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The Histories · Old Testament

2 Chronicles 10

2 Chronicles 10: Rehoboam at Shechem and the division of the kingdom

General context

Rehoboam goes to Shechem, where all Israel has come to make him king. Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who fled from Solomon to Egypt, hears of it and returns, and the people send for him. Jeroboam and all Israel ask Rehoboam to ease the grievous yoke Solomon put on them, promising to serve him. Rehoboam tells them to return in three days. He asks the old men who stood before Solomon, and they advise him to be kind, please the people and speak good words, so that they will serve him for ever. He forsakes that counsel and asks the young men brought up with him, who tell him to say that his little finger is thicker than his father's loins, that he will add to the yoke, and that where his father used whips he will use scorpions. On the third day the king answers roughly, following the young men. The narrator says the king did not listen because the cause was of God, so that the Lord's word by Ahijah the Shilonite to Jeroboam might be performed. All Israel answers that they have no portion in David and no inheritance in the son of Jesse, tells every man to go to his tents, and tells David to see to his own house. Israel goes home; Rehoboam reigns over the Israelites in the cities of Judah. He sends Hadoram, who is over the tribute, and the children of Israel stone him to death; Rehoboam hurries into his chariot and flees to Jerusalem. The narrator closes: Israel has rebelled against the house of David unto this day.

Cited passages: 2 Chronicles 10:1, 2 Chronicles 10:2, 2 Chronicles 10:3, 2 Chronicles 10:4, 2 Chronicles 10:5, 2 Chronicles 10:6, 2 Chronicles 10:7, 2 Chronicles 10:8, 2 Chronicles 10:10, 2 Chronicles 10:11, 2 Chronicles 10:12, 2 Chronicles 10:13, 2 Chronicles 10:14, 2 Chronicles 10:15, 2 Chronicles 10:16, 2 Chronicles 10:17, 2 Chronicles 10:18, 2 Chronicles 10:19

2 Chronicles 10 (KJV)

1And Rehoboam went to Shechem: for to Shechem were all Israel come to make him king.

2And it came to pass, when Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who was in Egypt, whither he had fled from the presence of Solomon the king, heard it, that Jeroboam returned out of Egypt.

3And they sent and called him. So Jeroboam and all Israel came and spake to Rehoboam, saying,

4Thy father made our yoke grievous: now therefore ease thou somewhat the grievous servitude of thy father, and his heavy yoke that he put upon us, and we will serve thee.

5And he said unto them, Come again unto me after three days. And the people departed.

6And king Rehoboam took counsel with the old men that had stood before Solomon his father while he yet lived, saying, What counsel give ye me to return answer to this people?

7And they spake unto him, saying, If thou be kind to this people, and please them, and speak good words to them, they will be thy servants for ever.

8But he forsook the counsel which the old men gave him, and took counsel with the young men that were brought up with him, that stood before him.

9And he said unto them, What advice give ye that we may return answer to this people, which have spoken to me, saying, Ease somewhat the yoke that thy father did put upon us?

10And the young men that were brought up with him spake unto him, saying, Thus shalt thou answer the people that spake unto thee, saying, Thy father made our yoke heavy, but make thou it somewhat lighter for us; thus shalt thou say unto them, My little finger shall be thicker than my father’s loins.

11For whereas my father put a heavy yoke upon you, I will put more to your yoke: my father chastised you with whips, but I will chastise you with scorpions.

12So Jeroboam and all the people came to Rehoboam on the third day, as the king bade, saying, Come again to me on the third day.

13And the king answered them roughly; and king Rehoboam forsook the counsel of the old men,

14And answered them after the advice of the young men, saying, My father made your yoke heavy, but I will add thereto: my father chastised you with whips, but I will chastise you with scorpions.

15So the king hearkened not unto the people: for the cause was of God, that the Lord might perform his word, which he spake by the hand of Ahijah the Shilonite to Jeroboam the son of Nebat.

16And when all Israel saw that the king would not hearken unto them, the people answered the king, saying, What portion have we in David? and we have none inheritance in the son of Jesse: every man to your tents, O Israel: and now, David, see to thine own house. So all Israel went to their tents.

17But as for the children of Israel that dwelt in the cities of Judah, Rehoboam reigned over them.

18Then king Rehoboam sent Hadoram that was over the tribute; and the children of Israel stoned him with stones, that he died. But king Rehoboam made speed to get him up to his chariot, to flee to Jerusalem.

19And Israel rebelled against the house of David unto this day.

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Historical context

Jeroboam enters this book as a man who had fled from Solomon to Egypt; the chapter does not say why he fled, and it refers to a word spoken to him by Ahijah the Shilonite without narrating it, pointing back only to the prophecy of Ahijah named among the sources for Solomon's reign. The speakers are kept distinct: the people complain, the old men advise, the young men advise, Rehoboam answers, the people reply, and the narrator alone says the cause was of God. The people's complaint of a grievous yoke stands beside the earlier report that Solomon made no servants of the children of Israel for his work; the text records both the claim and the earlier statement without reconciling them. The old men are defined as those who stood before Solomon while he lived, the young men as those brought up with Rehoboam. Rehoboam's age is not given here; the book states later that he was forty one when he began to reign. Hadoram is identified only by his office over the tribute, and the narrator reports his stoning and death in one sentence. The closing unto this day is the narrator's own vantage, as in the notes on the ark's staves and the tribute of the remnant peoples.

Cited passages: 2 Chronicles 10:2, 2 Chronicles 10:15, 2 Chronicles 9:29, 2 Chronicles 10:4, 2 Chronicles 8:9, 2 Chronicles 10:6, 2 Chronicles 10:8, 2 Chronicles 12:13, 2 Chronicles 10:18, 2 Chronicles 10:19, 2 Chronicles 5:9

Literary context

The chapter is built on a request, a delay, two counsels, an answer and a response. The young men's words are given twice, first as advice and then as delivered, and the delivered version is shorter: Rehoboam keeps the yoke and the scorpions but drops the line about his little finger. Servitude is the thread: the people offer to serve, the old men promise servants for ever, and the answer is more yoke. The people's reply is shaped like a chant, a question about David, a denial of inheritance in the son of Jesse, a call to the tents and a taunt to David's house. The narrator's interruption at verse fifteen reframes the whole scene as God's doing while leaving Rehoboam's choice, told step by step, in full view. The only violence is quick, a stoning reported in one clause, followed by the king making speed to his chariot. The closing unto this day matches earlier narrator notes and makes the split a settled fact. Set against the previous chapter, where all the kings of the earth sought Solomon's presence, this chapter shows his son losing his own people within three days.

Cited passages: 2 Chronicles 10:5, 2 Chronicles 10:10, 2 Chronicles 10:14, 2 Chronicles 10:4, 2 Chronicles 10:7, 2 Chronicles 10:16, 2 Chronicles 10:15, 2 Chronicles 10:8, 2 Chronicles 10:18, 2 Chronicles 10:19, 2 Chronicles 9:23

Key moments

  1. All Israel at Shechem (2 Chronicles 10:1). Rehoboam goes to Shechem, where Israel has gathered to make him king.
  2. Ease the yoke (2 Chronicles 10:4). Jeroboam and the people ask Rehoboam to lighten Solomon's heavy yoke.
  3. The old men's counsel (2 Chronicles 10:7). The elders advise kindness and good words to win lasting service.
  4. Whips and scorpions (2 Chronicles 10:11). The young men advise Rehoboam to promise a heavier yoke and harsher punishment.
  5. A rough answer (2 Chronicles 10:14). Rehoboam answers the people after the young men's advice.
  6. To your tents, O Israel (2 Chronicles 10:16). Israel renounces any portion in David and goes home.
  7. Hadoram stoned (2 Chronicles 10:18). Israel stones Rehoboam's tribute officer and the king flees to Jerusalem.

For reflection

The narrator says Rehoboam did not listen because the cause was of God, and yet records his choice of counsel step by step. How does a reader hold the king's own decision and the narrator's explanation together in one scene?

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