Rehoboam

who sets the people at liberty

Rehoboam

(enlarger of the people), son of Solomon by the Ammonite princess Naamah, (1 Kings 14:21,31) and his successor. (1 Kings 11:43) Rehoboam selected Shechem as the place of his coronation (B.C. 975), probably as an act of concession to the Ephraimites. The people demanded a remission of the severe burdens imposed by Solomon, and Rehoboam, rejecting the advice of his father's counsellors, followed that of his young courtiers, and returned an insulting answer, which led to an open rebellion among the tribes, and he was compelled to fly to Jerusalem, Judah and Benjamin alone remaining true to him. Jeroboam was made king of the northern tribes. [JEROBOAM] An expedition to reconquer Israel was forbidden by the prophet Shemaiah, (1 Kings 12:21) still during Rehoboam's lifetime peaceful relations between Israel and Judah were never restored. (2 Chronicles 12:15; 1 Kings 14:30) In the fifth year of Rehoboam's reign the country was invaded by a host of Egyptians and other African nations under Shishak. Jerusalem itself was taken and Rehoboam had to purchase an ignominious peace by delivering up the treasures with which Solomon had adorned the temple and palace. The rest of Rehoboam's life was unmarked by any events of importance. He died B.C. 958, after a reign of 17 years, having ascended the throne B.C. 975, at the age of 41. (1 Kings 14:21; 2 Chronicles 12:13) He had 18 wives, 60 concubines, 28 sons and 60 daughters.

Rehoboam

The son and successor of Solomon, by Naamah, an Ammonitess, 1 Kings 12:1-33 14:21-31 2 Chronicles 10:1-12:16. He was forty-one years old when he began to reign, and was therefore born at the beginning of his father's reign.

He ascended the throne about 975 B.C., and reigned seventeen years at Jerusalem. Under his reign the ten tribes revolted, and formed the kingdom of Israel under Jeroboam. The immediate cause of this schism was Rehoboam's headstrong folly in rejecting experienced counselors, and claiming tyrannical power. He at once sought to recover the revolted tribes by force; and though directed by God not to make war, he did not long delay hostilities, and these continued during his whole reign. The people also fell into idolatry, and were punished in the fifth year of Rehoboam by an Egyptian army, which subjected them to a heavy tribute. See SHISHAK.

Scripture leads us to trace the sins and misfortunes of Rehoboam in part to the influence of his heathen mother, 2 Chronicles 12:13. The latter portion of his reign seems to have passed more quietly.

He enlarges the people, the successor of Solomon on the throne, and apparently his only son. He was the son of Naamah "the Ammonitess," some well-known Ammonitish princess (1 Kings 14:21; 2 Chronicles 12:13). He was forty-one years old when he ascended the throne, and he reigned seventeen years (B.C. 975-958). Although he was acknowledged at once as the rightful heir to the throne, yet there was a strongly-felt desire to modify the character of the government. The burden of taxation to which they had been subjected during Solomon's reign was very oppressive, and therefore the people assembled at Shechem and demanded from the king an alleviation of their burdens. He went to meet them at Shechem, and heard their demands for relief (1 Kings 12:4). After three days, having consulted with a younger generation of courtiers that had grown up around him, instead of following the advice of elders, he answered the people haughtily (6-15). "The king hearkened not unto the people; for the cause was from the Lord" (Comp. 11:31). This brought matters speedily to a crisis. The terrible cry was heard (Comp. 2 Samuel 20:1):

"What portion have we in David? Neither have we inheritance in the son of Jesse: To your tents, O Israel: Now see to thine own house, David" (1 Kings 12:16).

And now at once the kingdom was rent in twain. Rehoboam was appalled, and tried concessions, but it was too late (18). The tribe of Judah, Rehoboam's own tribe, alone remained faithful to him. Benjamin was reckoned along with Judah, and these two tribes formed the southern kingdom, with Jerusalem as its capital; while the northern ten tribes formed themselves into a separate kingdom, choosing Jeroboam as their king. Rehoboam tried to win back the revolted ten tribes by making war against them, but he was prevented by the prophet Shemaiah (21-24; 2 Chronicles 11:1-4) from fulfilling his purpose. (see JEROBOAM.)

