1 Kings 11:31 — meaning, Hebrew and Greek word study, commentary
1 Kings 11:31
And he said to Jeroboam, Take thee ten pieces: for thus saith the LORD, the God of Israel, Behold, I will rend the kingdom out of the hand of Solomon, and will give ten tribes to thee:
to say (used with great latitude) · conjunction + verb, qal sequential imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
Jeroboam
לְיָֽרָבְעָ֔םle.ya.ra.ve.'Am
H3379
Jarobam · preposition + proper noun, a man's name
Take
קַחkach-
H3947
to take (in the widest variety of applications) · verb, qal imperative, 2nd person masculine singular
ten
עֲשָׂרָ֣ה'a.sa.Rah
H6235
ten (as an accumulation to the extent of the digits) · noun, common feminine singular absolute
pieces
קְרָעִ֑יםke.ra.'Im
H7168
a rag · noun, common masculine plural absolute
saith
אָמַ֨ר'a.Mar
H559
to say (used with great latitude) · verb, qal perfect, 3rd person masculine singular
LORD
יְהוָ֜הYah.weh
H3068
Jehovah · proper noun, a title
God
אֱלֹהֵ֣י'e.lo.Hei
H430
gods in the ordinary sense · noun, common masculine plural construct
Israel
יִשְׂרָאֵ֗לYis.ra.'El
H3478
Jisrael · proper noun, a place name
rend
קֹרֵ֤עַko.Re.a'
H7167
to rend · verb, qal active participle, masculine singular absolute
kingdom
הַמַּמְלָכָה֙ha.mam.la.Khah
H4467
dominion · definite article + noun, common feminine singular absolute
hand
מִיַּ֣דmi.Yad
H3027
a hand (the open one (indicating power · preposition + noun, common both genders singular construct
Solomon
שְׁלֹמֹ֔הshe.lo.Moh
H8010
Shelomah · proper noun, a man's name
give
וְנָתַתִּ֣יve.na.ta.Ti
H5414
to give · conjunction + verb, qal sequential perfect, 1st person common singular
ten
עֲשָׂרָ֥ה'a.sa.Rah
H6235
ten (as an accumulation to the extent of the digits) · noun, common feminine singular absolute
tribes
הַשְּׁבָטִֽיםha.she.va.Tim
H7626
a scion · definite article + noun, common masculine plural absolute
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).
Cross-references
1 Kings 11:11-12 Wherefore the LORD said unto Solomon, Forasmuch as this is done of thee, and thou hast not kept my covenant and my statutes, which I have co…
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on 1 Kings 11:26-40
We have here the first mention of that infamous name Jeroboam the son of Nebat, that made Israel to sin; he is here brought upon the stage as an adversary to Solomon, whom God had expressly told (Kg1 11:11) that he would give the greatest part of his kingdom to his servant, and Jeroboam was the man. We have here an account,
I. Of his extraction, Kg1 11:26. He was of the tribe of Ephraim, he next in honour to Judah. His mother was a widow, to whom Providence had made up the loss of a husband in a son that was active and ingenious, and (we may suppose) a great support and comfort to her.
II. Of his elevation. It was Solomon's wisdom, when he had work to do, to employ proper persons in it. He o…
clad--rather, "wrapped up." The meaning is, "Ahijah, the Shilonite, the prophet, went and took a fit station in the way; and, in order that he might not be known, he wrapped himself up, so as closely to conceal himself, in a new garment, a surtout, which he afterwards tore in twelve pieces." Notwithstanding this privacy, the story, and the prediction connected with it [Kg1 11:30-39], probably reached the king's ears; and Jeroboam became a marked man [Kg1 11:40]. His aspiring ambition, impatient for the death of Solomon, led him to form plots and conspiracies, in consequence of which he was compelled to flee to Egypt. Though chosen of God, he would not wait the course of God's providence, and…
Take thee ten pieces - The garment was the symbol of the kingdom of Israel; the twelve pieces the symbol of the twelve tribes; the ten pieces given to Jeroboam, of the ten tribes which should be given to him, and afterwards form the kingdom of Israel, ruling in Samaria, to distinguish it from the kingdom of Judah, ruling in Jerusalem.
John Gill on 1 Kings 11:31
And he said to Jeroboam, take thee ten pieces,.... Of the twelve, an emblem of the ten tribes he was to have:
for thus saith the Lord God of Israel, behold, I will rend the kingdom out of the hand of Solomon; that is, out of his family:
and will give ten tribes unto thee; to rule over.
The Church Fathers
Here God's mercy is absolutely evident. Even though he knew how wicked Jeroboam was, [God] appoints him king in order to show that, as far as it depends on him, his gifts are never denied but showered on everyone. Humans themselves, however, refuse them deliberately.
In the Gospel there is a proof of this mystery of unity, this inseparable bond of harmony, when the coat of the Lord Jesus Christ is not cut or rent at all. The garment is received whole and the coat taken into possession unspoiled and undivided by those who cast lots for Christ's garment, asking who should put on Christ. Holy Scripture says of this, "But for the coat, because it was not sewn but woven from the top throughout, they said to each other: Let us not rend it but casts lots for it, whose it shall be." He showed a unity that came from the top, that is, from heaven and the Father, a unity that could by no means be rent by one who received and possessed it. Its wholeness and unity remained solid and unbreakable forever. He who rends and divides the church cannot possess the garment of Christ. In contrast, when at Solomon's death his kingdom and people were being rent, the prophet Ahijah, meeting King Jeroboam in the field, rent his garment into twelve pieces, saying, "Take for yourself ten pieces, for thus says the Lord: Behold, I rend the kingdom out of the hand of Solomon and will give ten scepters to you; but he shall have two scepters for my servant David's sake, and for Jerusalem's sake, the city that I have chosen, to put my name there." When the twelve tribes of Israel were being rent, the prophet Ahijah rent his garment. But since Christ's people cannot be rent, his coat, woven throughout as a single whole, was not rent by its owners. Undivided, conjoined, coherent, it proves the unbroken harmony of our people who have put on Christ. By the type and symbol of his garment he has manifested the unity of the church.
The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).
Dictionary and topics
Ahiah, Or Ahijah — (friend of Jehovah).
Ahijah — Brother (i.e., “friend”) of Jehovah. (1.) One of the sons of Bela (1 Chr. 8:7, R.V.). In A.V. called “Ahiah.” (2.) One of the five sons of Jerahmeel, who was great-grandson of Judah (1 Chr. 2:25).…
Israel, Kingdom of — (B.C. 975-B.C. 722). Soon after the death of Solomon, Ahijah’s prophecy (1 Kings 11:31-35) was fulfilled, and the kingdom was rent in twain. Rehoboam, the son and successor of Solomon, was scarcely…
Jeroboam — Increase of the people. (1.) The son of Nebat (1 Kings 11:26-39), “an Ephrathite,” the first king of the ten tribes, over whom he reigned twenty-two years (B.C. 976-945). He was the son of a widow of…
Solomon — Peaceful, (Heb. Shelomoh), David’s second son by Bathsheba, i.e., the first after their legal marriage (2 Sam. 12). He was probably born about B.C. 1035 (1 Chr. 22:5; 29:1). He succeeded his father…
Ahijah · 7. A prophet in Shiloh — 7. A prophet in Shiloh
Jews, The · Divided into two kingdoms after Solomon — Divided into two kingdoms after Solomon
Parables · Of the garment which was torn in pieces — Of the garment which was torn in pieces
Promotion · . — .
Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).
Keil & Delitzsch on 1 Kings 11:14-40
Solomon's Opponents. - Although the punishment with which Solomon was threatened for his apostasy was not to be inflicted till after his death, the Lord raised up several adversaries even during his lifetime, who endangered the peace of his kingdom, and were to serve as constant reminders that he owed his throne and his peaceable rule over the whole of the kingdom inherited from his father solely to the mercy, the fidelity, and the long-suffering of God. - The rising up of Hadad and Rezon took place even before the commencement of Solomon's idolatry, but it is brought by יהוה ויּקם (Kg1 11:14) into logical connection with the punishment with which he is threatened in consequence of that idol…
The meeting between Jeroboam and the prophet Ahijah set in motion God’s judgment on the dynasty of Solomon. Ahijah reappears in the account of Jeroboam’s sick son (14:1-18). He authored an unpreserved work containing information about Solomon’s deeds (2 Chr 9:29).
11:29-32 Ahijah’s symbolic tearing of his cloak into twelve pieces and giving ten of these pieces to Jeroboam symbolized God’s plans for Jeroboam and Israel following Solomon’s death (see “Prophetic Sign Acts” Theme Note). Ten of the tribes would defect; one tribe (Judah) would remain with Solomon’s heir. The twelfth tribe was probably Benjamin (see 1 Kgs 12:21). Benjamin consistently acted in tandem with Judah (see 2 Chr 11:3, 23…
And Shlomo had seen that this young man. Prior to this.
Did his work with diligence. Quick in his work and diligent.
Over all the [tax] burdens of the House of Yosef. [Targum Yonoson rendered,] “over all the taxpayers of the House of Yosef,” [i.e.,] Menashe and Ephrayim, because he was from the tribe of Ephrayim.
