ESV Global Study Bible :: Footnotes for 1 Kings 11

1 Kings 11:1–43 Throughout chs. 1–10 there have been hints that all is not well with Solomon’s heart. Now comes the inevitable conclusion: Solomon’s sins have led him to apostasy.

1 Kings 11:1–4 Solomon loved many foreign women . . . clung to these in love. Solomon loved the Lord (3:3). But he also loved the daughter of Pharaoh and many other women. Solomon’s heart was divided.

1 Kings 11:5 Ashtoreth is the biblical name for Astarte. At ancient Ugarit in Syria, the planet Venus was worshiped as Astarte. Milcom was a god of the underworld.

1 Kings 11:7–8 The worship of other gods at high places is a key concern in 1–2 Kings (e.g., 1 Kings 12:25–33; 14:23; 16:31–33). Chemosh was the chief god of the Moabites. Molech may be the same as Milcom in 11:5. The Bible associates Molech with child sacrifice (e.g., Lev. 18:21; 2 Kings 16:3; Jer. 32:35).

1 Kings 11:9–13 the Lord was angry with Solomon. . . . I will surely tear the kingdom from you. This is what 2:4; 8:25;; 9:4–5 have led the reader to expect. Yet, while punishing Solomon and his kingdom, the Lord will show mercy: I will not do it in your days (11:12). . . . I will not tear away all the kingdom. And, one tribe will remain for the sake of David my servant and for the sake of Jerusalem that I have chosen (v. 13).

1 Kings 11:14–25 Two men are raised up by God to oppose Solomon: Rezon from the north and Hadad from the south. Where the king once had peace on all sides (5:4), he now finds enemies.

1 Kings 11:26–33 Solomon’s most significant enemy was Jeroboam the son of Nebat. He was the former superintendent of the forced labor of the house of Joseph, those who had been helping with the construction work in Jerusalem (vv. 27–28). He was met outside the city by the prophet Ahijah (v. 29) with a prophecy concerning the kingship. The garment here is divided into 12 pieces, of which ten, symbolizing 10 northern tribes, are given to Jeroboam (vv. 30–31). One tribe is to remain for the sake of David and Jerusalem (that is, Judah). The tribe Benjamin is not included (see 12:21), perhaps because it was regarded as part of Judah’s territory.

1 Kings 11:34–39 a lamp before me in Jerusalem. Solomon will lose no tribes during his lifetime. His son is to have one tribe, to preserve the line of Davidic kings.

1 Kings 11:43 slept with his fathers. See note on 2:10. Almost all Israelite burials were in multichambered, rock-hewn tombs carved into hillsides. They were probably used as family tombs, so that even in death family ties were emphasized.