JESSE
jes'-e (yishay, meaning doubtful; according to Gesenius it =
"wealthy"; Olshausen, Gram., sections 277 f, conjectures yesh
yah, "Yahweh exists"; Wellhausen (
1Sa 14:49
) explains it as 'abhishay (see ABISHAI); Iessai;
Ru 4:17,22; 1Sa 16; 17; 20; 22; 25:10
;
2Sa 20:1; 23:1; 1Ki 12:16
;
1Ch 10:14; 12:18; Ps 72:20; Isa 11:1,10
( =
Ro 15:12
);
Isaiah 11
| 1
| And a rod hath come out from the stock of Jesse,
And a branch from his roots is fruitful.
|
| 2
| Rested on him hath the Spirit of Jehovah, The
spirit of wisdom and understanding, The spirit of
counsel and might, The spirit of knowledge and fear of
Jehovah.
|
| 3
| To refresh him in the fear of Jehovah, And by the
sight of his eyes he judgeth not, Nor by the hearing of
his ears decideth.
|
| 4
| And he hath judged in righteousness the poor, And
decided in uprightness for the humble of earth, And hath
smitten earth with the rod of his mouth, And with the
breath of his lips he putteth the wicked to death.
|
| 5
| And righteousness hath been the girdle of his
loins, And faithfulness -- the girdle of his reins.
|
| 6
| And a wolf hath sojourned with a lamb, And a
leopard with a kid doth lie down, And calf, and young
lion, and fatling [are] together, And a little youth is
leader over them.
|
| 7
| And cow and bear do feed, Together lie down their
young ones, And a lion as an ox eateth straw.
|
| 8
| And played hath a suckling by the hole of an asp,
And on the den of a cockatrice Hath the weaned one put
his hand.
|
| 9
| Evil they do not, nor destroy in all My holy
mountain, For full hath been the earth with the
knowledge of Jehovah, As the waters are covering the
sea.
|
| 10
| And there hath been, in that day, A root of Jesse
that is standing for an ensign of peoples, Unto him do
nations seek, And his rest hath been -- honour!
|
| 11
| And it hath come to pass, in that day, The Lord
addeth a second time his power, To get the remnant of
His people that is left, From Asshur, and from Egypt,
And from Pathros, and from Cush, And from Elam, and from
Shinar, And from Hamath, and from isles of the sea,
|
| 12
| And He hath lifted up an ensign (signal) to
nations, And gathereth the driven away of Israel, And
the scattered of Judah He assembleth, From the four
wings of the earth.
|
| 13
| And turned aside hath the envy of Ephraim, And the
adversaries of Judah are cut off, Ephraim doth not envy
Judah, And Judah doth not distress Ephraim.
|
| 14
| And they have flown on the shoulder of the
Philistines westward, Together they spoil the sons of
the east, Edom and Moab sending forth their hand, And
sons of Ammon obeying them.
|
| 15
| And Jehovah hath devoted to destruction The tongue
of the sea of Egypt, And hath waved His hand over the
river, In the terror of his wind, And hath smitten it at
the seven streams, And hath caused [men] to tread [it]
with shoes.
|
| 16
| And there hath been a highway, For the remnant of
His people that is left, from Asshur, As there was for
Israel in the day of his coming up out of the land of
Egypt!
|
|
Mt 1:5,6; Ac 13:22
): Son of Obed, grandson of Boaz, and father of King David. The grouping
of the references to Jesse in 1Sa is bound up with that of the grouping
of the whole narrative of David and Saul. There
seem to be three main veins in the narrative, so far as Jesse is
concerned.
(1) In
1Sa 16:1-13
, where Jesse is called the Bethlehemite. Samuel is sent to seek among
Jesse's sons successor to Saul.
Both Samuel and Jesse fail to discern at first Yahweh's choice, Samuel
thinking that it would be the eldest son
(1Sa 16:6), while Jesse had not thought it worth while to call the youngest to
the feast (
1Sa 16:11
).
(2) (a) In
1Sa 16:14-23
, Saul is mentally disturbed, and is advised to get a harpist. David
"the son of Jesse the Bethlehemite" is recommended by a
courtier, and Saul sends to Jesse for David.
"And Jesse took ten loaves (so emend and translate, and not as the
Revised Version (British and American), "an ass laden with
bread"), and a (skin) bottle of wine, and a kid, and sent
them" to Saul as a present with David, who becomes a courtier of
Saul's with his father's consent.
(b) The next mention of Jesse is in three contemptuous references by
Saul to David as "the son of Jesse" in
1Sa 20:27,30,31
, part of the quarrel-scene between Saul and Jonathan. (But it is not
quite certain if
1Sa 20
belongs to the same source as 16:14-23.) In answer to the first
reference, Jonathan calls his friend "David," and Saul repeats
the phrase "the son of Jesse," abusing Jonathan personally (
1Sa 20:30
, where the meaning is uncertain). The reference to David as "the
son of Jesse" here and in the following verse is contemptuous, not
because of any reproach that might attach itself to Jesse, but, as Budde
remarks, because "an upstart is always contemptuously referred to
under his father's name" in courts and society. History repeats
itself!
(c) Further references of a like kind are in the passage,
1Sa 22:6-23
, namely, in 22:7,8,13 by Saul, and repeated by Doeg in 22:9.
(d) The final one of this group is in
1Sa 25:10
, where Nabal sarcastically asks "Who is David ? and who is the son
of Jesse?"
| 1041 B.C.
| the birth of Jesse's son David.
| 1 Chr 2:9-17 |
1 Samuel 25:1
And Samuel died; and all the Israelites were gathered
together, and lamented him, and buried him in his house at
Ramah. And David arose, and went down to the wilderness of
Paran.
1 Samuel 25:2 And
[there was] a man in Maon, whose possessions [were] in Carmel;
and the man [was] very great, and he had three thousand sheep,
and a thousand goats: and he was shearing his sheep in Carmel.
1 Samuel 25:3 Now the
name of the man [was] Nabal; and the name of his wife Abigail:
and [she was] a woman of good understanding, and of a
beautiful countenance: but the man [was] churlish and evil in
his doings; and he [was] of the house of Caleb.
1 Samuel 25:4 And
David heard in the wilderness that Nabal did shear his sheep.
1 Samuel 25:5 And
David sent out ten young men, and David said unto the young
men, Get you up to Carmel, and go to Nabal, and greet him in
my name:
1 Samuel 25:6 And
thus shall ye say to him that liveth [in prosperity], Peace
[be] both to thee, and peace [be] to thine house, and peace
[be] unto all that thou hast.
1 Samuel 25:7 And now
I have heard that thou hast shearers: now thy shepherds which
were with us, we hurt them not, neither was there ought
missing unto them, all the while they were in Carmel.
1 Samuel 25:8 Ask thy
young men, and they will shew thee. Wherefore let the young
men find favour in thine eyes: for we come in a good day:
give, I pray thee, whatsoever cometh to thine hand unto thy
servants, and to thy son David.
1 Samuel 25:9 And
when David's young men came, they spake to Nabal according to
all those words in the name of David, and ceased.
1 Samuel 25:10 And
Nabal answered David's servants, and said, Who [is] David? and
who [is] the son of Jesse? there be many servants now a days
that break away every man from his master.
1 Samuel 25:11 Shall
I then take my bread, and my water, and my flesh that I have
killed for my shearers, and give [it] unto men, whom I know
not whence they [be]?
1 Samuel 25:12 So
David's young men turned their way, and went again, and came
and told him all those sayings.
1 Samuel 25:13 And
David said unto his men, Gird ye on every man his sword. And
they girded on every man his sword; and David also girded on
his sword: and there went up after David about four hundred
men; and two hundred abode by the stuff.
1 Samuel 25:14 But
one of the young men told Abigail, Nabal's wife, saying,
Behold, David sent messengers out of the wilderness to salute
our master; and he railed on them.
1 Samuel 25:15 But
the men [were] very good unto us, and we were not hurt,
neither missed we any thing, as long as we were conversant
with them, when we were in the fields:
1 Samuel 25:16 They
were a wall unto us both by night and day, all the while we
were with them keeping the sheep.
1 Samuel 25:17 Now
therefore know and consider what thou wilt do; for evil is
determined against our master, and against all his household:
for he [is such] a son of Belial, that [a man] cannot speak to
him.
1 Samuel 25:18 Then
Abigail made haste, and took two hundred loaves, and two
bottles of wine, and five sheep ready dressed, and five
measures of parched [corn], and an hundred clusters of
raisins, and two hundred cakes of figs, and laid [them] on
asses.
1 Samuel 25:19 And
she said unto her servants, Go on before me; behold, I come
after you. But she told not her husband Nabal.
1 Samuel 25:20 And it
was [so, as] she rode on the ass, that she came down by the
covert of the hill, and, behold, David and his men came down
against her; and she met them.
1 Samuel 25:21 Now
David had said, Surely in vain have I kept all that this
[fellow] hath in the wilderness, so that nothing was missed of
all that [pertained] unto him: and he hath requited me evil
for good.
1 Samuel 25:22 So and
more also do God unto the enemies of David, if I leave of all
that [pertain] to him by the morning light any that pisseth
against the wall.
1 Samuel 25:23 And
when Abigail saw David, she hasted, and lighted off the ass,
and fell before David on her face, and bowed herself to the
ground,
1 Samuel 25:24 And
fell at his feet, and said, Upon me, my lord, [upon] me [let
this] iniquity [be]: and let thine handmaid, I pray thee,
speak in thine audience, and hear the words of thine handmaid.
1 Samuel 25:25 Let
not my lord, I pray thee, regard this man of Belial, [even]
Nabal: for as his name [is], so [is] he; Nabal [is] his name,
and folly [is] with him: but I thine handmaid saw not the
young men of my lord, whom thou didst send.
1 Samuel 25:26 Now
therefore, my lord, [as] the LORD liveth, and [as] thy soul
liveth, seeing the LORD hath withholden thee from coming to
[shed] blood, and from avenging thyself with thine own hand,
now let thine enemies, and they that seek evil to my lord, be
as Nabal.
1 Samuel 25:27 And
now this blessing which thine handmaid hath brought unto my
lord, let it even be given unto the young men that follow my
lord.
1 Samuel 25:28 I pray
thee, forgive the trespass of thine handmaid: for the LORD
will certainly make my lord a sure house; because my lord
fighteth the battles of the LORD, and evil hath not been found
in thee [all] thy days.
1 Samuel 25:29 Yet a
man is risen to pursue thee, and to seek thy soul: but the
soul of my lord shall be bound in the bundle of life with the
LORD thy God; and the souls of thine enemies, them shall he
sling out, [as out] of the middle of a sling.
1 Samuel 25:30 And it
shall come to pass, when the LORD shall have done to my lord
according to all the good that he hath spoken concerning thee,
and shall have appointed thee ruler over Israel;
1 Samuel 25:31 That
this shall be no grief unto thee, nor offence of heart unto my
lord, either that thou hast shed blood causeless, or that my
lord hath avenged himself: but when the LORD shall have dealt
well with my lord, then remember thine handmaid.
1 Samuel 25:32 And
David said to Abigail, Blessed [be] the LORD God of Israel,
which sent thee this day to meet me:
1 Samuel 25:33 And
blessed [be] thy advice, and blessed [be] thou, which hast
kept me this day from coming to [shed] blood, and from
avenging myself with mine own hand.
1 Samuel 25:34 For in
very deed, [as] the LORD God of Israel liveth, which hath kept
me back from hurting thee, except thou hadst hasted and come
to meet me, surely there had not been left unto Nabal by the
morning light any that pisseth against the wall.
1 Samuel 25:35 So
David received of her hand [that] which she had brought him,
and said unto her, Go up in peace to thine house; see, I have
hearkened to thy voice, and have accepted thy person.
1 Samuel 25:36 And
Abigail came to Nabal; and, behold, he held a feast in his
house, like the feast of a king; and Nabal's heart [was] merry
within him, for he [was] very drunken: wherefore she told him
nothing, less or more, until the morning light.
1 Samuel 25:37 But it
came to pass in the morning, when the wine was gone out of
Nabal, and his wife had told him these things, that his heart
died within him, and he became [as] a stone.
1 Samuel 25:38 And it
came to pass about ten days [after], that the LORD smote
Nabal, that he died.
1 Samuel 25:39 And
when David heard that Nabal was dead, he said, Blessed [be]
the LORD, that hath pleaded the cause of my reproach from the
hand of Nabal, and hath kept his servant from evil: for the
LORD hath returned the wickedness of Nabal upon his own head.
And David sent and communed with Abigail, to take her to him
to wife.
1 Samuel 25:40 And
when the servants of David were come to Abigail to Carmel,
they spake unto her, saying, David sent us unto thee, to take
thee to him to wife.
1 Samuel 25:41 And
she arose, and bowed herself on [her] face to the earth, and
said, Behold, [let] thine handmaid [be] a servant to wash the
feet of the servants of my lord.
