1 Kings 11:4

Solomon’s Apostasy

4 It happened at the time of Solomon's old age that his wives guided his heart after other gods, and his heart was not fully with Yahweh his God as the heart of David his father [had been].

1 Kings 11:4 Meaning and Commentary

1 Kings 11:4

And it came to pass, when Solomon was old
Toward the latter end of his reign, when he might be near sixty years of age; for Rehoboam his son and successor was forty one when he began to reign, ( 1 Kings 14:21 ) which is observed either as an aggravation of the sin of Solomon, that in his old age, when by long experience he might have been thought to be still wiser, and less lustful: and yet

that his wives turned away his heart after other gods;
or as pointing at the advantage his wives took of his age:

and his heart was not perfect with the Lord his God, as was the heart
of David his father;
who, though guilty of many sins, never inclined to idolatry; his heart was always right in that point, and sincere in his worship, see ( Psalms 18:20-24 ) .

1 Kings 11:4 In-Context

2 from the nations which Yahweh had said to the {Israelites}, "You shall not {marry them}, and they shall not {marry you}. They will certainly turn your heart after other gods." But Solomon clung to them to love.

3 He had seven hundred princesses and three hundred concubines, and his wives turned his heart.

4 It happened at the time of Solomon's old age that his wives guided his heart after other gods, and his heart was not fully with Yahweh his God as the heart of David his father [had been].

5 Solomon went after Ashtoreth the god of [the] Sidonians and after Molech the abhorrence of the Ammonites.

6 So Solomon did evil in the eyes of Yahweh and did not fully [follow] after Yahweh as David his father.