Jeroboam's son Abijah falls ill. Jeroboam sends his wife in disguise to the prophet Ahijah at Shiloh to learn the child's fate. God reveals the ruse to the blind prophet, who delivers a devastating oracle: the house of Jeroboam will be utterly destroyed, and the sick child will die the moment his mother crosses the threshold — but he alone of Jeroboam's line will receive proper burial, because something good toward the LORD was found in him. The child dies as foretold. The chapter then shifts to Judah, where Rehoboam's reign is summarized: Judah did evil, erected high places and cult pillars, and Pharaoh Shishak invaded Jerusalem and plundered the Temple treasures Solomon had made.
What Makes This Chapter Remarkable
Two parallel failures frame this chapter. In the north, Jeroboam — who was promised a lasting dynasty if he obeyed (11:38) — has so thoroughly forfeited God's favor that his entire house will be swept away. In the south, Rehoboam presides over Judah's slide into the same idolatry, complete with Asherah poles and cultic prostitution. The chapter demolishes any illusion that the split kingdom produced a 'good half' and a 'bad half.' Both are failing. The detail about the sick child is heart-wrenching: Abijah is the only member of Jeroboam's family in whom 'something good toward the LORD' was found (v. 13), and his reward is to die young and be spared the coming massacre. In the theology of Kings, an early death with proper burial is mercy, not punishment.
Translation Friction
The ethics of the child's death trouble modern readers. Abijah is the only righteous member of the household, yet he is the one who dies. The text treats this as grace — he is removed before the bloodbath — but it raises the question of whether divine mercy can look like suffering from a human perspective. Ahijah's oracle uses some of the most graphic language in the prophetic corpus: God will 'burn up the house of Jeroboam as one burns dung until it is gone' (v. 10). The verb bi'er ('to burn, to remove') and the comparison to galal ('dung') are intentionally degrading. The shift to Rehoboam's reign in verse 21 is abrupt, and the summary of his rule is remarkably compressed — 17 years reduced to a handful of verses dominated by theological failure and military humiliation.
Connections
Ahijah the Shilonite is the same prophet who tore the garment into twelve pieces and gave ten to Jeroboam (11:29-39). His reappearance here closes the arc: the prophet who announced Jeroboam's rise now announces his fall. Shishak's invasion of Jerusalem (v. 25-26) is confirmed by Egyptian records — the Bubastite Portal at Karnak lists the cities Shishak (Shoshenq I) claimed to have conquered. The replacement of Solomon's gold shields with bronze ones (v. 27) is a powerful symbol of decline: the gold age is over, and bronze imitations take its place. The formula 'he did evil in the eyes of the LORD' (v. 22) will recur for nearly every king in the Deuteronomistic evaluation.
1 Kings 14:1
בָּעֵ֣ת הַהִ֔יא חָלָ֖ה אֲבִיָּ֥ה בֶן־יָרָבְעָֽם׃
At that time Abijah son of Jeroboam fell ill.
KJV At that time Abijah the son of Jeroboam fell sick.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The name Aviyyah means 'my father is Yah(weh)' — an ironic name for the son of a king who has systematically led Israel away from YHWH worship. The phrase ba'et hahi ('at that time') links the child's illness to the preceding narrative of Jeroboam's unrepentant sin. The verb chalah ('to be sick, to become weak') sets the narrative in motion.
Jeroboam said to his wife, "Get up and disguise yourself so that no one will recognize you as Jeroboam's wife. Go to Shiloh — Ahijah the prophet is there, the one who said I would be king over this people."
KJV And Jeroboam said to his wife, Arise, I pray thee, and disguise thyself, that thou be not known to be the wife of Jeroboam; and get thee to Shiloh: behold, there is Ahijah the prophet, which told me that I should be king over this people.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The verb hishtannit ('disguise yourself') is a hitpael form of shanah ('to change') — literally 'change yourself.' Jeroboam's plan reveals his dual awareness: he knows Ahijah speaks for God (since Ahijah's earlier prophecy came true), yet he thinks a disguise can fool the prophet. This is the same cognitive dissonance that characterizes his entire reign — acknowledging God's power while acting as though it can be manipulated.
