1 Kings 12

1 Kings, chapter 12 1 Kings 12 1 Kings 11 chapter 11 1 Kings 13 chapter 13 First book of Kings Old Testament 11 Nevi'im 4 Former Prophets Leningrad-codex-09-kings.pdf 250px The pages containing the Books of Kings (1 & 2 Kings) Leningrad Codex (1008 CE). 1 Kings 12 is the twelfth chapter of the Books of Kings in the Hebrew Bible or the First Book of Kings in the Old Testament of the Christian Bible.Halley 1965 191Collins 2014 288 The book is a compilation of various annals recording the acts of the kings of Israel and Judah by a Deuteronomic compiler in the seventh century BCE, with a supplement added in the sixth century BCE.McKane 1993 324 1 Kings 12:1 to 16:14 documents the consolidation of the kingdoms of northern Israel and Judah:Dietrich 2007 241 this chapter focusses on the reigns of Rehoboam and Jeroboam.Dietrich 2007 241–242 Text This chapter was originally written in the Hebrew language and since the 16th century is divided into 33 verses. Textual witnesses Some early manuscripts containing the text of this chapter in Hebrew are of the Masoretic Text tradition, which includes the Codex Cairensis (895), Aleppo Codex (10th century), and Codex Leningradensis (1008).Würthwein 1995 35-37 Fragments containing parts of this chapter in Hebrew were found among the Dead Sea Scrolls, that is, 6Q4 (6QpapKgs; 150–75 BCE) with extant verses 28–31.Ulrich 2010 328Dead sea scrolls - 1 KingsFitzmyer 2008 104,1066Q4 at the Leon Levy Dead Sea Scrolls Digital Library There is also a translation into Koine Greek known as the Septuagint, made in the last few centuries BCE. Extant ancient manuscripts of the Septuagint version include Codex Vaticanus (B; B; 4th century) and Codex Alexandrinus (A; A; 5th century).Würthwein 1995 73-74The whole book of 1 Kings is missing from the extant Codex Sinaiticus.Codex Sinaiticus Old Testament references 1 Kings 12:41–43 9: 2 Chronicles 9:29–31 91 Kings 12, Berean Study Bible Negotiations in Shechem (12:1–20) Rehoboam took the throne in Judah without opposition, but he required confirmation from the northern kingdom (cf 1 Samuel 10:24–25 9; 2 Samuel 5:3 9; 19:10-11,42-4).Dietrich 2007 241 After Solomon's death, the northern tribes of Israel requested negotiations with the new king in Shechem (today: Nablus, in the central mountain country of Ephraim) and when the early negotiation failed, Jeroboam was called upon to lead the petition to reduce the financial burdens imposed by Solomon (verse 20).Dietrich 2007 241 Rehoboam seeks advice from 'the older men who had attended his father Solomon' and with 'the young men who had grown up with him and now attended him' (verses 6, 8), representing a political conflict between two generations.Dietrich 2007 241 The 'undiplomatic arrogance' of Rehoboam's reply based on the advice of the younger advisors (using vulgarity) triggered what already perceived by the northern tribes that Solomon and his family intended to squeeze the northern Israel hard, in comparison to the tribe of Judah, so the northern tribes decided to separate (verse 16 uses a language of separation almost identical to 2 Samuel 20:1, when the northern tribes had privately distanced themselves from Davidic rule during Absalom's failed revolt).Dietrich 2007 241Coogan 2007 513 Hebrew Bible Despite the acknowledgment that things happened exactly as the prophet Ahijah of Shiloh had forecast (verse 15, cf. 1 Kings 11:29–32), the author of this passage still regards the separation as a 'perverse rebellion against the legitimate reign of the descendants of David' (verse 19).Dietrich 2007 241 Verse 18 Then king Rehoboam sent Adoram, who was over the tribute; and all Israel stoned him with stones, that he died. Therefore king Rehoboam made speed to get him up to his chariot, to flee to Jerusalem.1 Kings 12:18 KJV KJV "Adoram": Old Greek translation and Syriac Peshitta have "Adoniram." (cf. 1 Kings 4:6).Note [a] on 1 Kings 12:18 in NET Bible He was the tax collector in the United Kingdom of Israel for over forty years, from the late years of King David's reign (2 Samuel 20:24 9) until the early reign of Rehoboam (this verse), and was responsible "over the tribute", that is, the levy or forced labor, and in charge of conscripted timber cutters during the building of King Solomon's temple (1 Kings 5:13,14 9).Webster's New Biographical Dictionary (Merriam-Webster, 1988), p. 1093.NETBible, "Adoniram https://web.archive.org/web/20090904034705/http://net.bible.org/dictionary.php?word=ADONIRAM September 4, 2009 ." Civil war averted (12:21–24) The separation of northern tribes happened as prophesied by the prophet Ahijah of Shiloh as a (limited) divine judgement upon the ruling house of Jerusalem (1 Kings 11:29–39), and confirmed by the prophet Shemaiah in this passage that Rehoboam and the Judeans should not go against God's irreversible decision, especially when it means fighting against their 'kindred'.Dietrich 2007 241Coogan 2007 513 Hebrew Bible State worship in Bethel and Dan (12:25–33) The record of Jeroboam I of Israel spans from 1 Kings 12:25 to 14:24, but in the Septuagint version of Codex Vaticanus there is an addition before verse 25, numbered as 24a to 24z, which is not present in the Hebrew Bible, Tov Emanuel 38. The Septuagint Additions ('Miscellanies') in 1 Kings 2 (3 Reigns 2) The Greek and Hebrew Bible: Collected Essays on the Septuagint Vetus Testamentum Supplements 72 Leiden Brill 1999 549 https://doc-0k-6k-apps-viewer.googleusercontent.com/viewer/secure/pdf/ee4aklgnmjmvepon2sq4mbt7bs5pb8p4/acqp9r83csr06athhh6vr5e1q15v72o5/1623107325000/lantern/10291222761004614935/ACFrOgCmzdzvvivr1in6jjU6xAnYFq1M9K5mPhQsklNlI2ps2h3gs2SWa_ZSpLboxTB9r4RaAIhkPW026hmrewPfohLmgTx3Jpe6oKb7DSuQTP01svDvL0j3PqF94YVxK7oD1fg-etFYKDz1qd0S? August 2026 InternetArchiveBot but this Greek text often concurs literally with the Hebrew text in 1 Kings 11–14 although containing some significant differences, such as:Dietrich 2007 241Exell, Joseph S.; Spence-Jones, Henry Donald Maurice (Editors). On "1 Kings 12". In: The Pulpit Commentary. 23 volumes. First publication: 1890. Accessed 24 April 2019. Jeroboam was a son of Sarira, a harlot. Jeroboam, while serving a commander of a chariot unit during Solomon's reign, laid claim to the entire kingdom, so Solomon sought to kill him, but Jeroboam escaped to Egypt (verse 24b).Dietrich 2007 241 After returning from exile in Egypt, Jeroboam waited in his home town Zereda (or "Sarira") and fortified the city, where his wife Anot (the sister of Pharaoh Shishak's wife) was told by the prophet Ahijah about the sickness and death of Abijah, her son (verses 24g–24n, cf. 1 Kings 14:1–18 in Hebrew Bible).Dietrich 2007 241 Jeroboam was promised ten of the twelve tribes (verse 24o) in Shechem by the prophet Shemaiah (not by Ahijah near Jerusalem, as in 1 Kings 11:29–31 in Hebrew Bible).Dietrich 2007 241 After the failure of negotiations with Rehoboam (verses 24p–24s; more detailed in 1 Kings 12:3–14 in Hebrew Bible) and the looming civil war (cf. 1 Kings 12:21–24), the compromise settlement gave Jeroboam ten tribes and Rehoboam two (verses 24t–24z).Dietrich 2007 241 Also, in Greek text, Rehoboam was made king at 16 years of age (Hebrew text: 40 years old), and reigned 12 years (Hebrew text: 17 years); his mother was Naanan (Hebrew text: Naamah), the daughter of Ana, son of Nahash, king of Ammon. Jeroboam became the founder and quasi-democratically legitimized ruler of northern Israel (1 Kings 12:20), but he was always afraid to be dethroned by the same constituents when they still remember the Davidic rule (verses 26–27), so he initiated a number of building projects (imitating Solomon), such as castles in the cis-Jordanian Shechem and in trans-Jordanian Penuel (verse 25); cf. 1 Samuel 11), — (as the central city of the original Israelite region of Gilead, cf. 1 Samuel 11) and state holy sites in Dan (far north) and Bethel (deep in the south of his kingdom), at the sites of long existed worship places (cf. Judges 17–18; Genesis 28; 35).Dietrich 2007 242Coogan 2007 514 Hebrew Bible Jeroboam's statue of 'calves' more closely resembled those of (young) bulls, the animal symbolizing Canaan's main gods El and Baal, but he claimed to worship the Israelite YHWH 'who brought you up out of the land of Egypt' (verse 28),Note from Dietrich 2007, p. 242: "Today the words 'calves' and 'gods' correspond with each other, a feature arising from Judean polemics" as also evidenced in the archaeological excavations in Tel-Dan, the site of ancient city of Dan, where the seal impressions with Yahwistic names, the architecture of the high place, the artifacts, and the animal bones for sacrifices to YHWH.Bohstrom, Philippe. Israelites in Biblical Dan Worshipped Idols – and Yahweh Too, Archaeologists Discover. Haaretz.com. October 31, 2018. Quote: "Finds in the northern biblical city of Dan suggest that even if King Jeroboam pushed worship of golden calves and goat demons to spite Jerusalem, there was a big YHWH temple..." Nonetheless, this is not in accordance to the main belief that God's temple resides in Zion (Jerusalem), so Jeroboam's policy was severely criticized and interpreted as 'the seed of the fall of his dynasty and also the kingdom he founded' (cf. 12:29; 13:33–34; as the links of all northern kings' wickedness to 'the sins of Jeroboam'), in particular, the establishment of holy high places (cf. verse 31 with Leviticus 26:30; Deuteronomy 12; 2 Kings 17:9–10), the appointment of non-Levite priests (cf. verse 31 with Deuteronomy 18:1-8), and the unauthorized introduction of a religious feast (cf. verse 32 with Leviticus 23:34).Dietrich 2007 242Coogan 2007 514 Hebrew Bible Verses 28–29 28So the king took counsel and made two calves of gold. And he said to the people, "You have gone up to Jerusalem long enough. Behold your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt." 29 And he set one in Bethel, and the other he put in Dan.1 Kings 12:28–29 ESV ESV "Dan": Archaeological excavation in the site of ancient city Dan has revealed the high place and location of the golden calf statue. See also 22em Adoniram Ahijah the Shilonite David Idolatry Israel Jerusalem Jesse Kingdom of Judah Kohen Mount Ephraim Penuel Solomon Related Bible parts: Leviticus 23, Deuteronomy 12, Judges 17, Judges 18, 1 Samuel 15, 2 Samuel 11, 1 Kings 5, 1 Kings 6, 1 Kings 7, 1 Kings 9, 2 Kings 17, 2 Chronicles 9 Notes References Sources Collins John J. Introduction to the Hebrew Scriptures Chapter 14: 1 Kings 12 – 2 Kings 25 277–296 Fortress Press 2014 https://books.google.com/books?id=fbsoBAAAQBAJ 978-1451469233 Coogan Michael David Michael D. Coogan The New Oxford Annotated Bible with the Apocryphal/Deuterocanonical Books: New Revised Standard Version, Issue 48 Coogan Michael David Marc Zvi Brettler Carol Ann Newsom Pheme Perkins Augmented 3rd Oxford University Press 2007 978-0195288810 https://books.google.com/books?id=HmpMPgAACAAJ Dietrich Walter 13. 1 and 2 Kings The Oxford Bible Commentary John Barton John Barton (theologian) John Muddiman John Muddiman Oxford University Press first (paperback) 2007 232–266 978-0199277186 https://books.google.com/books?id=ZJdVkgEACAAJ February 6, 2019 Fitzmyer Joseph A. Joseph Fitzmyer A Guide to the Dead Sea Scrolls and Related Literature William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company https://books.google.com/books?id=TILXeWJ2eNAC 2008 9780802862419 Grand Rapids, MI Halley Henry H. Henry Hampton Halley Halley's Bible Handbook: an abbreviated Bible commentary 24th (revised) Zondervan Publishing House 1965 https://archive.org/details/halleysbiblehand00henr registration 0-310-25720-4 Hayes Christine Introduction to the Bible Yale University Press 2015 https://books.google.com/books?id=SKbkXYHxvlAC 978-0300188271 Leithart Peter J. 1 & 2 Kings Brazos Theological Commentary on the Bible Brazos Press 2006 https://books.google.com/books?id=Z_gvin9G7LgC 978-1587431258 McKane William Kings, Book of Metzger Bruce M Bruce M. Metzger Coogan Michael D The Oxford Companion to the Bible https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780195046458 registration Oxford University Press 1993 409–413 978-0195046458 Metzger Bruce M Bruce M. Metzger Coogan Michael D The Oxford Companion to the Bible Oxford University Press 1993 978-0195046458 Ulrich Eugene The Biblical Qumran Scrolls: Transcriptions and Textual Variants 2010 Brill https://archive.org/details/TheBiblicalQumranScrolls Würthwein Ernst Ernst Würthwein The Text of the Old Testament Wm. B. Eerdmans Grand Rapids, MI 1995 Erroll F. Rhodes 0-8028-0788-7 https://books.google.com/books?id=FSNKSBObCYwC January 26, 2019 External links Jewish translations: Melachim I - I Kings - Chapter 12 (Judaica Press). Hebrew text and English translation [with Rashi's commentary] at Chabad.org Christian translations: Online Bible at GospelHall.org (ESV, KJV, Darby, American Standard Version, Bible in Basic English) 1 Kings chapter 12. Bible Gateway 12