I Kings
I Kings 1 : Abishag Cares for David
1Now king David was old and stricken in years; and they covered him with clothes, but he got no heat. 2Why his servants said to him, Let there be sought for my lord the king a young virgin: and let her stand before the king, and let her cherish him, and let her lie in your bosom, that my lord the king may get heat. 3So they sought for a fair damsel throughout all the coasts of Israel, and found Abishag a Shunammite, and brought her to the king. 4And the damsel was very fair, and cherished the king, and ministered to him: but the king knew her not.
Abishag = “my father is a wanderer”; David’s beautiful young nurse
Shunammite = see Shunen “double resting place”
Adonijah Usurps the Kingdom
5Then Adonijah the son of Haggith exalted himself, saying, I will be king: and he prepared him chariots and horsemen, and 50 men to run before him.
Adonijah = “my lord is Jehovah”; 4th son of David and Solomon’s rival for the throne; Levite sent by Jehoshaphat to teach the Law; a chief of the people who co-operated with Nehemiah 26 times in 26 verses
Haggith = “festive”; a wife of David and mother of Adonijah
6And his father had not displeased him at any time in saying, Why have you done so? and he also was a very goodly man; and his mother bore him after Absalom. 7And he conferred with Joab the son of Zeruiah, and with Abiathar the priest: and they following Adonijah helped him. 8But Zadok the priest, and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, and Nathan the prophet, and Shimei, and Rei, and the mighty men which belonged to David, were not with Adonijah.
Absalom or Abishalom = “my father is peace”; father-in-law of Rehoboam; third son of David, killer of first-born son Amnon, also leader of revolt against his father – David 111 times in 92 verses
Joab = “Jehovah is father”; son of David’s sister Zeruiah and general of David’s army; a Judaite descendant of Kenaz; a post exilic family 145 times in 124
Zeruiah = “balsam”; sister of David and mother of the 3 leading heroes of David’s army – Abishai, Joab, and Asahel 26 times in 25 verses
Abiathar = “my father is great”; priest, son of Ahitub (Ahimelech), faithful to David, but later rebelled with Adonijah
Zadok = “righteous”; the high priest, son of Ahitub of the house of Eleazar the son of Aaron, and 11th in descent from Aaron; joined David after Saul’s death and supported him against Absalom and Adonijah; anointed Solomon as king; a priest, son of Meraioth, father of Meshullam of the house of Ahitub; apparently a nephew of 1; father of Jerusha, the wife of king Uzziah and mother of king Jotham of Judah; son of Baana and repairer of the wall of Jerusalem in the time of Nehemiah; son of Immer and repairer of the wall of Jerusalem in the time of Nehemiah; a leader of the people in the time of Nehemiah; a scribe appointed by Nehemiah as one of the treasurers over the storehouse; a valiant warrior of the tribe of Benjamin who joined David at Hebron. Same as 1? 53 times in 50 verses
Benaiah = “Jehovah has built” or “Yahweh has built up”; one of David’s mighty warriors, son of Jehoiada the chief priest, a Levite, set by David over his bodyguard, later having remained faithful to Solomon during Adonijah’s attempt on the crown, was raised into the place of Joab as commander-in-chief of the army; the Pirathonite, an Ephraimite, one of David’s thirty mighty warriors, and the captain of the eleventh monthly course
Jehoiada = “Jehovah knows”; father of Benaiah, David’s mighty warrior; leader of the priests who joined David at Hebron; high priest at the time of Athaliah’s usurpation of the throne of Judah; hid Joash, the king’s son, for six years and eventually replaced him on the throne of Judah; second priest, or sagan, to Seraiah the high priest
Nathan = “giver”; a son of David by Bathsheba; the eminent prophet in the time of David and Solomon; a man of Zobah, father of one of David’s mighty warriors; father of Azariah who was over the officers of Solomon; son of Attai and father of Zabad of the tribe of Judah; brother of Joel of the tribe of Judah; one of the head men who returned from Babylon with Ezra; a man with a foreign wife in the time of Ezra; head of a family of Israel who shall mourn when they look on Him whom they pierced 42 times in 39 verses
Shimei or Shimhi or Shimi or Shimea = “renowned”; a Benjamite, son of Gera of the house of Saul in the time of David;a Benjamite, son of Elah and commissariat officer in the time of Solomon; the Ramathite in charge of the vineyards of David; son of Gershon and grandson of Levi;a Levite, son of Jeduthun and chief of the 10th division of singers in the time of David; a Levite of the sons of Heman who took part in the purification of the temple in the time of king Hezekiah of Judah; a Levite, brother of Cononiah in charge of receiving the tithes and offerings in the reign of king Hezekiah of Judah;a Levite who had a foreign wife in the time of Ezra; a Judaite, son of Pedaiah and brother of Zerubbabel; a Simeonite, son of Zacchur; a Reubenite, son of Gog and father of Micah;one of the sons of Hashum who had a foreign wife in the time of Ezra; one of the sons of Bani who had a foreign wife in the time of Ezra; a Benjamite, son of Kish, father of Jair, and grandfather of Mordecai in the time of Esther;a Levite, son of Jahath, grandson of Gershon, and great grandson of Levi; Benjamite, father of Adaiah, Beraiah, and Shimrath. Spelled ‘Shimhi’;
Rei = “friendly” a person of David’s court who remained loyal during Adonijah’s rebellion
9And Adonijah slew sheep and oxen and fat cattle by the stone of Zoheleth, which is by Enrogel, and called all his brothers the king’s sons, and all the men of Judah the king’s servants: 10But Nathan the prophet, and Benaiah, and the mighty men, and Solomon his brother, he called not.
Stone of the Serpent
Zoheleth = “serpent” a boundary stone near Jerusalem where Adonijah slew sheep and oxen
En-rogel = “fount of the fuller”; a place near Jerusalem on the border between Judah and Benjamin and from which the permanent source of the pool of Siloam comes; עֵין רֹגֵל ʻÊyn Rôgêl, ane ro-gale’; from H5869 and the active participle of H7270; fountain of a traveller;
Nathan and Bathsheba Before David
11Why Nathan spoke to Bathsheba the mother of Solomon, saying, Have you not heard that Adonijah the son of Haggith does reign, and David our lord knows it not? 12Now therefore come, let me, I pray you, give you counsel, that you may save your own life, and the life of your son Solomon. 13Go and get you in to king David, and say to him, Did not you, my lord, O king, swear to your handmaid, saying, Assuredly Solomon your son shall reign after me, and he shall sit on my throne? why then does Adonijah reign? 14Behold, while you yet talk there with the king, I also will come in after you, and confirm your words.
Bath-sheba = “daughter of an oath”; the wife of Uriah whom David had murdered, having had adulterous relations with her; subsequently wife of David and mother of Solomon, Shimea, Shobab, and Nathan
15And Bathsheba went in to the king into the chamber: and the king was very old; and Abishag the Shunammite ministered to the king.16And Bathsheba bowed, and did obeisance to the king. And the king said, What would you? 17And she said to him, My lord, you swore by the LORD your God to your handmaid, saying, Assuredly Solomon your son shall reign after me, and he shall sit on my throne. 18And now, behold, Adonijah reigns; and now, my lord the king, you know it not: 19And he has slain oxen and fat cattle and sheep in abundance, and has called all the sons of the king, and Abiathar the priest, and Joab the captain of the host: but Solomon your servant has he not called. 20And you, my lord, O king, the eyes of all Israel are on you, that you should tell them who shall sit on the throne of my lord the king after him. 21Otherwise it shall come to pass, when my lord the king shall sleep with his fathers, that I and my son Solomon shall be counted offenders.
Chamber חֶדֶר cheder, kheh’-der; from H2314; an apartment (usually literal):—((bed) inner) chamber, innermost(-ward) part, parlour, south, × within chamber, room, parlour, innermost or inward part, within 38 times in 33 verses
Ministered שָׁרַת shârath, shaw-rath’; a primitive root; to attend as a menial or worshipper; figuratively, to contribute to:— 97 times in 92 verses
22And, see, while she yet talked with the king, Nathan the prophet also came in. 23And they told the king, saying, Behold Nathan the prophet. And when he was come in before the king, he bowed himself before the king with his face to the ground. 24And Nathan said, My lord, O king, have you said, Adonijah shall reign after me, and he shall sit on my throne? 25For he is gone down this day, and has slain oxen and fat cattle and sheep in abundance, and has called all the king’s sons, and the captains of the host, and Abiathar the priest; and, behold, they eat and drink before him, and say, God save king Adonijah. 26But me, even me your servant, and Zadok the priest, and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, and your servant Solomon, has he not called. 27Is this thing done by my lord the king, and you have not showed it to your servant, who should sit on the throne of my lord the king after him?
David Renews his Oath to Bathsheba
28Then king David answered and said, Call me Bathsheba. And she came into the king’s presence, and stood before the king. 29And the king swore, and said, As the LORD lives, that has redeemed my soul out of all distress, 30Even as I swore to you by the LORD God of Israel, saying, Assuredly Solomon your son shall reign after me, and he shall sit on my throne in my stead; even so will I certainly do this day. 31Then Bathsheba bowed with her face to the earth, and did reverence to the king, and said, Let my lord king David live for ever.
Solomon Anointed King
32And king David said, Call me Zadok the priest, and Nathan the prophet, and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada. And they came before the king.33The king also said to them, Take with you the servants of your lord, and cause Solomon my son to ride on my own mule, and bring him down to Gihon: 34And let Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet anoint him there king over Israel: and blow you with the trumpet, and say, God save king Solomon. 35Then you shall come up after him, that he may come and sit on my throne; for he shall be king in my stead: and I have appointed him to be ruler over Israel and over Judah. 36And Benaiah the son of Jehoiada answered the king, and said, Amen: the LORD God of my lord the king say so too. 37As the LORD has been with my lord the king, even so be he with Solomon, and make his throne greater than the throne of my lord king David.
Gihon = “bursting forth”; one of the 4 rivers of the Garden of Eden; a spring near Jerusalem where the anointing and proclaiming of Solomon as king took place גִּיחוֹן Gîychôwn, ghee-khone’; or (shortened) גִּחוֹן Gichôwn; from H1518; stream; Gichon, a river of Paradise; also a valley (or pool) near Jerusalem:—Gihon
38So Zadok the priest, and Nathan the prophet, and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, and the Cherethites, and the Pelethites, went down, and caused Solomon to ride on king David’s mule, and brought him to Gihon.
Cherethites = “executioners”; a group of foreign mercenary soldiers serving as a bodyguard for king David; also executioners; either Cretans or proto-Philistines (in general)
Pelethites = “couriers”; a collective name for the guardsmen of David; probably descendants of an unknown person, perhaps Philistine mercenaries
39And Zadok the priest took an horn of oil out of the tabernacle, and anointed Solomon. And they blew the trumpet; and all the people said, God save king Solomon. 40And all the people came up after him, and the people piped with pipes, and rejoiced with great joy, so that the earth rent with the sound of them.
Horn קֶרֶן qeren, keh’-ren; from H7160; a horn (as projecting); by implication, a flask, cornet; by resemblance. an elephant’s tooth (i.e. ivory), a corner (of the altar), a peak (of a mountain), a ray (of light); figuratively, power: 76 times in 69 verses
קָרַן qâran, kaw-ran’; a primitive root; to push or gore; used only as denominative from H7161, to shoot out horns; figuratively, rays:—have horns, shine.
Oil שֶׁמֶן shemen, sheh’-men; from H8080; grease, especially liquid (as from the olive, often perfumed); figuratively, richness:—anointing, × fat (things), × fruitful, oil(-ed), ointment, olive, pine. Fat, Oil 193 times in 176 verses
Piped חָלַל châlal, khaw-lal’; a primitive root (compare H2470); also denominative (from H2485) properly, to bore, i.e. (by implication) to wound, to dissolve; figuratively, to profane (a person, place or thing), to break (one’s word), to begin (as if by an ‘opening wedge’); to play (the flute):—begin (× men began), defile, × break, defile, × eat (as common things),
Pipes חָלִיל châlîyl, khaw-leel’; from H2490; a flute (as perforated):—pipe.
Adonijah Informed of Solomon’s Kingship
41And Adonijah and all the guests that were with him heard it as they had made an end of eating. And when Joab heard the sound of the trumpet, he said, Why is this noise of the city being in an uproar? 42And while he yet spoke, behold, Jonathan the son of Abiathar the priest came; and Adonijah said to him, Come in; for you are a valiant man, and bring good tidings. 43And Jonathan answered and said to Adonijah, Truly our lord king David has made Solomon king. 44And the king has sent with him Zadok the priest, and Nathan the prophet, and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, and the Cherethites, and the Pelethites, and they have caused him to ride on the king’s mule: 45And Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet have anointed him king in Gihon: and they are come up from there rejoicing, so that the city rang again. This is the noise that you have heard. 46And also Solomon sits on the throne of the kingdom. 47And moreover the king’s servants came to bless our lord king David, saying, God make the name of Solomon better than your name, and make his throne greater than your throne. And the king bowed himself on the bed. 48And also thus said the king, Blessed be the LORD God of Israel, which has given one to sit on my throne this day, my eyes even seeing it.
City, Town קִרְיָה qiryâh, kir-yaw’; from H7136 in the sense of flooring, i.e. building; a city:—city. 31 times in 31 verses
Rang Again הוּם hûwm, hoom; a primitive root (compare H2000); to make an uproar, or agitate greatly:—destroy, move, make a noise, put, ring again. to distract, ring again, make a (great) noise, murmur, roar, discomfit, be moved
Kingdom מְלוּכָה mᵉlûwkâh, mel-oo-kaw’; feminine passive participle of H4427; something ruled, i.e. a realm:—kingsom, king’s, × royal. 24 times in 23 verses
49And all the guests that were with Adonijah were afraid, and rose up, and went every man his way. 50And Adonijah feared because of Solomon, and arose, and went, and caught hold on the horns of the altar. 51And it was told Solomon, saying, Behold, Adonijah fears king Solomon: for, see, he has caught hold on the horns of the altar, saying, Let king Solomon swear to me today that he will not slay his servant with the sword. 52And Solomon said, If he will show himself a worthy man, there shall not an hair of him fall to the earth: but if wickedness shall be found in him, he shall die. 53So king Solomon sent, and they brought him down from the altar. And he came and bowed himself to king Solomon: and Solomon said to him, Go to your house.
Caught Hold חָזַק châzaq, khaw-zak’; a primitive root; to fasten upon; hence, to seize, be strong (figuratively, courageous, causatively strengthen, cure, help, repair, fortify), obstinate; to bind, restrain, conquer: To Strengthen 290 in 266
hair שַׂעֲרָה saʻărâh, sah-ar-aw’; feminine of H8181; hairiness:—hair. a single hair
I KINGS 2 : David Instructs Solomon
1Now the days of David drew near that he should die; and he charged Solomon his son, saying, 2 I go the way of all the earth: be you strong therefore, and show yourself a man; 3And keep the charge of the LORD your God, to walk in his ways, to keep his statutes, and his commandments, and his judgments, and his testimonies, as it is written in the law of Moses, that you may prosper in all that you do, and wherever you turn yourself: 4That the LORD may continue his word which he spoke concerning me, saying, If your children take heed to their way, to walk before me in truth with all their heart and with all their soul, there shall not fail you (said he) a man on the throne of Israel.
statute, ordinance, limit, enactment, something prescribed חֻקָּה chuqqâh, khook-kaw’; feminine of H2706, and meaning substantially the same:—appointed, custom, manner, ordinance, site, statute. 104 times in 100 verses
חֹק chôq, khoke; from H2710; an enactment; hence, an appointment (of time, space, quantity, labor or usage):— 127 times in 124 verses
commandments מִצְוָה mitsvâh, mits-vaw’; from H6680; a command, whether human or divine (collectively, the Law):— 181 times in 177 verses
judgements מִשְׁפָּט mishpâṭ, mish-pawt’; from H8199; properly, a verdict (favorable or unfavorable) pronounced judicially, especially a sentence or formal decree (human or (participant’s) divine law, individual or collective), including the act, the place, the suit, the crime, and the penalty; 421 times in 406 verses
testimonies, precept עֵדוּת ʻêdûwth, ay-dooth’; feminine of H5707; testimony:—testimony, witness 59 in 57
written כָּתַב kâthab, kaw-thab’; a primitive root; to grave, by implication, to write (describe, inscribe, prescribe, subscribe): 223 in 212
law תּוֹרָה tôwrâh, to-raw’; or תֹּרָה tôrâh; from H3384; a precept or statute, especially the Decalogue or Pentateuch:—law. 219 times in 213 verses
יָרָה yârâh, yaw-raw’; or (2 Chronicles 26:15) יָרָא yârâʼ; a primitive root; properly, to flow as water (i.e. to rain); transitively, to lay or throw (especially an arrow, i.e. to shoot); figuratively, to point out (as if by aiming the finger), to teach 84 times in 75 verses
prosper שָׂכַל sâkal, saw-kal’; a primitive root; to be (causatively, make or act) circumspect and hence, intelligent: 65 in 63 to be prudent, be circumspect, wisely understand,
5Moreover you know also what Joab the son of Zeruiah did to me, and what he did to the two captains of the hosts of Israel, to Abner the son of Ner, and to Amasa the son of Jether, whom he slew, and shed the blood of war in peace, and put the blood of war on his girdle that was about his loins, and in his shoes that were on his feet. 6Do therefore according to your wisdom, and let not his hoar head go down to the grave in peace. 7But show kindness to the sons of Barzillai the Gileadite, and let them be of those that eat at your table: for so they came to me when I fled because of Absalom your brother. 8And, behold, you have with you Shimei the son of Gera, a Benjamite of Bahurim, which cursed me with a grievous curse in the day when I went to Mahanaim: but he came down to meet me at Jordan, and I swore to him by the LORD, saying, I will not put you to death with the sword. 9Now therefore hold him not guiltless: for you are a wise man, and know what you ought to do to him; but his hoar head bring you down to the grave with blood.
Abner = “my father is a lamp”; Saul’s cousin and army captain, treacherously slain by Joab אַבְנֵר ʼAbnêr, ab-nare’; or (fully) אֲבִינֵר ʼĂbîynêr ; from H1 and H5216; father of light (i.e. enlightening); 63 times in 53 verses
Ner = “lamp”; son of Jehiel, father of Kish, and grandfather of king Saul’ father of Abner, the uncle of Saul נֵר Nêr, nare; the same as H5216; lamp; Ner, an Israelite:—Ner. 16 times in 16 verses
Amasa = “burden”; son of Ithra or Jether by Abigail the sister of David and general of the army of Absalom’ son of Hadlai and a prince of Ephraim in the reign of king Ahaz 16 times in 12 verses
Jether = “abundance”; father-in-law of Moses; oldest son of Gideon; father of Jephunneh and the chief of a line of warriors of the line of Asher; father of Amasa, the commander of Absalom’s army; son of Jada, a descendant of Hezron, of the tribe of Judah; a son of Ezra, a Judaite
loins, hips מֹתֶן môthen, mo’-then; from an unused root meaning to be slender; properly, the waist or small of the back; only in plural the loins: 47 times in 45 verses
Hoar Head שֵׂיבָה sêybâh, say-baw’; feminine of H7869; old age:—(be) gray (grey hoar,-y) hairs (head,-ed), old age. age, gray hair, hoary head, old age 19 times in 19 verses
Barzillai = “my iron”; a Gileadite leader who helped David defeat Absalom’s rebellion; a priest, son-in-law to Barzillai the Gileadite; an Israelite from Mahalath whose son Adriel married Michal, Saul’s daughter בַּרְזִלַּי Barzillay, bar-zil-lah’-ee; from H1270; iron-hearted; Barzillai, the name of three Israelites:—Barzillai.
Gileadite = “rocky region”; an inhabitant of Gilead; a branch of the tribe of Manasseh, descended of Gilead; of Jephthah as the son of Gilead
Table שֻׁלְחָן shulchân, shool-khawn’; from H7971; a table (as spread out); by implication, a meal:—table. H7979 matches the Hebrew שֻׁלְחָן (shulchan), which occurs 70 times in 62 verses
שָׁלַח shâlach, shaw-lakh’; a primitive root; to send away, for, or out (in a great variety of applications):—852 times in 790 verses
Fled בָּרַח bârach, baw-rakh’; a primitive root; to bolt, i.e. figuratively, to flee suddenly: 65 in 54 to go through, flee, run away, chase, drive away, put to flight, reach, shoot (extend), hurry away
Gera = “a grain”; a son of Benjamin; a son of Bela and grandson of Benjamin; any member of the Gera family of the Benjamite tribe
Bahurim = “young men’s village”; a town in Benjamin between Jerusalem and Jericho beyond the Mount of Olives on the way to Jericho
Mahanaim = “two camps”; a place east of the Jordan, named from Jacob’s encounter with angels; a Levitical city in Gad
The Death of David
10So David slept with his fathers, and was buried in the city of David. 11And the days that David reigned over Israel were 40 years: 7 years reigned he in Hebron, and 33 years reigned he in Jerusalem. 12Then sat Solomon on the throne of David his father; and his kingdom was established greatly.
City עִיר ʻîyr, eer; or (in the plural) עָר ʻâr; or עָיַר ʻâyar; (Judges 10:4), from H5782 a city (a place guarded by waking or a watch) in the widest sense (even of a mere encampment or post):—Ai (from margin), city, court (from margin), town. 1,089 times in 937 verses
עוּר ʻûwr, oor; a primitive root (rather identical with through the idea of opening the eyes); to wake (literally or figuratively): 81 times in 65 verses
Hebron = “joining”, “conjunction” (71 times in 66 verses); a city in south Judah approx 20 south of Jerusalem and approx 20 miles (30 km) north of Beersheba and near where Abraham built an altar; Formely Kirjath-Arba but renamed to Hebron after conquest; Kirjath-Arba = “city of Arba” (9 times in 9 verses); “Arba” = “fourth”; the father of Anak and the greatest of the giants (Anakim)
Solomon’s Reign Established
13And Adonijah the son of Haggith came to Bathsheba the mother of Solomon. And she said, Come you peaceably? And he said, Peaceably. 14He said moreover, I have somewhat to say to you. And she said, Say on. 15And he said, You know that the kingdom was mine, and that all Israel set their faces on me, that I should reign: however, the kingdom is turned about, and is become my brother’s: for it was his from the LORD. 16And now I ask one petition of you, deny me not. And she said to him, Say on. 17And he said, Speak, I pray you, to Solomon the king, (for he will not say you no,) that he give me Abishag the Shunammite to wife. 18And Bathsheba said, Well; I will speak for you to the king.
