1 RoisChapitre 14

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At that time Abijah son of Jeroboam fell ill.

Jeroboam said to his wife, "Get up, disguise yourself so no one will recognize you as Jeroboam's wife, and go to Shiloh. Ahijah the prophet is there—the one who told me I would be king over this people.

Take with you ten loaves of bread, some cakes, and a jar of honey, and go to him. He will tell you what will happen to the boy."

So Jeroboam's wife did as he said. She went to Shiloh and came to the house of Ahijah. Now Ahijah could not see; his eyes had failed because of his age.

But the LORD had said to Ahijah, "Jeroboam's wife is coming to ask you about her son, for he is ill. Say such and such to her. When she arrives, she will be pretending to be someone else."

So when Ahijah heard the sound of her footsteps at the door, he said, "Come in, wife of Jeroboam. Why pretend to be someone else? I have been sent to you with heavy news.

Go, tell Jeroboam: This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: I raised you up from among the people and made you ruler over my people Israel.

I tore the kingdom away from the house of David and gave it to you, but you have not been like my servant David, who kept my commandments and followed me with all his heart, doing only what was right in my eyes.

You have done more evil than all who came before you. You went and made yourself other gods and cast images, provoking me to anger, and you have thrust me behind your back.

Therefore I am bringing disaster on the house of Jeroboam. I will cut off from Jeroboam every last male in Israel, slave or free. I will burn up the house of Jeroboam as a man burns dung, until it is gone.

Those of Jeroboam's house who die in the city the dogs will eat, and those who die in the open country the birds of the sky will eat—for the LORD has spoken.

Now get up and go home. The moment you set foot in the city, the child will die.

All Israel will mourn for him and bury him. He alone of Jeroboam's house will be laid in a grave, because in him, of all the house of Jeroboam, something good toward the LORD, the God of Israel, was found.

Moreover, the LORD will raise up for himself a king over Israel who will cut off the house of Jeroboam—this very day, yes, even now.

And the LORD will strike Israel so that it sways like a reed in the water. He will uproot Israel from this good land he gave to their fathers and scatter them beyond the Euphrates, because they made their Asherah poles and provoked the LORD to anger.

He will give Israel up because of the sins Jeroboam committed and made Israel commit."

Then Jeroboam's wife got up and went away to Tirzah. As she stepped over the threshold of the house, the boy died.

They buried him, and all Israel mourned for him, just as the LORD had said through his servant Ahijah the prophet.

The rest of the acts of Jeroboam, how he fought and how he reigned, are written in the book of the annals of the kings of Israel.

Jeroboam reigned twenty-two years, and then he lay down with his fathers, and his son Nadab succeeded him as king.

Rehoboam son of Solomon reigned in Judah. He was forty-one years old when he became king, and he reigned seventeen years in Jerusalem, the city the LORD had chosen out of all the tribes of Israel as the place for his name. His mother's name was Naamah the Ammonite.

Judah did what was evil in the eyes of the LORD. With the sins they committed they provoked him to jealousy more than all their fathers had done.

They too built for themselves high places, sacred pillars, and Asherah poles on every high hill and under every green tree.

There were even male cult prostitutes in the land. They committed all the detestable practices of the nations the LORD had driven out before the Israelites.

In the fifth year of King Rehoboam, Shishak king of Egypt marched against Jerusalem.

He carried off the treasures of the house of the LORD and the treasures of the royal palace. He took everything, including all the gold shields Solomon had made.

So King Rehoboam made bronze shields to replace them and entrusted them to the commanders of the guard who kept watch at the entrance of the royal palace.

Whenever the king went to the house of the LORD, the guards carried the shields, and afterward they returned them to the guardroom.

As for the rest of the acts of Rehoboam and all he did, are they not written in the book of the annals of the kings of Judah?

There was continual war between Rehoboam and Jeroboam.

Rehoboam lay down with his fathers and was buried with them in the City of David. His mother's name was Naamah the Ammonite, and his son Abijam succeeded him as king.

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Résumé2

Chapitre 14

Main Theme: God’s judgment on the house of Jeroboam and Rehoboam’s failing rule in Judah.

Content: Jeroboam sends his disguised wife to the blind prophet Ahijah to inquire about their sick son Abijah. Ahijah recognizes her and prophesies that Jeroboam’s house will be wiped out because of idolatry, and that the son will die—but as the only one in the family to receive a honorable burial, since something good was found in him. In Judah, Rehoboam leads the people into sin with high places and Asherah poles, and Pharaoh Shishak plundered the temple treasures. Both kings die and are succeeded by their sons.

Key Words/Images:

Disguise: Jeroboam’s wife disguises herself, but God reveals the truth to the prophet—people cannot hide from God.
High Places and Asherah Poles: Symbols of Judah’s apostasy and idolatry under Rehoboam.
Shields of Gold: Solomon’s golden shields are plundered and replaced with bronze—an image of the kingdom’s spiritual and material decline.
Reed Swaying: The prophecy that Israel will sway like a reed in water and be uprooted from the land (v.15).

Contexte historique

Historical and Cultural Context for 1 Kings 14

People

Abijah, Jeroboam’s son is the sick boy who sets in motion the events of the first part of the chapter (verses 1–18). His name means "The Lord is my father," which is ironic given Jeroboam’s idolatry. The prophet Ahijah declares that something good was found in Abijah toward the Lord (verse 13), and that he alone among Jeroboam’s household would receive a dignified burial.

Jeroboam’s wife remains unnamed but plays a central role in the chapter’s narrative. It is she, at Jeroboam’s command, who disguises herself and travels to Shiloh to ask the prophet Ahijah about her son’s fate. Her obedience to her husband’s instructions, and her encounter with the blind prophet who nevertheless recognizes her, drive the story forward.

Ahijah the prophet from Shiloh was the same prophet who earlier had foretold that Jeroboam would become king over the ten tribes (1 Kings 11:29–39). His blindness due to old age (verse 4) underscores that his prophetic ability came from God, not natural sight. The fact that Jeroboam sent his wife specifically to this prophet shows that he still acknowledged Ahijah’s authority as the Lord’s spokesperson, despite his own idolatry.

Nadab, Jeroboam’s son is mentioned briefly in verse 20 as the one who became king over Israel after Jeroboam’s death. Jeroboam reigned for twenty-two years, and Nadab succeeded him on the throne.

Maacah, the Ammonitess is mentioned twice as Rehoboam’s mother (verses 21, 31). She was one of Solomon’s many foreign wives, and her Ammonite background may have contributed to the religious syncretism that characterized Rehoboam’s reign. The Ammonites worshipped the god Milcom, and Maacah’s influence may have opened the door for foreign cultic practices in Jerusalem.

Abijam, Rehoboam’s son is mentioned in verse 31 as the one who became king over Judah after Rehoboam’s death.

Shishak (Shoshenq I) was the founder of Egypt’s Twenty-second Dynasty and reigned approximately 943–922 B.C.E. His campaign against Judah is confirmed by his own inscription on a temple wall at Karnak, Egypt, where he lists more than 150 cities he conquered in both Israel and Judah. This is one of the most important extrabiblical confirmations of biblical history from the monarchy period.

Places

Shiloh had been Israel’s religious center during the time of the judges, where the tabernacle stood. The fact that Ahijah still lived there may carry symbolic significance—he represented the old, legitimate Yahwistic worship that Jeroboam had abandoned. Shiloh was located in the territory of the tribe of Ephraim, within the northern kingdom’s borders.

Tirzah is mentioned as Jeroboam’s residence city (verse 17). The town became the first capital of the northern kingdom before Omri later moved the capital to Samaria. Archaeological excavations at Tell el-Far’ah (North) have uncovered remains of a significant city from this period, including administrative buildings consistent with a royal residence.

Events and Customs

The disguise and gifts that Jeroboam’s wife took along—ten loaves of bread, cakes, and a jar of honey (verse 3)—were typical offerings brought to a prophet or seer in ancient Israel (cf. 1 Samuel 9:7–8). The fact that she was instructed to disguise herself reveals Jeroboam’s fear of being recognized, possibly because he felt ashamed seeking help from a prophet he had betrayed, or because he feared receiving a negative prophecy.

"Sacred men" (קָדֵשׁ, qadesh) in verse 24 refer to cultic prostitution associated with Canaanite fertility rites. Both male and female temple prostitutes were common in surrounding cultures as part of rituals intended to ensure fertility for the land and its people. The fact that such practices now occurred in Judah shows how deeply religious decay had penetrated.

High places, sacred pillars, and Asherah poles (verse 23) constituted the three main components of Canaanite high-place worship: offering mounds, stone pillars (representing male deities), and wooden poles (representing the goddess Asherah). That these were erected "on every high hill and under every green tree" follows a consistent pattern in Deuteronomistic literature for describing illegitimate worship.

Chapter-Specific Findings

The Shishak inscription at Karnak is the most important archaeological parallel to this chapter. The relief depicts the Egyptian god Amun leading bound captives from conquered cities. Among the place names are cities in both Judah and Israel, showing that the campaign was more extensive than the biblical account alone suggests. A fragment of a stele bearing Shishak’s name has also been found at Megiddo.

Chronological synchronism: Shishak’s campaign in Rehoboam’s fifth year (verse 25) can be dated to approximately 925 B.C.E. based on Egyptian chronology. This provides an important anchor point for dating the Israelite kings and confirms that the division of the kingdom occurred around 930 B.C.E.

Personnages10

David1 Naama2 Solomon2 Nadab (Jeroboam's son, king of Israel)1 Jeroboam I10 Ahijah4 Jacob1 Shishak1 Rehoboam6 Abijah2

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Mots-clés9

Prophecy — A divine revelation or message often conveyed through a prophet.
Prophet — A person who has received special insight and revelations from God and communicates these messages to people.
Jeroboam — The first king of the northern kingdom of Israel after the kingdom was divided into two.
Rehoboam — King of the southern kingdom of Judah and son of King Solomon.
Ahijah — The prophet from Shiloh who predicted Jeroboam's rise to the throne and foretold his downfall.
Idol — An image or object that is worshiped as a god, but is not the true God.
Sin — A violation of God's laws and commands, leading to spiritual separation from God.
Judgment — God's righteous punishment for human sin and disobedience.
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