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Nach YomiI Kings · מלכים א׳Chapter 14

I Kings 14

מלכים א׳ פרק י״ד

Section: נביאים · נביאים ראשונים | Book: I Kings | Chapter: 14 of 22 | Day: 114 of 742

Date: June 5, 2026

קלאוד על הנ״ך

Chapter 14 is the divine reckoning for the apostasies of chapters 12-13. Jeroboam’s son Abijah falls sick, and the king who erected golden calves at Dan and Bethel now needs a true prophet of the God of Israel. The chapter’s opening scene — Jeroboam sending his disguised wife (ותשתנית) to Ahijah the Shilonite — is one of the most psychologically rich vignettes in Sefer Melakhim. Ahijah is the same prophet who, years earlier, tore his new garment into twelve pieces and granted Jeroboam ten tribes (chapter 11). The king who once received the kingdom from this prophet now fears to face him as himself. Radak’s comment captures the irony with precision: Jeroboam knew Ahijah hated him for turning from the Lord, so he hoped a disguise would buy him a favorable oracle. The implicit calculus is grotesque — Jeroboam still believes God’s word, since he sent his wife on the strength of Ahijah’s earlier prophecy about his kingship, yet he imagines that same God’s prophet can be deceived by a costume change.

The encounter that follows is constructed with theatrical care. Ahijah is blind, his eyes “set” (קמו עיניו) from age, so a disguise should have worked perfectly. But the Lord forewarns him: “Behold, the wife of Jeroboam comes to inquire of you concerning her son.” When Ahijah hears the sound of her feet at the doorway, he greets her by name — “Come in, wife of Jeroboam, why feign yourself another?” — and immediately delivers a “harsh thing” (קשה). The oracle reaches back to chapter 11: God raised Jeroboam from among the people, tore the kingdom from David’s house, gave it to him — and Jeroboam responded by making other gods and molten images, casting God behind his back. The punishment is total: every male of his house will be cut off, dogs will eat his urban dead and birds his rural dead, his house will be swept away “as one sweeps dung.” Chazal (Mo’ed Katan 28b, cited by Rashi and Radak) preserve a small but devastating note about the one exception, the son Abijah: he alone of Jeroboam’s house will receive proper burial because some “good thing” was found in him — he abandoned the watchposts (פרדסאות) his father set on the roads to prevent Israel from making the pilgrimage to Jerusalem, and went up himself.

Verses 15-16 expand the oracle from the dynasty to the nation. Israel will be struck “as a reed is shaken in water,” uprooted from this good land and scattered beyond the river. Here the chapter reaches forward across nearly two and a half centuries to the Assyrian exile of the northern kingdom under Tiglath-Pileser and Shalmaneser (II Kings 17). Radak makes the identification explicit: “beyond the river” means beyond the Euphrates, to Halah and Habor by the river of Gozan. Jeroboam’s sin — the calves at Dan and Bethel and the asherim that followed — is named here as the root cause of an exile still generations away. Then, in a single understated verse, the boy dies the moment his mother crosses the threshold of her home in Tirzah, exactly as Ahijah said. All Israel mourns him. The prophet’s word is vindicated.

The chapter then pivots southward, in a structural device that will recur throughout Sefer Melakhim: a regnal summary of Jeroboam (twenty-two years, succeeded by Nadab), then a parallel account of Rehoboam in Judah. The verdict on Judah is shocking. One expects the southern kingdom — with its Temple, its Davidic king, its capital in the city God chose for His name — to serve as the foil to Jeroboam’s apostasy. Instead, verse 22 says Judah did evil “and provoked Him to jealousy more than all that their fathers had done.” They built bamot (high places), matzevot (pillars), and asherim on every high hill and under every leafy tree; there was even a kadesh in the land — cultic prostitution. Rashi flags the tragedy with a two-word comment on the phrase “the city the Lord chose”: ואף על פי כן — “and even so.” Even with Jerusalem chosen, even with the Temple standing, they sinned. The note about Rehoboam’s mother Naamah the Ammonitess is repeated twice (verses 21 and 31), and Radak and Metzudat David both read this as the explanation: he followed the practices of his mother’s pagan home until the day he died.

The chapter closes with the Shishak invasion in Rehoboam’s fifth year — Pharaoh’s army takes the treasures of the Temple and the palace, including the golden shields Solomon made. Rehoboam replaces them with bronze, ceremonially carried before him by his runners. The image is unforgettable: a king who has lost the gold of his father’s glory and parades through the Temple courtyard with bronze counterfeits, returning them each time to the guardroom. Rashi, following a midrash, identifies Shishak as Pharaoh Necho and reads the name as שוקק — the pharaoh who had always craved the ivory throne of his son-in-law Solomon, and now finally took it. The chapter ends with continual war between Rehoboam and Jeroboam “all the days,” and Rehoboam dies, buried in the City of David, succeeded by Abijam. Two kingdoms, both judged; one prophet, one fulfilled word; and a long arc of decline now visibly underway.

פרק י״ד · Chapter 14

פסוק א׳ · Verse 1

Hebrew:

בָּעֵ֣ת הַהִ֔יא חָלָ֖ה אֲבִיָּ֥ה בֶן־יָרׇבְעָֽם׃

English:

At that time, Abijah, a son of Jeroboam, fell sick.

פסוק ב׳ · Verse 2

Hebrew:

וַיֹּ֨אמֶר יָרׇבְעָ֜ם לְאִשְׁתּ֗וֹ ק֤וּמִי נָא֙ וְהִשְׁתַּנִּ֔ית וְלֹ֣א יֵֽדְע֔וּ כִּי־[אַ֖תְּ] (אתי) אֵ֣שֶׁת יָרׇבְעָ֑ם וְהָלַ֣כְתְּ שִׁלֹ֗ה הִנֵּה־שָׁם֙ אֲחִיָּ֣ה הַנָּבִ֔יא הוּא־דִבֶּ֥ר עָלַ֛י לְמֶ֖לֶךְ עַל־הָעָ֥ם הַזֶּֽה׃

English:

Jeroboam said to his wife, “Go and disguise yourself, so that you will not be recognized as Jeroboam’s wife, and go to Shiloh. The prophet Ahijah lives there, the one who predicted that I would be king over this people.

Jeroboam tells his wife to disguise herself and travel to Shiloh to consult the prophet Ahijah, the same prophet who had originally announced Jeroboam's kingship. Radak captures the moral logic: Jeroboam knew Ahijah hated him for turning from the Lord, so he hoped a costume could buy a favorable oracle from a prophet who would otherwise speak only doom -- a scheme that assumes the God of Israel can be outwitted by the same king who has rejected Him.

פסוק ג׳ · Verse 3

Hebrew:

וְלָקַ֣חַתְּ בְּ֠יָדֵ֠ךְ עֲשָׂרָ֨ה לֶ֧חֶם וְנִקֻּדִ֛ים וּבַקְבֻּ֥ק דְּבַ֖שׁ וּבָ֣את אֵלָ֑יו ה֚וּא יַגִּ֣יד לָ֔ךְ מַה־יִּֽהְיֶ֖ה לַנָּֽעַר׃

English:

Take with you ten loaves, some wafers, and a jug of honey, and go to him; he will tell you what will happen to the boy.”

She is to bring a modest gift -- ten loaves, wafers, and a jug of honey -- the customary present for a prophet, as in I Shmuel 9:7-8 when Saul's servant brings a gift before consulting Samuel. The humble offering is also part of the disguise: a queen would bring more.
▶Commentaries (1)
רש״יRashi
וְנִקֻּדִים. מִין קְלָיוֹת, מְיַבְּשִׁין בְּתַנּוּר וְעוֹשִׂין אוֹתָן קֶמַח לַעֲשׂוֹת מִמֶּנּוּ מַאֲכָל, שֶׁקּוֹרִין לוֹ שְׁתִיתָא בִּלְשׁוֹן גְּמָרָא.
Biscuits. A type of parched grain, dried in an oven, and they make flour from it to make it into a dish called שתיתא, in the language of the Gemara.1It was a custom in those days to give a prophet a present before asking him a question. See I Shmuel 9:7,8.—Ralbag

פסוק ד׳ · Verse 4

Hebrew:

וַתַּ֤עַשׂ כֵּן֙ אֵ֣שֶׁת יָרׇבְעָ֔ם וַתָּ֙קׇם֙ וַתֵּ֣לֶךְ שִׁלֹ֔ה וַתָּבֹ֖א בֵּ֣ית אֲחִיָּ֑ה וַאֲחִיָּ֙הוּ֙ לֹא־יָכֹ֣ל לִרְא֔וֹת כִּ֛י קָ֥מוּ עֵינָ֖יו מִשֵּׂיבֽוֹ׃ {פ}

English:

Jeroboam’s wife did so; she left and went to Shiloh and came to the house of Ahijah. Now Ahijah could not see, for his eyes had become sightless with age;

Jeroboam's wife reaches Shiloh and enters Ahijah's house. The narrator pauses to note that Ahijah is blind, his eyes 'set' from age, so a disguise should work perfectly -- setting up the irony that the blind prophet will nonetheless see right through her.

פסוק ה׳ · Verse 5

Hebrew:

וַיהֹוָ֞ה אָמַ֣ר אֶל־אֲחִיָּ֗הוּ הִנֵּ֣ה אֵ֣שֶׁת יָרׇבְעָ֡ם בָּאָ֣ה לִדְרֹשׁ֩ דָּבָ֨ר מֵעִמְּךָ֤ אֶל־בְּנָהּ֙ כִּֽי־חֹלֶ֣ה ה֔וּא כָּזֹ֥ה וְכָזֶ֖ה תְּדַבֵּ֣ר אֵלֶ֑יהָ וִיהִ֣�� כְבֹאָ֔הּ וְהִ֖יא מִתְנַכֵּרָֽה׃

English:

but GOD had said to Ahijah, “Jeroboam’s wife is coming to inquire of you concerning her son, who is sick. Speak to her thus and thus. When she arrives, she will be in disguise.”

While she is still on the road, God forewarns Ahijah that Jeroboam's wife is coming to inquire about her sick son and instructs him exactly what to say -- and that she will arrive disguised. The disguise is undone before she even sets foot in the door; what looked like Jeroboam's clever stratagem was futile from the start.
▶Commentaries (1)
רש״יRashi
וְהִיא מִתְנַכֵּרָה. כְּאִלּוּ אֵינָהּ זֹאת.
She will be in disguise. As though it was not she.

פסוק ו׳ · Verse 6

Hebrew:

וַיְהִי֩ כִשְׁמֹ֨עַ אֲחִיָּ֜הוּ אֶת־ק֤וֹל רַגְלֶ֙יהָ֙ בָּאָ֣ה בַפֶּ֔תַח וַיֹּ֕אמֶר בֹּ֖אִי אֵ֣שֶׁת יָרׇבְעָ֑ם לָ֣מָּה זֶּ֗ה אַ֚תְּ מִתְנַכֵּרָ֔ה וְאָ֣נֹכִ֔י שָׁל֥וּחַ אֵלַ֖יִךְ קָשָֽׁה׃

English:

Ahijah heard the sound of her feet as she came through the door, and he said, “Come in, wife of Jeroboam. Why are you disguised? I have a harsh message for you.

The moment Ahijah hears her footsteps at the threshold, he greets her by name -- 'Come in, wife of Jeroboam' -- and asks why she bothers to disguise herself, since he has been sent with a harsh message specifically for her. The disguise collapses before she has spoken a word.
▶Commentaries (1)
רש״יRashi
שָׁלוּחַ אֵלַיִךְ. מֵאֵת הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא בִּשְׁלִיחוּת קָשָׁה.
Sent to tell you. From the Holy One Blessed Is He, with a harsh message.

פסוק ז׳ · Verse 7

Hebrew:

לְכִ֞י אִמְרִ֣י לְיָרׇבְעָ֗ם כֹּֽה־אָמַ֤ר יְהֹוָה֙ אֱלֹהֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל יַ֛עַן אֲשֶׁ֥ר הֲרִמֹתִ֖יךָ מִתּ֣וֹךְ הָעָ֑ם וָאֶתֶּנְךָ֣ נָגִ֔יד עַ֖ל עַמִּ֥י יִשְׂרָאֵֽל׃

English:

Go tell Jeroboam: Thus said the ETERNAL, the God of Israel: I raised you up from among the people and made you a ruler over My people Israel;

פסוק ח׳ · Verse 8

Hebrew:

וָאֶקְרַ֤ע אֶת־הַמַּמְלָכָה֙ מִבֵּ֣ית דָּוִ֔ד וָאֶתְּנֶ֖הָ לָ֑ךְ וְלֹֽא־הָיִ֜יתָ כְּעַבְדִּ֣י דָוִ֗ד אֲשֶׁר֩ שָׁמַ֨ר מִצְוֺתַ֜י וַֽאֲשֶׁר־הָלַ֤ךְ אַֽחֲרַי֙ בְּכׇל־לְבָב֔וֹ לַעֲשׂ֕וֹת רַ֖ק הַיָּשָׁ֥ר בְּעֵינָֽי׃

English:

I tore away the kingdom from the House of David and gave it to you. But you have not been like My servant David, who kept My commandments and followed Me with all his heart, doing only what was right in My sight.

פסוק ט׳ · Verse 9

Hebrew:

וַתָּ֣רַע לַעֲשׂ֔וֹת מִכֹּ֖ל אֲשֶׁר־הָי֣וּ לְפָנֶ֑יךָ וַתֵּ֡לֶךְ וַתַּֽעֲשֶׂה־לְּךָ֩ אֱלֹהִ֨ים אֲחֵרִ֤ים וּמַסֵּכוֹת֙ לְהַכְעִיסֵ֔נִי וְאֹתִ֥י הִשְׁלַ֖כְתָּ אַחֲרֵ֥י גַוֶּֽךָ׃

English:

You have acted worse than all those who preceded you; you have gone and made for yourself other gods and molten images to provoke My anger; and Me you have cast behind your back.

The indictment expands: Jeroboam has done worse than all who came before him (which Metzudat David applies to Solomon and Rehoboam), making molten images and other gods to provoke God's anger, and casting the Lord behind his back -- like one who flings something behind him so as not to see it again. The image of God thrown over the shoulder is one of the strongest expressions of contempt in Tanakh.

פסוק י״ · Verse 10

Hebrew:

לָכֵ֗ן הִנְנִ֨י מֵבִ֤יא רָעָה֙ אֶל־בֵּ֣ית יָרׇבְעָ֔ם וְהִכְרַתִּ֤י לְיָֽרׇבְעָם֙ מַשְׁתִּ֣ין בְּקִ֔יר עָצ֥וּר וְעָז֖וּב בְּיִשְׂרָאֵ֑ל וּבִֽעַרְתִּי֙ אַחֲרֵ֣י בֵית־יָרׇבְעָ֔ם כַּאֲשֶׁ֛ר יְבַעֵ֥ר הַגָּלָ֖ל עַד־תֻּמּֽוֹ׃

English:

Therefore I will bring disaster upon the House of Jeroboam and will cut off from Jeroboam every male, bond and free,abond and free Meaning of Heb. uncertain; possibly “kinsman and friend,” cf. 16.11. in Israel. I will sweep away the House of Jeroboam utterly, as dung is swept away.

