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Texts -- 1 Kings 14:1-24 (NET)

Context
14:1 At that time Jeroboam’s son Abijah became sick . 14:2 Jeroboam told his wife , “Disguise yourself so that people cannot recognize you are Jeroboam’s wife . Then go to Shiloh ; Ahijah the prophet , who told me I would rule over this nation , lives there . 14:3 Take ten loaves of bread , some small cakes , and a container of honey and visit him. He will tell you what will happen to the boy .” 14:4 Jeroboam’s wife did as she was told . She went to Shiloh and visited Ahijah . Now Ahijah could not see ; he had lost his eyesight in his old age . 14:5 But the Lord had told Ahijah , “Look , Jeroboam’s wife is coming to find out from you what will happen to her son , for he is sick . Tell her so-and-so . When she comes , she will be in a disguise .” 14:6 When Ahijah heard the sound of her footsteps as she came through the door , he said , “Come on in, wife of Jeroboam ! Why are you pretending to be someone else? I have been commissioned to give you bad news. 14:7 Go , tell Jeroboam , ‘This is what the Lord God of Israel says : “I raised you up from among the people and made you ruler over my people Israel . 14:8 I tore the kingdom away from the Davidic dynasty and gave it to you. But you are not like my servant David , who kept my commandments and followed me wholeheartedly by doing only what I approve . 14:9 You have sinned more than all who came before you. You went and angered me by making other gods , formed out of metal ; you have completely disregarded me. 14:10 So I am ready to bring disaster on the dynasty of Jeroboam . I will cut off every last male belonging to Jeroboam in Israel , including even the weak and incapacitated . I will burn up the dynasty of Jeroboam , just as one burns manure until it is completely consumed . 14:11 Dogs will eat the members of your family who die in the city , and the birds of the sky will eat the ones who die in the country .”’ Indeed , the Lord has announced it! 14:12 “As for you , get up and go home . When you set foot in the city , the boy will die . 14:13 All Israel will mourn him and bury him. He is the only one in Jeroboam’s family who will receive a decent burial , for he is the only one in whom the Lord God of Israel found anything good . 14:14 The Lord will raise up a king over Israel who will cut off Jeroboam’s dynasty . It is ready to happen! 14:15 The Lord will attack Israel , making it like a reed that sways in the water . He will remove Israel from this good land he gave to their ancestors and scatter them beyond the Euphrates River , because they angered the Lord by making Asherah poles . 14:16 He will hand Israel over to their enemies because of the sins which Jeroboam committed and which he made Israel commit .” 14:17 So Jeroboam’s wife got up and went back to Tirzah . As she crossed the threshold of the house , the boy died . 14:18 All Israel buried him and mourned for him, just as the Lord had predicted through his servant the prophet Ahijah .
Jeroboam’s Reign Ends
14:19 The rest of the events of Jeroboam’s reign, including the details of his battles and rule , are recorded in the scroll called the Annals of the Kings of Israel . 14:20 Jeroboam ruled for twenty-two years ; then he passed away . His son Nadab replaced him as king .
Rehoboam’s Reign over Judah
14:21 Now Rehoboam son of Solomon ruled in Judah . He was forty-one years old when he became king and he ruled for seventeen years in Jerusalem , the city the Lord chose from all the tribes of Israel to be his home. His mother was an Ammonite woman named Naamah . 14:22 Judah did evil in the sight of the Lord . They made him more jealous by their sins than their ancestors had done . 14:23 They even built for themselves high places , sacred pillars , and Asherah poles on every high hill and under every green tree . 14:24 There were also male cultic prostitutes in the land . They committed the same horrible sins as the nations that the Lord had driven out from before the Israelites .

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Bible Dictionary

  • Sodomites

    [ebd] those who imitated the licentious wickedness of Sodom (Deut. 23:17; 1 Kings 14:24; Rom. 1:26, 27). Asa destroyed them "out of the land" (1 Kings 15:12), as did also his son Jehoshaphat (22:46).

  • Prophecy

    [nave] PROPHECY Concerning Jesus, See: Jesus. Concerning church, See: Church, Prophecies Concerning Prosperity of. Relating to various countries, nations, and cities, see under their respective titles. Respecting individuals, see...

  • PROVOCATION; PROVOKE

    [isbe] PROVOCATION; PROVOKE - prov-o-ka'-shun, pro-vok': "Provoke," literally, "to call forth," hence, to excite or stir up, whether in a good or bad sense, appears frequently in the Old Testament as the translation of Piel, or Hip...

  • Mouldy

    [ebd] Of the Gibeonites it is said that "all the bread of their provision was dry and mouldy" (Josh. 9:5, 12). The Hebrew word here rendered "mouldy" (nikuddim) is rendered "cracknels" in 1 Kings 14:3, and denotes a kind of crisp ...

  • MALE

    [isbe] MALE - mal ((1) zakhar, zakhar, zakhur (the root means "to stand out," "to be prominent," here a physiological differentiation of the sex, as neqebhah, "female," which see); (2) 'ish literally, "man"; (3) by circumlocution, ...

  • Kings, The Books of

    [ebd] The two books of Kings formed originally but one book in the Hebrew Scriptures. The present division into two books was first made by the LXX., which now, with the Vulgate, numbers them as the third and fourth books of Kings...

  • Jeroboam

    [ebd] increase of the people. (1.) The son of Nebat (1 Kings 11:26-39), "an Ephrathite," the first king of the ten tribes, over whom he reigned twenty-two years (B.C. 976-945). He was the son of a widow of Zereda, and while still ...
    [isbe] JEROBOAM - jer-o-bo'-am (yarobh`am; Septuagint Hieroboam, usually assumed to have been derived from riyb and `am, and signifying "the people contend," or, "he pleads the people's cause"): The name was borne by two kings of I...
    [smith] (whose people are many). The first king of the divided kingdom of Israel, B.C. 975-954, was the son of an Ephraimite of the name of Nebat. He was raised by Solomon to the rank of superintendent over the taxes and labors exac...
    [nave] JEROBOAM: 1. First king of Israel after the revolt. Promoted by Solomon, 1 Kin. 11:28. Ahijah's prophecy concerning, 1 Kin. 11:29-39; 14:5-16. Flees to Egypt to escape from Solomon, 1 Kin. 11:26-40. Recalled from Egypt by...

  • GOD, 2

    [isbe] GOD, 2 - II. The Idea of God in the Old Testament. 1. Course of Its Development: Any attempt to write the whole history of the idea of God in the Old Testament would require a preliminary study of the literary and historical...

  • 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...

  • Chronicles

    [ebd] the words of the days, (1 Kings 14:19; 1 Chr. 27:24), the daily or yearly records of the transactions of the kingdom; events recorded in the order of time.

  • Cane

    [ebd] a tall sedgy plant with a hollow stem, growing in moist places. In Isa. 43:24; Jer. 6:20, the Hebrew word kaneh is thus rendered, giving its name to the plant. It is rendered "reed" in 1 Kings 14:15; Job 40:21; Isa. 19:6; 35...

  • Cake

    [ebd] Cakes made of wheat or barley were offered in the temple. They were salted, but unleavened (Ex. 29:2; Lev. 2:4). In idolatrous worship thin cakes or wafers were offered "to the queen of heaven" (Jer. 7:18; 44:19). Pancakes a...

  • CALF, GOLDEN

    [isbe] CALF, GOLDEN - kaf, gol'-d'-n: I. THE NAME II. ANCIENT CALF WORSHIP 1. Narrative of Aaron's Golden Calf 2. Jeroboam's Golden Calves III. ATTITUDE OF ELIJAH TO THE BULL SYMBOLS IV. ATTITUDE OF AMOS AND HOSEA TO THE BULL SYMBO...

  • Bottle

    [ebd] a vessel made of skins for holding wine (Josh. 9:4. 13; 1 Sam. 16:20; Matt. 9:17; Mark 2:22; Luke 5:37, 38), or milk (Judg. 4:19), or water (Gen. 21:14, 15, 19), or strong drink (Hab. 2:15). Earthenware vessels were also sim...

  • Blind

    [ebd] Blind beggars are frequently mentioned (Matt. 9:27; 12:22; 20:30; John 5:3). The blind are to be treated with compassion (Lev. 19:14; Deut. 27:18). Blindness was sometimes a punishment for disobedience (1 Sam. 11:2; Jer. 39:...

  • Abijah

    [ebd] father (i.e., "possessor or worshipper") of Jehovah. (1.) 1 Chr. 7:8. (2.) 1 Chr. 2:24. (3.) The second son of Samuel (1 Sam. 8:2; 1 Chr. 6:28). His conduct, along with that of his brother, as a judge in Beer-sheba, to which...
    [isbe] ABIJAH - a-bi'-ja ('abhiyah or 'abhiyahu (2 Ch 13:20,21), "my father is Yahweh," or "Yahweh is father"): The name of six or more men and two women in the Old Testament. (1) The seventh son of Becher the son of Benjamin (1 Ch...
    [nave] ABIJAH 1. Son of Jeroboam, 1 Kin. 14:1-18. 2. See: Abia; Abijam.

  • APOSTASY; APOSTATE

    [isbe] APOSTASY; APOSTATE - a-pos'-ta-si, a-pos'-tat (he apostasia, "a standing away from"): I.e. a falling away, a withdrawal, a defection. Not found in the English Versions of the Bible, but used twice in the New Testament, in th...

  • AHIJAH

    [ebd] brother (i.e., "friend") of Jehovah. (1.) One of the sons of Bela (1 Chr. 8:7, R.V.). In A.V. called "Ahiah." (2.) One of the five sons of Jerahmeel, who was great-grandson of Judah (1 Chr. 2:25). (3.) Son of Ahitub (1 Sam. ...
    [isbe] AHIJAH - a-hi'-ja ('achiyah or 'achiyahu, "brother of Yahweh," "my brother is Yahweh," "Yah is brother." In the King James Version the name sometimes appears as Ahiah): (1) One of the sons of Jerahmeel the great-grandson of ...

  • AHIAH, OR AHIJAH

    [smith] (friend of Jehovah). Son of Ahitub, grandson of Phinehas and great-grandson of Eli, succeeded his father as high priest in the reign of Saul. (1 Samuel 14:3,18) Ahiah is probably the same person as Ahimelech the son of Ah...

  • ABIJAH OR ABIJAM

    [smith] (my father is Jehovah). Son and successor of Rehoboam on the throne of Judah. (1 Kings 4:21; 2 Chronicles 12:16) He is called ABIA, ABIAH, OR ABIJAH in Chronicles, ABIJAM in Kings. He began to reign B.C. 959, and reign...

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Expository Notes on the Bible (Constable)

  • When Israel entered the land the people were to destroy all the places and objects used in the pagan worship of the Canaanites (vv. 2-4). Pagan peoples generally have felt that worshipping on elevated sites brings them into c...
  • Saul's concern for his father's peace of mind was commendable. It shows a sensitivity that would have been an asset in a king (v. 5). Likewise his desire to give Samuel a present for his help was praiseworthy (v. 7; cf. 1 Kin...
  • The writer introduced the history of Saul's reign by referring to the king's age and possibly the length of his reign. Verse one contains a textual corruption in the Hebrew text.132There the verse reads, "Saul was . . . years...
  • 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. ...
  • Adonijah was David's fourth son (2 Sam. 3:4) and the eldest one living at this time. Evidently he believed it was more important that the eldest son succeed David, as was customary in the Near East, than that the king of Yahw...
  • Should Solomon have married Pharaoh's daughter? In view of 11:1-2 and 2 Chronicles 8:1 there is no way we can say yes. Furthermore Solomon already had a wife when he married Pharaoh's daughter (14:21; cf. Gen. 2:24). Why then...
  • The writer of Kings referred to other ancient records (v. 41; cf. 14:19, 29). The Acts of Solomon was the first of these.120It is no longer extant.Solomon's long reign of 40 years (971-931 B.C.) ended with the king in decline...
  • 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...
  • Whereas the prophecy of the young prophet from Judah dealt with Jeroboam's religious cult, this one predicted the fate of his descendants.Jeroboam probably sent his wife to see Ahijah because that prophet had previously given...
  • "The narrator introduces a new format and style at this point that enables him to state the essence of a king's reign with an economy of words. The introduction and conclusion of the account of each reign conform to a fixed p...
  • Abijam (or Abijah, lit. my father is Yah[weh]) reigned from 913-911 B.C. while Jeroboam ruled over Israel.155"The accession formulae from this reign onwards make cross-references between Judah and Israel. It is not clear whet...
  • Nadab ruled Israel from 910-909 B.C. Evidently Baasha assassinated him during a battle with the Philistines. Gibbethon stood three miles west of Solomon's stronghold city of Gezer near the border where Israel, Philistia, and ...
  • Baasha's 24-year reign (909-886 B.C.), the third longest of any king of the Northern Kingdom, fell within that of Asa's rule over Judah (911-870 B.C.).Baasha had an outstanding opportunity to lead Israel back to true covenant...
  • Again God told Elijah to "go"(v. 18; cf. 17:3, 9; 18:1; 19:15). As a faithful servant, he went to confront the king again.226Ahab was not in Samaria then (v. 18) but in Jezreel (v. 19). The mention of Samaria was evidently an...
  • The earliest Hebrew title for the Books of Chronicles translates as, "The Things Left Behind."This name describes Chronicles as containing remnants of the monarchy history not recorded in the preceding Old Testament historica...
  • Perhaps the writer mentioned Ahasuerus' tax (v. 1) because Mordecai had something to do with it, or perhaps this tax reflects God's blessing on the king for preserving the Jews (Gen. 12:3).Appeal to the official chronicles (v...
  • 8:1 The following prophecy came to Ezekiel during September of 592 B.C. as he was sitting in his house with the elders of Israel.141This would have been during the time when he was lying on his right side for part of the day ...
  • 20:1 Certain elders of the Jewish exiles came to Ezekiel to inquire of the Lord (cf. 14:1-11). Inquiring of the Lord meant securing a divine revelation concerning a particular event (cf. 1 Kings 14:5-18; 22:7-28; 2 Kings 8:8-...
  • The following section is a general indictment of the people of Israel for their idolatry.4:11 The practice of idolatry (spiritual harlotry), with its emphasis on drinking wine, had turned the heart of the Israelites from Yahw...
  • 12:12 The Lord reminded the Israelites again of their humble origins. Jacob was a refugee who migrated to the land of Aram. There he had to work to pay for a wife, and he did so by tending sheep, a very humble occupation (cf....
  • The date of Joel is its largest introductory problem. There are four most likely possibilities. First, some scholars advocate an early pre-exilic dateduring the reign of King Jehoshaphat (872-848 B.C.) or possibly his grandso...
  • 5:10-11 In that future eschatological day the Lord also promised to remove the vain sources of security that had always tempted the Israelites represented by horses, chariots, cities, and fortifications (cf. Deut. 17:16).5:12...
  • 14:25 Luke described a setting different from the preceding meal. Jesus was on the road again heading toward Jerusalem. It was evidently the great size of the multitude that accompanied Him that led Him to say what He did.14:...
  • There are several connections between this section and the preceding ones that provide continuity. One is the continuation of water as a symbol (cf. 2:6; 3:5; 4:10-15). Another is the continuation of conversation in which Jes...
  • Peter proceeded to emphasize that the witness of the apostles, as well as the witness of Scripture, came from God. He did this to help his readers see that their choice boiled down to accepting God's Word or the word of men w...
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