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1 KINGS 14

PARAGRAPH DIVISIONS OF MODERN TRANSLATIONS

READING CYCLE THREE (see "Bible Interpretation Seminar")

FOLLOWING THE ORIGINAL AUTHOR'S INTENT AT THE PARAGRAPH LEVEL

This is a study guide commentary, which means that you are responsible for your own interpretation of the Bible. Each of us must walk in the light we have. You, the Bible, and the Holy Spirit are priority in interpretation. You must not relinquish this to a commentator.

Read the chapter in one sitting. Identify the subjects. Compare your subject divisions with the five translations above. Paragraphing is not inspired, but it is the key to following the original author's intent, which is the heart of interpretation. Every paragraph has one and only one subject.

1. First paragraph
2. Second paragraph
3. Etc.

WORD AND PHRASE STUDY

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: 14:1-3
  ¹At that time Abijah the son of Jeroboam became sick. ²Jeroboam said to his wife, "Arise now, and disguise yourself so that they will not know that you are the wife of Jeroboam, and go to Shiloh; behold, Ahijah the prophet is there, who spoke concerning me that I would be king over this people. ³Take ten loaves with you, some cakes and a jar of honey, and go to him. He will tell you what will happen to the boy."

14:1 "Abijah the son of Jeroboam" The LXX has much more information about this child but we do not know the source of this information. He was

1. the oldest child
2. the favorite child
3. the only godly child (cf. v. 13)

▣ "became sick" We do not know the kind of illness but it seems to be the occasion of YHWH revealing His judgment through Ahijah to Jeroboam (v. 2).

14:2 Was the disguise to fool Ahijah or was it to conceal Jereboam going to a prophet of Judah?

▣ "Shiloh" This was at the site where Joshua divided the tribes by lot. It was the site of the temple during the Judges period and Ahijah's home (NIDOTTE, vol. 4, pp. 1220-1223).

▣ "Ahijah the prophet" This is the very spokesperson YHWH used to offer Jeroboam a permanent dynasty if he would obey the covenant in 1 Kgs. 11:29-40.

SPECIAL TOPIC: PROPHECY (OT)

14:3 It was expected to bring a prophet a gift (NIDOTTE, vol. 4, p. 342) of food when asking a question (cf. 1 Sam. 9:7; 1 Kgs. 13:7; 2 Kgs. 5:15; 8:8-9).

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: 14:4-5
  ⁴Jeroboam's wife did so, and arose and went to Shiloh, and came to the house of Ahijah. Now Ahijah could not see, for his eyes were dim because of his age. ⁵Now the Lord had said to Ahijah, "Behold, the wife of Jeroboam is coming to inquire of you concerning her son, for he is sick. You shall say thus and thus to her, for it will be when she arrives that she will pretend to be another woman."

14:4 "for his eyes were dim because of his age" Isaac had this same problem in his old age (cf. Gen. 27:1), as did Jacob/Israel (cf. Gen. 48:10). The priest at Shiloh, Eli, also had eye problems in his old age (1 Sam. 3:3).

These problems are common to all humans. God allows age to weaken, even His special servants. Do not let physical or emotional problems cause you to question God's love and care for you!

SPECIAL TOPIC: HUMAN AGING

14:5 This is very specific information. It is obvious YHWH communicated to His prophets. Ezactly how is uncertain. He used many ways.

