בָּעֵת הַהִיא חָלָה אֲבִיָּה בֶן־יָרָבְעָם

At that time, Aviya son of Yorovam, probably his firstborn, fell ill.

וַיֹּאמֶר יָרָבְעָם לְאִשְׁתּוֹ קוּמִי נָא וְהִשְׁתַּנִּית וְלֹא יֵדְעוּ כִּי־אַתְּ אֵשֶׁת יָרָבְעָם וְהָלַכְתְּ שִׁלֹה הִנֵּה־שָׁם אֲחִיָּה הַנָּבִיא הוּא־דִבֶּר עָלַי לְמֶלֶךְ עַל־הָעָם הַזֶּה

Yorovam said to his wife: Please rise, and disguise yourself and they will not know that you are the wife of Yorovam. Go to Shilo; behold, Ahiya the prophet, a great, true prophet, is there; he spoke concerning me to be king over this people. We can turn to him, not only because he recognizes my greatness, as his prophecy about me came to pass, but also due to an innate connection between us and because I have a sense of gratitude toward him. However, Yorovam may have been concerned that if she initially presented herself as his wife, Ahiya might be unwilling to receive her, as he knew that the prophet was unhappy with his political decisions and his religious innovations, so he told her to disguise herself. Alternatively, Yorovam instructed her to disguise herself so that people on the way should not ask her where she was going, as they would realize that the king was seeking the help of a prophet whose commands he did not follow.

וְלָקַחַתְּ בְּיָדֵךְ עֲשָׂרָה לֶחֶם וְנִקֻּדִים וּבַקְבֻּק דְּבַשׁ וּבָאת אֵלָיו הוּא יַגִּיד לָךְ מַה־יִּהְיֶה לַנָּעַר

Take in your hand ten loaves of bread, crackers, dry, seasoned bread, and a bottle of honey, and come to him. He will tell you what will be with the lad.

וַתַּעַשׂ כֵּן אֵשֶׁת יָרָבְעָם וַתָּקָם וַתֵּלֶךְ שִׁלֹה וַתָּבֹא בֵּית אֲחִיָּה וַאֲחִיָּהוּ לֹא־יָכֹל לִרְאוֹת כִּי קָמוּ עֵינָיו מִשֵּׂיבוֹ

Yorovam’s wife did so, and she rose, went to Shilo, and came to the house of Ahiya. By that time, Ahiyahu was unable to see, for his eyes had dimmed due to his old age.

וַה' אָמַר אֶל־אֲחִיָּהוּ הִנֵּה אֵשֶׁת יָרָבְעָם בָּאָה לִדְרֹשׁ דָּבָר מֵעִמְּךָ אֶל בְּנָהּ כִּי־חֹלֶה הוּא כָּזֹה וְכָזֶה תְּדַבֵּר אֵלֶיהָ וִיהִי כְבֹאָהּ וְהִיא מִתְנַכֵּרָה

Earlier the Lord had said to Ahiyahu, before her arrival: Behold, the wife of Yorovam is coming to seek word from you concerning her son, as he is ill, and such and such you shall say to her. It will be that when she comes, she will be dissembling, in disguise.

וַיְהִי כִשְׁמֹעַ אֲחִיָּהוּ אֶת־קוֹל רַגְלֶיהָ בָּאָה בַפֶּתַח וַיֹּאמֶר בֹּאִי אֵשֶׁת יָרָבְעָם לָמָּה זֶּה אַתְּ מִתְנַכֵּרָה וְאָנֹכִי שָׁלוּחַ אֵלַיִךְ קָשָׁה

It was when Ahiyahu heard the sound of her feet coming into the entrance, as his hearing was unimpaired, and he said: Enter, wife of Yorovam; why are you dissembling? I know who you are, and I am sent to you harshly. I have tough statements to say to you on the matter of your concern.

לְכִי אִמְרִי לְיָרָבְעָם כֹּה־אָמַר ה' אֱלֹהֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל יַעַן אֲשֶׁר הֲרִמֹתִיךָ מִתּוֹךְ הָעָם וָאֶתֶּנְךָ נָגִיד עַל עַמִּי יִשְׂרָאֵל

Go, say to Yorovam: So said the Lord, God of Israel: For I elevated you from among the people, and set you as ruler, appointed you king, over My people Israel,

וָאֶקְרַע אֶת־הַמַּמְלָכָה מִבֵּית דָּוִד וָאֶתְּנֶהָ לָךְ וְלֹא־הָיִיתָ כְּעַבְדִּי דָוִד אֲשֶׁר שָׁמַר מִצְוֹתַי וַאֲשֶׁר הָלַךְ אַחֲרַי בְּכָל־לְבָבוֹ לַעֲשׂוֹת רַק הַיָּשָׁר בְּעֵינָי

and I rent the kingdom from the house of David and gave it to you; yet you were not like My servant David, who kept My commandments, and who followed Me with all his heart, to do only what is right in My eyes.

