1 Kings 14:26

1Ki 14:26 And he took away the treasures of the house of the LORD, and the treasures of the king’s house; he even took away all: and he took away all the shields of gold which Solomon had made.

Ver. 26. And he took away.] Without any great resistance; such was the pusillanimity and effeminacy of Rehoboam; which was also laid in his dish by Shishak setting up pillars and ugly pictures thereon, to the shame of the Jewish nation, as Diodorus {a} showeth.

{a} Lib. i.

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 14:26. And he took, &c. — Rehoboam, according to Josephus, delivered up the city to him without striking a stroke; which may seem strange, considering the great strength of it, and how much time it took Nebuchadnezzar and Titus to become masters of it. But it is probable that David and Solomon, in their building and altering the city, had more respect to state and magnificence than to its defence, as having no great cause to fear the invasion of any enemies: and it is certain that after the division between Judah and Israel, the kings of Judah added very much to the fortifications of it. Add to this, that this Shishak had a vast army, as we read 2Ch 12:2, and so powerful, that as Herodotus, who calls him Sesostris, tells us, with it he conquered Asia. He took away the treasures of the Lord’s house — Within twenty-five years after it was finished, he plundered it, as also the king’s house, of all the wealth which they contained, and which had been amassed by David and Solomon. This, it is probable, had tempted Shishak to make this descent, and this Rehoboam lamely resigned to him, to prevent still worse consequences. Who that had seen the glory, the riches, the magnificence, the power of Solomon, would not have concluded, as the queen of Sheba seems to have done, that a long and lasting state of security and happiness was entailed on this people? But the Holy Scriptures inform us, that at the very time when every one was admiring and extolling Solomon’s glory and happiness, it was denounced unto him by the Lord himself, that if either he or his children should turn aside from following the Lord, and go after other gods, they should certainly and soon fall from their glory, and be a proverb and by-word among all people, 1Ki 11:6, &c.; and that even that house, which was viewed by all the nations around as a prodigy of magnificence and strength, should be so reduced and brought to desolation, that every one that passed by should be astonished and hiss at it. Human foresight, doubtless, then perceived no likelihood of any such change taking place; but the event soon showed that its security and continuance depended on something more than human means.

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

14:26-28 When Rehoboam replaced Solomon’s gold shields with bronze shields, it reflected the declining spiritual value of Rehoboam’s kingdom. The complete destruction of Judah and Jerusalem was avoided only when Rehoboam repented in response to the Lord’s word through the prophet Shemaiah (2 Chr 12:5-6, 12).

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Verse 26. He took away the treasures] All the treasures which Solomon had amassed, both in the temple and in his own houses; a booty the most immense ever acquired in one place.

All the shields of gold which Solomon had made.] These were three hundred in number, and were all made of beaten gold. See a computation of their value in Clarke's note on "1Ki 10:17".

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

(26) He even took away all.—There is a touch of pathos in the description of the utter spoil of the treasures in which Solomon and Israel had gloried, and which now served only to buy off the victorious Egyptians. There is no notice of any sack of Jerusalem, nor, as in later cases, of any desecration of the Temple, or even of the plunder of its decorations. The record seems to imply surrender of the city and its treasures. The idea sometimes advanced, that, like the capture of Rome by the Gauls, the invasion of Shishak destroyed all ancient monuments and archives, has therefore no historical support from this passage; and with it many conclusions derived from it as to the dates of our Scriptural records must pass away.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

26. he even took away all] Instead of these words the LXX. gives: ‘and the golden shields which David took from the hands of the servants of Hadadezer king of Zobah and brought them to Jerusalem.’ On these captures of David see 2Sa_8:7.

On the shields of gold made by Solomon cf. 1Ki_10:17. At the close of the verse the LXX. adds that Shishak ‘brought’ his booty ‘into Egypt.’

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.

And King Rehoboam made in their stead brazen shields,.... For the king of Egypt had so stripped him of his gold, that he was not able to replace golden ones:

and committed them into the hands of the chief of the guard; or "runners" (p), that went before the king, or attended him as his bodyguard when he went abroad:

which kept the door of the king's house; which kept guard night and day in their turns.

(p) "cursorum", Pagninus, Montanus, &c.

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

The circumstances of Shishak’s invasion, related here with extreme brevity, are given with some fulness by the author of Chronicles (marginal reference). It is still a question whether the submission of the Jewish king is or is not expressly recorded in the Karnak inscription. Midway in the list of cities and tribes occurs the entry “YUDeH-MALK” which it has been proposed to translate “Judah, king.” Others regard it as the name of a Palestinian town not otherwise known to us.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

He took away the treasures; it is implied, that first he took the city; which may seem strange considering the great strength of that city, and how much time it took Nebuchadnezzar and Titus to take it. But, first, It might cost Shishak also some time and a long siege ere he took it, though that be not here related. Secondly, It is probable that David and Solomon, in their building and altering of this city, had more respect to state and magnificence than to its defence, as having no great cause to fear the invasion of any enemies, and being too secure in reference to their posterity, because of God’s promise of the kingdom to be continued to them and to their seed for ever. And it is probable and certain, that after the division between Judah and Israel, the kings of Judah did add very much to the fortifications of this city.

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

26. He took away the treasures — The splendour of Solomon’s buildings, and the immense treasures which he had amassed, were doubtless spoken of far and wide, and to obtain these treasures was probably the main object of Shishak’s expedition. He may have been prompted by Jeroboam to this action, for Jeroboam had dwelt at his court, (1Ki_11:40,) and was on friendly terms with him, and would gladly see him afflict the kingdom of Judah.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And he took away the treasures of the house of the Lord The historian omits to mention the interposition of Shemaiah. (2Ch_12:5-8) The account of the Chronicles is altogether much fuller, and the treasures of the king"s house; he even took away all rather, and everything (sc. that he could lay his hands on) he took away." The spoil must have been enormous: and he took away all the shields of gold (cf. 1Ki_10:17) which Solomon had made.

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

He took - First the city: which may seem strange, considering the great strength of it, and how much time it took Nebuchadnezzar and Titus to take it. But, first, it might cost Shishak also a long siege though that be not here related. Secondly, it is probable David and Solomon in their building and altering the city, had more respect to state and magnificence than to its defense, as having no great cause to fear the invasion of any enemies. And it is certain, that after the division between Judah and Israel, the kings of Judah added very much to the fortifications of it.

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

He took everything. The throne, that was dearer to him than everything.

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.