Abishag = “my father is a wanderer”; David’s beautiful young nurse
The Execution of Adonijah
19Bathsheba therefore went to king Solomon, to speak to him for Adonijah. And the king rose up to meet her, and bowed himself to her, and sat down on his throne, and caused a seat to be set for the king’s mother; and she sat on his right hand. 20Then she said, I desire one small petition of you; I pray you, say me not no. And the king said to her, Ask on, my mother: for I will not say you no. 21And she said, Let Abishag the Shunammite be given to Adonijah your brother to wife. 22And king Solomon answered and said to his mother, And why do you ask Abishag the Shunammite for Adonijah? ask for him the kingdom also; for he is my elder brother; even for him, and for Abiathar the priest, and for Joab the son of Zeruiah. 23Then king Solomon swore by the LORD, saying, God do so to me, and more also, if Adonijah have not spoken this word against his own life. 24Now therefore, as the LORD lives, which has established me, and set me on the throne of David my father, and who has made me an house, as he promised, Adonijah shall be put to death this day. 25And king Solomon sent by the hand of Benaiah the son of Jehoiada; and he fell on him that he died.
26And to Abiathar the priest said the king, Get you to Anathoth, to your own fields; for you are worthy of death: but I will not at this time put you to death, because you bore the ark of the LORD God before David my father, and because you have been afflicted in all wherein my father was afflicted. 27So Solomon thrust out Abiathar from being priest to the LORD; that he might fulfill the word of the LORD, which he spoke concerning the house of Eli in Shiloh.
Anathoth = “answers to prayer” a city of Benjamin allotted to the priest; located approximately 3 miles (5 km) from Jerusalem; birthplace of the prophet Jeremiah
Afflicted עָנָה ʻânâh, aw-naw’; a primitive root (possibly rather identical with H6030 through the idea of looking down or browbeating); to depress literally or figuratively, transitive or intransitive (in various applications, as follows): 84 times in 80 verse
Eli = “ascension”; descendant of Aaron through Ithamar and high priest and judge of Israel when Samuel entered service as a child 33 times in 30 verses
The Execution of Joab
28Then tidings came to Joab: for Joab had turned after Adonijah, though he turned not after Absalom. And Joab fled to the tabernacle of the LORD, and caught hold on the horns of the altar. 29And it was told king Solomon that Joab was fled to the tabernacle of the LORD; and, behold, he is by the altar. Then Solomon sent Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, saying, Go, fall on him. 30And Benaiah came to the tabernacle of the LORD, and said to him, Thus said the king, Come forth. And he said, No; but I will die here. And Benaiah brought the king word again, saying, Thus said Joab, and thus he answered me. 31And the king said to him, Do as he has said, and fall on him, and bury him; that you may take away the innocent blood, which Joab shed, from me, and from the house of my father. 32And the LORD shall return his blood on his own head, who fell on two men more righteous and better than he, and slew them with the sword, my father David not knowing thereof, to wit, Abner the son of Ner, captain of the host of Israel, and Amasa the son of Jether, captain of the host of Judah. 33Their blood shall therefore return on the head of Joab, and on the head of his seed for ever: but on David, and on his seed, and on his house, and on his throne, shall there be peace for ever from the LORD. 34So Benaiah the son of Jehoiada went up, and fell on him, and slew him: and he was buried in his own house in the wilderness. 35And the king put Benaiah the son of Jehoiada in his room over the host: and Zadok the priest did the king put in the room of Abiathar.
The Execution of Shimei
36And the king sent and called for Shimei, and said to him, Build you an house in Jerusalem, and dwell there, and go not forth there any where. 37For it shall be, that on the day you go out, and pass over the brook Kidron, you shall know for certain that you shall surely die: your blood shall be on your own head. 38And Shimei said to the king, The saying is good: as my lord the king has said, so will your servant do. And Shimei dwelled in Jerusalem many days.
Kidron = “dark”; a stream east of Jerusalem; “turbid”, a stream with a valley of the same name flowing between Jerusalem and the mount of Olives, and emptying itself into the Dead Sea
39And it came to pass at the end of three years, that two of the servants of Shimei ran away to Achish son of Maachah king of Gath. And they told Shimei, saying, Behold, your servants be in Gath. 40And Shimei arose, and saddled his ass, and went to Gath to Achish to seek his servants: and Shimei went, and brought his servants from Gath. 41And it was told Solomon that Shimei had gone from Jerusalem to Gath, and was come again. 42And the king sent and called for Shimei, and said to him, Did I not make you to swear by the LORD, and protested to you, saying, Know for a certain, on the day you go out, and walk abroad any where, that you shall surely die? and you said to me, The word that I have heard is good. 43Why then have you not kept the oath of the LORD, and the commandment that I have charged you with? 44The king said moreover to Shimei, You know all the wickedness which your heart is privy to, that you did to David my father: therefore the LORD shall return your wickedness on your own head; 45And king Solomon shall be blessed, and the throne of David shall be established before the LORD for ever. 46So the king commanded Benaiah the son of Jehoiada; which went out, and fell on him, that he died. And the kingdom was established in the hand of Solomon.
I KINGS 3 : Solomon’s Rule Consolidated
(2 Chronicles 1:1-6; Psalm 45:1-17; Psalm 72:1-20)
1And Solomon made affinity with Pharaoh king of Egypt, and took Pharaoh’s daughter, and brought her into the city of David, until he had made an end of building his own house, and the house of the LORD, and the wall of Jerusalem round about. 2Only the people sacrificed in high places, because there was no house built to the name of the LORD, until those days.
Affinity to become a son-in-law, make oneself a daughter’s husband; (Qal) wife’s father, wife’s mother, father-in-law, mother-in-law (participle); (Hithpael) to make oneself a daughter’s husband חָתַן châthan, khaw-than’; a primitive root; to give (a daughter) away in marriage; hence (generally) to contract affinity by marriage:—join in affinity, father in law, make marriages, mother in law, son in law. 33 times in 32 verse
Pharaoh = “great house” פַּרְעֹה Parʻôh, par-o’; of Egyptian derivation; Paroh, a general title of Egyptian kings:—Pharaoh. 268 times in 230 verses
3And Solomon loved the LORD, walking in the statutes of David his father: only he sacrificed and burnt incense in high places. 4And the king went to Gibeon to sacrifice there; for that was the great high place: a thousand burnt offerings did Solomon offer on that altar. 5In Gibeon the LORD appeared to Solomon in a dream by night: and God said, Ask what I shall give you.
Solomon’s Prayer for Wisdom
6And Solomon said, You have showed to your servant David my father great mercy, according as he walked before you in truth, and in righteousness, and in uprightness of heart with you; and you have kept for him this great kindness, that you have given him a son to sit on his throne, as it is this day. 7And now, O LORD my God, you have made your servant king instead of David my father: and I am but a little child: I know not how to go out or come in. 8And your servant is in the middle of your people which you have chosen, a great people, that cannot be numbered nor counted for multitude. 9Give therefore your servant an understanding heart to judge your people, that I may discern between good and bad: for who is able to judge this your so great a people?
how to go out יָצָא yâtsâʼ, yaw-tsaw’; a primitive root; to go (causatively, bring) out, in a great variety of applications, literally and figuratively, direct and proxim. 1,076 times in 992 verses to go out, come out, exit, go forth
to come in בּוֹא bôwʼ, bo; a primitive root; to go or come (in a wide variety of applications):—abide, apply, attain 2,579 times in 2,307 verses
God Grants Wisdom, Riches, Honor
10And the speech pleased the LORD, that Solomon had asked this thing. 11And God said to him, Because you have asked this thing, and have not asked for yourself long life; neither have asked riches for yourself, nor have asked the life of your enemies; but have asked for yourself understanding to discern judgment; 12Behold, I have done according to your words: see, I have given you a wise and an understanding heart; so that there was none like you before you, neither after you shall any arise like to you. 13And I have also given you that which you have not asked, both riches, and honor: so that there shall not be any among the kings like to you all your days. 14And if you will walk in my ways, to keep my statutes and my commandments, as your father David did walk, then I will lengthen your days.
15And Solomon awoke; and, behold, it was a dream. And he came to Jerusalem, and stood before the ark of the covenant of the LORD, and offered up burnt offerings, and offered peace offerings, and made a feast to all his servants.
Solomon Judges Wisely
16Then came there two women, that were harlots, to the king, and stood before him. 17And the one woman said, O my lord, I and this woman dwell in one house; and I was delivered of a child with her in the house. 18And it came to pass the third day after that I was delivered, that this woman was delivered also: and we were together; there was no stranger with us in the house, save we two in the house.19And this woman’s child died in the night; because she overlaid it.
overlaid שָׁכַב shâkab, shaw-kab’; a primitive root; to lie down (for rest, sexual connection, decease or any other purpose) 213 in 194
20And she arose at midnight, and took my son from beside me, while your handmaid slept, and laid it in her bosom, and laid her dead child in my bosom. 21And when I rose in the morning to give my child suck, behold, it was dead: but when I had considered it in the morning, behold, it was not my son, which I did bear. 22And the other woman said, No; but the living is my son, and the dead is your son. And this said, No; but the dead is your son, and the living is my son. Thus they spoke before the king.
23Then said the king, The one said, This is my son that lives, and your son is the dead: and the other said, No; but your son is the dead, and my son is the living. 24And the king said, Bring me a sword. And they brought a sword before the king. 25And the king said, Divide the living child in two, and give half to the one, and half to the other. 26Then spoke the woman whose the living child was to the king, for her bowels yearned on her son, and she said, O my lord, give her the living child, and in no wise slay it. But the other said, Let it be neither my nor yours, but divide it. 27Then the king answered and said, Give her the living child, and in no wise slay it: she is the mother thereof. 28And all Israel heard of the judgment which the king had judged; and they feared the king: for they saw that the wisdom of God was in him, to do judgment.
I KINGS 4 :Solomon’s Princes
1So king Solomon was king over all Israel. 2And these were the princes which he had; Azariah the son of Zadok the priest, 3Elihoreph and Ahiah, the sons of Shisha, scribes; Jehoshaphat the son of Ahilud, the recorder. 4And Benaiah the son of Jehoiada was over the host: and Zadok and Abiathar were the priests: 5And Azariah the son of Nathan was over the officers: and Zabud the son of Nathan was principal officer, and the king’s friend: 6And Ahishar was over the household: and Adoniram the son of Abda was over the tribute.
Solomon’s Twelve Officers
7And Solomon had twelve officers over all Israel, which provided victuals for the king and his household: each man his month in a year made provision. 8And these are their names: The son of Hur, in mount Ephraim: 9The son of Dekar, in Makaz, and in Shaalbim, and Bethshemesh, and Elonbethhanan: 10The son of Hesed, in Aruboth; to him pertained Sochoh, and all the land of Hepher: 11The son of Abinadab, in all the region of Dor; which had Taphath the daughter of Solomon to wife: 12Baana the son of Ahilud; to him pertained Taanach and Megiddo, and all Bethshean, which is by Zartanah beneath Jezreel, from Bethshean to Abelmeholah, even to the place that is beyond Jokneam: 13The son of Geber, in Ramothgilead; to him pertained the towns of Jair the son of Manasseh, which are in Gilead; to him also pertained the region of Argob, which is in Bashan, 60 great cities with walls and brazen bars: 14Ahinadab the son of Iddo had Mahanaim: 15Ahimaaz was in Naphtali; he also took Basmath the daughter of Solomon to wife: 16Baanah the son of Hushai was in Asher and in Aloth: 17Jehoshaphat the son of Paruah, in Issachar: 18Shimei the son of Elah, in Benjamin: 19Geber the son of Uri was in the country of Gilead, in the country of Sihon king of the Amorites, and of Og king of Bashan; and he was the only officer which was in the land.
Solomon’s Wealth
20Judah and Israel were many, as the sand which is by the sea in multitude, eating and drinking, and making merry. 21And Solomon reigned over all kingdoms from the river to the land of the Philistines, and to the border of Egypt: they brought presents, and served Solomon all the days of his life.
22And Solomon’s provision for one day was 30 measures of fine flour, and 60 measures of meal, 23 10 fat oxen, and 20 oxen out of the pastures, and an 100 sheep, beside harts, and roebucks, and fallow deer, and fatted fowl. 24For he had dominion over all the region on this side the river, from Tiphsah even to Azzah, over all the kings on this side the river: and he had peace on all sides round about him. 25And Judah and Israel dwelled safely, every man under his vine and under his fig tree, from Dan even to Beersheba, all the days of Solomon. 26And Solomon had 40,000 stalls of horses for his chariots, and 12,000 horsemen. 27And those officers provided victual for king Solomon, and for all that came to king Solomon’s table, every man in his month: they lacked nothing. 28Barley also and straw for the horses and dromedaries brought they to the place where the officers were, every man according to his charge.
Solomon’s Wisdom
29And God gave Solomon wisdom and understanding exceeding much, and largeness of heart, even as the sand that is on the sea shore.30And Solomon’s wisdom excelled the wisdom of all the children of the east country, and all the wisdom of Egypt. 31For he was wiser than all men; than Ethan the Ezrahite, and Heman, and Chalcol, and Darda, the sons of Mahol: and his fame was in all nations round about. 32And he spoke 3,000 proverbs: and his songs were a 1,005. 33And he spoke of trees, from the cedar tree that is in Lebanon even to the hyssop that springs out of the wall: he spoke also of beasts, and of fowl, and of creeping things, and of fishes. 34And there came of all people to hear the wisdom of Solomon, from all kings of the earth, which had heard of his wisdom.
Ethan = “enduring”; an Ezrahite known for his wisdom; a grandson of Judah, father of Azariah; a Kohathite descendant of Levi; a Merarite son of Kushaiah, descendant of Levi אֵיתָן ʼÊythân, ay-thawn’; the same as H386; permanent; Ethan, the name of four Israelites:—Ethan.
Ezraite = “a native (as arising out of the soil)”
Heman = “faithful” a wise man to whom Solomon was compared; son of Joel, grandson of Samuel, and a Levitical singer and author of PS 88; a seer הֵימָן Hêymân, hay-mawn’; probably from H539; faithful; Heman, the name of at least two Israelites:—Heman. 17 times in 15 verses
אָמַן ʼâman, aw-man’; a primitive root; (Isaiah 30:21; interchangeable with H541, to go to the right hand) properly, to build up or support; to foster as a parent or nurse; figuratively to render (or be) firm or faithful, to trust or believe, to be permanent or quiet; morally to be true or certain; 108 times in 102 verses
Calcol or Chalcol = “sustaining”; son or descendant of Zerah of Judah and one of the wise men with whom Solomon was compared
Darda = “pearl of knowledge”; a son of Mahol, one of four men of great fame for their wisdom, but surpassed by Solomon
Mahol = “dancing”; father of Heman
Hyssop, a plant used for medicinal and religious purposes
Fowl flying creatures, fowl, insects, birds עוֹף ʻôwph, ofe; from H5774; a bird (as covered with feathers, or rather as covering with wings), often collectively: 71 times in 70 verses
Fish דָּג dâg, dawg; or (fully) דָּאג dâʼg; 20 times in 18 verses
I KINGS 5 : Preparations for the Temple
1And Hiram king of Tyre sent his servants to Solomon; for he had heard that they had anointed him king in the room of his father: for Hiram was ever a lover of David. 2And Solomon sent to Hiram, saying, 3You know how that David my father could not build an house to the name of the LORD his God for the wars which were about him on every side, until the LORD put them under the soles of his feet. 4But now the LORD my God has given me rest on every side, so that there is neither adversary nor evil result. 5And, behold, I purpose to build an house to the name of the LORD my God, as the LORD spoke to David my father, saying, Your son, whom I will set on your throne in your room, he shall build an house to my name. 6Now therefore command you that they hew me cedar trees out of Lebanon; and my servants shall be with your servants: and to you will I give hire for your servants according to all that you shall appoint: for you know that there is not among us any that can skill to hew timber like to the Sidonians.
7And it came to pass, when Hiram heard the words of Solomon, that he rejoiced greatly, and said, Blessed be the LORD this day, which has given to David a wise son over this great people. 8And Hiram sent to Solomon, saying, I have considered the things which you sent to me for: and I will do all your desire concerning timber of cedar, and concerning timber of fir. 9My servants shall bring them down from Lebanon to the sea: and I will convey them by sea in floats to the place that you shall appoint me, and will cause them to be discharged there, and you shall receive them: and you shall accomplish my desire, in giving food for my household. 10So Hiram gave Solomon cedar trees and fir trees according to all his desire. 11And Solomon gave Hiram 20,000 measures of wheat for food to his household, and 20 measures of pure oil: thus gave Solomon to Hiram year by year. 12And the LORD gave Solomon wisdom, as he promised him: and there was peace between Hiram and Solomon; and they 2 made a league together.
Solomon’s Workmen and Laborers
13And king Solomon raised a levy out of all Israel; and the levy was 30,000 men. 14And he sent them to Lebanon, 10,000 a month by courses: a month they were in Lebanon, and 2 months at home: and Adoniram was over the levy. 15And Solomon had 70,000 that bore burdens, and 80,000 hewers in the mountains; 16Beside the chief of Solomon’s officers which were over the work, 3,300, which ruled over the people that worked in the work. 17And the king commanded, and they brought great stones, costly stones, and hewed stones, to lay the foundation of the house. 18And Solomon’s builders and Hiram’s builders did hew them, and the stone squarers: so they prepared timber and stones to build the house.
I KINGS 6 :Solomon Builds the Temple
1And it came to pass in the 480th year after the children of Israel were come out of the land of Egypt, in the 4th year of Solomon’s reign over Israel, in the month Zif, which is the 2nd month, that he began to build the house of the LORD. 2And the house which king Solomon built for the LORD, the length thereof was 60 cubits, and the breadth thereof 20 cubits, and the height thereof 30 cubits. 3And the porch before the temple of the house, 20 cubits was the length thereof, according to the breadth of the house; and 10 cubits was the breadth thereof before the house. 4And for the house he made windows of narrow lights.
The Chambers
5And against the wall of the house he built chambers round about, against the walls of the house round about, both of the temple and of the oracle: and he made chambers round about: 6The nethermost chamber was 5 cubits broad, and the middle was 6 cubits broad, and the third was 7 cubits broad: for without in the wall of the house he made narrowed rests round about, that the beams should not be fastened in the walls of the house.
7And the house, when it was in building, was built of stone made ready before it was brought thither: so that there was neither hammer nor ax nor any tool of iron heard in the house, while it was in building.
8The door for the middle chamber was in the right side of the house: and they went up with winding stairs into the middle chamber, and out of the middle into the third. 9So he built the house, and finished it; and covered the house with beams and boards of cedar. 10And then he built chambers against all the house, 5 cubits high: and they rested on the house with timber of cedar.
God’s Promise
11And the word of the LORD came to Solomon, saying, 12Concerning this house which you are in building, if you will walk in my statutes, and execute my judgments, and keep all my commandments to walk in them; then will I perform my word with you, which I spoke to David your father: 13And I will dwell among the children of Israel, and will not forsake my people Israel. 14So Solomon built the house, and finished it.
The Temple’s Interior
15And he built the walls of the house within with boards of cedar, both the floor of the house, and the walls of the ceiling: and he covered them on the inside with wood, and covered the floor of the house with planks of fir. 16And he built 20 cubits on the sides of the house, both the floor and the walls with boards of cedar: he even built them for it within, even for the oracle, even for the most holy place. 17And the house, that is, the temple before it, was 40 cubits long. 18And the cedar of the house within was carved with knops and open flowers: all was cedar; there was no stone seen. 19And the oracle he prepared in the house within, to set there the ark of the covenant of the LORD.20And the oracle in the forepart was 20 cubits in length, and 20 cubits in breadth, and 20 cubits in the height thereof: and he overlaid it with pure gold; and so covered the altar which was of cedar. 21So Solomon overlaid the house within with pure gold: and he made a partition by the chains of gold before the oracle; and he overlaid it with gold. 22And the whole house he overlaid with gold, until he had finished all the house: also the whole altar that was by the oracle he overlaid with gold.
The Cherubim
23And within the oracle he made 2 cherubim of olive tree, each 10 cubits high. 24And 5 cubits was the one wing of the cherub, and 5 cubits the other wing of the cherub: from the uttermost part of the one wing to the uttermost part of the other were 10 cubits. 25And the other cherub was 10 cubits: both the cherubim were of one measure and one size. 26The height of the one cherub was 10 cubits, and so was it of the other cherub. 27And he set the cherubim within the inner house: and they stretched forth the wings of the cherubim, so that the wing of the one touched the one wall, and the wing of the other cherub touched the other wall; and their wings touched one another in the middle of the house. 28And he overlaid the cherubim with gold. 29And he carved all the walls of the house round about with carved figures of cherubim and palm trees and open flowers, within and without.30And the floors of the house he overlaid with gold, within and without.
The Doors
31And for the entering of the oracle he made doors of olive tree: the lintel and side posts were a 5th part of the wall. 32The 2 doors also were of olive tree; and he carved on them carvings of cherubim and palm trees and open flowers, and overlaid them with gold, and spread gold on the cherubim, and on the palm trees. 33So also made he for the door of the temple posts of olive tree, a 4th part of the wall. 34And the 2 doors were of fir tree: the 2 leaves of the one door were folding, and the 2 leaves of the other door were folding. 35And he carved thereon cherubim and palm trees and open flowers: and covered them with gold fitted on the carved work.
The Courtyard
36And he built the inner court with three rows of hewed stone, and a row of cedar beams. 37In the 4th year was the foundation of the house of the LORD laid, in the month Zif: 38And in the 11th year, in the month Bul, which is the 8th month, was the house finished throughout all the parts thereof, and according to all the fashion of it. So was he 7 years in building it.
I KINGS 7 :Solomon Builds his Palace
1But Solomon was building his own house 13 years, and he finished all his house. 2He built also the house of the forest of Lebanon; the length thereof was an 100 cubits, and the breadth thereof 50 cubits, and the height thereof 30 cubits, on 4 rows of cedar pillars, with cedar beams on the pillars. 3And it was covered with cedar above on the beams, that lay on 45 pillars, 15 in a row.4And there were windows in 3 rows, and light was against light in 3 ranks. 5And all the doors and posts were square, with the windows: and light was against light in 3 ranks.
6And he made a porch of pillars; the length thereof was 50 cubits, and the breadth thereof 30 cubits: and the porch was before them: and the other pillars and the thick beam were before them.
7Then he made a porch for the throne where he might judge, even the porch of judgment: and it was covered with cedar from one side of the floor to the other.
8And his house where he dwelled had another court within the porch, which was of the like work. Solomon made also an house for Pharaoh’s daughter, whom he had taken to wife, like to this porch.
9All these were of costly stones, according to the measures of hewed stones, sawed with saws, within and without, even from the foundation to the coping, and so on the outside toward the great court.
10And the foundation was of costly stones, even great stones, stones of 10 cubits, and stones of eight cubits. 11And above were costly stones, after the measures of hewed stones, and cedars. 12And the great court round about was with 3 rows of hewed stones, and a row of cedar beams, both for the inner court of the house of the LORD, and for the porch of the house.
The Work of Hiram
13And king Solomon sent and fetched Hiram out of Tyre. 14He was a widow’s son of the tribe of Naphtali, and his father was a man of Tyre, a worker in brass: and he was filled with wisdom, and understanding, and cunning to work all works in brass. And he came to king Solomon, and worked all his work.
15For he cast two pillars of brass, of 18 cubits high apiece: and a line of 12 cubits did compass either of them about. 16And he made 2 capitals of molten brass, to set on the tops of the pillars: the height of the one capital was 5 cubits, and the height of the other capital was 5 cubits: 17And nets of checker work, and wreaths of chain work, for the capitals which were on the top of the pillars; seven for the one capital, and 7 for the other capital. 18And he made the pillars, and 2 rows round about on the one network, to cover the capitals that were on the top, with pomegranates: and so did he for the other capital. 19And the capitals that were on the top of the pillars were of lily work in the porch, 4 cubits. 20And the capitals on the 2 pillars had pomegranates also above, over against the belly which was by the network: and the pomegranates were 200 in rows round about on the other capital. 21And he set up the pillars in the porch of the temple: and he set up the right pillar, and called the name thereof Jachin: and he set up the left pillar, and called the name thereof Boaz. 22And on the top of the pillars was lily work: so was the work of the pillars finished.
The Sea of Cast Metal
23And he made a molten sea, 10 cubits from the one brim to the other: it was round all about, and his height was 5 cubits: and a line of 30 cubits did compass it round about. 24And under the brim of it round about there were knops compassing it, 10 in a cubit, compassing the sea round about: the knops were cast in 2 rows, when it was cast. 25It stood on 12 oxen, three looking toward the north, and three looking toward the west, and three looking toward the south, and three looking toward the east: and the sea was set above on them, and all their hinder parts were inward. 26And it was an hand breadth thick, and the brim thereof was worked like the brim of a cup, with flowers of lilies: it contained 2000 baths.
The Ten Bases
27And he made 10 bases of brass; 4 cubits was the length of one base, and 4 cubits the breadth thereof, and 3 cubits the height of it. 28And the work of the bases was on this manner: they had borders, and the borders were between the ledges: 29And on the borders that were between the ledges were lions, oxen, and cherubim: and on the ledges there was a base above: and beneath the lions and oxen were certain additions made of thin work. 30And every base had 4 brazen wheels, and plates of brass: and the 4 corners thereof had supports: under the laver were supports molten, at the side of every addition. 31And the mouth of it within the capital and above was a cubit: but the mouth thereof was round after the work of the base, a cubit and an half: and also on the mouth of it were engravings with their borders, foursquare, not round. 32And under the borders were 4 wheels; and the axletrees of the wheels were joined to the base: and the height of a wheel was a 1.5 cubits. 33And the work of the wheels was like the work of a chariot wheel: their axletrees, and their naves, and their felloes, and their spokes, were all molten. 34And there were 4 supports to the 4 corners of one base: and the supports were of the very base itself. 35And in the top of the base was there a round compass of (.5) half a cubit high: and on the top of the base the ledges thereof and the borders thereof were of the same. 36For on the plates of the ledges thereof, and on the borders thereof, he graved cherubim, lions, and palm trees, according to the proportion of every one, and additions round about. 37After this manner he made the 10 bases: all of them had 1 casting, 1 measure, and 1 size.
The Ten Bronze Basins
38Then made he 10 lavers of brass: 1 laver contained forty baths: and every laver was 4 cubits: and on every one of the 10 bases one laver. 39And he put 5 bases on the right side of the house, and 5 on the left side of the house: and he set the sea on the right side of the house eastward over against the south.
The Vessels
40And Hiram made the lavers, and the shovels, and the basins. So Hiram made an end of doing all the work that he made king Solomon for the house of the LORD: 41The two pillars, and the 2 bowls of the capitals that were on the top of the 2 pillars; and the 2 networks, to cover the 2 bowls of the capitals which were on the top of the pillars; 42And 400 pomegranates for the 2 networks, even 2 rows of pomegranates for 1 network, to cover the 2 bowls of the capitals that were on the pillars; 43And the 10 bases, and 10 lavers on the bases; 44And 1 sea, and 12 oxen under the sea; 45And the pots, and the shovels, and the basins: and all these vessels, which Hiram made to king Solomon for the house of the LORD, were of bright brass. 46In the plain of Jordan did the king cast them, in the clay ground between Succoth and Zarthan. 47And Solomon left all the vessels unweighed, because they were exceeding many: neither was the weight of the brass found out.
48And Solomon made all the vessels that pertained to the house of the LORD: the altar of gold, and the table of gold, whereupon the show bread was, 49And the candlesticks of pure gold, 5 on the right side, and 5 on the left, before the oracle, with the flowers, and the lamps, and the tongs of gold, 50And the bowls, and the snuffers, and the basins, and the spoons, and the censers of pure gold; and the hinges of gold, both for the doors of the inner house, the most holy place, and for the doors of the house, to wit, of the temple.
51So was ended all the work that king Solomon made for the house of the LORD. And Solomon brought in the things which David his father had dedicated; even the silver, and the gold, and the vessels, did he put among the treasures of the house of the LORD.
I KINGS 8 : The Ark Enters the Temple
1Then Solomon assembled the elders of Israel, and all the heads of the tribes, the chief of the fathers of the children of Israel, to king Solomon in Jerusalem, that they might bring up the ark of the covenant of the LORD out of the city of David, which is Zion. 2And all the men of Israel assembled themselves to king Solomon at the feast in the month Ethanim, which is the 7th month. 3And all the elders of Israel came, and the priests took up the ark. 4And they brought up the ark of the LORD, and the tabernacle of the congregation, and all the holy vessels that were in the tabernacle, even those did the priests and the Levites bring up. 5And king Solomon, and all the congregation of Israel, that were assembled to him, were with him before the ark, sacrificing sheep and oxen, that could not be told nor numbered for multitude. 6And the priests brought in the ark of the covenant of the LORD to his place, into the oracle of the house, to the most holy place, even under the wings of the cherubim. 7For the cherubim spread forth their two wings over the place of the ark, and the cherubim covered the ark and the staves thereof above. 8And they drew out the staves, that the ends of the staves were seen out in the holy place before the oracle, and they were not seen without: and there they are to this day. 9There was nothing in the ark save the 2 tables of stone, which Moses put there at Horeb, when the LORD made a covenant with the children of Israel, when they came out of the land of Egypt. 10And it came to pass, when the priests were come out of the holy place, that the cloud filled the house of the LORD, 11So that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud: for the glory of the LORD had filled the house of the LORD.
Solomon Praises the Lord
12Then spoke Solomon, The LORD said that he would dwell in the thick darkness. 13I have surely built you an house to dwell in, a settled place for you to abide in for ever. 14And the king turned his face about, and blessed all the congregation of Israel: (and all the congregation of Israel stood;) 15And he said, Blessed be the LORD God of Israel, which spoke with his mouth to David my father, and has with his hand fulfilled it, saying, 16Since the day that I brought forth my people Israel out of Egypt, I chose no city out of all the tribes of Israel to build an house, that my name might be therein; but I chose David to be over my people Israel. 17And it was in the heart of David my father to build an house for the name of the LORD God of Israel. 18And the LORD said to David my father, Whereas it was in your heart to build an house to my name, you did well that it was in your heart. 19Nevertheless you shall not build the house; but your son that shall come forth out of your loins, he shall build the house to my name. 20And the LORD has performed his word that he spoke, and I am risen up in the room of David my father, and sit on the throne of Israel, as the LORD promised, and have built an house for the name of the LORD God of Israel. 21And I have set there a place for the ark, wherein is the covenant of the LORD, which he made with our fathers, when he brought them out of the land of Egypt.
Solomon’s Prayer of Dedication
22And Solomon stood before the altar of the LORD in the presence of all the congregation of Israel, and spread forth his hands toward heaven: 23And he said, LORD God of Israel, there is no God like you, in heaven above, or on earth beneath, who keep covenant and mercy with your servants that walk before you with all their heart: 24Who have kept with your servant David my father that you promised him: you spoke also with your mouth, and have fulfilled it with your hand, as it is this day. 25Therefore now, LORD God of Israel, keep with your servant David my father that you promised him, saying, There shall not fail you a man in my sight to sit on the throne of Israel; so that your children take heed to their way, that they walk before me as you have walked before me. 26And now, O God of Israel, let your word, I pray you, be verified, which you spoke to your servant David my father.
27But will God indeed dwell on the earth? behold, the heaven and heaven of heavens cannot contain you; how much less this house that I have built? 28Yet have you respect to the prayer of your servant, and to his supplication, O LORD my God, to listen to the cry and to the prayer, which your servant prays before you to day: 29That your eyes may be open toward this house night and day, even toward the place of which you have said, My name shall be there: that you may listen to the prayer which your servant shall make toward this place. 30And listen you to the supplication of your servant, and of your people Israel, when they shall pray toward this place: and hear you in heaven your dwelling place: and when you hear, forgive.
31If any man trespass against his neighbor, and an oath be laid on him to cause him to swear, and the oath come before your altar in this house: 32Then hear you in heaven, and do, and judge your servants, condemning the wicked, to bring his way on his head; and justifying the righteous, to give him according to his righteousness.
33When your people Israel be smitten down before the enemy, because they have sinned against you, and shall turn again to you, and confess your name, and pray, and make supplication to you in this house: 34Then hear you in heaven, and forgive the sin of your people Israel, and bring them again to the land which you gave to their fathers.
35When heaven is shut up, and there is no rain, because they have sinned against you; if they pray toward this place, and confess your name, and turn from their sin, when you afflict them: 36Then hear you in heaven, and forgive the sin of your servants, and of your people Israel, that you teach them the good way wherein they should walk, and give rain on your land, which you have given to your people for an inheritance.
37If there be in the land famine, if there be pestilence, blasting, mildew, locust, or if there be caterpillar; if their enemy besiege them in the land of their cities; whatever plague, whatever sickness there be; 38What prayer and supplication soever be made by any man, or by all your people Israel, which shall know every man the plague of his own heart, and spread forth his hands toward this house: 39Then hear you in heaven your dwelling place, and forgive, and do, and give to every man according to his ways, whose heart you know; (for you, even you only, know the hearts of all the children of men;) 40That they may fear you all the days that they live in the land which you gave to our fathers.
41Moreover concerning a stranger, that is not of your people Israel, but comes out of a far country for your name’s sake; 42(For they shall hear of your great name, and of your strong hand, and of your stretched out arm;) when he shall come and pray toward this house; 43Hear you in heaven your dwelling place, and do according to all that the stranger calls to you for: that all people of the earth may know your name, to fear you, as do your people Israel; and that they may know that this house, which I have built, is called by your name.
44If your people go out to battle against their enemy, wherever you shall send them, and shall pray to the LORD toward the city which you have chosen, and toward the house that I have built for your name: 45Then hear you in heaven their prayer and their supplication, and maintain their cause.
46If they sin against you, (for there is no man that sins not,) and you be angry with them, and deliver them to the enemy, so that they carry them away captives to the land of the enemy, far or near; 47Yet if they shall bethink themselves in the land where they were carried captives, and repent, and make supplication to you in the land of them that carried them captives, saying, We have sinned, and have done perversely, we have committed wickedness; 48And so return to you with all their heart, and with all their soul, in the land of their enemies, which led them away captive, and pray to you toward their land, which you gave to their fathers, the city which you have chosen, and the house which I have built for your name: 49Then hear you their prayer and their supplication in heaven your dwelling place, and maintain their cause, 50And forgive your people that have sinned against you, and all their transgressions wherein they have transgressed against you, and give them compassion before them who carried them captive, that they may have compassion on them: 51For they be your people, and your inheritance, which you brought forth out of Egypt, from the middle of the furnace of iron: 52That your eyes may be open to the supplication of your servant, and to the supplication of your people Israel, to listen to them in all that they call for to you. 53For you did separate them from among all the people of the earth, to be your inheritance, as you spoke by the hand of Moses your servant, when you brought our fathers out of Egypt, O LORD God.
Solomon’s Benediction
54And it was so, that when Solomon had made an end of praying all this prayer and supplication to the LORD, he arose from before the altar of the LORD, from kneeling on his knees with his hands spread up to heaven. 55And he stood, and blessed all the congregation of Israel with a loud voice, saying,
56Blessed be the LORD, that has given rest to his people Israel, according to all that he promised: there has not failed one word of all his good promise, which he promised by the hand of Moses his servant. 57The LORD our God be with us, as he was with our fathers: let him not leave us, nor forsake us: 58That he may incline our hearts to him, to walk in all his ways, and to keep his commandments, and his statutes, and his judgments, which he commanded our fathers. 59And let these my words, with which I have made supplication before the LORD, be near to the LORD our God day and night, that he maintain the cause of his servant, and the cause of his people Israel at all times, as the matter shall require: 60That all the people of the earth may know that the LORD is God, and that there is none else. 61Let your heart therefore be perfect with the LORD our God, to walk in his statutes, and to keep his commandments, as at this day.
Sacrifices of Dedication
62And the king, and all Israel with him, offered sacrifice before the LORD. 63And Solomon offered a sacrifice of peace offerings, which he offered to the LORD, 22,000 oxen, and an 20,100 sheep. So the king and all the children of Israel dedicated the house of the LORD. 64The same day did the king hallow the middle of the court that was before the house of the LORD: for there he offered burnt offerings, and meat offerings, and the fat of the peace offerings: because the brazen altar that was before the LORD was too little to receive the burnt offerings, and meat offerings, and the fat of the peace offerings.
65And at that time Solomon held a feast, and all Israel with him, a great congregation, from the entering in of Hamath to the river of Egypt, before the LORD our God, 7 days and 7 days, even 14 days. 66On the 8th day he sent the people away: and they blessed the king, and went to their tents joyful and glad of heart for all the goodness that the LORD had done for David his servant, and for Israel his people.
I KINGS 9 : God’s Covenant with Solomon
1And it came to pass, when Solomon had finished the building of the house of the LORD, and the king’s house, and all Solomon’s desire which he was pleased to do, 2That the LORD appeared to Solomon the second time, as he had appeared to him at Gibeon. 3And the LORD said to him, I have heard your prayer and your supplication, that you have made before me: I have hallowed this house, which you have built, to put my name there for ever; and my eyes and my heart shall be there perpetually. 4And if you will walk before me, as David your father walked, in integrity of heart, and in uprightness, to do according to all that I have commanded you, and will keep my statutes and my judgments: 5Then I will establish the throne of your kingdom on Israel for ever, as I promised to David your father, saying, There shall not fail you a man on the throne of Israel.
Gibeon = “hill city”; 5 miles from Jerusalem; former Hivite city; a Levitical city of Benjamin
6But if you shall at all turn from following me, you or your children, and will not keep my commandments and my statutes which I have set before you, but go and serve other gods, and worship them: 7Then will I cut off Israel out of the land which I have given them; and this house, which I have hallowed for my name, will I cast out of my sight; and Israel shall be a proverb and a byword among all people: 8And at this house, which is high, every one that passes by it shall be astonished, and shall hiss; and they shall say, Why has the LORD done thus to this land, and to this house? 9And they shall answer, Because they forsook the LORD their God, who brought forth their fathers out of the land of Egypt, and have taken hold on other gods, and have worshipped them, and served them: therefore has the LORD brought on them all this evil.
Cities Given to Hiram
10And it came to pass at the end of 20 years, when Solomon had built the two houses, the house of the LORD, and the king’s house,11(Now Hiram the king of Tyre had furnished Solomon with cedar trees and fir trees, and with gold, according to all his desire,) that then king Solomon gave Hiram 20 cities in the land of Galilee.12And Hiram came out from Tyre to see the cities which Solomon had given him; and they pleased him not. 13And he said, What cities are these which you have given me, my brother? And he called them the land of Cabul to this day. 14And Hiram sent to the king 120 talents of gold.
Hiram :
the king of Tyre who sent workmen and materials to Jerusalem to build both the palace for David and the temple for Solomon
the chief architect and engineer of Solomon’s temple sent by King Hiram to Solomon
Cabul = “binding”
a city on the border of Asher and located approx 10 miles (16 km) east of Akko; modern ‘Kabul’
a district in Galilee given by Solomon to Hiram and contemptuously called ‘Cabul’ by Hiram
2 Palestinian cities
Joshua 19: 27 “…and goeth out to Cabul on the left hand,“
Solomon’s Numerous Achievements
15And this is the reason of the levy which king Solomon raised; for to build the house of the LORD, and his own house, and Millo, and the wall of Jerusalem, and Hazor, and Megiddo, and Gezer. 16For Pharaoh king of Egypt had gone up, and taken Gezer, and burnt it with fire, and slain the Canaanites that dwelled in the city, and given it for a present to his daughter, Solomon’s wife. 17And Solomon built Gezer, and Bethhoron the nether, 18And Baalath, and Tadmor in the wilderness, in the land, 19And all the cities of store that Solomon had, and cities for his chariots, and cities for his horsemen, and that which Solomon desired to build in Jerusalem, and in Lebanon, and in all the land of his dominion. 20And all the people that were left of the Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites, which were not of the children of Israel, 21Their children that were left after them in the land, whom the children of Israel also were not able utterly to destroy, on those did Solomon levy a tribute of slavery to this day. 22But of the children of Israel did Solomon make no slaves: but they were men of war, and his servants, and his princes, and his captains, and rulers of his chariots, and his horsemen.
23These were the chief of the officers that were over Solomon’s work, 550, which bore rule over the people that worked in the work. 24But Pharaoh’s daughter came up out of the city of David to her house which Solomon had built for her: then did he build Millo. 25And 3 times in a year did Solomon offer burnt offerings and peace offerings on the altar which he built to the LORD, and he burnt incense on the altar that was before the LORD. So he finished the house.
26And king Solomon made a navy of ships in Eziongeber, which is beside Eloth, on the shore of the Red sea, in the land of Edom. 27And Hiram sent in the navy his servants, shipmen that had knowledge of the sea, with the servants of Solomon. 28And they came to Ophir, and fetched from there gold, 420 talents, and brought it to king Solomon.
I KINGS 10 : The Queen of Sheba
1And when the queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon concerning the name of the LORD, she came to prove him with hard questions.2And she came to Jerusalem with a very great train, with camels that bore spices, and very much gold, and precious stones: and when she was come to Solomon, she communed with him of all that was in her heart. 3And Solomon told her all her questions: there was not any thing hid from the king, which he told her not. 4And when the queen of Sheba had seen all Solomon’s wisdom, and the house that he had built, 5And the meat of his table, and the sitting of his servants, and the attendance of his ministers, and their apparel, and his cupbearers, and his ascent by which he went up to the house of the LORD; there was no more spirit in her. 6And she said to the king, It was a true report that I heard in my own land of your acts and of your wisdom. 7However, I believed not the words, until I came, and my eyes had seen it: and, behold, the half was not told me: your wisdom and prosperity exceeds the fame which I heard. 8Happy are your men, happy are these your servants, which stand continually before you, and that hear your wisdom. 9Blessed be the LORD your God, which delighted in you, to set you on the throne of Israel: because the LORD loved Israel for ever, therefore made he you king, to do judgment and justice.10And she gave the king an 120 talents of gold, and of spices very great store, and precious stones: there came no more such abundance of spices as these which the queen of Sheba gave to king Solomon.
11And the navy also of Hiram, that brought gold from Ophir, brought in from Ophir great plenty of almug trees, and precious stones. 12And the king made of the almug trees pillars for the house of the LORD, and for the king’s house, harps also and psalteries for singers: there came no such almug trees, nor were seen to this day.
Navy אֳנִי ʼŏnîy, on-ee’; probably from H579 (in the sense of conveyance); a ship or (collectively) a fleet:—galley, navy (of ships).
Ophir = “reducing to ashes”; eleventh son of Joktan; a land or city in southern Arabia in Solomon’s trade route where gold evidently was traded for goods; characteristic of fine gold; fine gold אוֹפִיר ʼÔwphîyr, o-feer’; or (shortened) אֹפִיר ʼÔphîyr; and אוֹפִר ʼÔwphir; of uncertain derivation; Ophir, the name of a son of Joktan, and of a gold region in the East:—Ophir. Lexicon :: supposedly in one of 2 regions India, or some part of Arabia
Almug אַלְמֻגִּים ʼalmuggîym, al-moog-gheem’; probably of foreign derivation (used thus only in the plural); almug (i.e. probably sandle-wood) sticks:—almug trees. Compare H418.
Psaltries נֶבֶל nebel, neh’-bel; or נֵבֶל nêbel; from H5034; a skin-bag for liquids (from collapsing when empty); hence, a vase (as similar in shape when full); also a lyre (as having a body of like form):—bottle, pitcher, psaltery, vessel, viol. Lexicon :: “the bottles of heaven”, ie the clouds 38 times in 37 verses
Singers שִׁיר shîyr, sheer; or (the original form) שׁוּר shûwr; (1 Samuel 18:6), a primitive root (rather identical with H7788 through the idea of strolling minstrelsy); to sing:—behold (by mistake for H7789), sing(-er, -ing man, -ing woman). 87 in 79
Sheba Sheba = “seven” or “an oath” 23 in 23
13And king Solomon gave to the queen of Sheba all her desire, whatever she asked, beside that which Solomon gave her of his royal bounty. So she turned and went to her own country, she and her servants.
