1 Kings 14:8 — meaning, Hebrew and Greek word study, commentary
1 Kings 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;
an eye (literally or figuratively) · preposition + noun, common feminine dual construct + pronominal suffix
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 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 hi…
1 Kings 11:33-38 Because that they have forsaken me, and have worshipped Ashtoreth the goddess of the Zidonians, Chemosh the god of the Moabites, and Milcom…
2 Chronicles 28:1 Ahaz was twenty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem: but he did not that which was right in the sigh…
Acts 13:22 And when he had removed him, he raised up unto them David to be their king; to whom also he gave testimony, and said, I have found David the…
Acts 13:36 For David, after he had served his own generation by the will of God, fell on sleep, and was laid unto his fathers, and saw corruption:
1 Kings 3:14 And if thou wilt walk in my ways, to keep my statutes and my commandments, as thy father David did walk, then I will lengthen thy days.
1 Kings 11:30-31 And Ahijah caught the new garment that was on him, and rent it in twelve pieces:
2 Chronicles 17:3 And the LORD was with Jehoshaphat, because he walked in the first ways of his father David, and sought not unto Baalim;
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on 1 Kings 14:7-20
When those that set up idols, and keep them up, go to enquire of the Lord, he determines to answer them, not according to the pretensions of their enquiry, but according to the multitude of their idols, Eze 14:4. So Jeroboam is answered here.
I. The prophet anticipates the enquiry concerning the child, and foretels the ruin of Jeroboam's house for the wickedness of it. No one else durst have carried such a message: a servant would have smothered it, but his own wife cannot be suspected of ill-will to him.
1. God calls himself the Lord God of Israel. Though Israel had forsaken God, God had not cast them off, nor given them a bill of divorce for their whoredoms. He is Israel's God, and therefo…
thou hast not been as my servant David--David, though he fell into grievous sins, repented and always maintained the pure worship of God as enjoined by the law.
Adam Clarke on 1 Kings 14:8
And rent the kingdom away from the house of David - That is, permitted it to be rent, because of the folly and insolence of Rehoboam.
John Gill on 1 Kings 14:8
And rent the kingdom away from the house of David, and gave it thee,.... Even ten parts out of twelve:
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; who never was guilty of idolatry, but always constantly and cordially attended the pure worship of God, and was careful to do everything in that according to the will of God, whatever else he might be deficient in.
Keil & Delitzsch on 1 Kings 14:1-20
Reign of Jeroboam. - Vv. 1-18. Ahijah's prophecy against Jeroboam and the kingdom of Israel. - As Jeroboam did not desist from his idolatry notwithstanding the threatened punishment, the Lord visited him with the illness of his son, and directed the prophet Ahijah, to whom his wife had gone to ask counsel concerning the result of the illness, to predict to him not only the cutting off of his house and the death of his sick son, but also the thrusting away of Israel out of the land of its fathers beyond the Euphrates, and in confirmation of this threat caused the sick son to die when the returning mother crossed the threshold of her house again.
Kg1 14:1-3
When his son fell sick, Jeroboam sai…
The Church Fathers
"The Lord is compassionate and merciful, long-suffering and plenteous in mercy." "The Lord is sweet to all, and his tender mercies are over all his works." You hear that his mercies are so great, and do you dare to put your trust in your own virtue? "Let all your works, O Lord, confess to you." If people are also part of his works, then all people should confess their sins. We read it said in Samuel about Solomon: "He shall build a house to my name, and I shall establish the throne of his kingdom forever. I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son." And again: "If he commits any iniquity, I will correct him with the rod of people, but my mercy I will not take away from him." After giving thanks to God, David said in conclusion, "And this is the law of humankind." Have recourse, O Lord, always to your mercy, and sustain the weakness of my flesh by your divine assistance. "What have I to do," he says, "with you also, you sons of Sarvia? Let Shimei curse. The Lord had bid him curse David. And who shall say to him, why have you done so?" For the will of God is not to be discussed but kindly accepted. And in another place: "The Lord commanded that the profitable counsel of Ahitophel be defeated that he might bring evil on Absalom," whose counsel was certainly the counsel of God. And for what reason was the power of the free will subverted by a greater power? Jeroboam, who caused Israel to sin, is reproved for having neglected the commandment of the Lord, and it is said to him, "I gave you the kingdom of the house of David, and you have not been as my servant David, who kept my commandments and followed me with all his heart, doing that which was well pleasing in my sight." Therefore, the commandments of God are possible, which we know David had kept; and yet, we find holy people growing weary in maintaining justice forever.
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
Abijah — Father (i.e., “possessor or worshipper”) of Jehovah. (1.) 1 Chr. 7:8. (2.) 1 Chr. 2:24. (3.) The second son of Samuel (1 Sam. 8:2; 1 Chr. 6:28). His conduct, along with that of his brother, as a…
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).…
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…
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).
Unlike David, who genuinely repented of his sins (2 Sam 12:13; Ps 51:2-4), Jeroboam exceeded his predecessors in doing evil. Despite clear evidence of God’s displeasure and coming judgment (1 Kgs 13:33), he failed to turn from his ways. His sin would bring grave consequences to his family and descendants (13:34; 14:10-11, 14) and, ultimately, to the whole northern kingdom (14:16). • gold calves: see 12:26-30.
Rashi on 1 Kings 14:6
Sent to tell you. From the Holy One Blessed Is He, with a harsh message.
