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1 KINGS 15

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.

CONTEXTUAL INSIGHTS

1. 1 Kings 14:21-15:24 discusses the kings of Judah.
   
   
2. 1 Kings. 15:25-16:33 deals with the kings of Israel.
   
   
3. Although not all of Judah's kings were faithful, all of Israel's kings were unfaithful.
   
   
4. In comparison the reign of the kings of Judah were stable, while the kingdom of Israel suffered instability.
   
   
5. From this point on in Kings, the reigns of the kings of Judah and Israel are recorded, one after another.

WORD AND PHRASE STUDY

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: 15:1-6
  ¹Now in the eighteenth year of King Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, Abijam became king over Judah. ²He reigned three years in Jerusalem; and his mother's name was Maacah the daughter of Abishalom. ³He walked in all the sins of his father which he had committed before him; and his heart was not wholly devoted to the Lord his God, like the heart of his father David. ⁴But for David's sake the Lord his God gave him a lamp in Jerusalem, to raise up his son after him and to establish Jerusalem; ⁵because David did what was right in the sight of the Lord, and had not turned aside from anything that He commanded him all the days of his life, except in the case of Uriah the Hittite. ⁶There was war between Rehoboam and Jeroboam all the days of his life.

15:1 "eighteenth year" 1 Kings 14:21 has "seventeen." The difference may be in the way the two kingdoms counted the reign of a king. See Edwin R. Thiele, The Mysterious Numbers of the Hebrew Kings, p. 80.

▣ "Abijam" On this name see full note at 1 Kgs. 14:31. 2 Chronicles 13:2-3 gives additional information, especially the war with Jeroboam (cf. 1 Kgs. 15:6).

The LXX adds "Abijam the son of Rehoboam." The LXX omits v. 6, which also mentions Rehoboam. Abijam may have been chosen as king because his mother was Rehoboam's favorite wife (cf. 2 Chr. 11:21-22) and not because he was the oldest son.

SPECIAL TOPIC: KINGS OF THE DIVIDED MONARCHY

15:2 "Maacah" In 2 Chr. 13:2 his name is spelled "Micaiah," but in 2 Chr. 11:20 she is named "Maacah" and is the daughter or granddaughter of Absalom (cf. 1 Kgs. 15:2).

The LXX records in 2 Sam. 14:27 that it was Absalom's granddaughter, whose name was Tamar.

▣ "daughter of Abishalom" Note that 2 Chr. 11:20 names the father "Absalom" and 2 Chr. 13:2 has "Uriel of Gibeah."

15:3 "he walked in all the sins of his father" "Walk" is a biblical metaphor for lifestyle faithfulness or faithlessness. Obedience to YHWH's laws through Moses was the determining factor. See NIDOTTE, vol. 1, pp. 989-992 and 1032-1035.

▣ "his heart was not wholly devoted to the Lord his God" See full note at 1 Kgs. 11:4.

SPECIAL TOPIC: HEART

15:4 "a lamp" See full note at 1 Kgs. 11:36. It is obvious from this verse that it refers to a royal child in David's line.

15:5 "turned aside" This VERB (BDB 693, KB 747, Qal PERFECT) is often used in the sense of deviation from God's path/way (i.e., Laws, cf. Exod. 32:8; Deut. 5:32; 9:12; 17:11,20; 1 Sam. 12:20; 2 Kgs. 22:2; Jer. 5:23).

▣ "Uriah the Hittite" This was Bathsheba's husband and faithful soldier. David's sin is recorded in 2 Samuel 11.

The MT has "Rehoboam" but this seems to be a repeat of 1 Kgs. 14:30. This context is about Abijam. Notice the end of 1 Kgs. 15:7, which also seems to repeat v. 6.

▣ "Jeroboam" See NIDOTTE, vol. 4, pp. 769-772.

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: 15:7
  ⁷Now the rest of the acts of Abijam and all that he did, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah? And there was war between Abijam and Jeroboam.

15:7 "the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah" This is not the biblical Chronicles.

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: 15:8
  ⁸And Abijam slept with his fathers and they buried him in the city of David; and Asa his son became king in his place.

15:8 "slept with his fathers" See note at 1 Kgs. 1:21. See my notes on "sleep" in Dan. 12:2.

Daniel 12:2 "those who sleep" There are several terms in Hebrew for sleep.

