📖WEB · 1 Kings 11:2
What does 1 Kings 11:2 mean?
"of the nations concerning which Yahweh said to the children of Israel, “You shall not go among them, neither shall they come among you; for surely they will turn away your heart after their gods.” Solomon joined to these in love."
— 1 Kings 11:2 (World English Bible)
Surrounding context
Now king Solomon loved many foreign women, together with the daughter of Pharaoh, women of the Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Sidonians, and Hittites;
of the nations concerning which Yahweh said to the children of Israel, “You shall not go among them, neither shall they come among you; for surely they will turn away your heart after their gods.” Solomon joined to these in love.
He had seven hundred wives, princesses, and three hundred concubines; and his wives turned away his heart.
When Solomon was old, his wives turned away his heart after other gods; and his heart was not perfect with Yahweh his God, as the heart of David his father was.
For Solomon went after Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians, and after Milcom the abomination of the Ammonites.
Explanation
This verse comes in the middle of the account of King Solomon's spiritual decline, and it explains why his many marriages to foreign women were so spiritually dangerous. In plain language, the text says that God had specifically warned Israel not to intermarry with the surrounding pagan nations, because such unions would inevitably pull Israelite hearts away from the worship of Yahweh toward foreign gods. Despite this clear warning, Solomon deliberately entered into loving relationships with women from exactly these forbidden nations.
The book of 1 Kings was written to trace Israel's history from the united monarchy through the divided kingdoms, ultimately explaining why the nation fell into exile. The author draws on earlier Torah passages, particularly Deuteronomy 7:3-4 and Exodus 34:15-16, where Moses commanded Israel not to intermarry with the Canaanite nations precisely because such marriages would lead to idol worship. First Kings 11 opens by listing the nations Solomon's wives came from—Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Sidonians, and Hittites—each named in the ear
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