1 Kings 11:13
in 1 Kings 11Yet I will not tear the whole kingdom away from him. I will give one tribe to your son for the sake of My servant David and for the sake of Jerusalem, which I have chosen.”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Howbeit I will not rend away all the kingdom; but I will give one tribe to thy son, for David my servant’s sake, and for Jerusalem’s sake which I have chosen.
KJV
Howbeit I will not rend away all the kingdom; but will give one tribe to thy son for David my servant’s sake, and for Jerusalem’s sake which I have chosen.
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This verse in 1 Kings 11
Commentary
10 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
One tribe - i. e., (marginal reference) the tribe of Judah. Benjamin was looked upon as absorbed in Judah, so as not to be really a tribe in the same sense as the others. Still, in memory of the fact that the existing tribe of Judah was a double one 1Ki 12:2 l, the prophet Ahijah tore his garment into twelve parts, and kept back two from Jeroboam 1Ki 11:30-31.
This site's exposition
I will tear the kingdom away from you
on 1 Kings 11:11-13
The LORD says, “I will tear the kingdom away from you and give it to your servant”. He then limits the sentence for David, “I will not do it during your lifetime”. This is the covenant of 2 Samuel 7:14-15, which holds a son's judgment inside a father's promise.
This site's exposition
I will give one tribe to your son
The one tribe is Judah, and Albert Barnes treats Benjamin as absorbed into it, so Ahijah keeps back two of the twelve pieces. Jamieson, Fausset and Brown count Benjamin, Levi and northern migrants within the one tribe. John Wesley notes that Bethel, a town of Benjamin, went north.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
The son of this David, Solomon by name, was caught by the same snare as his father, and out of complacence to women fell away from the God of his fathers. You see how great an evil it is not to master pleasure, not to upset the ruling principle in nature and for a man to be slave of women. This same Solomon, then, who was formerly righteous and wise but who ran a risk of being deprived of all the kingdom on account of his sin, God permitted to keep the sixth part of the government on account of the renown of his father.
The Puritans and the Awakening4 voices
One tribe - Benjamin was not entirely his, but part of it adhered to Jeroboam, as Bethel, chap. xii, 29, and Hephron, 2 Chron. xiii, 19, both which were towns of Benjamin.
God's grace in his people works variously. Thus, though Solomon fell, he was not utterly cast down; what God had said to David concerning him was fulfilled: I will chasten him with the rod of men, but my mercy shall not depart from him, 2 Sam. vii. Though God may suffer those whom he loves to fall into sin, he will not suffer them to lie still in it.
), that is, for the sake of the promise made to David. Thus all the favour God shows to man is for Christ's sake, and for the sake of the covenant made with him. The kingdom shall be rent from Solomon's house, but, (1.) Not immediately.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens
Howbeit, I will not rend away all the kingdom,....
2 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
I will give one tribe to thy son--There were left to Rehoboam the tribes of Judah, Benjamin, and Levi (2Ch 11:12, 13); and multitudes of Israelites, who, after the schism of the kingdom, established their residence within the territory of Judah to enjoy the privileges of the true religion (1Ki 12:17). These are all reckoned as one tribe.
Will give one tribe - for David my servant’s sake - The line of the Messiah must be preserved. The prevailing lion must come out of the tribe of Judah: not only the tribe must be preserved, but the regal line and the regal right. All this must be done for the true David’s sake: and this was undoubtedly what God had in view by thus miraculously preserving the tribe of Judah and the royal line, in the midst of so general a defection. And for Jerusalem’s sake - As David was a type of the Messiah, so was Jerusalem a type of the true Church: therefore the Old Jerusalem must be preserved in the hands of the tribe of Judah, till the true David should establish the New Jerusalem in the same land, and in the same city. And what a series of providences did it require to do all these things!
The words behind it
17 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| רַ֤ק | rak | only | H7535 → | 109 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| כָּל־ | kol- | all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| הַמַּמְלָכָה֙ | hamamlakhah | the kingdom | H4467 → | 117 times |
| לֹ֣א | lo' | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| אֶקְרָ֔ע | ʾekra' | I will tear away | H7167 → | 63 times |
| שֵׁ֥בֶט | shevet | a tribe | H7626 → | 190 times |
| אֶחָ֖ד | ʾechad | one | H259 → | 971 times |
| אֶתֵּ֣ן | ʾeten | I will give | H5414 → | 2011 times |
| לִבְנֶ֑ךָ | livnekha | to son your | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| לְמַ֙עַן֙ | lemaan | for [the] sake of | H4616 → | 272 times |
| דָּוִ֣ד | david | David | H1732 → | 999 times |
| עַבְדִּ֔י | ʾavdi | servant my | H5650 → | 799 times |
| וּלְמַ֥עַן | ulemaan | and for [the] sake of | H4616 → | 272 times |
| יְרוּשָׁלִַ֖ם | yerushalim | Jerusalem | H3389 → | 643 times |
| אֲשֶׁ֥ר | ʾasher | which | H834 → | 5497 times |
| בָּחָֽרְתִּי׃ | bachareti | I have chosen | H977 → | 171 times |
רַ֤קonly
rakH7535 →109 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
כָּל־all
kol-H3605 →5413 times
הַמַּמְלָכָה֙the kingdom
hamamlakhahH4467 →117 times
לֹ֣אnot
lo'H3808 →5168 times
אֶקְרָ֔עI will tear away
ʾekra'H7167 →63 times
שֵׁ֥בֶטa tribe
shevetH7626 →190 times
אֶחָ֖דone
ʾechadH259 →971 times
אֶתֵּ֣ןI will give
ʾetenH5414 →2011 times
לִבְנֶ֑ךָto son your
livnekhaH1121 →4930 times
לְמַ֙עַן֙for [the] sake of
lemaanH4616 →272 times
דָּוִ֣דDavid
davidH1732 →999 times
עַבְדִּ֔יservant my
ʾavdiH5650 →799 times
וּלְמַ֥עַןand for [the] sake of
ulemaanH4616 →272 times
יְרוּשָׁלִַ֖םJerusalem
yerushalimH3389 →643 times
אֲשֶׁ֥רwhich
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
בָּחָֽרְתִּי׃I have chosen
bacharetiH977 →171 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Deuteronomy 12:11then the LORD your God will choose a dwelling for His Name. And there you are to bring everything I command you: your burnt offerings and sacrifices, your tithes and special gifts, and all…
it leads to
- Deuteronomy 12:5
Instead, you must seek the place the LORD your God will choose from among all your tribes to establish as a dwelling for His Name, and there you must go.
- Deuteronomy 15:20
Each year you and your household are to eat it before the LORD your God in the place the LORD will choose.
- Deuteronomy 16:2–8
You are to offer to the LORD your God the Passover sacrifice from the herd or flock in the place the LORD will choose as a dwelling for His Name.
- John 4:20–23
Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, but you Jews say that the place where one must worship is in Jerusalem.”
- Deuteronomy 17:8
If a case is too difficult for you to judge, whether the controversy within your gates is regarding bloodshed, lawsuits, or assaults, you must go up to the place the LORD your God will…
- Deuteronomy 12:5
Through
1 Kings 12:20When all Israel heard that Jeroboam had returned, they summoned him to the assembly and made him king over all Israel. Only the tribe of Judah followed the house of David.
it leads to
- 1 Kings 11:32
But one tribe will remain for the sake of My servant David and for the sake of Jerusalem, the city I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel.
- 1 Kings 11:36
I will give one tribe to his son, so that My servant David will always have a lamp before Me in Jerusalem, the city where I chose to put My Name.
- 1 Kings 11:32
Through
1 Kings 11:32But one tribe will remain for the sake of My servant David and for the sake of Jerusalem, the city I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel.
it leads to
- 1 Kings 14:21
Meanwhile, Rehoboam son of Solomon reigned in Judah. He was forty-one years old when he became king, and he reigned seventeen years in Jerusalem, the city the LORD had chosen from all the tribes…
- 1 Kings 14:21
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies10
On this verse
About 1 Kings
Who and where
2 names in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on 9 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Chrysostom, LETTER TO THE FALLEN THEODORE 2.2; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament; Keil, The Books of the Kings and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.