In the fifth year of Rehoboam's reign, Shishak (q.v.), one of the kings of Egypt of the Assyrian dynasty, stirred up, no doubt, by Jeroboam his son-in-law, made war against him. Jerusalem submitted to the invader, who plundered the temple and virtually reduced the kingdom to the position of a vassal of Egypt (1 Kings 14:25, 26; 2 Chronicles 12:5-9). A remarkable memorial of this invasion has been discovered at Karnac, in Upper Egypt, in certain sculptures on the walls of a small temple there. These sculptures represent the king, Shishak, holding in his hand a train of prisoners and other figures, with the names of the captured towns of Judah, the towns which Rehoboam had fortified (2 Chronicles 11:5-12).

The kingdom of Judah, under Rehoboam, sank more and more in moral and spiritual decay. "There was war between Rehoboam and Jeroboam all their days." At length, in the fifty-eighth year of his age, Rehoboam "slept with his fathers, and was buried with his fathers in the city of David" (1 Kings 14:31). He was succeeded by his son Abijah. (see EGYPT.)

REHOBOAM

re-ho-bo'-am (rechabh`am, "the people is enlarged," or perhaps "Am is wide" Rhoboam; "Roboam," Matthew 1:7 the King James Version):

1. The Disruption of the Kingdom

2. Underlying Causes of Disruption

3. Shemaiah Forbids Civil War

4. Rehoboam's Prosperity

5. Shishak's Invasion

6. His Death

The son and successor of Solomon, the last king to claim the throne of old Israel and the first king of Judah after the division of the kingdom. He was born circa 978 B.C. His mother was Naamah, an Ammonitess. The account of his reign is contained in 1 Kings 14:21-31 2 Chronicles 10-12. The incidents leading to the disruption of the kingdom are told in 1 Kings 11:43-12:24 2 Chronicles 9:31-11:4.

1. The Disruption of the Kingdom:

Rehoboam was 41 years old (2 Chronicles 12:13) when he began to reign Septuagint 1 Kings 12:24 a says 16 years). He ascended the throne at Jerusalem immediately upon his father's death with apparently no opposition. North Israel, however, was dissatisfied, and the people demanded that the king meet them in popular assembly at Shechem, the leading city of Northern Israel. True, Israel was no longer, if ever, an elective monarchy. Nevertheless, the people claimed a constitutional privilege, based perhaps on the transaction of Samuel in the election of Saul (1 Samuel 10:25), to be a party to the conditions under which they would serve a new king and he become their ruler: David, in making Solomon his successor, had ignored this wise provision, and the people, having lost such a privilege by default, naturally deemed their negligence the cause of Solomon's burdensome taxes and forced labor. Consequently, they would be more jealous of their rights for the future, and Rehoboam accordingly would have to accede to their demand. Having come together at Shechem, the people agreed to accept Rehoboam as their king on condition that he would lighten the grievous service and burdensome taxes of his father. Rehoboam asked for three days' time in which to consider the request. Against the advice of men of riper judgment, who assured him that he might win the people by becoming their servant, he chose the counsel of the younger men, who were of his own age, to rule by sternness rather than by kindness, and returned the people a rough answer, saying: "My father made your yoke heavy, but I will add to your yoke: my father chastised you with whips, but I will chastise you with scorpions" (1 Kings 12:14). Rehoboam, however, misjudged the temper of the people, as well as his own ability. The people, led by Jeroboam, a leader more able than himself, were ready for rebellion, and so force lost the day where kindness might have won. The threat of the king was met by the Marseillaise of the people: "What portion have we in David? neither have we inheritance in the son of Jesse: to your tents, O Israel: now see to thine own house, David" (1 Kings 12:16). Thus the ten tribes dethroned Rehoboam, and elected Jeroboam, their champion and spokesman, their king (see JEROBOAM). Rehoboam, believing in his ability to carry out his threat (1 Kings 12:14), sent Adoram, his taskmaster, who no doubt had quelled other disturbances, to subdue the populace, which, insulted by indignities and enraged by Rehoboam's renewed insolence, stoned his messenger to death. Realizing, for the first time, the seriousness of the revolt, Rehoboam fled ignominiously back to Jerusalem, king only of Judah and of the adjacent territory of the tribe of Benjamin. The mistake of Rehoboam, was the common mistake of despots. He presumed too much on privilege not earned by service, and on power for which he was not willing to render adequate compensation.

