1 Kings 11:5

1 Kings 11:5 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)For Solomon went after Ashtoreth the goddess of the Zidonians, and after Milcom the abomination of the Ammonites.
• New International Version (NIV)He followed Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians, and Molek the detestable god of the Ammonites.
• English Standard Version (ESV)For Solomon went after Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians, and after Milcom the abomination of the Ammonites.
• New King James Version (NKJV)For Solomon went after Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians, and after Milcom the abomination of the Ammonites.

Context of 1 Kings 11:5

3Solomon had 700 royal wives. He also had 300 slave wives. His wives caused him to turn away from the Lord. 4When Solomon became old, his wives caused him to serve other gods. Solomon no longer completely loved the Lord his God as his father David had done. Solomon worshipped Ashtoreth, the female god of the Sidonian people. He also worshipped Molech, the wicked god of the Ammonite people. 6As a result, Solomon did things that the Lord said were evil. He did not serve the Lord faithfully as his father David had done. 7On a hill east of Jerusalem Solomon built a place to worship false gods. He worshipped Chemosh, the wicked god of the Moabite people, and Molech, the wicked god of the Ammonite people.

1 Kings 11:5 word by word

וַיֵּ֣לֶךְ שְׁלֹמֹ֔ה אַחֲרֵ֣י עַשְׁתֹּ֔רֶת אֱלֹהֵ֖י צִדֹנִ֑ים וְאַחֲרֵ֣י מִלְכֹּ֔ם שִׁקֻּ֖ץ עַמֹּנִֽים׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• For Solomonשְׁלֹמֹהshelômôh · SolomonH8010
• wentיָלַךְyâlak · to walkH3212
• afterאַחַר'achar · afterH310
• Ashtorethעַשְׁתֹּ֫רֶת‛ashtôreth · AshtorethH6253
• the goddessאֱלֹהִים'ĕlôhîym · GodH430
• of the Zidoniansצִידֹנִיtsîydônîy tsidônîy · SidonianH6722
• Milcomמִלכֹּםmalkâm milkôm · MilcomH4445
• the abominationשִׁקּוּץshiqqûts shiqqûts · abominationH8251
• of the Ammonitesעַמּוֹנִי‛ammônîy · AmmonH5984

Cross-references for 1 Kings 11:5

• 1 Kings 11:33I will take the kingdom away from Solomon because he and his people have turned away from me. They have started to worship Ashtoreth, the female god of the Sidonian people. They also worship Chemosh, the god of the Moabite people, and Molech, the god of the Ammonite people. They have not lived in a way that pleases me. They have not done the things that I say are right. They have not obeyed my rules and my laws. They have not lived in a good way, as Solomon's father David did.
• Judges 2:13They turned away from the Lord and they worshipped the idols of Baal and Ashtoreth instead.
• Judges 10:6The Israelites again did things that the Lord saw were evil. They worshipped idols of Baal and Ashtoreth. They also worshipped the gods of Syria, Sidon and Moab, as well as the gods of the Ammonites and the Philistines. They turned away from the Lord and they did not serve him any more.
• 1 Samuel 7:3Then Samuel said to all the Israelite people, ‘If you truly want to turn back to the Lord, you must show that you mean it. You must remove all your foreign gods and the images of Ashtoreth. You must give your lives completely to the Lord. You must worship only the Lord. If you do that, he will save you from the power of the Philistines.’
• 1 Samuel 12:10Then the Israelites called out to the Lord for help. They said, “We have done bad things. We have turned away from the Lord and we have worshipped idols of Baal and images of Ashtoreth. Please save us from our enemies and we will worship you.”
• 2 Kings 23:13King Josiah also destroyed the altars that were on the hills east of Jerusalem. Those altars were on the south side of Mount Trouble. King Solomon had built them to worship these false gods: Ashtoreth, a wicked female god that the people in Sidon worshipped. Chemosh, a wicked god that the people in Moab worshipped. Molech, the evil god that the people in Ammon worshipped.
• Jeremiah 2:10No other nation has done what you have done! Send people across the sea to islands in the west. Or send them to the deserts in the east. Let them find out if any other people have done this terrible thing.
• 1 Kings 11:7On a hill east of Jerusalem Solomon built a place to worship false gods. He worshipped Chemosh, the wicked god of the Moabite people, and Molech, the wicked god of the Ammonite people.
• Leviticus 18:21Do not offer your child as a sacrifice to the false god, Molech. This would spoil God's honour. He is the Lord.
• Leviticus 20:2‘Talk to Israel's people. Say, “If any Israelite or foreign person gives his children to the god called Molech, he must die.” The people must throw stones at him to kill him.
• Zephaniah 1:5Some people stand on the roof tops to worship the sun, the moon and the stars. I will remove those people. Some people say that they love me. But they say also that they love Malcam (a false god). So I will remove them, too.’

Commentaries on 1 Kings 11:5

• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 5Ashtoreth was the Canaanite goddess of love and war. She was widely worshiped in the ancient Near East. She was also known as Ishtar and Astarte. The worship practices of Astarte influenced the Greek worship of the goddess Aphrodite. The worship of Molech, the god of the Ammonites, involved sacrificing children by fire (1 Kings 11:7; see Leviticus 20:1–5; 2 Kings 16:3; 23:5–10; Jeremiah 7:30–33; 19:4–6; 32:35). The writer strongly condemns these practices…Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 5-75-7. Ashtoreth--Astarte, Milcom--Molech, and Chemosh--He built altars for these three; but, although he is described (1Ki 11:8) as doing the same for "all his strange wives," there is no evidence that they had idols distinct from these; and there is no trace whatever of Egyptian idolatry.Read the comment

Topics related to 1 Kings 11:5

• Ashtoreth
• Backsliders
• Character
• Fellowship
• Instability
• Molech
• Polygamy
• Rulers
• Solomon
• Wife
• Women

In the dictionaries

• Ashtoreth
• Solomon
• Ammonite
• Clad
• Moloch
• Notwithstanding
• Rend
• Abomination
• Abomination of Desolation
• Agriculture

Commentaries on 1 Kings 11

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• Darby Translation Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings