1 Kings 11 is the eleventh chapter of the Books of Kings in the Hebrew Bible or the First Book of Kings in the Old Testament of the Christian Bible. The book is a compilation of various annals recording the acts of the kings of Israel and Judah by a Deuteronomic compiler in the seventh century BCE, with a supplement added in the sixth century BCE. This chapter belongs to the section focusing on the reign of Solomon over the unified kingdom of Judah and Israel (1 Kings 1 to 11). The focus of this chapter is Solomon's decline and death.
This chapter was originally written in the Hebrew language and since the 16th century is divided into 43 verses.
Some early manuscripts containing the text of this chapter in Hebrew are of the Masoretic Text tradition, which includes the Codex Cairensis (895), Aleppo Codex (10th century), and Codex Leningradensis (1008).
There is also a translation into Koine Greek known as the Septuagint, made in the last few centuries BCE. Extant ancient manuscripts of the Septuagint version include Codex Vaticanus (B;
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Solomon marrying many wives might not be considered unethical at that time, especially for diplomatic reasons, but it should be intolerable in light of the Torah (cf. Deuteronomy 17:17). The passage focuses on religious rather than moral arguments for the foreign wives in a tone similar to post-exilic texts (Ezra 10; Nehemiah 10) viewing them as a temptation threatening loyalty to the God of Israel. Solomon gave his wives something similar to minority rights and religious freedom in modern terms, but he went too far that he committed a grave sin against Yahweh, leading to dire consequences.
Because Solomon had "turned away from the Lord", thereby he had broken the first commandment, he faced a consequence of losing power, but in recognition of David's merits, the punishment was delayed and his successor would be left with a smaller kingdom.
However, I will not tear away all the kingdom, but I will give one tribe to your son, for the sake of David my servant and for the sake of Jerusalem that I have chosen.[2]
Solomon's disloyalty to God resulted in the emergence of 'adversary' (Hebrew: satan) to his reign, in form of three different persons: Hadad, an Edomite prince (verses 14–22), Rezon the son of Eliada of Damascus (verses 23–25), and Jeroboam ben Nebat (verses 26–40). The passage clearly states that God was the initiator of these adversaries (verses 14, 23, also 29–33). The brief biography of each adversary presented in the passage has similarities with the earlier history of Israel.
The life of Hadad, the Edomite prince, echoes the history of the migration of Jacob's family to Egypt and the Exodus:
| Event | Hadad | Jacob's family | |
|---|---|---|---|
| moving to Egypt | due to Israel's occupation of Edom by David and Joab (11:14–15) | due to famine | |
| kind treatment of Pharaoh | given a house, bread and land (11:18) | given the fertile land of Goshen | |
| married into royal family | given the sister of the queen as wife (11:19) | Joseph was given the daughter of high priest as wife | |
| son among Pharaoh's children | Genubath (11:20) | Moses | |
| out of Egypt | sought to return (11:21–22) | Exodus under Moses |
Hadad stated his desire to return to Edom using 'exodus language': "send me out" (based on the same Hebrew verb:).
The biography of Rezon the son of Eliada of Damascus (11:23–25) also has a parallel with the history of David, the king of Israel.
| Event | Rezon | David | |
|---|---|---|---|
| flee from his master | from Hadadezer (11:23) | from Saul | |
| gather a band | becoming a leader of a guerilla force (11:24) | becoming a leader of disaffected people in the wilderness | |
| becoming king | rising to the throne in Damascus, Syria (11:25) | anointed to the throne in Hebron and then Jerusalem |
Jeroboam ben Nebat, Solomon's third adversary, arose from within northern Israel, tellingly from among the forced laborers in Ephraim. The parallels of his biography with the life of David are as follows:
| Event | Jeroboam | David | |
|---|---|---|---|
| valiant warrior | potentially a royal figure (11:28) | winning battles against the Philistines | |
| in early life faithfully served his master | serving Solomon (11:28) | serving Saul | |
| prophesied by a prophet | meet the prophet Ahijah of Shiloh (11:29–39) | anointed by the prophet Samuel who grew up with the priest Eli in Shiloh | |
| torn cloak | Ahijah torn his cloak and gave to Jeroboam (11:30) | Saul torn Samuel's cloak (1 Samuel 15:27) | |
| threatened as successor | Solomon sought to kill Jeroboam (11:40) | Saul sought to kill David | |
| promises of God | to Jeroboam (11:38–39) | to David |
Ahijah of Shiloh is shown as Jeroboam's supporter in this passage, but he will be Jeroboam's enemy in 1 Kings 14:1-18.
This is the first use regular concluding formula in the books of Kings. The Chronicler mentioned 'the Book of the Acts of Solomon' as a source of information, presumably in form of royal annals.
And the time that Solomon reigned in Jerusalem over all Israel was forty years.[5]
In July 2024, the Israel Antiquities Authority and Tel Aviv University announced the discovery of a moat that a moat that split the City of David in half, separating the palace and Temple Mount from the rest of the city. It was at least nine meters deep and 30 meters wide, and extended across at least 70 meters, from west to east. The discovery confirmed what is described in 1 Kings 11:27.[6]