1 Samuel 25:42 And
Abigail hasted, and arose, and rode upon an ass, with five
damsels of hers that went after her; and she went after the
messengers of David, and became his wife.
1 Samuel 25:43 David
also took Ahinoam of Jezreel; and they were also both of them
his wives.
|
1016 B.C.
|
David meets and marries Abigail.
|
1 Sam 25:2-44 |
David's wives - the symbology:
| Name |
Definition |
Meaning |
Color |
Scripture |
| . |
. |
Attraction Phase |
. |
. |
| 1 lk*ym! (Mikal) |
brook, stream |
water of Word - X-axis |
Blue |
1 Sa. 18:27; 2 Sa 3:3 |
| µ2 <u^ny)j!a^('Achino`am) |
my brother is delight |
love, social friend, breasts - Y-axis |
Yellow |
1 Sa 25:43 |
| 3 ly!g^yb!a^(Abigail) |
my father is rejoicing |
royalty, Spiritual - Z-axis |
Violet |
1 Sa. 25:30 |
| . |
. |
Compatibility Phase |
. |
. |
| 4 hk*u^m^(Ma`akah) |
fondling female, pet |
skin - Adam = red |
Red |
Ge 2:7; 2 Sa 3:3 |
| 5 tyG!j^(Chaggith) |
festal |
dancer |
Green |
2 Sa 3:4 |
| 6 lf^yb!a^('Abital) |
my father is dew |
female sexual response; genitals |
Orange |
2 Sa 3:4 |
| 7 hl*g=u#(`Egelah) |
heifer |
big female |
Indigo |
Judg 14:18; 2 Sa 3:5 |
| . |
. |
Spiritual Rapport |
. |
. |
8 u^Wv-tB^(Bathshu`a)
ub^v#-tB^(Bathsheba`) |
daughter of opulence
daughter of the oath |
(Right Woman substitute) |
White |
1 Chron 3:5
2 Sa 11:3 |
David had eight wives, which represented the testing and
promotion through all the Phases of the Right Man - Right Woman
relationship. The first seven wives represented the completion
of the category of tests of the soul to qualify for Right Woman
while the eighth represented the Right Woman substitute, since David
did not receive his Right Woman. Each wife represented a
specific characteristic of Right Woman and a symbolic color of the
light production, or fruit, of that relationship. David's
wives represented the promotions toward the strategic objective of
the coporate testimony of Marriage in the life of the
believer. His wives demonstrated that one of the strategic
objectives of life is the advance back to the Garden with the Right
Woman.
The production of the Intimacy Room is light - not physical
fruit. The fruit, or production, of the Intimacy Room consists
of the seven colors of light of the rainbow. The
fruit-bearing, or production, of the Spiritual Life in the Intimacy
Room is light. The symbolic colors associated with David's
wives are the colors of the light in the Intimacy Room.
After the Flood, God placed a rainbow in the sky as a symbol
of the end of judgment. However, the rainbow was also a
testimony of the breakdown of marriage culture. In Satan's
attack on Marriage, all seven tests of the Right Man - Right Woman
relationship had been failed. The rainbow in the sky was a
testimony of the failed tests and lack of light in the Intimacy Room
of those who rejected the Right Man - Right Woman
relationship. Those who reject Right Man or Right Woman reside
in darkness. And the only way to pass the intimacy tests is
with Bible Doctrine.
Children born before the parents are in Spiritual Rapport
receive various curses. David's family was full of cursing
when he sinned with Bathsheba`. The cursing included rape and
murder. Wild
children from relationships other than Right Man - Right Woman
also inherit cursing. David was a wild child, and he had a
life time of problems with women. His first seven wives
represented the intimacy tests that he had to pass to qualify for
Right Woman.
FROM: http://www.biblenews1.com/garden/David1.html
| 1011 B.C.
| David becomes king over Judah.
| 2 Sam 2:1-7; 1 Chr 3:1-4; Ps 9 |
| 1010 B.C.
| the birth of David's son Amnon.
| 2 Sam 3:1
|
| 1008 B.C.
| the birth of David's son Absalom.
| 2 Sam 3:3
|
| 1004-971 B.C.
| David's reign over Israel.
| 2 Sam 5:4-5, 13-16; 8:15-18; 1 Chr 3:4-9;
14:1-7; 29:27 |
|
David and Bathsheeba
2 Samuel 11
1. And
it came to pass, after the year was expired, at the time when
kings go forth to battle, that David sent Joab, and his servants
with him, and all Israel; and they destroyed the children of Ammon,
and besieged Rabbah. But David tarried still at Jerusalem.
2. And
it came to pass in an eveningtide, that David arose from off his
bed, and walked upon the roof of the king's house: and from the
roof he saw a woman washing herself; and the woman was very
beautiful to look upon.
3. And
David sent and enquired after the woman. And one said, Is not this
Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah the Hittite?
4. And
David sent messengers, and took her; and she came in unto him, and
he lay with her; for she was purified from her uncleanness: and
she returned unto her house.
5. And
the woman conceived, and sent and told David, and said, I am with
child.
6. And
David sent to Joab, saying, Send me Uriah the Hittite. And Joab
sent Uriah to David.
7. And
when Uriah was come unto him, David demanded of him how Joab did,
and how the people did, and how the war prospered.
8. And
David said to Uriah, Go down to thy house, and wash thy feet. And
Uriah departed out of the king's house, and there followed him a
mess of meat from the king.
9. But
Uriah slept at the door of the king's house with all the servants
of his lord, and went not down to his house.
10. And
when they had told David, saying, Uriah went not down unto his
house, David said unto Uriah, Camest thou not from thy journey?
why then didst thou not go down unto thine house?
11. And
Uriah said unto David, The ark, and Israel, and Judah, abide in
tents; and my lord Joab, and the servants of my lord, are encamped
in the open fields; shall I then go into mine house, to eat and to
drink, and to lie with my wife? as thou livest, and as thy soul
liveth, I will not do this thing.
12. And
David said to Uriah, Tarry here to day also, and to morrow I will
let thee depart. So Uriah abode in Jerusalem that day, and the
morrow.
13. And
when David had called him, he did eat and drink before him; and he
made him drunk: and at even he went out to lie on his bed with the
servants of his lord, but went not down to his house.
14. And
it came to pass in the morning, that David wrote a letter to Joab,
and sent it by the hand of Uriah.
15. And
he wrote in the letter, saying, Set ye Uriah in the forefront of
the hottest battle, and retire ye from him, that he may be
smitten, and die.
16. And
it came to pass, when Joab observed the city, that he assigned
Uriah unto a place where he knew that valiant men were.
17. And
the men of the city went out, and fought with Joab: and there fell
some of the people of the servants of David; and Uriah the Hittite
died also.
18. Then
Joab sent and told David all the things concerning the war;
19. And
charged the messenger, saying, When thou hast made an end of
telling the matters of the war unto the king,
20. And
if so be that the king's wrath arise, and he say unto thee,
Wherefore approached ye so nigh unto the city when ye did fight?
knew ye not that they would shoot from the wall?
21. Who
smote Abimelech the son of Jerubbesheth? did not a woman cast a
piece of a millstone upon him from the wall, that he died in
Thebez? why went ye nigh the wall? then say thou, Thy servant
Uriah the Hittite is dead also.
22. So
the messenger went, and came and shewed David all that Joab had
sent him for.
23. And
the messenger said unto David, Surely the men prevailed against
us, and came out unto us into the field, and we were upon them
even unto the entering of the gate.
24. And
the shooters shot from off the wall upon thy servants; and some of
the king's servants be dead, and thy servant Uriah the Hittite is
dead also.
25. Then
David said unto the messenger, Thus shalt thou say unto Joab, Let
not this thing displease thee, for the sword devoureth one as well
as another: make thy battle more strong against the city, and
overthrow it: and encourage thou him.
26. And
when the wife of Uriah heard that Uriah her husband was dead, she
mourned for her husband.
27. And
when the mourning was past, David sent and fetched her to his
house, and she became his wife, and bare him a son. But the thing
that David had done displeased the LORD.
2 Samuel 12
1. And
the LORD sent Nathan unto David. And he came unto him, and said
unto him, There were two men in one city; the one rich, and the
other poor.
2. The
rich man had exceeding many flocks and herds:
3. But
the poor man had nothing, save one little ewe lamb, which he had
bought and nourished up: and it grew up together with him, and
with his children; it did eat of his own meat, and drank of his
own cup, and lay in his bosom, and was unto him as a daughter.
4. And
there came a traveller unto the rich man, and he spared to take of
his own flock and of his own herd, to dress for the wayfaring man
that was come unto him; but took the poor man's lamb, and dressed
it for the man that was come to him.
5. And
David's anger was greatly kindled against the man; and he said to
Nathan, As the LORD liveth, the man that hath done this thing
shall surely die:
6. And
he shall restore the lamb fourfold, because he did this thing, and
because he had no pity.
7. And
Nathan said to David, Thou art the man. Thus saith the LORD God of
Israel, I anointed thee king over Israel, and I delivered thee out
of the hand of Saul;
8. And
I gave thee thy master's house, and thy master's wives into thy
bosom, and gave thee the house of Israel and of Judah; and if that
had been too little, I would moreover have given unto thee such
and such things.
9. Wherefore
hast thou despised the commandment of the LORD, to do evil in his
sight? thou hast killed Uriah the Hittite with the sword, and hast
taken his wife to be thy wife, and hast slain him with the sword
of the children of Ammon.
10. Now
therefore the sword shall never depart from thine house; because
thou hast despised me, and hast taken the wife of Uriah the
Hittite to be thy wife.
11. Thus
saith the LORD, Behold, I will raise up evil against thee out of
thine own house, and I will take thy wives before thine eyes, and
give them unto thy neighbour, and he shall lie with thy wives in
the sight of this sun.
12. For
thou didst it secretly: but I will do this thing before all
Israel, and before the sun.
13. And
David said unto Nathan, I have sinned against the LORD. And Nathan
said unto David, The LORD also hath put away thy sin; thou shalt
not die.
14. Howbeit,
because by this deed thou hast given great occasion to the enemies
of the LORD to blaspheme, the child also that is born unto thee
shall surely die.
15. And
Nathan departed unto his house. And the LORD struck the child that
Uriah's wife bare unto David, and it was very sick.
16. David
therefore besought God for the child; and David fasted, and went
in, and lay all night upon the earth.
17. And
the elders of his house arose, and went to him, to raise him up
from the earth: but he would not, neither did he eat bread with
them.
18. And
it came to pass on the seventh day, that the child died. And the
servants of David feared to tell him that the child was dead: for
they said, Behold, while the child was yet alive, we spake unto
him, and he would not hearken unto our voice: how will he then vex
himself, if we tell him that the child is dead?
19. But
when David saw that his servants whispered, David perceived that
the child was dead: therefore David said unto his servants, Is the
child dead? And they said, He is dead.
20. Then
David arose from the earth, and washed, and anointed himself, and
changed his apparel, and came into the house of the LORD, and
worshipped: then he came to his own house; and when he required,
they set bread before him, and he did eat.
21. Then
said his servants unto him, What thing is this that thou hast
done? thou didst fast and weep for the child, while it was alive;
but when the child was dead, thou didst rise and eat bread.
22. And
he said, While the child was yet alive, I fasted and wept: for I
said, Who can tell whether GOD will be gracious to me, that the
child may live?
23. But
now he is dead, wherefore should I fast? can I bring him back
again? I shall go to him, but he shall not return to me.
24. And
David comforted Bathsheba his wife, and went in unto her, and lay
with her: and she bare a son, and he called his name Solomon: and
the LORD loved him.
25. And
he sent by the hand of Nathan the prophet; and he called his name
Jedidiah, because of the LORD.
26. And
Joab fought against Rabbah of the children of Ammon, and took the
royal city.
27. And
Joab sent messengers to David, and said, I have fought against
Rabbah, and have taken the city of waters.
28. Now
therefore gather the rest of the people together, and encamp
against the city, and take it: lest I take the city, and it be
called after my name.
29. And
David gathered all the people together, and went to Rabbah, and
fought against it, and took it.
30. And
he took their king's crown from off his head, the weight whereof
was a talent of gold with the precious stones: and it was set on
David's head. And he brought forth the spoil of the city in great
abundance.
31. And
he brought forth the people that were therein, and put them under
saws, and under harrows of iron, and under axes of iron, and made
them pass through the brick-kiln: and thus did he unto all the
cities of the children of Ammon. So David and all the people
returned unto Jerusalem.
|
| 992 B.C.
| David's adultery with Bathsheba; the child dies.
| 2 Sam 11:1-12:23; Ps 6, 32, 38, 39, 51, 143
|
| 991 B.C.
| the birth of David's son Solomon.
| 2 Sam 12:24-25
|
| 977 B.C.
| David brings the ark to Jerusalem; God establishes a
Messianic covenant with David and his line.
| 2 Sam 6:1-7:29; 1 Chr 13:1-14; 15:1-17:27; Psa
2, 15, 24, 65, 68, 103, 108 |
| 973 B.C.
| David's preparations for the temple; he addresses the
officials.
| 1 Chr 22:1-19; 23:3-26:32; 28:1-29:22
|
| 973 B.C.
| David's psalms for use in the temple: Psa 29, 30, 37,
95, 101, 122, 123, 124, 129, 131, 133, 145.
|
|
| 972 B.C.
| the birth of Solomon's son Rehoboam.
