Solomon's Foreign Wives and Apostasy
1 Kings 11:1-13
1 K.11.1 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- והמלך: NOUN,m,sg,def
- שלמה: ADJ,f,sg,abs
- אהב: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- נשים: NOUN,f,pl,abs
- נכריות: NOUN,f,pl,abs
- רבות: ADJ,f,pl,abs
- ואת: CONJ
- בת: NOUN,f,sg,cs
- פרעה: NOUN,m,sg,def
- מואביות: ADJ,f,pl,abs
- עמניות: ADJ,f,pl,abs
- אדמית: ADJ,f,pl,abs
- צדנית: ADJ,f,pl,abs
- חתית: ADJ,f,pl,abs
Parallels
- 1 Kings 3:1 (verbal): Earlier report that Solomon took Pharaoh's daughter as a wife—directly parallels the mention of Pharaoh's daughter in 1 Kgs 11:1.
- 1 Kings 11:4 (structural): Immediate narrative consequence: Solomon's foreign wives cause his heart to turn after other gods, explaining the theological significance of the marriages.
- Deuteronomy 7:3-4 (thematic): Law forbidding intermarriage with surrounding nations because such marriages lead Israel to idolatry—a legal/theological standard Solomon violated.
- Judges 3:5-7 (thematic): Earlier Israelite pattern: taking foreign wives leads to adoption of foreign gods and subsequent divine judgment—narrative precedent for Solomon's case.
- Ezra 9:1-2 (thematic): Postexilic complaint about Israelites and priests marrying foreign women and the threat of foreign religious influence—echoes the concern about intermarriage and idolatry.
Alternative generated candidates
- And King Solomon loved many foreign women: the daughter of Pharaoh, Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Sidonians, and Hittites.
- And King Solomon loved many foreign women: the daughter of Pharaoh, Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Sidonians, and Hittites.
1 K.11.2 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- מן: PREP
- הגוים: NOUN,m,pl,def
- אשר: PRON,rel
- אמר: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- אל: NEG
- בני: NOUN,m,pl,construct
- ישראל: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- לא: PART_NEG
- תבאו: VERB,qal,imperf,2,m,pl
- בהם: PREP+PRON,3,m,pl
- והם: CONJ+PRON,3,m,pl
- לא: PART_NEG
- יבאו: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,pl
- בכם: PREP,2,m,pl
- אכן: ADV
- יטו: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,pl
- את: PRT,acc
- לבבכם: NOUN,m,sg,poss
- אחרי: PREP
- אלהיהם: NOUN,m,pl,abs+3mp
- בהם: PREP+PRON,3,m,pl
- דבק: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- שלמה: ADJ,f,sg,abs
- לאהבה: PREP+VERB,qal,inf
Parallels
- Deuteronomy 7:3-4 (quotation): The law explicitly forbids intermarriage with the nations and warns it will turn Israel's heart to other gods — language and legal prohibition echoed in 1 Kgs 11:2.
- Exodus 34:16 (verbal): Warns that intermarriage will cause offspring to turn to the nations' gods and make offerings to them — a verbal and thematic parallel to the consequence Solomon's marriages bring.
- Judges 3:6 (thematic): Reports Israelite men taking foreign wives and the people serving their gods, exemplifying the same pattern (intermarriage leading to idolatry) attributed to Solomon.
- Joshua 23:12-13 (thematic): Joshua warns that if Israelites intermarry with the nations, those nations will become snares leading Israel to serve other gods — a covenantal warning closely related to the charge against Solomon.
- Ezra 9:2 (allusion): A later postexilic complaint that Israelites (including priests) had married foreign women, showing the recurring problem of intermarriage leading to religious compromise, analogous to Solomon's conduct.
Alternative generated candidates
- From the nations concerning whom the LORD had said to the people of Israel, “You shall not intermarry with them, and they shall not intermarry with you,” for they will surely turn your heart after their gods—these Solomon clung to in love.
- From the nations concerning which the LORD had said to the people of Israel, ‘You shall not intermarry with them, nor they with you; for they will surely turn your heart after their gods’—Solomon clung to them in love.
