐβασίλευσεν ἐν γῇ Ἐδώμ . Consequently all the alterations of the lxx in this section are simply the result of an arbitrary treatment of the Hebrew text, which they did not really understand, and consist of a collocation of all that is homogeneous, as every reader of this translation who is acquainted with the original text must see so clearly even at the very beginning of the chapter, where the number of Solomon's wives is taken from 1Ki 11:3 of the Hebrew text and interpolated into 1Ki 11:1, that, as Thenius observes, "the true state of the case can only be overlooked from superficiality of observation or from preconceived opinion.")

1Ki 11:23-25

A second adversary of Solomon was Rezon , the son of Eliadah (for the name see at 1Ki 15:18), who had fled from his lord Hadadezer, king of Zobah, and who became the captain of a warlike troop ( גּדוּד ), when David smote them ( אתם ), i.e., the troops of his lord (2Sa 8:3-4). Rezon probably fled from his lord for some reason which is not assigned, when the latter was engaged in war with David, before his complete overthrow, and collected together a company from the fugitives, with which he afterwards marched to Damascus, and having taken possession of that city, made himself king over it. This probably did not take place till towards the close of David's reign, or even after his death, though it was at the very beginning of Solomon's reign; for "he became an adversary to Israel all the days of Solomon (i.e., during the whole of his reign), and that with (beside) the mischief which Hadad did, and he abhorred Israel (i.e., became disgusted with the Israelitish rule), and became king over Aram." הדד אשׁר is an abbreviated expression, to which עשׂה may easily be supplied, as it has been by the lxx (vid., Ewald, § 292, b ., Anm .). It is impossible to gather from these few words in what the mischief done by Hadad to Solomon consisted.

(Note: What Josephus ( Ant . viii. 7, 6) relates concerning an alliancebetween Hadad and Rezon for the purpose of making hostile attacksupon Israel, is merely an inference drawn from the text of the lxx,and utterly worthless.)

Rezon, on the other hand, really obtained possession of the rule over Damascus. Whether at the beginning or not till the end of Solomon's reign cannot be determined, since all that is clearly stated is that he was Solomon's adversary during the whole of his reign, and attempted to revolt from him from the very beginning. If, however, he made himself king of Damascus in the earliest years of his reign, he cannot have maintained his sway very long, since Solomon afterwards built or fortified Tadmor in the desert, which he could not have done if he had not been lord over Damascus, as the caravan road from Gilead to Tadmor (Palmyra) went past Damascus.

(Note: Compare Ewald, Gesch . iii. p. 276. It is true that more could beinferred from 2Ch 8:3, if the conquest of the city of Hamath bySolomon were really recorded in that passage, as Bertheau supposes. But although על הזק is used to signify the conquestof tribes or countries, we cannot infer the conquest of the city ofHamath from the words, "Solomon went to Hamath Zobah עליה ויּחזק and built Tadmor,"etc., since all that עליה יחזק distinctly expresses is the establishment of his power over theland of Hamath Zobah. And this Solomon could have done by placingfortifications in that province, because he was afraid of rebellion,even if Hamath Zobah had not actually fallen away from his power.)

1Ki 11:26-28

Attempted rebellion of Jeroboam the Ephraimite . - Hadad and Rezon are simply described as adversaries ( שׂטן ) of Solomon; but in the case of Jeroboam it is stated that "he lifted up his hand against the king,"i.e., he stirred up a tumult or rebellion. בּ יד נשׂא is synonymous with בּ יד נשׂא in 2Sa 18:28; 2Sa 20:21. It is not on account of this rebellion, which was quickly suppressed by Solomon, but on account of the later enterprise of Jeroboam, that his personal history is so minutely detailed. Jeroboam was an Ephraimite ( אפרתי , as in 1Sa 1:1; Jdg 12:5) of Zereda , i.e., Zarthan , in the Jordan valley (see 1Ki 7:46), son of a widow, and עבד , i.e., not a subject (Then.), but an officer, of Solomon. All that is related of his rebellion against the king is the circumstances under which it took place. אשׁר הדּבר יד , this is how it stands with, as in Jos 5:4. Solomon built Millo (1Ki 9:15), and closed the rent (the defile?) in the city of David. פּרץ , ruptura , cannot be a rent or breach in the wall of the city of David, inasmuch as חומה is not added, and since the fortification of the city by David (2Sa 5:9) no hostile attack had ever been made upon Jerusalem; but in all probability it denotes the ravine which separated Zion from Moriah and Ophel, the future Tyropoeon , through the closing of which the temple mountain was brought within the city wall, and the fortification of the city of David was completed (Thenius, Ewald, Gesch . iii. p. 330). Compare מפרץ , a gap in the coast, a bay. On the occasion of this building, Jeroboam proved himself a חיל גּבּור , i.e., a very able and energetic man; so that when Solomon saw the young man, that he was doing work, i.e., urging it forward, he committed to him the oversight over all the heavy work of the house of Joseph. It must have been while occupying this post that he attempted a rebellion against Solomon. This is indicated by וגו הדּבר יד in v. 27. According to 1Ki 12:4, the reason for the rebellion is to be sought for in the appointment of the Ephraimites to heavy works. This awakened afresh the old antipathy of that tribe to Judah, and Jeroboam availed himself of this to instigate a rebellion.

1Ki 11:29-36

At that time the prophet Ahijah met him in the field and disclosed to him the word of the Lord, that he should become king over Israel. ההיא בּעת : at that time, viz., the time when Jeroboam had become overseer over the heavy works, and not after he had already stirred up the rebellion. For the whole of the account in 1Ki 11:29-39 forms part of the explanation of בּמּלך יד הרים which commences with 1Ki 11:27 , so that ההיא בּעת ויהי is closely connected with אתו ויּפקד in 1Ki 11:28, and there is no such gap in the history as is supposed by Thenius, who builds upon this opinion most untenable conjectures as to the intertwining of different sources. At that time, as Jeroboam was one day going out of Jerusalem, the prophet Ahijah of Shilo (Seilun) met him by the way ( בּדּרך ), with a new upper garment wrapped around him; and when they were alone, he rent the new garment, that is to say, his own, not Jeroboam's, as Ewald ( Gesch . iii. p. 388) erroneously supposes, into twelve pieces, and said to Jeroboam, "Take thee ten pieces, for Jehovah saith, I will rend the kingdom out of the hand of Solomon, and give thee ten tribes; and one tribe shall remain to him (Solomon) for David's sake,"etc. The new שׂלמה wen ehT . was probably only a large four-cornered cloth, which was thrown over the shoulders like the Heik of the Arabs, and enveloped the whole of the upper portion of the body (see my bibl. Archäol . ii. pp. 36, 37). By the tearing of the new garment into twelve pieces, of which Jeroboam was to take ten for himself, the prophetic announcement was symbolized in a very emphatic manner. This symbolical action made the promise a completed fact. "As the garment as torn in pieces and lay before the eyes of Jeroboam, so had the division of the kingdom already taken place in the counsel of God"(O. v. Gerlach). There was something significant also in the circumstance that it was a new garment, which is stated twice, and indicates the newness, i.e., the still young and vigorous condition, of the kingdom (Thenius).

In the word of God explaining the action it is striking that Jeroboam was to receive ten tribes, and the one tribe was to remain to Solomon (1Ki 11:31, 1Ki 11:32, 1Ki 11:35, 1Ki 11:36, as in 1Ki 11:13). The nation consisted of twelve tribes, and Ahijah had torn his garment into twelve pieces, of which Jeroboam was to take ten; so that there were two remaining. It is evident at once from this, that the numbers are intended to be understood symbolically and not arithmetically. Ten as the number of completeness and totality is placed in contrast with one , to indicate that all Israel was to be torn away from the house of David, as is stated in 1Ki 12:20, "they made Jeroboam king over all Israel,"and only one single fragment was to be left to the house of Solomon out of divine compassion. This one tribe, however, is not Benjamin, the one tribe beside Judah, as Hupfeld (on Ps 80), C. a Lap., Mich., and others suppose, but, according to the distinct statement in 1Ki 12:20, "the tribe of Judah only."Nevertheless Benjamin belonged to Judah; for, according to 1Ki 12:21, Rehoboam gathered together the whole house of Judah and the tribe of Benjamin to fight against the house of Israel (which had fallen away), and to bring the kingdom again to himself. And so also in 2Ch 11:3 and 2Ch 11:23 Judah and Benjamin are reckoned as belonging to the kingdom of Rehoboam. This distinct prominence given to Benjamin by the side of Judah overthrows the explanation suggested by Seb. Schmidt and others, namely, that the description of the portion left to Rehoboam as one tribe is to be explained from the fact that Judah and Benjamin, on the border of which Jerusalem was situated, were regarded in a certain sense as one, and that the little Benjamin was hardly taken into consideration at all by the side of the great Judah. For if Ahijah had regarded Benjamin as one with Judah, he would not have torn his garment into twelve pieces, inasmuch as if Benjamin was to be merged in Judah, or was not to be counted along with it as a distinct tribe, the whole nation could only be reckoned as eleven tribes. Moreover the twelve tribes did not so divide themselves, that Jeroboam really received ten tribes and Rehoboam only one or only two. In reality there were three tribes that fell to the kingdom of Judah, and only nine to the kingdom of Israel, Ephraim and Manasseh being reckoned as two tribes, since the tribe of Levi was not counted in the political classification. The kingdom of Judah included, beside the tribe of Judah, both the tribe of Benjamin and also the tribe of Simeon, the territory of which, according to Jos 19:1-9, was within the tribe-territory of Judah and completely surrounded by it, so that the Simeonites would have been obliged to emigrate and give up their tribe-land altogether, if they desired to attach themselves to the kingdom of Israel. But it cannot be inferred from 2Ch 15:9 and 2Ch 34:6 that an emigration of the whole tribe had taken place (see also at 1Ki 12:17). On the other hand, whilst the northern border of the tribe of Benjamin, with the cities of Bethel, Ramah, and Jericho, fell to the kingdom of Jeroboam (1Ki 12:29; 1Ki 15:17, 1Ki 15:21; 1Ki 16:34), several of the cities of the tribe of Dan were included in the kingdom of Judah, namely, Ziklag, which Achish had presented to David, and also Zorea and Ajalon (2Ch 11:10; 2Ch 28:18), in which Judah obtained compensation for the cities of Benjamin of which it had been deprived.

