Jeroboam vs. Rehoboam

(43) Solomon slept with his fathers and was buried in the city of his father David; and his son Rehoboam succeeded him as king.

(1) Rehoboam went to Shechem, for all Israel had come to Shechem to acclaim him as king. (2) Jeroboam son of Nebat learned of it while he was still in Egypt; for Jeroboam had fled from King Solomon, and had settled in Egypt. (3) They sent for him; and Jeroboam and all the assembly of Israel came and spoke to Rehoboam as follows: (4) “Your father made our yoke heavy. Now lighten the harsh labor and the heavy yoke which your father laid on us, and we will serve you.” (5) He answered them, “Go away for three days and then come back to me.” So the people went away.

The verse states: “And Rehoboam went to Shechem; for all Israel came to Shechem, to make him king” (I Kings 12:1). It was taught in the name of Rabbi Yosei: Shechem is a place ordained for calamity. In Shechem, they tormented and raped Dinah, in the outskirts of Shechem the brothers sold Joseph, in Shechem the kingdom of the house of David was divided.

(6) King Rehoboam took counsel with the elders who had served his father Solomon during his lifetime. He said, “What answer do you advise [me] to give to this people?” (7) They answered him, “If you will be a servant to those people today and serve them, and if you respond to them with kind words, they will be your servants always.” (8) But he ignored the advice that the elders gave him, and took counsel with the young men who had grown up with him and were serving him. (9) “What,” he asked, “do you advise that we reply to the people who said to me, ‘Lighten the yoke that your father placed upon us’?” (10) And the young men who had grown up with him answered, “Speak thus to the people who said to you, ‘Your father made our yoke heavy, now you make it lighter for us.’ Say to them, ‘My little finger is thicker than my father’s loins. (11) My father imposed a heavy yoke on you, and I will add to your yoke; my father flogged you with whips, but I will flog you with scorpions.’”

(12) Jeroboam and all the people came to Rehoboam on the third day, since the king had told them: “Come back on the third day.” (13) The king answered the people harshly, ignoring the advice that the elders had given him. (14) He spoke to them in accordance with the advice of the young men, and said, “My father made your yoke heavy, but I will add to your yoke; my father flogged you with whips, but I will flog you with scorpions.” (15) (The king did not listen to the people; for the LORD had brought it about in order to fulfill the promise that the LORD had made through Ahijah the Shilonite to Jeroboam son of Nebat.) (16) When all Israel saw that the king had not listened to them, the people answered the king: “We have no portion in David, No share in Jesse’s son! To your tents, O Israel! Now look to your own House, O David.” So the Israelites returned to their homes. (17) But Rehoboam continued to reign over the Israelites who lived in the towns of Judah. (18) King Rehoboam sent Adoram, who was in charge of the forced labor, but all Israel pelted him to death with stones. Thereupon King Rehoboam hurriedly mounted his chariot and fled to Jerusalem. (19) Thus Israel revolted against the House of David, as is still the case.

The Gemara clarifies: The curse of being afflicted “with a discharge,” i.e., a zav, was fulfilled among Solomon’s descendants in Rehoboam, as it is written: “And King Rehoboam made speed to get him up to his chariot [bamerkava] to flee to Jerusalem” (I Kings 12:18), and it is written: “And whatever saddle [hamerkav] he that has a discharge rides upon shall be unclean” (Leviticus 15:9). The similarity between the words merkava and merkav indicates that Rehoboam was a zav.

(20) When all Israel heard that Jeroboam had returned, they sent messengers and summoned him to the assembly and made him king over all Israel. Only the tribe of Judah remained loyal to the House of David. (21) On his return to Jerusalem, Rehoboam mustered all the House of Judah and the tribe of Benjamin, 180,000 picked warriors, to fight against the House of Israel, in order to restore the kingship to Rehoboam son of Solomon. (22) But the word of God came to Shemaiah, the man of God: (23) “Say to King Rehoboam son of Solomon of Judah, and to all the House of Judah and Benjamin and the rest of the people: (24) Thus said the LORD: You shall not set out to make war on your kinsmen the Israelites. Let every man return to his home, for this thing has been brought about by Me.” They heeded the word of the LORD and turned back, in accordance with the word of the LORD.

And the tribe of Binyomin. Who were situated on the border, because the boundaries of Yehudah and Binyomin were adjacent.

On a similar note, it is taught in a baraita that Rabbi Shimon ben Elazar says: If youths would say to you: Construct, and Elders would say to you: Demolish, heed the Elders and do not heed the youths, as the construction of youths is demolition, and the demolition of Elders is construction. And a mnemonic device for this matter is “Rehoboam, son of Solomon” (I Kings 12:21). Had he heeded the advice of the Elders and yielded at that time, there would have been no schism.

(25) Jeroboam fortified Shechem in the hill country of Ephraim and resided there; he moved out from there and fortified Penuel. (26) Jeroboam said to himself, “Now the kingdom may well return to the House of David. (27) If these people still go up to offer sacrifices at the House of the LORD in Jerusalem, the heart of these people will turn back to their master, King Rehoboam of Judah; they will kill me and go back to King Rehoboam of Judah.” (28) So the king took counsel and made two golden calves. He said to the people, “You have been going up to Jerusalem long enough. This is your god, O Israel, who brought you up from the land of Egypt!” (29) He set up one in Bethel and placed the other in Dan. (30) That proved to be a cause of guilt, for the people went to worship [the calf at Bethel and] the one at Dan. (31) He also made cult places and appointed priests from the ranks of the people who were not of Levite descent. (32) He stationed at Bethel the priests of the shrines that he had appointed to sacrifice to the calves that he had made. And Jeroboam established a festival on the fifteenth day of the eighth month; in imitation of the festival in Judah, he established one at Bethel, and he ascended the altar [there]. (33) On the fifteenth day of the eighth month—the month in which he had contrived of his own mind to establish a festival for the Israelites—Jeroboam ascended the altar that he had made in Bethel.

If this people will go up, etc. Sitting in the Temple court is not permitted only for kings of the house of Dovid, therefore, he will be sitting and I will be standing. Moreover, [during Succos] following the Sabbatical Year, at the time of the Assembly, he [is the one who] will read the section [in Devarim] relating to the king,⁴See Mishnayos Sotah 7:8. for he is the king of his province, whereas I will be [standing] like the rest of the people, and I will, therefore, be degraded.⁵Maseches Sanhedrin 101b.

And what is the meaning of the phrase “and this was the cause that he lifted his hand against the king”? Rav Naḥman says: He removed his phylacteries before Solomon, thereby demonstrating that he does not consider Solomon his superior. Rav Naḥman says: The arrogance that existed in Jeroboam drove him from the World-to-Come, as it is stated: “And Jeroboam said in his heart: Now shall the kingdom return to the house of David. If this people go up to offer sacrifices in the House of the Lord in Jerusalem, then shall the heart of this people turn again to their lord, even to Rehoboam, king of Judea, and they shall kill me and return to Rehoboam, king of Judea” (I Kings 12:26–27). Jeroboam calculated and said: It is learned as a tradition that sitting in the Temple courtyard is permitted only for kings of the house of Judah alone. Once they see Rehoboam, who is sitting, and they see me standing, they will think: This, Rehoboam, is king, and that, Jeroboam, is the servant. And if I sit there, I will be considered a traitor against the throne, and they will kill me and follow him. Immediately, the following took place: “And the king took counsel, and made two calves of gold, and said to them: It is too much for you to ascend to Jerusalem; behold your gods, Israel, who brought you up from the land of Egypt. And he placed the one in Bethel and the other he placed in Dan” (I Kings 12:28–29).

