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2 Chronicles 11:22

in 2 Chronicles 11

Rehoboam appointed Abijah son of Maacah as chief prince among his brothers, intending to make him king.

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾

ASV

And Rehoboam appointed Abijah the son of Maacah to be chief, even the prince among his brethren; for he was minded to make him king.

KJV

And Rehoboam made Abijah the son of Maachah the chief, to be ruler among his brethren: for he thought to make him king.

This verse in 2 Chronicles 11

Commentary

6 notes on this verse

A commentator

Adam Clarke

1762–1832

Commentary on the Bible · Written before 1832.

Made Abijah - the chief - Abijah certainly was not the first-born of Rehoboam; but as he loved Maachah more than any of his wives, so he preferred her son, probably through his mother’s influence. In Deu 21:16, this sort of preference is forbidden; but Rehoboam had a sort of precedent in the preference shown by David to Solomon.

This site's exposition

Rehoboam appointed Abijah son of Maacah

on 2 Chronicles 11:22-23

Rehoboam makes Abijah son of Maacah “chief prince among his brothers, intending to make him king,” though Scripture never calls him the firstborn. Deuteronomy 21:15-17 guards the firstborn's right whichever wife a father loves best. He “acted wisely” with the rest, dispersing his sons through the fortified cities.

The record, by era

The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices

And Rehoboam made Abijah the son of Maacah the chief,....

A commentator

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

proposed

They had formerly sat loose to that family ( 2 Sam. xx. 1, 2 ), and now they quite threw it off, not considering how much it would weaken the common interest and take Israel down from that pitch of glory at which it had arrived in the last reign. But thus the kingdom must be corrected as well as the house of David.

The Nineteenth Century2 voices

A commentator

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown

1802–1910

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)

proposed

It is plainly implied that Abijah was not the oldest of the family. In destining a younger son for the kingdom, without a divine warrant, as in Solomon's case, Rehoboam acted in violation of the law (De 21:15).
Jeush was probably the oldest of Rehoboam’s sons, and should naturally and according to the provisions of the Law Deu 21:15-17 have been his heir. But Rehoboam’s affection for Maachah led him to transgress the Law.

The words behind it

11 Hebrew words

Every 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.

  • וַיַּֽעֲמֵ֨דand he appointed

    vaiyaamedH5975 →521 times

  • לָרֹ֧אשׁto the chief

    laroshH7218 →599 times

  • רְחַבְעָ֛םRehoboam

    rechavamH7346 →50 times

  • אֶת־<obj.>

    ʾet-H853 →10935 times

  • אֲבִיָּ֥הAbijah

    ʾaviyahH29 →25 times

  • בֶֽן־[the] son of

    ven-H1121 →4930 times

  • מַעֲכָ֖הMaacah

    maakhahH4601 →23 times

  • לְנָגִ֣ידto leader

    lenagidH5057 →45 times

  • בְּאֶחָ֑יוamong brothers his

    beechavH251 →630 times

  • כִּ֖יfor

    kiH3588 →4482 times

  • לְהַמְלִיכֽוֹ׃to make king him

    lehamlikhoH4427 →348 times

A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.

The walk

5 stops

Each 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 Chronicles 29:1

    Then King David said to the whole assembly, “My son Solomon, the one whom God has chosen, is young and inexperienced. The task is great because this palace is not for man, but for…

    it leads to

    • 1 Chronicles 22:5

      And David said, “My son Solomon is young and inexperienced, and the house to be built for the LORD must be exceedingly magnificent—famous and glorious throughout all lands. Therefore I must make preparations for…

    • 1 Kings 3:7

      And now, O LORD my God, You have made Your servant king in my father David’s place. But I am only a little child, not knowing how to go out or come in.

    • 2 Chronicles 13:7

      Then worthless and wicked men gathered around him to resist Rehoboam son of Solomon when he was young, inexperienced, and unable to resist them.

    • 1 Chronicles 29:19

      And give my son Solomon a whole heart to keep and carry out all Your commandments, decrees, and statutes, and to build Your palace for which I have made provision.”

    • 1 Kings 8:19–20

      Nevertheless, you are not the one to build it; but your son, your own offspring, will build the house for My Name.’

Where this verse is studied

On this page

About 2 Chronicles

Saphan Reading the Book of the Law to Josiah, Philip Galle, engraving after Maarten van Heemskerck, 1569, Royal Library of Belgium. Public domain.
Saphan Reading the Book of the Law to Josiah, Philip Galle, engraving after Maarten van Heemskerck, 1569, Royal Library of Belgium. Public domain.

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 and Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; 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.