1 Kings 14:21
in 1 Kings 14Meanwhile, Rehoboam son of Solomon reigned in Judah. He was forty-one years old when he became king, and he reigned seventeen years in Jerusalem, the city the LORD had chosen from all the tribes of Israel in which to put His Name. His mother’s name was Naamah the Ammonite.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And Rehoboam the son of Solomon reigned in Judah. Rehoboam was forty and one years old when he began to reign, and he reigned seventeen years in Jerusalem, the city which Jehovah had chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, to put his name there: and his mother’s name was Naamah the Ammonitess.
KJV
And Rehoboam the son of Solomon reigned in Judah. Rehoboam was forty and one years old when he began to reign, and he reigned seventeen years in Jerusalem, the city which the Lord did choose out of all the tribes of Israel, to put his name there. And his mother’s name was Naamah an Ammonitess.
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This verse in 1 Kings 14
Commentary
4 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
On the age of Rehoboam at his accession, see 1Ki 12:8 note. The 17 years of his reign must have been complete, or a little more than complete, if Abijam ascended the throne in the “eighteenth” year of Jeroboam 1Ki 15:1.
This site's exposition
to put his name there
Rehoboam's introduction repeats the name formula that runs through the temple chapters, the city which the Lord did choose... to put his name there, restated the very moment the kingdom splits, even though Rehoboam now rules only a fragment of it. His mother is named here and again at verse 31, Naamah an Ammonitess, a wife from the nation Solomon's foreign marriages at 11:1 had already drawn into the king's household. A son of that marriage now sits on David's throne, the immediate domestic cost of the multiplication Deut 17:17 forbade a king to pursue.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
Forty one years - Therefore he was born a year before Solomon was king, as appears from chap. xi, 42, this is noted as an aggravation of Rehoboam's folly, that he was old enough to have been wiser.
on 1 Kings 14:21-31
It was strange that David would marry his son Solomon to an Ammonitess (for it was done while he lived), but it is probable that Solomon was in love with her, because she was Naamah, a beauty (so it signifies), and his father was loth to cross him, but it proved to have a very bad influence upon posterity.
The words behind it
31 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וּרְחַבְעָם֙ | urechavam | and Rehoboam | H7346 → | 50 times |
| בֶּן־ | ben- | [the] son of | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| שְׁלֹמֹ֔ה | shelomoh | Solomon | H8010 → | 291 times |
| מָלַ֖ךְ | malakh | he reigned | H4427 → | 348 times |
| בִּֽיהוּדָ֑ה | bihudah | in Judah | H3063 → | 819 times |
| בֶּן־ | ben- | [was] a son of | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| אַרְבָּעִ֣ים | ʾarbaim | forty | H705 → | 136 times |
| וְאַחַ֣ת | veachat | and one | H259 → | 971 times |
| שָׁנָה֩ | shanah | year[s] | H8141 → | 877 times |
| רְחַבְעָ֨ם | rechavam | Rehoboam | H7346 → | 50 times |
| בְּמָלְכ֜וֹ | bemalekho | when became king he | H4427 → | 348 times |
| וּֽשֲׁבַ֨ע | ushava' | and seven- | H7651 → | 394 times |
| עֶשְׂרֵ֥ה | ʾesreh | teen | H6240 → | 338 times |
| שָׁנָ֣ה׀ | shanah | year[s] | H8141 → | 877 times |
| מָלַ֣ךְ | malakh | he reigned | H4427 → | 348 times |
| בִּירוּשָׁלִַ֗ם | birushalim | in Jerusalem | H3389 → | 643 times |
| הָ֠עִיר | hair | the city | H5892 → | 1090 times |
| אֲשֶׁר־ | ʾasher- | where | H834 → | 5497 times |
| בָּחַ֨ר | bachar | he had chosen | H977 → | 171 times |
| יְהוָ֜ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| לָשׂ֨וּם | lasum | to put | H7760 → | 584 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| שְׁמ֥וֹ | shemo | name his | H8034 → | 864 times |
| שָׁם֙ | sham | there | H8033 → | 834 times |
| מִכֹּל֙ | mikol | from all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| שִׁבְטֵ֣י | shivtei | [the] tribes of | H7626 → | 190 times |
| יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל | yisrael | Israel | H3478 → | 2507 times |
