Глава 11

1–4. Prevention, according to the prophet, of a fratricidal war between the two Jewish kingdoms. 5–12. Rehoboam strengthened the cities of Judah and established public grain stores. 13–17. Relocation of priests and Levites to Judea from the kingdom of Israel. 18–23. Rehoboam's family. 2 Chronicles 11:1. And Rehoboam arrived in Jerusalem and called together one hundred and eighty thousand chosen soldiers from the house of Judah and Benjamin to fight against Israel and return the kingdom to Rehoboam. 2 Chronicles 11:2. And the word of the Lord came to Samaeus the man of God, and said: 2 Chronicles 11:3. Say to Rehoboam the son of Solomon, king of Judah, and to all Israel in the tribe of Judah and Benjamin: 2 Chronicles 11:4. Thus says the Lord: Do not go and make war with your brothers; return every one to your home, for I have done this. They obeyed the words of the Lord and returned from the campaign against Jeroboam. Wed. ( 1 Kings 12:21–24 ), The Expository Bible, vol. II, p. 426. 2 Chronicles 11:5. Rehoboam lived in Jerusalem; he surrounded the cities of Judea with walls. 2 Chronicles 11:6. He strengthened Bethlehem and Etham and Tekoah, 2 Chronicles 11:7. and Bethzur, and Soho, and Adullam, 2 Chronicles 11:8. and Gath, and Mareshu, and Ziph, 2 Chronicles 11:9. and Adoraim, and Lachish, and Azekuh, 2 Chronicles 11:10. and Zorah, and Aijalon, and Hebron, which were of the tribe of Judah and Benjamin. 2 Chronicles 11:11. And he established these fortresses, and built in them rulers and storehouses for grain and wood oil and wine. 2 Chronicles 11:12. And he gave shields and spears to every city and strengthened them very strongly. And Judah and Benjamin remained behind him. The cities turned into fortresses by Rehoboam or generally fortified by him, most of them had existed for a long time and were just being built. Such is Bethlehem (Gen.35:16,19; Gen.48:7; Ruth.1:1); about his position, see comments to (Josh. 15:59; Ruth. 1:1) in the “Explanatory Bible,” vol. II, p. 98–99 and p. 211–212. Etham (LXX: Αιτάν, Vulgata: Etam) lay, like Bethlehem, in the tribe of Judah (Joshua 15:59), 12 versts from Jerusalem; due to its excellent location, gardens and abundance of water, it was, according to Josephus ("Antiquities of the Jews", VIII, 7, 3), the favorite summer residence of Solomon (the ruins of the aqueducts that were here still exist), now Ain Attan, between Bethlehem and Urtas (Onomasticon, 487). Tekoa - in the tribe of Judah (Josh. 15:59), north of Hebron, now Khirbet-Tekua (Onomasticon, 417; cf. Commentary Bible, vol. II, pp. 336–337 and 430). Bethzur (LXX βαιθσουρὰ) - in the tribe of Judah, in the mountains of Judah (Joshua 15:58; Neh.3:16); It became especially famous during the time of the Maccabees as a strong fortress, which was then the site of several strong battles (1 Mac.4:29,61; 1 Mac.6:7,26); according to I. Flavius ​​(“Jewish Antiquities”, VIII, 5, 6), was the most fortified stronghold in the land of Judea; now Bat-Sur, on the road from Jerusalem to Hebron, at a distance of 20 versts from the first (cf. Onomasticon, 234), lies on the ground, at the foot of which flows the abundant spring Ain-ed-Dirie, where, according to legend, Ap. Philip baptized the eunuch of Candace. Soho: (LXX: Σοχώθ) - the name of two cities in the tribe of Judah (Josh. 15:35,48; 1 Kings 17:1; 1 Kings 4:10, etc., Onomasticon, 881), southwest of Jerusalem, see "Explanatory Bible", vol. II, p. 96–98. Adollam (Heb.: adullam) is mentioned already in (Gen. 38:1,12,20). Taken by Joshua (Joshua 12:15) he fell into the lot of Judah (cf. (2 Mac.12:38)), 