(1) Rehoboam went to Shechem, for all Israel had come to Shechem to acclaim him king. (2) Jeroboam son of Nebat learned of it while he was in Egypt where he had fled from King Solomon, and Jeroboam returned from Egypt. (3) They sent for him; and Jeroboam and all Israel came and spoke to Rehoboam as follows: (4) “Your father made our yoke heavy. Now lighten the harsh labor and the heavy yoke that your father laid on us, and we will serve you.” (5) He answered them, “Come back to me in three days.” So the people went away. (6) King Rehoboam took counsel with the elders who had served during the lifetime of his father Solomon. He said, “What answer do you counsel to give these people?” (7) They answered him, “If you will be good to these people and appease them and speak to them with kind words, they will be your servants always.” (8) But he ignored the counsel that the elders gave him, and took counsel with the young men who had grown up with him and were serving him. (9) “What,” he asked, “do you counsel that we reply to these people who said to me, ‘Lighten the yoke that your father laid on us’?” (10) And the young men who had grown up with him answered, “Speak thus to the people who said to you, ‘Your father made our yoke heavy, now you make it lighter for us.’ Say to them, ‘My little finger is thicker than my father’s loins. (11) My father imposed a heavy yoke on you, and I will add to your yoke; my father flogged you with whips, but I [will do so] with scorpions.’” (12) Jeroboam and all the people came to Rehoboam on the third day, since the king had told them, “Come back on the third day.” (13) The king answered them harshly; thus King Rehoboam ignored the elders’ counsel. (14) He spoke to them in accordance with the counsel of the young men, and said, “I will make your yoke heavy, and I will add to it; my father flogged you with whips, but I [will do so] with scorpions.” (15) The king did not listen to the people, for God had brought it about in order that the LORD might fulfill the promise that He had made through Ahijah the Shilonite to Jeroboam son of Nebat. (16) When all Israel [saw] that the king had not listened to them, the people answered the king: “We have no portion in David, No share in Jesse’s son! To your tents, O Israel! Now look to your own house, O David.” So all Israel returned to their homes. (17) But Rehoboam continued to reign over the Israelites who lived in the towns of Judah. (18) King Rehoboam sent out Hadoram, who was in charge of the forced labor, but the Israelites pelted him to death with stones. Thereupon, King Rehoboam hurriedly mounted his chariot and fled to Jerusalem. (19) Israel has been in revolt against the house of David to this day.

(1) When Rehoboam arrived in Jerusalem, he mustered the house of Judah and Benjamin, 180,000 picked fighting men, to make war with Israel in order to restore the kingdom to Rehoboam. (2) But the word of the LORD came to Shemaiah, the man of God: (3) “Say to Rehoboam son of Solomon king of Judah, and to all Israel in Judah and Benjamin: (4) Thus said the LORD: You shall not set out to make war on your kinsmen. Let every man return to his home, for this thing has been brought about by Me.” They heeded the words of the LORD and refrained from marching against Jeroboam. (5) Rehoboam dwelt in Jerusalem and built fortified towns in Judah. (6) He built up Bethlehem, and Etam, and Tekoa, (7) and Beth-zur, and Soco, and Adullam, (8) and Gath, and Mareshah, and Ziph, (9) and Adoraim, and Lachish, and Azekah, (10) and Zorah, and Aijalon, and Hebron, which are in Judah and in Benjamin, as fortified towns. (11) He strengthened the fortified towns and put commanders in them, along with stores of food, oil, and wine, (12) and shields and spears in every town. He strengthened them exceedingly; thus Judah and Benjamin were his. (13) The priests and the Levites, from all their territories throughout Israel, presented themselves to him. (14) The Levites had left their pasturelands and their holdings and had set out for Judah and Jerusalem, for Jeroboam and his sons had prevented them from serving the LORD, (15) having appointed his own priests for the shrines, goat-demons, and calves which he had made. (16) From all the tribes of Israel, those intent on seeking the LORD God of Israel followed them to Jerusalem, to sacrifice to the LORD God of their fathers. (17) They strengthened the kingdom of Judah, and supported Rehoboam son of Solomon for three years, for they followed the ways of David and Solomon for three years. (18) Rehoboam married Mahalath daughter of Jerimoth son of David, and Abihail daughter of Eliab son of Jesse. (19) She bore him sons: Jeush, Shemariah, and Zaham. (20) He then took Maacah daughter of Absalom; she bore him Abijah, Attai, Ziza, and Shelomith. (21) Rehoboam loved Maacah daughter of Absalom more than his other wives and concubines—for he took eighteen wives and sixty concubines; he begot twenty-eight sons and sixty daughters. (22) Rehoboam designated Abijah son of Maacah as chief and leader among his brothers, for he intended him to be his successor. (23) He prudently distributed all his sons throughout the regions of Judah and Benjamin and throughout the fortified towns; he provided them with abundant food, and he sought many wives for them.