Solomon’s Riches
14Now the weight of gold that came to Solomon in one year was 666 talents of gold, 15Beside that he had of the merchants, and of the traffic of the spice merchants, and of all the kings of Arabia, and of the governors of the country. 16And king Solomon made 200 targets of beaten gold: 600 shekels of gold went to one target. 17And he made 300 shields of beaten gold; 3 pound of gold went to one shield: and the king put them in the house of the forest of Lebanon. 18Moreover the king made a great throne of ivory, and overlaid it with the best gold. 19The throne had 6 steps, and the top of the throne was round behind: and there were stays on either side on the place of the seat, and 2 lions stood beside the stays. 20And 12 lions stood there on the one side and on the other on the 6 steps: there was not the like made in any kingdom. 21And all king Solomon’s drinking vessels were of gold, and all the vessels of the house of the forest of Lebanon were of pure gold; none were of silver: it was nothing accounted of in the days of Solomon.22For the king had at sea a navy of Tharshish with the navy of Hiram: once in 3 years came the navy of Tharshish, bringing gold, and silver, ivory, and apes, and peacocks.
1998000 shekels 5550 shekels per day
weight מִשְׁקָל mishqâl, mish-kawl’; from H8254; weight (numerically estimated); hence, weighing (the act):—(full) weight. 49 in 42
merchants רָכַל râkal, raw-kal’; a primitive root; to travel for trading:—(spice) merchant. 17 times in 15 verses
Arabians ; ” steppe-dwellers” the people inhabiting the country east and south of Canaan, the nomadic desert Bedouins
עָרַב ʻârab, aw-rab’; a primitive root (rather identical with H6148 through the idea of covering with a texture); to grow dusky at sundown:—be darkened, (toward) evening. to become evening, grow dark
Targets צִנָּה tsinnâh, tsin-naw’; feminine of H6791; a hook (as pointed); also a (large) shield (as if guarding by prickliness); also cold (as piercing):—buckler, cold, hook, shield, target. something piercing, hook, barb
Ivory שֵׁן shên, shane; from H8150; compare H8143 a tooth (as sharp); specifically ivory; figuratively, a cliff:
Stays יָד yâd, yawd; a primitive word; a hand 1,615 times in 1,447 verses
Steps מַעֲלָה maʻălâh, mah-al-aw’; feminine of H4608; elevation, i.e. the act (literally, a journey to a higher place, figuratively, a thought arising), or (concretely) the condition (literally, a step or grade-mark, figuratively, a superiority of station); specifically a climactic progression (in certain Psalms): what comes up, thoughts; steps (of sundial); stories (of heaven) 47 times in 39 verses
מַעֲלֶה maʻăleh, mah-al-eh’; from H5927; an elevation, 18 in 18
Tarshish or Tharshish = “yellow jasper”
23So king Solomon exceeded all the kings of the earth for riches and for wisdom. 24And all the earth sought to Solomon, to hear his wisdom, which God had put in his heart. 25And they brought every man his present, vessels of silver, and vessels of gold, and garments, and armor, and spices, horses, and mules, a rate year by year.
26And Solomon gathered together chariots and horsemen: and he had a 1,400 chariots, and 12,000 horsemen, whom he bestowed in the cities for chariots, and with the king at Jerusalem. 27And the king made silver to be in Jerusalem as stones, and cedars made he to be as the sycomore trees that are in the vale, for abundance. 28And Solomon had horses brought out of Egypt, and linen yarn: the king’s merchants received the linen yarn at a price. 29And a chariot came up and went out of Egypt for 600 shekels of silver, and an horse for an150: and so for all the kings of the Hittites, and for the kings of Syria, did they bring them out by their means.
sycamore tree (bearing figs) שִׁקְמָה shiqmâh, shik-maw’; or (feminine) שִׁקְמָה shiqmâh; of uncertain derivation; a sycamore (usually the tree):—sycamore (fruit, tree).
Vale שְׁפֵלָה shᵉphêlâh, shef-ay-law’; from H8213; Lowland, i.e. (with the article) the maritime slope of Palestine:—low country, (low) plain, vale(-ley).
Linen Yarn : hope מִקְוֶה miqveh, mik-veh’; or מִקְוֵה miqvêh; (1 Kings 10:28), or מִקְוֵא miqvêʼlemma מִּקְוֵא extra dagesh, corrected to מִקְוֵא; (2 Chronicles 1:16), from H6960; something waited for, i.e. confidence (objective or subjective); also a collection, i.e. (of water) a pond, or (of men and horses) a caravan or drove:—abiding, gathering together, hope, linen yarn, plenty (of water), pool.
Price מְחִיר mᵉchîyr, mekk-eer’; from an unused root meaning to buy; price, payment, wages:
I KINGS 11 : Solomon’s Foreign Wives
1But king Solomon loved many strange women, together with the daughter of Pharaoh, women of the Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Zidonians, and Hittites: 2Of the nations concerning which the LORD said to the children of Israel, You shall not go in to them, neither shall they come in to you: for surely they will turn away your heart after their gods: Solomon joined to these in love. 3And he had 700 wives, princesses, and 300 concubines: and his wives turned away his heart. 4For it came to pass, when Solomon was old, that his wives turned away his heart after other gods: and his heart was not perfect with the LORD his God, as was the heart of David his father.5For Solomon went after Ashtoreth the goddess of the Zidonians, and after Milcom the abomination of the Ammonites. 6And Solomon did evil in the sight of the LORD, and went not fully after the LORD, as did David his father. 7Then did Solomon build an high place for Chemosh, the abomination of Moab, in the hill that is before Jerusalem, and for Molech, the abomination of the children of Ammon. 8And likewise did he for all his strange wives, which burnt incense and sacrificed to their gods.
Strange נׇכְרִי nokrîy, nok-ree’; from H5235 (second form); strange, in a variety of degrees and applications (foreign, non-relative, adulterous, different, wonderful):—alien, foreigner, outlandish, strange(-r, woman). foreign, alien 45 times in 45 verses
נֶכֶר neker, neh’-ker; or נֹכֶר nôker; from H5234; something strange, i.e. unexpected calamity:—strange. calamity, disaster, misfortune
Moabite = “from father: what father?” 16 times in 16 verses
Ammonite = see Ammon “tribal” 18 times in 18 verses
צִידֹנִי (Tsiydoniy), which occurs 16 times in 15 verses
Turned Away נָטָה nâṭâh, naw-taw’; a primitive root; to stretch or spread out; by implication, to bend away (including moral deflection); used in a great variety of application (as follows): 216 in 207
Ashtoreth = “star”; the principal female deity of the Phoenicians worshipped in war and fertility; also ‘Ishtar’ of Assyria and ‘Astarte’ by the Greeks and Romans עַשְׁתֹּרֶת ʻAshtôreth, ash-to’reth; probably for H6251; Ashtoreth, the Phoenician goddess of love (and increase):—Ashtoreth.
עַשְׁתְּרָה ʻashtᵉrâh, ash-ter-aw’; probably from H6238; increase:—flock. ewe, flock, increase, young
עָשַׁר ʻâshar, aw-shar’; a primitive root; properly, to accumulate; chiefly (specifically) to grow (causatively, make) rich: to be or become rich or wealthy, enrich, pretend to be rich 18 times in 17 verses
Milcom = “great king”; the god of the Ammonites and Phoenicians to whom some Israelites sacrificed their infants in the valley of Hinnom; also ‘Molech’
High Place בָּמָה bâmâh, bam-maw’; from an unused root (meaning to be high); an elevation:—height, high place, wave. 102 times in 92 verses
Chemosh = “subduer”; the national deity of the Moabites and a god of the Ammonites; also identified with ‘Baal-peor’, ‘Baal-zebub’, ‘Mars’ and ‘Saturn’; worship of this god was introduced into Jerusalem by Solomon and abolished by king Josiah of Judah
Molech = “king”; the god of the Ammonites and Phoenicians to whom some Israelites sacrificed their infants in the valley of Hinnom; His statue was of brass, with a human form, but the head of an ox, hollow within, and heated from below, and the children to be sacrificed were cast into its arms; and in like manner is the statue of Saturn among the Carthiginians
מָלַךְ mâlak, maw-lak’; a primitive root; to reign; inceptively, to ascend the throne;
Burnt Incense קָטַר qâṭar, kaw-tar’; a primitive root (identical with through the idea of fumigation in a close place and perhaps thus driving out the occupants); to smoke, i.e. turn into fragrance by fire (especially as an act of worship): H6999 matches the Hebrew קָטַר (qatar), which occurs 117 times in 112 verses
God’s Anger against Solomon
9And the LORD was angry with Solomon, because his heart was turned from the LORD God of Israel, which had appeared to him twice,10And had commanded him concerning this thing, that he should not go after other gods: but he kept not that which the LORD commanded.11Why the LORD said to Solomon, For as much as this is done of you, and you have not kept my covenant and my statutes, which I have commanded you, I will surely rend the kingdom from you, and will give it to your servant.
11:11
12Notwithstanding in your days I will not do it for David your father’s sake: but I will rend it out of the hand of your son. 13However, I will not rend away all the kingdom; but will give one tribe to your son for David my servant’s sake, and for Jerusalem’s sake which I have chosen.
Hadad’s Return
14And the LORD stirred up an adversary to Solomon, Hadad the Edomite: he was of the king’s seed in Edom. 15For it came to pass, when David was in Edom, and Joab the captain of the host was gone up to bury the slain, after he had smitten every male in Edom; 16(For six months did Joab remain there with all Israel, until he had cut off every male in Edom:) 17That Hadad fled, he and certain Edomites of his father’s servants with him, to go into Egypt; Hadad being yet a little child. 18And they arose out of Midian, and came to Paran: and they took men with them out of Paran, and they came to Egypt, to Pharaoh king of Egypt; which gave him an house, and appointed him victuals, and gave him land. 19And Hadad found great favor in the sight of Pharaoh, so that he gave him to wife the sister of his own wife, the sister of Tahpenes the queen. 20And the sister of Tahpenes bore him Genubath his son, whom Tahpenes weaned in Pharaoh’s house: and Genubath was in Pharaoh’s household among the sons of Pharaoh. 21And when Hadad heard in Egypt that David slept with his fathers, and that Joab the captain of the host was dead, Hadad said to Pharaoh, Let me depart, that I may go to my own country. 22Then Pharaoh said to him, But what have you lacked with me, that, behold, you seek to go to your own country? And he answered, Nothing: however, let me go in any wise.
Hadad = “mighty”; son of Ishmael; a king of Edom who gained an important victory over the Midianites on the field of Moab; another king of Edom, with Pau for his capital; a member of the royal house of Edom who escaped the massacre under Joab and fled with a band of followers into Egypt; after David’s death, he returned to his own country
Paran = “place of caverns”; wilderness area bounded on the north by Palestine, on the west by the wilderness of Etham, on the south by the desert of Sinai, and on the east by the valley of Arabah; the exodus was through this area and probably all 18 stops were in this area פָּארָן Pâʼrân, paw-rawn’; from H6286; ornamental; Paran, a desert of Arabia:—Paran. 11 times in 10 verses
פָּאַר pâʼar, paw-ar’; a primitive root; also denominative from H6288, to gleam, i.e. (causatively) embellish; figuratively, to boast; also to explain (i.e. make clear) oneself; to shake a tree:—beautify, boast self, go over the boughs, glorify (self), glory, vaunt self. Lex : examine the boughs in order to glean them
Tahpenes = “wife of the king”; an Egyptian queen in the times of David and Solomon
Genubath = “theft”; son of Hadad, an Edomite of the royal family, by an Egyptian princess, the sister of Tahpenes, the queen of the Pharaoh who governed Egypt in the latter part of the reign of David
Rezon = “prince”; son of Eliadah, a Syrian, who lead a band of freebooters and established a petty kingdom at Damascus in the time of David and Solomon
Eliadah or Eliada = “God knows”
Hadadezer = “Hadad is help”; son of Rehob, a king of Syria-Zobah defeated by David’s army
Zoba or Zobah = “station”; the name of a portion of Syria which formed a separate kingdom in the times of Saul, David, and Solomon; located northeast of Damascus
Damascus = “silent is the sackcloth weaver”
Rezon’s Hostility
23And God stirred him up another adversary, Rezon the son of Eliadah, which fled from his lord Hadadezer king of Zobah: 24And he gathered men to him, and became captain over a band, when David slew them of Zobah: and they went to Damascus, and dwelled therein, and reigned in Damascus. 25And he was an adversary to Israel all the days of Solomon, beside the mischief that Hadad did: and he abhorred Israel, and reigned over Syria.
Syria אֲרָם ʼĂrâm, arawm’; from the same as H759; the highland; Aram or Syria, and its inhabitants; also the name of the son of Shem, a grandson of Nahor, and of an Israelite:—Aram, Mesopotamia, Syria, Syrians. Aram = “exalted”; fifth son of Shem; a grandson of Nahor; a descendant of Asher 132 times in 117 verses
Jeroboam’s Rebellion
26And Jeroboam the son of Nebat, an Ephrathite of Zereda, Solomon’s servant, whose mother’s name was Zeruah, a widow woman, even he lifted up his hand against the king. 27And this was the cause that he lifted up his hand against the king: Solomon built Millo, and repaired the breaches of the city of David his father. 28And the man Jeroboam was a mighty man of valor: and Solomon seeing the young man that he was industrious, he made him ruler over all the charge of the house of Joseph. 29And it came to pass at that time when Jeroboam went out of Jerusalem, that the prophet Ahijah the Shilonite found him in the way; and he had clad himself with a new garment; and they two were alone in the field: 30And Ahijah caught the new garment that was on him, and rent it in 12 pieces: 31And he said to Jeroboam, Take you ten pieces: for thus said the LORD, the God of Israel, Behold, I will rend the kingdom out of the hand of Solomon, and will give ten tribes to you: 32(But he shall have one tribe for my servant David’s sake, and for Jerusalem’s sake, the city which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel:) 33Because that they have forsaken me, and have worshipped Ashtoreth the goddess of the Zidonians, Chemosh the god of the Moabites, and Milcom the god of the children of Ammon, and have not walked in my ways, to do that which is right in my eyes, and to keep my statutes and my judgments, as did David his father. 34However, I will not take the whole kingdom out of his hand: but I will make him prince all the days of his life for David my servant’s sake, whom I chose, because he kept my commandments and my statutes: 35But I will take the kingdom out of his son’s hand, and will give it to you, even ten tribes. 36And to his son will I give one tribe, that David my servant may have a light always before me in Jerusalem, the city which I have chosen me to put my name there. 37And I will take you, and you shall reign according to all that your soul desires, and shall be king over Israel. 38And it shall be, if you will listen to all that I command you, and will walk in my ways, and do that is right in my sight, to keep my statutes and my commandments, as David my servant did; that I will be with you, and build you a sure house, as I built for David, and will give Israel to you. 39And I will for this afflict the seed of David, but not for ever.40Solomon sought therefore to kill Jeroboam. And Jeroboam arose, and fled into Egypt, to Shishak king of Egypt, and was in Egypt until the death of Solomon.
Jeroboam = “the people will contend”; the first king of the northern kingdom of Israel when the kingdom split at the death of Solomon and the 10 tribes split off from Judah and Benjamin and the kingdom under Solomon’s son Rehoboam; idolatry was introduced at the beginning of his reign; the 8th king of the northern kingdom of Israel, son of Joash, and 4th in the dynasty of Jehu; during his reign the Syrian invaders were repelled and the kingdom restored to its former borders but the idolatry of the kingdom was maintained
Nebat = “aspect”; an Ephraimite of Zereda, father of king Jeroboam I of the northern kingdom of Israel נָבַט nâbaṭ, naw-bat’; a primitive root; to scan, i.e. look intently at; by implication, to regard with pleasure, favor or care:—(cause to) behold, consider, look (down), regard, have respect, see. 69 times in 67 verses
Zereda or Zeredathah = “fortress”; a town or territory in Manasseh and the home of Jeroboam צְרֵדָה Tsᵉrêdâh, tser-ay-daw’; or צְרֵדָתָה Tsᵉrêdâthâh; apparently from an unused root meaning to pierce; puncture; Tseredah, a place in Palestine:—Zereda, Zeredathah.
Zeruah = “full breasted”; wife of Nebat and mother of king Jeroboam I of the northern kingdom of Israel צְרוּעָה Tsᵉrûwʻâh, tser-oo-aw’; feminine passive participle of H6879; leprous;
Millo = “rampart” or “mound”; a place near Shechem; site unknown; a part of the fortifications of Jerusalem מִלּוֹא millôwʼ, mil-lo’; or מִלֹּא mil-lôʼ; (2 Kings 12:20), from H4390; a rampart (as filled in), i.e. the citadel:—Millo. See also H1037.
Industrious עָשָׂה ʻâsâh, aw-saw’; a primitive root; to do or make, in the broadest sense and widest application:—accomplish, advance, appoint, apt, be at, become, bear, bestow, bring forth, bruise, be busy, 2,638 times in 2,286 verses
Ahiah or Ahijah = “brother of Jehovah (Yahu)”
Shilonite = see Shiloh “place of rest”
Clad כָּסָה kâçâh, kaw-saw’; a primitive root; properly, to plump, i.e. fill up hollows; by implication, to cover (for clothing or secrecy) 152 in 149
Garment שַׂלְמָה salmâh, sal-maw’; transp. for H8071; a dress:—clothes, garment, raiment. 16 in 16
Shishak = “greedy of fine linen”; king of Egypt, Sheshonk I, 1st king of the Bubastite 22nd dynasty; ruled in Egypt during the reigns of Solomon and Rehoboam and attacked the southern kingdom under Rehoboam and apparently made it tributary
The Death of Solomon
41And the rest of the acts of Solomon, and all that he did, and his wisdom, are they not written in the book of the acts of Solomon? 42And the time that Solomon reigned in Jerusalem over all Israel was 40 years. 43And Solomon slept with his fathers, and was buried in the city of David his father: and Rehoboam his son reigned in his stead.
Rehoboam = “a people has enlarged”; son of Solomon and the 1st king of Judah after the split up of the kingdom of Israel
I KINGS 12 : Rebellion against Rehoboam
1And Rehoboam went to Shechem: for all Israel were come to Shechem to make him king. 2And it came to pass, when Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who was yet in Egypt, heard of it, (for he was fled from the presence of king Solomon, and Jeroboam dwelled in Egypt;) 3That they sent and called him. And Jeroboam and all the congregation of Israel came, and spoke to Rehoboam, saying, 4Your father made our yoke grievous: now therefore make you the grievous service of your father, and his heavy yoke which he put on us, lighter, and we will serve you.5And he said to them, Depart yet for three days, then come again to me. And the people departed.
Yoke עֹל ʻôl, ole; or עוֹל ʻôwl; from H5953; a yoke (as imposed on the neck), literally or figuratively:—yoke. 40 times in 34 verses
6And king Rehoboam consulted with the old men, that stood before Solomon his father while he yet lived, and said, How do you advise that I may answer this people? 7And they spoke to him, saying, If you will be a servant to this people this day, and will serve them, and answer them, and speak good words to them, then they will be your servants for ever. 8But he forsook the counsel of the old men, which they had given him, and consulted with the young men that were grown up with him, and which stood before him: 9And he said to them, What counsel give you that we may answer this people, who have spoken to me, saying, Make the yoke which your father did put on us lighter? 10And the young men that were grown up with him spoke to him, saying, Thus shall you speak to this people that spoke to you, saying, Your father made our yoke heavy, but make you it lighter to us; thus shall you say to them, My little finger shall be thicker than my father’s loins. 11And now whereas my father did lade you with a heavy yoke, I will add to your yoke: my father has chastised you with whips, but I will chastise you with scorpions.
Light קָלַל qâlal, kaw-lal’; a primitive root; to be (causatively, make) light, literally (swift, small, sharp, etc.) or figuratively (easy, trifling, vile, etc.): 83 in 79
Loins מֹתֶן môthen, mo’-then; from an unused root meaning to be slender; properly, the waist or small of the back; only in plural the loins:— greyhound, loins, side. 47 in 45
12So Jeroboam and all the people came to Rehoboam the third day, as the king had appointed, saying, Come to me again the third day.13And the king answered the people roughly, and forsook the old men’s counsel that they gave him; 14And spoke to them after the counsel of the young men, saying, My father made your yoke heavy, and I will add to your yoke: my father also chastised you with whips, but I will chastise you with scorpions. 15Why the king listened not to the people; for the cause was from the LORD, that he might perform his saying, which the LORD spoke by Ahijah the Shilonite to Jeroboam the son of Nebat.
Chastised יָסַר yâçar, yaw-sar’; a primitive root; to chastise, literally (with blows) or figuratively (with words); hence, to instruct:—bind, chasten, chastise, correct, instruct, punish, reform, reprove, sore, teach 43 in 38
Whips שׁוֹט shôwṭ, shote; from H7751; a lash (literally or figuratively):—scourge, whip.
Scorpions עַקְרָב ʻaqrâb, ak-rawb’; of uncertain derivation; a scorpion; figuratively, a scourge or knotted whip:—scorpion.
The Kingdom Divided
16So when all Israel saw that the king listened not to them, the people answered the king, saying, What portion have we in David? neither have we inheritance in the son of Jesse: to your tents, O Israel: now see to your own house, David. So Israel departed to their tents.
17But as for the children of Israel which dwelled in the cities of Judah, Rehoboam reigned over them. 18Then king Rehoboam sent Adoram, who was over the tribute; and all Israel stoned him with stones, that he died. Therefore king Rehoboam made speed to get him up to his chariot, to flee to Jerusalem. 19So Israel rebelled against the house of David to this day.
Adoram = “my lord is exalted”
Shemaiah’s Prophecy
20And it came to pass, when all Israel heard that Jeroboam was come again, that they sent and called him to the congregation, and made him king over all Israel: there was none that followed the house of David, but the tribe of Judah only.
21And when Rehoboam was come to Jerusalem, he assembled all the house of Judah, with the tribe of Benjamin, an 180,000 chosen men, which were warriors, to fight against the house of Israel, to bring the kingdom again to Rehoboam the son of Solomon. 22But the word of God came to Shemaiah the man of God, saying, 23Speak to Rehoboam, the son of Solomon, king of Judah, and to all the house of Judah and Benjamin, and to the remnant of the people, saying, 24Thus said the LORD, You shall not go up, nor fight against your brothers the children of Israel: return every man to his house; for this thing is from me. They listened therefore to the word of the LORD, and returned to depart, according to the word of the LORD.
