The First Book of Kings
The First Book of Kings
Chapter Fourteen
The Prophecy of Ahijah, Death of Jeroboam, Rehoboam and the sins of Judah
Chapter 14
To Hear a Talk based on the Text below:
The Israelites Divided
1-Kings:14
Jeroboam and Abiya, Exile Prodicted, Rehoboam, homosexuality is a curse, Shishak of Egypt
http://www.britam.org/Broadcasts/newBAMBI/1kings14.mp3
(ca. 30 minutes)
Talk may include points not mentioned in the text.
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[1-Kings 14:1] AT THAT TIME ABIJAH THE SON OF JEROBOAM FELL
SICK.
ABIJAH.
Pronounced "Abiya"
in Modern Hebrew. It means "God is my father".
[1-Kings 14:2] AND JEROBOAM SAID TO HIS WIFE, ARISE, I PRAY THEE, AND DISGUISE
THYSELF, THAT THOU BE NOT KNOWN TO BE THE WIFE OF JEROBOAM; AND GET THEE TO
SHILOH: BEHOLD, THERE IS AHIJAH THE PROPHET, WHICH TOLD ME THAT I SHOULD BE
KING OVER THIS PEOPLE.
AHIJAH.
In Modern Hebrew pronounced as "Ahiyah".
DISGUISE THYSELF Radak:
#He knew that Ahiyah
hated him since he had turned away from God. He said to himself that if
Ahiyah
will know she is my wife he will only predict something bad. He therefore that
to his wife to disguise herself that he should not recognize her as the wife of
Jeroboam.#
[1-Kings 14:3] AND TAKE WITH THEE TEN LOAVES, AND CRACKNELS, AND A CRUSE OF
HONEY, AND GO TO HIM: HE SHALL TELL THEE WHAT SHALL BECOME OF THE
CHILD.
CRUSE. In Old English "cruse" meant a
small jar or pot.
Hebrew "bakbook"
which in Modern Hebrew means a bottle but in Biblical Hebrew connotes any vessel
with a narrow opening.
HONEY. In Hebrew "devash"
which can mean honey from bees or an extract from fruit such as dates.
It was the custom when going to the Prophet to bring a gift cf. 1-Samuel 9:7.
[1-Samuel 9:7] THEN SAID SAUL TO HIS SERVANT, BUT, BEHOLD, IF WE GO, WHAT SHALL
WE BRING THE MAN? FOR THE BREAD IS SPENT IN OUR VESSELS, AND THERE IS NOT A
PRESENT TO BRING TO THE MAN OF GOD: WHAT HAVE WE?
[1-Kings 14:4] AND JEROBOAM'S WIFE DID SO, AND AROSE, AND WENT TO SHILOH, AND
CAME TO THE HOUSE OF AHIJAH. BUT AHIJAH COULD NOT SEE; FOR HIS EYES WERE SET BY
REASON OF HIS AGE.
[1-Kings 14:5] AND THE LORD SAID UNTO AHIJAH, BEHOLD, THE WIFE OF JEROBOAM
COMETH TO ASK A THING OF THEE FOR HER SON; FOR HE IS SICK: THUS AND THUS SHALT
THOU SAY UNTO HER: FOR IT SHALL BE, WHEN SHE COMETH IN, THAT SHE SHALL FEIGN
HERSELF TO BE ANOTHER WOMAN.
[1-Kings 14:6] AND IT WAS SO, WHEN AHIJAH HEARD THE SOUND OF HER FEET, AS SHE
CAME IN AT THE DOOR, THAT HE SAID, COME IN, THOU WIFE OF JEROBOAM; WHY FEIGNEST
THOU THYSELF TO BE ANOTHER? FOR I AM SENT TO THEE WITH HEAVY
TIDINGS.
