1 Kings 11:26-31

11:26 Jeroboam son of Nebat, one of Solomon’s servants, rebelled against¹ the king. He was an Ephraimite² from Zeredah whose mother was a widow named Zeruah. 11:27 This is what prompted him to rebel against the king:³ Solomon built a terrace and he closed up a gap in the wall of the city of his father David.⁴ 11:28 Jeroboam was a talented man;⁵ when Solomon saw that the young man was an accomplished worker, he made him the leader of the work crew from the tribe⁶ of Joseph. 11:29 At that time, when Jeroboam had left Jerusalem, the prophet Ahijah the Shilonite met him on the road; the two of them were alone in the open country. Ahijah⁷ was wearing a brand new robe, 11:30 and he grabbed the robe⁸ and tore it into twelve pieces. 11:31 Then he told Jeroboam, “Take ten pieces, for this is what the Lord God of Israel says: ‘Look, I am about to tear the kingdom from Solomon’s hand and I will give ten tribes to you.

1 Kings 11:40

11:40 Solomon tried to kill Jeroboam, but Jeroboam escaped to Egypt and found refuge with King Shishak of Egypt.⁹ He stayed in Egypt until Solomon died.

1 Kings 11:2

11:2 They came from nations about which the Lord had warned the Israelites, “You must not establish friendly relations with them!¹⁰ If you do, they will surely shift your allegiance to their gods.”¹¹ But Solomon was irresistibly attracted to them.¹²

1 Kings 10:2-3

10:2 She arrived in Jerusalem¹³ with a great display of pomp,¹⁴ bringing with her camels carrying spices,¹⁵ a very large quantity of gold, and precious gems. She visited Solomon and discussed with him everything that was on her mind. 10:3 Solomon answered all her questions; there was no question too complex for the king.¹⁶

¹tn Heb “raised a hand against.”

²tn Heb “Ephrathite,” which here refers to an Ephraimite (see HALOT 81 s.v. אֶפְרַיִם).

³tn Heb “this is the matter concerning which he raised a hand against the king.”

⁴sn The city of his father David. The phrase refers here to the fortress of Zion in Jerusalem, not to Bethlehem. See 2 Sam 5:7.

⁵tn Heb “man of strength.”

⁶tn Heb “house.”

⁷tn The Hebrew text has simply “he,” making it a bit unclear whether Jeroboam or Ahijah is the subject, but in the Hebrew word order Ahijah is the nearer antecedent, and this is followed by the present translation.

⁸tn Heb “and Ahijah grabbed the new robe that was on him.”

⁹tn Heb “but Jeroboam arose and ran away to Egypt, to Shishak king of Egypt.”

¹⁰tn Heb “you must not go into them, and they must not go into you.”

¹¹tn Heb “Surely they will bend your heart after their gods.” The words “if you do” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

¹²tn Heb “Solomon clung to them for love.” The pronominal suffix, translated “them,” is masculine here, even though it appears the foreign women are in view. Perhaps this is due to attraction to the masculine forms used of the nations earlier in the verse.

¹³map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.

¹⁴tn Heb “with very great strength.” The Hebrew term חַיִל (khayil, “strength”) may refer here to the size of her retinue (cf. NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV) or to the great wealth she brought with her.

¹⁵tn Or “balsam oil.”

¹⁶tn Heb “Solomon declared to her all her words; there was not a word hidden from the king which he did not declare to her.” If riddles are specifically in view (see v. 1), then one might translate, “Solomon explained to her all her riddles; there was no riddle too complex for the king.”