Shemaiah = “heard by Jehovah” 41 in 39
Jeroboam’s Idolatry
25Then Jeroboam built Shechem in mount Ephraim, and dwelled therein; and went out from there, and built Penuel.
Shechem = “back” or “shoulder”
Penuel or Peniel = “facing God”; the place named by Jacob when he wrestled with God and located on the north bank of the Jabbok close to the Jordan
26And Jeroboam said in his heart, Now shall the kingdom return to the house of David: 27If this people go up to do sacrifice in the house of the LORD at Jerusalem, then shall the heart of this people turn again to their lord, even to Rehoboam king of Judah, and they shall kill me, and go again to Rehoboam king of Judah. 28Whereupon the king took counsel, and made 2 calves of gold, and said to them, It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem: behold your gods, O Israel, which brought you up out of the land of Egypt. 29And he set the one in Bethel, and the other put he in Dan. 30And this thing became a sin: for the people went to worship before the one, even to Dan. 31And he made an house of high places, and made priests of the lowest of the people, which were not of the sons of Levi. 32And Jeroboam ordained a feast in the 8th month, on the 15th day of the month, like to the feast that is in Judah, and he offered on the altar. So did he in Bethel, sacrificing to the calves that he had made: and he placed in Bethel the priests of the high places which he had made. 33So he offered on the altar which he had made in Bethel the 15th day of the 8th month, even in the month which he had devised of his own heart; and ordained a feast to the children of Israel: and he offered on the altar, and burnt incense.
Bethel = “house of God” 70 times in 63 verses
Sin חַטָּאָה chaṭṭâʼâh, khat-taw-aw’; or חַטָּאת chaṭṭâʼth; from H2398; an offence (sometimes habitual sinfulness), and its penalty, occasion, sacrifice, or expiation; also (concretely) an offender:—punishment (of sin), purifying(-fication for sin), sin(-ner, offering). 296 times in 272 verses
I KINGS 13 : Jeroboam’s Hand Withers
1And, behold, there came a man of God out of Judah by the word of the LORD to Bethel: and Jeroboam stood by the altar to burn incense.2And he cried against the altar in the word of the LORD, and said, O altar, altar, thus said the LORD; Behold, a child shall be born to the house of David, Josiah by name; and on you shall he offer the priests of the high places that burn incense on you, and men’s bones shall be burnt on you.
Josiah = “whom Jehovah heals”; son of Amon by Jedidah who succeeded his father to the throne of Judah and reigned for 31 years; his reign is noteworthy for the great revivals back to the worship of Jehovah which he led; a returned exile and son of Zephaniah at whose house took place the solemn and symbolical crowning of Joshua the high priest in the time of Zechariah the prophet 53 times in 48 verses
Bone עֶצֶם ʻetsem, eh’tsem; from H6105; a bone (as strong); by extension, the body; figuratively, the substance, i.e. (as pronoun) selfsame:— 126 times in 108 verses
Burn Incense קָטַר qâṭar, kaw-tar’; a primitive root (identical with through the idea of fumigation in a close place and perhaps thus driving out the occupants); to smoke, i.e. turn into fragrance by fire (especially as an act of worship): 117 times in 112 verses
3And he gave a sign the same day, saying, This is the sign which the LORD has spoken; Behold, the altar shall be rent, and the ashes that are on it shall be poured out. 4And it came to pass, when king Jeroboam heard the saying of the man of God, which had cried against the altar in Bethel, that he put forth his hand from the altar, saying, Lay hold on him. And his hand, which he put forth against him, dried up, so that he could not pull it in again to him. 5The altar also was rent, and the ashes poured out from the altar, according to the sign which the man of God had given by the word of the LORD. 6And the king answered and said to the man of God, Entreat now the face of the LORD your God, and pray for me, that my hand may be restored me again. And the man of God sought the LORD, and the king’s hand was restored him again, and became as it was before. 7And the king said to the man of God, Come home with me, and refresh yourself, and I will give you a reward. 8And the man of God said to the king, If you will give me half your house, I will not go in with you, neither will I eat bread nor drink water in this place: 9For so was it charged me by the word of the LORD, saying, Eat no bread, nor drink water, nor turn again by the same way that you came. 10So he went another way, and returned not by the way that he came to Bethel.
Intreat חָלָה châlâh, khaw-law’; a primitive root (compare H2342, H2470, H2490); properly, to be rubbed or worn; hence (figuratively) to be weak, sick, afflicted; or (causatively) to grieve, make sick; also to stroke (in flattering), entreat:
The Prophet’s Disobedience
(Leviticus 20:1-9; Leviticus 26:14-39; Deuteronomy 28:15-68; 1 Samuel 15:1-9)
11Now there dwelled an old prophet in Bethel; and his sons came and told him all the works that the man of God had done that day in Bethel: the words which he had spoken to the king, them they told also to their father. 12And their father said to them, What way went he? For his sons had seen what way the man of God went, which came from Judah. 13And he said to his sons, Saddle me the ass. So they saddled him the ass: and he rode thereon, 14And went after the man of God, and found him sitting under an oak: and he said to him, Are you the man of God that came from Judah? And he said, I am. 15Then he said to him, Come home with me, and eat bread. 16And he said, I may not return with you, nor go in with you: neither will I eat bread nor drink water with you in this place: 17For it was said to me by the word of the LORD, You shall eat no bread nor drink water there, nor turn again to go by the way that you came. 18He said to him, I am a prophet also as you are; and an angel spoke to me by the word of the LORD, saying, Bring him back with you into your house, that he may eat bread and drink water. But he lied to him. 19So he went back with him, and did eat bread in his house, and drank water.
20And it came to pass, as they sat at the table, that the word of the LORD came to the prophet that brought him back: 21And he cried to the man of God that came from Judah, saying, Thus said the LORD, For as much as you have disobeyed the mouth of the LORD, and have not kept the commandment which the LORD your God commanded you, 22But came back, and have eaten bread and drunk water in the place, of the which the Lord did say to you, Eat no bread, and drink no water; your carcass shall not come to the sepulcher of your fathers. 23And it came to pass, after he had eaten bread, and after he had drunk, that he saddled for him the ass, to wit, for the prophet whom he had brought back. 24And when he was gone, a lion met him by the way, and slew him: and his carcass was cast in the way, and the ass stood by it, the lion also stood by the carcass. 25And, behold, men passed by, and saw the carcass cast in the way, and the lion standing by the carcass: and they came and told it in the city where the old prophet dwelled.
26And when the prophet that brought him back from the way heard thereof, he said, It is the man of God, who was disobedient to the word of the LORD: therefore the LORD has delivered him to the lion, which has torn him, and slain him, according to the word of the LORD, which he spoke to him. 27And he spoke to his sons, saying, Saddle me the ass. And they saddled him. 28And he went and found his carcass cast in the way, and the ass and the lion standing by the carcass: the lion had not eaten the carcass, nor torn the ass. 29And the prophet took up the carcass of the man of God, and laid it on the ass, and brought it back: and the old prophet came to the city, to mourn and to bury him.30And he laid his carcass in his own grave; and they mourned over him, saying, Alas, my brother! 31And it came to pass, after he had buried him, that he spoke to his sons, saying, When I am dead, then bury me in the sepulcher wherein the man of God is buried; lay my bones beside his bones: 32For the saying which he cried by the word of the LORD against the altar in Bethel, and against all the houses of the high places which are in the cities of Samaria, shall surely come to pass.
33After this thing Jeroboam returned not from his evil way, but made again of the lowest of the people priests of the high places: whoever would, he consecrated him, and he became one of the priests of the high places. 34And this thing became sin to the house of Jeroboam, even to cut it off, and to destroy it from off the face of the earth.
I KINGS 14 : Ahijah’s Prophecy against Jeroboam
1At that time Abijah the son of Jeroboam fell sick. 2And Jeroboam said to his wife, Arise, I pray you, and disguise yourself, that you be not known to be the wife of Jeroboam; and get you to Shiloh: behold, there is Ahijah the prophet, which told me that I should be king over this people. 3And take with you ten loaves, and cracknels, and a cruse of honey, and go to him: he shall tell you what shall become of the child.
4And Jeroboam’s wife did so, and arose, and went to Shiloh, and came to the house of Ahijah. But Ahijah could not see; for his eyes were set by reason of his age. 5And the LORD said to Ahijah, Behold, the wife of Jeroboam comes to ask a thing of you for her son; for he is sick: thus and thus shall you say to her: for it shall be, when she comes in, that she shall feign herself to be another woman.
6And it was so, when Ahijah heard the sound of her feet, as she came in at the door, that he said, Come in, you wife of Jeroboam; why feign you yourself to be another? for I am sent to you with heavy tidings. 7Go, tell Jeroboam, Thus said the LORD God of Israel, For as much as I exalted you from among the people, and made you prince over my people Israel, 8And rent the kingdom away from the house of David, and gave it you: and yet you have not been as my servant David, who kept my commandments, and who followed me with all his heart, to do that only which was right in my eyes; 9But have done evil above all that were before you: for you have gone and made you other gods, and molten images, to provoke me to anger, and have cast me behind your back: 10Therefore, behold, I will bring evil on the house of Jeroboam, and will cut off from Jeroboam him that urinates against the wall, and him that is shut up and left in Israel, and will take away the remnant of the house of Jeroboam, as a man takes away dung, till it be all gone.11Him that dies of Jeroboam in the city shall the dogs eat; and him that dies in the field shall the fowls of the air eat: for the LORD has spoken it. 12Arise you therefore, get you to your own house: and when your feet enter into the city, the child shall die. 13And all Israel shall mourn for him, and bury him: for he only of Jeroboam shall come to the grave, because in him there is found some good thing toward the LORD God of Israel in the house of Jeroboam. 14Moreover the LORD shall raise him up a king over Israel, who shall cut off the house of Jeroboam that day: but what? even now.
15For the LORD shall smite Israel, as a reed is shaken in the water, and he shall root up Israel out of this good land, which he gave to their fathers, and shall scatter them beyond the river, because they have made their groves, provoking the LORD to anger. 16And he shall give Israel up because of the sins of Jeroboam, who did sin, and who made Israel to sin.
Reed קָנֶה qâneh, kaw-neh’; from H7069; a reed (as erect); by resemblance a rod (especially for measuring), shaft, tube, stem, the radius (of the arm), beam (of a steelyard):—balance, bone, branch, calamus, cane, reed 62 times in 38 verses
Root Up נָתַשׁ nâthash, naw-thash’; a primitive root; to tear away:—destroy, forsake, pluck (out, up, by the roots), pull up, root out (up), 21 in 19
Scatter to scatter, fan, cast away, winnow, disperse, compass, spread, be scattered, be dispersed זָרָה zârâh, zaw-raw’; a primitive root (compare H2114); to toss about; by implication, to diffuse, winnow: 39 times in 38 verses dust by the wind
Groves Ashera(h) = “groves (for idol worship)”; a Babylonian (Astarte)-Canaanite goddess (of fortune and happiness), the supposed consort of Baal, her images
17And Jeroboam’s wife arose, and departed, and came to Tirzah: and when she came to the threshold of the door, the child died; 18And they buried him; and all Israel mourned for him, according to the word of the LORD, which he spoke by the hand of his servant Ahijah the prophet.
Threshold, a spreading out, basin, goblet סַף çaph, saf; from H5605, in its original sense of containing; a vestibule (as a limit); also a dish (for holding blood or wine):—bason, bowl, cup, door (post), gate, post, threshold. 32 in 28
Tirzah = “favourable” ; one of the 7 daughters of Zelophehad the son of Hepher of the tribe of Manasseh ; one of the kingdoms on the west of the Jordan conquered by Joshua and the Israelites; a Canaanite city, later capital of the northern kingdom of Israel 18 times in 17 verses
Door בַּיִת bayith, bah’-yith; probably from H1129 abbreviated; a house (in the greatest variation of applications, especially family, etc.): 2,055 times in 1,718 verses
Nadab Succeeds Jeroboam
19And the rest of the acts of Jeroboam, how he warred, and how he reigned, behold, they are written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel. 20And the days which Jeroboam reigned were 22 years: and he slept with his fathers, and Nadab his son reigned in his stead.
Rehoboam’s Wicked Reign in Judah
21And Rehoboam the son of Solomon reigned in Judah. Rehoboam was 41 years old when he began to reign, and he reigned 17 years in Jerusalem, the city which the LORD did choose out of all the tribes of Israel, to put his name there. And his mother’s name was Naamah an Ammonitess. 22And Judah did evil in the sight of the LORD, and they provoked him to jealousy with their sins which they had committed, above all that their fathers had done. 23For they also built them high places, and images, and groves, on every high hill, and under every green tree. 24And there were also sodomites in the land: and they did according to all the abominations of the nations which the LORD cast out before the children of Israel.
Naamah = “loveliness” daughter of Lamech by his wife Zillah and sister of Tubal-cain in the days before the flood; the Ammonite wife of Solomon and mother of king Rehoboam of Judah
Sodomites קָדֵשׁ qâdêsh, kaw-dashe’; from H6942; a (quasi) sacred person, i.e. (technically) a (male) devotee (by prostitution) to licentious idolatry
Abomination תּוֹעֵבַה tôwʻêbah, to-ay-baw’; or תֹּעֵבַה tôʻêbah; feminine active participle of H8581; properly, something disgusting (morally), i.e. (as noun) an abhorrence; especially idolatry or (concretely) an idol:—abominable (custom, thing), abomination. a disgusting thing, abomination, abominable 117 times in 112 verses
Shishak Raids Jerusalem
25And it came to pass in the 5th year of king Rehoboam, that Shishak king of Egypt came up against Jerusalem: 26And he took away the treasures of the house of the LORD, and the treasures of the king’s house; he even took away all: and he took away all the shields of gold which Solomon had made. 27And king Rehoboam made in their stead brazen shields, and committed them to the hands of the chief of the guard, which kept the door of the king’s house. 28And it was so, when the king went into the house of the LORD, that the guard bore them, and brought them back into the guard chamber.
29Now the rest of the acts of Rehoboam, and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah? 30And there was war between Rehoboam and Jeroboam all their days. 31And Rehoboam slept with his fathers, and was buried with his fathers in the city of David. And his mother’s name was Naamah an Ammonitess. And Abijam his son reigned in his stead.
I KINGS 15 : Abijam’s Wicked Reign in Judah
1Now in the 18th year of king Jeroboam the son of Nebat reigned Abijam over Judah. 2 3 years reigned he in Jerusalem. and his mother’s name was Maachah, the daughter of Abishalom. 3And he walked in all the sins of his father, which he had done before him: and his heart was not perfect with the LORD his God, as the heart of David his father. 4Nevertheless for David’s sake did the LORD his God give him a lamp in Jerusalem, to set up his son after him, and to establish Jerusalem: 5Because David did that which was right in the eyes of the LORD, and turned not aside from any thing that he commanded him all the days of his life, save only in the matter of Uriah the Hittite. 6And there was war between Rehoboam and Jeroboam all the days of his life.
Abijam = “my father is the sea” or “Yah(u) is (my) father” 396 times in 339 verses
יָם yâm, yawm; from an unused root meaning to roar; a sea (as breaking in noisy surf) or large body of water; specifically (with the article), the Mediterranean Sea; sometimes a large river, or an artifical basin; locally, the west, or (rarely) the south:
Maachah = “oppression”;father of Achish, king of Gath at the beginning of Solomon’s reign;father of Hanan, one of David’s mighty warriors;a Simeonite, father of Shephatiah, prince of his tribe in the reign of David;son of Nahor by concubine Reumah 23 times in 23 verses
Lamp נִיר nîyr, neer; or נִר nir; also נֵיר nêyr; or נֵר nêr; or (feminine) נֵרָה nêrâh; from a primitive root (see H5214; H5135) properly, meaning to glisten; a lamp (i.e. the burner) or light (literally or figuratively):—candle, lamp, light. 48 times in 42 verses
Uriah or Urijah = “Jehovah (Yahweh) is my light (flame)” 39 times in 33 verses
7Now the rest of the acts of Abijam, and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah? And there was war between Abijam and Jeroboam.
8And Abijam slept with his fathers; and they buried him in the city of David: and Asa his son reigned in his stead.
Asa’s Good Reign in Judah
9And in the twentieth year of Jeroboam king of Israel reigned Asa over Judah. 10And 41 years reigned he in Jerusalem. And his mother’s name was Maachah, the daughter of Abishalom. 11And Asa did that which was right in the eyes of the LORD, as did David his father. 12And he took away the sodomites out of the land, and removed all the idols that his fathers had made. 13And also Maachah his mother, even her he removed from being queen, because she had made an idol in a grove; and Asa destroyed her idol, and burnt it by the brook Kidron. 14But the high places were not removed: nevertheless Asa’s heart was perfect with the LORD all his days. 15And he brought in the things which his father had dedicated, and the things which himself had dedicated, into the house of the LORD, silver, and gold, and vessels.
Asa = “healer: injurious (?)”; king of Judah, son of Abijam, father of Jehoshaphat; a Levite 58 times in 52 verses
War between Asa and Baasha
16And there was war between Asa and Baasha king of Israel all their days. 17And Baasha king of Israel went up against Judah, and built Ramah, that he might not suffer any to go out or come in to Asa king of Judah. 18Then Asa took all the silver and the gold that were left in the treasures of the house of the LORD, and the treasures of the king’s house, and delivered them into the hand of his servants: and king Asa sent them to Benhadad, the son of Tabrimon, the son of Hezion, king of Syria, that dwelled at Damascus, saying,
Baasha = “wicked”; third king of the northern kingdom of Israel and the founder of its second dynasty having killed the second king, Nadab 28 times in 26 verses
Ben-hadad = “son of [the false god] Hadad”; the king of Syria, contemporary with Asa of Judah 25 times in 24 verses
Tabrimon = “good is Rimmon”
Treasure, storehouse;treasure (gold, silver, etc);store, supplies of food or drink;treasure-house, treasury;treasure-house;storehouse, magazine;treasury;magazine of weapons (fig. of God’s armoury); storehouses (of God for rain, snow, hail, wind, sea)
אוֹצָר ʼôwtsâr, o-tsaw’; from H686; a depository:—armory, cellar, garner, store(-house), treasure(-house) (-y). H214 matches the Hebrew אוֹצָר (‘owtsar), which occurs 79 times in 70 verses
Hezion = “vision”; king of Syria, father of Tabrimon and grandfather of Ben-hadad; probably identical with ‘Rezon’ the contemporary of Solomon
19There is a league between me and you, and between my father and your father: behold, I have sent to you a present of silver and gold; come and break your league with Baasha king of Israel, that he may depart from me. 20So Benhadad listened to king Asa, and sent the captains of the hosts which he had against the cities of Israel, and smote Ijon, and Dan, and Abelbethmaachah, and all Cinneroth, with all the land of Naphtali.21And it came to pass, when Baasha heard thereof, that he left off building of Ramah, and dwelled in Tirzah. 22Then king Asa made a proclamation throughout all Judah; none was exempted: and they took away the stones of Ramah, and the timber thereof, with which Baasha had built; and king Asa built with them Geba of Benjamin, and Mizpah.
Ijon = “a ruin”; a place in the north of Palestine belonging to the tribe of Naphtali
Abel Beth Maachah = “meadow of the house of Maachah”; city in northern Israel near Beth Maachah
Chinneroth or Cinneroth or Chinnereth = “harps”; the early name of the Sea of Galilee; a town and district in Naphtali near the Sea of Galilee
Jehoshaphat Succeeds Asa
23The rest of all the acts of Asa, and all his might, and all that he did, and the cities which he built, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah? Nevertheless in the time of his old age he was diseased in his feet. 24And Asa slept with his fathers, and was buried with his fathers in the city of David his father: and Jehoshaphat his son reigned in his stead.
Diseased חָלָה châlâh, khaw-law’; a primitive root (compare H2342, H2470, H2490); properly, to be rubbed or worn; hence (figuratively) to be weak, sick, afflicted; or (causatively) to grieve, make sick; also to stroke (in flattering), entreat: to be or become weak, be or become sick, be or become diseased, be or become grieved, be or become sorry 75 times in 73 verses
Nadab’s Wicked Reign in Israel
25And Nadab the son of Jeroboam began to reign over Israel in the second year of Asa king of Judah, and reigned over Israel two years.26And he did evil in the sight of the LORD, and walked in the way of his father, and in his sin with which he made Israel to sin. 27And Baasha the son of Ahijah, of the house of Issachar, conspired against him; and Baasha smote him at Gibbethon, which belonged to the Philistines; for Nadab and all Israel laid siege to Gibbethon.
Jehoshaphat = “Jehovah has judged” 84 times in 75 verses
Gibbethon = “mound”; a Philistine town in Dan allocated to the Kohathite Levites
Nadab = “generous”;;eldest son of Aaron by Elisheba; struck dead before the sanctuary in the wilderness for kindling the censers with strange fire;;son of king Jeroboam I of the northern kingdom of Israel and king of Israel for 2 years before being slain by Baasha;;a Jerahmeelite, son of Shammai, of the tribe of Judah;;a son of Gibeon of the tribe of Benjamin
28Even in the third year of Asa king of Judah did Baasha slay him, and reigned in his stead. 29And it came to pass, when he reigned, that he smote all the house of Jeroboam; he left not to Jeroboam any that breathed, until he had destroyed him, according to the saying of the LORD, which he spoke by his servant Ahijah the Shilonite: 30Because of the sins of Jeroboam which he sinned, and which he made Israel sin, by his provocation with which he provoked the LORD God of Israel to anger. 31Now the rest of the acts of Nadab, and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel? 32 And there was war between Asa and Baasha king of Israel all their days.
Baasha’s Wicked Reign in Israel
33In the third year of Asa king of Judah began Baasha the son of Ahijah to reign over all Israel in Tirzah, 24 years. 34And he did evil in the sight of the LORD, and walked in the way of Jeroboam, and in his sin with which he made Israel to sin.
I KINGS 16 : Jehu’s Prophecy against Baasha
1Then the word of the LORD came to Jehu the son of Hanani against Baasha, saying, 2For as much as I exalted you out of the dust, and made you prince over my people Israel; and you have walked in the way of Jeroboam, and have made my people Israel to sin, to provoke me to anger with their sins; 3Behold, I will take away the posterity of Baasha, and the posterity of his house; and will make your house like the house of Jeroboam the son of Nebat. 4Him that dies of Baasha in the city shall the dogs eat; and him that dies of his in the fields shall the fowls of the air eat.
