1 Kings 11 (NET)

The Lord Punishes Solomon for Idolatry

1 King Solomon fell in love with many foreign women (besides Pharaoh’s daughter), including Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Sidonians, and Hittites. 2 They came from nations about which the Lord had warned the Israelites, “You must not establish friendly relations with them!1 If you do, they will surely shift your allegiance to their gods.”2 But Solomon was irresistibly attracted to them.3

3 He had 700 royal wives4 and 300 concubines;5 his wives had a powerful influence over him.6 4 When Solomon became old, his wives shifted his allegiance to7 other gods; he was not wholeheartedly devoted to the Lord his God, as his father David had been.8 5 Solomon worshiped9 the Sidonian goddess Astarte and the detestable Ammonite god Milcom.10 6 Solomon did evil in the Lord’s sight;11 he did not remain loyal to12 the Lord, like his father David had. 7 Furthermore,13 on the hill east of Jerusalem14 Solomon built a high place15 for the detestable Moabite god Chemosh16 and for the detestable Ammonite god Milcom.17 8 He built high places for all his foreign wives so they could burn incense and make sacrifices to their gods.18

9 The Lord was angry with Solomon because he had shifted his allegiance19 away from the Lord, the God of Israel, who had appeared to him on two occasions20 10 and had warned him about this very thing, so that he would not follow other gods.21 But he did not obey22 the Lord’s command. 11 So the Lord said to Solomon, “Because you insist on doing these things and have not kept the covenantal rules I gave you,23 I will surely tear the kingdom away from you and give it to your servant. 12 However, for your father David’s sake I will not do this while you are alive. I will tear it away from your son’s hand instead. 13 But I will not tear away the entire kingdom; I will leave24 your son one tribe for my servant David’s sake and for the sake of my chosen city Jerusalem.”

14 The Lord brought25 against Solomon an enemy, Hadad the Edomite, a descendant of the Edomite king. 15 During David’s campaign against Edom,26 Joab, the commander of the army, while on a mission to bury the dead, killed every male in Edom. 16 For six months Joab and the entire Israelite army27 stayed there until they had exterminated every male in Edom.28 17 Hadad,29 who was only a small boy at the time, escaped with some of his father’s Edomite servants and headed for Egypt.30 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.31 19 Pharaoh liked Hadad so well32 he gave him his sister-in-law (Queen Tahpenes’ sister) as a wife.33 20 Tahpenes’ sister gave birth to his son,34 named Genubath. Tahpenes raised35 him in Pharaoh’s palace; Genubath grew up in Pharaoh’s palace among Pharaoh’s sons. 21 While in Egypt Hadad heard that David had passed away36 and that Joab, the commander of the army, was dead. So Hadad asked Pharaoh, “Give me permission to leave37 so I can return to my homeland.” 22 Pharaoh said to him, “What do you lack here that makes you want to go to your homeland?”38 Hadad replied,39 “Nothing, but please give me permission to leave.”40

23 God also brought against Solomon41 another enemy, Rezon son of Eliada who had run away from his master, King Hadadezer of Zobah. 24 He gathered some men and organized a raiding band.42 When David tried to kill them,43 they went to Damascus, where they settled down and gained control of the city. 25 He was Israel’s enemy throughout Solomon’s reign and, like Hadad, caused trouble. He loathed44 Israel and ruled over Syria.

26 Jeroboam son of Nebat, one of Solomon’s servants, rebelled against45 the king. He was an Ephraimite46 from Zeredah whose mother was a widow named Zeruah. 27 This is what prompted him to rebel against the king:47 Solomon built a terrace and he closed up a gap in the wall of the city of his father David.48 28 Jeroboam was a talented man;49 when Solomon saw that the young man was an accomplished worker, he made him the leader of the work crew from the tribe50 of Joseph. 29 At that time, when Jeroboam had left Jerusalem, the prophet Ahijah the Shilonite met him on the road; the two of them were alone in the open country. Ahijah51 was wearing a brand new robe, 30 and he grabbed the robe52 and tore it into twelve pieces. 31 Then he told Jeroboam, “Take ten pieces, for this is what the Lord God of Israel says: ‘Look, I am about to tear the kingdom from Solomon’s hand and I will give ten tribes to you. 32 He will retain one tribe, for my servant David’s sake and for the sake of Jerusalem, the city I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel. 33 I am taking the kingdom from him53 because they have54 abandoned me and worshiped the Sidonian goddess Astarte, the Moabite god Chemosh, and the Ammonite god Milcom. They have not followed my instructions55 by doing what I approve and obeying my rules and regulations, like Solomon’s father David did.56 34 I will not take the whole kingdom from his hand. I will allow him to be ruler for the rest of his life for the sake of my chosen servant David who kept my commandments and rules. 35 I will take the kingdom from the hand of his son and give ten tribes to you.57 36 I will leave58 his son one tribe so my servant David’s dynasty may continue to serve me59 in Jerusalem, the city I have chosen as my home.60 37 I will select61 you; you will rule over all you desire to have and you will be king over Israel. 38 You must obey62 all I command you to do, follow my instructions,63 do what I approve,64 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;65 I will give you Israel. 39 I will humiliate David’s descendants because of this,66 but not forever.”67 40 Solomon tried to kill Jeroboam, but Jeroboam escaped to Egypt and found refuge with King Shishak of Egypt.68 He stayed in Egypt until Solomon died.

