1 Reis 12
Bob Utley · You Can Understand the Bible
1 Reis 12
NJB (MT versing) King Rehoboam Acts Foolishly The Revolt Against Rehoboam The Kingdom Divided The Northern Tribes Revolt The Assembly at Shechem 12:1-5 12:1-5 12:1-5 12:1-4 12:1-5 12:5 12:6-11 12:6-11 12:6-11 12:6 12:6-11 12:7 12:8-9 12:10-11 12:12-15 12:12-15 12:12-15 12:12-15 12:12-14 The Kingdom Divided 12:15-17a (16b-17a) 12:16-19 (16b) 12:16-20 (16b) 12:16-19 (16b-17a) 12:16-17 12:17b-19 12:18-19 12:20 12:20 12:20 12:20 Shemaiah's Prophecy 12:21-24 12:21-24 12:21-24 12:21-24 12:21-24 Jeroboam's Idolatry Jeroboam's Gold Calves Jeroboam's Idolatry Jeroboam Turns Away from God 12:25-33 12:25-33 12:25-33 12:25-27 12:25 The Religious Schism 12:26-33 12:28-31 Worship at Bethel Is Condemned (12:32-13:10) 12:32-33 Etc.
1 Reis 12:1-5
12:1 "Rehoboam" Solomon had many sons but Rehoboam was his oldest by his favorite wife his choice among many SPECIAL TOPIC: THE DIVIDED MONARCHY ▣ "to Shechem" The name (BDB 1014 II) probably means "shoulder blade" because Shechem was between Mt. Ebal and Mt. Gerizim. There are several possible reasons why Rehoboam chose Shechem. It was the largest northern city and on the border between Ephraim and Manasseh (i.e., "house of Joseph," 1 Kgs. 11:28). It was the site of patriarchal sacrifices. Abraham ‒ Gen. 12:6-9 Jacob ‒ Gen. 33:18-20 It was the site of Joshua's altar and the reading of the cursings and blessings (i.e., Deuteronomy 27-28) ‒ Deut. 11:29; 27:4,13; Josh. 8:30,33. It was the site of Joseph's tomb ‒ Exod. 13:19. It was later the site of Abimelech's conspiracy to become king ‒ Judges 9. ▣ "all Israel" Here and in 1 Kgs. 11:42 it refers to all the tribes; the sons of Jacob. But in vv. 3,18, it starts to refer to the ten northern tribes (cf. v. 16g), who go by the names Israel Ephraim (largest tribe) Samaria (the capital) SPECIAL TOPIC: ISRAEL (THE NAME) ▣ "to make him king" There was always a public coronation. Rehoboam chose Shechem hopefully to please the northern tribes and keep the united monarchy. There was always jealousy and tension between Judah and the north. 12:2 The text does not specify if the "it" refers to Solomon's death (Vulgate) Rehoboam's coronation (1 Kgs. 14:21 says he was 41 years old and reigned seventeen years) ▣ "yet in Egypt" Both Hadad the Edomite and Jeroboam fled to Egypt for safety. At the beginning of Solomon's reign, there was an alliance with Egypt, but apparently it was only political there was a new Pharaoh ▣ NASB, NKJV, JPSOA, Peshitta "he was living in Egypt" NRSV, TEV, NJB "returned from Egypt" The MT has "dwelt in Egypt." The UBS Text Project, p. 318, gives this a "C" rating (considerable doubt) because the alternate is found in 1 Chr. 10:2 and the Vulgate. 12:3 "they" This must refer to the leaders of the northern ten tribes. 12:4 "yoke. . .heavy yoke" This refers to the large amount of food needed by the royal court the large amount of laborers needed for Solomon's building projects the draft into military service taxation of various kinds The ADJECTIVE "heavy" (BDB 458) is a special connotation of the word kabod, which is normally used of YHWH's "glory." Its basic meaning is something heavy (cf. vv. 10,11,14) and, therefore, valuable, like gold. Special Topic: SPECIAL TOPIC: GLORY (kabod, OT)
1 Reis 12:6-11
12:6 "the elders" This seems to refer to royal advisers not tribal leaders but it may have been that Solomon chose advisors from each tribe. SPECIAL TOPIC: ELDERS 12:7 This was good political advice but YHWH's prophetic pronouncement was active (cf. v. 15). 12:8 The Hebrew Bible says he was 41 (cf. 1 Kgs. 14:21; 2 Chr. 12:13) at his ascension but the LXX says 16 (note 2 Chr. 13:7). 12:10 Rehoboam listened to his peers at court and even exaggerated the issues of supplies, labor, and taxation (i.e., the idiomatic phrase at the end of v. 10). The term "finger" is not in the text but is assumed. It could be a sexual euphemism. 12:11 "whips. . .scorpions" There has never been agreement among commentators about the meaning of "scorpions" (BDB 875). Jewish scholars suggest it is a whip that hurts worse than a normal whip, possibly like the whip of the later Romans with pieces of bone or metal tied to the end of the leather thongs.
