Discovery Box1 Kings 15:1-26
Context15:1 In the eighteenth year of the reign of Jeroboam son of Nebat, Abijah 1 became king over Judah. 15:2 He ruled for three years in Jerusalem. 2 His mother was Maacah, the daughter of Abishalom. 3 15:3 He followed all the sinful practices of his father before him. He was not wholeheartedly devoted to the Lord his God, as his ancestor David had been. 4 15:4 Nevertheless for David’s sake the Lord his God maintained his dynasty 5 in Jerusalem by giving him a son 6 to succeed him 7 and by protecting Jerusalem. 8 15:5 He did this 9 because David had done what he approved 10 and had not disregarded any of his commandments 11 his entire lifetime, except for the incident involving Uriah the Hittite. 15:6 Rehoboam 12 and Jeroboam were continually at war with each other throughout Abijah’s 13 lifetime. 15:7 The rest of the events of Abijah’s reign, including all his accomplishments, are recorded in the scroll called the Annals of the Kings of Judah. 14 Abijah and Jeroboam had been at war with each other. 15:8 Abijah passed away 15 and was buried 16 in the city of David. His son Asa replaced him as king.
15:9 In the twentieth year of Jeroboam’s reign over Israel, Asa became the king of Judah. 15:10 He ruled for forty-one years in Jerusalem. 17 His grandmother 18 was Maacah daughter of Abishalom. 15:11 Asa did what the Lord approved 19 like his ancestor 20 David had done. 15:12 He removed the male cultic prostitutes from the land and got rid of all the disgusting idols 21 his ancestors 22 had made. 15:13 He also removed Maacah his grandmother 23 from her position as queen because she had made a loathsome Asherah pole. Asa cut down her Asherah pole and burned it in the Kidron Valley. 15:14 The high places were not eliminated, yet Asa was wholeheartedly devoted to the Lord throughout his lifetime. 24 15:15 He brought the holy items that he and his father had made into the Lord’s temple, including the silver, gold, and other articles. 25
15:16 Now Asa and King Baasha of Israel were continually at war with each other. 26 15:17 King Baasha of Israel attacked Judah and established Ramah as a military outpost to prevent anyone from leaving or entering the land of King Asa of Judah. 27 15:18 Asa took all the silver and gold that was left in the treasuries of the Lord’s temple and of the royal palace and handed it to his servants. He then told them to deliver it 28 to Ben Hadad son of Tabrimmon, the son of Hezion, king of Syria, ruler in Damascus, along with this message: 15:19 “I want to make a treaty with you, like the one our fathers made. 29 See, I have sent you silver and gold as a present. Break your treaty with King Baasha of Israel, so he will retreat from my land.” 30 15:20 Ben Hadad accepted King Asa’s offer and ordered his army commanders to attack the cities of Israel. 31 They conquered 32 Ijon, Dan, Abel Beth Maacah, and all the territory of Naphtali, including the region of Kinnereth. 33 15:21 When Baasha heard the news, he stopped fortifying 34 Ramah and settled down in Tirzah. 15:22 King Asa ordered all the men of Judah (no exemptions were granted) to carry away the stones and wood that Baasha had used to build Ramah. 35 King Asa used the materials to build up 36 Geba (in Benjamin) and Mizpah.
15:23 The rest of the events of Asa’s reign, including all his successes and accomplishments, as well as a record of the cities he built, are recorded in the scroll called the Annals of the Kings of Judah. 37 Yet when he was very old he developed a foot disease. 38 15:24 Asa passed away 39 and was buried with his ancestors in the city of his ancestor David. His son Jehoshaphat replaced him as king.
15:25 In the second year of Asa’s reign over Judah, Jeroboam’s son Nadab became the king of Israel; he ruled Israel for two years. 15:26 He did evil in the sight of 40 the Lord. He followed in his father’s footsteps and encouraged Israel to sin. 41
[15:1] 1 tc The Old Greek also has the phrase “the son of Rehoboam.”
[15:2] 2 map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
[15:2] 3 sn Abishalom (also in v. 10) is a variant of the name Absalom (cf. 2 Chr 11:20). The more common form is used by TEV, NLT.
[15:3] 4 tn Heb “his heart was not complete with the
[15:4] 5 tn Heb “gave him a lamp.”
[15:4] 6 tc The Old Greek has the plural “his sons.”
[15:4] 7 tn Heb “by raising up his son after him.”
[15:4] 8 tn Heb “and by causing Jerusalem to stand firm.”
[15:5] 9 tn The words “he did this” are added for stylistic reasons.
[15:5] 10 tn Heb “what was right in the eyes of the
[15:5] 11 tn Heb “and had not turned aside from all which he commanded him.”
[15:6] 12 tc Most Hebrew
[15:6] 13 tn Heb “his”; the referent (Abijah) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[15:7] 14 tn Heb “As for the rest of the events of Abijah, and all which he did, are they not written on the scroll of the events of the days of the kings of Judah?”
[15:8] 15 tn Heb “lay down with his fathers.” The Old Greek also has these words: “in the twenty-eighth year of Jeroboam.”
[15:8] 16 tn Heb “and they buried him.”
[15:10] 17 map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
[15:10] 18 tn Heb “mother,” but Hebrew often uses the terms “father” and “mother” for grandparents and more remote ancestors.
[15:11] 19 tn Heb “what was right in the eyes of the
[15:11] 20 tn Heb “father,” but Hebrew often uses the terms “father” and “mother” for grandparents and more remote ancestors.
[15:12] 21 tn The word used here, גִלּוּלִים [gillulim], is always used as a disdainful reference to idols. It is generally thought to have originally referred to “dung pellets” (cf. KBL 183 s.v. גִלּוּלִים). It is only one of several terms used in this way, such as “worthless things” (אֱלִילִים, ’elilim), “vanities” or “empty winds” (הֲבָלִים, havalim).
[15:12] 22 tn Heb “fathers” (also in v. 24).
[15:13] 23 tn Heb “mother,” but Hebrew often uses the terms “father” and “mother” for grandparents and more remote ancestors.
[15:14] 24 tn Heb “yet the heart of Asa was complete with the
[15:15] 25 tn Heb “and he brought the holy things of his father and his holy things (into) the house of the
[15:16] 26 tn Heb “There was war between Asa and Baasha king of Israel all their days.”
[15:17] 27 tn Heb “and he built up Ramah so as to not permit going out or coming in to Asa king of Judah.”
[15:18] 28 tn Heb “King Asa sent it.”
[15:19] 29 tn Heb “[May there be] a covenant between me and you [as there was] between my father and your father.”
[15:19] 30 tn Heb “so he will go up from upon me.”
[15:20] 31 tn Heb “and Ben Hadad listened to King Asa and sent the commanders of the armies which belonged to him against the cities of Israel.”
[15:20] 32 tn Heb “he struck down.”
[15:20] 33 tn Heb “and all Kinnereth together with all the land of Naphtali.”
[15:22] 35 tn Heb “and King Asa made a proclamation to all Judah, there was no one exempt, and they carried away the stones of Ramah and its wood which Baasha had built.”
[15:22] 36 tn Heb “and King Asa built with them.”
[15:23] 37 tn Heb “As for the rest of all the events of Asa, and all his strength and all which he did and the cities which he built, are they not written on the scroll of the events of the days of the kings of Judah?”
[15:23] 38 tn Heb “Yet in the time of his old age he became sick in his feet.”
[15:24] 39 tn Heb “lay down with his fathers.”
[15:26] 40 tn Heb “in the eyes of.”
[15:26] 41 tn Heb “and he walked in the way of his father and in his sin which he made Israel sin.”
