Jeroboam’s wife did so, and arose, and went to Shiloh, and came to Ahijah’s house. Now Ahijah could not see; for his eyes were set by reason of his age.
Parallel Translations
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Jeroboam’s wife did so, and arose, and went to Shiloh, and came to Ahijah’s house. Now Ahijah could not see; for his eyes were set by reason of his age.
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And Jeroboam’s wife did so, and arose, and went to Shiloh, and came to the house of Ahijah. But Ahijah could not see; for his eyes were set by reason of his age.
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And Jeroboam's wife did so, and arose, and went to Shiloh, and came to the house of Ahijah. Now Ahijah could not see; for his eyes were set by reason of his age.
Cross-references (12)
Passages linked to 1 Kings 14:4 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- 1 Kings 11:29 At that time, when Jeroboam went out of Jerusalem, the prophet Ahijah the Shilonite found him on the way. Now Ahijah had clad himself with a new garment; and the two of them were alone in the field.
- 1 Samuel 3:2 At that time, when Eli was laid down in his place (now his eyes had begun to grow dim, so that he could not see),
- 1 Samuel 4:15 Now Eli was ninety-eight years old. His eyes were set, so that he could not see.
- Genesis 27:1 When Isaac was old, and his eyes were dim, so that he could not see, he called Esau his elder son, and said to him, “My son?” He said to him, “Here I am.”
- Genesis 48:10 Now the eyes of Israel were dim for age, so that he couldn’t see well. Joseph brought them near to him; and he kissed them, and embraced them.
- Deuteronomy 34:7 Moses was one hundred twenty years old when he died. His eye was not dim, nor his strength gone.
- Joshua 18:1 The whole congregation of the children of Israel assembled themselves together at Shiloh, and set up the Tent of Meeting there. The land was subdued before them.
- 1 Samuel 4:3-4 When the people had come into the camp, the elders of Israel said, “Why has Yahweh defeated us today before the Philistines? Let’s get the ark of Yahweh’s covenant out of Shiloh and bring it to us, that it may come among us and save us out of the hand of our enemies.” So the people sent to Shiloh, and they brought from there the ark of the covenant of Yahweh of Armies, who sits above the cherubim; and the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were there with the ark of the covenant of God.
- 1 Kings 14:2 Jeroboam said to his wife, “Please get up and disguise yourself, so that you won’t be recognized as Jeroboam’s wife. Go to Shiloh. Behold, Ahijah the prophet is there, who said that I would be king over this people.
- Psalms 90:10 The days of our years are seventy, or even by reason of strength eighty years; yet their pride is but labor and sorrow, for it passes quickly, and we fly away.
- Ecclesiastes 12:3 in the day when the keepers of the house shall tremble, and the strong men shall bow themselves, and the grinders cease because they are few, and those who look out of the windows are darkened,
- Jeremiah 7:12-14 “But go now to my place which was in Shiloh, where I caused my name to dwell at the first, and see what I did to it for the wickedness of my people Israel. Now, because you have done all these works,” says Yahweh, “and I spoke to you, rising up early and speaking, but you didn’t hear; and I called you, but you didn’t answer; therefore I will do to the house which is called by my name, in which you trust, and to the place which I gave to you and to your fathers, as I did to Shiloh.
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (11 sources)
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Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain Hebrew, eyes stood.
Hebrew, eyes stood.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain 1Ki 14:4 And Jeroboam’s wife did so, and arose,…
1Ki 14:4 And Jeroboam’s wife did so, and arose, and went to Shiloh, and came to the house of Ahijah. But Ahijah could not see; for his eyes were set by reason of his age.
Ver. 4. And Jeroboam’s wife did so.] Putting off her royal attire, and putting on more demure apparel; like as many hypocrites do, conforming themselves to the company they come into, and walking in a disguise, till God detect them.
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For his eyes were set by reason of his age.] These things, therefore, were done toward the end of Jeroboam’s reign.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain Or, stood still, or were grown stiff; the nerves,…
Or, stood still, or were grown stiff; the nerves, by which the eyes and eye-lids are moved, being contracted and withered.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain And the Lord said unto Abijah,.... Either in a…
And the Lord said unto Abijah,.... Either in a dream, or by an impulse upon his mind, before Jeroboam's wife came in:
behold, the wife of Jeroboam cometh to ask a thing of thee for her son, for he is sick; to know whether he will recover or not:
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thus and thus shall thou say unto her; as after expressed in some following verses:
for it shall be, when she cometh in, that she shall feign herself another woman; to the people that let her in, and introduce her to the prophet, and to the prophet himself; pretend herself to be a countrywoman come to ask a question of the prophet concerning her son that was ill of a disease.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain 1Ki 14:4. But Ahijah could not see — He…
1Ki 14:4. But Ahijah could not see — He not only lived obscure and neglected in Shiloh, but was blind through age: yet he was still blessed with the visions of the Almighty; which require not bodily eyes; but are rather favoured by the want of them, the eyes of the mind being then most intent and least diverted. His eyes were set, &c. — Hebrew, קמו משׁיבו, kamu misheibo, stood for his hoariness — No longer performed their office, by reason of his great age. Perhaps the fibres and muscles by which the eyes and eye-lids are moved, were contracted and withered, the optic nerves become effete, or film or cataract was grown over his eyes.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain Dim. Hebrew, "swelled," &c. (Calmet) --- Septuagint inform us…
Dim. Hebrew, "swelled," &c. (Calmet) --- Septuagint inform us that the prophet was 60 years old. (Haydock)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain 4. Ahijah could not see — “Upon the outer…
4. Ahijah could not see — “Upon the outer world, made foul by man’s abominations, he has closed his eyes, and sees and lives by the light that shines within.” — Kitto. And vainly will Jeroboam or his wife attempt, in the presence of such a divinely-illumined seer, to practice guile.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 4. for his eyes were set] The same expression…
4. for his eyes were set] The same expression is used of Eli, 1Sa_4:15. The idea is of one whose eye has lost its power so that the light no longer acts upon it to enlarge or contract the pupil.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain (4) Were set.—The same word is rendered “were dim”…
(4) Were set.—The same word is rendered “were dim” in 1Sa_4:15. The metaphor is evidently drawn from the solid opaque look of the iris, when affected by cataract or some similar disease.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain And Jeroboam"s wife did so, and arose, and went…
And Jeroboam"s wife did so, and arose, and went to Shiloh, and came probably on the second day to the house of Ahijah. But rather Now Ahijah could not see; for his eyes were set Heb. stood. Same word as in 1Sa_4:15. Cf. Gen_27:1. In amaurosis the pupil is set, and does not contract with the light. A partial paralysis of the optic nerve is common in extreme old age by reason of his age. Heb. for hoariness, i.e. old age.