1. words
2. dreams/visions
3. acts
4. circumstances

SPECIAL TOPIC: INSPIRATION

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: 14:6-14
  ⁶When Ahijah heard the sound of her feet coming in the doorway, he said, "Come in, wife of Jeroboam, why do you pretend to be another woman? For I am sent to you with a harsh message. ⁷Go, say to Jeroboam, 'Thus says the Lord God of Israel, "Because I exalted you from among the people and made you leader over My people Israel, ⁸and tore the kingdom away from the house of David and gave it to you—yet you have not been like My servant David, who kept My commandments and who followed Me with all his heart, to do only that which was right in My sight; ⁹you also have done more evil than all who were before you, and have gone and made for yourself other gods and molten images to provoke Me to anger, and have cast Me behind your back—¹⁰therefore behold, I am bringing calamity on the house of Jeroboam, and will cut off from Jeroboam every male person, both bond and free in Israel, and I will make a clean sweep of the house of Jeroboam, as one sweeps away dung until it is all gone. ¹¹Anyone belonging to Jeroboam who dies in the city the dogs will eat. And he who dies in the field the birds of the heavens will eat; for the Lord has spoken it."' ¹²Now you, arise, go to your house. When your feet enter the city the child will die. ¹³All Israel shall mourn for him and bury him, for he alone of Jeroboam's family will come to the grave, because in him something good was found toward the Lord God of Israel in the house of Jeroboam. ¹⁴Moreover, the Lord will raise up for Himself a king over Israel who will cut off the house of Jeroboam this day and from now on.

14:7-8 This refers to Ahijah's earlier prophecy in 1 Kgs. 11:29-40.

14:7 "the God of Israel" This is the older use of the word, as God of Jacob. At this time the name "Israel" was used of the northern ten tribes.

SPECIAL TOPIC: ISRAEL (THE NAME)

14:8 "yet you have not been like My servant David" David became the type of a godly king. He was not sinless but he had a heart for YHWH (i.e., obedience to the covenant).

SPECIAL TOPIC: MESSIAH

SPECIAL TOPIC: MY SERVANT

SPECIAL TOPIC: KEEP

▣ "My commandments" See SPECIAL TOPIC: TERMS FOR GOD'S REVELATION.

14:9 "you also have done more evil than all who were before you" This is a hyperbolic statement since Jeroboam was the first king of Israel. It is similar to the imagery of Eccl. 1:16 (i.e., "more than all who were in Jerusalem before me," only David preceded Solomon in Jerusalem).

▣ "made for yourself other gods" This refers not only to the two calves at Dan and Bethel, but also the local high places where

1. Ba'al was worshiped by an uplifted pillar of stone (NIDOTE, vol. 4, pp. 422-428)
2. Asherah was worshiped by a carved wooden pole or live tree (NIDOTTE, vol. 3, pp. 562-563,633)

SPECIAL TOPIC: FERTILITY WORSHIP OF THE ANE

▣ "provoke Me to anger" This term (BDB 494, KB 491, Hiphil INFINITIVE CONSTRUCT) is used often of YHWH's attitude toward idolatry (cf. Deut. 4:25; 21:29; 32:16,28; 1 Kgs. 14:9,15; 16:16,21,32,36; 22:54; 2 Kgs. 17:11; 23:19; 2 Chr. 28:25; Neh. 3:37; Jer. 7:18-19; 11:17; 32:29,32; 44:3).

SPECIAL TOPIC: ANTHROPOMORPHIC LANGUAGE USED TO DESCRIBE DEITY

▣ "and have cast Me behind your back" This and similar idioms (BDB 1020, KB 1527, Hiphil PERFECT) denote an act of rejection by ignoring YHWH's law (cf. Neh. 9:26; Ps. 50:17; Jer. 2:27; 32:33; Ezek. 23:35).

This idiom is used in a positive sense of YHWH forgiving sins in Isa. 38:17 (i.e., out of sight, out of mind).

It is used of YHWH rejecting His covenant people because of their continuing disobedience in Jer. 18:17.

Please look at my exegetical note below from Ezek. 33:32-33.

Ezek. 33:32 "for they hear your words but they do not practice them" They hear, but they do not do (i.e., the opposite of shema). This is the condemnation of "religious people," cf. Matt. 7:24-27; James 1:23-25).

The exiles loved to come hear or observe Ezekiel's messages, but they did not really believe them. He was the only show in town. This would all change with the news brought by an exiled survivor of Jerusalem that indeed all that Ezekiel had predicted had occurred (cf. Ezek. 33:33).

SPECIAL TOPIC: KEEP

33:33 The mark of a true prophet is that what they predict (unless repentance occurs, i.e., Jonah) comes to pass (cf. Ezek. 33:29; 13:6; Deut. 18:22; Jer. 28:9). Ezekiel had been right about Judah and Jerusalem and he would be right about the destruction of the nations! He would also be right about the forgiveness and restoration to come!

