Rehoboam scorns the elders' counsel — 'my little finger is thicker than my father's loins'; ten tribes break away, and Jeroboam sets golden calves in Dan and Beth-el.
Tap any Hebrew word to reveal its root, value, and meanings.
And Rehoboam went to Shechem; for all Israel were come to Shechem to make him king.
verse value 2272
Insights
Verse structure: 9 words, 35 letters. The shortest word is "for" (כִּ֥י, 2 letters) and the longest is "all·Israel" (כׇל־יִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל, 7 letters). Words sharing gematria 360: Shechem, Shechem. 1 word in this verse appears nowhere else in I Kings. Unique to this verse in I Kings (hapax): "to·make·king" (לְהַמְלִ֥יךְ). The root שכם appears 2 times in this verse. 8 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "to·make·king" (root מלך, 341x in I Kings); "and·went" (root הלך, 115x in I Kings); "went·in" (root בוא, 109x in I Kings). First appearance of the root שכם ("Shechem") in I Kings. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'Shechem', dividing the verse into phrases of 3 and 6 words. Full calculation: וַיֵּ֥לֶךְ [and·went] (66) + רְחַבְעָ֖ם [Rehoboam] (320) + שְׁכֶ֑ם [Shechem] (360) + כִּ֥י [for] (30) + שְׁכֶ֛ם [Shechem] (360) + בָּ֥א [went·in] (3) + כׇל־יִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל [all·Israel] (591) + לְהַמְלִ֥יךְ [to·make·king] (135) + אֹתֽוֹ [him] (407) = 2272.
Radak
For all Israel came to Shechem. Shechem was from the tribe of Ephraim, and it appears that the prophecy which Ahijah the Shilonite had spoken to Jeroboam had become known; therefore, Israel sent and summoned him, seeking to find a pretext to transfer the kingship to Jeroboam. Therefore, they did not wish to come to Jerusalem, but rather came to Shechem, which is of Ephraim, and Jeroboam was of Ephraim, and Rehoboam was compelled to come to Shechem. And in the midrash: "Shechem was prepared for retribution: in Shechem they violated Dinah; in Shechem they sold Joseph; in Shechem the kingdom of the House of David was divided."
Ralbag
"And Rehoboam went to Shechem" through "and Ahab slept with his fathers." "And Rehoboam went to Shechem": It is possible that because Jeroboam was from the tribe of Ephraim, the people of Israel chose that he should go there to be crowned, so that Jeroboam could be assured that Rehoboam would not kill him for what he had said against his father. And it seemed that for this reason the members of his tribe sent and called for him, reckoning that now, at the time they crowned Rehoboam, it would be easier for them to obtain from Rehoboam [an assurance] that he would not put Jeroboam to death. And behold, he was considered great in their eyes because already in the days of Solomon he had been in charge of all the forced labor of the House of Joseph. And for this reason as well they sent and called him. And it seemed that it was from God, blessed be He, that Israel would esteem him so greatly, so that this would serve as a vessel for the fulfillment of the prophecy that God, blessed be He, had prophesied to him regarding the kingship.
Metzudat David
For Shechem , etc. Thinking that in Jerusalem, when he is in his place, he will strengthen himself to reign without fulfilling their request.
Malbim
The questions: Why did they assemble to anoint him as king in Shechem, and not in Jerusalem, the city of kingship?
And Rehoboam went to Shechem: The text relates how the prophecy of Ahijah the Shilonite was fulfilled. For indeed, at the time of King Solomon's death, Rehoboam merited the kingship and did not require anointing or coronation, since one does not anoint a king who is the son of a king, as our Sages of blessed memory stated in Horayot and in Keritot. And as it is written, "And Rehoboam his son reigned in his stead." However, the Israelites sought a pretext and came to crown him, thereby informing him that he was not yet king until they crowned him according to their will and until he fulfilled the conditions they would impose upon him. Therefore, they came to Shechem and not to Jerusalem, for in Jerusalem he would have been strengthened by the House of Judah, his tribe. But Shechem was the head of Joseph and opposed to Judah, as it is written, "He rejected the tent of Joseph... and chose David His servant." And this was also the reason why they chose Jeroboam, who was from the tribe of Joseph, to go at their head.
And it came to pass, when Jeroboam the son of Nebat heard of it—for he was yet in Egypt, whither he had fled from the presence of king Solomon, and Jeroboam dwelt in Egypt,
verse value 3815
Insights
Verse structure: 15 words, 66 letters. Notable word values: "and·he" (וְהוּא֙) = 18, chai, 'life'. The shortest word is "where" (אֲשֶׁ֣ר, 3 letters) and the longest is "in·Egypt" (בְמִצְרַ֔יִם, 6 letters). Words sharing gematria 382: in·Egypt, in·Egypt. The root ירבעם appears 2 times in this verse. 13 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "where" (root אשר, 375x in I Kings); "king" (root מלך, 341x in I Kings); "and·it·was" (root היה, 196x in I Kings). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'Solomon', dividing the verse into phrases of 12 and 3 words.
Metzudat David
At the news. That Solomon his enemy had died.
And he was still. When he was still in Egypt.
And he sat. Despite all this he sat in Egypt, and did not return of his own accord.
Malbim
(2-3) The questions: Here it implies that Jeroboam remained residing in Egypt, and they called him from Egypt; whereas in Divrei HaYamim it states that he returned from Egypt, and only then did they send and call him. (2-3) "And Jeroboam remained in Egypt," whereas in II Chronicles (10:2) it is written, "And Jeroboam returned from Egypt, and they sent and called him." Both accounts are consistent: Initially, when he heard the news, he did not return from Egypt, for he did not know the substance of the matter and assumed that they had come to anoint him and strengthen his kingdom. Thus, he remained in Egypt. At that point, they sent and called him to return from Egypt, and surely they informed him of their intentions. This is what is mentioned here: that they sent and called him from Egypt. And then, "Jeroboam returned from Egypt," as stated in Divrei HaYamim. (There, in Chronicles, it did not mention that they called him from Egypt, for there the account of the kings of Israel is abbreviated; and here it did not mention that they called him a second time after he came from Egypt, as this is included in what is stated: "And Jeroboam came, and all the elders of Israel.")
and they sent and called him—that Jeroboam and all the congregation of Israel came, and spoke to Rehoboam, saying:
verse value 2667
Insights
Verse structure: 10 words, 56 letters. The shortest word is "and·came" (וַיָּבֹ֥א, 4 letters) and the longest is "and·they·called·to·him" (וַיִּקְרְאוּ־ל֔וֹ, 8 letters). 1 word in this verse appears nowhere else in I Kings. Unique to this verse in I Kings (hapax): "and·they·called·to·him" (וַיִּקְרְאוּ־ל֔וֹ). The root בוא appears 2 times in this verse. 9 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "saying" (root אמר, 324x in I Kings); "and·they·spoke" (root דבר, 191x in I Kings); "to·Rehoboam" (root איל, 125x in I Kings). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'Israel', dividing the verse into phrases of 7 and 3 words. 6 of the verse's 10 words begin with the letter ו. Full calculation: וַֽיִּשְׁלְחוּ֙ [and·they·sent] (360) + וַיִּקְרְאוּ־ל֔וֹ [and·they·called·to·him] (359) + (ויבאו) [and·they·went·in] (25) + וַיָּבֹ֥א [and·came] (19) + יָרׇבְעָ֖ם [Jeroboam] (322) + וְכׇל־קְהַ֣ל [and·all·assembly·of] (191) + יִשְׂרָאֵ֑ל [Israel] (541) + וַֽיְדַבְּר֔וּ [and·they·spoke] (228) + אֶל־רְחַבְעָ֖ם [to·Rehoboam] (351) + לֵאמֹֽר [saying] (271) = 2667.
Radak
"And they sent and called him." They had already sent and called him, and when Jeroboam heard what they had sent, he came from Egypt, and he and all the assembly of Israel came to Shechem and spoke to Rehoboam, saying that if he wished to reign over them, he should lighten the yoke upon them.
Metzudat David
And they sent. The elders of the congregation sent after him to go with them to Rehoboam, to be the head of the speakers, because they knew of him that he would not hold his tongue before him [lit. put a hand to his mouth], just as he had already begun to raise a hand against Solomon.
’Your father made our yoke grievous; now therefore make you the grievous service of your father, and his heavy yoke which he put upon us, lighter, and we will serve you.’
verse value 4483
Insights
Verse structure: 14 words, 63 letters. The shortest word is "now" (עַתָּ֣ה, 3 letters) and the longest is "our·yoke" (אֶת־עֻלֵּ֑נוּ, 6 letters). Words sharing gematria 410: he·hardened, the·hard. 3 words in this verse appear nowhere else in I Kings. Unique to this verse in I Kings (hapax): "from·service·of" (מֵעֲבֹדַ֨ת), "and·from·his·yoke" (וּמֵעֻלּ֧וֹ), "and·we·will·serve·you" (וְנַעַבְדֶֽךָּ). The root אב appears 2 times in this verse. 11 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "that·he·put" (root אשר, 375x in I Kings); "and·from·his·yoke" (root על, 127x in I Kings); "and·we·will·serve·you" (root עבד, 78x in I Kings). First appearance of the root קשה ("he·hardened") in I Kings. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'our·yoke', dividing the verse into phrases of 3 and 11 words. Full calculation: אָבִ֖יךָ [your·father] (33) + הִקְשָׁ֣ה [he·hardened] (410) + אֶת־עֻלֵּ֑נוּ [our·yoke] (557) + וְאַתָּ֡ה [and·you] (412) + עַתָּ֣ה [now] (475) + הָקֵל֩ [voice] (135) + מֵעֲבֹדַ֨ת [from·service·of] (516) + אָבִ֜יךָ [your·father] (33) + הַקָּשָׁ֗ה [the·hard] (410) + וּמֵעֻלּ֧וֹ [and·from·his·yoke] (152) + הַכָּבֵ֛ד [the·liver] (31) + אֲשֶׁר־נָתַ֥ן [that·he·put] (1001) + עָלֵ֖ינוּ [upon·us] (166) + וְנַעַבְדֶֽךָּ [and·we·will·serve·you] (152) = 4483.
Radak
"Your father made our yoke heavy." This refers to the tax that he imposed upon them every year. Nevertheless, they should not have complained, for they lived in great tranquility during his days, and all the taxes were light upon them, since no enemy's rod passed over them during his reign. Rather, it was a scheme from God to find a pretext against Rehoboam, so that they would separate from him and crown Jeroboam.
Ralbag
"Your father made our yoke heavy." It is known that the tax which Solomon imposed upon them to maintain his household, so that nothing would be lacking for whatever he needed, even down to the food for his horses—which were exceedingly numerous, for he had forty thousand stalls for horses—was burdensome and very severe. Nevertheless, it was considered good in the eyes of Israel due to the great tranquility that prevailed. But now, wars began to arise, as previously mentioned regarding Ben-Hadad and Rezon son of Eliada. Therefore, Israel requested that he lighten this tax upon them somewhat.
Metzudat David
He has made our yoke heavy. To provide for his large household and the multitude of horses.
And you now. Meaning: but you, since you are not in the greatness of your father's merit, whom they came from the ends of the earth to see -- if so, what do you have to multiply in household men and horses? Leave them and lighten our yoke.
Metzudat Zion
Oolenu. He speaks metaphorically, from the yoke placed upon the neck of an animal:
Malbim
The Questions: Why did they begin with the yoke alone and conclude with the labor and the yoke, and should it not have been stated, "Your father has made our yoke heavy and increased our labor"? And from where does it say, "And you, now"?
“Your father made our yoke heavy.” The “yoke” is that which forces the ox to labor; this is an analogy for one who rules with a strong hand and punishes with severe punishments those who transgress his commandments. It is known that there are two types of kingdoms: 1. A limited kingdom, in which the king cannot do anything except according to the consent of the people and their elected representatives, and according to the laws of the state; likewise, he cannot burden them with labor and taxes without their knowledge. 2. There is an unlimited kingdom, in which the king rules alone according to his desire, and he can burden them with labor and taxes as he wishes, without asking their opinion, because they are all his slaves; and he can force them to perform his labor by making the yoke heavy, meaning that he decrees severe and bitter punishments for those who do not heed his voice. The beginning of the establishment of the kingdom of Israel in the days of David was a limited kingdom, and Solomon strengthened himself to rule by himself an unlimited kingdom. Therefore, he placed upon them a heavy yoke: whoever transgressed his word would be put to death, even if he commanded things that were not fitting for the public good. And through this, he had the power to burden the labor. And this is what it says: “Your father made our yoke heavy,” meaning that he made it heavy on his own authority, not according to the laws of kingship. And since it was not according to law, therefore, “you now”—meaning, even though we were forced to remain silent in the days of Solomon: 1. On account of his exalted status, as he was ruling a great dominion; 2. On account of the fact that he was already king, and we could not rebel against him—but you, who are not Solomon, and now, while you are still not king, you must bind yourself by the laws of the conditions: 1. Lighten the labor of your father, which is the greater part of the tax, so that there will be limited conditions between us regarding how much the labor will be burdensome; 2. So that you will not change afterward, also lighten his heavy yoke, so that your kingdom will be limited under the elected representatives of the people and the laws of the state. And they gave the reason: “which he laid upon us,” after he had ruled with a strong hand and not according to law.
And he said to them: ‘Depart yet for three days, then come again to me.’ And the people departed.
verse value 1756
Insights
Verse structure: 9 words, 39 letters. Notable word values: "to·them" (אֲלֵיהֶ֗ם) = 86, equal to Elohim. The shortest word is "to·me" (אֵלָ֑י, 3 letters) and the longest is "and·said" (וַיֹּ֣אמֶר, 5 letters). 2 words in this verse appear nowhere else in I Kings. Unique to this verse in I Kings (hapax): "go·yet" (לְכוּ־עֹ֛ד), "and·return" (וְשׁ֣וּבוּ). The root אל appears 2 times in this verse. 8 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·said" (root אמר, 324x in I Kings); "and·they·went" (root הלך, 115x in I Kings); "to·them" (root אל, 102x in I Kings). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'to·me', dividing the verse into phrases of 7 and 2 words. Full calculation: וַיֹּ֣אמֶר [and·said] (257) + אֲלֵיהֶ֗ם [to·them] (86) + לְכוּ־עֹ֛ד [go·yet] (130) + שְׁלֹשָׁ֥ה [three] (635) + יָמִ֖ים [days] (100) + וְשׁ֣וּבוּ [and·return] (320) + אֵלָ֑י [to·me] (41) + וַיֵּלְכ֖וּ [and·they·went] (72) + הָעָֽם [the·people] (115) = 1756.
Metzudat David
Go yet. Meaning: go to your tents and delay yet three days; and after this return to me.
Malbim
And he said to them, “Go yet three days,”—in this there are two commands: 1. That they should go now and postpone their request for three days; 2. That after three days they should return. For in this, their coming a second time is not against his honor, since he commanded them to come. And this is what is said, “and return to Me.”
And king Rehoboam took counsel with the old men, that had stood before Solomon his father while he yet lived, saying: ‘What counsel give you me to return answer to this people?’
verse value 5367
Insights
Verse structure: 18 words, 85 letters. Notable word values: "living" (חַ֖י) = 18, chai, 'life'. The shortest word is "living" (חַ֖י, 2 letters) and the longest is "with·the·old·men" (אֶת־הַזְּקֵנִים֙, 8 letters). 5 words in this verse appear nowhere else in I Kings. Unique to this verse in I Kings (hapax): "with·the·old·men" (אֶת־הַזְּקֵנִים֙), "when·he·was" (בִּֽהְיֹת֥וֹ), "how?" (אֵ֚יךְ). The root יעץ appears 2 times in this verse. 16 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "that·were" (root אשר, 375x in I Kings); "king" (root מלך, 341x in I Kings); "saying" (root אמר, 324x in I Kings). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'saying', dividing the verse into phrases of 12 and 6 words.
Radak
"When he was alive." Why was it necessary to state "when he was alive"? It is well known that when he was alive, they stood before him, not when he was dead. Rather, even after Solomon died, they demonstrated themselves as if they were standing before Solomon as though he were alive, by giving sound counsel to his son Rehoboam.
“How are you consulting?” – Explanation: How are you consulting among yourselves, each with his brother, to give me counsel?
Ralbag
“While he was alive.” This means that they stood before King Solomon to serve as his counselors throughout the days of his life, and therefore he ought to have followed their counsel. However, the evil of his situation caused him to reject the good counsel of the elders and to follow the bad counsel of the youths, in order that the kingship might be given to Jeroboam, as God, blessed be He, had decreed through Ahijah the Shilonite.
Metzudat Zion
Et panim. Before:
Malbim
(6-11) The Questions: Why does verse 6 say, "How do you advise," whereas verse 9 says, "What do you advise"? Why does it first say, "Answer this people with a word," and afterward say, "And we will answer a word to the people," which implies that they too will answer? Why does it place the word "word" first? What is the meaning of "And he forsook [the counsel], etc., that they advised him"? The phrase "that they advised him" is superfluous. Why is there a duplication in "who grew up with him, who stood before him"? What is the meaning of "Thus you shall say to this people," and "Thus you shall speak to them," which is a duplication of language? How can it say, "My little finger is thicker than my father's loins," thereby disparaging his father's honor, when everyone knows that he is considered as nothing compared to his father, who is the wisest of all men?
"And the king took counsel" – up to this point, he was called Rehoboam, for the people did not uphold him as king; rather, he, by his own counsel, upheld himself as ruling on his own authority, without need for the people’s coronation or for fulfilling their request. With this perspective, he consulted the elders who had stood before his father Solomon, who had held unlimited kingship, and they were those who stood before him and were his advisors, and they knew how he had strengthened himself in such a kingship and the stratagems he had employed therein. And this is what is written: "How do you advise?" – and it did not say, as it says later, "What do you advise?" For the word "what" is a question regarding the substance of the counsel itself – whether to fulfill the people’s request or not – and on this he did not consult at all, for he had resolved in his mind not to fulfill their request, but rather to rule over the kingdom with unlimited authority. He only wished to consult in what manner he would drive them away from his presence – whether with gentle words, with deceit, or with harsh and frightening words. And this is what is written: "How do you advise to answer this people a word?" – and later it says "to answer a word to this people," for here the counsel was not about the matter itself, on which his agreement was absolute not to fulfill their desire, but rather how he would answer this people, who are rebels and defiant, and in what manner he would arrange his words.
And 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.’
verse value 4000
Insights
Verse structure: 18 words, 88 letters. Notable word values: "to·them" (אֲלֵיהֶ֖ם) = 86, equal to Elohim. Verse gematria: 4000 is divisible by 50, the years to the Jubilee (yovel). The shortest word is "to·you" (לְךָ֛, 2 letters) and the longest is "you·will·be·a·servant" (תִּֽהְיֶה־עֶ֜בֶד, 7 letters). 6 words in this verse appear nowhere else in I Kings. Unique to this verse in I Kings (hapax): "if·the·day" (אִם־הַ֠יּ֠וֹם), "you·will·be·a·servant" (תִּֽהְיֶה־עֶ֜בֶד), "and·you·will·answer·them" (וַעֲנִיתָ֕ם). The root דבר appears 4 times in this verse. 11 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "saying" (root אמר, 324x in I Kings); "you·will·be·a·servant" (root היה, 196x in I Kings); "and·they·spoke" (root דבר, 191x in I Kings). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'good', dividing the verse into phrases of 14 and 4 words.
Radak
“Be a servant.” This means that you should be submissive to them and serve them according to their will.
"And you shall answer them." As Targum Jonathan renders: "And you shall answer them with good words, and you shall speak with them proper words." And this is also the meaning of the Hebrew, for the sense of "And you shall answer them" is connected with "good words."
Metzudat David
You shall be a servant. Meaning: you will speak in humility like a servant.
And you shall serve them and answer them. You will serve them with words of humility and answer their request with a proper thing; and you will yet add to speak good words beyond even what they had not asked for.
And they shall be yours. And then they will be to you as servants forever; for you will reign over all that your soul desires.
Metzudat Zion
Va'anitem. From the language of answering and response:
Malbim
And they spoke to him, saying: Well did our Sages of blessed memory say concerning this matter: "The demolition of elders is construction." They advised him with great wisdom and understanding to demolish in order to build. They said to him: If you refuse to fulfill their request, they will surely rebel against you and crown as king whomever they deem good in their eyes. And if you begin to compromise with them, how much will the strength of your rule, the taxes, and the labor be diminished? Then they will also grow bold in their faces to request many things, and they will bind you with a curse-oath and with fixed statutes that you will not be able to annul. But the counsel is that you should promise them more than they desire, for you will reply to them that the people are not the slaves of the king, but rather he is the slave of the people, and he must do their will. In this way, you will treat their request as a trivial matter and as something that reason itself necessitates. And thereby you will gain two benefits: First, their spirit will be appeased, and they will cease asking for more, because you have given them more than they asked for. Second, since you will diminish the matter, they will crown you simply, without making you swear an oath or establishing fixed statutes regarding this. And after you have been crowned, you will rule according to your desire, and they will not be able to rebel, for they will fear you. And this is what it says: "If today you will be a servant to this people," meaning that this will be your answer: that you are their servant. And thereby they will no longer impose conditions and statutes, but rather, "and you shall answer and speak to them good words," and this will suffice for them, and they will cease from their anger. And in Chronicles it is written: "If you will be good to this people and please them." There it explains that he should say to them that he is only for the good of this people, not for his own good, and only to fulfill their will, and his desire is nullified because of their desire. And thereby, "and they will be your servants all the days," for your kingship will remain unlimited. And they said precisely: "If today," meaning that you should not wait until three days, but today you should summon them and reply to them that you are their servant, so that it will appear to them that it is a simple matter for you, without need for consultation or deliberation on it. And thereby you will suddenly awaken their eyes, and they will crown you without conditions.
But he forsook the counsel of the old men which they had given him, and took counsel with the young men that were grown up with him, that stood before him.
verse value 4429
Insights
Verse structure: 13 words, 61 letters. The shortest word is "which" (אֲשֶׁ֣ר, 3 letters) and the longest is "with·the·young·men" (אֶת־הַיְלָדִים֙, 8 letters). Words sharing gematria 501: which, that, that. 1 word in this verse appears nowhere else in I Kings. Unique to this verse in I Kings (hapax): "with·the·young·men" (אֶת־הַיְלָדִים֙). The root אשר appears 3 times in this verse. 10 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "which" (root אשר, 375x in I Kings); "to·his·face" (root פנים, 95x in I Kings); "pillar" (root עמד, 29x in I Kings). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'they·advised·him', dividing the verse into phrases of 5 and 8 words. Full calculation: וַֽיַּעֲזֹ֛ב [and·left] (95) + אֶת־עֲצַ֥ת [counsel·of] (961) + הַזְּקֵנִ֖ים [the·old·men] (212) + אֲשֶׁ֣ר [which] (501) + יְעָצֻ֑הוּ [they·advised·him] (181) + וַיִּוָּעַ֗ץ [and·he·took·counsel] (182) + אֶת־הַיְלָדִים֙ [with·the·young·men] (500) + אֲשֶׁ֣ר [that] (501) + גָּדְל֣וּ [grew·up] (43) + אִתּ֔וֹ [with·him] (407) + אֲשֶׁ֥ר [that] (501) + הָעֹמְדִ֖ים [pillar] (169) + לְפָנָֽיו [to·his·face] (176) = 4429.
Radak
"And he abandoned [it]." [Meaning] that their counsel did not seem right in his eyes.
“Who stand before him.” That is, those who stand before him. In other words, he abandoned the counsel of the elders who stand before his father, and instead heeded the counsel of the children who stand before him.
Metzudat David
And he forsook. For they were not right in his eyes.
Who grew up with him. Together from their youth.
And those who stand. And those who were standing before him.
Malbim
"And he forsook..." — [Scripture] relates that he forsook the counsel of the elders because they gave him new advice concerning a matter about which he had not asked at all. For he had asked only how he should answer the people, and he revealed his mind that he did not wish in any way to agree to a limited monarchy. Yet they advised him to fulfill the requests of the people, so that his kingdom would be limited, and about this he had not asked them at all. And he did not understand that only through their counsel would he find a way to do according to his desire. Therefore, he consulted the youths, because he thought that the elders' minds were harsh upon him, to set forth their counsel against his will, and this the youths would not do, because they had grown up with him and would not presume to tell him to humble himself before the people. 2. On the other hand, they were those standing before him, whom he had chosen as princes and counselors in the administration of the kingdom, and in this matter they too had a stake, for in a limited monarchy, the princes of the kingdom are also limited, and in this they would certainly seek schemes so that the kingdom would remain without limitation, for their own benefit.
Cross-references: I Kings 11:33; II Chronicles 10:8
And he said to them: ‘What counsel give you, that we may return answer to this people, who have spoken to me, saying: Make the yoke that your father did put upon us lighter?’
verse value 4757
Insights
Verse structure: 18 words, 74 letters. Notable word values: "to·them" (אֲלֵיהֶ֗ם) = 86, equal to Elohim. The shortest word is "what" (מָ֚ה, 2 letters) and the longest is "consulting" (נֽוֹעָצִ֔ים, 6 letters). 2 words in this verse appear nowhere else in I Kings. Unique to this verse in I Kings (hapax): "and·we·shall·return" (וְנָשִׁ֥יב), "from·the·yoke" (מִן־הָעֹ֔ל). The root אמר appears 2 times in this verse. 13 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "who" (root אשר, 375x in I Kings); "and·said" (root אמר, 324x in I Kings); "word" (root דבר, 191x in I Kings). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'this', dividing the verse into phrases of 9 and 9 words.
Malbim
And he said to them, "What do you advise?" And after he heard from the elders that he could not send the people away empty-handed and that he needed to fulfill their request at least in part, he asked, "What shall we answer?"—meaning, to what extent shall we fulfill their request? And he said, "We shall answer," in the plural, because in matters such as these, which are conditions of the conduct of the monarchy, they are partners in this, inasmuch as they are the officers of the council. And he said, "We shall answer this people with a word," placing the word "word" first, because the essence of the counsel now concerns the matter itself, not the quality of the words and their arrangement. And he said, "Who spoke to me, saying, 'Lighten the yoke'"—for this is what they are consulting about, namely, that they wish to lighten the yoke, which means that the monarchy would be limited.
And the young men that were grown up with him spoke to him, saying: ‘Thus shall you say to this people that spoke to you, saying: Your father made our yoke heavy, but make you it lighter to us; thus shall you speak to them: My little finger is thicker than my father’s loins.
verse value 6364
Insights
Verse structure: 27 words, 111 letters. Notable word values: "to·them" (אֲלֵיהֶ֔ם) = 86, equal to Elohim. Verse gematria: 6364 is divisible by 86, the value of Elohim. The shortest word is "thus" (כֹּ֚ה, 2 letters) and the longest is "and·they·spoke" (וַיְדַבְּר֣וּ, 6 letters). Words sharing gematria 501: that, that. 5 words in this verse appear nowhere else in I Kings. Unique to this verse in I Kings (hapax): "thus·you·shall·say" (כֹּה־תֹאמַ֣ר), "from·upon·us" (מֵעָלֵ֑ינוּ), "my·little·finger" (קׇטׇנִּ֥י). The root דבר appears 3 times in this verse. 18 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "that" (root אשר, 375x in I Kings); "saying" (root אמר, 324x in I Kings); "and·they·spoke" (root דבר, 191x in I Kings). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'from·upon·us', dividing the verse into phrases of 20 and 7 words.
Rashi
My little finger is thick. My little finger:
Radak
"My little [finger] is thick[er]." [Referring to] the small member that is mine, [which] is thicker than my father's loins. And the word *ktani* is difficult grammatically, for if it were derived from the pattern of *katan* (small), its form should be *ktani*, like *gduli* from *gadol* (great). Rather, the qamats remains on the *kuf*, as it was before the pronominal suffix was attached — as it says, from *bagod* [comes] *bogedah*, "her treacherous sister," and from *shalish* [officer, as in] "Bidkar his officer," and similar cases that retained their original vowel. The *nun* is absorbed with a dagesh, and the *cholam* reverts to a *chataf-qamats*. Its meaning is: "I have more strength and vigor than my father had; why should I lighten your yoke?"
"Thick." A past-tense verb for a masculine subject, in the pattern of *asah* (he did). And one could interpret it as an adjective for a feminine noun, and it would be an adjective for his little finger. And the word *etzba* (finger) is both masculine and feminine: the masculine corresponds to the adjective *katan* (small). And the Targum [renders]: "My weakness is mightier than the vigor of [my] father."
Ralbag
"My little finger is thicker than my father's loins." This means that my little finger is taller and thicker than my father's loins. The intent of this statement is that when King Solomon was a young boy, as previously mentioned, and yet you served him with this labor, therefore it is fitting that you serve me with even stronger and more difficult labor, for Rehoboam was forty-one years old at the time of his reign.
Metzudat David
The little. My little finger, it is thicker than my father's two loins. Meaning: I will be yet in a higher station than my father.
Malbim
"And the children who grew up with him spoke to him" — explain that this speech was not on the account that they were standing before him, namely, that they were the officers of the council, for according to their status as the officers of the council who stood at the head of the people, it would not have been fitting for them to speak thus, and they should have been wise enough to realize that it would turn bitter in the end. Rather, they spoke thus because they were children who had grown up with him in folly, and they spoke as those lacking understanding. "Thus you shall say, which they spoke to you" — meaning, behold, they claim, saying: "Your father has laid a heavy yoke upon us," and he persisted in this contrary to the law; therefore, lighten our burden. "We advise: thus you shall say" — "thus you shall speak to them." There is a distinction between "speaking" (dibur) and "saying" (amira). "Saying" is the definitive statement, whereas "speaking" is the presentation of the matter, which elucidates the saying and speaks at length as to why he said so (as written in my composition, HaTorah VeHaMitzvah, Leviticus, §3). And the meaning is: between the saying itself, which is the matter on which they are judged, and the speaking, which is the quality of the words and their presentation — let it be in this manner: you shall say to them, "You claim that my father ruled with force unjustly. Is my little finger not thicker, since it comes from my father's loins?" — meaning, did not my father initiate this governance? And yet you were obligated to listen to him. All the more so am I, who have merit regarding this governance, having inherited it from my father.
Cross-references: I Samuel 6:5; II Chronicles 10:10
And now whereas my father did burden you with a heavy yoke, I will add to your yoke; my father chastised you with whips, but I will chastise you with scorpions.’
verse value 3793
Insights
Verse structure: 17 words, 72 letters. Notable word values: "my·father" (אָבִי֙) = 13, the value of echad ('one') and ahavah ('love'). The shortest word is "yoke" (עֹ֣ל, 2 letters) and the longest is "in·the·scorpions" (בָּעַקְרַבִּֽים, 7 letters). Words sharing gematria 461: you, you. 3 words in this verse appear nowhere else in I Kings. Unique to this verse in I Kings (hapax): "he·loaded" (הֶעְמִ֤יס), "upon·you" (עֲלֵיכֶם֙), "I·will·add" (אוֹסִ֣יף). The root על appears 3 times in this verse. 11 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "upon·you" (root על, 127x in I Kings); "my·father" (root אב, 74x in I Kings); "and·I" (root אני, 34x in I Kings). First appearance of the root יסר ("he·chastised") in I Kings. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'to·your·yoke', dividing the verse into phrases of 9 and 8 words.
Rashi
Scorpions. In the vernacular, "ashgelantir," which sting like a scorpion.
Radak
“העמיס” – The term is used in the sense of “משא” (a load/burden), as in the verse: “And every man loaded his donkey” (Genesis 44:13).
Regarding the word "שוטים" (whips): The Targum of Jonathan renders it "בשרביטין" (with rods), and likewise "שוט" is used [generally] for a horse['s whip]. And "עקרבים" (scorpion-whips) are harsher than these, for they sting with the thorns embedded in them; and Jonathan translated it as "מרגנין."
Ralbag
"With whips." With rods:
"With scorpions." Rods with thorns that pierce and cause pain. And the intent here is that he will increase the burden he imposes on their yoke, and will add to discipline them with a discipline more severe than the discipline with which Solomon disciplined them.
Metzudat David
And now. Since my station is great, I will add to your yoke; for my men and horses will yet increase; and upon you it is to provide.
To chastise you. To fulfill all his need.
And with scorpions. Those that hurt even more.
Metzudat Zion
Ha'amis. A matter of loading a burden; like (Genesis 44:13) 'each loaded upon his donkey' (vi'emosh ish al chamoro):
Yasar. From the language of affliction and beating:
B'shotim. It is like a rod; like (Proverbs 26:3) 'a whip for a horse' (shot l'sus):
Ba'akravin. A species of thorns; like (Ezekiel 2:6) 'and you dwell among thorns' (v'el akravim atah yoshev):
Malbim
And now, reason by a fortiori argument: If my father imposed upon you a heavy yoke, and he had the power to renew the yoke and compel you to bear it, how much more so do I, who have merit in this regard, that I will add to your yoke, for this is lighter than imposing it initially. And if my father had the power to compel you with whips, I will compel you with scorpions, for I have merit and inheritance in an unlimited kingdom.
So Jeroboam and all the people came to Rehoboam the third day, as the king bade, saying: ‘Come to me again the third day.’
verse value 3742
Insights
Verse structure: 14 words, 64 letters. The shortest word is "spoke" (דִּבֶּ֤ר, 3 letters) and the longest is "to·Rehoboam" (אֶל־רְחַבְעָ֖ם, 7 letters). Words sharing gematria 655: third, third. 1 word in this verse appears nowhere else in I Kings. Unique to this verse in I Kings (hapax): "and·went·in" (וַיָּב֨וֹ). The root יום appears 2 times in this verse. 11 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "as" (root אשר, 375x in I Kings); "king" (root מלך, 341x in I Kings); "saying" (root אמר, 324x in I Kings). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'third', dividing the verse into phrases of 6 and 8 words. Full calculation: וַיָּב֨וֹ [and·went·in] (24) + יָרׇבְעָ֧ם [Jeroboam] (322) + וְכׇל־הָעָ֛ם [and·all·the·people] (171) + אֶל־רְחַבְעָ֖ם [to·Rehoboam] (351) + בַּיּ֣וֹם [in·the·day] (58) + הַשְּׁלִישִׁ֑י [third] (655) + כַּאֲשֶׁ֨ר [as] (521) + דִּבֶּ֤ר [spoke] (206) + הַמֶּ֙לֶךְ֙ [king] (95) + לֵאמֹ֔ר [saying] (271) + שׁ֥וּבוּ [return] (314) + אֵלַ֖י [to·me] (41) + בַּיּ֥וֹם [in·the·day] (58) + הַשְּׁלִישִֽׁי [third] (655) = 3742.
Radak
"Vayavo Jeroboam" [and Jeroboam came]. It is written with a vav, but read with an aleph, and they are one and the same, for the letters aleph-heh-vav-yod are interchangeable.
Ralbag
And behold, on the third day, when the people came to him at Shechem, he answered them harshly, according to the counsel of the youths:
Malbim
"And he came, etc., as the king had spoken" means that upon their second coming, it was not fitting for his anger to be kindled over this, for he had commanded them, "Return to Me on the third day" (as stated above, verse 5).
And the king answered the people roughly, and forsook the counsel of the old men which they had given him;
verse value 3102
Insights
Verse structure: 9 words, 40 letters. The shortest word is "hard" (קָשָׁ֑ה, 3 letters) and the longest is "the·old·men" (הַזְּקֵנִ֖ים, 6 letters). Words sharing gematria 95: king, and·left. 9 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "which" (root אשר, 375x in I Kings); "king" (root מלך, 341x in I Kings). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'hard', dividing the verse into phrases of 4 and 5 words. Full calculation: וַיַּ֧עַן [and·he·answered] (136) + הַמֶּ֛לֶךְ [king] (95) + אֶת־הָעָ֖ם [the·people] (516) + קָשָׁ֑ה [hard] (405) + וַֽיַּעֲזֹ֛ב [and·left] (95) + אֶת־עֲצַ֥ת [counsel·of] (961) + הַזְּקֵנִ֖ים [the·old·men] (212) + אֲשֶׁ֥ר [which] (501) + יְעָצֻֽהוּ [they·advised·him] (181) = 3102.
Malbim
(13-15) The Questions: What is the meaning of “And he answered,” etc., and “He abandoned the counsel of the elders”? Did he not already say (verse 8) “He abandoned the counsel of the elders”? Why did he repeat his words? Furthermore, it should have been stated, “He abandoned the counsel of the elders and answered the people harshly.” And from the words “And the king did not listen to the people,” which are superfluous:
And the king answered: This means that, in truth, the counsel of the elders and the counsel of the young men both aimed at the same ultimate goal, namely, that he should reign with an unlimited monarchy. They only differed regarding the means to be chosen for this purpose. The elders advised him that this should be achieved by answering them with a gentle response, whereas the young men advised him that this would be attained by answering them harshly, thereby instilling his fear in them. According to this, in the substance of the answer he gave—that he did not wish to limit his monarchy—he did not abandon the counsel of the elders at all. However, in the fact that he answered the people harshly, he had already departed from the counsel of the elders, for thereby the anger of the people was kindled against him. Nevertheless, there would still have been a remedy if he had fulfilled their desire to truly limit his monarchy and had bound himself, by tradition, to the laws of kingship according to the people's wish. In that case, they would not have taken offense at his harsh words, since they had achieved their request. But even so:
and spoke to them after the counsel of the young men, saying: ‘My father made your yoke heavy, but I will add to your yoke; my father chastised you with whips, but I will chastise you with scorpions.’
verse value 4685
Insights
Verse structure: 19 words, 87 letters. Notable word values: "to·them" (אֲלֵיהֶ֗ם) = 86, equal to Elohim. The shortest word is "my·father" (אָבִי֙, 3 letters) and the longest is "in·the·scorpions" (בָּעַקְרַבִּֽים, 7 letters). Words sharing gematria 461: you, you. 3 words in this verse appear nowhere else in I Kings. Unique to this verse in I Kings (hapax): "as·counsel·of" (כַּעֲצַ֤ת), "your·yoke" (אֶֽת־עֻלְּכֶ֔ם), "I·will·add" (אֹסִ֣יף). The root אב appears 2 times in this verse. 14 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "saying" (root אמר, 324x in I Kings); "and·spoke" (root דבר, 191x in I Kings); "to·your·yoke" (root על, 127x in I Kings). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'to·your·yoke', dividing the verse into phrases of 11 and 8 words.
Malbim
"And he spoke to them" – according to the counsel of the young men, meaning that he did not wish to fulfill their words, and that the law was on his side, and that he would compel them regarding this matter.
So the king hearkened not to the people; for it was a thing brought about of Hashem, that He might establish His word, which Hashem spoke by the hand of Ahijah the Shilonite to Jeroboam the son of Nebat.
verse value 3983
Insights
Verse structure: 18 words, 80 letters. Notable word values: "Hashem" (יְהֹוָ֔ה) = 26, the value of the divine name Hashem. The shortest word is "turn of events" (סִבָּה֙, 3 letters) and the longest is "to·Jeroboam" (אֶל־יָרׇבְעָ֖ם, 7 letters). Words sharing gematria 26: Hashem, Hashem. 5 words in this verse appear nowhere else in I Kings. Unique to this verse in I Kings (hapax): "and·not·hearkened" (וְלֹא־שָׁמַ֥ע), "for·it·was" (כִּֽי־הָיְתָ֤ה), "turn of events" (סִבָּה֙). The root איל appears 2 times in this verse. 15 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "which" (root אשר, 375x in I Kings); "king" (root מלך, 341x in I Kings); "Hashem" (root יהוה, 254x in I Kings). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'to·the·people', dividing the verse into phrases of 3 and 15 words.
Radak
"And the king did not listen to the people." [Meaning: he did not listen] so as to lighten their yoke, as they had said to him:
Metzudat David
To the people. Those who asked to lighten their yoke.
For it was a cause. Meaning: not on account of the greatness of his folly did he answer what he answered, but it was from the Lord.
To Jeroboam. That he will reign.
Metzudat Zion
Sava. A matter of encompassing the thing and its cause:
Malbim
And that he did not listen—there is no doubt that they still reasoned with him and showed him that he would not rule over them by means of a rod of affliction against their will. And it was fitting that he should listen to the people and see the end of the matter from its beginning. However, this was a cause brought about by the Lord in order to establish His word which the Lord had spoken through Ahijah the Shilonite to Jeroboam son of Nebat. That is to say, although a prophecy that a prophet utters for the evil of a single person may sometimes be changed if that person improves his deeds, this is not so when the prophecy is intertwined with good for another person, as is the case here, where the evil concerning Rehoboam was a promise of good for Jeroboam. And regarding this it says, "which the Lord spoke to Jeroboam," meaning that the Lord is the attribute of mercy that indicates the promise of good, and a prophecy of this kind will not be changed in any way.
And when all Israel saw that the king hearkened 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.
verse value 6104
Insights
Verse structure: 25 words, 111 letters. The shortest word is "that" (כִּ֠י, 2 letters) and the longest is "all·Israel" (כׇּל־יִשְׂרָאֵ֗ל, 7 letters). Words sharing gematria 541: Israel, Israel. 7 words in this verse appear nowhere else in I Kings. Unique to this verse in I Kings (hapax): "not·he·hearkened" (לֹא־שָׁמַ֣ע), "what·to·us" (מַה־לָּ֩נוּ֩), "portion" (חֵ֨לֶק). The root ראה appears 2 times in this verse. 20 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "king" (root מלך, 341x in I Kings); "saying" (root אמר, 324x in I Kings); "word" (root דבר, 191x in I Kings). First appearance of the root חלק ("portion") in I Kings. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'David', dividing the verse into phrases of 22 and 3 words.
Rashi
"See your house." The Temple that you built shall be for you alone.
Radak
“What share do we have in David?” – according to its plain meaning, as a question, namely: What further share do we have in him, since he does not heed our voice and has said that he will make our yoke heavy? Who can compel us to have a share in him? And the reason he mentions David is because he was the beginning of the monarchy; so [Rehoboam,] his son or grandson, is called “David.” Similarly, “And David My servant shall be prince over them forever.” And the Targum renders “What” as “Not,” saying: “We have no share in David, nor inheritance in the son of Jesse.”
“See to your house.” That is to say, see who remains with you and over which house you will reign, for not over the house of Israel. And the Targum [translates]: “Now, reign over the men of your house, David.” And in the midrashic interpretation: “See to your house, David” refers to the Temple.
Ralbag
And they answered him, saying, “We have no portion in David, nor do we have an inheritance in the son of Jesse.” This means: they need not worry if they separate from him, i.e., from his lineage. And they said to him, “See to your own house, O David!” This means: See what remains for you as a house to rule over, for in truth you will not reign over Israel. So they turned away from him and went on their way. Then King Rehoboam sent Adoram, who was over the forced labor, to bring them back and to speak to them with his words. But they stoned him with stones, and he died. And King Rehoboam was compelled to strengthen himself and to mount his chariot immediately to flee to Jerusalem, so that they would not kill him.
Metzudat David
What have we. Meaning: what is the portion given to us on account of David, that we be servants to his seed?
And we have no inheritance. But no inheritance was given to us on account of the son of Jesse.
To your tents, Israel. You, Israel, come to your tents; and do not make him king.
Now. Meaning: you, Rehoboam who comes from David -- from now attend to your own house like any person of the people; and you have no business with the kingship.
Malbim
And all Israel saw that the king did not heed them. For had he answered them according to the counsel of the elders, even though the wise men of the people would have understood that he was being cunning and that he would later return to rule over them, the people as a whole would not have understood this and would have been satisfied with his words. But now, since they all saw that he did not heed them, the people answered, "We have no portion in David." That is to say, the people would choose one house from which to establish a king for two reasons: first, if the kingship has descended in that house from ancient times and the monarchy is his hereditary possession; second, if they derive benefit from the man they wish to crown, because he is from their tribe and they have a share in his kingship on that account. In contrast, they said, "We have no portion in David himself," because he is not from our tribe, and there is no hereditary right due to the descent of the kingship from ancient times, since he is the son of Jesse, and Jesse was a commoner. Therefore, his kingship depends on our consent. "To your tents, O Israel! Now look to your own House, O David"—this intimates that the House of David was built from the tents of Israel: they abandoned their tents and built his house, and his house was constructed from the ruins of their tents; and if they return to their tents, he will have no house. "So Israel went to their tents."
Cross-references: II Samuel 20:1; II Chronicles 10:16
But as for the children of Israel that dwelt in the cities of Judah, Rehoboam reigned over them.
verse value 1869
Insights
Verse structure: 8 words, 39 letters. The shortest word is "and·sons·of" (וּבְנֵ֣י, 4 letters) and the longest is "that·dwell" (הַיֹּשְׁבִ֖ים, 6 letters). 8 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·he·reigned" (root מלך, 341x in I Kings); "over·them" (root על, 127x in I Kings); "Israel" (root ישראל, 120x in I Kings). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'Judah', dividing the verse into phrases of 5 and 3 words. Full calculation: וּבְנֵ֣י [and·sons·of] (68) + יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל [Israel] (541) + הַיֹּשְׁבִ֖ים [that·dwell] (367) + בְּעָרֵ֣י [in·cities·of] (282) + יְהוּדָ֑ה [Judah] (30) + וַיִּמְלֹ֥ךְ [and·he·reigned] (106) + עֲלֵיהֶ֖ם [over·them] (155) + רְחַבְעָֽם [Rehoboam] (320) = 1869.
Radak
"And Rehoboam reigned over them." He reigned over them, and the vav [in "וימלוך"] is like the vav in "and Abraham took" ["וישא אברהם"], and other cases similar to it.
Malbim
"And the children of Israel, etc." – This means that although they separated from him in anger and did not gather together to choose another king, for each man went to his own tent, they did not accept his kingship nor did they choose another in his place. Only the children of Israel dwelling in the cities of Judah—including the tribe of Judah, Benjamin, and other tribes residing in these regions—accepted Rehoboam as their king immediately. The remaining tribes remained without a king and had not yet rebelled against him. Had he left them [in that state], there would still have been hope; but:
Then king Rehoboam sent Adoram, who was over the levy; and all Israel stoned him with stones, so that he died. And king Rehoboam made speed to get him up to his chariot, to flee to Jerusalem.
verse value 5988
Insights
Verse structure: 18 words, 86 letters. The shortest word is "at·him" (בּ֛וֹ, 2 letters) and the longest is "all·Israel" (כׇל־יִשְׂרָאֵ֥ל, 7 letters). Words sharing gematria 536: made·speed, to·go·up. 4 words in this verse appear nowhere else in I Kings. Unique to this verse in I Kings (hapax): "Adoram" (אֶת־אֲדֹרָם֙), "and·stoned" (וַיִּרְגְּמ֨וּ), "made·speed" (הִתְאַמֵּץ֙). The root מלך appears 2 times in this verse. 15 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "who" (root אשר, 375x in I Kings); "king" (root מלך, 341x in I Kings); "all·Israel" (root כל, 86x in I Kings). First appearance of the root בו ("at·him") in I Kings. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'and·he·died', dividing the verse into phrases of 11 and 7 words.
Rashi
Adoram. He is Adoniram:
Radak
"[He sent] Adoram." He sent him after them, that they should return to him and accept him as king; but they stoned him. And when Rehoboam learned that they had stoned him, he knew that the conspiracy was strong, and he made haste to mount his chariot and flee.
Metzudat David
And the king sent. He sent to the people to return them with words of gentleness.
He exerted himself, etc. For he feared for his life.
Metzudat Zion
Vargamu. The throwing of stones is called ragima:
Hita'amatz. From the language of strength; I mean: be strong:
Malbim
"And he sent Adoram" – in this he acted foolishly: he sent Adoram, who had been appointed as the tax collector in the days of Solomon, and upon whom the people's resentment had fallen due to the heavy taxes. He sent him to collect the tax, to show that he desired to take the tax from them by a strong hand, as before. And through this, they became exceedingly indignant, and they stoned him, and the king was forced to flee. And then:
Cross-references: II Samuel 20:24; II Chronicles 10:18
So Israel rebelled against the house of David, to this day.
verse value 1593
Insights
Verse structure: 7 words, 27 letters. The shortest word is "until" (עַ֖ד, 2 letters) and the longest is "and·they·rebelled" (וַיִּפְשְׁע֤וּ, 6 letters). 1 word in this verse appears nowhere else in I Kings. Unique to this verse in I Kings (hapax): "and·they·rebelled" (וַיִּפְשְׁע֤וּ). 7 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "against·house·of" (root בית, 191x in I Kings); "Israel" (root ישראל, 120x in I Kings); "day" (root יום, 100x in I Kings). Full calculation: וַיִּפְשְׁע֤וּ [and·they·rebelled] (472) + יִשְׂרָאֵל֙ [Israel] (541) + בְּבֵ֣ית [against·house·of] (414) + דָּוִ֔ד [David] (14) + עַ֖ד [until] (74) + הַיּ֥וֹם [day] (61) + הַזֶּֽה [this] (17) = 1593.
Metzudat Zion
Vifshe'u. They rebelled; like (II Kings 8:22) 'and Edom rebelled' (vayifsha Edom):
Malbim
And Israel rebelled, revolting completely, and now they were compelled to appoint for themselves a king who would stand against Rehoboam, who sought to compel them by force.
And it came to pass, when all Israel heard that Jeroboam was returned, 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.
verse value 5663
Insights
Verse structure: 19 words, 96 letters. The shortest word is "not" (לֹ֤א, 2 letters) and the longest is "over·all·Israel" (עַל־כׇּל־יִשְׂרָאֵ֑ל, 9 letters). Words sharing gematria 407: him, him. 5 words in this verse appear nowhere else in I Kings. Unique to this verse in I Kings (hapax): "that·he·returned" (כִּֽי־שָׁ֣ב), "to·the·congregation" (אֶל־הָ֣עֵדָ֔ה), "and·they·made·king" (וַיַּמְלִ֥יכוּ). The root היה appears 2 times in this verse. 17 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·they·made·king" (root מלך, 341x in I Kings); "and·it·was" (root היה, 196x in I Kings); "house·of·David" (root בית, 191x in I Kings). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'over·all·Israel', dividing the verse into phrases of 12 and 7 words.
Radak
“And it came to pass when all Israel heard” (1 Kings 12:20): After all Israel had gone to their tents, and Jeroboam returned to his place where his father’s house and family were, the Israelites assembled, though it is not mentioned in which place. It is possible that they returned to Shechem, and for this reason he built it to serve as his royal residence. They sent and summoned Jeroboam to come to the assembly at the place where they had gathered, and they anointed him king over all Israel.
The tribe of Judah alone. We have already written that the tribe of Benjamin is included within the tribe of Judah, for Jerusalem was situated between them, and whoever is crowned king in Jerusalem will certainly reign over both. Therefore, the tribe of Benjamin is included within the tribe of Judah.
Ralbag
"Except for the tribe of Judah alone." This is to increase the tribe of Judah in relation to the tribe of Benjamin; [the verse] did not count the tribe of Benjamin as included, since the inheritance of the children of Benjamin was within the inheritance of the children of Judah.
Metzudat David
At the news of all Israel. For the elders of the congregation alone sent after him from then on; and they knew of him and saw him. And after a time it was heard by all that he returned from Egypt.
Except the tribe of Judah. And even the children of Benjamin were included with them; for Jerusalem the city of kingship was an inheritance for both of them. And on account of the honor of the tribe of Judah they were not mentioned, for they are only subordinate to them.
Malbim
The Questions: What is the meaning of the verse “And it came to pass when they heard that Jeroboam had returned,” which implies that they heard of it at this point and summoned him? Yet they had already summoned him initially, as stated in verse 2.
"And it came to pass when [all Israel] heard" – that is to say, earlier still, at the time when Jeroboam returned from Egypt, they sent and called him, for I have already explained that they called him twice: first, that he should return from Egypt, and this was done by some of his friends; second, after he returned, the entire congregation called upon him to go at their head, and from then on they set their eyes on him to lift their hand at the time of need, just as he had raised his hand against King Solomon. Therefore, now they made him king. And from then on, there remained for the House of David nothing but the tribe of Judah alone, for until now they were still hesitating between the two options.
And when Rehoboam was come to Jerusalem, he assembled all the house of Judah, and the tribe of Benjamin, a hundred and fourscore thousand chosen men that were warriors, to fight against the house of Israel, to bring the kingdom back to Rehoboam the son of Solomon.
verse value 6988
Insights
Verse structure: 22 words, 112 letters. The shortest word is "hundred" (מֵאָ֨ה, 3 letters) and the longest is "the·kingdom" (לְהָשִׁיב֙אֶת־הַמְּל, 10 letters). 6 words in this verse appear nowhere else in I Kings. Unique to this verse in I Kings (hapax): "and·he·assembled" (וַיַּקְהֵל֩), "and·tribe·of" (וְאֶת־שֵׁ֣בֶט), "youth" (בָּח֖וּר). The root בוא appears 2 times in this verse. 19 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "all·house·of" (root בית, 191x in I Kings); "son·of·Solomon" (root שלמה, 162x in I Kings); "doing" (root עשה, 143x in I Kings). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'battle', dividing the verse into phrases of 15 and 7 words.
Rashi
“And the tribe of Benjamin.” [This refers to] those who stand on the border, for the border of Judah and the border of Benjamin were adjacent to one another.
Ralbag
“And all the house of Judah and Benjamin and the rest of the people.” This is a sign that he reigned over Judah and Benjamin, and also there were with him from the other tribes, and this is what it says, “and the rest of the people.” And I suppose that they were dwelling in Jerusalem from all the tribes, and those remained with Rehoboam. It is also possible that a small portion from the tribe of Simeon remained in the kingdom of Rehoboam, because the inheritance of Simeon was scattered within the inheritance of the children of Judah, as is mentioned in the Book of Joshua.
Malbim
"And they assembled" [to make war], because they thought that the Lord would save them after the kingship was assured to the seed of the House of David, and this is what it says: "to restore the kingship to Rehoboam, son of Solomon."
But the word of God came to Shemaiah the man of God, saying:
verse value 1457
Insights
Verse structure: 6 words, 33 letters. The shortest word is "word·of" (דְּבַ֣ר, 3 letters) and the longest is "man·of·God" (אִישׁ־הָאֱלֹהִ֖ים, 9 letters). 1 word in this verse appears nowhere else in I Kings. Unique to this verse in I Kings (hapax): "to·Shemaiah" (אֶל־שְׁמַֽעְיָ֥ה). 6 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "saying" (root אמר, 324x in I Kings); "and·it·was" (root היה, 196x in I Kings); "word·of" (root דבר, 191x in I Kings). Full calculation: וַֽיְהִי֙ [and·it·was] (31) + דְּבַ֣ר [word·of] (206) + הָאֱלֹהִ֔ים [God] (91) + אֶל־שְׁמַֽעְיָ֥ה [to·Shemaiah] (456) + אִישׁ־הָאֱלֹהִ֖ים [man·of·God] (402) + לֵאמֹֽר [saying] (271) = 1457.
’Speak to Rehoboam the son of Solomon, king of Judah, and to all the house of Judah and Benjamin, and to the rest of the people, saying:
verse value 2838
Insights
Verse structure: 11 words, 55 letters. Verse gematria: 2838 is divisible by 86, the value of Elohim. The shortest word is "say" (אֱמֹ֗ר, 3 letters) and the longest is "and·to·all·house·of" (וְאֶל־כׇּל־בֵּ֥ית, 8 letters). Words sharing gematria 30: Judah, Judah. 2 words in this verse appear nowhere else in I Kings. Unique to this verse in I Kings (hapax): "and·to·all·house·of" (וְאֶל־כׇּל־בֵּ֥ית), "and·Benjamin" (וּבִנְיָמִ֑ין). The root אמר appears 2 times in this verse. 9 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "king" (root מלך, 341x in I Kings); "say" (root אמר, 324x in I Kings); "and·to·all·house·of" (root בית, 191x in I Kings). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'and·Benjamin', dividing the verse into phrases of 8 and 3 words. Full calculation: אֱמֹ֗ר [say] (241) + אֶל־רְחַבְעָ֤ם [to·Rehoboam] (351) + בֶּן־שְׁלֹמֹה֙ [son·of·Solomon] (427) + מֶ֣לֶךְ [king] (90) + יְהוּדָ֔ה [Judah] (30) + וְאֶל־כׇּל־בֵּ֥ית [and·to·all·house·of] (499) + יְהוּדָ֖ה [Judah] (30) + וּבִנְיָמִ֑ין [and·Benjamin] (168) + וְיֶ֥תֶר [and·remainder·of] (616) + הָעָ֖ם [the·people] (115) + לֵאמֹֽר [saying] (271) = 2838.
Metzudat David
And the rest of the people. For many from the remaining tribes dwelt in the territory of Judah and Benjamin.
Thus says Hashem: You shall not go up, nor fight against your brethren the children of Israel; return every man to his house; for this thing is of Me.’ So they hearkened to the word of Hashem, and returned and went their way, according to the word of Hashem. .
verse value 6165
Insights
Verse structure: 22 words, 100 letters. Notable word values: "Hashem" (יְהֹוָ֡ה) = 26, the value of the divine name Hashem. The shortest word is "thus" (כֹּ֣ה, 2 letters) and the longest is "and·not·you·shall·fight" (וְלֹא־תִלָּ֨חֲמ֜וּן, 9 letters). Words sharing gematria 26: Hashem, Hashem, Hashem. 3 words in this verse appear nowhere else in I Kings. Unique to this verse in I Kings (hapax): "not·go·up" (לֹא־תַעֲלוּ֩), "and·not·you·shall·fight" (וְלֹא־תִלָּ֨חֲמ֜וּן), "with·your·brethren" (עִם־אֲחֵיכֶ֣ם). The root יהוה appears 3 times in this verse. 17 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "said" (root אמר, 324x in I Kings); "Hashem" (root יהוה, 254x in I Kings); "has·happened" (root היה, 196x in I Kings). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'this', dividing the verse into phrases of 15 and 7 words.
Ralbag
“Return, each man to his house, for this matter has come from Me.” This teaches that one who disputes the intent and will of God will not succeed.
Metzudat David
It is from Me. By providence came the matter, not by chance.
Malbim
"You shall not go up to fight against them in their cities," and "you shall not fight" [means] that you should not summon them to battle, as in "Come, let us face one another." "Return, each man to his house" means that you need not stand armed for battle out of fear that they would come to make war against you in your land, for this matter has come about from Me, that the ten tribes belong to Jeroboam and the tribe of Judah to the House of David. [Here it says] "and they returned to go," whereas in Chronicles it is written, "and they returned from going against Jeroboam" — meaning that there were two commands: 1. "Do not go up to fight against him," and this is what is stated in Chronicles, "and they returned from going"; 2. "Return, each man to his house," and this is what is stated here, "and they returned to go," which means, "each man to his house."
Then Jeroboam built Shechem in the hill-country of Ephraim, and dwelt therein; and he went out from thence, and built Penuel.
verse value 3137
Insights
Verse structure: 11 words, 46 letters. The shortest word is "in·her" (בָּ֑הּ, 2 letters) and the longest is "Penuel" (אֶת־פְּנוּאֵֽל, 7 letters). Words sharing gematria 68: and·he·built, and·he·built. 2 words in this verse appear nowhere else in I Kings. Unique to this verse in I Kings (hapax): "Shechem" (אֶת־שְׁכֶ֛ם), "Penuel" (אֶת־פְּנוּאֵֽל). The root בנה appears 2 times in this verse. 10 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·he·built" (root בנה, 66x in I Kings); "from·there" (root שם, 66x in I Kings); "and·dwelt" (root ישב, 52x in I Kings). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'in·her', dividing the verse into phrases of 7 and 4 words. Full calculation: וַיִּ֨בֶן [and·he·built] (68) + יָרׇבְעָ֧ם [Jeroboam] (322) + אֶת־שְׁכֶ֛ם [Shechem] (761) + בְּהַ֥ר [in·mountain·of] (207) + אֶפְרַ֖יִם [Ephraim] (331) + וַיֵּ֣שֶׁב [and·dwelt] (318) + בָּ֑הּ [in·her] (7) + וַיֵּצֵ֣א [and·he·went·out] (107) + מִשָּׁ֔ם [from·there] (380) + וַיִּ֖בֶן [and·he·built] (68) + אֶת־פְּנוּאֵֽל [Penuel] (568) = 3137.
Radak
"And Jeroboam built Shechem." We cannot say that it had been in ruins since the time Abimelech destroyed it, for it is not plausible that they would have left it in ruins for more than two hundred years; moreover, there the Israelites assembled to crown Rehoboam king — certainly it was a built-up city. Rather, the meaning of "and he built" is that he strengthened the city's walls and built in it a royal palace. And likewise, "and he built Penuel" — not that it had been in ruins since the time Gideon demolished the tower of Penuel, but that he strengthened its fortifications, for he feared that Rehoboam might wage war against him. He strengthened these two cities, for Rehoboam too built fortress cities, as it states in the Book of Chronicles (Divrei HaYamim).
Ralbag
"And Jeroboam built Shechem in the hill country of Ephraim." This means that he strengthened its construction and added to the city, in the manner appropriate for a royal capital. Similarly is the intent in the statement "and he built Penuel," meaning that he strengthened its construction, for those places were already built prior to this.
Metzudat David
And he built. To be a fortress city, to be secure in it.
Malbim
"And Jeroboam built" — he did not need to build fortified cities, as Rehoboam did, as mentioned in Chronicles. For he relied on the multitude of his people; rather, he built for himself a royal city, and Penuel. And in the commentary on Hosea (2:12) it is explained what was his intention in building these two specific cities.
And Jeroboam said in his heart: ‘Now will the kingdom return to the house of David.
verse value 2398
Insights
Verse structure: 8 words, 34 letters. The shortest word is "now" (עַתָּ֛ה, 3 letters) and the longest is "kingdom" (הַמַּמְלָכָ֖ה, 6 letters). 1 word in this verse appears nowhere else in I Kings. Unique to this verse in I Kings (hapax): "kingdom" (הַמַּמְלָכָ֖ה). 7 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·said" (root אמר, 324x in I Kings); "to·house·of" (root בית, 191x in I Kings); "David" (root דוד, 69x in I Kings). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'in·his·heart', dividing the verse into phrases of 3 and 5 words. Full calculation: וַיֹּ֥אמֶר [and·said] (257) + יָרׇבְעָ֖ם [Jeroboam] (322) + בְּלִבּ֑וֹ [in·his·heart] (40) + עַתָּ֛ה [now] (475) + תָּשׁ֥וּב [shall·return] (708) + הַמַּמְלָכָ֖ה [kingdom] (140) + לְבֵ֥ית [to·house·of] (442) + דָּוִֽד [David] (14) = 2398.
Metzudat David
Now it shall return. Meaning: quickly and in a near time.
Malbim
And Jeroboam said: but in contrast to this, another fear arose in his heart: that if the people would go up for the pilgrimage, their hearts would return to their lord, and they would reconcile with him, kill me, and subsequently return to Rehoboam in deed.
If this people go up to offer sacrifices in the house of Hashem at Jerusalem, then will the heart of this people turn back to their lord, even to Rehoboam king of Judah; and they will kill me, and return to Rehoboam king of Judah.’
verse value 4332
Insights
Verse structure: 19 words, 96 letters. The shortest word is "heart·of" (לֵ֣ב, 2 letters) and the longest is "in·house·of·Hashem" (בְּבֵית־יְהֹוָה֙, 8 letters). Words sharing gematria 351: to·Rehoboam, to·Rehoboam. 4 words in this verse appear nowhere else in I Kings. Unique to this verse in I Kings (hapax): "if·he·goes·up" (אִֽם־יַעֲלֶ֣ה), "in·house·of·Hashem" (בְּבֵית־יְהֹוָה֙), "and·will·return" (וְ֠שָׁ֠ב). The root איל appears 3 times in this verse. 13 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "king" (root מלך, 341x in I Kings); "in·house·of·Hashem" (root יהוה, 254x in I Kings); "to·do" (root עשה, 143x in I Kings). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'Judah', dividing the verse into phrases of 15 and 4 words.
Rashi
"If this people shall go up..." There is no sitting in the Temple Court except for the kings of the House of David alone, and it will be that he sits and I stand. And at the conclusion of the Sabbatical Year, at the time of the assembly, he will read the portion of the king, who is the head of his state, and I [will be] like the rest of the people, and I will be found humiliated (Sanhedrin 101b).
Radak
"If this people goes up" — when they go up. And similarly, "And if the Jubilee comes for the children of Israel" — as it will come. That is to say, since they are in any case required to go up to Jerusalem three times a year, all of Israel, besides going up individually to sacrifice on other days of the year, it is impossible that Rehoboam will not incline their hearts to him, and they will return to their lord, for he is their lord, a king, the son of a king, and it is easy to incline their hearts to him. And I must take counsel so that they will not go up to Jerusalem, for if they go up, they will return to their lord, and they will kill me, so that I will no longer be able to maintain the monarchy. And according to the words of our Sages of blessed memory, what is meant by "and they will kill me"? We have learned that sitting in the Temple Court is permitted only for the kings of the House of David alone. Since they see Rehoboam sitting and I standing, they will think that I am a rebel against the monarchy, for if I were king, I would be sitting, and they will kill me and follow after him. And furthermore, in their words: "On the day after the Sabbatical year, King Jeroboam said: It is written, 'At the appointed time, at the end of every seven years, in the season of ingathering, in the year of release, you shall read this Torah before all Israel' (Deuteronomy 31:10-11). If I wish to read, they will say that the king of the city should read first. And if I read second, it is a disgrace to me. And if I do not read, it is an insult to me."
Ralbag
"If this people will go up": This means, if I allow this people to go up and offer sacrifices in the House of the Lord in Jerusalem during the three pilgrimage festivals, as the Torah obligates them, then the heart of the people will return to their Master, upon seeing His glory in Jerusalem and the glory of the House of the Lord, for Solomon left a great wealth to Rehoboam.
Metzudat David
If they go up. When this people goes up, etc.
And their heart shall return. To love him and desire him, seeing that to him alone belongs the right to sit in the [Temple] court, and not to any other.
And they shall return to Rehoboam. To be he king over them.
Whereupon the king took counsel, and made two calves of gold; and he said to them: ‘You have gone up long enough to Jerusalem; behold your gods, O Israel, which brought you up out of the land of Egypt.’
verse value 4917
Insights
Verse structure: 18 words, 78 letters. The shortest word is "two·of" (שְׁנֵ֖י, 3 letters) and the longest is "Jerusalem" (יְרוּשָׁלִַ֔ם, 6 letters). 3 words in this verse appear nowhere else in I Kings. Unique to this verse in I Kings (hapax): "calves·of" (עֶגְלֵ֣י), "much·to·you" (רַב־לָכֶם֙), "brought·you·up" (הֶעֱל֖וּךָ). The root עלה appears 2 times in this verse. 17 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "which" (root אשר, 375x in I Kings); "king" (root מלך, 341x in I Kings); "and·said" (root אמר, 324x in I Kings). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'gold', dividing the verse into phrases of 6 and 12 words.
Radak
"And the king took counsel." He sought advice as to what he should do, and his counsel agreed with those who advised him that he should make two calves. Why calves? He seduced them with words, saying to them: "Do you not know that the kingdom has been divided by the will of God, as Ahijah the Shilonite the prophet said to me? If so, God did not desire the kingdom of the House of David, nor did He desire Jerusalem, which is the kingdom of the House of David. Therefore, let us make another place to which you may come and offer sacrifices there." Why a calf? He said to them: "Did not Aaron make a calf for Israel in order to cause the Divine Presence to rest upon it in place of Moses, since they did not have him? Likewise, you now do not have the place of the Divine Presence, which is Jerusalem. Let us make a calf in its place in order to cause the Divine Presence to rest upon it." Therefore, he said, "These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up from the land of Egypt," just as it was said regarding the calf in the wilderness, for his intention was not for idolatrous worship. Why did he make two? In order not to burden Israel by having them all come to one place.
Ralbag
“And the king took counsel.” This means that he devised a plan regarding this matter in such a way that the monarchy would not be removed from him. He made for himself two golden calves, drew the hearts of the people to him, and said to them, “It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem. Behold, your journey is long and arduous; if you all go up to Jerusalem, it will be a great burden upon you.” For this reason, he also made for them two calves, so that they would not all need to go to one place, as it would be heavy upon them. For this reason as well, he appointed priests from any tribe whatsoever, because prior to the building of the Temple, after the destruction of the Tabernacle at Shiloh, service was permitted for non-priests. It was as if he deceived them, saying that through this they could now serve outside the Temple. And by this means they would be more appeased, so that all the honor and greatness would not reside in the tribe of Levi. It is a wonder how Israel agreed to his counsel to transgress the words of the Torah in this matter: to offer sacrifices outside [the Temple] after the prohibition of high places, and through non-priests, and to believe in the golden calves that they were the gods who brought Israel out of the land of Egypt. It seemed as though Israel did not engage in Torah, but rather were eating, drinking, and rejoicing, as had previously occurred at the beginning of Solomon’s reign. And this was the cause of their downfall in these sins, along with the fact that they had already seen in the days of Solomon that abominations were committed in Jerusalem, the abominations of the nations among whom Solomon had intermarried. From this place, these sins broke out throughout all Israel. It seemed as though he said to them, “What need have you to go up to Jerusalem, where the gods that the nations serve are present? It is better that we serve the gods that our fathers served, which was done through Aaron, who was a prophet to be a substitute for Moses for Israel.” And they said of them, “These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt.”
Metzudat David
And the king took counsel. With his counselors.
It is too much for you. Meaning: the distance is too great for you, more than you should go up to Jerusalem.
Here are your gods, O Israel. He seduced them to say that the Shechinah would rest upon the golden calves. And just as they had previously erred with the calf that Aaron made, for this reason he speaks in this very language, as is said (Exodus 32:8): 'These are your gods, O Israel,' etc.
Malbim
The Questions: How did he advise making the golden calves, when the Israelites already knew of the wrath that had come upon them for the sin of the calf? He should have built another sanctuary at Bethel, modeled after the Sanctuary in Jerusalem. Why did he make two calves and place them in two different locations? Regarding the verse, “And this thing became a sin,” why didn’t he say this at the end of the matter? After all, at the end of Chapter 12, it says again, “And this thing became a sin to the house of Jeroboam.” Why did they go before one calf “as far as Dan,” implying they did not go before the other? Why did it say three times, “And he went up to the altar,” and twice it said, “And he made a feast”?
And the king took counsel, saying: "Behold, to remove the people from going to Jerusalem, he could have built a Temple in Bethel according to the pattern of the Temple which was in Jerusalem, and established there the service just as in the Temple of the Lord in Jerusalem. But this was difficult in his eyes, whether on account of the building itself, for Solomon's building was constructed with extraordinary wealth, and he was not able to build a house like it; and if he were to build it without splendor and honor, the people would continue to go to the Great House. Or perhaps because the Temple which was in Jerusalem became renowned, for the Name of the Lord dwelt there through the fire from heaven that was continually there, and the Ark of the Covenant and the vessels of Moses, and already all the people had seen that the glory of the Lord filled the House of the Lord at the time of its construction, and all the prophets magnified its excellence. All of this would be lacking in the house that he would build, and it would not be accepted in the eyes of the people. Therefore, his counsel was to make two golden calves.
In truth, Abarbanel did not accept the opinion of the commentators that the calves were for the sake of worship, for it is impossible that Israel would agree to this. Did they not know the incident of the calf in the wilderness, how the Lord was angered with them and a plague broke out among them? According to his view, he made them as a remembrance of his kingship, which was from the tribe of Joseph, whose sign was the bull, "the firstborn of his bull, majesty is his" (Deuteronomy 33:17). And there were two, corresponding to Manasseh and Ephraim. However, the verse says, "to sacrifice to the calves that he had made," and it says (II Chronicles 13:8), "and with you the golden calves that Jeroboam made for you as gods."
In truth, from the fact that he made two calves, and from the fact that he established the festival in the eighth month, it is clearly revealed that while he was in Egypt, he saw the Egyptians doing so, for they had two bulls which they worshipped: one in the city of the kingship, Memphis (Mof), and the second in the city of Heliopolis (Beit Shemesh). And in the eighth month there was a festival for the people to the calf, because the man to whom the calf was made (Serapis or Osiris), who was he and his wife, taught the knowledge of the work of tilling the soil, was killed in that month. Since they honored the one bull in the city of Memphis greatly and scattered much wealth upon it, therefore he made the primary calf in Bethel.
Nevertheless, after his main intention was to deter the people from the service of the Temple, there is no doubt that he presented this act with a face toward every side. To the God-fearers, he said that he made them for the sake of the God, just as He dwells in the Temple upon the two cherubim taken from the chariot, which is a human form indicating wisdom; he induced them to believe that He dwells in Bethel and Dan before the face of the bull in the chariot, which indicates the abundance of crops and the strength of the bull. However, it is clear in the written text that initially he did not make priests of the high places, only afterwards. And it appears that he thought that just as the people agreed to remove from themselves the heavy burden of the king and princes—for this reason they rebelled against Solomon, and chose him because he would lighten the yoke of kingship from upon them—so too they would wish to remove from themselves the yoke of the service of the House of the Lord, which was also a burden upon them, whether the going up for pilgrimage three times a year to a distant place, or the majority of the sacrifices for every sin-offering, guilt-offering, voluntary offerings, heave-offerings, tithes, and the like.
Therefore, he made for them the pattern of the calf, for the depiction of the calf indicates freedom, to tell them that they are free from all service (and thereby he would exempt them both from the service of the Temple and from the yoke of the commandments in general). Initially, he did not build houses of high places at all, and he thought that the people would rejoice if they were exempt from bringing sacrifices and offerings. And he would say to them, "Enough for you is the ascent to Jerusalem," meaning, there is great toil for you in this ascent, whether from the distance of the way or from bringing up the tithes and sacrifices. "Behold, your gods, O Israel, who brought you up from the land of Egypt," meaning, did not the God bring you up from the house of bondage? And you are free from all service, both to God and to men, and to diminish the toil of the journey.
And he set the one in Beth-el, and the other put he in Dan.
verse value 2201
Insights
Verse structure: 6 words, 29 letters. The shortest word is "gave" (נָתַ֥ן, 3 letters) and the longest is "and·the·one" (וְאֶת־הָאֶחָ֖ד, 7 letters). 3 words in this verse appear nowhere else in I Kings. Unique to this verse in I Kings (hapax): "the·one" (אֶת־הָאֶחָ֖ד), "and·the·one" (וְאֶת־הָאֶחָ֖ד), "in·Dan" (בְּדָֽן). The root אחד appears 2 times in this verse. 5 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "in·Beth-el" (root בית, 191x in I Kings); "gave" (root נתן, 113x in I Kings); "the·one" (root אחד, 61x in I Kings). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'in·Beth-el', dividing the verse into phrases of 3 and 3 words. Full calculation: וַיָּ֥שֶׂם [and·put] (356) + אֶת־הָאֶחָ֖ד [the·one] (419) + בְּבֵֽית־אֵ֑ל [in·Beth-el] (445) + וְאֶת־הָאֶחָ֖ד [and·the·one] (425) + נָתַ֥ן [gave] (500) + בְּדָֽן [in·Dan] (56) = 2201.
Radak
And he set one at Bethel, and the other he placed at Dan. At Bethel, because it was said to them that this place too was chosen, like Jerusalem, for our forefather Jacob said of this place, “This shall be the house of God.” And the other he placed at Dan, at the end of the boundary of Israel, as it is written, “From Dan to Beersheba.”
“Sufficient for you are the Ascents of Jerusalem.” [The verse means:] It is enough for you until now; from this day onward, abandon the Ascents of Jerusalem. And the Targum [renders it]: “Sufficient for you is the way to ascend to Jerusalem; behold, these are your gods, O Israel.” And in the midrashic exposition of “Sufficient for you are the Ascents,” [the question is asked:] What did he do? He stationed two garrisons or fortresses, one on Mount Tabor and one at Mizpah. This is what Hosea said: “For you have been a snare at Mizpah, and a net spread upon Tabor.”
Ralbag
And behold, he made one [pillar] at Bethel, so that the matter would become publicized, namely, that the Divine Presence had already rested there upon Jacob; and the other he placed at Dan, which is at the extremity of the Land of Israel. And for this reason Abner said to David: “From Dan even to Beersheba.”
Malbim
He placed one at Bethel and the other at Dan, so that each person would go to the place that was nearest to him.
And this thing became a sin; for the people went to worship before the one, even to Dan.
verse value 1210
Insights
Verse structure: 9 words, 36 letters. Notable word values: "the·one" (הָאֶחָ֖ד) = 18, chai, 'life'. The shortest word is "this" (הַזֶּ֖ה, 3 letters) and the longest is "to·purgation·offering" (לְחַטָּ֑את, 5 letters). 1 word in this verse appears nowhere else in I Kings. Unique to this verse in I Kings (hapax): "even·to·Dan" (עַד־דָּֽן). 9 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·it·was" (root היה, 196x in I Kings); "the·thing" (root דבר, 191x in I Kings); "and·they·went" (root הלך, 115x in I Kings). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'to·purgation·offering', dividing the verse into phrases of 4 and 5 words. Full calculation: וַיְהִ֛י [and·it·was] (31) + הַדָּבָ֥ר [the·thing] (211) + הַזֶּ֖ה [this] (17) + לְחַטָּ֑את [to·purgation·offering] (448) + וַיֵּלְכ֥וּ [and·they·went] (72) + הָעָ֛ם [the·people] (115) + לִפְנֵ֥י [to·face·of] (170) + הָאֶחָ֖ד [the·one] (18) + עַד־דָּֽן [even·to·Dan] (128) = 1210.
Rashi
Until Dan. At the end of the border of the land:
Radak
“for a sin.” For initially Jeroboam did not say that he was making them for the sake of idol worship, but rather for the sake of God. And afterwards that matter turned and became a sin, in that they accepted it as a deity, and from it they turned to other gods, like all the nations [do]. Therefore it says, “and this matter became a sin.”
“Until Dan.” Even though he was at the farthest border, people came to him from the opposite end; so deeply were they devoted to idolatry. That opposite end was Beersheba, as it is written, “From Dan to Beersheba.” Regarding this, the prophet said, “As your god lives, O Dan, and as your way lives, O Beersheba,” for from Beersheba was their way to the god of Dan, and they would swear by him.
Ralbag
“And this matter was a sin.” This means that it was already a grave sin, even if they had made it for the purpose of serving God, blessed be He; all the more so when they made it into an idol.
“And the people went before the one, unto Dan.” This section is written on account of their disgrace, for they were so firmly attached to idolatry that they had already gone to the very end of the land to worship the calf in Dan.
Metzudat David
For a sin. Although at first the intention was not for the name of idolatry and astrology, nevertheless when time passed they sinned with them, and made them actual idolatry and astrology.
Even to Dan. They distanced themselves to go as far as Dan, which was at the end of the border. And as though saying: behold, at first he seduced them on account of the distance of the way to Jerusalem; and in the end they distanced themselves to go to the calf that was in Dan.
Malbim
"And this matter was a sin": This teaches that Jeroboam erred in his reasoning, for he thought that just as they desired to lighten the burden of taxes upon themselves, they would likewise desire to lighten the burden of the pilgrimage to a distant place and the bringing of sacrifices. But it was not so, for it is human nature to obligate oneself in some service to God; and the more that religion imposes heavy labors and many commandments upon a person, the more he inclines toward it and performs its duties willingly. Thus, this very matter—that he [Jeroboam] placed one [calf] in Bethel and one in Dan to lighten their travel burden—was regarded by them as a sin. The masses, who lacked the discernment to distinguish between the service of God's Temple and the service of the calves of Beth Aven, and who believed that the service of the calf was acceptable, considered it a sin that he sought to lighten its service. They acted in the opposite manner: they did not go to Bethel, which was near, but rather they went before the one [calf] as far as Dan, in order to receive reward for their steps. Furthermore, this includes the idea that thereby the sin of Israel was magnified, for this demonstrated how they served the idol with all their soul and heart.
And he made houses of high places, and made priests from among all the people, that were not of the sons of Levi.
verse value 3610
Insights
Verse structure: 11 words, 45 letters. The shortest word is "the·people" (הָעָ֔ם, 3 letters) and the longest is "house·of" (אֶת־בֵּ֣ית, 5 letters). Words sharing gematria 386: and·did, and·did. 2 words in this verse appear nowhere else in I Kings. Unique to this verse in I Kings (hapax): "not·were" (לֹא־הָי֖וּ), "Levi" (לֵוִֽי). The root עשה appears 2 times in this verse. 10 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "that" (root אשר, 375x in I Kings); "not·were" (root היה, 196x in I Kings); "house·of" (root בית, 191x in I Kings). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'high·places', dividing the verse into phrases of 3 and 8 words. Full calculation: וַיַּ֖עַשׂ [and·did] (386) + אֶת־בֵּ֣ית [house·of] (813) + בָּמ֑וֹת [high·places] (448) + וַיַּ֤עַשׂ [and·did] (386) + כֹּֽהֲנִים֙ [priests] (125) + מִקְצ֣וֹת [from·the·ends·of] (636) + הָעָ֔ם [the·people] (115) + אֲשֶׁ֥ר [that] (501) + לֹא־הָי֖וּ [not·were] (52) + מִבְּנֵ֥י [from·sons·of] (102) + לֵוִֽי [Levi] (46) = 3610.
Radak
And he made the house of the high places. He made a house and built high places there.
“From the ends of the people.” Just as it says, “from the end of his brothers,” whether from the greater ones or from the lesser ones. And in the words of our Sages of blessed memory, it means from the thorns among the people.
“Who were not of the children of Levi.” For they did not desire to serve the service of idols, and likewise with the calf that they made in the wilderness. When Moses said, “Who is for the Lord? Let him come unto me,” and all the children of Levi gathered themselves unto him, this informs us that they did not serve the calf. And it is stated that the tribe of Levi never served the service of idols. This is what is said, “For they have kept Thy word, and they shall keep Thy covenant.” And as for what is said, “But the priests of the high places shall not come up,” it means that they used to offer sacrifices on the high places, but for the sake of the Lord [i.e., not for idolatry]. Or perhaps it means that the tribe of Levi never served the service of idols until the time when the kings of Judah sinned. But since the kings of Judah sinned and established the service of idols in the House of the Lord, some of the priests also sinned and offered to the service of idols in the House of the Lord. And among the children of Levi, those who were from the descendants of Ithamar used to offer to the service of idols, but not those from the descendants of Zadok, who were from the descendants of Eleazar, for they never offered to the service of idols, as is explained in Ezekiel. And since Jeroboam saw that they did not desire to offer on his high places, he expelled them from their inheritance and their possession, and they went to the land of Judah, as it is stated in Chronicles, “For the Levites left their suburbs and their possession and came to Judah and Jerusalem, for Jeroboam and his sons had cast them off from executing the priest’s office unto the Lord.” For Jeroboam said, “They shall take their tithes and their possession in my kingdom and go and serve Jerusalem.” This shall not be; since they do not serve in Bethel, they shall have no portion and inheritance in my kingdom. And this is what is said, “For he had cast them off from executing the priest’s office unto the Lord,” meaning he distanced them from receiving their tithes and inheritance, which is the priesthood of the Lord. Or its interpretation is: Since they did not desire to cease from serving the Lord in Jerusalem, he cast them off and expelled them from his land.
Ralbag
"And he made a house of high places." I would think that he made a house in which there were many altars, contrary to what was in the Temple, where there was only one altar.
"And he made priests from among all the people, who were not of the sons of Levi." Behold, by this also he captured the hearts of the people, for he exempted them from the tithes and the other priestly gifts that they used to give to the tribe of Levi in exchange for their service. He also turned the cities that had been theirs to dwell in into mere pasture lands, as is mentioned in the Book of Chronicles. For he desired that anyone who wished could be a priest, and that Israel would not need to give gifts to the priests. It is also possible that the tribe of Levi did not wish to serve except in the Temple, and therefore Jeroboam banished them from his land and made priests from among all the people, who were not of the sons of Levi.
Metzudat David
A house of high places. He made in Dan a house to place in it altars.
Of the ranks of the people. From among their ranks, whoever he might be.
Malbim
And he made the house of high places, after he saw that his schemes did not succeed in this way, for the people desired some form of service, not the absence of service. He was therefore compelled to set before them certain services and actions. And he saw that if they were to be almost equal to the service of the Temple, they would return to the Temple, where the true God dwells. Therefore, he made the house of high places, that they might offer sacrifices there, and he made several changes from the service of the Temple: 1. And he made priests from among the people. And this was either so that it would not resemble the service of the Temple, or to exempt the people from giving the tithes and the heave-offerings, or because all the priests had gone to Jerusalem, as stated in Divrei HaYamim [Chronicles], or because he feared that if the priests remained in their importance among the masses, they would entice the people to go to Jerusalem.
And Jeroboam ordained a feast in the eighth month, on the fifteenth day of the month, like to the feast that is in Judah, and he went up to the altar; so did he in Beth-el, to sacrifice to the calves that he had made; and he placed in Beth-el the priests of the high places that he had made.
verse value 8004
Insights
Verse structure: 25 words, 115 letters. The shortest word is "festival" (חָ֡ג, 2 letters) and the longest is "in·five·ten" (בַחֲמִשָּֽׁה־עָשָׂר֩, 8 letters). Words sharing gematria 501: that, that. 5 words in this verse appear nowhere else in I Kings. Unique to this verse in I Kings (hapax): "in·five·ten" (בַחֲמִשָּֽׁה־עָשָׂר֩), "to·the·month" (לַחֹ֜דֶשׁ), "as·the·festival" (כֶּחָ֣ג). The root עשה appears 3 times in this verse. 18 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "that" (root אשר, 375x in I Kings); "in·Beth-el" (root בית, 191x in I Kings); "and·did" (root עשה, 143x in I Kings). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'that·he·made', dividing the verse into phrases of 19 and 6 words.
Radak
"In the eighth month." He changed the seventh month to the eighth, in order to distance Israel further from the practice of Jerusalem. Or, if there were any among Israel who would wish to go to Jerusalem for the Festival of Sukkot, as it says in Chronicles: "Those who set their hearts to seek the Lord, the God of Israel, came to Jerusalem to sacrifice," he made the festival in the eighth month, because those who had gone to Jerusalem had already returned to their homes, and they would be in Bethel during the festival, which they observed out of fear of the king.
Thus he did. Just as [there was] the festival in Judah in the seventh [month], so he did in Bethel in the eighth [month].
"To sacrifice to the calves which he had made." In Bethel there was only one calf; rather, just as he had done in Bethel, so he did in Dan. However, on account of this incident that occurred in Bethel—where Jeroboam ascended the altar in Bethel to offer incense, and the prophet came to him—therefore it says "in Bethel."
Ralbag
“And Jeroboam made a feast in the eighth month.” It is possible that he did this so that those who wished to serve the Lord would not dispute with him, for they would be able to ascend to Jerusalem in the seventh month to serve the Lord, as is mentioned in the Book of Chronicles.
Thus he did also in Bethel, to sacrifice to the calves which he had made. That is to say, just as it was mentioned that the people went before the one as far as Dan, and he made there a house of high places, and appointed priests from among the common people who were not of the sons of Levi, and he instituted a festival in the eighth month, so too he did in Bethel: he made a house of high places and appointed there as well priests of the high places from among the common people. And since Bethel belonged to the house of Joseph, Jeroboam himself was present at this festival, and he himself offered burnt offerings on the altar to burn. And this is mentioned in order to introduce what follows, concerning the man of God who spoke to Jeroboam.
Metzudat David
Like the feast that is in Judah. To do in it like the commandments of the feast of Sukkot done in Judah, on the 15th of the seventh month.
And he went up. He offered burnt offerings on the altar.
So he did , etc. Like what he did in Dan, so he did in Bethel.
And he appointed , etc. To do the service of the altar.
Whom he made. Of the ranks of the people.
Malbim
2. And he instituted the second change, which he made in the festival of the eighth month on the fifteenth day of the month, in such a manner that it would resemble the Torah’s festival in that it occurs on the fifteenth day, yet differ from it in that it occurs in the eighth month. Such a matter would create a great division among the factions, in that they would appear to some extent as if they too were observing the appointed times of the Lord, while being distinguished by the time of the festival and the nature of the service. And this is what it says: “That which was on the fifteenth of the month was in order that it be like the festival which was in Judah, that they might call it the Festival of Booths, to mock and to anger.”
3. “And he offered upon the altar”: The word “and he offered” is an active verb indicating that they offered burnt offerings; namely, the offerings of the festival that are brought during the Festival of Booths, he offered during this festival. Similarly, he did at Bethel. For all of this he did at Bethel, where he established the service to sacrifice to the calves that he had made. He desired that at Bethel they also serve the calf that was in Dan, and also that anyone who had vowed to the calf in Dan would bring [his offering] to Bethel, so that the service and the sacrifices would be in one place, similar to Jerusalem. And likewise, he stationed at Bethel the priests of the high places that he had made, not in Dan, so that the entirety of the service would be in one place.
And he went up to the altar which he had made in Beth-el on the fifteenth day in the eighth month, even in the month which he had devised of his own heart; and he ordained a feast for the children of Israel, and went up to the altar, to offer.
verse value 5947
Insights
Verse structure: 20 words, 94 letters. The shortest word is "festival" (חָג֙, 2 letters) and the longest is "to·the·altar" (עַֽל־הַמִּזְבֵּ֣חַ, 7 letters). Words sharing gematria 314: in·the·month, in·the·month. 3 words in this verse appear nowhere else in I Kings. Unique to this verse in I Kings (hapax): "in·five" (בַּחֲמִשָּׁ֨ה), "which·he·devised" (אֲשֶׁר־בָּדָ֣א), "from·his·heart" (מִלִּבּ֑וֹ). The root עלה appears 2 times in this verse. 16 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "which·he·made" (root אשר, 375x in I Kings); "in·Beth-el" (root בית, 191x in I Kings); "and·did" (root עשה, 143x in I Kings). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'from·his·heart', dividing the verse into phrases of 13 and 7 words.
Rashi
"In the eighth month": He expounded to them that it is the month of ingathering, and in it the festival ought to be.
"He fabricated [it] from his own heart": An expression of falsehood; in the vernacular [Old French], controuver [i.e., "to invent"].
Radak
"And he went up upon the altar which he had made. He offered upon it burnt-offerings and sacrifices."
“Which he devised from his own heart.” That is, which he brought forth from his own heart. Similarly, “for you devise them out of your own heart” (Nehemiah 6:8), meaning: you bring them forth. And in the words of our Sages, of blessed memory: “he produces leaven for them, and it leavens them” — the explanation is: he brings [it] forth. And the Targum renders it: “that he turned aside from his own will.”
"From his own heart." The verse states "besides" (milvad), meaning that what Jeroboam devised was "besides the festivals of the Lord." We do not see whether he did likewise with the other festivals, such as the Festival of Sukkot. It is possible that at that time it was the beginning of his kingdom, as we have written above. Therefore, the text states that for this particular festival he devised it from his own heart, and the same law applies to the others. In the words of our Sages of blessed memory, it is stated that even the Sabbaths and the festivals, Jeroboam devised from his own heart. This is what is written: "which he devised from his own heart, besides" (milvad). The term "besides" (milvad) is written in reference to the Sabbaths of the Lord.
“And he went up to the altar to burn incense.” Jeroboam went up to the altar to burn incense.
Metzudat David
And he went up. He offered burnt offerings like in Dan.
He contrived from his own heart. That he devised from the thoughts of his heart; not according to the law.
And he went up , etc. To burn incense. Jeroboam himself went up to burn the incense; but the rest of the sacrifices were offered by the priests of the high places by his command.
Metzudat Zion
Bada. A matter of fabricating falsehood; like (Nehemiah 6:8) 'from your heart you are fabricating them' (mil'vavecha atah bod'am):
Malbim
"And he went up." Up to this point he spoke of how he arranged the service for the calves. Now it begins to speak of what occurred during the first festival regarding the prophet who came. It states: "When the feast came, and he offered burnt offerings on the altar which he had made at Bethel on the fifteenth day of the eighth month." Through this, he established a festival for the Children of Israel, and the festival was carried out in practice, for its time had arrived. Then, "he went up to the altar to burn incense," for the burnt offering was performed by the priests of the high places. But to burn incense, Jeroboam himself went up to the altar, making himself similar to the High Priest. Just as on Yom Kippur the High Priest enters the Holy of Holies to burn incense, so too he went up to the top of the altar to burn incense there. And at that time, while he was on top of the altar:
Radak
Ralbag
Metzudat David
Malbim