(Note: On the other hand, the fact that in Psa 80:2 Benjamin is placedbetween Ephraim and Manasseh is no proof that it belonged to thekingdom of Israel; for can this be inferred from the fact thatBenjamin, as the tribe to which Saul belonged, at the earlier splitamong the tribes took the side of those which were opposed to David,and that at a still later period a rebellion originated with Benjamin. For in Psa 80:2 the exposition is disputed, and the jealousy ofBenjamin towards Judah appears to have become extinct with thedying out of the royal house of Saul. Again, the explanation suggestedby Oehler (Herzog's Cycl .) of the repeated statement that the houseof David was to receive only one tribe, namely, that there was not asingle whole tribe belonging to the southern kingdom beside Judah, isby no means satisfactory. For it cannot be proved that any portion ofthe tribe of Simeon ever belonged to the kingdom of Israel, althoughthe number ten was not complete without it. And it cannot beinferred from 2Ch 15:9 that Simeonites had settled outside theirtribe-territory. And, as a rule, single families or households that mayhave emigrated cannot be taken into consideration as having anybearing upon the question before us, since, according to the very samepassage of the Chronicles, many members of the tribes of Ephraimand Manasseh had emigrated to the kingdom of Judah.)

Consequently there only remained nine tribes for the northern kingdom. For וגו עבדּי למען see at 1Ki 11:13. For 1Ki 11:33 compare 1Ki 11:4-8. The plurals עזבוּני , ישׁתּחווּ , and הלכוּ are not open to critical objection, but are used in accordance with the fact, since Solomon did not practise idolatry alone, but many in the nation forsook the Lord along with him. צדנין , with a Chaldaic ending (see Ges. § 87, 1, a .). In 1Ki 11:34-36 there follows a more precise explanation: Solomon himself is not to lose the kingdom, but to remain prince all his life, and his son is to retain one tribe; both out of regard to David (vid., 1Ki 11:12, 1Ki 11:13). אשׁתנּוּ נשׂיא כּי , "but I will set him for prince,"inasmuch as leaving him upon the throne was not merely a divine permission, but a divine act. "That there may be a light to my servant David always before me in Jerusalem."This phrase, which is repeated in 1Ki 15:4; 2Ki 8:19; 2Ch 21:7, is to be explained from 2Sa 21:17, where David's regal rule is called the light which God's grace had kindled for Israel, and affirms that David was never to want a successor upon the throne.

1Ki 11:37-39

The condition on which the kingdom of Jeroboam was to last was the same as that on which Solomon had also been promised the continuance of his throne in 1Ki 3:14; 1Ki 6:12; 1Ki 9:4, namely, faithful observance of the commandments of God. The expression, "be king over all that thy soul desireth,"is explained in what follows by "all Israel."It is evident from this that Jeroboam had aspired after the throne. On the condition named, the Lord would build him a lasting house, as He had done for David (see at 2Sa 7:16). In the case of Jeroboam, however, there is no allusion to a lasting duration of the ממלכה (kingdom) such as had been ensured to David; for the division of the kingdom was not to last for ever, but the seed of David was simply to be chastised. זאת למען , for this, i.e., because of the apostasy already mentioned; "only not all the days,"i.e., not for ever. ואענּה is explanatory so far as the sense is concerned: "for I will humble."Jeroboam did not fulfil this condition, and therefore his house was extirpated at the death of his son (1Ki 15:28.).

1Ki 11:40

1Ki 11:40 is a continuation of בּמּלך יד ויּרם in 1Ki 11:26; for 1Ki 11:27-39 contain simply an explanation of Jeroboam's lifting up his hand against Solomon. It is obvious from this that Jeroboam had organized a rebellion against Solomon; and also, as 1Ki 11:29 is closely connected with 1Ki 11:28, that this did not take place till after the prophet had foretold his reigning over ten tribes after Solomon's death. But this did not justify Jeroboam's attempt; nor was Ahijah's announcement an inducement or authority to rebel. Ahijah's conduct as perfectly analogous to that of Samuel in the case of Saul, and is no more to be attributed to selfish motives than his was, as though the prophetic order desired to exalt itself above the human sovereign (Ewald; see, on the other hand, Oehler's article in Herzog's Cycl .). For Ahijah expressly declared to Jeroboam that Jehovah would let Solomon remain prince over Israel during the remainder of his life. This deprived Jeroboam of every pretext for rebellion. Moreover the prophet's announcement, even without this restriction, gave him no right to seize with his own hand and by means of rebellion upon that throne which God intended to give to him. Jeroboam might have learned how he ought to act under these circumstances from the example of David, who had far more ground, according to human opinion, for rebelling against Saul, his persecutor and mortal foe, and who nevertheless, even when God had delivered his enemy into his hand, so that he might have slain him, did not venture to lay his hand upon the anointed of the Lord, but waited in pious submission to the leadings of his God, till the Lord opened the way to the throne through the death of Saul. By the side of David's behaviour towards Saul the attempt of Jeroboam has all the appearance of a criminal rebellion, so that Solomon would have been perfectly justified in putting him to death, if Jeroboam had not escaped from his hands by a flight into Egypt. - On Shishak see at 1Ki 14:25.

Keil-Delitzsch: 1Ki 11:41-43

Conclusion of the history of Solomon . - Notice of the original works, in which further information can be found concerning his acts and his wisdom (see the Introduction); the length of his reign, viz., forty years; his death, burial, and successor. Solomon did not live to a very great age, since he was not more than twenty years old when he ascended the throne. - Whether Solomon turned to the Lord again with all his heart, a question widely discussed by the older commentators (see Pfeifferi Dubia vex . p. 435; Buddei hist. eccl . ii. p. 273ff.), cannot be ascertained from the Scriptures. If the Preacher Koheleth ) is traceable to Solomon so far as the leading thoughts are concerned, we should find in this fact an evidence of his conversion, or at least a proof that at the close of his life Solomon discovered the vanity of all earthly possessions and aims, and declared the fear of God to be the only abiding good, with which a man can stand before the judgment of God.

Constable: 1Ki 1:1--11:43

I. THE REIGN OF SOLOMON chs. 1--11

The Holy Spirit led the writer of Kings to give an interpretation of history, not just a chronologically sequential record of events. This is true of all the writers of the Old Testament historical books. Some of the events in Kings are not in chronological order. They appear in the text as they do to make a point that was primarily theological (i.e., to reveal a spiritual lesson from history). The writer chose the historical data he included for this purpose under the superintending inspiration of the Holy Spirit. The lesson that Kings teaches is that failure to honor the revealed will of God results in ruin and destruction.¹² For Israel the revealed will of God was the Mosaic Law and the later revelations of the prophets.

"By way of contrast with the other two books covering the historical details of the united and divided kingdoms, one might say that whereas Samuel's author uses a biographical style and Chronicles is written from a theological standpoint, the author of Kings employs a largely narrative-annalistic approach."¹³

All three major sections of Kings emphasize many theological lessons, but each one repeats and reinforces the main motif, the importance of obeying the Mosaic Law to succeed. This motif stands out clearly in the first major section dealing with Solomon's reign (chs. 1-11). The nation of Israel reached the height of its power and prestige in Solomon's day. It began to decline because of Solomon's unfaithfulness and failure to honor the Mosaic Covenant.

One writer observed that the structure of the record of Solomon's reign is as follows. Chapters 1-2 and 11:14-43 draw a frame around the whole history of Solomon's rule. Within this frame two similar sections form the body of the revelation. The first (3:1-8:66) is favorable to Solomon and the second (9:1-11:13) is critical of him.¹⁴ Each of these sections begins with a dream (3:1-15; 9:1-10a), and each ends with a revelation of Solomon's attitude toward God (chs. 6-8; 11:1-13). The first section has two parts. Part one reveals Solomon's domestic policy with sub-sections on women and wisdom (3:16-28), and administration and wisdom (4:1-5:14). Part two deals with Solomon's labor relations and has sub-sections on the contract with Hiram (5:15-18) and the corvée (5:28-33). The second section also has two parts. Part one gives more information about Solomon's labor relations and has sub-sections on the contract with Hiram (9:10b-14) and the corvée (9:15-28). Part two explains Solomon's foreign policy with sub-sections on women and wisdom (10:1-13), and wealth and wisdom (10:14-29). Thus there is both a chiastic and an unfolding structure in chapters 1-11.¹⁵

Constable: 1Ki 11:1-43

4. Solomon's apostasy ch. 11

The 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.

Constable: 1Ki 11:9-13

Solomon's sentence from God 11:9-13

Solomon's sin in going after other gods was the quintessence of covenant infidelity. David had sinned against God deliberately (2 Sam. 11), but his heart remained devoted to Yahweh. His sin was not as serious as Solomon's was (cf. Deut. 6:5).

The one tribe Solomon's heir would retain was Judah. Judah had absorbed the tribe of Simeon almost entirely by this time, though some Israelites from Simeon had moved north (2 Chron. 15:9; 34:6).

Constable: 1Ki 11:14-25

Solomon's external adversaries 11:14-25

Hadad hated Solomon because of Joab's severe treatment of the Edomites. He may have been a relation of Solomon's by marriage. Pharaoh Siamun apparently gave his daughter to Solomon in marriage and his sister-in-law to Hadad (v. 19).

Rezon also had reason to oppose Solomon (vv. 23-25). The Lord raised up both these men to bring judgment on Solomon (v. 14).

Kings of Aram in 1 Kings115
Kings	Dates	References
Rezon (Hezion)	ca. 940-915 B.C.	1 Kings 11:23, 25; 15:18
Tabrimmon	ca. 915-900 B.C.	1 Kings 15:18
Ben-Hadad I	ca. 900-860 B.C.	1 Kings 15:18, 20
Ben-Hadad II	ca. 860-841 B.C.	1 Kings 20; 2 Kings 6:24; 8:7, 9, 14

Constable: 1Ki 11:26-40

Solomon's internal adversary 11:26-40

Jeroboam, who would become the first king of the Northern Kingdom of Israel, was from Ephraim, the most prominent tribe in the North (v. 26).

Part of Benjamin affiliated voluntarily with Judah eventually (v. 32; cf. 12:21; 2 Chron. 11:1, 10; 15:2, 9; Ezra 4:1). Really parts of two tribes joined the kingdom of Judah: Simeon and Benjamin.¹¹⁶ The reference to 10 northern tribes evidently included the nine remaining tribes plus either Benjamin or Simeon, whichever provided the majority of its tribe to support the Northern Kingdom. This appears to have been Simeon (cf. 2 Chron. 15:9; 34:6). Levi did not figure in either group.

"Ten as the number of completeness and totality is placed in contrast with one, to indicate that all Israel was to be torn away from the house of David, as is stated in ch. xii. 20 . . ."¹¹⁷

David's lamp (v. 36) refers to his descendant on the throne (cf. 2 Sam. 21:17).¹¹⁸

God's conditional promise to Jeroboam was similar to His promises to Saul (1 Sam. 13:13), to David (2 Sam. 7:11, 27), and to Solomon (9:4-7).

God would afflict the descendants of David (v. 39) until He raised up Messiah when all Israel would come under His authority as it had been under David and Solomon's authority.¹¹⁹

The reference to Shishak king of Egypt (v. 40) is the first to identify a Pharaoh by name in the Bible. Shishak later invaded Jerusalem during Rehoboam's reign (14:25-26).

Constable: 1Ki 11:41-43

Solomon's death 11:41-43

The writer of Kings referred to other ancient records (v. 41; cf. 14:19, 29). The Acts of Solomon was the first of these.¹²⁰ It is no longer extant.

Solomon's long reign of 40 years (971-931 B.C.) ended with the king in decline both spiritually and politically.

"What is the image of Solomon which emerges from the narrative? He was the divinely chosen descendent (8:20) of a divinely chosen ruler (8:16), reigning in a divinely chosen city (8:44, 48). He was a righteous judge (chap. 3) and an efficient administrator (chap. 4). He ruled extensive territory and promoted the peace of his realm and the prosperity of his people (4:20-5:8 [4:20-28]). His building projects were on a grand scale, encompassing sanctuary and palace (chap. 6), fortress and store-city (9:15-19). He pursued an active commercial policy and indulged in a conspicuous display of wealth (chap. 10). The key to his success was his divinely endowed wisdom. He was wiser than all men and all came to see and behold and leave their tribute (5:9-14 [4:29-34], chap. 10)."¹²¹

Solomon, Saul, and David each reigned 40 years. Saul was God's anointed only because the people demanded a king. David and Solomon were God's anointed because the Lord elected them as His sons. Saul never really appreciated his role as Yahweh's servant. David and Solomon both did, but Solomon acted as though he did less than David did. David had a heart for God that he maintained throughout his lifetime. Solomon also had a heart for God, but he failed to maintain it. Saul's reign was a tragedy, David's was a triumph, and Solomon's was both.

"If he [Solomon] partly escapes Saul's condemnation, he quite fails of David's commendation."¹²²

In the lives of all three men the writers of Scripture have carefully pointed out how their responses to God's grace and His Law determined their destinies. Because they were the leaders of the nation, what befell them also affected their kingdoms.

The man best qualified to live life successfully, Solomon, chose not to do so. Success in life from God's viewpoint does not come automatically with the gift of wisdom but when one applies wisdom to one's life. Spiritual success depends on choices as well as understanding.

Guzik: 1Ki 11:1-43

1 Kings 11 - Solomon's Decline and Death

A. Solomon's apostasy.

1. (1-3) Solomon's unlawful marriages.

But King Solomon loved many foreign women, as well as the daughter of Pharaoh: women of the Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Sidonians, and Hittites; from the nations of whom the LORD had said to the children of Israel, "You shall not intermarry with them, nor they with you. Surely they will turn away your hearts after their gods." Solomon clung to these in love. And he had seven hundred wives, princesses, and three hundred concubines; and his wives turned away his heart.

a. Solomon loved many foreign women: There are two obvious problems here. First, that he loved foreign women who worshipped other gods and brought pagan influences to Israel. Second, that he loved many women, rejecting God's plan from the beginning for one man and one woman to become one flesh in marriage (Matthew 19:4-6, Genesis 2:23-24).

b. Nations of whom the LORD had said to the children of Israel, "You shall not intermarry with them": God gave a general warning to all Israel to not intermarry with these nations, because surely they will turn away your hearts after their gods. For all Solomon's great wisdom, he did not have the wisdom to apply this simple command to his own life.

i. Solomon probably did what many of us do. He somehow thought that he would be the exception, that he would "get away" with this sin, despite seeing how it affected others. Solomon learned - or should have learned - that he was not the exception to this rule.

c. Solomon clung to these in love: At this point, Solomon wanted romance and sensual fulfillment more than he wanted the LORD. For all his wisdom, he was snared by the power of romantic and sensual love. He did not seriously consider that it is possible to be romantically and sensually attracted to people we have no business be attracted to. Once under the power of this attraction, he clung to these in love instead of giving them up to the LORD.

d. He had seven hundred wives, princesses, and three hundred concubines: This is an almost unbelievable number of marriage partners. His wives were considered princesses, but his concubines were legal partners without the same standing as wives. All said, Solomon had far more marriage partners than any man could possibly give attention to - sexual attention or other attention.

i. In this sense a concubine was a legal mistress. Many prominent men in the Old Testament had concubines. Examples include Abraham (Genesis 25:6), Jacob (Genesis 35:22), Caleb (1 Chronicles 2:46), Saul (2 Samuel 3:7), David (2 Samuel 5:13), and Rehoboam (2 Chronicles 11:21). Significantly, we never see this kind of family life blessed by God.

ii. We can say that Solomon had so many marriage partners because he followed the bad example of his father David, who had many wives and concubines himself (2 Samuel 5:13-16).

iii. We can say that Solomon had so many marriage partners because of his own sexual lust. This is a profound and sobering example of the principle that if one wife is not enough to satisfy a man, then 1,000 wives will not be enough. When a man is unsatisfied with the woman God gave to him, the problem is with him, not with his wife. 1,000 women cannot satisfy the lust of man. Solomon should have listened to Proverbs 27:20: Hell and Destruction are never full; so the eyes of man are never satisfied.

iv. We can say that Solomon had so many marriage partners because of his lust for power and prestige. In those days a large harem was a status symbol. It said to the world, "Look how many wives and children I can support. Look how many women I have authority over." Solomon's desire for worldly prestige led him to these ungodly marriages.

v. "Partly for his lust, which being indulged, becomes infinite and unsatiable; and partly from his pride, accounting this a point of honour and magnificence." (Poole)

e. And his wives turned away his heart: Of course they did. Based upon the Song of Solomon, we can say that at the first Solomon seemed to know what true love was with one woman. Yet his subsequent history shows us that it is possible to be in that place and depart from it. It is not true to say that "love will keep us together." Solomon shows us that we can know true love and depart from it. It is better said that the blessing and power of God upon our obedience will keep us together.

i. We don't know when Solomon added his second wife. When he did, it was easy for him to rationalize it - after all, the greatest King of Israel, his father David, had several wives and concubines. Yet once he followed his father David into this departure from God's plan from the beginning (Matthew 19:4-6 and Genesis 2:23-24), it was easy to keep adding wives.

ii. As he added wives he broke the specific commandment God gave to the future kings of Israel in Deuteronomy 17:17: Neither shall he multiply wives for himself, lest his heart turn away. Solomon did multiply wives for himself (by any account, 1,000 marriage partners is multiplication), and it did turn away his heart.

iii. "It would have been useless to argue with Solomon for the claims of idols. He could at once, by his wisdom, have annihilated all infidel arguments, and have established the existence and unity of God. But, step by step, he was led by silken cords, a captive, to the worship of other gods." (Meyer)

iv. "The whole story of King Solomon is full of the most solemn value. His was a life full of promise, but it ended in failure and gloom, because his heart turned from loyalty to God, in response to the seductions of his sensual nature." (Morgan)

2. (4-8) Solomon's wives turn him away from God.

