1 Kings 11:28

28 Now the man Jeroboam [was] a man of ability, and Solomon saw that the young man {was a diligent worker}, so he appointed him over all of the forced labor for the house of Joseph.

1 Kings 11:28 Meaning and Commentary

1 Kings 11:28

And the man Jeroboam was a mighty man of valour
A man of great strength of body, and fortitude of mind:

and Solomon seeing the young man that he was industrious;
in what he was set about in the above buildings and repairs:

he made him ruler over all the charge of the house of Joseph;
the tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh, to be a prince or a deputy governor of them; or rather to collect the king's tax from them, or the revenues of that part of the country, see ( 22:29 ) .

1 Kings 11:28 In-Context

26 Now Jeroboam the son of Nebat, an Ephraimite from Zeredah (now the name of his mother [was] Zeruah, a widow woman), a servant of Solomon {rebelled against the king}.

27 This [is] the reason that he rebelled against the king: [when] Solomon built the Millo, he closed the gap of the city of David his father.

28 Now the man Jeroboam [was] a man of ability, and Solomon saw that the young man {was a diligent worker}, so he appointed him over all of the forced labor for the house of Joseph.

29 It happened at that time that Jeroboam went out from Jerusalem, and he accidentally met Ahijah the Shilonite the prophet on the way. Now he had clothed himself with new clothing. While the two of them [were] alone in the field,

30 Ahijah took hold of the new cloak which [was] on him and tore it into twelve pieces.

Footnotes

• [a]. Literally "was a doer of work he"