1 Kings 11:40
in 1 Kings 11Solomon therefore sought to kill Jeroboam. But Jeroboam arose and fled to Egypt, to Shishak king of Egypt, where he remained until the death of Solomon.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Solomon sought therefore to kill Jeroboam; but Jeroboam arose, and fled into Egypt, unto Shishak king of Egypt, and was in Egypt until the death of Solomon.
KJV
Solomon sought therefore to kill Jeroboam. And Jeroboam arose, and fled into Egypt, unto Shishak king of Egypt, and was in Egypt until the death of Solomon.
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This verse in 1 Kings 11
Commentary
6 notes on this verseSought - to kill Jeroboam - He thought by this means to prevent the punishment due to his crimes. Unto Shishak king of Egypt - This is the first time we meet with the proper name of an Egyptian king, Pharaoh being the common name for all the sovereigns of that country. Some suppose that this Shishak was the Sesostris so renowned for his wars and his conquests. But it is likely that this king lived long before Solomon’s time.
This site's exposition
fled into Egypt, unto Shishak
Solomon's response to a prophecy he cannot undo is to try force, seeking to kill Jeroboam, who flees to the same Egypt that already sheltered Hadad, this time to Pharaoh Shishak by name. Shishak's own campaign against Judah stands recorded five years into Rehoboam's reign at 14:25-26 and on his temple wall at Karnak, so the exile that begins here as one man's refuge returns as an army within a generation.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
Jeroboam prudently withdrew into Egypt. Though God's promise would have secured him any where, yet he would use means for his own preservation, and was content to live in exile and obscurity for a while, being sure of a kingdom at last. And shall not we be so, who have a better kingdom in reserve?
Solomon sought therefore to kill Jeroboam,....
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
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.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
Compare 1Ki 11:26. The announcement of Ahijah was followed within a little while by rebellion on the part of Jeroboam. As Solomon’s luster faded, as his oppression became greater and its objects more selfish, and as a prospect of deliverance arose from the personal qualities of Jeroboam 1Ki 11:28, the tribe of Ephraim to which he belonged, again aspired after its old position (see Jos 17:14 note). Jeroboam, active, energetic, and ambitious, placed himself at their head. The step proved premature. The power of Solomon was too firmly fixed to be shaken; and the hopes of the Ephraimites had to be deferred until a fitter season. The “exact” date of Jeroboam’s flight into Egypt cannot be fixed. It was certainly not earlier than Solomon’s twenty-fourth year, since it was after the building of Millo 1Ki 11:27. But it may have been several years later. Shishak - This king is the first Pharaoh mentioned in Scripture who can be certainly identified with any known Egyptian monarch. He is the Sheshonk (Sheshonk I) of the monuments, and the Sesonchosis of Manetho. The Egyptian date for his accession is 980 or 983 B.C., which synchronizes, according to the ordinary Hebrew reckoning, with Solomon’s 32nd or 35th year. Sheshonk I has left a record of his expedition against Judah, which accords well with what is related of Shishak 1Ki 14:25-26; 2Ch 12:2-4.
