SHEMAIAH, “THE MAN OF GOD”, IN THE DAYS OF REHOBOAM · TWO KINGDOMS

Shemaiah. He stopped a war between brothers, and told Rehoboam's princes why Shishak had come.

SCRIPTURE CALLS

Prophet

ERA

Two kingdoms 930–586 BC

IN THE DAYS OF

Rehoboam

BOOK

None bears the name

HOW THE WORD CAME

“The word of God came unto Shemaiah the man of God, saying, Speak unto Rehoboam”; Chronicles has “the word of the LORD”.

THE CALL

How the word came

  • “The word of God came unto Shemaiah the man of God, saying, Speak unto Rehoboam”; Chronicles has “the word of the LORD”. 1 Kings 12:22–23 2 Chronicles 11:2
  • After the princes humbled themselves, “the word of the LORD came to Shemaiah” a second time. 2 Chronicles 12:7
  • Chronicles names “the book of Shemaiah the prophet” for the acts of Rehoboam. 2 Chronicles 12:15

BEFORE THE KINGS

Before Rehoboam

KING OF JUDAH

Rehoboam

“Thus saith the LORD, Ye have forsaken me, and therefore have I also left you in the hand of Shishak.”

2 Chronicles 12:5 (KJV) →

THE MESSAGE

The word in its main themes

Do not fight your brothers

“Ye shall not go up, nor fight against your brethren the children of Israel: return every man to his house; for this thing is from me.”

1 Kings 12:24 (KJV) →

Forsaken, and left to Shishak

Humbled, and given some deliverance

“They have humbled themselves; therefore I will not destroy them, but I will grant them some deliverance”

2 Chronicles 12:7 (KJV) →

THE WORD TO …

To whom the word was spoken

TO REHOBOAM AND THE HOUSE OF JUDAH AND BENJAMIN

“Ye shall not go up, nor fight against your brethren the children of Israel”

1 Kings 12:24 (KJV) →

TO REHOBOAM AND THE PRINCES OF JUDAH, AT JERUSALEM

“Ye have forsaken me, and therefore have I also left you in the hand of Shishak.”

2 Chronicles 12:5 (KJV) →

  • Jerusalem · Where Rehoboam gathered his army, and where the princes gathered because of Shishak

COMPANIONS AND OPPONENTS

Who stood with him, and against him

Iddo the seer

HOW THE STORY ENDS

Scripture says, tradition says

SCRIPTURE SAYS

  • From the textScripture does not tell of Shemaiah's death. 2 Chronicles 12:15

TRADITION SAYS

No tradition is recorded here.

OPEN QUESTIONS

Where readers have differed

Kings and Chronicles tell it side by side

The texts

Kings tells Shishak's attack and the treasures he took without naming Shemaiah; Chronicles adds the prophet's word and the princes' humbling. Both books tell the stopped war in nearly the same words. 1 Kings 14:25–26 2 Chronicles 12:2–9 1 Kings 12:21–24 2 Chronicles 11:1–4

Chronicles drew on a prophetic record

E. G. Hirsch and W. H. Bennett, Jewish Encyclopedia (1903)

Chronicles itself names “the book of Shemaiah the prophet” for Rehoboam's acts; the Jewish Encyclopedia lists “The Words of Shemaiah the Prophet and of Iddo the Seer” among the Chronicler's sources. 2 Chronicles 12:15 [43]

IN SCRIPTURE

Every passage

CHAPTERS · 3

1 Kings 12 2 Chronicles 11 2 Chronicles 12

PASSAGES · 4

1 Kings 12:21–24 2 Chronicles 11:1–4 2 Chronicles 12:1–8 2 Chronicles 12:15

WHAT SCRIPTURE DOES NOT SAY

  • Scripture gives no father or home for this Shemaiah.
  • Kings does not mention Shemaiah in its account of Shishak (1 Kings 14:25–28).
  • Kings says there was war between Rehoboam and Jeroboam “all their days” (1 Kings 14:30) and does not explain how that fits the war Shemaiah stopped.
  • He is a different man from Shemaiah the Nehelamite (Jeremiah 29:24) and the Shemaiah of Nehemiah 6:10.

SOURCES

Where this page comes from

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