Topical Bible: Hittites: Solomon Interrmarries With

◄ Hittites: Solomon Interrmarries With ►

Topical Encyclopedia

The Hittites were one of the ancient peoples frequently mentioned in the Old Testament, known for their interactions with the Israelites. They were part of the larger Canaanite population residing in the land promised to the descendants of Abraham. The Hittites are often listed among the nations that the Israelites were commanded to drive out of the Promised Land (Deuteronomy 7:1).

King Solomon, renowned for his wisdom and wealth, is noted for his political alliances and marriages to foreign women, including Hittites. These marriages were often strategic, intended to secure peace and alliances with neighboring nations. However, they also led to spiritual and religious complications for Solomon and the nation of Israel.

In 1 Kings 11:1-2 , it is recorded: "King Solomon, however, loved many foreign women along with the daughter of Pharaoh—women of Moab, Ammon, Edom, and Sidon, as well as Hittite women. These women were from the nations about which the LORD had told the Israelites, 'You must not intermarry with them, for surely they will turn your hearts after their gods.' Yet Solomon clung to these women in love."

The intermarriage with Hittite women, among others, was a direct violation of God's command to the Israelites. The Lord had explicitly warned against such unions because they could lead the Israelites away from worshiping Him and towards idolatry. Solomon's marriages to foreign women, including Hittites, eventually led to his spiritual downfall. His heart was turned away from the Lord, and he began to worship other gods, influenced by his wives (1 Kings 11:4-6).

The consequences of Solomon's actions were significant. The Lord became angry with Solomon because his heart had turned away from the God of Israel, who had appeared to him twice. As a result, God declared that the kingdom would be torn away from Solomon's son, leading to the division of the united monarchy into the northern kingdom of Israel and the southern kingdom of Judah (1 Kings 11:9-13).

Solomon's intermarriage with Hittite women serves as a cautionary tale about the dangers of disobedience to God's commands and the spiritual peril of forming alliances that lead one's heart away from the Lord. The narrative underscores the importance of faithfulness to God's covenant and the consequences of allowing foreign influences to lead to idolatry and spiritual compromise.

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1 Kings 11:1
But king Solomon loved many strange women, together with the daughter of Pharaoh, women of the Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Zidonians, and Hittites:
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2 Chronicles 8:7,8
As for all the people that were left of the Hittites, and the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites, which were not of Israel,
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