For it was so, when Solomon was old, that his wives turned his heart after other gods; and his heart was not loyal to the LORD his God, as was the heart of his father David. For Solomon went after Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians, and after Milcom the abomination of the Ammonites. Solomon did evil in the sight of the LORD, and did not fully follow the LORD, as did his father David. Then Solomon built a high place for Chemosh the abomination of Moab, on the hill that is east of Jerusalem, and for Molech the abomination of the people of Ammon. And he did likewise for all his foreign wives, who burned incense and sacrificed to their gods.

a. When Solomon was old, that his wives turned his heart after other gods: Age did not make Solomon wiser. He seemed to be wiser in his youth, and old age hardened the sinful tendencies that were present in his younger days. Age and experience should make us more godly and wise, but they do not automatically do so.

b. His heart was not loyal to the LORD his God: Solomon is a contrast to those who did fully follow the LORD. This phrase is used in a positive sense of three men in the Old Testament: Joshua and Caleb (Numbers 32:11-12, Deuteronomy 1:36, Joshua 14:8-9, 14), and here of David. Solomon is conspicuous as someone who did not wholly follow the LORD.

c. As was the heart of his father David: Solomon had more than one wife and David had more than one wife (fifteen, according to 1 Chronicles 3:1-9). David spiritually survived this failing and Solomon did not survive it.

i. From what we know of the world beyond from the story of Jesus in Luke 16:19-31, we can say that David was not yet in heaven, but in a place of blessing and comfort known as Abraham's bosom. If it were possible for someone in Abraham's bosom to see life on the earth and be sorry, David was very sorry when he saw Solomon and his sin. David no doubt hoped that his children would be better than he, and find more victory in the areas of life that troubled him. Sadly, David's sons found less victory in controlling the lust of the flesh, and especially sexual lust.

ii. Yet David's sin did not turn his heart away from the LORD. It is possible for a particular sin in one person to be a hindrance that they would do better without, while in another person that sin is the cause of ruin. David's lack of romantic and sexual restraint hindered him; it destroyed Solomon. This is one reason why we must be so careful with the sin of stumbling another brother or sister (Romans 14, 1 Corinthians 8).

d. For Solomon went after Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians . . . after Milcom . . . Solomon built a high place for Chemosh . . . and for Molech: This seems almost unbelievable. We might not accept it unless the Scriptures clearly stated it. This man of great heritage, wisdom, and blessing turns to the most depraved gods of the pagan nations.

i. Probably Solomon did not see this as a denial of the Lord GOD of Israel. In his mind, he probably thought that he still honored the LORD, he simply added the honor of these other gods to his honor of the LORD. But this is never acceptable to God. He demands to be the only God in our life.

ii. This is a tragic example of the power of the lust of the flesh. Because of lust, Solomon found himself in a place where he never thought he would find himself. He found himself burning incense at the altars of depraved pagan gods. He found himself at the altar of child sacrifice unto the god Molech. This is the power of lust - it can capture us in a spell, in a fog of spiritual confusion until we do things we never thought we would do.

iii. Reader: If this was the case with the wisest man who ever lived, then what hope do you have apart from constant dependence upon Jesus Christ? Let the example of Solomon drive you to greater dependence and abiding with Jesus.

iv. " 'Ashtoreth' is a deliberate distortion of Ashtart, the Canaanite fertility goddess. The revocalization is based on the word for 'shame'. " (Patteson and Austel)

3. (9-13) God announces His judgment.

So the LORD became angry with Solomon, because his heart had turned from the LORD God of Israel, who had appeared to him twice, and had commanded him concerning this thing, that he should not go after other gods; but he did not keep what the LORD had commanded. Therefore the LORD said to Solomon, "Because you have done this, and have not kept My covenant and My statutes, which I have commanded you, I will surely tear the kingdom away from you and give it to your servant. Nevertheless I will not do it in your days, for the sake of your father David; I will tear it out of the hand of your son. However I will not tear away the whole kingdom; I will give one tribe to your son for the sake of my servant David, and for the sake of Jerusalem which I have chosen."

a. So the LORD became angry with Solomon: God had special reason to be displeased with Solomon - He had appeared to him twice, and Solomon still went after other gods. Solomon's sin was base ingratitude and a waste of great spiritual privilege.

i. We sometimes think that great spiritual experiences will keep us from sin and will keep us faithful to God. This was not the case with the wisest man who ever lived, and it will not be the case with us also.

b. I will surely tear the kingdom away from you and give it to your servant: God promised the entire kingdom of Israel to the descendants of David forever, if they only remained obedient. David reminded Solomon of this promise shortly before his death (1 Kings 2:4). Yet they could not remain faithful even one generation.

i. Solomon's kingdom was an outstanding example of wealth, military power, and prestige. Yet the true security of Israel did not rest in any of those things. It rested in the blessing of God and in the obedience and faithfulness of their king.

c. I will not do it in your days, for the sake of your father David; I will tear it out of the hand of your son: For the sake of David, God delayed this judgment until after Solomon's generation. But the disobedience that brought the judgment came in the first generation.

d. However I will not tear away the whole kingdom; I will give one tribe to your son for the sake of my servant David: Even in this great judgment, God must mingle undeserved mercy with deserved judgment. God announces that the kingdom will be divided, and part of it will be loyal to the descendents of David and part of it will be under a different dynasty.

i. Many other passages in the Old Testament (such as 2 Chronicles 11:12) tell us that the southern kingdom was made up of two tribes, Judah and Benjamin. Several times in this chapter the southern kingdom is referred to as one tribe. This is because either Benjamin is swallowed up in Judah, or the idea was one tribe in addition to Judah.

B. Two foreign adversaries of Solomon.

1. (14-22) Hadad the Edomite.

Now the LORD raised up an adversary against Solomon, Hadad the Edomite; he was a descendant of the king in Edom. For it happened, when David was in Edom, and Joab the commander of the army had gone up to bury the slain, after he had killed every male in Edom (because for six months Joab remained there with all Israel, until he had cut down every male in Edom), that Hadad fled to go to Egypt, he and certain Edomites of his father's servants with him. Hadad was still a little child. Then they arose from Midian and came to Paran; and they took men with them from Paran and came to Egypt, to Pharaoh king of Egypt, who gave him a house, apportioned food for him, and gave him land. And Hadad found great favor in the sight of Pharaoh, so that he gave him as wife the sister of his own wife, that is, the sister of Queen Tahpenes. Then the sister of Tahpenes bore him Genubath his son, whom Tahpenes weaned in Pharaoh's house. And Genubath was in Pharaoh's household among the sons of Pharaoh. So when Hadad heard in Egypt that David rested with his fathers, and that Joab the commander of the army was dead, Hadad said to Pharaoh, "Let me depart, that I may go to my own country." Then Pharaoh said to him, "But what have you lacked with me, that suddenly you seek to go to your own country?" So he answered, "Nothing, but do let me go anyway."

a. Now the LORD raised up an adversary against Solomon, Hadad the Edomite: Solomon's reign was glorious, but God did not allow it to be completely without problems. He raised up adversaries like Hadad against Solomon.

i. "When he sent to Hiram to assist him in the building of the temple of the Lord, he could say, There was no Satan [1 Kings 5:4] . . . but now that he had turned away from God three satans rise up against him at once, Hadad, Rezon, and Jeroboam." (Clarke)

b. He was a descendant of the king in Edom: Hadad sought to avenge his conquered people. He found refuge and support in Egypt.

c. Let me depart, that I may go to my own country: We are not told specifically how Hadad troubled or was an adversary to Solomon, only that he returned to bother Solomon with the permission of Pharaoh.

2. (23-25) Rezon, from the north country.

And God raised up another adversary against him, Rezon the son of Eliadah, who had fled from his lord, Hadadezer king of Zobah. So he gathered men to him and became captain over a band of raiders, when David killed those of Zobah. And they went to Damascus and dwelt there, and reigned in Damascus. He was an adversary of Israel all the days of Solomon (besides the trouble that Hadad caused); and he abhorred Israel, and reigned over Syria.

C. Jeroboam - A special adversary.

1. (26-28) Jeroboam, the servant of Solomon.

Then Solomon's servant, Jeroboam the son of Nebat, an Ephraimite from Zereda, whose mother's name was Zeruah, a widow, also rebelled against the king. And this is what caused him to rebel against the king: Solomon had built the Millo and repaired the damages to the City of David his father. The man Jeroboam was a mighty man of valor; and Solomon, seeing that the young man was industrious, made him the officer over all the labor force of the house of Joseph.

a. Jeroboam the son of Nebat, an Ephraimite: Jeroboam was different from the two previously mentioned adversaries of Solomon, because he was a fellow Israelite.

b. This is what caused him to rebel against the king: Solomon had built the Millo and repaired the damages to the City of David: It is not immediately apparent why these construction projects caused him to rebel against Solomon. Jewish traditions say he opposed the oppressive use of forced labor in these building projects. Since he was the officer over all the labor force, this tradition makes some sense.

i. According to Dilday, the name Jeroboam means, "may the people be great." He perhaps was a populist leader.

c. Jeroboam was a mighty man of valor: This made him a more formidable adversary of Solomon.

2. (29-36) The prophet Ahijah speaks to Jeroboam.

