Text -- 1 Kings 3:3 (NET)

3:3 Solomon demonstrated his loyalty to the Lord by following the practices of his father David, except that he offered sacrifices and burned incense on the high places.

Commentary -- Word/Phrase Notes (per phrase)

Wesley: 1Ki 3:3

Although he miscarried in the matter of high places, yet in the general, his heart was right with God.

Wesley: 1Ki 3:3

According to the statutes or commands of God, which are here called the statutes of David; not only because they were diligently practised by David, but also because the observation of them was so earnestly pressed upon Solomon, and fortified with David's authority and command.

JFB: 1Ki 3:3

This declaration, illustrated by what follows, affords undoubted evidence of the young king's piety; nor is the word "only," which prefaces the statement, to be understood as introducing a qualifying circumstance that reflected any degree of censure upon him. The intention of the sacred historian is to describe the generally prevailing mode of worship before the temple was built. The

high places were altars erected on natural or artificial eminences, probably from the idea that men were brought nearer to the Deity. They had been used by the patriarchs, and had become so universal among the heathen that they were almost identified with idolatry. They were prohibited in the law (Lev 17:3-4; Deu 12:13-14; Jer 7:31; Eze 6:3-4; Hos 10:8). But, so long as the tabernacle was migratory and the means for the national worship were merely provisional, the worship on those high places was tolerated. Hence, as accounting for their continuance, it is expressly stated (1Ki 3:2) that God had not yet chosen a permanent and exclusive place for his worship.

TSK: 1Ki 3:3

loved : Deu 6:5, Deu 10:12, Deu 30:6, Deu 30:16, Deu 30:20; 2Sa 12:24, 2Sa 12:25; Psa 31:23; Mat 22:37; Mar 12:29, Mar 12:30; Rom 8:28; 1Co 8:3; Jam 1:12, Jam 2:5; 1Jo 4:19, 1Jo 4:20, 1Jo 5:2, 1Jo 5:3

walking : 1Ki 3:6, 1Ki 3:14, 1Ki 2:3, 1Ki 2:4, 1Ki 11:34, 1Ki 15:3; 1Ch 28:8, 1Ch 28:9; 2Ch 17:3-5; Joh 14:15, Joh 14:21

only he : 1Ki 15:14, 1Ki 22:43; 2Ki 12:3, 2Ki 14:4, 2Ki 15:4, 2Ki 15:35, 2Ki 18:4, 2Ki 18:22

Commentary -- Word/Phrase Notes (per Verse)

Poole: 1Ki 3:3

And or, yet , although he mistook and miscarried himself in the matter of high places, yet in the general his heart was right with God, and he both loved him with inward affection, and walked with him in outward conversation and worship.

In the statutes of David i.e. according to the statutes or commands of God, which are here called the statutes of David, not only because they were so freely chosen, and heartily loved, and diligently practised by David, but also because the observation of them was so earnestly pressed upon Solomon, and fortified with David’ s authority and command: see 1Ki 2:2-4 1Ch 28:8,9 .

Haydock: 1Ki 3:3

Only, &c. Which David had not done, though it was lawful. (Pineda) ---

Yet we read that he offered victims on Sion, &c., 2 Kings vi. 18. (Haydock)

Gill: 1Ki 3:3

And Solomon loved the Lord,.... The worship of the Lord, as the Targum: and which he showed by

walking in the statutes of David his father; in which his father walked, which were the statutes of the Lord, or which he exhorted him to walk in, and were the same, 1Ki 2:3;

only he sacrificed and burnt incense in high places; besides that at Gibeon, which it seems David did not.

Commentary -- Verse Notes / Footnotes

NET Notes: 1Ki 3:3

¹ tn Heb “Solomon loved the Lord by walking in.”

² tn Or “policies, rules.”

Geneva Bible: 1Ki 3:3

And Solomon loved the LORD, walking in the statutes of David his ^{( c )} father: only he sacrificed and burnt incense in high places.

^{( c )} For his father had commanded him to obey the Lord and walk in his ways, (1Ki 2:3).

Commentary -- Verse Range Notes

TSK Synopsis: 1Ki 3:1-28

1 Solomon marries Pharaoh's daughter.

2 High places being in use, Solomon sacrifices at Gibeon.

5 Solomon at Gibeon, in the choice which God gave him, preferring wisdom, obtains wisdom, riches, and honour.

16 Solomon's judgment makes him renowned.

MHCC: 1Ki 3:1-4

He that loved the Lord, should, for his sake, have fixed his love upon one of the Lord's people. Solomon was a wise man, a rich man, a great man; yet the brightest praise of him, is that which is the character of all the saints, even the poorest, " He loved the Lord." Where God sows plentifully, he expects to reap accordingly; and those that truly love God and his worship, will not grudge the expenses of their religion. We must never think that wasted which is laid out in the service of God.

