2 Chronicles 11:18
in 2 Chronicles 11And Rehoboam married Mahalath, who was the daughter of David’s son Jerimoth and of Abihail, the daughter of Jesse’s son Eliab.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And Rehoboam took him a wife, Mahalath the daughter of Jerimoth the son of David, and of Abihail the daughter of Eliab the son of Jesse;
KJV
And Rehoboam took him Mahalath the daughter of Jerimoth the son of David to wife, and Abihail the daughter of Eliab the son of Jesse;
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This verse in 2 Chronicles 11
Commentary
6 notes on this verseAnd Rehoboam took him Mahalath, the daughter of Jerimoth, the son of David, to wife,.... Of which son of David we nowhere else read; perhaps he might be the son of one of his concubines, or he might have two names: and Abihail the daughter of Eliab the son of Jesse; who was David's eldest brother. 1Sa 17:13. She must be a granddaughter or great-granddaughter of his.
This site's exposition
took him Mahalath the daughter
on 2 Chronicles 11:18-19
Rehoboam's first two named wives are both inside David's own family: Mahalath, daughter of Jerimoth, a son of David not listed among his legitimate sons in 1 Chr 3 and so likely born to a concubine, and Abihail, daughter of Eliab, David's eldest brother. The marriages keep the throne's new branch tied by blood to the old one on both sides. Chronicles preserves this genealogy nowhere paralleled in Kings, part of the family record the book alone carries forward from 1 Chr 1-9.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
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 Century3 voices
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
This is probably an extract from the “genealogies” of Iddo 2Ch 12:15. As Jerimoth is not mentioned among the legitimate sons of David 1Ch 3:1-8; 1Ch 14:4-7, he must have been the child of a concubine. Abihail was probably the “grand-daughter,” not “daughter,” of Eliab 1Sa 16:6; 1Sa 17:13; 1Ch 2:13.
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
Rehoboam took Mahalath--The names of her father and mother are given. Jerimoth, the father, must have been the son of one of David's concubines (1Ch 3:9). Abihail was, of course, his cousin, previous to their marriage.
Took him Mahalath - By marrying thus in the family of David, he strengthened his right to the Jewish throne.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיִּֽקַּֽח־ | vaiyikach- | and he took | H3947 → | 966 times |
| ל֤וֹ | lo | for himself | ||
| רְחַבְעָם֙ | rechavam | Rehoboam | H7346 → | 50 times |
| אִשָּׁ֔ה | ʾishah | a wife | H802 → | 781 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| מָ֣חֲלַ֔ת | machalat | Mahalath | H4258 → | |
| בַּת | ben | [the] daughter of | H1323 → | 588 times |
| יְרִימ֖וֹת | yerimot | Jerimoth | H3406 → | |
| בֶּן־ | ben- | [the] son of | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| דָּוִ֑יד | david | David | H1732 → | 999 times |
| אֲבִיהַ֕יִל | ʾavihayil | Abihail | H32 → | |
| בַּת־ | bat- | [the] daughter of | H1323 → | 588 times |
| אֱלִיאָ֖ב | ʾeliav | Eliab | H446 → | |
| בֶּן־ | ben- | [the] son of | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| יִשָֽׁי׃ | yishai | Jesse | H3448 → |
וַיִּֽקַּֽח־and he took
vaiyikach-H3947 →966 times
ל֤וֹfor himself
lo
רְחַבְעָם֙Rehoboam
rechavamH7346 →50 times
אִשָּׁ֔הa wife
ʾishahH802 →781 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
מָ֣חֲלַ֔תMahalath
machalatH4258 →
בַּת[the] daughter of
benH1323 →588 times
יְרִימ֖וֹתJerimoth
yerimotH3406 →
בֶּן־[the] son of
ben-H1121 →4930 times
דָּוִ֑ידDavid
davidH1732 →999 times
אֲבִיהַ֕יִלAbihail
ʾavihayilH32 →
בַּת־[the] daughter of
bat-H1323 →588 times
אֱלִיאָ֖בEliab
ʾeliavH446 →
בֶּן־[the] son of
ben-H1121 →4930 times
יִשָֽׁי׃Jesse
yishaiH3448 →
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
1 Chronicles 2:13Jesse was the father of Eliab his firstborn; Abinadab was born second, Shimea third,
it leads to
- 1 Samuel 17:13
The three older sons of Jesse had followed Saul into battle: The firstborn was Eliab, the second was Abinadab, and the third was Shammah.
Reached by 3 separate paths from here.
- 1 Samuel 17:13
Through
1 Samuel 17:13The three older sons of Jesse had followed Saul into battle: The firstborn was Eliab, the second was Abinadab, and the third was Shammah.
it leads to
- 1 Chronicles 2:13
Jesse was the father of Eliab his firstborn; Abinadab was born second, Shimea third,
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- 1 Samuel 17:28
Now when David’s oldest brother Eliab heard him speaking to the men, his anger burned against David. “Why have you come down here?” he asked. “And with whom did you leave those few sheep…
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- 1 Chronicles 2:13
Through
1 Samuel 17:28Now when David’s oldest brother Eliab heard him speaking to the men, his anger burned against David. “Why have you come down here?” he asked. “And with whom did you leave those few sheep…
it leads to
- Matthew 10:36
A man’s enemies will be the members of his own household.’
- Genesis 37:11
And his brothers were jealous of him, but his father kept in mind what he had said.
- Genesis 37:8
“Do you intend to reign over us?” his brothers asked. “Will you actually rule us?” So they hated him even more because of his dream and his statements.
- Proverbs 18:19
An offended brother is harder to win than a fortified city, and disputes are like the bars of a castle.
- Genesis 37:4
When Joseph’s brothers saw that their father loved him more than any of them, they hated him and could not speak a kind word to him.
- Matthew 10:36
About 2 Chronicles

Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament; 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.
