For Solomon went after Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians, and after Milcom the abomination of the Ammonites. Solomon did that which was evil in Yahweh’s sight, and didn’t go fully after Yahweh, as David his father did. Then Solomon built a high place for Chemosh the abomination of Moab, on the mountain that is before Jerusalem, and for Molech the abomination of the children of Ammon. So he did for all his foreign wives, who burned incense and sacrificed to their gods.
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Now king Solomon loved many foreign women, together with the daughter of Pharaoh, women of the Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Sidonians, and Hittites; of the nations concerning which Yahweh said to the children of Israel, “You shall not go among them, neither shall they come among you; for surely they will turn away your heart after their gods.” Solomon joined to these in love. He had seven hundred wives, princesses, and three hundred concubines. His wives turned his heart away. When Solomon was old, his wives turned away his heart after other gods; and his heart was not perfect with Yahweh his God, as the heart of David his father was. For Solomon went after Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians, and after Milcom the abomination of the Ammonites. Solomon did that which was evil in Yahweh’s sight, and didn’t go fully after Yahweh, as David his father did. Then Solomon built a high place for Chemosh the abomination of Moab, on the mountain that is before Jerusalem, and for Molech the abomination of the children of Ammon. So he did for all his foreign wives, who burned incense and sacrificed to their gods. Yahweh was angry with Solomon, because his heart was turned away from Yahweh, the God of Israel, who had appeared to him twice, and had commanded him concerning this thing, that he should not go after other gods; but he didn’t keep that which Yahweh commanded. Therefore Yahweh said to Solomon, “Because this is done by you, and you have not kept my covenant and my statutes, which I have commanded you, I will surely tear the kingdom from you, and will give it to your servant. Nevertheless, I will not do it in your days, for David your father’s sake; but I will tear it out of your son’s hand. However I will not tear away all the kingdom; but I will give one tribe to your son, for David my servant’s sake, and for Jerusalem’s sake which I have chosen.”
Parallel Translations
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For Solomon went after Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians, and after Milcom the abomination of the Ammonites.
Solomon did that which was evil in Yahweh’s sight, and didn’t go fully after Yahweh, as David his father did.
Then Solomon built a high place for Chemosh the abomination of Moab, on the mountain that is before Jerusalem, and for Molech the abomination of the children of Ammon.
So he did for all his foreign wives, who burned incense and sacrificed to their gods.
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For Solomon went after Ashtoreth the goddess of the Zidonians, and after Milcom the abomination of the Ammonites.
And Solomon did evil in the sight of the LORD, and went not fully after the LORD, as did David his father.
Then did Solomon build an high place for Chemosh, the abomination of Moab, in the hill that is before Jerusalem, and for Molech, the abomination of the children of Ammon.
And likewise did he for all his strange wives, which burnt incense and sacrificed unto their gods.
Show all 3 translations
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For Solomon went after Ashtoreth the goddess of the Zidonians, and after Milcom the detestation of the Ammonites.
And Solomon did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD, and went not fully after the LORD, as did David his father.
Then did Solomon build a high place for Chemosh the detestation of Moab, in the mount that is before Jerusalem, and for Molech the detestation of the children of Ammon.
And so did he for all his foreign wives, who offered and sacrificed unto their gods.
Cross-references (45)
- Numbers 21:29 (v7) Woe to you, Moab! You are undone, people of Chemosh! He has given his sons as fugitives, and his daughters into captivity, to Sihon king of…
- Judges 2:13 (v5) They abandoned Yahweh, and served Baal and the Ashtaroth.
- 1 Kings 11:7 (v5) Then Solomon built a high place for Chemosh the abomination of Moab, on the mountain that is before Jerusalem, and for Molech the…
- Judges 11:24 (v7) Won’t you possess that which Chemosh your god gives you to possess? So whoever Yahweh our God has dispossessed from before us, them will we…
- 1 Kings 11:33 (v5) because that they have forsaken me, and have worshiped Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians, Chemosh the god of Moab, and Milcom the god…
Show all 44 cross-references
- 2 Kings 23:13 (v5) The king defiled the high places that were before Jerusalem, which were on the right hand of the mountain of corruption, which Solomon the…
- Numbers 14:24 (v6) But my servant Caleb, because he had another spirit with him, and has followed me fully, him I will bring into the land into which he went.…
- Judges 10:6 (v5) The children of Israel again did that which was evil in Yahweh’s sight, and served the Baals, the Ashtaroth, the gods of Syria, the gods of…
- 1 Samuel 7:3-4 (v5) Samuel spoke to all the house of Israel, saying, “If you are returning to Yahweh with all your heart, then put away the foreign gods and…
- Acts 7:43 (v7) You took up the tabernacle of Moloch, the star of your god Rephan, the figures which you made to worship. I will carry you away beyond…
- Leviticus 20:2-5 (vv5, 7) “Moreover, you shall tell the children of Israel, ‘Anyone of the children of Israel, or of the strangers who live as foreigners in Israel,…
- Genesis 33:2 (v7) He put the servants and their children in front, Leah and her children after, and Rachel and Joseph at the rear.
