Bible Strands
1 Kings 11:5
Solomon followed Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians and Milcom the abomination of the Ammonites.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The narrator records Solomon’s spiritual decline in his old age, directly following the observation that his foreign wives turned his heart toward other deities.
The words — וַיֵּלֵךְ (va.ye.lekh) means “and he walked” and אַחֲרֵי ('a.cha.rei) means “after,” combining to form the Hebrew idiom for actively following or pursuing a deity.
The thread — The specific deities named here reappear as markers of covenant failure in Judges 2:13 and 1 Kings 11:33, while 1 Kings 11:7 documents the parallel construction of high places for Chemosh and Molech.
Why it lands — The text states that Solomon physically and religiously aligned himself with foreign gods, establishing a factual baseline before later interpreters draw conclusions about the gradual nature of apostasy or the political impact of his marriages.
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
King James Version
For Solomon went after Ashtoreth the goddess of the Zidonians, and after Milcom the abomination of the Ammonites.
Cross-references
- Judges 2:13 for they forsook Him and served Baal and the Ashtoreths.
- 1 Kings 11:7 At that time on a hill east of Jerusalem, Solomon built a high place for Chemosh the abomination of Moab and for Molech the abomination of the Ammonites.
- 1 Kings 11:33 For they have forsaken Me to worship Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians, Chemosh the god of the Moabites, and Milcom the god of the Ammonites. They have not walked in My ways, nor done what is right in My eyes, nor kept My statutes and judgments, as Solomon’s father David did.
- 2 Kings 23:13 The king also desecrated the high places east of Jerusalem, to the south of the Mount of Corruption, which King Solomon of Israel had built for Ashtoreth the abomination of the Sidonians, for Chemosh the abomination of the Moabites, and for Milcom the abomination of the Ammonites.
- Judges 10:6 And again the Israelites did evil in the sight of the LORD. They served the Baals, the Ashtoreths, the gods of Aram, Sidon, and Moab, and the gods of the Ammonites and Philistines. Thus they forsook the LORD and did not serve Him.
- 1 Samuel 7:3 Then Samuel said to all the house of Israel, “If you are returning to the LORD with all your hearts, then put away the foreign gods and Ashtoreths among you, prepare your hearts for the LORD, and serve Him only. And He will deliver you from the hand of the Philistines.”
- Leviticus 18:21 You must not give any of your children to be sacrificed to Molech, for you must not profane the name of your God. I am the LORD.
- Leviticus 20:2 “Tell the Israelites, ‘Any Israelite or foreigner living in Israel who gives any of his children to Molech must be put to death. The people of the land are to stone him.
- 1 Samuel 12:10 Then they cried out to the LORD and said, ‘We have sinned, for we have forsaken the LORD and served the Baals and Ashtoreths. Now deliver us from the hands of our enemies, that we may serve You.’
- Jeremiah 2:10 Cross over to the coasts of Cyprus and take a look; send to Kedar and consider carefully; see if there has ever been anything like this: