II. THE DIVIDED KINGDOM (1Ki 12:1-2Ki 17:41)

A. The Division of the Nation (12:1–24)

OVERVIEW

Sandwiched between the background (vv.1–3a) and final details (vv.18–24) of 1 Kings 12 are several meetings involving Rehoboam. He meets twice with the northern delegation: once to hear their demands (vv.3b–5), and a second time to deliver his decision (vv.12–17). He also meets twice with his own advisers (vv.6–11).

As the narrative begins, “all the Israelites” (i.e., the various representatives of the northern tribes) were gathered at Shechem for Rehoboam’s installation as kingly successor to his father, Solomon. Dramatic tension in the narrative is immediately felt, for Jeroboam (who had earlier fled from Solomon into Egypt [11:40]) had been summoned by the northern delegates to accompany them to Shechem (12:1–3a).

Having heard the request of the northern delegation for a lessening of the burdensome levies on them (vv.3b–5), Rehoboam obtained a three-day waiting period in order to consider this petition. He then consulted with his advisors. Calling in the elder counselors who had served through the difficult Solomonic years, Rehoboam received advice to grant the demands of the delegates so as to gain their loyalty (vv.6–7). Next Rehoboam turned to his own contemporaries for advice (vv.8–9). The young men gave Rehoboam the counsel he wished to hear. They advised him to follow a harsh line (vv.10–11). Was Solomon too hard on them? He would be tougher. His little finger would be thicker than Solomon’s loins!

When the prescribed three-day waiting period was over, a second meeting took place, in which the advice of the younger men was delivered to the northern delegation. The news of a hard-line approach occasioned the immediate secession of the northern tribes (vv.12–17). Rehoboam then foolishly decided to test the delegates’ resolve by sending Adoniram, his chief tax collector, to gather the taxes; he gathered only stones for his effort. With Adoniram dead and the people gathered into a bitter mob, Rehoboam fled for his life (v.18). There remained only the formal invitation to Jeroboam to become king of the northern tribes, followed by the coronation ceremony before the assembled multitude.

Having failed to acquire the north’s willing subservience, Rehoboam decided on an outright invasion of the new kingdom and so gathered a large army (v.21; cf. 2Ch 11:1–4). However, Shemaiah the prophet warned Rehoboam not to attempt to undo what God had decreed (vv.22–24); Rehoboam wisely abandoned the attack.

1Rehoboam went to Shechem, for all the Israelites had gone there to make him king. 2When Jeroboam son of Nebat heard this (he was still in Egypt, where he had fled from King Solomon), he returned from Egypt. 3So they sent for Jeroboam, and he and the whole assembly of Israel went to Rehoboam and said to him: 4“Your father put a heavy yoke on us, but now lighten the harsh labor and the heavy yoke he put on us, and we will serve you.”

5Rehoboam answered, “Go away for three days and then come back to me.” So the people went away.

6Then King Rehoboam consulted the elders who had served his father Solomon during his lifetime. “How would you advise me to answer these people?” he asked.

7They replied, “If today you will be a servant to these people and serve them and give them a favorable answer, they will always be your servants.”

8But Rehoboam rejected the advice the elders gave him and consulted the young men who had grown up with him and were serving him. 9He asked them, “What is your advice? How should we answer these people who say to me, ‘Lighten the yoke your father put on us’?”

10The young men who had grown up with him replied, “Tell these people who have said to you, ‘Your father put a heavy yoke on us, but make our yoke lighter’—tell them, ‘My little finger is thicker than my father’s waist. 11My father laid on you a heavy yoke; I will make it even heavier. My father scourged you with whips; I will scourge you with scorpions.’”

12Three days later Jeroboam and all the people returned to Rehoboam, as the king had said, “Come back to me in three days.” 13The king answered the people harshly. Rejecting the advice given him by the elders, 14he followed the advice of the young men and said, “My father made your yoke heavy; I will make it even heavier. My father scourged you with whips; I will scourge you with scorpions.” 15So the king did not listen to the people, for this turn of events was from the LORD, to fulfill the word the LORD had spoken to Jeroboam son of Nebat through Ahijah the Shilonite.

16When all Israel saw that the king refused to listen to them, they answered the king:

“What share do we have in David,

what part in Jesse’s son?

To your tents, O Israel!

Look after your own house, O David!”

So the Israelites went home. 17But as for the Israelites who were living in the towns of Judah, Rehoboam still ruled over them.

18King Rehoboam sent out Adoniram, who was in charge of forced labor, but all Israel stoned him to death. King Rehoboam, however, managed to get into his chariot and escape to Jerusalem. 19So Israel has been in rebellion against the house of David to this day.

20When all the Israelites heard that Jeroboam had returned, they sent and called him to the assembly and made him king over all Israel. Only the tribe of Judah remained loyal to the house of David.

21When Rehoboam arrived in Jerusalem, he mustered the whole house of Judah and the tribe of Benjamin—a hundred and eighty thousand fighting men—to make war against the house of Israel and to regain the kingdom for Rehoboam son of Solomon.

22But this word of God came to Shemaiah the man of God: 23“Say to Rehoboam son of Solomon king of Judah, to the whole house of Judah and Benjamin, and to the rest of the people, 24‘This is what the LORD says: Do not go up to fight against your brothers, the Israelites. Go home, every one of you, for this is my doing.’” So they obeyed the word of the LORD and went home again, as the LORD had ordered.

COMMENTARY

1–3a It may be that during the years of the united monarchy, the “structure of a double crown, one of Judah and the other of Israel, was maintained,” as J. Myers (II Chronicles [AB; Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday, 1965], 65) suggests. Bright, 210, theorizes that Solomon may likewise have gone to Shechem for official recognition by the northern confederacy. Shechem had a long and important history as a political and religious center. It is small wonder, then, that with the death of Solomon and in the midst of troubled times, Shechem would again come into prominence.

The reading of the MT (see Note on v.2) favors the idea that Jeroboam, who was still residing in Egypt since fleeing from the presence of Solomon, first learned of affairs in Shechem when he was summoned by the northern delegates. The alternative reading of the ancient versions and 2 Chronicles 10:2 could imply that Jeroboam himself heard of the proceedings and made himself available to the northern contingent. If the MT is read, it implies that Jeroboam was held in high respect by important factions in the north, hence contact with him continued all the time he was in exile.

3b–5 The petition of the northern group reflects the fact that they were willing enough to recognize Rehoboam as king—provided he would lighten the heavy taxes and social and military levies Solomon had instituted. The emphasis of the MT (see Note on v.4) posits a strong contrast between what Solomon had done and the opportunity that lay before Rehoboam if he would lighten the royal demands.

The proposal for a three-day waiting period for Rehoboam’s decision reflects a well-known motif in which the third day becomes the day of special emphasis, decision, and finality (cf. Ex 19:10–16; Est 4:15–16; 2Ki 20:8). Jesus predicted his own resurrection on the third day (e.g., Mt 16:21; 17:23; 20:19), a prophecy that was gloriously fulfilled (Lk 24:21; 1Co 15:4).

6–11 The text gives no hint that the younger advisors whom Rehoboam consulted had any official status in Israel. Their unwise suggested answer to the delegation’s demands speaks both of their inexperience and insolence.

Wiseman, 1 & 2 Kings, 141, may be correct in proposing that the recommended reply of the younger men was a popular proverb (v.10). Scourging with scorpions (v.11) probably refers to a type of whip that produced wounds so painful as to be compared to a scorpion’s sting. Perhaps, as often maintained, it was made with spiked barbs or nails.

12–17 Although Rehoboam delivered the harsh ultimatum (vv.13–14), it lacked the crude proverb of v.10 (see Notes). At this point the author of Kings interrupts the narrative (v.15) to point out that the decision of Rehoboam and his counselors was in accordance with a turn of affairs arranged by God’s sovereign disposition, as prophesied previously by Ahijah (cf. 1Ki 11:29–39; 2Ch 10:15). While the decision and responsibility for all that took place rested with the human participants, none of it took God by surprise. Indeed, God utilized everything to accomplish his will in judgment against Solomon and the people (cf. 1Ki 11:33).

A carefully composed reply in the note of secession (v.16) indicates that the delegates were prepared for the worst in the negotiations and that reconciliation was now out of the question. All hope for alleviation from their harsh circumstances apparently was lost; therefore, they had no choice but to declare their independence. The narrator adds that although Israelites in the north were severed from Rehoboam’s control, those in the south were still under his rule (v.17). This note suggests that no mass exodus of individual Israelites from Rehoboam’s jurisdiction occurred.

18–24 Rehoboam’s ill-advised attempts to reinstate his sovereignty over Israel first by taxation and then by invasion were unsuccessful. The tax collector was stoned to death and the king’s war plans were denounced by the Lord’s prophet Shemaiah. The importance of faithful prophets has already been felt in the narrative regarding Solomon’s anointing as king (1Ki 1), as well as the prophecy that Jeroboam would one day rule over a large portion of Israel (11:29–39). Prophets and prophecy play a large role in the succeeding narratives (see Introduction: Literary Form).

The narrator interrupts the flow of thought in the passage a third time to point out that up to the time of this account Israel has remained in rebellion against Judah (v.19). This remark indicates that the author’s source of information antedates the fall of Samaria in 722 BC.

NOTES

1 G. E. Wright (“Shechem and Tribal League Shrines,” VT 21 [1971]: 572–603) points out that in the light of historical research it would not be unreasonable “to suggest that . . . for 500 years or so (1700–1200 BC) Shechem was a ‘Holy City’ whose political relations were arranged by compact.”

2 The MT’s (wayyēšeb, “and he dwelt”) is read as wayyāšob (“and he returned”) with A, the Syriac version of the Hexapla, the Vulgate, and 2 Chronicles 10:2 (cf. NLT, NRSV). (b^emiṣrāyim, “in Egypt”) is to be understood here as “from Egypt,” as read in 2 Chronicles 10:2.

It has been suggested that the name Jeroboam (“let the people be great”) may be a throne name deliberately chosen to be provocative to Rehoboam; for details, see W. F. Albright, The Biblical Period from Abraham to Ezra (New York: Harper & Row, 1963), 30–31. Some (e.g., Bright, 210, and R. W. Klein [“Jeroboam’s Rise to Power,” JBL (1970): 217–18]) suggest that Jeroboam was not personally present at the meeting with Rehoboam but that he returned only after the talks between the north and the south had ended. Perhaps J. Liver’s suggestion (“The Book of the Acts of Solomon,” Bib 46 [1967]: 96ff.) that Jeroboam simply made his influence felt through the delegates is correct.

4 The MT may be understood as saying, “Your father imposed a heavy yoke upon us but you now, lighten [some of] your father’s harsh yoke [i.e., compulsory service] . . . and we will serve you.” Both “your father” and “you now” stand in emphatic position. Walsh, 161, notes the firm resolve in their request, as indicated both by the Hebrew syntax and the paronomasia in the Hebrew ʾattâ ʿattâ (“you now”).

6–8 M. Weinfeld (“The Counsel of the ‘Elders’ to Rehoboam and Its Implications,” Maarav 3 [1982]: 27–53), by subjecting the terminology of v.7 to a thorough study of both the biblical and extrabiblical evidence, conclusively demonstrates the legal aspects of the northern kingdom’s request for exemption from the corvée and the heavy taxes imposed on them. The “young men” were probably Rehoboam’s military advisors. For the existence of a council of elders and young arms-bearing men, see “Gilgamesh and Agga,” ANET, 45; cf. 1 Kings 21:11.

10 (qāṭānnî, “my littlest part”) is usually understood as in the Vulgate: minimus digitus meus (“my little finger”). But since the compared member is lesser, HALOT may be correct in viewing the phrase euphemistically of the genitals.

18 The NIV’s “managed” (hit ʾammēṣ) means literally “to strengthen oneself, summon all one’s strength.”

19 The verb translated “rebellion” carries the idea of deliberate sinning, in this case against the will of God.

21 The MT indicates that Rehoboam summoned a crack military force (Heb. “choice fighting men”; cf. GWT, “best soldiers”).

22 Shemaiah is associated only with this incident (cf. 2Ch 11:2–4; 12:5–8). He may be identical with the Shemaiah who, with Iddo the seer, wrote a history of the reign of Rehoboam (2Ch 12:15). According to the LXX, Shemaiah was the prophet who figured in the incident of the tearing of Jeroboam’s mantle (1Ki 11:29–40), an event that it includes after 12:24. Indeed, at this point the LXX gives an extended discussion of Jeroboam’s origin and rise to power.

24 For an interesting study of the political and spiritual implications of Rehoboam’s proposed plans to bring the northern kingdom back under his control, see Amos Frisch, “Shemaiah the Prophet versus King Rehoboam: Two Opposed Interpretations of the Schism (1 Kings xii 21–4),” VT 38 (1988): 466–68.

B. The Reign of Jeroboam in the Northern Kingdom (12:25–14:20)

OVERVIEW

The narrative of Jeroboam’s foundational reign in the northern kingdom proceeds in three episodes: (1) an account of Jeroboam’s early activities and reforms (12:25–32); (2) the story of the man of God, to which the narrator adds a stinging evaluation of Jeroboam (12:33–13:34); and (3) the recording of Ahijah’s prophecy against the house of Jeroboam, to which is appended a closing evaluative formula covering Jeroboam’s reign (1Ki 14:1–20).

The focus in this section centers on Jeroboam’s sinful character and actions. The account of his deliberate institution of syncretistic religious programs becomes highlighted by the prophet’s denunciation of his apostate altar, as well as the account of the prophet’s own death due to his disobedience. Thus the penalty for sin involves the danger of extreme divine punishment for those charged with great responsibilities. Despite these examples of divine justice, Jeroboam remains impenitent (1Ki 13:33–34).

Accordingly, an even greater disaster overtakes Jeroboam’s household—the death of a son (1Ki 14:1–18). No record of the king’s repentance is appended to the story, however. The father’s apostasy has brought tragedy to his household, and his failure heralds the demise of his nation as well.

1. The Establishment of Jeroboam’s Religion (12:25–32)

OVERVIEW

The account of Jeroboam’s early actions falls into two unequal parts: (1) his building activities (v.25) and (2) his religious innovations (vv.26–32). The greater space devoted to his spiritual “reforms” underscores the king’s sinful disposition. Jeroboam’s character and its outcome will be the focal points of the author’s attention.

25Then Jeroboam fortified Shechem in the hill country of Ephraim and lived there. From there he went out and built up Peniel.

26Jeroboam thought to himself, “The kingdom will now likely revert to the house of David. 27If these people go up to offer sacrifices at the temple of the LORD in Jerusalem, they will again give their allegiance to their lord, Rehoboam king of Judah. They will kill me and return to King Rehoboam.”

28After seeking advice, the king made two golden calves. He said to the people, “It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem. Here are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of Egypt.” 29One he set up in Bethel, and the other in Dan. 30And this thing became a sin; the people went even as far as Dan to worship the one there.

31Jeroboam built shrines on high places and appointed priests from all sorts of people, even though they were not Levites. 32He instituted a festival on the fifteenth day of the eighth month, like the festival held in Judah, and offered sacrifices on the altar. This he did in Bethel, sacrificing to the calves he had made. And at Bethel he also installed priests at the high places he had made.

COMMENTARY

25 Jeroboam’s plans for the administration of the new kingdom are now detailed. It was imperative that he act wisely, lest the people become dissatisfied and return their allegiance to Rehoboam (vv.26–27). No doubt much of the administrative machinery (minus the hated corvée established by David and Solomon) was utilized. His years serving Solomon in a responsible position probably aided Jeroboam’s leadership in this area. Shechem was refurbished and made the capital. Transjordanian Peniel received his attention also and may have served subsequently as an alternative royal residence (cf. Josephus, Ant. 8. 225 [8.4]). The fortifying and refurbishing of both sites would provide protection against Aramean advances from the north and northeast.

26–30 The people, however, must be cared for not only administratively but also religiously. Here Jeroboam miscalculated and substituted human wisdom for divine direction. Although God may have allowed the kingdom to be divided politically, he intended no theological schism. Fearing that a continued adherence to the established faith with its center of worship in Jerusalem might return the people’s affection to the south, Jeroboam established an alternative and more convenient religious experience. Rather than making the long trip to Jerusalem, the people of the north could now select one of the two more accessible worship centers: Dan, in the northern sector of the northern kingdom, or Bethel, in the extreme south, both of which cities had longstanding traditions as religious centers. Bethel was to be especially prominent throughout the rest of the history of the northern kingdom (cf. Hos 10:5; Am 7:13).