1 K.11.3 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ויהי: VERB,qal,wayyiqtol,3,m,sg
- לו: PRON,3,m,sg
- נשים: NOUN,f,pl,abs
- שרות: NOUN,f,pl,abs
- שבע: NUM,card
- מאות: NOUN,f,pl,abs
- ופלגשים: CONJ+NOUN,f,pl,abs
- שלש: NUM,card,f,sg
- מאות: NOUN,f,pl,abs
- ויטו: VERB,qal,wayyiqtol,3,m,pl
- נשיו: NOUN,f,pl,abs,3,m
- את: PRT,acc
- לבו: NOUN,m,sg,abs+PRON,3,m,sg
Parallels
- Deuteronomy 17:16-17 (structural): Law regulating Israelite kings: they must not multiply wives (or horses, silver, gold). Provides a legal/ideal contrast to Solomon’s behavior.
- 1 Kings 11:1 (verbal): Immediate parallel in the same narrative: Solomon loved many foreign women, introducing the problem that leads to verse 11:3’s detail about his numerous wives and concubines.
- 1 Kings 11:4 (verbal): Direct continuation: states that Solomon’s foreign wives turned away his heart to other gods, making explicit the consequence implied in 11:3.
- 2 Chronicles 8:11 (thematic): Chronicles’ parallel account notes that Solomon took many foreign wives and loved them, reiterating the motive and scope of his marriages found in 1 Kings 11:3.
- Judges 8:30-31 (thematic): Gideon is described as having many wives and many sons; parallels the motif of Israelite leaders with numerous wives and the social/political implications of polygamy.
Alternative generated candidates
- He had seven hundred wives, princesses, and three hundred concubines; and his wives turned away his heart.
- He had seven hundred royal wives and three hundred concubines, and his wives turned away his heart.
1 K.11.4 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ויהי: VERB,qal,wayyiqtol,3,m,sg
- לעת: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,abs
- זקנת: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- שלמה: ADJ,f,sg,abs
- נשיו: NOUN,f,pl,abs,3,m
- הטו: VERB,qal,perf,3,pl
- את: PRT,acc
- לבבו: NOUN,m,sg,abs,poss:3,m,sg
- אחרי: PREP
- אלהים: NOUN,m,pl,abs
- אחרים: ADJ,m,pl,abs
- ולא: CONJ
- היה: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- לבבו: NOUN,m,sg,abs,poss:3,m,sg
- שלם: NOUN,prop,m,sg
- עם: PREP
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- אלהיו: NOUN,m,sg,abs+PRON,3,m,sg
- כלבב: PREP+NOUN,m,sg
- דויד: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- אביו: NOUN,m,sg,abs+3,m,sg
Parallels
- Deuteronomy 17:17 (verbal): The law warns a king not to multiply wives lest his heart turn away to other gods—language and cause parallel Solomon’s wives turning his heart away.
- 1 Kings 11:1-3 (structural): Immediate narrative context listing Solomon’s foreign wives and their influence as the direct cause of his heart turning after other gods.
- 1 Kings 9:6-9 (thematic): God’s covenantal warning to Solomon that if he or his descendants turn to other gods, the kingdom will be punished—frames the consequence of the heart turning in 11:4.
- 1 Chronicles 28:9 (allusion): David’s charge to Solomon to ‘know the God of your father and serve him with wholehearted devotion’ provides the ideal standard contrasted by 1 Kings 11:4’s statement that Solomon’s heart was not wholehearted like David’s.
- Psalm 78:70-72 (thematic): Praise of David’s faithful, ‘whole’ heart in shepherding Israel furnishes the model explicitly invoked in 1 Kings 11:4 when comparing Solomon’s lack of a wholehearted heart to his father’s.
Alternative generated candidates
- And when Solomon was old, his wives turned his heart after other gods, and his heart was not wholly devoted to the LORD his God as the heart of David his father.
- When Solomon was old, his wives turned his heart after other gods; his heart was not wholly true to the LORD his God, as was the heart of David his father.
1 K.11.5 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- וילך: VERB,qal,wayyiqtol,3,m,sg
- שלמה: ADJ,f,sg,abs
- אחרי: PREP
- עשתרת: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- אלהי: NOUN,m,sg,cons
- צדנים: NOUN,m,pl,abs
- ואחרי: CONJ
- מלכם: NOUN,m,sg,construct+PRON:3,pl
- שקץ: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- עמנים: NOUN,m,pl,abs
Parallels
- 1 Kings 11:4 (structural): Immediate context: verse 4 states Solomon’s heart turned after other gods, of which verse 5 specifies Ashtoreth and Milcom—same narrative unit describing his apostasy.
- Judges 2:13 (verbal): Both texts report Israel’s leaders abandoning YHWH to serve Baalim and Ashtaroth/Ashtoreth—verbal and thematic parallel in the naming of the goddess of the Sidonians.
- Leviticus 20:2 (allusion): Law prohibiting giving children to Molech (Milcom); 1 Kgs 11:5 calls Milcom an abhorrence, alluding to the same condemned cultic practice.
- 2 Chronicles 33:6 (thematic): Describes Manasseh’s establishment of altars and causing his children to pass through fire to foreign deities (Molech), paralleling Solomon’s worship of Milcom/other nations’ gods.
- 1 Kings 11:33 (thematic): Shows the Divine consequence of Solomon’s idolatry (as in 11:5): the LORD’s anger and the promise to rend the kingdom—direct theological/resultant parallel.
Alternative generated candidates
- He followed Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians and Milcom the abomination of the people of Ammon.
- He followed Ashtoreth the god of the Sidonians and Milcom, the abomination of the Ammonites.
1 K.11.6 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ויעש: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- שלמה: ADJ,f,sg,abs
- הרע: ADJ,m,sg,def
- בעיני: PREP+NOUN,f,pl,abs
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- ולא: CONJ
- מלא: ADJ,m,sg
- אחרי: PREP
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- כדוד: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- אביו: NOUN,m,sg,abs+3,m,sg
Parallels
- 1Kgs.11.4 (verbal): Nearly identical statement earlier in the narrative: Solomon’s heart was not ‘perfect’ with the LORD and his foreign wives led him after other gods—a close verbal and narrative parallel.
- 1Kgs.9.4-5 (allusion): God’s covenant promise to Solomon conditioned on walking before the LORD as David did; 11:6 shows Solomon’s failure to meet that covenantal expectation.
- 1Chr.28.9 (thematic): David’s charge to Solomon to ‘know the God of your father and serve him with a whole heart’ stands in thematic contrast to Solomon’s apostasy in 11:6.
- Judg.2.11 (verbal): Uses the same formulaic refrain ‘the people did evil in the sight of the LORD’ and reflects the recurring pattern of apostasy (often tied to foreign marriages) that Solomon exemplifies.
Alternative generated candidates
- So Solomon did what was evil in the sight of the LORD; he did not fully follow the LORD as David his father had.
- And Solomon did evil in the sight of the LORD; he did not fully follow the LORD, as David his father had done.
1 K.11.7 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- אז: ADV
- יבנה: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- שלמה: ADJ,f,sg,abs
- במה: PREP+PRON,interr
- לכמוש: PREP+NOUN,prop,m,sg
- שקץ: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- מואב: NOUN,m,sg,prop
- בהר: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,def
- אשר: PRON,rel
- על: PREP
- פני: NOUN,m,sg,cons
- ירושלם: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- ולמלך: CONJ+PREP+NOUN,m,sg
- שקץ: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- בני: NOUN,m,pl,construct
- עמון: NOUN,m,sg,abs
Parallels
- 2 Kings 23:13 (quotation): Josiah destroys the high places that 'Solomon king of Israel had built' for Ashtoreth, Chemosh and Molech — an explicit reference to Solomon's installations mentioned in 1 Kgs 11:7.
- 1 Kings 11:8 (verbal): Immediate parallel verse: states Solomon did the same for all the foreign gods of his foreign wives, expanding on the action of building high places for Chemosh and Molech.
- 1 Kings 11:5 (thematic): Earlier description of Solomon’s idolatry (following Ashtoreth and Milcom) provides the theological background/motive for building high places for Chemosh and Molech.
- 1 Kings 11:9-11 (thematic): God’s anger and the promise to tear the kingdom away from Solomon because he turned to other gods links the act of erecting high places (v.7) with its divine consequence.
