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Texts -- 1 Kings 12:33--13:32 (NET)

Context
A Prophet from Judah Visits Bethel
12:33 On the fifteenth day of the eighth month (a date he had arbitrarily chosen ) Jeroboam offered sacrifices on the altar he had made in Bethel . He inaugurated a festival for the Israelites and went up to the altar to offer sacrifices . 13:1 Just then a prophet from Judah , sent by the Lord , arrived in Bethel , as Jeroboam was standing near the altar ready to offer a sacrifice . 13:2 With the authority of the Lord he cried out against the altar , “O altar , altar ! This is what the Lord says , ‘Look , a son named Josiah will be born to the Davidic dynasty . He will sacrifice on you the priests of the high places who offer sacrifices on you. Human bones will be burned on you.’” 13:3 That day he also announced a sign , “This is the sign the Lord has predetermined : The altar will be split open and the ashes on it will fall to the ground.” 13:4 When the king heard what the prophet cried out against the altar in Bethel , Jeroboam , standing at the altar , extended his hand and ordered , “Seize him!” The hand he had extended shriveled up and he could not pull it back . 13:5 The altar split open and the ashes fell from the altar to the ground, in fulfillment of the sign the prophet had announced with the Lord’s authority . 13:6 The king pled with the prophet , “Seek the favor of the Lord your God and pray for me, so that my hand may be restored .” So the prophet sought the Lord’s favor and the king’s hand was restored to its former condition. 13:7 The king then said to the prophet , “Come home with me and have something to eat . I’d like to give a present .” 13:8 But the prophet said to the king , “Even if you were to give me half your possessions , I could not go with you and eat and drink in this place . 13:9 For the Lord gave me strict orders , ‘Do not eat or drink there and do not go home the way you came .’” 13:10 So he started back on another road ; he did not travel back on the same road he had taken to Bethel . 13:11 Now there was an old prophet living in Bethel . When his sons came home, they told their father everything the prophet had done in Bethel that day and all the words he had spoken to the king . 13:12 Their father asked them, “Which road did he take ?” His sons showed him the road the prophet from Judah had taken . 13:13 He then told his sons , “Saddle the donkey for me.” When they had saddled the donkey for him, he mounted it 13:14 and took off after the prophet , whom he found sitting under an oak tree . He asked him, “Are you the prophet from Judah ?” He answered , “Yes, I am.” 13:15 He then said to him, “Come home with me and eat something .” 13:16 But he replied , “I can’t go back with you or eat and drink with you in this place . 13:17 For the Lord gave me strict orders , ‘Do not eat or drink there ; do not go back the way you came .’” 13:18 The old prophet then said , “I too am a prophet like you. An angel told me with the Lord’s authority , ‘Bring him back with you to your house so he can eat and drink .’” But he was lying to him. 13:19 So the prophet went back with him and ate and drank in his house . 13:20 While they were sitting at the table , the Lord spoke through the old prophet 13:21 and he cried out to the prophet from Judah , “This is what the Lord says , ‘You have rebelled against the Lord and have not obeyed the command the Lord your God gave you. 13:22 You went back and ate and drank in this place , even though he said to you, “Do not eat or drink there.” Therefore your corpse will not be buried in your ancestral tomb .’” 13:23 When the prophet from Judah finished his meal , the old prophet saddled his visitor’s donkey for him. 13:24 As the prophet from Judah was traveling , a lion attacked him on the road and killed him. His corpse was lying on the road , and the donkey and the lion just stood there beside it . 13:25 Some men came by and saw the corpse lying in the road with the lion standing beside it . They went and reported what they had seen in the city where the old prophet lived . 13:26 When the old prophet who had invited him to his house heard the news, he said , “It is the prophet who rebelled against the Lord . The Lord delivered him over to the lion and it ripped him up and killed him, just as the Lord warned him.” 13:27 He told his sons , “Saddle my donkey ,” and they did so. 13:28 He went and found the corpse lying in the road with the donkey and the lion standing beside it ; the lion had neither eaten the corpse nor attacked the donkey . 13:29 The old prophet picked up the corpse of the prophet , put it on the donkey , and brought it back . The old prophet then entered the city to mourn him and to bury him. 13:30 He put the corpse into his own tomb , and they mourned over him, saying, “Ah , my brother !” 13:31 After he buried him, he said to his sons , “When I die , bury me in the tomb where the prophet is buried ; put my bones right beside his bones , 13:32 for the prophecy he announced with the Lord’s authority against the altar in Bethel and against all the temples on the high places in the cities of the north will certainly be fulfilled .”

Pericope

NET

Bible Dictionary

  • WITHERED

    [isbe] WITHERED - with'-erd (nabhel, "to fade away," "to be dried up"): (1) Used figuratively to express leanness of soul, spiritual impotence, a low condition of spiritual life, a lack of moral nourishment: "My heart is smitten li...

  • PROPHECY; PROPHETS, 2

    [isbe] PROPHECY; PROPHETS, 2 - II. Historical Development of the Prophetic Office. 1. Abraham: It is a characteristic peculiarity of the religion of the Old Testament that its very elementary beginnings are of a prophetical nature....

  • OLD PROPHET, THE

    [isbe] OLD PROPHET, THE - (nabhi' 'echadh zaqen, "an old prophet" (1 Ki 13:11), ha-nabhi' ha-zaqen, "the old prophet" (1 Ki 13:29)): 1. The Narrative: The narrative of 1 Ki 13:11-32, in which the old prophet is mentioned, is part o...

  • Lintel

    [ebd] (1.) Heb. mashkoph, a projecting cover (Ex. 12:22, 23; ver. 7, "upper door post," but R.V. "lintel"); the head-piece of a door, which the Israelites were commanded to mark with the blood of the paschal lamb. (2.) Heb. kaphta...

  • KINGS, BOOKS OF

    [isbe] KINGS, BOOKS OF - || I. TITLE II. SCOPE III. CHARACTER OF BOOKS AND POSITION IN THE HEBREW CANON 1. Purpose 2. Character of Data IV. HISTORICAL VALUE 1. Treatment of Historical Data 2. Chronology 3. Value of Assyrian Records...

  • Judgments

    [nave] JUDGMENTS On the serpent, Gen. 3:14, 15. Eve, Gen. 3:16; Adam, Gen. 3:17-19. Cain, Gen. 4:11-15; the Antediluvians, Gen. 6; 7; Sodomites, Gen. 19:23-25; Egyptians, the plagues and overthrow, Ex. 7-14; Nadab and Abihu, Lev....

  • JADON

    [isbe] JADON - ja'-don (yadhon, perhaps "he will judge" or "plead"): One who helped to rebuild the wall of Jerusalem in company with the men of Gibeon and of Mizpah (Neh 3:7). He is called the "Meronothite," and another Meronothite...

  • IDDO

    [isbe] IDDO - id'-o: (1) ('iddo (?[~'adhadh, "to be strong"), "hap," "happy" (?), Ezr 8:17): The "chief at the place Casiphia," who provided Ezra with Levites and Nethinim, the head of the Levitical body or school, said to be one o...

  • Hunting

    [ebd] mentioned first in Gen. 10:9 in connection with Nimrod. Esau was "a cunning hunter" (Gen. 25:27). Hunting was practised by the Hebrews after their settlement in the "Land of Promise" (Lev. 17:15; Prov. 12:27). The lion and o...

  • HIGH PLACE

    [ebd] an eminence, natural or artificial, where worship by sacrifice or offerings was made (1 Kings 13:32; 2 Kings 17:29). The first altar after the Flood was built on a mountain (Gen. 8:20). Abraham also built an altar on a mount...
    [isbe] HIGH PLACE - 1. General: (1) "High place" is the normal translation of bamah, a word that means simply "elevation" (Jer 26:18; Ezek 36:2, etc.; compare the use in Job 9:8 of the waves of the sea. For the plural as a proper n...

  • Funeral

    [ebd] Burying was among the Jews the only mode of disposing of corpses (Gen. 23:19; 25:9; 35:8, 9, etc.). The first traces of burning the dead are found in 1 Sam. 31:12. The burning of the body was affixed by the law of Moses as a...

  • Ephraim, The tribe of

    [ebd] took precedence over that of Manasseh by virtue of Jacob's blessing (Gen. 41:52; 48:1). The descendants of Joseph formed two of the tribes of Israel, whereas each of the other sons of Jacob was the founder of only one tribe....

  • Disobedience to God

    [nave] DISOBEDIENCE TO GOD. Denunciations Against Num. 14:11, 12, 22-24; Num. 32:8-13; Deut. 18:19; Deut. 28:15-68 Lev. 26:14-46. Punishment of Of the Egyptians by plagues, See: Plagues. See also Sin, Punishment of. Instances...

  • DISOBEDIENCE; DISOBEDIENT

    [isbe] DISOBEDIENCE; DISOBEDIENT - dis-o-be'-di-ens, (marah; apeitheo, parakouo): The word used chiefly in the New Testament has the general meaning of a lack of regard for authority or rulership. The stronger meaning of actual stu...

  • CHRONICLES, BOOKS OF

    [isbe] CHRONICLES, BOOKS OF - kron'-i-k'-ls (dibhere ha-yamim, "The Words of the Days"; Septuagint paraleipomenon: 1. The Name 2. The Position of Chronicles in the Old Testament 3. Two Books, or One? 4. The Contents 5. Sources Bibl...

  • CARCASS; CARCASE

    [isbe] CARCASS; CARCASE - kar'-kas: The dead body of a beast; used sometimes in a contemptuous way of the dead body of a human being. The use of the word as applied to a living body is not found in either Old Testament or New Testa...

  • BETHEL

    [ebd] house of God. (1.) A place in Central Palestine, about 10 miles north of Jerusalem, at the head of the pass of Michmash and Ai. It was originally the royal Canaanite city of Luz (Gen. 28:19). The name Bethel was at first app...
    [isbe] BETHEL - beth'-el (beth-'el; Baithel and oikos theou, literally, "house of God"): (1) A town near the place where Abraham halted and offered sacrifice on his way south from Shechem. 1. Identification and Description: It lay ...

  • Aholah

    [ebd] she has her own tent, a name used by Ezekiel (23:4, 5, 36, 44) as a symbol of the idolatry of the kingdom of Israel. This kingdom is described as a lewdwoman, an adulteress, given up to the abominations and idolatries of the...

  • ASS

    [ebd] frequently mentioned throughout Scripture. Of the domesticated species we read of, (1.) The she ass (Heb. 'athon), so named from its slowness (Gen. 12:16; 45:23; Num. 22:23; 1 Sam. 9:3). (2.) The male ass (Heb. hamor), the c...
    [isbe] ASS - as (chamowr or chamor, compare Arabic chamar, apparently connected with Arabic root 'achmar, "red," but referred by some to root hamal, "to carry"; also, but less commonly, both in Hebrew and in Arabic, 'athon, Arabic ...

  • ADONIRAM

    [isbe] ADONIRAM - ad-o-ni'-ram ('adhoniram, "my lord is exalted"): An official of Solomon (1 Ki 4:6; 5:14). 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 Sa...

Arts

Resources/Books

Expository Notes on the Bible (Constable)

  • When the Israelites entered the land they were to bring a special offering of firstfruits they harvested from the land to Yahweh at the tabernacle (cf. 14:22-27). It was to be an expression of their gratitude to God for fulfi...
  • These verses conclude the account of the division of the land proper (chs. 13-21; cf. 1:2-6; 11:23). They bind the two parts of the second half of the book together. They form a theological conclusion to the entire book up to...
  • 1:22-26 The writer described Ephraim and Manasseh together as "the house of Joseph"(vv. 22-29). First, he narrated Ephraim's activity (vv. 22-26). The Ephraimites' treatment of the man of Bethel who gave them information viol...
  • The Book of Samuel covers the period of Israel's history bracketed by Samuel's conception and the end of David's reign. David turned the kingdom over to Solomon in 971 B.C.3David reigned for 40 and one-half years (2 Sam. 2:11...
  • "The much later crisis of I Kings 12 suggests that the Davidic hold on the north is never deeply established. In our chapter we are given two episodes of David's attentiveness to the north. One (vv. 4b-7) is a peaceable act o...
  • The fact that this book opens and closes with death should be a clue as to its message.It opens with David's death, and it closes with Ahab's death. The intervening period of about a century and a half is a story of national ...
  • I. The reign of Solomon chs. 1-11A. Solomon's succession to David's throne 1:1-2:121. David's declining health 1:1-42. Adonijah's attempt to seize the throne 1:5-533. David's charge to Solomon 2:1-94. David's death 2:10-12B. ...
  • The second major part of the Book of Kings records the histories of the Northern Kingdom of Israel and the Southern Kingdom of Judah.123During this era of 209 years (931-722 B.C.) the two kingdoms experienced differing relati...
  • During its history the Northern Kingdom had three capitals: first Shechem (v. 25), then Tirzah (14:17; 15:33), and finally Samaria (16:23-24). Perhaps the king strengthened Penuel in west-central Gilead as a Transjordanian pr...
  • God sent a young Judahite prophet to Bethel to announce a prophecy that God would judge Jeroboam for his apostasy. When he arrived, the king was exercising his priestly function at the Bethel altar (v. 1). The prophet predict...
  • The prophecy of God's judgment on Jeroboam and its signs (vv. 4-5) did not lead the king to repentance. The most serious aspect of his apostate system was his disregard for what God had required concerning Israel's priesthood...
  • This section is similar to the one that recorded Saul's failure to follow Yahweh's command that also resulted in God cutting him off as His vice-regent (1 Sam. 13:13-14). The parallels between Saul and Ahab are remarkable thr...
  • Aharoni, Yohanan. "The Building Activities of David and Solomon."Israel Exploration Journal24:1(1974):13-16.Aharoni, Yohanan, and Michael Avi-Yonahl. The Macmillan Bible Atlas. Revised ed., New York: Macmillan Publishing Co.,...
  • Second Kings begins with Ahaziah's reign that fell during the 33-year period of Israel and Judah's alliance (874-841 B.C.; -1 Kings 16:29-2 Kings 9:29). This period in turn fits within the larger context of the divided kingdo...
  • Had Elijah still been alive on the earth Elisha could not have exercised authority as his successor. In this chapter note the parallels between the succession of the prophets and the succession of the kings that the writer re...
  • The immediate result of the captivity (vv. 24-33) was twofold. The Assyrians deported many Israelites to other places in the Assyrian Empire, and they imported other people from the empire into the newly formed Assyrian provi...
  • Josiah began to seek Yahweh when he was 16 years old and began initiating religious reforms when he was 20 (2 Chron. 34:3-7). His reforms were more extensive than those of any of his predecessors. One of them was the repair o...
  • This account is very similar to the one in 1 Kings 12. Solomon's son Rehoboam did not act wisely, and consequently he lost his kingdom. The Chronicler added that a prophet had foretold this situation (v. 15; cf. 11:1-4). The ...
  • 30:18 Yahweh promised to restore Israel's tribal fortunes (cf. Num. 24:5-6), to have compassion on His peoples' towns and homes, and to rebuild Jerusalem and the royal palace there.30:19 Thanksgiving and merrymaking would mar...
  • 9:1 In his vision Ezekiel heard the Lord (cf. v. 4) cry out loudly for the executioners (guards), who would punish the people of Jerusalem, to draw near to Him with their weapons in hand. The Lord had predicted that the peopl...
  • This verse summarizes the message that Amos received from the Lord. Amos reported that Yahweh roared from Zion, as a lion roars before it devours its prey or as thunder precedes a severe storm (cf. 3:4, 8; Jer. 25:30; Hos. 5:...
  • 7:10 Amaziah, who was one of the apostate priests who served at the Bethel sanctuary (cf. 1 Kings 12:26-33), felt that Amos was being unpatriotic in what he was prophesying. So Amaziah sent a message to King Jeroboam II charg...
  • 7:1 Another prophetic message came to Zechariah from the Lord in 518 B.C. The fourth day of the ninth month would have been in early December. Chislev is the Babylonian name of the month. This message, which comprises the fol...
  • 7:15 Jesus here sounded a warning that the Old Testament prophets also gave about false prophets (cf. Deut. 13; 18; Jer. 6:13-15; 8:8-12; Ezek. 13; 22:27; Zeph 3:4). He did not explain exactly what they would teach, only that...
  • Jesus told the parable of the fig tree to illustrate the certainty of what He had prophesied. He then gave other assurances of fulfillment. Luke omitted Jesus' statement that no one would know the day or hour when He would re...
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