The reference to Ahijah hu dibber alai lemelekh ('he is the one who spoke concerning me as king') shows Jeroboam still claims the prophetic legitimacy Ahijah gave him, even after forfeiting the conditions attached to it.
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."
KJV And take with thee ten loaves, and cracknels, and a cruse of honey, and go to him: he shall tell thee what shall become of the child.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The gifts — asarah lechem ('ten loaves'), niquddim ('punctured cakes' or 'crumbled cakes'), and baqbuq devash ('a flask of honey') — are modest provisions, not royal gifts. This is deliberate: royal gifts would betray the queen's identity. The word niquddim appears only here and in Joshua 9:5, 12, where it describes the Gibeonites' stale provisions used in their own deception. The parallel may be intentional — both involve deception through humble provisions.
Jeroboam's wife did so. She set out and went to Shiloh and came to the house of Ahijah. Now Ahijah could not see, because his eyes had become fixed with age.
KJV And Jeroboam's wife did so, and arose, and went to Shiloh, and came to the house of Ahijah. But Ahijah could not see; for his eyes were set by reason of his age.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The phrase qamu einav misseivo ('his eyes had set/stood because of his old age') describes the rigid, unfocused stare of blindness — the eyes have become stationary, unable to track or focus. This detail seemingly validates Jeroboam's plan: a blind prophet cannot visually identify the disguised queen. But the narrative is setting up an ironic reversal — physical blindness will prove irrelevant when God reveals the visitor's identity directly.
But the LORD had said to Ahijah, "The wife of Jeroboam is coming to ask you about her son, for he is ill. You are to say such-and-such to her. When she arrives, she will be pretending to be someone else."
KJV And the LORD said unto Ahijah, Behold, the wife of Jeroboam cometh to ask a thing of thee for her son; for he is sick: thus and thus shalt thou say unto her: for it shall be, when she cometh in, that she shall feign herself to be another woman.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
God preempts the disguise entirely. The verb lidrosh ('to seek, to inquire') is the standard term for prophetic consultation. The phrase kazoh vekhazoh tedabber eleiha ('thus and thus you shall speak to her') withholds the content from the reader, building suspense. The verb mitnakkerah ('making herself unrecognizable') is a hitpael of nakhar ('to be foreign, to be strange') — she is literally 'making herself a stranger.' The irony is complete: she cannot be a stranger to the God who sees through every disguise.
When Ahijah heard the sound of her footsteps at the door, he said, "Come in, wife of Jeroboam. Why are you pretending to be someone else? I have been sent to you with a harsh message."
KJV And it was so, when Ahijah heard the sound of her feet, as she came in at the door, that he said, Come in, thou wife of Jeroboam; why feignest thou thyself to be another? for I am sent to thee with heavy tidings.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The blind prophet identifies her by the sound of her feet — qol ragleyha ('the sound of her footsteps') — but the identification comes from God, not from auditory recognition. The question lamah zeh at mitnakkerah ('why are you pretending to be someone else?') exposes the futility of the disguise. The word qashah ('harsh, hard, severe') prepares her for devastating news. The phrase anokhi shaluach elayikh ('I have been sent to you') positions Ahijah as God's messenger — the same role he played when he announced Jeroboam's kingship.
"Go, tell Jeroboam: This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: I raised you up from among the people and made you leader over my people Israel.
KJV Go, tell Jeroboam, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, Forasmuch as I exalted thee from among the people, and made thee prince over my people Israel,
Notes & Key Terms
1 term
Key Terms
נָגִידnagid
"leader"—leader, prince, designated ruler, commander, one who is put forward
nagid derives from the root nagad ('to declare, to put forward'). It designates a ruler who has been publicly declared or divinely appointed. Unlike melekh ('king'), which emphasizes sovereignty, nagid emphasizes appointment — the leader is someone God put forward. Samuel used this term for both Saul (1 Samuel 9:16) and David (1 Samuel 13:14).
Translator Notes
The oracle begins by recounting what God did for Jeroboam. The verb harimotikha ('I raised you up, I exalted you') emphasizes divine initiative — Jeroboam's rise was not self-made. The title nagid ('leader, designated ruler') is the same term used for Saul and David in their initial divine appointments. It implies divine selection and accountability to the one who selected.
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 commands and followed me with his whole heart, doing only what was right in my eyes.
KJV And rent the kingdom away from the house of David, and gave it thee: and yet thou hast not been as my servant David, who kept my commandments, and who followed me with all his heart, to do that only which was right in mine eyes;
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The verb eqra ('I tore') uses the same root (qara) as the physical tearing of the garment in 11:30. God claims direct agency in the political rupture. The comparison to David — avdi David ('my servant David') — sets the standard Jeroboam failed. The phrase bekhol levavo ('with his whole heart') and raq hayyashar be'einai ('only what was right in my eyes') idealize David's devotion. Kings consistently holds David up as the benchmark despite his known failures, focusing on his fundamental loyalty to YHWH worship rather than his moral perfection.
You have done more evil than all who came before you. You went and made for yourself other gods and cast images to provoke me, and you have thrown me behind your back.
KJV But hast done evil above all that were before thee: for thou hast gone and made thee other gods, and molten images, to provoke me to anger, and hast cast me behind thy back.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The phrase oti hishlakhta acharei gavvekha ('you have thrown me behind your back') is one of the most visceral images of rejection in the Hebrew Bible. The word gav ('back') makes the metaphor physical: Jeroboam has turned his back on God and flung God behind him like refuse. The verb hishlikh ('to throw, to cast away') implies violent, contemptuous disposal. The 'other gods' (elohim acherim) and 'cast images' (massekhot) refer to the golden calves at Bethel and Dan.
Therefore I am about to bring disaster on the house of Jeroboam. I will cut off from Jeroboam every male, whether bond or free in Israel. I will burn away what remains of the house of Jeroboam as one burns dung until it is gone.
KJV Therefore, behold, I will bring evil upon the house of Jeroboam, and will cut off from Jeroboam him that pisseth against the wall, and him that is shut up and left in Israel, and will take away the remnant of the house of Jeroboam, as a man taketh away dung, till it be all gone.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The phrase mashtin beqir ('one who urinates against a wall') is a crude idiom meaning 'every male' — its vulgarity is intentional, reducing the royal house to its most basic biological identity. The pair atsur ve'azuv ('bound and free' or 'restrained and released') is a merism meaning everyone without exception. The verb bi'er ('to burn away, to purge') paired with the noun galal ('dung, dried dung cakes') creates a degrading image: the dynasty will be burned like fuel made from animal waste. The phrase ad tummo ('until its completion') means total annihilation.
Anyone belonging to Jeroboam who dies in the city, the dogs will eat. Anyone who dies in the open field, the birds of the sky will eat. For the LORD has spoken."
KJV Him that dieth of Jeroboam in the city shall the dogs eat; and him that dieth in the field shall the fowls of the air eat: for the LORD hath spoken it.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
Denial of burial is the ultimate curse in the ancient Near East. Dogs and carrion birds are the twin agents of corpse desecration. This formula — city/dogs and field/birds — will recur for the houses of Baasha (16:4) and Ahab (21:24), creating a pattern of dynastic annihilation language in Kings. The closing formula ki YHWH dibber ('for the LORD has spoken') seals the oracle with divine authority.
"Now get up and go home. The moment your feet enter the city, the child will die.
KJV Arise thou therefore, get thee to thine own house: and when thy feet enter into the city, the child shall die.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The prophecy is terrifyingly precise: bevo'ah raglayikh ha'irah umet hayyeled ('when your feet enter the city, the child will die'). The child's death is synchronized with his mother's arrival — she carries doom home with her. The word regel ('foot') is in the dual, emphasizing the physical act of stepping across the threshold. Every step homeward is a step toward her son's death.
All Israel will mourn for him and bury him. He alone of Jeroboam's house will come to a proper grave, because in him something good toward the LORD, the God of Israel, was found in the house of Jeroboam.