- 2 Chronicles 33:6 (thematic): Manasseh’s setting up of altars to foreign gods and making his son pass through fire (associated with Molech worship) parallels the kind of cultic practices enabled by Solomon’s construction of high places for Chemosh and Molech.
Alternative generated candidates
- Then Solomon built a high place for Chemosh, the abomination of Moab, on the hill before Jerusalem, and he made a high place for Molech, the abomination of the sons of Ammon.
- Then Solomon built a high place for Chemosh, the abomination of Moab, on the hill that is before Jerusalem, and for Milcom, the abomination of the people of Ammon.
1 K.11.8 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- וכן: ADV
- עשה: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- לכל: PREP
- נשיו: NOUN,f,pl,abs,3,m
- הנכריות: NOUN,f,pl,def
- מקטירות: VERB,qal,impf,3,f,pl
- ומזבחות: VERB,qal,impf,3,f,pl
- לאלהיהן: PREP+NOUN,m,pl,suff3fp
Parallels
- 1 Kings 11:4 (structural): Summarizes the cause: Solomon's foreign wives turned his heart after other gods; 11:8 describes how he accommodated their worship practices.
- 1 Kings 11:7 (verbal): Immediately preceding material listing specific foreign deities Solomon followed; 11:8 continues the same theme by describing altars and incense made for his wives' gods.
- 2 Kings 23:13 (quotation): Parallel retelling in Josiah's reforms: explicitly repeats that Solomon built high places for his foreign wives so they could burn incense and sacrifice to their gods.
- Deuteronomy 7:3-4 (thematic): Law forbids intermarriage with Canaanite women because they will turn Israel's hearts to other gods; provides the theological background for the critique of Solomon's marriages in 1 Kings 11:8.
- Judges 2:11-13 (thematic): Narrates Israel's recurring pattern of serving foreign gods and being led astray—parallels the motif of leaders/wives introducing idolatry into Israelite worship.
Alternative generated candidates
- Thus he did for all his foreign wives, who burned incense and sacrificed to their gods.
- Thus he did for all his foreign wives, who burned incense and made offerings to their gods.
1 K.11.9 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ויתאנף: VERB,hitp,impf,3,m,sg
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- בשלמה: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- כי: CONJ
- נטה: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- לבבו: NOUN,m,sg,abs,poss:3,m,sg
- מעם: PREP
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- אלהי: NOUN,m,sg,cons
- ישראל: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- הנראה: PART,niphal,ptcp,m,sg,def
- אליו: PREP+PRON,3,m,sg
- פעמים: NOUN,m,du,abs
Parallels
- 1 Kings 11:4 (structural): Same chapter and theme: Solomon’s foreign wives turn his heart after other gods, explaining why the LORD was angry (direct parallel explanation of the cause).
- 1 Kings 9:4-5 (quotation): God had appeared to Solomon twice and commanded him to walk before the LORD; 11:9 echoes that divine visitation and Solomon’s failure to remain faithful to those commands.
- Deuteronomy 17:16-20 (thematic): Instructions and warnings for Israel’s king (limit on wives, wealth, and not turning aside) provide the legal/theological background for why Solomon’s marriages and apostasy provoke God’s anger.
- Deuteronomy 31:20 (verbal): God speaks of turning and provoking Him to anger and hiding His face — language and consequence closely parallel the idea that Solomon’s turning of heart elicits divine wrath.
- Judges 2:11-15 (thematic): Cycle of Israel’s turning to other gods, the LORD’s anger, and subsequent punishment; furnishes a narrative pattern analogous to Solomon’s apostasy and God’s displeasure.
Alternative generated candidates
- The LORD was angry with Solomon because his heart had turned away from the LORD, the God of Israel, who had appeared to him twice.
- Then the LORD was angry with Solomon, because his heart had turned away from the LORD, the God of Israel, who had appeared to him twice.
1 K.11.10 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- וצוה: CONJ+VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- אליו: PREP+PRON,3,m,sg
- על: PREP
- הדבר: NOUN,m,sg,def
- הזה: DEM,m,sg
- לבלתי: PART,neg
- לכת: VERB,qal,infc
- אחרי: PREP
- אלהים: NOUN,m,pl,abs
- אחרים: ADJ,m,pl,abs
- ולא: CONJ
- שמר: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- את: PRT,acc
- אשר: PRON,rel
- צוה: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
Parallels
- 1 Kings 11:4 (thematic): Same narrative: Solomon’s foreign wives turned his heart to other gods, directly explaining the failure to obey God’s command not to follow other gods.