- Leviticus 18:21 (v5) “ ‘You shall not give any of your children as a sacrifice to Molech. You shall not profane the name of your God. I am Yahweh.
- Leviticus 26:30 (v7) I will destroy your high places, and cut down your incense altars, and cast your dead bodies upon the bodies of your idols; and my soul…
- Numbers 33:52 (v7) then you shall drive out all the inhabitants of the land from before you, destroy all their stone idols, destroy all their molten images,…
- Deuteronomy 13:14 (v7) then you shall inquire, investigate, and ask diligently. Behold, if it is true, and the thing certain, that such abomination was done among…
- Deuteronomy 17:3-4 (v7) and has gone and served other gods and worshiped them, or the sun, or the moon, or any of the stars of the sky, which I have not commanded,…
- Deuteronomy 27:15 (v7) ‘Cursed is the man who makes an engraved or molten image, an abomination to Yahweh, the work of the hands of the craftsman, and sets it up…
- Joshua 14:8 (v6) Nevertheless, my brothers who went up with me made the heart of the people melt; but I wholly followed Yahweh my God.
- Joshua 14:14 (v6) Therefore Hebron became the inheritance of Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite to this day, because he followed Yahweh, the God of…
- 1 Samuel 12:10 (v5) They cried to Yahweh, and said, ‘We have sinned, because we have forsaken Yahweh, and have served the Baals and the Ashtaroth: but now…
- 2 Samuel 15:30 (v7) David went up by the ascent of the Mount of Olives, and wept as he went up; and he had his head covered, and went barefoot. All the people…
- 1 Kings 11:1 (v8) Now king Solomon loved many foreign women, together with the daughter of Pharaoh, women of the Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Sidonians,…
- 2 Kings 21:2-3 (v7) He did that which was evil in Yahweh’s sight, after the abominations of the nations whom Yahweh cast out before the children of Israel. For…
- 2 Kings 23:10 (v7) He defiled Topheth, which is in the valley of the children of Hinnom, that no man might make his son or his daughter to pass through the…
- 2 Kings 23:13-14 (v7) The king defiled the high places that were before Jerusalem, which were on the right hand of the mountain of corruption, which Solomon the…
- Psalms 78:58 (v7) For they provoked him to anger with their high places, and moved him to jealousy with their engraved images.
- Isaiah 44:19 (v7) No one thinks, neither is there knowledge nor understanding to say, “I have burned part of it in the fire. Yes, I have also baked bread on…
- Jeremiah 2:10-13 (v5) For pass over to the islands of Kittim, and see. Send to Kedar, and consider diligently, and see if there has been such a thing. Has a…
- Jeremiah 48:13 (v7) Moab will be ashamed of Chemosh, as the house of Israel was ashamed of Bethel, their confidence.
- Ezekiel 16:22-29 (v8) In all your abominations and your prostitution you have not remembered the days of your youth, when you were naked and bare, and were…
- Ezekiel 18:12 (v7) has wronged the poor and needy, has taken by robbery, has not restored the pledge, and has lifted up his eyes to the idols, has committed…
- Ezekiel 20:28-29 (v7) For when I had brought them into the land which I swore to give to them, then they saw every high hill, and every thick tree, and they…
- Daniel 11:31 (v7) “Forces will stand on his part, and they will profane the sanctuary, even the fortress, and will take away the continual burnt offering.…
- Daniel 12:11 (v7) “From the time that the continual burnt offering is taken away, and the abomination that makes desolate set up, there will be one thousand…
- Hosea 4:11-12 (v8) Prostitution, wine, and new wine take away understanding. My people consult with their wooden idol, and answer to a stick of wood. Indeed…
- Zephaniah 1:5 (v5) those who worship the army of the sky on the housetops, those who worship and swear by Yahweh and also swear by Malcam,
- Zechariah 14:4 (v7) His feet will stand in that day on the Mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east; and the Mount of Olives will be split in…
- Matthew 26:30 (v7) When they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.
- Acts 1:9 (v7) When he had said these things, as they were looking, he was taken up, and a cloud received him out of their sight.
