And the time that Solomon reigned in Jerusalem over all Israel was forty years.
All Commentaries on 1 Kings 11:42 Go To 1 Kings 11
George Leo Haydock
AD 1849
Forty. Josephus says eighty; and some suppose, that the Scripture only specifies the years during which Solomon reigned virtuously. Pezron is of the same opinion as Josephus. (Haydock)
Others contend that it is a manifest mistake. Immoderate pleasures hastened his old age and death, when he was about fifty-eight years old. All in him was great, whether we consider the virtues of his early days, or the vices of his old age. He falls from heaven into the abyss. His repentance is a problem. (Calmet)