1 Raja-raja 11:26--15:20
Konteks11:26 Jeroboam son of Nebat, one of Solomon’s servants, rebelled against 1 the king. He was an Ephraimite 2 from Zeredah whose mother was a widow named Zeruah. 11:27 This is what prompted him to rebel against the king: 3 Solomon built a terrace and he closed up a gap in the wall of the city of his father David. 4 11:28 Jeroboam was a talented man; 5 when Solomon saw that the young man was an accomplished worker, he made him the leader of the work crew from the tribe 6 of Joseph. 11:29 At that time, when Jeroboam had left Jerusalem, the prophet Ahijah the Shilonite met him on the road; the two of them were alone in the open country. Ahijah 7 was wearing a brand new robe, 11:30 and he grabbed the robe 8 and tore it into twelve pieces. 11:31 Then he told Jeroboam, “Take ten pieces, for this is what the Lord God of Israel says: ‘Look, I am about to tear the kingdom from Solomon’s hand and I will give ten tribes to you. 11:32 He will retain one tribe, for my servant David’s sake and for the sake of Jerusalem, the city I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel. 11:33 I am taking the kingdom from him 9 because they have 10 abandoned me and worshiped the Sidonian goddess Astarte, the Moabite god Chemosh, and the Ammonite god Milcom. They have not followed my instructions 11 by doing what I approve and obeying my rules and regulations, like Solomon’s father David did. 12 11:34 I will not take the whole kingdom from his hand. I will allow him to be ruler for the rest of his life for the sake of my chosen servant David who kept my commandments and rules. 11:35 I will take the kingdom from the hand of his son and give ten tribes to you. 13 11:36 I will leave 14 his son one tribe so my servant David’s dynasty may continue to serve me 15 in Jerusalem, the city I have chosen as my home. 16 11:37 I will select 17 you; you will rule over all you desire to have and you will be king over Israel. 11:38 You must obey 18 all I command you to do, follow my instructions, 19 do what I approve, 20 and keep my rules and commandments, like my servant David did. Then I will be with you and establish for you a lasting dynasty, as I did for David; 21 I will give you Israel. 11:39 I will humiliate David’s descendants because of this, 22 but not forever.” 23 11:40 Solomon tried to kill Jeroboam, but Jeroboam escaped to Egypt and found refuge with King Shishak of Egypt. 24 He stayed in Egypt until Solomon died.
11:41 The rest of the events of Solomon’s reign, including all his accomplishments and his wise decisions, are recorded in the scroll called the Annals of Solomon. 25 11:42 Solomon ruled over all Israel from Jerusalem 26 for forty years. 11:43 Then Solomon passed away 27 and was buried in the city of his father David. 28 His son Rehoboam replaced him as king. 29
12:1 Rehoboam traveled to Shechem, for all Israel had gathered in 30 Shechem to make Rehoboam 31 king. 12:2 32 When Jeroboam son of Nebat heard the news, he was still in Egypt, where he had fled from King Solomon and had been living ever since. 33 12:3 They sent for him, 34 and Jeroboam and the whole Israelite assembly came and spoke to Rehoboam, saying, 12:4 “Your father made us work too hard. 35 Now if you lighten the demands he made and don’t make us work as hard, we will serve you.” 36 12:5 He said to them, “Go away for three days, then return to me.” So the people went away.
12:6 King Rehoboam consulted with the older advisers who had served 37 his father Solomon when he had been alive. He asked them, 38 “How do you advise me to answer these people?” 12:7 They said to him, “Today if you show a willingness to help these people and grant their request, they will be your servants from this time forward.” 39 12:8 But Rehoboam rejected their advice and consulted the young advisers who served him, with whom he had grown up. 40 12:9 He asked them, “How do you advise me 41 to respond to these people who said to me, ‘Lessen the demands your father placed on us’?” 42 12:10 The young advisers with whom Rehoboam 43 had grown up said to him, “Say this to these people who have said to you, ‘Your father made us work hard, but now lighten our burden.’ 44 Say this to them: ‘I am a lot harsher than my father! 45 12:11 My father imposed heavy demands on you; I will make them even heavier. 46 My father punished you with ordinary whips; I will punish you with whips that really sting your flesh.’” 47
12:12 Jeroboam and all the people reported 48 to Rehoboam on the third day, just as the king had ordered when he said, “Return to me on the third day.” 12:13 The king responded to the people harshly. He rejected the advice of the older men 12:14 and followed 49 the advice of the younger ones. He said, “My father imposed heavy demands on you; I will make them even heavier. 50 My father punished you with ordinary whips; I will punish you with whips that really sting your flesh.” 51 12:15 The king refused to listen to the people, because the Lord was instigating this turn of events 52 so that he might bring to pass the prophetic announcement he had made 53 through Ahijah the Shilonite to Jeroboam son of Nebat.
12:16 When all Israel saw that the king refused to listen to them, the people answered the king, “We have no portion in David, no share in the son of Jesse! 54 Return to your homes, O Israel! 55 Now, look after your own dynasty, O David!” 56 So Israel returned to their homes. 57 12:17 (Rehoboam continued to rule over the Israelites who lived in the cities of Judah.) 12:18 King Rehoboam sent Adoniram, 58 the supervisor of the work crews, 59 out after them, but all Israel stoned him to death. King Rehoboam managed to jump into his chariot and escape to Jerusalem. 60 12:19 So Israel has been in rebellion against the Davidic dynasty to this very day. 12:20 When all Israel heard that Jeroboam had returned, they summoned him to the assembly and made him king over all Israel. No one except the tribe of Judah remained loyal to the Davidic dynasty. 61
12:21 When Rehoboam arrived in Jerusalem, he summoned 180,000 skilled warriors from all of Judah and the tribe of Benjamin 62 to attack Israel and restore the kingdom to Rehoboam son of Solomon. 12:22 But God told Shemaiah the prophet, 63 12:23 “Say this to King Rehoboam son of Solomon of Judah, and to all Judah and Benjamin, as well as the rest of the people, 12:24 ‘The Lord says this: “Do not attack and make war with your brothers, the Israelites. Each of you go home, for I have caused this to happen.”’” 64 They obeyed the Lord and went home as the Lord had ordered them to do. 65
12:25 66 Jeroboam built up Shechem in the Ephraimite hill country and lived there. From there he went out and built up Penuel. 12:26 Jeroboam then thought to himself: 67 “Now the Davidic dynasty could regain the kingdom. 68 12:27 If these people go up to offer sacrifices in the Lord’s temple in Jerusalem, 69 their loyalty could shift to their former master, 70 King Rehoboam of Judah. They might kill me and return to King Rehoboam of Judah.” 12:28 After the king had consulted with his advisers, 71 he made two golden calves. Then he said to the people, 72 “It is too much trouble for you to go up to Jerusalem. Look, Israel, here are your gods who brought you up from the land of Egypt.” 12:29 He put one in Bethel 73 and the other in Dan. 12:30 This caused Israel to sin; 74 the people went to Bethel and Dan to worship the calves. 75
12:31 He built temples 76 on the high places and appointed as priests people who were not Levites. 12:32 Jeroboam inaugurated a festival on the fifteenth day of the eighth month, 77 like the festival celebrated in Judah. 78 On the altar in Bethel he offered sacrifices to the calves he had made. 79 In Bethel he also appointed priests for the high places he had made.
12:33 On the fifteenth day of the eighth month (a date he had arbitrarily chosen) 80 Jeroboam 81 offered sacrifices on the altar he had made in Bethel. 82 He inaugurated a festival for the Israelites and went up to the altar to offer sacrifices. 13:1 Just then 83 a prophet 84 from Judah, sent by the Lord, arrived in Bethel, 85 as Jeroboam was standing near the altar ready to offer a sacrifice. 13:2 With the authority of the Lord 86 he cried out against the altar, “O altar, altar! This is what the Lord says, ‘Look, a son named Josiah will be born to the Davidic dynasty. He will sacrifice on you the priests of the high places who offer sacrifices on you. Human bones will be burned on you.’” 87 13:3 That day he also announced 88 a sign, “This is the sign the Lord has predetermined: 89 The altar will be split open and the ashes 90 on it will fall to the ground.” 91 13:4 When the king heard what the prophet 92 cried out against the altar in Bethel, Jeroboam, standing at the altar, extended his hand 93 and ordered, 94 “Seize him!” The hand he had extended shriveled up 95 and he could not pull it back. 13:5 The altar split open and the ashes 96 fell from the altar to the ground, 97 in fulfillment of the sign the prophet had announced with the Lord’s authority. 98 13:6 The king pled with 99 the prophet, 100 “Seek the favor of 101 the Lord your God and pray for me, so that my hand may be restored.” So the prophet sought the Lord’s favor 102 and the king’s hand was restored to its former condition. 103 13:7 The king then said to the prophet, “Come home with me and have something to eat. I’d like to give a present.” 13:8 But the prophet said to the king, “Even if you were to give me half your possessions, 104 I could not go with you and eat and drink 105 in this place. 13:9 For the Lord gave me strict orders, 106 ‘Do not eat or drink 107 there and do not go home the way you came.’” 13:10 So he started back on another road; he did not travel back on the same road he had taken to Bethel.
13:11 Now there was an old prophet living in Bethel. 108 When his sons came home, they told their father 109 everything the prophet 110 had done in Bethel that day and all the words he had spoken to the king. 111 13:12 Their father asked them, “Which road did he take?” His sons showed him 112 the road the prophet 113 from Judah had taken. 13:13 He then told his sons, “Saddle the donkey for me.” When they had saddled the donkey for him, he mounted it 13:14 and took off after the prophet, 114 whom he found sitting under an oak tree. He asked him, “Are you the prophet 115 from Judah?” He answered, “Yes, I am.” 13:15 He then said to him, “Come home with me and eat something.” 13:16 But he replied, “I can’t go back with you 116 or eat and drink 117 with you in this place. 13:17 For the Lord gave me strict orders, 118 ‘Do not eat or drink 119 there; do not go back the way you came.’” 13:18 The old prophet then said, 120 “I too am a prophet like you. An angel told me with the Lord’s authority, 121 ‘Bring him back with you to your house so he can eat and drink.’” 122 But he was lying to him. 123 13:19 So the prophet went back with him and ate and drank in his house. 124
13:20 While they were sitting at the table, the Lord spoke through the old prophet 125 13:21 and he cried out to the prophet from Judah, “This is what the Lord says, ‘You 126 have rebelled against the Lord 127 and have not obeyed the command the Lord your God gave you. 13:22 You went back and ate and drank in this place, even though he said to you, “Do not eat or drink there.” 128 Therefore 129 your corpse will not be buried in your ancestral tomb.’” 130
13:23 When the prophet from Judah finished his meal, 131 the old prophet saddled his visitor’s donkey for him. 132 13:24 As the prophet from Judah was traveling, a lion attacked him on the road and killed him. 133 His corpse was lying on the road, and the donkey and the lion just stood there beside it. 134 13:25 Some men came by 135 and saw the corpse lying in the road with the lion standing beside it. 136 They went and reported what they had seen 137 in the city where the old prophet lived. 13:26 When the old prophet who had invited him to his house heard the news, 138 he said, “It is the prophet 139 who rebelled against the Lord. 140 The Lord delivered him over to the lion and it ripped him up 141 and killed him, just as the Lord warned him.” 142 13:27 He told his sons, “Saddle my donkey,” and they did so. 143 13:28 He went and found the corpse lying in the road with the donkey and the lion standing beside it; 144 the lion had neither eaten the corpse nor attacked the donkey. 13:29 The old prophet 145 picked up the corpse of the prophet, 146 put it on the donkey, and brought it back. The old prophet then entered the city to mourn him and to bury him. 13:30 He put the corpse into his own tomb, and they 147 mourned over him, saying, “Ah, my brother!” 13:31 After he buried him, he said to his sons, “When I die, bury me in the tomb where the prophet 148 is buried; put my bones right beside his bones, 13:32 for the prophecy he announced with the Lord’s authority 149 against the altar in Bethel 150 and against all the temples on the high places in the cities of the north 151 will certainly be fulfilled.”
