1 Kings 12:21

21 When Rehoboam arrived in Jerusalem, he called together 180,000 of the best soldiers from the tribes of Judah and Benjamin. He intended to go to war and restore his control over the northern tribes of Israel.

1 Kings 12:21 Meaning and Commentary

1 Kings 12:21

And when Rehoboam was come to Jerusalem,
&e.] From Shechem, which was forty miles ^F14 from Jerusalem:

he assembled all the house of Judah, with the tribe of Benjamin, an
hundred and fourscore thousand chosen men, which were warriors, to
fight against the house of Israel, to bring the kingdom again to
Rehoboam the son of Solomon;
which not only shows courage reassumed by Rehoboam, now safely home, but the hearty attachment of Judah and Benjamin to him, who raised presently so numerous an army in his favour; and had it not been that the Lord was against their going to battle with Israel, in all probability they might have gained their point, Jeroboam being scarcely settled in his kingdom, and having no forces raised.

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FOOTNOTES:

F14 Reland. Palestin. Illustrat. tom. 2. p. 1007.

1 Kings 12:21 In-Context

19 Ever since that time the people of the northern kingdom of Israel have been in rebellion against the dynasty of David.

20 When the people of Israel heard that Jeroboam had returned from Egypt, they invited him to a meeting of the people and made him king of Israel. Only the tribe of Judah remained loyal to David's descendants.

21 When Rehoboam arrived in Jerusalem, he called together 180,000 of the best soldiers from the tribes of Judah and Benjamin. He intended to go to war and restore his control over the northern tribes of Israel.

22 But God told the prophet Shemaiah

23 to give this message to Rehoboam and to all the people of the tribes of Judah and Benjamin: