25In the fifth year of King Rehoboam, King Shishak of Egypt came up against Jerusalem; 26he took away the treasures of the house of the LORD and the treasures of the king’s house; he took everything. He also took away all the shields of gold that Solomon had made; 27so King Rehoboam made shields of bronze instead, and committed them to the hands of the officers of the guard, who kept the door of the king’s house. 28As often as the king went into the house of the LORD, the guard carried them and brought them back to the guardroom.
29Now the rest of the acts of Rehoboam, and all that he did, are they not written in the Book of the Annals of the Kings of Judah? 30There was war between Rehoboam and Jeroboam continually. 31Rehoboam slept with his ancestors and was buried with his ancestors in the city of David. His mother’s name was Naamah the Ammonite. His son Abijam succeeded him.
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a Meaning of Heb uncertain
b Heb Asherim
c Heb Asherim
14.1–18 This old legend, originally told to demonstrate the prophet’s extraordinary powers, is used by the narrator as the occasion for a judgment oracle against the house of Jeroboam.
14.2 The use of a disguise may indicate that Jeroboam wanted to avoid a confrontation with Ahijah over the question of the king’s religious activities. On Ahijah’s earlier contacts with Jeroboam, see 11.29–39.
14.3 The food was probably intended as a fee for the prophet’s services. See also 1 Sam 9.1–21; 2 Kings 8.7–15.
14.4 The prophet’s weak eyes are mentioned to demonstrate that his knowledge of his visitor’s identity could only have come through divine revelation.
14.7–8 The beginning of the oracle implies that Jeroboam’s kingship had been divinely instituted and that his dynasty could have been eternal if he had been obedient as David had been (see 11.29–39).
14.9 The comparison must be with Solomon, who also did what was evil in the sight of the Lord (11.6). For a description of Jeroboam’s religious practices, see 12.26–32.
14.10–11 Parts of this graphic and somewhat crude judgment oracle are later reapplied to some of Jeroboam’s successors (16.2–4; 21.21–24).
14.15 This part of the oracle already envisions the exile and destruction of the whole Northern Kingdom (2 Kings 17.1–23), not just the end of Jeroboam’s dynasty. Sacred poles, or Asherim, wooden cult objects associated with the worship of the Canaanite goddess Asherah, thought to be poles or perhaps representations of trees (cf. Deut 16.21). In second-millennium Syro-Palestine the goddess was portrayed as the consort of the god El, the head of the pantheon. By the OT period, however, she was considered the consort of the storm god Baal. In some circles in Israel she may have been part of the worship of the Lord.
14.16 By setting up illegitimate places of worship, Jeroboam provided an opportunity for Israel to sin.
14.17 Jeroboam had apparently moved his capital to Tirzah (cf. 12.25), located about seven miles northeast of Shechem.
14.19–20 The Book of the Annals of the Kings of Israel has not survived, but it was probably the source of some of the chronological data included in Kings. Jeroboam reigned ca. 922–901 BCE.
14.21–31 Although Rehoboam has already appeared in the narrative (ch. 12), this is a more systematic account of his reign.
14.21 Rehoboam ’s dates are uncertain, but he probably ruled ca. 922–915 BCE.
14.23 High places. See note on 3.2. Pillars, stones used to mark sacred spots. They were often associated with the worship of Baal. Sacred poles. See note on 14.15.
14.24 The word translated prostitutes simply means consecrated or sacred individuals (see also 15.12; 22.46; 2 Kings 23.7). Both men and women served in this capacity. They are usually thought to have engaged in some sort of sexual or licentious behavior in cultic contexts, but the exact nature of their activities is uncertain.
14.25 Shishak. See note on 11.40.
14.26 Shields. See notes on 10.16; 10.17.
14.29 The Book of the Annals of the Kings of Judah no longer exists, but it probably provided chronological information on the Judean kings (see Introduction).
1 KINGS 15
Abijam Reigns over Judah: Idolatry and War
1Now in the eighteenth year of King Jeroboam son of Nebat, Abijam began to reign over Judah. 2He reigned for three years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Maacah daughter of Abishalom. 3He committed all the sins that his father did before him; his heart was not true to the LORD his God, like the heart of his father David. 4Nevertheless for David’s sake the LORD his God gave him a lamp in Jerusalem, setting up his son after him, and establishing Jerusalem; 5because David did what was right in the sight of the LORD, and did not turn aside from anything that he commanded him all the days of his life, except in the matter of Uriah the Hittite. 6The war begun between Rehoboam and Jeroboam continued all the days of his life. 7The rest of the acts of Abijam, and all that he did, are they not written in the Book of the Annals of the Kings of Judah? There was war between Abijam and Jeroboam. 8Abijam slept with his ancestors, and they buried him in the city of David. Then his son Asa succeeded him.
