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

3He had 700 wives of royal birth and 300 concubines. And in fact, they did turn his heart away from the Lord. 4In Solomon’s old age, they turned his heart to worship other gods instead of being completely faithful to the Lord his God, as his father, David, had been. Solomon worshiped Ashtoreth, the goddess of the Sidonians, and Molech, the detestable god of the Ammonites. 6In this way, Solomon did what was evil in the Lord’s sight; he refused to follow the Lord completely, as his father, David, had done. 7On the Mount of Olives, east of Jerusalem, he even built a pagan shrine for Chemosh, the detestable god of Moab, and another for Molech, the detestable god of the Ammonites.

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 11:33For Solomon has abandoned me and worshiped Ashtoreth, the goddess of the Sidonians; Chemosh, the god of Moab; and Molech, the god of the Ammonites. He has not followed my ways and done what is pleasing in my sight. He has not obeyed my decrees and regulations as David his father did.
• Judges 2:13They abandoned the Lord to serve Baal and the images of Ashtoreth.
• Judges 10:6Again the Israelites did evil in the Lord’s sight. They served the images of Baal and Ashtoreth, and the gods of Aram, Sidon, Moab, Ammon, and Philistia. They abandoned the Lord and no longer served him at all.
• 1 Samuel 7:3Then Samuel said to all the people of Israel, “If you want to return to the Lord with all your hearts, get rid of your foreign gods and your images of Ashtoreth. Turn your hearts to the Lord and obey him alone; then he will rescue you from the Philistines.”
• 1 Samuel 12:10“Then they cried to the Lord again and confessed, ‘We have sinned by turning away from the Lord and worshiping the images of Baal and Ashtoreth. But we will worship you and you alone if you will rescue us from our enemies.’
• 2 Kings 23:13The king also desecrated the pagan shrines east of Jerusalem, to the south of the Mount of Corruption, where King Solomon of Israel had built shrines for Ashtoreth, the detestable goddess of the Sidonians; and for Chemosh, the detestable god of the Moabites; and for Molech, the vile god of the Ammonites.
• Jeremiah 2:10“Go west and look in the land of Cyprus; go east and search through the land of Kedar. Has anyone ever heard of anything as strange as this?
• 1 Kings 11:7On the Mount of Olives, east of Jerusalem, he even built a pagan shrine for Chemosh, the detestable god of Moab, and another for Molech, the detestable god of the Ammonites.
• Leviticus 18:21“Do not permit any of your children to be offered as a sacrifice to Molech, for you must not bring shame on the name of your God. I am the Lord.
• Leviticus 20:2“Give the people of Israel these instructions, which apply both to native Israelites and to the foreigners living in Israel. “If any of them offer their children as a sacrifice to Molech, they must be put to death. The people of the community must stone them to death.
• Zephaniah 1:5For they go up to their roofs and bow down to the sun, moon, and stars. They claim to follow the Lord, but then they worship Molech, 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