וַתָּרַע לַעֲשׂוֹת מִכֹּל אֲשֶׁר־הָיוּ לְפָנֶיךָ וַתֵּלֶךְ וַתַּעֲשֶׂה־לְּךָ אֱלֹהִים אֲחֵרִים וּמַסֵּכוֹת לְהַכְעִיסֵנִי וְאֹתִי הִשְׁלַכְתָּ אַחֲרֵי גַוֶּךָ

You have acted evilly beyond all who were before you, and you have gone and made for yourself other gods and cast images to anger Me. Ahiya did not find it necessary to define precisely the nature of the calves in Beit El and Dan; rather, he simply presented them as forms of idolatry. And Me, you cast behind your back.

לָכֵן הִנְנִי מֵבִיא רָעָה אֶל־בֵּית יָרָבְעָם וְהִכְרַתִּי לְיָרָבְעָם מַשְׁתִּין בְּקִיר עָצוּר וְעָזוּב בְּיִשְׂרָאֵל וּבִעַרְתִּי אַחֲרֵי בֵית־יָרָבְעָם כַּאֲשֶׁר יְבַעֵר הַגָּלָל עַד־תֻּמּוֹ

Therefore, behold, I am bringing harm upon the house of Yorovam, and I will excise from Yorovam any who urinate against the wall, the protected and the supported in Israel, and I will eradicate the house of Yorovam like one eradicates dung, until its end, just as excrement is entirely cleaned away. This is a highly derogatory comparison.

הַמֵּת לְיָרָבְעָם בָּעִיר יֹאכְלוּ הַכְּלָבִים וְהַמֵּת בַּשָּׂדֶה יֹאכְלוּ עוֹף הַשָּׁמָיִם כִּי ה' דִּבֵּר

The dead of Yorovam in the city the dogs will eat, and the dead in the field the birds of the heavens will eat, for the Lord has spoken.

וְאַתְּ קוּמִי לְכִי לְבֵיתֵךְ בְּבֹאָה רַגְלַיִךְ הָעִירָה וּמֵת הַיָּלֶד

You, get up and go to your house; and know that when your feet enter the city, the child will die.

וְסָפְדוּ־לוֹ כָל־יִשְׂרָאֵל וְקָבְרוּ אֹתוֹ כִּי־זֶה לְבַדּוֹ יָבֹא לְיָרָבְעָם אֶל־קָבֶר יַעַן נִמְצָא־בוֹ דָּבָר טוֹב אֶל ה' אֱלֹהֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל בְּבֵית יָרָבְעָם

All Israel will lament him and bury him; for only he of Yorovam will come to a grave. He is the only member of the family of Yorovam who will rest in peace and be buried with honor, because something good was found in him, in his behavior toward the Lord, God of Israel, in the house of Yorovam.

וְהֵקִים ה' לוֹ מֶלֶךְ עַל־יִשְׂרָאֵל אֲשֶׁר יַכְרִית אֶת־בֵּית יָרָבְעָם זֶה הַיּוֹם וּמֶה גַּם־עָתָּה

The Lord will establish for Himself a king over Israel who will eliminate the house of Yorovam starting from this day, and even now. The troubles that will be visited upon you now will be the start of your downfall.

וְהִכָּה ה' אֶת־יִשְׂרָאֵל כַּאֲשֶׁר יָנוּד הַקָּנֶה בַּמַּיִם וְנָתַשׁ אֶת־יִשְׂרָאֵל מֵעַל הָאֲדָמָה הַטּוֹבָה הַזֹּאת אֲשֶׁר נָתַן לַאֲבוֹתֵיהֶם וְזֵרָם מֵעֵבֶר לַנָּהָר יַעַן אֲשֶׁר עָשׂוּ אֶת־אֲשֵׁרֵיהֶם מַכְעִיסִים אֶת־ה'

The Lord will smite Israel with one blow after another, until the nation will tremble as a reed sways by the wind in the water, barely attached to the ground; He will uproot Israel from this good land, which He gave to their fathers, and scatter them beyond the Euphrates River, because they made their sacred trees, thereby angering the Lord.