Now it happened at that time, when Jeroboam went out of Jerusalem, that the prophet Ahijah the Shilonite met him on the way; and he had clothed himself with a new garment, and the two were alone in the field. Then Ahijah took hold of the new garment that was on him, and tore it into twelve pieces. And he said to Jeroboam, "Take for yourself ten pieces, for thus says the LORD, the God of Israel: 'Behold, I will tear the kingdom out of the hand of Solomon and will give ten tribes to you (but he shall have one tribe for the sake of My servant David, and for the sake of Jerusalem, the city which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel), because they have forsaken Me, and worshiped Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians, Chemosh the god of the Moabites, and Milcom the god of the people of Ammon, and have not walked in My ways to do what is right in My eyes and keep My statutes and My judgments, as did his father David. However I will not take the whole kingdom out of his hand, because I have made him ruler all the days of his life for the sake of My servant David, whom I chose because he kept My commandments and My statutes. But I will take the kingdom out of his son's hand and give it to you; ten tribes. And to his son I will give one tribe, that My servant David may always have a lamp before Me in Jerusalem, the city which I have chosen for Myself, to put My name there.

a. Take for yourself ten pieces: In this acted-out-prophecy, Ahijah showed Jeroboam that he would lead ten tribes of a divided Israel after the death of Solomon.

i. "It was indeed a shock for Rehoboam and the tribe of Judah to be reduced overnight from the most powerful tribe in an illustrious and world-renowned kingdom to a small state that was soon stripped of what wealth it had left." (Patterson and Austel)

b. Because they have forsaken Me: God promised to divide Israel and put ten of the twelve tribes under Jeroboam as judgment for the sin and idolatry of Solomon. God would still keep one tribe under the house of David, in faithfulness to His promise to David.

i. This is the first we hear of the divided kingdom, which became Israel's history for hundreds of years after the death of Solomon. At this first description we would expect that the ten tribes under Jeroboam would be larger, greater, and more enduring than the one tribe left unto the House of David. As it worked out, just the opposite happened because the ten tribes forsook the LORD, while the one tribe was more obedient.

3. (37-40) Jeroboam's great opportunity.

'So I will take you, and you shall reign over all your heart desires, and you shall be king over Israel. Then it shall be, if you heed all that I command you, walk in My ways, and do what is right in My sight, to keep My statutes and My commandments, as My servant David did, then I will be with you and build for you an enduring house, as I built for David, and will give Israel to you. And I will afflict the descendants of David because of this, but not forever.'" Solomon therefore sought to kill Jeroboam. But Jeroboam arose and fled to Egypt, to Shishak king of Egypt, and was in Egypt until the death of Solomon.

a. I will take you, and you shall reign over all your heart desires, and you shall be king over Israel: God ordained the division of Israel and the reign of Jeroboam. He did this as a judgment - a great judgment - upon Solomon for his embrace of idolatry.

b. Then I will be with you and build for you an enduring house: This was an amazing offer. God promised to make a lasting dynasty for Jeroboam, if he would do what is right in the sight of the LORD. An obedient Jeroboam had the opportunity to establish a parallel dynasty to the House of David.

i. Both Jeroboam and David were appointed by God to follow after disobedient kings. David waited upon the LORD to make the throne clear, and God blessed his reign. Jeroboam did not wait on the LORD and he made his own way to the throne, and God did not bless his reign.

c. Solomon therefore sought to kill Jeroboam: This is another startling evidence of Solomon's decline. God specifically said this would happen after the death of Solomon, and in judgment of Solomon's apostasy. Solomon didn't want to hear it, so he sought to kill Jeroboam. Solomon thought he could defeat God's will in this, but he was unsuccessful. God's word through Ahijah proved true.

4. (41-43) Solomon's death.

Now the rest of the acts of Solomon, all that he did, and his wisdom, are they not written in the book of the acts of Solomon? And the period that Solomon reigned in Jerusalem over all Israel was forty years. Then Solomon rested with his fathers, and was buried in the City of David his father. And Rehoboam his son reigned in his place.

a. The period that Solomon reigned in Jerusalem over all Israel was forty years: Many commentators believe that Solomon began his reign when he was about 20 years old. This means that Solomon did not live a particularly long life. This means that the promised made in 1 Kings 3:14 was not fulfilled to Solomon, because of his disobedience.

i. So if you walk in My ways, to keep My statutes and My commandments, as your father David walked, then I will lengthen your days. (1 Kings 3:14)

ii. "When we consider the excess in which he lived, and the criminal passions which he must have indulged among his thousand wives, and their idolatrous and impure worship, this life was as long as could be reasonably expected." (Clarke)

b. Then Solomon rested with his fathers: This does not necessarily mean that Solomon died a saved man. It is a familiar phrase used in 1 and 2 Kings (used 25 times) and was used of such wicked kings as Ahab (1 Kings 22:40). It simply means that Solomon passed to the world beyond. We cannot say with certainty that he is in heaven.

i. The last look at the life of Solomon in 1 Kings leads us to believe that he died in apostasy. There is no hopeful or cheerful end to the story in this account. "If he did repent, yet the silence of the Scriptures about it in this history was not without wise reasons; as, among others, that his eternal condition being thus far left doubtful, his example might have the greater influence for the terror and caution of future offenders." (Poole)

ii. However, it may be that Solomon was shown special mercy for the sake of David his father (as in 2 Samuel 7:14-15, if that promise also applies to Solomon as well as the Messiah). Some also believe that Solomon wrote the Book of Ecclesiastes at the very end of his life as a renunciation of his fall into vanity.

iii. "And surely it had been better for Solomon to have been buried alive, than thus to have miscarried in his old age, and to the great dishonour of God, and offence of his people Israel." (Trapp)

© 2004 David Guzik - No distribution beyond personal use without permission

Introduction / Outline

JFB: 1 Kings (Book Introduction)

THE FIRST AND SECOND BOOKS OF KINGS, in the ancient copies of the Hebrew Bible, constitute one book. Various titles have been given them; in the Septuagint and the Vulgate they are called the Third and Fourth Books of Kings. The authorship of these books is unknown; but the prevailing opinion is that they were compiled by Ezra, or one of the later prophets, from the ancient documents that are so frequently referred to in the course of the history as of public and established authority. Their inspired character was acknowledged by the Jewish Church, which ranked them in the sacred canon; and, besides, it is attested by our Lord, who frequently quotes from them (compare 1Ki 17:9; 2Ki 5:14 with Luk 4:24-27; 1Ki 10:1 with Mat 12:42).

JFB: 1 Kings (Outline)

• ABISHAG CHERISHES DAVID IN HIS EXTREME AGE. (1Ki 1:1-4)
• ADONIJAH USURPS THE KINGDOM. (1Ki. 1:5-31)
• SOLOMON, BY DAVID'S APPOINTMENT, IS ANOINTED KING. (1Ki. 1:32-49)
• ADONIJAH, FLEEING TO THE HORNS OF THE ALTAR, IS DISMISSED BY SOLOMON. (1Ki 1:50-53)
• DAVID DIES. (1Ki 2:1-11)
• SOLOMON SUCCEEDS HIM. (1Ki 2:12-24)
• JOAB SLAIN. (1Ki. 2:28-45)
• SHIMEI PUT TO DEATH. (1Ki 2:34-46)
• SOLOMON MARRIES PHARAOH'S DAUGHTER. (1Ki 3:1)
• HIGH PLACES BEING IN USE, HE SACRIFICES AT GIBEON. (1Ki 3:2-5)
• HE CHOOSES WISDOM. (1Ki 3:6-15)
• HIS JUDGMENT BETWEEN TWO HARLOTS. (1Ki 3:16-28)
• SOLOMON'S PRINCES. (1Ki 4:1-6)
• HIS TWELVE OFFICERS. (1Ki 4:7-21)
• HIS WISDOM. (1Ki 4:29-34)
• HIRAM SENDS TO CONGRATULATE SOLOMON. (1Ki 5:1-6)
• FURNISHES TIMBER TO BUILD THE TEMPLE. (1Ki 5:7-12)
• SOLOMON'S WORKMEN AND LABORERS. (1Ki 5:13-18)
• THE BUILDING OF SOLOMON'S TEMPLE. (1Ki 6:1-4)
• THE CHAMBERS THEREOF. (1Ki 6:5-10)
• GOD'S PROMISES UNTO IT. (1Ki 6:11-14)
• THE CEILING AND ADORNING OF IT. (1Ki 6:15-22)
• THE TIME TAKEN TO BUILD IT. (1Ki 6:37-38)
• BUILDING OF SOLOMON'S HOUSE. (1Ki 7:1)
• OF THE HOUSE OF LEBANON. (1Ki 7:2-7)
• HIRAM'S WORKS. (1Ki. 7:13-51)
• THE DEDICATION OF THE TEMPLE. (1Ki 8:1-12)
• SOLOMON'S BLESSING. (1Ki 8:12-21)
• HIS PRAYER. (1Ki. 8:22-61)
• HIS SACRIFICE OF PEACE OFFERING. (1Ki 8:62-64)
• THE PEOPLE JOYFUL. (1Ki 8:65)
• GOD'S COVENANT IN A SECOND VISION WITH SOLOMON. (1Ki 9:1-9)
• THE MUTUAL PRESENTS OF SOLOMON AND HIRAM. (1Ki 9:10-23)
• SOLOMON'S YEARLY SACRIFICES. (1Ki 9:24-28)
• THE QUEEN OF SHEBA ADMIRES THE WISDOM OF SOLOMON. (1Ki 10:1-13)
• HIS RICHES. (1Ki. 10:14-29)
• SOLOMON'S WIVES AND CONCUBINES IN HIS OLD AGE. (1Ki 11:1-8)
• GOD THREATENS HIM. (1Ki 11:9-13)
• REFUSING THE OLD MEN'S COUNSEL. (1Ki 12:1-5)
• JEROBOAM MADE KING OVER THEM. (1Ki 12:20-33)
• JEROBOAM'S HAND WITHERS. (1Ki. 13:1-22)
• THE DISOBEDIENT PROPHET SLAIN BY A LION. (1Ki 13:23-32)
• AHIJAH DENOUNCES GOD'S JUDGMENTS AGAINST JEROBOAM. (1Ki. 14:1-20)
• REHOBOAM'S WICKED REIGN. (1Ki 14:21-24)
• SHISHAK SPOILS JERUSALEM. (1Ki 14:25-31)
• ABIJAM'S WICKED REIGN OVER JUDAH. (1Ki 15:1-8)
• ASA'S GOOD REIGN. (1Ki 15:9-22)
• NADAB'S WICKED REIGN. (1Ki 15:25-34)
• JEHU'S PROPHECY AGAINST BAASHA. (1Ki 16:1-8)
• ZIMRI'S CONSPIRACY. (1Ki 16:9-22)
• OMRI BUILDS SAMARIA. (1Ki 16:23-28)
• JOSHUA'S CURSE FULFILLED UPON HIEL THE BUILDER OF JERICHO. (1Ki 16:34)
• ELIJAH, PROPHESYING AGAINST AHAB, IS SENT TO CHERITH. (1Ki 17:1-7)
• HE IS SENT TO A WIDOW OF ZAREPHATH. (1Ki 17:8-16)
• HE RAISES HER SON TO LIFE. (1Ki 17:17-24)
• ELIJAH MEETS OBADIAH. (1Ki. 18:1-16)
• ELIJAH, BY PRAYER, OBTAINS RAIN. (1Ki 18:41-46)
• ELIJAH FLEES TO BEER-SHEBA. (1Ki 19:1-3)
• ELISHA FOLLOWS ELIJAH. (1Ki 19:19-21)
• BEN-HADAD BESIEGES SAMARIA. (1Ki 20:1-12)
• THE SYRIANS ARE SLAIN. (1Ki 20:13-20)
• A PROPHET REPROVES HIM. (1Ki 20:35-42)
• NABOTH REFUSES AHAB HIS VINEYARD. (1Ki 21:1-4)
• JEZEBEL CAUSES NABOTH TO BE STONED. (1Ki 21:5-16)
• ELIJAH DENOUNCES JUDGMENTS AGAINST AHAB AND JEZEBEL. (1Ki 21:17-29)
• AHAB SLAIN AT RAMOTH-GILEAD. (1Ki. 22:1-36)

TSK: 1 Kings 11 (Chapter Introduction)

Overview

1Ki 11:1, Solomon’s wives and concubines; 1Ki 11:4, In his old age they draw him to idolatry; 1Ki 11:9, God threatens him; 1Ki 11:14, Solomon’s adversaries were Hadad, who was entertained in Egypt; 1Ki 11:23, Rezon, who reigned in Damascus; 1Ki 11:26, and Jeroboam, to whom Ahijah prophesied; 1Ki 11:41, Solomon’s acts, reign, and death. Rehoboam succeeds him.

Poole: 1 Kings (Book Introduction)

FIRST BOOK OF KINGS COMMONLY CALLED

THE THIRD BOOK OF THE KINGS

THE ARGUMENT

THESE two Books called Of the Kings, because they treat of the kings of Judah and Israel, were written by the prophets, or holy men of God, living in or near their several times, and by some one of them digested into this order. But whoever was the penman, that these are a part of those Holy Scriptures which were Divinely inspired is sufficiently evident first,

From the concurring testimony of the whole Jewish church in all ages, to whom were committed the oracles of God, Rom 3:2 , who also did faithfully discharge their duty in preserving and delivering them entirely and truly to their posterity from time to time, as plainly appears, because Christ and his apostles, who reproved them freely for their several sins, never taxed them with this fault, of depraving the Holy Scriptures of the Old Testament. Secondly, Because this is manifest concerning divers parcels of them which were taken out of the records of the prophets Nathan, Ahijah, and Iddo, 2Ch 9:29 , and out of the prophecies of Isaiah and Jeremiah; and the rest doubtless were of the same nature.

Thirdly, From the approbation of these books by the New Testament, both generally, as 2Ti 3:16 , All Scripture is given by inspiration from God, &c., which is affirmed concerning all those Holy Scriptures which Timothy had known, from a child, 2Ti 3:15 , and therefore must necessarily be meant of all the books of the Old Testament, which the Jews owned for canonical Scripture; and particularly Rom 11:2,3 , &c., where a passage out of these books is quoted and owned as a part of the Holy Scripture, called the Scripture by way of eminency.

Poole: 1 Kings 11 (Chapter Introduction)

KINGS CHAPTER 11

Solomon’ s wives and concubines, which in his old age seduce him to idolatry, 1Ki 11:1-8 . God threateneth him, 1Ki 11:9-13 . His adversaries are, Hadad, who fleeth into Egypt, and is entertained there, 1Ki 11:14-22 ; Rezon, who reigned in Damascus, 1Ki 11:23-25 ; Jeroboam, to whom Ahijah foretelleth that he shall be king: Solomon seeketh his life, 1Ki 11:26-40 . His acts, reign, and death. Rehoboam succeedeth him, 1Ki 11:41-43 .

He loved them inordinately and lustfully, and he sinned against God’ s known law, both in their number, Deu 17:17 , and in their quality.

MHCC: 1 Kings (Book Introduction)

The history now before us accounts for the affairs of the kingdoms of Judah and Israel, yet with special regard to the kingdom of God among them; for it is a sacred history. It is earlier as to time, teaches much more, and is more interesting than any common histories.

MHCC: 1 Kings 11 (Chapter Introduction)

(1Ki 11:1-8) Solomon's wives and concubines, His idolatry.

(1Ki 11:9-13) God's anger.

(1Ki 11:14-25) Solomon's adversaries.

(1Ki 11:26-40) Jeroboam's promotion.

(1Ki 11:41-43) The death of Solomon.

Matthew Henry: 1 Kings (Book Introduction)

An Exposition, with Practical Observations, of The First Book of Kings

Many histories are books of kings and their reigns, to which the affairs of their kingdoms are reduced; this is a piece of honour that has commonly been paid to crowned heads. The holy Scripture is the history of the kingdom of God among men, under the several administrations of it; but there the King is one and his name one. The particular history now before us accounts for the affairs of the kingdoms of Judah and Israel, yet with special regard to the kingdom of God among them; for still it is a sacred history, much more instructive and not less entertaining than any of the histories of the kings of the earth, to which (those of them that are of any certainty) it is prior in time; for though there were kings in Edom before there was any king in Israel, Gen 36:31 (foreigners, in that point of state, got the precedency), yet the history of the kings of Israel lives, and will live, in holy Writ, to the end of the world, whereas that of the kings of Edom is long since buried in oblivion; for the honour that comes from God is durable, while the honour of the world is like a mushroom, which comes up in a night and perishes in a night. - The Bible began with the story of patriarchs, and prophets, and judges, men whose converse with heaven was more immediate, the record of which strengthens our faith, but is not so easily accommodated to our case, now that we expect not visions, as the subsequent history of affairs like ours under the direction of common providence; and here also we find, though not many types and figures of the Messiah, yet great expectations of him; for not only prophets, but kings, desired to see the great mysteries of the gospel, Luk 10:24 - The two books of Samuel are introductions to the books of the Kings, as they relate the origin of the royal government in Saul and of the royal family in David. These two books give us an account of David's successor, Solomon, the division of his kingdom, and the succession of the several kings both of Judah and Israel, with an abstract of their history down to the captivity. And as from the book of Genesis we may collect excellent rules of economics, for the good governing of families, so from these books we may collect rules of politics, for the directing of public affairs. There is in these books special regard had to the house and lineage of David, from which Christ came. Some of his sons trod in his steps, and others did not. The characters of the kings of Judah may be thus briefly given: - David the devout, Solomon the wise, Rehoboam the simple, Abijah the valiant, Asa the upright, Jehoshaphat the religious, Jehoram the wicked, Ahaziah the profane, Joash the backslider, Amaziah the rash, Uzziah the mighty, Jotham the peaceable, Ahaz the idolater, Hezekiah the reformer, Manasseh the penitent, Amon the obscure, Josiah the tender-hearted, Jehoahaz, Jehoiakim, Jehoiachin, and Zedekiah, all wicked, and such as brought ruin quickly on themselves and their kingdom. The number of the good and bad is nearly equal, but the reigns of the good were generally long and those of the bad short, the consideration of which will make the state of Israel not altogether so bad in this period as at first it seems. In this first book we have, I. The death of David, ch. 1 and 2. II. The glorious reign of Solomon, and his building the temple (ch. 3-10), but the cloud his sun set under, ch. 11. III. The division of the kingdoms in Rehoboam, and his reign and Jeroboam's, ch. 12-14. IV. The reigns of Abijah and Asa over Judah, Baasha and Omri over Israel, ch. 15 and 16. V. Elijah's miracles, ch. 17-19. VI. Ahab's success against Benhadad, his wickedness and fall, ch. 20-22. And in all this history it appears that kings, though gods to us, are men to God, mortal and accountable.

Matthew Henry: 1 Kings 11 (Chapter Introduction)

This chapter begins with as melancholy a " but" as almost any we find in all the Bible. Hitherto we have read nothing of Solomon but what was great and good; but the lustre both of his goodness and of his greatness is here sullied and eclipsed, and his sun sets under a cloud. I. The glory of his piety is stained by his departure from God and his duty, in his latter days, marrying strange wives and worshipping strange gods (1Ki 11:4-8). II. The glory of his prosperity is stained by God's displeasure against him and the fruits of that displeasure. 1. He sent him an angry message (1Ki 11:9-13). 2. He stirred up enemies, who gave him disturbance, Hadad (1Ki 11:14-22), Rezon (1Ki 11:23-25). 3. He gave away ten tribes of his twelve, from his posterity after him, to Jeroboam, whom therefore he sought in vain to slay (1Ki 11:26-40), and this is all that remains here to be told concerning Solomon, except his death and burial (1Ki 11:41-43), for there is nothing perfect under the sun, but all is so above the sun.

