CHAPTER XII.

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b

good words to them, then they will be thy servants for ever.

8 But he forsook the counsel of the old men, which they had given him, and consulted with the young men that were grown up with him, and which stood before him.

9 And he said unto them, What counsel give ye that we may answer this people, who have spoken to me, saying, Make the yoke which thy father did put upon us lighter?

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

NOTES ON CHAPTER XII. Verse 1. Rehoboam went to Shechem] Rehoboam was probably the only son of Solomon; for although he had a thousand wives, he had not the blessing of a numerous offspring; and though he was the wisest of men himself, his son was a poor unprincipled fool. Had Solomon kept himself within reasonable bounds in matrimonial affairs, he would probably have had more children; and such as would have had common sense enough to discern the delicacy of their situation, and rule according to reason and religion.

Verse 4. The grievous service-and-heavy yoke] They seem here to complain of two things: excessively laborious service, and a heavy taxation. At first, it is supposed, Solomon employed no Israelite in drudgery; afterward, when he forsook the God of compassion, he seemed to have used them as slaves, and to have revived the Egyptian bondage.

Verse 7. If thou wilt be a servant unto this people] This is a constitutional idea of a king: he is the servant, but not the slave, of his people; every regal act of a just king is an act of service to the state. The king is not only the fountain of law and justice; but as he has the appointment of all officers and judges, consequently, he is the executor of the laws; and all justice is administered in his name. Properly speaking, a good and constitutional king is the servant of his people; and, in being such, he is their father and their king.

They will be thy servants for ever.] The way to ensure the obedience of the people, is to hold the reins of empire with a steady and impartial hand: let the people see that the king lives for them, and not for himself; and they will obey, love, and defend him. The state is maintained on the part of the ruler and the ruled by mutual acts of service and benevolence. A good king has no self-interest; and such a king will ever have obedient and loving subjects. The haughty proud tyrant will have a suspicious and jealous people, hourly ripening for revolt. The king is made for the people, not the people for the king. Let every potentate wisely consider this: and let every subject know that the heaviest cares rest on the heart, and the heaviest responsibility rests on the head, of the king. Let them, therefore, under his government, fashion themselves as obedient children; acknowledge him their head; and duly consider whose authority he has; that they may love, honour, and obey him. Happy are the people who have such a king; safe is the king who has such a people.

12 So Jeroboam and all the people came to Rehoboam the third day, as the king had appointed, saying, Come to me again the third day. 13 And the king answered the people roughly, and forsook the old men's counsel that they gave him;

14 And spake to them after the counsel of the young men, saying, My father made your yoke heavy, and I will add to your yoke: my father also chastised you with whips, but I will chastise you with scorpions.

15 Wherefore the king hearkened not unto the people; for the cause was from the LORD, that he might perform his saying, which the LORD spake by Ahijah the Shilonite unto Jeroboam the son of Nebat.

h

f Heb. hardly.-g Ver. 24. Judg. 14. 4. 2 Chron. 10. 15. & 22. 7. & 25. 11. 11, 31.

Verse 10. And the young men that were grown up with him] It was a custom in different countries to educate with the heir to the throne young noblemen of nearly the same age. This, as Calmet observes, answered two great and important ends: 1. It excited the prince to emulation; that he might, as far as possible, surpass in all manly exercises, and in all acts of prudence and virtue, those whom one day he was to surpass in the elevation and dignity of his station. 2. That he might acquire a correct knowledge of the disposition and views of those who were likely to be, under him, the highest officers of the state; and, consequently, know the better how to trust and employ them. The old counsellors Rehoboam did not know: with the young nobility he had been familiar.

My little finger shall be thicker] A proverbial mode of expression: "My little finger is thicker than my father's thigh." As much as the thigh surpasses the little finger in thickness, so much does my power exceed that of my father; and the use that I shall make of it to employ and tax you, shall be in proportion.

Verse 11. Chastise you with scorpions.] Should you rebel, or become disaffected, my father's whip shall be a scorpion in my hand. His was chastisement, mine shall be punishment. St. Isidore, and after him Calmet, and others, assert that the scorpion was a sort of severe whip, the lashes of which were armed with iron points, that sunk into and tore the flesh. We know that the scorpion was a military engine among the Romans for shooting arrows, which, being poisoned, were likened to the scorpion's sting, and the wound it inflicted.

Verse 15. The cause was from the Lord] God left him to himself, and did not incline his heart to follow the counsel of the wise men. This is making the best of our present version: but if we come to inquire into the meaning of the CAUSE of all this confusion and anarchy, we shall find it was Rehoboam's folly, cruelty, and despotic tyranny:— and was this from the Lord? But does the text speak this bad doctrine? No: it says no sibba, the REVOLUTION was from the Lord. This is consistent with all the declarations which went before. God stirred up the people to revolt from a man who had neither skill nor humanity to govern them. We had such a no revolution in these nations, in 1688; and, thank God, we have never since needed another. None of our ancient translations understood the word as our present version does: they have it either the TURNING AWAY was from the Lord, or it was the Lord's ORDINANCE; viz. that they should turn away from this foolish king.

16 So when all Israel saw that the king hearkened not unto them; the people answered the king, saying, What portion have we in David? neither have we inheritance in the son of Jesse: to your tents, O Israel: now see to thine own house, David. So Israel departed unto their tents.

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

18 Then King Rehoboam sent Adoram, who was over the tribute; and all Israel stoned him with stones, that he died. Therefore King Rehoboam made speed to get him up to his chariot, to flee to Jerusalem.

n

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

20 And it came to pass, when all Israel heard that Jeroboam was come again, that they sent and called him unto the congregation, and made him king over all Israel: there was none that followed the house of David, but the tribe of Judah P only.

21 T And when Rehoboam was come to Jerusalem, he assembled all the house of Judah, with the tribe of Benjamin, a hundred and fourscore thousand chosen men, which were warriors, to fight against the house of Israel, to bring the kingdom again to Rehoboam the son of Solomon. 22 But the word of God came unto Shemaiah, the man of God, saying,

23 Speak unto Rehoboam, the son of Solomon, king of Judah, and unto all the house of Judah and Benjamin, and to the remnant of the people, saying,

24 Thus saith the LORD, Ye shall not go up, nor fight against your brethren the children of Israel: return every man to his house; for this thing is from me. They hearkened therefore to the word of the LORD, and returned to depart, according to the word of the LORD.

25 Then Jeroboam "built Shechem in mount

Ephraim, and dwelt therein; and went out from

thence, and built Penuel.

26 And Jeroboam said in his heart, Now shall the kingdom return to the house of David: 27 If this people go up to do sacrifice in the

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i 2 Sam. 20. 1.- Ch. 11. 13, 36.—1 Ch. 4. 6. & 5. 14-m Heb. strengthened himself-n 2 Kings 17. 21. Or, fell away -p Chap. 11. 13, 32-r 2 Chron. 11. 1. * 2 Chron. 11. 2-1 Ver. 15-u See Judg. 9. 45. Judg. 8. 17.-w Deat. 12 5, 6. x 2 Kings 10. 29. & 17. 16-y Exod. 33, 4, 8-z Gen. 28. 19. Hos 4. 15-a Judg. 18. 29.-b Ch. 13. 34. 2 Kings 17. 21.

Verse 16. So Israel departed unto their tents.] That is, the ten tribes withdrew their allegiance from Rehoboam; only Judah and Benjamin, frequently reckoned one tribe, remaining with him.

Verse 18. King Rehoboam sent Adoram] As this was the person who was superintendent over the tribute, he was probably sent to collect the ordinary taxes; but the people, indignant at the master who had given them such a brutish answer, stoned the servant to death. The sending of Adoram to collect the taxes, when the public mind was in such a state of fermentation, was another proof of Rehoboam's folly and incapacity to govern.

Verse 20. Made him king over all Israel.] What is called Israel here, was ten-twelfths of the whole nation;and had they a right to call another person to the throne? They had not: they had neither legal nor constitutional right. Jeroboam was not of the blood royal; he had no affinity to the kingdom. Nothing could justify this act, but the just judgment of God. God thus punished a disobedient and gainsaying people; and especially Solomon's family, whose sins against the LORD were of no ordinary magnitude.

Verse 24. For this thing is from me] That is, the separation of the ten tribes from the house of David.

They returned to depart] This was great deference, both in Rehoboam and his officers, to relinquish, at the command of the prophet, a war which they thought they had good grounds to undertake. The remnant of the people heard the divine command gratefully, for the mass of mankind are averse from war. No nations would ever rise up against each other, were they not instigated to it, or compelled by their rulers.

Verse 27. And they shall kill me] He found he had little cause to trust this fickle people: though they had declared for him, it was more from caprice, desire of

ם

A man of God prophesies against Jeroboam's altar, and foretells the destruction of that altar, and of ite idolatrons priesta, by Josiah; and gives Jeroboam a sign that the prophecy should be accomplished, 1-3. Jeroboam is enraged, and orders the man of God to be seized; and stretching out his hand for this purpose, his arm dries up, 4. The altar is rent, and the ashes poured out, according to the sign given by the man of God; and at his intercession Jeroboam's arm is restored, 5, 6. Jeroboam wishes to engage him in his service, but he refuses, and tells him, that he was ordered by God not even to eat or drink in that place; and he accordingly departs, 7-10. An okl prophet that dwelt at Beth-el, hearing of this, rides after the man of God; deceives him; brings him back to his house, and persuades him to eat and drink, 11-19. While he is eating, the word of the Lord came to the old prophet, and he foretells the death of the man of God; who, departing, is met by a lion, and slain, 20-25. On hearing this, the old prophet goes to the place, finds the carcass, brings it home, buries it, and mourns over it, charging his sons to bury him, when dead, in the same grave, 26-32 Notwithstanding these warnings, Jeroboam continues in his idolatry, 33, 34.

B. C. 974.

An. Thersippi,

AP God out of Judah by the word Ante 1. 01. 194 ND, behold, there came a man A. M. 3030. of the LORD unto Beth-el: and Jero- Arch P boam stood by the altar P to burn incense.

perpet. 20.

e Ch 13 32-d Numb. 3. 10. Chap. 13. 33. 2 Kings 17. 32 2 Chron. 11. 14, 15. Ezek. 44. 7, 8-e Lev. 23. 33, 341 Numb. 29. 12. Chap. 8. 2, 5-f Or, went up to the altar, &c.-g Or, to sacrifice-h Amos 7. 7, 13.-i Or, went up to the altar, &c. k Numb. 15. 39-1 Heb to burn incenze.-m Chap. 13. 1.-n 2 Kinga 23. 17.-0 Ch. 12. 32, 33.-p Or, to offer.

change, and novelty, than from any regular and praiseworthy principle.

Verse 28. Made two calves of gold] He invented a political religion, and instituted feasts in his own times, different from those appointed by the Lord; gave the people certain objects of devotion, and pretended to think it would be both inconvenient and oppressive to them to have to go up to Jerusalem to worship. This was not the last time that religion was made a state engine to serve political purposes. It is strange that, in pointing out his calves to the people, he should use the same words that Aaron used when he made the golden calf in the wilderness! when they must have heard what terrible judgments fell upon their forefathers for this idolatry.

Verse 29. One in Beth-cl, and the other-in Dan.] One at the southern, and the other at the northern extremity of the land. Solomon's idolatry had prepared the people for Jeroboam's abominations.

Verse 31. A house of high places] A temple of temples: he had many high places in the land; and, to imitate the temple at Jerusalem, he made one chief over all the rest, where he established a priesthood of his own ordination.

Made priests of the lowest of the people] He took the people indifferently as they came; and made them priests till he had enough, without troubling himself whether they were of the family of Aaron, or the house of Levi, or not. Any priests would do well enough for such gods. But those whom he took seem to have been worthless good-for-nothing fellows, who had neither piety nor good sense. Probably the sons of Levi had grace enough to refuse to sanction this new priesthood, and idolatrous worship.

Verse 32. Ordained a feast] The Jews held their feast of tabernacles on the 15th day of the seventh

month: Jeroboam, who would meet the prejudices of the people, as far as he could, appointed a similar feast on the 15th of the eighth month: thus appearing to hold the thing, while he subverted the ordinance.

Verse 33. He offered upon the altar] Jeroboam probably performed the functions of high priest himself, that he might in his own person condense the civil and ecclesiastical power.

NOTES ON CHAPTER XIII.

Verse 1. There came a man of God] Who this was, we know not. The Chaldee, Syriac, and Arabic, call him a prophet. The Vulgate and Septuagint follow the Hebrew. ish elohim, means a divine person; one wholly devoted to God's service. Some have thought it was Shemaiah, others Joel, and others Iddo. It could not have been either the former or the latter, for he wrote the acts of Jeroboam, 2 Chron. ix. 29; and the prophet was killed before he returned home: but conjecture idle on such a subject.

Jeroboam stood by the altar] Like gods, like priest: he made himself high priest: and he took of the lowest of the people, and made them priests of the high places: they proved themselves to be fools, by worshipping of calves. Verse 2. He cried against the altar] He denounced the destruction of this idolatrous system.

A child shall be born-Josiah by name] This is one of the most remarkable and most singular prophecies in the Old Testament. It here most circumstantially foretells a fact which took place three hundred and forty years after the prediction: a fact which was attested by the two nations. The Jews, in whose behalf this prophecy was delivered, would guard it most sacredly; and it was the interest of the Israelites, against whom it was levelled, to impugn its authenticity and expose its falsehood, had this been possible. This prediction not only showed the knowledge of God, but his power. He gave, as it were, this warning to idolatry, that it might be on its guard, and defend itself against this Josiah, whenever a person of that name should be found sitting on the throne of David: and, no doubt, it was on the alert, and took all prudent measures for its own defence; but all in vain; for Josiah, in the eighteenth year of his reign, literally accomplished this prophecy, as we may read, 2 Kings, chap. xxiii. 15-20. And from this latter place we find that the prophecy had three permanent testimonials of its truth. 1. The house of Israel. 2. The house of Judah. And, 3. The tomb of the prophet, who delivered this prophecy, who, being slain by a lion, was brought back and buried at Beth-el; the superscription on whose tomb remained till the day on which Josiah destroyed that altar, and burnt dead men's bones upon it. See above, verses 15, 17, and 18. Verse 3. And he gave a sign] A miracle, to prove that the prophecy should be fulfilled in its season.

8 And the man of God said unto the king, 'If thou wilt give me half thine house, I will not go in with thee, neither will I eat bread nor drink water in this place:

9 For so was it charged me by the word of the LORD, saying, Eat no bread, nor drink water, nor turn again by the same way that thou camest. 10 So he went another way, and returned not by the way that he came to Beth-el.

11 Now there dwelt an old prophet in Beth-el; and his sons came and told him all the works that the man of God had done that day in Beth-el: the words which he had spoken unto the king, them they told also their father.

12 And their father said unto them, What way went he? For his sons had seen what way the man of God went, which came from Judah.

13 And he said unto his sons, Saddle me the ass. So they saddled him the ass: and he rode thereon,

14 And went after the man of God, and found him sitting under an oak: and he said unto him, Art thou the man of God that camest from Judah? And he said, I am.

15 Then he said unto him, Come home with me, and eat bread.

16 And he said, I may not return with thee, nor go in with thee: neither will I eat bread nor drink water with thee in this place:

17 For it was said to me by the word of the LORD, Thou shalt eat no bread nor drink water

u 1 Sam. 9. 7. 2 Kings 5. 15.-v So Numb. 22. 18. & 24. 13.- 1 Cor. 5. 11—x Heb son-y Ver. 8, 9.-2 Heb. 1ord was-a Ch. 20. 36. 1 Thema 4. 15.

Verse 4. Lay hold on him.] No doubt stretching out his own hand at the same time, through rage, pride, and haste, to execute his own orders.

And his hand-dried up] The whole arm became suddenly rigid; the nerves no longer communicated their influence, and the muscles ceased to obey the dictates of the will.

Verse 5. The altar also was rent] It split or elave of its own accord; and, as the split parts would decline at the top from the line of their perpendicular, so the ashes and coals would fall off, or be poured out.

Verse 6. Entreat-the face of the LORD thy God] The face of God is his favour, as we see in many parts of the Sacred Writings: he says, thy God; for Jeroboam knew that he was not his God, for he was now in the very act of acknowledging other gods, and had no portion in the God of Jacob.

And the king's hand was restored] Both miracles were wrought to show the truth of the Jewish religion, and to convince this bold innovator of his wickedness, and to reclaim him from the folly and ruinous tendency of his idolatry.

Verse 7. Come home with me-and I will give thee a reward.] Come and be one of my priests, and I will give thee a proper salary.

Verse 9. For so was it charged me-Eat no bread, &c.] That is, have no kind of communication with those idolaters. He was charged also not to return by the way that he came; probably lest the account of what was done should have reached the ears of any of the people through whom he had passed, and he suffer inconveniences on the account, either by persecution from the idolaters, or from curious people delaying him, in order to cause him to give an account of the transactions which took place at Beth-el. This is a reason why he should not return by the same way; but what the reason of this part of the charge was, if not the above, is not easy to see.

Verse 11. An old prophet] Probably once a prophet of the Lord, who had fallen from his steadfastness, and yet not so deeply as to lose the knowledge of the true God, and join with Jeroboam in his idolatries. We find he was not at the king's sacrifice, though his sons were there; and perhaps even they were there not as idolaters, but as spectators of what was done.

Verse 14. And went after the man of God] I can hardly think that this was with any evil design. His sons had given him such an account of the prediction, the power, and influence of this prophet, that he wished to have a particular acquaintance with him, in order that he might get farther information relative to the solemn import of the prophecy which he had denounced against the idolatry at Beth-el. This good man could not have been an object of the old prophet's malevolence.

Abijah, son of Jeroboam, falls sick, 1. Jeroboam sends his wife disguised to Ahijah the prophet, and with her a present, to inquire concerning his son, 3, 4. Anijah dis covers her by a divine intimation, and delivers to her a heavy message concerning the destruction of Jeroboam's house, and the death of her son, 5-16. The child dies, according to the prediction of Ahijah, 17. Jeroboam's reign and death, 18-20. Rehoboam's bad reign, and the apostasy of Judah, 21---21. Shishak, king of Egypt,

invades Judea, spoils the templa, and takes away the golden shiells made by Solo

mon; instead of which, Rehoboam makes others of brass, 25-23. Rehoboam's reign and death, 29--31.

A. M. 3018.

B. C. 956.

Ante I. O1. 180. An. Thersippi, Arch. Athen. perpet. 38.

AT that time Abij that time Abijah the son of Je

4 And Jeroboam's wife did so, and arose, " and went to Shiloh, and came to the house of Ahijah. But Ahijah could not see; for his eyes were set by reason of his age.

5 And the LORD said unto Ahijah, Behold the wife of Jeroboam cometh to ask a thing of thee for her son; for he is sick: thus and thus shalt thou say unto her: for it shall be, when she cometh in, that she shall feign herself to be another woman.

6 And it was so, when Ahijah heard the sound of her feet, as she came in at the door, that he said, Come in, thou wife of Jeroboam; why feignest thou thyself to be another? for I am sent to thee with heavy tidings.

7 Go, tell Jeroboam, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, * Forasmuch as I exalted thee from among the people, and made thee prince over my people Israel,

8 And rent the kingdom away from the house of David, and gave it thee: and yet thou hast not been as my servant David, who kept my commandments, and who followed me with all his heart, to do that only which was right in mine eyes;

39 And take with thee ten loaves, and cracknels, and a cruise of honey, and go to him: he shall tell thee what shall become of the child.

g 2 Kings 23. 17, 18.-h Ver. 2. 2 Kings 23. 16, 19.-i See Ch. 16. 24-k Ch. 12. 31, 32. 2 Chron. 11. 15. & 13. 9.-1 Heb. returned and made-m Heb. filled his hand. Judg. 17. 12.-n Ch. 12. 30.-0 Ch. 14. 10.-p Ch. 11. 31.-q Soe I Sam. 9. 7,8.-r Heb. in thine hand.

Verse 31. Lay my bones beside his bones] This argues a strong conviction, in the mind of the old prophet, that the deceased was a good and holy man of God; and he is willing to have place with him in the general resurrection. Verse 32. In the cities of Samaria] It is most certain that Samaria, or as it is called in Hebrew, Shomeron, was not built at this time. We are expressly told that Omri, king of Israel, founded this city on the hill which he bought for two talents of silver, from a person of the name of Shimer, after whom he called the city Samaria, or Shomeron, see chap. xvi. 24. And this was fifty years after the death of Jeroboam. How then could the old prophet speak of Samaria, not then in existence, unless he did it by the spirit of prophecy, calling things that are not as though they were; as the man of God called Josiah by name three hundred years before he was born? Some suppose that the historian adds these words, because Samaria existed in his time, and he well knew that it did not exist in the time of the old prophet; for himself, in the xvith chapter, gives us the account of its foundation by Omri. After all, it is possible that God might have given this revelation to the old prophet; and thus by anticipation, which is the language of prophecy, spoke of Samaria as then existing. This is the solution of Houbigant, and is thought sound by many good critics.

Verse 33. Jeroboam returned not from his evil way] There is something exceedingly obstinate and perverse, as well as blinding and infatuating, in idolatry. The prediction lately delivered at Beth-el, and the miracles wrought in confirmation of it, were surely sufficient to have affected and alarmed any heart, not wholly and incorrigibly hardened; and yet they had no effect on Jeroboam!

Made-the lowest of the people priests] So hardy was this bad man in his idolatry, that he did not even attempt to form any thing according to the model of God's true worship: he would have nothing like God and truth. In his calves, or rather oren, he copied the manner of Egypt; and, in the formation of his priesthood, he seems to have gone aside from all models. Among the worst of heathens, the priesthood was filled with respectable men: but Jeroboam took of the lowest of the people, and put them in that office.

Whosoever would, he consecrated him] He made no discrimination: any vagabond that offered was accepted, even of those who had no character; who were too idle to work, and too stupid to learn.

Verse 34. And this thing became sin] These abominations were too glaring, and too insulting to the Divine

10 Therefore, behold, I will bring evil upon the house of Jeroboam, and d will cut off from Jeroboam him that pisseth against the wall, and him that is shut up and left in Israel, and will take away the remnant of the house of Jeroboam, as a man taketh away dung, till it be all gone.

8 Or, cakes. Or, bottle-n Chap. 11. 29.--v Heb. stood for his koerinem. Heb hard-x See 2 Sam. 12. 7, 8. Ch. 16. 2-y Ch. 11. 31-1 Ch. 11. 33, R & 15. 5-a Chap. 12. 9. 2 Chron. 11. 15.--b Neh. 9. 26. Psa 50 17. Ezek. 23. 25. c Ch. 15. 29. Ch. 21. 21. 2 Kings 9. 8.-e Deut. 32 36 2 Kings 14. 2

Majesty, to be permitted to last; therefore his house was cut off, and destroyed from the face of the earth.

A HOLY priesthood, a righteous ministry, is a blessing to any state; because it has a most powerful effect on the morals of the community; inducing order, sobriety, and habits of industry among the people; on the contrary, the profligacy of the clergy, and false principles of religion, are the most likely to unsettle a kingdom, and to bring about destructive revolutions in the state. This is the principle in which all national establishments of religion were originally formed. The state thought proper to secure a permanency of religion, that religion might se cure the safety of the state; because it was supposed, from the general aversion of men from good, that, if left to themselves, they would have no religion at all. Where the religion of the country is pure, founded solely on the oracles of God, it deserves the utmost sanction of the state, as well as the attention of every individual. A Christian state has surely authority to enact, The Christian religion is, and shall be, the religion of this land; and, prejudice apart, should not the laws provide for the permanence of this system? Is the form of Christianity likely to be preserved in times of general profligacy, if the laws do not secure its permanence? What would our nation have been if we had not had a version of the Sacred Writings established by the authority of the laws; and a form of sound words for general devotion established by the same authority? Whatever the reader may do, the writer thanks God for the religious establishment of his country.

NOTES ON CHAPTER XIV.

Verse 1. Abijah-fell sick] This was but a prelude to the miseries which fell on the house of Jeroboam; but it was another merciful warning, intended to turn him from his idolatry and wickedness.

Verse 3. Ten loaves] Probably common, or household bread.

Cracknels] mp: nakudim, spotted, or perforated bread: thin cakes, pierced through with many holes, the same as is called Jews' bread to the present day, and used by them at the passover. It was customary to give presents to all great personages; and no person consulted a prophet without bringing something in his hand.

Verse 5. She shall feign herself to be another woman.] It would have been discreditable to Jeroboam's calves, if it had been known that he had consulted a prophet of Jehovah.

Verse 8. And rent the kingdom away from the house of David That is, permitted it to be rent; because of the folly and insolence of Rehoboam.