- Acts 1:12 (v7) Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mountain called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem, a Sabbath day’s journey away.
- 1 Corinthians 10:11-12 (v8) Now all these things happened to them by way of example, and they were written for our admonition, on whom the ends of the ages have come.…
- 1 Corinthians 10:20-22 (v8) But I say that the things which the Gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice to demons, and not to God, and I don’t desire that you would have…
- Revelation 17:4-5 (v7) The woman was dressed in purple and scarlet, and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls, having in her hand a golden cup full of…
44 distinct cross-references across this passage (45 total citations).
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this passage (18 sources)
Historical commentary, presented as a primary source — not an endorsement.
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Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain On vv5, 7 Who was also called Molech, verse 7, read 2…
Who was also called Molech, verse 7, read 2 Kings 23:10.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv5–8 1Ki 11:5 For Solomon went after Ashtoreth the goddess…
1Ki 11:5 For Solomon went after Ashtoreth the goddess of the Zidonians, and after Milcom the abomination of the Ammonites.
Ver. 5. For Solomon went after Ashtoreth,] i.e., Venus, as some will have it, or Juno, as others.
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And after Milcom,] i.e., Saturn, as it is thought. Hinc patet Solomonem vere coluisse idola, saith A Lapide: hence it appeareth that Solomon did indeed worship idols: yea, Pineda and Salianus say, that he sacrificed his sons to this Milcom or Moloch. But I cannot be of that mind. He gave way, indeed, to those idolatries, and built temples for those dunghill deities, &c., atque ita obnubilabat gloriae multiplices cursus, as Marcellinus saith of Julian, and thereby be much dishonoured and endangered himself; carnal love drowning his zeal to God.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain On vv5–8 Solomon went after Ashtoreth, in manner explained in the…
Solomon went after Ashtoreth, in manner explained in the former verse. Milcom, called also Molech; of which see Lev 18:21; 2Ki 23:10.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain On vv5–8 And Solomon went after Ashtoreth the goddess of the…
And Solomon went after Ashtoreth the goddess of the Zidonians,.... Enticed by the Zidonian women, or woman, he had, Kg1 11:1. According to the Phoenician histories (i), Solomon married a daughter of Hiram, king of Tyre and Zidon; so Clemens of Alexandria says (k), that Hiram gave his daughter to Solomon; Ashtoreth is Astarte, the same with the Venus of the Greeks, so Suidas (l); and Lucian (m) expressly says, the Sidonians had a temple, said by them to belong to Astarte, which he takes to be the moon; and both Venus and Juno signify the same planet; See Gill on Jdg 2:13.
and after Milcom the abomination of the Amnonites; the same with Molech, Kg1 11:7. See Gill on Lev 18:21. See Gill on Amo 1:13. After this he was drawn by his Ammonitish wife, or wives, Kg1 11:1, though the Jewish writers think he did not worship these idols, but suffered his wives to do it, and connived at it, which was his sin; so Ben Gersom and Abarbinel.
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(i) Apud Tatian. contr. Graecos, p. 171. (k) Stromat. l. 1. p. 325. (l) In voce (m) De Dea Syria.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain On vv5–8 Milcom - Called also Moloch.
Milcom - Called also Moloch.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On v7 Verse 7. The hill that is before Jerusalem] This…
Verse 7. The hill that is before Jerusalem] This was the Mount of Olives.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain On vv5, 8 1Ki 11:5-7. Solomon went after Ashtoreth — Called also…
1Ki 11:5-7. Solomon went after Ashtoreth — Called also Astarte. See on Jdg 2:13. And after Milcom — The same, it is thought, with Molech, who is here called an abomination, because highly detested by God. Solomon built a high place for Chemosh — That is, an altar upon a high place, as the manner of the heathen was. Concerning Chemosh, see Num 21:29. In the hill that is before Jerusalem — In the mount of Olives, which was nigh to Jerusalem, as if to confront the temple. From this act this hill was called the mount of corruption, 2Ki 23:13. O sad effects of riches and prosperity on mankind! How insolent do they make them, and how forgetful of God! Wisely did Agar pray, Give me not riches, lest I be full and say, Who is the Lord?
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain On vv5, 7 Went after - This expression is common in the…
Went after - This expression is common in the Pentateuch, and always signifies actual idolatry (see Deu 11:28; Deu 13:2; Deu 28:14, etc.).
For Ashtoreth, or Astarte, the goddess of the Zidonians, see Exo 34:13, note; Deu 16:21, note. On the tomb of a Phoenician king, discovered in 1855, on the site of Sidon, mention is made of a temple of Astarte there, which the monarch built or restored; and his mother is said to have been a priestess of the goddess.
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Milcom or Molech 1Ki 11:7 are variants of the term ordinarily used for “king” among the Semitic races of Western Asia, which appears in melkarth (Phoenic.), Abimelech (Hebrew), Andrammelek (Assyrian), Abd-ul-malik (Arabic), etc. On the character and worship of Molech, see Lev 20:2-5 note.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain On vv5, 7 Astarthe. Hebrew Hashtoreth, "ewes," is in the plural form,…
Astarthe. Hebrew Hashtoreth, "ewes," is in the plural form, as if to denote many idols. But the moon, or the queen of heaven, (Jeremias vii. 18.) is particularly designated, Judges ii. 12. (Haydock) --- Some explain it of Venus, (Sanctius) or Juno. (Tirinus) --- Moloch. Hebrew Molciom, (their king) "the abomination;" (Haydock) supposed to be the sun, (Sanctius) or saturn. (Tirinus) See 4 Kings xxiii. 10.
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain On vv5, 8 and Chemosh--He built altars for these three; but, although…
Ashtoreth--Astarte,
Milcom--Molech,
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and Chemosh--He built altars for these three; but, although he is described (Kg1 11:8) as doing the same for "all his strange wives," there is no evidence that they had idols distinct from these; and there is no trace whatever of Egyptian idolatry.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain On vv5, 7, 8 5. Went after — This expression seems to show…
5. Went after — This expression seems to show that Solomon was actually guilty of idolatry. Compare Deu_11:28; Deu_13:2; Deu_28:14. Yet the exact extent to which he went into idolatry is left uncertain. He probably never so far apostatized as to forget Jehovah, and neglect the ordinary service of the temple.
Ashtoreth — See on Jdg_2:13.
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Milcom — Called also Molech, (1Ki_11:7;) and Moloch. Amo_5:26. The fire god of the Ammonites, an abomination, particularly in that he was worshipped by the offering of human sacrifices. See on Lev_18:21.
Some have distinguished Milcom and Molech as two different deities, chiefly because of the difference in the names and because they seem, in 2Ki_23:10; 2Ki_23:13, to have been worshipped at two different places, the Mount of Olives and the Valley of Hinnom. But the similarity of the names, both from the same Hebrews root, (מלכם מלךְ,) is a stronger argument for their identity than the slight difference is for the contrary; and the same idol may have been worshipped in two different places near Jerusalem.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain On vv5, 7, 8 5. Ashtoreth the goddess of the Zidonians] Ashtoreth was…
5. Ashtoreth the goddess of the Zidonians] Ashtoreth was the chief female divinity of the Phœnicians, as Baal was their chief male deity. As Baal has been identified with the sun, so Ashtoreth has by some been thought to be the moon. Recent investigations have however connected the name of Ashtoreth with the planet Venus, and by some it is thought that the name was applied in some parts of the Phœnician settlements to Venus, in others to the moon. Ashtoreth is identified with the Greek Ἀστάρτη, and the name of an ancient city (Gen_14:5) Ashteroth-Karnaim, i.e. Ashteroth of the two horns, seems to point to the crescent moon. This is accepted by Milton (Par. L. I. 438).
‘Ashtoreth, whom the Phœnicians called
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Astartè, queen of heaven, with crescent horns
To whose bright image, nightly by the moon
Sidonian virgins paid their vows and songs.’
The worship of Ashtoreth was very widespread, as might be expected from the wide commercial relations, and distant colonies, of the Phœnicians. Why Ashtoreth is here named ‘goddess’ while the other deities are called ‘abominations’ may be due to the greater intercourse between Sidon and the Holy Land than existed with other countries. The Phœnician workmen at the Temple had perhaps caused the Israelites to become more accustomed to the name and worship of Ashtoreth.
Milcom the abomination of the Ammonites] This is the same divinity who is called below (1Ki_11:7) Molech, and in Zep_1:5 Malcham. Molech was a fire god, and was worshipped with human sacrifices. The root of the word is the same as that of the Hebrew word for ‘king.’ Hence some think ‘their king’ in 2Sa_12:30 means Molech, the god of the Ammonites. There are numerous allusions in the Old Test. to the worship of this god, the phrase most common being ‘to make their children to pass through the fire to Molech.’ See 2Ki_23:10; 2Ki_23:13. Some have explained this not as actual burning of the children to death, but as a passing of them between two fires for an ordeal of purification. But in 2Ch_28:3 it is said of Ahaz, ‘He burnt incense in the valley of the son of Hinnom, and burnt his children in the fire, after the abominations of the nations whom Jehovah had driven out.’ And the actual burning of the children thus offered is alluded to very plainly in Jer_7:31, ‘They have built the high places of Tophet, … to burn their sons and their daughters in the fire.’ The tradition is that the statue of Molech was of brass and the hands so arranged that the victim slipped from them into a fire which burnt underneath. It may be because there were no such sacrifices offered to Ashtoreth, that she is not spoken of as ‘an abomination.’
