XII. The comparatively detailed style of the narrative of the reign of Solomon is continued through 1 Kings 12:13; 1 Kings 12:14. In the section 1 Kings 12:1 the record of the Book of Chronicles (2 Chronicles 10:1 to 2 Chronicles 11:4), after omitting the whole description of Solomon’s idolatry, an... [ Continue Reading ]
ALL ISRAEL WERE COME TO SHECHEM TO MAKE HIM KING. — In the case of David, we find that, when he was made king over Israel, “he made a league” with the elders of Israel (2 Samuel 5:3), apparently implying a less absolute royalty than that to which he had been anointed, without conditions, over the ho... [ Continue Reading ]
FOR HE WAS FLED. — In 2 Chronicles 10:2, and in the LXX. version (or, rather versions, for there is variety of reading) of this passage, Jeroboam is made to return from Egypt, on hearing of the death of Solomon, to his own city, and to be “sent for” thence. This is obviously far more probable, and m... [ Continue Reading ]
WE WILL SERVE THEE. — It seems evident from the tone of the narrative, and especially from the absence of all resentment on the part of the king on the presentation of these conditions, that they were acting within their right; and whatever Jeroboam’s designs may have been, there is no sign of any g... [ Continue Reading ]
IF THOU WILT BE A SERVANT. — Both the policies suggested show how corrupt and cynical the government of Israel had become. For the advice of the old counsellors has no largeness of policy or depth of wisdom. It is simply the characteristic advice of experienced and crafty politicians — who had seen... [ Continue Reading ]
THUS SHALT THOU SPEAK. — The advice of the young men — the spoilt children of a magnificent and luxurious despotism, of which alone they had experience — is the language of the arrogant self-confidence, which mistakes obstinacy for vigour, and, blind to all signs of the times, supposes that what onc... [ Continue Reading ]
THE SCORPION is probably (like the Roman _fiagellum_) a whip, the lash of which is loaded with weights and sharp points.... [ Continue Reading ]
FOR THE CAUSE WAS FROM THE LORD. — The very idea of the Scriptural history, referring all things to God, necessarily brings us continually face to face with the great mystery of life — the reconcilement of God’s all-foreseeing and all-ordaining Providence with the freedom, and, in consequence, with... [ Continue Reading ]
TO YOUR TENTS. — This war-cry was not new. It had been heard once before, during the conflict between Judah and Israel after the rebellion of Absalom, when it was silenced instantly by the relentless promptitude of Joab (2 Samuel 20:1). Only the last ironical line is added, “See to thine own house,... [ Continue Reading ]
THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL WHICH DWELT IN THE CITIES OF JUDAH. — The expression is doubly significant. (_a_) Historically the tribe of Judah had its semi-dependent tribes — Simeon, already absorbed into Judah; Dan, in great part transferred to the extreme north; and Benjamin, closely united to Judah by... [ Continue Reading ]
ADORAM, WHO WAS OVER THE TRIBUTE (or levy). — In 2 Samuel 20:24; 1 Kings 4:6; 1 Kings 5:14, we find Adoram (or Adoniram, which is a longer form of the same name) described as holding this office in the later days of David and the reign of Solomon. The Adoram here mentioned must be identical with the... [ Continue Reading ]
UNTO THIS DAY. — The phrase argues the incorporation into the narrative of an older document.... [ Continue Reading ]
JEROBOAM WAS COME AGAIN. — The assembly at Shechem probably broke up in disorder, carrying everywhere the news of the rebellion. It would be quite in harmony with Jeroboam’s astuteness, if, after setting the revolution on foot, he himself stood aloof from leadership, and waited till “the congregatio... [ Continue Reading ]
In these two verses we have again the same curious juxtaposition of “the tribe of Judah only” and “the house of Judah, with the tribe of Benjamin.” The army gathered would be, no doubt, drawn from Solomon’s established and disciplined forces, as well as from the levy of Judah and Benjamin generally... [ Continue Reading ]
SHEMAIAH THE MAN OF GOD. — From the notices in 2 Chronicles 12:5; 2 Chronicles 12:15, it would seem that, while Ahijah belonged to Shiloh in Ephraim, and continued to dwell there, Shemaiah was rather attached to Judah, and hence, that his interference to protect the new kingdom was the more striking... [ Continue Reading ]
JEROBOAM BUILT SHECHEM. — Shechem had passed through many vicissitudes of fortune. It was already a city when Abraham entered the Promised Land (Genesis 12:6), and is from time to time mentioned in the patriarchal history (Genesis 33:18; Genesis 35:4; Genesis 37:12). At the Conquest it became a city... [ Continue Reading ]
In these verses is recorded the adoption of the fatal policy which has caused Jeroboam to be handed down in the sacred record as “the son of Nebat, who made Israel to sin.” Hitherto his new royalty had been inaugurated under a Divine sanction, both as receiving distinct promise of permanence and ble... [ Continue Reading ]
CALVES OF GOLD. — The choice of this symbol of the Divine Nature — turning, as the Psalmist says with indignant scorn, “the glory of God into the similitude of a calf that eateth hay” (Psalms 106:20) — was probably due to a combination of causes. First, the very repetition of Aaron’s words (Exodus 3... [ Continue Reading ]
BETHEL AND DAN, chosen as the frontier towns of the kingdom, had, however, associations of their own, which lent themselves naturally to Jeroboam’s design. Bethel — preserving in its name the memory of Jacob’s vision, and of his consecration of the place as a sanctuary (Genesis 28:19; Genesis 35:14)... [ Continue Reading ]
EVEN UNTO DAN. — It has been thought that there is here a corruption of the text, and that words referring to Bethel have fallen out. But there is no sign of such variation in the LXX. (which only adds, in some MSS., “and deserted the house of the Lord”) or other versions. The reason of the mention... [ Continue Reading ]
OF THE LOWEST OF THE PEOPLE. — This is universally recognised as a mistranslation, though a natural one, of the original, “the ends of the people.” The sense is “from the whole mass of the people,” without care for Levitical descent — the Levites having (see 2 Chronicles 11:13) generally returned in... [ Continue Reading ]
IN THE EIGHTH MONTH, ON THE FIFTEENTH DAY OF THE MONTH... — The “feast that was in Judah,” to which this is said to be like, is clearly the Feast of Tabernacles, on the fifteenth day of the _seventh_ month. The fixing of Jeroboam’s festival of dedication for the Temple at Bethel to this special day... [ Continue Reading ]
SO HE OFFERED UPON THE ALTAR. — The repetition of this verse is accounted for by its belonging properly in sense to the next chapter, opening the story of the mission of the “man of God from Judah.” The idea of the verse would be best conveyed by rendering the verbs of this verse in the imperfect te... [ Continue Reading ]