And Ahijah caught the new garment that was on him, and rent it in twelve pieces:
And Ahijah laid hold of the new garment that was on him, and rent it in twelve pieces.
and Ahijah layeth hold on the new garment that is on him, and rendeth it--twelve pieces,
Then Ahijah seized the new garment that was on him, and rent it in twelve pieces;
1 Kings — From Solomon's glory to the divided kingdom — then Elijah's confrontation with Ahab and Jezebel dominating the second half. The promise of the Davidic covenant unfolding through temple glory, then beginning to unravel as idolatry and political fragmentation take hold.
Rare words are the text's own signal of a deliberate thread — the fewer the occurrences, the more the places it appears belong together.
Voices4
And Ahijah caught the new garment that was on him,.... This looks as if it was Jeroboam's garment, having got a new one to appear before the king in; though the sense may be this, that the prophet took hold of his own garment that was upon himself: and rent it in twelve pieces; as symbolical of the twelve tribes of Israel.
John Gill· Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763)reformed
The first instance of the acted parable. Generally this mode was adopted upon express divine command (see Jer 13:1-11; Eze 3:1-3). A connection may be traced between the type selected and the words of the announcement to Solomon (1Ki 11:11-13. Compare 1Sa 15:26-28).
Albert Barnes· Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)evangelical
He was a young man of talent and energy, who, having been appointed by Solomon superintendent of the engineering works projected around Jerusalem, had risen into public notice, and on being informed by a very significant act of the prophet Ahijah of the royal destiny which, by divine appointment, awaited him, his mind took a new turn.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown· Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible, 1871reformed
It is not certain whether the garment was Jeroboam's, as is commonly taken for granted, or Ahijah's, which is more probable: He (that is, the prophet) had clad himself with a new garment, on purpose that he might with it give him a sign. The rending of the kingdom from Saul was signified by the rending of Samuel's mantle, not Saul's, 1 Sam. xv.
Matthew Henry· Commentary on the Whole Bible, 1710puritan
The verses this one reaches8
“We have ten shares in the king,” answered the men of Israel, “so we have more claim to David than you. Why then do you despise us? Were we not the first to speak of restoring our king?” But the men of Judah pressed even harder than the men of Israel.
As Samuel turned to go, Saul grabbed the hem of his robe, and it tore.
I tore the kingdom away from the house of David and gave it to you. But you were not like My servant David, who kept My commandments and followed Me with all his heart, doing only what was right in My eyes.
So David’s men said to him, “This is the day about which the LORD said to you, ‘Behold, I will deliver your enemy into your hand, that you may do with him as you wish.’” Then David crept up secretly and cut off a corner of Saul’s robe.
And Moses wrote down all the words of the LORD. Early the next morning he got up and built an altar at the base of the mountain, along with twelve pillars for the twelve tribes of Israel.
So Samuel said to him, “The LORD has torn the kingdom of Israel from you today and has given it to your neighbor who is better than you.
This is what the LORD said to me: “Make for yourself a yoke out of leather straps and put it on your neck.
“Now you, son of man, take a brick, place it before you, and draw on it the city of Jerusalem.