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain On vv5, 7, 8 (5) Ashtoreth (or, Astarte).—The goddess of the Zidonians, and…
(5) Ashtoreth (or, Astarte).—The goddess of the Zidonians, and possibly the Hittites, corresponding to Baal, the great Tyrian god, and representing the receptive and productive, as Baal the active and originative, power in Nature. As usual in all phases of Natureworship, Ashtoreth is variously represented, sometimes by the moon, sometimes by the planet Venus (like the Assyrian Ishtar, which seems a form of the same name)—in either case regarded as “the queen of heaven.” (See Jer_44:17; Jer_44:25). There seems, indeed, some reason to believe that the name itself is derived from a root which is found both in Syriac and Persian, and which became aster in the Greek and astrum in Latin, and has thence passed into modern European languages, signifying a “star,” or luminary of heaven. With this agrees the ancient name, Ashterôth-Karnaîm (or, “the horned Ashteroth”)of a city in Bashan (Gen_14:5; Deu_1:4; Jos_13:12). This place is the first in which the name Ashtoreth is used in the singular number, and expressly limited to the “goddess of the Ziaonians.” In the earlier history we hear not unfrequently of the worship of the “Ashtaroth,” that is, of the “Ashtoreths,” found with the like plural Baalim, as prevalent in Canaan, and adopted by Israel in evil times (see Jdg_2:13; Jdg_10:6; 1Sa_7:3; 1Sa_12:10; 1Sa_31:10); and the worship of the Asherah (rendered “groves” in the Authorised version), may perhaps refer to emblems of Astarte. In these cases, however, it seems not unlikely that the phrase, “Baalim and Ashtaroth,” may be used generally of the gods and goddesses of various kinds of idolatry. The worship of the Tyrian Ashtoreth, as might be supposed from the idea which she was supposed to represent, was one of chartered license and impurity.
Milcom, the abomination of the Ammonites.—The name Milcom (like the Malcham of Jer_49:1; Jer_49:3) is probably only a variety of the well-known Molech, which is actually used for it in 1Ki_11:7. The name “Molech” (though here connected expressly with the Ammonite idolatry) is a general title, signifying only “king” (as Baal signifies “lord”), and might be applied to the supreme god of any idolatrous system. Thus the worship of “Molech,” with its horrible sacrifice of children “passing through the fire,” is forbidden in Lev_18:21; Lev_20:2, evidently as prevailing among the Canaanite races (comp. Psa_106:37-38). Again, we know historically that similar sacrifice of children, by the same horrible rite, was practised by the Carthaginians in times of great national calamity—the god being in that case identified with Saturn, the star of malign influence. By comparison of Jer_7:31; Jer_19:5-6, it is very evident that this human sacrifice to Molech is also called “a burnt-offering to Baal;” and if Molech was the “fire-god,” and Baal the “sun-god,” the two deities might easily be regarded as cognate, if not identical. It is notable that, in this place, while Ashtoreth is mentioned, there is no reference to any worship of the Phœnician Baal as such; possibly the Ammonite Molech-worship may have occupied its place. In any case, as the worship of Ashtoreth was stained with impurity, so the Molech-worship was marked by the other foul pollution of the sacrifice of human blood.
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Chemosh, the abomination of the Moabites.—The name Chemosh probably means “the Conqueror,” or “Subjugator,” and indicates a god of battles. He is again and again described as the god of the Moabites who are called “the people of Chemosh” (see Num_21:29; Jer_48:7; Jer_48:13; Jer_48:46); and the Moabite Stone speaks of the slain in war as an offering to Chemosh, and even refers to a deity, “Ashtar-Chemosh,” which looks like a conjunction of Chemosh, like Baal, with Ashtoreth. In Jdg_11:24, Jephthah refers to Chemosh as the god of the Ammonite king, an expression which may indicate a temporary supremacy of Moab over Ammon at that time, through which the name “Chemosh” superseded the name “Milcom” as descriptive of the Supreme Power. In the history, moreover, of the Moabite war against Jehoram (2Ki_3:26-27) it seems that to Chemosh, as to Molech, human sacrifice was offered.
Probably, in actual practice the various worships of the Tyrians and Canaanites, the Ammonites and the Moabites might run into each other. Unlike the awful and exclusive reverence to the Lord Jehovah, the devotion of polytheistic systems readily welcomes strange gods into its Pantheon. Polytheism is also apt to pass into what has been called “Henotheism,” in which, of many gods each is for the moment worshipped, as if he stood alone, and concentrated in himself the whole attributes of deity. The generality and similarity of meaning in the names, Baal (“lord”), Molech (“king”), and Chemosh (“conqueror”), seem to point in this direction. Still, these worships are described as taking, in Jerusalem, distinct forms and habitations, which continued till the days of Josiah (2Ki_23:13), no doubt disused and condemned in days of religious faithfulness, such as those of Jehoshapliat and Hezekiah, but revived, and associated with newer idolatries, in days of apostasy.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain On vv5–8 For Solomon went after Rawlinson observes that this expression,…
For Solomon went after Rawlinson observes that this expression, which is "common in the Pentateuch, always signifies actual idolatry." He cites. Deu_11:28 Deu_13:2 Deu_28:14; but it should be considered that in the two passages last cited the words are added, "and served them." And the true explanation would seem to be that, though "it is not stated that Solomon himself offered sacrifice to these idols," yet "even the building of altars for idols was a participation in idolatry, which was irreconcilable with true fidelity to the Lord" (Keil) Bahr contends that the words "went after Ashtoreth," etc., no more involve personal service than the word "built" in ver. 7 involves personal labour; but both expressions show that he regarded these idolatries not only without disfavour, but with positive approval and practical encouragement. "It is not likely he could be so insensate as to adore such deities, but so far was the uxorious king blinded with affection, that he gave not passage only to the idolatry of his heathenish wives, but furtherance" (Bp. Hall). And the distinction, so far as the sin is concerned, between this and actual idolatry is a fine one. It is not implied, however, that Solomon ever discarded the worship of Jehovah. To the end of his reign he would seem to have offered his solemn sacrifices on the great altar thrice a year. But his heart was elsewhere (ver. 9). Ashtoreth the goddess of the Zidonians trTov jAstarth, probably connected with ajsthr, stella, and star, by some identified with the planet Venus, by others with the moon, is here mentioned for the first time in the singular (Ashtaroth, plural, is found in Gen_14:5; Jud_1:2:13 10:6; 1Sa_7:4 1Sa_12:10, etc.) With Baal, she divided the worship of the Phoenicians, the antiquity of which is evident from Gen_14:5; Num_22:41. It was really an impure cultus of the reproductive powers (see below on 14:23). Interesting proof of the existence of a temple of this goddess at Sidon is supplied by an inscription discovered there in 1855 (see Dict. Bib. 1:123), and after Milcom In Jer_49:13; Amo_1:15, "Malcam," i.e., their king. According to Gesenius, the same as Molech (i.e. , the king) in ver. 7, though Ewald, Movers, Keil regard them as different deities. But it seems more probable that it was the same deity, worshipped (2Ki_23:10, 2Ki_23:13) under different attributes. This is "the first direct historical allusion" to his worship in the Old Testament. A warning against it is found Lev_20:2-5. He was the fire god, as Baal was the sun god, and the sacrifices offered to him were those of children, who would seem to have not only "passed through the fire," but to have been burnt therein. Psa_106:37, Psa_106:38; Jer_7:31 Jer_19:5 Eze_23:39, etc. See Dict. Bib. 2:403 the abomination i.e., the hateful, detestable idol of the Ammonites. It has been suggested (Speaker"s Commentary on Lev_20:2) that the children offered to Molech were children of incest or adultery., and we are reminded that Ammon was the child of incest. It must he remembered, however, that we have no record of Jewish children passing through the fire to Molech before the time of Ahaz (Bahr, Keil).
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain On vv6–7 Solomon did evil in the sight of the Lord.
1Ki_11:6
Solomon did evil in the sight of the Lord.
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Solomon the brilliant failure
The character of Solomon is unique--one of the loftiest and saddest of the sacred volume. Grand in its stately strength and towering height--sad in its demoralisation and fall. A morning fair and bright as ever dawned on mortal vision--high noon golden and glowing, flashing its glories far and wide--an evening clouded and mournful, with wailing winds and muttering thunders. Is it not the type of many another life? What were the causes that produced this mournful decline, and overhung with darkest clouds the closing years of a life beginning with such high promise? We approach this question with the more eager interest, because the principles upon which character is built, and the influences effecting its demoralisation, are generically the same in all ages. Men are rotting inwardly to-day, and the pillars of their characters crumbling to decay, from the very same influences that wrought the ruin of Solomon. Moreover, this fact of the decline and fall of character, once lofty and apparently strong, is but the commonest occurrence in modern society. We do well to study its insidious causes.
1. First, then, the superior endowments of Solomon became a snare to him, as they are liable to prove to every gifted nature. Great talents involve great liabilities. Every being is subject to inexorable laws, which cannot be violated with impunity; God secures no man from the legitimate penalties of their violation. One of these laws is that which requires the improvement of talent as a necessary condition of increasing or even retaining it. When God gave Solomon that priceless largess of wisdom He did not exempt him from this law, nor take the work of preserving his character and insuring his ultimate well-being into his own hands. It is a fatal delusion that there is a mysterious gift of God, called Grace, which allows a man to sleep on the lap of some fair Delilah, without being shorn of the locks of his strength--a magic power that holds a man to the right against his own deliberate choice.
2. Another cause wrought with insidious influence to effect his overthrow. Solomon was the dupe of that prince of deceptive devils, misnamed Policy. It was from motives of policy, doubtless, that he entered into alliance with Egypts king; it was from motives of policy that he married the daughter of that king, and took to his bosom his first heathen wife. Did ever man or woman marry from policy--political, financial, or social interest--that in the end did not find it the most miserable policy that ever mortal pursued, yielding its bitter fruits of sorrow and sin? There is but one bond that can ever bind two human hearts together in union strong and holy enough for the marriage relation; and that golden bond is Love--true, pure, uncalculating, heaven-born love.
3. In estimating the causes of Solomons decline, we must also remember the danger that attends great worldly prosperity. Human nature is too weak to bear, unharmed, great elevation. Dazzled and blinded by the splendour of rank and honour and power and wealth, man reels and falls from the giddy height.
4. But finally Solomon fell, a willing victim to the seductive charms of pleasure and carnal indulgence. One sentence of the Inspired Volume reveals to us this fatal cause: Solomon loved many strange women: . . . his wives turned away his heart after other gods; and his heart was not perfect with the Lord his God. Of all the insidious, corrupting, dangerous influences that ever wrought the ruin of man, the influence of a bad woman is the most fatal and irremediable. How powerless are reason and learning to preserve character in the light of such a history as this! How weak is human nature in its best and strongest estate! Who can trust his own heart when such as Solomon fall? Can you, young man? Are you stronger, safer than he, leaning on that broken staff? Let us learn to beware of the beginnings of sin. Not suddenly did this mighty prince fall. Young man, take care that no worm secretly gnaws at the staff of support on which you lean. What of Solomons final state? Saved or lost? The good God only knows. In the series of frescoes on the walls of the Campo Santo, at Pisa, he is represented, in the resurrection, as looking doubtfully to the right and to the left, not knowing on which side his lot will be east. If he wrote the Book of Ecclesiastes, as it is probable he did, he saw at least the folly of his sins. Let us listen to the deep-toned voice of warning that comes to us from his inspired wisdom--sadly illustrated by his uninspired life--Fear God, and keep His commandments. (C. H. Payne, D. D.)
Solomons fall
I. Neither age nor experience brings any release to a man from his exposure to sin. For it came to pass, when Solomon was old, that his wives turned away his heart after other gods. There is no fool worse than an old fool. Wise man it was who said, Count no one safe or happy till he dies.
II. It is possible for even a devout man to become a practical idolater in his secret heart. For Solomon went after Ashtoreth, the goddess of the Zidonians. We are solemnly warned against idols in our hearts, three times in one chapter, by a prophet. Idolatry is still a possible sin to dread.
III. Progress by steps of persistent advance into deeper sin may always be expected when one has taken quick start away from the right and towards wrong. Then did Solomon build a high place for Chemosh, the abomination of Moab, etc. There is nothing more to be feared than the unperceived inroad of what might be termed a little sin. The old parable relates that the trees of the forest once held a solemn parliament, wherein they consulted concerning the innumerable wrongs which the axe, first and last, had done unto them and their neighbours. They insisted that this dangerous implement of steel had no power of its own; and they therefore instantly passed an enactment that no tree should hereafter be allowed to furnish any blade with a helve on pain of being itself cut down to the root. So the axe journeyed through the forests, begging but a bit of wood from the oak, from the ash, from the cedar, from the elm, from even the willow and the poplar; but a stern denial met it at each turn; not one would lend it so much as a splinter from its branches. At last, it desired just this small indulgence: give it but a chip--a mere handle with which it could trim away useless boughs, or cut off briers and bushes, for such suckers, as was well known, only used up the juices of the ground; they always hindered the growth of any thrifty tree and obscured its fairness and beauty. The forest win, impressed with such moderation in the argument; it agreed that the axe in this instance might be supplied with one fragment which a storm had riven from an unfortunate sapling--a mere little stick, lying there, which no one prized and no one dreaded. But the instant that keen edge of steel was fitted with any sort of a handle, it struck off the branch of a sturdy oak at a stroke, then hewed itself a new helve at its will; and down went the elms, over toppled the cedars, and the hills grew bare as never before. The time for all defence was passed when the forest surrendered.
IV. The guilt of all transgression is in the sight of a holy god aggravated by past warnings given. And the Lord was angry with Solomon, because his heart was turned from the Lord God of Israel, etc.
V. Retribution gathers up the entire history of the sinner, even if it is discharged in one act. Wherefore the Lord said unto Solomon, Forasmuch as this is done of thee, and thou has not kept My covenant and My statutes which I have commanded thee, I will surely rend the kingdom from thee, and will give it to thy servant. Henceforward it would do no good for this rejected monarch to awake himself to paternal zeal, and try to build up the fortunes of his shattered realm for his children. It is often worth while to attempt to avert a great catastrophe; but one of the punishments sometimes inflicted for sin is the denial to the sinners of all success in after usefulness.
VI. It may be possible to misunderstand and even pervert Gods forbearance into excuse for further sin. Notwithstanding, in thy days I will not do it for David thy fathers sake: but I will rend it out of the hand of thy sore Howbeit, I will not rend away all the kingdom; but will give one tribe to thy son, for David My servants sake, and for Jerusalems sake which I have chosen. On the shore of eternal history stands this beacon-light for human warning. The wisest man in the world lived to behave like a fool! ( C. S. Robinson, D. D.)
Solomons, life; its spiritual significance
I. The co-existence of good and evil in the same human soul. So long as we are in this world, this is more or less the case with the best of us; evil is not perhaps entirely subdued, until this mortal puts on immortality. In heaven evil is not found in alliance with good in any heart, nor in hell is good found in alliance with evil. Their co-existence is only in the human heart, whilst here. This fact should always be recognised by us in estimating the characters of our fellow-men. A man is not to be pronounced utterly bad because he has committed a wrong, nor completely good because he has performed some virtuous deeds. Who can understand his errors? Cleanse Thou us from secret faults.
II. The energy of the degenerating tendency in human nature. There seems to be in all men a something, call it original sin, depravity, or what you like, which urges to the wrong; a law in the members warring against the laws of the Spirit. You see this force in the case of Solomon. It was in him stronger than three things.
1. It was stronger than the influence of parental piety.
2. The degenerating force within him proved stronger even than his own religious convictions.
3. It proved stronger, moreover, than his own clearest conceptions of duty.
III. The utter insufficiency of all earthly good to satisfy the mind. I said in my heart, go to now, I will prove thee with mirth, therefore enjoy pleasure: and behold this also is vanity.
IV. The superiority of true thoughts to all the other productions of man. Solomon was an active man, and accomplished many material works while here; but what were they all compared with his thoughts contained in the Book of Proverbs?
1. What are they as to their utility?
2. What are they as to their duration? Where now is his throne of ivory and gold? etc. (Homilist.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
C. I. Scofield 1917 · Public Domain On v5 1Ki 11:33. (See Scofield "Jdg 2:13").
Ashtoreth
1Ki 11:33. (See Scofield "Jdg 2:13").
The Scofield Reference Bible (1917 edition), notes by C. I. Scofield — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv5, 7 Ashtoreth ... Molech
Ashtoreth ... Molech
These are the names of false gods. (See: How to Translate Names)
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Sidonians
This is the name of a people group. (See: How to Translate Names)
he followed Molech
Some version render this as "Milcom." (See: How to Translate Names)
what was evil in the sight of Yahweh
The phrase, "in the sight of" refers to someone's opinion. AT: "what Yahweh considered to be evil" (See: Metaphor)
translationWords
false god
evil
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv5, 7 11:5 Ashtoreth, the Canaanite goddess of love and war,…
11:5 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; see Lev 20:1-5; 2 Kgs 16:3; 23:5-10; Jer 7:30-33; 19:4-6; 32:35), which the writer properly denounces as detestable.
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.