Constable: 1 Kings (Book Introduction)

Introduction

Title

The Books of 1 and 2 Kings received their names because they document the reigns of the 40 kings of the kingdoms of Israel and Judah following David.¹

In the Hebrew Bible 1 and 2 Kings were one book until the sixteenth century. The ancients regarded them as the continuation of the narrative begun in Samuel. The Septuagint (Greek) translation of the Hebrew text, dating from about 250 B.C., was the first to divide Kings into two books. That division has continued to the present day. The Septuagint translators, however, called these two books 3 and 4 Kingdoms. First and 2 Kingdoms were our 1 and 2 Samuel. Jerome's Vulgate (Latin) translation, which dates about A.D. 400, changed the name from Kingdoms to Kings.

"The English Bible presents the books primarily as historical accounts. Their placement next to 1, 2 Chronicles demonstrates the collectors' interest in detailing all the events of Israel's history. In contrast, the Hebrew Bible places Joshua-Kings with the prophets, which highlights their common viewpoints. This decision implies that 1, 2 Kings are being treated as proclamation and history."²

Writer and Date

Most Old Testament scholars today believe several different individuals wrote and edited Kings because of theories concerning textual transmission that have gained popularity in the last 150 years. However, many conservatives have continued to follow the older tradition of the church that one individual probably put Kings together.³ This view finds support in the stylistic and linguistic features that run through the whole work and make it read like the product of a single writer. Some of these features are the way the writer described and summarized each king's reign, the consistent basis on which he evaluated all the kings, and recurring phrases and terms.

The identity of the writer is unknown today and has been for centuries. Ancient Jewish tradition suggested Ezra or Ezekiel as possible writers since both of these men were biblical writers who lived after the Babylonian exile. The record of King Jehoiachin's release from Babylonian captivity (2 Kings 25:27-30) points to a date of final composition sometime after that event. Jeremiah has traditional Talmudic support as well though he never went to Babylon but died in Egypt. Of course, someone else may have written Kings. Scholars have suggested these men only because they were famous writers who lived when Kings reached its final form.

Most non-conservatives date Kings considerably later than the sixth or fifth centuries.⁴

Scope

The historical period Kings covers totals about 413 years. The events that frame this period were Solomon's coronation as co-regent with David (973 B.C.) and Jehoiachin's release from Babylonian exile (560 B.C.).

However, most of Kings deals with the period that spans Solomon's coronation and the destruction of Jerusalem in 586 B.C., a period of 387 years. In terms of the temple, at the beginning we see the temple built and at the end the temple burnt.

". . . 1, 2 Kings present Israel's history as a series of events that describe how and why the nation fell from the heights of national prosperity to the depths of conquest and exile."⁵

"More specifically, 1, 2 Kings explain how and why Israel lost the land it fought so hard to win in Joshua and worked so hard to organize in Judges and 1, 2 Samuel."⁶

"Plot relates the causes and effects in a story. Thus, the story line in 1, 2 Kings may be that Israel went into exile, but the plot is Israel went into exile because of its unfaithfulness to God. To make cause and effect unfold, plots normally have at least two basic aspects: conflict and resolution. A plot's conflict is the tension in a story that makes it an interesting account, while a plot's resolution is the way the conflict is settled. How the author develops these two components usually decides the shape and effectiveness of the plot."⁷

This historical period is more than twice that of the one the Books of Samuel covered, which was about 150 years in length. The Book of Judges covers about 300 years of Israel's history.

The dates of the kings of Israel and Judah that I have used in the following notes are those of Edwin Thiele.⁸ He has worked out the many problems regarding these dates more satisfactorily than anyone else in the opinion of most scholars.⁹

Message¹⁰

The fact that this book opens and closes with death should be a clue as to its message.

It opens with David's death, and it closes with Ahab's death. The intervening period of about a century and a half is a story of national decline, disruption, disintegration, and disaster. Israel and Judah passed from affluence and influence to poverty and paralysis.

There is an emphasis in this book on thrones.

Obviously there were the thrones of Judah and Israel on earth with their kings who succeeded one another. However there is also the throne in heaven with its one King. Rehoboam and Jeroboam had their successors, the kings who replaced one another. Yahweh also in a sense had His successors, the prophets who replaced one another as His messengers to the people. While the kings remind us of the thrones on earth, the prophets remind us of the throne in heaven.

The thrones on earth present a story of disruption, disintegration, and disaster in both kingdoms, Judah and Israel. This trend continued despite changes in the methods the various rulers employed to govern their people.

Solomon's method of government was oppression. He taxed the people greatly and conscripted them into government service. The result was material magnificence. He multiplied riches and manifested great displays in the temple, the palace, and throughout his kingdom. He increased the military strength of the nation. Nevertheless in the process he ground down the people. The state became more important than the people. The testimony to this appears in 12:4. The result was dissatisfaction with Solomon's method of government.

In reaction to this method Rehoboam chose a new method of government: autocracy. He decided to tighten his grip on the people so he could control them (12:14). He believed the people should trust in their rulers, but he did not trust in God. Consequently he failed. Autocracy led to revolution (12:16).

Jeroboam chose a third method of government: democracy. He let the people determine how they would live. While this resulted in more pleasant conditions for the people, it also resulted in ultimate disaster for his nation. Notice what democracy produced in Jeroboam's day: 12:27-29. People cannot rule themselves effectively. We need God to govern us. Jeroboam believed rulers should trust in the people, but he did not trust in God. Consequently he failed. He made religion convenient, and the people became corrupt (12:30-31).

Rehoboam's successors in Judah chose a method of government we could call government by policy. That is, they chose to follow precedent, the pattern of their predecessors, rather than getting and following God's direction for their nation. There were some exceptions to this approach, but on the whole this was Judah's method of government.

Jeroboam's successors in Israel, however, chose a different method of government: selfishness. The kings of Israel cared little for the people of Israel. What concerned them primarily was what they could get out of being king for themselves. That is why the story of the kingdom of Israel is a story of intrigue, assassinations, and much bloodshed.

In summary, every form of human government results in disastrous failure if people do not acknowledge God's sovereignty. People cannot govern themselves effectively. The result is always decline, disruption, and disintegration. This is one of the great revelations of 1 Kings.

However there is another throne in view in this book: the throne in heaven. Whereas 1 Kings reveals that human government always fails, it also reveals that God's government never fails. There are two ways God exercised His kingship over His people during Israel's monarchy.

First, He broke in on human life with messages that the prophets delivered. Ahijah announced the division of the kingdom (11:26-39). Later he announced the death of Jeroboam's son (14:4-16). Shemaiah directed Rehoboam not to fight against Jeroboam (12:21-24). An unnamed prophet announced the fate of Jeroboam's altar (13:1-10). Jehu announced Baasha's doom (16:1-4). Elijah vindicated Yahweh in the days of Ahab's apostasy (chs. 17-21). Another unnamed prophet rebuked Ahab for allowing Ben-Hadad to escape (20:35-43). Micaiah foretold Israel's scattering (22:8-28). These are all evidences that God was governing His people independently of the kings when they forgot Him. The heavenly throne ruled in spite of the earthly thrones.

The second way God exercised His rule, in addition to sending messages by the prophets, was by directly and indirectly intervening in the lives of His people. He appeared and spoke directly to Solomon, which resulted in the building of the temple. He raised up an adversary to Solomon, namely Jeroboam. He slew Abijah. He withheld rain and brought famine. He sent fire from heaven on Mt. Carmel. He sent rain. He appeared to Elijah in an earthquake. He enticed Ahab into battle through the mouths of lying prophets.

In short, God ruled by exercising direct and indirect influence over people, by directly intervening and by controlling circumstances occasionally. He manipulated history. God sits in perfect control and continuity over all the human chaos that peoples' failure to rule themselves causes.

The message of the book, therefore, is that when people exclude God, every method of human government will fail; but even so God is still on His throne and is in control.

If people exclude God, every method of government ends in disaster. Even though in Solomon's reign the king emphasized religious forms and ceremonies, internal development, foreign treaties, and intellectual attainment, his oppression did not bring stability and peace. Autocracy will end in revolution eventually. Democracy that locks God out can result in the most terrible consequences for the people whose interests it professes to advocate. Government by policy can only deteriorate. Selfish rulers will only rape their nations.

Man cannot govern himself because he does not know himself apart from God's Word. How can he govern others about whom he knows even less? If people do not submit to the throne in heaven, no matter what method of government they choose, they will fail. As Christians, we must remember who is in control. We must look beyond our government to our God.

First Kings also reveals God's method in the midst of human failures.

First, when a throne on earth rebels against the throne in heaven God abandons that throne on earth. He separated Himself from it. He allowed the evil choices of the rulers to work themselves out to their inevitable consequences. Departure leads to disaster. Apostasy results in awful consequences (cf. Rom. 1).

Second, God keeps some consciousness of Himself and His government alive in the hearts and minds of a remnant. The prophets spoke. All Christians exercise that ministry today. We should speak for God to our generation.

Third, God maintains ultimate control. He controls history directly and indirectly so His purposes get accomplished. The Christian never needs to panic. God has revealed His plan for history. Knowledge of the Word should give us stability in uncertain times.

What I have said is true on the national scale is also true on the individual level. If a person excludes God from his or her life, no matter how the person may live, he or she will fail. We can resist God's authority, but we cannot overcome it. People only break themselves by refusing to submit to the throne in heaven. People need reminding of the throne in heaven. These principles have worked out throughout history. God's plan moves ahead.