2. Underlying Causes of Disruption:

It is a mistake, however, to see in the disruption the shattering of a kingdom that had long been a harmonious whole. From the earliest times the confederation of tribes was imperfectly cemented. They seldom united against their common foe. No mention is made of Judah in the list of tribes who fought with Deborah against Sisera. A chain of cities held by the Canaanites, stretching across the country from East to West, kept the North and the South apart. Different physical characteristics produced different types of life in the two sections. Old jealousies repeatedly fanned into new flame intensified the divisions due to natural and artificial causes. David labored hard to break down the old antagonisms, but even in his reign Israel rebelled twice. Northern Israel had produced many of the strongest leaders of the nation, and it was not easy for them to submit to a ruler from the Judean dynasty. Solomon, following David's policy of unification, drew the tribes closely together through the centralization of worship at Jerusalem and through the general splendor of his reign, but he, more than any other, finally widened the gulf between the North and the South, through his unjust discriminations, his heavy taxes, his forced labor and the general extravagances of his reign. The religion of Yahweh was the only bond capable of holding the nation together. The apostasy of Solomon severed this bond. The prophets, with their profound knowledge of religious and political values, saw less danger to the true worship of Yahweh in a divided kingdom than in a united nation ruled over by Rehoboam, who had neither political sagacity nor an adequate conception of the greatness of the religion of Yahweh. Accordingly, Ahijah openly encouraged the revolution, while Shemaiah gave it passive support.

3. Shemaiah Forbids Civil War:

Immediately upon his return to Jerusalem, Rehoboam collected a large army of 180,000 men (reduced to 120,000 in the Septuagint's Codex Vaticanus), for the purpose of making war against Israel. The expedition, however, was forbidden by Shemaiah the prophet on the ground that they should not fight against their brethren, and that the division of the kingdom was from God. Notwithstanding the prohibition, we are informed that "there was war between Rehoboam and Jeroboam continually" (1 Kings 14:30 2 Chronicles 12:15).

4. Rehoboam's Prosperity:

Rehoboam next occupied himself in strengthening the territory which still remained to him by fortifying a number of cities (2 Chronicles 11:5-12). These cities were on the roads to Egypt, or on the western hills of the Judean Shephelah, and were doubtless fortifled as a protection against Egypt. According to 2 Chronicles 11:13-17, Rehoboam's prosperity was augmented by an immigration of priests and Levites from Israel, who came to Jerusalem because of their opposition to the idolatrous worship instituted by Jeroboam. All who were loyal to Yahweh in the Northern Kingdom are represented as following the example of the priests and Levites in going to Jerusalem, not simply to sacrifice, but to reside there permanently, thus strengthening Rehoboam's kingdom. In view of the fact that Rehoboam added to the innovations of his father, erected pillars of Baal in Jerusalem long before they were common in Northern Israel, and that he permitted other heathen abominations and immoralities, it seems that the true worship of Yahweh received little encouragement from the king himself. As a further evidence of his prosperity, Chronicles gives an account of Rehoboam's family. Evidently he was of luxurious habit and followed his father in the possession of a considerable harem (2 Chronicles 11:18-23). He is said to have had 18 wives and 60 concubines, (2 Chronicles 11:21; the Septuagint's Codex Vaticanus and Josephus, Ant, VIII, x, 1 give "30 concubines").

