2 Chronicles 11 Study Notes

11:17 During the first three years, both kingdoms looked inward to strengthen themselves. The south rallied around the temple and the service of the Lord, while the north focused on the cult of idolatry instigated by Jeroboam.

11:18-21 Rehoboam had eighteen wives, many of them from within his wider circle of blood relations. Mahalath was his half cousin, Abihail was his great aunt, unless some intervening generations have not been mentioned. His favorite wife, Maacah (also called Micaiah), was probably Absalom’s granddaughter by his son or son-in-law Uriel (13:2). She would become influential in leading the people into idolatry.

11:22-23 There was one matter in which Rehoboam proved to be a wiser ruler than either David or Solomon. Both of his predecessors had left their sons in Jerusalem, where they had been given important titles but not much responsibility. Having spent the first forty-one years of his life in limbo, Rehoboam made sure that his sons had a meaningful purpose. He put them in charge of many of the newly fortified cities and provided them with numerous wives.