1 Kings 11:3

3 He had seven hundred royal wives and three hundred secondary wives. They turned his heart.

1 Kings 11:3 Meaning and Commentary

1 Kings 11:3

And he had seven hundred wives, princesses, and three hundred
concubines
In all 1000, a prodigious number; though these might not be all for use, but for state after the manner of the eastern monarchs; these were a far greater number than are alluded to in ( Song of Solomon 6:8 ) , unless the virgins without number there, were such of these as were not defiled by him; but the number here seems plainly referred to in ( Ecclesiastes 7:28 ) ,

and his wives turned away his heart;
both from his duty to his God, and from attendance to his business as a king, especially the former, as follows.

1 Kings 11:3 In-Context

1 In addition to Pharaoh's daughter, King Solomon loved many foreign women, including Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Sidonians, and Hittites.

2 These came from the nations that the LORD had commanded the Israelites about: "Don't intermarry with them. They will definitely turn your heart toward their gods." Solomon clung to these women in love.

3 He had seven hundred royal wives and three hundred secondary wives. They turned his heart.

4 As Solomon grew old, his wives turned his heart after other gods. He wasn't committed to the LORD his God with all his heart as was his father David.

5 Solomon followed Astarte the goddess of the Sidonians, and Milcom the detestable god of the Ammonites.