- 1 Kings 9:4-5 (structural): Earlier divine charge to Solomon to keep the covenant and walk in God’s ways; establishes the covenantal condition Solomon failed to maintain.
- Deuteronomy 17:16-17 (verbal): Instruction for Israelite kings not to multiply wives lest their heart turn away from God—directly parallels the command Solomon violated.
- 1 Samuel 15:22-23 (thematic): Saul’s failure to obey YHWH results in divine rejection; parallels the theme of kingship forfeited because of disobedience to God’s commands.
- Judges 2:11-14 (thematic): Israelites’ turning to other gods provokes the LORD’s anger and leads to judgement; echoes the pattern of apostasy and divine response in Solomon’s case.
Alternative generated candidates
- For He had commanded him concerning this matter, that he should not go after other gods; yet he did not keep what the LORD had commanded.
- And the LORD had commanded him concerning this, that he should not go after other gods; yet he did not keep what the LORD commanded.
1 K.11.11 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ויאמר: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- לשלמה: PREP+NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- יען: CONJ
- אשר: PRON,rel
- היתה: VERB,qal,perf,3,f,sg
- זאת: DEM,f,sg
- עמך: NOUN,m,sg,suff-2m
- ולא: CONJ
- שמרת: VERB,qal,perf,2,m,sg
- בריתי: NOUN,f,sg,abs,poss1,sg
- וחקתי: NOUN,m,sg,abs+1cs
- אשר: PRON,rel
- צויתי: VERB,qal,perf,1,_,sg
- עליך: PREP+2ms
- קרע: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- אקרע: VERB,qal,impf,1,_,sg
- את: PRT,acc
- הממלכה: NOUN,f,sg,def
- מעליך: PREP,2,m
- ונתתיה: VERB,qal,impf,1,_,sg+3fs
- לעבדך: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs+PRON,2,m,sg
Parallels
- 1 Kings 9:6-9 (verbal): An earlier warning to Solomon: if he or his sons turn from following God and break his commandments, God will cut off Israel from the land—similar language of removing the kingdom for disobedience.
- 2 Chronicles 7:19-22 (verbal): God's dedication-era warning to Solomon that if he or his descendants forsake God, Israel will be uprooted and the temple rejected—parallels the threat to tear the kingdom away.
- 1 Kings 11:29-39 (quotation): Ahijah's prophecy to Jeroboam announcing that God will take most of the kingdom from Solomon and give it to Jeroboam—this is the specific prophetic enactment of the threat in 11:11.
- 1 Kings 12:15-20 (structural): Narrative fulfillment: the ten northern tribes secede from Solomon's son, showing the kingdom actually being torn away and given to another ruler as announced earlier.
Alternative generated candidates
- And the LORD said to Solomon, “Because this has been done in you and you have not kept my covenant and my statutes that I commanded you, I will surely tear the kingdom from you and give it to your servant.
- Therefore the LORD said to Solomon, “Because this has been done in you and you have not kept my covenant and my statutes that I commanded you, I will surely tear the kingdom from you and give it to your servant.”
1 K.11.12 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- אך: PART
- בימיך: PREP+NOUN,m,pl,cons,2ms
- לא: PART_NEG
- אעשנה: VERB,qal,impf,1,sg
- למען: PREP
- דוד: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- אביך: NOUN,m,sg,suff+2ms
- מיד: PREP
- בנך: NOUN,m,sg,cstr+poss,2,m,sg
- אקרענה: VERB,qal,impf,1,sg
Parallels
- 1 Kings 11:11 (quotation): Immediate divine pronouncement that God will tear the kingdom away from Solomon because he did not keep the covenant — the direct context and source of v.12's claim.
- 1 Kings 11:13 (verbal): God's assurance that he will not remove the entire kingdom 'for the sake of David' and will leave one tribe to Solomon's son — echoing the phrase and limitation in v.12.
