Solomon's reign involves both considerable knowledge and wisdom. We have reached the height of Solomon's reign, indeed, the height of Israel's power and influence. The writer of the scroll of Kings has summarized Solomon's wealth and now leads us into the downside of his reign. (In an attempt to keep up with the events of the Old Testament, I mark eleven here as a bad number -- David's reign goes downhill in the eleventh chapter of 2 Samuel and the eleventh chapter of 1 Kings describes the decay of a once humble Solomon.)
I Kings 11: 1-3, 700 wives, 300 concubines
King Solomon, however, loved many foreign women besides Pharaoh's daughter--Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Sidonians and Hittites. They were from nations about which the LORD had told the Israelites, "You must not intermarry with them, because they will surely turn your hearts after their gods." Nevertheless, Solomon held fast to them in love. He had seven hundred wives of royal birth and three hundred concubines, and his wives led him astray.
Solomon's extravagance extends to his harem, to his wives and concubines. His "love" for them translates into accommodating their religious practices.
It is ironic that with one thousand wives and concubines, we have only three recorded children of Solomon: Rehoboam (probably his oldest son) who succeeded him, and two daughters, Tapath and Basemath, married to Israelite governors (1 Kings 4: 11-15.)
I Kings 11: 4-6, Ashtoreth and Molech,
As Solomon grew old, his wives turned his heart after other gods, and his heart was not fully devoted to the LORD his God, as the heart of David his father had been. He followed Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians, and Molech the detestable god of the Ammonites.
So Solomon did evil in the eyes of the LORD; he did not follow the LORD completely, as David his father had done.
The effect of a thousand lovers is that Solomon allows their many gods into his house and heart, breaking the covenant with YHWH.
I Kings 11: 7-10, Turned away from YHWH
On a hill east of Jerusalem, Solomon built a high place for Chemosh the detestable god of Moab, and for Molech the detestable god of the Ammonites. He did the same for all his foreign wives, who burned incense and offered sacrifices to their gods.
The LORD became angry with Solomon because his heart had turned away from the LORD, the God of Israel, who had appeared to him twice. Although he had forbidden Solomon to follow other gods, Solomon did not keep the LORD's command.
Solomon goes beyond mere accommodation, building an altar to Chemosh and Molech on a hill east of Jerusalem. The author notes that this had occurred even though YHWH had twice appeared to Solomon.
I Kings 11: 11-13, Torn away
So the LORD said to Solomon, "Since this is your attitude and you have not kept my covenant and my decrees, which I commanded you, I will most certainly tear the kingdom away from you and give it to one of your subordinates. Nevertheless, for the sake of David your father, I will not do it during your lifetime. I will tear it out of the hand of your son.
Yet I will not tear the whole kingdom from him, but will give him one tribe for the sake of David my servant and for the sake of Jerusalem, which I have chosen."
Solomon is told that the kingdom will be taken from him, but after his death. This means the kingdom will be split up. The one tribe that remains is Judah.
Meanwhile, Solomon has made some enemies. Three of them are described below.
I Kings 11: 14-16, Hadah
Then the LORD raised up against Solomon an adversary, Hadad the Edomite, from the royal line of Edom.
Earlier when David was fighting with Edom, Joab the commander of the army, who had gone up to bury the dead, had struck down all the men in Edom. Joab and all the Israelites stayed there for six months, until they had destroyed all the men in Edom.
An old feud rises up, between a descendant of Edom/Esau and Solomon. Joab, David's commander, had previously destroyed the army of Edom. (Edom would have controlled a region on the southeast corner of the Dead Sea.)
I Kings 11: 17-20, Prospering in Egypt
But Hadad, still only a boy, fled to Egypt with some Edomite officials who had served his father. They set out from Midian and went to Paran. Then taking men from Paran with them, they went to Egypt, to Pharaoh king of Egypt, who gave Hadad a house and land and provided him with food.
Pharaoh was so pleased with Hadad that he gave him a sister of his own wife, Queen Tahpenes, in marriage. The sister of Tahpenes bore him a son named Genubath, whom Tahpenes brought up in the royal palace. There Genubath lived with Pharaoh's own children.
Hadad, as a boy, flees from the Joab massacre. Welcomed by Pharaoh, Hadad now has some power and probably has sights on the throne of Israel.
I Kings 11: 21-22, Return to Israel
While he was in Egypt, Hadad heard that David rested with his fathers and that Joab the commander of the army was also dead. Then Hadad said to Pharaoh, "Let me go, that I may return to my own country."
"What have you lacked here that you want to go back to your own country?" Pharaoh asked.
"Nothing," Hadad replied, "but do let me go!"
Hearing that both David and Joab are dead, Hadad returns to Israel.
I Kings 11: 23-25, Another adversary
And God raised up against Solomon another adversary, Rezon son of Eliada, who had fled from his master, Hadadezer king of Zobah. He gathered men around him and became the leader of a band of rebels when David destroyed the forces [of Zobah]; the rebels went to Damascus, where they settled and took control.
Rezon was Israel's adversary as long as Solomon lived, adding to the trouble caused by Hadad. So Rezon ruled in Aram and was hostile toward Israel.
Rezon, in Damascus, is also a foe of Solomon. Solomon then had foes to the northeast (Damascus) and southeast (Edom.)
I Kings 11: 26-33, Abijah speaks to Jeroboam
Also, Jeroboam son of Nebat rebelled against the king. He was one of Solomon's officials, an Ephraimite from Zeredah, and his mother was a widow named Zeruah.
Here is the account of how he rebelled against the king: Solomon had built the supporting terraces and had filled in the gap in the wall of the city of David his father. Now Jeroboam was a man of standing, and when Solomon saw how well the young man did his work, he put him in charge of the whole labor force of the house of Joseph.
About that time Jeroboam was going out of Jerusalem, and Ahijah the prophet of Shiloh met him on the way, wearing a new cloak. The two of them were alone out in the country, and Ahijah took hold of the new cloak he was wearing and tore it into twelve pieces.
Then he said to Jeroboam, "Take ten pieces for yourself, for this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: `See, I am going to tear the kingdom out of Solomon's hand and give you ten tribes. But for the sake of my servant David and the city of Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, he will have one tribe. I will do this because they have forsaken me and worshiped Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians, Chemosh the god of the Moabites, and Molech the god of the Ammonites, and have not walked in my ways, nor done what is right in my eyes, nor kept my statutes and laws as David, Solomon's father, did.
Jeroboam, a man of standing in Solomon's court, is told by Abijah, "the prophet of Shiloh", that he will receive ten of the twelve tribes.
(NIV footnotes: as before, the Hebrew word millo, translated "supporting terraces" is unclear.)
I Kings 11: 34-40, Ten tribes and one tribe
" `But I will not take the whole kingdom out of Solomon's hand; I have made him ruler all the days of his life for the sake of David my servant, whom I chose and who observed my commands and statutes. I will take the kingdom from his son's hands and give you ten tribes. I will give one tribe to his son so that David my servant may always have a lamp before me in Jerusalem, the city where I chose to put my Name.
However, as for you, I will take you, and you will rule over all that your heart desires; you will be king over Israel. If you do whatever I command you and walk in my ways and do what is right in my eyes by keeping my statutes and commands, as David my servant did, I will be with you. I will build you a dynasty as enduring as the one I built for David and will give Israel to you. I will humble David's descendants because of this, but not forever.'"
Solomon tried to kill Jeroboam, but Jeroboam fled to Egypt, to Shishak the king, and stayed there until Solomon's death.
Abijah says that David's descendants will be humbled but that this is to be temporary; the Davidic/Solomon dynasty will endure forever.
Solomon, apparently aware of the threat from Jeroboam, tries to kill him, but Jeroboam flees.
We have some discrepancy on the tribes that stay with Solomon's dynasty. Is it one, Judah? Or two? We will look at this in the next chapter.
Hubbard argues that Shishak is the same king as Shoshenq 1, founder of the Twenty-Second Dynasty in Egypt, and the successor to the pharaoh of 1 Kings 3: 1, whose daughter Solomon married. Shishak will later attack Jerusalem and raid the rich temple and palace (1 Kings 14: 25-26.)
I Kings 11: 41-43, Death of Solomon
As for the other events of Solomon's reign--all he did and the wisdom he displayed--are they not written in the book of the annals of Solomon? Solomon reigned in Jerusalem over all Israel forty years. Then he rested with his fathers and was buried in the city of David his father. And Rehoboam his son succeeded him as king.
Solomon "rests with his fathers" and is buried in David's tomb. Rehoboam is to be Solomon's successor.
The book of the annals of Solomon in one of a number of ancient Hebrew texts lost to time.
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