In Chapter 11 Solomon, supposedly the wisest man who ever lived, is seduced by some of his 700 wives into worshiping Gods other than Yahweh. God doesn't like this, obviously, but instead of the usual military defeats and plague and famine and all that, we just get the kingdom divided after Solomon dies peacefully of old age. By the way, Solomon's 700 wives and 300 concubines produced only three children: his son Rehoboam and daughters Taphaph and Basmaph.
There are hints that he faces rebellions of some kind but we learn nothing about them. First there is the story of Haddad, who was purportedly the sole escapee from the massacre of the Edomites by David's lieutenant Joab. We get a substantial history about him escaping to Egypt, finding favor with Pharaoh who marries him to Pharaoh's sister in law. Then Haddad learns that David and Joab are dead and asks to go home. Pharaoh doesn't want him to but he does anyway, and that's the last we ever hear of him. Then we also learn about a guy named Rezon who became king of Syria and was supposedly an adversary of Israel, but that's the last we ever hear of him as well. Both of these stories are total non sequiturs.
Then there is the strange arithmetic of the prophet Ahi′jah, who meets Jeroboam on the road, takes off his garment and rips it into 12 pieces, apparently symbolizing the 12 tribes of Israel. He explains this strange gesture as meaning that Jeroboam will become king of 10 tribes, while Solomon's son will retain Judah and the city of Jerusalem. Let me see now. 10+1=12. Really. Read it yourself and try to find the missing tribe.
Finally, Solomon dies and we don't learn anything else, because it's all written in the Book of the Acts of Solomon. That book, alas, if it ever existed, is lost. So this is all we'll ever know.
11 Now King Solomon loved many foreign women: the daughter of Pharaoh, and Moabite, Ammonite, E′domite, Sido′nian, and Hittite women, 2 from the nations concerning which the Lord had said to the people of Israel, “You shall not enter into marriage with them, neither shall they with you, for surely they will turn away your heart after their gods”; Solomon clung to these in love. 3 He had seven hundred wives, princesses, and three hundred concubines; and his wives turned away his heart. 4 For when Solomon was old his wives turned away his heart after other gods; and his heart was not wholly true to the Lord his God, as was the heart of David his father. 5 For Solomon went after Ash′toreth the goddess of the Sido′nians, and after Milcom the abomination of the Ammonites. 6 So Solomon did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, and did not wholly follow the Lord, as David his father had done. 7 Then Solomon built a high place for Chemosh the abomination of Moab, and for Molech the abomination of the Ammonites, on the mountain east of Jerusalem. 8 And so he did for all his foreign wives, who burned incense and sacrificed to their gods.
9 And the Lord was angry with Solomon, because his heart had turned away from the Lord, the God of Israel, who had appeared to him twice, 10 and had commanded him concerning this thing, that he should not go after other gods; but he did not keep what the Lord commanded. 11 Therefore the Lord said to Solomon, “Since this has been your mind and you have not kept my covenant and my statutes which I have commanded you, I will surely tear the kingdom from you and will give it to your servant. 12 Yet for the sake of David your father I will not do it in your days, but I will tear it out of the hand of your son. 13 However I will not tear away all the kingdom; but I will give one tribe to your son, for the sake of David my servant and for the sake of Jerusalem which I have chosen.”
Adversaries of Solomon
14 And the Lord raised up an adversary against Solomon, Hadad the E′domite; he was of the royal house in Edom. 15 For when David was in Edom, and Jo′ab the commander of the army went up to bury the slain, he slew every male in Edom 16 (for Jo′ab and all Israel remained there six months, until he had cut off every male in Edom); 17 but Hadad fled to Egypt, together with certain E′domites of his father’s servants, Hadad being yet a little child. 18 They set out from Mid′ian and came to Paran, and took men with them from Paran and came to Egypt, to Pharaoh king of Egypt, who gave him a house, and assigned him an allowance of food, and gave him land. 19 And Hadad found great favor in the sight of Pharaoh, so that he gave him in marriage the sister of his own wife, the sister of Tah′penes the queen. 20 And the sister of Tah′penes bore him Genu′bath his son, whom Tah′penes weaned in Pharaoh’s house; and Genu′bath was in Pharaoh’s house among the sons of Pharaoh. 21 But when Hadad heard in Egypt that David slept with his fathers and that Jo′ab the commander of the army was dead, Hadad said to Pharaoh, “Let me depart, that I may go to my own country.” 22 But Pharaoh said to him, “What have you lacked with me that you are now seeking to go to your own country?” And he said to him, “Only let me go.”
23 God also raised up as an adversary to him, Rezon the son of Eli′ada, who had fled from his master Hadad-e′zer king of Zobah. 24 And he gathered men about him and became leader of a marauding band, after the slaughter by David; and they went to Damascus, and dwelt there, and made him king in Damascus. 25 He was an adversary of Israel all the days of Solomon, doing mischief as Hadad did; and he abhorred Israel, and reigned over Syria.
Jeroboam’s Rebellion
26 Jerobo′am the son of Nebat, an E′phraimite of Zer′edah, a servant of Solomon, whose mother’s name was Zeru′ah, a widow, also lifted up his hand against the king. 27 And this was the reason why he lifted up his hand against the king. Solomon built the Millo, and closed up the breach of the city of David his father. 28 The man Jerobo′am was very able, and when Solomon saw that the young man was industrious he gave him charge over all the forced labor of the house of Joseph. 29 And at that time, when Jerobo′am went out of Jerusalem, the prophet Ahi′jah the Shi′lonite found him on the road. Now Ahi′jah had clad himself with a new garment; and the two of them were alone in the open country. 30 Then Ahi′jah laid hold of the new garment that was on him, and tore it into twelve pieces. 31 And he said to Jerobo′am, “Take for yourself ten pieces; for thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, ‘Behold, I am about to tear the kingdom from the hand of Solomon, and will give you ten tribes 32 (but he shall have one tribe, 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 because he has[a] forsaken me, and worshiped Ash′toreth the goddess of the Sido′nians, Chemosh the god of Moab, and Milcom the god of the Ammonites, and has[b] not walked in my ways, doing what is right in my sight and keeping my statutes and my ordinances, as David his father did. 34 Nevertheless I will not take the whole kingdom out of his hand; but I will make him ruler all the days of his life, for the sake of David my servant whom I chose, who kept my commandments and my statutes; 35 but I will take the kingdom out of his son’s hand, and will give it to you, ten tribes. 36 Yet to his son I will give one tribe, that David my servant may always have a lamp before me in Jerusalem, the city where I have chosen to put my name. 37 And I will take you, and you shall reign over all that your soul desires, and you shall be king over Israel. 38 And if you will hearken to all that I command you, and will walk in my ways, and do what is right in my eyes by keeping my statutes and my commandments, as David my servant did, I will be with you, and will build you a sure house, as I built for David, and I will give Israel to you. 39 And I will for this afflict the descendants of David, but not for ever.’” 40 Solomon sought therefore to kill Jerobo′am; but Jerobo′am arose, and fled into Egypt, to Shishak king of Egypt, and was in Egypt until the death of Solomon.
Death of Solomon
41 Now the rest of the acts of Solomon, and all that he did, and his wisdom, are they not written in the book of the acts of Solomon? 42 And the time that Solomon reigned in Jerusalem over all Israel was forty years. 43 And Solomon slept with his fathers, and was buried in the city of David his father; and Rehobo′am his son reigned in his stead.
Footnotes
- 1 Kings 11:33 Gk Syr Vg: Heb they have
- 1 Kings 11:33 Gk Syr Vg: Heb they have
1 comment:
I have such ambivalence about the religion of my forefathers and -mothers. On the one hand, the idea is that if we just keep all of the mitzvot, all 613 of them, then all will be well. The problem is that a lot of people don't keep them; no religion seems to have worked in terms of improving people's ethics, empathy and compassion. It's the same problem: There are a tremendous number of assholes in the world.
So religion doesn't do the trick. Since all will be groovy only if EVERYBODY does what they're supposed to do, we're fucked.
It's the same heartbreak we have today. Because there are so many greedy and emotionally sick people, we have to have warming oceans filled with plastic, landfills galore, and we're filling the atmosphere with 100,000,000 years' worth of CO2 in the space of 300 years. It's like having $300 in the bank and trying to withdraw $300M. It don't work.
The biggest problem is humanity's failure to live and let live: To teach tolerance and love, to take care of its emotionally and mentally ill -- along with those who aren't, and just need a good job, a nice home, and a chance to live and experience the human journey.
The fact that Shithead over in Russia is allowed to do whatever he wants, like Hitler and the Bushes and those that went before, while the world watches is completely unacceptable. I believe we need a mass UN army comprised of all nations' soldiers. When someone decides to pull a Hitler, we go in and remove them from power. Then we can get to work on worldwide democracy ...
Anyway, we're just animals still learning to behave, and it doesn't look like we're gonna figure it out before we do ourselves in. As Vonnegut used to write, And so it goes ...
This is why, if I were a mathematician, I'd be working on a way to solve the problem of the one asshole who attacks other countries, the one jerk who coughs in a pianissimo section of a piece of classical music in a concert hall, the one self-centered prick who drives recklessly and causes an accident that inconveniences 10,000 people ... how do we, as a species, begin to take collective responsibility for removing from circulation the people who want to ruin everything for everyone else because their drive toward death overpowers their will to live?
We need to teach and model tolerance, acceptance and love. By and large, that's just not what we do ... it's not good enough to say, "There will always be war, there will always be assholes ..." If we let it be, we're goners.
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