1Ki 11:1-8 | TNotes | STEP | Summary for 1Kgs 11:1-3: 11:1-3 In spite of his God-given wisdom, Solomon blatantly violated the law of Moses with his excessive wealth and many wives (see Exod 34:12-17 ; Deut 7:3-4 ; 17:17 ). Taking wives to form foreign alliances compromised Solomon’s spiritual commitment, as predicted, and turned his heart away from the Lord . The spiritual and political consequences for his people were disastrous (see 1 Kgs 11:4-13 ; 12:4 , 16 ; 2 Kgs 17:5-23 ; 25:1-23 ).

Summary for 1Kgs 11:1-3: 11:1-3 ^a In spite of his God-given wisdom, Solomon blatantly violated the law of Moses with his excessive wealth and many wives (see Exod 34:12-17 ^b; Deut 7:3-4 ^c; 17:17 ^d). Taking wives to form foreign alliances compromised Solomon’s spiritual commitment, as predicted, and turned his heart away from the Lord. The spiritual and political consequences for his people were disastrous (see 1 Kgs 11:4-13 ^e; 12:4 ^f, 16 ^g; 2 Kgs 17:5-23 ^h; 25:1-23 ⁱ).
Summary for 1Kgs 11:4-8: 11:4-8 ^j instead of being completely faithful: Although David had committed grievous sin, he genuinely repented when rebuked by God’s prophet (2 Sam 11:1–12:23 ^k; Ps 51:1-4 ^l). However, Solomon failed to heed God’s warnings (1 Kgs 3:14 ^m; 6:12-13 ⁿ; 9:4-9 ^o) or to learn from Israel’s past; instead, he reproduced their sins.
11:5 ^p Ashtoreth, the Canaanite goddess of love and war, was widely worshiped in the ancient Near East under names such as Ishtar and Astarte. The cult practices associated with Astarte were transmitted to the Greek world in the worship of the goddess Aphrodite.

• Rites in the worship of Molech, the god of the Ammonites, included sacrificing children by fire (11:7 ^q; see Lev 20:1-5 ^r; 2 Kgs 16:3 ^s; 23:5-10 ^t; Jer 7:30-33 ^u; 19:4-6 ^v; 32:35 ^w), which the writer properly denounces as detestable.
11:7 ^x The Moabite god Chemosh is mentioned on the Mesha Stela (Moabite Stone) detailing the Moabite-Israelite conflict (see 2 Kgs 3 ^y).