- 1 Kings 11:31-36 (allusion): Prophecy to Jeroboam that God will take away ten tribes from Solomon and give them to Jeroboam — explains the agent and scope of the tearing away mentioned in v.12.
- 2 Samuel 7:12-16 (thematic): The Davidic covenant promising an enduring dynasty; provides the theological rationale for God sparing a remnant 'for the sake of David' as stated in v.12.
- 1 Kings 12:15-20 (structural): Narrative of the kingdom's actual division under Rehoboam and Jeroboam — the historical fulfillment of God's threat to remove the kingdom from Solomon's house described in v.12.
Alternative generated candidates
- Notwithstanding, I will not do it in your days, for the sake of David your father; I will tear it out of the hand of your son.
- But in your days I will not do it, for the sake of David your father; I will tear it from your son.
1 K.11.13 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- רק: PRT
- את: PRT,acc
- כל: DET
- הממלכה: NOUN,f,sg,def
- לא: PART_NEG
- אקרע: VERB,qal,impf,1,sg
- שבט: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- אחד: NUM,card,m,sg
- אתן: VERB,qal,impf,1,sg
- לבנך: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs,suff,2,m,sg
- למען: PREP
- דוד: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- עבדי: NOUN,m,pl,cons
- ולמען: CONJ+PREP
- ירושלם: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- אשר: PRON,rel
- בחרתי: VERB,qal,perf,1,?,sg
Parallels
- 1 Kings 11:11-12 (thematic): Explains the reason for the judgment — Solomon's idolatry — and introduces the threatened tearing away of the kingdom, setting up the promise that not all will be taken away.
- 1 Kings 11:31-36 (verbal): Ahijah's prophecy to Jeroboam explicitly predicts the division of the kingdom (ten tribes to Jeroboam) while stating that one tribe will be left for the house of David — closely parallels the language and intent of 11:13.
- 2 Chronicles 11:1-4 (quotation): Chronicles retells the aftermath of Solomon's reign and reiterates the divine decision not to remove the entire kingdom but to leave a remnant for David's sake, using language very similar to 1 Kings 11:13.
- 1 Kings 12:16-20 (structural): Narrates the actual split of the united monarchy after Rehoboam's accession — Israel's secession and Rehoboam's rule over Judah — showing the realized outcome of the promise that the whole kingdom would not be taken away.
Alternative generated candidates
- Only I will not tear away the whole kingdom; one tribe I will give to your son, for the sake of David my servant and for the sake of Jerusalem, the city I have chosen.”
- Only I will not tear away all the kingdom; I will give one tribe to your son, for the sake of David my servant and for the sake of Jerusalem, which I have chosen.
Now King Solomon loved many foreign women: Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Sidonians, and Hittites—and he also loved the daughter of Pharaoh.
From the nations concerning which the LORD had said to the people of Israel, 'You shall not intermarry with them, and they shall not intermarry with you'—for they will surely turn your heart after their gods—Solomon clung to them in love.
He had seven hundred royal wives and three hundred concubines, and his wives turned away his heart.
When Solomon was old, his wives turned his heart after other gods; his heart was not wholly true to the LORD his God, as was the heart of David his father.
For Solomon went after Ashtoreth, the goddess of the Sidonians, and after Molech, the detestable god of the Ammonites. So Solomon did what was evil in the sight of the LORD; he did not fully follow the LORD, as David his father had done.
Then Solomon built a high place for Chemosh the abomination of Moab, on the hill that is before Jerusalem, and for Molech the abomination of the sons of Ammon. Thus he did for all his foreign wives—burning incense and setting up altars to their gods. And the LORD was angry with Solomon, because his heart had turned away from the LORD, the God of Israel, who had appeared to him twice. And the LORD commanded him concerning this matter, that he should not go after other gods; yet he did not keep what the LORD had commanded.
Therefore the LORD said to Solomon, 'Because you have done this and have not kept my covenant and my statutes that I commanded you, I will surely tear the kingdom from you and give it to your servant.'
Not during your lifetime will I do this, for the sake of David your father; I will tear it out of the hand of your son.
Only I will not tear away all the kingdom; I will give one tribe to your son, for the sake of David my servant and for Jerusalem, the city I have chosen.