One of Solomon's wives was Naamah, an Ammonite. She was
the mother of Rehoboam
(1 Kings 14:31; 2 Chr. 12:13).
| 1 Kgs 14:21
|
| 972 B.C.
| David secures Solomon's succession.
| 1 Kgs 1:1-53; 1 Chr 23:1-2; Ps 72, 110
|
| 971 B.C.
| the death of David; Solomon avenges David's enemies.
| 2 Sam 23:1-7; 1 Kgs 2:1-38; 1 Chr
29:22-25
|
| 969 B.C.
| Solomon marries the daughter of Pharaoh Siamun.
| 1 Kgs 3:1; Ps 45
|
| 969 B.C.
| God grants unprecedented wisdom to Solmon.
| 1 Kgs 3:2-23; 2 Chr 1:1-17; Prov. 1:1-29:27;
Song 1:1-8:14
|
| 966-959 B.C.
| the building of Solomon's temple 480 years after the
Exodus.
| 1 Kgs 6:1-38, 7:13-51; 2 Chr 3:1-4:22
|
| 959 B.C.
| the temple is dedicated; God warns Solomon to remain
faithful.
| 1 Kgs 8:1-9:9; 2 Chr 5:1-7:22
|
| 959 B.C.
| psalms associated with the temple dedication: Psa 47,
91, 92, 93, 94, 96, 97, 98, 99, 100, 104, 127, 128, 132
|
|
| 959-946 B.C.
| the building of Solmon's palace.
| 1 Kgs 7:1-12
|
| c. 950 B.C.
| the wisdom of Agur and Lemuel; Solomon's search for
meaning.
| Prov. 30:1-31:31; Ecc. 1:1-12:14
|
| c. 949 B.C.
| the birth of Rehoboam's son Abijam (Abijah).
|
|
| 947 B.C.
| Hiram is displeased with Solomon's payment.
| 1 Kgs 9:10-28
|
| 947 B.C.
| the glory of Solomon and the visit of the Queen of
Sheba.
| 1 Kgs 10:1-29; 2 Chr 8:1-9:28
|
| 947 B.C.
| Solomon becomes corrupt; Hadad rebels against him.
| 1 Kgs 11:1-14
|
| c. 940 B.C.
| Rezon (Hezion, r. 940-915) of Aram harasses Solomon.
| 1 Kgs 11:23-25
|
| c. 940 B.C.
| the prophet Ahijah predicts the division of the
kingdom and the rise of Jeroboam; Jeroboam hides in
Egypt until Solomon's death.
| 1 Kgs 11:26-40; Ps 120
|
| 933 B.C.
| the birth of Jehoiada.
| 2 Chr 24:15
|
| 931 B.C.
| the death of Solomon.
| 1 Kgs 11:41-43; 2 Chr 9:29-31
|
FROM: http://faith.propadeutic.com/history/united.html
(3) The parts of
1Sa 17-18:5
which are omitted by Septuagint B, i.e. 17:12-31,41,48b,50,55-18:6a.
Here Jesse is mentioned as "an Ephrathite of Beth-lehem-judah"
(17:12, not "that" Ephrathite, which is a grammatically
impossible translation of the Massoretic Text), Ephrath or Ephrathah
being another name for Bethlehem, or rather for the district. He is
further said to have eight sons (17:12), of whom the three eldest had
followed Saul to the war (17:13).
Jesse sends David, the shepherd, to his brothers with provisions (
1Sa 17:17
). Afterward David, on being brought to Saul and asked who he is,
answers, "I am the son of thy servant Jesse the Bethlehemite"
(
1Sa 17:58
). Jesse is also described (
1Sa 17:12
) as being "in the days of Saul an old man, advanced in years"
(so emend and translate, not as the Revised Version (British and
American), "stricken in years among men"). The mention of his
having 8 sons in
1Sa 17:12
is not in agreement with
1Ch 2:13-15
, which gives only 7 sons with two sisters, but where Syriac gives 8,
adding, from 27:18, Elihu which Massoretic Text has there probably by
corruption (Curtis, Chronicles, 88).
1Sa 16:10
should be translated" and Jesse made his 7 sons to pass before
Samuel" (not as the Revised Version (British and American), the
King James Version, "seven of his sons"). Budde (Kurz. Hand-Komm.,
"Samuel," 114) holds
1Sa 16:1-13
to be a late Midrash, and (ibid., 123 f) omits
(a) "that" in 17:12;
(b) also "and he had 8 sons" as due to a wrong inference from
16:10;
(c) the names of the 3 eldest in 17:13;
(d) 17:14b; he then changes 17:15a, and reads thus: (12) "Now David
was the son of an Ephrathite of Bethlehem-Judah, whose name was Jesse
who was .... (years) old at the time of Saul. (13) And the 3 eldest sons
of Jesse had marched with Saul to the war, (14) and David was the
youngest, (15) and David had remained to feed his father's sheep at
Bethlehem. (16) Now the Philistines came," etc.
According to all these narratives in 1 Samuel, whether all 3 be entirely
independent of one another or not, Jesse had land in Bethlehem, probably
outside the town wall, like Boaz
his grandfather (
Ru 4:17
). In
1Sa 22:3,1
David entrusts his father and mother to the care of the king of Moab,
but from 20:29 some have inferred that Jesse was dead (although most
critics assign 22:3 at any rate to the same stratum as chapter 20).
Jonathan tells Saul that David wanted to attend a family sacrificial
feast at Bethlehem (
1Sa 20:29
). Massoretic Text reads, "And he, my brother, has commanded
me," whereas we should probably read with Septuagint, "and my
brethren have commanded me," i.e. the members of the clan, as we
have farther on in the verse, "Let me get away, I pray thee, and
see my brethren." As to Jesse's daughters, Abigail, Nahash.
(4) Of the other references to Jesse, the most noteworthy is that in
Isa 11:1
: "There shall come forth a shoot out of the stock of Jesse, and a
branch out of his roots shall bear fruit," i.e. out of Jesse's
roots (compare
Re 5:5
). "Why Jesse and not David?" asks Duhm; and he answers,
"Because the Messiah will be a second David, rather than a
descendant of David." Marti explains it to mean that he will be,
not from David, but from a collateral line of descent. Duhm's
explanation suggests a parallelism between David and Christ, of whom the
former may be treated as a type similar to Aaron and Melchizedek in He.
Saul might pour contempt upon "the son of Jesse," but Isaiah
has given Jesse here a name above all Hebrew names, and thus does
Providence mock "society."
David Francis Roberts
|
1 Kings 11
The Lord Punishes Solomon for Idolatry
11:1 King Solomon
fell in love with many foreign women (besides Pharaoh’s daughter),
including Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Sidonians, and Hittites. 11:2
They came from nations about which the Lord
had warned the Israelites, “You must not establish friendly
relations with them!1
If you do, they will surely shift your allegiance to their gods.”2
But Solomon was irresistibly attracted to them.3
11:3 He had seven hundred
royal wives4
and three hundred concubines;5
his wives had a powerful influence over him.6
11:4 When Solomon became old,
his wives shifted his allegiance to7
other gods; he was not wholeheartedly devoted to the Lord
his God, as his father David had been.8
11:5 Solomon worshiped9
the Sidonian goddess Astarte and the detestable Ammonite god Milcom.10
11:6 Solomon did evil before11
the Lord; he did not remain loyal to12
the Lord, like his father David had.
11:7 Furthermore,13
on the hill east of Jerusalem14
Solomon built a high place15
for the detestable Moabite god Chemosh16
and for the detestable Ammonite god Milcom.17
11:8 He built high places for all his foreign wives so they
could burn incense and make sacrifices to their gods.18
11:9 The Lord
was angry with Solomon because he had shifted his allegiance19
away from the Lord, the God of Israel,
who had appeared to him on two occasions20
11:10 and had warned him
about this very thing so that he would not follow other gods.21
But he did not obey22
the Lord’s command.
11:11 So the Lord
said to Solomon, “Because you insist on doing these things and have
not kept the covenantal rules I gave you,23
I will surely tear the kingdom away from you and give it to your
servant.
11:12 However, for your father David’s
sake I will not do this while you are alive. I will tear it away from
your son’s hand instead.
11:13 But I will not tear away the
entire kingdom; I will leave24
your son one tribe for my servant David’s sake and for the sake of
my chosen city Jerusalem.”
11:14 The Lord
brought25
against Solomon an enemy, Hadad the Edomite, a descendant of the
Edomite king.
11:15 During David’s campaign
against Edom,26
Joab, the commander of the army, while on a mission to bury the dead,
killed every male in Edom.
11:16 For six months Joab and the entire Israelite army27
stayed there until they had exterminated every male in Edom.28
11:17 Hadad,29
who was only a small boy at the time, escaped with some of his
father’s Edomite servants and headed for Egypt.30
11:18 They went from Midian to Paran; they took some
men from Paran and went to Egypt. Pharaoh, king of Egypt, supplied him
with a house and food and even assigned him some land.31
11:19 Pharaoh liked Hadad so well32
he gave him his sister-in-law (Queen Tahpenes’ sister) as a wife.33
11:20 Tahpenes’ sister gave34
him a son named Genubath. Tahpenes raised35
him in Pharaoh’s palace; Genubath grew up in Pharaoh’s palace
among Pharaoh’s sons.
11:21 While in Egypt Hadad heard that
David had passed away36
and that Joab, the commander of the army, was dead. So Hadad asked
Pharaoh, “Give me permission to leave37
so I can return to my homeland.”
11:22 Pharaoh said to him, “What
do you lack here that makes you want to go to your homeland?”38
Hadad replied,39
“Nothing, but please give me permission to leave.”40
11:23 God also brought
against Solomon41
another enemy, Rezon son of Eliada who had run away from his master,
King Hadadezer of Zobah. 11:24 He
gathered some men and organized a raiding band.42
When David tried to kill them,43
they went to Damascus, where they settled down and gained control of
the city.
11:25 He was Israel’s enemy throughout
Solomon’s reign and, like Hadad, caused trouble. He loathed44
Israel and ruled over Syria.
11:26 Jeroboam son of Nebat, one of
Solomon’s servants, rebelled against45
the king. He was an Ephraimite46
from Zeredah whose mother was a widow named Zeruah.
11:27 This is what prompted him to
rebel against the king.47
Solomon built a terrace and he closed up a gap in the wall of the city
of his father David.48
11:28 Jeroboam was a talented man;49
when Solomon saw that the young man was an accomplished worker, he
made him the leader of the work crew from the tribe50
of Joseph.
11:29 At that time, when Jeroboam had
left Jerusalem, the prophet Ahijah the Shilonite met him on the road;
the two of them were alone in the open country. Ahijah51
was wearing a brand new robe,
11:30 and he grabbed the robe52
and tore it into twelve pieces.
11:31 Then he told Jeroboam, “Take ten
pieces, for this is what the Lord God
of Israel says: ‘Look, I am about to tear the kingdom from
Solomon’s hand and I will give ten tribes to you.
11:32 He will retain one tribe, for my
servant David’s sake and for the sake of Jerusalem, the city I have
chosen out of all the tribes of Israel.
11:33 I am taking the kingdom from
him53
because they have54
abandoned me and worshiped the Sidonian goddess Astarte, the Moabite
god Chemosh, and the Ammonite god Milcom. They have not followed my
instructions55
by doing what I approve and obeying my rules and regulations, like
Solomon’s father David did.56
11:34 I will not take the whole
kingdom from his hand. I will allow him to be ruler for the rest of
his life for the sake of my chosen servant David who kept my
commandments and rules.
11:35 I will take the kingdom from the
hand of his son and give ten tribes to you.57
11:36 I will leave58
his son one tribe so my servant David’s dynasty may continue to
serve me59
in Jerusalem, the city I have chosen as my home.60
11:37 I will select61
you; you will rule over all you desire to have and you will be king
over Israel.
11:38 You must obey62
all I command you to do, follow my instructions,63
do what I approve,64
and keep my rules and commandments, like my servant David did. Then I
will be with you and establish for you a lasting dynasty, as I did for
David;65
I will give you Israel.
11:39 I will humiliate David’s
descendants because of this,66
but not forever.”67
11:40 Solomon tried to kill
Jeroboam, but Jeroboam escaped to Egypt and found refuge with King
Shishak of Egypt.68
He stayed in Egypt until Solomon died.