1. yashen (BDB 445), which is normally used of natural sleep, but in Dan. 12:2, of death
2. shenah (BDB 446), also used of natural sleep, Dan. 2:1; 6:18
3. shakab (BDB 446), which is used in the books of 2 Samuel, 1 & 2 Kings, and 2 Chronicles for death (2 Sam. 11:9) and normal sleep (2 Sam. 7:12)

The concept of death as sleep is also found in the NT (e.g., Matt. 27:52 [note resurrection]; John 11:11 [note resurrection in 11:25-26; 13:36; Acts 7:60; 1 Thess. 4:13 [note resurrection in 4:14-17]; 5:10).

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: 15:9-15
  ⁹So in the twentieth year of Jeroboam the king of Israel, Asa began to reign as king of Judah. ¹⁰He reigned forty-one years in Jerusalem; and his mother's name was Maacah the daughter of Abishalom. ¹¹Asa did what was right in the sight of the Lord, like David his father. ¹²He also put away the male cult prostitutes from the land and removed all the idols which his fathers had made. ¹³He also removed Maacah his mother from being queen mother, because she had made a horrid image as an Asherah; and Asa cut down her horrid image and burned it at the brook Kidron. ¹⁴But the high places were not taken away; nevertheless the heart of Asa was wholly devoted to the Lord all his days. ¹⁵He brought into the house of the Lord the dedicated things of his father and his own dedicated things: silver and gold and utensils.

15:9 "Asa" There seems to be confusion about the parents of Abijam and Asa (v. 10; 2 Chr. 11:20-22; 13:2).

For "Asa" see NIDOTTE, vol. 4, pp. 412-414.

15:11 "Asa did what was right in the sight of the Lord" See my notes from 2 Chr. 14:2.

2 Chr. 14:2 "Asa did good and right in the sight of the Lord" This is a recurrent theme in Deuteronomy (cf. Deut. 6:18; 12:28; 13:18). This chapter lists several things he did to merit this evaluation (cf. 2 Chr. 15:8-15,16-18).

1. removed
   1. foreign altars, 2 Chr. 14:3
   2. high places, 2 Chr. 14:3,5 (cf. 2 Chr. 15:17; see Roland deVaux, Ancient Israel, "High Places," pp. 284-288)
   3. incense altars, 2 Chr. 14:5 (associated with Ba'al worship, cf. Lev. 26:30; 2 Chr. 34:4,7)
2. destroyed (cf. Deut. 12:2-3)
   1. sacred pillars (i.e., raised stone which was a symbol of the male deity, cf. Exod. 23:24)
   2. Asherim (i.e., a live tree or carved stake which was a symbol of the female deity, cf. Exod. 34:13; 2 Chr. 15:16)
3. demanded his people
   1. to seek YHWH
   2. to observe His law

The Chronicler expands (i.e., three chapters) the material on the life of Asa. Kings only has a few verses (i.e., 1 Kgs. 15:9-24). Chronicles is using another prophetic written source.

1. positive ‒ 2 Chr. 14:1-15:19
2. negative ‒ 2 Chr. 16:1-14

Faithful at the beginning but faithless at the end becomes a terrible pattern.

15:12 "male prostitutes" See full note at 1 Kgs. 14:24.

▣ "all the idols which his fathers had made" This may go back to Solomon's idolatry in 1 Kings 11:7-8.

This term for "idols" (BDB 165) is always found in the PLURAL and always in a negative sense (very common in Ezekiel). The meaning or connotation is uncertain.

1. from the root for "dung" or dung balls
2. from the root "stone circles"
3. from Akkadian "crime" (AB, p. 397)
4. from Arabic "sacred object" (Expositors, vol. 4, p. 130

15:13 Apparently the mother of the reigning king had a place of great honor and influence (see Roland deVaux, Ancient Israel, pp. 117-119. Asa's mother became an idolater (i.e., Asherah) but Asa cut the site down.

SPECIAL TOPIC: FERTILITY WORSHIP OF THE ANE

The MT has a FEMININE NOUN (BDB 814), which is found only in this text and its parallel in 2 Chronicles. Its basic meaning is "something to shudder at." See NIDOTTE, vol. 2, p. 1057; vol. 3, p. 630.

15:14 "high places" These were places of local worship (cf. 1 Kgs. 22:43). They were not condemned originally (cf. 1 Kgs. 3:4) because there was no central shrine, but later these local sites became places of fertility worship and were condemned (cf. vv. 12-14; 2 Chr. 14:3,5; 17:8; 21:11; 28:4; 31:1; 32:12; 33:3,17,19; 34:3-4).

15:15 Asa may have dedicated much of the spoils of this successful war with Zerah the Ethiopian (cf. 2 Chr. 14:9-15).

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: 15:16-22
  ¹⁶Now there was war between Asa and Baasha king of Israel all their days. ¹⁷Baasha king of Israel went up against Judah and fortified Ramah in order to prevent anyone from going out or coming in to Asa king of Judah. ¹⁸Then Asa took all the silver and the gold which were left in the treasuries of the house of the Lord and the treasuries of the king's house, and delivered them into the hand of his servants. And King Asa sent them to Ben-hadad the son of Tabrimmon, the son of Hezion, king of Aram, who lived in Damascus, saying, ¹⁹"Let there be a treaty between you and me, as between my father and your father. Behold, I have sent you a present of silver and gold; go, break your treaty with Baasha king of Israel so that he will withdraw from me." ²⁰So Ben-hadad listened to King Asa and sent the commanders of his armies against the cities of Israel, and conquered Ijon, Dan, Abel-beth-maacah and all Chinneroth, besides all the land of Naphtali. ²¹When Baasha heard of it, he ceased fortifying Ramah and remained in Tirzah. ²²Then King Asa made a proclamation to all Judah—none was exempt—and they carried away the stones of Ramah and its timber with which Baasha had built. And King Asa built with them Geba of Benjamin and Mizpah.

15:17 "fortified Ramah" Baasha tried to isolate Jerusalem from trade from the north and from the coast by turning the city of Ramah, which was only a short distance north of Jerusalem, into a fortified city.

15:18 In response to Baasha's economic siege, Asa bribed the King of Syria into changing his alliance from Israel to Judah. Asa paid all the silver and gold left in Jerusalem (i.e., the temple and palace) and all the valuable metals not taken by Shishak, King of Egypt in Rehoboam's day.

15:19 "treaty" See SPECIAL TOPIC: COVENANT.

15:20 The King of Syria, Ben-hadad, attacked northern Israel and captured the major cities of Dan and Naphtali.

Baasha reacted to this as can be seen in v. 21."

▣ "Chinneroth" This is an OT name for Galilee.

The MT has the VERB "dwelt" (BDB 442, KB 444, Qal IMPERFECT with waw). The UBS Text Project, p. 324, suggests the term is a military form for "being inactive" (i.e., he ceased to trouble Judah).

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: 15:23-24
  ²³Now the rest of all the acts of Asa and all his might and all that he did and the cities which he built, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah? But in the time of his old age he was diseased in his feet. ²⁴And Asa slept with his fathers and was buried with his fathers in the city of David his father; and Jehoshaphat his son reigned in his place.

15:23 "But in the time of his old age he was diseased in his feet" Asa's godly reign did not keep him from the normal aging problems. All humans suffer from the Fall.

It is possible that this illness caused a co-reign with Jehoshphat. See Edwin Thiele, The Mysterious Numbers of the Hebrew Kings.

SPECIAL TOPIC: HUMAN AGING

SPECIAL TOPIC: THE FALL

15:24 "Jehoshaphat" See SPECIAL TOPIC: KINGS OF THE DIVIDED MONARCHY.

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: 15:25-27
  ²⁵Now Nadab the son of Jeroboam became king over Israel in the second year of Asa king of Judah, and he reigned over Israel two years. ²⁶He did evil in the sight of the Lord, and walked in the way of his father and in his sin which he made Israel sin. ²⁷Then Baasha the son of Ahijah of the house of Issachar conspired against him, and Baasha struck him down at Gibbethon, which belonged to the Philistines, while Nadab and all Israel were laying siege to Gibbethon.

15:25-30 This paragraph recounts the story of the fall of Jeroboam's royal line. This was to fulfill the prophecy of Ahijah (cf. 1 Kgs. 14:5-16).

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: 15:28-30
  ²⁸So Baasha killed him in the third year of Asa king of Judah and reigned in his place. ²⁹It came about as soon as he was king, he struck down all the household of Jeroboam. He did not leave to Jeroboam any persons alive, until he had destroyed them, according to the word of the Lord, which He spoke by His servant Ahijah the Shilonite, ³⁰and because of the sins of Jeroboam which he sinned, and which he made Israel sin, because of his provocation with which he provoked the Lord God of Israel to anger.

15:30 Jeroboam's main sin was establishing rival temples at Bethel and Dan (i.e., the golden calves).

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: 15:31
  ³¹Now the rest of the acts of Nadab and all that he did, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel?

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: 15:32
  ³²There was war between Asa and Baasha king of Israel all their days.

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: 15:33-34
  ³³In the third year of Asa king of Judah, Baasha the son of Ahijah became king over all Israel at Tirzah, and reigned twenty-four years. ³⁴He did evil in the sight of the Lord, and walked in the way of Jeroboam and in his sin which he made Israel sin.

15:33-34 These should go with chapter 16 because they deal with Baasha, King of Israel.

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