1 Kings 14:17
in 1 Kings 14Then Jeroboam’s wife got up and departed for Tirzah, and as soon as she stepped over the threshold of the house, the boy died.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And Jeroboam’s wife arose, and departed, and came to Tirzah: and as she came to the threshold of the house, the child died.
KJV
And Jeroboam’s wife arose, and departed, and came to Tirzah: and when she came to the threshold of the door, the child died;
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This verse in 1 Kings 14
Commentary
6 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
Jeroboam had by this time removed from Shechem, and established a new capital in Tirzah, one of the old Canaanite towns Jos 12:24 - a town of great reputation for beauty, counted in that respect on a par with Jerusalem Son 6:4. Tirzah is perhaps to be identified with “Telluzah,” a place in the mountains about 9 miles distant from Shechem (Nablous) (or with Teiasir - Conder). It may have been the palatial residence of the kings rather than the actual capital of the country. It remained the capital until Omri built Samaria 1Ki 16:23-
This site's exposition
came to the threshold of the door
on 1 Kings 14:17-18
The child dies exactly where Ahijah said he would, at the threshold, and a word spoken in a back room to a disguised woman is confirmed in public without embellishment. Verse 18 credits the fulfillment to the word of the Lord which he spake by the hand of his servant Ahijah the prophet, the closing formula this book uses when a prophecy against a house meets its outcome, used again for the man of God from Judah at 13:26. All Israel mourns the boy, the one member of Jeroboam's condemned house the text allows a public grave.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
Tirzah - An ancient and royal city, in a pleasant place, where the kings of Israel had a palace, whither Jeroboam was now removed from Shechem, either for his pleasure, or for his son's recovery, by the healthfulness of the place. The threshold - Of the king's house, which probably was upon, or by the wall of the city, and near the gate.
), and justly did all Israel mourn, not only for the loss of so hopeful a prince, whom they were not worthy of, but because his death plucked up the flood-gates, and made a breach, at which an inundation of judgments broke in.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens
And Jeroboam's wife arose, and departed, Upon this speech of the prophet's to her: and came to Tirzah; where Jeroboam now had his court, and where their son now was; it was a royal city in the time of the Canaanites, and is commonly placed in the tribe of Manasseh, and was a very pleasant one, as its name signifies, to which there is an allusion, Son 6:4; see Gill on Jos 12:24, and when she came to the threshold of the door, the child died: just as she was about to step over the threshold of the royal palace, which seems to have been at the entering of the city of Tirzah, 1Ki 14:
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
Its site is occupied by the large village of Taltise [ROBINSON]. As soon as the queen reached the gate of the palace, she received the intelligence that her son was dying, according to the prophet's prediction [1Ki 14:12].
The words behind it
12 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַתָּ֙קָם֙ | vatakom | and she arose | H6965 → | 628 times |
| אֵ֣שֶׁת | ʾeshet | [the] wife of | H802 → | 781 times |
| יָרָבְעָ֔ם | yaraveam | Jeroboam | H3379 → | 104 times |
| וַתֵּ֖לֶךְ | vatelekh | and she went | H1980 → | 1546 times |
| וַתָּבֹ֣א | vatavo' | and she came | H935 → | 2568 times |
| תִרְצָ֑תָה | tirtzatah | Tirzah towards | H8656 → | 18 times |
| הִ֛יא | hi' | she | H1931 → | 1879 times |
| בָּאָ֥ה | baah | [was] coming | H935 → | 2568 times |
| בְסַף־ | vesaf- | at [the] threshold of | H5592 → | |
| הַבַּ֖יִת | habayit | the house | H1004 → | 2046 times |
| וְהַנַּ֥עַר | vehanaar | and the lad | H5288 → | 239 times |
| מֵֽת׃ | met | he died | H4191 → | 839 times |
וַתָּ֙קָם֙and she arose
vatakomH6965 →628 times
אֵ֣שֶׁת[the] wife of
ʾeshetH802 →781 times
יָרָבְעָ֔םJeroboam
yaraveamH3379 →104 times
וַתֵּ֖לֶךְand she went
vatelekhH1980 →1546 times
וַתָּבֹ֣אand she came
vatavo'H935 →2568 times
תִרְצָ֑תָהTirzah towards
tirtzatahH8656 →18 times
הִ֛יאshe
hi'H1931 →1879 times
בָּאָ֥ה[was] coming
baahH935 →2568 times
בְסַף־at [the] threshold of
vesaf-H5592 →
הַבַּ֖יִתthe house
habayitH1004 →2046 times
וְהַנַּ֥עַרand the lad
vehanaarH5288 →239 times
מֵֽת׃he died
metH4191 →839 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
Song of Solomon 6:4You are as beautiful, my darling, as Tirzah, as lovely as Jerusalem, as majestic as troops with banners.
it leads to
- Song of Solomon 6:10
Who is this who shines like the dawn, as fair as the moon, as bright as the sun, as majestic as the stars in procession?
- Psalms 48:2
Beautiful in loftiness, the joy of all the earth, like the peaks of Zaphon is Mount Zion, the city of the great King.
- Revelation 21:2
I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.
- Lamentations 2:15
All who pass by clap their hands at you in scorn. They hiss and shake their heads at the Daughter of Jerusalem: “Is this the city that was called the perfection of beauty, the…
- Song of Solomon 6:10
Through
1 Kings 16:15In the twenty-seventh year of Asa’s reign over Judah, Zimri reigned in Tirzah for seven days. Now the troops were encamped against Gibbethon of the Philistines,
it leads to
- 1 Kings 15:27
Then Baasha son of Ahijah of the house of Issachar conspired against Nadab, and Baasha struck him down at Gibbethon of the Philistines while Nadab and all Israel were besieging the city.
- Joshua 19:44
Eltekeh, Gibbethon, Baalath,
- 1 Kings 15:27
Through
1 Kings 16:23In the thirty-first year of Asa’s reign over Judah, Omri became king of Israel, and he reigned twelve years, six of them in Tirzah.
it leads to
- 1 Kings 16:8
In the twenty-sixth year of Asa’s reign over Judah, Elah son of Baasha became king of Israel, and he reigned in Tirzah two years.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- 1 Kings 16:8
Through
1 Kings 15:21When Baasha learned of this, he stopped fortifying Ramah and withdrew to Tirzah.
it leads to
- 1 Kings 16:15–18
In the twenty-seventh year of Asa’s reign over Judah, Zimri reigned in Tirzah for seven days. Now the troops were encamped against Gibbethon of the Philistines,
- 1 Kings 16:15–18
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About 1 Kings
This page draws on 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; Keil, The Books of the Kings and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.