2 Chronicles 11
Defense:
Solomon’s son digs in
Prophet stops a civil war
1 Kings 12:21-24 1When King Rehoboam got back to Jerusalem, he began raising an army of 180,000 warriors from the two remaining tribes of Judah and Benjamin. 2A prophet stopped him: Shemaiah. God told this prophet:
3“I have a message I want you to give to Judah’s king, Rehoboam the son of Solomon, and to all the people in the tribes of Judah and Benjamin. 4Tell them, ‘This comes directly from the LORD. Do not go up north and fight your relatives in Israel. The nation split because I split it. Everyone, go home.’”
So, they did. Solomon’s son reinforces Judah’s cities
5King Rehoboam lived in Jerusalem, but he reinforced cities throughout Judah. 6He built up the defenses in Bethlehem, Etam, Tekoa, 7Beth-zur, Soco, Adullam, 8Gath, Mareshah, Ziph, 9Adoraim, Lachish, Azekah, 10Zorah, Aijalon, and Hebron. He also fortified cities in the neighboring tribe of Benjamin.
11He turned the cities into fortresses and assigned soldiers to guard them. He stockpiled food, olive oil, and wine for the defenders. 12He also supplied them with weapons, including spears and strong shields. Priests in the north support Solomon’s son
13Priests and their Levite associates who were scattered [1] among the northern tribes of Israel supported Solomon’s son Rehoboam down in the south.
14King Jeroboam of the northern tribes, like kings after him, refused to let priests and their Levite associates perform their duties. So most of Levi’s tribe in the north moved south to Jerusalem and to other towns in the tribal territory of Judah. Israel worships statues of goats and bulls
15Jeroboam set up new worship system to replace God and the Jerusalem Temple. He had the people worship statues of goats and bulls he set up on hilltops throughout the land. He created a new order of priests, to work at those shrines.
16But some northern Israelites insisted on worshiping God in Jerusalem, just as their ancestors had done. So they followed the priests and Levites to Jerusalem, where they offered sacrifices to the LORD. 17So all of these people lived in Jerusalem and in other cities throughout Judah. For the next three years they remained loyal to King Rehoboam, son of Solomon and the grandson of David. King Rehoboam’s busy harem
18Rehoboam married his first cousin, Mahalath. Like Rehoboam, she was a grandchild of David. Her father, Jerimoth, was the son of David and Abihail. Abihail was David’s niece, the daughter of David’s brother Eliab, a son of Jesse.
19Mahalath had three sons: Jeush, Shemariah, and Zaham.
20Next, Rehoboam married another first cousin, Maacah. [2] She was the daughter of Absalom and granddaughter of David. She had four sons: Abijah, Attai, Ziza, and Shelomith.
21Rehoboam loved Absalom’s daughter, Maacah, more than any other wife or concubine [3] in his harem. And it was a big harem: 18 wives and 60 concubines. Together, this king and his ladies produced 28 sons and 60 daughters.
22Rehoboam promoted one son to high prince: Maacah’s first son, Abijah. He did that because he wanted him to become the next king.
23King Rehoboam put his sons in charge of walled cities throughout Judah and Benjamin—which was smart. He made sure they had all the food they needed and plenty of wives for each prince. Footnotes
111:13Levi’s tribe was the only one in Israel to miss out on a plug of territory. Instead they got 48 selected cities and outlying grazing fields all over Israel, and into what are now parts of the West Bank Palestinian Territory, Syria and Jordan. As a tribe of priests and Levite associates, they also got the 10 percent tithe that people brought to the Temple (Numbers 18:20-2; Joshua 21).
211:20The Hebrew describes her as a daughter of Absalom, but that could also mean she was from his extended family, perhaps as a granddaughter, for example. Some scholars say they prefer “granddaughter.” She later becomes Queen Mother when her son, Asa, becomes king. He strips her of her royal title when she refuses to stop worshiping the idol Asherah (2 Chronicles 15:16).