13:33 After this happened, Jeroboam still did not change his evil ways; 152 he continued to appoint common people 153 as priests at the high places. Anyone who wanted the job he consecrated as a priest. 154 13:34 This sin caused Jeroboam’s dynasty 155 to come to an end and to be destroyed from the face of the earth.
14:1 156 At that time Jeroboam’s son Abijah became sick. 14:2 Jeroboam told his wife, “Disguise 157 yourself so that people cannot recognize you are Jeroboam’s wife. Then go to Shiloh; Ahijah the prophet, who told me I would rule over this nation, lives there. 158 14:3 Take 159 ten loaves of bread, some small cakes, and a container of honey and visit him. He will tell you what will happen to the boy.”
14:4 Jeroboam’s wife did as she was told. She went to Shiloh and visited Ahijah. 160 Now Ahijah could not see; he had lost his eyesight in his old age. 161 14:5 But the Lord had told Ahijah, “Look, Jeroboam’s wife is coming to find out from you what will happen to her son, for he is sick. Tell her so-and-so. 162 When she comes, she will be in a disguise.” 14:6 When Ahijah heard the sound of her footsteps as she came through the door, he said, “Come on in, wife of Jeroboam! Why are you pretending to be someone else? I have been commissioned to give you bad news. 163 14:7 Go, tell Jeroboam, ‘This is what the Lord God of Israel says: “I raised you up 164 from among the people and made you ruler over my people Israel. 14:8 I tore the kingdom away from the Davidic dynasty and gave it to you. But you are not like my servant David, who kept my commandments and followed me wholeheartedly by doing only what I approve. 165 14:9 You have sinned more than all who came before you. You went and angered me by making other gods, formed out of metal; you have completely disregarded me. 166 14:10 So I am ready to bring disaster 167 on the dynasty 168 of Jeroboam. I will cut off every last male belonging to Jeroboam in Israel, including even the weak and incapacitated. 169 I will burn up the dynasty of Jeroboam, just as one burns manure until it is completely consumed. 170 14:11 Dogs will eat the members of your family 171 who die in the city, and the birds of the sky will eat the ones who die in the country.”’ Indeed, the Lord has announced it!
14:12 “As for you, get up and go home. When you set foot in the city, the boy will die. 14:13 All Israel will mourn him and bury him. He is the only one in Jeroboam’s family 172 who will receive a decent burial, for he is the only one in whom the Lord God of Israel found anything good. 14:14 The Lord will raise up a king over Israel who will cut off Jeroboam’s dynasty. 173 It is ready to happen! 174 14:15 The Lord will attack Israel, making it like a reed that sways in the water. 175 He will remove Israel from this good land he gave to their ancestors 176 and scatter them beyond the Euphrates River, 177 because they angered the Lord by making Asherah poles. 178 14:16 He will hand Israel over to their enemies 179 because of the sins which Jeroboam committed and which he made Israel commit.”
14:17 So Jeroboam’s wife got up and went back to 180 Tirzah. As she crossed the threshold of the house, the boy died. 14:18 All Israel buried him and mourned for him, just as the Lord had predicted 181 through his servant the prophet Ahijah.
14:19 The rest of the events of Jeroboam’s reign, including the details of his battles and rule, are recorded in the scroll called the Annals of the Kings of Israel. 182 14:20 Jeroboam ruled for twenty-two years; then he passed away. 183 His son Nadab replaced him as king.
14:21 Now Rehoboam son of Solomon ruled in Judah. He 184 was forty-one years old when he became king and he ruled for seventeen years in Jerusalem, 185 the city the Lord chose from all the tribes of Israel to be his home. 186 His mother was an Ammonite woman 187 named Naamah.
14:22 Judah did evil in the sight of 188 the Lord. They made him more jealous by their sins than their ancestors had done. 189 14:23 They even built for themselves high places, sacred pillars, and Asherah poles on every high hill and under every green tree. 14:24 There were also male cultic prostitutes 190 in the land. They committed the same horrible sins as the nations 191 that the Lord had driven out from before the Israelites.