[1-Kings 14:7] GO, TELL JEROBOAM, THUS SAITH THE LORD GOD OF ISRAEL, FORASMUCH
AS I EXALTED THEE FROM AMONG THE PEOPLE, AND MADE THEE PRINCE OVER MY PEOPLE
ISRAEL,
[1-Kings 14:8] AND RENT THE KINGDOM AWAY FROM THE HOUSE OF DAVID, AND GAVE IT
THEE: AND YET THOU HAST NOT BEEN AS MY SERVANT DAVID, WHO KEPT MY COMMANDMENTS,
AND WHO FOLLOWED ME WITH ALL HIS HEART, TO DO THAT ONLY WHICH WAS RIGHT IN MINE
EYES;
[1-Kings 14:9] BUT HAST DONE EVIL ABOVE ALL THAT WERE BEFORE THEE: FOR THOU HAST
GONE AND MADE THEE OTHER GODS, AND MOLTEN IMAGES, TO PROVOKE ME TO ANGER, AND
HAST CAST ME BEHIND THY BACK:
[1-Kings 14:10] THEREFORE, BEHOLD, I WILL BRING EVIL UPON THE HOUSE OF JEROBOAM,
AND WILL CUT OFF FROM JEROBOAM HIM THAT PISSETH AGAINST THE WALL, AND HIM THAT
IS SHUT UP AND LEFT IN ISRAEL, AND WILL TAKE AWAY THE REMNANT OF THE HOUSE OF
JEROBOAM, AS A MAN TAKETH AWAY DUNG, TILL IT BE ALL GONE.
[1-Kings 14:11] HIM THAT DIETH OF JEROBOAM IN THE CITY SHALL THE DOGS EAT; AND
HIM THAT DIETH IN THE FIELD SHALL THE FOWLS OF THE AIR EAT: FOR THE LORD HATH
SPOKEN IT.
[1-Kings 14:12] ARISE THOU THEREFORE, GET THEE TO THINE OWN HOUSE: AND WHEN THY
FEET ENTER INTO THE CITY, THE CHILD SHALL DIE.
[1-Kings 14:13] AND ALL ISRAEL SHALL MOURN FOR HIM, AND BURY HIM: FOR HE ONLY OF
JEROBOAM SHALL COME TO THE GRAVE, BECAUSE IN HIM THERE IS FOUND SOME GOOD THING
TOWARD THE LORD GOD OF ISRAEL IN THE HOUSE OF JEROBOAM.
The Commentary, "Mishbetsot
Zahav",
quotes from the "Beer Moshe" who in turn cites the
Zohar
Chadash,
the Megileh
Amukot,
and other works. The Zohar
Chadash
says:
#And that Messiah [Mashiach, i.e. Annointed One] will be from the Tribe of
Ephraim of the seed of Jeroboam son of Nebat, a descendant of Abiya who died in
his youth. On the day that Abiya died a son was born to him?.and from that son
of Abiya will come the Messiah [son of Joseph] of whom it is written AND ALL
ISRAEL SHALL MOURN FOR HIM, AND BURY HIM [1-Kings 14:13]. This was a prophecy
both for the immediate events and for the distant future FOR HE ONLY OF JEROBOAM
SHALL COME TO THE GRAVE, BECAUSE IN HIM THERE IS FOUND SOME GOOD THING this is
the Messiah [son of Joseph] in whom will be found SOME GOOD THING TOWARD THE
LORD GOD OF ISRAEL. #
[cf. AND THEY SHALL LOOK UPON ME WHOM
THEY HAVE PIERCED, AND THEY SHALL MOURN FOR HIM, AS ONE
MOURNETH
FOR HIS ONLY SON[Zechariah
12:10]
Also understandable as saying,
AND THEY SHALL LOOK UPON HE WHO HAS BEEN PIERCED.
The
Megaleh
Amukot
(i.e. Rabbi Nathan Nata
Spira,
1585- 1633, Poland) on the above passage from the
Zohar
says [and we shall paraphrase in the light of the sources quoted]:
#The Messiah son of Joseph [is a descendant of] Abiya son of Jeroboam, as it
says BECAUSE IN HIM THERE IS FOUND SOME GOOD THING [1-Kings 14:13]. The
Ancestors of the Tribes [who were jealous of Joseph and angry with him] saw
that Jeroboam was destined to descend from Joseph?but the Patriarch Jacob [their
father] saw further. He foresaw that the Messiah son of Joseph would come from
him, that in him would be FOUND SOME GOOD THING [1-Kings 14:13]. This is what it
means BUT HIS FATHER KEPT THE MATTER [Genesis 37:11] {translated in the KJ as
BUT HIS FATHER OBSERVED THE SAYING}.