1 Reis 12:12-15
12:15 This is the worldview of Scripture (cf. 2 Chr. 10:15; 11:4; 16:16,20). YHWH is in control of history. There is a divine plan moving to fulfillment (i.e., v. 24; Acts 2:23; 3:18; 4:28). SPECIAL TOPIC: THE BIBLE (its uniqueness and inspiration) SPECIAL TOPIC: YHWH'S ETERNAL REDEMPTIVE PLAN ▣ "Ahijah" This prophecy is recorded in 1 Kgs. 11:31-36.
1 Reis 12:16-19
12:16 This attitude and response is similar to 2 Sam. 20:1. This verse is a rhetorical question that expects a negative answer (NIDOTTE, vol. 4, p. 1034). There was always tension between the tribes. Josephus (Antiq. 8.8.3) says "By these words the people were struck, as it were, by an iron hammer, and were so grieved at the words, as if they had already felt the effects of them." ▣ "tents" This is an anachronism from the exodus period. 12:17 Judah, at this period, was made up of several tribes. Judah Simeon Benjamin Levi 12:18 "Adoram" The MT has "Adoram" (BDB 12), which is the same name as a person in David's administration who also was over "forced labor" (cf. 2 Sam. 20:24). 1 Kings 4:6; 5:14 mention a man named "Adoniram" (BDB 12) who was also over "forced labor." This name is found in this verse in the LXX and Peshitta. The parallel in 2 Chr. 10:18 has "Hadoram." Probably these are different people but perhaps of the same family and vocation. ▣ "all Israel stoned him to death" This illustrates the northern tribes' pent-up anger. Josephus (Antiq. 8.5.3.) says Adoram was sent to apologize for the king's rash statements. SPECIAL TOPIC: STONE TO DEATH ▣ "And King Rehoboam made haste to mount his chariot to flee to Jerusalem" Several things seem unusual about this verse. Rehoboam would send a person involved in "forced labor" to try to solve the problem of "forced labor." That Rehoboam would have accompanied his representative. Most scholars assume the Hithpael PERFECT VERB (BDB 54, KB 65, "made haste") refers to the previous encounter of vv. 12-14. 12:19 "to this day" This is a literary marker of a later editor. Since the northern ten tribes lost their freedom and national identity by the Assyrians in 722 b.c., the document must have been written between 922 b.c. (tribes split) and 722 b.c.
1 Reis 12:20
12:20-21 "None but the tribe of Judah followed the house of David" "House" means dynasty. This seems to conflict with vv. 21,23. It is unusual that Judah is called "the house of" but Benjamin is called "the tribe of." Some scholars have theorized that only the southern part of Benjamin went with Judah. This is only speculation. See note at v. 17.
