1 Kings 11:43
ESV
And Solomon slept with his fathers and was buried in the city of David his father. And Rehoboam his son reigned in his place.
NIV
Then he rested with his ancestors and was buried in the city of David his father. And Rehoboam his son succeeded him as king.
NASB
Then Solomon lay down with his fathers and was buried in the city of his father David, and his son Rehoboam reigned in his place.
CSB
Solomon rested with his fathers and was buried in the city of his father David. His son Rehoboam became king in his place.
NLT
When he died, he was buried in the City of David, named for his father. Then his son Rehoboam became the next king.
KJV
And Solomon slept with his fathers, and was buried in the city of David his father: and Rehoboam his son reigned in his stead.
NKJV
Then Solomon rested with his fathers, and was buried in the City of David his father. And Rehoboam his son reigned in his place.
What does 1 Kings 11:43 mean?
Solomon has reigned for forty years (1 Kings 11:42). He is the wisest man of his time, and the richest and most honored in his region. He's the third king of a united Israel and the second king to watch his son take the throne.Solomon was born because David wanted to comfort Bathsheba. David had stolen her, impregnated her, and murdered her husband. In judgment, God took the life of the baby. David repented fully, first to God, then, it seems to Bathsheba. He couldn't bring back her husband or the baby, but he could give her more children. Solomon was the favored among Bathsheba's four sons (1 Chronicles 3:5).
While David's older sons indulged in rape, murder, and rebellion, no early mention is made of Solomon or Bathsheba's other sons. Although David favored Solomon, there's no account he put himself forward. Even when his older brother tried to usurp the crown, it was Bathsheba, under Nathan's instructions, who championed Solomon before David (1 Kings 1).
God blessed Solomon on behalf of David. Because David loved God, God promised to give him an heir who would take the throne, build the temple, and keep the throne no matter what he did (2 Samuel 7:12–15). But Solomon has committed the most horrible crime possible: he has rejected Yahweh and worshiped foreign gods. To honor David, God will delay Solomon's judgment and place the curse on his son. Although Rehoboam will take the throne, God will take ten of the tribes away from him. The judgment isn't unjust; Rehoboam is so cruel, God steps in to prevent a civil war (1 Kings 12:1–24).
The phrase that he "slept with his fathers" is more than just a poetic way of saying that he joined his ancestors in the afterlife. The most customary practice of this time was for families to lay their dead in large, multi-chambered tombs. Where and with whom someone is buried is a sign of intense loyalty and belonging. When Ruth told Naomi, "Where you die I will die, and there will I be buried" (Ruth 1:17), she was declaring loyalty to Naomi as her family.
David's tomb is the source of several myths. It's said that the high priest Hyrcanus raided David's tomb to pay off Antiochus. A less proven story claims that Herod the Great tried to enter for a similar purpose, but a supernatural fire drove back his men. It's not clear if the gold was David's, Solomon's, or belonged to another king. Solomon's son will join them seventeen years later (2 Chronicles 12:13).
