1 Kings 11:5

5 Solomon followed Ashtoreth, the goddess of the Sidonians, and Milcom, the detestable idol of the Ammonites.

1 Kings 11:5 Meaning and Commentary

1 Kings 11:5

And Solomon went after Ashtoreth the goddess of the Zidonians,
&c.] Enticed by the Zidonian women, or woman, he had, ( 1 Kings 11:1 ) . According to the Phoenician histories ^F9, Solomon married a daughter of Hiram, king of Tyre and Zidon; so Clemens of Alexandria says ^F11, that Hiram gave his daughter to Solomon; Ashtoreth is Astarte, the same with the Venus of the Greeks, so Suidas ^F12; and Lucian ^F13 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 Judges 2:13)

and after Milcom the abomination of the Amnonites;
the same with Molech, ( 1 Kings 11:7 ) . (See Gill on Leviticus 18:21). (See Gill on Amos 1:13). After this he was drawn by his Ammonitish wife, or wives, ( 1 Kings 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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FOOTNOTES:

F9 Apud Tatian. contr. Graecos, p. 171.
F11 Stromat. l. 1. p. 325.
F12 In voce (Astarth) .
F13 De Dea Syria.

1 Kings 11:5 In-Context

3 He had 700 wives who were princesses and 300 concubines, and they turned his heart away [from the Lord].

4 When Solomon was old, his wives seduced him [to follow] other gods. His heart was not completely with the Lord his God, as his father David's heart had been.

5 Solomon followed Ashtoreth, the goddess of the Sidonians, and Milcom, the detestable idol of the Ammonites.

6 Solomon did what was evil in the Lord's sight, and unlike his father David, he did not completely follow the Lord.

7 At that time, Solomon built a high place for Chemosh, the detestable idol of Moab, and for Milcom, the detestable idol of the Ammonites on the hill across from Jerusalem.