The Meaning of 1 Kings 14:5 Explained

1 Kings 14:5

KJV: And the LORD said unto Ahijah, Behold, the wife of Jeroboam cometh to ask a thing of thee for her son; for he is sick: thus and thus shalt thou say unto her: for it shall be, when she cometh in, that she shall feign herself to be another woman.

YLT: And Jehovah said unto Ahijah, 'Lo, the wife of Jeroboam is coming to seek a word from thee concerning her son, for he is sick; thus and thus thou dost speak unto her, and it cometh to pass at her coming in, that she is making herself strange.'

Darby: And Jehovah said to Ahijah, Behold, the wife of Jeroboam cometh to ask a thing of thee about her son; for he is sick: thus and thus shalt thou say unto her; for it shall be, when she cometh in, that she shall feign to be another.

ASV: And Jehovah said unto Ahijah, Behold, the wife of Jeroboam cometh to inquire of thee concerning her son; for he is sick: thus and thus shalt thou say unto her; for it will be, when she cometh in, that she will feign herself to be another woman.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

And the LORD  said  unto Ahijah,  Behold, the wife  of Jeroboam  cometh  to ask  a thing  of thee for her son;  for he [is] sick:  thus  and thus shalt thou say  unto her: for it shall be, when she cometh in,  that she shall feign herself [to be] another  [woman]. 

What does 1 Kings 14:5 Mean?

Context Summary

1 Kings 14:1-16 - The Blind Prophet Sees Jeroboam's Doom
How blind we become when we sin against our conscience! Each act of willful sin puts another shade on the window of the soul. "Their foolish heart was darkened," Romans 1:21. Surely if the prophet were able to predict the issue of this sickness, he would be able to penetrate the mother's disguise, although she brought only the gifts of a poor peasant woman. Jeroboam had devised this ruse, partly, because he did not wish the nation to know that he was consulting a prophet of Jehovah-an act which might invalidate his new temple and the calves, and also because he wanted to get a more favorable answer than that which he anticipated in case the prophet recognized the inquirer. We may disguise ourselves as we will, but we cannot cheat God, and no dissembling can ever turn away the arrow that speeds straight to the guilty heart.
Jewish historians say that the exception was made in Abijah's case, 1 Kings 14:13, because he interceded with his father that all Israelites who wished might be allowed to go to the feasts at Jerusalem, without being penalized. There is always discrimination in the divine judgments. How often God has brought beautiful lives out of foul surroundings, as the pure lily-cup out of a muddy pond! [source]

Chapter Summary: 1 Kings 14

1  Abijah being sick,
2  Jeroboam sends his wife, disguised, with presents to the prophet Ahijah
5  Ahijah forewarned by God, denounces God's judgment
17  Abijah dies, and is buried
19  Nadab succeeds Jeroboam
21  Rehoboam's wicked reign,
25  Shishak raids Jerusalem
29  Abijam succeeds Rehoboam

What do the individual words in 1 Kings 14:5 mean?

And Yahweh had said to Ahijah Here the wife of Jeroboam is coming to ask something you about her son for sick He [is] as this and as this you shall say to her for it will be when she comes in that she will pretend [to be] another [woman]
וַיהוָ֞ה אָמַ֣ר אֶל־ אֲחִיָּ֗הוּ הִנֵּ֣ה אֵ֣שֶׁת יָרָבְעָ֡ם בָּאָ֣ה לִדְרֹשׁ֩ דָּבָ֨ר מֵעִמְּךָ֤ אֶל־ בְּנָהּ֙ כִּֽי־ חֹלֶ֣ה ה֔וּא כָּזֹ֥ה וְכָזֶ֖ה תְּדַבֵּ֣ר אֵלֶ֑יהָ וִיהִ֣י כְבֹאָ֔הּ וְהִ֖יא מִתְנַכֵּרָֽה

וַיהוָ֞ה  And  Yahweh 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: יהוה 
Sense: the proper name of the one true God.
אָמַ֣ר  had  said 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, third person masculine singular
Root: אָמַר 
Sense: to say, speak, utter.
אֲחִיָּ֗הוּ  Ahijah 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: אֲחִיָּה 
Sense: grandson of Phinehas.
הִנֵּ֣ה  Here 
Parse: Interjection
Root: הִנֵּה  
Sense: behold, lo, see, if.
אֵ֣שֶׁת  the  wife 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular construct
Root: אִשָּׁה  
Sense: woman, wife, female.
יָרָבְעָ֡ם  of  Jeroboam 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: יָרָבְעָם  
Sense: the first king of the northern kingdom of Israel when the kingdom split at the death of Solomon and the 0 tribes split off from Judah and Benjamin and the kingdom under Solomon’s son Rehoboam; idolatry was introduced at the beginning of his reign.
בָּאָ֣ה  is  coming 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Participle, feminine singular
Root: בֹּוא 
Sense: to go in, enter, come, go, come in.
לִדְרֹשׁ֩  to  ask 
Parse: Preposition-l, Verb, Qal, Infinitive construct
Root: דַּרְיׄושׁ 
Sense: to resort to, seek, seek with care, enquire, require.
דָּבָ֨ר  something 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: דָּבָר  
Sense: speech, word, speaking, thing.
אֶל־  about 
Parse: Preposition
Root: אֶל  
Sense: to, toward, unto (of motion).
בְּנָהּ֙  her  son 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct, third person feminine singular
Root: בֵּן 
Sense: son, grandson, child, member of a group.
חֹלֶ֣ה  sick 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Participle, masculine singular
Root: חָלָה 
Sense: to be or become weak, be or become sick, be or become diseased, be or become grieved, be or become sorry.
ה֔וּא  He  [is] 
Parse: Pronoun, third person masculine singular
Root: הוּא 
Sense: he, she, it.
כָּזֹ֥ה  as  this 
Parse: Preposition-k, Pronoun, feminine singular
Root: זׄה  
Sense: this.
וְכָזֶ֖ה  and  as  this 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Preposition-k, Pronoun, masculine singular
Root: זֶה  
Sense: this, this one, here, which, this … that, the one … the other, another, such.
תְּדַבֵּ֣ר  you  shall  say 
Parse: Verb, Piel, Imperfect, second person masculine singular
Root: דָּבַר 
Sense: to speak, declare, converse, command, promise, warn, threaten, sing.
אֵלֶ֑יהָ  to  her 
Parse: Preposition, third person feminine singular
Root: אֶל  
Sense: to, toward, unto (of motion).
וִיהִ֣י  for  it  will  be 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Conjunctive imperfect Jussive, third person masculine singular
Root: אֶהְיֶה 
Sense: to be, become, come to pass, exist, happen, fall out.
כְבֹאָ֔הּ  when  she  comes  in 
Parse: Preposition-k, Verb, Qal, Infinitive construct, third person feminine singular
Root: בֹּוא 
Sense: to go in, enter, come, go, come in.
וְהִ֖יא  that  she 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Pronoun, third person feminine singular
Root: הוּא 
Sense: he, she, it.
מִתְנַכֵּרָֽה  will  pretend  [to  be]  another  [woman] 
Parse: Verb, Hitpael, Participle, feminine singular
Root: נָכַר 
Sense: to recognise, acknowledge, know, respect, discern, regard.