Solomon’s Reign Ends

41 The rest of the events of Solomon’s reign, including all his accomplishments and his wise decisions, are recorded in the scroll called the Annals of Solomon.69 42 Solomon ruled over all Israel from Jerusalem70 for forty years. 43 Then Solomon passed away71 and was buried in the city of his father David.72 His son Rehoboam replaced him as king.73

111:2tn Heb “you must not go into them, and they must not go into you.” 211:2tn Heb “Surely they will bend your heart after their gods.” The words “if you do” are supplied in the translation for clarification. 311:2tn 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. 411:3tn Heb “wives, princesses.” 511:3sn Concubines were slave women in ancient Near Eastern societies who were the legal property of their master, but who could have legitimate sexual relations with their master. A concubine’s status was more elevated than a mere servant, but she was not free and did not have the legal rights of a free wife. The children of a concubine could, in some instances, become equal heirs with the children of the free wife. The usage in the present passage suggests that after the period of the Judges concubines may have become more of a royal prerogative (cf. also 2 Sam 21:10-14). 611:3tn Heb “his wives bent his heart.” 711:4tn Heb “bent his heart after.” 811:4tn Heb “his heart was not complete with the Lord his God, like the heart of David his father.” 911:5tn Heb “walked after.” 1011:5tn Heb “Milcom, the detestable thing of the Ammonites.” 1111:6tn Heb “in the eyes of the Lord.” 1211:6tn The idiomatic statement reads in Hebrew, “he did not fill up after.” 1311:7tn Heb “then.” 1411:7sn The hill east of Jerusalem refers to the Mount of Olives.map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4. 1511:7sn A high place. The “high places” were places of worship that were naturally or artificially elevated (see 1 Kgs 3:2). 1611:7tn Heb “Chemosh, the detestable thing of Moab.” 1711:7tc The MT reads “Molech,” but Milcom must be intended (see vv. 5, 33). 1811:8tn Heb “and the same thing he did for all his foreign wives, [who] were burning incense and sacrificing to their gods.” 1911:9tn Heb “bent his heart.” 2011:9sn These two occasions are mentioned in 1 Kgs 3:5 and 9:2. 2111:10tn Heb “and had commanded him concerning this thing not to walk after other gods.” 2211:10tn Or “keep.” 2311:11tn Heb “Because this is with you, and you have not kept my covenant and my rules which I commanded you.” 2411:13tn Heb “give.” 2511:14tn Or “raised up.” 2611:15tn Heb “when David was [fighting (?)] with Edom.” 2711:16tn Heb “and all Israel.” 2811:16tn Heb “until he had cut off every male in Edom.” 2911:17tn The MT reads “Adad,” an alternate form of the name Hadad. 3011:17tn Heb “and Adad fled, he and Edomite men from the servants of his father, to go to Egypt, and Hadad was a small boy.” 3111:18tn 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.” 3211:19tn Heb “and Hadad found great favor in the eyes of Pharaoh.” 3311:19tn Heb “and he gave to him a wife, the sister of his wife, the sister of Tahpenes the queen.” 3411:20tn Heb “bore him Genubath his son.” 3511:20tc 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. 3611:21tn Heb “lay down with his fathers.” 3711:21tn Heb “send me away.” 3811:22tn Heb “Indeed what do you lack with me, that now you are seeking to go to your land?” 3911:22tn Heb “and he said.” 4011:22sn 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. 4111:23tn Heb “him”; the referent (Solomon) has been specified in the translation for clarity. 4211:24tn Heb “and he was the officer of a raiding band.” 4311:24tn 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. 4411:25tn The construction (Qal of קוּץ + בְּ [quts + bet] preposition) is rare, but not without parallel (see Lev 20:23). 4511:26tn Heb “raised a hand against.” 4611:26tn Heb “Ephrathite,” which here refers to an Ephraimite (see HALOT 81 s.v. אֶפְרַיִם). 4711:27tn Heb “this is the matter concerning which he raised a hand against the king.” 4811:27sn 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. 4911:28tn Heb “man of strength.” 5011:28tn Heb “house.” 5111:29tn 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. 5211:30tn Heb “and Ahijah grabbed the new robe that was on him.” 5311:33tn The words “I am taking the kingdom from him” are supplied in the translation for clarification. 5411:33tc This is the reading of the MT; the LXX, Syriac, and Vulgate read “he has.” 5511:33tn Heb “walked in my ways.” 5611:33tn Heb “by doing what is right in my eyes, my rules and my regulations, like David his father.” 5711:35tn Heb “and I will give it to you, ten tribes.” 5811:36tn Heb “give.” 5911:36tn 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. 6011:36tn 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.” 6111:37tn Heb “take.” 6211:38tn 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. 6311:38tn Heb “walk in my ways.” 6411:38tn Heb “do what is right in my eyes.” 6511:38tn Heb “I will build for you a permanent house, like I built for David.” 6611:39sn Because of this. Reference is made to the idolatry mentioned earlier. 6711:39tn Heb “but not all the days.” 6811:40tn Heb “but Jeroboam arose and ran away to Egypt, to Shishak king of Egypt.” 6911:41tn 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?” 7011:42map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4. 7111:43tn Heb “lay down with his fathers.” 7211:43sn 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. 7311:43tc 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.”