[The future redemption is described as a time when we shall]
COME REJOICING bringing in the sheaves [Psalms 126:6]. [This was foretold when
Joseph said to his brothers about a dream in which
WE WERE BINDING SHEAVES IN THE FIELD [Genesis 37:7][and your sheaves bowed down
to mine. This signified that Joseph would rule over them. They were angry as a
result of which it came to pass that the Kings that came from Joseph caused the
Israelites to worship idols.
Midrash Breishit Rabah 84:10:
[Genesis 37:7] FOR, BEHOLD, WE WERE BINDING SHEAVES IN THE FIELD, AND, LO, MY
SHEAF AROSE, AND ALSO STOOD UPRIGHT; AND, BEHOLD, YOUR SHEAVES STOOD ROUND
ABOUT, AND MADE OBEISANCE TO MY SHEAF.
The Hebrew word for MY SHEAF is ALUMATI which came to expression in a negative
fashion,
YOU ARE DESTINED TO MAKE DUMB IDOLS [Hebrew Elilim [idols] Alumim [dumb] which
sounds similar to ALUMATI (MY SHEAF) by the golden bull calves of Jeroboam and
to say,
BEHOLD THY GODS, O ISRAEL [1-Kings 12:28]. [Commentary Yafet Toar: As if the
brothers of Joseph due to their jealousy of him caused the kings that came out
of him to bring Israel to worship idols. ] Nevertheless, the Messiah son of
Joseph, descendant of ] Abiya will bring in the sheaves [ALUMOT] and atone for
the DUMB IDOLS of Jeroboam.##
The above Commentary based on the Midrash and other Commentatories is not
necessarily making any historical claims but rather pointing out how from Joseph
was destined to emerge Jeroboam who himself caused damage but from his
descendants will emerge a Savior in the End Times.
The whole degeneration of Joseph
(representing all the Ten Tribes) with his Exile and losing his Israelite
Identity in the End Times will be seen as having fulfilled a Divinely Ordained
Plan which will culminate in Joseph returning and rectifying whatever wrong he
may have done.
[1-Kings 14:14] MOREOVER THE LORD SHALL RAISE HIM UP A KING OVER ISRAEL, WHO
SHALL CUT OFF THE HOUSE OF JEROBOAM THAT DAY: BUT WHAT? EVEN
NOW.
[1-Kings 14:15] FOR THE LORD SHALL SMITE ISRAEL, AS A REED IS SHAKEN IN THE
WATER, AND HE SHALL ROOT UP ISRAEL OUT OF THIS GOOD LAND, WHICH HE GAVE TO
THEIR FATHERS, AND SHALL SCATTER THEM BEYOND THE RIVER, BECAUSE THEY HAVE MADE
THEIR GROVES, PROVOKING THE LORD TO ANGER.
BEYOND THE RIVER i.e. beyond the
Euphrates River. The Euphrates is the border of the Holy Land
http://www.britam.org/Questions/QuesLand.html
The Land of Israel
stretches from the western confluences of the Nile Delta, encompasses all Sinai,
part of Northern Arabia, Kuwait, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, parts of Iraq,
southeast Turkey, the island of Cyprus, and reaches along the Euphrates River
and beyond.
See Map:
http://www.britam.org/Questions/QuesLand.html#Boundaries
The whole Kingdom was
destined to be conquered and all the inhabitants exiled. They lost consciousness
of their ancestry and became known as the LOST TEN TRIBES OF
ISRAEL.
THEIR GROVES. Hebrew "Ashayrim".
[1-Kings 14:16] AND HE SHALL GIVE ISRAEL UP BECAUSE OF THE SINS OF JEROBOAM, WHO
DID SIN, AND WHO MADE ISRAEL TO SIN.
Jeroboam sinned and made Israel sin but
they could have repented.
[1-Kings 14:17] AND JEROBOAM'S WIFE AROSE, AND DEPARTED, AND CAME TO TIRZAH: AND
WHEN SHE CAME TO THE THRESHOLD OF THE DOOR, THE CHILD DIED;
TIRZAH.
This city was made the capital after
Schechem.
Tirzah
was east of the Jordan. It was renowned for its beauty.
THOU ART BEAUTIFUL, O MY LOVE, AS
TIRZAH,
COMELY AS JERUSALEM... (Song of Solomon 6:4).
[1-Kings 14:18] AND THEY BURIED HIM; AND ALL ISRAEL MOURNED FOR HIM, ACCORDING
TO THE WORD OF THE LORD, WHICH HE SPAKE BY THE HAND OF HIS SERVANT AHIJAH THE
PROPHET.
[1-Kings 14:19] AND THE REST OF THE ACTS OF JEROBOAM, HOW HE WARRED, AND HOW HE
REIGNED, BEHOLD, THEY ARE WRITTEN IN THE BOOK OF THE CHRONICLES OF THE KINGS OF
ISRAEL.
[1-Kings 14:20] AND THE DAYS WHICH JEROBOAM REIGNED WERE TWO AND TWENTY YEARS:
AND HE SLEPT WITH HIS FATHERS, AND NADAB HIS SON REIGNED IN HIS
STEAD.
NADAB.
In Modern Hebrew "Nadav".
It means "generous".
According to the simple gist of Scripture Jeroboam comes across as a very
negative character. Nevertheless a deeper nobler element was there.
[1-Kings 14:21] AND REHOBOAM THE SON OF SOLOMON REIGNED IN JUDAH. REHOBOAM WAS
FORTY AND ONE YEARS OLD WHEN HE BEGAN TO REIGN, AND HE REIGNED SEVENTEEN YEARS
IN JERUSALEM, THE CITY WHICH THE LORD DID CHOOSE OUT OF ALL THE TRIBES OF
ISRAEL, TO PUT HIS NAME THERE. AND HIS MOTHER'S NAME WAS NAAMAH AN AMMONITESS.
The mother of
Rehoboam
was Naamah
the Ammonitess
who like Ruth the Moabitess
was permitted to become an
Israelitess whereas this was
forbidden to the males of Moab and
Ammon.
Loyalty to David is Required: Ruth and
the Oral Tradition
http://britam.org/DavidandOralLaw.html
[1-Kings 14:22] AND JUDAH DID EVIL IN THE SIGHT OF THE LORD, AND THEY PROVOKED
HIM TO JEALOUSY WITH THEIR SINS WHICH THEY HAD COMMITTED, ABOVE ALL THAT THEIR
FATHERS HAD DONE.
[1-Kings 14:23] FOR THEY ALSO BUILT THEM HIGH PLACES, AND IMAGES, AND GROVES,
ON EVERY HIGH HILL, AND UNDER EVERY GREEN TREE.
All these things may have been built for
the sake of idolatry or they may have been intended as means to draw close to
the Almighty. At all events God was displeased with them.
[1-Kings 14:24] AND THERE WERE ALSO SODOMITES IN THE LAND: AND THEY DID
ACCORDING TO ALL THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE NATIONS WHICH THE LORD CAST OUT
BEFORE THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL.
SODOMITES. Hebrew "Kadesh"
or "Kodesh"
which can mean sacred but it also connotes something set aside for a particular
purpose, in this case for the purpose of sex.
Daat
Mikra
says that here the intention is to both male and female prostitution in which
the fee for the sexual act would be consecrated to the holy places.
Targum
Yehonatan
renders it as referring to male prostitution i.e. homosexuality and
paederasty.
Nearly all homosexuality evidently entails an inclination towards young men and
even animals. There is nothing innocent or natural about it. It may be that
this affliction has always been amongst us but on the whole when it has been
publicly condemned and punished its incidence has been much less. Either the
wrongdoers are punished or they will punish us.
[1-Kings 14:25] AND IT CAME TO PASS IN THE FIFTH YEAR OF KING REHOBOAM, THAT
SHISHAK KING OF EGYPT CAME UP AGAINST JERUSALEM:
Shishak
is identified with Shoshenik
(945-922 BCE) king of Egypt. At
Karnak in Egypt has been found a
description of his expedition against Judah and Israel. It contains a list of
cities in Judah and Israel that he conquered together with depictions of what
appear to be the Israelite governors of these cities. More Israelite cities are
mentioned than Judean even though the Bible only recalls his incursion to Judah.
At Megiddo in the North of Israel has been found part of a
Stelle
recording his conquest of the site.
http://www.katapi.org.uk/BAndS/SheshonkInscription.htm
[Not everybody agrees with the identification of
Shoshenik
with Shishak.
see
http://www.biblemysteries.com/lectures/shishak.htm
[1-Kings 14:26] AND HE TOOK AWAY THE TREASURES OF THE HOUSE OF THE LORD, AND
THE TREASURES OF THE KING'S HOUSE; HE EVEN TOOK AWAY ALL: AND HE TOOK AWAY ALL
THE SHIELDS OF GOLD WHICH SOLOMON HAD MADE.
Shishak Inscription at Karnak, Egypt
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Detail from Shishak Inscription. Israelite Leaders
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[1-Kings 14:27] AND KING REHOBOAM MADE IN THEIR STEAD BRASEN SHIELDS, AND
COMMITTED THEM UNTO THE HANDS OF THE CHIEF OF THE GUARD, WHICH KEPT THE DOOR OF
THE KING'S HOUSE.
BRASEN
in Hebrew "Nechoshet"
usually translated as copper but according to many probably actually meaning
bronze which is an alloy of copper and tin.
[1-Kings 14:28] AND IT WAS SO, WHEN THE KING WENT INTO THE HOUSE OF THE LORD,
THAT THE GUARD BARE THEM, AND BROUGHT THEM BACK INTO THE GUARD
CHAMBER.
[1-Kings 14:29] 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?
[1-Kings 14:30] AND THERE WAS WAR BETWEEN REHOBOAM AND JEROBOAM ALL THEIR
DAYS.
[1-Kings 14:31] AND REHOBOAM SLEPT WITH HIS FATHERS, AND WAS BURIED WITH HIS
FATHERS IN THE CITY OF DAVID. AND HIS MOTHER'S NAME WAS NAAMAH AN AMMONITESS.
AND ABIJAM HIS SON REIGNED IN HIS STEAD.
The son of Jeroboam was called
Abiya.
The son of Rehoboam
was called ABIJAM.
In 2-Chronicles he is called
Abiyah e.g.
[2-Chronicles 12:16] AND REHOBOAM
SLEPT WITH HIS FATHERS, AND WAS BURIED IN THE CITY OF DAVID: AND
ABIJAH
HIS SON REIGNED IN HIS STEAD.
From this two points are worth noting.
A parallel between the names of the Royal Families of northern Israel with those
of Judah.
The term "YAM" was used interchangeably with Yah.
Here we find it used in Judah but archaeologists have noted it most especially
in Northern Israel.
In Norse Mythology we have Ymir
who gave rise to the race of the giants and later also to that of mankind.
Yama
in India and Yan
in Chinese and the Avestan
(Zoroastrian Persian) Yima.
The Ten Tribes were exiled by the Assyrians.
Some of them for a period went eastward before going west. They influenced
Indian concepts as well as giving rise to the religion of Zoroaster. The
Persian religion of Zarathustra
(Zoroaster) was originally similar to that of the Israelites and was based on
Biblical concepts. Later it was taken over by pagan idol worshippers and
corrupted.
See our article:
What
Spake
Zarathustra?
http://britam.org/zarathustra.html
