1 Kings 11:5
in 1 Kings 11Solomon followed Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians and Milcom the abomination of the Ammonites.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
For Solomon went after Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians, and after Milcom the abomination of the Ammonites.
KJV
For Solomon went after Ashtoreth the goddess of the Zidonians, and after Milcom the abomination of the Ammonites.
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This verse in 1 Kings 11
Commentary
5 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
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.
This site's exposition
his wives turned away his heart
on 1 Kings 11:4-6
The verdict is comparative rather than absolute: his heart was not perfect with the Lord his God, as was the heart of David his father, and Solomon went not fully after the Lord, as did David. David's own failures are on record earlier in the history, so the measure is not sinlessness but wholeness of devotion, a heart not divided between the Lord and Ashtoreth and Milcom. Old age is named as the setting, the slow accumulation of seven hundred compromises rather than one sudden fall.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
A commentator
Philoxenus of Mabbug13 Ascetic Discourses, Discourse 11 -- On Abstinence · Written before 523.
proposed
Now this is the first lust which conquered the world, and because of it the first transgression of the law took place. And by its exceeding dainties Solomon also was led into the error of idols. And even to-day it corrupteth every thing, for because …
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
And Solomon went after Ashtoreth the goddess of the Zidonians,.... Enticed by the Zidonian women, or woman, he had, 1Ki 11:
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
Ashtoreth--Astarte, Milcom--Molech, and Chemosh--He built altars for these three; but, although he is described (1Ki 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.
The words behind it
10 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיֵּ֣לֶךְ | vaiyelekh | and he walked | H1980 → | 1546 times |
| שְׁלֹמֹ֔ה | shelomoh | Solomon | H8010 → | 291 times |
| אַחֲרֵ֣י | ʾacharei | after | H310 → | 715 times |
| עַשְׁתֹּ֔רֶת | ʾashtoret | Astarte | H6253 → | |
| אֱלֹהֵ֖י | ʾelohei | [the] god of | H430 → | 2601 times |
| צִדֹנִ֑ים | tzidonim | [the] Sidonians | H6722 → | 16 times |
| וְאַחֲרֵ֣י | veacharei | and after | H310 → | 715 times |
| מִלְכֹּ֔ם | milkom | Milcom | H4445 → | |
| שִׁקֻּ֖ץ | shikutz | [the] detestable thing of | H8251 → | 28 times |
| עַמֹּנִֽים׃ | ʾamonim | [the] Ammonites | H5984 → | 21 times |
וַיֵּ֣לֶךְand he walked
vaiyelekhH1980 →1546 times
שְׁלֹמֹ֔הSolomon
shelomohH8010 →291 times
אַחֲרֵ֣יafter
ʾachareiH310 →715 times
עַשְׁתֹּ֔רֶתAstarte
ʾashtoretH6253 →
אֱלֹהֵ֖י[the] god of
ʾeloheiH430 →2601 times
צִדֹנִ֑ים[the] Sidonians
tzidonimH6722 →16 times
וְאַחֲרֵ֣יand after
veachareiH310 →715 times
מִלְכֹּ֔םMilcom
milkomH4445 →
שִׁקֻּ֖ץ[the] detestable thing of
shikutzH8251 →28 times
עַמֹּנִֽים׃[the] Ammonites
ʾamonimH5984 →21 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
2 Kings 23:13The king also desecrated the high places east of Jerusalem, to the south of the Mount of Corruption, which King Solomon of Israel had built for Ashtoreth the abomination of the Sidonians, for Chemosh…
it leads to
- 1 Kings 11:7
At that time on a hill east of Jerusalem, Solomon built a high place for Chemosh the abomination of Moab and for Molech the abomination of the Ammonites.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- 1 Kings 11:7
Through
1 Kings 11:7At that time on a hill east of Jerusalem, Solomon built a high place for Chemosh the abomination of Moab and for Molech the abomination of the Ammonites.
it leads to
- Numbers 21:29
Woe to you, O Moab! You are destroyed, O people of Chemosh! He gave up his sons as refugees, and his daughters into captivity to Sihon king of the Amorites.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Judges 11:24
Do you not possess whatever your god Chemosh grants you? So also, we possess whatever the LORD our God has granted us.
- Numbers 21:29
Through
Judges 10:6And again the Israelites did evil in the sight of the LORD. They served the Baals, the Ashtoreths, the gods of Aram, Sidon, and Moab, and the gods of the Ammonites and Philistines. Thus…
it leads to
- 2 Kings 23:13
The king also desecrated the high places east of Jerusalem, to the south of the Mount of Corruption, which King Solomon of Israel had built for Ashtoreth the abomination of the Sidonians, for Chemosh…
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- 1 Kings 11:33
For they have forsaken Me to worship Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians, Chemosh the god of the Moabites, and Milcom the god of the Ammonites. They have not walked in My ways, nor…
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- 2 Kings 23:13
Through
Judges 2:13for they forsook Him and served Baal and the Ashtoreths.
it leads to
- Psalms 106:36
They worshiped their idols, which became a snare to them.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Judges 10:6
And again the Israelites did evil in the sight of the LORD. They served the Baals, the Ashtoreths, the gods of Aram, Sidon, and Moab, and the gods of the Ammonites and Philistines. Thus…
- Psalms 106:36
Through
1 Kings 11:33For they have forsaken Me to worship Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians, Chemosh the god of the Moabites, and Milcom the god of the Ammonites. They have not walked in My ways, nor…
it leads to
- 1 Kings 11:9
Now the LORD grew angry with Solomon, because his heart had turned away from the LORD, the God of Israel, who had appeared to him twice.
- 1 Kings 11:9
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
About 1 Kings
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Keil, The Books of the Kings and Philoxenus of Mabbug, 13 Ascetic Discourses, Discourse 11 -- On Abstinence.