_A.M. 2990. B.C. 1014._ Solomon marries Pharaoh's daughter, 1 Kings 3:1. His religion, 1 Kings 3:2. His prayer for wisdom, and the answer, 1 Kings 3:5. He decides the dispute between the two harlots, 1 Kings 3:16.... [ Continue Reading ]
_Solomon made affinity with Pharaoh_ As being a powerful neighbour. _And took Pharaoh's daughter_ To wife, which was not unlawful, if she was first instructed in, and made a proselyte to, the Jewish religion, as, in all probability, she was. For Solomon was not yet fallen from God, but _loved the Lo... [ Continue Reading ]
_Only the people sacrificed in high places_ Which were groves, or other convenient places upon hills. In such places the patriarchs had been wont to offer up their worship, and sacrifices to God; and from them this custom was derived both to the Gentiles and the Jews; and in them the Gentiles sacrif... [ Continue Reading ]
_And Solomon loved_ Or, _Yet he loved, the Lord_ Although he miscarried in the matter of high places, yet, in the general, his heart was right with God. _Walking in the statutes_ According to the statutes or commands of God, which are here called _the statutes of David;_ not only because they were d... [ Continue Reading ]
_The king went to Gibeon_ Because the tabernacle was there, and the great brazen altar which Moses made. For after Shiloh was destroyed, they were carried to Nob; and the priests being there slain by Saul, they were removed to Gibeon, 2 Chronicles 1:3. _That was the great high place_ The most eminen... [ Continue Reading ]
_The Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream_ As he had done to Jacob at Bethel, Genesis 28:13; and to others on different occasions, Genesis 20:3; Genesis 26:24. Sleep is like a state of death to the soul; wherein the senses are locked up, and the understanding and will deprived of the free exercise of... [ Continue Reading ]
_According as he walked before thee in truth_ In the true worship of God, in the profession, belief, practice, and defence of the true religion. So _truth_ here contains all duties to God, as _righteousness_ doth his duties to men, and _uprightness_ the right manner of performing both sorts of dutie... [ Continue Reading ]
_Give to thy servant an understanding heart_ Whereby I may both clearly discern, and faithfully perform all the parts of my duty: for both these are spoken of in Scripture as the effects of a good understanding; and he that lives in the neglect of his duties, or the practice of wickedness, is called... [ Continue Reading ]
_The speech pleased the Lord_ For it manifested a disinterested mind and a public spirit, that desired, above all things, the honour of God and the good of his people, and to direct his conduct aright and to do justice.... [ Continue Reading ]
_Nor hast asked the life of thine enemies_ That God would take away their lives, or put it into his power to destroy them. _Behold I have done according to thy word_ I have granted, and do at this present grant thy desire. And accordingly at this time God did infuse into him a far higher degree of w... [ Continue Reading ]
_I have given thee that which thou hast not asked_ Or rather, _I will give thee_, as it is expressed in the parallel place, 2 Chronicles 1:12; _I_ will as certainly give them as if I had already actually done it. For future things, which God is engaged to bring to pass, or foresees will take place,... [ Continue Reading ]
_Behold, it was a dream_ He perceived that it was a dream; not a vain dream, such as those wherewith men are commonly deluded, but a divine dream, assuring him of the things promised, which he knew, by a divine impression, after he was awaked, and by the vast alteration which he presently found with... [ Continue Reading ]
_Two women that were harlots_ Or, _victuallers;_ for the Hebrew word signifies both. Yet that they were unmarried persons seems probable, both because there is no mention of any husbands, whose office it was, if there were any such, to contest for their wives; and because they lived a solitary life... [ Continue Reading ]
_On the third day this woman was delivered also_ So that the children could not be distinguished by their age. _No stranger was with us in the house_ Therefore there was no witness on either side; and although there might be some difference distinguishable by an exact observer between the features o... [ Continue Reading ]
_The king said_ With seeming sincerity, though with a design far above the reach of the two women, or of the people present, who probably with horror expected the execution of his sentence. “Solomon knew at once that the only sign whereby to discover the true mother, would be her affection, and comp... [ Continue Reading ]
_She is the mother_ As is evident from her natural affection to the child, which she had rather have given away from her than destroyed. _Wisdom of God_ Divine wisdom, with which God had inspired him for the government of his people.... [ Continue Reading ]