KJV And all Israel shall mourn for him, and bury him: for he only of Jeroboam shall come to the grave, because in him there is found some good thing toward the LORD God of Israel in the house of Jeroboam.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The phrase zeh levaddo yavo le-Yarov'am el qaver ('this one alone of Jeroboam's line will come to a grave') uses levaddo ('alone, only he') with emphatic isolation. The preposition el ('toward') in davar tov el YHWH indicates direction of heart — the good thing was oriented toward God. The clause be-veit Yarov'am ('in the house of Jeroboam') locates this tiny flame of goodness within a household of thorough corruption.
The LORD will raise up for himself a king over Israel who will cut off the house of Jeroboam. This is the day — and what am I saying? Even now!"
KJV Moreover the LORD shall raise him up a king over Israel, who shall cut off the house of Jeroboam that day: but what? even now.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The enigmatic closing phrase zeh hayyom umeh gam attah ('this is the day, and what, even now!') is notoriously difficult. It seems to express prophetic urgency — the judgment is not distant but imminent. Some read it as Ahijah's exclamation of astonishment at the nearness of the fulfillment. The king who will destroy Jeroboam's house is Baasha (15:27-29).
The LORD will strike Israel until it sways like a reed in water. He will uproot Israel from this good land that he gave to their fathers and scatter them beyond the River, because they made their Asherah poles, provoking the LORD.
KJV For the LORD shall smite Israel, as a reed is shaken in the water, and he shall root up Israel out of this good land, which he gave to their fathers, and shall scatter them beyond the river, because they have made their groves, provoking the LORD to anger.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The simile ka'asher yanud haqqaneh bammayim ('as a reed sways in the water') captures Israel's coming instability — tossed back and forth, rootless, at the mercy of forces beyond its control. The verb natash ('to uproot, to tear out') is an agricultural metaphor for exile — Israel will be pulled out of the soil like a plant. The phrase me'ever lannahar ('beyond the River') refers to the Euphrates, predicting the Assyrian exile that will come in 722 BCE. This is one of the earliest references in Kings to what will become the northern kingdom's ultimate fate.
He will give Israel up because of the sins of Jeroboam — who sinned and who caused Israel to sin."
KJV And he shall give Israel up because of the sins of Jeroboam, who did sin, and who made Israel to sin.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The formula asher chata va'asher hecheti et Yisra'el ('who sinned and who caused Israel to sin') becomes the standard indictment for every subsequent king of the northern kingdom. The hifil hecheti ('caused to sin') makes Jeroboam responsible not only for his own sin but for the entire nation's apostasy. This is the 'sin of Jeroboam' that Kings will reference more than twenty times.
Jeroboam's wife got up and left. She came to Tirzah, and as she crossed the threshold of the house, the boy died.
KJV And Jeroboam's wife arose, and departed, and came to Tirzah: and when she came to the threshold of the house, the child died.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The prophecy of verse 12 is fulfilled with chilling precision: hi ba'ah vesaf habbayit vehannar met ('she was coming to the threshold of the house, and the boy died'). The word saf ('threshold, doorstep') marks the exact moment — the boundary between outside and inside, between journey and arrival. Tirzah served as the capital of the northern kingdom before Omri moved it to Samaria. The synchronization of footstep and death demonstrates the absolute reliability of the prophetic word.
They buried him, and all Israel mourned for him, according to the word of the LORD that he had spoken through his servant Ahijah the prophet.
KJV And they buried him; and all Israel mourned for him, according to the word of the LORD, which he spake by the hand of his servant Ahijah the prophet.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The fulfillment formula ki-dvar YHWH asher dibber beyad avdo ('according to the word of the LORD that he spoke by the hand of his servant') confirms that the prophecy of verse 13 has been precisely fulfilled. The phrase beyad ('by the hand of') treats the prophet as an instrument — God's word passes through him. Ahijah is now called avdo ('his servant'), a title of honor.
The rest of the acts of Jeroboam — how he waged war and how he reigned — they are written in the Book of the Annals of the Kings of Israel.
KJV And the rest of the acts of Jeroboam, how he warred, and how he reigned, behold, they are written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The reference formula directs readers to sefer divrei hayyamim lemalkhei Yisra'el ('the Book of the Annals of the Kings of Israel'), a now-lost court chronicle that the author of Kings used as a source. This is not the biblical book of Chronicles but a separate administrative record. The formula will recur for virtually every king of Israel and Judah.
The time that Jeroboam reigned was twenty-two years. He slept with his fathers, and his son Nadab reigned in his place.
KJV And the days which Jeroboam reigned were two and twenty years: and he slept with his fathers, and Nadab his son reigned in his stead.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The death formula vayyishkav im avotav ('he slept with his fathers') is the standard euphemism for royal death throughout Kings. It implies peaceful death and ancestral reunion — though in Jeroboam's case, the oracle of doom hangs over his dynasty. Nadab's reign will last only two years before Baasha's coup (15:25-28).
Now Rehoboam son of Solomon reigned in Judah. Rehoboam was forty-one years old when he became king, and he reigned seventeen years in Jerusalem — the city the LORD had chosen from all the tribes of Israel to place his name there. His mother's name was Naamah the Ammonite.
KJV And Rehoboam the son of Solomon reigned in Judah. Rehoboam was forty and one years old when he began to reign, and he reigned seventeen years in Jerusalem, the city which the LORD did choose out of all the tribes of Israel, to put his name there. And his mother's name was Naamah an Ammonitess.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The accession formula for Judahite kings includes the queen mother's name — a detail never given for Israelite kings. Naamah ha-Ammonit ('Naamah the Ammonite') is one of the foreign wives Solomon married (11:1). That the narrator mentions her nationality is not neutral — it connects Rehoboam's character to Solomon's foreign-wife problem. The theological phrase lasum et shemo sham ('to place his name there') is Deuteronomic election language, affirming Jerusalem's special status even as its king fails.
Judah did evil in the eyes of the LORD. They provoked his jealousy more than all their fathers had done with the sins they committed.
KJV And Judah did evil in the sight of the LORD, and they provoked him to jealousy with their sins which they had committed, above all that their fathers had done.
qin'ah is rooted in the intense, exclusive attachment of covenant relationship. When applied to God, it describes the appropriate response of a covenant partner to betrayal — not irrational possessiveness but fierce fidelity. The second commandment grounds this: 'I am a jealous God' (Exodus 20:5).
Translator Notes
The verdict vayyaas Yehudah hara be'einei YHWH ('Judah did evil in the eyes of the LORD') applies the standard formula to the entire nation, not just the king. The verb qinne'u ('they provoked his jealousy') uses the piel of qana ('to be jealous, to be zealous'). God's jealousy in the Hebrew Bible is not petty possessiveness but the fierce exclusivity of a covenant partner who will not share his people with other gods.
They too built for themselves high places, standing stones, and Asherah poles on every high hill and under every green tree.
KJV For they also built them high places, and images, and groves, on every high hill, and under every green tree.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The three items — bamot ('high places'), matssevot ('standing stones, pillars'), and asherim ('Asherah poles') — constitute the standard catalog of Canaanite cult installations. The phrase al kol giv'ah gevohah vetachat kol ets ra'anan ('on every high hill and under every green tree') is a formulaic expression for ubiquitous pagan worship. High places exploited the symbolism of elevation (closeness to the divine); green trees provided sacred canopy. The phrase will recur throughout Kings and the prophets as shorthand for religious corruption.
There were also cult prostitutes in the land. They practiced all the abominations of the nations that the LORD had driven out before the people of Israel.
KJV And there were also sodomites in the land: and they did according to all the abominations of the nations which the LORD cast out before the children of Israel.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The word qadesh ('cult prostitute' or 'consecrated one') derives from the root qadash ('to be holy, set apart'). In Canaanite religion, sexual acts at the shrine were considered sacred — a perversion of holiness language. The term to'avot ('abominations') is the standard Deuteronomic word for practices so offensive to God that they defile the land itself. The phrase asher horish YHWH mippenei venei Yisra'el ('whom the LORD drove out before the people of Israel') draws a devastating comparison: Israel is now doing exactly what the Canaanites did — the very behavior that prompted their dispossession.
In the fifth year of King Rehoboam, Shishak king of Egypt marched against Jerusalem.
KJV And it came to pass in the fifth year of king Rehoboam, that Shishak king of Egypt came up against Jerusalem:
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
Shishak (Egyptian: Shoshenq I) is the first pharaoh named in the Bible whose identity can be confirmed by Egyptian records. The Bubastite Portal at Karnak preserves his campaign relief listing conquered cities. His invasion in approximately 925 BCE was a major military campaign through both Judah and Israel. The fifth year of Rehoboam's reign places this event shortly after the kingdom's division, when both halves were at their weakest.
He took the treasures of the house of the LORD and the treasures of the royal palace — he took everything. He took all the gold shields that Solomon had made.
KJV And he took away the treasures of the house of the LORD, and the treasures of the king's house; he even took away all: and he took away all the shields of gold which Solomon had made.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The repetition of the verb laqach ('he took') three times hammers home the totality of the plunder. The phrase ve-et hakkol laqach ('and everything he took') is comprehensive. The gold shields Solomon had made (10:16-17) were symbols of imperial splendor — their removal is not merely economic loss but the visible end of the Solomonic golden age. What Solomon built, Shishak dismantled.
King Rehoboam made bronze shields to replace them and entrusted them to the commanders of the royal guard who stood watch at the entrance to the palace.
KJV And king Rehoboam made in their stead brasen shields, and committed them into the hands of the chief of the guard, which kept the door of the king's house.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The replacement of gold shields with nechoshet ('bronze, copper') shields is one of the most eloquent symbols of decline in the Hebrew Bible. The objects serve the same ceremonial function, but the material tells the truth: the gold is gone. The sarei haratsim ('commanders of the runners/guard') are the royal bodyguard who accompany the king in procession. They carry the bronze shields as though nothing has changed — but everything has changed.
Whenever the king went to the house of the LORD, the guards would carry them, and afterward they would return them to the guardroom.
KJV And it was so, when the king went into the house of the LORD, that the guard bare them, and brought them back into the guard chamber.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The routine is carefully maintained: the guards carry the bronze shields when the king processes to the Temple, then return them to the ta haratsim ('guardroom, chamber of the runners'). Solomon's gold shields were apparently displayed permanently (10:17); these bronze replacements are locked away between uses. The entire ritual is an elaborate pretense of grandeur that only highlights how much has been lost.
As for the remaining acts of Rehoboam and everything he did — are they not recorded in the Book of the Annals of the Kings of Judah?
KJV Now the rest of the acts of Rehoboam, and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah?
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
This is the Judahite version of the source citation formula. The sefer divrei hayyamim lemalkhei Yehudah ('Book of the Annals of the Kings of Judah') is a separate document from the Israelite annals mentioned in verse 19. Both are lost works that the author of Kings used as sources.
There was war between Rehoboam and Jeroboam throughout their days.
KJV And there was war between Rehoboam and Jeroboam all their days.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The summary milchamah haytah ('there was war') indicates not necessarily open battle but a state of ongoing hostility — border skirmishes, economic competition, and political tension. The phrase kol hayyamim ('all the days') means the conflict lasted the entirety of both reigns without resolution.
Rehoboam slept with his fathers and was buried with his fathers in the city of David. His mother's name was Naamah the Ammonite. His son Abijam reigned in his place.
KJV And Rehoboam slept with his fathers, and was buried with his fathers in the city of David. And his mother's name was Naamah an Ammonitess. And Abijam his son reigned in his stead.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The death formula follows the standard pattern: vayyishkav im avotav vayyiqqaver im avotav be'ir David ('he slept with his fathers and was buried with his fathers in the city of David'). The repetition of Naamah's nationality at the close brackets the account — Rehoboam's reign began and ended under the shadow of Solomon's foreign marriages. Abijam (also called Abijah in Chronicles) succeeds him.