1 Kings 12:20
in 1 Kings 12When 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.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And it came to pass, when all Israel heard that Jeroboam was returned, that they sent and called him unto the congregation, and made him king over all Israel: there was none that followed the house of David, but the tribe of Judah only.
KJV
And it came to pass, when all Israel heard that Jeroboam was come again, that they sent and called him unto the congregation, and made him king over all Israel: there was none that followed the house of David, but the tribe of Judah only.
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This verse in 1 Kings 12
Commentary
8 notes on this verseMade him king over all Israel - What is called Israel here, was ten-twelfths of the whole nation; and had they a right to call another person to the throne? They had not, - they had neither legal nor constitutional right. Jeroboam was not of the blood royal; he had no affinity to the kingdom. Nothing could justify this act, but the just judgment of God. God thus punished a disobedient and gainsaying people; and especially Solomon’s family, whose sins against the Lord were of no ordinary magnitude.
This site's exposition
made him king over all Israel
Jeroboam is crowned the moment the congregation hears he has returned, and the text is careful to say the tribe of Judah alone follows the house of David. Jeroboam has no royal blood and no tribal claim beyond Ahijah's prophecy, which is the only ground the text gives for a kingship that would otherwise have none. The ten tribes act on the news of a man's presence, not on any deliberation the narrator records.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening4 voices
Was come - From Egypt; which was known to them before who met at Shechem, and now by all the people. Was none - That is, no entire tribe.
And it came to pass, when all Israel heard that Jeroboam was come again,....
He hectored and talked big when he thought all was his own, but sneaked and looked very mean when he saw himself in danger. It is common for those that are most haughty in their prosperity to be most abject in adversity.
Rehoboam was imprudent in the further management of this affair, and more and more infatuated. Having foolishly thrown himself into a quick-sand, he sunk the further in with plunging to get out. He was very unadvised in sending Adoram, who was over the tribute, to treat with them,
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
Rehoboam determined to assert his authority by leading a large force into the disaffected provinces. But the revolt of the ten tribes was completed when the prophet Shemaiah ordered, in the Lord's name, an abandonment of any hostile measures against the revolutionists. The army, overawed by the divine prohibition, dispersed, and the king was obliged to submit.
1 more voice on this verse
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
The first act of the Israelites, on learning what had occurred at Shechem, was to bring together the great “congregation” of the people (compare Jdg 20:1), in order that, regularly and in solemn form, the crown might be declared vacant, and a king elected in the room of the monarch whose authority had been thrown off. The congregation selected Jeroboam. The rank, the talent, and the known energy of the late exile, his natural hostility to the house of Solomon, his Ephraimitic descent, his acquaintance with the art of fortification, and the friendly relations subsisting between him and the great Egyptian king, pointed him out as the most suitable man for the vacant post. If, according to the Septuagint, Shishak had not only protected him against Solomon, but also given him an Egyptian princess, sister to his own queen, in marriage, his position must have been such that no other Israelite could have borne comparison with him. Again, the prophecy of Ahijah would have been remembered by the more religious part of the nation, and would have secured to Jeroboam their adhesion; so that every motive, whether of policy or of religion, would have united to recommend the son of Nebat to the suffrages of his countrymen.