The words behind it
18 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיְבַקֵּ֥שׁ | vayvakesh | and he sought | H1245 → | 225 times |
| שְׁלֹמֹ֖ה | shelomoh | Solomon | H8010 → | 291 times |
| לְהָמִ֣ית | lehamit | to put to death | H4191 → | 839 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| יָרָבְעָ֑ם | yaraveam | Jeroboam | H3379 → | 104 times |
| וַיָּ֣קָם | vaiyakom | and he arose | H6965 → | 628 times |
| יָרָבְעָ֗ם | yaraveam | Jeroboam | H3379 → | 104 times |
| וַיִּבְרַ֤ח | vaiyivrach | and he fled | H1272 → | 63 times |
| מִצְרַ֙יִם֙ | mitzrayim | Egypt | H4714 → | 641 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| שִׁישַׁ֣ק | shishak | Shishak | H7895 → | |
| מֶֽלֶךְ־ | melekh- | [the] king of | H4428 → | 2525 times |
| מִצְרַ֔יִם | mitzrayim | Egypt | H4714 → | 641 times |
| וַיְהִ֥י | vayhi | and he was | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| בְמִצְרַ֖יִם | vemitzrayim | in Egypt | H4714 → | 641 times |
| עַד־ | ʾad- | until | H5704 → | 1261 times |
| מ֥וֹת | mot | [the] death of | H4194 → | 156 times |
| שְׁלֹמֹֽה׃ | shelomoh | Solomon | H8010 → | 291 times |
וַיְבַקֵּ֥שׁand he sought
vayvakeshH1245 →225 times
שְׁלֹמֹ֖הSolomon
shelomohH8010 →291 times
לְהָמִ֣יתto put to death
lehamitH4191 →839 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
יָרָבְעָ֑םJeroboam
yaraveamH3379 →104 times
וַיָּ֣קָםand he arose
vaiyakomH6965 →628 times
יָרָבְעָ֗םJeroboam
yaraveamH3379 →104 times
וַיִּבְרַ֤חand he fled
vaiyivrachH1272 →63 times
מִצְרַ֙יִם֙Egypt
mitzrayimH4714 →641 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
שִׁישַׁ֣קShishak
shishakH7895 →
מֶֽלֶךְ־[the] king of
melekh-H4428 →2525 times
מִצְרַ֔יִםEgypt
mitzrayimH4714 →641 times
וַיְהִ֥יand he was
vayhiH1961 →3559 times
בְמִצְרַ֖יִםin Egypt
vemitzrayimH4714 →641 times
עַד־until
ʾad-H5704 →1261 times
מ֥וֹת[the] death of
motH4194 →156 times
שְׁלֹמֹֽה׃Solomon
shelomohH8010 →291 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
Isaiah 46:10I declare the end from the beginning, and ancient times from what is still to come. I say, ‘My purpose will stand, and all My good pleasure I will accomplish.’
it leads to
- Proverbs 19:21
Many plans are in a man’s heart, but the purpose of the LORD will prevail.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Psalms 33:11
The counsel of the LORD stands forever, the purposes of His heart to all generations.
- Ephesians 1:9–11
And He has made known to us the mystery of His will according to His good pleasure, which He purposed in Christ
- Isaiah 43:13
Even from eternity I am He, and none can deliver out of My hand. When I act, who can reverse it?”
- Isaiah 45:21
Speak up and present your case—yes, let them take counsel together. Who foretold this long ago? Who announced it from ancient times? Was it not I, the LORD? There is no other God but…
- Proverbs 19:21
Through
Lamentations 3:37Who has spoken and it came to pass, unless the Lord has ordained it?
it leads to
- Psalms 33:9–11
For He spoke, and it came to be; He commanded, and it stood firm.
- Isaiah 46:10
I declare the end from the beginning, and ancient times from what is still to come. I say, ‘My purpose will stand, and all My good pleasure I will accomplish.’
- Proverbs 16:9
A man’s heart plans his course, but the LORD determines his steps.
- Psalms 33:9–11
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
What the record shows
1 entry- Shishak (Sheshonq I) — attested in contemporary inscriptionundisputed
Bubastite Portal relief, Temple of Amun, Karnak; Megiddo stele fragment
Biblical figure (Pharaoh, 945-924 BC) identified in extra-biblical epigraphy.
Counterpoint: The pharaoh himself is beyond dispute, but his Karnak victory list never names Jerusalem or Judah. Kevin A. Wilson (The Campaign of Pharaoh Shoshenq I into Palestine, 2005) argues Egyptian triumphal reliefs were idealized displays of royal power, so their place-name lists may not record an actual line of march.
About 1 Kings
Who and where
2 names in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); F. W. Farrar, The First Book of Kings (Expositor's Bible); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Keil, The Books of the Kings and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.