(1) a man of God arrived at Bethel from Judah at the command of the LORD. While Jeroboam was standing on the altar to present the offering, the man of God, at the command of the LORD, cried out against the altar: (2) “O altar, altar! Thus said the LORD: A son shall be born to the House of David, Josiah by name; and he shall slaughter upon you the priests of the shrines who bring offerings upon you. And human bones shall be burned upon you.” (3) He gave a portent on that day, saying, “Here is the portent that the LORD has decreed: This altar shall break apart, and the ashes on it shall be spilled.”

(4) When the king heard what the man of God had proclaimed against the altar in Bethel, Jeroboam stretched out his arm above the altar and cried, “Seize him!” But the arm that he stretched out against him became rigid, and he could not draw it back. (5) The altar broke apart and its ashes were spilled—the very portent that the man of God had announced at the LORD’s command. (6) Then the king spoke up and said to the man of God, “Please entreat the LORD your God and pray for me that I may be able to draw back my arm.” The man of God entreated the LORD and the king was able to draw his arm back; it became as it was before. (7) The king said to the man of God, “Come with me to my house and have some refreshment; and I shall give you a gift.” (8) But the man of God replied to the king, “Even if you give me half your wealth, I will not go in with you, nor will I eat bread or drink water in this place; (9) for so I was commanded by the word of the LORD: You shall eat no bread and drink no water, nor shall you go back by the road by which you came.” (10) So he left by another road and did not go back by the road on which he had come to Bethel.

(11) There was an old prophet living in Bethel; and his sons came and told him all the things that the man of God had done that day in Bethel [and] the words that he had spoken to the king. When they told it to their father, (12) their father said to them, “Which road did he leave by?” His sons had seen the road taken by the man of God who had come from Judah. (13) “Saddle the ass for me,” he said to his sons. They saddled the ass for him, and he mounted it (14) and rode after the man of God. He came upon him sitting under a terebinth and said to him, “Are you the man of God who came from Judah?” “Yes, I am,” he answered. (15) “Come home with me,” he said, “and have something to eat.” (16) He replied, “I may not go back with you and enter your home; and I may not eat bread or drink water in this place; (17) the order I received by the word of the LORD was: You shall not eat bread or drink water there; nor shall you return by the road on which you came.” (18) “I am a prophet, too,” said the other, “and an angel said to me by command of the LORD: Bring him back with you to your house, that he may eat bread and drink water.” He was lying to him. (19) So he went back with him, and he ate bread and drank water in his house.

(20) While they were sitting at the table, the word of the LORD came to the prophet who had brought him back. (21) He cried out to the man of God who had come from Judah: “Thus said the LORD: Because you have flouted the word of the LORD and have not observed what the LORD your God commanded you, (22) but have gone back and eaten bread and drunk water in the place of which He said to you, ‘Do not eat bread or drink water [there],’ your corpse shall not come to the grave of your fathers.” (23) After he had eaten bread and had drunk, he saddled the ass for him—for the prophet whom he had brought back. (24) He set out, and a lion came upon him on the road and killed him. His corpse lay on the road, with the ass standing beside it, and the lion also standing beside the corpse. (25) Some men who passed by saw the corpse lying on the road and the lion standing beside the corpse; they went and told it in the town where the old prophet lived. (26) And when the prophet who had brought him back from the road heard it, he said, “That is the man of God who flouted the LORD’s command; the LORD gave him over to the lion, which mauled him and killed him in accordance with the word that the LORD had spoken to him.”

(27) He said to his sons, “Saddle the ass for me,” and they did so. (28) He set out and found the corpse lying on the road, with the ass and the lion standing beside the corpse; the lion had not eaten the corpse nor had it mauled the ass. (29) The prophet lifted up the corpse of the man of God, laid it on the ass, and brought it back; it was brought to the town of the old prophet for lamentation and burial. (30) He laid the corpse in his own burial place; and they lamented over it, “Alas, my brother!” (31) After burying him, he said to his sons, “When I die, bury me in the grave where the man of God lies buried; lay my bones beside his. (32) For what he announced by the word of the LORD against the altar in Bethel, and against all the cult places in the towns of Samaria, shall surely come true.” (33) Even after this incident, Jeroboam did not turn back from his evil way, but kept on appointing priests for the shrines from the ranks of the people. He ordained as priests of the shrines any who so desired. (34) Thereby the House of Jeroboam incurred guilt—to their utter annihilation from the face of the earth.

Then behold a man of God. This was Yeddo.¹See II Divrei Hayomim 9:29.