SPECIAL TOPIC: PROPHECY (OT)

14:10 "every male" This is literally a Hebrew idiom for males—"him who urinates against the wall" (cf. 1 Sam. 25:22,34; 1 Kgs. 14:10; 16:11; 21:21; 2 Kgs. 9:8).

The MT has two Qal PASSIVE PARTICIPLES.

1. bond ‒ BDB 783, KB 870 (lit., "restrain")
2. free ‒ BDB 736 I, KB 806 (lit. "loose")

This uncertain idiom is also found in Deut. 32:36d; 1 Kgs. 16:11; 21:21; 2 Kgs. 9:8; 14:26. In 1 Kgs. 16:11 it is translated "relatives or friends." These two VERBS are always given as contrasting pairs. Therefore, it may denote "all." See NIDOTTE, vol. 3, p. 364, #3.

The MT has the VERB (BDB 128, KB 145, cf. 1 Kgs. 16:3; 21:21) twice.

1. Piel PERFECT with waw
2. Piel IMPERFECT

Manure was burned for fuel (cf. Ezek. 4:12,15) in times of siege or other difficulties.

The same Hebrew root, בער, can also mean "sweep away" or "purge" (KB 146 II, used over 20 times in Deuteronomy; and also 1 Kgs. 22:46; 2 Kgs. 23:24), but this is the only place it is used with that meaning.

SPECIAL TOPIC: FIRE

14:11 "dogs will eat" Improper burial was a horrible thing (i.e., 1 Kgs. 13:22,24, the unnamed man of God). This terrible judgment is also found in 1 Kgs. 16:4 and 21:24. It is hinted at in Deut. 28:26). The same imagery is used in the curse formula of ANE treaties of the period.

▣ "for the Lord has spoken it" YHWH's word is always fulfilled (cf. Isa. 14:24; 25:10; 40:8; 45:23; 46:10; 55:8-11; 59:21; Matt. 24:35). YHWH's plans can be modified when His people repent but if not, its fulfillment is certain.

The specific phrase found here is repeated often in 1 Kings to confirm a prophet's message (cf. 1 Kgs. 13:26; 15:29; 16:12,34; 17:16; 22:38).

14:13 This verse is mysterious. Apparently there was something about this child that expressed faith towards YHWH. He was the only child of Jeroboam who was properly buried (see SPECIAL TOPIC: BURIAL PRACTICES).

The rabbis (i.e., Talmud ‒ b. Mo'ed Qat.^28b) says he made a trip to the temple in Jerusalem but this is just more rabbinical folklore (AB, p. 380).

SPECIAL TOPIC: RABBINICAL HERMENEUTICS

14:14 Does "Israel" here refer to

1. Judah (cf 1 Kgs. 12:26)
2. the northern ten tribes (v. 15)

It is possible that #2 was fulfilled in Baasha (cf. 1 Kgs. 15:29).

The MT has

1. first part
   1. ADJECTIVE ‒ BDB 260, "this one"
   2. NOUN ‒ BDB 398, "day"
2. second part
   1. CONJUNCTION ‒ "and"
   2. INTERROGATIVE ‒ BDB 552, "what"
   3. ADVERB ‒ BDB 168, "also"
   4. ADVERB ‒ BDB 773, "now," "at the time"

No one knows what this means; no one suggests a simple, logical emendation.

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: 14:15-16
  ¹⁵"For the Lord will strike Israel, as a reed is shaken in the water; and He will uproot Israel from this good land which He gave to their fathers, and will scatter them beyond the Euphrates River, because they have made their Asherim, provoking the Lord to anger. ¹⁶He will give up Israel on account of the sins of Jeroboam, which he committed and with which he made Israel to sin."

14:15 The whole nation will be affected by Jeroboam's sin involving the two golden calves (cf. 2 Kgs. 17:7-17).

▣ "a reed shaken in the water" This is an idiom of instability and weakness.