| וְשֵׁ֣ם | veshem | and [the] name of | H8034 → | 864 times |
| אִמּ֔וֹ | ʾimo | mother his | H517 → | 220 times |
| נַעֲמָ֖ה | naamah | [was] Naamah | H5279 → | |
| הָעַמֹּנִֽית׃ | haamonit | the Ammonite [woman] | H5984 → | 21 times |
וּרְחַבְעָם֙and Rehoboam
urechavamH7346 →50 times
בֶּן־[the] son of
ben-H1121 →4930 times
שְׁלֹמֹ֔הSolomon
shelomohH8010 →291 times
מָלַ֖ךְhe reigned
malakhH4427 →348 times
בִּֽיהוּדָ֑הin Judah
bihudahH3063 →819 times
בֶּן־[was] a son of
ben-H1121 →4930 times
אַרְבָּעִ֣יםforty
ʾarbaimH705 →136 times
וְאַחַ֣תand one
veachatH259 →971 times
שָׁנָה֩year[s]
shanahH8141 →877 times
רְחַבְעָ֨םRehoboam
rechavamH7346 →50 times
בְּמָלְכ֜וֹwhen became king he
bemalekhoH4427 →348 times
וּֽשֲׁבַ֨עand seven-
ushava'H7651 →394 times
עֶשְׂרֵ֥הteen
ʾesrehH6240 →338 times
שָׁנָ֣ה׀year[s]
shanahH8141 →877 times
מָלַ֣ךְhe reigned
malakhH4427 →348 times
בִּירוּשָׁלִַ֗םin Jerusalem
birushalimH3389 →643 times
הָ֠עִירthe city
hairH5892 →1090 times
אֲשֶׁר־where
ʾasher-H834 →5497 times
בָּחַ֨רhe had chosen
bacharH977 →171 times
יְהוָ֜הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
לָשׂ֨וּםto put
lasumH7760 →584 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
שְׁמ֥וֹname his
shemoH8034 →864 times
שָׁם֙there
shamH8033 →834 times
מִכֹּל֙from all
mikolH3605 →5413 times
שִׁבְטֵ֣י[the] tribes of
shivteiH7626 →190 times
יִשְׂרָאֵ֔לIsrael
yisraelH3478 →2507 times
וְשֵׁ֣םand [the] name of
veshemH8034 →864 times
אִמּ֔וֹmother his
ʾimoH517 →220 times
נַעֲמָ֖ה[was] Naamah
naamahH5279 →
הָעַמֹּנִֽית׃the Ammonite [woman]
haamonitH5984 →21 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
2 Chronicles 12:13Thus King Rehoboam established himself in Jerusalem. He was forty-one years old when he became king, and he reigned seventeen years in Jerusalem, the city the LORD had chosen from all the tribes of…
it leads to
- Deuteronomy 12:5
Instead, you must seek the place the LORD your God will choose from among all your tribes to establish as a dwelling for His Name, and there you must go.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- 2 Chronicles 6:6
But now I have chosen Jerusalem for My Name to be there, and I have chosen David to be over My people Israel.’
- Psalms 78:68–69
But He chose the tribe of Judah, Mount Zion, which He loved.
- Psalms 48:1–3
Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised in the city of our God, His holy mountain.
- Deuteronomy 12:5
Through
1 Kings 11:36I 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.
it leads to
- 1 Kings 15:4
Nevertheless, for the sake of David, the LORD his God gave him a lamp in Jerusalem by raising up a son to succeed him and to make Jerusalem strong.
- 2 Kings 8:19
Yet for the sake of His servant David, the LORD was unwilling to destroy Judah, since He had promised to maintain a lamp for David and his descendants forever.
- 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…
- 1 Kings 15:4
Through
1 Kings 14:31And Rehoboam rested with his fathers and was buried with them in the City of David; his mother’s name was Naamah the Ammonite. And his son Abijam reigned in his place.
it leads to
- 2 Chronicles 12:16
And Rehoboam rested with his fathers and was buried in the City of David. And his son Abijah reigned in his place.
- 2 Chronicles 12:16
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About 1 Kings

Who and where
4 names in this verse with a page on the site.
- PersonPatriarchsJudahJacob's fourth son who pledges himself for Benjamin; the tribe that carries the scepter to Shiloh (49:10) and the line to Christ (…
- PersonSolomonDavid's son and the third king of Israel; the temple-builder and wisdom-king, to whom Psalms 72 and 127 are ascribed.
- PersonDivided kingdomRehoboamSolomon's son whose refusal of the elders' counsel at Shechem — answering the people with scorpions — tore ten tribes from the hou…
- PlaceJerusalemJerusalemThe city David took from the Jebusites and made his capital, where Solomon built the temple, where Christ was crucified and rose,…
This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Alfred Edersheim, Bible History: Old Testament; John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament; Keil, The Books of the Kings and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.