14:25 In King Rehoboam’s fifth year, King Shishak of Egypt attacked Jerusalem. 14:26 He took away the treasures of the Lord’s temple and of the royal palace; he took everything, including all the golden shields that Solomon had made. 14:27 King Rehoboam made bronze shields to replace them and assigned them to the officers of the royal guard 192 who protected the entrance to the royal palace. 14:28 Whenever the king visited the Lord’s temple, the royal guard carried them and then brought them back to the guardroom.
14:29 The rest of the events of Rehoboam’s reign, including his accomplishments, are recorded in the scroll called the Annals of the
Kings of Judah. 193 14:30 Rehoboam and Jeroboam were continually at war with each other. 14:31 Rehoboam passed away 194 and was buried with his ancestors in the city of David. His mother was an Ammonite named Naamah. His son Abijah 195 replaced him as king.
15:1 In the eighteenth year of the reign of Jeroboam son of Nebat, Abijah 196 became king over Judah. 15:2 He ruled for three years in Jerusalem. 197 His mother was Maacah, the daughter of Abishalom. 198 15:3 He followed all the sinful practices of his father before him. He was not wholeheartedly devoted to the Lord his God, as his ancestor David had been. 199 15:4 Nevertheless for David’s sake the Lord his God maintained his dynasty 200 in Jerusalem by giving him a son 201 to succeed him 202 and by protecting Jerusalem. 203 15:5 He did this 204 because David had done what he approved 205 and had not disregarded any of his commandments 206 his entire lifetime, except for the incident involving Uriah the Hittite. 15:6 Rehoboam 207 and Jeroboam were continually at war with each other throughout Abijah’s 208 lifetime. 15:7 The rest of the events of Abijah’s reign, including all his accomplishments, are recorded in the scroll called the Annals of the Kings of Judah. 209 Abijah and Jeroboam had been at war with each other. 15:8 Abijah passed away 210 and was buried 211 in the city of David. His son Asa replaced him as king.
15:9 In the twentieth year of Jeroboam’s reign over Israel, Asa became the king of Judah. 15:10 He ruled for forty-one years in Jerusalem. 212 His grandmother 213 was Maacah daughter of Abishalom. 15:11 Asa did what the Lord approved 214 like his ancestor 215 David had done. 15:12 He removed the male cultic prostitutes from the land and got rid of all the disgusting idols 216 his ancestors 217 had made. 15:13 He also removed Maacah his grandmother 218 from her position as queen because she had made a loathsome Asherah pole. Asa cut down her Asherah pole and burned it in the Kidron Valley. 15:14 The high places were not eliminated, yet Asa was wholeheartedly devoted to the Lord throughout his lifetime. 219 15:15 He brought the holy items that he and his father had made into the Lord’s temple, including the silver, gold, and other articles. 220
15:16 Now Asa and King Baasha of Israel were continually at war with each other. 221 15:17 King Baasha of Israel attacked Judah and established Ramah as a military outpost to prevent anyone from leaving or entering the land of King Asa of Judah. 222 15:18 Asa took all the silver and gold that was left in the treasuries of the Lord’s temple and of the royal palace and handed it to his servants. He then told them to deliver it 223 to Ben Hadad son of Tabrimmon, the son of Hezion, king of Syria, ruler in Damascus, along with this message: 15:19 “I want to make a treaty with you, like the one our fathers made. 224 See, I have sent you silver and gold as a present. Break your treaty with King Baasha of Israel, so he will retreat from my land.” 225 15:20 Ben Hadad accepted King Asa’s offer and ordered his army commanders to attack the cities of Israel. 226 They conquered 227 Ijon, Dan, Abel Beth Maacah, and all the territory of Naphtali, including the region of Kinnereth. 228
[11:26] 1 tn Heb “raised a hand against.”
[11:26] 2 tn Heb “Ephrathite,” which here refers to an Ephraimite (see HALOT 81 s.v. אֶפְרַיִם).
[11:27] 3 tn Heb “this is the matter concerning which he raised a hand against the king.”
[11:27] 4 sn The city of his father David. The phrase refers here to the fortress of Zion in Jerusalem, not to Bethlehem. See 2 Sam 5:7.
[11:28] 5 tn Heb “man of strength.”
[11:29] 7 tn The Hebrew text has simply “he,” making it a bit unclear whether Jeroboam or Ahijah is the subject, but in the Hebrew word order Ahijah is the nearer antecedent, and this is followed by the present translation.
[11:30] 8 tn Heb “and Ahijah grabbed the new robe that was on him.”
[11:33] 9 tn The words “I am taking the kingdom from him” are supplied in the translation for clarification.
[11:33] 10 tc This is the reading of the MT; the LXX, Syriac, and Vulgate read “he has.”
[11:33] 11 tn Heb “walked in my ways.”
[11:33] 12 tn Heb “by doing what is right in my eyes, my rules and my regulations, like David his father.”
[11:35] 13 tn Heb “and I will give it to you, ten tribes.”
[11:36] 15 tn Heb “so there might be a lamp for David my servant all the days before me in Jerusalem.” The metaphorical “lamp” symbolizes the Davidic dynasty. Because this imagery is unfamiliar to the modern reader, the translation “so my servant David’s dynasty may continue to serve me” has been used.
[11:36] 16 tn Heb “so there might be a lamp for David my servant all the days before me in Jerusalem, the city which I have chosen for myself to put my name there.”
[11:38] 18 tn Heb “If you obey.” In the Hebrew text v. 38 is actually one long conditional sentence, which has been broken into two parts in the translation for stylistic purposes.