Asa Reigns over Judah
9In the twentieth year of King Jeroboam of Israel, Asa began to reign over Judah; 10he reigned forty-one years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Maacah daughter of Abishalom. 11Asa did what was right in the sight of the LORD, as his father David had done. 12He put away the male temple prostitutes out of the land, and removed all the idols that his ancestors had made. 13He also removed his mother Maacah from being queen mother, because she had made an abominable image for Asherah; Asa cut down her image and burned it at the Wadi Kidron. 14But the high places were not taken away. Nevertheless the heart of Asa was true to the LORD all his days. 15He brought into the house of the LORD the votive gifts of his father and his own votive gifts—silver, gold, and utensils.
Alliance with Aram against Israel
16There was war between Asa and King Baasha of Israel all their days. 17King Baasha of Israel went up against Judah, and built Ramah, to prevent anyone from going out or coming in to King Asa of Judah. 18Then Asa took all the silver and the gold that were left in the treasures of the house of the LORD and the treasures of the king’s house, and gave them into the hands of his servants. King Asa sent them to King Ben-hadad son of Tabrimmon son of Hezion of Aram, who resided in Damascus, saying, 19“Let there be an alliance between me and you, like that between my father and your father: I am sending you a present of silver and gold; go, break your alliance with King Baasha of Israel, so that he may withdraw from me.” 20Ben-hadad listened to King Asa, and sent the commanders of his armies against the cities of Israel. He conquered Ijon, Dan, Abel-beth-maacah, and all Chinneroth, with all the land of Naphtali. 21When Baasha heard of it, he stopped building Ramah and lived in Tirzah. 22Then King Asa made a proclamation to all Judah, none was exempt: they carried away the stones of Ramah and its timber, with which Baasha had been building; with them King Asa built Geba of Benjamin and Mizpah. 23Now the rest of all the acts of Asa, all his power, all that he did, and the cities that he built, are they not written in the Book of the Annals of the Kings of Judah? But in his old age he was diseased in his feet. 24Then Asa slept with his ancestors, and was buried with his ancestors in the city of his father David; his son Jehoshaphat succeeded him.
Nadab Reigns over Israel
25Nadab son of Jeroboam began to reign over Israel in the second year of King Asa of Judah; he reigned over Israel two years. 26He did what was evil in the sight of the LORD, walking in the way of his ancestor and in the sin that he caused Israel to commit.
27Baasha son of Ahijah, of the house of Issachar, conspired against him; and Baasha struck him down at Gibbethon, which belonged to the Philistines; for Nadab and all Israel were laying siege to Gibbethon. 28So Baasha killed Nadaba in the third year of King Asa of Judah, and succeeded him. 29As soon as he was king, he killed all the house of Jeroboam; he left to the house of Jeroboam not one that breathed, until he had des
troyed it, according to the word of the LORD that he spoke by his servant Ahijah the Shilonite—30because of the sins of Jeroboam that he committed and that he caused Israel to commit, and because of the anger to which he provoked the LORD, the God of Israel.
31Now the rest of the acts of Nadab, and all that he did, are they not written in the Book of the Annals of the Kings of Israel? 32There was war between Asa and King Baasha of Israel all their days.
Second Dynasty: Baasha Reigns over Israel
33In the third year of King Asa of Judah, Baasha son of Ahijah began to reign over all Israel at Tirzah; he reigned twenty-four years. 34He did what was evil in the sight of the LORD, walking in the way of Jeroboam and in the sin that he caused Israel to commit.
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a Heb him
15.1–8 Abijam’s brief reign receives a negative evaluation from the Deuteronomistic narrator, although no details of the king’s crimes are mentioned.
15.1 Abijam reigned ca. 915–913 BCE.
15.4 Lamp. See note on 11.36. Because of God’s fidelity to the promise to David (2 Sam 7.1–17), the Davidic dynasty is allowed to survive even though individual kings do evil.
15.5 The story of David and Uriah the Hittite is told in 2 Sam 11–12.
15.9–15 In contrast to his predecessor’s, Asa’s relatively long reign receives a positive evaluation from the Deuteronomistic narrator because of the king’s religious reforms.
15.9 Asa reigned ca. 913–873 BCE.
15.10 According to this verse Asa and Abijam both had the same mother (cf. v. 2). This would make them brothers rather than father and son (v. 8). Alternatively, it may be that Maacah held the important post of queen mother but was not necessarily Asa’s biological mother. 2 Chr 13.2 gives a different name for Abijam’s mother, thus resolving the problem, but it is not clear which version of the genealogy is correct.
15.12 Temple prostitutes. See note on 14.24.
15.13 The nature of the abominable image is not indicated. Asherah. See note on 14.15. Wadi Kidron. See note on 2.37.
15.14 High places. See note on 3.2.
15.16–24 The war over the secession of the Northern tribes and the subsequent struggles over borders began in the days of Jeroboam and Rehoboam (14.30) and continued during the reigns of their successors (15.6).
15.16 Because of his interactions with Asa, Baasha of Israel is introduced into the narrative at this point, even though the official account of his reign does not appear until 15.33–16.7.
15.17 Baasha was able to extend his southern border to Ramah in the tribe of Benjamin. Ramah lay about five miles north of Jerusalem and was an ideal site for a fortress.
15.18 Aram, a state or confederation of states to the northeast of the Northern Kingdom in what is now Syria. Throughout much of the monarchical period Aram was engaged in a power struggle with Israel and Judah. Several Aramean kings bore the name Ben-hadad. This individual had a treaty relationship with Baasha of Israel (v. 19).
15.19 Asa is probably referring to relations between David and Solomon and the Arameans, which were certainly not peaceful (2 Sam 8.5–12; 1 Kings 11.23–25; 2 Chr 8.3–4).
15.20 These towns and the territories around them all lie on Israel’s eastern border, and the Aramean encroachment represents a significant loss of territory for the Northern Kingdom.
15.21 The combined pressure from Judah and Aram forces Baasha to abandon his border outpost and withdraw to the capital (see note on 14.17).
15.25–32 The narrator has little to say about Nadab’s reign except to repeat the formulaic remark that he did what was evil in the sight of the LORD, walking in the way of Jeroboam.
15.25 Nadab ruled ca. 901–900 BCE.
15.27 Gibbethon lay in Philistine territory slightly beyond the southwestern border of Israel, so Nadab was apparently attempting to extend his kingdom in that direction.
15.29–30 The narrator quotes part of Ahijah’s judgment oracle against Jeroboam and his descendants (14.10–11) and interprets Nadab’s assassination as the fulfillment of the prophetic word.
15.33–16.7 The formal account of Baasha’s twenty-four-year reign contains no further information on his achievements. From the theological standpoint of the narrator, Baasha is simply another example of a Northern king who did evil by walking in the ways of Jeroboam.
15.33 Baasha reigned ca. 900–877 BCE.
16.1 Jehu son of Hanani, identified by Chronicles as a prophet active in Jerusalem during this period. He is also said to have delivered an oracle to king Jehoshaphat (2 Chr 19.2–3) and is credited with having written a history of Jehoshaphat’s reign (2 Chr 20.34). Jehu’s father, Hanani, was also a prophet and may have been the same individual who prophesied against Baasha’s Southern contemporary, Asa (2 Chr 16.7–10).
16.4 Jehu’s oracle is in part virtually identical with Ahijah’s prophecy against Jeroboam (14.11).
16.7 This verse, which repeats the substance of vv. 2–4, seems out of place, coming as it does after Baasha’s death has already been reported (v. 6). The narrator here condemns Baasha for destroying the house of Jeroboam, even though Baasha’s action carried out God’s decree of judgment.
1 KINGS 16
1The word of the LORD came to Jehu son of Hanani against Baasha, saying, 2“Since I exalted you out of the dust and made you leader over my people Israel, and you have walked in the way of Jeroboam, and have caused my people Israel to sin, provoking me to anger with their sins, 3therefore, I will consume Baasha and his house, and I will make your house like the house of Jeroboam son of Nebat. 4Anyone belonging to Baasha who dies in the city the dogs shall eat; and anyone of his who dies in the field the birds of the air shall eat.”
