Rehoboam
Son of Solomon. His harsh answer to the northern tribes at Shechem split the kingdom, leaving him Judah and Benjamin. In his fifth year Shishak of Egypt carried off the treasures of the temple.
Rehoboam was the son of Solomon and Naamah, an Ammonite. He came to the throne at forty-one and reigned seventeen years in Jerusalem (1 Kings 14:21). At Shechem he refused to lighten his father’s demands, and ten tribes made Jeroboam I their king instead (1 Kings 12:1–20); see the Kingdom Divides. Chronicles lists the towns he fortified in Judah (2 Chronicles 11:5–12).
In his fifth year the Egyptian king Shishak took the treasures of the temple and the palace (1 Kings 14:25–26); see Shishak Invades Judah. Kings says there was war between him and Jeroboam throughout his reign (1 Kings 14:30). He is counted in Matthew’s genealogy of Jesus (Matthew 1:7). His dates are reckoned from his age at accession and the length of his reign, on a division of the kingdom about 930 BC.
In the timeline
- about 930 BC, estimated dateThe Kingdom Divides
After Solomon’s death the northern tribes reject his son Rehoboam at Shechem and make Jeroboam their king. Israel in the north and Judah in the south become separate kingdoms, and Jeroboam sets up his own sanctuaries at Bethel and Dan.
- about 925 BC, estimated dateShishak Invades Judah
In Rehoboam’s fifth year the Egyptian king Shishak marches on Jerusalem and carries off the treasures of the temple and the palace. Shoshenq I’s relief at Karnak lists towns he claimed in Judah, Israel and the Negev.