1 Kings 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.

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Word by word — the Hebrew

Word	Hebrew	Strong’s	Meaning
So	וַיָּשִׁ֣בוּ vai.ya.Shi.vu	H7725	to turn back (hence · conjunction + verb, hiphil sequential imperfect, 3rd person masculine plural
Israel	יִשְׂרָאֵ֗ל Yis.ra.'El	H3478	Jisrael · proper noun, a place name
saw	וַיַּ֣רְא vai.Yar'	H7200	to see · conjunction + verb, qal sequential imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
king	הַמֶּלֶךְ֮ ha.me.leKh	H4428	a king · definite article + noun, common masculine singular absolute
hearkened	שָׁמַ֣ע sha.Ma'	H8085	to hear intelligently (often with implication of attent… · verb, qal perfect, 3rd person masculine singular
people	הָעָ֣ם ha.'Am	H5971	a people (as a congregated unit) · definite article + noun, common masculine singular 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

2 Samuel 20:1 And there happened to be there a man of Belial, whose name was Sheba, the son of Bichri, a Benjamite: and he blew a trumpet, and said, We ha…
1 Kings 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…
1 Kings 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 c…
2 Chronicles 10:16 And when all Israel saw that the king would not hearken unto them, the people answered the king, saying, What portion have we in David? and…
Jeremiah 23:5-6 Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch, and a King shall reign and prosper, and shall execut…
Jeremiah 33:15-16 In those days, and at that time, will I cause the Branch of righteousness to grow up unto David; and he shall execute judgment and righteous…
Jeremiah 33:21 Then may also my covenant be broken with David my servant, that he should not have a son to reign upon his throne; and with the Levites the…
Judges 8:35 Neither shewed they kindness to the house of Jerubbaal, namely, Gideon, according to all the goodness which he had shewed unto Israel.

Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).

Commentary

Matthew Henry on 1 Kings 12:16-24

We have here the rending of the kingdom of the ten tribes from the house of David, to effect which, I. The people were hold and resolute in their revolt. They highly resented the provocation that Rehoboam had given them, were incensed at his menaces, concluded that that government would in the progress of it be intolerably grievous which in the beginning of it was so very haughty, and therefore immediately came to this resolve, one and all: What portion have we in David? Kg1 12:16. They speak here very unbecomingly of David, that great benefactor of their nation, calling him the son of Jesse, no greater a man than his neighbours. How soon are good men, and their good services to the public,…

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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on 1 Kings 12:15

the king hearkened not unto the people, for the cause was from the Lord--That was the overruling cause. Rehoboam's weakness (Ecc 2:18-19) and inexperience in public affairs has given rise to the probable conjecture, that, like many other princes in the East, he had been kept secluded in the harem till the period of his accession (Ecc 4:14), his father being either afraid of his aspiring to the sovereignty, like the two sons of David, or, which is more probable, afraid of prematurely exposing his imbecility. The king's haughty and violent answer to a people already filled with a spirit of discontent and exasperation, indicated so great an incapacity to appreciate the gravity of the crisis, so…

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Adam Clarke on 1 Kings 12:16

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

John Gill on 1 Kings 12:16

So when all Israel saw that the king hearkened not unto them,.... To grant their requests: the people answered the king, saying, what portion have we in David? or in his posterity, which are not of our tribes, nor are we obliged to have a king of that family; nor can we expect any benefit or advantage from thence, as may be easily concluded from the rough answer of Rehoboam: neither have we inheritance in the son of Jesse; so they called David by way of contempt; which was great ingratitude, when he had done such great things for them, and he and his son Solomon had raised them to the pitch of wealth and glory they now enjoyed; these were seditious expressions, and seem to be borrowed from…

The Church Fathers

Justice, then, especially graces people who are set over any office; on the other hand, injustice fails them and fights against them. Scripture itself gives us an example, where it says that when the people of Israel, after the death of Solomon, had asked his son Rehoboam to free their neck from their cruel yoke and to lighten the harshness of his father's rule, he, despising the counsel of the old men, gave the following answer at the suggestion of the young men: "He would add a burden to the yoke of his father and change their lighter toils for harder." Angered by this answer, the people said, "We have no portion in David or inheritance in the son of Jesse. Return to your tents, O Israel. For we will not have this man for a prince or a leader over us." So, forsaken and deserted by the people, he could keep with him scarcely two of the ten tribes for David's sake.
— Ambrose of Milan, On the Duties of the Clergy 2.18.93-94

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

Ephraim, The tribe of — Took precedence over that of Manasseh by virtue of Jacob’s blessing (Gen. 41:52; 48:1). The descendants of Joseph formed two of the tribes of Israel, whereas each of the other sons of Jacob was the…
Israel — The name conferred on Jacob after the great prayer-struggle at Peniel (Gen. 32:28), because “as a prince he had power with God and prevailed.” (See JACOB.) This is the common name given to Jacob’s…
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…
Rehoboam — He enlarges the people, the successor of Solomon on the throne, and apparently his only son. He was the son of Naamah “the Ammonitess,” some well-known Ammonitish princess (1 Kings 14:21; 2 Chr.…
Shechem — Shoulder. (1.) The son of Hamor the Hivite (Gen. 33:19; 34). (2.) A descendant of Manasseh (Num. 26:31; Josh. 17:2). (3.) A city in Samaria (Gen. 33:18), called also Sichem (12:6), Sychem (Acts…
Citizens · .Israelites — .Israelites
Counsel · .By Rehoboam — .By Rehoboam
Jeroboam · toward Rehoboam, and ma — toward Rehoboam, and ma
Kings · Who reigned over all Israel: Rehoboam (first part of his reign) — Who reigned over all Israel: Rehoboam (first part of his reign)
Petition · Rehoboam

1 Kings 12:16

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on 1 Kings 12:16-24

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on 1 Kings 12:15

Adam Clarke on 1 Kings 12:16

John Gill on 1 Kings 12:16

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

1 Kings 12:16

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on 1 Kings 12:16-24

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on 1 Kings 12:15

Adam Clarke on 1 Kings 12:16

John Gill on 1 Kings 12:16

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

Keil & Delitzsch on 1 Kings 12:1-24

Tyndale Open Study Notes on 1 Kings 12:12-17

Rashi on 1 Kings 12:16