Глава 11

1–8. Vices of Solomon. 9–13. God's wrath against Solomon and the prediction of the division of his kingdom. 14–22. The beginning of the implementation of God's judgment against Solomon and his house; Solomon's first opponent is Ader the Edomite. 23–25. Solomon's second enemy is Razon, the usurper of royal power in Syria. 26–28. Solomon's third enemy is Jeroboam the Ephraimite. 29–39. Prediction of the prophet Ahijah to Jeroboam of his future reign over 10 tribes. 40–43. Jeroboam's flight to Egypt from Solomon's wrath and the latter's death. 1 Kings 11:1. And King Solomon fell in love with many foreign women, besides Pharaoh’s daughter, the Moabites, the Ammonites, the Edomites, the Sidonians, the Hittites, 1 Kings 11:2. from those nations about which the Lord said to the children of Israel: “Do not go in to them, and let them not come in to you, lest they incline your heart to their gods”; Solomon clung to them with love. 1 Kings 11:3. And he had seven hundred wives and three hundred concubines; and his wives corrupted his heart. The countless wealth of Solomon (1 Kings 10:14-29) and the dazzling splendor of his reign in general, which put the Jewish king on a par with the most glorious contemporary kings of the pagan peoples, disposed the king to imitate them, first in the general cultural side of life, and then in the field of religion, in opposition to the positive prohibition of the law. Such innovations of Solomon, prohibited by law (Deut. 17:16–17), were the already mentioned multiplication of cavalry and chariots (cf. note to (1 Kings 10:23–26)), and even more unlimited polygamy: Solomon had up to 1000 wives (700 wives of the first rank and 300 concubines (v. 3)). This extreme polygamy is explained not so much by Solomon’s excessive love of women (LXX: φιλογύνης, slav.: “woman-loving”, cf. I. Flav. Jewish Ancients. VIII, 7, 5), but by political motives - the vain desire to increase the glory of his court by increasing the harem and surpass in this the attitude of other kings 10. Having set out to fill his harem, Solomon made no distinction between nationalities and completely disregarded the law’s prohibition of marriages with Canaanite women (Ex.34:16; Deut.7:1–4,23:3). In Greek glory. texts other than those mentioned in (v. 1) Heb. -Russian texts of nationalities, the Amorites are also mentioned, which may be the general name of the Canaanites (cf. Gen. 48:22; Josh. 24:15; Deut. 1:7). It is very possible that many of these wives were not real, serving only for the decoration and pomp of the court; in the poetic expression of the book. The Song of Songs (Song.6:8) mentions that Solomon had 60 queens and 80 concubines. 1 Kings 11:4. During Solomon's old age, his wives inclined his heart to other gods, and his heart was not completely devoted to the Lord his God, like the heart of David his father. 1 Kings 11:5. And Solomon began to serve Ashtoreth, the deity of Sidon, and Milcom, the abomination of the Ammonites. 1 Kings 11:6. And Solomon did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, and did not completely follow the Lord, like David his father. What the law had to prevent by prohibiting marriages with Canaanite women - precisely the temptation to serve their gods, became a fact in Solomon's old age: under the influence of idolatrous wives, with the weakening influence of bliss, luxury and licentiousness, the energy of Solomon's spirit in serving Jehovah weakened, perfect devotion to Jehovah was no longer in his heart (vv. 4, 6); Wed (Sir.47:22–23). “His betrayal of his religion consists in indifference to it and in seductive tolerance towards pagan religions” (Prof. F. Ya. Pokrovsky. Division of the Jewish Kingdom. p. 285). He not only allows the existence of idolatry in the theocratic kingdom, but he himself builds churches for other gods, supports, perhaps, their servants at his own expense, and takes part with his wives, at least externally, in their cults (cf. Blessed Theodoret, question 37). These deities are all Canaanite. Astarte (Heb. ashtoret, plural ashtarot, Greek Αστάρτη) here (v. 5) is called the deity of Sidon, next. Phoenician; She was revered by the Philistines (1 Samuel 31:8–10) and all the Canaanites in general, along with Baal (Judges 2:13,10:6). The name Astarte is probably related to the name