[11:38] 19 tn Heb “walk in my ways.”
[11:38] 20 tn Heb “do what is right in my eyes.”
[11:38] 21 tn Heb “I will build for you a permanent house, like I built for David.”
[11:39] 22 sn Because of this. Reference is made to the idolatry mentioned earlier.
[11:39] 23 tn Heb “but not all the days.”
[11:40] 24 tn Heb “but Jeroboam arose and ran away to Egypt, to Shishak king of Egypt.”
[11:41] 25 tn Heb “As for the rest of the events of Solomon, and all which he did, and his wisdom, are they not written on the scroll of the events of Solomon?”
[11:42] 26 map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
[11:43] 27 tn Heb “lay down with his fathers.”
[11:43] 28 sn The city of his father David. The phrase refers here to the fortress of Zion in Jerusalem, not to Bethlehem. See 2 Sam 5:7.
[11:43] 29 tc Before this sentence the Old Greek translation includes the following words: “And it so happened that when Jeroboam son of Nebat heard – now he was in Egypt where he had fled from before Solomon and was residing in Egypt – he came straight to his city in the land of Sarira which is on mount Ephraim. And king Solomon slept with his fathers.”
[12:1] 31 tn Heb “him”; the referent (Rehoboam) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[12:2] 32 tc Verse 2 is not included in the Old Greek translation. See the note on 11:43.
[12:2] 33 tn Heb “and Jeroboam lived in Egypt.” The parallel text in 2 Chr 10:2 reads, “and Jeroboam returned from Egypt.” In a purely consonantal text the forms “and he lived” and “and he returned” are identical (וישׁב).
[12:3] 34 tn Heb “They sent and called for him.”
[12:4] 35 tn Heb “made our yoke burdensome.”
[12:4] 36 tn Heb “but you, now, lighten the burdensome work of your father and the heavy yoke which he placed on us, and we will serve you.” In the Hebrew text the prefixed verbal form with vav (וְנַעַבְדֶךָ, [vÿna’avdekha] “and we will serve you”) following the imperative (הָקֵל [haqel], “lighten”) indicates purpose (or result). The conditional sentence used in the translation above is an attempt to bring out the logical relationship between these forms.
[12:6] 37 tn Heb “stood before.”
[12:7] 39 tn Heb “If today you are a servant to these people and you serve them and answer them and speak to them good words, they will be your servants all the days.”
[12:8] 40 tn Heb “He rejected the advice of the elders which they advised and he consulted the young men with whom he had grown up, who stood before him.” The referent (Rehoboam) of the initial pronoun (“he”) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[12:9] 41 tn In the Hebrew text the verb “we will respond” is plural, although it can be understood as an editorial “we.” The ancient versions have the singular here.
[12:9] 42 tn Heb “Lighten the yoke which your father placed on us.”
[12:10] 43 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Rehoboam) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[12:10] 44 tn Heb “Your father made our yoke heavy, but make it lighter upon us.”
[12:10] 45 tn Heb “My little one is thicker than my father’s hips.” The referent of “my little one” is not clear. The traditional view is that it refers to the little finger. As the following statement makes clear, Rehoboam’s point is that he is more harsh and demanding than his father.
[12:11] 46 tn Heb “and now my father placed upon you a heavy yoke, but I will add to your yoke.”
[12:11] 47 tn Heb “My father punished you with whips, but I will punish you with scorpions.” “Scorpions” might allude to some type of torture using poisonous insects, but more likely it refers to a type of whip that inflicts an especially biting, painful wound. Cf. CEV “whips with pieces of sharp metal.”
[12:14] 49 tn Heb “and spoke to them according to.”
[12:14] 50 tn Heb “My father made your yoke heavy, but I will add to your yoke.”
[12:14] 51 tn Heb “My father punished you with whips, but I will punish you with scorpions.” See the note on the same phrase in v. 11.
[12:15] 52 tn Heb “because this turn of events was from the
[12:15] 53 tn Heb “so that he might bring to pass his word which the
[12:16] 54 sn We have no portion in David; no share in the son of Jesse. Their point seems to be that they have no familial relationship with David that brings them any benefits or places upon them any obligations. They are being treated like outsiders.
[12:16] 55 tn Heb “to your tents, Israel.” The word “return” is supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[12:16] 56 tn Heb “Now see your house, David.”
[12:16] 57 tn Heb “went to their tents.”
[12:18] 58 tc The MT has “Adoram” here, but the Old Greek translation and Syriac Peshitta have “Adoniram.” Cf. 1 Kgs 4:6.
[12:18] 59 sn The work crews. See the note on this expression in 4:6.
[12:18] 60 map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
[12:20] 61 tn Heb “there was no one [following] after the house of David except the tribe of Judah, it alone.”
[12:21] 62 tn Heb “he summoned all the house of Judah and the tribe of Benjamin, one hundred eighty thousand chosen men, accomplished in war.”
[12:22] 63 tn Heb “and the word of God came to Shemaiah the man of God, saying.”
[12:24] 64 tn Heb “for this thing is from me.”
[12:24] 65 tn Heb “and they heard the word of the
[12:25] 66 tc The Old Greek translation has here a lengthy section consisting of twenty-three verses that are not found in the MT.
[12:26] 67 tn Heb “said in his heart.”
[12:26] 68 tn Heb “Now the kingdom could return to the house of David.” The imperfect verbal form translated “could return” is understood as having a potential force here. Perhaps this is not strong enough; another option is “will return.”
