· Translation: KJV

1 Kings 11:8So did he for all his foreign wives, who burnt incense and sacrificed to their gods.

The setting

Jerusalem, ~930 BC. Seven hundred wives and three hundred concubines from surrounding nations each worship their homeland gods. Solomon funds and participates in all of them. Modern-day Jerusalem, Israel.

The emotion here: weary sadness at documenting systematic spiritual failure

The original word

nāshîm (נָשִׁים) — wives, but here referring to political marriage alliances turned spiritual snares

Why it matters

Solomon had 1,000 women from nations God specifically forbade Israel to marry

Read with care

What most readers miss in 1 Kings 11:8

The repetition 'so did he' emphasizes Solomon actively participated, not just allowed

Common misconceptionPeople think Solomon was just being a good husband, but he actively participated in worship that God called abomination.

Bible Genome reading

1 Kings 11:8 — Bible Genome reading

SpeakerNarrator
EraUnited Kingdom
Primary emotionangry
Literary typenarrative

Emotional genome

Comfort power10%
Quotability50%
Memorability60%
Crisis relevance60%
Standalone40%
Themes:compromisesystematic idolatry

In context

No verse stands alone.

Read the conversation around it.

Open 1 Kings 11

1 Kings 11:8 comes from the book of 1 Kings, written during the United Kingdom period. These words are attributed to Narrator. The dominant emotion in this verse is angry, with a comfort power of 10% and a tone that is lamenting. It belongs to the narrative genre of biblical literature. Key themes include compromise, systematic idolatry. Notable phrases: all his foreign wives; burnt incense and sacrificed.

Your reflection

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