1 Kings 15:6

1Ki 15:6 And there was war between Rehoboam and Jeroboam all the days of his life.

Ver. 6. And there was war.] See 1Ki 14:30.

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 15:6. This was mentioned before, (1Ki 14:30,) and therefore may seem to come in here improperly, because the historian is not speaking of Rehoboam, but of his son Abijam. Bochart thinks that Rehoboam stands here for the son of Rehoboam. But the meaning of these words seems rather to be, that though God was pleased, for David’s sake, to continue a lamp, that is, a successor, to him in Jerusalem; yet these successors were vexed with continual wars, as appeared both in the reign of Rehoboam and of Abijam, and did not enjoy their kingdom peaceably.

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

15:6 Abijam inherited the hostility between the northern and southern kingdoms. Like Rehoboam (14:30), he faced war with Jeroboam. During one notable battle (2 Chr 13:2-20), when Abijam and his outnumbered forces were surrounded by northern troops, they cried out to the Lord; God delivered them and enabled them to inflict a severe defeat on Jeroboam.

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

Verse 6. There was war between Rehoboam and Jeroboam] This was mentioned in the preceding chapter, 1Kg 14:30, and it can mean no more than this: there was a continual spirit of hostility kept up between the two kingdoms, and no doubt frequent skirmishing between bordering parties; but it never broke out into open war, for this was particularly forbidden. See 1Kg 12:24. Hostility did exist, and no doubt frequent skirmishes; but open war and pitched battles there were none.

But why is this circumstance repeated, and the history of Abijam interrupted by the repetition? There is some reason to believe that Rehoboam is not the true reading, and that it should be Abijam: "Now there was war between Abijam and Jeroboam all the days of his life." And this is the reading of fourteen of Kennicott's and De Rossi's MSS. The Syriac has Abia the son of Rehoboam; the Arabic has Abijam. In the Septuagint the whole verse is omitted in the London Polyglot, but it is extant in those of Complutum and Antwerp. Some copies of the Targum have Abijam also, and the Editio Princeps of the Vulgate has Abia. This is doubtless the true reading, as we know there was a very memorable war between Abia and Jeroboam; see it particularly described 2Ch 13:3, &c.

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

(6) And there was war.—In this verse (omitted in the Vatican MS. of the LXX.) the repetition of the notice of Rehoboam, in spite of some artificial explanations, seems inexplicable. Probably there is error in the text.

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

6. And [R.V. Now] there was war between Rehoboam and Jeroboam &c.] The whole of this verse is omitted by the LXX. and it seems altogether out of place in a notice of the reign of Abijam, and has been already inserted [1Ki_14:30] in the history of Rehoboam, while the parallel statement in reference to Abijam comes in the next verse.

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 Abijam slept with his fathers,.... That is, died as they did:

and they buried him in the city of David, in the sepulchre of his royal ancestors, David, Solomon, and Rehoboam:

and Asa his son reigned in his stead; who perhaps was the eldest of his twenty two sons, Ch2 13:21.

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

The writer repeats what he had said in 1Ki 14:30, in order to remind the reader that Abijam inherited this war from his father. Abijam’s war is described in marginal reference That the author of Kings gives none of its details is agreeable to his common practice in mere military matters. Thus he gives no details of Shishak’s expedition, and omits Zerah’s expedition altogether.

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

Roboam. This had been remarked, chap. xiv. 30. (Haydock) --- There was a domestic quarrel between the two families. (Calmet) --- Some suspect that Roboam is placed to designate his successors, or that we ought to read, Abia. (Sanchez) --- Castalion rashly ventures to alter the text. (Calmet) --- Abiam gained a decisive victory over Jeroboam, ver. 7., and 2 Paralipomenon xiii. 3.

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

Which was said 1Ki 14:30, and may be here repeated, to signify the cause and original of the war between Abijam and Jeroboam, which is implied here, and particularly described 2Ch 13. Abijam continued the war which Rehoboam had begun, and pushed it on to a decisive battle. But the place may be thus rendered, Yet there was war, &c., i.e. although God was pleased to show so much respect to David, as for his sake to continue the succession to the kingdom in his posterity, yet he thought fit to manifest his displeasure against David’s successors for their sins, and to mix their honour and happiness with wars and troubles.

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

6. War between Rehoboam and Jeroboam — This statement, repeated from 1Ki_14:30, is thought by some to be an interpolation here, others think, instead of Rehoboam we should read Abijam; but in that case the like statement in the next verse would be superfluous. The repetition is only in keeping with other similar repetitions common in Old Testament writers, and in connexion with the next verse is equivalent to saying that the wars and hostility of Rehoboam against Jeroboam were continued by his son Abijam.

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

And there was war between Rehoboam and Jeroboam all the days of his life. Practically identical with 1Ki_14:30, where see note. Thenius thinks the insertion of the words were due to the carelessness of some copyist, and Bahr admits that our present text is possibly not the original one. For Rehoboam, some MSS., with the Syriac and Arabic, read Abijah, but this is clearly an emendation, which in turn begets another repetition (ver. 7), and there is really no need either to alter or suspect the text. Such repetitions are quite in accordance with Eastern usage, and Rehoboam here stands for the house of Rehoboam, or the cause and kingdom which Rehoboam represented. The object of mentioning his name can hardly be "to remind the reader that Abijam inherited this war from his father" (Rawlinson), for it was only on Rehoboam"s death that the slumbering hostility blazed out into actual war. That there was warfare between Abi-jam and Jeroboam we know not only from ver. 7, but from 2Ch_13:3-20 also.

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

War between, &c. - Upon Jeroboam's invading him with a great army: acting then in his own defense, he totally routed Jeroboam, so that he was quiet the rest of his reign.

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

"And there was war between Rehoboam and Jeroboam all his life;" i.e., the state of hostility which had already existed between Rehoboam and Jeroboam continued "all the days of his life," or so long as Abijam lived and reigned. If we take חיּיו כּל־ימי in this manner (not כּל־ימיהם, Kg1 15:16), the statement loses the strangeness which it has at first sight, and harmonizes very well with that in Kg1 15:7, that there was also war between Abijam and Jeroboam. Under Abijam it assumed the form of a serious war, in which Jeroboam sustained a great defeat (see 2 Chron 13:3-20). - The other notices concerning Abijam in Kg1 15:7, Kg1 15:8 are the same as in the case of Rehoboam in Kg1 14:29, Kg1 14:31.

Keil & Delitzsch — Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament (1861–1891) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API. (Old Testament only.)