Rehoboam

ree-huh-BOH-am · c. 971-913 BC

Solomon's son and successor, whose harsh threat to increase the labor burden on the northern tribes triggered the split of the united kingdom into Israel and Judah.

Life and work

Rehoboam succeeded his father Solomon as king and traveled to Shechem, where the northern tribes, led by Jeroboam, asked him to lighten the heavy labor and taxation Solomon had imposed, promising to serve him if he would (1 Kings 12:1-5). Rejecting the counsel of his father's older advisers, Rehoboam instead followed his young companions' advice and answered harshly, declaring 'my father chastised you with whips, but I will chastise you with scorpions' (1 Kings 12:6-15).

The northern tribes rebelled on hearing this, stoned Rehoboam's labor overseer to death, and made Jeroboam king over Israel, leaving Rehoboam to rule only Judah and Benjamin from Jerusalem; a prophet, Shemaiah, stopped him from raising an army to force the north back into submission, telling him the split was from God (1 Kings 12:16-24).

Rehoboam fortified a network of cities in Judah for defense and reigned seventeen years, but the text says Judah did evil, building high places, pillars, and Asherah poles, and even permitting cult prostitution (1 Kings 14:21-24; 2 Chronicles 11:5-12).

In his fifth year, the Egyptian pharaoh Shishak invaded Judah and Jerusalem, stripping the treasures of the temple and the royal palace, including the gold shields Solomon had made, as a consequence the text attributes to Judah's unfaithfulness (1 Kings 14:25-28; 2 Chronicles 12:1-12).

Occupation: King of Judah
Places: Jerusalem; Shechem
Dates: c. 971-913 BC Traditional dating

Dating

Became king at 41 and reigned 17 years (1 Kings 14:21), presiding over the tragic division of the kingdom in 930 BC.

Extra-biblical evidence

Bubastite Portal relief, Karnak Temple Temple of Amun, Karnak, Egypt

Pharaoh Shoshenq I (widely identified with the biblical Shishak) commemorated a military campaign into Canaan with a large relief listing captured towns, many in the territory of Israel and Judah, corroborating a real Egyptian invasion of the region in this era.

Weight: A genuine, contemporary Egyptian royal inscription; it independently confirms a major Egyptian campaign into Canaan around Rehoboam's reign, though it does not name Rehoboam or Jerusalem directly and its town list is debated among scholars.

Scripture references

1 Kings 12:1-24 — Rejects elders' counsel; kingdom splits
1 Kings 14:21-31 — Reign summary, Shishak's invasion, death
2 Chronicles 10-12 — Parallel account of the split and Shishak's raid
Matthew 1:7 — Named in Jesus's genealogy

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