The Meaning of 1 Kings 12:21 Explained

1 Kings 12:21

KJV: And when Rehoboam was come to Jerusalem, he assembled all the house of Judah, with the tribe of Benjamin, an hundred and fourscore thousand chosen men, which were warriors, to fight against the house of Israel, to bring the kingdom again to Rehoboam the son of Solomon.

YLT: And Rehoboam cometh to Jerusalem, and assembleth all the house of Judah and the tribe of Benjamin, a hundred and eighty thousand chosen warriors, to fight with the house of Israel, to bring back the kingdom to Rehoboam son of Solomon.

Darby: And Rehoboam came to Jerusalem; and he assembled all the house of Judah, with the tribe of Benjamin, a hundred and eighty thousand chosen men apt for war, to fight against the house of Israel, that he might bring the kingdom again to Rehoboam the son of Solomon.

ASV: And when Rehoboam was come to Jerusalem, he assembled all the house of Judah, and the tribe of Benjamin, a hundred and fourscore thousand chosen men, that were warriors, to fight against the house of Israel, to bring the kingdom again to Rehoboam the son of Solomon.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

And when Rehoboam  was come  to Jerusalem,  he assembled  all the house  of Judah,  with the tribe  of Benjamin,  an hundred  and fourscore  thousand  chosen men,  which were warriors,  to fight  against the house  of Israel,  to bring  the kingdom  again  to Rehoboam  the son  of Solomon. 

What does 1 Kings 12:21 Mean?

Context Summary

1Kings 12:12-24 - The Kingdom Rent In Twain
Rehoboam richly deserved his fate. He was forty-one years old, 2 Chronicles 12:13, and ought to have known better. His speech betrayed the despot. He had no right to speak with such arrogant insolence to a great and liberty-loving people. It is only a weak man who boasts of deeds he cannot perform, and there was a rasping flavor in his comparison which indicated the malice of an unregenerate heart. We have heard people speak like this to those whom they counted their inferiors, but all such words are the scattering of thistledown, which will spoil the harvests of their own fields. Learn to speak civilly, or not at all. Insist that young lads and girls keep a civil tongue in their heads. Curses are like boomerangs; they come back on the man that utters them.
Twice over we are told that it was a thing brought about by God- 1 Kings 12:15; 1 Kings 12:24. Beneath all political changes and revolutions you will find the slow evolving of a divine purpose. God does not instigate sin. This arises from man's abuse of his own free-will. But God will so control the warring wills of men that the plan of His eternal counsel and foreknowledge shall not be interfered with but furthered.
1Kings 12:1-33 - Breaking Three Commandments
From a worldly point of view Naboth might have done a good stroke of business by selling his estate to. Ahab. A royal price and assured favor might have been his-but he had a conscience! Above the persuasive tones of the monarch's offer sounded the voice of God: "The land shall not be sold for ever, for the land is mine." See Leviticus 25:23; Numbers 36:7; Ezekiel 46:18.
Ahab knew perfectly well that Jezebel could not give him the property of another except by foul means, but he took pains not to inquire. Though the direct orders for Naboth's death did not come from him, yet, by his silence, he was an accomplice and an accessory; and divine justice penetrates all such specious excuses. God holds us responsible for wrongs which we do not arrest, though we have the power. The crime was blacker because of the pretext of religion, as suggested by a fast. See also 2 Kings 9:26. The blood of murdered innocence cries to God, and his requital, though delayed, is inevitable. See Revelation 6:9-10. [source]

Chapter Summary: 1Kings 12

1  The Israelites, assembled at Shechem to crown Rehoboam,
4  by Jeroboam make a suit of relaxation unto him
6  Rehoboam, refusing the old men's counsel, answers them roughly
16  Ten tribes revolting, kill Adoram, and make Rehoboam flee
21  Rehoboam, raising an army, is forbidden by Shemaiah
25  Jeroboam strengthens himself by cities
26  and by idolatry of the two calves

What do the individual words in 1 Kings 12:21 mean?