Constable: 1 Kings (Outline)

Outline

I. The reign of Solomon chs. 1-11

A. Solomon's succession to David's throne 1:1-2:12

1. David's declining health 1:1-4

2. Adonijah's attempt to seize the throne 1:5-53

3. David's charge to Solomon 2:1-9

4. David's death 2:10-12

B. The foundation of Solomon's reign 2:13-4:34

1. Solomon's purges 2:13-46

2. Solomon's wisdom from God ch. 3

3. Solomon's political strength ch. 4

C. Solomon's greatest contribution chs. 5-8

1. Preparations for building ch. 5

2. Temple construction ch. 6

3. Solomon's palace 7:1-12

4. The temple furnishings 7:13-51

5. The temple dedication ch. 8

D. The fruits of Solomon's reign chs. 9-11

1. God's covenant with Solomon 9:1-9

2. Further evidences of God's blessing 9:10-28

3. Solomon's greatness ch. 10

4. Solomon's apostasy ch. 11

II. The divided kingdom -1 Kings 12-2 Kings 17

A. The first period of antagonism 12:1-16:28

1. The division of the kingdom ch. 12

2. Jeroboam's evil reign in Israel 12:25-14:20

3. Rehoboam's evil reign in Judah 14:21-31

4. Abijam's evil reign in Judah 15:1-8

5. Asa's good reign in Judah 15:9-24

6. Nadab's evil reign in Israel 15:25-32

7. Baasha's evil reign in Israel 15:33-16:7

8. Elah's evil reign in Israel 16:8-14

9. Zimri's evil reign in Israel 16:15-20

10. Omri's evil reign in Israel 16:21-28

B. The period of alliance -1 Kings 16:29-2 Kings 9:29

1. Ahab's evil reign in Israel 16:29-22:40

2. Jehoshaphat's good reign in Judah 22:41-50

3. Ahaziah's evil reign in Israel -1 Kings 22:51-2 Kings 1:18

(Continued in notes on 2 Kings)

One writer observed that a chiastic structure marks the Books of Kings.¹¹

A Solomon/United Monarchy -- 1 Kings 1:1-11:25

B Jeroboam/Rehoboam; the division of the kingdom -- 1 Kings 11:26-14:31

C Kings of Judah/Israel -- 1 Kings 15:1-16:22

D The Omride dynasty; the rise and fall of the Baal cult in Israel and Judah -- -1 Kings 16:23-2 Kings 12

C' Kings of Judah/Israel -- 2 Kings 13-16

B' The fall of the Northern Kingdom -- 2 Kings 17

A' The Kingdom of Judah -- 2 Kings 18-25.

Constable: 1 Kings

1 Kings

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Copyright 2003 by Thomas L. Constable

Haydock: 1 Kings (Book Introduction)

THE THIRD BOOK OF KINGS.

INTRODUCTION.

This and the following Book are called by the holy Fathers, The Third and Fourth Book of Kings; but by the Hebrews, the First and Second. They contain the history of the kingdoms of Israel and Juda, from the beginning of the reign of Solomon to the captivity. As to the writer of these books, it seem most probable they were not written by one man, nor at one time; but as there was all along a succession of prophets in Israel, who recorded, by divine inspiration, the most remarkable things that happened in their days, these books seem to have been written by these prophets. See 2 Paralipomenon, alias 2 Chronicles ix. 29., xii. 15., xiii. 22., xx. 34., xxvi. 22., and xxxii. 32. (Challoner) --- This book informs us of the death of David, chap. ii. 11, where some Greek copies concluded the second book "of the reigns or kingdoms," as they style all the four books. Theodoret and Diodorus follow this division. The point is of no consequence; and the Hebrew editions have often varied. Origen observes, that the Jews denoted these two books from the first words, "Ouammelech David." (Eusebius, Hist. vi. 25.) (Haydock) --- In St. Jerome's time, the four books made only two. The present book details the actions of Solomon, (Calmet) till the end of the 12th chapter. Then we behold the division of the kingdom: Roboam, Abias, Asa, and Josaphat, reign over Juda; Jeroboam, &c., over Israel; while the prophets Abias, Elias, Eliseus, appear in the remaining eleven chapters. (Worthington) --- Though the memoirs seem to have been left by contemporary authors, (Haydock) one, and most probably Esdras, made the compilation, after the captivity, inserting frequently the very words of his authors, yet so as to make some additional reflections. (Calmet) --- The Rabbins generally attribute the work to Jeremias. (Haydock) --- He is more attentive to the house of David, and to display the rewards of the piety, and the punishment of vice, as well as the glory of the temple and of religion, than to describe the military exploits, which occupy so much of the profane history. (Calmet)

Gill: 1 Kings (Book Introduction)

INTRODUCTION TO 1 KINGS

This, and the following book, properly are but one book, divided into two parts, and went with the Jews under the common name of Kings. This, in the Syriac version, is called the Book of Kings; and in the Arabic version, the Book of Solomon, the Son of David the Prophet, because it begins with his reign upon the death of his father; and, in the Vulgate Latin version, the Third Book of Kings, the two preceding books of Samuel being sometimes called the First and Second Books of Kings, they containing the reigns of Saul and David; and in the Septuagint version both this and the following book are called Kingdoms, because they treat of the kingdom of Israel and Judah, after the division in the times of Rehoboam, son of Solomon, and of the several kings of them; as of Solomon before the division, so afterwards of the kings of Judah; Rehoboam, Abijam, Asa, Jehoshaphat, Jehoram, Ahaziah, Jehoash, Amaziah, Uzziah or Azariah, Jotham, Ahaz, Hezekiah, Manasseh, Amon, Josiah, Jehoahaz, Jehoiakim, Jehoiachin, and Zedekiah; and of the kings of Israel, Jeroboam, Nadab, Baasha, Elah, Zimri, Omri, Ahab, Ahaziah, Jehu, Jehoahaz, Jehoash, Jeroboam the son of Joash, Zachariah, Shallum, Menahem, Pekahiah, Pekah, and Hoshea; so that these books may, with great propriety, be called the books or histories of the kings in the two kingdoms of Judah and Israel: who they were written by, is not easy to say; some think they were written by piecemeal by the prophets that lived in the several reigns successively, as Nathan, Ahijah the Shilonite, Iddo, Isaiah, and Jeremiah, and afterwards put together by an inspired writer. The Jews commonly say ^a, that Jeremiah wrote the book of the Kings, by which they mean this, and the following book; though very probably they were written by Ezra, since the history in them is carried down to the liberty granted to Jehoiachin in Babylon; but that Ezra was the writer of all the preceding historical books, and even of the Pentateuch, cannot be admitted, which is the conceit of Spinosa ^b; part of whose tract is just now republished by somebody, word for word, under a title as in the margin ^c; but that Ezra was not the writer of the Pentateuch is clear, since he refers to it as written by Moses, and as the rule of religion and worship in his times, Ezr 3:2; and it is certain these writings were in being in the times of Josiah, Amaziah, Joash, yea, of David, and even of Joshua, 2Ch 34:14; and as for the book of Joshua, that also was written long before Ezra's time; it must be written long before the times of David, before the Jebusites were expelled from Jerusalem, since the writer of it says, that they dwelt there in his days, Jos 15:63; the book of Judges must be written before the times of Samuel and David, since the former refers to the annals of it, 1Sa 12:9; and the latter alludes to some passages in it, Psa 68:7; see Jdg 5:4; and a speech of Joab's, 2Sa 11:21, shows it to be an history then extant: to which may be added, that in it Jerusalem is called Jebus, Jdg 19:10; which it never was, after it was taken by David out of the hands of the Jebusites, 2Sa 5:6; the book of Ruth very probably was written by Samuel; had it been of a later date, or written by Ezra, the genealogy with which it concludes, would doubtless have been carried further than to David: the Book of Samuel, and particularly the song of Hannah in it, were written in all probability before the penning of the hundred thirteenth psalm, Psa 113:1, in which some expressions seem to be taken from it wherefore, though the two books of Kings may be allowed to be written or compiled by Ezra, the ten preceding ones cannot be assigned to him: however, there is no room to doubt of the divine authority of these two books, when the honour our Lord has done them is observed, by quoting or referring to several histories in them; as to the account of the queen of Sheba coming to hear the wisdom of Solomon; of the famine in the times of Elijah; and of that prophet being sent to the widow of Sarepta, and of the cleansing of Naaman the Syrian in the times of Elisha, Mat 12:42 from 1Ki 17:1 2Ki 5:10; to which may be added, the quotations and references made by the apostles to passages in them, as by the Apostle Paul in Rom 11:2 from 1Ki 19:14 where this book is expressly called the Scripture; and by the Apostle James, Jam 5:17; who manifestly refers to 1Ki 17:1; and there are various things in this part of Scripture, which are confirmed by the testimonies of Heathen writers, as will be observed in the exposition of it. The use of these books is to carry on the history of the Jewish nation, to show the state of the church of God in those times, and his providential care of it amidst all the changes and vicissitudes in the state; and, above all, to transmit to us the true genealogy of the Messiah, which serves to confirm the Evangelist Matthew's account of it.

Gill: 1 Kings 11 (Chapter Introduction)

INTRODUCTION TO 1 KINGS 11

This chapter relates the false steps Solomon took, notwithstanding all his wisdom, in marrying strange wives, and worshipping other gods, 1Ki 11:1 upon which the Lord threatens him to rend the kingdom in his son's time, 1Ki 11:9 and he raised up adversaries against him, Hadad, Rezon, and Jeroboam, 1Ki 11:14 of which last an account is given, and of his being assured by Ahijah the prophet of his having ten of the tribes of Israel given to him; which Solomon having notice of sought to slay him, 1Ki 11:27 and the chapter is concluded with an account of Solomon's death and burial, 1Ki 11:41.