1 And Rehoboam H7346 went H3212 to Shechem: H7927 for all Israel H3478 were come H935 to Shechem H7927 to make him king. H4427
And Rehoboam H7346 went H3212 to Shechem: H7927 for to Shechem H7927 were all Israel H3478 come H935 to make him king. H4427 And it came to pass, when Jeroboam H3379 the son H1121 of Nebat, H5028 who was in Egypt, H4714 whither he had fled H1272 from the presence H6440 of Solomon H8010 the king, H4428 heard H8085 it, that Jeroboam H3379 returned H7725 out of Egypt. H4714 And they sent H7971 and called H7121 him. So Jeroboam H3379 and all Israel H3478 came H935 and spake H1696 to Rehoboam, H7346 saying, H559 Thy father H1 made our yoke H5923 grievous: H7185 now therefore ease H7043 thou somewhat the grievous H7186 servitude H5656 of thy father, H1 and his heavy H3515 yoke H5923 that he put H5414 upon us, and we will serve H5647 thee. And he said H559 unto them, Come again H7725 unto me after three H7969 days. H3117 And the people H5971 departed. H3212 And king H4428 Rehoboam H7346 took counsel H3289 with the old H2205 men that had stood H5975 before H6440 Solomon H8010 his father H1 while he yet lived, H2416 saying, H559 What H349 counsel give H3289 ye me to return H7725 answer H1697 to this people? H5971 And they spake H1696 unto him, saying, H559 If thou be kind H2896 to this people, H5971 and please H7521 them, and speak H1696 good H2896 words H1697 to them, they will be thy servants H5650 for ever. H3117 But he forsook H5800 the counsel H6098 which the old men H2205 gave H3289 him, and took counsel H3289 with the young men H3206 that were brought up H1431 with him, that stood H5975 before H6440 him. And he said H559 unto them, What advice H3289 give ye that we may return H7725 answer H1697 to this people, H5971 which have spoken H1696 to me, saying, H559 Ease H7043 somewhat the yoke H5923 that thy father H1 did put H5414 upon us? And the young men H3206 that were brought up H1431 with him spake H1696 unto him, saying, H559 Thus shalt thou answer H559 the people H5971 that spake H1696 unto thee, saying, H559 Thy father H1 made H3513 our yoke H5923 heavy, H3513 but make thou it somewhat lighter H7043 for us; thus shalt thou say H559 unto them, My little H6995 finger shall be thicker H5666 than my father's H1 loins. H4975 For whereas H6258 my father H1 put H6006 a heavy H3515 yoke H5923 upon you, I will put more H3254 to your yoke: H5923 my father H1 chastised H3256 you with whips, H7752 but I will chastise you with scorpions. H6137 So Jeroboam H3379 and all the people H5971 came H935 to Rehoboam H7346 on the third H7992 day, H3117 as the king H4428 bade, H1696 saying, H559 Come again H7725 to me on the third H7992 day. H3117 And the king H4428 answered H6030 them roughly; H7186 and king H4428 Rehoboam H7346 forsook H5800 the counsel H6098 of the old men, H2205 And answered H1696 them after the advice H6098 of the young men, H3206 saying, H559 My father H1 made your yoke H5923 heavy, H3513 but I will add H3254 thereto: my father H1 chastised H3256 you with whips, H7752 but I will chastise you with scorpions. H6137 So the king H4428 hearkened H8085 not unto the people: H5971 for the cause H5252 was of God, H430 that the LORD H3068 might perform H6965 his word, H1697 which he spake H1696 by the hand H3027 of Ahijah H281 the Shilonite H7888 to Jeroboam H3379 the son H1121 of Nebat. H5028 And when all Israel H3478 saw H7200 that the king H4428 would not hearken H8085 unto them, the people H5971 answered H7725 the king, H4428 saying, H559 What portion H2506 have we in David? H1732 and we have none inheritance H5159 in the son H1121 of Jesse: H3448 every man H376 to your tents, H168 O Israel: H3478 and now, David, H1732 see H7200 to thine own house. H1004 So all Israel H3478 went H3212 to their tents. H168 But as for the children H1121 of Israel H3478 that dwelt H3427 in the cities H5892 of Judah, H3063 Rehoboam H7346 reigned H4427 over them. Then king H4428 Rehoboam H7346 sent H7971 Hadoram H1913 that was over the tribute; H4522 and the children H1121 of Israel H3478 stoned H7275 him with stones, H68 that he died. H4191 But king H4428 Rehoboam H7346 made speed H553 to get him up H5927 to his chariot, H4818 to flee H5127 to Jerusalem. H3389 And Israel H3478 rebelled H6586 against the house H1004 of David H1732 unto this day. H3117
