1 Kings 11:31

31 and said to Jeroboam, Take to thee ten cuttings of the mantle; for the Lord God of Israel saith these things, Lo! I shall cut (off) the realm from the hand of Solomon, and I shall give to thee ten lineages (and I shall give ten tribes to thee);

1 Kings 11:31 Meaning and Commentary

1 Kings 11:31

And he said to Jeroboam, take thee ten pieces
Of the twelve, an emblem of the ten tribes he was to have:

for thus saith the Lord God of Israel, behold, I will rend the kingdom
out of the hand of Solomon;
that is, out of his family:

and will give ten tribes unto thee;
to rule over.

1 Kings 11:31 In-Context

29 Therefore it was done in that time, that Jeroboam went out of Jerusalem; and Ahijah of Shiloh, a prophet, covered with a new mantle, found him in the way (met him on the way); and they twain were alone in the field.
30 And Ahijah took his new mantle, with which he was covered, and he cut it into twelve parts;
31 and said to Jeroboam, Take to thee ten cuttings of the mantle; for the Lord God of Israel saith these things, Lo! I shall cut (off) the realm from the hand of Solomon, and I shall give to thee ten lineages (and I shall give ten tribes to thee);
32 but one lineage shall dwell to him, for David, my servant, and for Jerusalem, the city which I chose of all the lineages of Israel; (but one tribe shall stay with him, for the sake of my servant David, and for the sake of Jerusalem, the city which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel;)
33 this cutting of the realm shall be; for Solomon forsook me, and worshipped Astarte, the goddess of Sidonians, and Chemosh, the god of Moab, and Moloch, the god of the sons of Ammon; and [he] went not in my ways, that he did rightwiseness before me, and my behests, and my dooms, as David, his father, did. (this breaking of his kingdom shall be because Solomon deserted me, and worshipped Ashtoreth, the goddess of the Sidonians, and Chemosh, the god of the Moabites, and Milcom, the god of the Ammonites; and he went not in my ways, so that he did what was right before me, and followed my laws, and my judgements, like his father David did.)
Copyright © 2001 by Terence P. Noble. For personal use only.