14 For the Levites left their suburbs and their possession, and came to Judah and Jerusalem: for Jeroboam and his sons cast them off, that they should not execute the priest's office unto Jehovah;
Have ye not driven out the priests of Jehovah, the sons of Aaron, and the Levites, and made you priests after the manner of the peoples of `other' lands? so that whosoever cometh to consecrate himself with a young bullock and seven rams, the same may be a priest of `them that are' no gods.
Command the children of Israel, that they give unto the Levites of the inheritance of their possession cities to dwell in; and suburbs for the cities round about them shall ye give unto the Levites. And the cities shall they have to dwell in; and their suburbs shall be for their cattle, and for their substance, and for all their beasts. And the suburbs of the cities, which ye shall give unto the Levites, shall be from the wall of the city and outward a thousand cubits round about. And ye shall measure without the city for the east side two thousand cubits, and for the south side two thousand cubits, and for the west side two thousand cubits, and for the north side two thousand cubits, the city being in the midst. This shall be to them the suburbs of the cities.
Whereupon the king took counsel, and made two calves of gold; and he said unto them, It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem: behold thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt. And he set the one in Beth-el, and the other put he in Dan. And this thing became a sin; for the people went `to worship' before the one, even unto Dan. And he made houses of high places, and made priests from among all the people, that were not of the sons of Levi. And Jeroboam ordained a feast in the eighth month, on the fifteenth day of the month, like unto the feast that is in Judah, and he went up unto the altar; so did he in Beth-el, sacrificing unto the calves that he had made: and he placed in Beth-el the priests of the high places that he had made. And he went up unto the altar which he had made in Beth-el on the fifteenth day in the eighth month, even in the month which he had devised of his own heart: and he ordained a feast for the children of Israel, and went up unto the altar, to burn incense.
And all the tithe of the land, whether of the seed of the land, or of the fruit of the tree, is Jehovah's: it is holy unto Jehovah. And if a man will redeem aught of his tithe, he shall add unto it the fifth part thereof. And all the tithe of the herd or the flock, whatsoever passeth under the rod, the tenth shall be holy unto Jehovah. He shall not search whether it be good or bad, neither shall he change it: and if he change it at all, then both it and that for which it is changed shall be holy; it shall not be redeemed. These are the commandments, which Jehovah commanded Moses for the children of Israel in mount Sinai.
And unto the children of Levi, behold, I have given all the tithe in Israel for an inheritance, in return for their service which they serve, even the service of the tent of meeting. And henceforth the children of Israel shall not come nigh the tent of meeting, lest they bear sin, and die. But the Levites shall do the service of the tent of meeting, and they shall bear their iniquity: it shall be a statute for ever throughout your generations; and among the children of Israel they shall have no inheritance. For the tithe of the children of Israel, which they offer as a heave-offering unto Jehovah, I have given to the Levites for an inheritance: therefore I have said unto them, Among the children of Israel they shall have no inheritance. And Jehovah spake unto Moses, saying, Moreover thou shalt speak unto the Levites, and say unto them, When ye take of the children of Israel the tithe which I have given you from them for your inheritance, then ye shall offer up a heave-offering of it for Jehovah, a tithe of the tithe. And your heave-offering shall be reckoned unto you, as though it were the grain of the threshing-floor, and as the fulness of the winepress. Thus ye also shall offer a heave-offering unto Jehovah of all your tithes, which ye receive of the children of Israel; and thereof ye shall give Jehovah's heave-offering to Aaron the priest.
And the families of the children of Kohath, the Levites, even the rest of the children of Kohath, they had the cities of their lot out of the tribe of Ephraim. And they gave them Shechem with its suburbs in the hill-country of Ephraim, the city of refuge for the manslayer, and Gezer with its suburbs, and Kibzaim with its suburbs, and Beth-horon with its suburbs; four cities. And out of the tribe of Dan, Elteke with its suburbs, Gibbethon with its suburbs, Aijalon with its suburbs, Gath-rimmon with its suburbs; four cities. And out of the half-tribe of Manasseh, Taanach with its suburbs, and Gath-rimmon with its suburbs; two cities. All the cities of the families of the rest of the children of Kohath were ten with their suburbs. And unto the children of Gershon, of the families of the Levites, out of the half-tribe of Manasseh `they gave' Golan in Bashan with its suburbs, the city of refuge for the manslayer, and Be-eshterah with its suburbs; two cities. And out of the tribe of Issachar, Kishion with its suburbs, Daberath with its suburbs, Jarmuth with its suburbs, En-gannim with its suburbs; four cities. And out of the tribe of Asher, Mishal with its suburbs, Abdon with its suburbs, Helkath with its suburbs, and Rehob with its suburbs; four cities. And out of the tribe of Naphtali, Kedesh in Galilee with its suburbs, the city of refuge for the manslayer, and Hammoth-dor with its suburbs, and Kartan with its suburbs; three cities. All the cities of the Gershonites according to their families were thirteen cities with their suburbs. And unto the families of the children of Merari, the rest of the Levites, out of the tribe of Zebulun, Jokneam with its suburbs, and Kartah with its suburbs, Dimnah with its suburbs, Nahalal with its suburbs; four cities. And out of the tribe of Reuben, Bezer with its suburbs, and Jahaz with its suburbs, Kedemoth with its suburbs, and Mephaath with its suburbs; four cities. And out of the tribe of Gad, Ramoth in Gilead with its suburbs, the city of refuge for the manslayer, and Mahanaim with its suburbs, Heshbon with its suburbs, Jazer with its suburbs; four cities in all. All `these were' the cities of the children of Merari according to their families, even the rest of the families of the Levites; and their lot was twelve cities. All the cities of the Levites in the midst of the possession of the children of Israel were forty and eight cities with their suburbs. These cities were every one with their suburbs round about them: thus it was with all these cities.
After this thing Jeroboam returned not from his evil way, but made again from among all the people priests of the high places: whosoever would, he consecrated him, that there might be priests of the high places.
And some of the families of the sons of Kohath had cities of their borders out of the tribe of Ephraim. And they gave unto them the cities of refuge, Shechem in the hill-country of Ephraim with its suburbs; Gezer also with its suburbs, and Jokmeam with its suburbs, and Beth-horon with its suburbs, and Aijalon with its suburbs, and Gath-rimmon with its suburbs; and out of the half-tribe of Manasseh, Aner with its suburbs, and Bileam with its suburbs, for the rest of the family of the sons of Kohath. Unto the sons of Gershom `were given', out of the family of the half-tribe of Manasseh, Golan in Bashan with its suburbs, and Ashtaroth with its suburbs; and out of the tribe of Issachar, Kedesh with its suburbs, Daberath with its suburbs, and Ramoth with its suburbs, and Anem with its suburbs; and out of the tribe of Asher, Mashal with its suburbs, and Abdon with its suburbs, and Hukok with its suburbs, and Rehob with its suburbs; and out of the tribe of Naphtali, Kedesh in Galilee with its suburbs, and Hammon with its suburbs, and Kiriathaim with its suburbs. Unto the rest of `the Levites', the sons of Merari, `were given', out of the tribe of Zebulun, Rimmono with its suburbs, Tabor with its suburbs; and beyond the Jordan at Jericho, on the east side of the Jordan, `were given them', out of the tribe of Reuben, Bezer in the wilderness with its suburbs, and Jahzah with its suburbs, and Kedemoth with its suburbs, and Mephaath with its suburbs; and out of the tribe of Gad, Ramoth in Gilead with its suburbs, and Mahanaim with its suburbs, and Heshbon with its suburbs, and Jazer with its suburbs.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible » Commentary on 2 Chronicles 11
Commentary on 2 Chronicles 11 Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
CHAPTER 11
2Ch 11:1-17. Rehoboam, Raising an Army to Subdue Israel, Is Forbidden by Shemaiah.
1-4. Rehoboam … gathered of the house of Judah and Benjamin … to fight against Israel—(See 1Ki 12:21-24).
5-11. built cities for defence in Judah—This is evidently used as the name of the southern kingdom. Rehoboam, having now a bitter enemy in Israel, deemed it prudent to lose no time in fortifying several cities that lay along the frontier of his kingdom. Jeroboam, on his side, took a similar precaution (1Ki 12:25). Of the fifteen cities named, Aijalon, now Yalo, and Zorah, now Surah, between Jerusalem and Jabneh [Robinson], lay within the province of Benjamin. Gath, though a Philistine city, had been subject to Solomon. And Etham, which was on the border of Simeon, now incorporated with the kingdom of Israel, was fortified to repel danger from that quarter. These fortresses Rehoboam placed under able commanders and stocked them with provisions and military stores, sufficient, if necessary, to stand a siege. In the crippled state of his kingdom, he seems to have been afraid lest it might be made the prey of some powerful neighbors.
13-17. the priests and the Levites … resorted to him out of all their coasts—This was an accession of moral power, for the maintenance of the true religion is the best support and safeguard of any nation; and as it was peculiarly the grand source of the strength and prosperity of the Hebrew monarchy, the great numbers of good and pious people who sought an asylum within the territories of Judah contributed greatly to consolidate the throne of Rehoboam. The cause of so extensive an emigration from the kingdom of Israel was the deep and daring policy of Jeroboam, who set himself to break the national unity by entirely abolishing, within his dominions, the religious institutions of Judaism. He dreaded an eventual reunion of the tribes if the people continued to repair thrice a year to worship in Jerusalem as they were obliged by law to do. Accordingly, on pretense that the distance of that city was too great for multitudes of his subjects, he fixed upon two more convenient places, where he established a new mode of worshipping God under gross and prohibited symbols [1Ki 12:26-33]. The priests and Levites, refusing to take part in the idolatrous ceremonies, were ejected from their living [2Ch 11:13, 14]. Along with them a large body of the people who faithfully adhered to the instituted worship of God, offended and shocked by the impious innovations, departed from the kingdom.
15. he ordained him priests—The persons he appointed to the priesthood were low and worthless creatures (1Ki 12:31; 13:33); any were consecrated who brought a bullock and seven rams (2Ch 13:9; Ex 29:37).
for the high places—Those favorite places of religious worship were encouraged throughout the country.
for the devils—a term sometimes used for idols in general (Le 17:7). But here it is applied distinctively to the goat deities, which were probably worshipped chiefly in the northern parts of his kingdom, where the heathen Canaanites still abounded.
for the calves which he had made—figures of the ox gods Apis and Mnevis, with which Jeroboam's residence in Egypt had familiarized him. (See on 1Ki 12:26).
17. they strengthened the kingdom of Judah—The innovating measures of Jeroboam were not introduced all at once. But as they were developed, the secession of the most excellent of his subjects began, and continuing to increase for three years, lowered the tone of religion in his kingdom, while it proportionally quickened its life and extended its influence in that of Judah.
2Ch 11:18-23. His Wives and Children.
18. Rehoboam took Mahalath—The names of her father and mother are given. Jerimoth, the father, must have been the son of one of David's concubines (1Ch 3:9). Abihail was, of course, his cousin, previous to their marriage.
20. after her he took Maachah … daughter—that is, granddaughter (2Sa 14:27) of Absalom, Tamar being, according to Josephus, her mother. (Compare 2Sa 18:18).
21. he took eighteen wives, and threescore concubines—This royal harem, though far smaller than his father's, was equally in violation of the law, which forbade a king to "multiply wives unto himself" [De 17:17].
22. made Abijah … chief … ruler among his brethren—This preference seems to have been given to Abijah solely from the king's doting fondness for his mother and through her influence over him. It is plainly implied that Abijah was not the oldest of the family. In destining a younger son for the kingdom, without a divine warrant, as in Solomon's case, Rehoboam acted in violation of the law (De 21:15).
23. he dealt wisely—that is, with deep and calculating policy (Ex 1:10).
and dispersed of all his children … unto every fenced city—The circumstance of twenty-eight sons of the king being made governors of fortresses would, in our quarter of the world, produce jealousy and dissatisfaction. But Eastern monarchs ensure peace and tranquillity to their kingdom by bestowing government offices on their sons and grandsons. They obtain an independent provision, and being kept apart, are not likely to cabal in their father's lifetime. Rehoboam acted thus, and his sagacity will appear still greater if the wives he desired for them belonged to the cities where each son was located. These connections would bind them more closely to their respective places. In the modern countries of the East, particularly Persia and Turkey, younger princes were, till very lately, shut up in the harem during their father's lifetime; and, to prevent competition, they were blinded or killed when their brother ascended the throne. In the former country the old practice of dispersing them through the country as Rehoboam did, has been again revived.