of the Babylonian goddess Istar; both goddesses are close in meaning: both were the goddess of life, fertility, love, and on the other hand, hunting and war. The double meaning of Astarte corresponded to her double symbol: she was depicted, on the one hand, as a woman with a veil on her head in the form of the horns of the moon (this symbol of Astarte is indicated by the proper name of the area in Palestine: “Ashteroth-Karnaim”, (Gen. 14:5) - “Astarte with horns”; in Carthage Astarte was depicted as a full moon; in Egypt - as a moon in the form sickle); hence the name of Astarte among the classics: Οὐράνια, Coeletis, which is quite consistent with the name Astarte “goddess of the sky” adopted in the Bible (Jer. 7:18,44:17–18); on the other hand, as the goddess of fertility, Astarte had as her symbols: a cow (sometimes with a calf), a cypress, a palm tree with fruits and poppy If Baal, the sun god, was served on the heights, then Ashtoreth was served in the valleys and groves. The nature of the cult, according to the dual meaning of the goddess, was twofold: partly severe - self-castration in honor of the goddess of war, partly sensual - shameful debauchery. See M. Palmova. Idolatry among the ancient Jews. St. Petersburg 1897, p. 295–308. The classics therefore identified Astarte with Aphrodite or Venus (cf. Blessed Theodoret, question 50). Milchom (v. 5) is identical with Moloch. The Hebrew name Molech is the same root as Melech, king, but with the vowels of the word boshet - shame, reproach (believing Israelis also used the word boshet to call the deity of Baal, related to Molech, as can be seen, for example, from the change in the name Ish-baal, husband of Baal, into the name Ish-boshet, husband of shame); Phoenician and Ammonite deity, among the classics called Kronos or Saturn. In theory, the deity is close to Baal, trace. solar, expressed the idea of ​​the sun, but only from its destructive side, also the all-destroying time. The statue of Moloch had the head of a bull with a golden crown on it, an extensive body and arms for receiving victims of the cult, mainly children: the terrible service of Moloch consisted mainly of “leading children through the fire”, among the Jews it was rampant especially under Ahaz (2 Kings 16:3), under Solomon this cult probably did not take such a disgusting form. Subsequently, the southwestern valley near Jerusalem, the so-called Hinnom, Ginno, was the site of the terrible cult of Moloch and therefore became an image and synonym of hell, Gehenna (cf. in Palmov, op. op. 252–272). Chemos, Heb. Kemosh, Greek Χαμώς (v. 7), cf. (2 Kings 23:13; Jer.48:7; Num.21:29) – the national deity of the Moabites, therefore called “the people of Chemosh” (Num. 21:29; Jer.48:46); in the famous inscription of the Moabite king Mesha, he calls himself “the son of Chemosh” (1 p.); Chemosh was also revered by the Ammonites (Judges 11:23–24). Together with Baal-peor (Num. 25:5) Chemosh was the discovery of a single deity; the cult of Chemosh was dark, cruel, and required human sacrifice (2 Kings 3:27); the cult of Baal-Peor, on the contrary, had a cheerful, sensual character (Num. 25:1-3). In theory, Chemos was a solar deity, the god of solar heat, and his symbol was a shiny stone disk. 1 Kings 11:7. Then Solomon built a church for Chemosh, the abomination of Moab, on the mountain that is before Jerusalem, and for Molech, the abomination of Ammon. Solomon built the high places and churches for the named deities (see Palmov, 246–252) “on the mountain that is before Jerusalem,” that is, on the Mount of Olives or the Mount of Olives (2 Kings 15:30; Zech. 14:4), in (2 Kings 23:13) called (in Hebrew) “the destructive mountain” gar-gamashchit, Greek-Slavic: “mosphaf”), that is, as a result of the idolatry that took place here. According to legend, the idolatry allowed by Solomon took place on the southern hill of the Mount of Olives, which was called the “mountain of temptation.” 