[12:27] 69 map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
[12:27] 70 tn Heb “the heart of these people could return to their master.”
[12:28] 71 tn The words “with his advisers” are supplied in the translation for clarification.
[12:28] 72 tn Heb “to them,” although this may be a corruption of “to the people.” Cf. the Old Greek translation.
[12:29] 73 map For location see Map4 G4; Map5 C1; Map6 E3; Map7 D1; Map8 G3.
[12:30] 74 tn Heb “and this thing became a sin.”
[12:30] 75 tc The MT reads “and the people went before the one to Dan.” It is likely that some words have been accidentally omitted and that the text originally said, “and the people went before the one at Bethel and before the one at Dan.”
[12:31] 76 tn The Hebrew text has the singular, but the plural is preferable here (see 1 Kgs 13:32). The Old Greek translation and the Vulgate have the plural.
[12:32] 77 sn The eighth month would correspond to October-November in modern reckoning.
[12:32] 78 sn The festival he celebrated in Judah probably refers to the Feast of Tabernacles (i.e., Booths or Temporary Shelters), held in the seventh month (September-October). See also 1 Kgs 8:2.
[12:32] 79 tn Heb “and he offered up [sacrifices] on the altar; he did this in Bethel, sacrificing to the calves which he had made.”
[12:33] 80 tn Heb “which he had chosen by himself.”
[12:33] 81 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Jeroboam) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[12:33] 82 map For location see Map4 G4; Map5 C1; Map6 E3; Map7 D1; Map8 G3.
[13:1] 83 tn Heb “Look.” The Hebrew particle הִנֵּה (hinneh) is a rhetorical device by which the author invites the reader to visualize the scene for dramatic effect.
[13:1] 84 tn Heb “the man of God.”
[13:1] 85 tn Heb “came by the word of the
[13:2] 86 tn Heb “by the word of the
[13:2] 87 sn ‘Look…you.’ For the fulfillment of this prophecy see 2 Kgs 23:15-20.
[13:3] 90 tn Heb “the fat.” Reference is made to burnt wood mixed with fat. See HALOT 234 s.v. דשׁן.
[13:3] 91 tn Heb “will be poured out.”
[13:4] 92 tn Heb “the man of God.”
[13:4] 93 tn Heb “Jeroboam extended his hand from the altar.”
[13:4] 95 tn Heb “dried up” or “withered.” TEV and NLT interpret this as “became paralyzed.”
[13:5] 96 tn Heb “the fat.” Reference is made to burnt wood mixed with fat. See HALOT 234 s.v. דשׁן.
[13:5] 97 tn Heb “were poured out from the altar.”
[13:5] 98 tn Heb “according to the sign which the man of God had given by the word of the
[13:6] 99 tn Heb “The king answered and said to.”
[13:6] 100 tn Heb “the man of God” (a second time later in this verse, and once in v. 7 and v. 8).
[13:6] 101 tn Heb “appease the face of.”
[13:6] 102 tn Heb “appeased the face of the
[13:6] 103 tn Heb “and it was as in the beginning.”
[13:8] 105 tn Heb “eat food and drink water.”
[13:9] 106 tn Heb “for this he commanded me by the word of the
[13:9] 107 tn Heb “eat food and drink water.”
[13:11] 108 map For location see Map4 G4; Map5 C1; Map6 E3; Map7 D1; Map8 G3.
[13:11] 109 tn Heb “and his son came and told him.” The MT has the singular here, but several other textual witnesses have the plural, which is more consistent with the second half of the verse and with vv. 12-13.
[13:11] 110 tn Heb “the man of God.”
[13:11] 111 tn Heb “all the actions which the man of God performed that day in Bethel, the words which he spoke to the king, and they told them to their father.”
[13:12] 112 tn The Hebrew text has “and his sons saw” (וַיִּרְאוּ [vayyir’u], Qal from רָאָה [ra’ah]). In this case the verbal construction (vav consecutive + prefixed verbal form) would have to be understood as pluperfect, “his sons had seen.” Such uses of this construction are rare at best. Consequently many, following the lead of the ancient versions, prefer to emend the verbal form to a Hiphil with pronominal suffix (וַיַּרְאֻהוּ [vayyar’uhu], “and they showed him”).
[13:12] 113 tn Heb “the man of God.”
[13:14] 114 tn Heb “the man of God.”
[13:14] 115 tn Heb “the man of God.”
[13:16] 116 tn Heb “I am unable to return with you or to go with you.”
[13:16] 117 tn Heb “eat food and drink water.”
[13:17] 118 tn Heb “for a word to me by the word of the
[13:17] 119 tn Heb “eat food and drink water.”
[13:18] 120 tn Heb “and he said to him.”
[13:18] 121 tn Heb “by the word of the
[13:18] 122 tn Heb “eat food and drink water.”
[13:18] 123 tn Or “deceiving him.”
[13:18] sn He was lying to him. The motives and actions of the old prophet are difficult to understand. The old man’s response to the prophet’s death (see vv. 26-32) suggests he did not trick him with malicious intent. The old prophet probably wanted the honor of entertaining such a celebrity, or perhaps simply desired some social interaction with a fellow prophet.
[13:19] 124 tn Heb “and he returned with him and ate food in his house and drank water.”
[13:20] 125 tn Heb “and the word of the
[13:21] 126 tn The Hebrew text has “because” at the beginning of the sentence. In the Hebrew text vv. 21-22 are one long sentence comprised of a causal clause giving the reason for divine punishment (vv. 21-22a) and the main clause announcing the punishment (v. 22b). The translation divides this lengthy sentence for stylistic reasons.