Solomon’s Reign Ends
11:41 The rest of
the events of Solomon’s reign, including all his accomplishments and
his wise decisions, are recorded in the scroll called the Annals of
Solomon.69
11:42 Solomon ruled over all Israel
from Jerusalem70
for forty years. 11:43 Then Solomon
passed away71
and was buried in the city of his father David.72
His son Rehoboam replaced him as king.73
|
What
share have we in David? We have no inheritance in the son of
Jesse. To your tents, O Israel! Now, see to your own house, O
David!' So Israel departed to their tents (1 Kings 12:16).
| 12:1 |
And Rehoboam went to Shechem: for all Israel were come
to Shechem to make him king. |
| 12:2 |
And it came to pass, when Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who
was yet in Egypt, heard of it, (for he was fled from the
presence of king Solomon, and Jeroboam dwelt in Egypt;) |
| 12:3 |
That they sent and called him. And Jeroboam and all the
congregation of Israel came, and spake unto Rehoboam,
saying, |
| 12:4 |
Thy father made our yoke grievous: now therefore make
thou the grievous service of thy father, and his heavy
yoke which he put upon us, lighter, and we will serve
thee. |
| 12:5 |
And he said unto them, Depart yet for three days, then
come again to me. And the people departed. |
| 12:6 |
And king Rehoboam consulted with the old men, that stood
before Solomon his father while he yet lived, and said,
How do ye advise that I may answer this people? |
| 12:7 |
And they spake unto him, saying, If thou wilt be a
servant unto this people this day, and wilt serve them,
and answer them, and speak good words to them, then they
will be thy servants for ever. |
| 12:8 |
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: |
| 12:9 |
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? |
| 12:10 |
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. |
| 12:11 |
And now whereas my father did lade you with a heavy
yoke, I will add to your yoke: my father hath chastised
you with whips, but I will chastise you with scorpions. |
| 12:12 |
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. |
| 12:13 |
And the king answered the people roughly, and forsook
the old men's counsel that they gave him; |
| 12:14 |
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. |
| 12:15 |
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. |
| 12:16 |
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. |
| 12:17 |
But as for the children of Israel which dwelt in the
cities of Judah, Rehoboam reigned over them. |
| 12:18 |
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. |
| 12:19 |
So Israel rebelled against the house of David unto this
day. |
| 12:20 |
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 only. |
| 12:21 |
And when Rehoboam was come to Jerusalem, he assembled
all the house of Judah, with the tribe of Benjamin, an
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. |
| 12:22 |
But the word of God came unto Shemaiah the man of God,
saying, |
| 12:23 |
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, |
| 12:24 |
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. |
| 12:25 |
Then Jeroboam built Shechem in mount Ephraim, and dwelt
therein; and went out from thence, and built Penuel. |
| 12:26 |
And Jeroboam said in his heart, Now shall the kingdom
return to the house of David: |
| 12:27 |
If this people go up to do sacrifice in the house of the
LORD at Jerusalem, then shall the heart of this people
turn again unto their lord, even unto Rehoboam king of
Judah, and they shall kill me, and go again to Rehoboam
king of Judah. |
| 12:28 |
Whereupon the king took counsel, and made two calves of
gold, and said unto them, It is too much for you to go up
to Jerusalem: behold thy gods, O Israel, which brought
thee up out of the land of Egypt. |
| 12:29 |
And he set the one in Bethel, and the other put he in
Dan. |
| 12:30 |
And this thing became a sin: for the people went to
worship before the one, even unto Dan. |
| 12:31 |
And he made an house of high places, and made priests of
the lowest of the people, which were not of the sons of
Levi. |
| 12:32 |
And Jeroboam ordained a feast in the eighth month, on
the fifteenth day of the month, like unto the feast that
is in Judah, and he offered upon the altar. So did he in
Bethel, sacrificing unto the calves that he had made: and
he placed in Bethel the priests of the high places which
he had made. |
| 12:33 |
So he offered upon the altar which he had made in Bethel
the fifteenth day of the eighth month, even in the month
which he had devised of his own heart; and ordained a
feast unto the children of Israel: and he offered upon the
altar, and burnt incense. |
| 13:1 |
And, behold, there came a man of God out of Judah by the
word of the LORD unto Bethel: and Jeroboam stood by the
altar to burn incense. |
| 13:2 |
And he cried against the altar in the word of the LORD,
and said, O altar, altar, thus saith the LORD; Behold, a
child shall be born unto the house of David, Josiah by
name; and upon thee shall he offer the priests of the high
places that burn incense upon thee, and men's bones shall
be burnt upon thee. |
| 13:3 |
And he gave a sign the same day, saying, This is the
sign which the LORD hath spoken; Behold, the altar shall
be rent, and the ashes that are upon it shall be poured
out. |
| 13:4 |
And it came to pass, when king Jeroboam heard the saying
of the man of God, which had cried against the altar in
Bethel, that he put forth his hand from the altar, saying,
Lay hold on him. And his hand, which he put forth against
him, dried up, so that he could not pull it in again to
him. |
| 13:5 |
The altar also was rent, and the ashes poured out from
the altar, according to the sign which the man of God had
given by the word of the LORD. |
| 13:6 |
And the king answered and said unto the man of God,
Intreat now the face of the LORD thy God, and pray for me,
that my hand may be restored me again. And the man of God
besought the LORD, and the king's hand was restored him
again, and became as it was before. |
| 13:7 |
And the king said unto the man of God, Come home with
me, and refresh thyself, and I will give thee a reward. |
| 13:8 |
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: |
| 13:9 |
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. |
| 13:10 |
So he went another way, and returned not by the way that
he came to Bethel. |
| 13:11 |
Now there dwelt an old prophet in Bethel; and his sons
came and told him all the works that the man of God had
done that day in Bethel: the words which he had spoken
unto the king, them they told also to their father. |
| 13:12 |
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. |
| 13:13 |
And he said unto his sons, Saddle me the ass. So they
saddled him the ass: and he rode thereon, |
| 13:14 |
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. |
| 13:15 |
Then he said unto him, Come home with me, and eat bread. |
| 13:16 |
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: |
| 13:17 |
For it was said to me by the word of the LORD, Thou
shalt eat no bread nor drink water there, nor turn again
to go by the way that thou camest. |
| 13:18 |
He said unto him, I am a prophet also as thou art; and
an angel spake unto me by the word of the LORD, saying,
Bring him back with thee into thine house, that he may eat
bread and drink water. But he lied unto him. |
| 13:19 |
So he went back with him, and did eat bread in his
house, and drank water. |
| 13:20 |
And it came to pass, as they sat at the table, that the
word of the LORD came unto the prophet that brought him
back: |
| 13:21 |
And he cried unto the man of God that came from Judah,
saying, Thus saith the LORD, Forasmuch as thou hast
disobeyed the mouth of the LORD, and hast not kept the
commandment which the LORD thy God commanded thee, |
| 13:22 |
But camest back, and hast eaten bread and drunk water in
the place, of the which the Lord did say to thee, Eat no
bread, and drink no water; thy carcase shall not come unto
the sepulchre of thy fathers. |
| 13:23 |
And it came to pass, after he had eaten bread, and after
he had drunk, that he saddled for him the ass, to wit, for
the prophet whom he had brought back. |
| 13:24 |
And when he was gone, a lion met him by the way, and
slew him: and his carcase was cast in the way, and the ass
stood by it, the lion also stood by the carcase. |
| 13:25 |
And, behold, men passed by, and saw the carcase cast in
the way, and the lion standing by the carcase: and they
came and told it in the city where the old prophet dwelt. |
| 13:26 |
And when the prophet that brought him back from the way
heard thereof, he said, It is the man of God, who was
disobedient unto the word of the LORD: therefore the LORD
hath delivered him unto the lion, which hath torn him, and
slain him, according to the word of the LORD, which he
spake unto him. |
| 13:27 |
And he spake to his sons, saying, Saddle me the ass. And
they saddled him. |
| 13:28 |
And he went and found his carcase cast in the way, and
the ass and the lion standing by the carcase: the lion had
not eaten the carcase, nor torn the ass. |
| 13:29 |
And the prophet took up the carcase of the man of God,
and laid it upon the ass, and brought it back: and the old
prophet came to the city, to mourn and to bury him. |
| 13:30 |
And he laid his carcase in his own grave; and they
mourned over him, saying, Alas, my brother! |
| 13:31 |
And it came to pass, after he had buried him, that he
spake to his sons, saying, When I am dead, then bury me in
the sepulchre wherein the man of God is buried; lay my
bones beside his bones: |
| 13:32 |
For the saying which he cried by the word of the LORD
against the altar in Bethel, and against all the houses of
the high places which are in the cities of Samaria, shall
surely come to pass. |
| 13:33 |
After this thing Jeroboam returned not from his evil
way, but made again of the lowest of the people priests of
the high places: whosoever would, he consecrated him, and
he became one of the priests of the high places. |
| 13:34 |
And this thing became sin unto the house of Jeroboam,
even to cut it off, and to destroy it from off the face of
the earth. |
| 14:1 |
At that time Abijah the son of Jeroboam fell sick. |
| 14:2 |
And Jeroboam said to his wife, Arise, I pray thee, and
disguise thyself, that thou be not known to be the wife of
Jeroboam; and get thee to Shiloh: behold, there is Ahijah
the prophet, which told me that I should be king over this
people. |
| 14:3 |
And take with thee ten loaves, and cracknels, and a
cruse of honey, and go to him: he shall tell thee what
shall become of the child. |
| 14:4 |
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. |
| 14:5 |
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. |
| 14:6 |
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. |
| 14:7 |
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, |
| 14:8 |
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; |
| 14:9 |
But hast done evil above all that were before thee: for
thou hast gone and made thee other gods, and molten
images, to provoke me to anger, and hast cast me behind
thy back: |
| 14:10 |
Therefore, behold, I will bring evil upon the house of
Jeroboam, and 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. |
| 14:11 |
Him that dieth of Jeroboam in the city shall the dogs
eat; and him that dieth in the field shall the fowls of
the air eat: for the LORD hath spoken it. |
| 14:12 |
Arise thou therefore, get thee to thine own house: and
when thy feet enter into the city, the child shall die. |
| 14:13 |
And all Israel shall mourn for him, and bury him: for he
only of Jeroboam shall come to the grave, because in him
there is found some good thing toward the LORD God of
Israel in the house of Jeroboam. |
| 14:14 |
Moreover the LORD shall raise him up a king over Israel,
who shall cut off the house of Jeroboam that day: but
what? even now. |
| 14:15 |
For the LORD shall smite Israel, as a reed is shaken in
the water, and he shall root up Israel out of this good
land, which he gave to their fathers, and shall scatter
them beyond the river, because they have made their
groves, provoking the LORD to anger. |
| 14:16 |
And he shall give Israel up because of the sins of
Jeroboam, who did sin, and who made Israel to sin. |
| 14:17 |
And Jeroboam's wife arose, and departed, and came to
Tirzah: and when she came to the threshold of the door,
the child died; |
| 14:18 |
And they buried him; and all Israel mourned for him,
according to the word of the LORD, which he spake by the
hand of his servant Ahijah the prophet. |
| 14:19 |
And the rest of the acts of Jeroboam, how he warred, and
how he reigned, behold, they are written in the book of
the chronicles of the kings of Israel. |
| 14:20 |
And the days which Jeroboam reigned were two and twenty
years: and he slept with his fathers, and Nadab his son
reigned in his stead. |
| 14:21 |
And Rehoboam the son of Solomon reigned in Judah.