Matthew Henry: 1Ki 3:1-4

We are here told concerning Solomon,

I. Something that was unquestionably good, for which he is to be praised and in which he is to be imitated. 1. He loved the Lord, 1Ki 3:3. Particular notice was taken of God's love to him, 2Sa 12:24. He had his name from it: Jedidiah - beloved of the Lord. And here we find he returned that love, as John, the beloved disciple, was most full of love. Solomon was a wise man, a rich man; yet the brightest encomium of him is that which is the character of all the saints, even the poorest, He loved the Lord, so the Chaldee; all that love God love his worship, love to hear from him and speak to him, and so to have communion with him. 2. He walked in the statutes of David his father, that is, in the statutes that David gave him, 1Ki 2:2, 1Ki 2:3; 1Ch 28:9, 1Ch 28:10 (his dying father's charge was sacred, and as a law to him), or in God's statutes, which David his father walked in before him; he kept close to God's ordinances, carefully observed them and diligently attended them. Those that truly love God will make conscience of walking in his statutes. 3. He was very free and generous in what he did for the honour of God. When he offered sacrifice he offered like a king, in some proportion to his great wealth, a thousand burnt-offerings, 1Ki 3:4. Where God sows plentifully he expects to reap accordingly; and those that truly love God and his worship will not grudge the expenses of their religion. We may be tempted to say, To what purpose is this waste? Might not these cattle have been given to the poor? But we must never think that wasted which is laid out in the service of God. It seems strange how so many beasts should be burnt upon one altar in one feast, though it continued seven days; but the fire on the altar is supposed to be more quick and devouring than common fire, for it represented that fierce and mighty wrath of God which fell upon the sacrifices, that the offerers might escape. Our God is a consuming fire. Bishop Patrick quotes it as a tradition of the Jews that the smoke of the sacrifices ascended directly in a straight pillar, and was not scattered, otherwise it would have choked those that attended, when so many sacrifices were offered as were here.

II. Here is something concerning which it may be doubted whether it was good or no. 1. His marrying Pharaoh's daughter, 1Ki 3:1. We will suppose she was proselyted, otherwise the marriage would not have been lawful; yet, if so, surely it was not advisable. He that loved the Lord should, for his sake, have fixed his love upon one of the Lord's people. Unequal matches of the sons of God with the daughters of men have often been of pernicious consequence; yet some think that he did this with the advice of his friends, that she was a sincere convert (for the gods of the Egyptians are not reckoned among the strange gods which his strange wives drew him in to the worship of, 1Ki 11:5, 1Ki 11:6), and that the book of Canticles and the 45th Psalm were penned on this occasion, by which these nuptials were made typical of the mystical espousals of the church to Christ, especially the Gentile church. 2. His worshipping in the high places, and thereby tempting the people to do so too, 1Ki 3:2, 1Ki 3:3. Abraham built his altars on mountains (Gen 12:8; Gen 22:2), and worshipped in a grove, Gen 21:33. Thence the custom was derived, and was proper, till the divine law confined them to one place, Deu 12:5, Deu 12:6. David kept to the ark, and did not care for the high places, but Solomon, though in other things he walked in the statutes of his father, in this came short of him. He showed thereby a great zeal for sacrificing, but to obey would have been better. This was an irregularity. Though there was as yet no house built, there was a tent pitched, to the name of the Lord, and the ark ought to have been the centre of their unity. It was so by divine institution; from it the high places separated; yet while they worshipped God only, and in other things according to the rule, he graciously overlooked their weakness, and accepted their services; and it is owned that Solomon loved the Lord, though he burnt incense in the high places, and let not men be more severe than God is.

Keil-Delitzsch: 1Ki 3:1-3

Solomon's marriage and the religious state of the kingdom . - 1Ki 3:1. When Solomon had well secured his possession of the throne (1Ki 2:46), he entered into alliance with Pharaoh, by taking his daughter as hiswife. This Pharaoh of Egypt is supposed by Winer, Ewald, and others tohave been Psusennes , the last king of the twenty-first (Tanitic) dynasty,who reigned thirty-five years; since the first king of the twenty-second(Bubastic) dynasty, Sesonchis or Sheshonk , was certainly the Shishakwho conquered Jerusalem in the fifth year of Rehoboam's reign (1Ki 14:25-26). The alliance by marriage with the royal family of Egyptpresupposes that Egypt was desirous of cultivating friendly relations withthe kingdom of Israel, which had grown into a power to be dreaded;although, as we know nothing more of the history of Egypt at that timethan the mere names of the kings (as given by Manetho), it is impossibleto determine what may have been the more precise grounds which led thereigning king of Egypt to seek the friendship of Israel. There is, at anyrate, greater probability in this supposition than in that of Thenius, whoconjectures that Solomon contracted this marriage because he saw thenecessity of entering into a closer relationship with this powerfulneighbour, who had a perfectly free access to Palestine. The conclusion ofthis marriage took place in the first year of Solomon's reign, thoughprobably not at the very beginning of the reign, but not till after hisbuildings had been begun, as we may infer from the expression לבנות כּלּתו עד (until he had made an end of building). Moreover, Solomon had already married Naamah the Ammonitess beforeascending the throne, and had had a son by her (compare 1Ki 14:21with 1Ki 11:42-43). - Marriage with an Egyptian princess was not atransgression of the law, as it was only marriages with Canaanitish womenthat were expressly prohibited (Exo 34:16; Deu 7:3), whereas it wasallowable to marry even foreign women taken in war (Deu 21:10.). Atthe same time, it was only when the foreign wives renounced idolatry andconfessed their faith in Jehovah, that such marriages were in accordancewith the spirit of the law. And we may assume that this was the case evenwith Pharaoh's daughter; because Solomon adhered so faithfully to theLord during the first years of his reign, that he would not have toleratedany idolatry in his neighbourhood, and we cannot find any trace ofEgyptian idolatry in Israel in the time of Solomon, and, lastly, the daughterof Pharaoh is expressly distinguished in 1Ki 11:1 from the foreignwives who tempted Solomon to idolatry in his old age. The assertion of Seb. Schmidt and Thenius to the contrary rests upon afalse interpretation of 1Ki 11:1. - "And he brought her into the city ofDavid, till he had finished the building of his palace,"etc. Into the city ofDavid: i.e., not into the palace in which his father had dwelt, as Theniusarbitrarily interprets it in opposition to 2Ch 8:11, but into a house inthe city of David or Jerusalem, from which he brought her up into thehouse appointed for her after the building of his own palace was finished(1Ki 9:24). The building of the house of Jehovah is mentioned as well,because the sacred tent for the ark of the covenant was set up in the palaceof David until the temple was finished, and the temple was notconsecrated till after the completion of the building of the palace (see at 1Ki 8:1). By the building of "the wall of Jerusalem"we are tounderstand a stronger fortification, and possibly also the extension of thecity wall (see at 1Ki 11:27).

1Ki 3:2

"Only the people sacrificed upon high places, because there wasnot yet a house built for the name of Jehovah until those days."Thelimiting רק , only , by which this general account of the existingcondition of the religious worship is appended to what precedes, may beaccounted for from the antithesis to the strengthening of the kingdom bySolomon mentioned in 1Ki 2:46. The train of thought is the following:It is true that Solomon's authority was firmly established by thepunishment of the rebels, so that he was able to ally himself by marriagewith the king of Egypt; but just as he was obliged to bring his Egyptianwife into the city of David, because the building of his palace as not yetfinished, so the people, and (according to 1Ki 2:3) even Solomon himself, wereonly able to sacrifice to the Lord at that time upon altars on the highplaces, because the temple was not yet built. The participle מזבּחים denotes the continuation of this religious condition (see Ewald,§168, c.). The בּמות , or high places,

(Note: The opinion of Böttcher and Thenius, that בּמה signifies a "sacred coppice,"is only based upon untenableetymological combinations, and cannot be proved. And Ewald's viewis equally unfounded, viz., that "high places were an old Canaanaeanspecies of sanctuary, which at that time had become common inIsrael also, and consisted of a tall stone of a conical shape, as thesymbol of the Holy One, and of the real high place, viz., an altar, asacred tree or grove, or even an image of the one God as well"( Gesch . iii. p. 390). For, on the one hand, it cannot be shown that the tallstone of a conical shape existed even in the case of the Canaanitish bamoth , and, on the other hand, it is impossible to adduce a shadow ofa proof that the Israelitish bamoth , which were dedicated to Jehovah,were constructed precisely after the pattern of the Baal's- bamoth ofthe Canaanites.)

were places of sacrifice and prayer, which were built upon eminences ofhills, because men thought they were nearer the Deity there, and whichconsisted in some cases probably of an altar only, though as a rule therewas an altar with a sanctuary built by the side ( בּמות בּית , 1Ki 13:32; 2Ki 17:29, 2Ki 17:32; 2Ki 23:19), so that בּמה frequently stands for בּמה בּית (e.g., 1Ki 11:7;1Ki 14:23; 2Ki 21:3; 2Ki 23:8), and the בּמה is also distinguishedfrom the מזבּח (2Ki 23:15; 2Ch 14:2). These high places were consecrated to the worship of Jehovah, andessentially different from the high places of the Canaanites which wereconsecrated to Baal. Nevertheless sacrificing upon these high places wasopposed to the law, according to which the place which the Lord Himselfhad chosen for the revelation of His name was the only place wheresacrifices were to be offered (Lev 17:3.); and therefore it is excused hereon the ground that no house (temple) had yet been built to the name of theLord.

1Ki 3:3

Even Solomon, although he loved the Lord, walking in the statutesof his father David, i.e., according to 1Ki 2:3, in the commandments ofthe Lord as they are written in the law of Moses, sacrificed and burntincense upon high places. Before the building of the temple, moreespecially since the tabernacle had lost its significance as the central placeof the gracious presence of God among His people, through the removal ofthe ark of the covenant, the worship of the high places was unavoidable;although even afterwards it still continued as a forbidden cultus , and couldnot be thoroughly exterminated even by the most righteous kings (1Ki 22:24; 2Ki 12:4; 2Ki 14:4; 2Ki 15:4, 2Ki 15:35).

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 3:1-28

2. Solomon's wisdom from God ch. 3

The flowing narrative of chapters 1-2 now gives way to reports and lists that catalogue facts about Solomon's reign.

The writer constructed the Solomon narrative (chs. 3-11), like so many others in the Old Testament, to draw attention to the fulfillment or lack of fulfillment of prophecies made earlier.³⁶ The prophecy lies in 3:3-14, and we can trace the fulfillment through chapter 11.

This chapter emphasizes one of the chief blessings God bestowed on Solomon for his commitment and submission to Yahweh. By giving Solomon unusual wisdom God also blessed the nation he served as king.

"The characteristics of Solomon's wisdom and glory were not selected just to continue the picture of an ideal king by showing him in a favourable [sic] light. Throughout, and in the epilogue on his reign (11:1-13, 33), the history comments on its deficiencies in theological terms. A similar appraisal will be used to judge successive rulers against the reigns of David and Solomon."³⁷

Constable: 1Ki 3:1-3

Solomon's attitudes 3:1-3

Should Solomon have married Pharaoh's daughter? In view of 11:1-2 and 2 Chronicles 8:1 there is no way we can say yes. Furthermore Solomon already had a wife when he married Pharaoh's daughter (14:21; cf. Gen. 2:24). Why then did the writer not point out this sin here? He may have not done so because his purpose in this part of his history was to show the greatness of Solomon. In chapter 11 he emphasized Solomon's failures. Here it is the fact that he could marry such a person as an Egyptian princess that shows the social and political height to which God had elevated him. A descendant of former Egyptian slaves now became Pharaoh's son-in-law!

"Under Solomon, the relationship between Egypt and Israel reached an apex with the marriage alliance between the two nations (1 Kgs 3:1)."³⁸

At this time Israel was stronger than Egypt.

"That this is the case is clear from his [Pharaoh Siamun's, 978-959 B.C.] willingness to provide his own daughter as a wife for Solomon, a concession almost without parallel in Egyptian history since it was a candid admission to the world of Egypt's weakness and conciliation. Normally Egyptian kings took foreign princesses but did not give up their own daughters to foreign kings."³⁹

Solomon housed his bride in the City of David until he completed a special palace for her nearby (7:8).

The Israelites were offering sacrifices to Yahweh on the "high places" that the Ras Shamra tablets describe as open-air sanctuaries throughout the land.⁴⁰ These sites were normally on hilltops. The Israelites evidently took them over from the Canaanites and converted them into centers of Yahweh worship. The Law forbade offering sacrifices at places other than those God approved and especially at sites of Canaanite altars (Deut. 12:1-21). Evidently the people justified their disobedience on the ground that they did not have a permanent palace where Yahweh could dwell (i.e., a temple). Another possibility is that they did not consider worship at high places wrong until the king reunited the ark and a tabernacle in a central sanctuary (i.e., the temple; cf. 1 Sam. 9:11-25).⁴¹

The only deviation from the Law that the writer ascribed to Solomon at this early time in his reign was his worship at the high places (v. 3). Otherwise Solomon followed God faithfully, except for his polygamy.

"Silently, invisibly, like an incubating virus, sin was at work throughout Solomon's reign and in the end broke out in violent, destructive force. Such is the nature of sin."⁴²

Love here (v. 3) does not express a feeling only but more fundamentally a commitment to Yahweh that manifests itself in obedience to His Word (cf. 1 John 5:3). Solomon's commitment, like David's, accounted for much of the blessing that came on the king and through him to the people.

Guzik: 1Ki 3:1-28

1 Kings 3 - Solomon is Given Great Wisdom

A. God gives Solomon wisdom.

1. (1) Solomon marries an Egyptian princess.

Now Solomon made a treaty with Pharaoh king of Egypt, and married Pharaoh's daughter; then he brought her to the City of David until he had finished building his own house, and the house of the LORD, and the wall all around Jerusalem.

a. Solomon made a treaty with Pharaoh king of Egypt, and married Pharaoh's daughter: Marriage to fellow royalty was a common political strategy in the ancient world, and continues to the modern age. It was not only because royalty wanted to marry other royalty, but also because conflict between nations were avoided for the sake of family ties.

i. This was not Solomon's first marriage. 1 Kings 14:21 tells us that his son Rehoboam came to the throne when he was 41 years old, and 1 Kings 11:42 tells us that Solomon reigned 40 years. This means that Rehoboam was born to his mother - a wife of Solomon named Naamah the Amonitess - before he came to the throne and before he married this daughter of Pharaoh.

ii. Solomon's multiple marriages - and marriages to foreign women - will cause a great disaster in his life. Later in the Book of Nehemiah, Nehemiah was angry and frustrated because the people of Israel married with the pagan nations around them. In rebuking the guilty, Nehemiah remembered Solomon's bad example: So I contended with them and cursed them, struck some of them and pulled out their hair, and made them swear by God, saying, "You shall not give your daughters as wives to their sons, nor take their daughters for your sons or yourselves. Did not Solomon king of Israel sin by these things? Yet among many nations there was no king like him, who was beloved of his God; and God made him king over all Israel. Nevertheless pagan women caused even him to sin. Should we then hear of your doing all this great evil, transgressing against our God by marrying pagan women?" (Nehemiah 13:25-27)

iii. The foreign wives made Solomon more than a bad example - they ruined his spiritual life. 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. 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. (1 Kings 11:1-4)

iv. 1 Kings 11:4 says this only happened when Solomon was old, but the pattern was set with this first marriage to the Egyptian princess. It perhaps made political sense, but not spiritual sense. "Such arranged marriages were a common confirmation of international treaties, but this one was the beginning of Solomon's spiritual downfall." (Wiseman)

v. 2 Samuel 3:3 tells us that David married the daughter of a foreign king: Maacah, the daughter of Talmai, king of Geshur. Marrying a foreign woman was not against the Law of Moses - if she became a convert to the God of Israel. What did not ruin David did ruin Solomon.

b. He brought her to the City of David: Though this was permitted under the Law of Moses, it was not wise or good for Solomon to do. Later in his life, his foreign wives were the reason his heart turned away from the LORD (1 Kings 11:4).

i. Old legends of Jewish rabbis say that on their wedding night, the Egyptian princess cast a spell on Solomon and put a tapestry over their bed that looked like the night sky with stars and constellations. The spell was intended to make Solomon sleep, and when he did wake he looked up and thought the stars were still out and it was still night so he went back to sleep. He slept on past 10:00 in the morning and all Israel was grieved because Solomon kept the keys to the temple under his pillow and they couldn't have the morning sacrifice until he woke up. Finally his mother Bathsheba roused him from sleep. (Cited in Ginzberg)

2. (2-4) Solomon's great sacrifice.

Meanwhile the people sacrificed at the high places, because there was no house built for the name of the LORD until those days. And Solomon loved the LORD, walking in the statutes of his father David, except that he sacrificed and burned incense at the high places. Now the king went to Gibeon to sacrifice there, for that was the great high place: Solomon offered a thousand burnt offerings on that altar.

a. People sacrificed at the high places, because there was no house built for the name of the LORD: At this time, altars were allowed in Israel at various high places, as long as those altars were unto the LORD and not corrupted by idolatry (as commanded in Deuteronomy 16:21). When the temple was built, sacrifice was then centralized at the temple.

b. Solomon loved the LORD . . . except that he sacrificed and burned incense at the high places: There is good and bad in this assessment of Solomon. There is good in that generally he walked in the statutes of his father David. There is bad in the word, "except."

i. At the same time, it seems that God showed mercy to those who violated this law before the temple was built. "Could there be any sin in this, or was in unlawful till after the temple was built? For prophets, judges, the kings which preceded Solomon, and Solomon himself, sacrificed on high places, such as Gibeon, Gilgal, Shiloh, Hebron, Kirath-jearin, etc. But after the temple was erected, it was sinful to offer sacrifices in any other place." (Clarke)

ii. Solomon did love the LORD - yet he also loved foreign wives who eventually helped turn Solomon's heart away from the LORD (1 Kings 11:4-10). "The perils of mixed motives and a divided heart are terrible indeed." (Morgan)

c. Solomon offered a thousand burnt offerings on that altar: This almost grotesque amount of sacrifice demonstrated both Solomon's great wealth and his heart to use it to glorify God.

i. This was an important event marking the "ceremonial" beginning of Solomon's reign. According to 2 Chronicles 1:2-3, the entire leadership of the nation went with Solomon to Gibeon.

d. Now the king went to Gibeon: Solomon made these special sacrifices at Gibeon because that was the great high place. What made it different was that the tabernacle was there, even though the ark of the covenant was in Jerusalem.

i. Tracking the tabernacle and the ark of the covenant in the Promised Land:

· Joshua brought both the ark and the tabernacle to Shiloh (Joshua 18)

· In the days of Eli the ark was captured and the tabernacle wrecked (1 Samuel 4, Psalm 78:60-64, Jeremiah 7:12 and 26:9)

· The ark came back to Kiriath-Jearim (1 Samuel 7:1-2)

· Saul restored the tabernacle at Nob (1 Samuel 21)

· Saul moved the tabernacle to Gibeon (1 Chronicles 16:39-40)

· David brought the ark to Jerusalem and built a temporary tent for it (2 Samuel 6:17, 2 Chronicles 1:4)

ii. There were several reasons to explain why David did not bring the tabernacle from Gibeon to Jerusalem:

· He may have believed if the tabernacle was there the people would be satisfied with that and they would lose the passion and vision for the temple God wanted built

· It may be that the tabernacle was only moved when it was absolutely necessary - as when disaster came upon it at Shiloh or Nob

· David simply focused on building the temple, not continuing the tabernacle

3. (5-9) God's offer and Solomon's response.

At Gibeon the LORD appeared to Solomon in a dream by night; and God said, "Ask! What shall I give you?" And Solomon said: "You have shown great mercy to Your servant David my father, because he walked before You in truth, in righteousness, and in uprightness of heart with You; You have continued this great kindness for him, and You have given him a son to sit on his throne, as it is this day. Now, O LORD my God, You have made Your servant king instead of my father David, but I am a little child; I do not know how to go out or come in. And Your servant is in the midst of Your people whom You have chosen, a great people, too numerous to be numbered or counted. Therefore give to Your servant an understanding heart to judge Your people, that I may discern between good and evil. For who is able to judge this great people of Yours?"

a. The LORD appeared to Solomon in a dream: This remarkable visitation from God happened in a dream. This is one of the more significant dreams in the Bible.

b. Ask! What shall I give you? This is an amazing promise. God seems to offer Solomon whatever he wants. This wasn't only because Solomon sacrificed 1,000 animals. It was because his heart was surrendered to God, and God wanted to work something in Solomon through this offer and his response.

i. The natural reaction to reading this promise of God to Solomon is to wish we had such a promises. We do have them.

· Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. (Matthew 7:7)

· If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you. (John 15:7)

· Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. (1 John 5:14)

c. You have shown great mercy: Before responding to God's offer and asking for anything, Solomon remembered God's faithfulness to both David and now Solomon himself.

d. But I am a little child: Solomon was not really the age of a child. He comes to God in great humility, especially considering the job in front of him. "The statement is actually Solomon's poetic way of expressing his inadequacies as he faced the awesome tasks of leadership." (Dilday)

i. Solomon didn't have the false humility that said, "I can't do this so I won't even try." His attitude was, "The job is so much bigger than me; I must rely on God."

e. Give to Your servant an understanding heart: Solomon asked for more than great knowledge; he wanted understanding, and he wanted it in his heart, not merely in his head. Actually, the ancient Hebrew word translated understanding is literally, "hearing." Solomon wanted a hearing heart, one that would listen to God.

i. In Ephesians 1:18 the Apostle Paul prayed for Christians, asking that the eyes of your understanding being enlightened.

f. To judge Your people, that I may discern between good and evil: Solomon already understood that a key component of leadership is wise and just discernment. Many leaders do not have this discernment or the courage to use it.

4. (10-15) God's great promise to Solomon.

The speech pleased the LORD, that Solomon had asked this thing. Then God said to him: "Because you have asked this thing, and have not asked long life for yourself, nor have asked riches for yourself, nor have asked the life of your enemies, but have asked for yourself understanding to discern justice, behold, I have done according to your words; see, I have given you a wise and understanding heart, so that there has not been anyone like you before you, nor shall any like you arise after you. And I have also given you what you have not asked: both riches and honor, so that there shall not be anyone like you among the kings all your days. 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." Then Solomon awoke; and indeed it had been a dream. And he came to Jerusalem and stood before the ark of the covenant of the LORD, offered up burnt offerings, offered peace offerings, and made a feast for all his servants.

a. The speech pleased the LORD: God was pleased by what Solomon asked for, in that he knew his great need for wisdom, discernment, and understanding. God was also pleased by what Solomon did not ask for, in that he did not ask for riches or fame or power for himself.

i. Solomon's request was not bad. We are specifically told that the speech pleased the LORD. Yet we can also ask if this was the best Solomon could ask for. "Was this the highest gift that he could have asked or received? Surely the deep longings of his father for communion with God were yet better." (Maclaren)

ii. Solomon did his job well - as well or better than anyone. Yet as his falling away in the end showed (1 Kings 11:1-11) there was something lacking in his spiritual life. "There is no sign in his biography that he ever had the deep inward devotion of his father. After the poet-psalmist came the prosaic and keen-sighted shrewd man of affairs." (Maclaren)

b. I have done according to your words . . . I have also given you what you have not asked: God not only answered Solomon's prayer, he answered it beyond all expectation. Solomon did not ask for riches and honor or a long life, but God gave him those also.

i. In Ephesians 3:20 Paul honored God saying, Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think. Solomon experienced God's ability to do far beyond all that we ask or think.

ii. Solomon wisely asked God regarding his character, not his possessions. What we are is more important than what we have.

c. The Solomon awoke: It was a dream, but it was at the same time a message from God. God answered Solomon's prayer and made him wise, powerful, rich, and influential. His reign was glorious for Israel.

i. At the same time, his end was tragic. We can fairly say that Solomon wasted these gifts God gave him. Though he accomplished much, he could have done much more - and his heart was led away from God in the end (1 Kings 11:4-11).

ii. "Instead of being the wisest of men, did he not become more brutish than any man? Did he not even lose the knowledge of his Creator, and worship the abominations of the Moabites, Zidonians, and [so forth]? And was not such idolatry a proof of the grossest stupidity? How few proofs does his life give that the gracious purpose of God was fulfilled in him! He received much; but he would have received much more, had he been faithful to the grace given. No character in the sacred writings disappoints us more than the character of Solomon." (Clarke)

B. An example of Solomon's great wisdom.

1. (16-22) Two women claim the same child as their own.

Now two women who were harlots came to the king, and stood before him. And one woman said, "O my LORD, this woman and I dwell in the same house; and I gave birth while she was in the house. Then it happened, the third day after I had given birth, that this woman also gave birth. And we were together; no one was with us in the house, except the two of us in the house. And this woman's son died in the night, because she lay on him. So she arose in the middle of the night and took my son from my side, while your maidservant slept, and laid him in her bosom, and laid her dead child in my bosom. And when I rose in the morning to nurse my son, there he was, dead. But when I had examined him in the morning, indeed, he was not my son whom I had borne." Then the other woman said, "No! But the living one is my son, and the dead one is your son." And the first woman said, "No! But the dead one is your son, and the living one is my son." Thus they spoke before the king.

a. Two women who were harlots came to the king and stood before him: This in itself is a remarkable testimony to the goodness and generosity of Solomon. Not many kings would take the time to settle a dispute between two prostitutes.

i. However, many think that these were not harlots at all. "Hebrew zonot, could equally refer to inn-keepers." (Wiseman)

b. The dead one is your son, and the living one is my son: This seems like an impossible problem to solve. It is surely one prostitutes' word against the other, and there is no independent witness to the events (no one was with us in the house).

2. (23-27) Solomon's wise solution.

And the king said, "The one says, 'This is my son, who lives, and your son is the dead one'; and the other says, 'No! But your son is the dead one, and my son is the living one.'" Then the king said, "Bring me a sword." So they brought a sword before the king. And the king said, "Divide the living child in two, and give half to one, and half to the other." Then the woman whose son was living spoke to the king, for she yearned with compassion for her son; and she said, "O my LORD, give her the living child, and by no means kill him!" But the other said, "Let him be neither mine nor yours, but divide him." So the king answered and said, "Give the first woman the living child, and by no means kill him; she is his mother."

a. Bring me a sword: Solomon's solution to the problem at first looked foolish - even dangerous. The wisdom of his approach was only understood when the matter was settled.

i. In the same way, the works - even the judgments - of God often first seem strange, dangerous, or even foolish. Time shows them to be perfect wisdom.

ii. Trapp on bring me a sword: "For what purpose? Thought the standers by; wondering and perhaps laughing within themselves. The actions of wise princes are riddles to vulgar constructions: nor is it for the shallow capacities of the multitude to fathom the deep projects of sovereign authority."

b. She yearned with compassion for her son: The true parental relationship was proved by love. The true mother would rather have the child live without her than to die with her. She put the child's welfare above her own.

c. She is his mother: Solomon knew that the offer to cut the child in two would reveal the true mother, and he rewarded the mother's love accordingly.

3. (28) Solomon is highly esteemed in the eyes of the people of Israel.

And all Israel heard of the judgment which the king had rendered; and they feared the king, for they saw that the wisdom of God was in him to administer justice.

a. All Israel heard: Such a wise decision could not be hidden. The matter was soon known throughout the kingdom.

b. They feared the king, for they saw that the wisdom of God was in him to administer justice: The people of Israel saw that Solomon had both the wisdom and the courage to do the right thing as a leader. This made them hesitant to disobey the law of the king.

i. The old Jewish rabbis loved to go beyond the Bible and spin legends about Solomon's wisdom. Ginzberg quotes one, telling of the time when a demon showed Solomon something he had never seen before - a Cainite, whom the demon brought up out of the ground, and Solomon immediately saw that he had two heads. When the Cainite wanted to return again, he could not go back to his dwelling place deep under the earth. So he married and had seven sons, one of whom also had two heads. When the two-headed father died, the two-headed son claimed a double share of the inheritance, but the other six brothers thought he should only get one. The Sanhedrin couldn't decide the case, so Solomon prayed for wisdom and finally poured hot water on one of the heads. When he did, both heads flinched and cried out, and from this Solomon deduced that they were one person not two and should only have one share of the inheritance.

© 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 3 (Chapter Introduction)

Overview

1Ki 3:1, Solomon marries Pharaoh’s daughter; 1Ki 3:2, High places being in use, Solomon sacrifices at Gibeon; 1Ki 3:5, Solomon at Gibeon, in the choice which God gave him, preferring wisdom, obtains wisdom, riches, and honour; 1Ki 3:16, Solomon’s judgment makes him renowned.

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 3 (Chapter Introduction)

KINGS CHAPTER 3

Solomon marrieth Pharaoh’ s daughter: high places being in use, he goeth to Gibeon to sacrifice, 1Ki 3:1-4 . There the Lord appeareth to him; gives him a choice: he preferreth wisdom; obtaineth it, and also riches and honour, 1Ki 3:5-15 . His judgment between the two harlots, 1Ki 3:16-28 .

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 3 (Chapter Introduction)

(1Ki 3:1-4) Solomon's marriage.

(1Ki 3:5-15) His vision, His prayer for wisdom.

(1Ki 3:16-28) The judgment 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 3 (Chapter Introduction)

Solomon's reign looked bloody in the foregoing chapter, but the necessary acts of justice must not be called cruelty; in this chapter it appears with another face. We must not think the worse of God's mercy to his subjects for his judgments on rebels. We have here, I. Solomon's marriage to Pharaoh's daughter (1Ki 3:1). II. A general view of his religion (1Ki 3:2-4). III. A particular account of his prayer to God for wisdom, and the answer to that prayer (1Ki 3:5-15). IV. A particular instance of his wisdom in deciding the controversy between the two harlots (1Ki 3:16-28). And very great he looks here, both at the altar and on the bench, and therefore on the bench because at the altar.

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 3 (Chapter Introduction)

INTRODUCTION TO 1 KINGS 3

This chapter relates the marriage of Solomon with Pharaoh's daughter, 1Ki 3:1; his piety and devotion, 1Ki 3:2; his prayer for wisdom and understanding, which was acceptable to God, who promised to grant his request, with an addition to it, 1Ki 3:5; an instance and proof of the wisdom given him in determining a case between two harlots brought before him, which greatly raised his reputation, and gave him reverence among his people, 1Ki 3:16.