[13:21] 127 tn Heb “the mouth [i.e., command] of the
[13:22] 128 tn Heb “and you returned and ate food and drank water in the place about which he said to you, ‘do not eat food and do not drink water.’”
[13:22] 129 tn “Therefore” is added for stylistic reasons. See the note at 1 Kgs 13:21 pertaining to the grammatical structure of vv. 21-22.
[13:22] 130 tn Heb “will not go to the tomb of your fathers.”
[13:23] 131 tn Heb “and after he had eaten food and after he had drunk.”
[13:23] 132 tn Heb “and he saddled for him the donkey, for the prophet whom he had brought back.”
[13:24] 133 tn Heb “and he went and a lion met him in the road and killed him.”
[13:24] 134 tn Heb “and his corpse fell on the road, and the donkey was standing beside it, and the lion was standing beside the corpse.”
[13:25] 135 tn Heb “Look, men were passing by.”
[13:25] 136 tn Heb “the corpse.” The noun has been replaced by the pronoun (“it”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[13:25] 137 tn The words “what they had seen” are supplied in the translation for clarification.
[13:26] 138 tn Heb “and the prophet who had brought him back from the road heard.”
[13:26] 139 tn Heb “the man of God.”
[13:26] 140 tn Heb “the mouth of the
[13:26] 141 tn Heb “broke him,” or “crushed him.”
[13:26] 142 tn Heb “according to the word of the
[13:27] 143 tn Heb “and they saddled [it].”
[13:28] 144 tn Heb “the corpse.” The noun has been replaced by the pronoun (“it”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[13:29] 145 tn Heb “the prophet.” The word “old” has been supplied in the translation to distinguish this individual from the other prophet.
[13:29] 146 tn Heb “the man of God.”
[13:30] 147 tn “They” is the reading of the Hebrew text here; perhaps this is meant to include not only the old prophet but his sons (cf. v. 31).
[13:31] 148 tn Heb “the man of God.”
[13:32] 149 tn Heb “for the word which he cried out by the word of the
[13:32] 150 map For location see Map4 G4; Map5 C1; Map6 E3; Map7 D1; Map8 G3.
[13:32] 151 tn Heb “Samaria.” The name of Israel’s capital city here stands for the northern kingdom as a whole. Actually Samaria was not built and named until several years after this (see 1 Kgs 16:24), so it is likely that the author of Kings, writing at a later time, is here adapting the old prophet’s original statement.
[13:33] 152 tn Heb “did not turn from his evil way.”
[13:33] 153 sn The expression common people refers to people who were not Levites. See 1 Kgs 12:31.
[13:33] 154 tn Heb “and one who had the desire he was filling his hand so that he became [one of] the priests of the high places.”
[14:1] 156 tc Some
[14:2] 157 tn Heb “Get up, change yourself.”
[14:2] 158 tn Heb “look, Ahijah the prophet is there, he told me [I would be] king over this nation.”
[14:3] 159 tn Heb “take in your hand.”
[14:4] 160 tn Heb “and the wife of Jeroboam did so; she arose and went to Shiloh and entered the house of Ahijah.”
[14:4] 161 tn Heb “his eyes were set because of his old age.”
[14:5] 162 sn Tell her so-and-so. Certainly the
[14:6] 163 tn Heb “I am sent to you [with] a hard [message].”
[14:7] 164 tn The Hebrew text has “because” at the beginning of the sentence. In the Hebrew text vv. 7-11 are one long sentence comprised of a causal clause giving the reason for divine punishment (vv. 7-9) and the main clause announcing the punishment (vv. 10-11). The translation divides this lengthy sentence for stylistic reasons.
[14:8] 165 tn Heb “what was right in my eyes.”
[14:9] 166 tn Heb “you went and you made for yourself other gods, metal [ones], angering me, and you threw me behind your back.”
[14:10] 167 sn Disaster. There is a wordplay in the Hebrew text. The word translated “disaster” (רָעָה, ra’ah) is from the same root as the expression “you have sinned” in v. 9 (וַתָּרַע [vattara’], from רָעַע, [ra’a’]). Jeroboam’s sins would receive an appropriate punishment.
[14:10] 169 tn Heb “and I will cut off from Jeroboam those who urinate against a wall (including both those who are) restrained and let free (or “abandoned”) in Israel.” The precise meaning of the idiomatic phrase עָצוּר וְעָזוּב (’atsur vÿ’azuv) is uncertain. For various options see HALOT 871 s.v. עצר 6 and M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 107. The two terms are usually taken as polar opposites (“slaves and freemen” or “minors and adults”), but Cogan and Tadmor, on the basis of contextual considerations (note the usage with אֶפֶס [’efes], “nothing but”) in Deut 32:36 and 2 Kgs 14:26, argue convincingly that the terms are synonyms, meaning “restrained and abandoned,” and refer to incapable or incapacitated individuals.
[14:10] 170 tn The traditional view understands the verb בָּעַר (ba’ar) to mean “burn.” Manure was sometimes used as fuel (see Ezek 4:12, 15). However, an alternate view takes בָּעַר as a homonym meaning “sweep away” (HALOT 146 s.v. II בער). In this case one might translate, “I will sweep away the dynasty of Jeroboam, just as one sweeps away manure it is gone” (cf. ASV, NASB, TEV). Either metaphor emphasizes the thorough and destructive nature of the coming judgment.
