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Commentaries and Other Bible Study Helps - Prayer Tents - Prayer Tents
10:1-36:23 The Kingdom of Judah Down to the Exile. The post-Solomonic narrative in Chronicles deals almost exclusively with the kingdom of Judah, following the division of the kingdom under Rehoboam. In contrast to 1-2 Kings, the history of the northern kingdom is considered by the Chronicler only as it touches upon that of Judah, such as in war (e.g., 2 Chronicles 13; 16; 18) or in moves toward unity (chs. 29-30). The Chronicler never disputed that the northern tribes belonged to Israel but insisted that legitimacy and leadership lay with the Davidic monarchy and the tribe of Judah.
10:1-12:16 Rehoboam. The reign of Rehoboam () is dominated by the division of the kingdom and the consequences thereof. While Rehoboam is judged negatively for his failures as a leader, the Chronicler also uses his example to show how repentance and obedience may lead to the restoration of blessing.
10:1-19 From 1 Kings 12:1-19. The division of the kingdom was a complex matter, to which Solomon (2 Chron. 10:4, 10, 11) and Jeroboam (13:6-7) both contributed through their disobedience, but here the focus is on Rehoboam's folly in alienating the northerners. At the same time, the author notes that this was a turn of affairs brought about by God (10:15), indicating that God remained in control of his kingdom and that the northerners' rebellion was understandable; it was, in fact, in accordance with the prophetic word (v. 15, which presupposes the reader's knowledge of 1 Kings 11:29-39). It was the northerners' later idolatry that made their continuing rebellion reprehensible (2 Chron. 13:8-10).
10:1-5 Rather than simply make Rehoboam king (as he no doubt expected), the tribal leaders wished to negotiate the terms of his kingship, including relief from the forced labor imposed by Solomon.
10:1 Shechem. See note on 1 Kings 12:1.
10:2 Jeroboam. See 1 Kings 11:26-40.
10:4 Your father made our yoke heavy. See note on 1 Kings 12:4.
10:7 Speak good words appears to be a technical term meaning "make an agreement" (see 2 Kings 25:28-29).
10:10 My little finger. See note on 1 Kings 12:10-11.
10:14-15 I will discipline you with scorpions. The attempt to browbeat the people with threats backfired, not least because the course of events was determined by God's will and the prophetic word (cf. notes on 1 Kings 12:14; 12:15).
10:16 This poetic fragment announcing rejection of the house of David contrasts pointedly with the poetic declaration of loyalty in 1 Chron. 12:18. It was apparently the rallying cry of the northern tribes against Judah (see 2 Sam. 20:1).
10:18 Hadoram was Solomon's taskmaster, also called "Adoram" (see note on 1 Kings 12:18) or "Adoniram" (1 Kings 4:6; 5:14).
11:1-12:16 The Chronicler's account of Rehoboam's rule over the southern kingdom is much longer and more complex than that given in Kings (1 Kings 14:21-31). As the first king of Judah after the division of the kingdom, Rehoboam serves to illustrate several of the key themes that will recur throughout the subsequent history of the Davidic monarchy: the blessings that flow from repentance and obedience to the prophetic word; conversely, the punishment that follows disobedience to God's law; the function of the faithful Levites in strengthening the kingdom; and the constant presence of the prophetic word to guide and rebuke. Rehoboam's reign shows how the principles and promises of judgment and restoration in 2 Chron. 7:13-14 are being enacted in the life of the kingdom, even when the king falls short of the ideal compared to his people (12:14).
11:1-4 This is from 1 Kings 12:21-24. Rehoboam's attempt to reunite the kingdom by force is averted by the prophet Shemaiah (see 2 Chron. 12:5, 7), who informs him that the division is from God (11:4; see 10:15).
11:4 your relatives. Despite their rebellion (for which they had good reason at this point), the northern tribes did not cease to be part of "all Israel." they listened to the word of the Lord. See note on 1 Kings 12:24.