▣ "He will uproot. . .will scatter them" This is a specific allusion to the Assyrian exile of Israel (cf. Lev. 26:33; Deut. 4:27; 28:64; 29:27-28; Josh. 23:15-16; 2 Kgs. 17:6; Ps. 44:11; Jer. 12:14; Ezek. 20:23). As YHWH took the Canaanites out of Canaan because of their iniquity (cf. Gen.1 5:12-21), so now He removes Israel (cf. 2 Kgs. 17:6) because of their idolatry! The Covenant is conditional!

▣ "Asherim" This (BDB 81) refers to the symbol of the female part of Canaanite fertility worship. It is either a carved stake (cf. 2 Kgs. 21:7) or a live tree, symbolizing the tree of life.

SPECIAL TOPIC: FERTILITY WORSHIP OF THE ANE

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: 14:17-18
  ¹⁷Then Jeroboam's wife arose and departed and came to Tirzah. As she was entering the threshold of the house, the child died. ¹⁸All Israel buried him and mourned for him, according to the word of the Lord which He spoke through His servant Ahijah the prophet.

14:17 "Tirzah" This was the capital after Shechem (cf 1 Kgs. 15:21,33; 16:6-9,15,23).

4:18 This refers to 1 Kgs. 14:13.

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: 14:19-20
  ¹⁹Now the rest of the acts of Jeroboam, how he made war and how he reigned, behold, they are written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel. ²⁰The time that Jeroboam reigned was twenty-two years; and he slept with his fathers, and Nadab his son reigned in his place.

14:19 "the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel" This, like "the Book of the Acts of Solomon" (1 Kgs. 11:41) and "the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah" (1 Kgs. 14:29), are all lost to us. They are not the same as Chronicles.

14:20 See note at 1 Kgs. 2:10.

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: 14:21-24
  ²¹Now Rehoboam the son of Solomon reigned in Judah. Rehoboam was forty-one years old when he became king, and he reigned seventeen years in Jerusalem, the city which the Lord had chosen from all the tribes of Israel to put His name there. And his mother's name was Naamah the Ammonitess. ²²Judah did evil in the sight of the Lord, and they provoked Him to jealousy more than all that their fathers had done, with the sins which they committed. ²³For they also built for themselves high places and sacred pillars and Asherim on every high hill and beneath every luxuriant tree. ²⁴There were also male cult prostitutes in the land. They did according to all the abominations of the nations which the Lord dispossessed before the sons of Israel.

14:21-32 This is a summary of the reign of Solomon's son, Rehoboam (NIDOTTE, vol. 4, pp. 1127-1129). It is shockingly idolatrous!

There is a brief account of how Rehoboam caused the Kingdon of Israel to split in 1 Kings 12.

SPECIAL TOPIC: KINGS OF THE DIVIDED KINGDOM

14:21 "Jerusalem, the city which the Lord had chosen" See full note at 1 Kgs. 11:32,36.

SPECIAL TOPIC: MORIAH, SALEM, JEBUS, ZION, JERUSALEM

▣ "His name" See SPECIAL TOPIC: "THE NAME" OF YHWH.

14:22 "Judah did evil in the sight of the Lord" Verses 23-24 list some of the idols that Rehoboam allowed to be made and spread throughout the land.

1. sacred pillars ‒ Ba'al
2. Asherim ‒ see note at v. 15; 1 Kgs. 15:12; 22:47
3. male cult prostitutes ‒ cf. Deut. 23:17; 2 Kgs. 23:7; this seems to refer to sexual partners of female worshipers

SPECIAL TOPIC: FERTILITY WORSHIP OF THE ANE

▣ "to jealousy" This (BDB 888, KB 1109, Piel IMPERFECT with waw; NIDOTTE, vol. 3, p. 938) denotes YHWH's powerful covenant feelings for His covenant people. The Bible describes YHWH in familial terms.

1. Father (Israel as child)
2. Husband (Israel as lover)

Idolatry was viewed as "spiritual adultery" (cf. Exod. 34:14-16; Lev. 17:7; 20:5-6; Num. 15:39; Deut. 31:16; Jdgs. 2:17; 8:27,33; 1 Chr. 5:29; Jer. 3:1; Ezek. 20:30; Hosea 2:7).