Hanani = “gracious”;;one of the sons of Heman, a chief musician of David, and head of the 18th course of the service;;;a seer who rebuked Asa, king of Judah, and was imprisoned;;maybe, father of Jehu the seer who testified against Baasha;;one of the priests who in the time of Ezra took a foreign wife;;brother of Nehemiah whom Nehemiah appointed governor of Jerusalem..another priest who was the chief musician under Nehemiah
Dust dry earth, dust, powder, ashes, earth, ground, mortar, rubbish עָפָר ʻâphâr, aw-fawr’; from H6080; dust (as powdered or gray); hence, clay, earth, mud:—ashes, dust, earth, ground, morter, powder, rubbish. 110 times in 103 verse
5Now the rest of the acts of Baasha, and what he did, and his might, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel? 6So Baasha slept with his fathers, and was buried in Tirzah: and Elah his son reigned in his stead. 7And also by the hand of the prophet Jehu the son of Hanani came the word of the LORD against Baasha, and against his house, even for all the evil that he did in the sight of the LORD, in provoking him to anger with the work of his hands, in being like the house of Jeroboam; and because he killed him.
Jehu = “Jehovah is He”;;the king of the northern kingdom Israel who overthrew the dynasty of Omri;;son of Hanani and an Israelite prophet in the time of Baasha and Jehoshaphat;;the Antothite, a Benjamite, one of David’s mighty warriors;;a descendant of Judah of the house of Hezron;;son of Josibiah and a chief of the tribe of Simeon 58 times in 54 verses
Elah Reigns in Israel
8In the twenty and sixth year of Asa king of Judah began Elah the son of Baasha to reign over Israel in Tirzah, two years. 9And his servant Zimri, captain of half his chariots, conspired against him, as he was in Tirzah, drinking himself drunk in the house of Arza steward of his house in Tirzah. 10And Zimri went in and smote him, and killed him, in the 27th year of Asa king of Judah, and reigned in his stead. 11And it came to pass, when he began to reign, as soon as he sat on his throne, that he slew all the house of Baasha: he left him not one that urinates against a wall, neither of his kinfolks, nor of his friends.
Elah = “An oak”;;an Edomite chief;;a king of Israel for two years, son of Baasha;;the father of king Hoshea of Israel;;a son of Caleb;;son of Uzzi 16 times in 15 verses
Zimri = “my music”;;the son of Salu, a Simeonite chieftain, slain by Phinehas with the Midianitish princess Cozbi;;5th king of the northern kingdom, murderer of the king, Elah, who reigned for 7 days before he killed himself by setting the palace on fire and was replaced by the general of the army, Omri;;one of the five sons of Zerah and grandson of Judah;;son of Jehoadah and descendant of Saul;;an obscure name mentioned in connection with ‘the mingled people’ in Jeremiah; may be same as ‘Zimran’ 15 times in 13 verses
Drink שָׁתָה shâthâh, shaw-thaw’; a primitive root; to imbibe (literally or figuratively):—of drinking cup of God’s wrath, of slaughter, of wicked deeds (fig) 217 times in 193 verses
Arza = “earthy”; housekeeper of Elah, king of Israel
Friends רֵעַ rêaʻ, ray’-ah; or רֵיעַ rêyaʻ; from H7462; an associate (more or less close):—brother, companion, fellow, friend, husband, lover, neighbour, × (an-) other. 188 in 173
Wall קִיר qîyr, keer; or קִר qir; (Isaiah 22:5), or (feminine) קִירָה qîyrâh; from H6979; a wall (as built in a trench):— mason, 74 times in 64 verses
12Thus did Zimri destroy all the house of Baasha, according to the word of the LORD, which he spoke against Baasha by Jehu the prophet.13For all the sins of Baasha, and the sins of Elah his son, by which they sinned, and by which they made Israel to sin, in provoking the LORD God of Israel to anger with their vanities. 14Now the rest of the acts of Elah, and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel?
Vanities הֶבֶל hebel, heh’bel; or (rarely in the abs.) הֲבֵל hăbêl; from H1891; emptiness or vanity; figuratively, something transitory and unsatisfactory; often used as an adverb:—× altogether, vain, vanity. vapour, breath 73 times in 64 verses
Zimri Reigns in Israel
15In the 27th year of Asa king of Judah did Zimri reign seven days in Tirzah. And the people were encamped against Gibbethon, which belonged to the Philistines. 16And the people that were encamped heard say, Zimri has conspired, and has also slain the king: why all Israel made Omri, the captain of the host, king over Israel that day in the camp. 17And Omri went up from Gibbethon, and all Israel with him, and they besieged Tirzah. 18And it came to pass, when Zimri saw that the city was taken, that he went into the palace of the king’s house, and burnt the king’s house over him with fire, and died. 19For his sins which he sinned in doing evil in the sight of the LORD, in walking in the way of Jeroboam, and in his sin which he did, to make Israel to sin. 20Now the rest of the acts of Zimri, and his treason that he worked, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel?
Omri Reigns in Israel
21Then were the people of Israel divided into two parts: half of the people followed Tibni the son of Ginath, to make him king; and half followed Omri.22But the people that followed Omri prevailed against the people that followed Tibni the son of Ginath: so Tibni died, and Omri reigned. 23In the 31st year of Asa king of Judah began Omri to reign over Israel, 12 years: 6 years reigned he in Tirzah.24And he bought the hill Samaria of Shemer for 2 talents of silver, and built on the hill, and called the name of the city which he built, after the name of Shemer, owner of the hill, Samaria.
Shemer or Shamer or Shamed = “preserved”; the owner of the hill where the city of Samaria was built;;a Merarite Levite, son of Mahli and father of Bani;;an Asherite, son of Heber and father of Ahi, Rohgah, Jehubbah, and Aram. Also ‘Shomer’;;a Benjamite, son of Elpaal and builder of the towns of Ono and Lod
25But Omri worked evil in the eyes of the LORD, and did worse than all that were before him. 26For he walked in all the way of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, and in his sin with which he made Israel to sin, to provoke the LORD God of Israel to anger with their vanities. 27Now the rest of the acts of Omri which he did, and his might that he showed, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel?28So Omri slept with his fathers, and was buried in Samaria: and Ahab his son reigned in his stead.
Omri = “pupil of Jehovah”;;king of the northern kingdom of Israel, successor to king Elah for whom he was the captain of the army; ruled for 12 years and succeeded by his infamous son Ahab;;one of the sons of Becher the son of Benjamin;;a descendant of Pharez the son of Judah;;son of Michael and chief of the tribe of Issachar in the time of David 18 times in 16 verses
Ahab Reigns in Israel, Marries Jezebel
29And in the 38th year of Asa king of Judah began Ahab the son of Omri to reign over Israel: and Ahab the son of Omri reigned over Israel in Samaria 22 years. 30And Ahab the son of Omri did evil in the sight of the LORD above all that were before him.
Ahab = “father’s brother”;;king of Israel, son of Omri, husband of Jezebel;;false prophet executed by Nebuchadrezzar, time of Jeremiah 93 times in 81 verses
from אָח ʼâch, awkh; 629 times in 572 verses
31And it came to pass, as if it had been a light thing for him to walk in the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, that he took to wife Jezebel the daughter of Ethbaal king of the Zidonians, and went and served Baal, and worshipped him. 32And he reared up an altar for Baal in the house of Baal, which he had built in Samaria. 33And Ahab made a grove; and Ahab did more to provoke the LORD God of Israel to anger than all the kings of Israel that were before him.
Light קָלַל qâlal, kaw-lal’; a primitive root; to be (causatively, make) light, literally (swift, small, sharp, etc.) or figuratively (easy, trifling, vile, etc.): 83 times in 79 verses
Jezebel = “Baal exalts” or “Baal is husband to” or “unchaste”; queen of Israel, wife of Ahab, daughter of Ethbaal Lexicon: “without cohabitation” Agnes, Isabella 22 times in 19 verses
Jericho Rebuilt
34In his days did Hiel the Bethelite build Jericho: he laid the foundation thereof in Abiram his firstborn, and set up the gates thereof in his youngest son Segub, according to the word of the LORD, which he spoke by Joshua the son of Nun.
Hiel = “God lives”;;a native of Bethel who rebuilt Jericho in the reign of Ahab and in whom was fulfilled the curse pronounced by Joshua חִיאֵל Chîyʼêl, khee-ale’; from H2416 and H410; living of God; Chiel, an Israelite:—Hiel. 1 in 1
Bethelite = ” House of God” בֵּית הָאֱלִי Bêyth hâ-ʼĔlîy, bayth haw-el-ee’; patrial from H1008 with the article interposed; a Beth-elite, or inhabitant of Bethel:—Bethelite 1 in 1
Jericho = “its moon” a city 5 miles (8 km) west of the Jordan and 7 miles (11.5 km) north of the Dead Sea and the first city conquered by the Israelites upon entering the promised land of Canaan Lex: “city of the moon”, it signifies a fragrant place 57 in 53
Laid the Foundation יָסַד yâçad, yaw-sad’; a primitive root; to set (literally or figuratively); intensively, to found; reflexively, to sit down together, i.e. settle, consult: 47 times in 41 verses
Gates דֶּלֶת deleth, deh’-leth; from H1802; something swinging, i.e. the valve of a door:—door (two-leaved), gate, leaf, lid. (Psalm 141:3). 88 in 78
Abiram = “my father is exalted” or “(the) Exalted One is (my) father” אֲבִירָם ʼĂbîyrâm, ab-ee-rawm’; from H1 and H7311; father of height (i.e. lofty); Abiram, the name of two Israelites:—Abiram. 11 in 9
Firstborn בְּכוֹר bᵉkôwr, bek-ore’; from H1069; first-born; hence, chief:—eldest (son), firstborn(-ling). 117x in 96v
Set Up נָצַב nâtsab, naw-tsab’; a primitive root; to station, in various applications (literally or figuratively):—appointed, deputy, erect, establish, × Huzzah (by mistake for a proper name), lay, officer, pillar, present, rear up, set (over, up), settle, sharpen, establish, (make to) stand(-ing, still, up, upright), best state. 75 in 75
Segub = “exalted”; the youngest son of Hiel the Bethelite who rebuilt Jericho; a Judaite, son of Hezron שְׂגוּב Sᵉgûwb, seg-oob’; from H7682; aloft; Segub, the name of two Israelites:—Segub. 3 in 3
Joshua or Jehoshua = “Jehovah is salvation”;;son of Nun of the tribe of Ephraim and successor to Moses as the leader of the children of Israel; led the conquest of Canaan;;a resident of Beth-shemesh on whose land the Ark of the Covenant came to a stop after the Philistines returned it;;son of Jehozadak and high priest after the restoration;;governor of Jerusalem under king Josiah who gave his name to a gate of the city of Jerusalem 218 times in 199 verses
Nun = “fish” or “posterity” נוּן Nûwn, noon; or נוֹן Nôwn; (1 Chronicles 7:27), from H5125; perpetuity, Nun or Non, the father of Joshua:—Non, Nun. 30 in 30
I KINGS 17 : Ravens Feed Elijah
1And Elijah the Tishbite, who was of the inhabitants of Gilead, said to Ahab, As the LORD God of Israel lives, before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, but according to my word. 2And the word of the LORD came to him, saying, 3Get you hence, and turn you eastward, and hide yourself by the brook Cherith, that is before Jordan. 4And it shall be, that you shall drink of the brook; and I have commanded the ravens to feed you there. 5So he went and did according to the word of the LORD: for he went and dwelled by the brook Cherith, that is before Jordan. 6And the ravens brought him bread and flesh in the morning, and bread and flesh in the evening; and he drank of the brook. 7And it came to pass after a while, that the brook dried up, because there had been no rain in the land.
Elijah or Eliah = “my God is Jehovah” or “Yah(u) is God”;;the great prophet of the reign of Ahab;;Benjamite son of Jeroham;;a son of Elam with foreign wife during exile;;a son of Harim, and priest, with foreign wife during exile 71 times in 65 verses
Tishbite = “captivity”
Dew Night Mist טַל ṭal, tal; from H2926; dew (as covering vegetation):—dew. 31 times in 30 verses
Hide סָתַר çâthar, saw-thar’; a primitive root; to hide (by covering), literally or figuratively: —be absent, keep close, conceal, hide 82 times in 80 verses
Cherith = “cutting”;; the brook where Elijah was hidden during a drought; east of Jordan כְּרִית Kᵉrîyth, ker-eeth’; from H3772; a cut; Kerith, a brook of Palestine:—Cherith Lexicon: “Seperation”
Ravens עֹרֵב ʻôrêb, o-rabe’; or עוֹרֵב ʻôwrêb; from H6150; a raven (from its dusky hue):—raven.
Before פָּנִים pânîym, paw-neem’; plural (but always as singular) of an unused noun פָּנֶה pâneh; from H6437); 2,109 times in 1,890 verse
It came to Pass After :: End , at the end of time קֵץ qêts, kates; contracted from H7112; an extremity; adverbially (with prepositional prefix) after: 67 times in 62 verses
Dried Up יָבֵשׁ yâbêsh, yaw-bashe’; a primitive root; to be ashamed, confused or disappointed; also (as failing) to dry up (as water) or wither (as herbage): 78 times in 67 verses
Rain גֶּשֶׁם geshem, gheh’-shem; from H1652; a shower:—rain, shower. 35 in 33
The Widow of Zarephath
8And the word of the LORD came to him, saying, 9Arise, get you to Zarephath, which belongs to Zidon, and dwell there: behold, I have commanded a widow woman there to sustain you. 10So he arose and went to Zarephath. And when he came to the gate of the city, behold, the widow woman was there gathering of sticks: and he called to her, and said, Fetch me, I pray you, a little water in a vessel, that I may drink. 11And as she was going to fetch it, he called to her, and said, Bring me, I pray you, a morsel of bread in your hand. 12And she said, As the LORD your God lives, I have not a cake, but an handful of meal in a barrel, and a little oil in a cruse: and, behold, I am gathering two sticks, that I may go in and dress it for me and my son, that we may eat it, and die. 13And Elijah said to her, Fear not; go and do as you have said: but make me thereof a little cake first, and bring it to me, and after make for you and for your son. 14For thus said the LORD God of Israel, The barrel of meal shall not waste, neither shall the cruse of oil fail, until the day that the LORD sends rain on the earth. 15And she went and did according to the saying of Elijah: and she, and he, and her house, did eat many days. 16And the barrel of meal wasted not, neither did the cruse of oil fail, according to the word of the LORD, which he spoke by Elijah.
Zarephath = “refinery”;; a city on the coast south of Sidon and the residence of Elijah during the last part of the drought; modern ‘Sura-fend’; whorkshop for melting and refining metals צָרְפַת Tsârᵉphath, tsaq-ref-ath’; from H6884; refinement; Tsarephath, a place in Palestine:—Zarephath. 3 in 3
צָרַף tsâraph, tsaw-raf’; a primitive root; to fuse (metal), i.e. refine (literally or figuratively):—cast, (re-) fine(-er), founder, goldsmith, melt, pure, purge away, try. 33 times in 29 verses to smelt, refine, test to purge gld or silver by fire and to separate from dross
Widow אַלְמָנָה ʼalmânâh, al-maw-naw’; feminine of H488; a widow; also a desolate place:—desolate house (palace), widow 55 times in 54 verses
Gathering קָשַׁשׁ qâshash, kaw-shash’; a primitive root; to become sapless through drought; used only as denominative from H7179; to forage for straw, stubble or wood; figuratively, to assemble:—gather (selves) (together).
Fetch לָקַח lâqach, law-kakh’; a primitive root; to take (in the widest variety of applications):—accept, bring, buy, carry away, drawn, fetch, get, infold, × many, mingle, place, receive(-ing), reserve, seize, send for, take (away, -ing, up), use, win. 969 times in 909 verses
Morsel פַּת path, path; from H6626; a bit:—meat, morsel, piece. 15 times in 15 verses fragment, bit, morsel (of bread), piece, bread crumb
Cake מָעוֹג mâʻôwg, maw-ogue’; from H5746; also with H3934 a table-buffoon, i.e. a cake of bread; parasite:—cake, feast.
לָעֵג lâʻêg, law-ayg’; from H3932; a buffoon; also a foreigner:—mocker, stammering. Mock
לָעַג lâʻag, law-ag’; a primitive root; to deride; by implication (as if imitating a foreigner) to speak unintelligibly:—have in derision, laugh (to scorn), mock (on), stammering. 18 times in 18 verses
Barrel כַּד kad, kad; from an unused root meaning to deepen; properly, a pail; but generally of earthenware; a jar for domestic purposes:—barrel, pitcher. 18 times in 17 verses
Oil שֶׁמֶן shemen, sheh’-men; from H8080; grease, especially liquid (as from the olive, often perfumed); figuratively, richness:—anointing, × fat (things), × fruitful, oil(-ed), ointment, olive, pine. 193 times in 176 verses
Cruse צַפַּחַת tsappachath, tsap-pakh’-ath; from an unused root meaning to expand; a saucer (as flat):—cruse. 7 in 7
Elijah Raises the Widow’s Son
17And it came to pass after these things, that the son of the woman, the mistress of the house, fell sick; and his sickness was so sore, that there was no breath left in him. 18And she said to Elijah, What have I to do with you, O you man of God? are you come to me to call my sin to remembrance, and to slay my son? 19And he said to her, Give me your son. And he took him out of her bosom, and carried him up into a loft, where he stayed, and laid him on his own bed. 20And he cried to the LORD, and said, O LORD my God, have you also brought evil on the widow with whom I sojourn, by slaying her son? 21And he stretched himself on the child three times, and cried to the LORD, and said, O LORD my God, I pray you, let this child’s soul come into him again. 22And the LORD heard the voice of Elijah; and the soul of the child came into him again, and he revived. 23And Elijah took the child, and brought him down out of the chamber into the house, and delivered him to his mother: and Elijah said, See, your son lives. 24And the woman said to Elijah, Now by this I know that you are a man of God, and that the word of the LORD in your mouth is truth.
mistress, female owner; sorceress, necromancer (noun of relationship) H1172 matches the Hebrew בַּעֲלָה (ba`alah), which occurs 4 times in 3 verses
Sickness חֳלִי chŏlîy, khol-ee’; from H2470; malady, anxiety, calamity:—disease, grief, (is) sick(-ness). 24 times in 22 verses
Sore חָזָק châzâq, khaw-zawk’; from H2388; strong (usu. in a bad sense, hard, bold, violent):—harder, hottest, impudent, loud, mighty, sore, stiff(-hearted), strong(-er) 56 times in 54 verses
Bosom חֵיק chêyq, khake; or חֵק chêq; and חוֹק chôwq; from an unused root, apparently meaning to inclose; the bosom (literally or figuratively):—bosom, bottom, lap, midst, within. 39 times in 34 verses
Loft עֲלִיָּה ʻălîyâh, al-ee-yaw’; feminine from H5927; something lofty, i.e. a stair-way; also a second-story room (or even one on the roof); figuratively, the sky:—ascent, (upper) chamber, going up, loft, parlour. 20 times in 20 verse
Breath נְשָׁמָה nᵉshâmâh, nesh-aw-maw’; from H5395; a puff, i.e. wind, angry or vital breath, divine inspiration, intellect. or (concretely) an animal:—blast, (that) breath(-eth), inspiration, soul, spirit. 24 times in 24 verses
I KINGS 18 : Elijah Confronts Ahab
1And it came to pass after many days, that the word of the LORD came to Elijah in the third year, saying, Go, show yourself to Ahab; and I will send rain on the earth. 2And Elijah went to show himself to Ahab. And there was a sore famine in Samaria. 3And Ahab called Obadiah, which was the governor of his house. (Now Obadiah feared the LORD greatly: 4For it was so, when Jezebel cut off the prophets of the LORD, that Obadiah took an hundred prophets, and hid them by fifty in a cave, and fed them with bread and water.) 5And Ahab said to Obadiah, Go into the land, to all fountains of water, and to all brooks: peradventure we may find grass to save the horses and mules alive, that we lose not all the beasts. 6So they divided the land between them to pass throughout it: Ahab went one way by himself, and Obadiah went another way by himself.
Famine רָעָב râʻâb, raw-awb’; from H7456; hunger (more or less extensive):—dearth, famine, famished, hunger. 101 times in 88 verses Scarcity of Grain
Obadiah = “servant of Jehovah” 20 times in 19 verses
Fountains מַעְיָן maʻyân, mah-yawn’; or מַעְיְנוֹ maʻyᵉnôw; (Psalm 114:8), or (feminine) מַעְיָנָה maʻyânâh; from H5869 (as a denominative in the sense of a spring); a fountain (also collectively), figuratively, a source (of satisfaction):—fountain, spring, well 23 times in 23 verses
mule פֶּרֶד pered, peh’-red; from H6504; a mule (perhaps from his lonely habits):—mule 15 in 13
pass through to pass over or by or through, alienate, bring, carry, do away, take, take away, transgress עָבַר ʻâbar, aw-bar’; a primitive root; to cross over; used very widely of any transition (literal or figurative; transitive, intransitive, intensive, causative); specifically, to cover (in copulation): Lexicon to pass over, to cross a stream 567 times in 493 verses
7And as Obadiah was in the way, behold, Elijah met him: and he knew him, and fell on his face, and said, Are you that my lord Elijah? 8And he answered him, I am: go, tell your lord, Behold, Elijah is here. 9And he said, What have I sinned, that you would deliver your servant into the hand of Ahab, to slay me? 10As the LORD your God lives, there is no nation or kingdom, where my lord has not sent to seek you: and when they said, He is not there; he took an oath of the kingdom and nation, that they found you not. 11And now you say, Go, tell your lord, Behold, Elijah is here. 12And it shall come to pass, as soon as I am gone from you, that the Spirit of the LORD shall carry you where I know not; and so when I come and tell Ahab, and he cannot find you, he shall slay me: but I your servant fear the LORD from my youth. 13Was it not told my lord what I did when Jezebel slew the prophets of the LORD, how I hid an hundred men of the LORD’s prophets by fifty in a cave, and fed them with bread and water? 14And now you say, Go, tell your lord, Behold, Elijah is here: and he shall slay me. 15And Elijah said, As the LORD of hosts lives, before whom I stand, I will surely show myself to him to day.