11:5-23 This information has no parallel in Kings but is derived from another source or sources (see note on 12:15-16). It illustrates the blessings that come to Judah following Rehoboam's and the people's obedience to the word of Yahweh (11:4), while Jeroboam leads the northerners into apostasy.
11:5-12 The fortified cities covered the eastern, southern, and western approaches to Judah, and were thus probably intended as a defense against Egypt, Jeroboam's ally. Yet they did not prove effective against Shishak (12:4).
11:13-17 Jeroboam instituted his own syncretistic cult in Bethel and Dan to deter his people from going to sacrifice in Jerusalem and possibly defecting to Rehoboam (1 Kings 12:26-33). The Chronicler condemns him for his goat idols as well as golden calves (2 Chron. 11:15; see Lev. 17:7), and for driving out the legitimate priesthood (2 Chron. 11:14; 13:9). The exemplary attitude is shown by those Levites who took the costly step of abandoning their lands to move to Judah, and those laypeople who followed them to Jerusalem to offer sacrifice (11:16). Israel's true unity was centered on the temple worship (see 15:9). The theme of the Levites' "strengthening the kingdom" is frequent in Chronicles (see 19:8-11; 20:14-17; 29:25-30), and the task remained equally relevant in the Chronicler's own day (1 Chron. 9:2).
11:17 Rehoboam's and Judah's commitment to faithful worship and obedience to God's law lasted only three years (12:1).
11:18-23 The growth of Rehoboam's family is a sign of God's blessing on him, although these details must refer to the whole of his , and not just the of faithfulness to God's law. His family is of strong Davidic lineage: the father of Mahalath was Jerimoth, presumably the son of one of David's concubines (1 Chron. 3:9), while Maacah was probably the granddaughter of David's son Absalom, through his daughter Tamar (2 Sam. 14:27).
12:1 After a faithful beginning, Rehoboam seems to have descended into pride and a reliance on his own strength instead of dependence on God. That he and his people abandoned the law of the Lord is equated with abandoning God himself (v. 5): there is no effective relationship with God without obedience to his revealed will. The NT makes the same point positively when Jesus equates love for him with obedience to his commandments (John 14:21).
12:2 unfaithful (Hb. ma‘al). A key term for the Chronicler. See note on 1 Chron. 2:3-8. The Egyptian invasion follows hard on the heels of national apostasy and is explicitly identified by the writer as God's punishment for sin; but not every instance of distress or suffering in Chronicles is understood this way (e.g., 2 Chron. 20:1-12; 32:1, where Judah suffers foreign invasion after its kings have acted faithfully; similarly 13:8). Shishak is Shoshenq I, who ruled from His campaign through Judah and Israel is commemorated in inscriptions on the temple at Karnak. fifth year. (see note on 1 Kings 14:25-26).
12:3 Sukkiim. Soldiers probably of Libyan origin, mentioned in Egyptian records of the
12:5 You abandoned me, so I have abandoned you. See 1 Chron. 28:9; 2 Chron. 15:2.
12:6-8 humbled themselves. See 7:14. The partial deliverance that Judah experienced was intended to teach its people a fuller devotion to God. For the Chronicler's own generation, it would have called to mind their own circumstances: subject to the Persian kings, yet free to worship Yahweh in his temple (see Ezra 9:8-9).
12:9-11 Resumes the account from 1 Kings 14:26-28 (see note on 1 Kings 14:25-26). The treasures of the temple and palace were surrendered as tribute to avert an attack on the city.
12:12 when he humbled himself the wrath of the Lord turned from him. This is the key point concerning Rehoboam's reign that the Chronicler wishes to make for his readers.
12:14 The writer's overall estimate of Rehoboam is negative: whereas 1 Kings 14:22 (see note there) blames the people for "doing evil," the Chronicler makes this charge against Rehoboam and adds that he did not set his heart to seek the Lord (cf. 2 Chron. 11:16).
12:15-16 These verses generally follow 1 Kings 14:29-31 but specify that historical records from Shemaiah and Iddo contributed to the Chronicler's sources (see note on 1 Kings 14:19). The Chronicler's use of such sources accounts for much of the material in his work that is additional to 1-2 Kings.