- And when came Rehoboam to Jerusalem and he assembled - all the house of Judah and with the tribe of Benjamin a hundred and eighty thousand chosen [men] who were warriors to fight against of Israel that he might restore the kingdom to Rehoboam son of Solomon -
[ויבאו] (וַיָּבֹ֣א) רְחַבְעָם֮ יְרוּשָׁלִַם֒ וַיַּקְהֵל֩ אֶת־ כָּל־ בֵּ֨ית יְהוּדָ֜ה וְאֶת־ שֵׁ֣בֶט בִּנְיָמִ֗ן מֵאָ֨ה וּשְׁמֹנִ֥ים אֶ֛לֶף בָּח֖וּר עֹשֵׂ֣ה מִלְחָמָ֑ה לְהִלָּחֵם֙ עִם־ יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל לְהָשִׁיב֙ הַמְּלוּכָ֔ה לִרְחַבְעָ֖ם בֶּן־ שְׁלֹמֹֽה פ

[ויבאו]  - 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine plural
Root: אֲבִי  
Sense: mother of Hezekiah (cf 029).
(וַיָּבֹ֣א)  And  when  came 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: בֹּוא 
Sense: to go in, enter, come, go, come in.
רְחַבְעָם֮  Rehoboam 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: רְחַבְעָם  
Sense: son of Solomon and the st king of Judah after the split up of the kingdom of Israel.
יְרוּשָׁלִַם֒  to  Jerusalem 
Parse: Proper Noun, feminine singular
Root: יְרוּשָׁלַםִ  
Sense: the chief city of Palestine and capital of the united kingdom and the nation of Judah after the split.
וַיַּקְהֵל֩  and  he  assembled 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Hifil, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: קָהַל  
Sense: to assemble, gather.
אֶת־  - 
Parse: Direct object marker
Root: אֹות 
Sense: sign of the definite direct object, not translated in English but generally preceding and indicating the accusative.
בֵּ֨ית  the  house 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: בַּיִת 
Sense: house.
יְהוּדָ֜ה  of  Judah 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: יְהוּדָה  
Sense: the son of Jacob by Leah.
שֵׁ֣בֶט  with  the  tribe 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: שֵׁבֶט  
Sense: rod, staff, branch, offshoot, club, sceptre, tribe.
בִּנְיָמִ֗ן  of  Benjamin 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: בִּנְיָמִין 
Sense: Jacob’s and Rachel’s youngest son, Joseph’s full brother.
מֵאָ֨ה  a  hundred 
Parse: Number, feminine singular
Root: מֵאָה 
Sense: hundred.
וּשְׁמֹנִ֥ים  and  eighty 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Number, common plural
Root: שְׁמֹנִים  
Sense: eighty, fourscore.
אֶ֛לֶף  thousand 
Parse: Number, masculine singular
Root: אֶלֶף 
Sense: a thousand.
בָּח֖וּר  chosen  [men] 
Parse: Verb, Qal, QalPassParticiple, masculine singular
Root: בָּחוּר 
Sense: youth, young man.
עֹשֵׂ֣ה  who  were 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Participle, masculine singular construct
Root: עָשָׂה 
Sense: to do, fashion, accomplish, make.
מִלְחָמָ֑ה  warriors 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular
Root: מִלְחָמָה  
Sense: battle, war.
לְהִלָּחֵם֙  to  fight 
Parse: Preposition-l, Verb, Nifal, Infinitive construct
Root: לָחַם 
Sense: to fight, do battle, make war.
עִם־  against 
Parse: Preposition
Root: עִם  
Sense: with.
יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל  of  Israel 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: יִשְׂרָאֵל  
Sense: the second name for Jacob given to him by God after his wrestling with the angel at Peniel.
לְהָשִׁיב֙  that  he  might  restore 
Parse: Preposition-l, Verb, Hifil, Infinitive construct
Root: שׁוּב  
Sense: to return, turn back.
הַמְּלוּכָ֔ה  the  kingdom 
Parse: Article, Noun, feminine singular
Root: מְלוּכָה  
Sense: kingship, royalty, kingly office.
לִרְחַבְעָ֖ם  to  Rehoboam 
Parse: Preposition-l, Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: רְחַבְעָם  
Sense: son of Solomon and the st king of Judah after the split up of the kingdom of Israel.
בֶּן־  son 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: בֵּן 
Sense: son, grandson, child, member of a group.
שְׁלֹמֹֽה  of  Solomon 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: שְׁלֹמֹה  
Sense: son of David by Bathsheba and 3rd king of Israel; author of Proverbs and Song of Songs.
פ  - 
Parse: Punctuation