At each cultic center Jeroboam erected a temple, probably to house the sacred image and altar. The golden calves that he caused to be erected (vv.28–29), while striking a traditional chord with the populace (cf. Ex 32:4, 8), were probably not intended to be construed as pagan images per se; rather, they were representations of animals on whose back stood the invisible god, unseen by the eye of the worshiper. Similar practices involving the worship of the Canaanite god Baal Hadad are well documented in the literature and art of Ugarit. It was inevitable that religious confusion and apostasy would soon set in (cf. 14:9; Hos 8:6).

31–32 To further his religious goals, Jeroboam instituted a new religious order drawn from non-Levitical sources (contra Dt 18:1–8). Indeed the Levitical priests refused to have any share in such unscriptural procedures; they chose, instead, to leave their homes and go over to Rehoboam and the southern kingdom, where the true faith was retained (2Ch 11:13–17). In this move they were followed by many other believers from the north.

Completing his religious innovations, Jeroboam instituted an annual feast on the fifteenth day of the eighth month, no doubt rivaling the Feast of Tabernacles in the seventh month in Jerusalem. This practice became a besetting sin condemned repeatedly by the author of Kings; for “each of these actions defied and broke God-given requirements in the law and implied that civil matters were considered more important than religious principle and practice” (Wiseman, 1 & 2 Kings, 145).

NOTES

25 Based on the repetition of many words and phrases, D. W. Winkle (“Jeroboam’s Cultic Innovations and the Man of God from Judah,” VT 46 [1996]: 101–14) notes the close dependence of the next section on this one. Although he suggests that such repetitions indicate that 12:25–13:34 comprise one literary unit, these may simply function as stitching devices tying the two narratives together.

28 For illustrations of similar cultic practices at Ugarit, see ANEP, fig. 500, 501, 522, 534, and 537.

30–31 Jeroboam’s “high places” were centers of cult worship that further rivaled the temple in Jerusalem. Excavations at Dan have confirmed the existence of a high place and sacred enclosure. See A. Biran, Encyclopedia of Excavations in the Holy Land (Oxford: Oxford Univ. Press, 1977), 1:320. See also J. E. Jennings, “Dan,” The New International Dictionary of Biblical Archaeology, ed. E. M. Blaiklock and R. K. Harrison (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1983), 148–49; H. Shanks, “Avraham Biran—Twenty Years of Digging at Tel Dan,” BAR 13/4 (1987): 18–21.

The phrase “from all sorts of people” indicates that Jeroboam appointed priests from all levels and segments of society except the Levites.

32 The change of months may have been in keeping with agricultural festival observances—based primarily on calendrical considerations—previously held in Canaan (see J. Morgenstern, “The Festival of Jerobeam I,” JBL 83 [1964]: 109–17). If so, Jeroboam thereby gave an aura of traditional legitimacy to his bold move for religious independence from the established religion at Jerusalem. On the whole question of Jeroboam’s religious reforms, see de Vaux, 97–110.

2. The Condemnation of Jeroboam’s Religion (12:33–13:34)

a. Jeroboam and the man of God (12:33–13:10)

OVERVIEW

The condemnation of Jeroboam’s religion is told in the form of the story of the man of God. The account is structured in chiastic fashion:

A Background setting (12:33–13:1)

B Pronouncement and sign (13:2–3)

C Royal reaction and fulfillment signs (13:4–5)

C´ Royal reaction and healing (13:6)

B´ Prophetic declaration (13:7–9)

A´ Conclusion (13:10).

In accordance with his reforms, Jeroboam himself installed the festival on the fifteenth day of the eighth month by personally attending the sacrifice at Bethel. To this event the Lord sent his prophet, who arrived just as Jeroboam was about to make his offering at the altar. Upon his arrival, the prophet denounced the altar and predicted a coming day when a certain Josiah of the house of David would desecrate the altar and bring its apostate offerings to an end. Moreover, the altar itself would split apart and spill its ashes to the ground.

Stretching his hand toward the prophet, the angry king ordered his arrest. Instantly the king’s hand became withered and the predicted splitting of the altar took place. The terrified king begged the prophet to entreat God for the restoration of his hand.

When the prophet complied and healing came, Jeroboam invited the man of God to come with him and take sustenance. Jeroboam assured him that he would also receive a gift if he did so. The prophet declined, however, and pointed out that God had commanded him to deliver his denunciation of the altar and go home via a different road from that by which he had come. He was to take no nourishment whatsoever. So it was that the man of God did precisely as he had been instructed.

33On the fifteenth day of the eighth month, a month of his own choosing, he offered sacrifices on the altar he had built at Bethel. So he instituted the festival for the Israelites and went up to the altar to make offerings.

13:1By the word of the LORD a man of God came from Judah to Bethel, as Jeroboam was standing by the altar to make an offering. 2He cried out against the altar by the word of the LORD: “O altar, altar! This is what the LORD says: ‘A son named Josiah will be born to the house of David. On you he will sacrifice the priests of the high places who now make offerings here, and human bones will be burned on you.’” 3That same day the man of God gave a sign: “This is the sign the LORD has declared: The altar will be split apart and the ashes on it will be poured out.”

4When King Jeroboam heard what the man of God cried out against the altar at Bethel, he stretched out his hand from the altar and said, “Seize him!” But the hand he stretched out toward the man shriveled up, so that he could not pull it back. 5Also, the altar was split apart and its ashes poured out according to the sign given by the man of God by the word of the LORD.

6Then the king said to the man of God, “Intercede with the LORD your God and pray for me that my hand may be restored.” So the man of God interceded with the LORD, and the king’s hand was restored and became as it was before.

7The king said to the man of God, “Come home with me and have something to eat, and I will give you a gift.”

8But the man of God answered the king, “Even if you were to give me half your possessions, I would not go with you, nor would I eat bread or drink water here. 9For I was commanded by the word of the LORD: ‘You must not eat bread or drink water or return by the way you came.’” 10So he took another road and did not return by the way he had come to Bethel.

COMMENTARY

12:33–13:1 Jeroboam may not have personally offered the sacrifices. He may have simply stood by the altar much as Solomon had done at the dedication of the temple (8:62–64; cf. also Jehu in 2Ki 10:25).

2–3 According to Levitical regulation, the ashes were to be carried off to a clean place for disposal (Lev 1:16; 4:12; 6:10–11). The desecration of the altar and pouring out of its ashes would render the altar and the services unclean.

4–5 The biblical motif of the outstretched hand/arm symbolizes divine omnipotence (Jer 32:17). Although at times it was exercised on behalf of God’s people (Ex 6:6), the outstretched hand/arm could also indicate his displeasure, even against his own (Jer 21:5).

6 A prophet was often privileged to intercede for others (e.g., 1Sa 7:8; Am 7:2).

7–9 The prophet’s refusal to compromise the terms of his commission stands in bold contrast with the incident in the following verses (vv.11–34) and with the situation of Elisha with his aide, Gehazi (2Ki 5:15–16, 19–27). The implication is clear: God’s servant must not make merchandise of the ministry.

NOTES

13:1 (ʾîš ʾ^elōhîm, “man of God”) is a general term for a prophet that lays stress on the fact of his divine ministry. Other terms for “prophet” emphasize:

• • the person’s call: (nābî ʾ, “prophet”)
• • reception of the divine communication: (rō ʾeh, “seer”) and (ḥōzeh, “seer”)
• • relation between God and the prophet: (ʿebed yhwh, “servant of Yahweh”)
• • position before the world as the prophet carried out the God-appointed task: (mal ʾak yhwh, “the messenger of Yahweh”).

If we accept the suggestion of Josephus (Ant. 8.240–41 [9.1]) that the prophet’s name was “Yadon,” the prophet may perhaps be connected with the Iddo mentioned as a chronicler of the events of Abijah’s day (2Ch 13:22).

2 Although critical scholars often suggest that the name Josiah is a later insertion by the writer of Kings, and Keil, 202–3, suggests that the name is a mere appellative (“he whom Yahweh supports”) that was fulfilled to the very name, there is no a priori reason why God could not record the actual name of the individual involved centuries beforehand (cf. Isa 44:28; 45:1). See also Micah 5:2, where the name of the birthplace of Messiah is given several centuries before Christ’s birth.

3 (môpēt, “sign, wonder”) denotes a miracle. The word is used particularly in connection with God’s miraculous doings through his messengers in Egypt (Ex 4:21; 7:3, 9; 11:9–10; Dt 4:34; 6:22; 7:19; 26:8; 29:3[2]; 34:11; Pss 78:43; 105:27; 135:9; Jer 32:20–21). It appears frequently in parallel with its synonym (ʾōt, “sign”; e.g., Ex 7:3; Dt 6:22; Ps 78:43). Whereas the latter term tends to emphasize the intended purpose of God’s miraculous doings, the former records the effect the miracle produced on those who beheld it.

b. The man of God and the old prophet (13:11–34)

OVERVIEW

Walsh, 182–83, perceptively points out that this portion of the story of the man of God is told in parallel structure:

A The prophet hears news of the man of God (v.11).

B He speaks in reaction to the news (v.12).

C He has his sons saddle his donkey (v.13).

D He journeys and finds the man of God (vv.14–18).

E He brings the man of God back to eat with him (v.19).

F He subsequently receives and speaks the Lord’s message (vv.20–22), which is then fulfilled (vv.23–24).

A´ The prophet again hears news with regard to the man of God (v.25).

B´ He speaks in reaction to the news (v.26).

C´ He has his sons saddle his donkey (v.27).

D´ He journeys and finds the body of the man of God (v.28).

E´ He brings the body back and honors it (vv.29–30).

F´ He then confirms the Lord’s message (vv.31–32).

Walsh does not find a parallel for the last element in the first portion of the story (vv.23–24). It may be that the narrator intended the closing remarks of the chapter (vv.33–34) to serve in this capacity, while at the same time forming the conclusion to the whole account concerning the condemnation of Jeroboam’s religion.

11Now there was a certain old prophet living in Bethel, whose sons came and told him all that the man of God had done there that day. They also told their father what he had said to the king. 12Their father asked them, “Which way did he go?” And his sons showed him which road the man of God from Judah had taken. 13So he said to his sons, “Saddle the donkey for me.” And when they had saddled the donkey for him, he mounted it 14and rode after the man of God. He found him sitting under an oak tree and asked, “Are you the man of God who came from Judah?”

“I am,” he replied.

15So the prophet said to him, “Come home with me and eat.”

16The man of God said, “I cannot turn back and go with you, nor can I eat bread or drink water with you in this place. 17I have been told by the word of the LORD: ‘You must not eat bread or drink water there or return by the way you came.’”

18The old prophet answered, “I too am a prophet, as you are. And an angel said to me by the word of the LORD: ‘Bring him back with you to your house so that he may eat bread and drink water.’” (But he was lying to him.) 19So the man of God returned with him and ate and drank in his house.

20While they were sitting at the table, the word of the LORD came to the old prophet who had brought him back. 21He cried out to the man of God who had come from Judah, “This is what the LORD says: ‘You have defied the word of the LORD and have not kept the command the LORD your God gave you. 22You came back and ate bread and drank water in the place where he told you not to eat or drink. Therefore your body will not be buried in the tomb of your fathers.’”

23When the man of God had finished eating and drinking, the prophet who had brought him back saddled his donkey for him. 24As he went on his way, a lion met him on the road and killed him, and his body was thrown down on the road, with both the donkey and the lion standing beside it. 25Some people who passed by saw the body thrown down there, with the lion standing beside the body, and they went and reported it in the city where the old prophet lived.

26When the prophet who had brought him back from his journey heard of it, he said, “It is the man of God who defied the word of the LORD. The LORD has given him over to the lion, which has mauled him and killed him, as the word of the LORD had warned him.”

27The prophet said to his sons, “Saddle the donkey for me,” and they did so. 28Then he went out and found the body thrown down on the road, with the donkey and the lion standing beside it. The lion had neither eaten the body nor mauled the donkey. 29So the prophet picked up the body of the man of God, laid it on the donkey, and brought it back to his own city to mourn for him and bury him. 30Then he laid the body in his own tomb, and they mourned over him and said, “Oh, my brother!”

31After burying him, he said to his sons, “When I die, bury me in the grave where the man of God is buried; lay my bones beside his bones. 32For the message he declared by the word of the LORD against the altar in Bethel and against all the shrines on the high places in the towns of Samaria will certainly come true.”

33Even after this, Jeroboam did not change his evil ways, but once more appointed priests for the high places from all sorts of people. Anyone who wanted to become a priest he consecrated for the high places. 34This was the sin of the house of Jeroboam that led to its downfall and to its destruction from the face of the earth.

COMMENTARY

11–24 The narrator gives no clues as to the old prophet’s motives in pursuing the man of God. Possibly he just wished for fellowship. His deliberate lie, however, casts some doubt on his character. Did he wish to have a share in the man of God’s condemnation of Jeroboam’s altar by identifying with him? Because he appears to have meant well, perhaps it is best to assume that his desire to support the man of God is an example of intending to do a good service in wrong fashion.

While they are dining, the old prophet receives a message from the Lord. (So important was the message that it is specifically set apart in the Hebrew text.) The Lord’s word was a death sentence. Because the man of God disobeyed the terms of his charge, he would face the disgrace of not being buried in his ancestral tomb. He preferred to listen to “good news” rather than God’s true word. Despite his earlier victory at Bethel, the later actions of the man of God clearly compromised the will of God. Disobedience to God can only bring defeat (cf. Nu 14:21–23; Dt 11:26–28).

25–32 Having learned the circumstances concerning the man of God’s death, the old prophet gave instructions that when he died he should be laid to rest beside the man of God (v.31). So powerful an effect had the whole series of events produced on him, and so assured was he that all the man of God had predicted would surely come to pass, that the old prophet longed, at least in death, to be united with this holy man. The LXX and Old Latin versions curiously suggest that the prophet of Bethel’s chief desire was that both his bones and those of the man of God escape the certain doom of the coming judgment on the area. The prophecy was to be fulfilled minutely in the reforms of Josiah (2Ki 23:15–18).

33–34 The narrator brings the whole account of Jeroboam’s condemnation to an end by noting that nothing that happened caused Jeroboam to turn from his evil ways; rather, Jeroboam only intensified his apostate religious policy in a program that was to become the ruin of the northern kingdom and for which his name was to live in infamy. Thus it was to be repeatedly said of the wicked kings of the northern kingdom: “He walked in the ways of Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, who made Israel to sin.”

NOTES

22 (qeber, “grave”) refers here to the family sepulcher, hence the NIV’s “the tomb of your fathers.” Such tombs, if belonging to the wealthy, could be hewn out of soft limestone and consist of an antechamber and an inner cave where the bodies were laid in niches. A large stone normally guarded the entrance to the sepulchre. For the average person more modest tombs were cut out of the soft limestone in some wadi near the deceased person’s home.

32 The mention of the “towns of Samaria” before the founding of the city of Samaria by Omri (16:24) or before the political territory known as Samaria came into being in the Sargonid Period (721–705 BC; 2Ki 17:29) suggests that the words of the old prophet of Bethel have been updated by the author of Kings.

3. The Consequences of Jeroboam’s Religion (14:1–18)

OVERVIEW

This section illustrates the grave consequences that will attend the northern kingdom because of Jeroboam’s apostate reform policies. The account falls into three main units.

In the first (vv.1–5), the reader is introduced to parallel events in the house of Jeroboam and that of the prophet Ahijah, now well along in years and blind. Jeroboam’s son had taken seriously ill. Because he wished to know whether his son would live, Jeroboam sent his wife to Shiloh to inquire of Ahijah, that prophet who once predicted his kingship. Fearing that his reforms might earn an unfavorable reply, Jeroboam told his wife to disguise herself. Ahijah’s spiritual sight was not dimmed, however, for the Lord revealed the whole plot to him.

In the second unit (vv.6–16), as soon as Jeroboam’s wife arrived, Ahijah announced that he knew her identity. Her disguise did no good, and the Lord had a serious word for Jeroboam: because of his idolatry (vv.7–9), his house and lineage would come to a disastrous end (vv.10–11). Further, the lad would die as soon as his mother set foot in her own city (vv.12–13). Ahijah concluded his pronouncements by predicting that dynastic change would soon occur in the northern kingdom and eventually the fall of the kingdom itself would come—all a result of Jeroboam’s sins (vv.14–16).

The final unit (vv.17–18) records the fulfillment of the dire prophecy. Upon the return of Jeroboam’s wife the boy died and was buried.

1At that time Abijah son of Jeroboam became ill, 2and Jeroboam said to his wife, “Go, disguise yourself, so you won’t be recognized as the wife of Jeroboam. Then go to Shiloh. Ahijah the prophet is there—the one who told me I would be king over this people. 3Take ten loaves of bread with you, some cakes and a jar of honey, and go to him. He will tell you what will happen to the boy.” 4So Jeroboam’s wife did what he said and went to Ahijah’s house in Shiloh.

Now Ahijah could not see; his sight was gone because of his age. 5But the LORD had told Ahijah, “Jeroboam’s wife is coming to ask you about her son, for he is ill, and you are to give her such and such an answer. When she arrives, she will pretend to be someone else.”

6So when Ahijah heard the sound of her footsteps at the door, he said, “Come in, wife of Jeroboam. Why this pretense? I have been sent to you with bad news. 7Go, tell Jeroboam that this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: ‘I raised you up from among the people and made you a leader over my people Israel. 8I tore the kingdom away from the house of David and gave it to you, but you have not been like my servant David, who kept my commands and followed me with all his heart, doing only what was right in my eyes. 9You have done more evil than all who lived before you. You have made for yourself other gods, idols made of metal; you have provoked me to anger and thrust me behind your back.

10“‘Because of this, I am going to bring disaster on the house of Jeroboam. I will cut off from Jeroboam every last male in Israel—slave or free. I will burn up the house of Jeroboam as one burns dung, until it is all gone. 11Dogs will eat those belonging to Jeroboam who die in the city, and the birds of the air will feed on those who die in the country. The LORD has spoken!’

12“As for you, go back home. When you set foot in your city, the boy will die. 13All Israel will mourn for him and bury him. He is the only one belonging to Jeroboam who will be buried, because he is the only one in the house of Jeroboam in whom the LORD, the God of Israel, has found anything good.

14“The LORD will raise up for himself a king over Israel who will cut off the family of Jeroboam. This is the day! What? Yes, even now. 15And the LORD will strike Israel, so that it will be like a reed swaying in the water. He will uproot Israel from this good land that he gave to their forefathers and scatter them beyond the River, because they provoked the LORD to anger by making Asherah poles. 16And he will give Israel up because of the sins Jeroboam has committed and has caused Israel to commit.”

17Then Jeroboam’s wife got up and left and went to Tirzah. As soon as she stepped over the threshold of the house, the boy died. 18They buried him, and all Israel mourned for him, as the LORD had said through his servant the prophet Ahijah.

COMMENTARY

1–2 Prophets were often consulted on a variety of matters, including the outcome of battle (e.g., 1Ki 22:6–28; 2Ki 3:11–19) or of a sickness (e.g., 2Ki 1:2; 4:22; 5:3–5). Although Shiloh had been previously destroyed by the Philistines (cf. Ps 78:60–64), apparently a small community had grown up there. Jeremiah indicates that the site was desolate again in his day (Jer 7:12, 14; 26:6, 9).

3–4 Gifts were commonly taken to prophets by those seeking an audience (e.g., 1Sa 9:7–8; 2Ki 5:5; 8:8).

5–9 God had intended for Jeroboam to become a genuine spiritual “leader” (nāgîd, v.7), but unfortunately Jeroboam’s attention to religious matters only led his people into all the evils of gross idolatry.

10–12 Because of Jeroboam’s sins, his male descendants would die violent deaths. Once again the potential disgrace of the body’s going unburied is sounded (see Note on 13:22).

13 The death of Jeroboam’s son may point to God’s gracious dealing with young children (cf. 2Sa 12:23). The Talmud, however, assumes that the boy is older and had conducted himself righteously. For he “as crown-prince . . . removed the guards set to prevent the faithful going up to Jerusalem where he himself participated in festivals (b. Moʾed Qat. 28b)” (Wiseman, 1 & 2 Kings, 150).

NOTES

1 Here the LXX departs from the MT and resumes at v.21; the material contained in the MT of vv.1–18 is represented variously in the LXX of 12:24g–n.

2 The LXX identifies Jeroboam’s wife as Ano, daughter of Pharaoh Shishak, perhaps confusing the situation with that of Hadad of Edom (cf. 11:14–20). Excavations at Shiloh indicate that the city was destroyed about 1000 BC and remained largely abandoned until the fourth century BC. For details, see H. Vos, Archaeology in Bible Lands (Chicago: Moody Press, 1977), 200.

3 For (niqqudîm, “[crumbled] bread”), some have suggested a relationship with the Arabic naqada (“prick out,” hence “cakes with perforations”). Others compare the word with (nāqōd, “speckled”; cf. Ge 30:32; cf. also Arab. naqqaṭa [“be speckled,” II stem]), Ethiopic naqweṭ (“point”), and suggest that these were “speckled cakes,” like the sweet bread with seeds on a crust still found in the Near East today. The Targum suggests “sweet meats”; the LXX translates it κολλυρία (kollyria), “raisin cakes.”

(baqbuq, “jar”) is onomatopoeic, as it emulates the sound of liquid’s being poured out of a jar. (d^ebaš, “honey”) is probably to be retained despite Gray’s suggestion (in loc.) that it might be a liquid prepared from grape juice. The two words are properly rendered by the NIV as “jar of honey.” Beehive-shaped jugs are well attested in the archaeological artifacts of ancient Palestine; see A. Honeyman, “The Pottery Vessels of the Old Testament,” PEQ (1939): 76–90; J. Patch, “Honey,” ISBE, 3:1418–19.

10 The use of (lākēn hinnî, lit., “therefore behold me”) followed by the participle is a normal means for introducing a prophetic threat for the imminent future.

(maštîn b^eqîr, “every last male”) means literally “he who urinates against the wall” (cf. KJV). The Hebrew verbal form is doubtless composed with an infixed t; note both Akkadian sianum and Ugaritic tyn (“urinate”). For further examples of “infixed t” in Hebrew, see B. W. W. Dombrowski, “Some Remarks on the Hebrew Hithpa’el and Inversative -t in the Semitic Languages,” JNES 21 (1962): 220–23; M. Dahood, Psalms (AB; Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday, 1965–1970), 3:388–89.

The NIV’s rendering is perhaps as reasonable as any of the many attempts to understand (ʿāṣûr w^eʿāzûb, “slave or free”), which has become symbolic of “all kinds and classes” (cf. Dt 32:36; 1Ki 21:21; 2Ki 9:8; 14:26).

11 Unlike their counterparts in the West today, dogs were often the scourge of the ancient Near East. Unfed, they became scavengers, always ready to eat anything (cf. 16:4; 21:24; 2Ki 9:36; Pss 22:16; 59:6, 14–15; Jer 15:3). That Ahijah’s prophetic threats are presented under the figures of defilement and detested images emphasizes the heinousness of Jeroboam’s religion and the awful judgment that results from such practices. Vicious sin begets vigorous judgment. See also Notes on 21:23 and 2 Kings 8:13.

14 The phrase {dec63}(zeh hayyôm ûmeh gam-ʿāttâ, “This is the day! What? Yes, even now”) is difficult and has occasioned much discussion. It seems to emphasize what should happen today and immediately afterward. Not only would Jeroboam’s son die that very day, but also, because of the king’s settled heart condition and predisposition toward sin, God had already set into operation those forces that would ultimately destroy the nation.

15 The (ʾ^ašērîm, “Asherah poles”), sacred in the worship of the goddess Asherah, became a besetting sin in the northern kingdom and even spread to the south until the reign of Josiah (2Ki 23). This goddess figures prominently in the ancient Canaanite literature and is known from the cultus of other cultures in the ancient Near East as well. Her worship enters the OT in an advanced form in which Asherah has already been fused with other fertility goddesses. The goddess was customarily worshiped in association with sacred trees or poles that were symbolic of life and fertility. For details, see J. C. de Moor (TDOT, 1:438–44) and the helpful remarks of A. Lemaire in “Who or What Was Yahweh’s Asherah?” (BAR 10 [1984]: 42–51).

17 Tirzah, now rather confidently identified with Tell el-Farʿah in the northern portion of Mount Ephraim on the strategic road from Shechem to Bethshan, was noted for its great beauty (SS 6:4). The capital of the northern kingdom was soon to be shifted from Shechem to Tirzah and remained there through the second dynasty. The events of the short-lived reign of Zimri took place in Tirzah (16:15–20). After reigning there for six years, Omri, the founder of the third dynasty, moved the capital to Samaria (16:23–24), which remained the northern capital until its fall in 722 BC.

4. Concluding Remarks concerning Jeroboam’s Reign (14:19–20)

19The other events of Jeroboam’s reign, his wars and how he ruled, are written in the book of the annals of the kings of Israel. 20He reigned for twenty-two years and then rested with his fathers. And Nadab his son succeeded him as king.

COMMENTARY

19–20 Appended to the record of Jeroboam’s rise to the throne, and his reforms, and their consequences is a notice of where further information may be gathered. This literary device, which began with Solomon (11:41–43), is thus continued for the rulers of the divided kingdom.

NOTES

19 For the “book of the annals of the kings of Israel,” see Introduction: Unity, Authorship, and Date. Note that hereafter closing formulae will not be specially noted in the commentary unless some distinctive information is contained in them.

C. The Early Successors to Rehoboam and Jeroboam (14:21–16:14)

1. The Reign of Rehoboam in the Southern Kingdom (14:21–31)

OVERVIEW

The short record of Rehoboam’s reign focuses on two factors: (1) the spiritual degeneration of God’s people in Judah (vv.22–24) and (2) the invasion by the Egyptian pharaoh Shishak (vv.25–28). Opening (v.21) and closing notices (vv.29–31) bracket the details of his reign.

21Rehoboam son of Solomon was king in Judah. He was forty-one years old when he became king, and he reigned seventeen years in Jerusalem, the city the LORD had chosen out of all the tribes of Israel in which to put his Name. His mother’s name was Naamah; she was an Ammonite.

22Judah did evil in the eyes of the LORD. By the sins they committed they stirred up his jealous anger more than their fathers had done. 23They also set up for themselves high places, sacred stones and Asherah poles on every high hill and under every spreading tree. 24There were even male shrine prostitutes in the land; the people engaged in all the detestable practices of the nations the LORD had driven out before the Israelites.

25In the fifth year of King Rehoboam, Shishak king of Egypt attacked Jerusalem. 26He carried off the treasures of the temple of the LORD and the treasures of the royal palace. He took everything, including all the gold shields Solomon had made. 27So King Rehoboam made bronze shields to replace them and assigned these to the commanders of the guard on duty at the entrance to the royal palace. 28Whenever the king went to the LORD’s temple, the guards bore the shields, and afterward they returned them to the guardroom.

29As for the other events of Rehoboam’s reign, and all he did, are they not written in the book of the annals of the kings of Judah? 30There was continual warfare between Rehoboam and Jeroboam. 31And Rehoboam rested with his fathers and was buried with them in the City of David. His mother’s name was Naamah; she was an Ammonite. And Abijah his son succeeded him as king.

COMMENTARY

21 With a firm division of the kingdom, the south is hereafter designated Judah. The usual correlation with the northern king is omitted, perhaps because Rehoboam began his reign before the schism or because the narrator simply did not wish to acknowledge the legitimacy of Jeroboam’s reign.

22–24 Although the Chronicler reports that Rehoboam began his reign well (2Ch 11:5–17, 23), the king soon abandoned the law of the Lord (2Ch 12:1). Like Jeroboam, he allowed Baal worship centers and pagan fertility practices to spread throughout the land.

25 Shishak had an interesting history. Toward the end of Egypt’s weak and divided Twenty-First Dynasty, mention is made of a Lybian who through marriage and favorable dealings with the high priest finally gained control of the government, founding the Twenty-Second Dynasty as Shoshenq I (biblical Shishak). Shoshenq was able to reunify the country and restore a certain amount of stability to the crown. Egypt could now once again look beyond her borders. Having renewed the old ties with Byblos and regained economic supremacy in Nubia, Shoshenq moved northward in an effort to solidify his hold on strategic trade routes.

26–28 The biblical account and the archaeological data from ancient Egypt indicate that Shoshenq swept through much of both Israel and Judah, from which he took heavy spoil (v.26). Shoshenq lists 0 cities he conquered in the campaign.

The Chronicler records that Jerusalem itself was severely looted; only the repentance of Rehoboam and his leaders at God’s rebuke through Shemaiah the prophet saved the land and people from total destruction. Significant among the spoils were Solomon’s golden shields (v.26; see 10:16–17), kept in the Palace of the Forest of Lebanon (see 7:2). To replace the shields, which were used at state ceremonial functions, Rehoboam had bronze shields made and entrusted them to the commander of his royal bodyguard, who now stored them in the guardhouse (vv.27–28).

29–31 The chapter closes with the additional notice of strained relations between the northern and southern kingdoms throughout Rehoboam’s reign (v.30). Since Rehoboam had complied with the divine prohibition against overt warfare (cf. 12:21–24), more than likely the reference is to a “cold war” or to occasional border skirmishes. Rehoboam was succeeded by his son Abijah (v.31).

NOTES

21 Gray, 341–42, suggests that the fact that Rehoboam’s mother was an Ammonitess may have political implications, such as an early placating of Ammon by Solomon. The reigning queen mother apparently held an official court status (15:13) and played a powerful role in Judean politics. She is often mentioned alongside the king (Jer 22:26; 29:2) and apparently even wore a crown emblematic of her position (Jer 13:18). The prominence of the position doubtless facilitated Athaliah’s usurpation of the royal throne itself (2Ki 11:1–3).

24 (qādēš, “[male] shrine prostitute”) is used at times as distinct from the feminine form (Dt 23:18). Shrine prostitutes appear among the lists of cultic personnel in ancient Ugarit. See W. F. Albright, Archaeology and Religion of Israel, 5th ed. (Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday, 1969), 153–54. Montgomery, 273, may be correct, however, in suggesting that both sexes are intended (so NIV), the masculine singular being deliberately derogatory and portraying such individuals as little better than beasts. Cultic prostitution was symptomatic of Judah’s basic spiritual harlotry, which was to plague the kingdom throughout the years of its existence.

25 Shoshenq’s ascendency and triumph were meteoric; Egypt’s newfound star, however, fell as quickly as it rose. The pharaoh died suddenly, and the kingdom was left in the hands of those of lesser ability. Egypt’s hopes of greatness soon expired.

David Rohl (Pharaohs and Kings [New York: Crown, 1995], 149–71, 370–78) presents evidence that convinces him that the biblical Shishak is not to be equated with Shoshenq I but with Ramesses II. He suggests that because Ramesses (unlike Shishak) actually boasts of reaching Salem (= Jerusalem) in his Palestinian campaigning, he is the more likely person to have accomplished what the Bible records. Rohl links known hypocoristic writings of Ramesses II’s nomen (or family name), such as ss, ssw, ssy, and sysw, to make the equation with biblical Shishak (Heb. ššq). Rohl makes much of the fact that the inscription telling of Shoshenq’s Palestinian campaign (while incomplete) says nothing concerning Jerusalem.

Detrimental to Rohl’s theory is not only the time-honored, accepted Egyptian chronology, but also the fact that Rohl offers no convincing accounting for the q in the biblical name. Moreover, the Kethib of 1 Kings 14:25 clearly reads šwšq (contra the Qere’s šyšq, with the manuscript evidence of 2 Chronicles 12:2 being similarly divided), which accords well with the Egyptian “Shoshenq.”

It is of interest to note that the biblical record does not necessarily demand that Shishak actually attacked Jerusalem. For whenever the author of Kings speaks of actual fighting against a place he regularly uses phraseology made up of compound verbs (i.e., [ʿālâ, “come up against”] plus some added Hebrew verb with meanings such as “fought against” [1Ki 12:24; 20:26; 2Ki 3:21; 12:18; 16:5; cf. 1Ki 22:29–30], “besieged” [with subsequent hostilities; 1Ki 16:17; 2Ki 6:24; 17:5; 18:9; 24:10], “smote” [2Ki 15:14], “captured” [1Ki 9:16], or “seized” [2Ki 16:9; 18:13]). No such phraseology is used here in 1 Kings 14:25 (cf. 2Ch 12:2). All that is required by the context is that Shishak deployed his troops in menacing fashion toward Jerusalem, thus achieving his purposes without actually having to fight against or even reach the city. Indeed, the Chronicler points out that the Lord’s promise guaranteed that Jerusalem would not fall to Shishak, though his people would become subject to the Egyptian king.

Still another dissenting voice with regard to the Shishak/Rehoboam connection is that of F. Clancy (“Shishak/Shoshenq’s Travels,” JSOT 86 [1999]: 3–23). For Clancy, Shoshenq did not conduct a comprehensive sweep of Palestine but a series of forays into the Negev and Judean Shephelah. Clancy, 20, discounts the historicity of the biblical record, viewing 1 Kings 14 as a late literary piece “created as part of a theme foreshadowing the destruction of Jerusalem.”

The biblical text is defensible, however, even according to Clancy’s scenario. Thus Shoshenq’s strong presence and advance toward the Judean Shephelah may have been sufficient cause for Rehoboam to buy him off with lavish gifts. For excellent studies of Shishak and his Palestinian campaign, see J. Currid, Ancient Egypt and the Old Testament (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1997), 172–202; K. Kitchen, Third Intermediate Period, 85–88, 109–16, 287–302. For a discussion of the Egyptian nomen, see A. H. Gardiner, Egyptian Grammar (London: Oxford Univ. Press, 1957), 71–76.

26 According to the LXX, the weapons David had dedicated as a result of his campaign against the Aramean Hadadezer (cf. 2Sa 8:7) were all carried away. See Note on 2 Kings 11:10.

28 The term (rāṣîm, “guards”) refers to an ancient and well-known class of professional soldiers. The name means literally “runners” and was used of a class of royal escorts who ran before the king (2Sa 15:1; 1Ki 1:5; cf. Akkad. rēdû, “runner”; see the remarks of G. R. Driver and J. C. Miles, The Babylonian Laws [Oxford: Clarendon, 1960], 2:161). The term also designates the royal bodyguard that constantly protected the king and assisted him in crucial matters (1Sa 22:17; 2Ki 10:25). Here it appears that their duties also included keeping watch over the various portions of the palace and temple complex.

31 The information that Rehoboam was buried with his fathers is omitted from 2 Chronicles 12:16, the Chronicler possibly viewing Rehoboam as unworthy of being mentioned alongside David and Solomon. He also makes no reference to Rehoboam’s pagan mother.

“Abijam” is read by the MT. At least ten MSS and the Hebrew edition of Kennicott and DeRossi read “Abijah” (cf. LXX, Αβιου, Abiou). Montgomery, 273, suggests that Abijam was a popular designation of the king, the am being hypocoristic, as in the case of the name found at Tell Taʿannak—“Ahiyami”; see also Gordon, 349. Doubtless the king’s name was Abijah (“Yahweh is my father”), as befitting a king of the southern kingdom.

2. The Reign of Abijah in the Southern Kingdom (15:1–8)

OVERVIEW

The short account of Abijah’s reign is structured in standard format: accession statement (vv.1–2) with spiritual evaluation (vv.3–5), historical note (v.6), and closing formula (vv.7–8).

1In the eighteenth year of the reign of Jeroboam son of Nebat, Abijah became king of Judah, 2and he reigned in Jerusalem three years. His mother’s name was Maacah daughter of Abishalom.

3He committed all the sins his father had done before him; his heart was not fully devoted to the LORD his God, as the heart of David his forefather had been. 4Nevertheless, for David’s sake the LORD his God gave him a lamp in Jerusalem by raising up a son to succeed him and by making Jerusalem strong. 5For David had done what was right in the eyes of the LORD and had not failed to keep any of the LORD’s commands all the days of his life—except in the case of Uriah the Hittite.

6There was war between Rehoboam and Jeroboam throughout Abijah’s lifetime. 7As for the other events of Abijah’s reign, and all he did, are they not written in the book of the annals of the kings of Judah? There was war between Abijah and Jeroboam. 8And Abijah rested with his fathers and was buried in the City of David. And Asa his son succeeded him as king.

COMMENTARY

1–5 Attention is focused on the short-lived reign of Abijah (v.1) in but few details: (1) the continuing prominence of the dowager queen Maacah (v.2); (2) the continuance of apostasy in the southern kingdom (v.3); and (3) the continuing war with the north (v.6). Maacah (v.2) was apparently the daughter of Uriel of Gibeah (2Ch 13:2) and Tamar (2Sa 14:27), hence the granddaughter of Absalom, David’s rebellious son. The favorite of Rehoboam’s eighteen wives, she was the mother of Abijah and the grandmother of Asa (vv.9–10). Her continued prominence testifies to her strong personality.

Although Abijah was a poor representative of the house of David (cf. 11:4), God, who remains faithful (2Ti 2:13), would honor the man after his own heart in preserving his heir (cf. 1Sa 13:14; Ps 89:19–29; Ac 13:22). Further, God was to take responsibility for turning around the religious situation in Judah—he would raise up a godly son to its throne.

6–8 Abijah inherited his father’s continued friction with Jeroboam and the northern kingdom, only now it took the form of open warfare between the two Hebrew states. Fortunately for Judah, Abijah’s underlying faith could rise to the surface in times of crisis. Second Chronicles 13:3–22 relates one such instance. In a major battle between the two antagonists, Abijah and his few troops were delivered from certain defeat when the Lord intervened for them in response to Abijah’s prayer.

NOTES

2 “Three years” is the correct reading here, not the six years of the LXX. As Rehoboam was already forty-one years old at his ascension and reigned twenty-seven years, Abijah was probably himself of mature years when he ascended the throne. It is little wonder, then, that it could be said of him that he had known nothing but war in his lifetime (v.6).

3 (šālēm, “fully devoted”) connotes the thoughts of “be whole, be at peace with.” Here David is called (ʾābîw, “his father”), the term, as with other biblical terms for relationship (e.g., “son”), being used in its extended sense. The NIV is correct in translating “his forefather.”

4 (nîr, “lamp”) is used figuratively in the OT of human posterity. A man’s life and work were not extinguished if he had progeny (11:36 [see Note]; 2Ki 8:19; 2Ch 21:7).

3. The Reign of Asa in the Southern Kingdom (15:9–24)

OVERVIEW

Between the standard formulae of accession notice (vv.9–10) and closing formula (vv.23–24), rather full information is given concerning Asa’s spiritual condition (vv.11–15) and details of events during his long reign (vv.16–22). As for the former, Asa used his first ten years of peace (cf. 2Ch 14:1) to expunge idolatry and enforce the observance of true religion. In all these efforts he “did what was right in the eyes of the LORD” (v.11). As for the latter, the narrator reports the outbreak and continuance of hostilities between the northern and southern kingdoms after Baasha became king of Israel.

9In the twentieth year of Jeroboam king of Israel, Asa became king of Judah, 10and he reigned in Jerusalem forty-one years. His grandmother’s name was Maacah daughter of Abishalom.

11Asa did what was right in the eyes of the LORD, as his father David had done. 12He expelled the male shrine prostitutes from the land and got rid of all the idols his fathers had made. 13He even deposed his grandmother Maacah from her position as queen mother, because she had made a repulsive Asherah pole. Asa cut the pole down and burned it in the Kidron Valley. 14Although he did not remove the high places, Asa’s heart was fully committed to the LORD all his life. 15He brought into the temple of the LORD the silver and gold and the articles that he and his father had dedicated.

16There was war between Asa and Baasha king of Israel throughout their reigns. 17Baasha king of Israel went up against Judah and fortified Ramah to prevent anyone from leaving or entering the territory of Asa king of Judah.

18Asa then took all the silver and gold that was left in the treasuries of the LORD’s temple and of his own palace. He entrusted it to his officials and sent them to Ben-Hadad son of Tabrimmon, the son of Hezion, the king of Aram, who was ruling in Damascus. 19“Let there be a treaty between me and you,” he said, “as there was between my father and your father. See, I am sending you a gift of silver and gold. Now break your treaty with Baasha king of Israel so he will withdraw from me.”

20Ben-Hadad agreed with King Asa and sent the commanders of his forces against the towns of Israel. He conquered Ijon, Dan, Abel Beth Maacah and all Kinnereth in addition to Naphtali. 21When Baasha heard this, he stopped building Ramah and withdrew to Tirzah. 22Then King Asa issued an order to all Judah—no one was exempt—and they carried away from Ramah the stones and timber Baasha had been using there. With them King Asa built up Geba in Benjamin, and also Mizpah.

23As for all the other events of Asa’s reign, all his achievements, all he did and the cities he built, are they not written in the book of the annals of the kings of Judah? In his old age, however, his feet became diseased. 24Then Asa rested with his fathers and was buried with them in the city of his father David. And Jehoshaphat his son succeeded him as king.

COMMENTARY

9–10 When Asa assumed the kingly office in the twentieth year of Jeroboam’s reign (910 BC), the influence of Maacah, his grandmother and the dowager queen, was still pronounced (vv.9–10). Although Asa’s long, forty-one year reign was to be eventful, during his first ten years he enjoyed a time of peace (cf. 2Ch 14:1), perhaps the benefit of Abijah’s victory over the north.

11–15 The Chronicler provides further information on Asa’s spiritual reforms. In the third month of the fifteenth year of his reign, Asa, encouraged by the prophet Azariah (2Ch 15:1–7), convened an assembly in which all true Israelites were invited to renew the covenant with the Lord. The meeting was attended with great praise and joy (2Ch 15:9–15). At the same time Asa instituted stringent spiritual reforms aimed at removing the remaining vestiges of idolatry and fertility rites (2Ch 15:8). Even the politically and religiously powerful Maacah was disposed of once and for all (v.13). No doubt she had used the outbreak of the war as an occasion to reintroduce the public worship of Asherah (v.13; cf. 2Ch 15:16). While Asa stopped short of a total cleansing of the land, he was a God-fearing man, who led the way for his people in public dedication to God (vv.14–15; cf. 2Ch 15:17–18).

16 The Chronicler records that before the outbreak of hostilities between Baasha and Asa, Asa faced and defeated an invasion led by Zerah the Ethiopian (2Ch 14:9–15). Zerah was probably a commander in the forces of the Egyptian pharaoh Osorkon I (914–874 BC).

17 After the deaths of Jeroboam and his son Nadab (vv.25–32), a new dynasty began with Baasha. Baasha’s accession year was the third year of Asa’s reign. Baasha apparently was initially occupied with securing the throne and other internal affairs. But with a victorious and strengthened Judah, whose renewed vitality had succeeded even in drawing away many of his citizens, Baasha could no longer remain inactive.

Moving swiftly into Judah, Baasha seized Ramah, only four miles north of Jerusalem itself (v.17). This action not only stopped the further drawing away of Baasha’s subjects but also cut off the main road north out of Jerusalem, thus shutting down all communications between Judah and Israel and giving Baasha control of the trade routes.

18–19 Asa’s reaction to Baasha’s advance in sending a delegation to the Aramean king Ben-Hadad was rebuked by God’s prophet Hanani (16:1). Asa reacted by throwing Hanani into prison. Thus began a long and checkered history of the persecution of God’s prophets (2Ch 16:7–10; cf. 2Ki 17:13–14).

Although Ben-Hadad first appears here in the biblical record, he was to play a major role in Near Eastern affairs in subsequent years. A longstanding hostility had existed between the Arameans and the Hebrews. David had subdued the chief Aramean tribes occupying the main area of Syria itself (cf. 2Sa 8:3–12; 1Ch 18:3–11); and although these regions largely remained subservient to Solomon, already in Solomon’s day Rezon ben Eliada had managed to establish himself in Damascus; he remained “Israel’s adversary as long as Solomon lived” (11:23–25). Despite the fact of any treaty arrangement that Ben-Hadad may have had with Baasha, he was lured away by Asa’s all-too-generous payment.

20–22 The swift strikes of Ben-Hadad against Baasha’s northern section not only gained for him access to the international caravan routes leading from Egypt through Phoenicia and on to Damascus but also gave Asa the desired relief in Judah (v.20). In order to meet the new emergency on his northern flank, Baasha was forced to abandon his operations at Ramah (v.21).

Asa, for his part, quickly mobilized Judah’s forces, retook Ramah, dismantled Baasha’s fortifications, and used the building material to fortify Mizpah and Geba (v.22), thus providing strongholds for his reestablished control in Benjamin.

23–24 The parting notices concerning Asa deal with the loathsome disease in his feet (v.23) that served only to harden his heart. For his funerary observance Asa had the air filled with sweet spices (2Ch 16:12–14); but no amount of manmade perfume can hide the noxious stench of the life of a believer alienated from God!

NOTES

10 Since the MT calls Maacah Asa’s mother, some scholars have suggested that Abijah and Asa were brothers. Others have suggested that Maacah was the name of two different women, one of whom bore Abijah and the other Asa. The NIV takes the simpler view that the mother of Abijah and Asa’s grandmother were one and the same person. This interpretation seems the obvious intent of the passage.

Other notable dowagers include the biblical queen Athaliah (2Ki 11), the Egyptian queen Hatshepsut (1504–1483 BC), Nabonidus’s mother Adad-guppi, and the Assyrian queen Sammuramat (811–806 BC), perhaps the original queen behind the legendary Greek Semiramis. On the importance and position of the dowager, see the comments of Gray, 106 (see also S. W. Baur, “Queen Mother,” ISBE, 4:25:13–14).

12 The author of Kings has telescoped Asa’s early and later religious reforms into one summary account. For details as to the chronology of events of Asa’s reign, see Thiele, 59–62; Kitchen, Third Intermediate Period, 309.

It has been suggested that etymologically (gillulîm,” idols”) means “forms in the round,” whether sculptured or objects in the natural world. In the OT it is used synonymously with (šiqqûṣîm, “detested thing, idol”) and in collocation with (ṭāmē ʾ, “be unclean”). Some have suggested a relationship with (gēl, “dung pellet”), hence “filthy thing, idol.” Still others suggest a relationship to the Arabic galil (“venerated object”). At any rate, throughout the OT it is always used disdainfully (e.g., Lev 26:30). See further TDOT, 3:1–5.

13 The Kidron Valley, the deep depression east of Jerusalem between the temple heights and the Mount of Olives, became from Asa’s time onward the place where reforming kings destroyed all idolatrous cultic objects (cf. 2Ki 23:4–15; 2Ch 29:16; 30:14).

15 The dedicated articles may have included material from the local shrines outside Jerusalem, spoils from the war with Zerah, or even Rehoboam’s bronze shields made to replace the golden shields taken by Sheshonq.

17 Ramah is to be identified with the present-day Arab village of Ar-ram, five and one-half miles north of Jerusalem. It lay on the main north-south commercial artery and was of strategic military importance since it controlled access to the foothills of Ephraim and the Mediterranean coast.

19 Was Asa’s referral to an existing treaty between Judah and Damascus a fact or a manufactured wish? Gray, 352, opts for the former idea and suggests that this possibility may explain why Abijah was so successful against Jeroboam. The simplest solution seems to be that Asa suggested that a treaty had tacitly existed since the days of the united monarchy. The phrase “between my father and your father” need indicate nothing more than a general reference to existing relations between these Aramean and Jewish heads of state. Asa appears to be finding legal grounds for Ben-Hadad to justify his violation of the Aramean treaty with Israel.

23 Various suggestions have been made as to the nature of Asa’s diseased feet. The Talmud decides for gout, and Montgomery, 278, for dropsy. Others have suggested that “feet” is a euphemism for the reproductive organ; hence, Asa had venereal disease. Wiseman, 1 & 2 Kings, 157, however, cautions that “this [disease] has not yet been identified in the Old Testament period.”

4. The Reign of Nadab in the Northern Kingdom (15:25–31)

25Nadab son of Jeroboam became king of Israel in the second year of Asa king of Judah, and he reigned over Israel two years. 26He did evil in the eyes of the LORD, walking in the ways of his father and in his sin, which he had caused Israel to commit.

27Baasha son of Ahijah of the house of Issachar plotted against him, and he struck him down at Gibbethon, a Philistine town, while Nadab and all Israel were besieging it. 28Baasha killed Nadab in the third year of Asa king of Judah and succeeded him as king.

29As soon as he began to reign, he killed Jeroboam’s whole family. He did not leave Jeroboam anyone that breathed, but destroyed them all, according to the word of the LORD given through his servant Ahijah the Shilonite—30because of the sins Jeroboam had committed and had caused Israel to commit, and because he provoked the LORD, the God of Israel, to anger.

31As for the other events of Nadab’s reign, and all he did, are they not written in the book of the annals of the kings of Israel? 32There was war between Asa and Baasha king of Israel throughout their reigns.

COMMENTARY

25–32 Jeroboam’s son Nadab succeeded him and reigned in Tirzah (v.25). In his second year Nadab attempted to capture the important Philistine city of Gibbethon (cf. 16:15–17). However, in the midst of the siege he was assassinated by Baasha (probably one of his military officers), who seized the throne (vv.27–28). Baasha immediately killed all members of the royal house (v.29), thus confirming Ahijah’s prediction that God would judge the sins of the house of Jeroboam (v.30).

NOTES

27 Baasha’s father is named Ahijah, as was the prophet who predicted the doom of the house of Jeroboam (cf. 14:9–16). Though they are not the same individual, the identical names provide a touch of irony to the whole episode.

30 The narrator’s observation concerning the liquidation of the line of Jeroboam I (cf. v.26) indicates that Nadab was as apostate as his father.

5. The Second Dynasty in Israel (15:32–16:14)

a. Baasha (15:32–16:7)

OVERVIEW

Baasha’s reign is told in standard format: accession statement with spiritual evaluation (vv.33–34), historical details (16:1–4), and closing formula, to which are added statements reinforcing the opening spiritual evaluation (vv.5–7). Because this literary arrangement is so commonly employed in Kings, hereafter attention will be drawn in the Overview only where distinctive details are related.

33In the third year of Asa king of Judah, Baasha son of Ahijah became king of all Israel in Tirzah, and he reigned twenty-four years. 34He did evil in the eyes of the LORD, walking in the ways of Jeroboam and in his sin, which he had caused Israel to commit.

16:1Then the word of the LORD came to Jehu son of Hanani against Baasha: 2“I lifted you up from the dust and made you leader of my people Israel, but you walked in the ways of Jeroboam and caused my people Israel to sin and to provoke me to anger by their sins. 3So I am about to consume Baasha and his house, and I will make your house like that of Jeroboam son of Nebat. 4Dogs will eat those belonging to Baasha who die in the city, and the birds of the air will feed on those who die in the country.”

5As for the other events of Baasha’s reign, what he did and his achievements, are they not written in the book of the annals of the kings of Israel? 6Baasha rested with his fathers and was buried in Tirzah. And Elah his son succeeded him as king.

7Moreover, the word of the LORD came through the prophet Jehu son of Hanani to Baasha and his house, because of all the evil he had done in the eyes of the LORD, provoking him to anger by the things he did, and becoming like the house of Jeroboam—and also because he destroyed it.

COMMENTARY

15:33–16:6 Jehu ben Hanani’s denunciation of Baasha indicates that dynastic change did not signal spiritual improvement. Walsh, 214, perceptively points out that Jehu’s condemnation of Baasha is structured with the same three elements as that of Ahijah in his condemnation of Jeroboam: Yahweh’s deeds in behalf of the king (v.2a; cf. 14:7b), the king’s sins nevertheless (v.2b; cf. 14:16b), and the Lord’s warning of dire judgment to come (v.3; cf. 14:10b–11).

7 Many have questioned God’s fairness in raising up Baasha to bring an end to the first dynasty. Central to the discussion is the phrase “and also because he destroyed it.” Two problems arise: (1) the antecedent of “it” and (2) the precise translation of the Hebrew particle rendered “because” in the NIV. As for the former problem, most English translations render the Hebrew pronoun “it” and understand the antecedent to be “the house of Jeroboam.” On the whole this solution is the simplest.

In the latter case the particle translated “because” suggests that God condemned Baasha for becoming an imitator of Jeroboam’s sinful house and did so in spite of the fact that he had himself been raised up of God to put an end to Jeroboam and his line. Implicit in the statement is the condemnation of Baasha’s murder of Jeroboam’s line. It is one thing to displace a rival; it is another thing to use God’s commission as an excuse for carrying out selfish ambition. Baasha’s perpetuation of Jeroboam’s sins betrays his improper motivations. Although he had raised up Baasha in spite of his murderous intention, God in no way condoned Baasha’s deeds.

NOTES

1 Jehu son of Hanani (cf. 2Ch 20:34) is known also as the author of a history that was included in “the book of the kings of Israel” (see Introduction: Literary Form). He was also to be active in the reign of Jehoshaphat of Judah (cf. 2Ch 19:2–3). For additional details on the reign of Baasha, see Josephus (Ant. 8.298–308 [12.3–4]).

2 The words “lifted you up from the dust” emphasize the lowly origin of Baasha. Note God’s tender reminder that Israel was yet “my people.” The term was used again and again by the prophets of the eighth century in delivering God’s pleadings to an unrepentant Israel.

b. Elah (16:8–14)

8In the twenty-sixth year of Asa king of Judah, Elah son of Baasha became king of Israel, and he reigned in Tirzah two years.

9Zimri, one of his officials, who had command of half his chariots, plotted against him. Elah was in Tirzah at the time, getting drunk in the home of Arza, the man in charge of the palace at Tirzah. 10Zimri came in, struck him down and killed him in the twenty-seventh year of Asa king of Judah. Then he succeeded him as king.

11As soon as he began to reign and was seated on the throne, he killed off Baasha’s whole family. He did not spare a single male, whether relative or friend. 12So Zimri destroyed the whole family of Baasha, in accordance with the word of the LORD spoken against Baasha through the prophet Jehu—13because of all the sins Baasha and his son Elah had committed and had caused Israel to commit, so that they provoked the LORD, the God of Israel, to anger by their worthless idols.

14As for the other events of Elah’s reign, and all he did, are they not written in the book of the annals of the kings of Israel?

COMMENTARY

8–14 As in the case of Jeroboam’s son Nadab, so Baasha’s son Elah reigned but two years (v.8) and was also assassinated. In Elah’s case also, a conspiracy apparently existed, an assassination was carried out, and the leader of the conspiracy—here Zimri—took the throne and executed the family of the previous king and any possible heirs. Unlike Nadab’s assassin, however, Zimri did not found a new dynasty.

NOTES

8 For “the twenty-sixth year,” 2 Chronicles 16:1 has “the thirty-sixth year,” which is probably a copyist’s error (see Archer, 225–26).

11 For (maštîn, “a single male”), see Note on 14:10. The (gō ʾ^alāyw, lit., “his relatives”) were those charged with restoring the dead man’s property and avenging his death (cf. Jos 20:3; 2Sa 14:11; see also TDOT, 2:350–52).

D. The Era of the Third Dynasty (1Ki 16:15-2Ki 9:37)

1. Interregnum: Zimri and Tibni (16:15–22)

15In the twenty-seventh year of Asa king of Judah, Zimri reigned in Tirzah seven days. The army was encamped near Gibbethon, a Philistine town. 16When the Israelites in the camp heard that Zimri had plotted against the king and murdered him, they proclaimed Omri, the commander of the army, king over Israel that very day there in the camp. 17Then Omri and all the Israelites with him withdrew from Gibbethon and laid siege to Tirzah. 18When Zimri saw that the city was taken, he went into the citadel of the royal palace and set the palace on fire around him. So he died, 19because of the sins he had committed, doing evil in the eyes of the LORD and walking in the ways of Jeroboam and in the sin he had committed and had caused Israel to commit.

20As for the other events of Zimri’s reign, and the rebellion he carried out, are they not written in the book of the annals of the kings of Israel?

21Then the people of Israel were split into two factions; half supported Tibni son of Ginath for king, and the other half supported Omri. 22But Omri’s followers proved stronger than those of Tibni son of Ginath. So Tibni died and Omri became king.

COMMENTARY

15–20 Zimri’s fiery ambitions were to go up in flames. As soon as the encamped army at Gibbethon heard of the coup d’état, they proclaimed their commander, Omri, king and marched on Tirzah (vv.15–17). Unlike his predecessor, who was assassinated while getting drunk at a friend’s house (vv.9–10), Zimri saw that his bid for the throne would fail at the hands of Omri and the military, so he committed suicide by torching the royal palace around him.

21–22 The narrator treats the short period of divided loyalties between Tibni and Omri with a terse statement: “Tibni died and Omri became king.”

NOTES

21 Tibni, son of Ginath, is otherwise unknown in the OT. The name itself may be paralleled in the Akkadian “Tabni-Ea” (“may Ea give a son”) and the Phoenician “Tabnit.” The LXX and Josephus render his name “Tamni.” “Ginath” could indicate a place name. Gina is mentioned in the Amarna Tablets, possibly the OT En Gannim (Jos 19:21), modern Jenin on the southern edge of the Plain of Esdraelon. The LXX reports that Tamni was aided by his brother Joram, and Josephus (Ant. 8.311 [12.5]) says that Omri’s followers killed Tamni.

Montgomery, 290, suggests that Omri’s name is of Arabic origin (cf. “Omar”), being frequently attested in South Arabia. It seems possible that Omri may have been a foreigner who had risen to prominence in the military. The close relationship of the third dynasty with Phoenicia may point to his Canaanite extraction, while the choice of Jezreel may indicate Omri’s affinity with the tribe of Issachar.

Although the Scriptures dispose of Omri’s accomplishments in a few verses (see also Mic 6:16, which indicates that Omri enacted some statutes of lasting spiritual damage), secular history indicates that Omri was a man of international importance. The Moabite Stone (ANET, 320–21) relates that Omri had conquered the fertile and strategic Moabite plains north of the Arnon River. His stature is further attested by the fact that the Assyrian kings uniformly designate Israel by the name Bit Ḥumria (“House of Omri”). In accordance with common custom, it may be that he arranged the marriage of his son Ahab to Jezebel, the Phoenician princess, possibly for economic benefits and to offset the rising power of Ben-Hadad of Damascus, whom Ahab was to face throughout his reign.

2. The Reign of Omri in the Northern Kingdom (16:23–28)

23In the thirty-first year of Asa king of Judah, Omri became king of Israel, and he reigned twelve years, six of them in Tirzah. 24He bought the hill of Samaria from Shemer for two talents of silver and built a city on the hill, calling it Samaria, after Shemer, the name of the former owner of the hill.

25But Omri did evil in the eyes of the LORD and sinned more than all those before him. 26He walked in all the ways of Jeroboam son of Nebat and in his sin, which he had caused Israel to commit, so that they provoked the LORD, the God of Israel, to anger by their worthless idols.

27As for the other events of Omri’s reign, what he did and the things he achieved, are they not written in the book of the annals of the kings of Israel? 28Omri rested with his fathers and was buried in Samaria. And Ahab his son succeeded him as king.

COMMENTARY

23 Because Omri is credited with a twelve-year reign, even though his son Ahab succeeds him a scant seven years later (v.29), it seems apparent that the narrator credits to Omri’s rule the four-year period of interregnum.

24 The chief event of Omri’s reign was the building of a new capital. The choice of Samaria had a double benefit: it lay in neutral territory in terms of tribal affiliation, and it was defensible—a benefit that would be tested later (cf. 20:1–21; 2Ki 6:24; 18:9–10).

25–28 The narrator’s spiritual evaluation of Omri is even worse than that of his predecessors. Not only did he perpetuate the spiritual sins of Jeroboam, but also his ties with Phoenicia subjected Israel to its pagan social and religious practices.

NOTES

24 Samaria was situated on a hill overlooking the chief commercial route of the Esdraelon Plain. Excavations there confirm the biblical indications that Omri was its first builder.

3. The Reign of Ahab in the Northern Kingdom (16:29–22:40)

OVERVIEW

In the broad scheme of the author’s arrangement of the details concerning the life and times of Ahab, 16:29–34 serves as more than an accession statement. It provides the setting for the stories about the lives of Ahab and Elijah. In depicting the desperate spiritual depths of the northern kingdom, wicked Ahab will serve as the antagonist to God’s servant Elijah.

Before the closing formula (22:39–40), the narratives concerning these two men are told in two clusters. The first centers on Elijah (chs. 17–19), while the second features Ahab and his interaction with God’s prophets, including Elijah (20:1–22:40). Within the latter group of narratives we are also exposed to the complex nature of Ahab’s character through four distinct episodes. Three of them deal with Syro-Israelite hostilities (chs. 20–22) and one with Ahab’s coveting of Naboth’s vineyard (ch. 21).

The reader is also introduced to one of the chief literary foils in the accounts that comprise the later events detailed in this section—an even more wicked Jezebel. Indeed, Ahab’s debased spiritual conduct finds its nurturing in relation to his wife, Jezebel, who, as the narratives will show, is more ruthless than he.

a. Ahab’s accession (16:29–34)

29In the thirty-eighth year of Asa king of Judah, Ahab son of Omri became king of Israel, and he reigned in Samaria over Israel twenty-two years. 30Ahab son of Omri did more evil in the eyes of the LORD than any of those before him. 31He not only considered it trivial to commit the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat, but he also married Jezebel daughter of Ethbaal king of the Sidonians, and began to serve Baal and worship him. 32He set up an altar for Baal in the temple of Baal that he built in Samaria. 33Ahab also made an Asherah pole and did more to provoke the LORD, the God of Israel, to anger than did all the kings of Israel before him.

34In Ahab’s time, Hiel of Bethel rebuilt Jericho. He laid its foundations at the cost of his firstborn son Abiram, and he set up its gates at the cost of his youngest son Segub, in accordance with the word of the LORD spoken by Joshua son of Nun.

COMMENTARY

29–30 No more notorious husband-and-wife team than Ahab and Jezebel is known in all the sacred Scriptures (cf. 21:25–26). Ahab built on his father’s foundation, not only in bringing Israel into the arena of international conflict, but also in causing it to serve and worship Baal (v.30).

31–32 Ahab was a man of complex character. The remainder of this chapter makes it clear that he was unconcerned with true, vital faith (cf. 21:20). Not only did he participate personally in the sins of Jeroboam, but having willingly married Jezebel, he also followed her in the worship of Baal-Melqart, thus officially instituting and propagating Baal worship throughout his kingdom.

34 An example of his spiritual infidelity is seen in that he allowed Hiel of Bethel to rebuild Jericho as a fortified town, despite Joshua’s longstanding curse on it. The undertaking was to cost Hiel the lives of his eldest and youngest sons, in accordance with Joshua’s prophetic pronouncement (Jos 6:26).

The subsequent chapters of 1 Kings show that Ahab was selfish and sullen (20:43; 21:4–5), cruel (22:27), morally weak (21:1–16), and concerned with luxuries of this world (22:39). Though he could display real bravery (ch. 20; 22:1–39) and at times even heeded God’s Word (18:16–46; 20:13–17, 22, 28–30; 21:27–29; 22:30), nevertheless he was basically a compromiser as far as the will of God was concerned (20:31–34, 42–43; 22:8, 18, 26–28). The divine estimation of his character stands as a tragic epitaph: “There was never a man like Ahab, who sold himself to do evil in the eyes of the LORD” (21:25; cf. 16:33; 21:20; see also the note on 2Ki 10:18).

NOTES

31 Although Montgomery, 291, disallows it, the name (ʾîzebel, “Jezebel”) is probably derived from the Semitic ʾayya zebul (“Where [is] the prince?”). Names with ayya are common enough (cf. ʾayya ʾabu, “Job,” i.e., “Where is the father?”; see H. B. Huffmon, Amorite Personal Names in the Mari Texts [Baltimore: Johns Hopkins Univ. Press, 1965], 102–3, 161), and zebul was a standard title for Baal at Ugarit. Indeed the separate parts of the name were actually recited in the cultic ceremony: “Where is Baal the Mighty, Where is the Prince, Lord of the Earth?” (Gordon, 49). A relation to the old East Semitic deity ʾAyya (see J. J. M. Roberts, The Earliest Semitic Pantheon [Baltimore: Johns Hopkins Univ. Press, 1976], 19–21) is unlikely. It is possible that the scribes saw in the name an obvious pun, since (ʾî) can under certain conditions be understood as “no” (hence, “no prince”), or zebul can be read zibl (“dung”; hence “Where is the dung?”). See further the note on 2 Kings 1:2.

Ethbaal, Jezebel’s father, was not only king of the Sidonians but, according to Josephus (Ag. Ap. 1.123 [18]), was also a priest of Astarte when he gained the throne by murdering the last of the descendants of Hiram I of Tyre. Ethbaal’s dynasty endured for at least a century. Thus, as Josephus (Ant. 8.317 [13.1]) reports, he was king of Tyre and Sidon. The fact that Ben-Hadad I erected a stele to Baal-Melqart may well indicate that a treaty existed between Phoenicia and Israel.

32 Ahab’s altar in the temple in Samaria doubtless was patterned after its prototype in Tyre, which Hiram had built and in which he set a golden pillar (Josephus, Ant. 8.145 [5.3]).

34 While it is true that Joshua appointed Jericho to the territory of Benjamin (Jos 18:12), there is evidence of habitation there subsequent to Joshua’s curse and prior to Hiel’s rebuilding activities (cf. Jdg 3:13; 2Sa 10:5; 1Ch 19:5). There is neither scriptural nor archaeological indication, however, of any building of a permanently fortified place. Whether Hiel deliberately sacrificed his sons as foundation offerings (as the Targum explains)—a practice well documented in the ancient Near East (see R. A. Macalister, The Excavations of Gezer [London: Murray, 1912], 2:428; but see Montgomery, 287–88)—or whether his building activities were attended by the accidental deaths of his two sons, Joshua’s predictive curse was completely fulfilled.

Ahab himself was possibly behind the building activities, considering Jericho important to his military problems with Moab (cf. 22:39; 2Ki 1:1; 3:5 with the Moabite Stone, lines 6–9; ANET, 320). For a discussion of Jericho, see W. Dumbrell, “Jericho,” Major Cities of the Biblical World, ed. R. K. Harrison (Nashville: Nelson, 1985), 130–38. For suggestions as to the complex textual history linking Joshua 6:26 and 1 Kings 16:34, see Lea Mazor, “The Origin and Evolution of the Curse upon the Rebuilder of Jericho—A Contribution of Textual Criticism to Biblical Historiography,” Text 14 (1988): 1–26.

b. The prophetic ministry of Elijah (17:1–19:21)

OVERVIEW

Chapters 17–19 comprise a collection of stories concerning Elijah’s prophetic ministry. They fall into four basic groups. First, 17:1–6 provides an introduction to the overall plot dealing with one period of Elijah’s spiritual odyssey. Here we meet not only the prophet himself but also two of the chief characters who will play such a prominent role in his ministry: Ahab and, above all, God. The underlying problem is Israel’s fascination with Baal, the Canaanite storm god. So it is that God’s prophet confronts Ahab, who has become a royal sponsor of Baalism. Here, too, we see God’s provision and protection of his prophet at the Kerith Ravine while Elijah gains preparatory assurance of God’s empowerment for the future struggle.

The story develops as Elijah is led to Zarephath, where both he and a needy widow are cared for by the Lord’s miraculous provision. This period of Elijah’s spiritual odyssey gave the prophet further assurance of God’s power and intention to go before his prophet when the climactic day of the contest with Baal would take place (17:7–24).

The resolution to the problem of Israel’s infidelity and flirtation with Baal is told in two stages. First, Elijah met one of God’s faithful servants, Obadiah. Obadiah was also a highly trusted official for Ahab. Through him Elijah arranged a contest with Baal’s prophets at Mount Carmel (18:1–15). Second, the actual contest was joined in which the Lord miraculously burned Elijah’s water-soaked sacrifice, while Baal failed to respond to his prophets. Elijah was shown to be the true prophet, while Baal’s prophets were put to death (18:16–46).

Although the following account is at first seemingly unrelated to the drought, sober reflection clarifies that it serves as a denouement to the whole narrative. Because Jezebel was furious over Baal’s defeat on Mount Carmel, she frightened Elijah into fleeing. Eventually he was divinely directed to Mount Horeb. There the Lord reassured, reinstated, and commissioned his prophet anew (19:1–18). Serving as an epilogue to the whole section, 19:19–21 tells of Elijah’s carrying out a portion of his renewed commission in seeing to the call of Elisha to prophetic service.

Several features give the section cohesive literary unity. Robert L. Cohn (“The Literary Logic of 1 Kings 17–19,” JBL 101 [1982]: 343–49) notes in each chapter an announcement (17:1; 18:1; 19:2), a journey (17:2–5; 18:2; 19:3–4), two encounters (17:6–7, 8–16; 18:7–16, 17–20; 19:5–6, 7), a miracle (17:7–23; 18:21–38; 19:7–18), and a conversion (17:24; 18:41–19:1; 19:19–21).

i. Prologue: Elijah’s call (17:1–6)

1Now Elijah the Tishbite, from Tishbe in Gilead, said to Ahab, “As the LORD, the God of Israel, lives, whom I serve, there will be neither dew nor rain in the next few years except at my word.”

2Then the word of the LORD came to Elijah: 3“Leave here, turn eastward and hide in the Kerith Ravine, east of the Jordan. 4You will drink from the brook, and I have ordered the ravens to feed you there.”

5So he did what the LORD had told him. He went to the Kerith Ravine, east of the Jordan, and stayed there. 6The ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning and bread and meat in the evening, and he drank from the brook.

COMMENTARY

1 Verse 1 connects with the previous section by including King Ahab in the details. In meeting Elijah, the Lord’s prophet, and hearing his denunciation, Ahab must have realized that the Lord was bringing condemnation of his state sponsorship of Baal, the Canaanite god of fertility and rain.

The phrase “neither dew nor rain” is reminiscent of David’s lament over Saul and Jonathan (2Sa 1:21). The importance of these words to the reputation of Baal can be seen in Danʾel’s lament over Aqhat in the Ugaritic literature (see ANET, 153).

By “rain” was meant the regular early and latter rain of October/November and March/April. Their loss would be a mark of God’s disfavor (see EBC, 2:253–54). The dew (often falling as heavy as drizzle in some regions of Palestine) was also a sign of God’s favor to his covenantal people (Dt 33:28; Pr 19:12). However, it could be withdrawn from a thankless and apostate people (Hag 1:10). How good and pleasant it is when a grateful and obedient people willingly serve God in oneness of heart. Such service becomes as refreshing to God as the dew (Pss 110:3; 133:1, 3).

2–6 The location of the brook (or wadi) Kerith is uncertain. The Jordan River basin has many such narrow gorges. Implicit in the story is Elijah’s compliance with the Lord’s command. Such obedience is a necessary element in experiencing God’s guidance and protection (1Sa 15:22–23; Ps 119:1–4; Da 9:4).

NOTES

1 The name Elijah means “Yah is my God.” The designation “the Tishbite” is uncertain. The NIV, following the RSV (cf. LXX), interprets it as a place name in Gilead. Since Byzantine times Listib, eight miles north of the Jabbok River in the area of the shore of Mar Ilyas, has been suggested as Elijah’s hometown. A Thisbe/Tisbeh in Naphtali is known from the apocryphal story of Tobit. This latter identification seems more likely since the MT (followed by the Vulgate) literally reads that Elijah was merely one of the “settlers” in Gilead; therefore, Elijah had probably come from Tisbeh in Naphtali and had taken up residence among the settlers in Gilead. It is also plausible to suggest that Elijah’s family had been displaced to Gilead during the Aramean wars of Baasha’s time.

ii. Development: Elijah’s ministry at Zarephath (17:7–24)

OVERVIEW

The story of Elijah’s miraculous deeds at Zarephath falls into two sections. In the first (vv.7–16), the lack of rain has caused the brook Kerith to dry up (v.7). Accordingly, God sends Elijah to a widow at Zarephath in order that both his prophet and she might be cared for during the severe drought (vv.8–10). Upon his arrival, Elijah puts a difficult test before her (vv.11–14). If she would first bake a small loaf for Elijah before seeing to her family’s needs, God would honor her faith with a supply of flour and oil so long as the drought should last. Taking the prophet at his word, she obeys, and everything comes to pass as he has promised (vv.15–16).

The second portion (vv.17–24) is structured in chiastic symmetry.

A When the widow’s son falls gravely ill and dies, she blames Elijah for causing the development so as to bring up her sin before her (vv.17–18).

B Elijah takes the child from his mother (v.19).

C Having pled with God for the boy’s life, through God’s enablement he is able to effect the lad’s resuscitation (vv.20–22).

B´ Elijah takes the boy back to his mother and announces his recovery (v.23).

A´ The mother now praises Elijah and acknowledges his prophetic status (v.24).

7Some time later the brook dried up because there had been no rain in the land. 8Then the word of the LORD came to him: 9“Go at once to Zarephath of Sidon and stay there. I have commanded a widow in that place to supply you with food.” 10So he went to Zarephath. When he came to the town gate, a widow was there gathering sticks. He called to her and asked, “Would you bring me a little water in a jar so I may have a drink?” 11As she was going to get it, he called, “And bring me, please, a piece of bread.”

12“As surely as the LORD your God lives,” she replied, “I don’t have any bread—only a handful of flour in a jar and a little oil in a jug. I am gathering a few sticks to take home and make a meal for myself and my son, that we may eat it—and die.”

13Elijah said to her, “Don’t be afraid. Go home and do as you have said. But first make a small cake of bread for me from what you have and bring it to me, and then make something for yourself and your son. 14For this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: ‘The jar of flour will not be used up and the jug of oil will not run dry until the day the LORD gives rain on the land.’”

15She went away and did as Elijah had told her. So there was food every day for Elijah and for the woman and her family. 16For the jar of flour was not used up and the jug of oil did not run dry, in keeping with the word of the LORD spoken by Elijah.

17Some time later the son of the woman who owned the house became ill. He grew worse and worse, and finally stopped breathing. 18She said to Elijah, “What do you have against me, man of God? Did you come to remind me of my sin and kill my son?”

19“Give me your son,” Elijah replied. He took him from her arms, carried him to the upper room where he was staying, and laid him on his bed. 20Then he cried out to the LORD, “O LORD my God, have you brought tragedy also upon this widow I am staying with, by causing her son to die?” 21Then he stretched himself out on the boy three times and cried to the LORD, “O LORD my God, let this boy’s life return to him!”

22The LORD heard Elijah’s cry, and the boy’s life returned to him, and he lived. 23Elijah picked up the child and carried him down from the room into the house. He gave him to his mother and said, “Look, your son is alive!”

24Then the woman said to Elijah, “Now I know that you are a man of God and that the word of the LORD from your mouth is the truth.”

COMMENTARY

7–16 Two aspects of the setting are significant. The first is the location where the events occurred. Zarephath was situated in Phoenician territory, Jezebel’s homeland and the heartland of Baal. Because the city lay in enemy territory, it might be overlooked for some time in Ahab’s search for Elijah (cf. 18:10).

The second is the growing severity of the drought. Once again the theme of command and compliance is featured. At Elijah’s instructions the widow puts Elijah’s needs ahead of her own. It proves to be a wise decision, for her meager rations continue to be adequate for each day’s needs (cf. Mt 6:11). Thus both Elijah and the widow learn to put their continued faith and trust in the Provider rather than in the provision.

Not only the Lord’s daily supplying of their needs, but also the fact that God does so in the very area where Baal is counted on to provide the rains needed for the land’s fertility will further prepare the prophet for the contest with Baal’s prophets that lies ahead. This incident and that which follows are reminders of God’s love and concern for all who respond to him in genuine faith (cf. Lk 4:24–26).

17 As in the previous episode (v.7), the narrator reports the passing of a period of some time. The absence of breath indicated that the lad has died from his illness. Rather than his experiencing a mere “temporary suspension of animation or deprivation of the faculties” (Gray, 382), both the mother and Elijah attest to the boy’s death (vv.18–20, 23).

18 The mother feels that some forgotten sin on her part must have occasioned her son’s death. She believes that such sin cannot go unrequited in the presence of a man in whom the Spirit of God is abiding (cf. Mk 1:24; Lk 5:8).

The term “man of God” could be used of a prophet (e.g., Dt 33:1; 1Sa 9:6). It was used previously of the prophet from Bethel who condemned Jeroboam’s altar (1Ki 13:1) and appears later to refer to Elisha (2Ki 6:15). In the NT Paul challenged Timothy with similar phraseology (1Ti 6:11).

19 Elijah stayed in a room (or temporary shelter) on the roof, which was accessible from outside the house. Such structures were common in the Near East. This arrangement allowed the widow not only her needed privacy but also guarded her reputation.

20–21 There is no certain indication that Elijah used the same technique that Elisha would later use with the Shunammite’s lad (cf. 2Ki 4:34), though that possibility exists. Paul was prepared to perform a similar symbolic act in the case of Eutychus (Ac 20:10; cf. 9:36–43).

24 The woman’s testimony to Elijah expresses more than admiration for the prophet. She acknowledges that truth is to be found in his God-given words. Thus the chapter ends as it began, by testifying to the efficacy of the prophetic word.

NOTES

9 Zarephath (cf. Akkad. ṣarpitu, Egyp. ḏarata, Gr. sarepta) is modern Ras Sarafand, seven miles south of Sidon. The widow’s position was most precarious. Widows such as this one were largely dependent on charity and very poor. For Elijah to seem to make himself dependent on such a one would provoke a dramatic test of faith in God’s provision. See R. Patterson, “The Widow, the Orphan and the Poor,” BSac 130 (1973): 223–34.

12 (māʿôg, “cake, bread”) is usually derived from the Arabic ʾawaju (“curved,” hence “round cake/bread”). It differs from the more usual word (ʿugâ, “cake of [bread]”) found in v.13. Note that the denominative verb (ʿûg, “bake [a cake]”) was used of baking on stones (cf. 19:6) heated with dry dung rather than charcoal for fuel (cf. Eze 4:12).

18 For the expression “What do you have against me?” see the note on 2 Kings 3:13 (cf. Jdg 11:12; 2Sa 16:10; Jn 2:4).

24 The Syrian translation, followed by Jerome, that the lad was the prophet Jonah is totally unsatisfactory and historically impossible (cf. 2Ki 14:25).

iii. Resolution: Elijah’s contest on Mount Carmel (18:1–46)

OVERVIEW

Chapter 18 provides the resolution both to the problem of the terrible drought and the underlying question of whether Yahweh or Baal is God. It proceeds in two sections: an initial movement featuring Elijah and Obadiah (vv.1–15), and a climactic second account of Elijah’s contest with the prophets of Baal (vv.16–46).

(a) Initiation: Elijah and Obadiah (18:1–15)

OVERVIEW

This opening pericope is structured in chiastic symmetry.

A God commands Elijah to present himself before Ahab. He, not Baal, will send rain on the land (vv.1–2a).

B Meanwhile, we learn that Ahab and his trusted official, Obadiah (who was also a believer in Yahweh), have left on a sweep of the land searching for fodder for the royal animals (vv.2b–6).

C As Obadiah proceeds on his assignment, he meets Elijah, who instructs him to inform Ahab that he is back and desires an audience with the king (vv.7–8).

B´ Obadiah protests. Because Ahab had sought Elijah everywhere, if Obadiah should report to Ahab that he had found Elijah but God suddenly sent his prophet elsewhere, Obadiah’s life could be in danger (vv.9–14).

A´ Elijah assures Obadiah that he will present himself to Ahab (v.15).

1After a long time, in the third year, the word of the LORD came to Elijah: “Go and present yourself to Ahab, and I will send rain on the land.” 2So Elijah went to present himself to Ahab.

Now the famine was severe in Samaria, 3and Ahab had summoned Obadiah, who was in charge of his palace. (Obadiah was a devout believer in the LORD. 4While Jezebel was killing off the LORD’s prophets, Obadiah had taken a hundred prophets and hidden them in two caves, fifty in each, and had supplied them with food and water.) 5Ahab had said to Obadiah, “Go through the land to all the springs and valleys. Maybe we can find some grass to keep the horses and mules alive so we will not have to kill any of our animals.” 6So they divided the land they were to cover, Ahab going in one direction and Obadiah in another.

7As Obadiah was walking along, Elijah met him. Obadiah recognized him, bowed down to the ground, and said, “Is it really you, my lord Elijah?”

8“Yes,” he replied. “Go tell your master, ‘Elijah is here.’”

9“What have I done wrong,” asked Obadiah, “that you are handing your servant over to Ahab to be put to death? 10As surely as the LORD your God lives, there is not a nation or kingdom where my master has not sent someone to look for you. And whenever a nation or kingdom claimed you were not there, he made them swear they could not find you. 11But now you tell me to go to my master and say, ‘Elijah is here.’ 12I don’t know where the Spirit of the LORD may carry you when I leave you. If I go and tell Ahab and he doesn’t find you, he will kill me. Yet I your servant have worshiped the LORD since my youth. 13Haven’t you heard, my lord, what I did while Jezebel was killing the prophets of the LORD? I hid a hundred of the LORD’s prophets in two caves, fifty in each, and supplied them with food and water. 14And now you tell me to go to my master and say, ‘Elijah is here.’ He will kill me!”

15Elijah said, “As the LORD Almighty lives, whom I serve, I will surely present myself to Ahab today.”

COMMENTARY

1 According to the NT the drought lasted three and one-half years (Lk 4:25; Jas 5:17). If the three-and-one-half-year period is not conventional language for a particular period of tribulation (cf. Da 7:25; 12:7, 11; Rev 11:3), the three years of the MT may be taken either as an approximate period of time or as a standard motif for a time of spiritual activity. The difference may, of course, be a matter of how the time involved is calculated.

3 The title (ʿal habbayit, “in charge of the palace”) is a technical term designating the king’s chief officer (cf. Arza, 16:9; see comments on 4:6). Obadiah serves as a literary foil to contrast the ungodly character of Ahab. While Ahab’s concern for fodder for the royal animals goes unrequited, Obadiah manages to supply food for the Lord’s prophets.

4–6 Fifty constituted a standard company, whether for military purposes (2Ki 1:9, 12–13) or others (2Ki 2:7).

7–8 Obadiah’s recognition of Elijah may be due to the fact that the prophet was well known or because of his strange attire (2Ki 1:8). So also was the case of the one who came in the spirit of Elijah (Mt 3:4).

9–15 Obadiah saw Elijah’s command as a virtual death sentence unless the prophet actually appeared before Ahab. Elijah’s assurance not only comforted Obadiah but also gave testimony to his obedience to the divine commission (in contrast to Jonah).

NOTES

3 Obadiah (which means “servant of the LORD”) has been identified in Jewish tradition with the minor prophet of the same name, but such an identification is unlikely. His office apparently involved being the king’s personal representative and the bearer of the royal seal.

4 For this association of prophets that met and possibly lived together for study, prophesying and spiritual edification, and service, see 1 Samuel 10:5; 2 Kings 2:3–7; 6:1–2. LaSor (NBC [rev. ed.], 343) wisely cautions against ascribing too much prominence to the school of prophets, as is sometimes done (cf., e.g., C. F. Whitley, The Prophetic Achievement [Leiden: Brill, 1963], 3–4; R. B. Y. Scott, The Relevance of the Prophets [rev. ed.; New York: MacMillan, 1968], 45–47). Certainly the OT says little about them. That Obadiah would have little difficulty in finding caves for the sons of the prophets can be seen in that over two thousand caves have been counted in the Mount Carmel area. The NIV’s “fifty in each” is probably the correct understanding, as read in thirteen Hebrew MSS and as comparison with v.13 indicates. The LXX reads “by fifties” (cf. RSV, NASB). One “fifty” seems to have been omitted in the transmission of the MT here.

5 The importance of horses to Ahab is reflected in the records of Shalmaneser III of Assyria (859–824 BC), who mentioned that two thousand chariots were furnished by Ahab to the Syrian coalition that opposed him at Qarqar (see ANET, 279).

15 The NIV correctly translates (yhwh ṣ^ebāʾôt, “Yahweh of hosts”) as “LORD Almighty,” discerning that the divine name cannot stand in the construct state. Accordingly Byzantine and medieval writers preferred to translate the term by κύριος παντοκράτωρ (kyrios pantokratōr, “Lord Almighty”), found frequently in the LXX (cf. 2Co 6:18). The form is probably an abbreviation of some longer term, such as “The Lord YHWH, the God of hosts” (Am 3:13). Theologically it signifies that the Lord stands as a mighty ruler at the head of a vast retinue of heavenly powers ready to act at his command. See further G. Vos, Biblical Theology (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1954), 258–63; C. K. Lehman, Biblical Theology (Scottdale, Penn.: Herald, 1971), 1:222–30.

(b) Climax: Elijah and the prophets of Baal (18:16–46)

OVERVIEW

The whole affair concerning the drought reaches its climax in the contest on Mount Carmel. The account is structured in four units, the first and last forming an inclusio featuring dialogue between Elijah and Ahab.

1. 1. Obadiah carries out Elijah’s instructions to report to Ahab his return. Elijah then instructs Ahab to summon the prophets of Baal to Mount Carmel for a contest as to who represents true deity (vv.16–19).
2. 2. When all are present on Mount Carmel, Elijah addresses the people and presents a challenge to follow either God or Baal. He then prepares the format of the contest, to which all agree (vv.20–24).
3. 3. In the course of the contest Baal’s prophets are unsuccessful in getting their god to answer their petition to accept their sacrifice. However, Yahweh does answer Elijah’s plea with a heaven-sent consuming fire, even though the sacrifice has been doused with water. The people are convinced by the miraculous deed, and at Elijah’s command the prophets of Baal are executed (vv.25–40).
4. 4. True to Elijah’s warning to Ahab, a huge storm comes, thus signaling the end of the drought. The whole episode concludes with Elijah’s running ahead of Ahab’s chariot as the king makes his way to Jezreel (vv.41–46).

16So Obadiah went to meet Ahab and told him, and Ahab went to meet Elijah. 17When he saw Elijah, he said to him, “Is that you, you troubler of Israel?”

18“I have not made trouble for Israel,” Elijah replied. “But you and your father’s family have. You have abandoned the LORD’s commands and have followed the Baals. 19Now summon the people from all over Israel to meet me on Mount Carmel. And bring the four hundred and fifty prophets of Baal and the four hundred prophets of Asherah, who eat at Jezebel’s table.”

20So Ahab sent word throughout all Israel and assembled the prophets on Mount Carmel. 21Elijah went before the people and said, “How long will you waver between two opinions? If the LORD is God, follow him; but if Baal is God, follow him.”

But the people said nothing.

22Then Elijah said to them, “I am the only one of the LORD’s prophets left, but Baal has four hundred and fifty prophets. 23Get two bulls for us. Let them choose one for themselves, and let them cut it into pieces and put it on the wood but not set fire to it. I will prepare the other bull and put it on the wood but not set fire to it. 24Then you call on the name of your god, and I will call on the name of the LORD. The god who answers by fire—he is God.”

Then all the people said, “What you say is good.”

25Elijah said to the prophets of Baal, “Choose one of the bulls and prepare it first, since there are so many of you. Call on the name of your god, but do not light the fire.” 26So they took the bull given them and prepared it.

Then they called on the name of Baal from morning till noon. “O Baal, answer us!” they shouted. But there was no response; no one answered. And they danced around the altar they had made.

27At noon Elijah began to taunt them. “Shout louder!” he said. “Surely he is a god! Perhaps he is deep in thought, or busy, or traveling. Maybe he is sleeping and must be awakened.” 28So they shouted louder and slashed themselves with swords and spears, as was their custom, until their blood flowed. 29Midday passed, and they continued their frantic prophesying until the time for the evening sacrifice. But there was no response, no one answered, no one paid attention.

30Then Elijah said to all the people, “Come here to me.” They came to him, and he repaired the altar of the LORD, which was in ruins. 31Elijah took twelve stones, one for each of the tribes descended from Jacob, to whom the word of the LORD had come, saying, “Your name shall be Israel.” 32With the stones he built an altar in the name of the LORD, and he dug a trench around it large enough to hold two seahs of seed. 33He arranged the wood, cut the bull into pieces and laid it on the wood. Then he said to them, “Fill four large jars with water and pour it on the offering and on the wood.”

34“Do it again,” he said, and they did it again.

“Do it a third time,” he ordered, and they did it the third time. 35The water ran down around the altar and even filled the trench.

36At the time of sacrifice, the prophet Elijah stepped forward and prayed: “O LORD, God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel, let it be known today that you are God in Israel and that I am your servant and have done all these things at your command. 37Answer me, O LORD, answer me, so these people will know that you, O LORD, are God, and that you are turning their hearts back again.”

38Then the fire of the LORD fell and burned up the sacrifice, the wood, the stones and the soil, and also licked up the water in the trench.

39When all the people saw this, they fell prostrate and cried, “The LORD—he is God! The LORD—he is God!”

40Then Elijah commanded them, “Seize the prophets of Baal. Don’t let anyone get away!” They seized them, and Elijah had them brought down to the Kishon Valley and slaughtered there.

41And Elijah said to Ahab, “Go, eat and drink, for there is the sound of a heavy rain.” 42So Ahab went off to eat and drink, but Elijah climbed to the top of Carmel, bent down to the ground and put his face between his knees.

43“Go and look toward the sea,” he told his servant. And he went up and looked.

“There is nothing there,” he said.

Seven times Elijah said, “Go back.”

44The seventh time the servant reported, “A cloud as small as a man’s hand is rising from the sea.”

So Elijah said, “Go and tell Ahab, ‘Hitch up your chariot and go down before the rain stops you.’”

45Meanwhile, the sky grew black with clouds, the wind rose, a heavy rain came on and Ahab rode off to Jezreel. 46The power of the LORD came upon Elijah and, tucking his cloak into his belt, he ran ahead of Ahab all the way to Jezreel.

COMMENTARY

17–18 Ahab calls Elijah the “troubler of Israel.” Indirectly, at least, Ahab feels that the famine has been all Elijah’s fault; because of Elijah’s hostile attitude, Baal has been angered and so has withheld rain for the past three years. Elijah’s reply is particularly instructive. Not he, but Ahab and his family are the real troublers, for they have made Baal worship the state religion (v.18). The plural “Baals” indicates that Baal was worshiped under various titles at different locations.

19 Mount Carmel is part of the Carmel Ridge, which divides the coastal plain of Palestine into the Plain of Acco to the north and the plains of Sharon and Philistia to the south. To this day a Carmelite monastery, dedicated to the remembrance of Elijah, exists at the end of the northwestern part of the mountain. The actual scene of Elijah’s contest, however, may well be sought on the eastern side among Carmel’s taller peaks at El Muhraqa.

Note that the four hundred prophets of Asherah, included in Elijah’s challenge, are not present for the contest (cf. vv.22, 40).

20–21 Elijah confronts the people who have gathered on the mountain with the same challenge that Joshua had issued so long ago: Serve God or serve another (cf. Mt 6:24). Unlike Joshua’s people, Elijah’s audience holds its peace.

22–29 Elijah proposes a test in accordance with the scriptural precedent established by Aaron (Lev 9). As the contest stretches on, Elijah mocks the prophets of Baal. See Note on v.27.

30–35 The availability of a fallen altar to Yahweh makes Mount Carmel an ideal place for the contest. The altar’s disarray is a visible reminder of the people’s broken spiritual condition. Further, the twelve stones will remind them of the Lord’s proper claim on his people as descendents of Jacob/Israel.

36–37 The verb translated “stepped forward” is the same as that translated “come here” in v.30. Thus the narrator implies that the people, who are now far away from God spiritually, need to draw near to God’s appointed means of worship. “Israel” here replaces “Jacob” in the familiar motif of “the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.” The change is doubtless deliberate. Much as their ancestor Jacob achieved success by clinging to Yahweh, so the people must abandon Baal and return to the God of their covenant.

38–40 God’s answer to Elijah’s prayer stands in stark contrast to Baal’s dead silence at his prophets’ ecstatic frenzy (cf. v.29). G. E. Saint-Laurant (“Light from Ras Shamra on Elijah’s Ordeal upon Mount Carmel,” in Scripture in Context, ed. C. E. Evans, W. W. Hallo, and J. B. White [Pittsburgh, Penn.: Pickwick, 1980], 135) concludes that “the biblical author has deliberately emphasized those dimensions of the story which most sharply contrast the powerful dominion of Yahweh with the impotence of Baal.”

41–43 The excitement of these dramatic events is heightened by a Hebrew word (hāmôn, “sound”) that signals the rumbling thunder announcing the fast approaching storm. Rain is on the way, though Elijah also needs to pray for it (cf. Jas 5:18).

44–46 The Hebrew word for “cloud” (ʾāb) refers to a thick, dark, rainy cloud mass (cf. Jdg 5:4; 2Sa 23:4). Ahab’s need for haste in the face of the oncoming cloudburst can be appreciated when one realizes that his chariot must travel seventeen miles through the accumulating mud and across the quickly swelling dry wadis.

NOTES

21 The verb (pāsaḥ, “waver”) means literally “be lame” (cf. Akkad. pessû, “lame”). In the Piel it means “limp,” as in the case of Mephibosheth (2Sa 9:13). Elijah obviously intends a wordplay comparing the people’s indecision with the frenzied ritualistic dancing of the prophets of Baal. See R. de Vaux, “The Prophets of Baal on Mt. Carmel,” in The Bible and the Ancient Near East (Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday, 1971), 240–43.

27 Elijah’s irony borders on sarcasm (cf. 22:15). (śîaḥ, “deep in thought”) and (śîg, “busy”; probably a biform of / [sûg/sîg, “move, turn back”]). De Vaux (“The Prophets of Baal on Mount Carmel,” 243–46) suggests that they are synonymous and typical of Baal-Melqart’s commercial activities. G. R. Driver (“Problems of Interpretation in the Heptateuch,” Mélanges bibliques rédiges en l’honneur de André Robert [Paris: Bloud & Gay, 1957], 66–68) likewise considers them synonymous and equates the former word with śîaḥ/śûaḥ, “to defecate”). He concludes that the whole phrase is euphemistic. See also G. Rendsburg, “The Mock of Baal in 1 Kings 18:27,” CBQ 50 (1988): 414–17.

On the whole it may be safest to follow the NIV here in separating all three ideas of the verse and relating them to the known activities of the great gods of the ancient Near East.

29 The time of the evening sacrifice, when the chief daily service would be observed (Josephus, Ant. 14.65 [4.3]) was about 3:00 p.m. (see Alfred Edersheim, The Temple [Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1972], 143). On the question of Baal’s resting, see the interesting study by H. Jackson, “Elijah’s Sleeping Baal” (Bib 79 [1998]: 413); he finds parallels with the Egyptian literature dealing with arousing a sleeping god, and contrasts with the Mesopotamian Atraḫasis Epic, in which Enlil’s loss of sleep is due to humankind’s noisy activities.

37–38 For a similar figure, see the comments on Joel 2:12–14. For the “fire of the LORD/God,” see Leviticus 9:24; Numbers 11:1–3; 2 Kings 1:10–12; 1 Chronicles 21:26; 2 Chronicles 7:1. Fire was a symbol of the divine presence (Ex 3:2; 19:17–18; Dt 5:4), especially in God’s purifying and sanctifying influences (Eze 1:13; Mal 3:2–3).

Several scholars have suggested that the “fire” was a lightning stroke; if so, it heralded the onset of the soon-coming storm. L. Bronner, 54–77, demonstrates that Yahweh’s command over fire, water, and rain is a deliberate repudiation of Baal, who was assumed to have command over these elements.

46 Jezreel, modern Zenʾin, lay at the foot of Mount Gilboa, midway between Megiddo and Bethshan. Elijah’s running ahead of Ahab’s chariot contains several points of interest. (1) While Elijah’s strength for such a long run was due to divine enablement (cf. Isa 40:31), even on a natural basis it would not be impossible. Montgomery, 307, points out that Arab runners can easily cover one hundred miles in two days.

(2) The position as an outrunner for the king was a privileged one in the ancient Near East (see the “Barrakab Inscription,” ANET, 655; cf. Est 6:9, 11).

(3) Elijah may have been concerned for spiritual progress in Israel. What would happen when Ahab faced Jezebel with the news of the events of this day? Would Israel follow God or Baal (cf. v.21)? Elijah himself would come to wicked Jezebel as a herald of the truth (cf. Jnh 1:2; 3:2; 1Ti 2:7; 2Ti 1:11; 2Pe 2:5).

(4) The motif of the “outstretched hand of God” in behalf of his own is a familiar one in the OT (see, e.g., Ex 6:6–7; 7:5; Dt 5:15; 26:5–9; Jer 32:16–22). The prophets used it also to remind Israel and Judah that that same divine hand could be stretched out in judgment against his own when sinful disobedience entered their lives (Isa 5:25–26; 9:12–17; 10:4; Jer 21:5; Eze 14:13; 16:27).

iv. Denouement: Elijah’s retreat to Horeb (19:1–18)

OVERVIEW

The first portion of ch. 19 proceeds in a series of three short scenes. In the first (vv.1–4a), Jezebel’s threats against Elijah’s life cause him to flee southward to the desert beyond Beersheba. There the discouraged prophet wishes for death but is sustained by an angel, who instructs him to go further southward (vv.4b–8). Reaching Mount Horeb he finds shelter in a cave, where the Lord patiently but firmly first reproves, then restores and commissions his servant anew (vv.9–18).

1Now Ahab told Jezebel everything Elijah had done and how he had killed all the prophets with the sword. 2So Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah to say, “May the gods deal with me, be it ever so severely, if by this time tomorrow I do not make your life like that of one of them.”

3Elijah was afraid and ran for his life. When he came to Beersheba in Judah, he left his servant there, 4while he himself went a day’s journey into the desert. He came to a broom tree, sat down under it and prayed that he might die. “I have had enough, LORD,” he said. “Take my life; I am no better than my ancestors.” 5Then he lay down under the tree and fell asleep.

All at once an angel touched him and said, “Get up and eat.” 6He looked around, and there by his head was a cake of bread baked over hot coals, and a jar of water. He ate and drank and then lay down again.

7The angel of the LORD came back a second time and touched him and said, “Get up and eat, for the journey is too much for you.” 8So he got up and ate and drank. Strengthened by that food, he traveled forty days and forty nights until he reached Horeb, the mountain of God. 9There he went into a cave and spent the night.

And the word of the LORD came to him: “What are you doing here, Elijah?”

10He replied, “I have been very zealous for the LORD God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected your covenant, broken down your altars, and put your prophets to death with the sword. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me too.”

11The LORD said, “Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the LORD, for the LORD is about to pass by.”

Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake. 12After the earthquake came a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper. 13When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave.

Then a voice said to him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”

14He replied, “I have been very zealous for the LORD God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected your covenant, broken down your altars, and put your prophets to death with the sword. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me too.”

15The LORD said to him, “Go back the way you came, and go to the Desert of Damascus. When you get there, anoint Hazael king over Aram. 16Also, anoint Jehu son of Nimshi king over Israel, and anoint Elisha son of Shaphat from Abel Meholah to succeed you as prophet. 17Jehu will put to death any who escape the sword of Hazael, and Elisha will put to death any who escape the sword of Jehu. 18Yet I reserve seven thousand in Israel—all whose knees have not bowed down to Baal and all whose mouths have not kissed him.”

COMMENTARY

1 Jezebel was of royal blood and every bit a queen. She could be ruthless in pursuing her goals (21:11–15). Her personality was so forceful that even Ahab feared her and was corrupted by her (16:31; 21:25). Both the northern kingdom (16:32–33) and the southern kingdom, through the marriage of her step-daughter Athaliah into the royal house of Judah (2Ki 8:16–19; 11:1–20; 2Ch 21:5–7), experienced moral degradation and spiritual degeneracy through her corrupting influence.

2–3 Probably Elijah played into Jezebel’s hand. Had she really wanted him dead, she could have seized him without warning and slain him. The great prophet’s flight betrayed a notable spiritual flaw, as God’s subsequent dealing with Elijah displays. His God-given successes had fostered an inordinate pride (cf. vv.4, 10, 14), which had made him take his own importance too seriously. Moreover, Elijah had come to bask in the glow of the spectacular. He may have fully expected that because of what had been accomplished at Mount Carmel, Jezebel would capitulate and pagan worship would come to an end in Israel—all through his influence!

What Elijah needed to learn, God would soon show him (vv.11–12). God does not always move in the realm of the extraordinary. To live always seeking one “high experience” after another is to have a misdirected zeal. The majority of life’s service is in quiet, routine, humble obedience to God’s will.

4 Elijah’s request for death indicates the depth of his disillusionment and despair. The scene is reminiscent of Jonah’s great disappointment at God’s sparing of Nineveh (Jnh 4:3).

5–7 Elijah should have recognized God’s concern for his prophet in the angel’s supplying his need for nourishment for the journey that lay ahead. The narrator expects the reader to make the connection between the Kerith Ravine incident (17:2–6) and the miraculous supply at the widow of Zarephath’s home (17:13–16). In the latter case the correlation is unmistakable, for the Hebrew words used for “the cake of bread” and “jar” are those used previously in 17:13–14.

8 Horeb (i.e., Mount Sinai) is called “the mountain of God” (see Ex 3:1; see also Ex 4:27; 18:5; Dt 5:2; for the significance of Sinai, see TWOT, 2:622–23). Elijah’s forty-day journey is not without significance. Indeed, a straight trip from Beersheba would require little more than a quarter of that time; therefore, the period is designedly symbolic. As the children of Israel had a notable spiritual failure and so had to wander forty years in the wilderness, so a defeated Elijah was to spend forty days in the desert (cf. Nu 14:26–35). As Moses had spent forty days on the mountain without bread and water, sustained only by God while he awaited a new phase of service (Ex 34:28), so Elijah was to spend forty days thrown on the divine enablement as he prepared for a new charge by God (cf. Mt 4:1–2). As Moses was to see the presence of God (Ex 33:12–23), so Elijah was to find God, though in a different way from that which he could ever imagine.

9–10 Ironically, before the contest on Mount Carmel Obadiah had quartered one hundred prophets in two separate caves to hide them from Ahab’s wrath. Now it is Elijah who finds himself in a cave. He may have been in a spot more sacred than he realized. The Hebrew text says, “He came there to the cave,” possibly the very “cleft in the rock” where God had placed Moses as his glory passed by (Ex 33:21–23).

At length the word of the Lord aroused Elijah. The penetrating interrogation called for minute self-evaluation (v.9b; cf. Ge 3:9). Did Elijah yet understand his failure and God’s gracious guidance in bringing him to this place? Elijah’s reply indicated that he did not. Like Phineas of old, he alone had been zealous for the Lord in the midst of gross idolatry (v.10; cf. Nu 25:7–13). In his self-pity Elijah apparently forgot the faithful prophets whom Obadiah had previously hidden. Unlike Jonah, who was disappointed in God’s graciousness to the people of Nineveh when they repented at Jonah’s preaching (Jnh 4:1–2), Elijah was disappointed that his spectacular victory was at best short-lived.

11–12 Wind, earthquake, and fire are all natural phenomena that often heralded God’s presence or appearance (Ex 19:16–18; Dt 5:23–26; Jdg 5:4–5; 2Sa 22:8–16; Pss 18:7–15; 68:8; Heb 12:18). Elijah’s recognition of God’s voice in the “gentle whisper” (cf. NRSV, “sound of sheer silence”) should have been a lesson for Elijah. Even God did not always operate in the realm of the spectacular.

13–14 Because Elijah knew he could not look at God and live, like Moses before him he covered his face (cf. Ex 33:20–22). The repetition of the Lord’s question, “What are you doing here?” may be understood in several ways. (1) It may be an emphatic reiteration of the original question (v.9) as to why he is there rather than about his prophetic commission. (2) It may be an advance on the first question, asking whether Elijah understood (a) the significance of this holy place and (b) why he was brought there. Perhaps all these possibilities are involved. In any case, Elijah’s answer indicates that either he does not understand the interrogation or stubbornly refuses to admit its implications.

15–18 God again deals graciously with his prophet. He must go back to the northern kingdom (v.15), the place where he had veered off the track with God in his spiritual life (cf. Abram, Ge 13:3–4; John Mark, Ac 15:39). Elijah still has work to accomplish for God. That task is threefold: (1) in the realm of international politics, he is to anoint Hazael to succeed Ben-Hadad, Israel’s perennial adversary in Damascus; (2) in national affairs, Jehu is to be anointed as the next king (v.16); and (3) in the spiritual realm, Elisha is to be commissioned as his successor (cf. God’s instruction to Moses in Nu 27:18–23).

The threefold commission is singularly interrelated (v.17). Jehu’s work will supplement that of Hazael; that is, those people in Israel who escape Hazael’s purge will be dealt with by Jehu. In turn, those who survive Jehu’s slaughter must face the spiritual judgment of Elisha. To encourage his restored prophet further, God sets the record straight: there are yet seven thousand true believers in Israel who have not embraced Baal (v.18).

It is to Elijah’s credit that he does respond favorably to God’s dealing with him. No such certainty was forthcoming in the case of Jonah.

NOTES

3 Most modern commentaries and versions follow the lead of the ancient versions in pointing the Hebrew phrase (wayyirāʾ, “and he was afraid”) rather than reading the MT’s (wayyar ʾ, “and he saw”). R. B. Allen, however (“Elijah the Broken Prophet.” JETS 22 [1979]: 202), demonstrates the defensibility of the MT. He contends that Elijah fled not in fear but as a prophet broken by Jezebel’s unrepentant paganism and continuing power over the nation and its destiny.

4 The “broom tree” is a shrub found in abundance in southern Palestine. It has long slender branches with small leaves and fragrant, delicate blossoms. Common among the wadis, they often reach a height of ten feet (cf. Fauna and Flora of the Old Testament [London: United Bible Societies, 1972], 100–101).

7 For “the angel of the LORD,” see Notes on 2 Kings 1:3.

15 For Hazael see the comment on 2 Kings 8:8; for Jehu, see 2 Kings 9–10.

16 Abel Meholah was situated in the Jordan Valley south of Bethshan. Famous for Gideon’s victory over the Midianites (Jdg 7:22), it will now be the scene of Elisha’s submission to the Lord’s call to prophetic ministry. Although kings or priests were anointed for office, this place is the only one where a prophet is so designated.

v. Epilogue: Elijah and the call of Elisha (19:19–21)

19So Elijah went from there and found Elisha son of Shaphat. He was plowing with twelve yoke of oxen, and he himself was driving the twelfth pair. Elijah went up to him and threw his cloak around him. 20Elisha then left his oxen and ran after Elijah. “Let me kiss my father and mother good-by,” he said, “and then I will come with you.”

“Go back,” Elijah replied. “What have I done to you?”

21So Elisha left him and went back. He took his yoke of oxen and slaughtered them. He burned the plowing equipment to cook the meat and gave it to the people, and they ate. Then he set out to follow Elijah and became his attendant.

COMMENTARY

19–21 The number of oxen plowing signifies that Elisha comes from a family of some means. A surrender to ministry would mean counting the cost.

Elijah took the same mantle with which he had covered his face and threw it over Elisha as an act of investiture. Elisha responded without hesitation. Taking his leave of Elijah, Elisha returned home to enjoy a farewell meal with his family and friends. The meat was cooked over Elisha’s own plowing equipment. Thus he had burned his past behind him. Henceforth he would serve God. Doing so, however, meant first learning more of him through being Elijah’s assistant.

Walsh, 279–80, points out the finality of Elisha’s break with the past. He notes that the verb translated “slaughtered” (Heb.zābaḥ) is customarily used of killing an animal for sacrifice. As well, the phrase used in the act of boiling the animal is significant in that it “evokes the notion of a šlm, or communion sacrifice, in which a person offers an animal to Yahweh in thanksgiving for divine blessings and uses the sacrificial meat to host a meal for family and friends.”

NOTES

21 Elisha’s genuine break with the past stands in bold contrast with those false disciples who wished only to appear pious before Jesus (Mt 8:18–22; Lk 9:57–62). Elisha begins a period of humble service and training at the side of the master prophet, much as Joshua served under Moses (cf. Ex 24:13–18; Nu 27:18–23; Dt 1:38; 3:21–22, 27–28; 31:7–23; 34:9).

c. Ahab and the Syro-Israelite campaigns (20:1–43)

i. The Aramean crisis (20:1–12)

OVERVIEW

This section is comprised of three units structured in chiastic symmetry.

A An introductory narrative statement dealing with the Aramean invasion provides the background for the whole narrative concerning the Syro-Israelite conflict (v.1).

B A series of three diplomatic exchanges (vv.2–4, 5–9, 10–11) highlights the growing political crisis.

A´ A narrative statement (v.12) brings closure to the section, while also providing the setting for the account of the two military confrontations that follow (vv.13–34).

1Now Ben-Hadad king of Aram mustered his entire army. Accompanied by thirty-two kings with their horses and chariots, he went up and besieged Samaria and attacked it. 2He sent messengers into the city to Ahab king of Israel, saying, “This is what Ben-Hadad says: 3‘Your silver and gold are mine, and the best of your wives and children are mine.’”

4The king of Israel answered, “Just as you say, my lord the king. I and all I have are yours.”

5The messengers came again and said, “This is what Ben-Hadad says: ‘I sent to demand your silver and gold, your wives and your children. 6But about this time tomorrow I am going to send my officials to search your palace and the houses of your officials. They will seize everything you value and carry it away.’”

7The king of Israel summoned all the elders of the land and said to them, “See how this man is looking for trouble! When he sent for my wives and my children, my silver and my gold, I did not refuse him.”

8The elders and the people all answered, “Don’t listen to him or agree to his demands.”

9So he replied to Ben-Hadad’s messengers, “Tell my lord the king, ‘Your servant will do all you demanded the first time, but this demand I cannot meet.’” They left and took the answer back to Ben-Hadad.

10Then Ben-Hadad sent another message to Ahab: “May the gods deal with me, be it ever so severely, if enough dust remains in Samaria to give each of my men a handful.”

11The king of Israel answered, “Tell him: ‘One who puts on his armor should not boast like one who takes it off.’”

12Ben-Hadad heard this message while he and the kings were drinking in their tents, and he ordered his men: “Prepare to attack.” So they prepared to attack the city.

COMMENTARY

1 The identity of Ben-Hadad (possibly a dynastic throne name) has been the subject of much scholarly debate. Some scholars (e.g., Albright, Bright, House, Montgomery, Unger) decide that this king is still Ben-Hadad I, assigning to him a reign that spanned most of the ninth century. Others (e.g., Edwards, Keil, Kitchen, Malamat, Wiseman, Wood), on the basis of v.34, which appears to differentiate the king of this chapter from the one who invaded the northern kingdom previously in the days of Baasha, suggest that Ben-Hadad I died somewhere about 860 BC and that he was succeeded by his son Ben-Hadad II (ca. 860–843 BC).

On the whole the second interpretation seems to fit the historical details adequately and allows the most natural interpretation of v.34. The Annals of Shalmaneser III of Assyria (858–824 BC) give his name as (H)adad-Ezer, possibly a throne name. Accordingly, the identity and dates of the Aramean kings adopted here are as follows:

• Ben-Hadad I (ca. 885–860 BC), son of Tabrimmon (1Ki 15:18)
• Ben-Hadad II (ca. 860–842 BC)
• Hazael (ca. 841–802 BC)
• Ben-Hadad III (ca. 802–780? BC)

Confederations of kings were common in the ancient Near East. Shalmaneser III mentions that this same Hadad-Ezer was part of a coalition of twelve kings that withstood him at the Battle of Qarqar. The Zakir Stele mentions a coalition of seven kings headed by Ben-Hadad III (see ANET, 655–56).

Ben-Hadad may have had several motives for attacking Ahab late in his reign. Perhaps Ben-Hadad wanted Ahab to join his anti-Assyrian coalition (as Ahab later did). Perhaps it was due to the longstanding commercial rivalry and political enmity that had festered since Baasha’s days, coupled with the fear that Ahab might become an ally of the Assyrian king. At any rate, the effects of the drought and famine had created an opportunity to eliminate further difficulty from his southern frontier. Gathering a coalition of thirty-two local rulers, he swept southward and put Samaria itself under siege.

2–6 Ben-Hadad’s terms were a virtual call for Ahab to be reduced to vassal status. His second set of demands was extreme; they amounted to the right of unlimited search and seizure not only of the palace but also the homes of Ahab’s officials. The ultimatum, almost certain to be refused, served as a pretext for war.

7–9 As Rehoboam before him had done (12:6–7), Ahab assembled the elder officials for consultation.

10–11 Ben-Hadad’s bombastic claim threatened Samaria with so thorough a destruction that there would not be enough of it left to make a handful of dust for each of his men. Such propaganda was often utilized in wartime situations (cf. 1Sa 17:43) as part of typical psychological warfare.

Ahab’s reply is a classic illustration of Near Eastern colloquial wisdom. “Let not him who girds [his armor] boast like him who takes it off” (cf. NASB) might be approximated well in colloquial Western parlance: “Let not one who puts on his uniform boast like one who takes it off.” In other words, Ahab is hinting that Ben-Hadad and his forces may well be like those who die with their boots on. Note the colorful rendering of the NLT (1996): “A warrior still dressing for battle should not boast like a warrior who has already won.”

12 Walsh, 299, appropriately remarks, “Ben-hadad has his battle plans laid all along and is simply waiting for a sufficient excuse to put them in action.”

NOTES

1 For an interesting literary analysis of ch. 20, see Long, 405–16. F. M. Cross (“The Stele Dedicated to Melcarth by Ben-Hadad of Damascus,” BASOR 205 [1972]: 36–42) postulates four kings named Ben-Hadad: I (885–870); II (870–842); III (845–842); and IV (806–770), the latter being the son of Hazael (841–806). For an evaluation and criticism of Cross’s view and the whole problem, see W. Shea, “The Kings of the Melqart Stela,” Maarav 1 (1979): 159–76. See further Note on 2 Kings 13:3.

A less satisfactory solution is offered by W. T. Pitard, “Arameans,” in Peoples of the Old Testament World, ed. A. J. Hoerth, G. L. Mattingly, and E. M. Yamauchi (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1994), 217–20. See also his A Historical Study of the Syrian City State from Earliest Times Until Its Fall to the Assyrians in 732 B.C. (Winona Lake, Ind.: Eisenbrauns, 1987), 125–38.

3 Ben-Hadad’s initial request is reminiscent of Xerxes’ later demands for submission on the part of the Greeks by presenting the token demands of earth and water (Herodotus, Persian Wars 5.17ff., 73; 7.133, 174). The fact that Ahab willingly acquiesced to Ben-Hadad’s initial demands indicates Israel’s desperate condition.

10 Aquila’s text of the LXX renders Ben-Hadad’s boast even more dramatically by declaring that his soldiers would not find enough of the destroyed city to carry away the dust “by pinches.” Another Greek variant suggests that there would not be enough dust left to make a foxhole. Wiseman, 1 & 2 Kings, 176, notes similar usage of proverbs in diplomatic exchanges in the ancient Akkadian and Egyptian literature. For a scriptural example of psychological warfare, see 2 Kings 18:19–35.