1 Kings 12:3

1Ki 12:3 That they sent and called him. And Jeroboam and all the congregation of Israel came, and spake unto Rehoboam, saying,

Ver. 3. That they sent and called him.] This was the act of the multitude, that shallow brained, but great and many headed beast. Jeroboam they picked as one that had been a prime officer amongst them; one that had suffered banishment for speaking freely for them, that was a mighty man of valour, {1Ki 11:28} and that had God’s promise of the kingdom by the prophet Ahijah, who was also of the same tribe.

And Rehoboam and all the congregation.] An importable subsidy in Henry VIII’s time, procured by Cardinal Wolsey, was, by the Commons, denied to be paid. {a} Suffolk rose up in arms making Poverty their captain, as here the aggrieved Israelites did Jeroboam, one that was born of himself, and of whom it might be said, as it was once of Caligula, Non meliorem unquam servum fuisse, nec deteriorem dominum, that there was not a better servant than he, nor a worse lord.

{a} Speed.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

1Ki 12:3. They sent and called him — When the people sent Jeroboam word of Solomon’s death, they also sent a message to him to desire he would attend their general meeting at Shechem, and assist them to get their grievances redressed. For they judged that the presence and countenance of a man of such great interest and reputation might lay the greater obligation upon Rehoboam to grant them ease and relief. Some suppose that they had heard of what had passed between the Prophet Ahijah and him, and had an inclination to fulfil what the prophet had foretold to him; which is not unlikely. And all the congregation came — That is, all their elders, and the heads of their tribes. These, it appears, chose Jeroboam to be their speaker.

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

3. that they sent] Better, And they sent: see the previous note. Josephus (Ant. viii. 8, i) calls this party οἱ τῶν ὄχλων ἄρχοντες, and represents them as sending to Jeroboam immediately after Solomon was dead. Clearly there was a feeling that some change was at hand, and the knowledge of Ahijah’s prophecies had not been confined to Jeroboam and Solomon. Hence men were prepared for what was coming.

and called him] Knowing that he would be ready to come, and that his ability and industry (described 1Ki_11:28 above) qualified him for a leader of their enterprise.

Jeroboam and all the congregation of Israel] The LXX. (Vat.) omits Jeroboam. But the object of sending for him was clearly that he might be the prime mover in the agitation, and by taking part in the popular petition he would prepare the way for the invitation sent to him as mentioned below in 1Ki_12:20.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

That they sent and called him,.... That is, the people of Israel, some of the principal of them, especially of the tribe of Ephraim, sent messengers to him, and gave him an invitation to come to them at Shechem; or, they had sent (e), as Kimchi interprets it, which was the reason of his returning from Egypt, at least one of them:

and Jeroboam, and all the congregation of Israel, came; the chief men of them, the heads of the people; these, with Jeroboam at the head of them, who was come out of Egypt, came to Shechem, where Rehoboam was, and they had appointed to meet him:

and spake unto Rehoboam; one in the name of them all, perhaps Jeroboam:

saying; as follows.

(e) So Pagninus, Montanus.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

They sent and called him: when the people sent him word of Solomon’s death, they also sent a summons for him to come to Shechem. Or as soon as he had heard the tidings of Solomon’s death from others, or from common fame; presently there came a solemn message to him from the people, who desired his presence and assistance, as it seems probable, from divers motives; some, that they might translate the kingdom from Rehoboam to him; and others only for this reason, that the presence and countenance of a man of so great interest and reputation, and one that had some claim or pretence upon the kingdom, might lay the greater obligation upon Rehoboam to grant their desires of ease and relief.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

That Heb. and they sent and called him. And Jeroboam and all the congregation of Israel came It has been held that this verse is largely an interpolation. The LXX Cod. Vat. has simply, And the people spake unto king Rehoboam, saying." Of more importance, however, is the fact that it is at direct variance with ver. 20, which places the appearance of Jeroboam on the scene after the revolt of the tribes. Indeed, these two verses can only be brought into agreement by the questionable device of understanding the "all Israel" of ver. 20 very differently from the same expression in ver. 1. If, however, we follow in this instance the LXX, which omits the name of Jeroboam both here and in ver. 12 (and which thereby implies that he was not one of the deputation to Rehoboam, but, as ver. 2 states, was at that time still in Egypt), the difficulty vanishes. Ver. 20 then becomes the natural and logical continuation of vers. 2, 3. "And Jeroboam dwelt in Egypt. And they sent and called him to the country. And when all Israel heard that Jeroboam was come again at their summons they sent and called him unto the congregation," etc. And in favour of the omission of Jeroboam"s name is the fact that the Hebrew text, both in ver. 3 and in ver. 12, betrays some little confusion. In ver. 3, the Cethib has WaboYw and WboYw in ver. 12, whereas the Keri has aboYw in both cases. The words look, that is to say, as if a singular nominative had been subsequently introduced, and spake unto Rehoboam, saying.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

They sent - When the people sent him word of Solomon's death, they also sent a summons for him to come to Shechem. That the presence and countenance of a man of so great interest and reputation, might lay the greater obligation upon Rehoboam to grant them ease and relief.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

called him

Here the word "him" refers to Jeroboam.

made our yoke heavy

A heavy yoke is a metaphor for very difficult labor and requirements. AT: "treated us cruelly" or "forced us to work very hard" (See: Metaphor)

translationWords

send

call

assembly

ancestor

yoke

works

servant

unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.