2 Chronicles 11:2-23

11:2 But the Lord told Shemaiah the prophet, ¹  11:3 “Say this to King Rehoboam son of Solomon of Judah and to all the Israelites in Judah and Benjamin, 11:4 ‘The Lord says this: “Do not attack and make war with your brothers. Each of you go home, for I have caused this to happen.”’” ²  They obeyed the Lord and called off the attack against Jeroboam. ³ 

Rehoboam’s Reign

11:5 Rehoboam lived in Jerusalem; ⁴  he built up these fortified cities throughout Judah: 11:6 Bethlehem, ⁵  Etam, Tekoa, 11:7 Beth Zur, Soco, Adullam, 11:8 Gath, Mareshah, Ziph, 11:9 Adoraim, Lachish, Azekah, 11:10 Zorah, Aijalon, and Hebron. These were the fortified cities in Judah and Benjamin. 11:11 He fortified these cities and placed officers in them, as well as storehouses of food, olive oil, and wine. 11:12 In each city there were shields and spears; he strongly fortified them. ⁶  Judah and Benjamin belonged to him.

11:13 The priests and Levites who lived throughout Israel supported him, no matter where they resided. ⁷  11:14 The Levites even left their pasturelands and their property behind and came to Judah and Jerusalem, for Jeroboam and his sons prohibited them from serving as the Lord’s priests. 11:15 Jeroboam ⁸  appointed his own priests to serve at the worship centers ⁹  and to lead in the worship of the goat idols and calf idols he had made. ¹⁰  11:16 Those among all the Israelite tribes who were determined to worship the Lord God of Israel followed them to Jerusalem ¹¹  to sacrifice to the Lord God of their ancestors. ¹²  11:17 They supported ¹³  the kingdom of Judah and were loyal to ¹⁴  Rehoboam son of Solomon for three years; they followed the edicts of ¹⁵  David and Solomon for three years.

11:18 Rehoboam married ¹⁶  Mahalath the daughter of David’s son Jerimoth and of ¹⁷  Abihail, the daughter of Jesse’s son Eliab. 11:19 She bore him sons named Jeush, Shemariah, and Zaham. 11:20 He later married Maacah the daughter of Absalom. She bore to him Abijah, Attai, Ziza, and Shelomith. 11:21 Rehoboam loved Maacah daughter of Absalom more than his other wives and concubines. ¹⁸  He had eighteen wives and sixty concubines; he fathered twenty-eight sons and sixty daughters.

11:22 Rehoboam appointed Abijah son of Maacah as the leader over his brothers, for he intended to name him his successor. ¹⁹  11:23 He wisely placed some of his many sons throughout the regions of Judah and Benjamin in the various fortified cities. ²⁰  He supplied them with abundant provisions and acquired many wives for them. ²¹ 

[11:2]  ¹ tn Heb “and the word of the Lord came to Shemaiah the man of God, saying.”

[11:4]  ² tn Heb “for his thing is from me.”

[11:4]  ³ tn Heb “and they heard the words of the Lord and returned from going against Jeroboam.”

[11:5]  ⁴ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[11:6]  ⁵ map For location see Map5 B1; Map7 E2; Map8 E2; Map10 B4.

[11:12]  ⁶ tn Heb “he strengthened them greatly, very much.”

[11:13]  ⁷ tn Heb “and the priests and the Levites who were in all Israel supported him from all their territory.”

[11:15]  ⁸ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Jeroboam) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[11:15]  ⁹ tn Heb “for the high places.”

[11:15]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “and for the goats and for the calves he had made.”

[11:16]  ¹¹ tn Heb “and after them from all the tribes of Israel, the ones giving their heart[s] to seek the Lord God of Israel came [to] Jerusalem.”

[11:16]  ¹² tn Heb “fathers.”

[11:17]  ¹³ tn Or “strengthened.”

[11:17]  ¹⁴ tn Or “strengthened.”

[11:17]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “they walked in the way of.”

[11:18]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “took for himself a wife.”

[11:18]  ¹⁷ tn The words “and of” are supplied in the translation for clarification and for stylistic reasons.

[11:21]  ¹⁸ sn Concubines were slave women in ancient Near Eastern societies who were the legal property of their master, but who could have legitimate sexual relations with their master. A concubine’s status was more elevated than a mere servant, but she was not free and did not have the legal rights of a free wife. The children of a concubine could, in some instances, become equal heirs with the children of the free wife. After the period of the Judges concubines may have become more of a royal prerogative (2 Sam 21:10-14; 1 Kgs 11:3).

[11:22]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “and Rehoboam appointed for a head Abijah son of Maacah for ruler among his brothers, indeed to make him king.”

[11:23]  ²⁰ tn Heb “and he was discerning and broke up from all his sons to all the lands of Judah and Benjamin, to all the fortified cities.”

[11:23]  ²¹ tn “and he asked for a multitude of wives.”