2 Chronicles 11:18

And Rehoboam took him Mahalath, the daughter of Jerimoth, the son of David, to wife,.... Of which son of David we nowhere else read; perhaps he might be the son of one of his concubines, or he might have two names: and Abihail the daughter of Eliab the son of Jesse; who was David's eldest brother. 1 Samuel 17:13. She must be a granddaughter or great-granddaughter of his.

11:13-23 When the priests and Levites came to Jerusalem, the devout, pious Israelites followed them. Such as set their hearts to seek the Lord God of Israel, left the inheritance of their fathers, and went to Jerusalem, that they might have free access to the altar of God, and be out of the temptation to worship the calves. That is best for us, which is best for our souls; in all our choices, religious advantages must be sought before all outward conveniences. Where God's faithful priests are, his faithful people should be. And when it has been proved that we are willing to renounce our worldly interests, so far as we are called to do so for the sake of Christ and his gospel, we have good evidence that we are truly his disciples. And it is the interest of a nation to protect religion and religious people.

18 . Jerimoth ] Nothing is known regarding a son of David of this name. He may have been the son of a concubine ( 1 Chronicles 3:9 ). and Abihail ] R.V. and of Abihail . The verse accordingly speaks of one wife only, Mahalath, whose parents were Jerimoth and Abihail. The verb in 2 Chronicles 11:19 is in the singular; cp. 2 Chronicles 11:20 ( after her ). Eliab ] David’s eldest brother; 1 Samuel 16:6 ; 1 Samuel 17:13 .

This is probably an extract from the "genealogies" of Iddo 2 Chronicles 12:15 . As Jerimoth is not mentioned among the legitimate sons of David 1 Chronicles 3:1-8; 1 Chronicles 14:4-7, he must have been the child of a concubine. Abihail was probably the "grand-daughter," not "daughter," of Eliab 1 Samuel 16:6; 1 Samuel 17:13; 1 Chronicles 2:13.

Compare 2 Chronicles 30:18 . Hence, five of the ten tribes certainly sent representatives. Two - Reuben and Gad - were in captivity. One - Dan - was absorbed into Judah. Simeon and Naphtali, which alone remained, seem to have been more than ordinarily idolatrous 2 Chronicles 34:6 .

Verse 18. - The 'Speaker's Commentary' opportunely suggests the probability that we may be indebted here to Iddo's "genealogies" ( 2 Chronicles 12:15 ). The word daughter here is a correction of the Keri, the Chethiv having been "son," This Jerimoth is the seventh out of a list of eight men of the same name mentioned in the two books of Chronicles. He is not given as one of the children of David's proper wives in either 1 Chronicles 3:1-8 or 1 Chronicles 14:4-7; Jerome says it was the Jewish tradition that he was the son of a concubine of David. It is just possible that Jerimoth and Ithream were two names of the same person. Abihail was second cousin of Mahalath. It is not quite clear whether Abihail were wife of Jerimoth and mother of Mahalath, or a second wife now mentioned of Rehoboam. The contents of the next verse not differencing the children there mentioned, and assigning her own to each wife of Rehoboam, if these were two wives of his, favours the former supposition (our Hebrew text being "and she bare ," not "which bare"). When it is said that Abthail was the daughter of Eliab , the meaning probably is, as again in ver. 20, granddaughter. (For Eliab, see 1 Samuel 16:6 ; 1 Samuel 17:13 ; 1 Chronicles 2:13 .) 2 Chronicles 11:18

PARTICULAES CONCERNING REHOBOAM’S FAMILY (2Chronicles 11:18-23). This record also is wanting in the Book of Kings. It appears to have been derived from the sources designated in 2Chronicles 12:15. (18) The daughter.—So rightly, LXX., Vulg., and many Hebrew MSS. for the ordinary reading son. Of Jerimoth the son of David—Jerimoth does not occur in the list of David’s sons (1Chronicles 3:1-8), unless we suppose the name to be a corruption of “Ithream.” Probably he was one of “the sons of the concubines” (1Chronicles 3:9). And Abihail.—The and is not in the present Hebrew text, but is supplied by the LXX. “And of Abihail” is probably the meaning, so that both of Mahalath’s parents are named. The LXX. and Vulg. make Abihail a second wife of Rehoboam; but 2Chronicles 11:19-20, as well as the construction of the sentence, make it evident that only one wife is mentioned here. A daughter of David’s eldest brother could hardly become the wife of David’s grandson. Eliab the son of Jesse.—1Samuel 17:13; 1Chronicles 2:13.

2 Chronicles 11:18-23 , information as to Rehoboam's family relationships. - 2 Chronicles 11:18 . Instead of בּן we must read, with the Keri, many MSS, lxx, and Vulg., בּת: Mahalath the daughter of Jerimoth, the son of David. Among the sons of David ( 1 Chronicles 3:1-8 ) no Jerimoth is found. If this name be not another form of יתרעם, 1 Chronicles 3:3 , Jerimoth must have been a son of one of David's concubines. Before the name אביחיל, ו must have been dropped out, and is to be supplied; so that Mahalath's father and mother are both named: the daughter of Jerimoth the son of David, and Abihail the daughter of Eliab the son of Jesse, i.e., David's eldest brother ( 1 Chronicles 2:13 ; 1 Samuel 17:13 ). For Abihail cannot be held to be a second wife of Rehoboam, because 2 Chronicles 11:19 , "and she bore," and 2 Chronicles 11:20 , "and after her," show that in 2 Chronicles 11:18 only one wife is named. She bare him three sons, whose names occur only here ( 2 Chronicles 11:19 ).

Ezra 2:62 ; Genesis 37:16 ; Psalm 24:6 . for good ] cf. Ezra 7:9 ; Nehemiah 2:18 . his power and his wrath ] cf. the same two words in Psalm 90:11 , ‘who knoweth the power of thine anger’, i.e. His might revealed in displeasure. against all them that forsake him ] as if Ezra and his companions, if they had relied on the protection of an armed escort rather than of their God, would have ‘forsaken’ Him. A common expression (cf. 1 Samuel 12:10 ; Isaiah 65:11 ; 2 Chronicles 7:22 ; 2 Chronicles 12:5 ; 2 Chronicles 13:11 ; 2 Chronicles 21:10 ; 2 Chronicles 24:20 ; 2 Chronicles 24:24 ) for religious faithlessness.