Rehoboam
Solomon's son, whose folly split the kingdom. When the northern tribes asked him to lighten the burden his father had laid on them, he rejected the counsel of the elders for that of the young men he had grown up with, and answered that his little finger would be thicker than his father's waist and he would chastise them with scorpions. Ten tribes walked away under Jeroboam, leaving him Judah and Benjamin. In his fifth year Shishak of Egypt stripped the temple treasures, and the gold shields Solomon had made were replaced with bronze.
What we know — and how we know it
Neithsabes — CC BY-SA 3.0 (via Wikimedia Commons)
ArchaeologyPharaoh Shoshenq I's relief at Karnak lists towns he took in Canaan around 925 BC — the campaign the Bible records as Shishak's invasion in Rehoboam's fifth year.
Where in scripture
1 Kings1 Chronicles2 ChroniclesMatthewSolomon slept with his fathers, and was buried in his father David’s city; and Rehoboam his son reigned in his place.
1 Kings 11:43
and spoke to them according to the counsel of the young men, saying, “My father made your yoke heavy, but I will add to your yoke. My father chastised you with whips, but I will chastise you with scorpions.”
1 Kings 12:14 — 'My father chastised you with whips'
Now there was war between Rehoboam and Jeroboam all the days of his life.
1 Kings 15:6
Solomon’s son was Rehoboam, Abijah his son, Asa his son, Jehoshaphat his son,
1 Chronicles 3:10
Solomon slept with his fathers, and he was buried in his father David’s city: and Rehoboam his son reigned in his place.
2 Chronicles 9:31
Rehoboam went to Shechem; for all Israel had come to Shechem to make him king.
2 Chronicles 10:1
They sent and called him; and Jeroboam and all Israel came, and they spoke to Rehoboam, saying,
2 Chronicles 10:3
King Rehoboam took counsel with the old men, who had stood before Solomon his father while he yet lived, saying, “What counsel do you give me about how to answer these people?”
2 Chronicles 10:6
Scripture quotations are from the World English Bible, a public-domain translation.
Family
In their own words — 8 recorded sayings
“And he said to them, Go away for three days and then come back to me again. So the people went away. Then King Rehoboam took the opinion of the old men who had been with Solomon his father when he was living, and said, In your opinion, what answer am I to give to this people?” — 1 Kings 12:5-6
“And said to them, What is your opinion? What answer are we to give to this people who have said to me, Make less the weight of the yoke which your father put on us?” — 1 Kings 12:9
“So all the people came to Rehoboam on the third day, as the king had given orders, saying, Come back to me the third day.” — 1 Kings 12:12
“But giving them the answer put forward by the young men, saying, My father made your yoke hard, but I will make it harder; my father gave you punishment with whips, but I will give it with snakes.” — 1 Kings 12:14
“And he said to them, Come to me again after three days. So the people went away. Then King Rehoboam took the opinion of the old men who had been with Solomon his father when he was living, and said, In your opinion, what answer am I to give to this people?” — 2 Chronicles 10:5-6
“And he said to them, What is your opinion? What answer are we to give to this people who have said to me, Make less the weight of the yoke which your father put on us?” — 2 Chronicles 10:9
“So Jeroboam and all the people came to Rehoboam on the third day, as the king had given orders, saying, Come to me again on the third day.” — 2 Chronicles 10:12
“But gave them the answer put forward by the young men, saying, My father made your yoke hard, but I will make it harder; my father gave you punishment with whips, but I will give it with snakes.” — 2 Chronicles 10:14
Speaker attribution: Clear Bible MACULA (CC BY 4.0). Wording: Bible in Basic English (public domain).
Events
Places in their life
Photo: Godot13 — CC BY-SA 4.0 (via Wikimedia Commons)
In art