The words behind it
26 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיְהִ֞י | vayhi | and it was | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| כִּשְׁמֹ֤עַ | kishmoa' | when heard | H8085 → | 1159 times |
| כָּל־ | kol- | all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| יִשְׂרָאֵל֙ | yisrael | Israel | H3478 → | 2507 times |
| כִּֽי־ | ki- | that | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| שָׁ֣ב | shav | he had returned | H7725 → | 1056 times |
| יָרָבְעָ֔ם | yaraveam | Jeroboam | H3379 → | 104 times |
| וַֽיִּשְׁלְח֗וּ | vaiyishlechu | and they sent | H7971 → | 845 times |
| וַיִּקְרְא֤וּ | vaiyikreu | and they called | H7121 → | 733 times |
| אֹתוֹ֙ | ʾoto | <obj.> him | H853 → | 10935 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| הָ֣עֵדָ֔ה | haedah | the congregation | H5712 → | |
| וַיַּמְלִ֥יכוּ | vaiyamlikhu | and they made king | H4427 → | 348 times |
| אֹת֖וֹ | ʾoto | <obj.> him | H853 → | 10935 times |
| עַל־ | ʾal- | over | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| כָּל־ | kol- | all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| יִשְׂרָאֵ֑ל | yisrael | Israel | H3478 → | 2507 times |
| לֹ֤א | lo' | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| הָיָה֙ | hayah | anyone was | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| אַחֲרֵ֣י | ʾacharei | after | H310 → | 715 times |
| בֵית־ | veit- | [the] house of | H1004 → | 2046 times |
| דָּוִ֔ד | david | David | H1732 → | 999 times |
| זוּלָתִ֥י | zulati | except | H2108 → | |
| שֵֽׁבֶט־ | shevet- | [the] tribe of | H7626 → | 190 times |
| יְהוּדָ֖ה | yehudah | Judah | H3063 → | 819 times |
| לְבַדּֽוֹ׃ | levado | to only it | H905 → | 200 times |
וַיְהִ֞יand it was
vayhiH1961 →3559 times
כִּשְׁמֹ֤עַwhen heard
kishmoa'H8085 →1159 times
כָּל־all
kol-H3605 →5413 times
יִשְׂרָאֵל֙Israel
yisraelH3478 →2507 times
כִּֽי־that
ki-H3588 →4482 times
שָׁ֣בhe had returned
shavH7725 →1056 times
יָרָבְעָ֔םJeroboam
yaraveamH3379 →104 times
וַֽיִּשְׁלְח֗וּand they sent
vaiyishlechuH7971 →845 times
וַיִּקְרְא֤וּand they called
vaiyikreuH7121 →733 times
אֹתוֹ֙<obj.> him
ʾotoH853 →10935 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
הָ֣עֵדָ֔הthe congregation
haedahH5712 →
וַיַּמְלִ֥יכוּand they made king
vaiyamlikhuH4427 →348 times
אֹת֖וֹ<obj.> him
ʾotoH853 →10935 times
עַל־over
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
כָּל־all
kol-H3605 →5413 times
יִשְׂרָאֵ֑לIsrael
yisraelH3478 →2507 times
לֹ֤אnot
lo'H3808 →5168 times
הָיָה֙anyone was
hayahH1961 →3559 times
אַחֲרֵ֣יafter
ʾachareiH310 →715 times
בֵית־[the] house of
veit-H1004 →2046 times
דָּוִ֔דDavid
davidH1732 →999 times
זוּלָתִ֥יexcept
zulatiH2108 →
שֵֽׁבֶט־[the] tribe of
shevet-H7626 →190 times
יְהוּדָ֖הJudah
yehudahH3063 →819 times
לְבַדּֽוֹ׃to only it
levadoH905 →200 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
1 Kings 12:17but Rehoboam still reigned over the Israelites living in the cities of Judah.
it leads to
- 1 Kings 11:13
Yet 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…
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- 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 11:13
Through
1 Kings 11:13Yet 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…
it leads to
- Deuteronomy 12:11
then 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…
- 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.
- Luke 1:32–33
He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David,
- Deuteronomy 12:11
Through
1 Samuel 10:24Samuel said to all the people, “Do you see the one the LORD has chosen? There is no one like him among all the people.” And all the people shouted, “Long live the king!”
it leads to
- 2 Samuel 21:6
let seven of his male descendants be delivered to us so that we may hang them before the LORD at Gibeah of Saul, the chosen of the LORD.” “I will give them to you,”…
- 1 Kings 1:39
Zadok the priest took the horn of oil from the tabernacle and anointed Solomon. Then they blew the ram’s horn, and all the people proclaimed, “Long live King Solomon!”
- 1 Kings 1:25
For today he has gone down and sacrificed an abundance of oxen, fattened calves, and sheep, and has invited all the sons of the king, the commanders of the army, and Abiathar the priest.…
- 2 Samuel 21:6
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
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); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.