NIV 1 Kings 11:1
King Solomon, however, loved many foreign women besides Pharaoh's daughter--Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Sidonians and Hittites.
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Why is this ponderable?
Near the end of his wise and prosperous reign, King Solomon is reported to have accumulated at least 700 princess-wives and 300 concubines. To us this seems a bit much, especially considering that his lustful desires did not beset him until well past his prime. But we must also understand that the culture of Solomon's Era was not all about sexual pleasure. The goal of any young man was to accumulate sufficient wealth to attract women who could bear him children and expand his tribe. The concept of "one man and one woman" marriage had not yet evolved. Instead one man could have as many women as he could afford to purchase and support. Given Solomon's wealth, he could easily afford and keep 700 wives in whatever style to which they had become accustomed. That does not imply that he was obligated to keep them all sexually satisfied.
Pharaoh's daughter was the first wife of Solomon. This was an "arranged" marriage to cement a political alliance with Egypt. Although she is not named in the text, she is the only wife singled out to explain the political significance of this marriage. We can assume most, if not all, of the other marriages were also rooted in such alliances. Also, certain numbers are used in the Bible to convey conceptual messages--not for accounting purposes. The number "7" conveys completeness of a goal or event. Each zero added to it increases the importance of the goal or event. So 700 wives tells us that Solomon had cemented enough political alliances through marriage to secure his kingdom for many years against any potential invasion.
The 300 concubines offer another example of a conceptual message. The number "3" alludes to God's Divine Will. So the 300 concubines likely included women who could "stand in" for wives that were barren or died during their tenure as a wife of Solomon. Alliance marriages in this era were often underwritten by including concubines in the arrangement. This protected both the monarch offering his daughter in an alliance marriage and the recipient of the alliance wife. The Hebrew word for concubine (pileges) is a non-Semitic loanword used to explain a marital phenomenon that did not evolve in Israel. Babylonian and Assyrian law codes regulate primary and secondary marriages more specifically than do the Old Testament laws. Concubines are mentioned primarily in early Israelite history during patriarchal times, the period of the judges, and the early monarchy.
Pharaoh's daughter was the first wife of Solomon. This was an "arranged" marriage to cement a political alliance with Egypt. Although she is not named in the text, she is the only wife singled out to explain the political significance of this marriage. We can assume most, if not all, of the other marriages were also rooted in such alliances. Also, certain numbers are used in the Bible to convey conceptual messages--not for accounting purposes. The number "7" conveys completeness of a goal or event. Each zero added to it increases the importance of the goal or event. So 700 wives tells us that Solomon had cemented enough political alliances through marriage to secure his kingdom for many years against any potential invasion.
The 300 concubines offer another example of a conceptual message. The number "3" alludes to God's Divine Will. So the 300 concubines likely included women who could "stand in" for wives that were barren or died during their tenure as a wife of Solomon. Alliance marriages in this era were often underwritten by including concubines in the arrangement. This protected both the monarch offering his daughter in an alliance marriage and the recipient of the alliance wife. The Hebrew word for concubine (pileges) is a non-Semitic loanword used to explain a marital phenomenon that did not evolve in Israel. Babylonian and Assyrian law codes regulate primary and secondary marriages more specifically than do the Old Testament laws. Concubines are mentioned primarily in early Israelite history during patriarchal times, the period of the judges, and the early monarchy.
God commanded Solomon to avoid emotional entanglements with foreign women who might turn him to idolatry. The prohibition had nothing to do with the the Laws of Moses governing adultery. But Solomon had acquired a taste for novel and exotic amusements. This included the exotic customs of Moabite, Ammonite, Edomite, Sidonian, and Hittite women. These customs revolved around homage to idols that promised heightened sexual pleasure and fertility. Giving homage to any god other than the God of Jacob, Isaac, and Abraham was strictly forbidden--especially for the King of Israel.
But Solomon wanted to please these exotic women and succumbed to their wishes instead of being faithful to the God of Isreal, as his father, David, had been. He paid homage to Ashtoreth, the goddess of the Sidonians, and Molech, the detestable god of the Ammonites. On 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. Solomon built such shrines to please his foreign wives who wanted to burn incense and offer sacrifices to their gods.
The use of the numbers 700 and 300 are intended to convey a spiritual message. God had given Solomon every material possession he could possibly want in that era. Many of the things Solomon accumulated would be considered eccentric even by today's standards. However, God trusted Solomon not to become attached to any of those things. But God cannot tolerate disloyalty. Wanting to please the foreign women opened the door to that choice and Solomon failed the loyalty test. The total of 700 and 300 equals 1000. In this test, the higher the score the greater is the offense. The text and the score tell us that Solomon failed big time. He had placed pleasing his foreign women ahead of his loyalty to God.
The use of the numbers 700 and 300 are intended to convey a spiritual message. God had given Solomon every material possession he could possibly want in that era. Many of the things Solomon accumulated would be considered eccentric even by today's standards. However, God trusted Solomon not to become attached to any of those things. But God cannot tolerate disloyalty. Wanting to please the foreign women opened the door to that choice and Solomon failed the loyalty test. The total of 700 and 300 equals 1000. In this test, the higher the score the greater is the offense. The text and the score tell us that Solomon failed big time. He had placed pleasing his foreign women ahead of his loyalty to God.
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