וְיִתֵּן אֶת יִשְׂרָאֵל בִּגְלַל חַטֹּאות יָרָבְעָם אֲשֶׁר חָטָא וַאֲשֶׁר הֶחֱטִיא אֶת־יִשְׂרָאֵל

He will give up all Israel to their enemies who will exile them because of the sins of Yorovam that he sinned and that he caused Israel to sin.

וַתָּקָם אֵשֶׁת יָרָבְעָם וַתֵּלֶךְ וַתָּבֹא תִרְצָתָה הִיא בָּאָה בְסַף־הַבַּיִת וְהַנַּעַר מֵת

Yorovam’s wife got up and went, and she came to the city of Tirtza, which Yorovam chose for the capital of his kingdom, or simply as his place of residence; she entered the threshold of the house, and the lad died, as Ahiya had predicted.

וַיִּקְבְּרוּ אֹתוֹ וַיִּסְפְּדוּ־לוֹ כָּל־יִשְׂרָאֵל כִּדְבַר ה' אֲשֶׁר דִּבֶּר בְּיַד־עַבְדּוֹ אֲחִיָּהוּ הַנָּבִיא

All Israel buried him, and lamented him in accordance with the word of the Lord that He spoke by means of His servant Ahiyahu the prophet.

וְיֶתֶר דִּבְרֵי יָרָבְעָם אֲשֶׁר נִלְחַם וַאֲשֶׁר מָלָךְ הִנָּם כְּתוּבִים עַל־סֵפֶר דִּבְרֵי הַיָּמִים לְמַלְכֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל

The rest of the matters concerning Yorovam, that he fought and that he reigned, the battles conducted in his days, the city he established, and his other acts, behold they are written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel.

וְהַיָּמִים אֲשֶׁר מָלַךְ יָרָבְעָם עֶשְׂרִים וּשְׁתַּיִם שָׁנָה וַיִּשְׁכַּב עִם־אֲבֹתָיו וַיִּמְלֹךְ נָדָב בְּנוֹ תַּחְתָּיו

The days that Yorovam reigned over Israel were twenty-two years, and he lay with his fathers, after dying a natural death, and Nadav his son reigned in his place.

וּרְחַבְעָם בֶּן־שְׁלֹמֹה מָלַךְ בִּיהוּדָה בֶּן־אַרְבָּעִים וְאַחַת שָׁנָה רְחַבְעָם בְּמָלְכוֹ וּשֲׁבַע עֶשְׂרֵה שָׁנָה מָלַךְ בִּירוּשָׁלִַם הָעִיר אֲשֶׁר־בָּחַר ה' לָשׂוּם אֶת־שְׁמוֹ שָׁם מִכֹּל שִׁבְטֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל וְשֵׁם אִמּוֹ נַעֲמָה הָעַמֹּנִית

Rehavam son of Solomon reigned in Judah. Rehavam was forty-one years old when he became king. Rehavam was possibly King Solomon’s oldest son. According to the dates given in the verses, he was born before Solomon became king, as Solomon’s reign lasted forty years (see 11:42). And he reigned seventeen years in Jerusalem, the city that the Lord had chosen from all the tribes of Israel to place His name there; his mother’s name was Naama the Amonite.

וַיַּעַשׂ יְהוּדָה הָרַע בְּעֵינֵי ה' וַיְקַנְאוּ אֹתוֹ מִכֹּל אֲשֶׁר עָשׂוּ אֲבֹתָם בְּחַטֹּאתָם אֲשֶׁר חָטָאוּ

Judah did evil in the eyes of the Lord, and they angered Him beyond everything that their fathers did with their sins that they sinned. The transgressions of Judah during Rehavam’s days were worse than the sins of their fathers.

וַיִּבְנוּ גַם־הֵמָּה לָהֶם בָּמוֹת וּמַצֵּבוֹת וַאֲשֵׁרִים עַל כָּל־גִּבְעָה גְבֹהָה וְתַחַת כָּל־עֵץ רַעֲנָן

They also built for themselves shrines, monuments, and sacred trees on every high hill and under every flourishing tree. Since the Temple was in their midst, they did not commit these sins for political reasons, as was the case in the Kingdom of Israel, but due to cultural influences.