5. Shishak's Invasion:

One of the direct results of the disruption of the kingdom was the invasion of Palestine by Shishak, king of Egypt, in the 5th year of Rehoboam. Shishak is Sheshonk. I, the first king of the XXIId or Bubastite Dynasty. He is the same ruler who granted hospitality to Jeroboam when he was obliged to flee from Solomon (1 Kings 11:40). The Septuagint (1 Kings 12:24 e) informs us that Jeroboam married Ano, the sister of Shishak's wife, thus becoming brother-in-law to the king of Egypt. It is therefore easy to suppose that Jeroboam, finding himself in straits in holding his own against his rival, Rehoboam, called in the aid of his former protector. The results of this invasion, however, are inscribed on the temple at Karnak in Upper Egypt, where a list of some 180 (Curtis, "Chronicles," ICC) towns captured by Shishak is given. These belong to Northern Israel as well as Judah, showing that Shishak exacted tribute there as well as in Judah, which seems scarcely reconcilable with the view that he invaded Palestine as Jeroboam's ally. However, the king of Israel, imploring the aid of Shishak against his rival, thereby made himself vassal to Egypt. This would suffice to make his towns figure at Karnak among the cities subjected in the course of the campaign. The Chronicler saw in Shishak an instrument in the hand of God for the punishment of R. and the people for the national apostasy. According to 2 Chronicles 12:3, Shishak had a force of 1,200 chariots and 60,000 horsemen to which Josephus adds 400,000 foot-soldiers, composed of Lubim, Sukkum and Ethiopians. No resistance appears to have been offered to the advance of the invading army. Not even Jerusalem seems to have stood a siege. The palace and the temple were robbed of all their treasures, including the shields of gold which Solomon had made. For these Rehoboam later substituted shields of brass (2 Chronicles 12:9, 10).

6. His Death:

Rehoboam died at the age of fifty-eight, after having reigned in Jerusalem for 17 years. His son Abijah became his successor. He was buried in Jerusalem. Josephus says that in disposition he was a proud and foolish man, and that he "despised the worship of God, till the people themselves imitated his wicked actions" (Ant., VIII, x, 2).

S. K. Mosiman

4497. Rhoboam -- Rehoboam, a king of Judah
... Rehoboam, a king of Judah. Part of Speech: Proper Noun, Indeclinable Transliteration:
Rhoboam Phonetic Spelling: (hrob-o-am') Short Definition: Rehoboam ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/4497.htm - 6k

7. Abia -- Abijah, Abia, the name of two Israelites
... Noun, Indeclinable Transliteration: Abia Phonetic Spelling: (ab-ee-ah') Short
Definition: Abijah Definition: Abijah, (a) a king, son of Rehoboam, (b) founder ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/7.htm - 6k

1913. Hadoram -- a son of Joktan and his desc., also son of the ...
... 1912, 1913. Hadoram. 1914 . a son of Joktan and his desc., also son
of the king of Hamath, perhaps also an official of Rehoboam. ...
/hebrew/1913.htm - 6k

2093. Zaham -- "loathing," a son of Rehoboam
... 2092, 2093. Zaham. 2094 . "loathing," a son of Rehoboam. Transliteration:
Zaham Phonetic Spelling: (zah'-ham) Short Definition: Zaham. ...
/hebrew/2093.htm - 6k

7346. Rechabam -- "a people are enlarged," a king of Judah
... Rechabam. 7347 . "a people are enlarged," a king of Judah. Transliteration: Rechabam
Phonetic Spelling: (rekh-ab-awm') Short Definition: Rehoboam. ... Rehoboam. ...
/hebrew/7346.htm - 6k

The History of Rehoboam
... BIBLE STORIES AND RELIGIOUS CLASSICS THE HISTORY OF REHOBOAM. After Solomon,
reigned his son Rehoboam. He came to Sichem and thither ...
/.../wells/bible stories and religious classics/the history of rehoboam.htm

Concerning Rehoboam, and How God Inflicted Punishment Upon Him for ...
... CHAPTER 10. Concerning Rehoboam, And How God Inflicted Punishment Upon Him
For His Impiety By Shishak [King Of Egypt]. 1. Now Rehoboam ...
/.../josephus/the antiquities of the jews/chapter 10 concerning rehoboam and.htm

Rehoboam's Great Mistake
... THE OLD TESTAMENT REHOBOAM'S GREAT MISTAKE. When Solomon died, Rehoboam
his son ruled after him. As soon as Jeroboam, who was still ...
/...//christianbookshelf.org/sherman/the childrens bible/rehoboams great mistake.htm

How, Upon the Death of Solomon the People Forsook his Son Rehoboam ...
... CHAPTER 8. How, Upon The Death Of Solomon The People Forsook His Son Rehoboam,
And Ordained Jeroboam King Over The Ten Tribes. 1 ...
/.../josephus/the antiquities of the jews/chapter 8 how upon the.htm

We Learn from the Fact of the Separation of the Ten Tribes from ...
... Book II. Chapter XVIII. We learn from the fact of the separation of the
ten tribes from King Rehoboam? We learn from the fact ...
/.../ambrose/works and letters of st ambrose/chapter xviii we learn from.htm

The Rending of the Kingdom
... "Solomon slept with his fathers, and was buried in the City of David his father:
and Rehoboam his son reigned in his stead." 1 Kings 11:43. ...
/.../white/the story of prophets and kings/chapter 6 the rending of.htm

The Kingdom Op Judah.
... lxxxix.31, 32. Rehoboam, the son of Solomon, brought about, by his own
harshness and folly, the punishment that God had decreed. ...
//christianbookshelf.org/yonge/the chosen people/lesson vii the kingdom op.htm

How to Split a Kingdom
... And Rehoboam went to Shechem: for all Israel were come to Shechem to make him
king.2. And it came to pass, when Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who was yet in Egypt ...
/.../maclaren/expositions of holy scripture f/how to split a kingdom.htm

Contrasted Services
... Chronicles 12:8. Rehoboam was a self-willed, godless king who, like some
other kings, learned nothing by experience. His kingdom ...
/.../maclaren/expositions of holy scripture g/contrasted services.htm

Genealogy of Jesus According to Matthew.
... fourteen] begat Solomon of her that had been the wife [the adulteress Bathsheba]
of Uriah; 7 and Solomon [a wise but sinful king] begat Rehoboam [a foolish king ...
/.../mcgarvey/the four-fold gospel/iii genealogy of jesus according.htm

Rehoboam (42 Occurrences)
...Rehoboam was appalled, and tried concessions, but it was too late (18). The tribe
of Judah, Rehoboam's own tribe, alone remained faithful to him. ...
/r/rehoboam.htm - 34k

Rehoboam's (4 Occurrences)
... Multi-Version Concordance Rehoboam's (4 Occurrences). 1 Kings 14:29 Now
the rest of the acts of Rehoboam, and all that he did, are ...
/r/rehoboam's.htm - 7k

Rehobo'am (42 Occurrences)
Rehobo'am. Rehoboam, Rehobo'am. Rehoboam's . ... Matthew 1:7 and Solomon begat Rehoboam,
and Rehoboam begat Abijah, and Abijah begat Asa, (See RSV). ...
/r/rehobo'am.htm - 18k

Adoniram (4 Occurrences)
... Near the close of the reign of David, and at the opening of the reign of Rehoboam,
the same office was held by Adoram (2 Samuel 20:24 1 Kings 12:18). ...
/a/adoniram.htm - 10k

Naamah (5 Occurrences)
... (2.) The daughter of the king of Ammon, one of the wives of Solomon, the only one
who appears to have borne him a son, viz., Rehoboam (1 Kings 14:21, 31). ...
/n/naamah.htm - 10k

Shishak (6 Occurrences)
... There Jeroboam remained till the death of Solomon, when he returned to Canaan, and,
on Rehoboam's returning an unsatisfactory answer to the people's demands ...
/s/shishak.htm - 13k

Ammonitess (4 Occurrences)
... am-on-i'-tes, a-mon'-i-tes (`ammonith): A woman of the Ammonites, Naamah, the mother
of Rehoboam (1 Kings 14:21, 31 2 Chronicles 12:13; 2 Chronicles 24:26). ...
/a/ammonitess.htm - 8k

Na'amah (5 Occurrences)
... (See RSV). 1 Kings 14:21 Rehoboam the son of Solomon reigned in Judah. Rehoboam
was forty-one years old when he began to reign, and ...
/n/na'amah.htm - 8k

Abi'jah (26 Occurrences)
... Multi-Version Concordance Abi'jah (26 Occurrences). Matthew 1:7 and Solomon begat
Rehoboam, and Rehoboam begat Abijah, and Abijah begat Asa, (See RSV). ...
/a/abi'jah.htm - 12k

Abijah (32 Occurrences)
... 7:39-42; 12:1). (5.) The son of Rehoboam, whom he succeeded on the throne
of Judah (1 Chronicles 3:10). He is also called Abijam ...
/a/abijah.htm - 25k

Who was King Rehoboam in the Bible? | GotQuestions.org

What is the story of Rehoboam and Jeroboam? | GotQuestions.org

Why was Israel divided into the Southern Kingdom and Northern Kingdom? | GotQuestions.org

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