1 Reis 12:21-24
12:21 "180,000" This number seems too large. It probably is related to the use of "thousand" (eleph) as a military unit. The LXX has "120,000." SPECIAL TOPIC: THOUSAND (eleph) 12:22 "the word of God" In the parallel of 2 Chr. 11:3, it is "the word of YHWH." The LXX, Peshitta, and Aramaic Targums put YHWH here. SPECIAL TOPIC: NAMES FOR DEITY, C. and D. ▣ "the man of God" This was one designation of a prophet. In 1 Chr. 12:5 he is called a prophet. The title "Ish of Elohim" (BDB 35) is used 76 times in the OT. of Moses ‒ Deut. 33:1; Josh. 14:6; Ezra 3:2 of David ‒ 2 Chr. 8:14 various prophets (selected list) ‒ 1 Sam. 9:6; 1 Kgs. 13:1; 17:18; 2 Kgs. 4:7,19; 5:8 SPECIAL TOPIC: PROPHET (the different Hebrew terms), #5 SPECIAL TOPIC: NAMES FOR DEITY, C. 12:23 "the rest of the people" It is uncertain to whom this refers, to the people of v. 17 who were not of the tribe of Judah, or Benjamin. 12:24 "for this thing has come from Me" See note at v. 15.
1 Reis 12:25-33
12:25 There is a large insertion in the LXX found after 1 Kgs. 12:24 and no where else. It is labeled 1 Kgs. 24a-2. ▣ "Shechem" This was Jeroboam's first capital. It seems, from 1 Kgs. 14:17-18, that later Tirzah became the capital (cf. 1 Kgs. 15:33; 16:8). It was not until the reign of Omri that Samaria became the capital (cf. 1 Kgs. 16:24,28,29,32), 12:26-27 Jeroboam I feared that his subjects going to Jerusalem every year for feast days and required religious rituals would cause them to desire to reunify with Judah. His answer to this was a terrible sin (cf. v. 30; i.e., setting up rival temples at Bethel and Dan). 12:28 "the two golden calves" There was one in each temple (cf. v. 29). These seem to be related to Exodus 32. There is some discussion if they were merely stands for YHWH's visible presence a fertility symbol (i.e., common in Ba'al worship) Initially it must be stated that Jeroboam did not intend these to be idolatrous, but simply rival worship sites. However, this violated several Mosaic Laws. The people's proclivity to fertility worship morphed these sites into terrible idolatry. This eventually caused the exile of Israel by Assyria in 722 b.c. It is possible that as the cherubim above the ark was the dwelling place of YHWH, so too, these calves were merely places where YHWH was to dwell above them. If so, these calves would function in place of the ark, which was a sacred object Jeroboam could not duplicate. 12:30-33 Jeroboam sinned in several ways. rejected the prophecy of Ahijah ‒ 1 Kgs. 11:38 built rival temples had a visible image of YHWH v. 31 could refer to the rival temples at Bethel and Dan local high places appointed non-Levite priests (v. 31) changed the date or started a new annual feast (vv. 32,33) offered non-Levitical incense (possibly sacrifices) on the altar himself 12:31 "he made high places" This probably refers to the two rival temples, but could refer to local Bamah (i.e., high places, cf. 1 Kgs. 11:5-8; 2 Kgs. 17:9; 23:13). In all probability the name for Ba'al worship (i.e., Bamah) was used in a derogatory way for Jeroboam's temples (JPSOA, "cultic places"). ▣ "made priests from among the people" This is a specialized use of the NOUN "end" or "extremity" (BDB 892; NIDOTTE, vol. 3, p. 958, #8). Here, it denotes the people as a whole (i.e., a metonymy). It does not refer to poor or disenfranchised people. This same specialized idiomatic usage is found in Jdgs. 18:2; 2 Kgs. 17:32. Apparently the Levites rejected these temples and even their ancestral lands and homes and returned to Judah (cf. 2 Chr. 11:13-14). SPECIAL TOPIC: LEVITICAL PRIESTS 12:32 This new feast of the eighth month was meant to mimic the Feast of Tabernacles (i.e., seventh month) Solomon's Feast of Dedication (1 Kgs. 8:2) 12:33 This verse contextually should go with chapter thirteen.