The Pulpit Commentary — 2 Chronicles — Section 142

EXPOSITION. CHAPTER XII. eh. xi. 17, that, roughly speaking, this chapter stretches over the last sad e.nd evil This chapter finishes for us the history twelve of the whole seventeen years of Re- of Rehoboam, hie "acts" and his character; and, with the preceding two chapters, it hoboam's reign. This, however, does not may be counted among the masterpieces of negative the possibility of the anticipation in eh. xi. of what, in point of chronology. Scripture biography. In so short a com- belongs to this eh. xii. The parallel of this pass, how well marked, how distinctly limned, ohupter is 1 Kings xiv. 21-31, which gives are the features of the man I The name of us more than our vers. 1, 6, 12, 14, of what Rehoboam is, undoubtedly, one of the more is personal to the evil-doing of Rehobown. important, if not taking rank among the but much less than our text respecting most important, of Scripture, and no one Shishak and his army, and Shelillliah and co.n rise from the study of the fifty-eight his messages. verses of these three chapters without a very Ver. 1.-When Rehoboe.m had establiahed satisfactory conception of the man Rehoboam the kingdom ... strengthened himself; i.e. and what he was. It will be seen from the while insecure and full of apprehensions, le.ngunge of the second verije, compared with Rehohoam walked humbly and surely, but  142 THE SECOND BOOK OF THE CHRONICLES. [orr. xn. 1-10. I when he thought hie object, simply safetiJ, Pharaoh. Lubim■. The letter e is ortho, was gained, his true a.nd worse eelf ap- gmphiOBlly redundant in this, ae also in pAAred or reappeBred. and, clothed with the following names, the forms being already self-confidence, he forsakes the "Law," to plural. The Lubim mean the Libyans, west bring sure retribution on himself. All Israel of Egypt. They are probably the poople with him. When we tum to the fuller represented on the Egyptian monuments na l'tat<'ments of the parallel (1 Kings xiv. 22 Lebu, of Semitic type, subjugated by Egypt's -24), we eee that the sins that were at kings in the thirteenth century B.O. They work were not those of king merely, but were among the oldest of colonists, that of poople, especiallv in abominations such drifted along the ooast of Africa, north of as those of sodomy a~d the immoral practices the Great Desert, from the East, and OJ'8 of the "groves," as well as the ecclesiastical perhaps the s1tme as the Lehabim (Gen. x. and irreligious iniquities of "high places" 13 ; eh. xvi. 8; N ah. iii. 9 ; Dan. xi. 43 ; and '' image" worship! Jer. xlvi. 9; Ezck. xx:s:viii. 5). Sukkiims. Ver. 2.-8hi&hak; Hebrew, p~•~; Septua- Probably an Arab tribe, though the Septua- gint, ':Eou11&,c,µ. ; Shisha.k, Sheshon k, Seson- gint Version gives Tpo,')lo36n,, ns though chis, the Sheshenk I. or She.shank I. of the taking them for Troglodytes in the hills monuments, son of an Assyrfrm king called west of the Red Seo.; so, too, the Vulgate. Nimrod or N emaruth, became King of Egypt Gesenius at once renders the C":alP tent- as first of six. king-s who lasted in all a dwellers, and sets the people in ·question hundred and seventy years, of the twenty- down for some African tribe. They are not second dynasty of Manetho, reigning in mentioned elsewhere so as to be recognized. Bub&stis. To him Jeroboam had fled for Ethiopians. These were ethnically Cushites, refuge from Solomon (1 Kings xi. 40). He but the territorial application ot' the term reigned An. Sac. 3830 (B.c. 980) to 8851 was confined to the African Cushite settlers. or 3863. This makes Solomon's reign A.s. It is remarkable that, in eh. :u:i. 16, Ethio- 8799 (B.c.1011) to 3839 (B.C. 971). Shisbe.k's pians are classed with Arabians, but other- inv&sion, therefore, in aid of Jeroboam, was wise with African peoples, and in particular .1..s. 3844 (n.c. 966). A representation of it Egypt (Ps. lxvili. 31 ; Isa. xx. 3, 4; xliii. 3: exists in relief sculptured on the south xiv. 14; Jer. xlvi. 9; Ezek. xxx.'5; xxxviii. external wall of the temple of Amon, at 5). They were many-tribed, and the Sabmans Ka.rnak, Thebes; and, together with this, an were a leading tribe of them. It is evident elaborate list of countries, cities, tribes, con- that Shishak could draw from e. large and quered by Sheshen.k or tributary to him, varied dominion subjeot to his dynasty at a hundred and thirty-three in number. this time. Among these e.re some of the very fifteen Ver. 5.-Shemaiah (see Exposition, eh. fenced cities (see our ver. 4) which Reho- xi. 2). The princes. These seem to have boam built or fortified, viz. the three, Shoco, been a fruit of some original organization Adora.i.m., and Aija.lon, while the erasure of with Solomon, as they are not found with fourteen names just where these a.re found David (1 Kings iv. 2-6). Ye have for- eccounts, no doubt, for the non-appearance saken me . , . therefore have I also left of others of them. There are also the names you. The same Ht:brew verb is employed of Levitical and Canaanite cities, situated in both members of this sentence, and the in the kingdoms of the ten tribes, but belong- rendering should follow in like manner (see ing to the Levites who had been compelled eh. vii 19-22). to migrate into Judah. The dates given Ver. 6.-Note, as very apt parallel pas- above are those accepted by Conder, in his sages, J er. xiii. 15, 18; Exod. ix. 27. •Handbook to the Bible' (see pp. 28-34), Ver. 7.-Some deliverance. The Hebrew and do not quite agree with those adopted for "some " here is C)/!;>:J. There is pie.in in Smith's 'Bible Dictionary,' iii. 1287- authority (Ruth ii. 7; Ps. xxxviii. 10) for 129!. Both of these most interesting articles translating this word as of time, and the ren- will well repay perusal, as well as the dering "a little while" of the margin, will, article "Thebes" in the latter work, iii. therefore, seem preferable. But see next 1471-1475. (The name and word Shi~hak note, and the" altogether" of ver, 12. It has has no relation whatever with the Sheshach often been most justly remarked what grate- of Jer. xxv. 26; Ii 41, 'lJ~!ef, a word which, ful note should be ta.ken of the fa.et tho.t p:issibly spelling Babel or even Ur, marks God always is recorded as turning such a the name of a place, and is evidently used wistful, loving eye to any symptom of repent- by J erem.i.&h for Babylon or Babylonia.) ance (1 Kings xxi. 27-29; Jonah ii. 5-9). Ver. 3.-Twelve hundred chariots. The Who can estimate the loss of men, that the parallel does not give the numbers. These symptoms have been so frequent, so corn• are large, but not inconsistent with those paratively easily found RB compared with m1>ntioned in other connections, whether the reality of lastingness ? tL.ose of Solomou, or, going furthel ha.ck, of Ver. 8 . -The geuitlll of thia verse, nevei, OH. xu. 1-10.J 'l'HE SECOND BOOK OF THE CHRONICLES. 143