1 Kings 11:2

11:2 They came from nations about which the Lord had warned the Israelites, “You must not establish friendly relations with them! ¹  If you do, they will surely shift your allegiance to their gods.” ²  But Solomon was irresistibly attracted to them. ³ 

1 Kings 6:12

6:12 “As for this temple you are building, if you follow ⁴  my rules, observe ⁵  my regulations, and obey all my commandments, ⁶  I will fulfill through you the promise I made to your father David. ⁷ 

1 Kings 18:27

18:27 At noon Elijah mocked them, “Yell louder! After all, he is a god; he may be deep in thought, or perhaps he stepped out for a moment or has taken a trip. Perhaps he is sleeping and needs to be awakened.” ⁸ 

¹ tn Heb “you must not go into them, and they must not go into you.”

² tn Heb “Surely they will bend your heart after their gods.” The words “if you do” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

³ tn Heb “Solomon clung to them for love.” The pronominal suffix, translated “them,” is masculine here, even though it appears the foreign women are in view. Perhaps this is due to attraction to the masculine forms used of the nations earlier in the verse.

⁴ tn Heb “walk in.”

⁵ tn Heb “do.”

⁶ tn Heb “and keep all my commandments by walking in them.”

⁷ tn Heb “I will establish my word with you which I spoke to David your father.”

⁷ sn Elijah’s sarcastic proposals would have been especially offensive and irritating to Baal’s prophets, for they believed Baal was imprisoned in the underworld as death’s captive during this time of drought. Elijah’s apparent ignorance of their theology is probably designed for dramatic effect; indeed the suggestion that Baal is away on a trip or deep in sleep comes precariously close to the truth as viewed by the prophets.