14 For the Levites left their suburbs and their possession, and came to Judah and Jerusalem: for Jeroboam and his sons cast them off, that they should not execute the priest's office to Yahweh;
Command the children of Israel that they give to the Levites of the inheritance of their possession cities to dwell in; and suburbs for the cities round about them shall you give to the Levites. The cities shall they have to dwell in; and their suburbs shall be for their cattle, and for their substance, and for all their animals. The suburbs of the cities, which you shall give to the Levites, shall be from the wall of the city and outward one thousand cubits round about. You shall measure outside of the city for the east side two thousand cubits, and for the south side two thousand cubits, and for the west side two thousand cubits, and for the north side two thousand cubits, the city being in the midst. This shall be to them the suburbs of the cities.
Whereupon the king took counsel, and made two calves of gold; and he said to them, It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem: see your gods, Israel, which brought you up out of the land of Egypt. He set the one in Bethel, and the other put he in Dan. This thing became a sin; for the people went [to worship] before the one, even to Dan. He made houses of high places, and made priests from among all the people, who were not of the sons of Levi. Jeroboam ordained a feast in the eighth month, on the fifteenth day of the month, like the feast that is in Judah, and he went up to the altar; so did he in Bethel, sacrificing to the calves that he had made: and he placed in Bethel the priests of the high places that he had made. He went up to the altar which he had made in Bethel on the fifteenth day in the eighth month, even in the month which he had devised of his own heart: and he ordained a feast for the children of Israel, and went up to the altar, to burn incense.
"'All the tithe of the land, whether of the seed of the land or of the fruit of the trees, is Yahweh's. It is holy to Yahweh. If a man redeems anything of his tithe, he shall add a fifth part to it. All the tithe of the herds or the flocks, whatever passes under the rod, the tenth shall be holy to Yahweh. He shall not search whether it is good or bad, neither shall he change it: and if he changes it at all, then both it and that for which it is changed shall be holy. It shall not be redeemed.'" These are the commandments which Yahweh commanded Moses for the children of Israel on Mount Sinai.
To the children of Levi, behold, I have given all the tithe in Israel for an inheritance, in return for their service which they serve, even the service of the tent of meeting. Henceforth the children of Israel shall not come near the tent of meeting, lest they bear sin, and die. But the Levites shall do the service of the tent of meeting, and they shall bear their iniquity: it shall be a statute forever throughout your generations; and among the children of Israel they shall have no inheritance. For the tithe of the children of Israel, which they offer as a heave-offering to Yahweh, I have given to the Levites for an inheritance: therefore I have said to them, Among the children of Israel they shall have no inheritance. Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, Moreover you shall speak to the Levites, and tell them, When you take of the children of Israel the tithe which I have given you from them for your inheritance, then you shall offer up a heave-offering of it for Yahweh, a tithe of the tithe. Your heave-offering shall be reckoned to you, as though it were the grain of the threshing floor, and as the fullness of the winepress. Thus you also shall offer a heave-offering to Yahweh of all your tithes, which you receive of the children of Israel; and of it you shall give Yahweh's heave-offering to Aaron the priest.
The families of the children of Kohath, the Levites, even the rest of the children of Kohath, they had the cities of their lot out of the tribe of Ephraim. They gave them Shechem with its suburbs in the hill-country of Ephraim, the city of refuge for the manslayer, and Gezer with its suburbs, and Kibzaim with its suburbs, and Beth Horon with its suburbs; four cities. Out of the tribe of Dan, Elteke with its suburbs, Gibbethon with its suburbs, Aijalon with its suburbs, Gath-rimmon with its suburbs; four cities. Out of the half-tribe of Manasseh, Taanach with its suburbs, and Gath-rimmon with its suburbs; two cities. All the cities of the families of the rest of the children of Kohath were ten with their suburbs. To the children of Gershon, of the families of the Levites, out of the half-tribe of Manasseh [they gave] Golan in Bashan with its suburbs, the city of refuge for the manslayer, and Be-eshterah with its suburbs; two cities. Out of the tribe of Issachar, Kishion with its suburbs, Daberath with its suburbs, Jarmuth with its suburbs, En Gannim with its suburbs; four cities. Out of the tribe of Asher, Mishal with its suburbs, Abdon with its suburbs, Helkath with its suburbs, and Rehob with its suburbs; four cities. Out of the tribe of Naphtali, Kedesh in Galilee with its suburbs, the city of refuge for the manslayer, and Hammothdor with its suburbs, and Kartan with its suburbs; three cities. All the cities of the Gershonites according to their families were thirteen cities with their suburbs. To the families of the children of Merari, the rest of the Levites, out of the tribe of Zebulun, Jokneam with its suburbs, and Kartah with its suburbs, Dimnah with its suburbs, Nahalal with its suburbs; four cities. Out of the tribe of Reuben, Bezer with its suburbs, and Jahaz with its suburbs, Kedemoth with its suburbs, and Mephaath with its suburbs; four cities. Out of the tribe of Gad, Ramoth in Gilead with its suburbs, the city of refuge for the manslayer, and Mahanaim with its suburbs, Heshbon with its suburbs, Jazer with its suburbs; four cities in all. All [these were] the cities of the children of Merari according to their families, even the rest of the families of the Levites; and their lot was twelve cities. All the cities of the Levites in the midst of the possession of the children of Israel were forty-eight cities with their suburbs. These cities were every one with their suburbs round about them: thus it was with all these cities.
Some of the families of the sons of Kohath had cities of their borders out of the tribe of Ephraim. They gave to them the cities of refuge, Shechem in the hill-country of Ephraim with its suburbs; Gezer also with its suburbs, and Jokmeam with its suburbs, and Beth Horon with its suburbs, and Aijalon with its suburbs, and Gath-rimmon with its suburbs; and out of the half-tribe of Manasseh, Aner with its suburbs, and Bileam with its suburbs, for the rest of the family of the sons of Kohath. To the sons of Gershom [were given], out of the family of the half-tribe of Manasseh, Golan in Bashan with its suburbs, and Ashtaroth with its suburbs; and out of the tribe of Issachar, Kedesh with its suburbs, Daberath with its suburbs, and Ramoth with its suburbs, and Anem with its suburbs; and out of the tribe of Asher, Mashal with its suburbs, and Abdon with its suburbs, and Hukok with its suburbs, and Rehob with its suburbs; and out of the tribe of Naphtali, Kedesh in Galilee with its suburbs, and Hammon with its suburbs, and Kiriathaim with its suburbs. To the rest of [the Levites], the sons of Merari, [were given], out of the tribe of Zebulun, Rimmono with its suburbs, Tabor with its suburbs; and beyond the Jordan at Jericho, on the east side of the Jordan, [were given them], out of the tribe of Reuben, Bezer in the wilderness with its suburbs, and Jahzah with its suburbs, and Kedemoth with its suburbs, and Mephaath with its suburbs; and out of the tribe of Gad, Ramoth in Gilead with its suburbs, and Mahanaim with its suburbs, and Heshbon with its suburbs, and Jazer with its suburbs.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » John Gill's Exposition of the Bible » Commentary on 2 Chronicles 11
Commentary on 2 Chronicles 11 John Gill's Exposition of the Bible
INTRODUCTION TO 2 CHRONICLES 11
In this chapter are related the preparations Rehoboam made to regain the ten tribes that revolted from him, but was forbid making the attempt by a prophet of the Lord, which he paid a regard unto, 2 Chronicles 11:1, the fortification of several cities in Judah and Benjamin for his defence, 2 Chronicles 11:5, the resort of several priests and Levites to him from Jeroboam, which served to strengthen his kingdom, 2 Chronicles 11:13, and an account of his wives, and of his children, and of his disposal of them, 2 Chronicles 11:18.
And when Rehoboam was come to Jerusalem,.... After he had been at Shechem, and had given his answer to the request of the men of Israel, upon which they revolted from him: this and the three following verses are the same with 1 Kings 12:21. See Gill on 1 Kings 12:21.
And Rehoboam dwelt in Jerusalem,.... The metropolis of Judah, and the capital city of his kingdom:
and built cities for defence in Judah; that is, rebuilt, enlarged, and fortified them; for otherwise they were built before, though neglected before the revolt of the ten tribes; but now it became necessary to make them more capacious and strong, to protect his people, and defend himself against Israel; for though he was forbid to act offensively, and therefore contented himself to abide in Jerusalem, and not go forth to war; yet he might lawfully put himself into a condition of defence.
He built even Bethlehem,.... The place of our Lord's birth, about six miles from Jerusalem:
and Etam; another city in the tribe of Judah; see 1 Chronicles 4:32, there was a rock of this name, Judges 15:8 and a fountain from whence waters were conveyed into the pool at Jerusalem, spoken of in Jewish writingsF2Cippi Heb. p. 10. :
and Tekoah; of which place Amos the prophet was, and which was about twelve miles from Jerusalem. RauwolffF3Travels, par. 3. c. 22. p. 321. Ed. Ray. speaks of it as a fortified place now; he says it has a strong and mighty castle, built on a great and high hill.
And Bethzur, and Shocho, and Adullam. All in the tribe of Judah, of which see Joshua 15:35.
And Gath,.... Which cannot be that Gath which was one of the principalities of the Philistines, but a city in the tribe of Judah; though of it we nowhere else read; unless this is the same with Moreshethgath, Micah 1:14, which is probable, since it follows:
and Mareshah; the birth place of Micah the prophet, Micah 1:1,
and Ziph; there were two cities of this name in the tribe of Judah, Joshua 15:24.
And Adoraim,.... Called by JosephusF4Antiqu. l. 13. c. 9. sect. 1. Adora, which he mentions along with Mareshah, or Marissa:
and Lachish: a royal city in the time of the Canaanites, and which fell to the lot of Judah, Joshua 12:11,
and Azekah; a city situated in the plain of Judah, Joshua 10:10.
And Zorah,.... The same with Zoreah, Joshua 15:33,
and Aijalon; there was a city of the tribe of Dan of this name, in the valley of which the moon stood still in the times of Joshua, Joshua 10:12, but whether the same with this, and now belonging to Judah, or another of the same name, is not certain:
and Hebron; a city in the mountainous part of Judah, and a city of refuge, about twenty miles from Jerusalem, Joshua 15:54,
which are in Judah and in Benjamin fenced cities; as they were now made by Rehoboam.
And he fortified the strong holds,.... Of these and other cities:
and put captains in them; garrisons of soldiers, with captains over them to defend them:
and store of victual, and of oil and wine; that they might be able to hold out a siege, should they be attacked.
And in every several city he put shields and spears,.... Furnished them with these and perhaps other pieces of armour, these being put for all, to defend themselves with against an enemy, and to annoy them:
and made them exceeding strong; so that they could not be easily taken:
having Judah and Benjamin on his side: which tribes cleaved to one another, and to Rehoboam, and to the kings of the house of David, in later times, as well as to the true religion.
And the priests and the Levites, that were in all Israel,.... In the ten tribes, in the cities assigned to them therein:
resorted to him out of all their coasts; as to their rightful sovereign, and chiefly for the sake of the service of the sanctuary at Jerusalem.
For the Levites left their suburbs and their possession,.... The cities and the fields adjacent to them, which were given them in the several tribes, and were in all forty eight; see Joshua 21:1 and came to Judah and Jerusalem; to the cities of Judah, which belonged to the Levites; and to Jerusalem, where they exercised their functions:
for Jeroboam and his sons had cast them off from exercising the priest's office unto the Lord; neither suffering them to go to Jerusalem in their courses, as they used to do by turns, nor to perform their office in their own dwellings, according to the law of God, in teaching and instructing the people.
And he ordained him priests for the high places,.... Of such who were not of the tribe of Levi, and family of Aaron; see 1 Kings 12:31.
and for the devils; demons in the shape of goats, as this word signifies, in which form many of the Heathen deities were worshipped; idols of whatsoever kind are so called; for whosoever worships them worships not God, but devils, 1 Corinthians 10:21 the images which Jeroboam set up may be meant, and the next clause may be rendered as explanative of them:
even for the calves which he had made; one of which he set up at Dan, and the other at Bethel, 1 Kings 12:28.
And after them out of all the tribes of Israel,.... Besides the priests and Levites, and after their example, many of the common people, out of all the ten tribes:
such as set their hearts to seek the Lord God of Israel; to seek his face and favour, where he was to be found; to worship him according to his revealed will, and to receive doctrine or instruction from him, as the Targum:
came to Jerusalem to sacrifice to the Lord God of their fathers; to sacrifice where only sacrifices were to be offered up, and by the priests of the Lord, who were gone thither, and to their fathers' God, whom the ten tribes had revolted from.
So they strengthened the kingdom of Judah,.... Made it more numerous, and in a better condition to defend itself:
and made Rehoboam son of Solomon strong three years; established him on the throne, strengthened the government in his hands, and were the means of preserving him in the pure worship of God for the space of time mentioned, the reason of which follows:
for three years they walked in the way of David and Solomon; in their good ways, which were according to the rule of the divine word; and which, as they refer to the whole of David's life and reign, some particular actions excepted, so to the former part of Solomon's reign, before he fell into idolatry, and to the latter part of it after his repentance; for that he did repent is by some concluded from hence, and may be more strongly from the book of Ecclesiastes, written by him in his old age. This is to be understood both of Rehoboam and his people, who after three years forsook the law of the Lord, 2 Chronicles 12:1.
And Rehoboam took him Mahalath, the daughter of Jerimoth, the son of David, to wife,.... Of which son of David we nowhere else read; perhaps he might be the son of one of his concubines, or he might have two names:
and Abihail the daughter of Eliab the son of Jesse; who was David's eldest brother. 1 Samuel 17:13. She must be a granddaughter or great-granddaughter of his.
Which bare him children,.... Or, "and she bore him"F4ותלד "peperit", Pagninus, Montanus. ; for it is said only of one of them, the other perhaps died without children; this may refer to the last mentioned, Abihail, whose children were
Jeush, and Shamariah, and Zaham; who perhaps all died in their father's lifetime, since the firstborn of a later wife succeeded him.
And after he took Maacah the daughter of Absalom,.... Thought by some to be Absalom the son of David, his father's brother, and his uncle, and so married his cousin; but Absalom seems to have had but one daughter, whose name was Tamar, 2 Samuel 14:27, and the name of this man is different from his; he is called Abishalom, 1 Kings 15:2.
and Uriel of Gibeah; 2 Chronicles 13:2, of the tribe of Benjamin, whereas Absalom was of the tribe of Judah:
which bare him Abijah, and Attai, and Ziza, and Shelomith: Abijah the firstborn, and who was successor in the kingdom, is the same with Abijam, 1 Kings 14:31 of the rest we nowhere else read.
And Rehoboam loved Maacah the daughter of Absalom above all his wives and his concubines, &c. Who is called Michaiah, the daughter of Uriel, 2 Chronicles 13:2,
for he took eighteen wives and sixty concubines; led thereunto by the example of his father Solomon, contrary to the command of God, Deuteronomy 17:17.
and begat twenty eight sons and sixty daughters; to have many children was reckoned a great blessing, but it was not honourable to have them in such a way.
And Rehoboam made Abijah the son of Maacah the chief,.... The chief of all his sons, head over them, being the son of his most beloved wife, and her firstborn however, and perhaps might be of a greater capacity than the rest of his children:
to be ruler among his brethren; or over them; gave him greater authority, and intrusted him with more power, set him above them, and treated him as heir apparent to the crown: for he thought
to make him king; either to take him into partnership in the throne with him in his lifetime, or to appoint and declare him to be his successor.
And he dealt wisely,.... Acted a prudent part, in order to execute his scheme, and particularly by disposing of his other sons in different parts of his kingdom, as follows: or "he made him his son Abijah to understand"F5ותבן "erudire faciebat", Pagninus, Grotius; "docuit", Vatablus. ; he taught and instructed him in the art of government, took a particular care of his education, that he might be fitted for it; and he might instruct him how to behave towards his brethren, for the present and hereafter, as well as towards all the people in general: or "he (Abijah) understood"F6"lntellexit", Piscator. ; had more understanding and wisdom than all the children of Rehoboam; though it seems best to interpret it of Rehoboam himself, since it follows:
and disposed of all his children throughout all the countries of Judah and Benjamin, unto every fenced city; to be governors thereof, in whose hands he could better trust them than in any other; or else, by thus separating them, they would not be able to enter into combination against Abijah; but then he must at the same time appoint some persons to watch and observe them; or otherwise, having such, strong places in their possession, they might rebel against him; the Targum is,"he built and repaired the cities, and appointed of all his children throughout all the countries of the house of Judah, to all the fortified cities;'that is, to have the command of them:
and he gave them victual in abundance; that they might have no reason to complain, and might be able to hold out a siege against an enemy, should they be attacked:
and he desired many wives; either for himself, or rather for his son, since he himself had many; or "Abijah desired, or askedF7ישאל "petivit", Pagninus, Montanus, Vatablus; "postulavit", Piscator. many wives" of their parents, or of those who had the dispose of them, in imitation of his father.