[14:11] 171 tn The Hebrew text has “belonging to Jeroboam” here.
[14:14] 174 tn Heb “This is the day. What also now?” The precise meaning of the second half of the statement is uncertain.
[14:15] 175 tn The elliptical Hebrew text reads literally “and the
[14:15] 176 tn Heb “fathers” (also in vv. 22, 31).
[14:15] 177 tn Heb “the River.” In biblical Hebrew this is a typical reference to the Euphrates River. The name “Euphrates” has been supplied in the translation for clarity.
[14:15] 178 tn Heb “because they made their Asherah poles that anger the
[14:15] sn Asherah was a leading deity of the Canaanite pantheon, wife/sister of El and goddess of fertility. She was commonly worshiped at shrines in or near groves of evergreen trees, or, failing that, at places marked by wooden poles. These were to be burned or cut down (Deut 12:3; 16:21; Judg 6:25, 28, 30; 2 Kgs 18:4).
[14:16] 179 tn Heb “and he will give [up] Israel.”
[14:17] 180 tn Heb “went and entered.”
[14:18] 181 tn Heb “according to the word of the
[14:19] 182 tn Heb “As for the rest of the events of Jeroboam, how he fought and how he ruled, are they not written on the scroll of the events of the days of the kings of Israel?”
[14:20] 183 tn Heb “lay down with his fathers.”
[14:21] 184 tn Heb “Rehoboam.” The proper name has been replaced by the pronoun (“he”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[14:21] 185 map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
[14:21] 186 tn Heb “the city where the
[14:21] 187 tn Heb “an Ammonite”; the word “woman” is implied.
[14:22] 188 tn Heb “in the eyes of.”
[14:22] 189 tn Heb “and they made him jealous more than all which their fathers had done by their sins which they sinned.”
[14:24] 190 tc The Old Greek translation has “a conspiracy” rather than “male cultic prostitutes.”
[14:24] 191 tn Heb “they did according to all the abominable acts of the nations.”
[14:29] 193 tn Heb “As for the rest of the events of Rehoboam, and all which he did, are they not written on the scroll of the events of the days of the kings of Judah?”
[14:31] 194 tn Heb “lay down with his fathers.”
[14:31] 195 tn In the Hebrew text the name is spelled “Abijam” here and in 1 Kgs 15:1-8.
[15:1] 196 tc The Old Greek also has the phrase “the son of Rehoboam.”
[15:2] 197 map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
[15:2] 198 sn Abishalom (also in v. 10) is a variant of the name Absalom (cf. 2 Chr 11:20). The more common form is used by TEV, NLT.
[15:3] 199 tn Heb “his heart was not complete with the
[15:4] 200 tn Heb “gave him a lamp.”
[15:4] 201 tc The Old Greek has the plural “his sons.”
[15:4] 202 tn Heb “by raising up his son after him.”
[15:4] 203 tn Heb “and by causing Jerusalem to stand firm.”
[15:5] 204 tn The words “he did this” are added for stylistic reasons.
[15:5] 205 tn Heb “what was right in the eyes of the
[15:5] 206 tn Heb “and had not turned aside from all which he commanded him.”
[15:6] 207 tc Most Hebrew
[15:6] 208 tn Heb “his”; the referent (Abijah) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[15:7] 209 tn Heb “As for the rest of the events of Abijah, and all which he did, are they not written on the scroll of the events of the days of the kings of Judah?”
[15:8] 210 tn Heb “lay down with his fathers.” The Old Greek also has these words: “in the twenty-eighth year of Jeroboam.”
[15:8] 211 tn Heb “and they buried him.”
[15:10] 212 map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
[15:10] 213 tn Heb “mother,” but Hebrew often uses the terms “father” and “mother” for grandparents and more remote ancestors.
[15:11] 214 tn Heb “what was right in the eyes of the
[15:11] 215 tn Heb “father,” but Hebrew often uses the terms “father” and “mother” for grandparents and more remote ancestors.
[15:12] 216 tn The word used here, גִלּוּלִים [gillulim], is always used as a disdainful reference to idols. It is generally thought to have originally referred to “dung pellets” (cf. KBL 183 s.v. גִלּוּלִים). It is only one of several terms used in this way, such as “worthless things” (אֱלִילִים, ’elilim), “vanities” or “empty winds” (הֲבָלִים, havalim).
[15:12] 217 tn Heb “fathers” (also in v. 24).
[15:13] 218 tn Heb “mother,” but Hebrew often uses the terms “father” and “mother” for grandparents and more remote ancestors.
[15:14] 219 tn Heb “yet the heart of Asa was complete with the
[15:15] 220 tn Heb “and he brought the holy things of his father and his holy things (into) the house of the
[15:16] 221 tn Heb “There was war between Asa and Baasha king of Israel all their days.”
[15:17] 222 tn Heb “and he built up Ramah so as to not permit going out or coming in to Asa king of Judah.”
[15:18] 223 tn Heb “King Asa sent it.”
[15:19] 224 tn Heb “[May there be] a covenant between me and you [as there was] between my father and your father.”
[15:19] 225 tn Heb “so he will go up from upon me.”
[15:20] 226 tn Heb “and Ben Hadad listened to King Asa and sent the commanders of the armies which belonged to him against the cities of Israel.”
[15:20] 227 tn Heb “he struck down.”
[15:20] 228 tn Heb “and all Kinnereth together with all the land of Naphtali.”