1 Kings 11:9. And the Lord was angry with Solomon because he turned away his heart from the Lord God of Israel, who appeared to him twice 1 Kings 11:10. and commanded him not to follow other gods; but he did not do what the Lord [God] commanded him. 1 Kings 11:11. And the Lord said to Solomon: Because this is done with you, and you have not kept My covenant and My statutes, which I commanded you, I will tear the kingdom away from you and give it to your servant; 1 Kings 11:12. but in your days I will not do this for the sake of David your father; I will pluck him out of the hand of your son; 1 Kings 11:13. and I will not uproot the whole kingdom; I will give one tribe to your son for the sake of David my servant, and for the sake of Jerusalem, which I have chosen. The wrath of God against Solomon was the stronger, the greater the previous mercies of Jehovah towards him, which were expressed, among other things, by Jehovah appearing to him twice (1 Kings 3:5,9:3), and God deliberately confirmed to him the duties of a theocratic king. Only for the sake of David and the immutability of God’s promises, the dynasty of David will have one tribe left (v. 13), actually two: Judah and Benjamin (1 Kings 12:23), but the latter, due to its small number, is not named here (as below in vv. 36 and 32). The real menacing foreshadowing was probably given through the prophet, and not directly, like previous revelations: now Solomon had already become unworthy of direct theophany (cf. Blessed Theodoret, question 36). The hitherto undisturbed peace of Solomon's reign was disturbed by Ader (vv. 14–22), Razon (vv. 23–25), and most of all by Jeroboam (vv. 26–40). 1 Kings 11:14. And the Lord raised up an enemy against Solomon, Ader the Edomite, from the royal Edomite family. 1 Kings 11:15. When David was in Idumea, and the commander Joab came to bury the slain and killed all the males in Idumea, - 1 Kings 11:16. For Joab and all Israel dwelt there six months, until they had destroyed all the males in Edom. 1 Kings 11:17. then this Ader fled to Egypt and with him several Edomites who served under his father; Ader was a small child then. 1 Kings 11:18. Setting out from Midian, they came to Paran and took with them the people from Paran and came to Egypt to Pharaoh king of Egypt. [Ader went in to Pharaoh, and] he gave him a house, and appointed him an allowance, and gave him land. 1 Kings 11:19. Ader gained great favor from the pharaoh, so that he gave him his wife's sister, the sister of Queen Tahpenesa, as his wife. 1 Kings 11:20. And Takhpenesa’s sister gave birth to him a son, Genubat. Tahpenesa raised him in the house of Pharaoh; and Genubat lived in Pharaoh's house with Pharaoh's sons. 1 Kings 11:21. When Ader heard that David slept with his fathers and that the army commander Joab died, he said to Pharaoh: Let me go, I will go to my land. 1 Kings 11:22. And Pharaoh said to him: Do you need anything from me that you want to go to your own land? He answered: no, but let me go. [And Ader returned to his land.] Deposition of the Edomite prince Ader (Heb. Gadai Vulg.: Adad, LXX: Αδέρ), who at one time fled to Egypt after David’s conquest of Idumea (2 Sam. 8:13–14), and here, v. 15–17 add new detail to the summary of 2 Samuel. Received warmly in Egypt by Pharaoh, probably the predecessor of Solomon's father-in-law, Ader, despite his family ties with the reigning house of Egypt, returned to his homeland in Idumea soon after the death of David and Joab (v. 21), cf. (1 Kings 2:10,34), i.e. at the beginning of the reign of Solomon; but hostile actions against Solomon (for which Satan is named, v. 14 - “apostate, rebel, adversary,” cf. Blessed Theodoret, question 37) were already in the second half of his reign, when the king’s vices weakened his energy, and the long peace had a relaxing effect on his people. LXX glory. in Art. 22 there is an addition against the Hebrew: καὶ ἀνέστρεψεν Αδερ εἰς τὴν γῆν αὐτοῦ, “and Ader shall return to his land,” a sentence required by the meaning of the whole speech of Art. 14–22 and probably belonged to the original text. From this section it follows that Idumea had separated from him long before Solomon’s death, and only Elath and Ezion-Geber remained in his hands. 1 Kings 11:23. And God raised up another enemy against Solomon, Razon, the son of Eliada, who fled from his sovereign Adraazar, king of Suba, 1 Kings 11:24. and, having gathered people around him, he became the leader of the gang after David defeated Hadadazar; and they went to Damascus, and settled there, and ruled over Damascus. 