1 Kings 11:3

He had seven hundred wives of royal birth and three hundred concubines—and his wives turned his heart away.

Berean Standard Bible

Study note

Setting — The narrator records Solomon’s marital alliances during his reign, directly following the warning in 1 Kings 11:2 about foreign women turning Israelite hearts to other gods. The account notes his advanced age as the moment when these relationships fully impact his spiritual devotion.

The words — נָשִׁים (na.shim) translates to wives, while שָׂרוֹת (sa.rOt) denotes noble or high-born women, specifying the royal status of the seven hundred wives. פִּלַגְשִׁים (pi.lag.shim) means concubines, accounting for the three hundred additional women in his household.

The thread — The accumulation of royal wives and concubines echoes David’s expansion in 2 Samuel 5:13 and Gideon’s many wives in Judges 8:30, while the theme of searching for faithfulness among the masses recalls Ecclesiastes 7:28.

Why it lands — The text reports that Solomon’s wives turned his heart away before attributing his divided devotion to his old age. It demands recognition that political alliances and unregulated relationships directly compromise exclusive loyalty to God.

Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.

The Hebrew words

וַיְהִי־va/y.hi-and/ it belongedל֣וֹl/oto/ himנָשִׁ֗יםna.Shimwives שָׂרוֹת֙sa.rOtnoble ladies שְׁבַ֣עshe.Va'seven מֵא֔וֹתme.'othundred<s>וּפִֽלַגְשִׁ֖יםu./fi.lag.Shimand/ concubines שְׁלֹ֣שׁshe.Loshthree מֵא֑וֹתme.'othundred<s>וַיַּטּ֥וּva/i.ya.Tuand/ they turned aside נָשָׁ֖יוna.Sha/vwives/ his אֶת־'et-<obj.>לִבּֽוֹ׃li.B/oheart/ his

King James Version

And he had seven hundred wives, princesses, and three hundred concubines: and his wives turned away his heart.

Cross-references

2 Samuel 5:13 After he had arrived from Hebron, David took more concubines and wives from Jerusalem, and more sons and daughters were born to him.
Ecclesiastes 7:28 While my soul was still searching but not finding, among a thousand I have found one upright man, but among all these I have not found one such woman.
Judges 8:30 Gideon had seventy sons of his own, since he had many wives.
Judges 9:5 He went to his father’s house in Ophrah, and on one stone murdered his seventy brothers, the sons of Jerubbaal. But Jotham, the youngest son of Jerubbaal, survived, because he hid himself.
2 Samuel 3:2 And sons were born to David in Hebron: His firstborn was Amnon, by Ahinoam of Jezreel;
2 Chronicles 11:21 Rehoboam loved Maacah daughter of Absalom more than all his wives and concubines. In all, he had eighteen wives and sixty concubines, and he was the father of twenty-eight sons and sixty daughters.