1 Kings 11:41

And the rest of the acts of Solomon, and all that he did, and his wisdom, are they not written in the book of the acts of Solomon?

EXPOSITORY (ENGLISH BIBLE)

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers

(41) The book of the acts of Solomon.—In 2Chronicles 9:29 the acts of Solomon are said to be “written in the book of Nathan the prophet, and in the prophecy of Ahijah the Shilonite, and in the visions of Iddo the seer against Jeroboam the son of Nebat.” The prophets appear here in the character of annalists. The book of Nathan presumably contained only the history of the early years; that of Ahijah may have well covered most of the later reign; and the visions of Iddo “could but have dealt incidentally with the closing acts of Solomon. The narrative as given in the Book of Kings is evidently a compilation drawn from various sources, differing in various parts, both in style and in degree of detail. Thus the account of the Temple building and dedication evidently comes from some temple record; and the references to Solomon’s territory, and the arrangements of his kingdom, look like notes drawn from official archives.

Benson Commentary

1 Kings 11:41. The rest of the acts of Solomon, &c. — It is probable that Solomon employed a chronologer, or historiographer, to write the annals of his reign, which public record is here termed, The book of the acts of Solomon. And out of these annals the sacred writer of this history took what he judged most useful, and omitted the rest, which he did not think so necessary to be related, or so instructive.

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary

11:41-43 Solomon's reign was as long as his father's, but his life was not so. Sin shortened his days. If the world, with all its advantages, could satisfy the soul, and afford real joy, Solomon would have found it so. But he was disappointed in all, and to warn us, has left this record of all earthly enjoyments, Vanity and vexation of spirit. The New Testament declares that one greater than Solomon is come to reign over us, and to possess the throne of his father David. May we not see something of Christ's excellency faintly represented to us in this figure?

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

The book of the acts of Solomon - See the marginal reference and Introduction.

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

40. Shishak—He harbored and encouraged the rebellious refugee, and was of a different dynasty from the father-in-law of Solomon.

Matthew Poole's Commentary

In the public records, where the lives and actions of kings were registered from time to time. So this was only a political, but not a sacred book.

Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible

And the rest of the acts of Solomon, and all that he did, and his wisdom, are they not written in the book of the acts of Solomon? Either written by himself, as Kimchi suggests, though not in being; or by some chronologer or historiographer employed by him in writing the most memorable things that happened in his reign; or by several prophets, as in 2 Chronicles 9:29 out of which the inspired writer of this book took what he was directed to by the Lord to be transmitted to future ages.

Geneva Study Bible

And the rest of the acts of Solomon, and all that he did, and his wisdom, are they not written in the {t} book of the acts of Solomon?

(t) Which it is thought was lost in their captivity.

EXEGETICAL (ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)

Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

41. And the rest of the acts] The usual rendering of this phrase is Now the rest, &c. and this has been adopted for uniformity’s sake by the R.V. in this place. The word rendered ‘acts,’ in this and similar passages, means also ‘words,’ and in the case of such a king as Solomon, whose fame arose greatly from what he spake, it has been thought worth while to put this rendering on the margin, both in A. V. and R.V.

the book of the acts of Solomon] Attached to the royal household was an official recorder, who kept a chronicle of events and thus prepared the sources of future history. In 2 Chronicles 9:29-31 where the parallelism with Kings is taken up again, we have the names of the writers given, viz. ‘the history of Nathan the prophet, the prophecy of Ahijah the Shilonite, and the visions of Iddo the seer concerning Jeroboam the son of Nebat.’

Pulpit Commentary

Verse 41. - And the rest of the acts of Solomon, and all that he did, and his wisdom, are they not written in the book of the acts of Solomon? [The sources of this history are mentioned more specifically in 2 Chronicles 9:29.] 1 Kings 11:41

Keil and Delitzsch Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament

Conclusion of the history of Solomon. - Notice of the original works, in which further information can be found concerning his acts and his wisdom (see the Introduction); the length of his reign, viz., forty years; his death, burial, and successor. Solomon did not live to a very great age, since he was not more than twenty years old when he ascended the throne. - Whether Solomon turned to the Lord again with all his heart, a question widely discussed by the older commentators (see Pfeifferi Dubia vex. p. 435; Buddei hist. eccl. ii. p. 273ff.), cannot be ascertained from the Scriptures. If the Preacher Koheleth) is traceable to Solomon so far as the leading thoughts are concerned, we should find in this fact an evidence of his conversion, or at least a proof that at the close of his life Solomon discovered the vanity of all earthly possessions and aims, and declared the fear of God to be the only abiding good, with which a man can stand before the judgment of God.