1 Kings 3 Study Notes

3:1 Recalling Egypt’s glorious past, some assume that Solomon was the junior member of this marriage alliance. Two points counter that interpretation. (1) The Egyptians did not typically send princesses even to other great kingdoms. And it was probably quite unlikely for Egypt to send a princess to an inferior ally. (2) The fact that Pharaoh Siamun captured and burned Gezer, perhaps earlier during David’s reign, but then gave it back to Solomon (see note at 9:16) speaks of Solomon’s strength rather than his weakness. Pharaoh means “big house” and was a title, not a proper name, just as “the White House” serves as a popular title for the president of the United States. For such a prestigious wife, the cramped quarters of the original city of David were not suitable.

Some suggest that brides in political marriages, such as the one between Solomon and Pharaoh’s daughter, conducted the business that in modern times is conducted by ambassadors. Therefore Solomon’s granting his foreign wives and the representatives of their governments the right to worship their own gods while in Israel was, on the human level, a diplomatic courtesy. But the Lord regarded such courtesy toward false gods as apostasy. This was Solomon’s first recorded example of conflict between prudent politics and faithfulness to the Lord.

3:2-3a Archaeology shows that religious syncretism was always a part of popular Hebrew culture. The archaeological evidences for religious syncretism are as abundant for Judah as they are for Israel. The worship at the high places, or hilltop altars, might have been of three sorts: (1) the legal local worship of the Lord before any formal recognition of a national shrine, (2) the illegal worship of the Lord at such shrines after the recognition of a national shrine, and (3) the syncretistic worship of local Baals at local shrines. Not all scholars agree that the local worship of the Lord was illegal before the temple was built. Further, it is not certain that God absolutely prohibited worship of himself at the historic pagan holy sites. The rules were (1) that the pagan equipment should be destroyed (Dt 7:5) and (2) that the site should be explicitly chosen or accepted by God (Dt 12:5; 1Kg 18:20-38), usually by an epiphany or an oracle.

Debate about the meaning of “high places” aside, the normal locations for shrines for sky gods were on the hilltops. These were closer to the sky, and were often situated over a cave that according to ancient lore could represent the underworld. The cave under the Mosque of Omar in Jerusalem today may have been the cave under the site of Solomon’s temple.

3:3b-4 Even if a pious Solomon did sacrifice at the high places for the Lord before the temple was built, it might have been proper worship because of Solomon’s better attitude. Part of King Saul’s offense (1Sm 13:9-13) was a disobedient attitude. After the temple was built, worshiping the Lord at the high places was sin. The numbers of the sacrifices may indicate that Solomon authorized the offering of abundant sacrifices by other, appropriate personnel.

3:5 Gibeon was the last of the pre-temple national shrines. It was located about six miles north of Jerusalem. How did it become a sacred city since it passed into Hebrew control by deception (Jos 9)? Holy places tended to remain holy through changes in time and local population. The Hebrews acknowledged its holy status when the tabernacle and the bronze altar were put there.

3:6 Faithful love (Hb chesed) almost always refers to covenant faithfulness. David was faithful in his obedience to God; God was, in turn, faithful in giving and keeping his covenant promises to David. Covenant faithfulness is a key concept in OT theology.

3:7-11 Solomon’s prayer marked a major cultural shift in Hebrew life, a shift to peaceful values involving wisdom and skill rather than military craft. Solomon reflected these new values in asking for a heart that would be receptive (to the covenant) in judging the nation. Solomon’s request was a request to discern. That a ruler of a great empire would desire an obedient, wise heart signaled a major change in values. These new values are also reflected in the royal psalm, Ps 72. The old values are reflected in the title “man of war” (1Ch 28:3), assigned to David. In the old ways, prowess in war made a political leader mighty.

3:12-14 Solomon thus got the best of both sets of values, the wisdom that marked the wise man or effective businessman, as well as the riches . . . honor, and power that marked success in the older values.

3:15 Solomon celebrated this oracle with a great sacrificial feast of fellowship offerings for his servants—perhaps for all the resident palace staff.

3:16-28 Though Solomon’s reign involved a new, distant, imperial king, the people, at least those in Jerusalem, still had access to royal justice. The lack of such access during David’s reign had been used by Absalom to win the hearts of the people (2Sm 15:3-6). Then (v. 16) marks the connection to the previous dream that Solomon had. He had asked for the ability to discern so he could judge God’s people (v. 9). God answered his prayer (Jms 1:5) and gave more than he asked for. This passage is an example of the use of a God-given discerning mind. Ancient Mesopotamian kings kept records of exceptional legal decisions, which were presented to their gods to show that they had acted wisely (D. J. Wiseman, 1 & 2 Kings, Tyndale Old Testament Commentary). Israel’s historians evidently kept similar records.