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REHOBOAM

(Heb. rĕḥaḇʿām)

King of Judah (ca. 924-907 b.c.e.), son of Solomon and the Ammonitess Naamah (1 Kgs. 14:31), and the father of Abijah/Abijam. He came to the throne at 41 and reigned for 17 years (1 Kgs. 14:21). 2 Chr. 11:18-23 identifies two of his 18 wives as Mahalath and Maacah (mother of Abijah) and notes that he had 60 concubines, 28 sons, and 60 daughters. Rehoboam’s reign is described in 1 Kgs. 12:1-24; 14:21-31, which apparently derives from the royal annals of Judah (1 Kgs. 14:29), and 2 Chr. 10:1–12:16, which is based on 1 Kings and perhaps a prophetic source (cf. 2 Chr. 12:15).

At his accession to the throne, Rehoboam met at Shechem with representatives of the northern tribes of Israel, who demanded relief from the oppressive policies of Solomon. After three days and consultation with his advisors, the king rejected the counsel of his older and more experienced officials that he acquiesce temporarily to the demands of Israel, and foolishly accepted the advice of his younger associates, who urged him to assert his authority. Consequently, the northern tribes revolted and elected as their king Jeroboam, who had fled to Egypt when Solomon suspected him of treason (1 Kgs. 12:1-16). This disaster is explained as God’s punishment for Solomon’s religious unfaithfulness (1 Kgs. 11:9-13, 29-39; 12:15; cf. 2 Chr. 10:15). When Rehoboam sent Adoram/Hadoram, his officer over forced labor, to quell the revolt, the official was stoned to death, and the king fled to Jerusalem (1 Kgs. 12:17-18). Conflict between the two kingdoms continued throughout the reigns of Rehoboam and Jeroboam (1 Kgs. 14:30; cf. 2 Chr. 12:15b).

In the fifth year of Rehoboam’s reign an Egyptian army under Pharaoh Shishak (Shoshenq I) attacked Palestine (1 Kgs. 14:25-28; cf. 2 Chr. 12:1-12), not to install Egyptian officials over the land but to plunder its wealth and perhaps to assert Egyptian influence. Although the biblical accounts leave the impression that the attack was aimed at Judah and constituted divine punishment for Rehoboam’s religious unfaithfulness (explicitly stated in 2 Chr. 12:1-2; implied by juxtaposition in 1 Kgs. 14:21-24, 25-26), Shishak’s inscription at the temple of Amon at Karnak lists the places that the Egyptians had conquered and suggests that Israel, rather than Judah, was the primary object of the attack. Jerusalem is not mentioned in the list, but a few sites in the Negeb are, perhaps an indication of the pharaoh’s efforts to protect his troops from raids by nomadic peoples in the region. Apparently, Rehoboam paid tribute to the Egyptians to avoid further trouble (cf. 1 Kgs. 14:25-26). The report of these events is greatly expanded in Chronicles, where the prophet Shemaiah announces that Shishak’s conquest of the fortified cities of Judah (cf. 2 Chr. 11:5-12) is God’s punishment for their sin, the leaders repent, and Shemaiah proclaims a partial deliverance: the leaders will remain in power, but the Egyptians will take away much of their wealth (2 Chr. 12:3-8).

In addition, 2 Chr. 11:5-12 reports, as evidence of divine blessing, that Rehoboam built and provisioned 15 “cities for defense.” Although the king may have undertaken this to protect his land from Egyptian attack before Shishak’s invasion, as is indicated by the position of the report in Chronicles, others have suggested that Rehoboam’s strategy was to secure his kingdom against further internal rebellion, and still others have dated the list of fortified cities to the reigns of Josiah or Hezekiah.

1 Kgs. 14:22-24 characterizes Rehoboam’s religious policies as idolatrous, while Chronicles portrays them more ambiguously, reporting that northern priests and Levites moved to Judah because of Jeroboam’s religious innovations. These were followed by others who were faithful to God, and together they strengthened Rehoboam for three years (2 Chr. 11:13-17; cf. 12:14).

Bibliography. G. N. Knoppers, “Rehoboam in Chronicles: Villain or Victim?” JBL 109 (1990): 423-40; B. Mazar, “The Campaign of Pharaoh Shishak to Palestine,” VTSup 4 (Leiden, 1957): 57-66; J. M. Miller, “Rehoboam’s Cities of Defense and the Levitical City List,” in Archaeology and Biblical Interpretation, ed. L. G. Perdue, L. E. Toombs, and G. L. Lance (Atlanta, 1987), 273-86.

M. Patrick Graham

Prayer Tents Bible References - Prayer Tents

REHOBOAM

Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible (2000)