5 miles northeast of Soho (Onomasticon, 24; cf. comments in the “Explanatory Bible,” vol. II, pp. 76–77). Gath (Hebrew: gat) - west of Soho, about 5 versts; before the reign of David, it was one of the five main Philistine cities (1 Sam. 6:17,17:4), David conquered it ((2 Sam. 8:1); cf. "Explanatory Bible", vol. II, pp. 240–241 and 317; cf. Onomasticon, 301). Maresha (LXX, Slavic text: “Marisan”) to the south, 5 versts from Gath (Joshua 15:44); (“Explanatory Bible”, vol. II, p. 97) the homeland of the prophet Micah (Micah 1:1), the place of the battle of Asa with Zarai the Ethiopian (2 Chronicles 14:9); during the time of the Maccabees and subsequent ones it often passed from hand to hand (I. Josephus, “Jewish Antiquities”, XII, 8,6; XIII, 9,1; XIII, 15,4; XIV, 4, 4; XIV, 5, 3), until it was finally destroyed by the Parthians under Herod (“Jewish Antiquities”, XV, 13, 9; “Jewish War”, I, 13, 9; cf. Onomasticon, 673). Ziph (Joshua 15:55) - 1 3/4 hours south of Hebron (Onomasticon, 464); in the desert surroundings of Ziph, David was hiding from the persecution of Saul ((1 Samuel 23:14,26:2), “Explanatory Bible”, vol. II, pp. 98 and 282). Adoraim east of Ziph (( 1 Mac. 13:20 ); Onomasticon, 165), now Der'at. For the situation of Lachish (2 Kings 14:19), see The Expository Bible, vol. II, p. 523. About the situation of Azek (Joshua 10:10,15:35); (Onomasticon, 34), see also The Interpretive Bible, vol. II, p. 62–63. About the position of Tsora (LXX: Σαραὰ, glav.: “Salaa”, (Joshua 15:33,19:41); Onomasticon, 830) - ibid., p. 96; it is the most northwestern city among those fortified by Raboam. About Aialon (Joshua 10:12,19:42), see “Explanatory Bible”, vol. II, p. 63 and 117. Like Zorah, Aijalon originally belonged to the inheritance of the tribe of Dan, but later both cities could pass to the tribe of Judah; this transition could be in connection with the resettlement of priests and Levites from the Kingdom of Israel to the Kingdom of Judah (Articles 13–14 of the chapter under consideration; see Prof. Gulyaev, “Historical Books,” p. 519). Hebron, formerly Kiriath-Arba (Gen.13:18,23:2; Num.13:23; Joshua 10:36,12:10,14:13,15:13; Judges 1:10) and others, is one of the oldest cities in the world (according to (Num.13:23), built 7 years before Zoan of Egypt); during the division of Canaan it went to Caleb (Joshua 14:13), after about 7 years it was the capital of David (2 Sam. 2:1,5:5). In the time of the Gospel, according to legend, it was the place of residence of St. Zechariah and Elizabeth. On the situation of Hebron (Onomasticon, 113) see The Interpretive Bible, vol. I, p. 93 and 536–537, vol. II, p. 88. In addition to the fortresses, in all these cities Rehoboam established public stores for food supplies (vv. 11-12). 2 Chronicles 11:13. And the priests and Levites, who were throughout all the land of Israel, gathered to him from all the coasts, 2 Chronicles 11:14. For the Levites left their city suburbs and their possessions and came to Judah and Jerusalem, since Jeroboam and his sons had abandoned them from the priesthood of the Lord. 2 Chronicles 11:15. and he appointed priests to the high places, and to the goats, and to the bulls which he had made. 2 Chronicles 11:16. And after them, and from all the tribes of Israel, those who set their hearts to seek the Lord God of Israel came to Jerusalem to offer sacrifices to the Lord God of their fathers. 