Rehoboam was forty and one years old when he began to
reign, and he reigned seventeen years in Jerusalem, the
city which the LORD did choose out of all the tribes of
Israel, to put his name there. And his mother's name was
Naamah an Ammonitess. |
| 14:22 |
And Judah did evil in the sight of the LORD, and they
provoked him to jealousy with their sins which they had
committed, above all that their fathers had done. |
| 14:23 |
For they also built them high places, and images, and
groves, on every high hill, and under every green tree. |
| 14:24 |
And there were also sodomites in the land: and they did
according to all the abominations of the nations which the
LORD cast out before the children of Israel. |
| 14:25 |
And it came to pass in the fifth year of king Rehoboam,
that Shishak king of Egypt came up against Jerusalem: |
| 14:26 |
And he took away the treasures of the house of the LORD,
and the treasures of the king's house; he even took away
all: and he took away all the shields of gold which
Solomon had made. |
| 14:27 |
And king Rehoboam made in their stead brasen shields,
and committed them unto the hands of the chief of the
guard, which kept the door of the king's house. |
| 14:28 |
And it was so, when the king went into the house of the
LORD, that the guard bare them, and brought them back into
the guard chamber. |
| 14:29 |
Now the rest of the acts of Rehoboam, and all that he
did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of
the kings of Judah? |
| 14:30 |
And there was war between Rehoboam and Jeroboam all
their days. |
| 14:31 |
And Rehoboam slept with his fathers, and was buried with
his fathers in the city of David. And his mother's name
was Naamah an Ammonitess. And Abijam his son reigned in
his stead. |
| 15:1 |
Now in the eighteenth year of king Jeroboam the son of
Nebat reigned Abijam over Judah. |
| 15:2 |
Three years reigned he in Jerusalem. and his mother's
name was Maachah, the daughter of Abishalom. |
| 15:3 |
And he walked in all the sins of his father, which he
had done before him: and his heart was not perfect with
the LORD his God, as the heart of David his father. |
| 15:4 |
Nevertheless for David's sake did the LORD his God give
him a lamp in Jerusalem, to set up his son after him, and
to establish Jerusalem: |
| 15:5 |
Because David did that which was right in the eyes of
the LORD, and turned not aside from any thing that he
commanded him all the days of his life, save only in the
matter of Uriah the Hittite. |
| 15:6 |
And there was war between Rehoboam and Jeroboam all the
days of his life. |
| 15:7 |
Now the rest of the acts of Abijam, and all that he did,
are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the
kings of Judah? And there was war between Abijam and
Jeroboam. |
| 15:8 |
And Abijam slept with his fathers; and they buried him
in the city of David: and Asa his son reigned in his
stead. |
| 15:9 |
And in the twentieth year of Jeroboam king of Israel
reigned Asa over Judah. |
| 15:10 |
And forty and one years reigned he in Jerusalem. And his
mother's name was Maachah, the daughter of Abishalom. |
| 15:11 |
And Asa did that which was right in the eyes of the
LORD, as did David his father. |
| 15:12 |
And he took away the sodomites out of the land, and
removed all the idols that his fathers had made. |
| 15:13 |
And also Maachah his mother, even her he removed from
being queen, because she had made an idol in a grove; and
Asa destroyed her idol, and burnt it by the brook Kidron. |
| 15:14 |
But the high places were not removed: nevertheless Asa's
heart was perfect with the LORD all his days. |
| 15:15 |
And he brought in the things which his father had
dedicated, and the things which himself had dedicated,
into the house of the LORD, silver, and gold, and vessels. |
| 15:16 |
And there was war between Asa and Baasha king of Israel
all their days. |
| 15:17 |
And Baasha king of Israel went up against Judah, and
built Ramah, that he might not suffer any to go out or
come in to Asa king of Judah. |
| 15:18 |
Then Asa took all the silver and the gold that were left
in the treasures of the house of the LORD, and the
treasures of the king's house, and delivered them into the
hand of his servants: and king Asa sent them to Benhadad,
the son of Tabrimon, the son of Hezion, king of Syria,
that dwelt at Damascus, saying, |
| 15:19 |
There is a league between me and thee, and between my
father and thy father: behold, I have sent unto thee a
present of silver and gold; come and break thy league with
Baasha king of Israel, that he may depart from me. |
| 15:20 |
So Benhadad hearkened unto king Asa, and sent the
captains of the hosts which he had against the cities of
Israel, and smote Ijon, and Dan, and Abelbethmaachah, and
all Cinneroth, with all the land of Naphtali. |
| 15:21 |
And it came to pass, when Baasha heard thereof, that he
left off building of Ramah, and dwelt in Tirzah. |
| 15:22 |
Then king Asa made a proclamation throughout all Judah;
none was exempted: and they took away the stones of Ramah,
and the timber thereof, wherewith Baasha had builded; and
king Asa built with them Geba of Benjamin, and Mizpah. |
| 15:23 |
The rest of all the acts of Asa, and all his might, and
all that he did, and the cities which he built, are they
not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of
Judah? Nevertheless in the time of his old age he was
diseased in his feet. |
| 15:24 |
And Asa slept with his fathers, and was buried with his
fathers in the city of David his father: and Jehoshaphat
his son reigned in his stead. |
| 15:25 |
And Nadab the son of Jeroboam began to reign over Israel
in the second year of Asa king of Judah, and reigned over
Israel two years. |
| 15:26 |
And he did evil in the sight of the LORD, and walked in
the way of his father, and in his sin wherewith he made
Israel to sin. |
| 15:27 |
And Baasha the son of Ahijah, of the house of Issachar,
conspired against him; and Baasha smote him at Gibbethon,
which belonged to the Philistines; for Nadab and all
Israel laid siege to Gibbethon. |
| 15:28 |
Even in the third year of Asa king of Judah did Baasha
slay him, and reigned in his stead. |
| 15:29 |
And it came to pass, when he reigned, that he smote all
the house of Jeroboam; he left not to Jeroboam any that
breathed, until he had destroyed him, according unto the
saying of the LORD, which he spake by his servant Ahijah
the Shilonite: |
| 15:30 |
Because of the sins of Jeroboam which he sinned, and
which he made Israel sin, by his provocation wherewith he
provoked the LORD God of Israel to anger. |
| 15:31 |
Now the rest of the acts of Nadab, and all that he did,
are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the
kings of Israel? |
| 15:32 |
And there was war between Asa and Baasha king of Israel
all their days. |
| 15:33 |
In the third year of Asa king of Judah began Baasha the
son of Ahijah to reign over all Israel in Tirzah, twenty
and four years. |
| 15:34 |
And he did evil in the sight of the LORD, and walked in
the way of Jeroboam, and in his sin wherewith he made
Israel to sin. |
| 16:1 |
Then the word of the LORD came to Jehu the son of Hanani
against Baasha, saying, |
| 16:2 |
Forasmuch as I exalted thee out of the dust, and made
thee prince over my people Israel; and thou hast walked in
the way of Jeroboam, and hast made my people Israel to
sin, to provoke me to anger with their sins; |
| 16:3 |
Behold, I will take away the posterity of Baasha, and
the posterity of his house; and will make thy house like
the house of Jeroboam the son of Nebat. |
| 16:4 |
Him that dieth of Baasha in the city shall the dogs eat;
and him that dieth of his in the fields shall the fowls of
the air eat. |
| 16:5 |
Now the rest of the acts of Baasha, and what he did, and
his might, are they not written in the book of the
chronicles of the kings of Israel? |
| 16:6 |
So Baasha slept with his fathers, and was buried in
Tirzah: and Elah his son reigned in his stead. |
| 16:7 |
And also by the hand of the prophet Jehu the son of
Hanani came the word of the LORD against Baasha, and
against his house, even for all the evil that he did in
the sight of the LORD, in provoking him to anger with the
work of his hands, in being like the house of Jeroboam;
and because he killed him. |
| 16:8 |
In the twenty and sixth year of Asa king of Judah began
Elah the son of Baasha to reign over Israel in Tirzah, two
years. |
| 16:9 |
And his servant Zimri, captain of half his chariots,
conspired against him, as he was in Tirzah, drinking
himself drunk in the house of Arza steward of his house in
Tirzah. |
| 16:10 |
And Zimri went in and smote him, and killed him, in the
twenty and seventh year of Asa king of Judah, and reigned
in his stead. |
| 16:11 |
And it came to pass, when he began to reign, as soon as
he sat on his throne, that he slew all the house of Baasha:
he left him not one that pisseth against a wall, neither
of his kinsfolks, nor of his friends. |
| 16:12 |
Thus did Zimri destroy all the house of Baasha,
according to the word of the LORD, which he spake against
Baasha by Jehu the prophet. |
| 16:13 |
For all the sins of Baasha, and the sins of Elah his
son, by which they sinned, and by which they made Israel
to sin, in provoking the LORD God of Israel to anger with
their vanities. |
| 16:14 |
Now the rest of the acts of Elah, and all that he did,
are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the
kings of Israel? |
| 16:15 |
In the twenty and seventh year of Asa king of Judah did
Zimri reign seven days in Tirzah. And the people were
encamped against Gibbethon, which belonged to the
Philistines. |
| 16:16 |
And the people that were encamped heard say, Zimri hath
conspired, and hath also slain the king: wherefore all
Israel made Omri, the captain of the host, king over
Israel that day in the camp. |
| 16:17 |
And Omri went up from Gibbethon, and all Israel with
him, and they besieged Tirzah. |
| 16:18 |
And it came to pass, when Zimri saw that the city was
taken, that he went into the palace of the king's house,
and burnt the king's house over him with fire, and died. |
| 16:19 |
For his sins which he sinned in doing evil in the sight
of the LORD, in walking in the way of Jeroboam, and in his
sin which he did, to make Israel to sin. |
| 16:20 |
Now the rest of the acts of Zimri, and his treason that
he wrought, are they not written in the book of the
chronicles of the kings of Israel? |
| 16:21 |
Then were the people of Israel divided into two parts:
half of the people followed Tibni the son of Ginath, to
make him king; and half followed Omri. |
| 16:22 |
But the people that followed Omri prevailed against the
people that followed Tibni the son of Ginath: so Tibni
died, and Omri reigned. |
| 16:23 |
In the thirty and first year of Asa king of Judah began
Omri to reign over Israel, twelve years: six years reigned
he in Tirzah. |
| 16:24 |
And he bought the hill Samaria of Shemer for two talents
of silver, and built on the hill, and called the name of
the city which he built, after the name of Shemer, owner
of the hill, Samaria. |
| 16:25 |
But Omri wrought evil in the eyes of the LORD, and did
worse than all that were before him. |
| 16:26 |
For he walked in all the way of Jeroboam the son of
Nebat, and in his sin wherewith he made Israel to sin, to
provoke the LORD God of Israel to anger with their
vanities. |
| 16:27 |
Now the rest of the acts of Omri which he did, and his
might that he shewed, are they not written in the book of
the chronicles of the kings of Israel? |
| 16:28 |
So Omri slept with his fathers, and was buried in
Samaria: and Ahab his son reigned in his stead. |
| 16:29 |
And in the thirty and eighth year of Asa king of Judah
began Ahab the son of Omri to reign over Israel: and Ahab
the son of Omri reigned over Israel in Samaria twenty and
two years. |
| 16:30 |
And Ahab the son of Omri did evil in the sight of the
LORD above all that were before him. |
| 16:31 |
And it came to pass, as if it had been a light thing for
him to walk in the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, that
he took to wife Jezebel the daughter of Ethbaal king of
the Zidonians, and went and served Baal, and worshipped
him. |
| 16:32 |
And he reared up an altar for Baal in the house of Baal,
which he had built in Samaria. |
| 16:33 |
And Ahab made a grove; and Ahab did more to provoke the
LORD God of Israel to anger than all the kings of Israel
that were before him. |
| 16:34 |
In his days did Hiel the Bethelite build Jericho: he
laid the foundation thereof in Abiram his firstborn, and
set up the gates thereof in his youngest son Segub,
according to the word of the LORD, which he spake by
Joshua the son of Nun. |
| 17:1 |
And Elijah the Tishbite, who was of the inhabitants of
Gilead, said unto Ahab, As the LORD God of Israel liveth,
before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these
years, but according to my word. |
| 17:2 |
And the word of the LORD came unto him, saying, |
| 17:3 |
Get thee hence, and turn thee eastward, and hide thyself
by the brook Cherith, that is before Jordan. |
| 17:4 |
And it shall be, that thou shalt drink of the brook; and
I have commanded the ravens to feed thee there. |
| 17:5 |
So he went and did according unto the word of the LORD:
for he went and dwelt by the brook Cherith, that is before
Jordan. |
| 17:6 |
And the ravens brought him bread and flesh in the
morning, and bread and flesh in the evening; and he drank
of the brook. |
| 17:7 |
And it came to pass after a while, that the brook dried
up, because there had been no rain in the land. |
| 17:8 |
And the word of the LORD came unto him, saying, |
| 17:9 |
Arise, get thee to Zarephath, which belongeth to Zidon,
and dwell there: behold, I have commanded a widow woman
there to sustain thee. |
| 17:10 |
So he arose and went to Zarephath. And when he came to
the gate of the city, behold, the widow woman was there
gathering of sticks: and he called to her, and said, Fetch
me, I pray thee, a little water in a vessel, that I may
drink. |
| 17:11 |
And as she was going to fetch it, he called to her, and
said, Bring me, I pray thee, a morsel of bread in thine
hand. |
| 17:12 |
And she said, As the LORD thy God liveth, I have not a
cake, but an handful of meal in a barrel, and a little oil
in a cruse: and, behold, I am gathering two sticks, that I
may go in and dress it for me and my son, that we may eat
it, and die. |
| 17:13 |
And Elijah said unto her, Fear not; go and do as thou
hast said: but make me thereof a little cake first, and
bring it unto me, and after make for thee and for thy son. |
| 17:14 |
For thus saith the LORD God of Israel, The barrel of
meal shall not waste, neither shall the cruse of oil fail,
until the day that the LORD sendeth rain upon the earth. |
| 17:15 |
And she went and did according to the saying of Elijah:
and she, and he, and her house, did eat many days. |
| 17:16 |
And the barrel of meal wasted not, neither did the cruse
of oil fail, according to the word of the LORD, which he
spake by Elijah. |
| 17:17 |
And it came to pass after these things, that the son of
the woman, the mistress of the house, fell sick; and his
sickness was so sore, that there was no breath left in
him. |
| 17:18 |
And she said unto Elijah, What have I to do with thee, O
thou man of God? art thou come unto me to call my sin to
remembrance, and to slay my son? |
| 17:19 |
And he said unto her, Give me thy son. And he took him
out of her bosom, and carried him up into a loft, where he
abode, and laid him upon his own bed. |
| 17:20 |
And he cried unto the LORD, and said, O LORD my God,
hast thou also brought evil upon the widow with whom I
sojourn, by slaying her son? |
| 17:21 |
And he stretched himself upon the child three times, and
cried unto the LORD, and said, O LORD my God, I pray thee,
let this child's soul come into him again. |
| 17:22 |
And the LORD heard the voice of Elijah; and the soul of
the child came into him again, and he revived. |
| 17:23 |
And Elijah took the child, and brought him down out of
the chamber into the house, and delivered him unto his
mother: and Elijah said, See, thy son liveth. |
| 17:24 |
And the woman said to Elijah, Now by this I know that
thou art a man of God, and that the word of the LORD in
thy mouth is truth. |
| 18:1 |
And it came to pass after many days, that the word of
the LORD came to Elijah in the third year, saying, Go,
shew thyself unto Ahab; and I will send rain upon the
earth. |
| 18:2 |
And Elijah went to shew himself unto Ahab. And there was
a sore famine in Samaria. |
| 18:3 |
And Ahab called Obadiah, which was the governor of his
house. (Now Obadiah feared the LORD greatly: |
| 18:4 |
For it was so, when Jezebel cut off the prophets of the
LORD, that Obadiah took an hundred prophets, and hid them
by fifty in a cave, and fed them with bread and water.) |
| 18:5 |
And Ahab said unto Obadiah, Go into the land, unto all
fountains of water, and unto all brooks: peradventure we
may find grass to save the horses and mules alive, that we
lose not all the beasts. |
| 18:6 |
So they divided the land between them to pass throughout
it: Ahab went one way by himself, and Obadiah went another
way by himself. |
| 18:7 |
And as Obadiah was in the way, behold, Elijah met him:
and he knew him, and fell on his face, and said, Art thou
that my lord Elijah? |
| 18:8 |
And he answered him, I am: go, tell thy lord, Behold,
Elijah is here. |
| 18:9 |
And he said, What have I sinned, that thou wouldest
deliver thy servant into the hand of Ahab, to slay me? |
| 18:10 |
As the LORD thy God liveth, there is no nation or
kingdom, whither my lord hath not sent to seek thee: and
when they said, He is not there; he took an oath of the
kingdom and nation, that they found thee not. |
| 18:11 |
And now thou sayest, Go, tell thy lord, Behold, Elijah
is here. |
| 18:12 |
And it shall come to pass, as soon as I am gone from
thee, that the Spirit of the LORD shall carry thee whither
I know not; and so when I come and tell Ahab, and he
cannot find thee, he shall slay me: but I thy servant fear
the LORD from my youth. |
| 18:13 |
Was it not told my lord what I did when Jezebel slew the
prophets of the LORD, how I hid an hundred men of the
LORD's prophets by fifty in a cave, and fed them with
bread and water? |
| 18:14 |
And now thou sayest, Go, tell thy lord, Behold, Elijah
is here: and he shall slay me. |
| 18:15 |
And Elijah said, As the LORD of hosts liveth, before
whom I stand, I will surely shew myself unto him to day. |
| 18:16 |
So Obadiah went to meet Ahab, and told him: and Ahab
went to meet Elijah. |
| 18:17 |
And it came to pass, when Ahab saw Elijah, that Ahab
said unto him, Art thou he that troubleth Israel? |
| 18:18 |
And he answered, I have not troubled Israel; but thou,
and thy father's house, in that ye have forsaken the
commandments of the LORD, and thou hast followed Baalim. |
| 18:19 |
Now therefore send, and gather to me all Israel unto
mount Carmel, and the prophets of Baal four hundred and
fifty, and the prophets of the groves four hundred, which
eat at Jezebel's table. |
| 18:20 |
So Ahab sent unto all the children of Israel, and
gathered the prophets together unto mount Carmel. |
| 18:21 |
And Elijah came unto all the people, and said, How long
halt ye between two opinions? if the LORD be God, follow
him: but if Baal, then follow him. And the people answered
him not a word. |
| 18:22 |
Then said Elijah unto the people, I, even I only, remain
a prophet of the LORD; but Baal's prophets are four
hundred and fifty men. |
| 18:23 |
Let them therefore give us two bullocks; and let them
choose one bullock for themselves, and cut it in pieces,
and lay it on wood, and put no fire under: and I will
dress the other bullock, and lay it on wood, and put no
fire under: |
| 18:24 |
And call ye on the name of your gods, and I will call on
the name of the LORD: and the God that answereth by fire,
let him be God. And all the people answered and said, It
is well spoken. |
| 18:25 |
And Elijah said unto the prophets of Baal, Choose you
one bullock for yourselves, and dress it first; for ye are
many; and call on the name of your gods, but put no fire
under. |
| 18:26 |
And they took the bullock which was given them, and they
dressed it, and called on the name of Baal from morning
even until noon, saying, O Baal, hear us. But there was no
voice, nor any that answered. And they leaped upon the
altar which was made. |
| 18:27 |
And it came to pass at noon, that Elijah mocked them,
and said, Cry aloud: for he is a god; either he is
talking, or he is pursuing, or he is in a journey, or
peradventure he sleepeth, and must be awaked. |
| 18:28 |
And they cried aloud, and cut themselves after their
manner with knives and lancets, till the blood gushed out
upon them. |
| 18:29 |
And it came to pass, when midday was past, and they
prophesied until the time of the offering of the evening
sacrifice, that there was neither voice, nor any to
answer, nor any that regarded. |
| 18:30 |
And Elijah said unto all the people, Come near unto me.
And all the people came near unto him. And he repaired the
altar of the LORD that was broken down. |
| 18:31 |
And Elijah took twelve stones, according to the number
of the tribes of the sons of Jacob, unto whom the word of
the LORD came, saying, Israel shall be thy name: |
| 18:32 |
And with the stones he built an altar in the name of the
LORD: and he made a trench about the altar, as great as
would contain two measures of seed. |
| 18:33 |
And he put the wood in order, and cut the bullock in
pieces, and laid him on the wood, and said, Fill four
barrels with water, and pour it on the burnt sacrifice,
and on the wood. |
| 18:34 |
And he said, Do it the second time. And they did it the
second time. And he said, Do it the third time. And they
did it the third time. |
| 18:35 |
And the water ran round about the altar; and he filled
the trench also with water. |
| 18:36 |
And it came to pass at the time of the offering of the
evening sacrifice, that Elijah the prophet came near, and
said, LORD God of Abraham, Isaac, and of Israel, let it be
known this day that thou art God in Israel, and that I am
thy servant, and that I have done all these things at thy
word. |
| 18:37 |
Hear me, O LORD, hear me, that this people may know that
thou art the LORD God, and that thou hast turned their
heart back again. |
| 18:38 |
Then the fire of the LORD fell, and consumed the burnt
sacrifice, and the wood, and the stones, and the dust, and
licked up the water that was in the trench. |
| 18:39 |
And when all the people saw it, they fell on their
faces: and they said, The LORD, he is the God; the LORD,
he is the God. |
| 18:40 |
And Elijah said unto them, Take the prophets of Baal;
let not one of them escape. And they took them: and Elijah
brought them down to the brook Kishon, and slew them
there. |
| 18:41 |
And Elijah said unto Ahab, Get thee up, eat and drink;
for there is a sound of abundance of rain. |
| 18:42 |
So Ahab went up to eat and to drink. And Elijah went up
to the top of Carmel; and he cast himself down upon the
earth, and put his face between his knees, |
| 18:43 |
And said to his servant, Go up now, look toward the sea.
And he went up, and looked, and said, There is nothing.
And he said, Go again seven times. |
| 18:44 |
And it came to pass at the seventh time, that he said,
Behold, there ariseth a little cloud out of the sea, like
a man's hand. And he said, Go up, say unto Ahab, Prepare
thy chariot, and get thee down that the rain stop thee
not. |
| 18:45 |
And it came to pass in the mean while, that the heaven
was black with clouds and wind, and there was a great
rain. And Ahab rode, and went to Jezreel. |
| 18:46 |
And the hand of the LORD was on Elijah; and he girded up
his loins, and ran before Ahab to the entrance of Jezreel. |
| 19:1 |
And Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done, and
withal how he had slain all the prophets with the sword. |
| 19:2 |
Then Jezebel sent a messenger unto Elijah, saying, So
let the gods do to me, and more also, if I make not thy
life as the life of one of them by to morrow about this
time. |
| 19:3 |
And when he saw that, he arose, and went for his life,
and came to Beersheba, which belongeth to Judah, and left
his servant there. |
| 19:4 |
But he himself went a day's journey into the wilderness,
and came and sat down under a juniper tree: and he
requested for himself that he might die; and said, It is
enough; now, O LORD, take away my life; for I am not
better than my fathers. |
| 19:5 |
And as he lay and slept under a juniper tree, behold,
then an angel touched him, and said unto him, Arise and
eat. |
| 19:6 |
And he looked, and, behold, there was a cake baken on
the coals, and a cruse of water at his head. And he did
eat and drink, and laid him down again. |
| 19:7 |
And the angel of the LORD came again the second time,
and touched him, and said, Arise and eat; because the
journey is too great for thee. |
| 19:8 |
And he arose, and did eat and drink, and went in the
strength of that meat forty days and forty nights unto
Horeb the mount of God. |
| 19:9 |
And he came thither unto a cave, and lodged there; and,
behold, the word of the LORD came to him, and he said unto
him, What doest thou here, Elijah? |
| 19:10 |
And he said, I have been very jealous for the LORD God
of hosts: for the children of Israel have forsaken thy
covenant, thrown down thine altars, and slain thy prophets
with the sword; and I, even I only, am left; and they seek
my life, to take it away. |
| 19:11 |
And he said, Go forth, and stand upon the mount before
the LORD. And, behold, the LORD passed by, and a great and
strong wind rent the mountains, and brake in pieces the
rocks before the LORD; but the LORD was not in the wind:
and after the wind an earthquake; but the LORD was not in
the earthquake: |
| 19:12 |
And after the earthquake a fire; but the LORD was not in
the fire: and after the fire a still small voice. |
| 19:13 |
And it was so, when Elijah heard it, that he wrapped his
face in his mantle, and went out, and stood in the
entering in of the cave. And, behold, there came a voice
unto him, and said, What doest thou here, Elijah? |
| 19:14 |
And he said, I have been very jealous for the LORD God
of hosts: because the children of Israel have forsaken thy
covenant, thrown down thine altars, and slain thy prophets
with the sword; and I, even I only, am left; and they seek
my life, to take it away. |
| 19:15 |
And the LORD said unto him, Go, return on thy way to the
wilderness of Damascus: and when thou comest, anoint
Hazael to be king over Syria: |
| 19:16 |
And Jehu the son of Nimshi shalt thou anoint to be king
over Israel: and Elisha the son of Shaphat of Abelmeholah
shalt thou anoint to be prophet in thy room. |
| 19:17 |
And it shall come to pass, that him that escapeth the
sword of Hazael shall Jehu slay: and him that escapeth
from the sword of Jehu shall Elisha slay. |
| 19:18 |
Yet I have left me seven thousand in Israel, all the
knees which have not bowed unto Baal, and every mouth
which hath not kissed him. |
| 19:19 |
So he departed thence, and found Elisha the son of
Shaphat, who was plowing with twelve yoke of oxen before
him, and he with the twelfth: and Elijah passed by him,
and cast his mantle upon him. |
| 19:20 |
And he left the oxen, and ran after Elijah, and said,
Let me, I pray thee, kiss my father and my mother, and
then I will follow thee. And he said unto him, Go back
again: for what have I done to thee? |
| 19:21 |
And he returned back from him, and took a yoke of oxen,
and slew them, and boiled their flesh with the instruments
of the oxen, and gave unto the people, and they did eat.
Then he arose, and went after Elijah, and ministered unto
him. |
| 20:1 |
And Benhadad the king of Syria gathered all his host
together: and there were thirty and two kings with him,
and horses, and chariots; and he went up and besieged
Samaria, and warred against it. |
| 20:2 |
And he sent messengers to Ahab king of Israel into the
city, and said unto him, Thus saith Benhadad, |
| 20:3 |
Thy silver and thy gold is mine; thy wives also and thy
children, even the goodliest, are mine. |
| 20:4 |
And the king of Israel answered and said, My lord, O
king, according to thy saying, I am thine, and all that I
have. |
| 20:5 |
And the messengers came again, and said, Thus speaketh
Benhadad, saying, Although I have sent unto thee, saying,
Thou shalt deliver me thy silver, and thy gold, and thy
wives, and thy children; |
| 20:6 |
Yet I will send my servants unto thee to morrow about
this time, and they shall search thine house, and the
houses of thy servants; and it shall be, that whatsoever
is pleasant in thine eyes, they shall put it in their
hand, and take it away. |
| 20:7 |
Then the king of Israel called all the elders of the
land, and said, Mark, I pray you, and see how this man
seeketh mischief: for he sent unto me for my wives, and
for my children, and for my silver, and for my gold; and I
denied him not. |
| 20:8 |
And all the elders and all the people said unto him,
Hearken not unto him, nor consent. |
| 20:9 |
Wherefore he said unto the messengers of Benhadad, Tell
my lord the king, All that thou didst send for to thy
servant at the first I will do: but this thing I may not
do. And the messengers departed, and brought him word
again. |
| 20:10 |
And Benhadad sent unto him, and said, The gods do so
unto me, and more also, if the dust of Samaria shall
suffice for handfuls for all the people that follow me. |
| 20:11 |
And the king of Israel answered and said, Tell him, Let
not him that girdeth on his harness boast himself as he
that putteth it off. |
| 20:12 |
And it came to pass, when Ben-hadad heard this message,
as he was drinking, he and the kings in the pavilions,
that he said unto his servants, Set yourselves in array.
And they set themselves in array against the city. |
| 20:13 |
And, behold, there came a prophet unto Ahab king of
Israel, saying, Thus saith the LORD, Hast thou seen all
this great multitude? behold, I will deliver it into thine
hand this day; and thou shalt know that I am the LORD. |
| 20:14 |
And Ahab said, By whom? And he said, Thus saith the
LORD, Even by the young men of the princes of the
provinces. Then he said, Who shall order the battle? And
he answered, Thou. |
| 20:15 |
Then he numbered the young men of the princes of the
provinces, and they were two hundred and thirty two: and
after them he numbered all the people, even all the
children of Israel, being seven thousand. |
| 20:16 |
And they went out at noon. But Benhadad was drinking
himself drunk in the pavilions, he and the kings, the
thirty and two kings that helped him. |
| 20:17 |
And the young men of the princes of the provinces went
out first; and Benhadad sent out, and they told him,
saying, There are men come out of Samaria. |
| 20:18 |
And he said, Whether they be come out for peace, take
them alive; or whether they be come out for war, take them
alive. |
| 20:19 |
So these young men of the princes of the provinces came
out of the city, and the army which followed them. |
| 20:20 |
And they slew every one his man: and the Syrians fled;
and Israel pursued them: and Benhadad the king of Syria
escaped on an horse with the horsemen. |
| 20:21 |
And the king of Israel went out, and smote the horses
and chariots, and slew the Syrians with a great slaughter. |
| 20:22 |
And the prophet came to the king of Israel, and said
unto him, Go, strengthen thyself, and mark, and see what
thou doest: for at the return of the year the king of
Syria will come up against thee. |
| 20:23 |
And the servants of the king of Syria said unto him,
Their gods are gods of the hills; therefore they were
stronger than we; but let us fight against them in the
plain, and surely we shall be stronger than they. |
| 20:24 |
And do this thing, Take the kings away, every man out of
his place, and put captains in their rooms: |
| 20:25 |
And number thee an army, like the army that thou hast
lost, horse for horse, and chariot for chariot: and we
will fight against them in the plain, and surely we shall
be stronger than they. And he hearkened unto their voice,
and did so. |
| 20:26 |
And it came to pass at the return of the year, that
Benhadad numbered the Syrians, and went up to Aphek, to
fight against Israel. |
| 20:27 |
And the children of Israel were numbered, and were all
present, and went against them: and the children of Israel
pitched before them like two little flocks of kids; but
the Syrians filled the country. |
| 20:28 |
And there came a man of God, and spake unto the king of
Israel, and said, Thus saith the LORD, Because the Syrians
have said, The LORD is God of the hills, but he is not God
of the valleys, therefore will I deliver all this great
multitude into thine hand, and ye shall know that I am the
LORD. |
| 20:29 |
And they pitched one over against the other seven days.
And so it was, that in the seventh day the battle was
joined: and the children of Israel slew of the Syrians an
hundred thousand footmen in one day. |
| 20:30 |
But the rest fled to Aphek, into the city; and there a
wall fell upon twenty and seven thousand of the men that
were left. And Benhadad fled, and came into the city, into
an inner chamber. |
| 20:31 |
And his servants said unto him, Behold now, we have
heard that the kings of the house of Israel are merciful
kings: let us, I pray thee, put sackcloth on our loins,
and ropes upon our heads, and go out to the king of
Israel: peradventure he will save thy life. |
| 20:32 |
So they girded sackcloth on their loins, and put ropes
on their heads, and came to the king of Israel, and said,
Thy servant Benhadad saith, I pray thee, let me live. And
he said, Is he yet alive? he is my brother. |
| 20:33 |
Now the men did diligently observe whether any thing
would come from him, and did hastily catch it: and they
said, Thy brother Benhadad. Then he said, Go ye, bring
him. Then Benhadad came forth to him; and he caused him to
come up into the chariot. |
| 20:34 |
And Ben-hadad said unto him, The cities, which my father
took from thy father, I will restore; and thou shalt make
streets for thee in Damascus, as my father made in
Samaria. Then said Ahab, I will send thee away with this
covenant. So he made a covenant with him, and sent him
away. |
| 20:35 |
And a certain man of the sons of the prophets said unto
his neighbour in the word of the LORD, Smite me, I pray
thee. And the man refused to smite him. |
| 20:36 |
Then said he unto him, Because thou hast not obeyed the
voice of the LORD, behold, as soon as thou art departed
from me, a lion shall slay thee. And as soon as he was
departed from him, a lion found him, and slew him. |
| 20:37 |
Then he found another man, and said, Smite me, I pray
thee. And the man smote him, so that in smiting he wounded
him. |
| 20:38 |
So the prophet departed, and waited for the king by the
way, and disguised himself with ashes upon his face. |
| 20:39 |
And as the king passed by, he cried unto the king: and
he said, Thy servant went out into the midst of the
battle; and, behold, a man turned aside, and brought a man
unto me, and said, Keep this man: if by any means he be
missing, then shall thy life be for his life, or else thou
shalt pay a talent of silver. |
| 20:40 |
And as thy servant was busy here and there, he was gone.
And the king of Israel said unto him, So shall thy
judgment be; thyself hast decided it. |
| 20:41 |
And he hasted, and took the ashes away from his face;
and the king of Israel discerned him that he was of the
prophets. |
| 20:42 |
And he said unto him, Thus saith the LORD, Because thou
hast let go out of thy hand a man whom I appointed to
utter destruction, therefore thy life shall go for his
life, and thy people for his people. |
| 20:43 |
And the king of Israel went to his house heavy and
displeased, and came to Samaria. |
| 21:1 |
And it came to pass after these things, that Naboth the
Jezreelite had a vineyard, which was in Jezreel, hard by
the palace of Ahab king of Samaria. |
| 21:2 |
And Ahab spake unto Naboth, saying, Give me thy
vineyard, that I may have it for a garden of herbs,
because it is near unto my house: and I will give thee for
it a better vineyard than it; or, if it seem good to thee,
I will give thee the worth of it in money. |
| 21:3 |
And Naboth said to Ahab, The LORD forbid it me, that I
should give the inheritance of my fathers unto thee. |
| 21:4 |
And Ahab came into his house heavy and displeased
because of the word which Naboth the Jezreelite had spoken
to him: for he had said, I will not give thee the
inheritance of my fathers. And he laid him down upon his
bed, and turned away his face, and would eat no bread. |
| 21:5 |
But Jezebel his wife came to him, and said unto him, Why
is thy spirit so sad, that thou eatest no bread? |
| 21:6 |
And he said unto her, Because I spake unto Naboth the
Jezreelite, and said unto him, Give me thy vineyard for
money; or else, if it please thee, I will give thee
another vineyard for it: and he answered, I will not give
thee my vineyard. |
| 21:7 |
And Jezebel his wife said unto him, Dost thou now govern
the kingdom of Israel? arise, and eat bread, and let thine
heart be merry: I will give thee the vineyard of Naboth
the Jezreelite. |
| 21:8 |
So she wrote letters in Ahab's name, and sealed them
with his seal, and sent the letters unto the elders and to
the nobles that were in his city, dwelling with Naboth. |
| 21:9 |
And she wrote in the letters, saying, Proclaim a fast,
and set Naboth on high among the people: |
| 21:10 |
And set two men, sons of Belial, before him, to bear
witness against him, saying, Thou didst blaspheme God and
the king. And then carry him out, and stone him, that he
may die. |
| 21:11 |
And the men of his city, even the elders and the nobles
who were the inhabitants in his city, did as Jezebel had
sent unto them, and as it was written in the letters which
she had sent unto them. |
| 21:12 |
They proclaimed a fast, and set Naboth on high among the
people. |
| 21:13 |
And there came in two men, children of Belial, and sat
before him: and the men of Belial witnessed against him,
even against Naboth, in the presence of the people,
saying, Naboth did blaspheme God and the king. Then they
carried him forth out of the city, and stoned him with
stones, that he died. |
| 21:14 |
Then they sent to Jezebel, saying, Naboth is stoned, and
is dead. |
| 21:15 |
And it came to pass, when Jezebel heard that Naboth was
stoned, and was dead, that Jezebel said to Ahab, Arise,
take possession of the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite,
which he refused to give thee for money: for Naboth is not
alive, but dead. |
| 21:16 |
And it came to pass, when Ahab heard that Naboth was
dead, that Ahab rose up to go down to the vineyard of
Naboth the Jezreelite, to take possession of it. |
| 21:17 |
And the word of the LORD came to Elijah the Tishbite,
saying, |
| 21:18 |
Arise, go down to meet Ahab king of Israel, which is in
Samaria: behold, he is in the vineyard of Naboth, whither
he is gone down to possess it. |
| 21:19 |
And thou shalt speak unto him, saying, Thus saith the
LORD, Hast thou killed, and also taken possession? And
thou shalt speak unto him, saying, Thus saith the LORD, In
the place where dogs licked the blood of Naboth shall dogs
lick thy blood, even thine. |
| 21:20 |
And Ahab said to Elijah, Hast thou found me, O mine
enemy? And he answered, I have found thee: because thou
hast sold thyself to work evil in the sight of the LORD. |
| 21:21 |
Behold, I will bring evil upon thee, and will take away
thy posterity, and will cut off from Ahab him that pisseth
against the wall, and him that is shut up and left in
Israel, |
| 21:22 |
And will make thine house like the house of Jeroboam the
son of Nebat, and like the house of Baasha the son of
Ahijah, for the provocation wherewith thou hast provoked
me to anger, and made Israel to sin. |
| 21:23 |
And of Jezebel also spake the LORD, saying, The dogs
shall eat Jezebel by the wall of Jezreel. |
| 21:24 |
Him that dieth of Ahab in the city the dogs shall eat;
and him that dieth in the field shall the fowls of the air
eat. |
| 21:25 |
But there was none like unto Ahab, which did sell
himself to work wickedness in the sight of the LORD, whom
Jezebel his wife stirred up. |
| 21:26 |
And he did very abominably in following idols, according
to all things as did the Amorites, whom the LORD cast out
before the children of Israel. |
| 21:27 |
And it came to pass, when Ahab heard those words, that
he rent his clothes, and put sackcloth upon his flesh, and
fasted, and lay in sackcloth, and went softly. |
| 21:28 |
And the word of the LORD came to Elijah the Tishbite,
saying, |
| 21:29 |
Seest thou how Ahab humbleth himself before me? because
he humbleth himself before me, I will not bring the evil
in his days: but in his son's days will I bring the evil
upon his house. |
| 22:1 |
And they continued three years without war between Syria
and Israel. |
| 22:2 |
And it came to pass in the third year, that Jehoshaphat
the king of Judah came down to the king of Israel. |
| 22:3 |
And the king of Israel said unto his servants, Know ye
that Ramoth in Gilead is ours, and we be still, and take
it not out of the hand of the king of Syria? |
| 22:4 |
And he said unto Jehoshaphat, Wilt thou go with me to
battle to Ramothgilead? And Jehoshaphat said to the king
of Israel, I am as thou art, my people as thy people, my
horses as thy horses. |
| 22:5 |
And Jehoshaphat said unto the king of Israel, Enquire, I
pray thee, at the word of the LORD to day. |
| 22:6 |
Then the king of Israel gathered the prophets together,
about four hundred men, and said unto them, Shall I go
against Ramothgilead to battle, or shall I forbear? And
they said, Go up; for the LORD shall deliver it into the
hand of the king. |
| 22:7 |
And Jehoshaphat said, Is there not here a prophet of the
LORD besides, that we might enquire of him? |
| 22:8 |
And the king of Israel said unto Jehoshaphat, There is
yet one man, Micaiah the son of Imlah, by whom we may
enquire of the LORD: but I hate him; for he doth not
prophesy good concerning me, but evil. And Jehoshaphat
said, Let not the king say so. |
| 22:9 |
Then the king of Israel called an officer, and said,
Hasten hither Micaiah the son of Imlah. |
| 22:10 |
And the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat the king of Judah
sat each on his throne, having put on their robes, in a
void place in the entrance of the gate of Samaria; and all
the prophets prophesied before them. |
| 22:11 |
And Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah made him horns of
iron: and he said, Thus saith the LORD, With these shalt
thou push the Syrians, until thou have consumed them. |
| 22:12 |
And all the prophets prophesied so, saying, Go up to
Ramothgilead, and prosper: for the LORD shall deliver it
into the king's hand. |
| 22:13 |
And the messenger that was gone to call Micaiah spake
unto him, saying, Behold now, the words of the prophets
declare good unto the king with one mouth: let thy word, I
pray thee, be like the word of one of them, and speak that
which is good. |
| 22:14 |
And Micaiah said, As the LORD liveth, what the LORD
saith unto me, that will I speak. |
| 22:15 |
So he came to the king. And the king said unto him,
Micaiah, shall we go against Ramothgilead to battle, or
shall we forbear? And he answered him, Go, and prosper:
for the LORD shall deliver it into the hand of the king. |
| 22:16 |
And the king said unto him, How many times shall I
adjure thee that thou tell me nothing but that which is
true in the name of the LORD? |
| 22:17 |
And he said, I saw all Israel scattered upon the hills,
as sheep that have not a shepherd: and the LORD said,
These have no master: let them return every man to his
house in peace. |
| 22:18 |
And the king of Israel said unto Jehoshaphat, Did I not
tell thee that he would prophesy no good concerning me,
but evil? |
| 22:19 |
And he said, Hear thou therefore the word of the LORD: I
saw the LORD sitting on his throne, and all the host of
heaven standing by him on his right hand and on his left. |
| 22:20 |
And the LORD said, Who shall persuade Ahab, that he may
go up and fall at Ramothgilead? And one said on this
manner, and another said on that manner. |
| 22:21 |
And there came forth a spirit, and stood before the
LORD, and said, I will persuade him. |
| 22:22 |
And the LORD said unto him, Wherewith? And he said, I
will go forth, and I will be a lying spirit in the mouth
of all his prophets. And he said, Thou shalt persude him,
and prevail also: go forth, and do so. |
| 22:23 |
Now therefore, behold, the LORD hath put a lying spirit
in the mouth of all these thy prophets, and the LORD hath
spoken evil concerning thee. |
| 22:24 |
But Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah went near, and smote
Micaiah on the cheek, and said, Which way went the Spirit
of the LORD from me to speak unto thee? |
| 22:25 |
And Micaiah said, Behold, thou shalt see in that day,
when thou shalt go into an inner chamber to hide thyself. |
| 22:26 |
And the king of Israel said, Take Micaiah, and carry him
back unto Amon the governor of the city, and to Joash the
king's son; |
| 22:27 |
And say, Thus saith the king, Put this fellow in the
prison, and feed him with bread of affliction and with
water of affliction, until I come in peace. |
| 22:28 |
And Micaiah said, If thou return at all in peace, the
LORD hath not spoken by me. And he said, Hearken, O
people, every one of you. |
| 22:29 |
So the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat the king of Judah
went up to Ramothgilead. |
| 22:30 |
And the king of Israel said unto Jehoshaphat, I will
disguise myself, and enter into the battle; but put thou
on thy robes. And the king of Israel disguised himself,
and went into the battle. |
| 22:31 |
But the king of Syria commanded his thirty and two
captains that had rule over his chariots, saying, Fight
neither with small nor great, save only with the king of
Israel. |
| 22:32 |
And it came to pass, when the captains of the chariots
saw Jehoshaphat, that they said, Surely it is the king of
Israel. And they turned aside to fight against him: and
Jehoshaphat cried out. |
| 22:33 |
And it came to pass, when the captains of the chariots
perceived that it was not the king of Israel, that they
turned back from pursuing him. |
| 22:34 |
And a certain man drew a bow at a venture, and smote the
king of Israel between the joints of the harness:
wherefore he said unto the driver of his chariot, Turn
thine hand, and carry me out of the host; for I am
wounded. |
| 22:35 |
And the battle increased that day: and the king was
stayed up in his chariot against the Syrians, and died at
even: and the blood ran out of the wound into the midst of
the chariot. |
| 22:36 |
And there went a proclamation throughout the host about
the going down of the sun, saying, Every man to his city,
and every man to his own country. |
| 22:37 |
So the king died, and was brought to Samaria; and they
buried the king in Samaria. |
| 22:38 |
And one washed the chariot in the pool of Samaria; and
the dogs licked up his blood; and they washed his armour;
according unto the word of the LORD which he spake. |
| 22:39 |
Now the rest of the acts of Ahab, and all that he did,
and the ivory house which he made, and all the cities that
he built, are they not written in the book of the
chronicles of the kings of Israel? |
| 22:40 |
So Ahab slept with his fathers; and Ahaziah his son
reigned in his stead. |
| 22:41 |
And Jehoshaphat the son of Asa began to reign over Judah
in the fourth year of Ahab king of Israel. |
| 22:42 |
Jehoshaphat was thirty and five years old when he began
to reign; and he reigned twenty and five years in
Jerusalem. And his mother's name was Azubah the daughter
of Shilhi. |
| 22:43 |
And he walked in all the ways of Asa his father; he
turned not aside from it, doing that which was right in
the eyes of the LORD: nevertheless the high places were
not taken away; for the people offered and burnt incense
yet in the high places. |
| 22:44 |
And Jehoshaphat made peace with the king of Israel. |
| 22:45 |
Now the rest of the acts of Jehoshaphat, and his might
that he shewed, and how he warred, are they not written in
the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah? |
| 22:46 |
And the remnant of the sodomites, which remained in the
days of his father Asa, he took out of the land. |
| 22:47 |
There was then no king in Edom: a deputy was king. |
| 22:48 |
Jehoshaphat made ships of Tharshish to go to Ophir for
gold: but they went not; for the ships were broken at
Eziongeber. |
| 22:49 |
Then said Ahaziah the son of Ahab unto Jehoshaphat, Let
my servants go with thy servants in the ships. But
Jehoshaphat would not. |
| 22:50 |
And Jehoshaphat slept with his fathers, and was buried
with his fathers in the city of David his father: and
Jehoram his son reigned in his stead. |
| 22:51 |
Ahaziah the son of Ahab began to reign over Israel in
Samaria the seventeenth year of Jehoshaphat king of Judah,
and reigned two years over Israel. |
| 22:52 |
And he did evil in the sight of the LORD, and walked in
the way of his father, and in the way of his mother, and
in the way of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel
to sin: |
| 22:53 |
For he served Baal, and worshipped him, and provoked to
anger the LORD God of Israel, according to all that his
father had done. |
|
Baal
by Alan G. Hefner
|
The antiquity of the worship of the god or gods of Baal
extends back to the 14th century BCE among the ancient Semitic
peoples, the descendants of Shem, the oldest son of Biblical Noah.
Semitic is more of a linguistic classification than a racial one.
Thus, people speaking the same or similar languages first
worshiped Baal in his many forms. The word Baal means
"master" or "owner". In ancient religions the
name denoted sun, lord or god. Baal was common a name of small
Syrian and Persian deities. Baal is still principally thought of
as a Canaanite fertility deity. The Great Baal was of Canaan. He
was the son of El,
the high god of Canaan. The cult of Baal celebrated annually his
death and resurrection as a part of the Canaanite fertility
rituals. These ceremonies often included human sacrifice and
temple prostitution.
Baal, literal meaning is "lord," in the Canaanite
pantheon was the local title of fertility gods. Baal never emerged
as a rain god until later times when he assumed the special
functions of each. Although there is no equivalent in Canaan of
the sterile summer drought that occurs in Mesopotamia, the season
cycle was marked enough to have caused a concentration on the
disappearing fertility god, who took with him the autumn rain
clouds into the neither world.
After defeating the sea god Yam,
and building a house on Mount Saphon, and taking possession of
numerous cities, Baal announced that he would no longer
acknowledge the authority of Mot,
"death." Baal not only excluded Mot from his hospitality
and friendship, but also told him that he could only visit the
deserts of the earth. In response to this challenge, Mot invited
Baal to his abode to taste his fare, mud. Being terrified and
unable to avoid the dreadful summons to the land of the dead, Baal
coupled with a calf in order to strengthen himself for the ordeal,
and then set out. El and the other gods donned funeral garments,
poured ashes on their heads, and mutilated their limbs, while Anat,
aided by the sun goddess Shapash,
brought the corpse back for burial. El placed Athtar,
the irrigation god, on the vacant throne of Baal, but Anat
bitterly missed her dead husband. She begged Mot to restore Baal
to life, but her pleas went without avail, and Anat's attempts to
interest the other gods in helping her were met with cautious
indifference. Thus, Anat assaulted Mot, ripping him to pieces
"with a sharp knife," scattering his members "with
a winnowing fan," burning him "in a fire," grinding
him "in a mill," and "over the fields strewing his
remains." El, in the meantime, had a dream in which fertility
returned, which suggested that Baal was not dead. Afterwards, he
instructed Shapash to keep watch for him during her daily travels.
In the due course of time Baal was restored, and Athtar fled from
his throne. Yet Mot was able to arrange another attack, but on
this occasion all of the gods supported Baal, and neither
combatant could gain the victory. Finally El intervened and
dismissed Mot, leaving Baal in possession of the field.
The above myth, fragments of which are on the Ras Shamra
tablets, relates to the alteration of the seasons. Baal is the god
of rain, thunder, and lightening. "At the touch of his right
hand, even colors wilt." Yam, the owner of salt water, gave
place to Baal as the genius of rainfall and vegetation, a
displacement that left Mot as sole contender under the mighty El.
Torrid heat, sterility, the arid desert, death, the neither world:
these were Mot's irresistible realm till Anat threshed, winnowed,
and ground the harvested corn, the fecundity of Baal's land, just
as the siding of El with the resurrected rain god ensured the
continuation of the annual cycle. A parallel of the magical rites
can be found in Psalms, where "they that sow in tears shall
reap in joy. He that go forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed,
shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bearing sheaves with
him." This is sympathetic magic the tears shed were expected
to induce drops of rain.
Baal was the son of El, or Dagon,
an obscure deity linked by the Hebrews with the Philistine city of
Ashdod. Dagon was perhaps associated with the sea, as a coin found
in the vicinity portrays a god having a fish tail. Although Baal
personally overcame Yam, it is uncertain whether or not he fought Lotan,
the Leviathan of the Old Testament, but it is known that Anat
"crushed the writhing serpent, the accused one of the seven
heads." Another echo of the Mesopotamian thought patterns are
nestled in these reasons advanced by Baal for needing a
"house." His food offerings were too meager for a god
"that rides on the clouds." As far apart as Carthage and
Palmyra were temples dedicated to Baal-Hammon, "the lord of
the altar of incense," whom the Greeks identified with Cronos.
On Mount Carmel it was the prophet Elijah who discredited King
Ahab's belief in the power of Baal, when at his request "the
fire of the Lord fell, and consumed the burnt sacrifice," and
the wood, and the stones, and the dust, and licked up the water
that was in the trench. Afterwards Elijah had the people slay
"the prophets of Baal," thereby assuring the survival of
the worship of Yahweh in Israel.
The worship of Baal extended from the Canaanites to the
Phoenicians who also were partially an agricultural people. Both
Baal and his cohort Ashtoreth,
or Astarte,
who is equivalent to the Greek goddess Aphrodite,
were both Phoenician fertility symbols. Baal, the sun god, was
fervently prayed to for the protection of livestock and crops.
Priests instructed the people that Baal was responsible for
droughts, plagues, and other calamities. People were often worked
up into great frenzies at the prospects of displeasing Baal. In
times of great turbulence human sacrifices, particularly children,
were made to the great god Moloch.
Since the Phoenicians also were superb ship builders the
religion and cults of Baal spread throughout the Mediterranean
world. The worship of Baal was found among the Moabites and their
allies Midinites during Moses' time. It was also introduced to the
Israelites.
The religion of the god Baal was widely accepted among the
ancient Jews, and although it was put down at times, it was never
permanently stamped out. Kings and other royalty of the ten
Biblical tribes worshiped the god. The ordinary people ardently
worshipped this sun god too because their prosperity depended on
the productivity of their crops and livestock. The god's images
were erected on many buildings. Within the religion there appeared
to be numerous priests and various classes of devotees. During the
ceremonies they wore appropriate robes. The ceremonies included
burning incense, and offering burnt sacrifices, occasionally
consisting of human victims. The officiating priests danced around
the altars, chanting frantically and cutting themselves with
knives to inspire the attention and compassion of the god.
In the Bible Baal is also called Beelzebub,
or Baalzebub, one of the fallen angels of Satan.
|
FROM: http://www.pantheon.org/articles/b/baal.html
|
