1 Kings 12:1

1 Rehoboam traveled to Shechem where all Israel had gathered to inaugurate him as king.

1 Kings 12:1 Meaning and Commentary

1 Kings 12:1

And Rehoboam went to Shechem
After the death and internment of his father:

for all Israel were come to Shechem to make him king:
as was pretended, though in reality it was to seek occasion against him, and make Jeroboam king; it is very probable they knew of the prophecy of Ahijah, and therefore would not go to Jerusalem, but to Shechem, a city in the tribe of Ephraim, of which Jeroboam was, and where he had sowed the seeds of sedition when ruler there; and this place they chose, partly because they could more freely speak what they had in their minds, and partly for the safety of Jeroboam they had sent for on this occasion; so that Rehoboam went thither not of choice, but of necessity. The Jews

---

FOOTNOTES:

F3 observe that this place was very ominous; here Dinah was ravished, Joseph was sold, Abimelech exercised tyranny, and here now the kingdom was divided.

F3 T. Bab. Sanhedrin, fol. 102. 1.

1 Kings 12:1 In-Context

1 Rehoboam traveled to Shechem where all Israel had gathered to inaugurate him as king.

2 Jeroboam had been in Egypt, where he had taken asylum from King Solomon; when he got the report of Solomon's death he had come back.

3 Rehoboam assembled Jeroboam and all the people. They said to Rehoboam,

4 "Your father made life hard for us - worked our fingers to the bone. Give us a break; lighten up on us and we'll willingly serve you."

5 "Give me three days to think it over, then come back," Rehoboam said.