| hundred wives, princeſles, and three bundred concubines e : and his wives turned away
his heart.
e Partly, for his Luſt , which being indulged, becomes infinite and unfatiable ; and partly from his Pride, accounting this a point of Honour and Magnificence.
4. For it came to paſs, when Solomon was old f, that
his wives turned away his heart. afrer other gods g : and * his heart was net perfe& with the LORD his
God, as was the heart of David his father. f As having now reignednigh 3o Years, when it might have been _ expetted that Age ſhould haye cooled his Luſt,and Experience have made him wiſer and better, and when probably he was ſecure as to any ſuch miſcarriages : Then Gad permitted him to fall ſo ſhame- fully, that he might be to all ſucceeding Generations an example of God's Severity, and of the folly, and weakneſs,and wickedneſs of the wiſeſt and beſt Men, when left to themſelves. g Nor that they changed his Mind or Opinion about the True God, and Idols,which 3s not credible ; but that they cooled his Zeal againſtthems obtained from him a publick Indulgence for their Worſhip, and Money for ..., the making of Idols, and the ſupport of the Charges of their Prieſts - and Sacrifices,and poflibly perſwaded him ſometimes in complaiſance tojoyn with them inthe outward at of Idol-woerſhip ; or, at leaſt, in their Feaſts upon their Sacrifices, which was a participation of
their Idolatry. See Pſal. 106. 28. 1 Cor. 10. 20.
5 For Solomon went after þ * Aſhtaroth the goddeſs of the Zidonians, and afcer *Milcom 3 the abomina- tion of the Amorites..
- -þ- In manner explained in the former Vecſe. boch : of which ſee Lev. 18. 21. 2 Kings 23. 10.
6. And Solomon did evil in the ſight of the LORD
and f went not fully after the LORD &, as di4 David
'* Chap: I5: 3;
5 Called alſo Me-
ts his Sacher. ++ © © 7 er. k 5. e. Did notworſhip God wholly and ſolely, but joyned Idols | t: r: with him. WEED 8 36: 7 Then did Solomon build } an high place »z for
- * Chemoſh the abomination of Moab, in the hill thar & before Jeruſalem » ; and for Molech che abomination
of the children of Ammon. l 3. ex Suffer to be builc, or gave Money for it. i.e, An Altar
—
N G &Sx.
upon the high place, as the manner of the Heathens was, See N.mb. 22. 41. and 23. 1. 7 7.6. In the Mount of Olives, which was nigh unto Jeraſalem, 2 Sam. 15. 309. and from this a& was called the mount of corruption, 2 Kings 237 13. Idolatry being often called and eſteemed a corruption:
8 And likewiſe did he for all his ſtrange wives o, which burnt incenſe, and ſacrificed unto their gods.
o Having once given way to ſome few of his moſt beloved Wives, he was forced to comply with the reſt.
9 T And the LORD was angry with Solomon, be. cauſe.his heart was turned from the LOR D God of Iſrael p, * which had appeared unto him q twice, * Chap:
Þ From the expreſs Command, and from the Worſhip of God ; 3* 5: and not that he wholly neglt&ed God, but becauſe God eſteems a}l the 9* Worſhip of Idols ( though it be nor excluſive of, but conjoyned with his own Worſhip ) to be a forſaking of, and departing from God, and ott-times ſo calls it. q To wit, inan extraordinary, and moſt gracious, and obliging manner,
io And * had commanded him concerning this * Chay: thing, that he ſhould not go after other gods : but he © kept not that which the LORD commanded.
Iz Wherefore the LORD ſaid unto Solomon r, Foraſmuch as this F is done of thee, and thou haſt not + yg, ; kept my covenant, and my ſtatutes which I have com- with the manded thee, * I-will ſurely rend / the kingdom from ' Ve: 31, thee, and will give it to thy ſervant er. Chap12, r Either by ſuggeſtion to his mind : or, by appearance to him in "0 a terrible manner : or by the Prophet Ahijah, of whom wve#ſe 29.
J 1 will violently take away- The word in the Hebrew is doublcd
for the greater aſſurance of the thing. # To one of thy Servants and Subje&s ; which was Jerovoam, werſe 26, &Cc-
12 Notwithſtanding, in thy days LI will not do it, for David thy fathers fake «: but I will rend it out of
the hand of thy ſon.
For the reſpeC& I bear to his Memoryy and for my promiſe ſake made to him. 2 Sam. 7.
13 Howbeit, 1 will not rend away all the kingdom: but will give one tribe x to thy {on, for David my ſervants ſake, and for Jeruſalems ſake y, which I have choſen.
x How but one, when he had both Judah and Benjamin, 2 Chron, TI. 12 ? Anſ. Either Benjamin is ſwallowed up in Judah, becaule it was comparatively very ſmalland their habitation much intermixed with that of Judah 2 or, one, to wit, of that Kingdom which he here threatens to rend away from him, z. e. Of the Kingdom of 1jreel ; and that was Benjamin : one beſide Judah, which was his own Tribe: or, but one, becauſe Benjamin was 'not entirely his, bur part of it adhered to Jeroboam, as Bethel, 1 Kings 12 29. and Hephron 2 Chron. 13. 19+ both which were Towns of Benjamin, Joſh, 18. 22, Or, if God promiſed to give one, and gave him :wo, I ſuppole that was no great Injury to him. y Not, ſurely, for its merits ; bur becauſe he had choſen it, as it follows, to be the Seat of his Temple and Worſhip; it being God's uſual method to g:ve ro him that hath, and to continue and multiply favours to them whom he hath begun to favour,
14 © And the LORD ſtirred up an adverſary unto Solomon, Hadad the Edomite, he 4s of the kings ſeed
in Edom. | I5 * Forit came to paſs when David was in Edom * 2 Sit z, and Joab the captain of the hoſt was gone up to bury #1 the ſlain @, *after he had ſmitten every male in Edoms. ,, ,,
z To wit, by his Army, to War againſt ir. See 1 Chron, 18. 12, Peyt. 13. # To wit, the I/raelites which were lain in the Battcl, 2 Sam. ,o, 13, 8. 13z 14. Whom he honourably interred in ſome certain place, to which he is ſaid to go wp for that end. And this may be mentioned as that which gave Hadad the opportunity of making his elcape, whilſt Joab and his Men were employed in that Solemnity. 6 Ur, and he ſmote. &Cc. as it is in the Hebrew. Which is here noted as the cauſe of Hadad's flight ; he ſmote, &c. He underſtood what Joab had done in part, and intended further to do, even to kill all che Males, and therefore fled for his life- | | ,
16 ( For fix months did Joab remain there with all Iſrael, unti) he had cut off every male in Edom )
17 That Hadad fled, he and certain Edomites of his fathers ſervants with him, to go into Egypt ; Hadad being yet a little child,