Nehemiah 13:26

26 "1Did not Solomon king of Israel sin regarding these things? 2Yet among the many nations there was no king like him, and 3he was loved by his God, and God made him king over all Israel; nevertheless the foreign women caused even him to sin.

Nehemiah 13:26 Meaning and Commentary

Nehemiah 13:26

Did not Solomon king of Israel sin by these things?
&c.] By marrying strange wives, by whom he was drawn into idolatry, ( 1 Kings 11:3 1 Kings 11:4 ) ,

yet among many nations was there no king like him;
as not for grandeur and riches, so not for wisdom, and yet was ensnared by his idolatrous wives:

who was beloved of God;
alluding to his name Jedidiah, which signifies beloved of the Lord, ( 2 Samuel 12:24 2 Samuel 12:25 )

and God made him king over all Israel;
which was a proof of his love to him, and so he was under the greater obligation to serve him, and him only, and yet his heart, through his wives, was turned after other gods:

even him did outlandish women cause to sin;
and if so great and wise a man was enticed by them to idolatry, much more may you, and therefore it was very dangerous to marry with them.

Nehemiah 13:26 In-Context

24 As for their children, half spoke in the language of Ashdod, and none of them was able to speak the language of Judah, but the language of his own people.
25 So I contended with them and cursed them and struck some of them and pulled out their hair, and made them swear by God, "You shall not give your daughters to their sons, nor take of their daughters for your sons or for yourselves.
26 "Did not Solomon king of Israel sin regarding these things? Yet among the many nations there was no king like him, and he was loved by his God, and God made him king over all Israel; nevertheless the foreign women caused even him to sin.
27 "Do we then hear about you that you have committed all this great evil by acting unfaithfully against our God by marrying foreign women?"
28 Even one of the sons of Joiada, the son of Eliashib the high priest, was a son-in-law of Sanballat the Horonite, so I drove him away from me.

Cross References 3

  • 1. 1 Kings 11:1
  • 2. 1 Kings 3:13; 2 Chronicles 1:12
  • 3. 2 Samuel 12:24, 25
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