In the way דֶּרֶךְ derek, deh’-rek; from H1869; a road (as trodden); figuratively, a course of life or mode of action, often adverb 705 in 627
Go יָלַךְ yâlak, yaw-lak’; a primitive root (compare H1980); to walk (literally or figuratively); causatively, to carry (in various senses) 1046 in 938
בַּעַל Baʻal, bah’-al; the same as H1167; Baal, a Phoenician deity:—Baal, (plural) Baalim. 80 times in 68 verses
Elijah on Mount Carmel
16So Obadiah went to meet Ahab, and told him: and Ahab went to meet Elijah. 17And it came to pass, when Ahab saw Elijah, that Ahab said to him, Are you he that troubles Israel? 18And he answered, I have not troubled Israel; but you, and your father’s house, in that you have forsaken the commandments of the LORD, and you have followed Baalim.19Now therefore send, and gather to me all Israel to mount Carmel, and the prophets of Baal 450, and the prophets of the groves 400, which eat at Jezebel’s table.
Carmel = “garden-land”; a mountain on the Mediterranean coast of northern Israel, just below Haifa; a town in the mountains on the west side of the Dead Sea and south of Hebron כַּרְמֶל Karmel, kar-mel’; the same as H3759; Karmel, the name of a hill and of a town in Palestine:—Carmel, fruitful (plentiful) field, (place). 26 times in 25 verses
Table שֻׁלְחָן shulchân, shool-khawn’; from H7971; a table (as spread out); by implication, a meal:—table. 70x in 62v
20So Ahab sent to all the children of Israel, and gathered the prophets together to mount Carmel. 21And Elijah came to all the people, and said, How long halt you between two opinions? if the LORD be God, follow him: but if Baal, then follow him. And the people answered him not a word. 22Then said Elijah to the people, I, even I only, remain a prophet of the LORD; but Baal’s prophets are 450 men. 23Let them therefore give us 2 bullocks; and let them choose 1 bullock for themselves, and cut it in pieces, and lay it on wood, and put no fire under: and I will dress the other bullock, and lay it on wood, and put no fire under: 24And call you on the name of your gods, and I will call on the name of the LORD: and the God that answers by fire, let him be God. And all the people answered and said, It is well spoken.
Opinions סָעִף çâʻiph, saw-eef’; or שָׂעִף sâʻiph; from H5586; divided (in mind), i.e. (abstractly) a sentiment:—opinion.
25And Elijah said to the prophets of Baal, Choose you one bullock for yourselves, and dress it first; for you are many; and call on the name of your gods, but put no fire under. 26And they took the bullock which was given them, and they dressed it, and called on the name of Baal from morning even until noon, saying, O Baal, hear us. But there was no voice, nor any that answered. And they leaped on the altar which was made. 27And it came to pass at noon, that Elijah mocked them, and said, Cry aloud: for he is a god; either he is talking, or he is pursuing, or he is in a journey, or peradventure he sleeps, and must be awaked. 28And they cried aloud, and cut themselves after their manner with knives and lancets, till the blood gushed out on them. 29And it came to pass, when midday was past, and they prophesied until the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice, that there was neither voice, nor any to answer, nor any that regarded.
30And Elijah said to all the people, Come near to me. And all the people came near to him. And he repaired the altar of the LORD that was broken down. 31And Elijah took 12 stones, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Jacob, to whom the word of the LORD came, saying, Israel shall be your name: 32And with the stones he built an altar in the name of the LORD: and he made a trench about the altar, as great as would contain 2 measures of seed. 33And he put the wood in order, and cut the bullock in pieces, and laid him on the wood, and said, Fill 4 barrels with water, and pour it on the burnt sacrifice, and on the wood. 34And he said, Do it the second time. And they did it the second time. And he said, Do it the third time. And they did it the third time. 35And the water ran round about the altar; and he filled the trench also with water.
Trench תְּעָלָה tᵉʻâlâh, teh-aw-law’; from H5927; a channel (into which water is raised for irrigation); also a bandage or plaster (as placed upon a wound):—conduit, cured, healing, little river, trench, watercourse. 11 in 11
Altar mizbêach, miz-bay’-akh; from H2076; an altar:—altar. 402 times in 338 verses
Two Measures סְאָה çᵉʼâh, seh-aw’; from an unused root meaning to define; a seah, or certain measure (as determinative) for grain:—measure. 9 in 6
Seed זֶרַע zeraʻ, zeh’-rah; from H2232; seed; figuratively, fruit, plant, sowing-time, posterity:—× carnally, child, fruitful, seed(-time), sowing-time. 229 in 205
זָרַע zâraʻ, zaw-rah’; a primitive root; to sow; figuratively, to disseminate, plant, fructify:—bear, conceive seed, set with sow(-er), yield. 56 in 54
Barrels כַּד kad, kad; from an unused root meaning to deepen; properly, a pail; but generally of earthenware; a jar for domestic purposes:—barrel, pitcher. 18 in 17
Pour יָצַק yâtsaq, yaw-tsak’; a primitive root; properly, to pour out (transitive or intransitive); by implication, to melt or cast as metal; by extension, to place firmly, to stiffen or grow hard:— 53 in 51
Second Time שָׁנָה shânâh, shaw-naw’; a primitive root; to fold, i.e. duplicate (literally or figuratively); by implication, to transmute (transitive or intransitive):—do (speak, strike) again, alter, double, (be given to) change, disguise, (be) diverse, pervert, prefer, repeat, return, do the second time. 22 in 21
Third Time שָׁלַשׁ shâlash, shaw-lash’; a primitive root perhaps originally to intensify, i.e. treble; but apparently used only as denominative from H7969, to be (causatively, make) triplicate (by restoration, in portions, strands, days or years): to do a third time, do three times, divide in three parts 9 in 6
Elijah’s Prayer
36And it came to pass at the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice, that Elijah the prophet came near, and said, LORD God of Abraham, Isaac, and of Israel, let it be known this day that you are God in Israel, and that I am your servant, and that I have done all these things at your word. 37Hear me, O LORD, hear me, that this people may know that you are the LORD God, and that you have turned their heart back again. 38Then the fire of the LORD fell, and consumed the burnt sacrifice, and the wood, and the stones, and the dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench. 39And when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces: and they said, The LORD, he is the God; the LORD, he is the God. 40And Elijah said to them, Take the prophets of Baal; let not one of them escape. And they took them: and Elijah brought them down to the brook Kishon, and slew them there.
Kishon = “winding”; a river in central Palestine; scene of the defeat of Sisera by the Israelites in the time of the judges and the destruction of the prophets of Baal by Elijah קִישׁוֹן Qîyshôwn, kee-shone’; from H6983; winding; Kishon, a river of Palestine:—Kishon, Kison. 6 in 5
קוֹשׁ qôwsh, koshe; a primitive root; to bend; used only as denominative for H3369, to set a trap:—lay a snare.
The Lord Sends Rain
41And Elijah said to Ahab, Get you up, eat and drink; for there is a sound of abundance of rain. 42So Ahab went up to eat and to drink. And Elijah went up to the top of Carmel; and he cast himself down on the earth, and put his face between his knees, 43And said to his servant, Go up now, look toward the sea. And he went up, and looked, and said, There is nothing. And he said, Go again seven times. 44And it came to pass at the seventh time, that he said, Behold, there rises a little cloud out of the sea, like a man’s hand. And he said, Go up, say to Ahab, Prepare your chariot, and get you down that the rain stop you not. 45And it came to pass in the mean while, that the heaven was black with clouds and wind, and there was a great rain. And Ahab rode, and went to Jezreel. 46And the hand of the LORD was on Elijah; and he girded up his loins, and ran before Ahab to the entrance of Jezreel.
Cloud עָב ʻâb, awb; (masculine and feminine); from H5743; properly, an envelope, i.e. darkness (or density, 2 Chronicles 4:17); specifically, a (scud) cloud; also a copse:—clay, (thick) cloud, × thick, thicket. Compare H5672. darkness, cloud, thicket Lexicon : an architectural term, thresholds, steps, by which one goes up to a porch 32 in 32
Jezreel = “God sows” יִזְרְעֵאל Yizrᵉʻêʼl, yiz-reh-ale’; from H2232 and H410; God will sow; Jizreel, the name of two places in Palestine and of two Israelites:—Jezreel. That which God planted 36 times in 32 verses First son of Hosea
I KINGS 19 : Elijah Flees Jezebel
1And Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done, and with how he had slain all the prophets with the sword. 2Then Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah, saying, So let the gods do to me, and more also, if I make not your life as the life of one of them by to morrow about this time.
Time עֵת ʻêth, ayth; from H5703; time, especially (adverb with preposition) now, when, etc.:— after, (al-) ways, × certain, continually, evening, long, (due) season, so (long) as, (even-, evening-, noon-) tide, (meal-), what) time, when. 296 in 258
3And when he saw that, he arose, and went for his life, and came to Beersheba, which belongs to Judah, and left his servant there.4But he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a juniper tree: and he requested for himself that he might die; and said, It is enough; now, O LORD, take away my life; for I am not better than my fathers. 5And as he lay and slept under a juniper tree, behold, then an angel touched him, and said to him, Arise and eat. 6And he looked, and, behold, there was a cake baked on the coals, and a cruse of water at his head. And he did eat and drink, and laid him down again. 7And the angel of the LORD came again the second time, and touched him, and said, Arise and eat; because the journey is too great for you. 8And he arose, and did eat and drink, and went in the strength of that meat forty days and forty nights to Horeb the mount of God.
Juniper רֶתֶם rethem, reh’-them; or רֹתֶם rôthem; from H7573; the Spanish broom (from its pole-like stems):—juniper (tree). broom-plant, retem a shrub growing in the deserts of Arabia with yellowish flowers and a bitter root
Cake עֻגָּה ʻuggâh, oog-gaw’; from H5746; an ashcake (as round):—cake (upon the hearth). disc or cake of bread
עוּג ʻûwg, oog; a primitive root; properly, to gyrate; but used only as a denominative from H5692, to bake (round cakes on the hearth):—bake. Lex: To go in a circle
Hot stone, glowing stone or coal, flame, firebolt, spark רֶצֶף retseph, reh’-tsef; for H7565; a red-hot stone (for baking):—coal.
Head מְרַאֲשָׁה mᵉraʼăshâh, mer-ah-ash-aw’; formed like H4761; properly, a headpiece, i.e. (plural for adverbial) at (or as) the head-rest (or pillow):—bolster, head, pillow. Compare H4772. 8 in 8
Horeb חֹרֵב Chôrêb, kho-rabe’; from H2717; desolate; Choreb, a (generic) name for the Sinaitic mountains:—Horeb Desert 17 times in 17 verse
The Lord Speaks to Elijah at Horeb
9And he came thither to a cave, and lodged there; and, behold, the word of the LORD came to him, and he said to him, What do you here, Elijah? 10And he said, I have been very jealous for the LORD God of hosts: for the children of Israel have forsaken your covenant, thrown down your altars, and slain your prophets with the sword; and I, even I only, am left; and they seek my life, to take it away.
11And he said, Go forth, and stand on the mount before the LORD. And, behold, the LORD passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the mountains, and broke in pieces the rocks before the LORD; but the LORD was not in the wind: and after the wind an earthquake; but the LORD was not in the earthquake: 12And after the earthquake a fire; but the LORD was not in the fire: and after the fire a still small voice.13And it was so, when Elijah heard it, that he wrapped his face in his mantle, and went out, and stood in the entering in of the cave. And, behold, there came a voice to him, and said, What do you here, Elijah? 14And he said, I have been very jealous for the LORD God of hosts: because the children of Israel have forsaken your covenant, thrown down your altars, and slain your prophets with the sword; and I, even I only, am left; and they seek my life, to take it away.
Earthquake רַעַשׁ raʻash, rah’-ash; from H7493; vibration, bounding, uproar:—commotion, confused noise, earthquake, fierceness, quaking, rattling, rushing, shaking. 17 times in 16 verses
Wrapped לוּט lûwṭ, loot; a primitive root; to wrap up:—cast, wrap. to wrap closely or tightly, enwrap, envelop
Mantle אַדֶּרֶת ʼaddereth, ad-deh’-reth; feminine of H117; also the same as H145something ample (as a large vine, a wide dress):—garment, glory, goodly, mantle, robe.
15And the LORD said to him, Go, return on your way to the wilderness of Damascus: and when you come, anoint Hazael to be king over Syria: 16And Jehu the son of Nimshi shall you anoint to be king over Israel: and Elisha the son of Shaphat of Abelmeholah shall you anoint to be prophet in your room. 17And it shall come to pass, that him that escapes the sword of Hazael shall Jehu slay: and him that escapes from the sword of Jehu shall Elisha slay. 18Yet I have left me 7000 in Israel, all the knees which have not bowed to Baal, and every mouth which has not kissed him.
Wilderness מִדְבָּר midbâr, mid-bawr’; from H1696 in the sense of driving; a pasture (i.e. open field, whither cattle are driven); by implication, a desert; also speech (including its organs):—desert, south, speech, wilderness. 271 in 257 an unhabited plain country fit for feeding flocks
Hazael = “one who sees God”; a king of Syria; sent by his master, Ben-hadad, to the prophet Elisha, to seek a remedy for Ben-hadad’s leprosy; apparently later killed Ben-hadad, assumed the throne, and soon became engaged in a war with the kings of Judah and Israel for the possession of the city of Ramoth-gilead חֲזָאֵל Chăzâʼêl, khaz-aw-ale’; or חֲזָהאֵל Chăzâhʼêl; from H2372 and H410; God has seen; Chazael, a king of Syria:—Hazael. 23 times in 21 verses
Nimshi = “rescued”; grandfather of Jehu
Shaphat = “judged” or “he hath judged”;;son of Hori and the prince of Simeon chosen to spy out the promised land;;father of the prophet Elisha;;a Judaite, son of Shemaiah and descendant of Zerubbabel in the royal line of Judah;;a chief of the tribe of Gad;;son of Adlai and chief herdsman for David over the herds in the valleys
Abel Meholah = “meadow of dancing”; a city of Issachar, birthplace of Elisha
Anoint מָשַׁח mâshach, maw-shakh’; a primitive root; to rub with oil, i.e. to anoint; by implication, to consecrate; also to paint:—anoint, paint. 69 times in 66 verses
Prophet spokesman, speaker, prophet נָבִיא nâbîyʼ, naw-bee’; from H5012; a prophet or (generally) inspired man:—prophecy, that prophesy, prophet. 316 times in 288 verses
The Call of Elisha
19So he departed there, and found Elisha the son of Shaphat, who was plowing with 12 yoke of oxen before him, and he with the 12th: and Elijah passed by him, and cast his mantle on him. 20And he left the oxen, and ran after Elijah, and said, Let me, I pray you, kiss my father and my mother, and then I will follow you. And he said to him, Go back again: for what have I done to you? 21And he returned back from him, and took a yoke of oxen, and slew them, and boiled their flesh with the instruments of the oxen, and gave to the people, and they did eat. Then he arose, and went after Elijah, and ministered to him.
Escaped מָלַט mâlaṭ, maw-lat’; a primitive root; properly, to be smooth, i.e. (by implication) to escape (as if by slipperiness); causatively, to release or rescue; specifically, to bring forth young, emit sparks 95 in 85
Elisha = “God is salvation”; the great prophet who succeeded Elijah 58 times in 52 verses
I KINGS 20 : Ahab’s Wars with Syria
1And Benhadad the king of Syria gathered all his host together: and there were 32 kings with him, and horses, and chariots; and he went up and besieged Samaria, and warred against it. 2And he sent messengers to Ahab king of Israel into the city, and said to him, Thus said Benhadad, 3Your silver and your gold is mine; your wives also and your children, even the best, are mine. 4And the king of Israel answered and said, My lord, O king, according to your saying, I am yours, and all that I have. 5And the messengers came again, and said, Thus speaks Benhadad, saying, Although I have sent to you, saying, You shall deliver me your silver, and your gold, and your wives, and your children; 6Yet I will send my servants to you to morrow about this time, and they shall search your house, and the houses of your servants; and it shall be, that whatever is pleasant in your eyes, they shall put it in their hand, and take it away.
7Then the king of Israel called all the elders of the land, and said, Mark, I pray you, and see how this man seeks mischief: for he sent to me for my wives, and for my children, and for my silver, and for my gold; and I denied him not. 8And all the elders and all the people said to him, Listen not to him, nor consent. 9Why he said to the messengers of Benhadad, Tell my lord the king, All that you did send for to your servant at the first I will do: but this thing I may not do. And the messengers departed, and brought him word again. 10And Benhadad sent to him, and said, The gods do so to me, and more also, if the dust of Samaria shall suffice for handfuls for all the people that follow me. 11And the king of Israel answered and said, Tell him, Let not him that girds on his harness boast himself as he that puts it off. 12And it came to pass, when Ben-hadad heard this message, as he was drinking, he and the kings in the pavilions, that he said to his servants, Set yourselves in array. And they set themselves in array against the city.
Ahab Defeats Ben-Hadad
13And, behold, there came a prophet to Ahab king of Israel, saying, Thus said the LORD, Have you seen all this great multitude? behold, I will deliver it into your hand this day; and you shall know that I am the LORD. 14And Ahab said, By whom? And he said, Thus said the LORD, Even by the young men of the princes of the provinces. Then he said, Who shall order the battle? And he answered, You. 15Then he numbered the young men of the princes of the provinces, and they were 232: and after them he numbered all the people, even all the children of Israel, being 7000.
16And they went out at noon. But Benhadad was drinking himself drunk in the pavilions, he and the kings, the 32 kings that helped him. 17And the young men of the princes of the provinces went out first; and Benhadad sent out, and they told him, saying, There are men come out of Samaria. 18And he said, Whether they be come out for peace, take them alive; or whether they be come out for war, take them alive.
19So these young men of the princes of the provinces came out of the city, and the army which followed them. 20And they slew every one his man: and the Syrians fled; and Israel pursued them: and Benhadad the king of Syria escaped on an horse with the horsemen. 21And the king of Israel went out, and smote the horses and chariots, and slew the Syrians with a great slaughter. 22And the prophet came to the king of Israel, and said to him, Go, strengthen yourself, and mark, and see what you do: for at the return of the year the king of Syria will come up against you.
23And the servants of the king of Syria said to him, Their gods are gods of the hills; therefore they were stronger than we; but let us fight against them in the plain, and surely we shall be stronger than they. 24And do this thing, Take the kings away, every man out of his place, and put captains in their rooms: 25And number you an army, like the army that you have lost, horse for horse, and chariot for chariot: and we will fight against them in the plain, and surely we shall be stronger than they. And he listened to their voice, and did so.
Another War with Ben-Hadad
26And it came to pass at the return of the year, that Benhadad numbered the Syrians, and went up to Aphek, to fight against Israel. 27And the children of Israel were numbered, and were all present, and went against them: and the children of Israel pitched before them like 2 little flocks of kids; but the Syrians filled the country. 28And there came a man of God, and spoke to the king of Israel, and said, Thus said the LORD, Because the Syrians have said, The LORD is God of the hills, but he is not God of the valleys, therefore will I deliver all this great multitude into your hand, and you shall know that I am the LORD. 29And they pitched one over against the other 7 days. And so it was, that in the 7th day the battle was joined: and the children of Israel slew of the Syrians an 100,000 footmen in one day. 30But the rest fled to Aphek, into the city; and there a wall fell on 27,000 of the men that were left. And Benhadad fled, and came into the city, into an inner chamber.
Aphek or Aphik = “enclosure”; a Canaanite city near Jezreel; a city in territory of Asher; a city northeast of Beirut in Transjordan 9 in 9; This is now called Aphaca, a city of Lebanon famous for its temple of Venus, whose Ruins still called Afka, stand between Byblus and Heliopolois.
Afqa is aligned centrally between Baalbek and Byblos, pointing to the summer solstice sunset over the Mediterranean. It is from Byblos that the myth was told of a mystical ark that came ashore containing the bones of Osiris. The ark became stuck in a swamp until Isis found it and carried it back to Ancient Egypt.[13]
Marvin H. Pope (Yale University) identified the home of El in the Ugaritic texts of ca. 1200 BCE, described as “at the source[s] of the [two] rivers, in the midst of the fountains of the [two] deeps”,[18] with this famous source of the river Adonis and Yammoune, an intermittent lake on the other side of the mountain, which Pope asserted was closely associated with it in legend
A great and ancient temple is located here, where ritual prostitution was practicised until the time of Constantine
According to Herodotus, the rites performed at these temples included sexual intercourse, or what scholars later called sacred sexual rites:
The foulest Babylonian custom is that which compels every woman of the land to sit in the temple of Aphrodite and have intercourse with some stranger at least once in her life. Many women who are rich and proud and disdain to mingle with the rest, drive to the temple in covered carriages drawn by teams, and stand there with a great retinue of attendants. But most sit down in the sacred plot of Aphrodite, with crowns of cord on their heads; there is a great multitude of women coming and going; passages marked by line run every way through the crowd, by which the men pass and make their choice. Once a woman has taken her place there, she does not go away to her home before some stranger has cast money into her lap, and had intercourse with her outside the temple; but while he casts the money, he must say, “I invite you in the name of Mylitta”. It does not matter what sum the money is; the woman will never refuse, for that would be a sin, the money being by this act made sacred. So she follows the first man who casts it and rejects no one. After their intercourse, having discharged her sacred duty to the goddess, she goes away to her home; and thereafter there is no bribe however great that will get her. So then the women that are fair and tall are soon free to depart, but the uncomely have long to wait because they cannot fulfil the law; for some of them remain for three years, or four. There is a custom like this in some parts of Cyprus.[6]
The British anthropologist James Frazer accumulated citations to prove this in a chapter of his magnum opus The Golden Bough (1890–1915),[7] and this has served as a starting point for several generations of scholars. Frazer and Henriques distinguished two major forms of sacred sexual rites: temporary rite of unwed girls (with variants such as dowry-sexual rite, or as public defloration of a bride), and lifelong sexual rite.[8] However, Frazer took his sources mostly from authors of Late Antiquity (i.e. 150 – 500 AD), not from the Classical or Hellenistic periods.[9] This raises questions as to whether the phenomenon of temple sexual rites can be generalized to the whole of the ancient world, as earlier scholars typically did.