And Abram H87 passed through H5674 the land H776 unto the place H4725 of Sichem, H7927 unto the plain H436 of Moreh. H4176 And the Canaanite H3669 was then H227 in the land. H776
And Jacob H3290 came H935 to Shalem, H8004 a city H5892 of Shechem, H7927 which is in the land H776 of Canaan, H3667 when he came H935 from Padanaram; H6307 and pitched his tent H2583 before H6440 the city. H5892 And he bought H7069 a parcel H2513 of a field, H7704 where he had spread H5186 his tent, H168 at the hand H3027 of the children H1121 of Hamor, H2544 Shechem's H7927 father, H1 for an hundred H3967 pieces of money. H7192
And they appointed H6942 Kedesh H6943 in Galilee H1551 in mount H2022 Naphtali, H5321 and Shechem H7927 in mount H2022 Ephraim, H669 and Kirjatharba, H7153 which is Hebron, H2275 in the mountain H2022 of Judah. H3063
And Joshua H3091 gathered H622 all the tribes H7626 of Israel H3478 to Shechem, H7927 and called H7121 for the elders H2205 of Israel, H3478 and for their heads, H7218 and for their judges, H8199 and for their officers; H7860 and they presented H3320 themselves before H6440 God. H430
And the bones H6106 of Joseph, H3130 which the children H1121 of Israel H3478 brought up H5927 out of Egypt, H4714 buried H6912 they in Shechem, H7927 in a parcel H2513 of ground H7704 which Jacob H3290 bought H7069 of the sons H1121 of Hamor H2544 the father H1 of Shechem H7927 for an hundred H3967 pieces of silver: H7192 and it became the inheritance H5159 of the children H1121 of Joseph. H3130
And Abimelech H40 the son H1121 of Jerubbaal H3378 went H3212 to Shechem H7927 unto his mother's H517 brethren, H251 and communed H1696 with them, and with all the family H4940 of the house H1004 of his mother's H517 father, H1 saying, H559
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible » Commentary on 1 Kings 12
Commentary on 1 Kings 12 Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
CHAPTER 12
1Ki 12:1-5. Refusing the Old Men's Counsel.
1. Rehoboam went to Shechem—He was the oldest, and perhaps the only son of Solomon, and had been, doubtless, designated by his father heir to the throne, as Solomon had been by David. The incident here related took place after the funeral obsequies of the late king and the period for public mourning had past. When all Israel came to make him king, it was not to exercise their old right of election (1Sa 10:19-21), for, after God's promise of the perpetual sovereignty to David's posterity, their duty was submission to the authority of the rightful heir; but their object was, when making him king, to renew the conditions and stipulations to which their constitutional kings were subject (1Sa 10:25). To the omission of such rehearsing which, under the peculiar circumstances in which Solomon was made king, they were disposed to ascribe the absolutism of his government.
Shechem—This ancient, venerable, and central town was the place of convocation; and it is evident, if not from the appointment of that place, at least from the tenor of their language, and the concerted presence of Jeroboam [1Ki 12:3], that the people were determined on revolt.
4. Thy father made our yoke grievous—The splendor of Solomon's court and the magnitude of his undertakings being such, that neither the tribute of dependent states, nor the presents of foreign princes, nor the profits of his commercial enterprises, were adequate to carry them on, he had been obliged, for obtaining the necessary revenue, to begin a system of heavy taxation. The people looked only to the burdens, not to the benefits they derived from Solomon's peaceful and prosperous reign—and the evils from which they demanded deliverance were civil oppressions, not idolatry, to which they appear to have been indifferent or approving.