311:21A concubine was a woman, often a slave, who lived with a man in a legally binding relationship as a secondary wife. She had less social status than a primary wife, along with fewer privileges and probably more chores.
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Judah fortifies cities
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3“I have a message I want you to give to Judah’s king, Rehoboam the son of Solomon, and to all the people in the tribes of Judah and Benjamin. 4Tell them, ‘This comes directly from the LORD. Do not go up north and fight your relatives in Israel. The nation split because I split it. Everyone, go home.’”
So, they did.
Solomon’s son reinforces Judah’s cities
5King Rehoboam lived in Jerusalem, but he reinforced cities throughout Judah. 6He built up the defenses in Bethlehem, Etam, Tekoa, 7Beth-zur, Soco, Adullam, 8Gath, Mareshah, Ziph, 9Adoraim, Lachish, Azekah, 10Zorah, Aijalon, and Hebron. He also fortified cities in the neighboring tribe of Benjamin.11He turned the cities into fortresses and assigned soldiers to guard them. He stockpiled food, olive oil, and wine for the defenders. 12He also supplied them with weapons, including spears and strong shields.
Priests in the north support Solomon’s son
13Priests and their Levite associates who were scattered [1] among the northern tribes of Israel supported Solomon’s son Rehoboam down in the south.14King Jeroboam of the northern tribes, like kings after him, refused to let priests and their Levite associates perform their duties. So most of Levi’s tribe in the north moved south to Jerusalem and to other towns in the tribal territory of Judah.
Israel worships statues of goats and bulls
15Jeroboam set up new worship system to replace God and the Jerusalem Temple. He had the people worship statues of goats and bulls he set up on hilltops throughout the land. He created a new order of priests, to work at those shrines.16But some northern Israelites insisted on worshiping God in Jerusalem, just as their ancestors had done. So they followed the priests and Levites to Jerusalem, where they offered sacrifices to the LORD. 17So all of these people lived in Jerusalem and in other cities throughout Judah. For the next three years they remained loyal to King Rehoboam, son of Solomon and the grandson of David.
King Rehoboam’s busy harem
18Rehoboam married his first cousin, Mahalath. Like Rehoboam, she was a grandchild of David. Her father, Jerimoth, was the son of David and Abihail. Abihail was David’s niece, the daughter of David’s brother Eliab, a son of Jesse.19Mahalath had three sons: Jeush, Shemariah, and Zaham.
20Next, Rehoboam married another first cousin, Maacah. [2] She was the daughter of Absalom and granddaughter of David. She had four sons: Abijah, Attai, Ziza, and Shelomith.
21Rehoboam loved Absalom’s daughter, Maacah, more than any other wife or concubine [3] in his harem. And it was a big harem: 18 wives and 60 concubines. Together, this king and his ladies produced 28 sons and 60 daughters.
22Rehoboam promoted one son to high prince: Maacah’s first son, Abijah. He did that because he wanted him to become the next king.
23King Rehoboam put his sons in charge of walled cities throughout Judah and Benjamin—which was smart. He made sure they had all the food they needed and plenty of wives for each prince.
Footnotes
Levi’s tribe was the only one in Israel to miss out on a plug of territory. Instead they got 48 selected cities and outlying grazing fields all over Israel, and into what are now parts of the West Bank Palestinian Territory, Syria and Jordan. As a tribe of priests and Levite associates, they also got the 10 percent tithe that people brought to the Temple (Numbers 18:20-2; Joshua 21).
The Hebrew describes her as a daughter of Absalom, but that could also mean she was from his extended family, perhaps as a granddaughter, for example. Some scholars say they prefer “granddaughter.” She later becomes Queen Mother when her son, Asa, becomes king. He strips her of her royal title when she refuses to stop worshiping the idol Asherah (2 Chronicles 15:16).
A concubine was a woman, often a slave, who lived with a man in a legally binding relationship as a secondary wife. She had less social status than a primary wife, along with fewer privileges and probably more chores.
Discussion Questions
- Sorry, there are currently no questions for this chapter.
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