1 Kings 14:17-18

C. THE MOURNING OVER JEROBOAM'S SON 14:17-18

TRANSLATION

(17) And the wife of Jeroboam arose, and departed, and came to Tirzah, and when she was about to enter the threshold of the door, the lad died. (18) And all Israel buried him, and lamented for him according to the word of the LORD which He spoke by the hand of His servant Ahijah the prophet.

COMMENTS

With sad heart the queen arose to make the long twenty-five mile trek back to the capital at Tirzah.[362] When the distraught lady entered the threshold of the palace, her son died (1 Kings 14:17). At first sight this statement seems to be at variance with the prediction of 1 Kings 14:12, that the child would die when the queen entered the city. But the palace may have been on the edge of the city, or the city may have been little more than the palace itself. The prince was buried and mourned just as Ahijah had prophesied (1 Kings 14:18).

[362] Some scholars assume that Jeroboam did not make Tirzah his capital, but only used it as his summer residence. The site of Tirzah long has been disputed, but now general agreement exists that it was at Tell al-Far-'a, a well-watered and strategically significant site six miles northeast of Shechem commanding access to the Jordan valley.