Ahab Spares Ben-Hadad
31And his servants said to him, Behold now, we have heard that the kings of the house of Israel are merciful kings: let us, I pray you, put sackcloth on our loins, and ropes on our heads, and go out to the king of Israel: peradventure he will save your life. 32So they girded sackcloth on their loins, and put ropes on their heads, and came to the king of Israel, and said, Your servant Benhadad said, I pray you, let me live. And he said, Is he yet alive? he is my brother. 33Now the men did diligently observe whether any thing would come from him, and did hastily catch it: and they said, Your brother Benhadad. Then he said, Go you, bring him. Then Benhadad came forth to him; and he caused him to come up into the chariot. 34And Ben-hadad said to him, The cities, which my father took from your father, I will restore; and you shall make streets for you in Damascus, as my father made in Samaria. Then said Ahab, I will send you away with this covenant. So he made a covenant with him, and sent him away.
Sackcloth שַׂק saq, sak; from H8264; properly, a mesh (as allowing a liquid to run through), i.e. coarse loose cloth or sacking (used in mourning and for bagging); hence, a bag (for grain, etc.):—sack(-cloth, -clothes). 48 times in 46 verses
Ropes חֶבֶל chebel, kheh’-bel; or חֵבֶל chêbel; from H2254; a rope (as twisted), especially a measuring line; by implication, a district or inheritance (as measured); or a noose (as of cords); figuratively, a company (as if tied together); a throe (especially of parturition); also ruin: 60 times in 58 verses
Restore 1,117 times in 952 verses
A Prophet Reproves Ahab
35And a certain man of the sons of the prophets said to his neighbor in the word of the LORD, Smite me, I pray you. And the man refused to smite him. 36Then said he to him, Because you have not obeyed the voice of the LORD, behold, as soon as you are departed from me, a lion shall slay you. And as soon as he was departed from him, a lion found him, and slew him. 37Then he found another man, and said, Smite me, I pray you. And the man smote him, so that in smiting he wounded him. 38So the prophet departed, and waited for the king by the way, and disguised himself with ashes on his face. 39And as the king passed by, he cried to the king: and he said, Your servant went out into the middle of the battle; and, behold, a man turned aside, and brought a man to me, and said, Keep this man: if by any means he be missing, then shall your life be for his life, or else you shall pay a talent of silver. 40And as your servant was busy here and there, he was gone. And the king of Israel said to him, So shall your judgment be; yourself have decided it. 41And he hurried, and took the ashes away from his face; and the king of Israel discerned him that he was of the prophets. 42And he said to him, Thus said the LORD, Because you have let go out of your hand a man whom I appointed to utter destruction, therefore your life shall go for his life, and your people for his people. 43And the king of Israel went to his house heavy and displeased, and came to Samaria.
Disguised חָפַשׂ châphas, khaw-fas’; a primitive root; to seek; causatively, to conceal oneself (i.e. let be sought), or mask:—change, (make) diligent (search), disquise self, hide, search (for, out). 23 in 20
Ashes אֲפֵר ʼăphêr, af-ayr’; from the same as H665 (in the sense of covering); a turban:—ashes.
Heavy סַר çar, sar; contracted from H5637; peevish:—heavy, sad.
סָרַר çârar, saw-rar’; a primitive root; to turn away, i.e. (morally) be refractory:—× away, backsliding, rebellious, revolter(-ing), slide back, stubborn, withdrew. to rebel, be stubborn, be rebellious, be refractory 17 times in 16 verses
I KINGS 21 :Ahab Covets Naboth’s Vineyard
1And it came to pass after these things, that Naboth the Jezreelite had a vineyard, which was in Jezreel, hard by the palace of Ahab king of Samaria. 2And Ahab spoke to Naboth, saying, Give me your vineyard, that I may have it for a garden of herbs, because it is near to my house: and I will give you for it a better vineyard than it; or, if it seem good to you, I will give you the worth of it in money. 3And Naboth said to Ahab, The LORD forbid it me, that I should give the inheritance of my fathers to you. 4And Ahab came into his house heavy and displeased because of the word which Naboth the Jezreelite had spoken to him: for he had said, I will not give you the inheritance of my fathers. And he laid him down on his bed, and turned away his face, and would eat no bread.
Naboth = “fruits”; the vineyard owner of Jezreel who Ahab and Jezebel had killed so that they could have his vineyard 22 times in 18 verses נָבוֹת Nâbôwth, naw-both’; feminine plural from the same as H5011; fruits; Naboth, an Israelite:—Naboth.
Nob = “high place”; a priestly city in the Benjamin situated on some eminence north but near Jerusalem
Garden גַּן gan, gan; from H1598; a garden (as fenced):—garden. figuratively of a bride 42 times in 37 verses
Herbs יָרָק yârâq, yaw-rawk’; from the same as H3418; properly, green; concretely, a vegetable:—green, herbs.
Hard אֵצֶל ʼêtsel, ay’-tsel; from H680 (in the sense of joining); a side; (as a preposition) near:—at, (hard) by, (from) (beside), near (unto), toward, with 60 in 57
Vineyard כֶּרֶם kerem, keh’-rem; from an unused root of uncertain meaning; a garden or vineyard:—vines, (increase of the) vineyard(-s), vintage. 93x in 82v
Palace הֵיכָל hêykâl, hay-kawl’; probably from H3201 (in the sense of capacity); a large public building, such as a palace or temple:—palace, temple. 80 times in 76 verses
Forbid חָלִילָה châlîylâh, khaw-lee’-law; or חָלִלָה châlilâh; a directive from H2490; literal for a profaned thing; used (interjection) far be it!: 21 times in 19 verses
Merry יָטַב yâṭab, yaw-tab’; a primitive root; to be (causative) make well, literally (sound, beautiful) or figuratively (happy, successful, right) 110 times in 102 verses
5But Jezebel his wife came to him, and said to him, Why is your spirit so sad, that you eat no bread? 6And he said to her, Because I spoke to Naboth the Jezreelite, and said to him, Give me your vineyard for money; or else, if it please you, I will give you another vineyard for it: and he answered, I will not give you my vineyard. 7And Jezebel his wife said to him, Do you now govern the kingdom of Israel? arise, and eat bread, and let your heart be merry: I will give you the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite.
8So she wrote letters in Ahab’s name, and sealed them with his seal, and sent the letters to the elders and to the nobles that were in his city, dwelling with Naboth. 9And she wrote in the letters, saying, Proclaim a fast, and set Naboth on high among the people: 10And set two men, sons of Belial, before him, to bear witness against him, saying, You did blaspheme God and the king. And then carry him out, and stone him, that he may die.
Fast צוֹם tsôwm, tsome; or צֹם tsôm; from H6684; a fast:—fast(-ing). 26 times in 22 verses
Jezebel’s Plot
11And the men of his city, even the elders and the nobles who were the inhabitants in his city, did as Jezebel had sent to them, and as it was written in the letters which she had sent to them. 12They proclaimed a fast, and set Naboth on high among the people. 13And there came in two men, children of Belial, and sat before him: and the men of Belial witnessed against him, even against Naboth, in the presence of the people, saying, Naboth did blaspheme God and the king. Then they carried him forth out of the city, and stoned him with stones, that he died. 14Then they sent to Jezebel, saying, Naboth is stoned, and is dead.
15And it came to pass, when Jezebel heard that Naboth was stoned, and was dead, that Jezebel said to Ahab, Arise, take possession of the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite, which he refused to give you for money: for Naboth is not alive, but dead. 16And it came to pass, when Ahab heard that Naboth was dead, that Ahab rose up to go down to the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite, to take possession of it.
Elijah Denounces Ahab and Jezebel
17And the word of the LORD came to Elijah the Tishbite, saying, 18Arise, go down to meet Ahab king of Israel, which is in Samaria: behold, he is in the vineyard of Naboth, where he is gone down to possess it. 19And you shall speak to him, saying, Thus said the LORD, Have you killed, and also taken possession? And you shall speak to him, saying, Thus said the LORD, In the place where dogs licked the blood of Naboth shall dogs lick your blood, even yours.
20And Ahab said to Elijah, Have you found me, O my enemy? And he answered, I have found you: because you have sold yourself to work evil in the sight of the LORD. 21Behold, I will bring evil on you, and will take away your posterity, and will cut off from Ahab him that urinates against the wall, and him that is shut up and left in Israel, 22And will make your house like the house of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, and like the house of Baasha the son of Ahijah, for the provocation with which you have provoked me to anger, and made Israel to sin. 23And of Jezebel also spoke the LORD, saying, The dogs shall eat Jezebel by the wall of Jezreel. 24Him that dies of Ahab in the city the dogs shall eat; and him that dies in the field shall the fowls of the air eat.
Ahab’s Repentance
25But there was none like to Ahab, which did sell himself to work wickedness in the sight of the LORD, whom Jezebel his wife stirred up.26And he did very abominably in following idols, according to all things as did the Amorites, whom the LORD cast out before the children of Israel.
27And it came to pass, when Ahab heard those words, that he rent his clothes, and put sackcloth on his flesh, and fasted, and lay in sackcloth, and went softly. 28And the word of the LORD came to Elijah the Tishbite, saying, 29See you how Ahab humbles himself before me? because he humbles himself before me, I will not bring the evil in his days: but in his son’s days will I bring the evil on his house.
I KINGS 22 :Ahab and the False Prophets
1And they continued 3 years without war between Syria and Israel. 2And it came to pass in the third year, that Jehoshaphat the king of Judah came down to the king of Israel. 3And the king of Israel said to his servants, Know you that Ramoth in Gilead is ours, and we be still, and take it not out of the hand of the king of Syria? 4And he said to Jehoshaphat, Will you go with me to battle to Ramothgilead? And Jehoshaphat said to the king of Israel, I am as you are, my people as your people, my horses as your horses.
Jehoshaphat = “Jehovah has judged” 84 times in 75 verses symbolical name of a valley near Jerusalem which is the place of ultimate judgment; maybe the deep ravine which separates Jerusalem from the Mount of Olives through which the Kidron flowed
Ramoth = “heights” 22 times in 22 verses
Gilead = “rocky region” a mountainous region bounded on the west by the Jordan, on the north by Bashan, on the east by the Arabian plateau, and on the south by Moab and Ammon; sometimes called ‘Mount Gilead’ or the ‘land of Gilead’ or just ‘Gilead’. Divided into north and south Gilead 134 times in 123 verses
5And Jehoshaphat said to the king of Israel, Inquire, I pray you, at the word of the LORD to day. 6Then the king of Israel gathered the prophets together, about 400 men, and said to them, Shall I go against Ramothgilead to battle, or shall I forbear? And they said, Go up; for the LORD shall deliver it into the hand of the king. 7And Jehoshaphat said, Is there not here a prophet of the LORD besides, that we might inquire of him? 8And the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, There is yet one man, Micaiah the son of Imlah, by whom we may inquire of the LORD: but I hate him; for he does not prophesy good concerning me, but evil. And Jehoshaphat said, Let not the king say so. 9Then the king of Israel called an officer, and said, Hasten here Micaiah the son of Imlah. 10And the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat the king of Judah sat each on his throne, having put on their robes, in a void place in the entrance of the gate of Samaria; and all the prophets prophesied before them. 11And Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah made him horns of iron: and he said, Thus said the LORD, With these shall you push the Syrians, until you have consumed them. 12And all the prophets prophesied so, saying, Go up to Ramothgilead, and prosper: for the LORD shall deliver it into the king’s hand.
Micah or Micaiah or Michaiah = “who is like God”;;an Ephraimite during the period of the judges;;son of Imlah and a prophet of Samaria who predicted the defeat and death of king Ahab of Israel;;son of Gemariah in the time of Jeremiah;;
Imlah or Imla = “whom God will fill up”
Hate שָׂנֵא sânêʼ, saw-nay’; a primitive root; to hate (personally):—enemy, foe, (be) hate(-ful, -r), odious, × utterly. 146 times in 139 verses
Entrance פֶּתַח pethach, peh’-thakh; from H6605; an opening (literally), i.e. door (gate) or entrance way:—door, entering (in), entrance (-ry), gate, opening, place. 163 times in 154 verses
Prophecy נָבָא nâbâʼ, naw-baw’; a primitive root; to prophesy, i.e. speak (or sing) by inspiration (in prediction or simple discourse):—prophesy(-ing), make self a prophet. 115 in 102 To cause to bubble up, hence to pour forth words abundantly as is done by those who speak with ardour or divine emotion of mind
Robes בֶּגֶד beged, behg’-ed; from H898; a covering, i.e. clothing; also treachery or pillage:—apparel, cloth(-es, ing), garment, lap, rag, raiment, robe, × very (treacherously), vesture, wardrobe. 217 times in 190 verses
בָּגַד bâgad, baw-gad’; a primitive root; to cover (with a garment); figuratively, to act covertly; by implication, to pillage:—deal deceitfully (treacherously, unfaithfully), offend, transgress(-or), (depart), treacherous (dealer, -ly, man), unfaithful(-ly, man), × very. 49 in 39
Gate שַׁעַר shaʻar, shah’-ar; from H8176 in its original sense; an opening, i.e. door or gate:—city, door, gate, port (× -er). 371 in 302
Zedekiah = “Jehovah is righteous”;;the last king of Judah renamed from ‘Mattaniah’ by Nebuchadnezzar; son of Josiah by wife Hamutal; placed on the throne by Nebuchadnezzar when he carried his nephew Jehoiakim in captivity;;false prophet at the court of king Ahab of the northern kingdom of Israel;;son of Maaseiah, a false prophet in Babylon;;son of Hananiah, one of the princes of Judah in the time of Jeremiah;;a priest who sealed the covenant with Nehemiah;;son of king Jehoiakim of Judah 63 in 62
Chenaanah = “trader”;;father of Zedekiah the false prophet of Ahab;;son of Bilhan, grandson of Jediael, and great grandson of Benjamin and the founder of a house of Benjamin
Consume כָּלָה kâlâh, kaw-law’; a primitive root; to end, whether intransitive (to cease, be finished, perish) or transitive (to complete, prepare, consume): 207 n 200 o accomplish, cease, consume, determine, end, fail, finish, be complete, be accomplished, be ended, be at an end, be finished, be spent
Micaiah Prophesies against Ahab
13And the messenger that was gone to call Micaiah spoke to him, saying, Behold now, the words of the prophets declare good to the king with one mouth: let your word, I pray you, be like the word of one of them, and speak that which is good. 14And Micaiah said, As the LORD lives, what the LORD said to me, that will I speak.
15So he came to the king. And the king said to him, Micaiah, shall we go against Ramothgilead to battle, or shall we forbear? And he answered him, Go, and prosper: for the LORD shall deliver it into the hand of the king. 16And the king said to him, How many times shall I adjure you that you tell me nothing but that which is true in the name of the LORD?
17And he said, I saw all Israel scattered on the hills, as sheep that have not a shepherd: and the LORD said, These have no master: let them return every man to his house in peace. 18And the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, Did I not tell you that he would prophesy no good concerning me, but evil? 19And he said, Hear you therefore the word of the LORD: I saw the LORD sitting on his throne, and all the host of heaven standing by him on his right hand and on his left. 20And the LORD said, Who shall persuade Ahab, that he may go up and fall at Ramothgilead? And one said on this manner, and another said on that manner. 21And there came forth a spirit, and stood before the LORD, and said, I will persuade him. 22And the LORD said to him, With which? And he said, I will go forth, and I will be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets. And he said, You shall persuade him, and prevail also: go forth, and do so. 23Now therefore, behold, the LORD has put a lying spirit in the mouth of all these your prophets, and the LORD has spoken evil concerning you.
Scattered פּוּץ pûwts, poots; a primitive root; to dash in pieces, literally or figuratively (especially to disperse): 69 in 66
Shepherd רָעָה râʻâh, raw-aw’; a primitive root; to tend a flock; i.e. pasture it; intransitively, to graze (literally or figuratively); 173 in 144
24But Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah went near, and smote Micaiah on the cheek, and said, Which way went the Spirit of the LORD from me to speak to you? 25And Micaiah said, Behold, you shall see in that day, when you shall go into an inner chamber to hide yourself. 26And the king of Israel said, Take Micaiah, and carry him back to Amon the governor of the city, and to Joash the king’s son; 27And say, Thus said the king, Put this fellow in the prison, and feed him with bread of affliction and with water of affliction, until I come in peace. 28And Micaiah said, If you return at all in peace, the LORD has not spoken by me. And he said, Listen, O people, every one of you.
Cheek לְחִי lᵉchîy, lekh-ee’; from an unused root meaning to be soft; the cheek (from its fleshiness); hence, the jaw-bone:—cheek (bone), jaw (bone). 21 times in 20 verses
Chamber חֶדֶר cheder, kheh’-der; from H2314; an apartment (usually literal):—((bed) inner) chamber, innermost(-ward) part, parlour, south, × within. 38 in 33
Amon = “skilled workman” or “master workman”;;a king of Judah, son of Manasseh;;a governor of Samaria;;a descendant of a servant of Solomon 17 times in 17 verses
אָמוֹן ʼâmôwn, aw-mone’; from H539, probably in the sense of training; like H542skilled, i.e. an architect:—one brought up.
Joash = “given by the Lord”
Affliction לַחַץ lachats, lakh’-ats; from H3905; distress:—affliction, oppression. 12 in 10
Ahab Killed at Ramoth Gilead
29So the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat the king of Judah went up to Ramothgilead. 30And the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, I will disguise myself, and enter into the battle; but put you on your robes. And the king of Israel disguised himself, and went into the battle. 31But the king of Syria commanded his 32 captains that had rule over his chariots, saying, Fight neither with small nor great, save only with the king of Israel. 32And it came to pass, when the captains of the chariots saw Jehoshaphat, that they said, Surely it is the king of Israel. And they turned aside to fight against him: and Jehoshaphat cried out. 33And it came to pass, when the captains of the chariots perceived that it was not the king of Israel, that they turned back from pursuing him.
34And a certain man drew a bow at a venture, and smote the king of Israel between the joints of the harness: why he said to the driver of his chariot, Turn your hand, and carry me out of the host; for I am wounded. 35And the battle increased that day: and the king was stayed up in his chariot against the Syrians, and died at even: and the blood ran out of the wound into the middle of the chariot. 36And there went a proclamation throughout the host about the going down of the sun, saying, Every man to his city, and every man to his own country.
Venture תֹּם tôm, tome; from H8552; completeness; figuratively, prosperity; usually (morally) innocence:—full, integrity, perfect(-ion), simplicity, upright(-ly, -ness), at a venture. 23 times in 23 verses
Harness שִׁרְיוֹן shiryôwn, shir-yone’; or שִׁרְיֹן shiryôn; and שִׁרְיָן shiryân; also (feminine) שִׁרְיָה shiryâh; and שִׁרְיֹנָה shiryônâh; from H8281 in the original sense of turning; a corslet (as if twisted):—breastplate, coat of mail, habergeon, harness. ;;body armour;;a weapon;;perhaps a lance, javelin Coat of Mail from its glittering;;Sirion given to Mount Hermon. Name taken from its resemblance to a breastplate 9 in 8
Wounded חָלָה châlâh, khaw-law’; a primitive root (compare H2342, H2470, H2490); properly, to be rubbed or worn; hence (figuratively) to be weak, sick, afflicted; or (causatively) to grieve, make sick; also to stroke (in flattering), entreat 75 in 73
Joints דֶּבֶק debeq, deh’-bek; from H1692; a joint; by implication, solder:—joint, solder.
Sun שֶׁמֶשׁ shemesh, sheh’-mesh; from an unused root meaning to be brilliant; the sun; by implication, the east; figuratively, a ray, i.e. (architectural) a notched battlement:— 134 in 127
37So the king died, and was brought to Samaria; and they buried the king in Samaria. 38And one washed the chariot in the pool of Samaria; and the dogs licked up his blood; and they washed his armor; according to the word of the LORD which he spoke. 39Now the rest of the acts of Ahab, and all that he did, and the ivory house which he made, and all the cities that he built, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel? 40So Ahab slept with his fathers; and Ahaziah his son reigned in his stead.
Washed שָׁטַף shâṭaph, shaw-taf’; a primitive root; to gush; by implication, to inundate, cleanse; by analogy, to gallop, conquer:—drown, (over-) flow(-whelm, rinse, run, rush, (throughly) wash (away). 31 in 30
Pool בְּרֵכָה bᵉrêkâh, ber-ay-kaw’; from H1288; a reservoir (at which camels kneel as a resting-place):—(fish-) pool. 17 times in 15 verses There were two such ponds to the west of Jerusalem, formed by the waters of the fountain Shiloah.
Armour Fornication זֹנוֹת zônôwth, zo-noth’; regarded by some as if from H2109 or an unused root, and applied to military equipments; but evidently the feminine plural active participle of H2181; harlots:—armour.
Ivory שֵׁן shên, shane; from H8150; compare H8143 a tooth (as sharp); specifically ivory; figuratively, a cliff:—crag, × forefront, ivory, × sharp, tooth. 55 times in 48 verses
Jehoshaphat’s Good Reign in Judah
(2 Chronicles 19:4-11; 2 Chronicles 20:31-34)
41And Jehoshaphat the son of Asa began to reign over Judah in the fourth year of Ahab king of Israel. 42Jehoshaphat was thirty and five years old when he began to reign; and he reigned twenty and five years in Jerusalem. And his mother’s name was Azubah the daughter of Shilhi. 43And he walked in all the ways of Asa his father; he turned not aside from it, doing that which was right in the eyes of the LORD: nevertheless the high places were not taken away; for the people offered and burnt incense yet in the high places. 44And Jehoshaphat made peace with the king of Israel.
45Now the rest of the acts of Jehoshaphat, and his might that he showed, and how he warred, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah? 46And the remnant of the sodomites, which remained in the days of his father Asa, he took out of the land.
47There was then no king in Edom: a deputy was king. 48Jehoshaphat made ships of Tharshish to go to Ophir for gold: but they went not; for the ships were broken at Eziongeber. 49Then said Ahaziah the son of Ahab to Jehoshaphat, Let my servants go with your servants in the ships. But Jehoshaphat would not. 50And Jehoshaphat slept with his fathers, and was buried with his fathers in the city of David his father: and Jehoram his son reigned in his stead.
Ahaziah’s Evil Reign in Israel
(1 Samuel 1:1-8; 2 Kings 1:1-16; Psalm 113:1-9)
51Ahaziah the son of Ahab began to reign over Israel in Samaria the seventeenth year of Jehoshaphat king of Judah, and reigned two years over Israel. 52And he did evil in the sight of the LORD, and walked in the way of his father, and in the way of his mother, and in the way of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel to sin: 53For he served Baal, and worshipped him, and provoked to anger the LORD God of Israel, according to all that his father had done.