5Now the rest of the acts of Baasha, what he did, and his power, are they not written in the Book of the Annals of the Kings of Israel? 6Baasha slept with his ancestors, and was buried at Tirzah; and his son Elah succeeded him. 7Moreover the word of the LORD came by the prophet Jehu son of Hanani against Baasha and his house, both because of all the evil that he did in the sight of the LORD, provoking him to anger with the work of his hands, in being like the house of Jeroboam, and also because he destroyed it.
Elah Reigns over Israel
8In the twenty-sixth year of King Asa of Judah, Elah son of Baasha began to reign over Israel in Tirzah; he reigned two years. 9But his servant Zimri, commander of half his chariots, conspired against him. When he was at Tirzah, drinking himself drunk in the house of Arza, who was in charge of the palace at Tirzah, 10Zimri came in and struck him down and killed him, in the twenty-seventh year of King Asa of Judah, and succeeded him.
11When he began to reign, as soon as he had seated himself on his throne, he killed all the house of Baasha; he did not leave him a single male of his kindred or his friends. 12Thus Zimri destroyed all the house of Baasha, according to the word of the LORD, which he spoke against Baasha by the prophet Jehu—13because of all the sins of Baasha and the sins of his son Elah that they committed, and that they caused Israel to commit, provoking the LORD God of Israel to anger with their idols. 14Now the rest of the acts of Elah, and all that he did, are they not written in the Book of the Annals of the Kings of Israel?
Third Dynasty: Zimri Reigns over Israel
15In the twenty-seventh year of King Asa of Judah, Zimri reigned seven days in Tirzah. Now the troops were encamped against Gibbethon, which belonged to the Philistines, 16and the troops who were encamped heard it said, “Zimri has conspired, and he has killed the king” therefore all Israel made Omri, the commander of the army, king over Israel that day in the camp. 17So Omri went up from Gibbethon, and all Israel with him, and they besieged Tirzah. 18When Zimri saw that the city was taken, he went into the citadel of the king’s house; he burned down the king’s house over himself with fire, and died—19because of the sins that he committed, doing evil in the sight of the LORD, walking in the way of Jeroboam, and for the sin that he committed, causing Israel to sin. 20Now the rest of the acts of Zimri
, and the conspiracy that he made, are they not written in the Book of the Annals of the Kings of Israel?
Fourth Dynasty: Omri Reigns over Israel
21Then the people of Israel were divided into two parts; half of the people followed Tibni son of Ginath, to make him king, and half followed Omri. 22But the people who followed Omri overcame the people who followed Tibni son of Ginath; so Tibni died, and Omri became king. 23In the thirty-first year of King Asa of Judah, Omri began to reign over Israel; he reigned for twelve years, six of them in Tirzah.
Samaria the New Capital
24He bought the hill of Samaria from Shemer for two talents of silver; he fortified the hill, and called the city that he built, Samaria, after the name of Shemer, the owner of the hill.
25Omri did what was evil in the sight of the LORD; he did more evil than all who were before him. 26For he walked in all the way of Jeroboam son of Nebat, and in the sins that he caused Israel to commit, provoking the LORD, the God of Israel, to anger by their idols. 27Now the rest of the acts of Omri that he did, and the power that he showed, are they not written in the Book of the Annals of the Kings of Israel? 28Omri slept with his ancestors, and was buried in Samaria; his son Ahab succeeded him.
Ahab Reigns over Israel
29In the thirty-eighth year of King Asa of Judah, Ahab son of Omri began to reign over Israel; Ahab son of Omri reigned over Israel in Samaria twenty-two years. 30Ahab son of Omri did evil in the sight of the LORD more than all who were before him.
Ahab Marries Jezebel and Worships Baal
31And as if it had been a light thing for him to walk in the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat, he took as his wife Jezebel daughter of King Ethbaal of the Sidonians, and went and served Baal, and worshiped him. 32He erected an altar for Baal in the house of Baal, which he built in Samaria. 33Ahab also made a sacred pole.a Ahab did more to provoke the anger of the LORD, the God of Israel, than had all the kings of Israel who were before him. 34In his days Hiel of Bethel built Jericho; he laid its foundation at the cost of Abiram his firstborn, and set up its gates at the cost of his youngest son Segub, according to the word of the LORD, which he spoke by Joshua son of Nun.
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