1 Kings 11:25. And he was Israel's adversary all the days of Solomon. In addition to the evil caused by Ader, he always harmed Israel and became the king of Syria. Solomon encountered similar opposition on the northern Syrian border, in the province conquered by David (2 Samuel 8:3–10), from a certain Razon, who, according to I. Flavius, acted against Solomon together with Ader of Edom (cf. v. 25). 1 Kings 11:26. And Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, an Ephraimite from Zaredah - the name of his widow's mother was Zerua - Solomon's servant, raised his hand against the king. 1 Kings 11:27. And here is the circumstance why he raised his hand against the king: Solomon was building Millo, repairing damage in the city of David, his father. 1 Kings 11:28. Jeroboam was a courageous man. Solomon, noticing that this young man knew how to do things, made him overseer of the quitrents from the house of Joseph. But the greatest, moreover, internal danger for Solomon and his entire dynasty arose from the hitherto unknown Jerobom - an Ephraimite (Hebrew Ephrati, v. 26, sometimes means: residents of Ephrath or Bethlehem, (Ruth. 1:2; 1 Sam. 17:12); sometimes, as here, in (Judges 12:5; 1 Sam. 1:1): Ephraimite). The tribe of Ephraim has long been burdened by the power of the king from the tribe of Judah, and all the other tribes, unlike the tribe of Judah who called themselves Israel, were very reluctant to bear the burden of the power of the king of another tribe (cf. 2 Samuel 19:41-43). In this case, the Ephraimite Jeroboam was appointed (v. 23) as overseer of workers from his native “house of Joseph,” i.e., from the tribe of Ephraim and Manasseh (Josh. 17:17,18:5; Judg. 1:22,35), on the restoration of the fortress and other buildings of Jerusalem (v. 27), and this slave work (cf. 1 Kings 9:23) could pour the last drop into the cup of long-accumulating feelings of jealousy and resentment of the Ephraimites towards Solomon; Jeroboam, due to his personal ambition, was only a suitable spokesman for his tribe’s dissatisfaction with the dynasty of David and the desire to separate itself into an independent kingdom (see Prof. F. Ya. Pokrovsky. Division of the Jewish Kingdom, p. 280–281). 1 Kings 11:29. At that time it happened that Jeroboam left Jerusalem; And the prophet Ahijah the Shilohite met him on the road, and he had new clothes on. There were only two of them on the field. 1 Kings 11:30. And Ahijah took the new garment that he had on and tore it into twelve pieces, 1 Kings 11:31. and he said to Jeroboam, “Take for yourself ten portions, for thus says the Lord God of Israel: Behold, I am tearing the kingdom out of the hand of Solomon and giving you ten tribes, 1 Kings 11:32. and one tribe *** will remain behind him for the sake of My servant David and for the sake of the city of Jerusalem, which I have chosen from all the tribes of Israel. 1 Kings 11:33. This is because they forsook Me and began to worship Ashtoreth, the god of Sidon, and Chemosh, the god of Moab, and Milcom, the god of Ammon, and did not follow My ways, to do what was right in My sight and to keep My statutes and My commandments, like David his father. 1 Kings 11:34. I will not take the whole kingdom out of his hand, but I will leave him as ruler all the days of his life for the sake of David my servant, whom I have chosen, who kept my commandments and my statutes; 1 Kings 11:35. But I will take the kingdom out of the hand of his son and give you ten tribes out of it; 1 Kings 11:36. And to his son I will give one tribe, that the lamp of David my servant may remain all the days before me in the city of Jerusalem, which I have chosen for myself, that my name may dwell there. 1 Kings 11:37. I choose you, and you will rule over everything your soul desires, and you will be king over Israel; 1 Kings 11:38. And if you will keep all that I command you, and walk in My ways and do what is right in My sight, keeping My statutes and My commandments, as My servant David did, then I will be with you and will build you a strong house, as I built David, and I will give Israel to you; 1 Kings 11:39. and I will humble the line of David for this reason, but not forever. If the reason for Jeroboam’s indignation against Solomon was the indicated dissatisfaction of the whole tribe with him, then the reason for the discovery of Jeroboam’s ambitious claims (v. 40) could have been the prophet Ahijah’s prediction of his reign over 10 tribes; least of all in this prediction one can see agitation on the part of the prophet Ahijah (as interpreters of the critical, negative direction believe); Likewise, there is no reason to consider the prophet and Jeroboam to have known each other for a long time and even entered into an agreement; it is only known that both of them were from the tribe of Ephraim (Shilom, Heb. Shiloh, LXX: Σηλώ, Σηλώμ, where the prophet Ahijah was from, was in the tribe of Ephraim, north of Bethel, ( Judgment 21:19); Onomast. 870). The symbolic action of tearing the new clothes by the prophet was intended to more clearly express the determination of God's judgment on the kingdom of Israel and to imprint this in the mind and heart of Jeroboam. The new clothes, apparently, are a symbol of the strength and youthful strength of the undivided Jewish Kingdom, which only recently began its political existence. The 12 pieces of prophetic clothing, according to the prophet’s own explanation, mean the 12 tribes of Israel, of which 10 had to go under the scepter of Jeroboam, which is expressed by the transfer of 10 pieces of prophetic clothing to him (v. 31). Behind the house of David one tribe will remain - Judah with the addition of Benjamin, v. 32, 36 (according to LXX, glav.: δύο σκῆπτρα, “two banners”) - “so that the lamp of David may remain” (v. 36), cf. (1 Kings 15:4; 2 Kings 8:19) - descendants in general, then their best representatives, finally, the greatest descendant of David - the Messiah (v. 39), cf. (Luke 1:32–33). Jeroboam will be given the kingdom only under the condition of fidelity to theocratic principles (v. 38), which, as is known, he subsequently neglected from the very beginning (1 Kings 12:26–30). 1 Kings 11:40. Solomon wanted to kill Jeroboam; but Jeroboam arose and fled to Egypt to Shushakim, king of Egypt, and lived in Egypt until the death of Solomon. Probably, Jeroboam, filled with a sense of vanity, did not keep the prophetic prediction a secret and thereby aroused the persecution of Solomon, from whom he fled to Egypt to Pharaoh Shusakim, the Hebrew. Bigwig. This Egyptian pharaoh (for the first time in the Bible the proper name of a pharaoh appears here) was the founder of the new XXII Egyptian dynasty, the so-called Bubastian dynasty. His name is found in the inscriptions of the columns of the Karnak Church. He was undoubtedly hostile to the dynasty of Solomon (cf. his invasion of Jerusalem under Rehoboam), (1 Kings 14:25–26), which is why, one must think, he willingly gave shelter to Solomon’s rebellious subject until the latter’s death. 1 Kings 11:41. The rest of Solomon's events and all that he did and his wisdom are written in the book of Solomon's deeds. 1 Kings 11:42. The reign of Solomon in Jerusalem over all Israel was forty years. “The Book of the Deeds of Solomon” (v. 41), as well as the below cited “Chronicle of the Kings of Judah” (1 Kings 14:29,15:7,23, etc.) and “The Chronicle of the Kings of Israel” (1 Kings 15:31,16:5,14, etc.), represented, without a doubt, the records of contemporaries and, most likely, prophets: Nathan, Ahijah, Jeddo (Joel) (2 Chronicles 9:29–31). Wed. prof. P. A. Yungerova, Origin and historicity of the 3rd and 4th books. Kingdoms “Orthodox. Interview ", 1905, July-August, p. 415–419. 1 Kings 11:43. And Solomon slept with his fathers and was buried in the city of his father David, Did Solomon turn to God before his death, did he repent of the sins of disloyalty to Jehovah and moral depravity? “Unfortunately,” let’s say in the words of Met. Moscow. Philaret, - Solomon’s appeal is not as reliable as his delusions. However, Cyril of Jerusalem, Epiphanius, Jerome think that he preceded death with repentance... The book of Ecclesiastes, apparently, is a monument to this repentance” (Inscription of Church Biblical History, 10th ed., pp. 230–231). Examples of numerous harems are also found among other kings of the ancient East. It is known about Darius Kodoman that in his campaign against Alexander the Great he had 300 concubines. Khozroe, the king of Persia, had up to 12,000 wives. Prof. F. Ya. Pokrovsky. Division of the Jewish Kingdom into the Kingdoms of Judah and Israel. Kyiv, 1885, p. 270, approx. In Greek translation: two tribes. You might be interested in: