Verse-by-Verse Commentary
The Book of 1 Kings
First Kings runs from the golden reign of Solomon to the great prophet Elijah. It tells of wisdom and a glorious temple, of hearts drawn away by idolatry, of a kingdom torn in two, and of God's word standing firm through it all. This commentary walks through it verse by verse.
About This Commentary
First Kings opens with Solomon secured on the throne, receiving wisdom from God and building the temple in Jerusalem, the high point of Israel's glory. But it also records the slow decline that follows: Solomon's heart is turned by many wives and their idols, the kingdom splits into Israel and Judah after his death, and a succession of kings leads the people into sin. Into that darkness God sends the prophet Elijah to call the nation back.
This commentary covers 1 Kings verse by verse, with the Hebrew words that sharpen the meaning, verified background, and an Apostolic reading. Solomon, the son of David who builds God's house and reigns in peace, foreshadows Jesus, the true Son of David and Prince of Peace. References are given at the foot of each chapter.
This commentary on First Kings is complete, all twenty-two chapters, from Solomon's throne to the death of Ahab and the reign of Jehoshaphat.
Author
Not named in the book; Jewish tradition suggests Jeremiah.
Setting
From David's deathbed and Solomon's reign to the ministry of Elijah.
Key People
Solomon, the divided-kingdom kings, and the prophet Elijah.
Theme
Kings and a nation rise or fall by their faithfulness to God.
Translation
King James Version (KJV) throughout.
The Chapters
1 Kings Commentary
The chapters below are available now. The rest are being written and will open here as they are finished and verified.
1 Kings 1:1-53
Who Will Sit on the Throne?
As David lies dying, his son Adonijah exalts himself and seizes the throne, but God had promised it to Solomon, who is anointed king while the usurper's feast collapses in fear.
Read Chapter 1 →1 Kings 2:1-46
The Kingdom Established
David charges Solomon to be strong and keep God's ways, then dies. Solomon secures the throne, dealing with Adonijah, Abiathar, Joab, and Shimei, so that the kingdom is established in his hand on a foundation of justice.
Read Chapter 2 →1 Kings 3:1-28
Give Thy Servant an Understanding Heart
At Gibeon God offers Solomon anything, and he asks for a hearing heart to judge God's people. God grants wisdom and riches besides, and the judgment between two harlots shows all Israel that the wisdom of God was in him.
Read Chapter 3 →1 Kings 4:1-34
Every Man Under His Vine and Fig Tree
Solomon's reign reaches its golden height: an orderly government, a prosperous people, peace on every side, and God-given wisdom so great that people came from all nations to hear him.
Read Chapter 4 →1 Kings 5:1-18
To Build an House Unto the Name of the LORD
With rest on every side, Solomon allies with Hiram of Tyre for cedar and fir, and vast companies of workers hew timber and quarry costly stones to lay the foundation of the temple.
Read Chapter 5 →1 Kings 6:1-38
I Will Dwell Among the Children of Israel
Solomon builds the temple, its stones dressed beforehand so no tool is heard. God promises to dwell among His people, and the most holy place is overlaid with gold and guarded by great cherubim. Seven years in the building.
Read Chapter 6 →1 Kings 7:1-51
So Was Ended All the Work
Solomon builds his palace, and Hiram furnishes the temple: the pillars Jachin and Boaz, the molten sea and lavers for cleansing, and vessels of pure gold. At last all the work for the house of the LORD is ended.
Read Chapter 7 →1 Kings 8:1-66
Will God Indeed Dwell on the Earth?
The ark is brought into the most holy place and the glory of the LORD fills the house. Solomon blesses God, spreads his hands to heaven, and prays that God would hear from heaven and forgive, even the stranger from a far country, that all people might know His name.
Read Chapter 8 →1 Kings 9:1-28
If Thou Wilt Walk Before Me
The LORD appears to Solomon a second time, hallowing the temple and setting His name there for ever, but warning that idolatry will bring even this house to ruin. Then follow the land of Cabul, Solomon's great building works, and the navy that sailed to Ophir for gold.
Read Chapter 9 →1 Kings 10:1-29
The Half Was Not Told Me
The queen of Sheba comes to prove Solomon with hard questions and finds his wisdom and glory far exceed the report, blessing the God of Israel. Then follows the account of Solomon's unequalled riches, when he exceeded all the kings of the earth.
Read Chapter 10 →1 Kings 11:1-43
His Wives Turned Away His Heart
The tragic fall of Solomon: his many strange wives turn his heart after other gods, and God sentences the kingdom to be rent from his house. Adversaries rise, Ahijah prophesies to Jeroboam, and after forty years Solomon dies.
Read Chapter 11 →1 Kings 12:1-33
To Your Tents, O Israel
Rehoboam rejects the counsel of the old men and threatens a heavier yoke, and ten tribes tear away from the house of David. The kingdom is divided, and Jeroboam sets up golden calves at Bethel and Dan, leading Israel into sin.
Read Chapter 12 →1 Kings 13:1-34
He Disobeyed the Mouth of the LORD
A man of God from Judah cries against Jeroboam's altar and names Josiah centuries before his birth. The king's hand withers and the altar is rent, but an old prophet's lie turns the man of God from obedience, and a lion meets him in the way.
Read Chapter 13 →1 Kings 14:1-31
Why Feignest Thou Thyself to Be Another?
Jeroboam sends his disguised wife to the blind prophet Ahijah, but no disguise hides from God, who pronounces the doom of Jeroboam's house. The chapter then records the reign of Rehoboam in Judah and Shishak's stripping of the temple's gold.
Read Chapter 14 →1 Kings 15:1-34
Asa's Heart Was Perfect With the LORD
The reigns of Abijam and Asa in Judah and of Nadab and Baasha in Israel. For David's sake God keeps a lamp in Jerusalem; Asa reforms with a whole heart; and the doom on Jeroboam's house is fulfilled to the letter.
Read Chapter 15 →1 Kings 16:1-34
Ahab Did Evil Above All Before Him
The northern kingdom spirals through conspiracy and bloodshed: Baasha's doom, Elah, Zimri's seven days, and Omri who builds Samaria. Then Ahab arises, marries Jezebel, serves Baal, and provokes the LORD more than all before him.
Read Chapter 16 →1 Kings 17:1-24
The Word of the LORD in Thy Mouth Is Truth
Elijah proclaims the drought and is fed by ravens at Cherith. God sends him to the widow of Zarephath, whose barrel of meal and cruse of oil never fail, and when her son dies, Elijah's cry brings the child back to life.
Read Chapter 17 →1 Kings 18:1-46
The LORD, He Is the God
The showdown on Mount Carmel. Elijah calls Israel to stop halting between two opinions, Baal is silent all day, and the fire of the LORD falls on the drenched altar. The people cry, 'The LORD, he is the God,' and the drought breaks in a great rain.
Read Chapter 18 →1 Kings 19:1-21
A Still Small Voice
Fleeing Jezebel, the exhausted Elijah asks to die, but God feeds him and brings him to Horeb. There, in a still small voice, God reassures him of seven thousand faithful, gives a fresh commission, and calls Elisha to follow.
Read Chapter 19 →1 Kings 20:1-43
Ye Shall Know That I Am the LORD
Benhadad of Syria besieges Samaria, and God gives Ahab two great victories to prove He is the LORD, God of the hills and the valleys alike. But Ahab spares the enemy God had condemned, and a prophet declares his life shall go for that life.
Read Chapter 20 →1 Kings 21:1-29
Hast Thou Killed, and Also Taken Possession?
Ahab covets Naboth's vineyard, and Jezebel has him murdered to seize it. Elijah meets the king in the stolen vineyard with a word of doom on his house, yet when Ahab humbles himself, God mercifully defers the judgment.
Read Chapter 21 →1 Kings 22:1-53
What the LORD Saith, That Will I Speak
Four hundred prophets promise Ahab victory, but Micaiah speaks only the word of the LORD. Ahab marches out disguised, yet an arrow drawn at a venture finds him and the dogs lick his blood, exactly as Elijah foretold. So closes the First Book of Kings.
Read Chapter 22 →