וְגַם־קָדֵשׁ הָיָה בָאָרֶץ עָשׂוּ כְּכֹל הַתּוֹעֲבֹת הַגּוֹיִם אֲשֶׁר הוֹרִישׁ ה' מִפְּנֵי בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל

There were also cult prostitutes in the land, male prostitutes who participated in the cult of the Ashera, and their deeds were therefore considered a double abomination. They behaved like all the abominations of the nations that the Lord had dispossessed from before the children of Israel. The people of Judah regressed to the deeds of the Canaanites. The weakening of the people’s loyalty to God had already begun in the days of Solomon, who was himself an indirect cause of these sins (see 11:1–11). Rehavam, his father’s inferior in both talent and deeds, was unable to thwart the decline of the people of Judah, who adopted Canaanite rites.

וַיְהִי בַּשָּׁנָה הַחֲמִישִׁית לַמֶּלֶךְ רְחַבְעָם עָלָה שִׁישַׁק מֶלֶךְ־מִצְרַיִם עַל־יְרוּשָׁלִָם

The internal decline was also accompanied by troubles from without: It was in the fifth year of King Rehavam that Shishak king of Egypt went up against Jerusalem. As the head of a regional power, Shishak was powerful enough to subjugate Jerusalem.

וַיִּקַּח אֶת־אֹצְרוֹת בֵּית־ה' וְאֶת־אוֹצְרוֹת בֵּית הַמֶּלֶךְ וְאֶת־הַכֹּל לָקָח וַיִּקַּח אֶת־כָּל־מָגִנֵּי הַזָּהָב אֲשֶׁר עָשָׂה שְׁלֹמֹה

He took the treasures of the House of the Lord and the treasures of the house of the king, which still remained from the time of David and which had further accumulated during Solomon’s reign; he took it all. He took all the golden bucklers that Solomon had made. Solomon possessed so much gold that he had even coated the shields of his guards with gold. Aware of the treasures in Jerusalem, Shishak assumed that Rehavam would be unable to resist him and embarked on a campaign of plunder against Jerusalem.

וַיַּעַשׂ הַמֶּלֶךְ רְחַבְעָם תַּחְתָּם מָגִנֵּי נְחֹשֶׁת וְהִפְקִיד עַל־יַד שָׂרֵי הָרָצִים הַשֹּׁמְרִים פֶּתַח בֵּית הַמֶּלֶךְ

King Rehavam made bronze bucklers in their place, as he could no longer permit himself to fashion golden shields, and he entrusted them into the hands of the commanders of the Runners, who guarded the entrance of the king’s house. Even these bronze shields were considered too expensive to be given to the guards themselves to take wherever they went. Instead, they were deposited with the guards of the palace.

וַיְהִי מִדֵּי־בֹא הַמֶּלֶךְ בֵּית ה' יִשָּׂאוּם הָרָצִים וֶהֱשִׁיבוּם אֶל־תָּא הָרָצִים

It was with each entrance of the king into the House of the Lord that the Runners, his guard of honor, would bear them, and when the king returned, they would return them to the chamber of the Runners. This ceremony introduced by Rehavam merely highlighted the miserable state of his kingdom, as it inevitably brought to mind the large-scale looting of the golden shields and the loss of the kingdom’s treasures.

וְיֶתֶר דִּבְרֵי רְחַבְעָם וְכָל־אֲשֶׁר עָשָׂה הֲלֹא־הֵמָּה כְתוּבִים עַל־סֵפֶר דִּבְרֵי הַיָּמִים לְמַלְכֵי יְהוּדָה

The rest of the matters concerning Rehavam, and everything that he did as king, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah?

וּמִלְחָמָה הָיְתָה בֵין־רְחַבְעָם וּבֵין יָרָבְעָם כָּל־הַיָּמִים

There was war between Rehavam and Yorovam always. They did not engage in actual warfare, as the prophet had prevented Rehavam from sending an army against the Kingdom of Israel when Yorovam and the tribes and Israel were not yet organized. However, there were mutual raids and reprisals along the common border, and incessant violent confrontations.

וַיִּשְׁכַּב רְחַבְעָם עִם־אֲבֹתָיו וַיִּקָּבֵר עִם־אֲבֹתָיו בְּעִיר דָּוִד וְשֵׁם אִמּוֹ נַעֲמָה הָעַמֹּנִית וַיִּמְלֹךְ אֲבִיָּם בְּנוֹ תַּחְתָּיו

Rehavam lay with his fathers and was buried with his fathers, in the royal tomb of David and Solomon, in the City of David; his mother’s name was Naama the Amonite. Aviyam his son reigned in his place.