1 Kings 16:34
in 1 Kings 16In Ahab’s days, Hiel the Bethelite rebuilt Jericho. At the cost of Abiram his firstborn he laid its foundation, and at the cost of Segub his youngest he set up its gates, according to the word that the LORD had spoken through Joshua son of Nun.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
In his days did Hiel the Beth-elite build Jericho: he laid the foundation thereof with the loss of Abiram his first-born, and set up the gates thereof with the loss of his youngest son Segub, according to the word of Jehovah, which he spake by Joshua the son of Nun.
KJV
In his days did Hiel the Beth–elite build Jericho: he laid the foundation thereof in Abiram his firstborn, and set up the gates thereof in his youngest son Segub, according to the word of the Lord, which he spake by Joshua the son of Nun.
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This verse in 1 Kings 16
Commentary
10 notes on this verseA commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
But the curse was fulfilled more than five hundred years after it was uttered; and from Jericho being inhabited after Joshua's time (Jud 3:13; 2Sa 10:5), it has been supposed that the act against which the curse was directed, was an attempt at the restoration of the walls--the very walls which had been miraculously cast down.
This site's exposition
laid the foundation thereof in Abiram his firstborn
Hiel of Bethel rebuilds Jericho and the price is his own sons, Abiram at the foundation and Segub the youngest at the gates, exactly the sentence Joshua spoke over that ground at Josh 6:26 nearly five centuries earlier. The chapter that opened by fulfilling a sentence on Baasha's house inside one generation closes by fulfilling one held in reserve for centuries, and the narrator names both the same way, according to the word of the Lord. Whether the deaths came through the ordinary loss any builder risked or through a direct stroke, the commentators differ, and the text itself names only that the word Joshua spoke came to pass.
The record, by era
The Medieval Church2 voices
Jericho remained in ruins as a sign and memory of the power of God and the victory of the people of Israel. But the insolent Ahab decided to refute the words of Joshua and said, "As the words of his master Moses, who said, 'The …
"In his days, Hiel of Bethel built Jericho." [1 Kings 16:34] What is written about the times of Ahab's reign: 'In his days, Hiel of Bethel built Jericho. He laid its foundations with Abiram his firstborn, and set up its gates with Segub his youngest,' …
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
In his days - This is added, 1. as an instance of the certainty of divine predictions, this being fulfilled eight hundred years after it was threatened; and withal, as a warning to the Israelites, not to think themselves innocent or safe, because the judgment threatened against them by Ahijah, chap. xiv, 15, was not yet executed.
It comes in as an instance of the height of impiety to which men had arrived, especially at Bethel, where one of the calves was, for of that city this daring sinner was. Like Achan he meddled with the accursed thing, turned that to his own use which was devoted to God's honour.
12 Thus did Zimri destroy all the house of Baasha, according to the word of the L ORD , which he spake against Baasha by Jehu the prophet, 13 For all the sins of Baasha, and the sins of Elah his son, by which they sinned, and by which they made Israel to sin, in provoking the L ORD God of Israel to anger with their vanities.
quarantine:scripture (2026-07-29) — scripture-overlap:94%@v12-13
3 more voices on this verse
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
And in his days did Hiel the Bethelite build Jericho,....
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
Did Hiel the Beth-elite build Jericho - I wish the reader to refer to my note on Jos 6:26, for a general view of this subject. I shall add a few observations. Joshua’s curse is well known: “Cursed be the man before the Lord that riseth up and buildeth this city Jericho; he shall lay the foundation thereof in his first-born; and in his youngest son shall he set up the gates of it,” Jos 6:26. This is the curse, but the meaning of its terms is not very obvious.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
This seems to be adduced as a proof of the general impiety of Ahab’s time. The curse of Joshua against the man who should rebuild Jericho had hitherto been believed and respected. But now faith in the old religion had so decayed, that Joshua’s malediction had lost its power. Hiel, a Bethelite of wealth and station, undertook to restore the long-ruined fortress. But he suffered for his temerity. In exact accordance with the words of Joshua’s curse, he lost his firstborn son when he began to lay anew the foundations of the walls, and his youngest when he completed his work by setting up the gates. We need not suppose that Jericho had been absolutely uninhabited up to this time. But it was a ruined and desolate place without the necessary protection of walls, and containing probably but few houses (Jdg 3:13 note). Hiel re-established it as a city, and it soon became once more a place of some importance 2Ch 28:15.
The words behind it
22 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| בְּיָמָ֞יו | beyamav | in days his | H3117 → | 2304 times |
| בָּנָ֥ה | banah | he rebuilt | H1129 → | 376 times |
| חִיאֵ֛ל | chiel | Hiel | H2419 → | |
| בֵּ֥ית | beit | [the] Beth- | H1017 → | |
| הָאֱלִ֖י | haeli | <the> -elite | H1017 → | |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| יְרִיחֹ֑ה | yerichoh | Jericho | H3405 → | |
| בַּאֲבִירָ֨ם | baaviram | by Abiram | H48 → | |
| בְּכֹר֜וֹ | bekhoro | firstborn his | H1060 → | |
| יִסְּדָ֗הּ | yisedah | he founded it | H3245 → | 43 times |
| וּבִשְׂג֤וּב | uvisgiv | and by Segub | H7687 → | |
| צְעִירוֹ֙ | tzeiro | young [son] his | H6810 → | |
| הִצִּ֣יב | hitziv | he set up | H5324 → | 75 times |
| דְּלָתֶ֔יהָ | delateiha | gates its | H1817 → | 88 times |
| כִּדְבַ֣ר | kidvar | according to [the] word of | H1697 → | 1440 times |
| יְהוָ֔ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| אֲשֶׁ֣ר | ʾasher | which | H834 → | 5497 times |
| דִּבֶּ֔ר | diber | he spoke | H1696 → | 1141 times |
| בְּיַ֖ד | beyad | by [the] hand of | H3027 → | 1618 times |
| יְהוֹשֻׁ֥עַ | yehoshua' | Joshua | H3091 → | |
| בִּן־ | bin- | [the] son of | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| נֽוּן׃ ס | nun | Nun | H5126 → |
בְּיָמָ֞יוin days his
beyamavH3117 →2304 times
בָּנָ֥הhe rebuilt
banahH1129 →376 times
חִיאֵ֛לHiel
chielH2419 →
בֵּ֥ית[the] Beth-
beitH1017 →
הָאֱלִ֖י<the> -elite
haeliH1017 →
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
יְרִיחֹ֑הJericho
yerichohH3405 →
בַּאֲבִירָ֨םby Abiram
baaviramH48 →
בְּכֹר֜וֹfirstborn his
bekhoroH1060 →
יִסְּדָ֗הּhe founded it
yisedahH3245 →43 times
וּבִשְׂג֤וּבand by Segub
uvisgivH7687 →
צְעִירוֹ֙young [son] his
tzeiroH6810 →
הִצִּ֣יבhe set up
hitzivH5324 →75 times
דְּלָתֶ֔יהָgates its
delateihaH1817 →88 times
כִּדְבַ֣רaccording to [the] word of
kidvarH1697 →1440 times
יְהוָ֔הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
אֲשֶׁ֣רwhich
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
דִּבֶּ֔רhe spoke
diberH1696 →1141 times
בְּיַ֖דby [the] hand of
beyadH3027 →1618 times
יְהוֹשֻׁ֥עַJoshua
yehoshua'H3091 →
בִּן־[the] son of
bin-H1121 →4930 times
נֽוּן׃ סNun
nunH5126 →
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
Matthew 24:35Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will never pass away.
it leads to
- Isaiah 40:8
The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God stands forever.”
- 1 Peter 1:25
but the word of the Lord stands forever.” And this is the word that was proclaimed to you.
- Numbers 23:19
God is not a man, that He should lie, or a son of man, that He should change His mind. Does He speak and not act? Does He promise and not fulfill?
- Isaiah 55:11
so My word that proceeds from My mouth will not return to Me empty, but it will accomplish what I please, and it will prosper where I send it.
- Matthew 5:18
For I tell you truly, until heaven and earth pass away, not a single jot, not a stroke of a pen, will disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished.
- Isaiah 40:8
Through
Joshua 6:26At that time Joshua invoked this solemn oath: “Cursed before the LORD is the man who rises up and rebuilds this city, Jericho; at the cost of his firstborn he will lay its foundations;…
it leads to
- Acts 19:13
Now there were some itinerant Jewish exorcists who tried to invoke the name of the Lord Jesus over those with evil spirits. They would say, “I bind you by Jesus, whom Paul proclaims.”
- Acts 19:13
Through
Zechariah 1:5Where are your fathers now? And the prophets, do they live forever?
it leads to
- 2 Peter 3:2–4
by recalling what was foretold by the holy prophets and commanded by our Lord and Savior through your apostles.
- Ecclesiastes 12:5
when men fear the heights and dangers of the road, when the almond tree blossoms, the grasshopper loses its spring, and the caper berry shrivels—for then man goes to his eternal home and mourners…
- 2 Peter 3:2–4
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About 1 Kings
Who and where
2 names in this verse with a page on the site.
- PersonConquestJoshuaMoses' minister and successor, one of the two faithful spies; he led Israel across Jordan, around Jericho, and through the conques…
- PlaceJordan valleyJerichoThe city of palms whose walls fell flat at the seventh trumpet-circuit; Rahab's city, later rebuilt under a curse, and the road do…
This page draws on 9 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Bede, Thirty Questions on the Book of Kings; Bede, Questions on the Book of Kings #16; Ishodad of Merv, BOOKS OF SESSIONS 1 KINGS 16:7; 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.