Chapter Eleven

(See 1 Kgs 12:21-24)

1–4. The prevention, through the word of the prophet, of a fratricidal war between the two Hebrew kingdoms. 5–12. The fortification by Rehoboam of the cities of Judah and the establishment of public grain storehouses. 13–17. The resettlement of priests and Levites in Judah from the Kingdom of Israel. 18–23. The family of Rehoboam.

2 Chronicles 11:1. And when Rehoboam came to Jerusalem, he assembled the house of Judah and Benjamin, one hundred and eighty thousand chosen warriors, to fight against Israel, to restore the kingdom to Rehoboam. 2 Chronicles 11:2. But the word of the Lord came to Shemaiah, the man of God, saying, 2 Chronicles 11:3. “Say to Rehoboam the son of Solomon, king of Judah, and to all Israel in Judah and Benjamin: 2 Chronicles 11:4. ‘Thus says the Lord: You shall not go up or fight against your kindred. Every man return to his home, for this thing is from me.’” And they listened to the word of the Lord and turned back from marching against Jeroboam. See 1 Kgs 12:21-24, “Explanatory Bible”, vol. II, p. 426.

2 Chronicles 11:5. Rehoboam dwelt in Jerusalem; and he built cities for defense in Judah. 2 Chronicles 11:6. He built Bethlehem, Etam, and Tekoa, 2 Chronicles 11:7. Beth-zur, Soco, and Adullam, 2 Chronicles 11:8. Gath, Mareshah, and Ziph, 2 Chronicles 11:9. Adoraim, Lachish, and Azekah, 2 Chronicles 11:10. and Zorah, Aijalon, and Hebron, which are in Judah and Benjamin. 2 Chronicles 11:11. He fortified the strong cities, and put commanders in them, and stores of food, oil, and wine. 2 Chronicles 11:12. And he put shields and spears in every city, and made them very strong. And Judah and Benjamin remained with him. The cities, which Rehoboam converted into fortresses or fortified generally, for the most part existed from ancient times and were only rebuilt by him. Such is Bethlehem (Gen 35:16; Gen 48:7; Ruth 1:1); concerning its location see the commentaries to Josh 15:59; Ruth 1:1 in “Explanatory Bible”, vol. II, pp. 98–99 and pp. 211–212. Etam (LXX: Αιτάν, Vulgate: Etam) lay, like Bethlehem, in the tribe of Judah (Josh 15:59), about 12 miles from Jerusalem; because of its fine location, gardens and abundance of water, according to the testimony of Josephus (“Antiquities of the Jews”, VIII, 7, 3), was a favorite summer residence of Solomon (the remains of aqueducts that were here still exist), now – Ain-Attan, between Bethlehem and Urtas (Onomasticon, 487). Tekoa – in the tribe of Judah (Josh 15:59), to the north of Hebron, now Khirbet Tekua (Onomasticon, 417; cf. Explanatory Bible, vol. II, pp. 336–337 and 430). Beth-zur (LXX βαιθσουρὰ) – in the tribe of Judah, in the hills of Judah (Josh 15:58; Neh 3:16); became especially known in the time of the Maccabees as a strong fortress, which was the site of several fierce battles (1 Macc 4:29; 1 Macc 6:7); according to Josephus (“Antiquities of the Jews”, VIII, 5, 6), it was the most fortified stronghold in the land of Judah; now Bat-Sur on the road from Jerusalem to Hebron, at a distance of about 20 miles from the former (cf. Onomasticon, 234), lies on a site at the foot of which flows the abundant spring of Ein ed-Dirye, where, according to tradition, the Apostle Philip baptized the eunuch of Candace. Soco: (LXX: Σοχώθ) – the name of two cities in the tribe of Judah (Josh 15:35; 1 Sam 17:1; 1 Kgs 4:10 and others, Onomasticon, 881), to the southwest of Jerusalem, see “Explanatory Bible”, vol. II, pp. 96–98. Adullam (Hebrew: adullam) is mentioned already in Gen 38:1. Captured by Joshua (Josh 12:15) fell by lot to Judah (cf. 2 Macc 12:38), about 5 miles to the northeast of Soco (Onomasticon, 24; cf. commentaries in “Explanatory Bible”, vol. II, pp. 76–77). Gath (Hebrew: gat) – to the west of Soco, about 5 miles away; before the reign of David it was one of the five chief Philistine cities (1 Sam 6:17), David conquered it (2 Sam 8:1; cf. “Explanatory Bible”, vol. II, pp. 240–241 and 317; cf. Onomasticon, 301). Mareshah (LXX, Slavonic text: “Marisan”) to the south about 5 miles from Gath (Josh 15:44); (“Explanatory Bible”, vol. II, p. 97) the birthplace of the prophet Micah (Mic 1:1), the site of the battle of Asa with Zerah the Ethiopian (2 Chr 14:9); during the time of the Maccabees and afterwards frequently passed from hand to hand (Josephus, “Antiquities of the Jews”, XII,8,6; XIII,9,1; XIII,15,4; XIV,4,4; XIV,5,3), until it was finally destroyed by the Parthians under Herod (“Antiquities of the Jews”,XV,13,9; “Jewish War”,I,13,9; cf. Onomasticon, 673). Ziph (Josh 15:55) – about 1 3/4 hours’ journey to the south of Hebron (Onomasticon, 464); in the wilderness around Ziph David hid from the persecutions of Saul (1 Sam 23:14), “Explanatory Bible”, vol. II, pp. 98 and 282). Adoraim to the east of Ziph ((1 Macc 13:20); Onomasticon, 165), now Dar’at. Concerning the location of Lachish (2 Kgs 14:19) see “Explanatory Bible”, vol. II, p. 523. Concerning the location of Azekah (Josh 10:10); (Onomasticon, 34), see also “Explanatory Bible”, vol. II, pp. 62–63. Concerning the location of Zorah (LXX: Σαραὰ, Slavonic: “Salaa”, (Josh 15:33); Onomasticon, 830) – see there, p. 96; this is the northwesternmost of the cities fortified by Rehoboam. Concerning Aijalon (Josh 10:12), see “Explanatory Bible”, vol. II, pp. 63 and 117. Like Zorah, Aijalon originally belonged to the portion of the tribe of Dan, but later both cities could have passed to the tribe of Judah; this transition could be related to the resettlement of priests and Levites from the Northern Kingdom to the Judean kingdom (verses 13–14 of the chapter under consideration; see Prof. Gulyaev, “Historical Books”, p. 519). Hebron, formerly Kiriath-arba (Gen 13:18; Num 13:23; Josh 10:36; Judg 1:10) and others, – one of the most ancient cities in the world (according to Num 13:23, built 7 years before Zoan in Egypt); when Canaan was divided, it fell to Caleb (Josh 14:13), and after about 7 years was the capital of David (2 Sam 2:1). In Gospel times, according to tradition, it was the place of residence of Saint Zacharias and Elisabeth. Concerning the location of Hebron (Onomasticon, 113) see “Explanatory Bible”, vol. I, pp. 93 and 536–537, vol. II, pp. 88. Besides the fortresses, in all these cities Rehoboam established public storehouses of food (verses 11–12).

2 Chronicles 11:13. And the priests and the Levites who were in all Israel resorted to him from all their territory, 2 Chronicles 11:14. for the Levites left their common lands and their possessions and came to Judah and to Jerusalem, because Jeroboam and his sons cast them out from serving as priests of the Lord, 2 Chronicles 11:15. and he appointed his own priests for the high places, and for the goat idols, and for the calves that he had made. 2 Chronicles 11:16. And those who set their hearts to seek the Lord God of Israel came after them from all the tribes of Israel to Jerusalem to sacrifice to the Lord, the God of their ancestors. 2 Chronicles 11:17. So they strengthened the kingdom of Judah, and made Rehoboam the son of Solomon strong, for three years; for they walked for three years in the way of David and Solomon. The brief account in 1 Kgs 12:31 that Jeroboam appointed priests from among the people, not from the tribe of Levi, is here (verses 13–15) expanded with the details that Jeroboam dismissed from the priesthood those members of the tribe of Levi who did not accept as legitimate the cult that he had introduced, and these, faithful to the former true worship of the Lord, priests and Levites either voluntarily or under compulsion migrated to the borders of the Kingdom of Judah. There is no ground for seeing (as Calmet and many modern interpreters do) these priests and Levites in those condemned by the prophet Ezekiel and deprived of the right to perform priestly functions, the Levites who became unfaithful to the Lord (Ezek 44:10-14) – because in the passage of 2 Chronicles under consideration, the account speaks on the contrary of priests and Levites faithful to the Lord, who out of faithfulness to Him and from unwillingness to serve a godless cult withdrew to Judah. The cult of the calves here (verse 15) is named, besides its own name, by the term seirim, LXX: μάταια, Vulgate: daemonia, the Russian Synodal translation renders the Hebrew term literally: “goats,” but nothing is known of service to goats in Jeroboam’s cult; and it is much more natural to understand seirim in the sense of idols or evil spirits (cf. Isa 13:21). See in Prof. F.G. Eleonsky, “History of the Israeli People in Egypt from Settlement in the Land of Goshen to the Egyptian Plagues”, St. Petersburg 1884, pp. 136–140; in A. Glagolev, “Old Testament Biblical Teaching on Angels”, Kiev 1900, pp. 591–595. That pious Israelites also, after the division of the kingdoms, continued to visit Jerusalem and Solomon’s temple (verses 16–17), is stated also in 1 Kgs 12:27-28, and according to the latter passage, this circumstance served as the occasion for Jeroboam to establish a special cult in Bethel and Dan. “Three years” (verse 17) continued the faithfulness of Rehoboam and his people to the Lord, and then (cf. 1 Kgs 14:22-24) idolatry began in Judea as well (cf. 2 Chr 12:1). Cf. “Explanatory Bible”, vol. II, p. 436.

2 Chronicles 11:18. And Rehoboam took a wife, Mahalath the daughter of Jerimoth the son of David, and of Abihail the daughter of Eliab the son of Jesse; 2 Chronicles 11:19. and she bore him sons: Jeush, Shemariah, and Zaham. 2 Chronicles 11:20. After her he took Maachah the daughter of Absalom, and she bore him Abijah, Attai, Ziza, and Shelomith. 2 Chronicles 11:21. And Rehoboam loved Maachah the daughter of Absalom more than all his wives and concubines, for he had eighteen wives and sixty concubines, and he fathered twenty-eight sons and sixty daughters. 2 Chronicles 11:22. And Rehoboam appointed Abijah the son of Maachah as chief prince among his brothers, for he intended to make him king. 2 Chronicles 11:23. And he dealt wisely, and distributed some of his sons through all the districts of Judah and Benjamin, in all the fortified cities; and he gave them abundant provisions and procured many wives for them. The royal genealogy of Rehoboam is supplemented here as compared with 1 Kings (cf. “Explanatory Bible”, vol. II, p. 437). Concerning the different spelling of the name of Rehoboam’s third wife, the mother of Abijah, and of her father, in verses 20 (1 Kgs 15:2); 2 Chr 13:2), see “Explanatory Bible” vol. II, pp. 437–438. Of his 28 sons (verse 21), Rehoboam kept by him only the one designated for succession to the throne, Abijah, and dispatched the others to various cities in order to prevent fratricidal strife, providing each with provisions and entrusting them with government service.