2 Chronicles 11:23
in 2 Chronicles 11Rehoboam also acted wisely by dispersing some of his sons throughout the districts of Judah and Benjamin, and to all the fortified cities. He gave them abundant provisions and sought many wives for them.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And he dealt wisely, and dispersed of all his sons throughout all the lands of Judah and Benjamin, unto every fortified city: and he gave them victuals in abundance. And he sought for them many wives.
KJV
And he dealt wisely, and dispersed of all his children throughout all the countries of Judah and Benjamin, unto every fenced city: and he gave them victual in abundance. And he desired many wives.
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This verse in 2 Chronicles 11
Commentary
8 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
Rehoboam’s wisdom was shown: (1) In dispersing his other sons instead of allowing them to remain together in Jerusalem, where they might have joined in a plot against Abijah, as Adonijah and his brothers had done against Solomon 1Ki 1:5-10; (2) In giving his sons positions which might well content them and prevent them from being jealous of Abijah. He desired many wives - (Compare 2Ch 11:21). Some prefer to connect the words with the preceding words. If so, they denote another point in which Rehoboam was careful to please his sons.
This site's exposition
made Abijah the son of
on 2 Chronicles 11:22-23
Rehoboam makes Abijah the son of Maachah chief among his brothers, intending him for the throne, though Scripture never calls him the firstborn and Deut 21:15-17 protects a firstborn's right regardless of which wife a father loves best. He deals wisely with the rest, dispersing his sons through the fenced cities of Judah and Benjamin with victual in abundance, a precaution against the kind of rivalry that had troubled Solomon's own succession. The chapter's last clause, he desired many wives, closes the reign's family record on the same note it opened, a king following his father's pattern rather than correcting it.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening4 voices
In this he was more wise than his father, that he does not appear to have married strange wives. The wives mentioned here were not only daughters of Israel, but of the family of David; one was a descendant from Eliab, David's brother (
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
And he dealt wisely,....
After-wisdom is better than none at all; nay, they say, "Wit is never good till it is bought;" though he was dearly bought with the loss of a kingdom.
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 Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
But Eastern monarchs ensure peace and tranquillity to their kingdom by bestowing government offices on their sons and grandsons. They obtain an independent provision, and being kept apart, are not likely to cabal in their father's lifetime.
1 more voice on this verse
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
He dealt wisely - It was true policy to disperse his own sons through the different provinces who were not likely to form any league with Jeroboam against their father. He desired many wives - He was much addicted to women; yet we do not find that he formed any heathenish alliances of this nature. And as no particulars are given, we do not know how far he indulged himself in this propensity. He probably strengthened his political connections by these means.
The words behind it
18 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיָּבֶן֩ | vaiyaven | and he acted wisely | H995 → | 170 times |
| וַיִּפְרֹ֨ץ | vaiyifrotz | and he distributed | H6555 → | 49 times |
| מִכָּל־ | mikol | some of all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| בָּנָ֜יו | banav | sons his | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| לְֽכָל־ | lekhol | to all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| אַרְצ֧וֹת | ʾartzot | [the] lands of | H776 → | 2504 times |
| יְהוּדָ֣ה | yehudah | Judah | H3063 → | 819 times |
| וּבִנְיָמִ֗ן | uvinyamin | and Benjamin | H1144 → | 166 times |
| לְכֹל֙ | lekhol | to all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| עָרֵ֣י | ʾarei | [the] cities of | H5892 → | 1090 times |
| הַמְּצֻר֔וֹת | hametzurot | <the> fortifications | H4694 → | 8 times |
| וַיִּתֵּ֥ן | vaiyiten | and he gave | H5414 → | 2011 times |
| לָהֶ֛ם | lahem | to them | ||
| הַמָּז֖וֹן | hamazon | <the> food | H4202 → | |
| לָרֹ֑ב | laro | to abundance | H7230 → | 149 times |
| וַיִּשְׁאַ֖ל | vaiyishal | and he sought | H7592 → | 171 times |
| הֲמ֥וֹן | hamon | a multitude of | H1995 → | 83 times |
| נָשִֽׁים׃ | nashim | wives | H802 → | 781 times |
וַיָּבֶן֩and he acted wisely
vaiyavenH995 →170 times
וַיִּפְרֹ֨ץand he distributed
vaiyifrotzH6555 →49 times
מִכָּל־some of all
mikolH3605 →5413 times
בָּנָ֜יוsons his
banavH1121 →4930 times
לְֽכָל־to all
lekholH3605 →5413 times
אַרְצ֧וֹת[the] lands of
ʾartzotH776 →2504 times
יְהוּדָ֣הJudah
yehudahH3063 →819 times
וּבִנְיָמִ֗ןand Benjamin
uvinyaminH1144 →166 times
לְכֹל֙to all
lekholH3605 →5413 times
עָרֵ֣י[the] cities of
ʾareiH5892 →1090 times
הַמְּצֻר֔וֹת<the> fortifications
hametzurotH4694 →8 times
וַיִּתֵּ֥ןand he gave
vaiyitenH5414 →2011 times
לָהֶ֛םto them
lahem
הַמָּז֖וֹן<the> food
hamazonH4202 →
לָרֹ֑בto abundance
laroH7230 →149 times
וַיִּשְׁאַ֖לand he sought
vaiyishalH7592 →171 times
הֲמ֥וֹןa multitude of
hamonH1995 →83 times
נָשִֽׁים׃wives
nashimH802 →781 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
Genesis 25:6But while he was still alive, Abraham gave gifts to the sons of his concubines and sent them away from his son Isaac to the land of the east.
it leads to
- Genesis 21:14
Early in the morning, Abraham got up, took bread and a skin of water, put them on Hagar’s shoulders, and sent her away with the boy. She left and wandered in the Wilderness of…
- Judges 6:3
Whenever the Israelites would plant their crops, the Midianites, Amalekites, and other people of the east would come up and invade them,
- Acts 14:17
Yet He has not left Himself without testimony to His goodness: He gives you rain from heaven and fruitful seasons, filling your hearts with food and gladness.”
- Genesis 21:14
Through
Luke 16:8The master commended the dishonest manager because he had acted shrewdly. For the sons of this age are more shrewd in dealing with their own kind than are the sons of light.
it leads to
- 1 Thessalonians 5:5
For you are all sons of the light and sons of the day; we do not belong to the night or to the darkness.
- Ephesians 5:8
For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light,
- Proverbs 6:6–8
Walk in the manner of the ant, O slacker; observe its ways and become wise.
- Luke 16:10
Whoever is faithful with very little will also be faithful with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much.
- John 12:36
While you have the Light, believe in the Light, so that you may become sons of light.” After Jesus had spoken these things, He went away and was hidden from them.
- 1 Thessalonians 5:5
About 2 Chronicles

Who and where
2 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 (…
- PersonDivided kingdomRehoboamSolomon's son whose refusal of the elders' counsel at Shechem — answering the people with scorpions — tore ten tribes from the hou…
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.