Vers. 4-6.
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Spiritual Vision.
When the season of retributions set in upon Jeroboam, and his son Abijah was smitten with sickness, he sent to the prophet Ahijah the Shilonite to inquire of the word of Jehovah, what should become of the child. He was unwilling it should be publicly known that, in such an emergency, he had recourse to the prophet of the Lord rather than to his calves. (compare 2Ki_1:2) He accordingly entrusted this delicate business to his wife, and enjoined that she should disguise herself. The text evinces how futile were these expedients. Note
I SIN SEEKS DISGUISES.
1. Truth needs none.
(1) It is naturally open. "He that doeth truth cometh to the light.
(2) It has nothing to be ashamed of. It is self-consistent, harmonious, lovely.
(3) It ought to be displayed; its influence is elevating. (Php_2:15, 16) The saint who hides his light wrongs his race.
(4) Churches are constituted that Christians should, to the best advantage, witness for Christ. They are the candlesticks (see Mat_5:14-16; Rev_1:20) Note: Christians should discourage the eccentricity that would lead them away from the Churches.
2. It is otherwise with sin.
(1) It is naturally close. The sinner has as instinctive an aversion to the light as the owl and the bat, his types.
(2) It has everything to be ashamed of. It is self-contradictory, discordant, frightfully and monstrously ugly.
(3) It ought, by the impenitent sinner, to be concealed. For he could only desire to disclose it in order to infect and demoralize others.
(4) But the true should drag it to the light, that its deformity might be seen, abhorred, and execrated.
II GOD SEES THROUGH ALL DISGUISES.
1. Nature itself teaches this.
(1) He that formed the eye, can He not see? (Exo_4:10-12; Psa_94:9)
(2) He that formed the mind, can He not perceive? (1Ch_28:9; Psa_7:9; Pro_15:11; Rev_2:23)
2. It is evinced in the visions of prophecy.
(1) How far-reaching are those visions! The end was seen from the beginning. The instalments fulfilled certify the remainder.
(2) How deep their insight into the secret workings of the heart! The secret ambition of Jeroboam, when he was yet the servant of Solomon, was read by Ahijah. (1Ki_11:37) Now he sees through the disguise of the queen and reads its motives.
3. This should be considered.
(1) How foolish are disguises where God is concerned! And where is God not concerned?
(2) Those who would deceive God only deceive themselves.
(3) What disclosures will the day of judgment make! (1Co_3:13 1Co_4:5) What a day of trembling to the hypocrite!
III GOD CAN OPEN THE EYES OF THE BLIND.
1. Literally.
(1) Miracles upon the sight were occasionally wrought in ancient times (Gen_19:11; 2Ki_6:18)
(2) Many such were wrought by Christ.
2. Spiritually.
(1) The prophets were gifted with spiritual vision. They were therefore called seers. Their prophecies were called visions.
(2) Such vision had Ahijah. His natural sight had now failed him (ver. 4), yet he saw Jeroboam"s queen before she came into his presence, saw through her disguises, and discerned the purpose of her visit.
(3) Spiritual vision is not exclusively the privilege of prophets.
(a) God gives this to the sinner when He discovers to him the exceeding sinfulness of sin. God strips him of the disguises by which he would deceive himself, and exhibits his own life likeness to his conscience.
(b) God gives it to believers, when He witnesses His pardon and their adoption, to their spirits. (See Act_26:17, Act_26:18; Eph_1:18) Have your eyes been opened? Pray God that Satan may never succeed in throwing his dust into them. J.A.M.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 Look, the wife of Jeroboam
Look, the wife of Jeroboam
Here the word "Look" means "pay attention."
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coming to seek advice from you
The abstract noun "advice" can be translated as a verb. AT: "coming to ask you to advise her" (See: Abstract Nouns)
Say such and such to her
The words "such and such" mean that Yahweh told Ahijah what to say. AT: "Speak in this way to her" (See: Idiom)
translationWords
Yahweh
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.