The verdict on Jeroboam's house is total annihilation -- every male will be cut off, 'restrained and abandoned alike,' and his line will be swept away as one sweeps away dung. Rashi reads עצור as one with backers and עזוב as one without; Radak takes it broadly -- no one shut up safely indoors, no one left in the field, will survive. The repeated image of being burned away 'until it is consumed' answers measure-for-measure Jeroboam's worship of fire-cast molten idols.
▶Commentaries (1)
רש״יRashi
מַשְׁתִּין בְּקִיר. תִּרְגֵּם יוֹנָתָן: יָדַע מַדָּע, מֵשִׁית בְּקִירוֹת לִבּוֹ. עָצוּר וְעָזוּב. עָצוּר שֶׁיֵּשׁ לוֹ מַחֲזִיק יָד, כְּמוֹ: זֶה יַעְצֹר בְּעַמִּי, וְעָזוּב, שֶׁאֵין לוֹ מַחֲזִיק בַּיָּד. כַּאֲשֶׁר יְבַעֵר. הַמְבַעֵר אֶת הַמַּאֲכָל בְּפִיו, לַעֲשׂוֹת גָּלָל, כָּךְ אֲבָעֵר אַחֲרָיו עַד תֻּמּוֹ.
Male child. [Targum] Yonoson rendered, "one who knows knowledge," [i.e.,] he who places it into the walls of his heart.2See I Shmuel 25:22.3Alternatively, משתין בקיר refers to a dog who urinates on walls, i.e., the prophet is prophesying that the destruction will be so severe, that so much as a dog will not be left when the house of Yerovom is destroyed.—Radak Any that are restrained and that are abandoned. עצור is one who has someone restraining him, as in, "This one will rule over My people."4I Shmuel 9:17. And עזוב is one who has no one restraining him. As one removes. As the one who digests food which [eventually] becomes dung,5Alternatively, גלל means "tooth," which consumes food completely.—Radak so will I expunge after him until he is totally consumed.6Alternatively, "I will completely remove the house of Yerovom, as one who sweeps out dung until it is thoroughly cleaned out.—Metzudas Dovid

פסוק י״א · Verse 11

Hebrew:

הַמֵּ֨ת לְיָרׇבְעָ֤ם בָּעִיר֙ יֹאכְל֣וּ הַכְּלָבִ֔ים וְהַמֵּת֙ בַּשָּׂדֶ֔ה יֹאכְל֖וּ ע֣וֹף הַשָּׁמָ֑יִם כִּ֥י יְהֹוָ֖ה דִּבֵּֽר׃

English:

Anyone belonging to Jeroboam who dies in the town shall be devoured by dogs; and anyone who dies in the open country shall be eaten by the birds of the air; for GOD has spoken.

The mode of death extends the disgrace: anyone of Jeroboam's house who dies in the town will be eaten by dogs, anyone in the field by birds of the sky -- denied even burial, the most basic dignity owed to the dead. Metzudat David emphasizes that 'the Lord has spoken' guarantees the decree will hold; what looks like animal scavenging is in fact a divinely ordained sentence.

פסוק י״ב · Verse 12

Hebrew:

וְאַ֥תְּ ��֖וּמִי לְכִ֣י לְבֵיתֵ֑ךְ בְּבֹאָ֥הֿ רַגְלַ֛יִךְ הָעִ֖ירָה וּמֵ֥ת הַיָּֽלֶד׃

English:

As for you, go back home; as soon as you set foot in the town, the child will die.

Ahijah dismisses her with a final instruction: go home -- but the moment her feet enter the city, the child will die. The geography becomes the timing of the death sentence.

פסוק י״ג · Verse 13

Hebrew:

וְסָֽפְדוּ־ל֤וֹ כׇל־יִשְׂרָאֵל֙ וְקָבְר֣וּ אֹת֔וֹ כִּי־זֶ֣ה לְבַדּ֔וֹ יָבֹ֥א לְיָרׇבְעָ֖ם אֶל־קָ֑בֶר יַ֣עַן נִמְצָא־ב֞וֹ דָּבָ֣ר ט֗וֹב אֶל־יְהֹוָ֛ה אֱלֹהֵ֥י יִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל בְּבֵ֥ית יָרׇבְעָֽם׃

English:

And all Israel shall lament over him and bury him; he alone of Jeroboam’s family shall be brought to burial, for in him alone of the House of Jeroboam has some devotion been found to the ETERNAL, the God of Israel.

All Israel will mourn the boy, and he alone of Jeroboam's house will receive proper burial -- because some 'good thing' was found in him toward the God of Israel. Rashi and Radak both cite Chazal (Mo'ed Katan 28b) that this 'good thing' was his abandoning the watchposts his father set on the roads to prevent Israel from making the pilgrimage to Jerusalem. The chapter's harshest oracle thus contains a single note of mercy, reserved for the only member of the house who had ever turned his face back toward Jerusalem.
▶Commentaries (1)
רש״יRashi
דָּבָר טוֹב. שֶׁבִּטֵּל מִשְׁמַרְתּוֹ, שֶׁהוֹשִׁיבוֹ אָבִיו שׁוֹמֵר שֶׁלֹּא יַעֲלֶה אִישׁ לָרֶגֶל, וּבִטֵּל מִשְׁמַרְתּוֹ וְעָלָה.
Something good. He abandoned his watch; for his father had stationed him as a sentry so that no person would go up [to Yerusholayim] on the pilgrimage festival. He abandoned his watch and went up.7See Maseches Mo'ed Katan 28b.

פסוק י״ד · Verse 14

Hebrew:

וְהֵקִים֩ יְהֹוָ֨ה ל֥וֹ מֶ֙לֶךְ֙ עַל־יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל אֲשֶׁ֥ר יַכְרִ֛ית אֶת־בֵּ֥ית יָרׇבְעָ֖ם זֶ֣ה הַיּ֑וֹם וּמֶ֖ה גַּם־עָֽתָּה׃

English:

Moreover, GOD will raise up a king over Israel who will destroy the House of Jeroboam, this day and even now.bthis day and even now Meaning of Heb. uncertain.

Ahijah broadens the prophecy beyond the present moment: God will raise up a king who will cut off Jeroboam's house both those alive now and those yet to be born. The cryptic phrase 'this day and even now' is read by Rashi and Metzudat David as covering both generations; Radak reads it as 'and what -- even now?' meaning this is only the beginning of troubles to come.
▶Commentaries (1)
רש״יRashi
אֲשֶׁר יַכְרִית אֶת בֵּית יָרָבְעָם זֶה הַיּוֹם וּמֶה גַּם עַתָּה. הַנּוֹלָדִים לוֹ הַיּוֹם, וַאֲשֶׁר עֲתִידִין לְהִוָּלֵד לוֹ מֵעַתָּה, כָּךְ תִּרְגֵּם יוֹנָתָן.
Who will cut off the house of Yerovom this day and also those that will be born. Those who are already born to him this day, and those who are destined to be born to him from now on, so did [Targum] Yonoson render.

פסוק ט״ו · Verse 15

Hebrew:

וְהִכָּ֨ה יְהֹוָ֜ה אֶת־יִשְׂרָאֵ֗ל כַּאֲשֶׁ֨ר יָנ֣וּד הַקָּנֶה֮ בַּמַּ֒יִם֒ וְנָתַ֣שׁ אֶת־יִשְׂרָאֵ֗ל מֵ֠עַ֠ל הָאֲדָמָ֨ה הַטּוֹבָ֤ה הַזֹּאת֙ אֲשֶׁ֤ר נָתַן֙ לַאֲב֣וֹתֵיהֶ֔ם וְזֵרָ֖ם מֵעֵ֣בֶר לַנָּהָ֑ר יַ֗עַן אֲשֶׁ֤ר עָשׂוּ֙ אֶת־אֲשֵׁ֣רֵיהֶ֔ם מַכְעִיסִ֖ים אֶת־יְהֹוָֽה׃

English:

“GOD will strike Israel until it sways like a reed in water—and uproot Israel from this good land that was given to their ancestors, and will scatter them beyond the Euphrates, because they have provoked GOD by the sacred postscsacred posts Used in worship of the goddess Asherah. that they have made for themselves.

The oracle expands from the dynasty to the nation: God will strike Israel until it sways like a reed in water and will uproot them from this good land, scattering them beyond the river -- a direct prophecy of the Assyrian exile recorded centuries later in II Kings 17. Radak identifies 'beyond the river' as the Euphrates -- Halah, Habor, and the river of Gozan -- where the ten tribes were eventually exiled. The cause is named: 'because they made their asherim, provoking the Lord.'

פסוק ט״ז · Verse 16

Hebrew:

וְיִתֵּ֖ן אֶת־יִשְׂרָאֵ֑ל בִּגְלַ֞ל חַטֹּ֤אות יָֽרׇבְעָם֙ אֲשֶׁ֣ר חָטָ֔א וַאֲשֶׁ֥ר הֶחֱטִ֖יא אֶת־יִשְׂרָאֵֽל׃

English:

Israel will be forsaken because of the sins that Jeroboam committed and led Israel to commit.”

The reason for the exile is restated and concentrated on its source: God will give Israel up because of the sins Jeroboam himself committed and the sins by which he led Israel to commit (with the golden calves, as Metzudat David specifies). The catastrophe two centuries later is being laid at Jeroboam's feet here, in his own lifetime.

פסוק י״ז · Verse 17

Hebrew:

וַתָּ֙קׇם֙ אֵ֣שֶׁת יָרׇבְעָ֔ם וַתֵּ֖לֶךְ וַתָּבֹ֣א תִרְצָ֑תָה הִ֛יא בָּאָ֥ה בְסַף־הַבַּ֖יִת וְהַנַּ֥עַר מֵֽת׃

English:

Jeroboam’s wife got up and left, and she went to Tirzah. As soon as she stepped over the threshold of her house, the child died.

The oracle is fulfilled instantly. Jeroboam's wife rises, returns to Tirzah -- the seat of the northern kingdom in this era, before Omri builds Samaria -- and the moment she crosses the threshold of her own house, the boy dies, exactly as Ahijah said.

פסוק י״ח · Verse 18

Hebrew:

וַיִּקְבְּר֥וּ אֹת֛וֹ וַיִּסְפְּדוּ־ל֖וֹ כׇּל־יִשְׂרָאֵ֑ל כִּדְבַ֤ר יְהֹוָה֙ אֲשֶׁ֣ר דִּבֶּ֔ר בְּיַד־עַבְדּ֖וֹ אֲחִיָּ֥הוּ הַנָּבִֽיא׃

English:

They buried him and all Israel lamented over him, in accordance with the word that GOD had spoken through the prophet Ahijah—God’s servant.

פסוק י״ט · Verse 19

Hebrew:

וְיֶ֙תֶר֙ דִּבְרֵ֣י יָרׇבְעָ֔ם אֲשֶׁ֥ר נִלְחַ֖ם וַאֲשֶׁ֣ר מָלָ֑ךְ הִנָּ֣ם כְּתוּבִ֗ים עַל־סֵ֛פֶר דִּבְרֵ֥י הַיָּמִ֖ים לְמַלְכֵ֥י יִשְׂרָאֵֽל׃

English:

The other events of Jeroboam’s reign, how he fought and how he ruled, are recorded in the Annals of the Kings of Israel.

The chapter shifts to a closing regnal summary: Jeroboam reigned twenty-two years and was succeeded by his son Nadab -- whose reign, as the next chapter will show, fulfills Ahijah's prophecy of total destruction within months. The understated transition belies the cataclysm to come.

פסוק כ׳ · Verse 20

Hebrew:

וְהַיָּמִים֙ אֲשֶׁ֣ר מָלַ֣ךְ יָרׇבְעָ֔ם עֶשְׂרִ֥ים וּשְׁתַּ֖יִם שָׁנָ֑ה וַיִּשְׁכַּב֙ עִם־אֲבֹתָ֔יו וַיִּמְלֹ֛ךְ נָדָ֥ב בְּנ֖וֹ תַּחְתָּֽיו׃ {פ}

English:

Jeroboam reigned twenty-two years; then he rested with his ancestors, and his son Nadab succeeded him as king.

פסוק כ״א · Verse 21

Hebrew:

וּרְחַבְעָם֙ בֶּן־שְׁלֹמֹ֔ה מָלַ֖ךְ בִּיהוּדָ֑ה בֶּן־אַרְבָּעִ֣ים וְאַחַ֣ת שָׁנָה֩ רְחַבְעָ֨ם בְּמׇל��כ֜וֹ וּֽשְׁבַ֨ע עֶשְׂרֵ֥ה שָׁנָ֣ה ׀ מָלַ֣ךְ בִּירוּשָׁלַ֗͏ִם הָ֠עִ֠יר אֲשֶׁר־בָּחַ֨ר יְהֹוָ֜ה לָשׂ֨וּם אֶת־שְׁמ֥וֹ שָׁם֙ מִכֹּל֙ שִׁבְטֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל וְשֵׁ֣ם אִמּ֔וֹ נַעֲמָ֖ה הָעַמֹּנִֽית׃

English:

Meanwhile, Rehoboam son of Solomon had become king in Judah. Rehoboam was forty-one years old when he became king, and he reigned seventeen years in Jerusalem—the city GOD had chosen out of all the tribes of Israel to establish God’s name there. His mother’s name was Naamah the Ammonitess.

The narrative now pivots southward to Judah. Rehoboam, son of Solomon, becomes king at forty-one and reigns seventeen years in Jerusalem -- 'the city the Lord chose to set His name there.' Rashi's two-word comment captures the tragedy: ואף על פי כן -- 'and even so,' he sinned despite all this. The double mention of his Ammonite mother Naamah (here and in verse 31) is read by Metzudat David and Radak as the explanation: he resembled the spiritual source from which he came, the pagan culture of his mother's house.
▶Commentaries (1)
רש״יRashi
הָעִיר אֲשֶׁר בָּחַר ה'. וְאַף עַל פִּי כֵן:
The city that Adonoy had chosen. Yet, even so,

פסוק כ״ב · Verse 22

Hebrew:

וַיַּ֧עַשׂ יְהוּדָ֛ה הָרַ֖ע בְּעֵינֵ֣י יְהֹוָ֑ה וַיְקַנְא֣וּ אֹת֗וֹ מִכֹּל֙ אֲשֶׁ֣ר עָשׂ֣וּ אֲבֹתָ֔ם בְּחַטֹּאתָ֖ם אֲשֶׁ֥ר חָטָֽאוּ׃

English:

Judah did what was displeasing to GOD, provoking more outrage than their ancestors had by the sins that they committed.

Judah did what was evil in God's eyes, provoking Him to jealousy more than even their ancestors had with their sins. The verdict is shocking precisely because it concerns the southern kingdom -- the kingdom with the Temple, the Davidic throne, and Jerusalem -- and not the openly idolatrous north.
▶Commentaries (1)
רש״יRashi
וַיַּעַשׂ יְהוּדָה הָרָע. וְלֹא נָתְנוּ זֶה עַל לִבָּם. וַיְקַנְאוּ. לְשׁוֹן קְנִיטָה.
And Yehudah did what was evil. And they did not pay attention to this. And they angered Him. An expression of provocation.

פסוק כ״ג · Verse 23

Hebrew:

וַיִּבְנ֨וּ גַם־הֵ֧מָּה לָהֶ֛ם בָּמ֥וֹת וּמַצֵּב֖וֹת וַאֲשֵׁרִ֑ים עַ֚ל כׇּל־גִּבְעָ֣ה גְבֹהָ֔ה וְתַ֖חַת כׇּל־עֵ֥ץ רַעֲנָֽן׃

English:

They too built for themselves shrines, pillars, and sacred postsdsacred posts See note at v. 15. on every high hill and under every leafy tree;

The forms of Judah's apostasy are catalogued: high places (bamot), pillars (matzevot), and asherim 'on every high hill and under every leafy tree' -- the stock phrase Tanakh reserves for full-scale Canaanite-style worship. Rashi notes that 'they too' means Judah behaved no differently than the other tribes; the privileged kingdom collapsed to the level of its neighbors.
▶Commentaries (1)
רש״יRashi
גַּם הֵמָּה. כִּשְׁאָר הַשְּׁבָטִים.
They too. Like the other tribes.

פסוק כ״ד · Verse 24

Hebrew:

וְגַם־קָדֵ֖שׁ הָיָ֣ה בָאָ֑רֶץ עָשׂ֗וּ כְּכֹל֙ הַתּוֹעֲבֹ֣ת הַגּוֹיִ֔ם אֲשֶׁר֙ הוֹרִ֣ישׁ יְהֹוָ֔ה מִפְּנֵ֖י בְּנֵ֥י יִשְׂרָאֵֽל׃ {פ}

English:

there were also consecrated workerseconsecrated workers Or “retainers”; meaning of Heb. qadesh uncertain. in the land. [Judah] imitated all the abhorrent practices of the nations that GOD had dispossessed before the Israelites.

Even cultic prostitution -- a kadesh -- was practiced in the land. The verse explicitly equates Judah's behavior with 'all the abhorrent practices of the nations the Lord dispossessed before Israel,' the same nations whose abominations had been the original reason for the conquest. The southern kingdom has reproduced inside the land the very practices that had once made Canaan unworthy to keep it.
▶Commentaries (1)
רש״יRashi
קָדֵשׁ. נִאוּף.
Prostitution. Prostitution.

פסוק כ״ה · Verse 25

Hebrew:

וַיְהִ֛י בַּשָּׁנָ֥ה הַחֲמִישִׁ֖ית לַמֶּ֣לֶךְ רְחַבְעָ֑ם עָלָ֛ה (שושק) [שִׁישַׁ֥ק] מֶלֶךְ־מִצְרַ֖יִם עַל־יְרוּשָׁלָֽ͏ִם׃

English:

In the fifth year of King Rehoboam, King Shishak of Egypt marched against Jerusalem

In Rehoboam's fifth year, Shishak king of Egypt marches against Jerusalem -- the first foreign incursion against the southern kingdom since the kingdom split. Rashi, following a midrashic tradition, identifies Shishak with Pharaoh Necho and reads his name as שוקק, 'one who craves,' a pharaoh who had always longed for the ivory throne of his son-in-law Solomon and now finally came to take it.
▶Commentaries (1)
רש״יRashi
שִׁישַׁק. מָצִינוּ בְּמִדְרַשׁ (שִׁיר הַשִּׁירִים) הוּא פַּרְעֹה נְכֹה, וְנִקְרָא שִׁישַׁק, עַל שֶׁהָיָה שׁוֹקֵק וּמִתְאַוֶּה כָּל יָמָיו לְכִסֵּא הַשֵּׁן שֶׁהָיָה לִשְׁלֹמֹה חֲתָנוֹ, וְעַכְשָׁיו עָלָה וּלְקָחוֹ.
Shishak. We find in Midrash Shir Hashirim that this was Pharaoh Neco. He was called Shishak because all his life he longed for [=שוקק] the ivory throne that belonged to Shlomo his son-in-law, and now, he went up and took it.

פסוק כ״ו · Verse 26

Hebrew:

וַיִּקַּ֞ח אֶת־אֹצְר֣וֹת בֵּית־יְהֹוָ֗ה וְאֶת־אֽוֹצְרוֹת֙ בֵּ֣ית הַמֶּ֔לֶךְ וְאֶת־הַכֹּ֖ל לָקָ֑ח וַיִּקַּח֙ אֶת־כׇּל־מָגִנֵּ֣י הַזָּהָ֔ב אֲשֶׁ֥ר עָשָׂ֖ה שְׁלֹמֹֽה׃

English:

and carried off the treasures of the House of GOD and the treasures of the royal palace. He carried off everything; he even carried off all the golden shields that Solomon had made.

Shishak strips both the Temple and the royal palace, carrying off 'everything' -- which Rashi specifies as including Solomon's golden shields and (per the midrash) the ivory throne itself. Within a single generation of Solomon's death, the splendor he built has been emptied out by a foreign king.
▶Commentaries (1)
רש״יRashi
וְאֶת הַכֹּל לָקַח. אֶת הַכִּסֵּא, הֶחָבִיב מִן הַכֹּל.
He took everything. The throne, that was dearer to him than everything.

פסוק כ״ז · Verse 27

Hebrew:

וַיַּ֨עַשׂ הַמֶּ֤לֶךְ רְחַבְעָם֙ תַּחְתָּ֔ם מָגִנֵּ֖י נְחֹ֑שֶׁת וְהִפְקִ֗יד עַל־יַד֙ שָׂרֵ֣י הָרָצִ֔ים הַשֹּׁ֣מְרִ֔ים פֶּ֖תַח בֵּ֥ית הַמֶּֽלֶךְ׃

English:

King Rehoboam had bronze shields made instead, and he entrusted them to the officers of the guardfguard Lit. “runners.” who guarded the entrance to the royal palace.

Rehoboam replaces the golden shields with bronze and entrusts them to his palace guard. The substitution is the chapter's most poignant image -- a king reduced to displaying counterfeit metal where his father had displayed gold, the public face of his kingship now a downgraded imitation.

פסוק כ״ח · Verse 28

Hebrew:

וַיְהִ֛י מִדֵּי־בֹ֥א הַמֶּ֖לֶךְ בֵּ֣ית יְהֹוָ֑ה יִשָּׂאוּם֙ הָרָצִ֔ים וֶהֱשִׁיב֖וּם אֶל־תָּ֥א הָרָצִֽים׃

English:

Whenever the king went into the House of GOD, the guards would carry them and then bring them back to the armory of the guards.

The shields are ceremonially carried before Rehoboam by his runners whenever he enters the Temple and then returned to the guardroom afterward. Radak suggests the practice may have served as a defense against assassination, or simply for the visible pomp of kingship -- but the running back and forth of bronze counterfeits has the quality of a hollow performance, an empty echo of Solomonic glory.
▶Commentaries (1)
רש״יRashi
יִשָּׂאוּם הָרָצִים. לְפָנָיו לְכָבוֹד, וְאַחַר כָּךְ יְשִׁיבוּם אֶל תָּא שֶׁהָרָצִים עוֹמְדִים שָׁם תָּמִיד.
The runners would carry them. Before him, in [his] honor,8Alternatively, it may have been done as protection against a rebellion.—Radak and afterwards, they would return them9I.e., the copper shields. to the chamber where the runners were always stationed.

פסוק כ״ט · Verse 29

Hebrew:

וְיֶ֛תֶר דִּבְרֵ֥י רְחַבְעָ֖ם וְכׇל־אֲשֶׁ֣ר עָשָׂ֑ה הֲלֹא־הֵ֣מָּה כְתוּבִ֗ים עַל־סֵ֛פֶר דִּבְרֵ֥י הַיָּמִ֖ים לְמַלְכֵ֥י יְהוּדָֽה׃

English:

The other events of Rehoboam’s reign, and all his actions, are recorded in the Annals of the Kings of Judah.

פסוק ל׳ · Verse 30

Hebrew:

וּמִלְחָמָ֨ה הָיְתָ֧ה בֵין־רְחַבְעָ֛ם וּבֵ֥ין יָרׇבְעָ֖ם כׇּל־הַיָּמִֽים׃

English:

There was continual war between Rehoboam and Jeroboam.

Despite the prophet Shemaiah's earlier prohibition in chapter 12 against Rehoboam attacking the north, the two kings were at war 'all the days' -- which Radak explains by distinguishing periods: Shemaiah's word held at the very beginning, but later wars resumed and continued for the rest of their reigns. The split kingdom is now permanent, contested, and constantly bleeding.

פסוק ל״א · Verse 31

Hebrew:

וַיִּשְׁכַּ֨ב רְחַבְעָ֜ם עִם־אֲבֹתָ֗יו וַיִּקָּבֵ֤ר עִם־אֲבֹתָיו֙ בְּעִ֣יר דָּוִ֔ד וְשֵׁ֣ם אִמּ֔וֹ נַעֲמָ֖ה הָעַמֹּנִ֑ית וַיִּמְלֹ֛ךְ אֲבִיָּ֥ם בְּנ֖וֹ תַּחְתָּֽיו׃ {פ}

English:

Rehoboam rested with his ancestors and was buried with his ancestors in the City of David; his mother’s name was Naamah the Ammonitess. His son Abijam succeeded him as king.

Rehoboam dies and is buried in the City of David, succeeded by his son Abijam. The narrator repeats once more that his mother was Naamah the Ammonitess -- a detail Metzudat David reads as the obituary's final note: until the day he died, his deeds resembled his mother's idolatrous origins.

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