1 Kings 12:8
in 1 Kings 12But Rehoboam rejected the advice of the elders; instead, he consulted the young men who had grown up with him and served him.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
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.
KJV
But he forsook the counsel of the old men, which they had given him, and consulted with the young men that were grown up with him, and which stood before him:
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This verse in 1 Kings 12
Commentary
5 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
The age of Rehoboam at his accession is an interesting and difficult question. According to the formal statement of the present text of 1Ki 14:21; 2Ch 12:13, he had reached the mature age of 41 years, and would therefore be unable to plead youth as an excuse for his conduct. The general narrative, however, seems to assume that he was quite a young man (compare 2Ch 13:7).
This site's exposition
he forsook the counsel of the old men
on 1 Kings 12:8-11
Rehoboam turns to the young men raised beside him, and their answer is a boast dressed as policy: my little finger shall be thicker than my father's loins, whips traded for scorpions. The line only lands as an insult because Solomon's reign was already remembered as heavy, so the young men escalate a real complaint into a threat rather than answering it. Matthew Henry's comment on this pairing stands without needing improvement: that is not always the best sense that is best worded.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
But he forsook the counsel of the old men, which they had given him,....
It was a folly for him to think that, because they had been his agreeable companions in the sports and pleasures of his youth, they were therefore fit to have the management of the affairs of his kingdom. Great wits have not always the most wisdom; nor are those to be relied on as our best friends that know how to make us merry, for that will not make us happy.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
Depart yet for three days--It was prudent to take the people's demand into calm and deliberate consideration. Whether, had the advice of the sage and experienced counsellors been followed, any good result would have followed, it is impossible to say.
The words behind it
15 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַֽיַּעֲזֹ֛ב | vaiyaazo | and he forsook | H5800 → | 215 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| עֲצַ֥ת | ʾatzat | [the] counsel of | H6098 → | 89 times |
| הַזְּקֵנִ֖ים | hazekenim | the elders | H2205 → | 178 times |
| אֲשֶׁ֣ר | ʾasher | which | H834 → | 5497 times |
| יְעָצֻ֑הוּ | yeatzuhu | they had counseled him | H3289 → | 79 times |
| וַיִּוָּעַ֗ץ | vaiyivaatz | and he consulted | H3289 → | 79 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | with | H854 → | 929 times |
| הַיְלָדִים֙ | hayladim | the young men | H3206 → | 89 times |
| אֲשֶׁ֣ר | ʾasher | who | H834 → | 5497 times |
| גָּדְל֣וּ | gadelu | they had grown up | H1431 → | 117 times |
| אִתּ֔וֹ | ʾito | with him | H854 → | 929 times |
| אֲשֶׁ֥ר | ʾasher | who | H834 → | 5497 times |
| הָעֹמְדִ֖ים | haomedim | [were] the [ones who] stood | H5975 → | 521 times |
| לְפָנָֽיו׃ | lefanav | <to> before him | H6440 → | 2123 times |
וַֽיַּעֲזֹ֛בand he forsook
vaiyaazoH5800 →215 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
עֲצַ֥ת[the] counsel of
ʾatzatH6098 →89 times
הַזְּקֵנִ֖יםthe elders
hazekenimH2205 →178 times
אֲשֶׁ֣רwhich
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
יְעָצֻ֑הוּthey had counseled him
yeatzuhuH3289 →79 times
וַיִּוָּעַ֗ץand he consulted
vaiyivaatzH3289 →79 times
אֶת־with
ʾet-H854 →929 times
הַיְלָדִים֙the young men
hayladimH3206 →89 times
אֲשֶׁ֣רwho
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
גָּדְל֣וּthey had grown up
gadeluH1431 →117 times
אִתּ֔וֹwith him
ʾitoH854 →929 times
אֲשֶׁ֥רwho
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
הָעֹמְדִ֖ים[were] the [ones who] stood
haomedimH5975 →521 times
לְפָנָֽיו׃<to> before him
lefanavH6440 →2123 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
Proverbs 19:20Listen to counsel and accept discipline, that you may be wise the rest of your days.
it leads to
- Proverbs 12:15
The way of a fool is right in his own eyes, but a wise man listens to counsel.
- Proverbs 8:34–35
Blessed is the man who listens to me, watching daily at my doors, waiting at the posts of my doorway.
- Proverbs 2:1–9
My son, if you accept my words and hide my commandments within you,
- Proverbs 1:8
Listen, my son, to your father’s instruction, and do not forsake the teaching of your mother.
- Proverbs 4:1
Listen, my sons, to a father’s instruction; pay attention and gain understanding.
- Proverbs 12:15
Through
Proverbs 1:25because you neglected all my counsel, and wanted none of my correction,
it leads to
- Psalms 81:11
But My people would not listen to Me, and Israel would not obey Me.
- Luke 7:30
But the Pharisees and experts in the law rejected God’s purpose for themselves, because they had not been baptized by John.
- Proverbs 12:1
Whoever loves discipline loves knowledge, but he who hates correction is stupid.
- Psalms 81:11
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
About 1 Kings
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.