2 Chronicles 11

When Rehoboam got back to Jerusalem, he called up 180,000 of the best fighting men from the tribes of Judah and Benjamin. He planned to go to war against Israel, the northern tribes, and bring the kingdom back under his rule.

1And when Rehoboam was come to Jerusalem, he gathered of the house of Judah and Benjamin an hundred and fourscore thousand chosen men, which were warriors, to fight against Israel, that he might bring the kingdom again to Rehoboam.

NoteThis follows directly on the split of Solomon's kingdom described in the previous chapter: ten northern tribes rejected Rehoboam and made Jeroboam their king, leaving Rehoboam only Judah and Benjamin in the south. "Israel" in this verse means that breakaway northern kingdom, not the whole nation.

2But a message from the LORD came to Shemaiah, a man of God. The LORD said:

2But the word of the LORD came to Shemaiah the man of God, saying,

Note"Man of God" was a standard title for a prophet, someone who spoke on God's behalf. It carried no sense of a priest or an official of the temple.

3"Say this to Rehoboam son of Solomon, the king of Judah, and to all the people of Israel who live in Judah and Benjamin:

3Speak unto Rehoboam the son of Solomon, king of Judah, and to all Israel in Judah and Benjamin, saying,

NoteHere "all the people of Israel" means Israelites in the ordinary ethnic sense, the descendants of Jacob. Within a few verses the same word is used two ways: for the northern kingdom (verse 1) and for the people as a whole (this verse). The context has to decide which is meant each time.

4This is what the LORD says: Do not go up and fight against your own relatives. Every one of you, go back home, because I am the one who has made this happen. So they listened to what the LORD said and turned back instead of attacking Jeroboam.

4Thus saith the LORD, Ye shall not go up, nor fight against your brethren: return every man to his house: for this thing is done of me. And they obeyed the words of the LORD, and returned from going against Jeroboam.

Note"Your own relatives" is literally "your brothers." The two kingdoms were made up of the same people, tracing descent from the same ancestor, so a war between them counted as a war within one family.

5Rehoboam lived in Jerusalem, and he built up cities in Judah to defend the country.

5And Rehoboam dwelt in Jerusalem, and built cities for defence in Judah.

6He built up Bethlehem, Etam, and Tekoa,

6He built even Bethlehem, and Etam, and Tekoa,

NoteThe fifteen towns listed in verses 6-10 lie mostly south and west of Jerusalem. They guard the approaches from Egypt and from the Philistine coastal plain, not the new northern border with Jeroboam's kingdom, consistent with Rehoboam having just been told not to fight the north.

7Beth-zur, Soco, and Adullam,

7And Bethzur, and Shoco, and Adullam,

8Gath, Mareshah, and Ziph,

8And Gath, and Mareshah, and Ziph,

NoteGath had been one of the five main Philistine cities, on the western edge of Judah's territory. By this period it appears to have come under Judah's control, which is why Rehoboam can fortify it.

9Adoraim, Lachish, and Azekah,

9And Adoraim, and Lachish, and Azekah,

10and Zorah, Aijalon, and Hebron. These were the walled cities in Judah and Benjamin.

10And Zorah, and Aijalon, and Hebron, which are in Judah and in Benjamin fenced cities.

NoteA "walled city" was not a large place by modern standards, often a few acres, but the wall was the whole point. It let a small garrison hold out against a much larger force and protected the food and weapons stored inside.

11He made the fortresses stronger, put commanders in charge of them, and stored up food, olive oil, and wine there.

11And he fortified the strong holds, and put captains in them, and store of victual, and of oil and wine.

12In every one of these cities he put shields and spears, and he made the cities very strong. So Judah and Benjamin stayed loyal to him.

12And in every several city he put shields and spears, and made them exceeding strong, having Judah and Benjamin on his side.

13The priests and Levites living all over Israel left their own districts and came over to Rehoboam's side.

13And the priests and the Levites that were in all Israel resorted to him out of all their coasts.

NoteThe Levites were one of the twelve tribes, set apart to staff the sanctuary and assist the priests. Priests specifically were descendants of Aaron, a subset of that tribe. Both groups depended on the sacrificial system for their living, so being shut out of it left them with no income.

14The Levites gave up their pasturelands and their property and moved to Judah and Jerusalem. They did this because Jeroboam and his sons had thrown them out, so they could no longer serve as priests of the LORD.

14For the Levites left their suburbs and their possession, and came to Judah and Jerusalem: for Jeroboam and his sons had cast them off from executing the priest’s office unto the LORD:

NoteUnlike the other tribes, the Levites were given no block of territory of their own. Instead they held scattered towns with surrounding pastureland for their livestock. Leaving those towns meant giving up essentially everything they owned.

15Jeroboam appointed his own priests to serve at the shrines on the hills, and to serve the goat idols and the calf idols he had made.

15And he ordained him priests for the high places, and for the devils, and for the calves which he had made.

NoteA "high place" was a local open-air shrine, usually on a hilltop, with an altar and a standing stone or pole. The "goat idols" translate a Hebrew word for hairy or goat-shaped spirits thought to haunt wild country. The calves are the two gold calf images Jeroboam set up at Bethel and Dan to keep his people from traveling to Jerusalem to worship.

16People from every tribe of Israel who truly wanted to worship the LORD, the God of Israel, followed the Levites to Jerusalem to offer sacrifices to the LORD, the God of their ancestors.

16And after them out of all the tribes of Israel such as set their hearts to seek the LORD God of Israel came to Jerusalem, to sacrifice unto the LORD God of their fathers.

NoteUnder the law followed in the south, sacrifice was to be offered only at the temple in Jerusalem. For a northerner, worshiping there meant crossing into a rival kingdom, which is why the writer treats it as a deliberate and costly choice.

17So they made the kingdom of Judah strong, and for three years they supported Rehoboam son of Solomon. For those three years they lived the way David and Solomon had lived.

17So they strengthened the kingdom of Judah, and made Rehoboam the son of Solomon strong, three years: for three years they walked in the way of David and Solomon.

18Rehoboam married Mahalath, the daughter of Jerimoth son of David, and of Abihail the daughter of Eliab son of Jesse.

18And Rehoboam took him Mahalath the daughter of Jerimoth the son of David to wife, and Abihail the daughter of Eliab the son of Jesse;

NoteThe Hebrew here is ambiguous and translations differ. It can be read as Rehoboam marrying one woman, Mahalath, whose father was Jerimoth and whose mother was Abihail; or as his marrying two women, Mahalath and Abihail. Either way both lines run back into David's family (Jerimoth was a son of David, and Eliab was David's oldest brother), so the marriage kept the royal house tightly related to itself.

19She gave him three sons: Jeush, Shemariah, and Zaham.

19Which bare him children; Jeush, and Shamariah, and Zaham.

20After her, he married Maacah the daughter of Absalom, and she gave him Abijah, Attai, Ziza, and Shelomith.

20And after her he took Maachah the daughter of Absalom; which bare him Abijah, and Attai, and Ziza, and Shelomith.

Note"Daughter of Absalom" probably means granddaughter; Hebrew uses "daughter" for any female descendant. Absalom was the son of David who had earlier rebelled against him. Elsewhere Maacah is called the daughter of Uriel of Gibeah, which fits if Uriel married Absalom's daughter.

21Rehoboam loved Maacah the daughter of Absalom more than any of his other wives or his secondary wives. In all he had eighteen wives and sixty secondary wives, and he had twenty-eight sons and sixty daughters.

21And Rehoboam loved Maachah the daughter of Absalom above all his wives and his concubines: (for he took eighteen wives, and threescore concubines; and begat twenty and eight sons, and threescore daughters.)

NoteA concubine was a recognized secondary wife with a lower legal standing than a full wife, often without the property settlement or family alliance that a full marriage involved. Her children were legitimate but ranked below those of the principal wives. For a king, a large household of wives was as much a record of political alliances as of anything else.

22Rehoboam made Abijah, Maacah's son, the leader among his brothers, because he planned to make him king.

22And Rehoboam made Abijah the son of Maachah the chief, to be ruler among his brethren: for he thought to make him king.

NoteThe eldest son did not automatically inherit the throne; the reigning king normally named his successor. Making Abijah "leader among his brothers" was that formal designation, announced in advance to settle the question before the king's death.

23He acted wisely by spreading his sons out through all the districts of Judah and Benjamin, placing them in every walled city. He gave them plenty of supplies, and he arranged many wives.

23And he dealt wisely, and dispersed of all his children throughout all the countries of Judah and Benjamin, unto every fenced city: and he gave them victual in abundance. And he desired many wives.

NoteScattering the other sons across the fortified towns, with generous allowances, kept potential rivals away from the capital while giving them a stake in the regime. The last clause is ambiguous in Hebrew: it can mean Rehoboam arranged many marriages for his sons, or that he himself sought many wives.