Rehoboam's Unfaithfulness and Shishak's Invasion
1 Kings 14:21-31
1 K.14.21 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ורחבעם: CONJ+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- בן: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- שלמה: ADJ,f,sg,abs
- מלך: NOUN,m,sg,cons
- ביהודה: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- בן: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ארבעים: NUM,m,pl
- ואחת: CONJ+NUM,card,sg,f
- שנה: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- רחבעם: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- במלכו: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs+PRON,3,m,sg
- ושבע: NUM,m,sg,abs
- עשרה: NUM,card,m,pl
- שנה: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- מלך: NOUN,m,sg,cons
- בירושלם: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,abs
- העיר: NOUN,f,sg,def
- אשר: PRON,rel
- בחר: VERB,qal,perf,3,ms
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- לשום: VERB,qal,inf
- את: PRT,acc
- שמו: NOUN,m,sg,abs+PRON,3,m,sg
- שם: ADV
- מכל: PREP
- שבטי: NOUN,m,pl,con
- ישראל: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ושם: CONJ+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- אמו: NOUN,f,sg,abs+PRON,3,m,sg
- נעמה: VERB,qal,perf,3,f,sg
- העמנית: NOUN,f,sg,def
Parallels
- 2 Chronicles 12:13 (verbal): Summarizes Rehoboam’s reign in Jerusalem, gives the same reign-length (17 years) and identifies his mother Naamah the Ammonitess—close verbal/structural parallel to 1 Kgs 14:21.
- 2 Chronicles 11:21 (verbal): Explicitly names Naamah the Ammonitess as Rehoboam’s mother, paralleling the maternal identification in 1 Kgs 14:21.
- 1 Kings 11:43 (structural): Reports the dynastic transition from Solomon to Rehoboam (Solomon’s death and Rehoboam’s accession), providing the immediate succession context for the opening formula of Rehoboam’s reign in 1 Kgs 14:21.
- Deuteronomy 12:5 (allusion): Uses the same idea of ‘the place that the LORD will choose to put his name’—background legal/theological language that underlies the claim that Jerusalem is the city ‘which the LORD had chosen’ in 1 Kgs 14:21.
- 2 Chronicles 6:6 (thematic): Asserts God’s choosing of Jerusalem as the place for his name, echoing and theologicalizing the statement in 1 Kgs 14:21 that Jerusalem is the city the LORD chose to put his name there.
Alternative generated candidates
- Rehoboam son of Solomon reigned over Judah. He was forty-one years old when he began to reign, and he reigned seventeen years in Jerusalem—the city which the LORD had chosen to place his name there from all the tribes of Israel. His mother's name was Naamah the Ammonite.
- Rehoboam son of Solomon reigned over Judah. He was forty-one years old when he began to reign, and he reigned seventeen years in Jerusalem—the city that the LORD chose to place his name there from all the tribes of Israel; and his mother's name was Naamah the Ammonitess.
1 K.14.22 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ויעש: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- יהודה: NOUN,m,sg,prop
- הרע: ADJ,m,sg,def
- בעיני: PREP+NOUN,f,pl,abs
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- ויקנאו: VERB,qal,wayyiqtol,3,m,pl
- אתו: PRON,3,m,sg,acc
- מכל: PREP
- אשר: PRON,rel
- עשו: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,pl
- אבתם: NOUN,m,pl,abs,3,m,pl
- בחטאתם: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,abs+PRON,3,m,pl
- אשר: PRON,rel
- חטאו: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,pl
Parallels
- 2 Kings 21:9 (verbal): Manasseh is described as causing Judah to sin and doing more evil—language closely parallels ‘did evil… and provoked him’ and the formula of doing ‘more’ wrongdoing.
- Judges 2:11 (thematic): ‘The children of Israel did evil in the sight of the LORD’—introduces the recurring pattern of covenant unfaithfulness and idolatry that provokes God’s anger, echoing the report about Judah.
- Psalm 78:58 (verbal): Speaks of the people provoking God to anger/jealousy with their high places and idols—uses the same imagery of provoking God by sinful worship.
- Exodus 34:14 (allusion): Declares that the LORD is a jealous God—theological background for statements that Israel/Judah ‘provoked him to jealousy’ when they practiced idolatry.
Alternative generated candidates
- Judah did evil in the sight of the LORD; they provoked him to jealousy by repeating all the sins their fathers had committed.
- And Judah did evil in the sight of the LORD; they provoked him to jealousy with all that their fathers had practiced in their sin.
1 K.14.23 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ויבנו: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,pl
- גם: ADV
- המה: PRON,3,m,pl
- להם: PREP+PRON,3,m,pl
- במות: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ומצבות: CONJ+NOUN,f,pl,abs
- ואשרים: CONJ+NOUN,f,pl,abs
- על: PREP
- כל: DET
- גבעה: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- גבהה: ADJ,f,sg
- ותחת: CONJ+PREP
- כל: DET
- עץ: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- רענן: ADJ,m,sg
Parallels
- 2 Kings 17:10 (verbal): Describes Israel setting up images and groves 'in every high hill, and under every green tree' — language closely parallels the wording and setting of idolatrous high places in 1 Kgs 14:23.
- Hosea 4:13 (verbal): Speaks of sacrificing on mountain tops and burning incense on the hills 'under oaks, poplars, and terebinths' — a vivid parallel to worship at high places and under trees.
- Deuteronomy 12:2–3 (thematic): Commands the destruction of high places, pillars, and Asherim — the Mosaic law directly opposes the cultic practices condemned in 1 Kgs 14:23.
- 2 Chronicles 33:3–7 (thematic): Reports Manasseh building altars, Asherim, and worshiping on high places and under every green tree — a later royal example of the same syncretistic practices.
- Judges 2:11–13 (structural): Narrates Israel's turning to Baalim and Ashtaroth and forsaking YHWH, inaugurating the recurring cycle of high‑place idolatry that 1 Kgs 14:23 summarizes.
Alternative generated candidates
- They also built high places and sacred pillars and Asherah poles on every high hill and under every verdant tree.
- They also built for themselves high places, pillars, and Asherah poles on every high hill and under every green tree.
1 K.14.24 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- וגם: CONJ
- קדש: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- היה: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- בארץ: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,def
- עשו: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,pl
- ככל: PREP
- התועבת: NOUN,f,sg,def
- הגוים: NOUN,m,pl,def
- אשר: PRON,rel
- הוריש: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- מפני: PREP
- בני: NOUN,m,pl,construct
- ישראל: NOUN,m,sg,abs
Parallels
- 2 Kings 17:9 (verbal): Uses nearly identical language about doing “according to all the abominations of the nations which the LORD had cast out before Israel,” linking Israel’s idolatry to the reason for exile.
- 2 Kings 23:7 (structural): Speaks of the presence of kadesh/kadeshim (cultic prostitutes) associated with illicit worship in the land/temple; parallels 1 Kgs 14:24’s mention of kadesh in the land.
- Deuteronomy 12:31 (verbal): Forbids imitating the “abominations” of the nations (including ritual/child sacrifice), echoing the legal/terminological condemnation found in 1 Kgs 14:24.
- Deuteronomy 18:9-12 (thematic): Warns Israel not to adopt the abominable practices of the nations (divination, prostitution, occult), thematically parallel to the charge that Israel practiced the nations’ abominations.
- Leviticus 18:24-28 (allusion): Declares that the land is defiled by the abominations of the nations and warns of expulsion/cleansing—reflects the covenantal/legal background to the statement that the LORD drove out those nations before Israel.
Alternative generated candidates
- There were also cult prostitutes in the land; they acted according to all the abominations of the nations that the LORD had driven out before the people of Israel.
- There were also cultic prostitutes in the land; they did according to all the abominations of the nations that the LORD had driven out before the people of Israel.
1 K.14.25 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ויהי: VERB,qal,wayyiqtol,3,m,sg
- בשנה: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,abs
- החמישית: NUM,ord,f,sg,def
- למלך: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- רחבעם: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- עלה: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- שישק: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- מלך: NOUN,m,sg,cons
- מצרים: NOUN,f,pl,abs
- על: PREP
- ירושלם: NOUN,f,sg,abs
Parallels
- 2 Chronicles 12:2 (quotation): Almost identical report: in the fifth year of Rehoboam Shishak king of Egypt came up against Jerusalem — Chronicles retells the same event.
- 1 Kings 14:26-28 (structural): Immediate continuation in Kings describing Shishak's plundering of the temple and palace, directly following and explicating v.25.
- 2 Chronicles 12:9 (verbal): Chronicles gives parallel details about the seizure of the treasures of the house of the LORD and the king’s house, paralleling the consequences introduced by v.25.
- Karnak/Bubastite Portal inscription of Shoshenq I (allusion): Extra‑biblical Egyptian record often identified with biblical Shishak; lists a Levantine campaign that scholars connect with the biblical invasion of Judah in Rehoboam’s reign.
Alternative generated candidates
- In the fifth year of King Rehoboam, Shishak king of Egypt came up against Jerusalem.
- In the fifth year of King Rehoboam, Shishak king of Egypt came up against Jerusalem.
1 K.14.26 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ויקח: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- את: PRT,acc
- אצרות: NOUN,m,pl,construct
- בית: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- ואת: CONJ
- אוצרות: NOUN,m,pl,construct
- בית: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- המלך: NOUN,m,sg,def
- ואת: CONJ
- הכל: PRON,m,sg,abs
- לקח: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- ויקח: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- את: PRT,acc
- כל: DET
- מגני: NOUN,m,pl,construct
- הזהב: NOUN,m,sg,def
- אשר: PRON,rel
- עשה: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- שלמה: ADJ,f,sg,abs
Parallels
- 2 Chronicles 12:9 (quotation): Direct parallel account of Shishak's raid: explicitly states he took the treasures of the house of the LORD and the king's house, including the gold shields Solomon made (verbal and narrative overlap).
- 1 Kings 14:25 (structural): Immediate narrative context: introduces Shishak's attack on Jerusalem in Rehoboam's fifth year, which leads directly to the plundering described in v.26.
- 2 Kings 24:13 (verbal): Later episode with similar wording and theme: Nebuchadnezzar carried off 'all the articles from the house of the LORD and the king's house,' paralleling the motif and language of temple/royal looting.
- 2 Chronicles 36:18 (thematic): The Babylonians' removal of temple vessels and deportation of people echoes the theme of foreign powers stripping Jerusalem of its sacred and royal treasures.
Alternative generated candidates
- He took away the treasures of the house of the LORD and the treasures of the king's house; he took everything. He carried off all the shields of gold that Solomon had made.
- He took away the treasures of the house of the LORD and the treasures of the king's house; he took everything. He carried off all the shields of gold that Solomon had made.
1 K.14.27 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ויעש: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- המלך: NOUN,m,sg,def
- רחבעם: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- תחתם: PREP+PRON,3,m,pl
- מגני: NOUN,m,pl,cons
- נחשת: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- והפקיד: VERB,hif,perf,3,m,sg
- על: PREP
- יד: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- שרי: NOUN,m,pl,cs
- הרצים: NOUN,m,pl,def
- השמרים: NOUN,m,pl,def
- פתח: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- בית: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- המלך: NOUN,m,sg,def
Parallels
- 2 Chronicles 12:10 (quotation): Direct parallel/duplicate of 1 Kgs 14:27 in Chronicles: Rehoboam makes bronze shields and commits them to the chief of the guard who keeps the king's door.
- 1 Kings 7:13-16 (verbal): Solomon's royal bronze work—description of bronze vessels and furnishings made for the king's house, paralleling the motif of royal bronze implements.
- 2 Chronicles 4:2-5 (thematic): Account of large bronze works (the molten sea, stands, vessels) in the temple complex—similar theme of major bronze fabrication for royal/official settings.
- 1 Chronicles 26:1 (structural): Describes the organization and role of gatekeepers/porters at the thresholds; parallels the assignment of guards who keep the king's door in 1 Kgs 14:27.
Alternative generated candidates
- King Rehoboam made bronze shields in their place and entrusted them to the hands of the officers of the guard who kept the entrance of the king's house.
- Then King Rehoboam made bronze shields instead of the gold shields, and he entrusted them to the hands of the captains of the guard who kept the entrance of the king's house.
1 K.14.28 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ויהי: VERB,qal,wayyiqtol,3,m,sg
- מדי: PREP
- בא: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- המלך: NOUN,m,sg,def
- בית: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- ישאום: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- הרצים: NOUN,m,pl,def
- והשיבום: VERB,qal,wayyiqtol,3,m,sg
- אל: NEG
- תא: PRON,dem,sg,ms
- הרצים: NOUN,m,pl,def
Parallels
- 1 Kings 14:25 (structural): Immediate parallel within the same narrative: announces Shishak (Sheshonq) king of Egypt coming against Jerusalem, setting the scene for the plundering described in v.28.
- 2 Chronicles 12:9 (verbal): Chronicles' account of the same event repeats the language about the king of Egypt taking the treasures of the house of the LORD and the king's house and removing Solomon's gold shields.
- Jeremiah 52:17-23 (thematic): A later instance of foreign conquest and removal of temple vessels: Nebuchadnezzar carrying off the LORD's treasures to Babylon—themewise parallel of a foreign king plundering sacred wealth.
- 2 Chronicles 36:18 (thematic): Describes the Babylonians carrying away the vessels of the temple and burning Jerusalem—another thematic parallel of temple plunder and loss under foreign invasion.
Alternative generated candidates
- Whenever the king entered the house of the LORD, the guards would bring them out and return them to the guardroom.
- And it came to pass, whenever the king entered the house of the LORD, that the guards would carry them and bring them back to the guard-chamber.
1 K.14.29 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ויתר: CONJ+ADJ,m,sg,abs
- דברי: NOUN,m,pl,abs+PRON,1,c,sg
- רחבעם: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- וכל: CONJ+PRON,indef
- אשר: PRON,rel
- עשה: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- הלא: PART
- המה: PRON,3,m,pl
- כתובים: VERB,pual,ptcp,m,pl
- על: PREP
- ספר: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- דברי: NOUN,m,pl,abs+PRON,1,c,sg
- הימים: NOUN,m,pl,def
- למלכי: PREP+NOUN,m,pl,cstr
- יהודה: NOUN,m,sg,prop
Parallels
- 1 Kings 14:19 (verbal): Same formula applied to Jeroboam: 'the rest of the acts... are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel' — parallel closing formula for a king's record.
- 1 Kings 11:43 (verbal): Uses the same stock phrase for Solomon: 'the rest of the acts of Solomon... are they not written in the book of the acts of Solomon' — a comparable literary ending reporting where fuller records are kept.
- 1 Kings 15:7 (structural): Closely parallels the structure for Abijam (Abijah): 'the rest of the acts of Abijam... are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah' — same historiographical convention.
- 2 Chronicles 12:16 (quotation): Direct parallel/duplicate of 1 Kings 14:29 in Chronicles: repeats the exact claim that the rest of Rehoboam's deeds are recorded in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah.
Alternative generated candidates
- As for 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?
- As for 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?
1 K.14.30 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ומלחמה: CONJ+NOUN,f,sg,abs
- היתה: VERB,qal,perf,3,f,sg
- בין: PREP
- רחבעם: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ובין: CONJ+PREP
- ירבעם: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- כל: DET
- הימים: NOUN,m,pl,def
Parallels
- 2 Chronicles 12:17 (verbal): Chronicles repeats the Kings account almost verbatim: it likewise states that there was continual war between Rehoboam and Jeroboam.
- 1 Kings 15:16 (verbal): Uses the same formula of enduring conflict: 'there was war between Asa and Baasha... all their days,' paralleling the wording and theme of perpetual Israel–Judah warfare.
- 2 Chronicles 13:3 (thematic): Records another episode of sustained hostilities between the northern and southern kingdoms—this time between Jeroboam (Israel) and Abijah/Abijam (Judah)—illustrating the recurring pattern of conflict.
- 1 Kings 12:21–24 (structural): Narrates the political and military consolidation of Rehoboam after the schism (mustering of forces, fortifying cities), the structural background that explains the long-term enmity described in 1 Kings 14:30.
Alternative generated candidates
- There was war between Rehoboam and Jeroboam continually all their days.
- And there was continual war between Rehoboam and Jeroboam all their days.
1 K.14.31 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- וישכב: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- רחבעם: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- עם: PREP
- אבתיו: NOUN,m,pl,abs,3s
- ויקבר: VERB,qal,wayyiqtol,3,m,sg
- עם: PREP
- אבתיו: NOUN,m,pl,abs,3s
- בעיר: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,abs
- דוד: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ושם: CONJ+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- אמו: NOUN,f,sg,abs+PRON,3,m,sg
- נעמה: VERB,qal,perf,3,f,sg
- העמנית: NOUN,f,sg,def
- וימלך: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- אבים: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- בנו: NOUN,m,sg,abs+3ms
- תחתיו: PREP+PRON,3,m,sg
Parallels
- 1 Kings 2:10 (verbal): Uses the same royal obituary formula “slept with his fathers” and burial “in the city of David,” a verbal parallel to Rehoboam’s death and burial.
- 1 Kings 11:43 (verbal): Solomon’s death is described with the identical phrasing (“slept with his fathers… was buried in the city of David”), showing a recurring verbal/structural obituary pattern.
- 2 Chronicles 12:16 (verbal): An almost identical account of Rehoboam’s death, burial, and succession by Abijah; a direct parallel/duplicate of the Kings notice.
- 1 Kings 15:1 (structural): Records Abijam (Abijah) beginning to reign in Judah, providing the direct succession notice that follows Rehoboam’s death in 1 Kgs 14:31.
- 2 Chronicles 12:13 (allusion): Summarizes Rehoboam’s reign and identifies his mother Naamah the Ammonitess, paralleling the maternal identification and summary information in 1 Kgs 14:31.
Alternative generated candidates
- Rehoboam slept with his fathers and was buried with his fathers in the city of David. His mother's name was Naamah the Ammonite. And Abijam his son reigned in his place.
- Rehoboam slept with his fathers and was buried with his fathers in the city of David. His mother's name was Naamah the Ammonitess. Abijah his son reigned in his place.
Rehoboam son of Solomon reigned over Judah. He was forty-one years old when he began to reign, 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 Ammonite. And Judah did evil in the sight of the LORD, and they provoked him to jealousy by all that their fathers had done in their sin.
They also built for themselves high places, pillars, and Asherim on every high hill and under every leafy tree.
There were also sacred prostitutes in the land; they acted according to all the abominations of the nations that the LORD had driven out before the people of Israel.
In the fifth year of King Rehoboam, Shishak king of Egypt came up against Jerusalem.
He took away the treasures of the house of the LORD and the treasures of the king's house; he took everything—he took all the shields of gold that Solomon had made.
Then King Rehoboam made bronze shields in their place, and he entrusted them to the hands of the commanders of the guard who guarded the entrance of the king's house. And whenever the king entered the house of the LORD, the guards would carry them and bring them back into the guard chamber. Now 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?
There was war continually between Rehoboam and Jeroboam all their days. And Rehoboam slept with his fathers; he was buried with his fathers in the city of David. His mother Naamah the Ammonite was there. And Abijah his son reigned in his place.