1 Kings 11:2

2 from the nations concerning which the LORD had said to the people of Israel, 1"You shall not enter into marriage with them, neither shall they with you, for surely they will turn away your heart after their gods." Solomon clung to these in love.

1 Kings 11:2 Meaning and Commentary

1 Kings 11:2

Of the nations concerning which the Lord said unto the
children of Israel, ye shall not go in to them, neither shall they
come in unto you
That is, they should not intermarry with one another; this is to be understood of the last mentioned, the Hittites, who were one of the seven nations this law respected, ( Deuteronomy 7:1 Deuteronomy 7:3 )

for surely they will turn away your heart after their gods;
which is the reason given for the making the above law, and was sadly verified in Solomon:

Solomon clave unto these in love;
he not only took them, but kept them, and expressed a strong affection for them.

1 Kings 11:2 In-Context

1 Now King Solomon loved many foreign women, along with the daughter of Pharaoh: Moabite, Ammonite, Edomite, Sidonian, and Hittite women,
2 from the nations concerning which the LORD had said to the people of Israel, "You shall not enter into marriage with them, neither shall they with you, for surely they will turn away your heart after their gods." Solomon clung to these in love.
3 He had 700 wives, princesses, and 300 concubines. And his wives turned away his heart.
4 For when Solomon was old his wives turned away his heart after other gods, and his heart was not wholly true to the LORD his God, as was the heart of David his father.
5 For Solomon went after Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians, and after Milcom the abomination of the Ammonites.

Cross References 1

  • 1. See Exodus 34:16
The English Standard Version is published with the permission of Good News Publishers.