In light of this rebellion, YHWH calls Himself a Jealous God (cf. Exod. 20:5; 34:14; Deut. 4:24; 5:9; 6:14-15; Josh. 24:19). The best place to see this powerful imagery is the book of Hosea, which describes YHWH as a faithful lover and Israel as a faithless wife. In Hosea YHWH's jealousy turns to forgiveness and restoration.

SPECIAL TOPIC: THE FATHERHOOD OF GOD

14:23 Notice how wide spread this idolatry was.

1. on every high hill
2. beneath every luxuriant tree (cf. Isa. 57:5; Jer. 2:20; 3:2,6,13; 7:2; Ezek. 6:13; 20:28; Hosea 4:11-14)

These worship sites were in every town.

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: 14:25-28
  ²⁵Now it happened in the fifth year of King Rehoboam, that Shishak the king of Egypt came up against Jerusalem. ²⁶He took away the treasures of the house of the Lord and the treasures of the king's house, and he took everything, even taking all the shields of gold which Solomon had made. ²⁷So King Rehoboam made shields of bronze in their place, and committed them to the care of the commanders of the guard who guarded the doorway of the king's house. ²⁸Then it happened as often as the king entered the house of the Lord, that the guards would carry them and would bring them back into the guards' room.

14:25-26 Shishak (NIDOTTE, vol. 4, pp. 565-566) the king of Egypt, invaded Judah and took all the enormous wealth gathered by Solomon (Josephus, Antiq. 8.10.1-3, says Herodotus mentions this but has the wrong name, Sesotris, and it should be Shishak). There is some archaeological evidence that Shishak invaded Israel also, all the way to Megiddo (cf. 2 Chr. 12:1-12).

It is possible that the ark and the furnishings and vessels of the temple were also taken to Egypt (cf. 2 Chr. 12:9).

SPECIAL TOPIC: KINGS OF EGYPT

14:27 Rehoboam was so embarrassed about the loss of all the wealth, he made decorative shields of bronze to hang in the place of Solomons' gold ones (cf. 1 Kgs. 10:17).

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: 14:29-31
  ²⁹Now the rest of the acts of Rehoboam and all that he did, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah? ³⁰There was war between Rehoboam and Jeroboam continually. ³¹And Rehoboam slept with his fathers and was buried with his fathers in the city of David; and his mother's name was Naamah the Ammonitess. And Abijam his son became king in his place.

14:31 The mother of the kings of Judah is always given, but not the kings of Israel. The formula summarizing the reigns are different (usually those of Judah are longer, which symbolizes Judah's superiority and legitimacy).

Rehoboam's mother is named twice (vv. 21,31), but why is uncertain.

The MT has Abijam (BDB 4) but in 2 Chronicles the royal prince and later king of Judah is named Abijah (cf. 2 Chr. 11:20,22; 12:16; 13:1-4; etc.) but here (i.e., 15:1,7,8) he is named Abijam. It is possible this name means

1. Abi ‒ my father
2. Yam ‒ (is) Yam (Canaannite sea god)

Possibly later editors changed the name.

1. changed Abijah (v. 1) to Abijam (14:31) to shame him
2. changed Abijam to Abijah to remove an offensive name (like Ishbaal to Ishbosheth)

The name Abijah means "My father is YHWH." (v. 1) The royal son's name is similar to the prophet's name (Ahijah, v. 2).

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

This is a study guide commentary which means that you are responsible for your own interpretation of the Bible. Each of us must walk in the light we have. You, the Bible, and the Holy Spirit are priority in interpretation. You must not relinquish this to a commentator.

These discussion questions are provided to help you think through the major issues of this section of the book. They are meant to be thought-provoking, not definitive.

1. What was Jeroboam's son's name (v. 1)?
2. How does YHWH reveal Himself?
3. Why is idolatry in Israel so evil?
4. How was Ahijah "good" in YHWH's sight (v. 13)?
5. What is an Asherim (v. 15)?
6. How were the kings of Judah different from the kings of Israel (vv. 22-24)?
7. Where is the ark of the covenant? How does this chapter give a possible answer?
8. Why did Rehoboam make bronze shields (v. 27)?

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