5-8. he said … Depart yet for three days—It was prudent to take the people's demand into calm and deliberate consideration. Whether, had the advice of the sage and experienced counsellors been followed, any good result would have followed, it is impossible to say. It would at least have removed all pretext for the separation. [See on 2Ch 10:7.] But he preferred the counsel of his young companions (not in age, for they were all about forty-one, but inexperienced), who recommended prompt and decisive measures to quell the malcontents.
11. whips … scorpions—The latter [instruments], as contrasted with the former, are supposed to mean thongs thickly set with sharp iron points, used in the castigation of slaves.
15-18. the king hearkened not unto the people, for the cause was from the Lord—That was the overruling cause. Rehoboam's weakness (Ec 2:18, 19) and inexperience in public affairs has given rise to the probable conjecture, that, like many other princes in the East, he had been kept secluded in the harem till the period of his accession (Ec 4:14), his father being either afraid of his aspiring to the sovereignty, like the two sons of David, or, which is more probable, afraid of prematurely exposing his imbecility. The king's haughty and violent answer to a people already filled with a spirit of discontent and exasperation, indicated so great an incapacity to appreciate the gravity of the crisis, so utter a want of common sense, as to create a belief that he was struck with judicial blindness. It was received with mingled scorn and derision. The revolt was accomplished, and yet so quietly, that Rehoboam remained in Shechem, fancying himself the sovereign of a united kingdom, until his chief tax gatherer, who had been most imprudently sent to treat with the people, had been stoned to death. This opened his eyes, and he fled for security to Jerusalem.
1Ki 12:20-33. Jeroboam Made King over Them.
20-24. when all Israel heard that Jeroboam was come again—This verse closes the parenthetical narrative begun at 1Ki 12:2, and 1Ki 12:21-24 resume the history from 1Ki 12:1. Rehoboam determined to assert his authority by leading a large force into the disaffected provinces. But the revolt of the ten tribes was completed when the prophet Shemaiah ordered, in the Lord's name, an abandonment of any hostile measures against the revolutionists. The army, overawed by the divine prohibition, dispersed, and the king was obliged to submit.
25. Jeroboam built Shechem—destroyed by Abimelech (Jud 9:1-49). It was rebuilt, and perhaps fortified, by Jeroboam, as a royal residence.
built Penuel—a ruined city with a tower (Jud 8:9), east of Jordan, on the north bank of the Jabbok. It was an object of importance to restore this fortress (as it lay on the caravan road from Gilead to Damascus and Palmyra) and to secure his frontier on that quarter.
26-32. Jeroboam said in his heart, Now shall the kingdom return to the house of David—Having received the kingdom from God, he should have relied on the divine protection. But he did not. With a view to withdraw the people from the temple and destroy the sacred associations connected with Jerusalem, he made serious and unwarranted innovations on the religious observances of the country, on pretext of saving the people the trouble and expense of a distant journey. First, he erected two golden calves—the young bulls, Apis and Mnevis, as symbols (in the Egyptian fashion) of the true God, and the nearest, according to his fancy, to the figures of the cherubim. The one was placed at Dan, in the northern part of his kingdom; the other at Beth-el, the southern extremity, in sight of Jerusalem, and in which place he probably thought God was as likely to manifest Himself as at Jerusalem (Ge 32:1-32; 2Ki 2:2). The latter place was the most frequented—for the words (1Ki 12:30) should be rendered, "the people even to Dan went to worship before the one" (Jer 48:13; Am 4:4, 5; 5:5; Ho 5:8; 10:8). The innovation was a sin because it was setting up the worship of God by symbols and images and departing from the place where He had chosen to put His name. Secondly, he changed the feast of tabernacles from the fifteenth of the seventh to the fifteenth of the eighth month. The ostensible reason might be, that the ingathering or harvest was later in the northern parts of the kingdom; but the real reason was to eradicate the old association with this, the most welcome and joyous festival of the year.
31. made priests of the lowest of the people—literally, "out of all the people," the Levites refusing to act. He himself assumed to himself the functions of the high priest, at least, at the great festival, probably from seeing the king of Egypt conjoin the royal and sacred offices, and deeming the office of the high priest too great to be vested in a subject.