1 Kings 11:7 kjv
Then did Solomon build an high place for Chemosh, the abomination of Moab, in the hill that is before Jerusalem, and for Molech, the abomination of the children of Ammon.
1 Kings 11:7 nkjv
Then Solomon built a high place for Chemosh the abomination of Moab, on the hill that is east of Jerusalem, and for Molech the abomination of the people of Ammon.
1 Kings 11:7 niv
On a hill east of Jerusalem, Solomon built a high place for Chemosh the detestable god of Moab, and for Molek the detestable god of the Ammonites.
1 Kings 11:7 esv
Then Solomon built a high place for Chemosh the abomination of Moab, and for Molech the abomination of the Ammonites, on the mountain east of Jerusalem.
1 Kings 11:7 nlt
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.
1 Kings 11 7 Cross References
| Verse | Text | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| Deut 17:17 | He [the king] must not acquire many wives for himself, or else his heart will turn away; nor must he acquire for himself excessive quantities of silver and gold. | King's prohibition on many wives turning heart away. |
| Exod 20:3 | You shall have no other gods before me. | First Commandment, exclusive worship of God. |
| Deut 6:4-5 | Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart... | The Shema, call to undivided devotion. |
| Deut 12:2-4 | You must utterly destroy all the places where the nations whom you are dispossessing served their gods, on the high mountains and on the hills and under every green tree... | Command to destroy pagan altars. |
| Lev 18:21 | You shall not give any of your offspring to offer them to Molech, nor shall you profane the name of your God... | Prohibition against child sacrifice to Molech. |
| Lev 20:2-5 | Any Israelite or any foreigner residing in Israel who gives any of his offspring to Molech is to be put to death... | Penalty for sacrificing to Molech. |
| Deut 18:9-12 | When you come into the land that the Lord your God is giving you, you shall not learn to follow the abominable practices of those nations... | Warning against detestable practices. |
| Num 21:29 | Woe to you, O Moab! You are undone, O people of Chemosh! He has given his sons as fugitives and his daughters into captivity... | Reference to Chemosh as Moab's deity. |
| Judg 11:24 | Will you not possess what Chemosh your god gives you to possess? And all that the Lord our God has dispossessed before us, we will possess. | Jephthah's challenge referencing Chemosh. |
| 1 Kgs 11:1-6 | Now King Solomon loved many foreign women... and his wives turned his heart away. For when Solomon was old, his wives turned away his heart after other gods... | Context of Solomon's foreign wives leading him astray. |
| 1 Kgs 11:9-10 | And the Lord was angry with Solomon, because his heart had turned away from the Lord... | God's immediate anger and judgment. |
| 1 Kgs 11:11-13 | Therefore the Lord said to Solomon, “Since this has been your practice and you have not kept my covenant... I will tear the kingdom from you...” | Divine judgment: tearing the kingdom. |
| 2 Kgs 23:13 | And the king [Josiah] defiled the high places that were east of Jerusalem... that Solomon the king of Israel had built for Ashtoreth... Chemosh... and Milcom... | Josiah's reform, directly addressing Solomon's high places. |
| Jer 32:35 | They built the high places of Baal in the Valley of Ben-Hinnom to offer their sons and daughters to Molech... | Later condemnation of child sacrifice. |
| Jer 48:7 | For because you trusted in your works and your treasures, you also shall be taken, and Chemosh shall go into exile with his priests and his officials. | Condemnation of Moab and Chemosh's exile. |
| Ezek 20:29 | I said to them, “What is the high place to which you go?” So its name is called Bamah to this day. | God's rhetorical question about "high places" (Bamah). |
| Deut 28:15 | But if you will not obey the voice of the Lord your God... then all these curses shall come upon you and overtake you. | General warning of curses for disobedience. |
| Neh 13:26 | Did not Solomon king of Israel sin on account of such women? Among the many nations there was no king like him... Yet even he was led into sin by foreign women. | Nehemiah's reflection on Solomon's fall due to foreign wives. |
| Pss 106:36-39 | They served their idols, which became a snare to them. They sacrificed their sons and their daughters to the demons... | General lament over Israel's idolatry and child sacrifice. |
| Acts 7:42-43 | But God turned away and gave them over to worship the host of heaven, as it is written in the book of the prophets: “Did you bring to me offerings and sacrifices forty years in the wilderness, O house of Israel? You took up the tent of Moloch and the star of the god Rephan, the images that you made to worship; and I will send you into exile beyond Babylon.” | Stephen's speech referencing Israel's past idolatry, including Molech worship. |
| Rom 1:21-25 | For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things... | Principle of exchanging God for idols, relevant to Solomon's fall from wisdom. |
| 2 Cor 6:14-16 | Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers... What agreement has the temple of God with idols? For we are the temple of the living God... | New Testament caution against spiritual compromise and idolatry. |
1 Kings 11 verses
1 Kings 11 7 Meaning
This verse describes King Solomon's active establishment of places of worship for foreign, idolatrous deities after his heart had been turned away from the Lord by his numerous foreign wives. Specifically, he constructed a "high place" for Chemosh, the detestable god of Moab, and another for Molech, the detestable god of the Ammonites. These abominable altars were strategically located on the mountain east of Jerusalem, visible and polluting the landscape near the holy city. This act signifies a profound spiritual departure by Solomon from the exclusive worship of Yahweh and represents a grave defilement in the eyes of God.
1 Kings 11 7 Context
1 Kings chapter 11 marks the pivotal downturn in King Solomon’s reign. The preceding chapters chronicle his immense wisdom, wealth, fame, and most significantly, his unparalleled achievement in building the First Temple for the Lord in Jerusalem. However, the chapter begins by revealing Solomon's grave transgression against the Deuteronomic law (Dt 17:17, 7:3-4) regarding foreign wives: he acquired 700 wives and 300 concubines from nations with whom marriage was forbidden precisely because they would turn his heart to their gods (1 Kgs 11:1-3). As Solomon grew old, his foreign wives succeeded in leading him away from the exclusive worship of Yahweh, culminating in his devotion to their deities (1 Kgs 11:4-6). Verse 7 is the culmination of this spiritual apostasy, detailing his most audacious act of disobedience: actively constructing "high places" for these idols. The location, "on the mountain which is east of Jerusalem," is significant; this is commonly identified as a spur of the Mount of Olives, potentially even visible from the Temple, and it became notoriously known as the "Mount of Corruption" (2 Kgs 23:13). This act was a direct defiance of God's command, an insult to His holiness, and an affront to the purity of worship intended for the Temple. This sin directly provoked the Lord’s anger and led to the prophecy of the division of Solomon's kingdom, pronounced immediately after these transgressions (1 Kgs 11:9-13).
1 Kings 11 7 Word analysis
- Then Solomon built: The verb "built" (בָּנָה banah) indicates active, deliberate construction. It's not passive acceptance or simple toleration but a direct royal decree and commitment of resources. This action, coming from the king who built the magnificent Temple for Yahweh, demonstrates the depth of his fall and the irony of his disobedience.
- a high place (בָּמָה bamah): This Hebrew term refers to elevated places used for pagan worship, often open-air shrines with altars. Such "high places" were common in Canaanite religion and were explicitly forbidden for Israel to use (Lev 26:30, Deut 12:2-3). Even some Israelite kings allowed or tolerated them, but for Solomon to build them for foreign gods right outside Jerusalem was a grave sin, contaminating the holy land.
- for Chemosh (כְּמוֹשׁ Kemowsh): The national deity of Moab. Worship of Chemosh sometimes involved human sacrifice, particularly children, as seen in later Moabite texts like the Mesha Stele, confirming its detestable nature to Yahweh.
- the detestable god (שִׁקּוּץ shiqqūts): This powerful Hebrew word translates to "abomination," "detestable thing," or "filthy idol." It conveys extreme loathsomeness in God's eyes. It’s used repeatedly in the Law (e.g., Deut 18:9-12) and Prophets to describe idols and their associated practices, marking them as utterly repugnant and morally defiling.
- of Moab: The nation of Moab was an ancient, long-standing adversary of Israel, descended from Lot (Gen 19:37), consistently engaging in hostile actions or alliances against Israel.
- on the mountain which is east of Jerusalem: This specific geographical detail is highly significant. It points to a spur of the Mount of Olives. Being east of Jerusalem, these "high places" were directly across from and likely visible from the Temple Mount. Their proximity underscored the blasphemous nature of Solomon's actions, a desecration on sacred ground near the very place he had built for God. This mountain later became known as the "Mount of Corruption" (2 Kgs 23:13) due to these idolatrous structures.
- and for Molech (מֹלֶךְ Molek): The national god of Ammon, an idolatrous deity whose worship was particularly horrific, centrally involving child sacrifice by fire (Lev 18:21; 20:2-5). This practice was one of the most severe abominations in God's law.
- the detestable god of the sons of Ammon: The Ammonites were another nation related to Israel through Lot (Gen 19:38), frequently hostile, and deeply entrenched in their abominable practices.
- "Then Solomon built a high place for...": This phrase highlights Solomon's direct initiative. It signifies a public, sanctioned religious infrastructure for pagan gods, a drastic shift from merely tolerating private worship among his foreign wives to establishing official cult sites for "detestable" deities. It portrays the king himself leading the kingdom astray into religious syncretism.
- "Chemosh the detestable god of Moab, on the mountain which is east of Jerusalem, and for Molech the detestable god of the sons of Ammon.": This specific detailing of deities, their origins, and precise location emphasizes the systematic nature of Solomon's idolatry. It demonstrates a strategic compromise: placing these detestable worship centers right outside the holy city, creating a hub of paganism directly confronting the Temple of Yahweh. This wasn't merely a private sin but a national disgrace, publicly defying the covenant.
1 Kings 11 7 Bonus section
The high places Solomon built on the Mount of Olives became enduring symbols of idolatry, such that Josiah, a king who reformed Judah centuries later, specifically targeted and destroyed these very structures as part of his extensive purge of idolatry (2 Kgs 23:13). This illustrates the long-lasting impact of Solomon's sin on the spiritual landscape of Israel. The location on the "Mount of Olives" is significant not only for its visibility from the Temple but also because this same mount would later feature prominently in the ministry of Jesus (e.g., teaching, Gethsemane, ascension), providing a stark contrast between ancient defilement and ultimate redemption. Solomon's compromise demonstrates a common pitfall: equating religious tolerance with spiritual syncretism, which inevitably leads to a watering down of true faith and exclusive devotion to the Lord.
1 Kings 11 7 Commentary
1 Kings 11:7 is a tragic climax in the narrative of King Solomon's spiritual decline. From being the wisest man and builder of God's magnificent Temple, he actively constructs altars for detestable pagan deities, placing them directly across from Jerusalem's holiest site. This was not a passive failing but a profound act of apostasy, a direct consequence of his disregard for God's clear commands regarding foreign alliances and intermarriage. The "high places" for Chemosh and Molech represent a deep defilement of the land, illustrating the insidious danger of spiritual compromise and the ease with which even those divinely favored can stray when their hearts are divided. Solomon's actions were a clear rejection of Yahweh's exclusive sovereignty, laying the foundation for the divine judgment of a divided kingdom and setting a terrible precedent for future Israelite kings who would "walk in the ways of Solomon." His fall is a sober reminder that wisdom, power, and blessings do not insulate one from the consequences of disobedience and a divided heart.