2 Chronicles 11:17. And they strengthened the kingdom of Judah and supported Rehoboam the son of Solomon for three years, because they walked in the way of David and Solomon these three years. The brief message (1 Kings 12:31) that Jeroboam appointed priests from the people, and not from the tribe of Levi, is spread here (vv. 13-15) by the fact that Jeroboam dismissed from the priesthood those members of the tribe of Levi who did not recognize the cult he had introduced as legitimate, and these, faithful to the former, true cult of Jehovah, priests and Levites moved - partly voluntarily, partly by forced into the kingdom of Judah. There is no reason to see (as Kalmet and many new interpreters do) these priests and Levites in the Levites who were betrayed by Jehovah, denounced by the prophet Ezekiel and deprived of the right to perform sacred functions (Ezekiel 44:10-14) - it is impossible because in the passage in question, 2 Chronicles, on the contrary, it speaks of priests and Levites who are faithful to Jehovah, precisely out of loyalty to Him and out of reluctance to serve the ungodly. cult of those who retired to Judea. The cult of the bulls is here (v. 15) is called, in addition to its own name, also by the name seirim, LXX: μάταια, Vulgata: daemonia, the Russian synodal translation conveys the Hebrew name literally: “goats,” but nothing is known about the service of goats in the cult of Jeroboam; and it is much more natural to understand seirim in the sense of idols or evil spirits (cf. Is. 13:21,34:14). See prof. F.G. Eleonsky, “History of the Israeli people in Egypt from the settlement in the land of Goshen to the Egyptian executions”, St. Petersburg. 1884, p. 136–140; in A. Glagolev, “Old Testament biblical teaching about angels,” Kyiv 1900, p. 591 –595. The fact that simple pious Israelites, after the division of the kingdoms, continued to visit Jerusalem and the Temple of Solomon (vv. 16–17) is also stated in (1 Kings 12:27–28), and, in the latter place, this circumstance served as the reason for Jeroboam to establish a special cult in Bethel and Dan. “Three years” (v. 17) the loyalty of Rehoboam and his people to Jehovah continued, and then (cf. 1 Kings 14:22–24) idolatry began in Judea (cf. 2 Chron. 12:1). Wed. The Explanatory Bible, vol. II, p. 436. 2 Chronicles 11:18. And Rehoboam took to wife Mahalath the daughter of Hieromoth the son of David, and Abihael the daughter of Eliab the son of Jesse, 2 Chronicles 11:19. and she bore him sons: Jehus and Shemariah and Zagam. 2 Chronicles 11:20. After her he took Maacah the daughter of Absalom, and she bore him Abijah and Attai, and Zizah and Shelomith. 2 Chronicles 11:21. And Rehoboam loved Maacah the daughter of Absalom more than all his wives and concubines, for he had eighteen wives and sixty concubines and begat twenty-eight sons and sixty daughters. 2 Chronicles 11:22. And Rehoboam made Abijah the son of Maacah chief [and] prince over his brothers, because he wanted to make him king. 2 Chronicles 11:23. And he acted prudently, and sent all his sons throughout all the lands of Judah and Benjamin to all the fortified cities, and gave them a large allowance and found many wives. The royal genealogy of Rehoboam is replenished in comparison with 3 Kings (cf. "Explanatory Bible", vol. II, p. 437). About the unequal spelling of the name of the third wife of Rehoboam, the mother of Abijah, and her father, in v. 20 ((1 Kings 15:2); (2 Chronicles 13:2)) see The Expository Bible, vol. II, p. 437–438. Of his 28 sons (v. 21), Rehoboam kept with him only Abijah, destined for succession to the throne; the rest, in order to avoid fratricidal strife, he sent to different cities, providing each with maintenance and entrusting them with government service. You might be interested in: